Where should a Baltimore trash-dumping station currently situated on Remington’s Sisson Street move to?

Not to Falls Road, city residents said with a unified voice Monday during a meeting of a task force convened to analyze the move.

Dozens of residents, representing Hampden, Remington, Bolton Hill and Charles Village, were divided, however, when it came to the question of what to do with the Sisson Street waste drop-off station.

Some favored leaving it where it is, calling it an invaluable and convenient resource, while others, regarding it as an eyesore, recommended closing it entirely. Others preferred one of several alternative sites that city officials presented for the task force to consider.

Monday was the second meeting of the task force created after city residents objected to a proposal announced this summer to move the Sisson Street dump, officially called the Northwest Citizens’ Convenience Center, to a new site at 2801 Falls Rd.

A portion of that land, which sits next to the Jones Falls, lies in the 500-year floodplain. While city officials have said they would keep trash on the rear of the site and clear it daily, residents, resoundingly, worry about the potential for pollution.

Daniel Dykes, an employee of Baltimore City Public Schools who works with middle schoolers, told the group he spoke to a number of students before attending Monday’s listening session. Even at their young age, they felt the Falls Road location was a terrible option, he said.

“Don’t put a dump next to a stream for God’s sake,” Dykes said.

Cyclists who ride on Falls Road were also vocal at Monday’s meeting. Many said relocating the waste transfer station would hamper plans to build a more robust greenway along the Jones Falls and endanger the cyclists who already use the road to escape vehicle traffic.

Dick Williams, a Bolton Hill resident, suggested building a park on the proposed Falls Road location. The plot is currently owned by construction company Potts & Callahan, and was to be leased, not sold, to the city.

“Rather than a permanent failure of corporate imagination for all to see and know about Baltimore, Jones Falls Park would be a win,” Williams said.

Baltimore officials outlined five alternative sites that they considered before arriving at the Falls Road location. Each had its own challenges and drawbacks. A closed landfill at East Monument Street and Edison Highway was too far from the current Sisson Street site and likely to be costly. A location near Camp Small, a Baltimore tree-recycling center, would require clearing old-growth trees and would be challenging to enter.

A narrow strip of land at 400 W. North Ave. is convenient, but is supposed to be used as a staging area during construction of the Frederick Douglass Tunnel. Entry to the site, owned by Amtrak, would require crossing light-rail tracks. A site beneath the city’s salt dome along Interstate 83 is considerably smaller than the current Sisson Street site and would require construction of a retaining wall.

A location at North Howard Street and West 25th Street appeared promising but for the MTA buses that currently use the space. The site also commands a hefty price. Owner Seawall Development receives about $450,000 annually in rent from the transit agency, said Deputy Mayor Khalil Zaied.

Seawall, headed by Thibault Manekin, did not participate in Monday’s meeting, but the developer’s presence was felt. The company has publicly expressed interest in the Sisson Street property, leading Baltimore to explore putting it on the market in the first place.

“Baltimore and this city doesn’t owe Seawall shit,” said Hampden resident Jake Tarr.

Panelists on the task force, which includes three members of the Baltimore City Council and representatives from a number of neighborhood groups, largely withheld their comments Monday, allowing their fellow residents to speak. The task force has several more meetings scheduled, including its next session on Nov. 10. A recommendation is due to Mayor Brandon Scott by the end of the year.

Scott said previously that all options are on the table, including maintaining the current site, moving it and closing the station altogether.