[0:39] This is the Tuesday, July 28th meeting

[0:41] of the Berry Town Select Board.

[0:43] I'll call this meeting to order if

[0:46] you'd all join me in the pledge.

[0:51] Pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States,

[0:54] United States of America,

[0:56] Which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible,

[1:00] with liberty and justice for all.

[1:08] Have an agenda before us. Any changes to the agenda?

[1:18] Do you have any changes, Chris?

[1:21] I don't have any changes. Can you all hear me? Okay. I

[1:24] Wanna take that.

[1:25] I don't expect any guidance

[1:27] to be coming forward except what's in the existing

[1:31] document up to each.

[1:33] You mute yourself. So if it were me,

[1:38] I wouldn't have just score board numbers on it.

[1:41] That's David. I am going to mute him. I just mute.

[1:46] Muted. Okay.

[1:48] Right. No changes from the future. Entertain a motion.

[1:52] Motion to approve the agenda as presented.

[1:55] Second right. Motion is second. Those in favor?

[2:01] Aye. And we have an agenda.

[2:06] Consider approving the July 14th, 2026

[2:10] meeting minutes. Motion

[2:12] To apply to approve the July 14th meeting minutes

[2:15] as presented by the clerk with

[2:16] minor grammatical and spelling changes.

[2:19] Okay, I, I do have,

[2:23] should have talked with Tina about that.

[2:25] I do have some changes, but I'll have

[2:27] to explain to you what I'm after.

[2:29] Okay, that's fine. I'll give 'em to you after. All right.

[2:32] Motion in a second. All those in favor?

[2:37] Aye. Aye. Announcements.

[2:40] Who would like to take announcement? The announcement.

[2:43] I got 'em up

[2:46] By now.

[2:47] You should have received, or will soon receive your property

[2:49] tax bill in the mail.

[2:50] The first of four installments is due on or

[2:53] before August 17th.

[2:54] Sewer bills went in the mail on July 23rd.

[2:57] So you should have those shortly if you don't already.

[3:00] The first of two installments is due September 15th.

[3:03] An important reminder, postmark payments are no longer

[3:07] accepted as timely.

[3:08] All payments must be received by 4:30 PM on their due date.

[3:11] Or they will be considered late.

[3:13] Payments placed in the Dropbox

[3:15] after 4:30 PM on the due date will also be late.

[3:19] If you have any questions, please do not hesitate

[3:22] to contact the clerk's office at 8 0 2 4 7 9 9 3 9 1.

[3:28] Thank you Bob. And re is anybody here

[3:32] for something that is not on the agenda?

[3:37] Would be, sorry, I don't,

[3:40] I don't know who you are.

[3:43] I'm John Dennis, You're here

[3:47] for something that's on the agenda.

[3:49] I'm just here to observe and see if I

[3:51] wanna become part of all this.

[3:53] Talking to Katie and all that.

[3:55] Absolutely. Welcome all that. Enjoy. Cool.

[4:01] It's gotta be something drawn on you guys here, right?

[4:05] I don't know, individually Or collectively

[4:08] Of Community way,

[4:11] If we're allowed to discuss that

[4:14] Love of our community, that's what brings us here.

[4:16] That's a good answer right there.

[4:17] Responsive stewardship of it. Good moving forward.

[4:20] That's really what we collectively, I think are trying

[4:23] to guide the ship on a Sure. Staying path.

[4:27] Staying as it can be. Yes. All right, well, welcome.

[4:31] Welcome. So,

[4:36] Michael Miller never responds, so we're gonna move on

[4:41] and we have recognition of some EMS employees.

[4:47] A few weeks ago, David organized an awards night

[4:50] to celebrate tenure milestones

[4:51] and some special recognitions of the board.

[4:55] Thought it would be a great idea

[4:56] to acknowledge these achievements as well.

[4:59] And David has provided us information about each recipient.

[5:04] I spoke with him and he, these folks

[5:06] of these EMS folks have already either heard this or,

[5:09] and or received it.

[5:12] Some combination. So we're gonna have David give us the

[5:16] abbreviated version so that it's read into the record.

[5:21] Basically we have, I'll make sure

[5:24] that we introduce them first.

[5:25] We have Jackie Bombardi, WEMS, child Champion

[5:30] of the Year, Devin Ksky Lifesaver Award.

[5:34] Christina, did I pronounce that?

[5:38] Not here. Lifesaver Award.

[5:42] Tina Lapper, again, valedictorian of her paramedic class.

[5:47] Devin Ksky, 10 years of service with Berry Town EMS

[5:51] or he 30 years of service with Berry Town EMS

[5:54] and Chris Maloney.

[5:55] 30 years of service with,

[5:57] With Berry Town.

[5:58] EMS Take it away.

[6:00] So Jackie's not with us at the moment.

[6:03] I don't know if she's gonna log on,

[6:04] but Jackie is our child care coordinator,

[6:09] EMS for children for EMS District six.

[6:13] And she does a lot with pediatric care.

[6:16] So you put her in for, this is a statewide award

[6:18] that's given out every year for, you know, across the state

[6:21] for child champions.

[6:22] They issue one each year.

[6:24] And Jackie was a recipient of this year's award. So, David,

[6:28] Can I interrupt just a moment.

[6:29] The camera is not panning tonight.

[6:31] Would you mind sitting where the manager would,

[6:33] that way you're seen as well as heard.

[6:35] Sorry. You're good. I

[6:37] Don't want false advertise.

[6:41] Yeah, we don't want that confusion

[6:42] To save any confusion.

[6:45] Alright, so I'll just read a little bit about what I wrote

[6:50] for Jackie and I'll do that for each person.

[6:54] So the state gave us this award to present her.

[6:56] So what I said was, Jackie, it was our honor

[6:59] to present Jackie with the Vermont EMS

[7:01] for Child Champion of the Year Award.

[7:03] Jackie serves as the District six pediatric care coordinator

[7:06] and as a paramedic with beartown EMS In both roles,

[7:08] she has become a tireless advocate for children, families

[7:11] and EMS providers entrusted with their care.

[7:15] She has dedicated herself to ensure

[7:17] that when a child experiences a medical emergency,

[7:19] the provider's responding or prepared, educated,

[7:22] and confident in delivering the

[7:23] highest level of care possible.

[7:24] Over the past year, Jackie's work has gone far

[7:27] beyond the expectations of her position.

[7:29] She's led trainings, attended wide educational programs

[7:32] and refreshers and continuously work

[7:34] to improve pediatric education across Vermont EMS District

[7:37] six, which is the central Vermont, Washington County,

[7:39] a little bit of Orange County area.

[7:43] She has helped agencies including Barry County EMS

[7:45] and Barry City Fire Chief Recognition is pediatric safe

[7:48] agencies strengthening the system that care

[7:51] for children throughout our communities.

[7:53] One example of Jackie's dedication stands out in particular,

[7:56] when a complex, a medically complex child entered our

[8:00] district, Jackie immediately stepped forward

[8:01] to coordinate care planning between EMS providers,

[8:04] medical directors, hospitals in the child's pediatrician.

[8:09] She spent countless hours developing care plans

[8:11] and training providers on advanced pediatric airway

[8:13] and ventilator management to ensure this child would receive

[8:16] seamless high quality care During emergencies.

[8:19] She extended that training to neighboring agencies,

[8:22] ensuring a, the entire response system was

[8:24] prepared for any emergency.

[8:25] This particular individual had Jackie's commitment

[8:29] to children extends beyond the ambulance and training room.

[8:31] She's personally purchased

[8:32] and distributed bike helmets to children in our communities

[8:34] because she understands that protecting children starts long

[8:36] before an emergency occurs.

[8:38] What makes Jackie truly exceptional is

[8:40] that she approaches every part of this work with compassion,

[8:43] humility, and unwavering commitment to do what is best

[8:45] for children and their families.

[8:47] She's constantly working behind the scenes to improve care,

[8:49] strengthen education and

[8:50] support providers throughout the district.

[8:54] Jackie represents the very best of Vermont EMS.

[8:57] Her work has directly improved pediatric readiness care

[9:00] provider confidence and outcomes

[9:01] in children across the region.

[9:03] So on behalf of Barry Town

[9:04] and the state of Vermont, we thank her

[9:05] for her care leadership, compassion tireless advocacy

[9:07] for children, and it was an honor for her to get the award

[9:12] Done.

[9:13] And statewide award you said? Yes. Congratulations Jackie.

[9:17] Yep.

[9:18] Congratulations. For sure.

[9:20] And then one of the things that you know,

[9:24] made this year a little bit special was that with the years

[9:27] of service that, you know, we gave out, there was one

[9:30] that is not listed,

[9:32] but I'll read it tonight, was Willis Seton also had a little

[9:34] over 20 years of service

[9:36] that I missed when I sent it to the manager.

[9:39] So collectively, we have five individuals

[9:43] that encompass a century of service to central Vermont

[9:47] that work for our organization.

[9:48] So it's pretty, pretty crazy to think about

[9:52] and one of 'em happens to be sitting right over there.

[9:56] So we presented Chris with a, with a 30 year award,

[10:02] and Chris has served Baytown EMS for over 30 years

[10:06] as an advanced emergency medical technician.

[10:09] And over that time, he is worked in several different

[10:11] capacities within our organization.

[10:12] He's always stepped up where needed in serving the community

[10:14] with professionalism and commitment and EMS.

[10:18] People often remember the big calls

[10:19] and dramatic moments when organizations are built on steady,

[10:22] dependable individuals

[10:23] who show up day after day, year after year.

[10:25] Chris is exactly the kind of person, this kind of person,

[10:28] a steady presence for this service, his coworkers

[10:31] and the countless patients he's cared for over his career.

[10:34] 30 years of service in EMS presents tremendous sacrifice,

[10:37] dedication, and compassion.

[10:38] It means missed holidays, long nights, difficult calls,

[10:41] and an unwavering commitment to helping others

[10:42] during some of the worst times of their lives.

[10:44] Chris has given all of this

[10:46] to our community over three

[10:48] decades and to the town of Berry.

[10:50] And the town of Barry's become better because of it.

[10:54] Somehow though, all 30 of those years, Chris has managed

[10:57] to avoid becoming my permanent EMS partner.

[11:00] Whether that was through careful planning, good luck

[11:02] or survival instincts, he has fortunately been able

[11:05] to escape that particular luxury.

[11:09] I'd also like to recognize Chris's family.

[11:12] Jake's not here tonight. A career in EMS has never

[11:15] sacrificed and made alone behind every provider as a family

[11:18] who gives up holidays, dinners, weekends,

[11:20] sleep time together so that we can answer calls for others,

[11:22] their support makes career in this, this career possible,

[11:26] and they deserve the gratitude as well.

[11:28] Chris, on behalf of Beartown EMS, thank you

[11:30] for your 30 years of service, your dedication

[11:31] to this organization and the care

[11:33] you provided to our community.

[11:35] Well done.

[11:45] Chris, did you have something?

[11:46] Well, oh yes, I was gonna, then I decided I'd probably say

[11:50] that, but I just wanted to say that I've worked for

[11:52] with Chris that entire 30 years

[11:56] since he's been on Berry town EMS with the fire department

[12:00] and just, you know, his, his dedication,

[12:05] I've seen it firsthand in action myself

[12:08] and just, it's greatly appreciated and he's a great provider

[12:12] and a big asset to the town of air.

[12:19] Our meetings downstairs that we're having are nearly

[12:23] as entertaining without you, it's polite way to say it.

[12:29] Do you still have the briefcase? I do.

[12:34] That's what's left of it. It's coming apart.

[12:37] Gonna get passed on to Devin. I think

[12:43] Similarly, I can summarize it.

[12:47] Bert's not on, is he? No.

[12:50] Okay, so yeah, Excuse me.

[12:56] So Burt Heath, also over 30 years of service to the town

[13:01] of Barry Burt's been a constant presence

[13:03] with our organization, our community.

[13:04] Countless sat calls, long nights, difficult shifts, similar,

[13:08] you know, things that I I said about Chris,

[13:10] about, you know, their commitment.

