ELLERY - The Ellery Town Board is delaying the proposed 80-acre expansion of the Ellery landfill for 12 months.
The board unanimously voted Thursday that despite county talks of forming a committee to address landfill concerns, a moratorium was needed to allow them time to look into solutions for existing problems before the expansion.
"Moratorium? Yes, let's get this under control before we go any further. We've been dealing with it for 30 years. It's time to put your brakes on," said Dennis Edwards, Ellery resident.
The vote on the moratorium was suspended at the last board meeting, pending the boards' review of the costs involved, new environmental documentation provided by a Buffalo law firm and a Jan. 6 letter from county planners regarding the issue.
In hopes of avoiding a moratorium, John Penhollow, Chautauqua planning board representative, announced the formation of a committee to address landfill concerns.
"The county is very open. There has been a positive change in openness going forward," Penhollow said.
The committee would address concerns about litter, odor and watershed runoff from the landfill, explained County Legislator Vince Horrigan, D-Bemus Point.
He proposed that the committee be co-chaired by George Spanos, Chautauqua County director of public facilities, and himself, with two representatives from the planning board, one representatives from town of Ellery and one representative from the town of Gerry, which has also voiced concern about the landfill.
"Listening to the concerns that have come up while meeting with people in the area. It became obvious that I don't think we have a process to really address the concerns of the landfill," said Horrigan.
Horrigan explained that the committee would focus on the residents' concerns.
"The committee would establish a baseline of where we're at today, and moving forward, how we can work through these things," said Horrigan.
Both the county representatives and the board agreed that the formation of the committee is a positive step forward, but the board expressed a lack of confidence that change will occur.
Ellery Supervisor Arden Johnson recounted that it's the first time in 30 years that someone tried to form a committee to try to improve the quality of life of the people who live in the area.
"Since the landfill started until today, we haven't had a lot of confidence builders that would lead us to think that things are going to change," said G. Craig Miller, town board member.
Miller also suggested that Ellery residents should have free garbage and trash removal and should get a "tipping fee" for each bag of garbage delivered from out of county, adding that accepting out-of-county trash was never the intention of the landfill.
The board thanked the county for the time they have been devoting to the issue and for being willing to create a committee to address the problems, but they voted to approve a moratorium.
"The board has a due diligence to the taxpayers and the people. It's not just about what's happening right now. It's about what happens 10, 20, 30 years down the road," said Mark Schlemmer, town board member. "I feel we just need an opportunity to look at everything and to make sure we are doing everything we can to make this safe for the town and its residents."
