Council Approves Dump Fee Increase 6-0

Town Council · Meeting of July 14, 2026

East Hampton Town Council voted 6-0 to raise Transfer Station fees and lock in EV charger locations. The sticker fee doubles from $10 to $20 and most bulky-waste fees rise about 50 percent, projected to generate roughly $29,245 to offset a $24,700 Board of Finance cut. Karen Wanat pushed to delay the vote until after the budget referendum, saying "I don't think that this is something we should vote on tonight," while Richard Knotek said he wanted to "keep that station open as many days as we have it right now." The council also approved Voltpost EV charger locations at Town Hall and the Village Center, replacing a town-funded free charger that cost about $5,000 a year in electricity, and adopted a $235,600 water system budget with no rate increase.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 2,243 words

Source: the Town Council meeting of July 14, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.

The Full Article

Adoption of Agenda and Minutes

The council opened routinely, adopting its July 14 agenda and approving the June 23 meeting minutes without discussion, both by voice vote recorded 6-0 in the minutes. Member Ted Hintz, Jr. was absent; Chairman Dean Markham, Vice Chairman Jack Solomon, and members Tim Feegel, Richard Knotek, Joelyn Leon and Karen Wanat were present, along with Town Manager David Cox.

Public Remarks

Three residents spoke. Dale Herrick, of 74 Royal Oaks Avenue, announced he is forming an East Hampton Residents Advocacy Group, describing it as nonpartisan and intended to study the Board of Finance and Board of Education budgets for possible cost savings and new revenue streams, with findings to be reported back to the council. Russ Kaplan, of 127 Comstock Trail and chairman of the town's Clean Energy Task Force, spoke in support of the Voltpost EV charging item later on the agenda, telling the council the town secured a competitive pilot slot through the Public Utility Regulatory Authority that few towns obtained and urging approval "tonight" rather than risking the opportunity through delay. Leonard Johnson, of 21 Long Crossing Road, asked that the education budget be presented with the same level of line-item detail as the town's general government budget, saying residents are not seeking "names and addresses," just clarity on what is being spent and why.

Sub-Committee Reports: America250 Committee

Vice Chairman Jack Solomon, reporting for the America250 Committee, said the group's float commemorating East Hampton history appeared in the Old Home Days parade and will also appear in a countywide Labor Day parade in Middletown. He noted a reading of the Declaration of Independence took place July 8 at the Old Home Days grounds, performed in period dress, with roughly 100 people in attendance. He said the committee's next events include an August 8 picnic at Sears Park ahead of the Light Up the Lake boat parade, and an October presentation on the Wangunk tribe's history featuring a film, to be presented by East Hampton resident Gary O'Neil. This was a brief informational update with no vote attached.

Voltpost Final Location Agreement

Background and stakes: The council authorized the town manager in September 2025 to pursue EV charging expansion through a Voltpost pilot program operated under a Public Utility Regulatory Authority grant, aiming to add charging capacity without town fiscal or maintenance responsibility. The agenda memo from Town Manager Cox, dated July 9, explained that a planned Library/Senior Center location proved infeasible due to conduit and power limitations, requiring the council to approve revised final locations.

The question before the body: Whether to formally approve the amended final locations for Voltpost charging installations at Town Hall and the Main Street/Village Center parking lot.

Substantive content: Cox told the council the Town Hall installation will move across the drive aisle to occupy two underused handicap-accessible spaces on the building's east end, near the Community Room and Council Chambers; those handicap spaces will relocate to the front of the building, where Cox said they will see more actual use. The more significant change, per Cox, is at the Village Center lot on Main Street, where the town currently operates a free, town-funded charger adjacent to the Airline Trail at an annual electricity cost of about $5,000. That unit will be removed and replaced with a Voltpost-operated paid-charging system, for which the town must purchase a new streetlight pole, since none exists at that location today. Cox estimated the pole's cost between $1,500 and $3,500, noting the town already reduced the relevant budget line in anticipation of the swap. Up to four Voltpost units are contemplated across the two sites. Kaplan, addressing the council before the vote, said the project will also provide the town a second charger at Town Hall at no additional cost, calling the volunteers and "invisible" town and state employees who supported the project's development over the past year.