[13:13] However, Bert had the unique challenge of serving

[13:16] as my EMS partner midway through his career,

[13:18] which meant he had to put up with me

[13:19] as a new or know-it-all.

[13:20] Critical care paramedic. Looking back now,

[13:22] I can appreciate just how patient

[13:24] and professional he was during that time.

[13:25] Like many experienced providers, Bert understood something

[13:28] that newer clinicians eventually learned.

[13:30] EMS is not just about knowledge

[13:32] and skill, it's about consistency, teamwork, compassion,

[13:34] and knowing how to care for people in difficult moments.

[13:37] Those are qualities that Bert demonstrates. Every day.

[13:40] Over 30 years, Bert has cared for countless members

[13:42] of our community during some

[13:43] of the hardest moments of their lives.

[13:44] While patients may not always remember every detail

[13:46] of their calls, they remember how they were treated.

[13:49] And Bert has always treated people with kindness,

[13:50] respect, and professionalism.

[13:52] Over 30 years in EMS is a credible,

[13:54] is an incredible accomplishment,

[13:55] and it reflects a lifetime of dedication and service.

[13:59] Few people truly understand the sacrifice that comes

[14:01] with this profession, and even fewer dedicate

[14:06] as much ti as much of their life to it.

[14:09] Again, I want to recognize Burt's family,

[14:11] my children at home for their sacrifice

[14:14] that he's made over those 30 plus years in his career.

[14:17] EMS careers are built on support from spouses, children,

[14:20] family and loved ones who give up holidays, dinners,

[14:22] weekends, nights, time together to serve us.

[14:25] So Burt, on behalf of Beartown, EMS, thank you

[14:28] for your 30 plus years of service, your partnership,

[14:30] your mentorship, and your commitment to this community.

[14:35] Thank you, Bert. Unfortunately, he could not be here.

[14:38] And I would also echo what I said about Chris.

[14:40] I've worked with Bert for that entire 30 years.

[14:43] But in addition to that, I also worked with Bert

[14:46] on the fire department early on.

[14:48] And again, the, the dedication for both of them

[14:53] for 30 years of service

[14:55] or more, really, it, I just can't say enough about,

[14:59] about Bert, Chris, or really any of the team

[15:09] Devin.

[15:10] We happen to have the luxury

[15:11] of his presence tonight with us.

[15:12] So Devin, I've got a couple things for and I

[15:18] and before we're recognizing Devon for 10 plus years

[15:20] of dedicated service to Baytown EMS

[15:22] as a critical care paramedic.

[15:23] Over the past decade, Devon has become an

[15:25] integral part of our organization.

[15:27] He served not only as an exceptional clinician,

[15:29] but as a supervisor, educator, mentor,

[15:31] and leader within our service.

[15:32] Whether it is patient care training, equipment readiness,

[15:36] simulation or support supporting our new providers,

[15:39] Devin consistently steps up

[15:40] and helps move our organization forward

[15:42] as a critical care paramedic.

[15:43] Devin has cared for some of the sickest

[15:45] and most critically ill patients in our region.

[15:48] He has been involved in countless high acuity calls

[15:50] and helped deliver outstanding care to patients during some

[15:53] of the worst moments of their lives.

[15:54] His calm demeanor, strong clinical judgment

[15:56] and commitment to excellence make him someone both patients

[15:59] and coworkers can rely on beyond the calls themselves.

[16:02] Devin has played a major role in developing the next

[16:04] generation of EMS providers through precepting training,

[16:07] onboarding, credentialing, he's helped shape the culture

[16:10] and clinical standards of beartown EMS.

[16:13] The impact of that work extends far beyond any single shift

[16:16] or particular patient encounter.

[16:18] And somehow in what some, in what may be one

[16:21] of his greatest accomplishments over the past 10 years.

[16:24] Devin has also avoided being my permanent partner in the MS.

[16:29] Whether that was intentional planning, strategic scheduling,

[16:32] or pure luck is defeat worthy of recognition on its own.

[16:36] I also want to recognize Devin's recognize

[16:38] and thank Devin's family career in EMS requires sacrifice

[16:42] not just from providers,

[16:43] but from the people who support them at home.

[16:46] Ms. Holidays interrupted dinner, sleep,

[16:49] endless hours away from home all

[16:52] and the career that Devin has had has only

[16:54] made possible from that support.

[16:57] So Devin, on behalf of Beartown, EMS Select board

[17:00] and the manager, I'd like to thank you for your 10 years

[17:02] of service leadership, your commitment to education,

[17:04] patient care, and everything you've done

[17:06] for this organization in our community.

[17:07] It's been a privilege to work alongside you

[17:10] and you, I didn't have the chance to give your plaque

[17:14] because you weren't there that night, but we have one

[17:17] and I have will stand for it. Can

[17:20] Can we do, can we do that in the front of the room?

[17:22] Yeah, yeah. They put the date you started.

[17:25] Not the date now. Not now.

[17:26] So we gotta get that fixed,

[17:27] but yes, we're supposed to hand you this and do this.

[17:36] Thanks. Okay.

[17:44] All right.

[17:46] Perfect. Thank you.

[17:48] Well, there'll be more and I'll get up again. All right.

[17:53] I also would like to echo those for Devin, I believe,

[17:57] I don't believe, I know I was,

[17:58] he probably doesn't remember this,

[17:59] but I was at Berry town EMS on his very first day.

[18:03] I think I was working on the phone system, so I got

[18:05] to meet You do remember that?

[18:09] You didn't realize you were also the fire chief?

[18:11] Yeah. Yeah. And, and so I got to meet him on day one and,

[18:16] and got to work with him as well

[18:18] before I moved on from the fire department.

[18:20] And again, Devon's professionalism

[18:23] and capabilities is our, our second to none

[18:26] and tremendous provider and,

[18:29] and great asset to the town

[18:38] Wants to join us.

[18:43] Alright, so I'll get to some other ones, but

[18:47] before Devon gets a call, so one of the other things

[18:49] that we, we've started doing a couple years ago is

[18:53] recognizing when our teams have

[18:58] good clinical, well not all we have good clinical outcomes,

[19:00] but when we, particularly when we get a call

[19:05] and a patient is in cardiac arrest

[19:07] and the team successfully resuscitates them

[19:09] and those patients are with us today because of it.

[19:13] So it's not a frequent occurrence

[19:17] that we get called the cardiac arrest.

[19:18] And it's an even rarer occurrence when those patients

[19:20] live to see another day.

[19:23] Given the rural nature of Vermont's healthcare

[19:25] setting, the response times.

[19:27] So each year we, we recognize those crews

[19:31] and so we give out a certificate in a little pin that the,

[19:35] the providers get and the patient gets.

[19:38] So I'll just read this one.

[19:39] It's a certificate accommodation lifesaver award.

[19:42] This one is prevent presented to Devin Ksky as award

[19:45] as a result of actions to save a human life that would

[19:47] otherwise, that would have

[19:48] otherwise expired without immediate intervention

[19:51] through the use of early defibrillation

[19:52] and advanced cardiac life support.

[19:55] So earlier this year, Devon

[19:57] and his partner were called out to a

[20:01] medical emergency.

[20:04] And as Devon's partner, let's say it, they arrived on scene

[20:09] and for whatever reason,

[20:12] through his judgment experience, spiny senses,

[20:17] Devin saw the presentation of the scene

[20:19] and immediately started hauling all

[20:22] of the equipment out of the truck.

[20:23] And his partner's like, what are you doing?

[20:25] And he's like this, you know,

[20:28] this doesn't seem vibes, vibes.

[20:30] The door was open. Yes.

[20:31] And they got in the house and the patient was in cardiac

[20:33] arrest, didn't have a pulse, wasn't breathing.

[20:36] They resuscitated the patient

[20:37] and the patient is alive today because of their actions.

[20:40] So

[20:45] I'll read the other one, get to that point.

[20:47] So Devin, so fun fact, this is not Devin's first

[20:52] of these and probably won't be his last

[20:57] about lost floor.

[20:59] So Devin got one of these last year as well, I believe.

[21:01] I think last year was the year before.

[21:03] Oh, last

[21:04] year here.

[21:08] Your done. Perfect. Thank you.

[21:15] Collection of those pins gone. I have two now.

[21:17] I think the other one is we just started doing it.

[21:20] I, yeah, these are new. We just started doing

[21:23] this in the last two years.

[21:24] So Devin's partner that day was Christina Lapper.

[21:28] So Christina likewise is presented

[21:31] with a certificate accommodation

[21:34] and is awarded as a result of actions to save a human life

[21:36] that would otherwise expire without immediate intervention

[21:39] through the use of early defibrillation

[21:40] or advanced cardiac life support.

[21:42] So I'll give that to Christina. Christina, yes. Thanks.

[21:47] The dynamic duo.

[21:54] I'm almost done. Okay. Good stuff. Yeah.

[21:59] Yes, this is good stuff.

[22:05] This is the most you've talked since I've known

[22:07] you without asking for money.

[22:11] Todd, you here you are.

[22:15] A a seven is the you one item Short?

[22:17] Yes, it's gonna get expensive.

[22:19] Wait until the next agenda item.

[22:20] This, all this talking is about to get expensive.

[22:24] My talk is not cheap.

[22:28] Alright, so

[22:33] another long tenured employee who didn't make it

[22:37] with us tonight, but Willis Eaton has actually

[22:41] rolling up on 24 years.

[22:43] We just started doing this

[22:44] to recognize long tenured employees.

[22:46] So he, he'll we started, we'll give him a 20 now

[22:49] and a 30 in a few years.

[22:53] So Willis has served Beartown EMS for more than 20 years

[22:56] as an advanced emergency medical technician.

[22:58] Over the course of his career, Willis has been a dependable,

[23:01] steady presence within our organization through thousands

[23:04] of calls, long nights, challenging situations.

[23:06] In ever-changing world of EMS, he has remained committed

[23:09] to serving both his community

[23:10] and his coworkers with profession,

[23:12] professionalism, dedication.

[23:14] Willis has care. Willis has cared for countless patients

[23:17] during some of the most difficult times in their lives.

[23:19] Like many experienced providers,

[23:21] he understands the job is not about medical skills,

[23:23] not always about medical skills.

[23:25] A calm presence, calm under pressure, treating people

[23:28] with dignity and compassion and showing up every

[23:30] single day ready to help others.

[23:31] Those qualities have defined Willis throughout his career,

[23:35] unlike some others being recognized tonight.

[23:37] Willis also has had the fortunate experience

[23:40] and true honor of being my full-time

[23:42] EMS partner for a couple of years.

[23:44] Somehow, despite that challenge, he continued to come

[23:47] to work, maintain his professionalism,

[23:48] and build a successful career here.

[23:50] That alone probably qualifies him for some additional award.

[23:54] Over 20 years in EMS represents an incredible

[23:58] commitment to public safety.

[23:59] It means miss holidays interrupt family time sacrifice.

[24:04] People outside of this profession never really fully

[24:06] understand those sacrifices,

[24:07] but everyone in the room understands what that level

[24:10] of dedication truly means.

[24:12] I want to recognize Willis' family for their support

[24:15] because without their support, support of his spouse,

[24:18] children, family members, loved ones who've sacrificed their

[24:21] time so Willis can answer calls to service community,

[24:25] their support and understanding is always an essential part

[24:28] of a career like Willis is.

[24:29] And they deserve the gratitude as well.

[24:31] So on behalf of the town of Barry, Barry town, EMS,

[24:33] the board, the manager, I'd like to thank Willis

[24:36] for more than 20 years of service, his partnership

[24:37] and dedication to this organization

[24:39] and the caries provided to our community.

[24:42] Thank you, Willis. Yes,

[24:43] Thank you Willis.

[24:47] And,

[24:48] And I just want to chime in there too.

[24:51] I didn't work as closely with Willis,

[24:53] but I certainly have in the past

[24:55] and another just incredible provider that we are fortunate

[24:58] to have here at the Town Berry.

