FALCONER — The Chautauqua County Public facilities Department will open its transfer stations on Saturdays.

County officials said in a news release that the decision to close the transfer stations was expected to be a temporary inconvenience to the public while trying to meet Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Executive Orders to reduce the potential of the spread of COVID-19 in communities and to reduce operations staff.

In light of further clarification from the state that sanitation and solid waste are considered essential services and to minimize the inconvenience to the public, the North, South, and West County Transfer Stations will reopen to the public on Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. The three transfer stations will be open on Saturdays for residential waste only. The County Landfill will continue to operate under normal operating hours and the Ellery Transfer Station will be open daily Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“The county appreciates everyone’s patience and understanding as we try to effectively address these unusual circumstances,” said Brad Bentley, county public facilities director.