Engineer Tom Maher gave the opinion that there would be nothing wrong with leaving the site as is, but state laws require action. "Personally, I don't think you have to do anything with this landfill, but I don't think you're going to convince the state of that," said Maher.
The board voted 4-0, with Gloria Cahalan absent, to file grant applications with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) for aid in meeting costs. The state will pay up to 50% or a maximum of $2 million, Maher said.
Zero-interest loans are available from DEC to the municipality under a funding program which is expected to expire in September, Maher told the board.
The original projected cost of $1.2 million was reduced by a third, Maher said. "The sooner we move on it, the more good faith we demonstrate to the DEC," attorney Martin Miller advised.