CANDIA – After years of research, debate, conflict and a brief fistfight at Town Hall, Candia has decided to put the closure of the town’s incinerator site on hold until next spring.

The decision came after a fight erupted between two former officials at Town Hall Monday, Sept. 10, as selectmen were about to vote to approve a $129,300 contract to close the town’s incinerator site. Former selectman Rick Lazotte and former Solid Waste Committee member Roger Stenbak exchanged a few angry words just as Selectman Richard Snow finished making a motion to accept EnviroVantage’s bid for the project.

Lazotte turned to Stenbak, who was sitting toward the back of the packed meeting room, and suggested that they go outside. Stenbak agreed and was getting up to push through a row of people, but the two men never made it to the parking lot.

Instead of moving toward the door, Lazotte went toward Stenbak and punched him in the face, just below the eye. After a brief tangle, the two men were separated and escorted to the other side of the building, which is the town police station.

Stenbak was bleeding from a cut beneath his eye and could be seen applying an ice pack to his face. He was taken by ambulance to a Manchester hospital.

Selectmen voted to hold off on doing any work until voters approve the funding for the entire $129,300 for the project, rather than use some of the existing fund of $35,000 to start the job by removing the buildings at the site.

“Nothing will happen until next March,” said Snow, who said the board accepted a bid contingent upon voters approving the additional $100,000 in spending for the work. The selectmen will now hammer out the details on the contract with the Epping-based company, EnviroVantage.

Selectman Amanda Soares, who, along with Selectman Fred Kelly, opposed accepting the bid, said the additional spending will add approximately $50 to the average tax bill for property valued at $200,000.

Soares, who has long argued that the site could be closed and capped for less money, stressed that any hike in taxes is a burden for people struggling in the down economy and those on fixed incomes.

“I feel that this is fiscally irresponsible,” said Soares. “But there’s nothing more I can do.”
Some in town have already suggested that voters may not approve the additional money needed to hire EnviroVantage.

However, Rudolph Cartier, who helped selectmen sort through options about what to do at the site, said something has to happen, or the state Department of Environmental Services may decide to step in.
“If we don’t close it, it could go to enforcement,” said Cartier. “We can’t just drag it on.”

Although there has been some mention of grant money to help the town pay the bill, the state funding that was previously available to help communities close and cap landfills and incinerator sites has been tapped out. DES has been paying off old commitments to towns that were awarded grant money, but new applications may have to wait years before any more funding becomes available.

As for the fight, Soares said apologies were being made. The Candia Police Department confirmed that investigation was still continuing as of Wednesday, Sept. 12, but no arrests had been made in relation to the incident.

“In some sense, it was isolated incident between two individuals,” said Snow, who added that Lazotte and Stenbak have been on opposite ends of the spectrum on this issue.

“It’s symptomatic of the trauma being suffered by a significant portion of the population,” he said, adding that the uncertain economy is taking a toll and generating frustration and fear for many.