(2/23) The Thurmont Town Council voted to give Frederick County the required 60 days’ notice after passing a motion to remove the recycling dumpster on Moser Road at the February 14 meeting.
The mayor and commissioner reiterated previous discussions regarding high equipment costs and staff time to clean up the trash staff finds surrounding the dumpster. Frederick County currently reimburses Thurmont $10,000 each fiscal year. However, Chief Financial Officer Linda Joyce predicts recycling will cost $38,220 in the 2023 fiscal year before the County reimbursement, which is an increase from the previous year’s cost of $20,495. These costs do not include staff time nor cost for the required equipment.
After discussing the financial strain caused by the recycling dumpster at a previous meeting, Mayor John Kinnaird asked for financial help from County Executive Jessica Fitzwater. He said he has not received a response regarding the financial help since the meeting in January.
"This is a real problem," Kinnaird said. "This is not recycling; this is throwing trash on the ground." He went on to explain the issues with recycling ending up on residents’ lawns in addition to the additional funds spent on cleaning up the extra trash.
The recycling dumpster on Moser Road is for anyone in the County to use, which was a concern for the commissioners who want to protect the town’s funds. Commissioner Wes Hamrick said he believes the facility has outlived its usefulness for the town, "especially when we’re paying the price."
Once the Moser Road dumpster is removed, Thurmont residents will still be able to use the waste and recycling facility on Reichs Ford Road in addition to their regular pick up at their homes. The commissioners believe those most impacted will be businesses and those living in apartments. However, regulations require these types of buildings to have their own dumpsters, so the impact should not be as great.
The concern from the commissioners and townspeople is that residents will not dispose of the used oil properly if the Town were to remove the Moser Road facility.
The facility on Reichs Ford Rd accepts used oil as well, but the commissioners made it clear that the motion at hand was only in regards to the dumpster, not the used oil facility on Moser Road. Commissioner Bill Blakeslee said, "I think before we get rid of it, we should find some place to put it otherwise you’re going to find it dumped into ditches and stuff like that."
Former Commissioner Mary Burns echoed the commissioners’ concerns during public comment by urging the Council to delay any decisions regarding the oil facility until more townspeople could voice their opinions on the matter. He said that this was the first he heard about the issue and was concerned about what he and others would do about their used oil. "A worse person than me is going to dump it on the ground or down the drain," he said. "They’re gonna do it. It’ll happen."
While the Town discussed ideas to ensure Thurmont residents dispose of their used oil properly, such as advertising local garages that recycling oil, there was no decision made on the fate of the Moser Road Oil Facility as of Feb. 14.
