COOPERSTOWN _ Old couches and leaning sheds, beware.
At Wednesday's meeting, the Otsego County Board unanimously approved a ``fall cleanup program'' that will soon let county residents dispose of extra waste for free.
The board acted because the county faces a 2,005-ton shortage in deliveries it must make to the Montgomery-Otsego-Schoharie Solid Waste Management Authority. The county's contract with MOSA specifies that each undelivered ton must be paid for at the rate of $104.50, a potential bill of $209,522, according to Rep. Keith McCarty, chairman of the county's Solid Waste Committee.
Rather than pay for undelivered loads, the board is hoping to send 2,000 tons, or about 100 tractor-trailer loads, of construction debris, old furniture and junk to the solid-waste authority.
``It's a lot better than paying for nothing,'' McCarty said.
Terry Bliss, the county's planning director and solid waste coordinator, said cleanup details are still being worked out. The county had planned to use MOSA's transfer station in Oneonta but has learned this will not be possible, Bliss told board members.
Instead, the county probably will create a drop-off spot near the Oneonta transfer station and a second one at the northern transfer station in Fly Creek.
If county residents don't produce enough solid waste at those two locations, the county may arrange to collect more in other towns, Bliss said.
``We're still working out the details,'' he said.
In response to a question from Rep. Greg Relic, R-Unadilla, Bliss said that bags of household garbage will not be accepted as part of the fall cleanup.
``Those bags would be thrown out anyway, and if we accept them for free, we might compound the problem we already have,'' he said.
County Board Chairman James Powers, R-Butternuts, commended the Solid Waste Committee _ comprising Reps. Stephen Fournier, R-Milford; Richard Murphy, D-Oneonta; Cathy Rothenberger, D-Oneonta and McCarty _ for their proposal.
In related news, at Wednesday's meeting the county board retained a solid-waste consultant, Gerhardt LLC of New Hartwick, for $56,500 to provide a long-range plan for the county.
The firm is headed by Hans Arnold, who also serves as executive director of the Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Authority. Arnold has been asked to offer short-term and long-term options. His final report is due by Oct. 9, 2009.
As the board was discussing the county's solid-waste problems Wednesday, Powers asked former board chairman and former MOSA board member Rep. Donald Lindberg, R-Worcester, to offer his views.
Lindberg said he and his peers must adopt a flow-control law, requiring all garbage collected in the county to be delivered to MOSA.
``You can even go out and follow the haulers, but you're never going to get all the garbage without a flow-control law,'' he said.
Bliss said such a law would have to be part of an overall plan.
In other business, the county board:
ä Agreed to create a local development corporation to allow for the $25 million expansion of Springbrook, a facility for people with developmental disabilities that is situated in Milford. According to Springbrook Executive Director Patricia Kennedy, the expansion, which includes upgrades to infrastructure, will allow Springbrook to accommodate 24 more residents.
ä Appointed Joyce Boyd as the county's social services commissioner. Boyd, who has been acting commissioner for several months, was praised by Rep. Kathy Clark, chairwoman of the county's Human Services Committee, and her predecessor as chairwoman, Rothenberger.
