[0:00] We will now begin the meeting; please
[0:01] stand for the oath.
[0:06] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
[0:08] United States of America and to the
[0:10] republic for which it stands, one nation
[0:13] under God, indivisible, with liberty and
[0:15] justice for all.
[0:20] Very good. Thank you all. I think the
[0:23] first item on the agenda is to
[0:24] say, let's go Red Sox! Very good.
[0:32] I object.
[0:36] Uh, any amendments to the agenda?
[0:38] I have an amendment on your packages.
[0:42] I included a letter titled with "coin"
[0:46] from August. I tried to get some
[0:50] other quotes, but I ended up
[0:52] with only this one. And this is for the
[0:55] MERP grant for the police department porch
[0:57] . So I hope you will
[1:00] review it and approve it.
[1:03] Uh, okay. I will make a motion to
[1:07] add the approval of expenses for
[1:11] the ramp and rest area as item E in
[1:15] new business. Do I have a second
[1:20] motion? I second that. Is everyone in favor
[1:25] ?
[1:25] Yes. It's been added. Very good.
[1:31] Approval of the minutes of September 15 and 16
[1:34] . I will make a motion to
[1:41] approve the minutes from our
[1:44] previous meetings on September 15th and 16th,
[1:46] respectively.
[1:49] I second the meeting. Can we
[1:51] separate those motions?
[1:53] Oh, yes, absolutely. I will
[1:55] first make a motion to approve our
[1:57] minutes from the meeting of
[1:59] September 15, 2026.
[2:01] I second. Is
[2:03] everyone in favor?
[2:05] Yes.
[2:06] I will abstain.
[2:10] I was not present. And I will make another
[2:14] motion to approve our minutes
[2:17] of September 16, 2026. Do
[2:23] I have a second motion? I second
[2:26] that too. Is
[2:30] everyone in favor?
[2:31] Yes. I'll
[2:33] abstain from that one too. I
[2:35] wasn't present at that one. Yes, I was there on
[2:37] the 15th. For the record. I was going
[2:39] to say that they're also
[2:41] welcome to...
[2:44] I thought it was funny because it
[2:46] reminds me of you.
[2:48] I was there on the 15th.
[2:51] Very good. Reports from
[2:53] department heads.
[2:54] Clear. So, Bill, do you want to
[2:57] start?
[2:58] Clear. I'll start with the
[3:00] police department. The
[3:01] police department had...In the last two
[3:05] weeks we had four arrests. One
[3:07] for one person, one for
[3:08] aggravated assault with recommendation of
[3:10] violent release, and one for simple assault
[3:12] . We wrote 54 traffic tickets, 15
[3:14] written warnings, and one
[3:17] parking violation. We had two
[3:18] car accidents. We took
[3:20] 23 fingerprints of
[3:22] civilians. I gave them a summary of what
[3:25] we did in the last two weeks and
[3:28] we had 122 service calls. We
[3:31] have 4539 so far this year.
[3:39] Very good. In addition, our
[3:42] water and wastewater department, whose heads
[3:44] are here tonight, has been
[3:45] conducting routine tests and everything
[3:47] is within expected ranges.
[3:50] The water department is
[3:52] preparing for hydrant cleaning
[3:53] in October. Regarding wastewater.
[3:56] Carrie is here to help us with
[3:59] the Oil and Tanner report. Also,
[4:02] Rutland has stopped receiving sludge, did they
[4:05] give us an update? 6
[4:08] to 8 weeks?
[4:09] Probably 8 weeks, until January.
[4:11] So we'll have to transport
[4:14] our sludge to Schenectady. That
[4:16] will increase transportation costs.
[4:20] Just so you know what's going to happen
[4:23] with our budget.
[4:26] Fortunately, we have that connection
[4:28] with Schenectady. I am very grateful
[4:32] to Carrie for that and for finding a
[4:35] viable solution to this problem. In
[4:38] Public Works, we are announcing the
[4:40] vacancy for the position of CDL. We
[4:43] currently have four applicants. Nate and
[4:45] I will review them this week. The
[4:47] rest of the staff are finishing the
[4:49] trenches on Bigalow Road. The work on
[4:52] the road shoulders was completed today on Sheldon
[4:54] Road, Cemetery Street and Swamp Road. Uh,
[4:59] no, that one wasn't there.
[5:01] Ongoing equipment repairs,
[5:02] road leveling, garbage collection, and
[5:04] tree work around
[5:05] municipal buildings. We're trying
[5:07] to take care of some things in the
[5:09] back. We took care of
[5:12] some trees on the sides and others at
[5:14] the back, doing a general cleaning,
[5:17] but there are still some trees at the back of the
[5:20] building that serve as an entrance for
[5:23] squirrels. So we're trying to
[5:26] fix that a little bit. I hope everyone
[5:30] has noticed that the park fountain is
[5:32] working again. That was very good
[5:35] . It looks great. All the mulch has already been placed
[5:37] around it. So, yes, I'm
[5:40] glad it's finally ready. We are
[5:44] under pressure to sign the
[5:46] MER grant contract. As you know,
[5:50] we had in mind the deadline of
[5:53] December 31st; That's what they
[5:56] told us until last Thursday or Friday
[5:59] . We were informed that yes,
[6:03] we have until then to spend the
[6:05] money, but the contracts must be
[6:06] signed by September 30th. That's why
[6:11] I was trying to get more
[6:13] bids for the porch, but I haven't
[6:15] received any. So we're going to move
[6:18] forward with that so we can
[6:19] get it.
[6:20] We asked for an extension, but they
[6:21] weren't really considering it.
[6:22] No, they weren't open to that
[6:25] . So let's finish it. The
[6:28] recreation director and I are
[6:30] finalizing a
[6:31] recreation grant that expires, I believe, tomorrow.
[6:34] We have some letters of support for
[6:36] that. Basically, it's for
[6:39] finished product work. These are things from the
[6:42] later stages. So we've
[6:45] thoroughly analyzed the park behind the
[6:48] elementary school and the small details that
[6:50] cost money and need to be done to
[6:53] finish the project and make everything look great
[6:56] there. We have several things that we
[6:59] are trying to complete with that.
[7:03] In addition, we are investigating a new
[7:05] grant for improved roads that
[7:07] was released this week. The deadline
[7:08] for that is
[7:10] September 2028. So Nate and I
[7:13] are looking into what we can do
[7:15] . There are three different sources of
[7:17] funding and options. So we're
[7:20] looking at what we might
[7:22] need in the city that would fit within
[7:24] those funds and help our budget a little
[7:27] . Brilliant.
[7:29] Anything to add, department heads
[7:31] ?
[7:32] Clear.
[7:32] Yes, absolutely. Regarding our
[7:35] waste disposal, UVM was
[7:37] here last week and started their
[7:40] final project; The full synopsis
[7:42] should be ready by December, and
[7:44] then they will hold a presentation which
[7:46] I will attend to bring you the information
[7:49] . The engineer is working with
[7:51] them. So, regardless of
[7:54] how they prepare the proposal, the
[7:56] engineer will approve it. Therefore, it
[7:59] could receive funding. It will
[8:01] basically be a ready-to-
[8:03] start project, which is huge for
[8:04] us. I mean, they can see how much
[8:07] the engineering costs are and the fact that it's
[8:08] done pro bono is great.
[8:11] That's excellent.
[8:15] Anything to add, Mike?
[8:16] Through the
[8:18] Rutland Regional Planning Commission,
[8:20] I am involved in a
[8:22] safety committee training. [
[8:25] Continuation of the previous segment]
[8:28] We had an inspection at the plant,
[8:31] just so you know. We've never
[8:35] done it before, but we're going to
[8:37] start closing the door there, so
[8:40] no one will have access to the property
[8:42] itself. I have spoken with a company.
[8:47] We are going to install a path.
[8:52] ATVs, bicycles, and
[8:55] motorcycles will not be allowed to pass, but kayakers,
[8:57] fishermen, and others will still have access
[9:01] without having to go around the entire fence.
[9:04] Where is this microphone?
[9:06] At the water plant itself. There's always been
[9:08] a big gate up there.
[9:10] Except it's never been closed or used, you
[9:13] know. It has always been
[9:15] public land. Let them walk, hike,
[9:17] or do whatever they want. But with the way
[9:21] things are going in security and cybersecurity,
[9:23] we're going to start closing that door.
[9:27] That way, if something happens, at least they'll have to
[9:29] make an effort to get into the building.
[9:33] Yes, in fact there have been people camping
[9:35] in their parking lot up there.
[9:45] Um, maybe you already said that, Terry, so I
[9:47] apologize. What
[9:50] explains why the Rutland plant
[9:52] cannot receive our sludge?
[9:55] Carrie has more details about that,
[9:58] sir.
[9:58] No, they just told me they're at
[10:00] maximum capacity.
[10:01] OK.
[10:01] They have a new chief operator, so
[10:04] I guess that has something to do with it. They are
[10:06] also short-staffed and
[10:08] normally process their sludge on the
[10:09] second shift, so I don't know if they
[10:11] are operating a full second shift
[10:13] . It has been very, it has been uncertain
[10:15] . Alright
[10:16] . Um, so we're only
[10:18] sending one load per week to
[10:20] Skenctity and that's with the
[10:22] tanker truck. The problem we're
[10:24] going to run into is that they can't use the
[10:26] tanker truck in winter. So
[10:27] if it gets cold, we're in serious
[10:29] trouble because then they can only
[10:31] use the 4,000-gallon tank.
[10:34] So,
[10:35] and you,
[10:36] and right now I'm only sending 6,500 gallons
[10:39] per week, and we're actually
[10:42] putting 16,000 gallons per week into that tank
[10:45] .
[10:46] You say mud. So, is it just
[10:48] waste?
[10:49] That's the waste. That's the
[10:50] final product we have.
[10:51] So, instead of transporting it,
[10:54] can you have Doris come and
[10:56] pump it for us?
[10:57] Doris comes and pumps it.
[10:59] And we have to do something about it. There are
[11:02] very, very few places that process mud
[11:06] . So that's not septic material.
[11:07] And I know that sometimes septic material
[11:09] and sludge are confused. That's why I
[11:12] was confused.