[25:00] So thank him for his long tenured service

[25:05] and looking forward to him achieving that 30 year milestone.

[25:09] Absolutely.

[25:13] And thank you Mr.

[25:15] Manager and the board for recognizing our staff

[25:18] and all the support you've given us.

[25:19] We

[25:21] Do, we are very fortunate here in Berry Town.

[25:23] We do have very dedicated EMS personnel.

[25:26] We have a top-notch service every time somebody from the

[25:31] state, or I forget her name

[25:35] from the hospital that runs the,

[25:40] she retired Dr.

[25:42] Dr. Stein. Dr. Stein. Yes. Thank you.

[25:46] You know, Dr. Stein had very kind words for EMS.

[25:49] So by all means, thank you.

[25:52] You know, Jackie, Devin, Christina,

[25:56] Chris Willis, thank you all very much.

[26:00] And as, as well as the rest of the group.

[26:03] One of those things where, glad

[26:06] that you have a good one, but you hope you never need it.

[26:10] Fortunately

[26:18] Me, Mr.

[26:19] Chair. Absolutely. David, how many years have you got in

[26:25] 12?

[26:27] Think about that for a minute.

[26:30] Thank you all devotion, your dedication

[26:34] to the residents of very town.

[26:36] I know Devon is gonna use this against me, but you guys

[26:41] and guys are the very best.

[26:43] We are very proud. You represent Berry Town

[26:48] and you take such good care of our residents.

[26:50] We're very fortunate, you know, with a 94-year-old father,

[26:54] I've had, you know, a few trips to the house

[26:58] to help my dad up or take him to the hospital.

[27:01] So we're very appreciative of it.

[27:04] And just don't be too hard on me, would you, Devin?

[27:08] Let me get in there. Thank you Paul.

[27:13] And I would like to just echo that sentiment.

[27:14] I, I don't have words so put to it,

[27:19] really capture the essence of what I wanna say.

[27:21] But this,

[27:23] this award is reflection on your accomplishments.

[27:27] It has nothing to do with this board.

[27:28] So I don't want the the board taking

[27:31] any thunder away from you.

[27:33] We are representative of the community

[27:34] and I can tell you wholeheartedly

[27:37] that there's a tremendous amount of appreciation.

[27:40] And there's a, also, the other side

[27:42] of it is probably some lack of appreciation at times just

[27:46] because people don't experience the level of service that

[27:49] our EMS service provides, thankfully for them.

[27:53] But anyone that has had the worst day of their life,

[27:56] and I, you know, David repeated that over

[27:58] and over again, knows you very well

[28:01] and remembers the encounter for the rest of their lives.

[28:05] These are traumatic, often very traumatic events

[28:08] that happened to individuals.

[28:09] And you are the, the front of that response.

[28:13] You are the, the guardian angels

[28:15] or the saving grace that comes in and,

[28:17] and manages a situation that is out

[28:19] of most people's control at the time it's happening.

[28:22] And, and from the patient

[28:24] and family perspective, I don't

[28:27] know if you always appreciate how much

[28:28] of an impact that has on people.

[28:30] So keep that in mind.

[28:32] And I also know that there's a tremendous emotional toll

[28:34] to you as providers in a lot of these circumstances

[28:37] that you have to carry well beyond the

[28:40] clocking out of the, your shift.

[28:42] So I don't wanna lose sight of that either.

[28:44] All I can say is thank you very much for everything you do.

[28:47] Thank you for bettering yourselves.

[28:48] Thank you for always looking for ways to improve the system,

[28:51] whether it be administratively

[28:52] or professionally or medically.

[28:55] And once we wrap this all up, I would love

[28:58] to just check everyone's hand

[28:59] before they depart for the evening.

[29:01] And then they can get, maybe do a group photo.

[29:03] Because again, I want to thank you.

[29:05] I don't want to sit up here

[29:06] and be like, oh, the board gave you an award

[29:09] or something, or David gave you an award.

[29:11] It has nothing to do with us. It has to do with

[29:12] what you do in the field every single day.

[29:14] We didn't do anything. No.

[29:16] And just lucky enough to have you other than trying

[29:19] to support you in the ways that we can.

[29:20] But it's not, you know, it's not in the field,

[29:23] it's not in these situations.

[29:24] It's buying the right equipment

[29:25] and providing the right training and

[29:27] and making sure that you have the resources you need

[29:29] to do the, the best job you possibly can.

[29:33] There. I've done that right off the cuff.

[29:41] What's that? Is It segue for the next

[29:43] Yeah, absolutely.

[29:45] I'm building it up for our

[29:46] company. Do you have anything Tracy?

[29:49] I can't top that. I, yes I

[29:50] Can't either.

[29:51] Grateful for the service. Great.

[29:52] Glad to have the team that we have.

[29:55] I have never personally been on the receiving end of it,

[29:56] but between family and extended family

[29:59] and close friends got at least, at least that many

[30:03] that were, that were to another day.

[30:07] So I definitely have an appreciation for what they do.

[30:13] You're not opposed. Absolutely say congratulations

[30:16] and maybe everyone could get up for a, just a photo

[30:18] with David because he's really the need us,

[30:22] the rapport or the

[30:26] here you today.

[30:29] I don't necessarily need to be. Thank you for your leader.

[30:31] Thank you. Emily. Would you mind? I

[30:33] Just gonna say I can take you too much.

[30:35] Rachel. Rachel. Christine's not here. Yes.

[30:38] No, that's fine. You or it's fine. Appreciate.

[30:42] Nice to meet you.

[30:44] Chair it an hour to Yes. I wasn't

[30:48] Picture.

[30:49] I know we were gonna do a photo.

[31:00] You guys wanna sprinkle in?

[31:01] Stick everybody

[31:04] there this

[31:08] Way.

[31:11] The TV behind us. The manager us that. Wait.

[31:15] Yeah, if we're on the outside we, they can

[31:19] My mind Get everyone. Tina.

[31:21] I got everybody now Guys says it's good.

[31:28] I got three. Good.

[31:30] Thank you. All my word out of it.

[31:32] It's still a photo, right? Yes. Thank you.

[31:35] Thank you very much everyone and I really do mean that.

[31:39] So very appreciative.

[31:40] Feel safe. Thank you.

[31:42] Thank you. Thank you

[31:43] for taking time outta your night to come.

[31:45] Thank you. With us now we

[31:49] got the skids greased.

[31:50] Yeah. So everything's greased up. You are lucky.

[31:54] It's budgeted.

[31:59] Well we now we will consider awarding the purchase

[32:02] of our FY 29 ambulance.

[32:07] Given the sufficient lead time of approximately 24 months

[32:09] to receive an ambulance.

[32:11] It's time to consider ordering the ambulance

[32:12] for the FY 29 budget long lead time

[32:17] and past challenges in sourcing cab

[32:19] and chassis as well as a need

[32:21] for continuity within our existing fleet.

[32:24] Director Danforth is requesting sole source, source

[32:29] purchase of the ambulance.

[32:30] And it does align with our equipment replacement plan.

[32:33] So take it away. Yeah.

[32:35] So this will be our FY 29. So scheduled

[32:39] For delivery July, August of 2028.

[32:43] Start of our FY 29 period in line with past years

[32:48] trying to stay ahead of the curve,

[32:49] not get ourselves in a situation where thanks everybody.

[32:52] Yes. Where we have a gap in our replacement cycle,

[32:57] I recommend a sole source purchase

[32:58] through northeastern rescue vehicles.

[33:01] And the manufacturer is medics

[33:04] specialty vehicles in elk car, Indiana

[33:06] for a Ford E four 50 type

[33:08] three a hundred sixty six inch box.

[33:12] Part of the reasons for that are it is identical

[33:16] other than newer or new identical to our existing fleet.

[33:21] Our existing box fleet of our critical care ambulances

[33:24] or specialty care transport qualified

[33:26] ambulances are all the same.

[33:28] All six of them are type three E four 50 medics,

[33:33] 1 66 chassis.

[33:34] The cabinets are all in the same place.

[33:35] The equipment's all in the same place.

[33:36] So for continuity of care in the dark

[33:39] in critical situations,

[33:40] our providers can reach and know what they're grabbing.

[33:44] I don't believe there's any benefit to going out to bid.

[33:46] We've had, when I look around the state at other prices,

[33:49] we have very good pricing over the last five years we've

[33:52] purchased these ambulances

[33:54] and the, the minimal increases year to year

[33:58] have have been sustainable.

[34:00] So that's

[34:04] Approximately 3%.

[34:05] Yeah. I think is what it was.

[34:07] So, well within, within reason. And we started doing this

[34:14] A year ago. Yeah. Yeah.

[34:17] As a result of COVID because we couldn't get the cab

[34:20] chassis part of the, the vehicle

[34:23] and that delayed the replacement of a couple

[34:27] and just about out of that now.

[34:30] Yep. We just, yeah, we're, we we're now buying one instead

[34:33] of the, when we were back buying two to catch up

[34:36] and supplementing here and there.

[34:37] And Northeastern's been a great partner,

[34:41] as you remember last year we had an engine issue

[34:45] with an ambulance that was rotating out of the fleet

[34:47] and they pushed our delivery up four months

[34:49] to get us the new one so we wouldn't be down in numbers.

[34:53] So they like, I can't speak great.

[34:55] You know, any better about them.

[34:57] They've been a great partner

[34:59] and they're there if we need them.

[35:01] And I don't ever recall having any issues

[35:03] with any warranty stuff that we've had

[35:04] or always been responsive.

[35:07] So if this pretty much standard practice

[35:12] for us at this stage of the game as we're starting to do

[35:15] with DPW and these

[35:20] cruisers aren't really an issue

[35:21] but Oh, the flavor

[35:25] of the board be, I just have a quick question. Sure,

[35:27] Sure.

[35:28] With, I

[35:29] Mean We all know how much busier

[35:32] that conversation multiple times,

[35:34] how is the mileage on ambulances?

[35:40] I know we had transport van should help.

[35:44] Maybe not substantially, but it should help.

[35:46] But I'm just wondering how your mileage on your

[35:49] It's been good and, and the transport van has eaten

[35:52] up the excess mileage.

[35:53] We are up close

[35:55] to 50,000 miles a year from three years

[35:57] ago across the fleet.

[35:58] And the transport van that we've had for

[36:02] almost nine months has 37,000 miles on it.

[36:05] So it's eating, it's eating, which is cheaper to replace.

[36:10] So it's cheaper to it.

[36:11] The overall cost of that unit is less.

[36:13] So that's, that's taken the load off

[36:16] so we can maintain this one a year purchase

[36:18] of the more expensive apparatus.

[36:20] And, and what did we set up for a replacement on that

[36:24] We can talk about that We can buy, okay, we can buy

[36:31] two of, almost buy two of those for one.

[36:34] We can buy three of those for every two of these.

[36:37] Yep. So, But then if you

[36:39] 7,009

[36:40] Months gas and maintenance and all that, it's probably

[36:44] Four tires instead of six.

[36:46] Fuel mileage is almost twice as much

[36:50] and it's observing more important thing that I,

[36:54] I don't wanna lose sight of is preserving the fully

[36:57] functioning ambulance for critical emergency calls rather

[37:00] than on a transport to Boston or something.

[37:02] Which is, that's like, that's the underlying crux

[37:05] for me every time it's like something's happening in town

[37:08] that needs a full package.

[37:10] We want the full package. It's keeping the critical

[37:12] paramedics in town and you know, not out on those runs

[37:15] and it's, you know, we're ap

[37:16] appropriately applying our resources.

[37:19] I hope that's our goal.

[37:20] So if we, and the other side

[37:22] of it, it's not just about the vehicle.

[37:23] If, if we had an ambulance that was on a long

[37:26] distance transport and we had to call a crew in

[37:29] that's additional expense to the town just

[37:32] to purely provide coverage, we might call them in

[37:34] and they may never leave the station.

[37:37] So, so as those benefits is far beyond just the vehicle,

[37:43] Well, Mr.

