NORWICH - Against assumptions that the plot of land is overpriced, the Chenango County Board of Supervisors is moving ahead with a land purchase which will allow continued expansion of the county landfill in the Town of Pharsalia.

Supervisors accepted a resolution this week authorizing a title transfer of 143 acres on County Road 47, adjacent to the Chenango County landfill. Officials plan on using the plot of land to pile dirt which has been excavated from the county landfill as the facility continues to broaden its topographical footprint.

The Pharsalia landfill is currently filling waste in its fourth cell and developing its fifth; but the facility’s engineered to include up to seven cells. The problem is that in order to fully develop the three remaining cells, crews need a convenient place to put dirt and gravel where it won’t interfere with continued expansion.

That’s exactly what they get with the new land purchase, along with a possibility of building even more cells on that land in the future. But the $275,000 bill was a sticking point for some supervisors who, despite noting the obvious benefits of buying up land next door, argued that it’s highway robbery without a current appraisal.