[11:14] There is a very big difference between
[11:16] septic material and sludge. I have called
[11:17] all the municipalities in our area.
[11:21] Um, there's a regional plan for Mbury
[11:22] within 5 years, but that's
[11:24] 5 years from now. Um, I spoke with Granville.
[11:29] does not accept mud. They only accept, or
[11:31] used to accept, septic material. Um,
[11:33] mud is our final product. It's
[11:36] very thick. Um, and it needs to be
[11:40] processed further and dried
[11:42] before going to the landfill. And that's why
[11:45] we're analyzing our
[11:46] sludge study, to see if there's anything we can
[11:48] add that reduces it to a
[11:50] solids level that can go
[11:52] directly to the landfill. The problem
[11:54] with that is that all the landfills in
[11:55] Vermont are also closing. Mjm.
[11:57] Uh, which means that, eventually
[11:59] , right now everything is going north.
[12:02] Uh, that one will probably close and everything
[12:04] will have to go to Ohio. Do you
[12:06] mean Coventry? Ohio.
[12:09] Coventry is also on the list.
[12:10] Mjm.
[12:11] So, they have a lot of work
[12:14] ahead of them, huh?
[12:15] Yes. So, basically, the
[12:17] real solution is to switch to
[12:19] Class A biosolids. Uh, and yes,
[12:21] I did my research, I went to a demonstration
[12:24] of a Class A dryer in Middlebury,
[12:26] but they cost about 3 million
[12:29] dollars. So, it's probably not
[12:31] in our budget right now
[12:33] .
[12:34] What is the...Yes. What is the
[12:35] revenue opportunity with
[12:37] a Class A service like that?
[12:38] Well, class A is currently being
[12:41] used for, uh, VTrans. They use it as an
[12:44] amendment when they're working in
[12:46] grassy areas and things like that. The
[12:49] problem with that is that if they approve the
[12:52] PFAS regulations,
[12:54] everything will probably change again and there will be even
[12:56] more regulations. So right now we
[12:59] just need to get to class A,
[13:01] which is basically heat and solids, you
[13:03] know, raising it to a certain temperature
[13:05] to kill all the pathogens.
[13:07] But if they include PFAS, that's going to be
[13:11] another obstacle. Okay, the
[13:15] PFAS are coming. So,
[13:17] in the last training I
[13:19] attended from the state, it seems to be
[13:21] in 2029. And the MCL, which is the
[13:27] upper limit, will be cut in
[13:30] half and more chemicals will be added to
[13:33] the list. So it's going to be a
[13:38] major concern for the country,
[13:40] not just for our
[13:42] wastewater treatment plant.
[13:44] Mjm. And, in fact, our plant was
[13:46] part of that PFAS study; I
[13:47] volunteered and we came out with
[13:49] very low levels. So, for now,
[13:51] we're good. Uh, and that's due to the
[13:53] fact that we don't have much of an industry
[13:55] .
[13:55] And the same is true for our
[13:57] water supply. There is
[13:58] absolutely nothing there that is on
[14:00] the list. Regarding
[14:05] Chad's earlier question about
[14:07] revenue potential, without getting bogged down in this
[14:09] discussion, but uh, instead of selling
[14:11] the final product if we had a
[14:13] dryer, is there also
[14:15] revenue potential from receiving sludge from other
[14:17] municipalities that are...
[14:19] We will never accept sludge. We could
[14:21] possibly receive sewage in
[14:22] the future.
[14:23] OK.
[14:23] We will never reach the point where we won't, and
[14:25] probably never will, have the
[14:26] capacity to handle other plants.
[14:28] even if we had that dry. I do
[14:30] n't believe it. Uh, we're talking about
[14:33] storage and many other things. Uh
[14:35] , but I'm possibly considering
[14:37] maybe doing some septic tank work.
[14:40] So, that's also something that
[14:42] Hoyle and Tanner are going to review with me.
[14:45] So, we realize that
[14:47] expenses are always going to go up and
[14:48] we need to find a way to
[14:50] generate income from that. That's why we
[14:51] 're analyzing it. Alright
[14:54] . Report from the
[14:59] municipal manager. Put it all together. He put it
[15:01] all together. Yes.
[15:02] Uh, any unfinished business? It seems there are
[15:05] no outstanding issues.
[15:07] New topics. Okay, let's continue with our
[15:10] current topic and have our
[15:12] discussion on the repair
[15:14] and rehabilitation plan for the
[15:16] sewer collection system.
[15:20] OK. So guys, uh, a
[15:21] couple of weeks ago I delivered this
[15:23] preliminary sewer system to you. Uh, actually I
[15:26] added things to it because
[15:28] Hoyle and Tanner gave me the
[15:30] final report after that. So, I added a few
[15:32] things. And I also gave a couple of
[15:37] you a copy of
[15:40] Hoyle and Tanner's actual report. It's not in color. I have
[15:43] one with color images. Uh,
[15:45] obviously it was too expensive to try to
[15:47] print everything in color here. Uh,
[15:49] we only made one copy. So, if anyone
[15:53] wants to see our photos, they look much
[15:55] better on the copy I have. So,
[15:58] I guess I'll leave it up to you
[16:03] . Do you have any questions about it?
[16:05] Like, how do they want us to...?
[16:06] Can you explain the changes to us?
[16:09] So, the changes were, uh, let's see.
[16:17] So on the page where
[16:20] level three was, I thought maybe a lot of
[16:22] this we could do internally in
[16:25] terms of smoke testing and, uh,
[16:28] connections, locating the
[16:30] rainwater connections. Hoyle and Tanner
[16:33] actually gave us a price of
[16:34] $85,000 to do that. And I'm
[16:36] thinking that maybe we can come to
[16:38] a compromise and perhaps some of it will
[16:39] go to Hoyle and Tanner and some of it
[16:41] to us. Uh, for phase two of
[16:44] manhole inspection, Hoyle and
[16:46] Tanner gave us a price of 75,000
[16:49] because there are 119 manholes left that have not been
[16:51] inspected. Basically, when
[16:54] they did the inspection, we took all
[16:56] the places we know that normally
[16:58] have problems, and that's where they
[17:00] focused first. Uh, those are
[17:08] basically most of the changes I
[17:09] think I made, which was to add their
[17:11] actual costs, estimated costs for
[17:13] them. Do
[17:24] you need to take any action from us
[17:25] tonight? I suppose there's a
[17:28] discussion about whether they want to proceed
[17:30] with Foil and Tanner being part of
[17:32] it, or if they want to try to have us
[17:34] handle it internally. Um,
[17:35] what are your thoughts on
[17:36] this?
[17:38] What's realistic to do internally?
[17:40] Um. I mean
[17:41] , apart from the two of them.
[17:42] That's really difficult for us
[17:44] to do a detailed report like the one
[17:46] they did.
[17:47] For a start. We really don't have
[17:49] as much knowledge as they do about the
[17:51] actual structures and, you know, how
[17:53] everything should be put together. M.
[17:55] Um, and I really don't have the resources,
[17:57] you have to send at least a minimum
[17:58] of two people and if I send two
[18:00] people, then I have no way of
[18:02] planning.
[18:07] Yes.
[18:08] Um, so what internal work,
[18:10] if any, have they done that would
[18:12] be there? Because we just received
[18:16] this report. Um, basically the
[18:17] only thing that's happened now is, uh,
[18:19] Nate and I had an argument about
[18:21] the sewers that wouldn't open
[18:22] . And of those 12 manholes that
[18:25] could not be opened, only two of them will be
[18:27] able to be opened in a feasible way.
[18:29] Some of them have been paved
[18:30] recently. And two of them aren't
[18:32] even structures for, um,
[18:34] for the sewer anyway.
[18:36] So, we don't really care about
[18:37] those. So let's start with that.
[18:40] Um, I wanted to say, some of the things
[18:42] they recommend doing are part of
[18:44] deep cleaning. So hopefully
[18:46] when Mike does his, um, hydro-wash,
[18:49] we wanted to take advantage of that again and
[18:51] wash our system so we can move
[18:53] some things around. And then I'm going to
[18:55] take three blocks and do a
[18:57] real vacuuming and cleaning this year.
[19:01] Instead of covering all the streets with
[19:03] a little water, I'm going to take three and
[19:05] have them suctioned out and cleaned.
[19:07] Correct. I have a question. Clear.
[19:10] You said that two of them are
[19:12] covered with recent paving.
[19:15] Yes. Recently paved.
[19:16] Who paved them? Was it the
[19:18] municipality or the state?
[19:19] It was the state. But the problem was that they had
[19:21] n't been identified before.
[19:23] So they've been buried for
[19:24] so long that people don't even
[19:26] know where they are. They
[19:26] were under the pavement then.
[19:28] They were under the pavement and have now
[19:29] been repaved.
[19:31] OK. Because I was wondering who
[19:32] authorized paving over them.
[19:34] That's all. These are just things that have been
[19:36] overlooked
[19:38] year after year.
[19:39] Why aren't we locating and
[19:41] opening them?
[19:42] Well, we're trying to locate them
[19:43] . That's part of what this is about.
[19:45] If you saw the original map we
[19:47] worked with, it wasn't even accurate.
[19:50] So if we manage to find those
[19:52] manholes now, is the state
[19:53] responsible for coming and lifting them?
[19:56] I suppose that's true for us, because they
[19:57] paved it. We don't pay them. I
[19:59] highly doubt it because I believe it was up
[20:00] to us to mark them.
[20:02] This work should have been done long before
[20:04] the paving began,
[20:05] right?
[20:07] Since I've been here, at one time it
[20:09] was common practice to pave over them
[20:12] and then excavate when they wanted to access
[20:14] them. But during the last few years
[20:18] of Joe's time here, that
[20:19] changed, it changed to "why are we doing
[20:21] that?". So we started to correct it
[20:23] . Probably some of the ones
[20:25] Carrie mentions were paved
[20:27] 10 or 15 years ago and it was never
[20:29] identified that they were there.
[20:31] And there are only two of those that you know of.
[20:34] Yes that's
[20:34] fine. No, no, you said two. That's what
[20:36] I was...
