The Incorporated Village of Westbury will hold an informational public meeting Monday, Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. in the middle school auditorium to discuss the proposal for a transfer station. In regard to the hearing, the village sent the following notice to village residents:

Without identification, some in our community sent misleading and false claims regarding a transfer station proposal in the Village of Westbury. Let us set the record straight.

In anticipation of a projected waste disposal crisis expected to occur in 2009, the village has been reviewing options for providing long-term, cost-effective waste disposal solutions for the garbage that is generated in the Village of Westbury. The board of trustees has not yet determined a course of action except that the village has determined that it cannot construct its own transfer station and that it must continue reviewing all other options. For a careful, sensible and rational decision, we need to examine and weigh all available information, both positive and negative, before deciding what may be the best solution. We urge the community to be part of this review so that we can all prepare for this potential problem that could affect future tax rates, the cost of living and our quality of life.

Since municipalities are no longer able to use landfills on Long Island, our choices are limited as to how and where garbage and debris can be disposed of. The price of disposal has risen considerably over the past decade, and our neighbors pay more than we do. Additional increases seem almost certain, and more importantly, options for disposal are expected to be far fewer in the near future, driving disposal costs up even more. Many other communities like Garden City, Rockville Centre and Freeport are now examining these issues as we are. The village board is attempting to be pro-active and to use forethought to protecting the interests of our residents and taxpayers.

Before the village can decide what it can or should do, if anything, it must balance, evaluate and compare options. We should do that together, as a community.

The option receiving the most attention at this time is a proposal from Omni Recycling to convert its existing, unregulated garbage truck storage and maintenance facility on School Street to a regulated solid waste management facility (or private transfer station).

This proposal is complex and has many potentially positive aspects for the village but also carries with it a number of potentially negatives impacts as well. The village board has not decided that this proposal has merit, not has it decided that it should be moved forward. The board is merely fulfilling its fiduciary obligations to its residents to explore all possible alternatives.

In addition, the village has the legal obligation to review this proposal, like all others, to determine the possible benefits and detriments of the proposal as well as seeing if, on balance, such a proposal would be an overall benefit or detriment to the village and the interests of residents and taxpayers. We cannot do this without doing a diligent and thorough exploration of all issues surrounding the proposal. The village's exercise of its due diligence does not mean that it has pre-judged or already decided to move forward. This is just one step of a process that the village has been undertaking in exploring all viable solid waste options.