By Nicholas Brown
Staff Writer

The Hooksett Town Council is considering axing a long-standing policy that gives condominium owners cash to dispose of their own trash.

At the council’s Wednesday, Oct. 25, meeting, Councilor Jason Hyde made a motion to kill the policy, which provides a break to condominium owners, whose trash isn’t picked up by the town.

“How is it fair to the rest of this town that we reimburse them because they live in a condo?” asked Hyde.

Other councilors warned the move could resurrect a dispute last buried two years ago, when the council considered a similar measure, but backed off after fierce opposition from some local property owners.

Councilor Pat Rueppel offered Hyde some advice.

“Don’t plow up any more snakes than you can catch,” she said.

Recycling and Transfer Station Superintendent Diane Boyce said the initial deal came in 1991, when the Granite Hills development was being built.

At the time, she said, Granite Hills, which now has more than 450 units, was the only condominium development in town.

The town and the developer reached an agreement whereby town trash trucks wouldn’t have to traverse the development’s private roads, but would recoup some of the expenses the development’s owners paid to have residents’ trash removed by private companies.

The town has been reimbursing condo owners this year ­ at a rate of $70.89 per ton ­ for 31 pounds of waste, per condominium unit, per week.

That translates roughly into $60,000 to $68,000 per year, said Boyce.

At its recent meeting, the council reduced the poundage for reimbursement from 31 to 25, but Boyce said more condominium units slated to join the tax rolls could mean greater expenses to the town in coming years.

“Because we are trying to encourage recycling in the town, I think that’s a fair figure,” said Boyce.

Boyce said most towns throughout the state don’t reimburse condo owners for private trash pickup whatsoever.

“I think the condo owners have been treated pretty well in Hooksett,” she said.

Jason Hyde said town residents often get stuck paying taxes on certain services, such as sewer or schools, that they don’t directly use.

The council tabled Hyde’s motion until further research can be done.

“I think we need to do an awful lot more homework,” said Paul Loiselle, remembering the crowds of people that turned out to fight the change years ago.