[20:37] You have to understand that when we did
[20:39] the GPS mapping of the system, we had a
[20:41] very old, faded, and not
[20:43] necessarily up-to-date map. So
[20:46] we took that map. We did a lot of
[20:48] fieldwork with the GPS, and that's where
[20:51] we really needed to start. And
[20:53] all of this is coming together now. That's why
[20:56] I, you know, really
[20:58] pushed to get the GPS done.
[21:00] To have a starting point.
[21:02] If you have a GPS and you're nearby,
[21:04] could a metal detector detect it?
[21:09] Well, we searched the cemetery trying
[21:10] to find all the ones that were there
[21:12] and we couldn't.
[21:13] With a metal detector? Yes.
[21:15] I think we're getting lost in the
[21:17] details. Alright
[21:18] . No no. I was just
[21:20] curious. That's all.
[21:22] So, they have three levels.
[21:25] Yes. They
[21:26] are prioritized. Level one
[21:30] concerns safety.
[21:32] Level two is quite important, and
[21:34] level three is a
[21:36] research program. What...and maybe I
[21:41] missed...maybe I missed that? What
[21:45] would it financially entail to address
[21:47] the entire first level? Are there any, uh
[21:50] ...
[21:51] they have the short report, if you go to the
[21:53] second to last page, the sheet describes
[21:56] that in number six, summary of
[21:58] costs and
[22:00] financing considerations. So yes, I see it
[22:07] broken down into 1,500 per manhole.
[22:10] Uh, a contractor quote is needed
[22:12] for level two. I didn't
[22:14] know if we had more
[22:15] specific numbers. Um, in the immediate next steps
[22:18] , he says, uh, $50,000
[22:20] of capital line for materials.
[22:22] Is that the total amount, we believe, for
[22:24] the first level?
[22:25] We're in...um, I think so.
[22:28] OK. Going to point seven on the
[22:32] next page, I imagine,
[22:37] based on the wording, that 50,000 is what we
[22:39] 're considering for the first
[22:41] level, but
[22:43] that's to rehabilitate those
[22:45] identified as the most serious, the
[22:47] manholes, and that's basically just
[22:49] some repair work, um, changing
[22:51] some of the covers.
[22:53] OK. And do we have, does the DPW have the
[22:57] capacity to make this a
[23:02] focal point for some time, I don't know how long
[23:05] this would take. I know part of this
[23:07] says, uh, certain fall
[23:09] of
[23:10] 2026. Um, where, where am I? Right
[23:19] here. Um, so 50,000 in material
[23:27] for the first level and we have,
[23:30] where did I see this? I'm looking for numbers all over
[23:35] this, this uh document here.
[23:37] Uh, we have, uh, a balance in the
[23:40] sewer reserve fund of what
[23:42] and I don't think that's necessarily
[23:44] correct now because we had some
[23:46] expenses that came out of there and we're
[23:47] having, um, the work done at the
[23:49] River Street pumping station.
[23:51] Yes.
[23:51] Um, that's going to have to come from there, and
[23:53] engineering came from there. So I
[23:55] 'm not exactly sure about that
[23:56] balance, and I think that was before they got
[23:58] paid as well.
[24:01] Where would you recommend we start?
[24:04] So, I think if we take the, um,
[24:06] manholes listed in this
[24:08] report that we can actually fix, there are
[24:10] probably about 15 to start
[24:12] doing that if DPW and Wastefire
[24:14] could work together and come up with a
[24:16] plan to at least address maybe one
[24:18] per week.
[24:20] Yes.
[24:20] Um, the cleaning needs to be done this
[24:22] fall for everyone identified
[24:24] in the report as needing a
[24:25] deep clean. M, um, so I'm going
[24:27] to address that part and we have 15,000,
[24:30] I think, in the, um, at the bottom of the
[24:32] sewer that I had, uh,
[24:34] put there for cleaning, but we're going to
[24:37] use that for a deep clean and
[24:40] not a general clean. So that
[24:42] will probably be closer to 10,000
[24:44] instead of 15,000. So 5,000 of that
[24:46] could probably go towards
[24:47] some of the repairs.
[24:49] OK. To do all that
[24:52] immediately, how much money would
[24:53] I need? I need to meet with
[24:56] Nate and see what kind of covers we have,
[24:57] because we might have covers and
[24:59] things like that, so I don't feel
[25:01] comfortable giving him a number. Alright
[25:02] . So, uh, when... So,
[25:05] basically, I'm just
[25:07] looking for guidance on, you know,
[25:09] the possibility of taking another 50,000
[25:11] maybe and seeing what I can do with Oil
[25:14] and Tanner for further research.
[25:17] Well, Adam Street's report has
[25:19] n't arrived yet. That project, as it
[25:23] now looks, is that we're going to end up
[25:26] with pump replacements and
[25:29] pipe replacements. The
[25:32] intake pipes that are in the wet well
[25:34] . We probably won't have to redo
[25:36] the pumping pipe. We did the
[25:38] reduction test and it seems the
[25:39] pump pipe is not the
[25:41] problem. It's a 6-inch pipe,
[25:43] which should be sufficient. It seems
[25:46] the bombs are working
[25:47] against each other, and that's the
[25:49] main problem. We are considering a
[25:52] completely different design, with the
[25:54] pumps having a main pump and
[25:56] a backup pump. Thus, one is
[25:58] stronger than the other. And they won't
[26:00] surpass each other so easily. And
[26:03] hopefully that will solve some of
[26:05] the problems at our
[26:07] Adam Street pumping station. But part of
[26:10] that project would also be to build this
[26:12] sewer right here, at the corner
[26:15] of West and Washington. We know that that
[26:18] sewer is completely
[26:19] deteriorated and is not draining properly
[26:21] . The way it discharges, it
[26:23] basically hits against the wall and
[26:25] is deteriorating it even more. It
[26:27] should have fallen
[26:28] straight inwards. I
[26:32] understand that that
[26:34] particular sewer is beyond our capabilities.
[26:37] Correct. Because that will have to be
[26:40] pumped with a bypass system.
[26:41] And
[26:42] that's not really something we have
[26:44] the ability to do.
[26:46] The Adam Street pumping station.
[26:48] How suitable is it for something like
[26:51] growth?
[26:53] No, it's not suitable at all. And that
[26:57] leads to further discussions about
[26:59] needing to conduct hydraulic studies
[27:01] at some of our other
[27:04] pumping stations as well, because if we plan to
[27:06] develop anything, our other
[27:08] pumping stations are going to need
[27:10] increased capacity. Oh, that may be it,
[27:14] we really should take one
[27:18] and the engineers have asked for
[27:19] a deep dive into that
[27:21] engineering
[27:22] and the engineers have asked what
[27:24] our development plans are. There's
[27:25] no point in spending money twice
[27:27] here.
[27:28] Correct. Exactly.
[27:30] Yes.
[27:32] And just to give my opinion on this, it was
[27:34] in the spring when we did our
[27:35] hydraulic cleaning. It was the first
[27:38] time we met and put water into
[27:40] the sewer system. We opened
[27:44] a fire hydrant on Academy Street
[27:47] and it overwhelmed that pumping station
[27:49] there. So, you know, they were
[27:53] thinking of putting a new development
[27:55] there on Academy Street. They have to
[27:57] rebuild the sewers and
[27:59] Oh, yes. Yes. It is, I mean, it's
[28:01] part of the conversation. Well, yes,
[28:03] but I'm just saying that as we
[28:05] start putting water in these...
[28:08] Well, that's true. It's about setting
[28:10] appropriate expectations so that everyone
[28:12] understands where we are,
[28:13] probably exposing many problems
[28:15] that we don't even know about.
[28:17] Yes. Yes. No, good point. Good point.
[28:24] Just one question about your level 2, your
[28:26] first line, um, has a flow of
[28:29] 5700 gallons per day. Is that a
[28:32] water leak or what?
[28:34] So, the flow can come from
[28:36] anything, from
[28:38] sump pumps to holes in our
[28:40] sewers. Um, and we have several
[28:42] manholes that actually still
[28:44] have the old hook holes
[28:46] where they would go and hook them up, you know,
[28:48] pull them out that way. Those don't
[28:50] need much of a crack to let
[28:52] in a lot of water. Um, so
[28:54] , and we know we have
[28:55] cracked pipes. We have, we have
[28:57] clay pipes.
[28:57] Where, where is that?
[28:59] Those sewers.
[29:00] No. Where is that leak? Where
[29:02] is that in...? It does not appear by name.
[29:05] It's listed by
[29:06] No, I'll have to go to the
[29:07] district court to get the
[29:09] exact locations, but it's practically
[29:10] everywhere. We probably have,
[29:12] I think there are probably 20 of those
[29:14] manholes that still have the
[29:16] hook holes. So, that's
[29:18] coming in directly. We know that
[29:19] we have, um, rainwater connected
[29:22] in, um, near Academy Street. There are
[29:25] three storm drains right there
[29:27] that we identified when Mike and I
[29:28] were cleaning. Um, that's part
[29:30] of the plan for this fall, to continue
[29:32] with that. But I have an
[29:34] immersion solution. So, we're actually going
[29:36] to check, um, while we're, running some
[29:39] water over there. It will be a good
[29:41] opportunity to review the storms
[29:42] and see if they are connected or not. But
[29:46] we know that, we know that we have them on
[29:48] the south side.
[29:51] And also, that clay pipe also
[29:53] lets water in.
[29:54] Absolutely.
[29:55] Water enters each joint at certain
[29:57] times of the year. Yes.
[30:05] And I'm not looking for a decision
[30:07] tonight in any way. I just
[30:09] wanted them to know what our
[30:11] idea, our plan, is.
[30:13] And with some of this we can already begin.
[30:15] Um, the other thing I wanted to talk about, I was
[30:18] n't sure if they needed
[30:20] additional funds from the reserve to
[30:23] help them with...
[30:25] I think I'd like to sit down with
[30:27] Public Works and see what we can
[30:28] do internally before approaching
[30:30] them, but I haven't really had the
[30:32] time; You know, Nate and I have only
[30:33] talked about the 12 sewers. It's the
[30:36] only thing we've had time to
[30:37] sit down and talk about. Um, okay.
