By ANDY GARDNER

MASSENA -- The village Board of Trustees on Tuesday night voted to eliminate curbside spring refuse cleanup. Residents will instead be able to bring their trash to the transfer station for free disposal.

The resolution passed 3-1, with Trustee Albert Deshaies casting the dissenting vote. Trustees Matt Lebire, Timothy Ahlfeld and Francis Carvel voted yes.

Village officials said their rationale for supporting the change is to save money and improve the appearance of the village.

"Right now it costs us roughly $70,000 for cleanup. That's everything, man hours, fuel we use, tip fees," said Hassan Fayad, Department of Public Works superintendent. "I expect there will be a savings in that regard."

The Town of Massena handles their spring cleanup service the same way. This year, town residents outside the village can dispose of their refuse for free at the transfer station on May 10, 11 and 12. Highway Superintendent Frank Diagostino at the town's April meeting said they went from paying $50,000 to $60,000 annually to about $9,000.

Mayor Tim Currier said he feels the change will make the town look better.

"The number one reason I'm in favor of this is the blight it causes, the way it looks," he said.

Three members of the public spoke during a public hearing prior to passing the change and said they think it will bring more headaches than it's worth.

"I noticed the town is thinking about doing a coupon thing ... would that be better than going out and showing two forms of identification? It gets pretty busy out there," said village resident Tom Seguin. He was referring to an idea Diagostino floated at the town's April meeting where he suggested residents present ID at the highway garage prior to going to the dump and receive disposal vouchers.

From a pure number standpoint, we're talking about 4,400 parcels of property. It's probably easier that's done at the transfer station then having them come down to staff. It's a two-step process," Currier said. "The town has significantly less parcels that use the service."

Bruce Serviss, another village resident, said he is concerned the change could spur people to illegally dump their waste around town.

"Aren't you guys afraid of material being dumped alongside the road, back in the woods?" he said.

"I don't know of any unintended consequences from other communities we've talked to," Currier said.

"A couple years of this, we have some major problems, we can change it a little bit to take care of any issues that arise, if there is any," Carvel said. "If we stay with the same old same old, nothing's changing."

Serviss also said it's possible elderly and disabled people might not be able to get their waste to the dump.

"There may be some people that have no means to do that, and we'll work with them," Currier said.

Tom Spinner, a landlord in the village, said he thinks $70,000 is a reasonable price to pay for the service and likes the idea of the village giving out vouchers.

"What's $70,000?" he said. "I like his idea here about the voucher. If you have somebody a few vouchers per year and you don't have stuff pile up."