Waste District officials hope they've finally found a qualified applicant for coordinator.

ADAMS, Mass. — Time's running out to find a new coordinator for the Northern Berkshire Solid Waste Management District and officials hope they've finally found a qualified applicant who can take over.

Windsor representative Douglass McNally brought in three new applications Thursday for the program director position soon to be vacated by longtime Program Coordinator Sandy Totter.

But, he said, only one person out of the three is qualified and he recommended getting her in for an interview.

"I think we have one in the latest that is worth interviewing," he said. "She has a great skill base and I think it would be worth interviewing her ... she has the soft skills and management skills needed to get up and go."

The post has garnered few applicants and none the committee felt were qualified. They reposted the position and have considered bringing in an interim director until they had time for a more thorough search. Totter gave them a year to find her replacement.

The solid waste district is based in Adams and comprises 12 towns mostly in the northern tier. It was established in 1988 to allow the smaller towns to pool resources for waste disposal and recycling. Totter has been coordinator since 1997.

McNally said the other two applicants he brought in had no real environmental or managerial experience.

Williamstown representative Timothy Kaiser said an applicant with managerial experience can learn the job quickly even if he or she does not have the specific environmental background.

"To find someone with experience in this line of work is hard, and how many of us knew what we were doing when we started?" he said. "Even Sandy came in cold."

Chairman Joseph Szczepaniak noted it will be hard to replace Totter.

"We are talking about a hard slot here to fill, and Sandy is Northern Berkshire Solid Waste," Szczepaniak said. "You aren't just going to come off the street and fill Sandy's shoes."

Adams representative Edward Driscoll said he contacted Pittsfield about possible collaboration between the district and the waste-burning facility Covanta, which the city is investing in to keep it operating.

He said Mayor Linda Tyer was open to exploring any opportunities for regionalization.

"Overall, they are interested in talking about any kind of regionalization," he said. "I am not so sure having one solid waste district is a good thing or a bad thing but certainly the only way we can save money and make this economical is by having larger volumes."

In other business, Hinsdale and Windsor received state equipment grants. Hinsdale received $6,000 to build a swap shop and Windsor received $3,000 for a mercury shed.

"That should be plenty of money to do those two projects," Totter said.

The district also voted to use state grants to purchase a 30-yard roll-off for bottles, cans and plastic storage for $7,090.
 

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