[30:40] But, uh, I think I want to sit down with
[30:41] him and see what we have in inventory
[30:43] that we can repair. What does he feel he
[30:46] can fix? What do I need to get
[30:48] quotes for regarding the sewers we've
[30:50] identified as being at higher risk?
[30:52] Is it something we can do ourselves? Is it
[30:55] something I need to get quotes from external providers?
[30:58] So, we also don't
[30:59] want to deplete our
[31:01] reserves in everything related to
[31:02] engineering because things always come up
[31:04] . I mean, obviously, River Street, we didn't
[31:06] expect that one to have a
[31:08] problem. Um, and the other thing I
[31:12] thought might be helpful, since I
[31:14] know you guys really can't
[31:16] solve a lot of problems in one
[31:18] meeting, is to form a small committee
[31:21] that can start reviewing all of this.
[31:24] Um, I know Sam is familiar with
[31:26] some of the things I've been
[31:27] trying to work on, but
[31:29] our sewer allocation form
[31:30] is completely
[31:32] outdated. Um, that really
[31:34] needs updating. So I've already
[31:35] made drafts of that. Um, we didn't
[31:38] have a temporary download form
[31:40] . So, when we have
[31:43] businesses in the area that need to
[31:45] download something to our system and
[31:48] aren't regular users for some reason
[31:50] , or need to download something extra, I've
[31:52] designed a temporary download form
[31:54] so we can get
[31:56] analytics and have a guide. Because we can't
[31:58] say "No, it can't," if we don't
[32:00] even have a
[32:01] temporary download form. Um, I've been
[32:04] working on an
[32:06] industrial pretreatment survey. So, if
[32:09] people come who we know are going to
[32:11] have a business, they can take this
[32:12] survey so we know what they are
[32:14] contributing to our system. Um, and
[32:16] we might be able to get something
[32:18] established. And that applies even to
[32:20] restaurants, because we've been
[32:22] terrible with our
[32:24] fat ordinance and it's taking its toll.
[32:26] So I've worked on a
[32:28] fat and FOG reduction program, and we have
[32:31] a checklist for
[32:33] our restaurants that they can follow
[32:35] . Perhaps we can at least start by
[32:38] inspecting some of our
[32:39] restaurants, you know, giving them
[32:41] guidance on what not to
[32:43] pour. And if we at least show up from time
[32:46] to time, the grease traps will get
[32:48] cleaned because they know we'll come to see them
[32:50] . Uh, our municipal
[32:53] sewerage ordinance is very
[32:55] outdated. There are things about it that
[32:56] no longer apply. For example, we have
[32:59] there that it is acceptable to have, uh,
[33:00] food waste disposers, you know,
[33:01] garbage disposals connected to the system. The state
[33:03] of Vermont has banned that. There
[33:05] should be no
[33:06] garbage disposal connected to any system.
[33:08] You know, we know that all
[33:09] food waste must be composted now.
[33:11] It's how it should be in
[33:13] regular trash. So, there's a lot of work to be done and
[33:16] things that need to be reviewed. And I'm
[33:19] thinking that if we had a small
[33:20] committee that could meet from time to
[33:22] time and start reviewing these
[33:23] drafts and how to implement
[33:25] some of these things.
[33:28] OK. Um, let's
[33:32] work on forming that, Carrie, because I
[33:34] believe it's something
[33:35] I'd like to be a part of.
[33:37] Yes, we can work on forming that
[33:39] committee and then when I
[33:41] know, go, look at that.
[33:43] When there is a draft that the entire
[33:44] board can review, then
[33:46] we will address it and that's
[33:47] fine. Because I mean, I
[33:49] started them, but obviously I need
[33:50] input. So that's what the
[33:57] questions are. No, that was great.
[34:01] Thank you very much,
[34:02] very revealing. Excellent work.
[34:04] Thank you.
[34:07] for your hard work and bad
[34:09] nose.
[34:12] Although he put a smile on her face.
[34:14] Just so you know, regarding the
[34:16] disposal problem we have right
[34:17] now, we are limiting how much
[34:19] we are wasting. So I'm not going
[34:22] to arrive. I'm not going to have
[34:24] perfect numbers. So I'm going to...we're
[34:26] limiting how much we're
[34:28] wasting. We've been
[34:30] transferring like crazy. Uh, actually
[34:32] I transferred 20,000 gallons from the
[34:34] sludge storage tanks.
[34:36] So we have some space, so
[34:38] we're not in a desperate situation, and that's why
[34:40] I'm limiting what
[34:41] I send to Connectivity. So,
[34:44] we're doing everything we can
[34:46] internally to limit the
[34:48] additional cost.
[34:50] Thank you. I had a question at the
[34:52] last meeting. Precision Industrial.
[34:55] Yes.
[34:55] What...what did they clean?
[34:57] They came and cleaned all the sand from
[34:58] the Atom Street pumping station.
[35:00] Uh, they couldn't carry out the
[35:02] hydraulic study with the amount of sand
[35:04] that was there. And in fact, my transducer
[35:06] that operates the pumps was submerged
[35:08] in sand.
[35:09] So they sucked all of that up. And
[35:10] our aeration basin that we've had
[35:12] out of service had
[35:16] more sand than they could take to
[35:18] Schenectady. So obviously
[35:21] sand is still a problem even
[35:23] with our sand removal system
[35:24] . So they cleaned all the sand
[35:28] . Um, it was actually at the same level
[35:30] as the top of the aerators
[35:33] and uh Terry came over, I had him come and
[35:36] see how much sand
[35:38] was actually in there. And
[35:40] obviously we can't allow it to
[35:41] reach the level of our aerators
[35:42] because it would cut off aeration. We made
[35:44] one tank this year and we'll make the other
[35:46] tank next year. Alright
[35:48] . Thank you.
[35:54] Very good. We have Chuck Brown on the
[36:00] agenda. I
[36:02] don't see it here. He joined us
[36:04] via Zoom. I was
[36:05] just looking for a letter of support for a
[36:07] pedestrian crossing in front of the
[36:09] Capton Community Center, um, from the board,
[36:12] looking for it from you, the board. Alright
[36:15] .
[36:16] Um, basically a letter, just a letter of
[36:18] support. Um, they are requesting to install
[36:20] a pedestrian crossing. I think it's the
[36:22] senior center, the community hub
[36:23] to cross over to the trails, I
[36:26] imagine. Yes. So that would be something they would have to
[36:28] go to the
[36:29] state for
[36:31] because our people use it. So that's why
[36:34] they're okay with it.
[36:36] They also serve our
[36:38] citizens. Yes. I did it
[36:40] . He said he would come. So do
[36:42] n't
[36:45] excuse me. I don't know who Chuck is. I did
[36:49] n't know. I believe that in the past,
[36:52] when towns or other municipalities
[36:54] have asked for our support,
[36:57] their boards have usually requested some kind
[36:59] of backing.
[37:01] Yes. I don't know if he's a member of the
[37:04] Capital Center. Don't know. He called me and
[37:07] asked to be on the board's agenda
[37:09] . Don't know. I told him today at
[37:11] 7:00. I do
[37:11] n't know if it's a reasonable suggestion to
[37:13] make if you speak to Mr. Roundtree
[37:15] again. But perhaps we could sign
[37:17] as part of many in a single
[37:19] letter, if perhaps that would not be as
[37:21] significant as writing our
[37:23] own letter. But it would
[37:25] certainly alleviate the burden. Yes.
[37:29] And even if that, or if they authorize one of
[37:31] us to write a letter on his
[37:32] behalf supporting him, that's also
[37:34] fine if he contacts us. Alright
[37:37] . Why not, why not
[37:40] , why don't we postpone this issue
[37:42] to give it a little more time
[37:44] while we review the rest of our
[37:46] new business, and if it comes up we can
[37:48] accept it? We have Mr. Richards on
[37:55] the agenda for two topics. First,
[37:58] review of Law 181 of the
[37:59] planning board. Um, with the great
[38:03] spirit of delegation and
[38:08] the first part has been mainly
[38:10] my fieldwork, uh, right now,
[38:13] so we got level 1B and to
[38:18] get to level 1A now we have to
[38:21] form the center association, the steps I
[38:26] have to follow right now are to create
[38:29] a memorandum of understanding with the
[38:32] people. And then the state wants
[38:36] us to have a community reinvestment agreement
[38:42] that all of you would
[38:44] sign, along with the other
[38:47] people who are helping with whoever
[38:51] is on the board of this, just
[38:54] to say that you support the
[38:58] center's partnership and that you will help with the
[39:01] memorandum of understanding.
[39:05] They also want the town to provide an
[39:09] annual stipend to the center's association
[39:12] , preferably around
[39:16] 2,000 to 2,500 each year. And that would go towards
[39:20] fixing up the center, or what
[39:23] the state calls beautification,
[39:26] to help us find someone to
[39:29] help fund grants or to
[39:32] write grant applications for us. Um,
[39:40] I've prepared a sort of draft
[39:44] or a good draft of a 5-
[39:47] year plan. And once I have everything ready,
[39:52] I will present the 5-year plan, the
[39:55] memorandum, the reinvestment agreement, and
[40:00] all of that. Now, if my
[40:04] memory serves me right, I thought we had already gone
[40:05] down this road.
[40:08] So, we were on pause,
[40:10] okay?
[40:11] When Law 181, with all its
[40:13] problems, was passed, this was put on hold because
[40:16] I spoke to you about this
[40:18] last year. Exactly the same. I
[40:22] even go back further, to when we
[40:24] were
[40:25] editing the municipal plan
[40:27] and were thinking about the
[40:28] designation of the center. Um,
[40:30] right. TRUE. Yes. This has been in the
[40:32] works forever, and now we're at
[40:34] this stage.
[40:35] OK. I am
[40:36] level 1A.
[40:38] I thought, not this iteration of the
[40:40] board. I thought that when you were
[40:42] on the board, we even had an
[40:44] understanding—I don't know if anything was put
[40:47] in writing—but we had an
[40:48] understanding that there would be
[40:50] year-on-year investments in a
[40:52] partnership at the center. Was
[40:55] any action taken at that time? We did
[40:57] n't do it, we didn't get to that point.
