Town officials this month approved the sale of composted leaf mulch to a local business for a total of $15,300.
The Board of Selectmen during its most recent meeting voted unanimously in favor of selling the material to New Canaan-based Peter Lanni Inc., the only company that put in a bid to acquire the mulch.
Public Works Director Tiger Mann told the selectmen that the town is saving mulch for the municipality’s own use “and for residents for next year.”
“We also need to clear up the site for the fall,” he said during the Oct. 4 meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference, referring to the mulch field west of Lapham Road at Waveny.
First Selectman Kevin Moynihan and Selectmen Kathleen Corbet and Nick Williams voted 3-0 in favor of the sale.
The town is selling about 1,700 cubic yards mulch for $9 per cubic yard, Mann said. To date, New Canaan has sold just over 19,000 cubic yards at an average of $8.95, netting some $176,600 for the town, he said.
Moynihan asked how the $9 price compares to last year and Mann said it’s about the same.
Moynihan responded, “How can that be? Everybody is increasing by 30%. Should we not be charging 30% more?”
Mann said the town is essentially asking Lanni to take the material and that if the price went up to $10 the town would be stuck with it.
The selectmen also asked how big the mulch field is (about five acres) and what are the restrictions on its use (the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection allows it to be used for horticultural purposes).
Corbet noted that people no longer are allowed to take the mulch directly from the field at Waveny. Mann confirmed that, following a policy developed under former First Selectman Rob Mallozzi, residents only are allowed to get the free mulch after it’s been taken to the Transfer Station on Lakeview Avenue.
“We used to allow people to come down and then it was a lot of problems along Lapham Road as far as people coming in and taking more than their fair share,” Mann said.