Refuse District Quells Turmoil

Board Decides Not to Privatize, Narrows the List of Candidates for
Hiring Next Manager of Regional Operation

By IAN FEIN

After a long dispute about the future of the Island's
four-town regional refuse district, board members said yesterday that
they expect to hire a new manager by the end of the month.

Five candidates applied this week for the job to run the
Martha's Vineyard Refuse Disposal and Resource Recovery District,
which includes the four towns of Aquinnah, Chilmark, Edgartown and West
Tisbury.

Board members should begin interviewing applicants as early as next
week. Erik Lowe of West Tisbury, a member of the board's personnel
subcommittee, said yesterday that several of the candidates were
Islanders and many had management experience in the waste industry.

To protect their confidentiality, the applicants' names were
not made public.

"I think we have a real chance to make a rational and cost
efficient district possible. I think we're on the verge of doing
it," said district chairman Alex Preston of Chilmark. "Our
new manager will have to do long-term planning and thinking, but if duty
calls he'll have to go out back and get his feet dirty. So off we
go. I think we've got some good candidates."

The board's decision to hire a new manager appears to put an
end to the talk last year about eliminating the manager's position
and privatizing the district. Tisbury and Oak Bluffs left the district
more than a decade ago to privatize their operations.

The privatization discussion divided the district board, which
deadlocked for several months last spring over whether to renew the
contract of its former manager Charles Noonan, who worked for the refuse
district for 13 years.

With the board still split, Mr. Noonan announced his retirement last
June, less than a month before his contract expired. Mr. Noonan agreed
to stay on through the end of the calendar year.

In December, the district board voted to sign a last-minute
three-month contract with Browning-Ferris Industries (BFI), the national
trash-hauling giant that also handles waste disposal in Oak Bluffs and
Tisbury.

BFI took over the district operations Jan. 1 and completed its
$4,000-a-month contract yesterday.

During discussions over the last three months, refuse district board
members decided to abandon the privatization scheme and return to the
manager model.

"I think it became clear that was the right thing to
do," Mr. Preston said. "For me personally, the only idea we
ever had was to get outside bids on what it cost to run the facility. I
never backed privatization. I was always in favor of using outside
numbers to make sure we were running an efficient operation."

Last week, board members voted unanimously to put longtime district
foreman Steve Dourian in charge until the new manager was hired. Mr.
Dourian said yesterday he was looking forward to taking over the reins
for the interim period, which officially starts today. He said he did
not apply for the manager position.

"I think it's going in a good direction so far,"
Mr. Dourian said of the district. "I feel great about running
things for the time being. I want to make sure this place is running
smoothly."

Mr. Noonan's departure was one in a string of resignations by
district leaders last year. In the months leading up to Mr.
Noonan's retirement, three board members - all known to back
district management - quit the board.

Administrative assistant James Hardiman, who was hired in February
2003 as part of efforts to improve the district's bookkeeping
system, also stepped down last June after allegations arose that he
forged Mr. Noonan's signature on a document.

The district advertised last month for a new office bookkeeper as
well and board members have already interviewed six applicants,
narrowing the field down to two remaining candidates.

Mr. Preston this week sounded eager to leave the district's
past behind, saying he preferred not to comment on the many departures
in 2004.

Divisions on the board last spring also played out among individual
members' towns. West Tisbury and Aquinnah representatives
supported renewing Mr. Noonan's contract, while Edgartown and
Chilmark members opposed. The board is made up of two representatives
from each of the district's four towns.

Mr. Lowe, who joined the district board in September, said yesterday
that the divisions have for a large part subsided.

"It was a hashing-out period," Mr. Lowe said.
"Anytime there's a change there's always going to be
divisions. The previous board had been there a long time, and Charlie
had been there a long time. But now everybody's interest is
obviously that the district continue to operate economically for the
towns. And I think everybody's on the same page, although we would
like to have Aquinnah's input."

Aquinnah has not been represented on the district board in recent
months. Aquinnah's longtime member and former chairman Richard
Skidmore resigned last year, and his replacement Jerry Weiner stopped
attending district meetings this winter.

Board members also split last year over plans for a solid waste
composting facility, which many former board members supported.
Composting has long been discussed as a goal of the district, but there
has been little movement in that direction recently.

Mr. Preston said this week that a composting facility is still on
the table, but that hiring a new manager is the first priority.

"I'm all for composting. The board is not against
it," Mr. Preston said. "If we can compost and cut down on
the amount we ship off- Island and it makes economic sense, then
let's rock and roll. But the district needs to get its financial
house in order first. And I think we're almost there."