[40:59] OK. Uh, they told us,
[41:02] we directed the
[41:04] planning commission to begin the process of
[41:07] , um, of the law, of, um, uh, of the center
[41:10] to obtain the center's designation
[41:13] . So, the center is a
[41:17] very bureaucratic initiative from the beginning, and
[41:20] fortunately, Ann knows how to
[41:23] handle it much better than I do, because I get
[41:26] very frustrated when, you know, you
[41:28] submit something and then they say "yes,
[41:31] but..."
[41:32] oh yes.
[41:34] So we've been dealing with that,
[41:37] and when all the fuss happened with
[41:40] Law 81, the last part of which was
[41:43] rural development, which doesn't affect us that much
[41:46] . Um, the first part is what we
[41:50] 're trying to do at the center.
[41:55] So that stayed pretty much the same, but it
[42:00] changed enough that
[42:02] we have to do everything again. We
[42:05] already have much of that. Although we
[42:09] looked at each other when you were talking about water
[42:12] and sewage, and when we had a
[42:15] designation that there were
[42:17] adequate and developable water and
[42:20] sewage services in the center. Um,
[42:24] we'll need that again, and it looks like we'll
[42:26] need to hear from the
[42:28] water and sewer department again that we're still
[42:30] okay. But we'll get to that as we
[42:35] go through the steps.
[42:39] Most of the steps are just
[42:42] formalities. The next thing that
[42:44] really needs to happen is the
[42:46] partnership of the center,
[42:48] right? I have to manage to train her. I had
[42:52] several meetings last year, such as
[42:54] with the Legion. I went to all the
[42:58] different businesses downtown. Not
[43:00] all of them, but I spoke with many of the
[43:02] business owners to see if they
[43:04] would be willing to join. I spoke
[43:06] with a couple of members of the community
[43:08] to see if they would be interested in
[43:10] it. So it's been a while.
[43:13] Therefore, I don't know if everyone
[43:15] is still willing to join. They know it's
[43:17] on hold, or that it was on
[43:19] hold until the
[43:22] Law 181 issue was resolved, because they weren't seeing any
[43:25] of this.
[43:26] Yes.
[43:26] During that time. So there was no point in
[43:30] moving forward if everything was going to change.
[43:33] What are your thoughts on revisiting the
[43:35] EDP concept?
[43:37] Well, initially they didn't want to do it
[43:40] , but on second thought.
[43:43] Maybe we need
[43:45] Yes.
[43:46] Just to get enough
[43:48] people.
[43:49] Mhm.
[43:50] For both.
[43:51] Yes. That's right. So
[43:53] they can work, they should be able to
[43:55] work together in my opinion. It's just
[43:57] that
[43:58] one will be the other, probably
[44:00] due to the number of volunteers
[44:02] needed.
[44:04] Yes.
[44:04] Correct.
[44:05] Well, and that was when I was talking to
[44:07] Devon the other day, he seemed to think
[44:09] that things had changed a bit,
[44:12] that we could bring them together and make it
[44:14] work.
[44:15] That makes sense, doesn't
[44:17] it? Yes, it really does.
[44:19] Yes. I don't know if our funds for the
[44:22] center's partnership should
[44:24] remain separate from the
[44:26] EDC funds. Don't know.
[44:29] Which means, they should know that we are
[44:32] going to request funds in the
[44:35] planning commission's budget to
[44:37] have that. to have something to
[44:41] start this year with. Hey. Alright
[44:43] .
[44:44] Uh, so you'll see it, no, don't give yourselves
[44:46] a heart attack. It's not, it
[44:48] 's not the end of the world.
[44:49] No, it's to help fund the
[44:51] start of this.
[44:52] Yes. And it will be for everything. Beautification
[44:56] , uh, maybe even, uh,
[44:59] infrastructure donations for a
[45:02] grant, whatever.
[45:05] Well, but it's, it's what the state wants
[45:08] . They want to see that there is a
[45:11] commitment from the people.
[45:14] towards the center and towards the corporation
[45:18] or towards development, the association
[45:21] that is there. So that's what they
[45:24] 're looking for. What they want
[45:26] is for us to work on improving
[45:29] Fair Haven's infrastructure by being
[45:33] an ally to the people, to, uh,
[45:37] provide energy and input to
[45:40] address bicycle and
[45:42] pedestrian access, signage,
[45:44] parking, lighting,
[45:47] landscaping, accessibility,
[45:49] connectivity, and other things that may
[45:52] come up. Yes, I don't know, I was going to send, I was going to
[45:58] send Terry. I was going to send them
[46:01] Ann's five-year plan. It is, it is a
[46:03] very good document. I'll send them to you.
[46:06] I mean, you can all read it. Did I
[46:08] send it? I do
[46:09] n't believe it. Alright
[46:10] . I had a lot going on today.
[46:13] No problem.
[46:14] But it's a very positive document
[46:17] and it's very professionally done,
[46:19] the state will love it. But it looks
[46:23] great. Thank you. He's
[46:31] their player. Let me just send it to you.
[46:34] Thank you. Thank you. But we're
[46:37] starting, we're essentially
[46:39] starting over with a lot of the
[46:41] work already done. Or at least all the
[46:44] preliminary work is done and now we just
[46:47] have to put it on the portal in a
[46:49] format that Devon promised to
[46:51] help us with. Devon has promised to help us
[46:54] . He
[46:54] himself.
[46:55] He, uh, he has staff,
[46:58] so he's freed up some of his
[47:00] own time and he, he has a
[47:02] special affection for Fair Haven and
[47:03] grew up here. Excellent. Thank you.
[47:09] all for your work
[47:10] on that. I know it's a
[47:12] lot.
[47:15] The second point was the
[47:16] zoning changes for Prospect Street to
[47:18] allow mixed use.
[47:19] This was much easier. I promise.
[47:22] Essentially, what we need is
[47:24] a, um, is a, um, public hearing
[47:27] of you. The
[47:29] planning commission held its
[47:31] public hearing recently, but it went missing
[47:34] during the transition when
[47:36] Joe left and all that. This should have already
[47:39] happened. We're changing the
[47:42] designation of the first part of
[47:44] Prospect Street, where the
[47:47] slate mill and all that was, which was
[47:49] industrial.
[47:51] So we want to change it to mixed use
[47:53] . That makes ownership of everyone
[47:56] there more viable. You
[47:59] know, the only thing they could
[48:02] sell their houses for right now would be
[48:04] to put a factory in there, and that's
[48:06] simply not going to happen there. So
[48:09] this is mixed use. It could be
[48:11] commercial, it could be residential, it
[48:13] just changes it. So what
[48:16] we need from you is to
[48:18] set, um, you have to make an
[48:21] agenda and say that you're going to have a
[48:23] public hearing. I think it's 15
[48:26] days, so they probably won't be able to do it
[48:27] at the next meeting. I
[48:29] 'm not sure, but I
[48:30] should probably check, but I think
[48:32] ours is 15. Hour. You're
[48:36] not going to believe me. Nobody is going to argue with that
[48:39] . You know, if I had 15 minutes before
[48:41] my regular meeting, I'd probably
[48:42] have enough time. Let's see,
[48:44] then it would be within two meetings
[48:46] .
[48:46] Yes, that works for some people. And
[48:48] were there four plots of land?
[48:49] Four. Essentially, there are four
[48:51] plots. Yes, that change. But it
[48:53] simply makes that area
[48:55] much more viable. You know, I'm pretty
[48:58] sure we're not going to get another
[49:01] GE stuck in there, you know. So, which
[49:06] is probably a good thing,
[49:07] actually.
[49:08] But, um, that's what this is all about. And I think I
[49:13] sent them, I know I sent them
[49:15] a copy of what he has to say and
[49:18] all that kind of stuff.
[49:21] Um, and it should be a piece of cake. I can't
[49:25] imagine anyone arguing about that. It
[49:27] makes that property much more
[49:29] viable. They did
[49:30] n't argue at our meeting.
[49:31] No, we didn't have anyone. So
[49:34] I suspect they'll be safe.
[49:35] They were silent.
[49:38] Next question.
[49:40] However, we have to do it 15 days in advance
[49:41] . I think so
[49:41] .
[49:43] They have to publish. Yes. It
[49:45] 's a public hearing.
[49:47] So that probably,
[49:48] we're probably...
[49:49] 15 days wouldn't work then. Uh-huh
[49:51] . We
[49:51] probably won't achieve it at the
[49:52] next meeting. But you know, if you
[49:54] publish it between now and then,
[49:56] we'd have a meeting after
[49:58] that. Probably.
[50:00] They would celebrate it on a
[50:01] regular meeting night.
[50:02] Yes. 15 minutes earlier.
[50:05] Yes, that's it. It's, it's, it's something quite
[50:07] simple. Mhm.
[50:10] And then we will have the next step,
[50:14] once it is reviewed and you
[50:18] agree with that change, the next
[50:21] step will be to deliver a
[50:25] zoning regulation that everyone has in their
[50:29] hands, which has been a
[50:33] three-year process. Okay, but we'll have something that
[50:38] includes all the changes of the
[50:41] last few years. The historic district,
[50:45] the subdivision rules, all of that
[50:47] will be there, plus a
[50:49] clean copy of everything we've changed
[50:51] over the past 3 years. So it
[50:54] will be good to have it. That's all. That
[50:58] seems fine to me. Thank you. Ask. Here
[51:04] 's the best part of this. As
[51:10] they say in French, au revoir.
[51:14] Very good. The next point is the
[51:17] MERP grant.
[51:20] As I said before, we need to
[51:23] try to move forward with this quickly.
[51:26] Bill and I worked hard to
[51:29] get more than one quote for
[51:33] building an ADA ramp. We
[51:36] are going to change, you already
[51:38] approved it, the change of the door.