[37:44] Chair, I'll, I'll make a motion

[37:45] that we authorize the sole source purchase

[37:48] of a medics type three me 1 66 ambulance built

[37:53] on a Ford E four 50 chassis for the price

[37:55] of $189,655 from Northeastern

[38:00] Rescue vehicles in Syracuse, New York.

[38:02] The sole source purchase is justified due

[38:04] to our longstanding relationship with the dealer

[38:06] who can provide the same ambulance cab chassis

[38:09] and body to match the existing fleet.

[38:11] Given the favorable, favorable price, limited stock

[38:14] of this specialty vehicle

[38:16] and poor delivery options, it's unlikely

[38:18] that biding would provide any

[38:19] competitive advantage for the town.

[38:22] I believe second that Alright, have a motion

[38:26] to second any conversation.

[38:30] Thanks from

[38:36] Mr. Su? Nope,

[38:37] Mr.

[38:38] I would agree with everything that David said

[38:40] and it's in my notes

[38:41] and we've had a great partnership with Northeastern

[38:44] and having these standardized emergency vehicles

[38:49] is makes a lot of sense

[38:51] and I've seen it, you know, firsthand myself

[38:54] and I wholeheartedly support it.

[38:59] Do I have, I have, I guess we'll don't run off.

[39:03] I have one question for you

[39:04] after semi-related

[39:08] We did, I didn't see that.

[39:11] So if there's no further conversation

[39:15] We should just check with Mr.

[39:17] Susie. I think he may still be muted. I don't,

[39:19] He he just, I heard him say he, he agreed.

[39:22] Yeah, I remember to ask him this time.

[39:24] Okay, I'm good to get better about that.

[39:29] So I guess no further conversation. All those in favor?

[39:33] Aye aye aye.

[39:39] We go two years to wait two and a half years to wait.

[39:43] So I will, I will note now that that has passed,

[39:46] that's $6,155 more than the FY 20 M 28

[39:51] ambulance that we purchased.

[39:52] So it's less, actually less than 3%.

[39:57] So that's not bad. So the paramedic intercept

[40:02] vehicle, has that been placed into full service yet?

[40:07] No, we're wait, we're waiting on the safe for it.

[40:10] The narcotic safe. It's supposed

[40:14] to be here in the next 11 days.

[40:17] Okay. I was, I was just curious

[40:20] because I was wondering if we'd had any, yeah, if it had,

[40:23] had, had had any impact.

[40:25] Impact yet. No. To be determined. Yes.

[40:31] That's all I had. Congratulations.

[40:33] You got yourself another ambulance,

[40:34] well, placement ambulance. Right. You've got some picture

[40:37] On another why you so crafty with that wording?

[40:41] I wonder You think someone thinking about

[40:46] something that you wanna close now

[40:50] while I'm sitting here and seeing

[40:51] the, I don't know, he's coughing.

[40:56] He is not laughing. So Justin open,

[40:58] you know, Justin brought it up.

[40:59] I always give you guys the opportunity.

[41:01] Always, you know, I'm, I'm always willing to listen

[41:06] and I think at some point we should at least have a

[41:11] conversation whether I come back another night about another

[41:13] type two that we put in the fleet.

[41:16] Yes, it would be eight, but with

[41:21] Type two is in the transport. Yeah.

[41:23] Yeah. With the efficiencies we've seen with that vehicle,

[41:27] having one in line behind it so that if it's outta service

[41:31] or we do have multiple long distances

[41:34] or things like that, again keeping the mileage

[41:37] and the replacement schedule that we have

[41:39] for the type threes I, I don't think is a bad idea.

[41:42] So we can certainly have that conversation later.

[41:44] Doesn't have to be tonight. But,

[41:47] So that was the, that was the tough pill

[41:48] to swallow when we purchased that one

[41:50] because we had to outfit it.

[41:52] There was do, it was, it wasn't replacing an ambulance so

[41:55] that all that gear didn't just switch over.

[41:58] It was the, for me anyway, that was the,

[42:01] that was the hardest part of it.

[42:03] Vehicle is the inexpensive part of the whole equation. Yeah,

[42:07] It would be, this is $190,000 for the vehicle.

[42:10] Right. That would be, adding an eighth one would be 210,000.

[42:16] The first expense

[42:18] after that it would be 160, a hundred

[42:21] and what, you know, actually it'd even cheaper

[42:23] because we have to buy the power

[42:25] two 10 roughly to outfit it completely.

[42:27] The replacement would be around 145

[42:29] because we'll move the power load

[42:31] and move that stuff into it.

[42:32] So it's, it's 65,

[42:35] $6,000 fit it at that level, not that level care level,

[42:39] which is yeah, crafting up your,

[42:44] your cost per mile to operate here to date and everything.

[42:48] I want. I happy to, I want the numbers.

[42:50] I bet you can pull it up right now.

[42:52] I bet you I'll bet you he can pull

[42:54] It up right now.

[42:55] No, no, I see repairs and maintenance and tires

[42:58] and all that stuff where we, what we've taken so far

[43:00] and then knowing that it's gonna fall

[43:01] outta warranty at some point here. Run mileage and

[43:04] So I, I will,

[43:07] I think it's already out warranty. We're,

[43:09] So Josh is not here,

[43:11] but one thing that he pointed out when we added the seventh

[43:15] ambulance was we do need to keep in mind

[43:20] that we only have two mechanics

[43:23] and they're maintaining,

[43:24] I think Josh said somewhere in the neighborhood

[43:26] of a hundred pieces of equipment.

[43:29] So we, I'm not saying it's time to add another,

[43:33] another mechanic or whatnot,

[43:34] but we need, do, need to be conscious of, of their Gabe,

[43:39] it's got room in his budget to have a specific ambulance

[43:43] Mechanic.

[43:47] I I think there are other conversations that can be had

[43:49] around that same issue and,

[43:51] and you know, that comes down to some

[43:53] of the routine maintenance that we're asking them to do.

[43:57] And there may be more pressing bigger things

[44:01] that they could be doing and,

[44:02] and maybe we utilize outsourcing a little bit more as we get

[44:05] this, you know, as this fleet increases in size,

[44:09] I don't think outsourcing it ends up being all

[44:11] that much more expensive.

[44:12] It's often more efficient

[44:14] and can be done in a more timely manner

[44:16] and takes the load off them guys.

[44:18] So I think, I think there are things we, we can talk about,

[44:21] you know, how we function internally as well.

[44:24] Maximize capabilities. Yeah, and

[44:28] and for to that point, you know,

[44:30] when we were short on mechanics, we,

[44:32] we do get oil changes done down at quick lube

[44:35] and you know, I'm not saying we should do 'em every time

[44:37] down there 'cause they're quick, right.

[44:39] It's an oil change. It's not greasing

[44:41] the U joints and all that.

[44:42] But if it was every other

[44:45] and then they went in for major service to get all

[44:48] that stuff done here, like, you know,

[44:49] more conversations like Commander said

[44:50] that we could have about how we do that.

[44:56] But at the end of the day, yes it's another piece

[44:58] of equipment, but it's either you're changing the oil on two

[45:03] different ambulances or one ambulance twice

[45:05] 'cause we're still running the mileage.

[45:08] It's no, it is true.

[45:11] I think the demand comes more from the, the something

[45:14] that needs immediate repair so that they have to drop

[45:17] what they're doing because we have a

[45:19] more critical piece of equipment.

[45:20] I think that's probably more

[45:22] of the issue than the routine maintenance,

[45:24] the PM stuff that can schedule. But especially

[45:26] In the winter we have, when we have four,

[45:29] four trucks down at the same time in the middle of a storm.

[45:34] That'll be an interesting conversation to have.

[45:37] Happy to, I like to talk. Yeah.

[45:39] No, and I, I just, I'm way both sides.

[45:41] I it's certainly, yeah, perhaps somewhat limited.

[45:44] I guess on the other side too where it's like, ooh,

[45:46] a let's call, you know, ambulance has got something wrong.

[45:48] So, you know, drop everything

[45:49] and deal with the ambulance and they've been great.

[45:51] Like they, they do a great job over there.

[45:53] They take care of us and get our stuff taken care of.

[45:56] And also a lot of the parts are so specialty that, you know,

[45:59] even if you want it fixed immediately,

[46:00] you're still waiting on something.

[46:02] The benefit of running the same chass in the same trucks is

[46:05] they can have one spare door handle that goes

[46:08] to all the outside cabinets.

[46:09] One spare outside light, that's LED that's $400

[46:12] that fits every box.

[46:14] So that's the benefit of doing what we just did,

[46:16] is we don't have

[46:18] to have 10 different 400 lights on the shelf.

[46:20] We have two and it covers any

[46:22] light outage on the entire fleet. So that's

[46:24] The same, same conversation that we just had

[46:26] with DPW Right.

[46:27] With bringing all

[46:28] of those trucks into the same make and model.

[46:30] Yeah. Least fleet already is.

[46:34] So it's that that standardizing it also helps the

[46:37] mechanics be more efficient too.

[46:38] Well, and they know what's coming, right?

[46:39] They know every 40,000 miles they gotta

[46:42] repack front wheel bearings, right?

[46:43] They, they, they know a hundred thousand miles ago replace

[46:45] the shocks this like they, it's already known.

[46:49] Yeah.

[46:51] So it's good stuff. Future conversations. I guess.

[46:57] David, before you go, I'll just congratulate you

[47:00] as well as director.

[47:03] You've got a great crew, you've done a tremendous job

[47:07] since you came on as director.

[47:10] We've, you hit the ground racing, not running, racing

[47:15] and you've done a, a tremendous job.

[47:16] You should be very proud. You're, you're

[47:21] another reflection on marytown

[47:25] and the safety of its residents or

[47:28] Another person that we're very lucky to have.

[47:31] Absolutely. Well thank you.

[47:33] And I love how you

[47:34] have in the trenches.

[47:39] So you see, you've got the history to know what's wrong

[47:45] and you're actually implementing those changes.

[47:47] And that's, I think they're, the real joy

[47:49] for me is just like, and I'm sure

[47:51] personal satisfaction for you as well.

[47:53] 'cause you're actually changing the system

[47:55] or making a difference and that's huge.

[47:57] Yeah. It's been, it's been a wild ride as all of you know.

[48:02] Thank you. I do have, I tell anyone that'll listen,

[48:05] what a phenomenal crew that I have

[48:06] and how lucky I am to be in the position that I'm in

[48:09] because they're phenomenal.

[48:12] But I also couldn't have done, we couldn't have accomplished

[48:15] what we've accomplished without the manager's support

[48:17] and all of you guys' support

[48:19] and the town office's support hr like I

[48:24] the police chief doing all my background checks,

[48:26] like onboarding and hiring the volume of staff that we hire

[48:29] to, you know, we've expanded our staffing from

[48:33] almost double in the last three years from, you know,

[48:35] a little over 40 providers to, you know, we're,

[48:37] we're almost at 80 now.

[48:40] And that just wouldn't happen without the support

[48:42] of the manager's office and,

[48:44] and all the systems in, in municipal government that have

[48:48] to happen to make all that happen.

[48:49] And ultimately without the support of the select board

[48:52] to give us the, to entrust me in some of my wild ideas.

[48:57] Well thought out most of the time.

[48:58] But, but wild ideas to progress our service forward.

[49:02] Lead up for now. Yeah, no,

[49:05] you won't hear that. That's so loud.

[49:07] So the, the, so that's amazing.

[49:11] So the, of those 80 employees, how many are,

[49:15] are actual employees? Not per diems

[49:18] Full-time as of today.

[49:23] Tomorrow

[49:24] 2020

[49:31] May I believe 24 down May four from 12.

[49:36] So 56 people choose to come work

[49:40] for Barry Town on their day off.

[49:42] Yep.

[49:46] And so that number obviously includes the six

[49:50] that were added with Williamstown came on board,

[49:53] but also the three additional that were in the budget,

[49:56] I think that are including that number right David?

[49:58] Yep. Yeah, no, that's good stuff.

