NORWAY – The Board of Selectmen unanimously voted Thursday night to approve raising fees for demolition wood and a nominal fee for brush dumped at the Frost Hill landfill off Route 117.

The changes are due to higher costs for brush disposal and lower prices for wood chips, Norway-Paris Solid Waste Committee member Vern Maxfield said.

“We’re trying to plan ahead financially,” Maxfield said.

The committee decided in late November to increase fees effective Jan. 10 for demolition wood and brush. However, it failed to get the approval of Paris and Norway selectmen as required.

Maxfield, of Norway, apologized to selectmen Thursday, saying the committee “overlooked” that requirement in the Norway-Paris Solid Waste. Inc., bylaws.

Paris selectmen are expected to take a vote on the fee schedule at its Monday night meeting. A majority vote of both boards is required for the fees to become effective.

Demolition wood will cost 0.04 cents per pound, or from $15 to $90 per truck load. A small pickup truck load is going from $10 to $15; a large pickup from $17 to $20; a large pickup with sideboards from $22 to $25; a one-ton dump truck with up to eight cubic yards capacity to $60; and a dump truck with more than eight-cubic yards capacity to $90.

Previously, dump truck loads were charged by weight. All vehicles have the option of being weighed and paying 0.04 cents per pound or paying the assigned fee.

Brush will be charged per load, ranging from $2 to $5, depending on the size of the vehicle. Previously there was no charge for dumping brush.

The complete fee schedule is available at the Frost Hill site, the transfer station on Brown Street or by calling 743-1049.

While the board supported the increases, some members said they hoped that ways could be found to reduce or eliminate the brush fees.

Maxfield said the committee is investigating the possibility of disposing of some of the wood chips at the Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School’s new wood chip boiler.

“The demo wood rates sound really reasonable but I hope we can work to get back to not charging for brush. It just doesn’t seem to be something we should be charging for,” Selectman Russ Newcomb said.

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