PORTSMOUTH — It isn’t over yet.

In May 2024, the Town Council voted unanimously to award a contract to MTG Disposal, LLC (Mega) to be the exclusive curbside collector for a new town-wide program expected to begin July 1.

Eight months later, it’s still not clear whether Mega will be emptying residents’ trash and recycling bins into their trucks under a municipal program.

At the council’s Jan. 13 meeting, an attempt to squash a controversial curbside collection ordinance that had been approved by the previous council narrowly failed in a 3-4 vote following a public hearing. The vote reaffirmed the decision for Mega to be the only curbside collector for the town. 

Some residents and council members argue citizens should have the right to select their own curbside collectors. Others believe an exclusive hauler is the only viable option to attract sufficient residents to sign up, thereby ensuring the affordability of the sticker fee. 

The council on Jan. 13 set the annual sticker fee for curbside collection at $460, which is based on a projected 4,000 households signing up for the program. The curbside program would be run under an enterprise fund similar to the Hedly Street transfer staton. (The transfer station, which is currently used by about 2,100 households, is another option residents have for trash disposal.) 

Council Vice President David Gleason was among the four members who voted to affirm the single-hauler ordinance on Jan. 13, saying it appeared the town had a binding contract with Mega. Rescinding the ordinance, several members said, could put the town in legal peril and possibly cost taxpayers millions.

However, Gleason brought the matter back again to the council on Monday “for reconsideration for the possibility of changing my vote.” 

It was yet another go-round for the ordinance: Gleason voted for it in November 2024, saying he did so in order to bring it back for discussion at a later date if he desired. The following month, he and four other members voted to schedule the Jan. 13 public hearing to consider rescinding the ordinance in its entirety.

On Monday, Gleason said the process was done backwards. “This ordinance should have been passed prior to any bid process” with the contract dependent on the ordinance, said Gleason.

He also charged that other people outside of the council — Gleason referred to “the man behind the curtain” — made decisions that bypassed the council. 

Big gap

He also questioned why six months passed between the time the contract was awarded and the ordinance came up for a vote. If the ordinance had been approved in June or July, Gleason said his guess was Democrats who controlled the council at the time would have received fewer votes in the November election.

Linda Ujifusa, a former council member and now a state senator, took some of Gleason’s comments as an attack on Town Administrator Richard Rainer, Jr. “Frankly, what I’m hearing is practically slanderous toward our town administrator,” Ujifusa said. “If people up here are implying he hid things as the man behind the curtain … I will not let that stand.”

While she didn’t mention Gleason’s name, Ujifusa also charged that certain council members may have kept themselves “ignorant” and were breaching their fiduciary responsibilities. 

Gleason replied he wasn’t targeting Rainer. “In my opinion, people knew more than others. I have all the respect for Mr. Rainer,” he said.

Karen Gleason, the council member’s wife, then took to the microphone to blast Ujifusa. “You really insulted my husband,” she said, pointing to the senator. “He’s not ignorant.”

‘Quick U-turn’

Leonard Katzman, who served on the previous council, pointed out that the Jan. 13 hearing was duly advertised and reported on by The Portsmouth Times. Now two weeks later, with no advertising and no additional hearing, “just a quick U-turn by the transparency council.” Katzman was referring to the members opposed to the ordinance, all of whom ran in November as “transparency candidates.”

Mega has, Katzman said, “suffered damages and they will seek every dollar they can, and you intentionally breached it.” Voting down the ordinance would damage the town financially and reputationally, he added.

Council President Keith Hamilton said rescinding the ordinance would be a “reckless decision by the council that could open us up to litigation.”

Executive session Monday

Hamilton suggested tabling the matter and scheduling an executive session on Monday, Feb. 3, so the council and lawyers from both sides can hash things out. Then, he said, the council will return to public session to vote. The council voted 6-1 to table the matter and to hold the executive session at 7 p.m. at Town Hall.

Council member Juan Carlos Payero voted against the motion, saying it wasn’t right to be “kicking the can down the road” once more.

“How many times are we gonna do this? This is the definition of insanity. When are we going to feel comfortable about this?” he asked.

Public Works Director Brian Woodhead agreed, reminding the council the town still must order bins for the curbside program. “The further we put this down the road, the less time people will have to sign up — if this passes,” he said.