[50:02] Yeah, just managing that number of people is the,

[50:04] and all the shifts and backfills

[50:06] and good takes a village.

[50:10] Yes it does. Lucky. Thankful we have one.

[50:15] Well, all right, till the next time you

[50:16] Come looking for something, You we'll chat soon.

[50:21] Thank you. Thank you again David. Yeah.

[50:24] Stop, don't stop dreaming

[50:26] At least.

[50:27] Oh, I don't, thanks. Thanks David. Thank you.

[50:32] All right, next we're gonna do something not quite

[50:34] so but necessary.

[50:39] We need to award the chard terrace pump station

[50:45] pump and rail replacement

[50:49] during FY 27 budget deliberations.

[50:53] Director Martino Public works highlight an issue.

[50:57] The Orchard Terrace pump station budgeted

[51:00] of $38,000 has been allocated in the sewer fund budget

[51:03] to replace the sewer pump rail system.

[51:07] The pump station is responsible

[51:08] for moving wastewater from the low lining area

[51:10] of Orchard Terrace to main gravity sewer located

[51:14] up Orchard Terrace closer to Graniteville village

[51:17] Rail system is essential as it guides the pump in

[51:19] and out of it personnel to avoid entering it.

[51:24] Josh discussed back in February,

[51:28] pump station comprises of two pumps

[51:29] and one of them is currently inoperable.

[51:33] Additionally, the guide rails need replacement.

[51:35] I mean two pumps is crucial.

[51:37] If one fails there is

[51:38] and there is no backup, it could

[51:39] lead to serious consequences.

[51:42] The lack of the backup is concerning to Josh.

[51:46] He is recommending we award the replacement

[51:50] to Laramie water resources of Newport.

[51:52] Laramie previously replaced the pump

[51:54] and rail for the other pump, right Orchard Paris in 2022.

[51:58] So they're already familiar with the system

[52:00] and they have performed most of the other pump work

[52:03] for the town in recent years.

[52:05] Hope that we received from them totals

[52:08] $36,267 and 9 cents.

[52:11] So well under budget.

[52:19] Be flashy about this. Oh no, we

[52:20] Gotta do it.

[52:21] I gotta have a backup in that light then I,

[52:24] if it's okay, I'll make a motion.

[52:26] Absolutely. Award the Orchard Terrace pump station pump

[52:29] and rail replacement Laramie water resources

[52:31] of Newport in the amount of $36,267 9 cents.

[52:36] Please note the competitive bidding was waived due

[52:38] to the vendor's familiar familiarity with the pump station.

[52:41] Second. Okay, I have,

[52:45] I don't know if you'll have the answers Chris,

[52:47] but we can ask them anyway.

[52:51] So will this be similar

[52:52] to East Berry pump station for the water?

[52:55] Where will these alternate on and off or is one a primary

[52:59] and one is purely a backup?

[53:01] No, as I understand it, these alternate all,

[53:03] all these systems alternate so they,

[53:04] you're not wearing on one pump

[53:06] and you know they would Yeah, you'll wanna have 'em wear

[53:09] as close to the same as possible.

[53:11] Obviously the one,

[53:12] the existing one has been in operation longer,

[53:16] but once they're both functioning Yeah, you,

[53:18] you can alternate them.

[53:21] Yeah, that was good.

[53:22] I don't have to ask the rest of the questions

[53:23] 'cause you nailed 'em all Mr.

[53:26] Susie,

[53:35] we'll come back to him.

[53:36] Just have a lobster rule.

[53:41] I don't have any questions. I mean,

[53:42] or really no comments other than Yeah, it's a requirement.

[53:45] I mean we gotta move the sewer.

[53:47] We don't have a backup that's active right now.

[53:49] So if there's a problem with that pump,

[53:50] we've got a problem. Period.

[53:53] Period. Absolutely. I have, I have

[53:55] One Mr.

[53:56] Chair, Chris, Josh notes

[54:00] in paragraph three,

[54:02] a sewer pump truck is not included in the quoted amount.

[54:06] Just Curious why that was pointed out

[54:09] Because We'll do that ourselves.

[54:13] Okay. Had to pump the station down

[54:16] with the vector prior to installation.

[54:18] Yeah, yeah,

[54:21] Yeah.

[54:22] So they, if in places where they didn't have a vector,

[54:24] they'd probably include a quote for that.

[54:27] Okay, Thank you.

[54:29] Yeah, not an expensive piece of equipment.

[54:32] So with that, I guess

[54:39] we have a motion and a second.

[54:41] All those in favor? Aye.

[54:44] Aye, Susie's on break right now.

[54:49] That's okay.

[54:51] I just wanna make sure that he's not,

[54:53] is he muted on our end or on his own?

[54:55] I heard him Try to unmute him.

[55:00] He should be able to unmute Himself. He should

[55:02] Be able to, he should be able to do it himself.

[55:04] Okay, got it. Alright. I did hear him,

[55:08] I did let him know that we had muted him just

[55:10] so he knew he

[55:12] Should Be able to do it himself.

[55:13] I heard him for the ambulance, so, okay.

[55:17] Here he is gone.

[55:22] So hello, Hello.

[55:26] Hello, Mr. Susie. We

[55:27] Were making sure that you had communication with us.

[55:32] I I was muted. That's why you couldn't hear me.

[55:35] Not by me, by the town manager.

[55:43] All right. It wasn't personal.

[55:46] Well it's hard not to take it that way.

[55:49] Well, it was the conversation was because,

[55:52] because of the conversation you were having

[55:54] with somebody about school board that caused that.

[55:58] Yeah, there's some background noise we were trying

[56:00] to save from coming through. Yeah,

[56:03] The background noise is over.

[56:05] Okay. All right.

[56:08] So we're on to number 10.

[56:12] They're authorizing an impact payment in lieu

[56:15] of a new three acre compliance stormwater system

[56:18] for the Miller Woods development.

[56:22] So I think I'm just gonna let the manager

[56:26] handle this one because there is a lot to this.

[56:30] Yeah, yeah, yeah, there is.

[56:34] So I think we've talked a lot over the years

[56:38] about the three acre storm water rule

[56:43] that went into effect and,

[56:44] and probably about 10 years ago now.

[56:46] And as time went on, we became aware that

[56:50] we had multiple, multiple developments.

[56:55] Not only developments but some of our own

[56:58] municipal facilities too that were gonna be impacted

[57:01] by the need to upgrade, upgrade these areas that had

[57:06] existing stormwater permits,

[57:08] but they weren't u up to the standard of the three acre.

[57:11] And, and so we've managed to upgrade some

[57:16] of our existing municipal systems with grant money

[57:21] and have been working over the last several years to

[57:25] figure out how to upgrade

[57:29] or work towards upgrading these

[57:30] developments, the seven of 'em.

[57:33] And to start that process, we had

[57:36] to have them engineered, designed.

[57:39] And that's largely done on most all of these now

[57:43] permits are in hand for most of them, but,

[57:48] and, and, and largely that's paid for

[57:50] by grant money as well.

[57:52] There, there was obtain grants that the state awarded

[57:55] to the town of Berry to pay for much of the engineering

[57:59] and permitting for these sites.

[58:01] The town has also budgeted over the last couple of years

[58:04] for some of that work as well.

[58:07] But at the end of the day, I don't think, you know, most

[58:10] of the grant money is gonna cover this.

[58:12] The, these expenses. Early on when we were first trying

[58:17] to digest this three acre rule

[58:20] and its impact on us,

[58:23] there was conversation about options to pay impact fees

[58:27] in lieu of having

[58:29] to install an upgraded three acre storm water system,

[58:33] which is extremely expensive to do.

[58:37] And we were told back then

[58:39] that impact fees were not really something

[58:42] that the state was gonna en entertain.

[58:44] There had to be very, very well

[58:50] documented reasons why

[58:53] a development could not have a three acre stormwater system

[58:57] upgrade done to it.

[59:00] And so the thought back then was that, you know,

[59:04] if we could pay impact fees

[59:06] that would probably be significantly cheaper

[59:09] to do and let's just do it.

[59:11] And that's when we found out, well you can't really do that.

[59:13] It's available, but it's not something the state is going

[59:16] to allow to be done on a whim.

[59:20] So with regard to our seven plus sites,

[59:24] the developments anyway, most all

[59:27] of them have gone through extension.

[59:28] All of 'em have gone through extension engineering

[59:31] and all of 'em.

[59:32] But one there was, there were locations available

[59:37] to come up with a design in those designs, like I said, are,

[59:40] are largely done and permits in place.

[59:44] The one exception to that is Miller Woods,

[59:46] the Miller Woods development up off Miller, Dr. Miller

[59:51] Miller Road is a a,

[59:54] an extremely challenging site.

[59:57] So our contractor

[1:00:01] watershed consulting spent a fair amount of time

[1:00:05] in engineering to prove to the state

[1:00:08] that there really wasn't a viable option.

[1:00:11] The, the, the terrain up there, the proximity to wetlands,

[1:00:17] the the relatively small area to put a stormwater system

[1:00:21] that still wouldn't fully be compliant

[1:00:24] and that area would consume a fairly large portion of one

[1:00:28] of the homesteads homestead lots up there.

[1:00:31] And so we elected to take that to the state

[1:00:37] and present it to them

[1:00:39] and ask for the potential of that site to be considered

[1:00:44] to pay this impact fee.

[1:00:46] Which then means of, of a full three acres, storm water,

[1:00:52] storm, storm, stormwater system is not needed.

[1:00:56] The impact fee, there's a calculation for it.

[1:00:59] I don't pretend to know what that, how that works,

[1:01:01] but the state did

[1:01:03] and they came up with this $40,500 impact fee

[1:01:08] that if the town pays that we will be issued our permit

[1:01:13] and not no, not required to then later within five years,

[1:01:18] which would all these have

[1:01:19] to be done once the permits are issued, the three acre

[1:01:24] implementation, the desi the, the actual construction needs

[1:01:27] to happen within five years

[1:01:28] and how that's all gonna be paid for is still up in the air.

[1:01:33] We can eliminate one of those by paying this impact fee.

[1:01:37] It will provide the, the US

[1:01:39] and the residents that live there, the permit

[1:01:42] that they need, clean title

[1:01:44] and for far less than what this will likely cost later on,

[1:01:49] even if grant money is, does become available to pay 40,000,

[1:01:54] there's roughly 10,000 an attainment grant left.

[1:01:58] So that can, can go towards this will be reimbursable.

[1:02:03] So it's, it's really about $30,000.

[1:02:06] And, and at the end of the day, that's probably a, a a deal

[1:02:10] and as I noted in my comments between the grant money

[1:02:14] that we've received between the budget money

[1:02:16] that we've also had there,

[1:02:18] there's really not a impact on the,

[1:02:22] on the general or the, this would be in the highway fund,

[1:02:24] on the highway fund budget, I don't believe.

[1:02:26] And so my recommendation is to authorize the payment

[1:02:30] of this impact fee.

[1:02:33] It's kind of at a critical nature

[1:02:35] or a critical time to get this permit issued.

[1:02:38] So you not, you've noticed it probably in the warrant.

[1:02:42] If you decide not to approve it,

[1:02:44] then we'll remove it from the warrant.

[1:02:46] But in the essence, in the consideration of the timing,

[1:02:50] I I placed it on the warrant, I, you know, in hopes that you

[1:02:55] ultimately we'll approve it

[1:02:56] because I think it's probably the best

[1:02:58] deal for everybody around.

[1:03:01] So I just want to add a couple things to that.

[1:03:03] All of these storm water

[1:03:08] treatment ponds, retention ponds, whatever we wanna refer

[1:03:12] to them as we're in compliance until they change the rules

[1:03:17] A hundred percent.

[1:03:19] So I just want to make sure

[1:03:21] that everybody understands that.

[1:03:23] So this is a one-time fee,

[1:03:25] It is a one-time fee.

[1:03:27] We will still have to pay the annual inspection fee

[1:03:30] for the existing system that that won't go away.