The deliberation: A member asked Cox to confirm that the roughly $5,000 annual electricity cost at the Main Street location would be eliminated once Voltpost's paid system takes over, and how that savings was reflected in the budget. Cox confirmed the elimination and said the budget had already been adjusted downward in anticipation of council approval.

Procedural steps and outcome: A motion was made by Vice Chairman Solomon, seconded by Joelyn Leon, to approve the Voltpost locations and the associated light pole purchase as presented in the agenda report. The motion carried 6-0.

Implications and what is next: The Main Street charger shifts from a town-subsidized free amenity to a user-paid service, a recurring savings the Clean Energy Task Force said was not part of its original 2025 proposal. Installation timing was not specified at the meeting.

Transfer Station Fees

Background and stakes: As part of its reductions to the fiscal year 2027 town budget, the Board of Finance cut $24,700 from Transfer Station operations, a reduction expected to cut the station's open days from four to two per month. The Board of Finance indicated it would consider an additional appropriation to restore the lost days if the council raised user fees to offset the deficit.

The question before the body: Whether to adopt the fee schedule proposed by Public Works Director Matt Walsh, designed to generate new revenue sufficient to cover the budget cut and potentially restore lost operating days.

Substantive content: Walsh's July 8 memo to Cox proposed a 50 percent increase on most bulky-waste disposal fees and a $10 increase (to $20) in the annual access sticker, projecting about $29,245 in new annual revenue — $7,550 from sticker sales and $21,695 from bulky-waste fees. The memo included a three-year revenue history showing bulky-waste revenue of $130,769 in fiscal 2026, and noted brush disposal, already cut to once annually, would retain unchanged commercial and non-resident rates. Cox told the council the station currently loses roughly $200,000 a year overall and that bulky material, charged at close to $190 per ton equivalent when disposed off-site, is the station's costliest category, though staff cannot weigh loads on-site and must estimate charges by load size.

The deliberation: Richard Knotek asked whether the brush fee changes eliminated the non-resident brush charge; Cox clarified the non-resident brush rate, implemented last fiscal year, would remain unchanged. Karen Wanat said she was glad the council was looking at ways to restore weekly access but said she was "very dismayed" the original budget cut access to just two days a month. Tim Feegel said he was "a bit hesitant on the uh large increase in the bulky waste," arguing a couch fee rising from $40 to $60, or a sleeper sofa from $50 to $75, risked pushing residents toward illegal dumping; he proposed scaling the increase back to roughly 30 to 35 percent rather than 50 percent, acknowledging that would net closer to $24,000 than $29,000.

Wanat then proposed waiting: "Mr. Chair, if I may, I don't think that this is something we should vote on tonight," she said, arguing the council should first see the outcome of the pending budget referendum before deciding whether fee increases should substitute for reduced days, and suggesting the town explore outsourcing transfer station operations to a private hauler that already provides similar services locally. Knotek disagreed with delaying action, saying, "I want to keep that station open as many days as we have it right now," and argued the council could revisit a new operating plan in six months or a year without shutting down days immediately. Another member said raising the rates was "the right thing to do" regardless of how many days the station ultimately stays open, separating the fee question from the days question. Cox offered a middle path, suggesting staff could examine keeping the station open more days in summer, when brush and bulky loads are heavier, and fewer days in winter, to stretch the existing budget while the council considers alternatives regardless of the fee vote's outcome.

Procedural steps and outcome: A motion was made by Vice Chairman Solomon, seconded by Joelyn Leon, to approve the Transfer Station fees as presented, without the amendment Feegel had floated. The motion carried 6-0.

Implications and what is next: The sticker fee doubles and most bulky-waste fees rise about 50 percent effective under the approved schedule. Whether the additional revenue restores the station's cut days depends on a future additional appropriation from the Board of Finance, which several members indicated would follow once the pending budget referendum is resolved. Cox and members said staff will continue to examine alternative service models, including possible private contracting, independent of the fee vote.

Public Water System Operating Budget

Background and stakes: The council, which retains final budget and rate-setting authority over the town's water systems even though the Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) initially reviews and recommends the budget, was asked to give final approval to the fiscal year 2027 water system budget covering the Village Center and Royal Oaks systems.