[51:41] We are going to install an ADA door. It will
[51:43] open to the other side. Then
[51:45] we will have the porch with a ramp so
[51:47] that people in wheelchairs
[51:49] can access the
[51:51] police station. There are approximately six
[51:55] of what remains of MERP, out of the 83 or 86
[51:58] thousand dollars. $63,000 of that
[52:02] could be used for this entire project
[52:05] . That's approximately $20,000
[52:07] for the Royal Glass door we already
[52:08] mentioned. This price reached
[52:11] $18,650. So we'll be well
[52:16] within our funds to be
[52:19] able to complete this. So I would
[52:21] ask you to discuss it, approve it, or
[52:25] ask questions. I
[52:26] have a question; I'm not opposed to
[52:29] aluminum in any way, but I was
[52:31] wondering if Cavino was asked
[52:34] about using something like Trex in the
[52:36] construction of the platform and
[52:39] ramp. I do
[52:42] n't know, I think the platform itself
[52:44] was going to be pressure-treated wood,
[52:47] but I think only that landing is going to be
[52:49] ... Ah, the 5x5 aluminum landing. I mean
[52:59] , we can
[53:00] quickly ask about Trex to see what
[53:02] the cost difference is.
[53:03] As discussed. So, that's
[53:06] pressure treatment, you said?
[53:09] The porch itself is pressure treated.
[53:12] Yes.
[53:12] Okay. I understand, to build a
[53:15] pressure-treated landing. OK.
[53:19] There's a plane they based it on, and
[53:22] we were thinking of moving it to
[53:24] center it more and make it visually
[53:26] more appealing than having it off-center.
[53:29] So the whole porch would be moved
[53:31] to be centered with the main one and
[53:33] then the ramp would come out, but it wouldn't
[53:35] look like it does now.
[53:36] And what would happen first, the
[53:38] construction of the landing or the
[53:39] replacement of the door? Well, the
[53:42] door materials have already been
[53:44] ordered, so I don't know.
[53:45] And you are going to sign to pay the
[53:48] first 50%. In fact, they were here
[53:52] yesterday. Royal Glass was looking,
[53:54] checking the direction of the door
[53:56] and what we were going to do with the porch.
[54:00] But we think the door
[54:01] should probably go first, since they're going to be
[54:03] changing a lot of parts there,
[54:06] rather than having to move something from the
[54:08] porch once
[54:10] construction starts.
[54:12] And that has already been discussed with Coino
[54:13] as well, that the new door is on its
[54:15] way. Alright. And as I said, once
[54:17] we have a signed contract,
[54:20] we have until December 31st. And
[54:23] in fact, it seems the state
[54:25] is even willing to extend
[54:27] the deadline a little on that part. They seemed flexible
[54:30] regarding the end of the year, just not
[54:33] this September 30th for
[54:34] contracts suddenly. Okay then
[54:37] . OK. Oh, and just to
[54:42] recap, we tried to get other
[54:44] quotes.
[54:46] Yes. So, you can see that this is
[54:48] from August. This is dated
[54:50] August 25th. We've had this for a while
[54:52] . We've
[54:54] called, texted, and
[54:56] asked everyone we know. Does
[54:59] this Cabino LLC have any
[55:03] connection to the police officer
[55:05] who works for us?
[55:06] He is the brother of the Jehovah's Witness who also
[55:08] works here. Brother, that's why
[55:09] I asked for clarity, so we would have it, so
[55:12] this is okay for
[55:15] no conflict, it's fine, I just
[55:17] want to make sure I don't cross any
[55:19] lines.
[55:20] I think at one point Mr. Go
[55:21] was also looking for people. I
[55:26] just want to make sure I don't cross
[55:27] any lines. We've been
[55:28] trying to do this
[55:29] since, when did you, Mr.
[55:31] agreeing, start trying to achieve that a
[55:32] few years ago? We
[55:34] simply haven't been able to find
[55:36] a contractor since we got the
[55:37] money.
[55:38] Yes, you mentioned it.
[55:42] No, good question. Excellent question.
[55:45] Absolutely.
[55:46] Given the difficulty in finding
[55:48] someone to quote this job. I hate to
[55:50] be picky about the budget
[55:52] itself, but I hate when a budget
[55:53] is not broken down. Um, is there a
[55:56] version of this provided by
[55:58] Camino that was broken down? No. And to
[56:01] be honest, having worked in the
[56:03] construction industry, that's not
[56:05] something you see very often.
[56:09] Yes.
[56:10] Because much of their work is based
[56:12] on their estimates of the project
[56:14] timeline, and because labor is
[56:16] a significant part of it. So
[56:19] they estimate a certain part and
[56:25] most construction companies
[56:27] won't break that down, because then
[56:29] you'd say, "You said it would take 5 days
[56:32] of 8 hours and I saw that they were only there for 3 and a
[56:34] half," or something like that. So
[56:37] no, I,
[56:38] the breakdown, unfortunately,
[56:41] is not something common.
[56:42] The only thing I think we
[56:44] should talk to them about, Terry,
[56:45] that I haven't discussed yet, is the
[56:47] actual cost there; I think it could be a
[56:49] little lower, it's the removal one,
[56:50] because our DPW can remove
[56:52] any debris.
[56:54] Put it on a dump truck and
[56:55] take it away, so they wouldn't have to
[56:56] do that. So I was hoping, you
[56:59] know, that it might be a little less,
[57:00] but we haven't had that conversation.
[57:02] And as I said, we were expecting to
[57:04] get other things and nothing. We
[57:05] had nothing to compare it to. This
[57:10] price is one month old. Yeah
[57:12] . So I will accept a motion to
[57:17] accept this offer. I will introduce a
[57:22] motion to accept the offer for up
[57:26] to the project amount of $
[57:30] 18,650. That sounds good?
[57:35] No, I would say don't exceed it.
[57:36] That does not exceed $18,650.
[57:42] Is it $650 or $50? I heard 15. I
[57:47] believe him. I
[57:48] wrote it wrong. No, no problem.
[57:51] And that's for the replacement of the ramp and
[57:54] rest area, to be carried out by Cavino
[57:56] LLC.
[57:57] Yes, what you said.
[58:01] I support the motion. Any further
[58:04] discussion?
[58:06] Everyone who is in favor.
[58:13] Thank you.
[58:17] Of course. Very good. 2 minutes. One
[58:22] comment. I
[58:24] have no comment. I have a
[58:26] question.
[58:27] Why is the
[58:28] dog park gate closed? I went to the
[58:32] dog park for the first time the other day and
[58:35] thought it was closed because the
[58:38] door was locked.
[58:43] Isn't the gate somehow connected
[58:44] to the village garage or something
[58:46] ? And I'm going to look for an aerial map of the
[58:49] area while we talk. So, please excuse me
[58:51] .
[58:51] I had to contact Linda.
[58:54] I had the impression that
[58:57] we discussed this a while ago and someone came and
[58:59] said something about closing the door for
[59:02] some reason. But that was the door
[59:04] that leads outwards.
[59:06] That's the entrance to the runway. Alright
[59:07] . I knew there was another
[59:10] door leading in, but you have to go
[59:12] through that door to get into the
[59:15] dog park. You proved it was the
[59:17] wrong house. I'm sorry. You can walk through it.
[59:21] Yes, that's what I did. But I didn't
[59:22] know because I had never been there; the
[59:24] dog park gate
[59:26] was also closed.
[59:27] No, I was able to enter the dog park.
[59:31] The other door is closed.
[59:33] But with the other gate, I thought, "
[59:35] Wow, am I supposed to go through
[59:37] here? Am I supposed to go around it?
[59:39] Should I or shouldn't I? Is there a camera
[59:41] somewhere, and the boss is going to come
[59:43] flying in, and my poor Delelfie and I are going to go
[59:45] to jail?"
[59:47] I think the gate in the road is just there
[59:49] because people come up, back their
[59:51] trucks out, and trash the field. So
[59:54] ,
[59:54] if you park in that
[59:57] parking area, you just walk in, and
[59:59] you can get into the dog park.
[1:00:00] Yeah. That's what I did. And the
[1:00:02] Linda family told me that. I contacted Linda
[1:00:04] because I was thinking, "Is the
[1:00:05] park open? Is
[1:00:06] it closed? Is it?" "Because I'd never
[1:00:08] been to the people. If you talk to
[1:00:13] people, just share that. Yeah, it
[1:00:14] 's definitely open. But yeah
[1:00:17] , especially when it gets wet,
[1:00:19] people like to go out of their way and into the
[1:00:21] middle of the airport.
[1:00:23] Yeah, I couldn't understand that. I was
[1:00:25] like, what? Why?
[1:00:26] Sorry, you there. I
[1:00:28] was totally confused.
[1:00:35] Yeah. Well, I have two points. The
[1:00:40] first, um, just so everyone is aware
[1:00:43] , um, and I already posted this.
[1:00:47] So, the fundraiser
[1:00:49] for the people at the
[1:00:51] Wherever State Apartments has
[1:00:53] officially closed, and thanks to all the
[1:00:55] generous people, we raised a total of
[1:00:58] $743. A very
[1:01:02] special thanks to the businesses that supported
[1:01:03] this effort: The Wooden Soldier, Fair
[1:01:06] Haven Pizza House, Cloud9 Dispensary,
[1:01:09] Luminous Beauty Salon, and Abashons
[1:01:11] Hardware. I also want to thank Jasmine
[1:01:14] Derky of Slate Valley Cares, who
[1:01:16] helped immensely with
[1:01:17] coordinating this effort, and that
[1:01:19] very special lady from the Red Cross
[1:01:21] who asked to remain anonymous.
[1:01:25] Um, I'll ask for..." New to anyone who
[1:01:28] knows people who lived there and have
[1:01:30] n't yet
[1:01:33] contacted Slate Valley Cares, please
[1:01:36] contact them. Um, the
[1:01:39] phone number is 265-3666. Um, so they
[1:01:45] can, you know, and they'll provide
[1:01:47] assistance to those people. Um, so
[1:01:50] if you know anyone, please
[1:01:52] tell them to contact them. Um, that's
[1:01:55] number one. The other thing is, I've had
[1:01:59] people talking to me
[1:02:01] about the memorial plaques.
[1:02:07] When the trees were planted
[1:02:10] downtown, um, one of the ways they
[1:02:14] raised money for that,
[1:02:16] they had people buy
[1:02:19] memorial plaques in memory of so-and-so or so-and-so
[1:02:21] or whatever to put
[1:02:23] around the trees.
