Select Board talks trash as Prisby lights a cigar and says farewell

Ed Prisby probably didn’t plan to spend his last moments on the Select Board talking about trash bags.

But before he lit the celebratory cigar signaling the end to his three years on the board, Prisby brought up a few last-minute items. He talked about budget projections, a future need for a Proposition 2 1/2 override, and the possibility of filing a bill with the aid of Grafton’s legislators that could help the town’s bottom line.

It was a letter from resident Francesco Froio that threw him into the Pay-As-You-Throw zone, which is now littered with shredded green bags bearing the town seal. Maybe the bag separates from the drawstrings. Maybe simply putting trash in the bag causes it to rip. Maybe the bag was just made that way,

“Honestly at this point it is disrespectful to the citizens of this town that we are forced to deal with them,” Froio wrote. “I know the town has tried a few different bags over the course of the past year but they have all been terrible. The latest iteration we have bought six packages of the 13 gallon trash bags, and of the five packs at least three of them break every single time. I know that I can contact the company that makes the bags to get a refund but quite honestly I don’t have the time for that and it’s not worth it for me.”

“They’re awful, the trash bags,” Prisby agreed. ““I don’t have a dog in this race. The former administration had a problem with stickers on the bags… I would be willing to do anything except — except — the town dump.”

Town Administrator Evan Brassard said he’s had a lot of discussions about trash bags since taking office. He noted that several of the residents complaining said their previous town’s bags worked better. When he contacted those towns, they all said they used the same vendor as Grafton: Waste Zero.

“There are some definite quality control issues,” Brassard said, adding that he planned to talk with trash contractor E.L. Harvey and Sons about possible solutions.

Talk returned to Prisby as the meeting began to close.

“You make me think,” Select Board Chairman Peter Carlson said, “Your comments are profound. Sometimes they’re loud, but sometimes that’s necessary for us to hear.”

in addition to his three-year term on the Select Board, Prisby has also served on the Planning Board, Finance Committee, and Affordable Housing Trust.

Prisby lit his cigar and praised his colleagues on the Select Board.

“It’s been a lot of fun… community service is important to me,” Prisby said. “It hasn’t always been easy but then, it’s not supposed to be.”

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