Parking A Problem At Gift House

ORLEANS – As the gift house at the Orleans transfer station continues to grow in popularity, parking designated for its operations hasn’t.

 The gift house, along with the neighboring “fun house” and utility shed, welcome visitors to bring by their unused and unwanted items and to take home things they might find there in return. The volunteer-run operation allows access to quality goods for people in the community in need and offers a social outlet for people who enjoy the hunt for great finds. 

 “It has kind of a unique community spirit and vibe that I havn’t really seen in any other place,” Martha Sherrill, the gift house’s volunteer coordinator for the past 17 years, told the select board Oct. 16. “It kind of has a feeling of a sacred zone.”

The gift house also helps lessen the amount of materials entering the solid waste stream, according to Rich Waldo, the town’s public works director. He said ensuring smooth operations at the gift house offers a mutual benefit to both advocates and the public works department.

“It serves a lot of the communities,” he told the select board. “It serves the underprivileged people who aren’t able to get certain furniture. It serves kids that are looking for a puzzle or a bike. But it also defers things out of our wastestream.”

But the eight parking spaces designated for the gift house, which is open Friday through Monday from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m, have grown insufficient as more and more people continue to visit the property. Sherrill said as many as 100 to 200 people can visit the shop on a busy summer day.

“It was a slow, very noticeable uptick once we opened up after the pandemic, 2021” Sherrill said. “In 2022, it was even busier.”

The original gift house, which Sherrill said operated out of a small shed, was removed from the property back when the landfill was capped. Planning for the existing gift house began in 2006, and it opened its doors in 2008.

“For a good 10 years, we never, ever had to meet with anyone,” Sherrill said when reached by phone after the meeting. “We were under the radar, low key. We were very quiet.”

Over time, operations at the new gift house became more formalized. In 2020, a shed that was formerly used to house collections gathered by the Boy Scouts was relocated next door to the gift house and rebranded as the “fun house,” a place to accept children’s toys and games. Most recently, a white shed was brought to the area for additional storage, replacing a large car tent that failed to keep goods dry in periods of stormy weather. 

The lack of parking has led to issues including queued cars that occasionally interfere with other transfer station operations. Sherrill said there have also been near-accidents involving pedestrians and verbal spats due to the lack of parking. It’s also led to people parking their vehicles in unauthorized areas, she said.

“I would love to see just 20 spaces,” she said.

Advocates for the gift house have brought their concerns to town officials in recent weeks, including to the select board and the public works department. Susan Bushart told the select board last week that a recent meeting with Waldo and Deputy DPW Director Calvin Sutton failed to reach a solution for the parking dilemma.

“The upside is it was the first step in a process that if continued can result in positive changes,” she said.

Bushart suggested that an area dedicated to woodchips and compost abutting the gift house could be moved to the former site of the Boy Scouts collection building. The move could open up the space needed for more parking, she said.

“Both programs could continue and thrive,” she said, “It’s an option I believe is worthy of continued conversation and consideration.”

But Waldo said the town is limited in what it can accommodate for parking based on an agreement with the state Department of Environmental Protection that governs its use. He said 15 acres of the 19.7 acre property is capped landfill space, the use of which is heavily restricted. Meanwhile, only 7,000 square feet is designated for gift house operations under the DEP agreement, he said.

Any new parking for the gift house would need to be designed in such a way as not to interfere with DPW activity behind the building, Waldo said. Heavy equipment that operates in the area could pose a danger to volunteers and shoppers, he said. Recently, he noted, approximately 10 tons of recyclable material spilled in the area when a trailer cable broke.

Andrea Reed of the select board asked if it might be possible to relocate the gift house, fun house and shed up the hill slightly to the public works headquarters. But Waldo said the property serves as a fueling depot for public works, police and fire vehicles, and is also used to train drivers for their CDL licenses.

“We hate to say no, but the fact is it’s a no,” he said. “We can’t go into that area. It’s just not a viable solution.”

Waldo said that it’s possible to modify the town’s agreement with DEP, but he cautioned that the process for doing so is difficult. Others offered simpler solutions. Orleans resident Jeff Webb, an engineer by trade, said more spots could be gained by re-striping the existing lot at what he called “a very minor amount of expense.”

Reed called for a solution that balances the interests of both the public works department and gift house proponents.

“You have an essential safety function for our community that has to be respected,” she said. “And at the same time we have this beloved other function that we should find room for somewhere in town.”

Others at last week’s meeting asked why the gift house, which typically runs year-round, will be closed January, February and March. Sherrill said the DPW requested the closure to allow more time to figure out a solution to the parking issue. 

“But what I’m really hoping is if we’re going to close and we’ll be able to open in the spring, we’ll have a solution,” she said.

While a fix has yet to reveal itself, Waldo told the select board that his department will continue to work with residents and gift house volunteers.

“Instead of pitting against each other, I think we should work together to find those solutions,” he said. “And I can tell you right now, Calvin and I are committed to doing that.”

Amy Lake, a resident of Beach Road, advocated for the select board to create a subcommittee to look into options for creating more parking at the gift house. But select board chair Mark Mathison said he favored letting proponents continue to work toward a solution with the DPW.

“I’m not sure having the select board get in the middle of it is going to add to the process,” he said.