[1:02:25] Well, now that the trees are
[1:02:26] practically gone,
[1:02:28] um, people are just walking
[1:02:31] right on the plaques. They're
[1:02:33] breaking, and the people who
[1:02:36] bought those plaques are getting
[1:02:38] upset. Um, I talked to Joe about
[1:02:43] this a while ago, but I
[1:02:46] never really got a response. Um, a
[1:02:53] People would really like to see if
[1:02:56] those plaques can be lifted and
[1:02:58] put somewhere else where they won't be
[1:03:01] destroyed. Um, I asked Joe if there was
[1:03:06] a way to put them
[1:03:08] around the fountain in the park,
[1:03:11] like that piece, the big piece that goes
[1:03:15] around it. Not where the mulch is,
[1:03:17] because people walk right
[1:03:19] on that,
[1:03:21] but either to the sides or maybe on
[1:03:25] top of it. Um, just
[1:03:29] somewhere where they won't be
[1:03:31] destroyed. I realize it's late
[1:03:36] in the year, so it's not something that
[1:03:39] can be done right away, but maybe
[1:03:42] you guys can, you know, put your
[1:03:45] minds together and think of a solution for
[1:03:48] the spring.
[1:03:51] And these were sold
[1:03:55] to raise money for the trees?
[1:03:57] Yes.
[1:03:58] Okay. There are quite a few.
[1:04:00] The understanding was that the trees were going to be
[1:04:02] there
[1:04:04] forever.
[1:04:06] Yes.
[1:04:07] Um, sort of. Um, and you know, I've had
[1:04:11] people—and you can see if you walk around
[1:04:15] there—several of them have cracked
[1:04:19] .
[1:04:20] Mmm.
[1:04:20] Um, chipping at the sides. Uh,
[1:04:24] when the trees were There,
[1:04:26] people weren't walking on them because
[1:04:29] they were walking around the tree.
[1:04:32] Yes.
[1:04:33] So, but now that the trees are gone
[1:04:35] , people aren't paying attention
[1:04:37] and are just walking right on them
[1:04:39] .
[1:04:39] I think the starting point is
[1:04:42] probably to ask Nate if there's a
[1:04:45] chance of digging them up and
[1:04:48] preserving them in the process. And then from
[1:04:52] there, it's decision-making. I do
[1:04:55] n't know much about the physics of this.
[1:04:56] I figured between Mr. Greeno and,
[1:05:00] uh, Dennis, you guys might be able to work
[1:05:03] something out.
[1:05:04] Yes. So maybe we'll talk to Nate
[1:05:06] to see what's possible.
[1:05:07] Yes. What I said is
[1:05:09] probably the same as Ros, like,
[1:05:12] probably in the spring, review it, I mean,
[1:05:14] have the conversation
[1:05:16] now, see what we can do, but
[1:05:19] possibly wait until spring
[1:05:21] because we'd like to do something with the
[1:05:23] sidewalk there, and we want it to be
[1:05:25] warm enough for it to set properly and
[1:05:28] settle, because they have
[1:05:30] quite a bit of work right now. We do
[1:05:32] n't want huge holes in our
[1:05:33] sidewalks right before winter. It's
[1:05:35] probably not good for the
[1:05:37] sidewalk cleaning machine or for
[1:05:38] people's safety.
[1:05:40] Believe me, I know Okay, I understand those
[1:05:43] little trenches.
[1:05:45] Sure. Sure. So, yeah, thanks
[1:05:48] for mentioning that.
[1:05:50] One possibility would be maybe to think
[1:05:53] about planters.
[1:05:55] That's what I was thinking.
[1:05:56] The place where the trees are,
[1:05:58] the planters we have.
[1:05:59] Great idea. Maybe. That's
[1:06:01] a great idea.
[1:06:02] Trees. Trees are a bad
[1:06:03] idea because there are power lines running all the way around
[1:06:05] that spot. You don't plant
[1:06:08] trees under power lines
[1:06:10] expecting them to last a long time.
[1:06:12] Mhm.
[1:06:13] I mean, come on.
[1:06:14] Yeah.
[1:06:14] Mhm.
[1:06:15] So, it
[1:06:15] wasn't my idea. I'm
[1:06:18] just saying.
[1:06:19] Yeah.
[1:06:19] That could be an idea. I do
[1:06:22] n't know. We could take some of the
[1:06:25] flowers from Fair Haven,
[1:06:28] big planters, and put them in the
[1:06:30] middle where the trees were, if
[1:06:32] someone could level it.
[1:06:34] Yeah.
[1:06:39] They would have to be more
[1:06:40] permanent structures, they would have to be maybe
[1:06:42] ...
[1:06:44] A concrete planter would be pretty
[1:06:45] permanent. Like the ones she was talking about,
[1:06:48] those black ones they had outside.
[1:06:51] They would be easier for
[1:06:53] sidewalk maintenance in the winter
[1:06:55] if they were movable.
[1:06:57] Mhm.
[1:06:57] Yeah. But then you'd be
[1:06:59] shoveling over them and Destroying them. That's
[1:07:00] true.
[1:07:04] And see, yes. Where we are now. That's
[1:07:06] fine by me. I
[1:07:07] just wanted to bring it to your attention so
[1:07:09] maybe something can be done in the
[1:07:10] spring.
[1:07:11] Thank you. Thank you. Uh, parking.
[1:07:16] I have a comment. I
[1:07:19] was paying very close attention to
[1:07:21] Carrie and Mike when they were talking.
[1:07:25] People complain about the price of water and
[1:07:28] sewer, and I'm not
[1:07:30] affected by either. Keep that in mind. I do
[1:07:33] n't think anyone understands the kind of
[1:07:36] work these people do. M.
[1:07:39] I think they go to the plant in the morning
[1:07:41] and sit and...
[1:07:43] see how it works and hope it doesn't break
[1:07:45] down.
[1:07:46] Yes, there's a huge amount. Did
[1:07:48] you notice what that girl is doing
[1:07:50] ?
[1:07:52] I mean, she's not a child, but...
[1:07:56] to me she is.
[1:08:00] But I'm glad, I'm glad you
[1:08:03] said that her great knowledge is good
[1:08:05] .
[1:08:05] What these people are doing.
[1:08:07] Yes. They're out on the street finding
[1:08:10] potholes and things to fix, and all they
[1:08:13] get are complaints
[1:08:15] while the debris piles up.
[1:08:18] Yes.
[1:08:19] Literally and metaphorically. And
[1:08:21] but they... they find it And they take
[1:08:24] care of it.
[1:08:26] It's just amazing. I mean,
[1:08:29] yeah. And if you go to their plants, well, the
[1:08:31] water is a little different from
[1:08:33] sewage, but I don't know if everyone has
[1:08:34] been to the treatment plant,
[1:08:36] which she's more than happy for
[1:08:38] anyone to come and
[1:08:39] tour. Uh, it's not what you'd
[1:08:42] think of as a
[1:08:43] sewage plant. It's clean. It smells
[1:08:46] clean in most areas. I
[1:08:49] mean,
[1:08:51] outside, but they both take excellent care of their
[1:08:55] plants.
[1:08:57] Exactly. It's swept and clean.
[1:08:59] Everything is tidy and clean and where it should be.
[1:09:01] Yes. Yes. They do an excellent job.
[1:09:04] It's an excellent job. And I just wanted to
[1:09:06] say
[1:09:06] thank you for saying that.
[1:09:08] Yes.
[1:09:08] It's just a
[1:09:10] shitty situation in every sense. I
[1:09:13] mean, did you ever go there and realize what
[1:09:15] was going on?
[1:09:18] Honestly, I don't know. We're going to
[1:09:19] get rid of this. I don't even
[1:09:22] know where the
[1:09:23] water treatment plant is here. Me
[1:09:24] neither. I've
[1:09:25] lived here my whole life. The
[1:09:29] wastewater treatment plant
[1:09:30] is right next to the transfer station, it's
[1:09:32] off the road.
[1:09:35] Yes.
[1:09:37] Just for the record.
[1:09:40] Actually, the elementary school—was it the
[1:09:43] elementary school?—they've
[1:09:44] really been doing
[1:09:47] field trips
[1:09:48] to the sewage treatment plant. They've been
[1:09:49] doing that at least since
[1:09:51] I was born because I went to that same one. I
[1:09:54] just remember my daughter.
[1:09:56] Guess where we went today.
[1:09:58] Yes.
[1:10:01] Peter, Peter did it all those years.
[1:10:03] Sixth graders.
[1:10:05] Yes.
[1:10:06] Good.
[1:10:07] Yes.
[1:10:08] Very good.
[1:10:10] Uh, unfinished business. Thank you
[1:10:12] . Thank you.
[1:10:15] Uh, unfinished business. I wanted to
[1:10:18] briefly mention the
[1:10:20] revised parks and recreation ordinance that
[1:10:22] we discussed several meetings ago. It's
[1:10:25] been almost a month now since
[1:10:28] I submitted that draft to VLCT for
[1:10:30] review. I still haven't received
[1:10:33] a response from them. I should mention
[1:10:35] that I use their courier service—uh,
[1:10:38] their advisory service—at least
[1:10:41] twice a month, and I've never waited this long
[1:10:43] for a response. I've also
[1:10:46] never submitted an ordinance for
[1:10:48] review before. So I guess
[1:10:51] this legal advice takes a little
[1:10:53] longer than the typical response I would
[1:10:55] expect from them. Well, I don't
[1:10:58] take it personally, but I've
[1:11:00] followed up again, asking if
[1:11:02] someone could take a look at it sooner rather
[1:11:04] than later, so we can
[1:11:06] proceed with the public hearing and
[1:11:08] discussion process that would go into
[1:11:11] adopting that new ordinance or that
[1:11:12] revised ordinance. Vermont League of Cities and
[1:11:16] Towns. Um, and that's all I
[1:11:21] wanted to say about it.
[1:11:23] Okay. Carrie, any updates
[1:11:26] on the transfer station, the
[1:11:28] computer, the internet, the
[1:11:30] card reader,
[1:11:30] camper? Uh, blah, blah, blah. We did
[1:11:32] n't do it, no, wrong word.
[1:11:37] Sorry, it's past my bedtime.
