More MOSA, Again

This is a somewhat ignorant and borderline-hysterical editorial from the Daily Star, suggesting that, as its title pronounces, “post-MOSA planning is long overdue.”

The story of Otsego County and post-MOSA planning is long and complicated.  I'm going to try to sum it up concisely. A couple of years ago, the Board passed a resolution signalling its intent to shape a public/private system to address solid waste. That was quite a while ago.  This resolution makes it clear that conversations and research had been going on a long time previous to the time when this resolution was developed. In fact, that direction was the recommendation of Hans Arnold, our consultant on solid waste. The Board had engaged Mr. Arnold to help us with – all those many years ago - “post-MOSA planning," among other solid waste issues.

If the decision had been to let the private sector take over the solid waste system, then there would have been little need for planning: we'd just let the biggest dog sweep in, put the locals out of business, and enjoy their monopoly. This is an approach that I'm especially unwilling to see come to pass, and apparently the majority of the Board agrees with me (or did, when the resolution is passed).

The demise of MOSA has been long and unnecessarily painful, mostly due to the intransigence of MOSA itself and, to a lesser extent, Schoharie County. And Montgomery County only recently truly came on board for an clean and equitable result. Otsego County – really, Board Chair Cathy Clark and Representatives Linda Rowinski, James Powers and Keith McCarty, with the invaluable assistance of Planning Directors Terry Bliss and Karen Sullivan – has taken the lead from the beginning, working hard to find the path toward a new and better way to handle our trash.

Even so, it was only recently – with the last couple of months – that progress in defining the end of MOSA has been made. Right now, things seem to be falling quickly into place, with all three counties (finally) working together. Before this point, more detailed planning was impossible, because we didn't have any idea of what the post-MOSA environment would look like. For instance, Otsego County did not know if we would end up with the two transfer stations (in Cooperstown and Oneonta), and even if we did, whether we'd retain any of the equipment and machinery associated with those stations.

The New York State Legislature has to pass a law allowing the Authority (which the Legislature created) to be dissolved – and this hasn't been done very often, at least in recent history. Apparently, folks from all over the state are watching our progress, as we invent a new way to deconstruct an Authority which has been established by the Legislature. This job isn't easy.

And post-MOSA planning – meaning long, intense conversations among people who have a history with MOSA and solid waste – continues, as it has for a number of years. We still retain Hans Arnold as our consultant; in fact, in a three-hour meeting yesterday that was mostly about post-MOSA planning, the Solid Waste/Environmental Concerns Committee recommended extending his contract (here's a link to the minutes of all the SW/EC meetings this year). Options are being developed and considered, now that we have a better idea what we'll be working with. We are building this rocket ship as it is taking off, and believe me, we're working hard on the post-landing plan.