The question before the body: Whether to approve the WPCA-recommended $235,600 water system operating budget with no change in customer rates.

Substantive content: Cox said the WPCA approved the budget the prior week. The proposed $235,600 total represents a $2,964, or 1.27 percent, increase over the current year's $232,636 budget. Because the budget includes no rate increase, Cox said no public hearing on rates was required.

Procedural steps and outcome: A motion was made by Richard Knotek, seconded by Joelyn Leon, to approve the water budget as presented. The motion carried 6-0.

Implications and what is next: Water customers in the Village Center and Royal Oaks systems see no rate change for the coming fiscal year under the approved budget.

Town Manager's Report, Appointments, Tax Refunds

Cox highlighted three items from his written report: tax bills based on the temporary mill rate of 27.79 are due by August 3 without penalty; residents in Middle Haddam and Cobalt who use post office boxes were urged to ensure the state DMV has both their street address and PO box on file, after the town began receiving returned tax mail; and Route 151 in Middle Haddam will be milled and repaved over the following several weeks, starting with milling from the Salmon River northward, with paving beginning in early August. Karen Wanat separately thanked the Lions Club for donating a storage building, now in place near the high school's north field, for Belltown Drama and the Youth and Prevention Coalition (referenced in the meeting as "Yipka") to store theater materials and costumes. No appointments were made. The council approved two tax refunds totaling $2,420 on a motion by Tim Feegel, seconded by Karen Wanat, 6-0. The meeting adjourned at 7:10 p.m. on a motion by Wanat, seconded by Solomon, 6-0.

Dean Markham, Chairman, presided over the meeting. Jack Solomon, Vice Chairman, present; made or seconded several motions including Voltpost and adjournment. Tim Feegel, Member, present; raised concerns about bulky-waste fee size. Richard Knotek, Member, present; moved the water budget approval and argued against delaying the fee vote. Joelyn Leon, Member, present; seconded multiple motions. Karen Wanat, Member, present; proposed delaying the fee vote pending budget referendum results. Ted Hintz, Jr., Member, absent. David Cox, Town Manager, presented the Voltpost, Transfer Station fee, and water budget items and delivered the Town Manager's report. Matt Walsh, Director of Public Works, authored the Transfer Station fee memo referenced in the discussion (not confirmed present in person in the transcript, but his proposal was the subject of discussion). Cathy Sirois, Executive Assistant to the Town Council, recorded the minutes. Dale Herrick, 74 Royal Oaks Avenue, public comment, announcing a new residents' advocacy group. Russ Kaplan, 127 Comstock Trail, public comment, identified as chairman of the Clean Energy Task Force, spoke in favor of the Voltpost item. Leonard Johnson, 21 Long Crossing Road, public comment, asked for education budget transparency.

Board of Finance — cut $24,700 from the Transfer Station budget and indicated willingness to approve an additional appropriation if fees were raised; also set the FY27 general budget now headed to referendum. Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) — reviewed and recommended the $235,600 water system budget prior to council's final approval. Clean Energy Task Force — town volunteer body, represented by Chairman Russ Kaplan, that developed the Voltpost EV charging proposal over roughly the past year. Voltpost — private vendor selected through a Public Utility Regulatory Authority (PURA) pilot program to install and operate paid EV charging stations at Town Hall and the Village Center lot. Public Utility Regulatory Authority (PURA) — state agency whose pilot grant program is funding the EV charging expansion discussed under the Voltpost item. America250 Committee — reported by Vice Chairman Solomon on parade participation, a Declaration of Independence reading, and an upcoming Wangunk tribal history presentation. Lions Club — donated a storage building near the high school for Belltown Drama and youth program materials, noted by Karen Wanat. Town Manager's memo dated July 9, 2026 — cited for Voltpost location rationale and cost estimates. Public Works Director Matt Walsh memo dated July 8, 2026 — the source of the proposed Transfer Station fee schedule and revenue projections discussed by the council. FY 2026-2027 Town General Government and Board of Education budgets — referenced by public commenters Dale Herrick and Leonard Johnson as the subject of ongoing budget scrutiny ahead of a referendum.