The Transfer Station project is taking a step forward after months of delays. A new compactor will be installed starting Jan. 20, closing commercial operations at the dump for two weeks.
“The compactor will only impact weigh-and-pay, which we consider commercial,” said Public Health Director Andrew Petty. “But this would impact residents that need to weigh-and-pay to get rid of an item.”
Petty said since the only general contracting bid for the larger Transfer Station project came in $1 million over budget, “I’m recommending that we continue on and we take some of the money that we have and allocate that.”
At a Jan. 13 Board of Health meeting, Petty said the project will have three phases:
— Installing the compactor and completing site work
— Replacing the scale house (when funds become available)
— Building the swap shed (when funds become available)
BoH member Tom McMahon agreed this is the best way forward.
“We don’t have the money without going to the town for an override, so chipping away at it is the best route to go,” McMahon said. “It is frustrating, given the history.”
A new license-plate-reader system will be installed this spring, and at that point the residential entrance to the Transfer Station will be moved to Green Street. The exit will remain on Beacon Street.
New leash laws?
The Board of Health voted to support updated leash law bylaws being brought to Town Meeting this May. Recreation and Parks Commissioner Shelly Bedrossian and dog officer Betsy Cruger have been working with McMahon on new rules, which will increase fines for residents who let their dogs off leash and don’t pick up poop.
The new rules also ban dogs year-round from the town’s bathing beaches, including Devereux, Gas House, Stramski, Grace Oliver and Cove Lane (on the Neck).
Currently, dogs in Marblehead are only allowed off leash at the dog park on Lime Street and in private yards. Bedrossian suggested increasing the penalties for off-leash pups as follows:
- First offense: Up from $25 to $100
- Second offense: Up from $50 to $300
- Additional offenses: Up from $50 to $500
The update would also stipulate that dogs be on leashes no longer than 12 feet long.
Poop pick-up
The updated bylaws would increase fines for people who don’t pick up after their dogs. Penalties would jump from $50 for the first offense to $250 for the first and subsequent violations.
“If you walk down the paved tracks, you’ll see dogs of waste strewn everywhere,” Bedrossian said.
Petty added, “We’re really tired of this.”
Marblehead Counseling Center update
Also at the Board of Health meeting, Marblehead Counseling Center President Ruth Ferguson presented an update. The MCC is located at 66 Clifton Ave.
In 2024, MCC served 400 clients, providing 7,000 clinical hours of service. The center has seven licensed clinicians, two master’s level graduate students and one Salem State University intern.
The wait list for treatment is 235 people, including 100 Marblehead residents. About 25% of MCC clients are children.
The Board of Health typically gives MCC $60,000 a year, but this year hopes to provide $120,000. (Those funds must be approved at Town Meeting and used only for services to Marblehead residents or town employees.)
To learn more about MCC, visit marbleheadcounseling.org.
