Trash agency replacing floor at New Paltz transfer station

TOWN OF ULSTER, N.Y. » Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency officials expect it will take about two months to finish placing the floor at the agency’s New Paltz transfer station.

Agency Executive Director Tim Rose said Thursday that the first 2,446-squarefoot section was completed recently after about two months of work. The second, measuring 2,356 square feet, is expected to be done over the next two months.

The work has not impacted the flow of vehicles through the facility on Clearwater Road, Rose said.

“I didn’t want to close the transfer station down; that wasn’t an option,” he said. “I refused to let that happen. We’re here to serve the public.”

Closing the New Paltz facility would have required trucks that use the site to travel 17 miles to the agency’s facility on state Route 32 in the town of Ulster.

Rose said about a third of the waste handled by the agency comes from the New Paltz transfer station and that wear and tear comes from the heavier vehicles.

“You tend to get a lot more packers there, [which are] larger vehicles,” he said.

“You get a lot more packers [at New Paltz] ... where at Ulster we get lot more traffic ... because we have a lot more contractors coming in here,” Rose said. “These are small trucks for roofing contractors, people who are remodeling basements, and things like that.”

Information was not immediately available about the estimated total cost of the floor project, but Rose said the agency expects to save about $100,000 by using agency staff instead of outside contractors.

“I knew we could save a lot of money by doing it in house,” he said. “... I can get it a lot cheaper and be in compliance with the state Comptroller’s Office at the same time.”

Resource Recovery Agency Operations Manager Charlie Whittaker said the new floor is intended to last for 20 years.

“It’s 12 inches thick ... instead of 6 to 8 inches of previous floor,” he said.