[1:03:33] But this will take us out of that

[1:03:38] requirement to then come back later

[1:03:40] and construct a compliant three water three acre system.

[1:03:44] We will still have the, obviously the operational,

[1:03:47] The the annual operational permit fee

[1:03:50] and the inspection fee that, you know, we've been budgeting

[1:03:54] for and paying for that for, for years.

[1:03:57] That won't go away.

[1:04:00] So we, we did, when this, when this came around,

[1:04:02] 'cause obviously there's a, there's a,

[1:04:03] there's a funding issue for this.

[1:04:06] These are, if, if we just spitball, we, you know,

[1:04:10] we can say somewhere between three quarters of a million

[1:04:12] or three quarters of a million minimum

[1:04:15] to likely well over a million dollars in some cases,

[1:04:20] that's a significant amount of money

[1:04:22] and it's a terrible situation that it puts a town in

[1:04:24] because without the valid storm water permit,

[1:04:29] their houses are essentially worthless.

[1:04:34] Would be a cloud on title for sure.

[1:04:36] Yeah. So thank you to the state for doing

[1:04:40] that appreciated.

[1:04:45] But yes, say

[1:04:53] With all the conversation that's going

[1:04:55] about the three acre fees

[1:04:58] and the three, the stormwater period,

[1:05:02] I'm wondering do you think we would get the money back if

[1:05:04] they decide to pull their horns in on this?

[1:05:09] That's, that's my joke. Sorry.

[1:05:13] Only Delivered. Do you know what the impact fee, where

[1:05:16] that goes and what it's used for?

[1:05:18] I don't specifically. I would have to find that out, Bob.

[1:05:21] I I don't, my, you know, my speculation is, is that a lot

[1:05:25] of times there are funds set up to help

[1:05:29] with clean up and that's what ultimately all

[1:05:32] of this is about is the Clean, clean Water Act

[1:05:35] for Lake Champlain and the tributaries

[1:05:36] feeding Lake Champlain.

[1:05:38] So my, my, my, my guess would be that it would go

[1:05:42] to some form of form of cleanup, fun and,

[1:05:45] and use to help clean up, you know,

[1:05:47] the lake or, or whatever.

[1:05:50] I, I can find the answer to that if you'd like.

[1:05:54] Just curious. Nope, it's

[1:05:58] Probably gonna go to the same place that the half

[1:06:00] of the grant money that they took back

[1:06:01] for administrative costs went half

[1:06:06] of the grant money that they awarded to us.

[1:06:09] So I guess

[1:06:10] Before we so diverge again, I'll make a motion

[1:06:14] that we authorize a payment of $40,500 for the impact fee,

[1:06:20] which will enable the issuance

[1:06:21] of an operational stormwater permit three acre

[1:06:24] for the Miller Woods development.

[1:06:26] This payment will eliminate the, the necessity

[1:06:28] for additional engineering

[1:06:30] and future construction of a treatment solution

[1:06:32] that would be significantly more expensive than

[1:06:34] the impact fee.

[1:06:38] We'll second that

[1:06:43] Ly with, with opinion.

[1:06:45] I, I just, I really find this to be a chicken

[1:06:47] and egg scenario

[1:06:48] where we can't construct what they want anyway.

[1:06:50] And where it's essentially impact fee, I read it as fine

[1:06:55] or penalty to pay into the system to go into the abyss.

[1:06:58] It, it's a little bit punitive.

[1:07:01] However, the cost is significantly lower than

[1:07:06] what it would actually take to construct this facility.

[1:07:08] And I have to keep in mind that the residents

[1:07:11] that live in this area and not encumbering the title

[1:07:16] to their properties based on a unused stormwater permit.

[1:07:19] So I am not in favor of the solution,

[1:07:23] but on, in the, on the merits of it.

[1:07:26] But I will support it given it's the best

[1:07:29] or the least of the worst scenarios.

[1:07:32] And that Ill leave it at that.

[1:07:39] Anything you would like to add?

[1:07:41] I think covered it. It's fine.

[1:07:44] The, the one thing that occurred to me, Todd,

[1:07:49] was speaking is we setting a precedent that may

[1:07:54] put future select boards in a position.

[1:07:59] So Bad decision,

[1:08:01] I guess I did.

[1:08:04] So we had a conversation at one point, Chris, about

[1:08:08] a storm water utility because much like our water system

[1:08:13] and our sewer system, the only people that actually pay

[1:08:15] for it are the people that use it.

[1:08:20] We have that, obviously that hasn't gone anywhere

[1:08:22] 'cause that that is a, an enormous lift.

[1:08:25] Right. This be retroactive at that point to be included into

[1:08:29] that, that pool of however that that goes around.

[1:08:32] And it wouldn't just be storm stormwater treatment for,

[1:08:39] for, for the developments.

[1:08:41] It would have to, I researched some of them.

[1:08:44] Some of 'em have a per parcel impact fee

[1:08:47] because everybody uses the drainage dishes

[1:08:48] on the sides of the roads.

[1:08:50] And we have all these hydraulically connected roads

[1:08:52] that we have calendar citywide.

[1:08:54] You're talking about tower parcel fee? Yes. Per parcel.

[1:08:57] Okay. Yeah. And it, it's, I I saw one

[1:09:01] that was flat.

[1:09:03] I saw one that was done by square footage.

[1:09:09] Obviously that would,

[1:09:10] that could be problematic in very town.

[1:09:12] 'cause we do have a lot of large parcels of land.

[1:09:17] But do, do you see this as something that could be

[1:09:20] retroactive to be brought into that?

[1:09:24] I don't know that this particular payment could be,

[1:09:26] but certainly, you know, future construction

[1:09:30] of the sites could be certainly future operational

[1:09:34] maintenance of the sites could be.

[1:09:37] I'm not sure that this, you know,

[1:09:40] 'cause I, if, if we got serious about stormwater utility,

[1:09:45] which some of that discussion was happening

[1:09:47] before I took over then a little bit after,

[1:09:49] but hasn't really gone anywhere.

[1:09:51] You know, it's probably still quite some time away.

[1:09:53] So I think going retroactive to try to roll

[1:09:55] that into it would be difficult.

[1:09:57] But I, I think it is something that needs

[1:10:02] to be entertained in some form or another

[1:10:04] because yes,

[1:10:07] all taxpayers in Berry Town have some responsibility for

[1:10:12] what the town roads, ditches and,

[1:10:15] and town property contribute.

[1:10:18] But they just shouldn't necessarily be responsible for,

[1:10:22] for the developments that had these systems

[1:10:27] put in with these developments were

[1:10:30] put in place when they were,

[1:10:31] you know, when they were developed.

[1:10:33] And, and then the, the town as a whole is paying

[1:10:36] for these over the years.

[1:10:43] Mr. Susie being our, our representative in Montpelier.

[1:10:47] Yes sir. Do you have any, any insight on, on

[1:10:53] where we may be headed with this?

[1:10:56] With the three acre rule? Yes sir.

[1:11:01] I don't have any real insight other than it's being

[1:11:06] discussed at some level,

[1:11:13] but no, no legislation that is

[1:11:18] identifiable at this point.

[1:11:21] Okay. Stay on you about that.

[1:11:26] I, I look forward to it.

[1:11:31] And as we're sitting here, I'm just thinking of like a,

[1:11:34] like a fire district type setup where maybe we could

[1:11:39] find specific

[1:11:44] neighborhoods or systems that are in need of this

[1:11:47] and maybe carve it out similar to

[1:11:50] how they would for a fire district.

[1:11:52] I don't know if that would pass the sniff test or not,

[1:11:54] but it's just something to think about. That was exactly,

[1:11:56] Yeah, I mean there, there are,

[1:11:58] there are stormwater districts.

[1:12:00] I don't, in in the state there aren't a lot of them, so,

[1:12:03] but there are, so whatever we did,

[1:12:06] we wouldn't be starting from scratch

[1:12:07] and we'd probably have to rely heavily on a consultant

[1:12:11] to help us put that together.

[1:12:13] But, you know, it's a conversation. I can start.

[1:12:17] And from what I've found

[1:12:18] so far south Burlington probably has one

[1:12:20] of the most thorough ones.

[1:12:21] I think Shelburn has got a pretty significant shelburn does,

[1:12:24] I think has one.

[1:12:25] Yeah, I think it's, you know, there there's the town wide

[1:12:29] stormwater utility

[1:12:30] and then there's a potential of, you know, until we get to

[1:12:33] that level, maybe a sub set

[1:12:37] of the specific entities with the stormwater requirements

[1:12:41] that we have in front of us right now,

[1:12:44] the limited information

[1:12:45] or the limited that I've delved into it,

[1:12:47] it just gets really complicated

[1:12:48] because it comes down to ous surface,

[1:12:50] which is essentially your roof, your driveway, yeah.

[1:12:53] Your tennis court, your walkway sidewalk, whatever.

[1:12:57] And then you start measuring square foot on everyone's

[1:12:59] property for how much driveway they have

[1:13:00] and how much roof they have and what they're contributing

[1:13:03] to the overall water load.

[1:13:04] And it's absolutely, that's the huge lift.

[1:13:06] It's it's a heavy lift for sure,

[1:13:09] but it can't be accomplished.

[1:13:10] But, and that was, that was

[1:13:13] A lot of that was done.

[1:13:14] That's exactly what had to happen at, at an early stage in,

[1:13:18] in the work that was being done in these developments

[1:13:21] because they had to document that

[1:13:23] and then they had to figure out what type

[1:13:27] of credits could be gained by having lawn, you know,

[1:13:31] imperial, you know, or, and so that

[1:13:35] was laborious and expensive

[1:13:38] and it would, would ultimately, so some of

[1:13:41] that information is out there based on

[1:13:42] what we've already done in the developments that we've done.

[1:13:47] But like we've talked about in the past too, that

[1:13:52] where this program is kind of broken is in the sense

[1:13:55] that you can have a development of 24 houses adjacent

[1:14:01] to 24 houses that weren't part of a development

[1:14:05] that are contributing just as much impervious surface

[1:14:08] and runoff and, and, and

[1:14:11] because they weren't part of an official development

[1:14:14] and don't have a stormwater permit,

[1:14:16] they're not subject to this.

[1:14:18] So then you say, well, you know, how how fair is any

[1:14:21] of it, which is

[1:14:23] Scenario is unfolding right now in,

[1:14:26] I believe it's Richmond developmental, one side

[1:14:31] of the street is fine,

[1:14:32] doesn't need one

[1:14:33] development on the other side of the street.

[1:14:35] Nearly identical. Has to have one.

[1:14:37] And I, I was gonna bring that up too.

[1:14:39] Some of our most densely populated densely developed,

[1:14:43] I should say areas of town predate act two 50,

[1:14:47] Richardson Road, like U Lane, the tree streets

[1:14:52] and none of those are on the list.

[1:14:54] And they were all, and it's just, it's such an ill,

[1:14:59] ill guided law that,

[1:15:04] Well the three acre, I think there's eight

[1:15:06] or 903 acres parcels identified in the state of Vermont

[1:15:10] that contribute into the Lake Champlain watershed maybe

[1:15:14] meant from AOG to only accounts for 5%

[1:15:19] of the phosphorus going into Lake Champlain.

[1:15:21] So we're spending millions, potentially billions of dollars

[1:15:26] on this three acre stormwater upgrade on sites

[1:15:29] that already have stormwater systems to

[1:15:33] address 5% of the phosphorus going into Lake Champlain.

[1:15:37] And we had a group come in here,

[1:15:41] it would be two years ago now, that wanted

[1:15:43] to address one particular area that wasn't subject

[1:15:45] to three acre permits.

[1:15:49] And they told us at the time that they, they viewed

[1:15:54] $30,000 per pound of phosphorus reduction as

[1:16:00] a fiscally legitimate, legitimate project.

[1:16:07] Okay. I think, yeah, the horse is very,

[1:16:11] we're not gonna save solve the

[1:16:12] phosphorous problem tonight. That's

[1:16:13] Sure.

