A family-run business for 59 years is changing hands. Dan Giles has reached an agreement to sell his business, Giles Rubbish Inc., for $1.363 million to the Boothbay Region Refuse Disposal District, according to information provided at the district board's April 19 meeting.

Trustees unanimously approved the purchase.

Giles will finance the purchase over 10 years. The district will make a $110,000 down payment, due June 29. Monthly payments begin Aug. 1. The two parties agreed to a 3 percent interest rate.

Giles purchased the business from his father in 1987. Giles, 70, later incorporated the business and expanded service from four to seven towns. The district will retain all eight Giles Rubbish employees. But the business will no longer serve communities outside the Boothbay peninsula. Giles is seeking a replacement trash collector for his three remaining towns.

For Giles, the decision to sell was based on recent health concerns and his age. Giles was looking for an offer which would provide him with retirement income and protect the jobs of his employees. Lewis approached him in January about purchasing the business.

“I did what I thought was best for me and my family,” Giles said. His two children, Ryan and Shannon, will remain with the business. Transfer Station Manager Steve Lewis will run the operation.

“This is a match made in heaven. This is just an extension of what we already do,” Lewis said. “This will not cost taxpayers anything, and in time it will actually reduce each town’s contribution to the transfer station’s operation.”

As Giles approached his decision, he was worried about his employees' and customers' future. In his 31 years in the rubbish business, Giles described his customers and employees as the ones who made the business successful.

“When the opportunity came up I thought it was too good to be true. It provided me with a retirement income and secured the future of my employees. That was a real concern of mine,” he said.

The sale becomes final once both parties' lawyers review all final details, according to Lewis. The purchase includes Giles Rubbish’s 22 acres in Boothbay and equipment. Lewis is also a Boothbay selectman. He didn’t believe the refuse district’s purchase would pose a significant loss in property tax revenue. Based on the 2014 town report, Giles Rubbish paid over $3,000 in property taxes.