The $62,000 question facing the Boothbay Region Refuse Disposal District trustees is how to pay for the compactor room repairs. Operations Manager Steve Lewis told the trustees on Aug. 12 that there was significant structural damage to the 30-year compactor room.

Lewis said the support rods hold the cans in place were rotted and couldn’t be fixed.

“They’ve completely rotted through. You can go out there right now and push your finger through the metal,” Lewis said.

The repairs are slated to take place in mid-September or October. The district will contract with The Valley Company of Whitefield to repair the compactor room. Valley will remove the the compactor, reline the shoes and replace the metal rods. According to Lewis, Valley estimates a $46,800 cost for the project.

The remaining costs are for removing and replacing the room’s concrete floor. The district received a $5,000 estimate from N.A. Reny of Boothbay to remove the old concrete floor, according to Lewis.

The new concrete base will be purchased by the district and installed by its employees. Lewis estimated a $10,000 cost for this portion of the project.

Lewis believes the project’s cost can be absorbed in to the district’s operating budget. If not, the trustees allowed him to dip into the district’s capital reserve account to finance the project. Lewis expects the project to take three weeks to complete.

In other action, the trustees hired a new full-time driver and approved sending another employee to truck driving school. The trustees hired Rob Latter of Boothbay as a full-time truck driver. His starting wage is $15 per hour.

The district will also have a back-up driver when attendant Jake Hodgdon finishes a 10-week Class A driver’s license course. The trustees voted to send him to the Mid-Coast School of Technology Adult Education in Rockland. The trustees will pay the $3,975 tuition. The course is two days per week beginning on Oct. 13.

The trustees also approved the purchase of two new signs. The trustees agreed to purchase two metal signs for $1,000 from JC Marsh Signs in Boothbay Harbor. The signs will notify residents about regular and summers hours of operation. There will also be a place indicating when the facility is closed for holidays.

The trustees will meet next at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 10, in the Boothbay district office.