Expanding dumpsite better than a tax hike
Letter to the Editor:
To not expand the Rapp Road dump would be economical disaster for Albany taxpayers. Extending the landfill into the Pine Bush seems to be the only practical alternative.
If Albany has to haul its garbage to farther locations, it would mean that the taxpayers would have to foot the bill.
Albany property owners cannot afford higher taxation when a better remedy is possible.
With recent engineering development of ventilation devices, the expansion of the dumpsite in the Pine Bush is sound reasoning if all the pros and cons are put on the table and discussed.
New gas-capturing devices that are embedded into the dumpsite would cut down on the bad odor. In fact, the methane gas generated from the decomposing waste can be used to pay for combating offensive odors.
One means is using ventilator stacks to raise the odor level into the winds as they do with factories, dispersing odors into a higher atmosphere.
Using better liners to stop seepage, and more topsoil to prevent exposure of the waste, are some ways to make the dump more acceptable to the surrounding residents.
As I have continually expressed but have had little support, each time a new entity is introduced and then removed from the tax structure of Albany, our taxes are raised to meet that responsibility. Example: The library tax was removed from the property tax structure and has become another encumbrance we have to pay.
Our property tax was not lowered when the library tax was introduced, so in essence we are paying the library tax twice.
If garbage removal is omitted from the property tax structure because of having another dumpsite miles away, the semblance to the library situation will continue, and we will become property rich and tax poor.
ALBERT PAOLUCCI, AlbanyCommitteeman, 12th Ward
