SAUGUS — The future of the Host Community Agreement reached by the town and WIN Waste Innovations remains unclear, as the document, hammered out over the course of negotiations dating back to 2021, has languished on Town Manager Scott Crabtree’s desk.
The fate of the agreement, which provides the town financial and environmental benefits if WIN is able to obtain the necessary permits to expand its ash landfill, was discussed briefly at a meeting of the WIN Subcommittee Monday evening, when members convened for all of five minutes to approve minutes for four previous meetings — dating as far back as November 2021. At the meeting, Board of Selectmen Chair Anthony Cogliano said the subcommittee would not be dissolving despite the fact that the agreement is seemingly complete.
The Host Community Agreement was finalized by the Board of Selectmen in April after the subcommittee approved the document in August 2022. But, what followed final approval by the selectmen remains uncertain, with Cogliano pointing to a delay in Town Manager Scott Crabtree signing the agreement.
It is unclear exactly why the agreement landed on Crabtree’s desk. Under the town’s charter, Crabtree is empowered to “award all contracts for all departments of the town.” However, the Host Community Agreement does not appear to be a contract to be awarded on behalf of a department. And, the charter designates the selectmen as the “chief policymakers of the town.”
Crabtree did not return multiple requests for comment on the delay. During his tenure he has moved very deliberately on major policy issues before the town, as evidenced by the way he approached the recommendation of permits for recreational marijuana dispensaries in town.
Selectman Corinne Riley, a member of the subcommittee, said that after the board voted to approve the agreement, Crabtree was asked to meet with the company and have the agreement reviewed by counsel. Riley said she feared the work of the subcommittee and the selectmen to finalize the agreement could be all for naught if the company is granted an expansion by the state Department of Environmental Protection before Crabtree signs off on the agreement.
“It is very frustrating, we were on that committee for over two years,” Riley said of the delay.
Riley said she intends to seek additional information from Crabtree about the status of the agreement when the selectmen meet for the town manager’s quarterly report next month.
“There’s just so many things that seem to hurry up and wait,” she added.
In a statement, the company said it looks forward to the HCA moving forward.
“We continue to look forward to the HCA as approved by the Board of Selectmen being finalized and taking the next steps to move this project forward, with the ultimate goal of providing an aligned future with the town and adding significant economic and environmental benefits to Saugus,” WIN Senior Director of Communications and Community Mary Urban said.
The final terms approved by the board stipulate that should the company receive the permits, the town would receive an initial $1 million payment and free tipping for the 20-year life of the agreement if the company spends less than $20 million during the permitting process. If the company spends more than $20 million, the town would still receive the initial $1 million payment, but in lieu of free tipping would receive a payment of $3.50 per ton of trash disposed escalating by consumer price index over the life of the agreement.
During a presentation to selectmen, former WIN Waste Vice President Environmental Jim Connolly laid out the financial implications of either pathway, estimating the total payout by year 20 for the scenario in which less than $20 million is spent at $34.1 million. In the second scenario, the town would receive between $23.1 and $27.4 million, he said.
The agreement would also see the company voluntarily lower emissions below currently permitted levels, with NOx emissions limited to 175 parts per million by volume, and levels of cadmium, lead, particulate, and dioxin all also lowered.
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection officials have said expansion of the landfill is impossible barring a change in state law given the facility’s location in a state-designated Area of Critical Environmental Concern, Rumney Marsh. But, officials have also been clear that WIN has not submitted a proposal for review.