[1:16:14] We've we've tried over the last three, four years

[1:16:16] to haven't been successful.

[1:16:20] Well we do have a motion in a second.

[1:16:21] So all those in favor? Aye aye Aye

[1:16:32] to the folks in Millwood develop ultimately the town too,

[1:16:36] but, and we need to pay the bills.

[1:16:40] You have Nelson's invoices for both FY 26

[1:16:43] and FY 27 for July 21st.

[1:16:47] Take both. We can do. Yep.

[1:16:50] And I would like to make a motion

[1:16:52] to approve the weekly accounts payable warrants

[1:16:54] for July 21st and July 28th.

[1:16:55] Both fiscal year? No,

[1:16:59] July 21st. Both fiscal years.

[1:17:00] I'm sorry. Okay. I, that's why I was, I'll go back.

[1:17:04] I'd like to make a motion to approve the weekly accounts

[1:17:06] payable warrants for July 21st

[1:17:08] for both fiscal years 26 and 27.

[1:17:10] I'll second that motion in a second.

[1:17:14] Any, is there any questions regarding any of those?

[1:17:19] See any No. All right. All those in favor? Aye. Aye.

[1:17:24] Aye. And we have abstain any abstention.

[1:17:29] And now July 28th,

[1:17:32] I'm on a roll.

[1:17:33] I'd like to make a motion to approve weekly accounts payable

[1:17:35] warrants for July 28th fiscally year 26 and seven

[1:17:39] Second.

[1:17:41] And questions regarding those, that batch

[1:17:44] of checks.

[1:17:49] All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye.

[1:17:51] Aye. Miscellaneous,

[1:17:57] do you have anything this evening, Mr. Manager?

[1:18:01] I don't have anything to add other than, you know,

[1:18:03] what I had given you in my notes

[1:18:06] and no great exciting news like I did two weeks ago

[1:18:10] other than I'll just reiterate the fact that the

[1:18:14] radio system seems to be working very well.

[1:18:17] So I'm very excited about that, as you all know.

[1:18:20] And I think everybody that uses it is as well.

[1:18:23] And I guess the other thing that I will announce publicly

[1:18:26] that I had in my notes is that

[1:18:29] we did receive the final plans

[1:18:31] and the bid documents from VHB for the Camp Street work

[1:18:37] and that all that is currently in the hands

[1:18:39] of vRAN right now being approved.

[1:18:43] They may or may not come back with some, some

[1:18:47] what should be relatively minor changes

[1:18:49] that can be incorporated relatively easy

[1:18:51] and then we'll get the Federal Highway Administration

[1:18:53] to sign off on that.

[1:18:55] The meeting I had with them

[1:18:56] and Josh a couple weeks ago seemed to indicate that

[1:19:02] everything goes smoothly,

[1:19:04] which we're not anticipating anything to not go smoothly.

[1:19:07] We will have before the summer's out, the ability to, ought

[1:19:11] to bid for that project.

[1:19:13] And from what I understand, there are

[1:19:17] contractors still looking for work for the fall.

[1:19:20] So the hope would be that we'll ought to bid

[1:19:22] and quick turnaround on that.

[1:19:24] And we could be in construction

[1:19:27] before snow flies on Camp Street,

[1:19:29] looking at maybe a month if that construction time there.

[1:19:34] It's not nearly as complicated.

[1:19:36] There's a lot of work, but it's not nearly as complicated

[1:19:38] as Holden Road was.

[1:19:40] So anyway, that, that, that is good news.

[1:19:43] I guess I should, I should not short change that.

[1:19:48] So Yeah, if, if, if we can get those plans back

[1:19:51] and get this out to bid, there is a chance

[1:19:53] that gets done this year and Camp Street will be open

[1:19:57] One step closer.

[1:19:58] Yeah, I'm sure I'm not the only board member

[1:20:00] that fields questions regarding Camp Street from

[1:20:03] residents and non-residents.

[1:20:05] Yeah.

[1:20:07] With all the other closures in the area right now.

[1:20:10] Yeah. Road construction

[1:20:11] and people trying to go around stuff.

[1:20:13] Sinkholes. Yep. Those two.

[1:20:17] Tina do you have anything from the office?

[1:20:21] I don't have anything. I also hoping

[1:20:23] to bring a firework application.

[1:20:25] One came in today but unfortunately Chief was out

[1:20:28] and so it's for September.

[1:20:31] Sorry, August 15th.

[1:20:32] So you guys are gonna see it on the 11th.

[1:20:35] Put it in plenty of time. If

[1:20:36] It was in timely then that's fine.

[1:20:37] Unfortunately I won't have a big time to butters know.

[1:20:41] But give him a heads up about that.

[1:20:44] I won't be here at our next select board meeting

[1:20:46] 'cause I'll be running the election.

[1:20:47] Carrie will be here. You'll get to meet Carrie. Carrie?

[1:20:50] Yes. Yes. We have not heard about your,

[1:20:53] your newest employee.

[1:20:55] Kind to her. It'll be her first time ever taking minutes.

[1:21:00] How, how long has she been?

[1:21:02] I think it's about, I think this is her third,

[1:21:05] maybe it's months now.

[1:21:06] I feel like now maybe, I think it's her third week solid.

[1:21:09] 'cause she had one vacation

[1:21:12] Board, Carrie.

[1:21:14] Hmm. And I guess we'll go around

[1:21:18] The table.

[1:21:19] Yeah. That's gonna save boat on the 11th. Yes.

[1:21:22] For the primaries.

[1:21:23] And I'll just throw in the I due August 17th.

[1:21:29] If you're sending it in in the mail,

[1:21:30] think about sending it now.

[1:21:33] Yep. Post and then call on the 14th

[1:21:35] to make sure Tina's received it.

[1:21:37] Those mark star no longer accept

[1:21:42] That for me.

[1:21:44] Nelson, I don't know

[1:21:48] as I have much Chris.

[1:21:50] Glad to hear that the, the new radio tower seems

[1:21:53] to be doing its, and Jamal seemed to be doing its job.

[1:21:57] I'm glad that's that's work working.

[1:22:01] And do we have any reason to expect

[1:22:05] that there may be another water main break?

[1:22:09] I know they, they seem to come in groups

[1:22:11] 'cause once you take that pressure off,

[1:22:13] then all the weak spots are

[1:22:14] Exposed hammerhead.

[1:22:17] Yeah. I don't think we can rule it out.

[1:22:20] You know, that's what happens.

[1:22:21] Like, like you said, I don't know that

[1:22:24] that's was the problem for the Westerville,

[1:22:26] the upper Westerville one,

[1:22:27] but I think that's just a string of bad luck.

[1:22:31] But yeah, I think the other ones are related

[1:22:33] to when you reenergize a system

[1:22:35] and if you've got a weak spot somewhere, you're, you're,

[1:22:38] that's when you're most likely to find it.

[1:22:40] A lot of these well not, you know, old, old

[1:22:45] or old enough and when they're laid in the ground

[1:22:49] and you've got a boulder or a rock next to it

[1:22:52] and you get movement over time, it, it can je it can,

[1:22:56] you know, put that pipe in jeopardy

[1:22:58] and all I can say is better this time

[1:23:02] of year than in the middle of the winter.

[1:23:04] So, you know, maybe that's a plus.

[1:23:05] We're getting them out of the way.

[1:23:07] Berry City and I think Montpelier have also had kind

[1:23:09] of a rash of water main breaks too.

[1:23:11] So I don't really know what's going on there,

[1:23:14] but it, I I I know I would

[1:23:16] and I know our crew would rather have 'em

[1:23:18] this time of year than in January

[1:23:20] And Mel Nino

[1:23:22] or La Nina, one of them, whichever is

[1:23:26] that's it for me Mr.

[1:23:27] Chair. Okay. Before I forget Mr. Ti, you fine.

[1:23:32] Mr. Susie, did you have anything to, for round table?

[1:23:36] Well, a couple of things I guess.

[1:23:40] I attended my first Heritage parade

[1:23:45] and it was well attended.

[1:23:47] Lots of people as representative Susie

[1:23:50] and I also got a chance for the first time

[1:23:53] to hear a local band named Native Tongue who

[1:23:57] I thought was really solid and strong and tight

[1:24:00] and enjoyed that.

[1:24:03] Other than that I have nothing.

[1:24:06] Native Tongue certainly has a following.

[1:24:09] Can't believe that was your first time.

[1:24:11] It's not your last.

[1:24:14] Well it's not gonna be my last time, that's for sure.

[1:24:17] Thank you Mr. Susie.

[1:24:23] I didn't have anything but to piggyback on what Todd said,

[1:24:26] I I was, I always put my money into my savings account

[1:24:30] for my taxes, you know, a little bit out of each paycheck

[1:24:33] and I would go to the bank

[1:24:34] and I would either have to transfer it

[1:24:35] to my checking account and write a check

[1:24:37] or I'd, you know, have them write a cashier's check

[1:24:41] the option to just a CH to fill out the form from the bank.

[1:24:44] There's no fee and it just sucks outta your savings account.

[1:24:48] It's on the town to do it, not you at that point in time.

[1:24:50] So I mean, it it takes all the onus

[1:24:53] On the due date.

[1:24:54] Yeah, it is, it was the best thing I ever did.

[1:24:56] So if anybody is thinking I can't do that

[1:24:58] because there's a fee, there is an option to,

[1:25:00] to have it direct debited out of your account without a fee.

[1:25:03] So

[1:25:05] We're having a lot of people sign up lately for that.

[1:25:08] It's not easy. Yeah. Just not to think about it and

[1:25:11] You know, people setting it up for the actual due date

[1:25:13] or for a couple business days before you have to

[1:25:16] Do it for the due date, Ashley, it's out on,

[1:25:19] everyone gets it pulled on the due date,

[1:25:20] which is it I as you can get.

[1:25:22] So there's no, the, the argument

[1:25:24] of playing the float is no longer there.

[1:25:25] It appealed an awful lot of calls of saying, well

[1:25:28] That was, is it Really working?

[1:25:29] That was, that was part of it.

[1:25:30] And then the other part of that is too, if,

[1:25:33] if somebody forgot that the account, you know, to put

[1:25:35] that money in that account that they're using.

[1:25:37] 'cause a lot of people don't like just sit in an account

[1:25:40] that somebody else, you know, has access to.

[1:25:44] Which I totally understand.

[1:25:48] You know, but that if they, if it's done on the due date,

[1:25:50] that doesn't leave them much time to rectify the situation

[1:25:53] before they get it with 5%

[1:25:59] pays for itself pretty quickly.

[1:26:01] Yes. And I was going to mention,

[1:26:06] but the manager brought that up.

[1:26:09] Olden Road is open, we're gonna beat

[1:26:11] that drum as long as we can.

[1:26:17] Yeah. DPW is very busy paving amongst other things.

[1:26:21] I've seen some ditch work happening as well so,

[1:26:30] and baseball field backstop.

[1:26:34] I saw them working on that.

[1:26:35] That's good stuff that was patched up with boards

[1:26:38] and plywood Get it by.

[1:26:40] It was not a very attractive, one of the first things

[1:26:43] that you see when you went to our,

[1:26:44] our main recreation area. So I'm, I'm glad

[1:26:46] Are they resurfacing too?

[1:26:47] Yeah, I was just gonna say that's, I did forget to

[1:26:50] that I haven't checked it out in person yet,

[1:26:52] but I saw them working on the trial hill.

[1:26:54] Looks great. Resurfacing so I suspect it's phenomenal.

[1:26:58] I can't wait to check it out in person up close.

[1:27:01] Yeah, it is great.

[1:27:02] The fence is gonna be great guys jumped right on all these

[1:27:06] projects to to so that you know they can be enjoyed

[1:27:09] before the season's out.

[1:27:11] What if they got their ice cream social

[1:27:13] In tonight?

[1:27:14] I met with Guy probably a month ago at the rec area

[1:27:18] and the basketball court there had already been resurfaced

[1:27:22] and it, it does look great to help.

