Fitchburg conservation board approves 2024 trash rates, hears police station green building pitch

FITCHBURG -- October 9, 2023, Fitchburg's conservation commission approved a $4 solid waste rate increase and heard a sustainability pitch for the new police facility at its October 9 meeting. The Resource Conservation Commission voted unanimously to adopt Resolution R-183-23 setting the 2024 collection rate, with staff projecting the fund balance will draw down to 21.8 percent of the annual budget after absorbing a $33,000 shortfall. Brian Mead of FGM Architects told commissioners a $2.5 million enhancement allowance, on top of base construction costs for the roughly 75,000-square-foot facility, must be allocated before schematic design closes around Thanksgiving, with geothermal heating alone potentially consuming more than half the fund. The board also unanimously approved a brush and yard waste processing contract with Purple Cow Organics, LLC at approximately $22,700 for 2024. On the salt reduction ordinance, city administration signaled it wants several more winters of outreach before any ordinance moves forward, a directive that drew visible frustration from commissioners who said the commission has already spent roughly five years on such outreach.