For the time being, the Chamber of Commerce is going to have to dispose of its own trash.

At the end of Monday night's village board meeting, trustees discussed a letter from chamber executive director Polly Renckens inquiring why the village crew had stopped picking up the trash at the chamber office on Chestnut Street.

"This is very disappointing to us as we have made every effort to be a valuable partner to the village and feel we have requested very little in return," she wrote.

Renckens went on to enumerate the many things the chamber and its membership have done in the community.

"We're the good guys! So please give a little back," she wrote in conclusion.

The issue of the village picking up the trash at the chamber office surfaced in the streets committee meeting in June, according to chairman Stuart Taugher.

He explained that a resident approached him about it after witnessing a trash pick up by the village.

Taugher said the man was "quite irate" and wondered if the village planned to pick up his trash too.

No action was taken by the committee, Taugher said, adding that they planned to look into the matter.

During the meeting, DPW Coordinator Brian Clancy said he did not tell the crew to stop the pick ups.

Both he and Taugher said they believed there must have been confusion about it on the part of someone on the village crew who attended the meeting.

Trustee Milo Stewart, who also serves on the streets committee, said no action was taken and that there was to be a discussion with the chamber before the issue came to the full board of trustees.

The decision was not made in committee, Taugher said.

"This is the first I've heard of it," said mayor Carol Waller, commenting that "the chamber does a lot for us."

Waller told the board, "we can't have people changing policy."

"I didn't even know the village was picking up the garbage," Taugher said. "Wendell put an end to it and then it started again."

Former mayor Wendell Tripp confirmed Tuesday morning that while in office he had stopped the practice of picking up the chamber of commerce's trash because "the New York State Constitution, Article 8, forbids it."

Government can not use taxpayer money to provide services to private institutions, he said.

"It's nothing against the chamber, it's the legality of it," he said. "The irate citizen was quite right. If the village can pick it up for one they should pick it up for others."

According to Clancy, the village began picking up the chamber's trash after Waller became mayor.

Stewart worried during the meeting that it would be illegal to make the pick up, but Waller said the village picks up trash at the trolley lots which it doesn't own. She said she assumes that most of the trash at the chamber is generated by people using the bathrooms which are open to the public.

Village clerk Laura Lee said that according to the New York Conference of Mayors, it is legal for the village to pick up trash from not-for-profits if they provide a service of community-wide benefit.

As Waller began to poll trustees on their opinion, Stewart reiterated his concern and said that the Baseball Hall of Fame is a not-for-profit, but he wouldn't want them to ask to have their trash removed by the village.

The board did not make a decision about the garbage pick up, but will consult with village attorney John Lambert.