[1:27:27] She nice not to have those ankle breakers.

[1:27:30] Speaking of Rick, I also, and I mentioned, I texted guy

[1:27:35] but Sunday afternoons my wife and I were coming home

[1:27:40] and the trial hill playground was

[1:27:44] Always With, with people.

[1:27:47] There were people playing basketball, there was people,

[1:27:50] kids, all kinds of kids.

[1:27:51] They must have had a birthday party or something.

[1:27:53] There must've been 30 kids in there playing

[1:27:55] with their parents and know the cars were parked.

[1:27:58] It was great. I love just loved driving by

[1:28:00] and seeing it be used and all those kids having a good time.

[1:28:04] Sometimes, sometimes on my way home

[1:28:06] after work I'll drive up.

[1:28:08] Especially maybe like, not, not, maybe not tonight.

[1:28:11] 'cause I hear it's raining there.

[1:28:13] It is not raining where I am and it's 87 degrees,

[1:28:18] but I'll drive up through the recreation area just

[1:28:23] to see all the different people using all

[1:28:25] of the different facilities

[1:28:26] and having fun to to, to your point Bob,

[1:28:29] it's, it's great to see

[1:28:32] The, the main rec area, tra Hill

[1:28:38] and I believe Graniteville throughout the years have been

[1:28:41] there for various different things

[1:28:43] and I think I've seen dominoes at every,

[1:28:48] They do deliver there sometimes.

[1:28:50] You're having so much fun you

[1:28:51] can't leave for dinner. That's right.

[1:28:52] You don't even wanna leave for dinner, leave you.

[1:28:53] They can bring it to us. So,

[1:28:55] and then I guess that's all I had.

[1:28:57] So anything from anybody in the audience?

[1:29:00] I'm just listening and taking it in

[1:29:02] and when I research everything I'm listening to then I'll

[1:29:08] Absolutely, we are always glad

[1:29:10] to have people in the audience.

[1:29:12] We do this frequently where it's just the room of this.

[1:29:16] Fortunately Eric visits us every week. Yeah.

[1:29:18] He keeps us honest. He

[1:29:23] Getting more involved in stuff. So

[1:29:26] See, always looking for love that for volunteers,

[1:29:29] for all the various boards and commissions

[1:29:31] and committees and and stuff.

[1:29:34] Certainly no lack of need. Are you new to the area?

[1:29:37] Been here for eight years?

[1:29:39] I think so, yeah.

[1:29:44] I've a have an electrical contracting business.

[1:29:47] I go to Nelson's.

[1:29:49] Yep. I've seen you two before.

[1:29:51] I can't picture where I must have seen you at the store.

[1:29:54] The store. Yep. I've seen you places

[1:29:57] and I can't remember where

[1:29:59] I worked for a commercial mason.

[1:30:02] We may have bumped into each other.

[1:30:03] How long have you had your business for?

[1:30:05] Oh geez. I've been an electrician for over 40 years now.

[1:30:09] So previously my, my father had a residential

[1:30:14] masonry business and I worked with him.

[1:30:17] I'm fairly new to the area. I'm really from the

[1:30:20] Burlington, well not really Burlington but Essex area.

[1:30:23] But then I started working at Huntington Homes.

[1:30:26] I was their head electrician for 10 years.

[1:30:28] So I got sick of traveling back and forth.

[1:30:30] So I bought a house on Route 14

[1:30:34] and so

[1:30:38] It proximity and yeah.

[1:30:39] New pavement now? Yeah,

[1:30:41] New pavement.

[1:30:42] Oh there's new pavement.

[1:30:44] They, I've been here for eight years.

[1:30:45] They haven't paved these roads once.

[1:30:47] Oh well sorry I was,

[1:30:48] I was assuming you were on the eastbound

[1:30:49] player side of 14. No,

[1:30:51] No, they just do Password Barry side.

[1:30:53] I'd like to see 'em go right through the

[1:30:55] whole thing. And they

[1:30:57] Did come in and put a little bit

[1:30:58] of lipstick on it a couple years ago

[1:31:00] because of the holes. But I mean

[1:31:02] They come back real fast. They

[1:31:04] Do, Absolutely.

[1:31:05] Some of 'em are ridiculous.

[1:31:06] People offices fires out and everything.

[1:31:09] Offices in south bar.

[1:31:12] What's worse is, is roof 13 the

[1:31:13] closer you get to Whams Town?

[1:31:15] Yeah. Yeah. And

[1:31:16] That's where I'm at.

[1:31:17] Trenches in the road. Yeah.

[1:31:18] I don't know how motorcycles make it through.

[1:31:20] They don't either. I mean you see him

[1:31:22] on the other, on the highways too.

[1:31:24] Those trenches, the tracks that go down, it's like

[1:31:26] what are they doing skimping on the pavement

[1:31:28] or what are they doing that's different? Something's

[1:31:30] Not, well if our town, our Josh Martino, our director

[1:31:34] of public works was here.

[1:31:36] We can tell you exactly what's wrong.

[1:31:38] Yeah. He has given us many on, on pavement. Yeah.

[1:31:42] My father was a paver for years.

[1:31:44] He ran the biggest pavers you can run

[1:31:47] but in California, that's where I'm from

[1:31:50] and he told me all kinds of stuff about paving.

[1:31:54] He'd just look at the stuff around here

[1:31:56] and just shake his head. Yeah.

[1:31:58] Yeah. So very town we do,

[1:32:00] we do it a little different than some

[1:32:02] of the communities we pave a lot every year.

[1:32:06] Try to, Josh would tell you it's all about

[1:32:09] pavement preservation.

[1:32:10] It's not just about having it smooth while it's first paved.

[1:32:13] It's having it stay that way.

[1:32:16] Not, not paving Over crap either.

[1:32:20] So that's where we have five year plans for that.

[1:32:22] So that's where that, that comes in to manager and

[1:32:26] and Josh update those every year, you know, around

[1:32:30] September, October, November, you know, just before budget.

[1:32:33] So they can start plugging numbers into the budgets for the,

[1:32:35] You mean five year plans to repave the roads you mean?

[1:32:38] Yeah, because I haven't seen it done once in eight years.

[1:32:42] So not state That Route 14 stay road.

[1:32:46] Road. Yeah. Just town road.

[1:32:48] So town 3 0 2 and 14

[1:32:50] and that short little section of two, right?

[1:32:54] Yeah With, so we have five year paved road

[1:32:59] plan, five year gravel road plan,

[1:33:01] five year equipment replacement plan

[1:33:04] and soon to be replaced, modified,

[1:33:09] amended, whatever the proper term is there.

[1:33:12] We have a five year building plan. Yeah. So we do that too.

[1:33:17] So we can try to avoid major spikes. Yeah.

[1:33:21] Be consistent with it.

[1:33:23] So yeah, I live in the house right across from the pull

[1:33:25] off there as you're going into Will Will Williamstown

[1:33:28] on the right that pull off, that big pull off there.

[1:33:31] I know if you're familiar with it.

[1:33:33] Oh yes, yes. And the Williamstown

[1:33:35] right at the end of that storage

[1:33:36] Units Across the street is me.

[1:33:38] So I mean I'm seeing all kinds of

[1:33:41] terrible potholes all the way up

[1:33:42] and down that it's ridiculous.

[1:33:44] So, and unfortunately we can't help you with

[1:33:46] that particular stretch.

[1:33:48] The only thing that we've call Mr. Flynn,

[1:33:53] We call Mr. Flynn.

[1:33:55] Is that what you said? Yeah.

[1:33:57] Just so happens that his administrative

[1:34:01] secretary sitting right here. Really?

[1:34:04] So she's the one that didn't return my calls?

[1:34:07] Probably not. I They don't return anybody's calls.

[1:34:11] You probably still no calls too many.

[1:34:13] That would just Me. I mean if I blow out one

[1:34:15] of my tires on my truck, those tires go

[1:34:18] for like 400 bucks a piece. So that's pretty

[1:34:21] Yeah.

[1:34:22] Irritating when that So

[1:34:23] You, you have the electrical sign on the front end?

[1:34:25] Yeah. Okay. I know exactly where you're at. I wonder.

[1:34:29] Thank you for your interest and for showing up.

[1:34:31] Yeah. Making an interest.

[1:34:33] And we referenced the budget committee

[1:34:34] and that's another one where we look for

[1:34:36] public members to come join.

[1:34:39] But budget, that's where you learn them ton.

[1:34:42] The budget committee is the five of us and the,

[1:34:46] and five members of the community.

[1:34:48] Tina appoints one.

[1:34:51] After we get the applications, we appoint two

[1:34:55] and then collectively those three people

[1:34:58] would select the other two.

[1:35:00] And I think we take letters

[1:35:03] for that till the end of December.

[1:35:04] Chris

[1:35:05] Usually till, we'll I'll start putting

[1:35:07] that word out towards the end of November

[1:35:09] and run the, keep that open until the end of December

[1:35:14] and then you, the appointments will start

[1:35:18] to happen right there around the 1st of January.

[1:35:22] Then we start at the end of January.

[1:35:24] I've been working with Katie for a

[1:35:25] little while as you know.

[1:35:27] Right. And she's been sending me some stuff, so.

[1:35:32] So the budget process, you know it's line by line

[1:35:37] takes, I think we've got it down to seven weeks now, Chris,

[1:35:40] with an eighth for extra if we need it.

[1:35:43] Yep. Much more streamlined than it was.

[1:35:46] So not nearly as painful,

[1:35:48] but great way to learn.

[1:35:51] Yeah, so much of it's the nuts and bolts of everything.

[1:35:54] Every dollar that goes through these, this building.

[1:35:58] That's how I ended up here nine years ago. Yeah, me too.

[1:36:01] That's where I, where I got started.

[1:36:03] So what I, to to Bob's point, you know, you know, thank you

[1:36:06] for showing interest in coming in.

[1:36:08] One of the questions that gets asked every time somebody

[1:36:10] applies for committee

[1:36:13] or commission is have you attended a meeting

[1:36:16] or have you watched a meeting?

[1:36:18] And it's, it's shocking

[1:36:22] how many people actually say no.

[1:36:26] So just the fact that you're looking to get involved

[1:36:28] with something and taking interest in it

[1:36:33] all the DRB has got a packed meeting coming up.

[1:36:39] What's the date on that, Chris? Is that August 12th?

[1:36:43] It would be the second Wednesday in August, whatever.

[1:36:45] I don't have that date firmly in hand but Yep.

[1:36:48] August 12th it may have got a act meeting.

[1:36:52] I think they have six or six

[1:36:55] or seven subdivisions. Yep.

[1:36:58] Yep. Something like that. I can't remember exactly.

[1:37:01] That would be a good one to observe. Observe that board.

[1:37:04] And of course all of these are available remotely too.

[1:37:07] If you, if you were so shoes, I'd prefer in person

[1:37:11] I Me too.

[1:37:13] That's fine. That way nobody can get

[1:37:15] muted. Still there.

[1:37:20] You hear It? I'm still here

[1:37:24] So. Alright.

[1:37:25] Sorry David. That's okay.

[1:37:28] I'll be there in person next meeting.

[1:37:31] Right. You gotta defend Yourself. I miss my partner.

[1:37:34] Yeah, Tina misses your company.

[1:37:39] Well I miss being there in person.

[1:37:41] It just seems that the meetings fall.

[1:37:45] I'm off on every other week

[1:37:49] So we're off.

[1:37:50] So

[1:37:51] Yeah, exactly.

[1:37:52] Off by a,

[1:37:57] Well make a motion

[1:37:58] to adjourn if anyone's gonna object to that.

[1:38:00] That's fine. Second. Second. Alright.

[1:38:05] Non debatable. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye.

[1:38:10] And Mr. Susie, safe travels Mr. Manager. Safe travels.

[1:38:17] See you all. Thank you. Meeting you guys.

[1:38:22] Yeah, pleasure. Absolutely. Nice to meet you.

[1:38:29] X and David is now.

Barre Town Select July 28 2026

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