On June 28, the Boothbay Region Refuse District will officially own Giles Rubbish, Inc. On June 14, district directors authorized Station Manager Steve Lewis to close on the sale Thursday.

In April, the district reached an agreement with Dan Giles to purchase his family-owned business for $1.363 million.  The district bought all business assets and real estate owned by Giles and DPG Corp in connection with its commercial and residential rubbish pick-up business. Giles agreed to finance the purchase for 10 years at 3.65 percent interest.

Prior to purchasing the 59-year-old business, the district requested William Brewer & Associates review Giles’ financial history for the past five years. Lewis cited Giles’ strong financial past and several cost-saving measures as benefiting the district’s overall bottom line. According to Lewis, the district will save tens of thousands of dollars in Giles Rubbish administrative costs and at least $1 per gallon in fuel purchases. As a quasi-municipality, the district also avoids vehicle registration fees and Maine Department of Transportation stickers, and pays less for insurance.

“Giles Rubbish will pay for itself. It’s been a successful business, and the audit shows it has been a sustainable business for years. I’d like everyone to know that no taxpayer funds will be used for operating Giles,” Lewis said.

Once the district assumes control, it will likely purchase a new Giles Rubbish computer billing system. Lewis described the current DOS-based system as “out-of-date.” He recommended purchasing a system called “Trashflow” for $5,000. Lewis believes Trashflow would pay for itself because it would eliminate additional credit card payment fees. “If a customer wants to pay with a credit card now, they call in, and we take down the numbers and call a vendor to process the payment. This is time-consuming and costs about $1,200 per year. With Trashflow, they can log onto a website, and pay it without calling us or costing a fee,” Lewis said.

Also once the district assumes control, it will hear separate reports on Giles Rubbish and refuse center operations. The board may integrate both entities under one umbrella, but Lewis said that may take several months.

In other action, directors decided against sending refuse to Penobscot Energy Recovery Company (PERC) in Orrington while it awaits the new Fiberight facility's construction.

BRRDD is one of  about 100 communities ending their 25-year relationship with PERC this year. In 2016, the refuse district contracted with Fiberight, a Maryland-based clean energy technology business, to send its refuse to a new, modern waste-to-energy plant in Hampden this spring.

Fiberight’s expected spring opening was delayed when  PERC’s majority owner, USA Energy, LLC of Minneapolis, appealed a Maine Department of Environmental Protection decision allowing Fiberight a permit to build a state of the art $85 million plant. The delay left BRRDD and several other members searching for an alternative disposal site.

During the June 14 board meeting, directors considered sending their refuse to PERC until Fiberight opens this fall. But the directors chose another option. The district will send refuse to a Norridgewock landfill at $60 per ton. PERC offered to accept local refuse for $120 per ton, according to Lewis.

Lewis estimated PERC was better environmentally, but too costly. “I don’t want to send refuse to a landfill, but for four months, it would cost $131,000 more. It’s just too much,” Lewis said.

The directors concluded their business by entering into an executive session on employee compensation. Lewis reported the board took no action following the session.

The district will meet next at 5 p.m. Thursday, July 12 in the business office.