[1:11:38] Um, the computer is on order. Uh,
[1:11:41] they've been working on it. I did
[1:11:44] some updates on your
[1:11:45] computer because it stopped working
[1:11:47] again and stopped printing. So,
[1:11:49] I managed to get it working again. I haven't heard
[1:11:51] back about the
[1:11:54] card reader. So, I'll
[1:11:56] follow up and, honestly, I'll be
[1:11:58] completely transparent. That got
[1:12:00] overlooked. So, I apologize
[1:12:03] for that. So, I'll look into it. And, um,
[1:12:06] we're good with Comcast for
[1:12:08] internet. I'm just waiting for
[1:12:11] a reason to need it. So,
[1:12:13] um, I don't want to start paying until we
[1:12:15] need it. And Comcast is much
[1:12:18] faster than Consolidated in terms
[1:12:20] of getting the service up and running. If you recall,
[1:12:24] Consolidated had to go to the garage
[1:12:26] because Comcast doesn't, and it took them
[1:12:28] almost six months to set up service,
[1:12:30] but Comcast can be there in two
[1:12:32] weeks. I
[1:12:33] already have the plant.
[1:12:35] Yes. Um, I might suggest, if I could
[1:12:39] give a brief status report—
[1:12:41] limited in detail, of course,
[1:12:43] within reason—on our
[1:12:45] search for a replacement for the
[1:12:47] town manager, for
[1:12:49] anyone who might be watching. Um,
[1:12:52] I'd just like to let
[1:12:54] anyone who's curious know that we
[1:12:57] 've narrowed it down to a few finalists, about
[1:13:00] whom I won't reveal much
[1:13:02] information yet, as we want to
[1:13:05] make sure they're willing to
[1:13:08] proceed to a final round of
[1:13:10] interviews that will take place sometime in
[1:13:12] the next week or so. Um,
[1:13:17] which will include interviews with
[1:13:19] town staff members, employees who
[1:13:21] will be involved in this
[1:13:23] evaluation process. Um, but no
[1:13:27] final decision has been made, although we are
[1:13:28] entering the phase Finally. Thank you. He
[1:13:36] said, "Does anyone have any... I should
[1:13:38] have asked Mike when he was
[1:13:40] here, but the water plant, excuse me
[1:13:42] , the water plant rehabilitation
[1:13:44] , the engineering, have you had
[1:13:46] any ideas?" "I have
[1:13:48] n't heard anything from them about that
[1:13:51] . I get regular communication,
[1:13:53] obviously, about the Car project,
[1:13:55] but I'll be contacting the
[1:13:57] same firm, Hill and Tanner. Are
[1:13:59] we going to do a roundtable?
[1:14:00] Hm. Are we going to
[1:14:01] have a
[1:14:02] board roundtable? Because we were on
[1:14:03] backlog. Yes. The
[1:14:05] water treatment plant rehabilitation is on
[1:14:06] backlog. Yes.
[1:14:06] Very good.
[1:14:10] That's, that's my only question.
[1:14:12] Okay. Anything else for
[1:14:16] backlog? Roundtable? Um, we did
[1:14:30] the card reader. The reason I
[1:14:33] joined the board, the reason
[1:14:34] I ran: the
[1:14:36] winter maintenance plan. Have we
[1:14:39] started any, uh, plans?
[1:14:42] Winter maintenance plans for how we're going
[1:14:43] to approach this winter
[1:14:45] maintaining the roads to
[1:14:46] keep them passable. So Nate
[1:14:49] and I will probably sit down in
[1:14:51] mid-October to work on that,
[1:14:53] or with the new city manager
[1:14:55] when he arrives. They're already starting
[1:14:59] vehicle maintenance and
[1:15:01] replacing the sidewalk snowplow,
[1:15:03] which will be pretty much completely dismantled
[1:15:05] . They're going to put it back on the board." Paint it and
[1:15:09] do a lot of maintenance.
[1:15:11] We're talking about making sure it's
[1:15:14] ready in November in case an
[1:15:16] early storm hits. The biggest problem we're
[1:15:20] going to have... Well, we have two
[1:15:23] things affecting us this winter.
[1:15:26] One, obviously, is that until
[1:15:28] we hire a second driver with a
[1:15:30] CDL, we'll only have one big truck
[1:15:32] running. So that's a
[1:15:34] definite priority. The other is when
[1:15:37] the new union contract was passed.
[1:15:42] Uh, it was passed and negotiated before, this. Let me give you the
[1:15:48] history of when we needed to
[1:15:50] call in staff. We had a
[1:15:53] two-hour call-in, which was great.
[1:15:55] We could call in the whole crew.
[1:15:57] We know the storm is going to be severe. We'd
[1:15:59] hit the highways hard for
[1:16:02] probably an hour and a half, and everyone would
[1:16:04] come out and have like a half-hour
[1:16:07] buffer, right? They'd get paid two
[1:16:09] hours for the call-in. Um, the new
[1:16:12] contract that was negotiated increased that to
[1:16:15] four hours. So that makes
[1:16:18] staffing much, much
[1:16:21] harder, because I can't
[1:16:23] afford to have all my staff come in,
[1:16:25] work hard on the highways for
[1:16:27] an hour and a half, and I charge four hours
[1:16:29] of overtime. So
[1:16:32] last year we really had to work out
[1:16:34] how we were going to staff
[1:16:36] during these storms. And I think
[1:16:38] by the end of the season we had
[1:16:40] a pretty good system in place. Um, but it was
[1:16:42] definitely a learning curve
[1:16:44] because this had never had to be
[1:16:45] done before. Well, but I will say that, of the
[1:16:50] new contract, that's one part that I
[1:16:53] absolutely don't like and I think
[1:16:56] causes a lot of problems, because I can't
[1:17:00] justify it to the public or to
[1:17:03] myself. I live here paying
[1:17:07] someone for an hour and a half of work
[1:17:09] , or getting an hour and a half of
[1:17:11] work from someone who was actually
[1:17:13] paid for four hours, and that blows
[1:17:14] our winter budget very
[1:17:16] quickly with the overtime rates
[1:17:18] . So that's, again, the Tetris
[1:17:23] that we'll have to play this winter and
[1:17:27] solve. Obviously, it's fine if the
[1:17:30] snow falls between 6:00 and 2:30,
[1:17:33] but we all know that's not always what
[1:17:36] happens. So, just so you
[1:17:39] 're aware, that's a big struggle.
[1:17:42] Because if you think about it,
[1:17:46] before we could Call in four
[1:17:48] people, an hour and a half each,
[1:17:50] right? Six hours of work. That's
[1:17:52] fine. They all get eight hours of pay.
[1:17:54] Now, if I call in those four, they're
[1:17:56] getting 16 hours of pay. That's a
[1:18:00] big difference.
[1:18:01] Call in two and have them work.
[1:18:02] Exactly. Exactly. But it takes a little more
[1:18:05] time, right? So, that's it. We have to
[1:18:08] , I mean, we really
[1:18:10] have to watch our salt usage
[1:18:12] to keep
[1:18:13] the trucks running. Sometimes paying
[1:18:15] guys overtime and keeping them
[1:18:16] on the road longer reduces
[1:18:18] salt usage at the end of the storm. I know
[1:18:20] these last two storms, we were
[1:18:21] spreading salt for a week
[1:18:23] afterward, still trying to get the
[1:18:24] road clear.
[1:18:25] Trying to get it cleared, and sometimes that's
[1:18:26] just going to happen, right?
[1:18:27] We'll have those times when it's
[1:18:29] just terrible. But if
[1:18:31] we can, yeah, if we can get it right and
[1:18:33] have a good amount of salt,
[1:18:36] right? We were able to buy it in advance
[1:18:38] this year and got a good price;
[1:18:40] we still have a good chunk of the
[1:18:42] money left. The only thing we don't have right now
[1:18:45] , I think We're
[1:18:47] completely out of liquid. So
[1:18:50] we're going to have to buy some. And we also
[1:18:53] need sand, but we have a plan
[1:18:56] for that. Nate and I were talking
[1:18:58] about it last week. Last year
[1:19:00] we ran out of salt, and everyone
[1:19:02] ran out of salt because of the storms
[1:19:05] in the South. So now with our
[1:19:08] salt shed, we shouldn't
[1:19:10] have that problem as long as we can
[1:19:12] keep it stocked. We should
[1:19:15] be in better shape. So, you
[1:19:20] 're telling me we can have the
[1:19:22] guys come for an hour and a half, clear the
[1:19:24] storm, and leave? That doesn't usually
[1:19:28] happen. There are many times when they work
[1:19:30] four, five, six, seven hours.
[1:19:32] There are some times, I'm telling you, but not
[1:19:34] most.
[1:19:35] of the time when they come, for an hour and a half, clear, they
[1:19:39] ...
[1:19:40] So, here's the thing.
[1:19:42] Maybe, maybe this year we could
[1:19:44] get them to push the snow back further
[1:19:46] instead of driving halfway down
[1:19:48] Academy Street all winter
[1:19:50] . Maybe they could spend another
[1:19:52] hour and push the snow back.
[1:19:54] We'll have a discussion,
[1:19:55] and that would put a little bit of money back
[1:19:57] in our pockets.
[1:19:58] Yeah.
[1:19:59] You know, it'll
[1:20:00] follow us costing the same,
[1:20:02] right? And our budget is still
[1:20:04] very small. It's still going to
[1:20:05] cost the same amount of
[1:20:07] money. Let's not do it, let's work it. No,
[1:20:09] because I would send two men
[1:20:10] instead of four.
[1:20:11] Well, we can still get work out
[1:20:13] of them, you know, instead of...
[1:20:15] Oh, yeah. Well, and that's the part
[1:20:18] Nate and I have talked about, that if I'm going to
[1:20:19] pay someone for four hours, I need it to
[1:20:21] be close to four hours of work.
[1:20:24] I think there has to be some
[1:20:25] planning to do here.
[1:20:26] Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. But it
[1:20:28] also has to work within the
[1:20:30] budget we've been given.
[1:20:31] Exactly.
[1:20:32] So,
[1:20:33] I think she's talking about the
[1:20:34] smaller storms. They go out, you call them
[1:20:35] to ask, can you check the
[1:20:37] road? So a man goes out,
[1:20:38] checks the roads, puts down some salt,
[1:20:40] and does the whole town in an hour and a half.
[1:20:41] Now you're paying them for four.
[1:20:42] Yeah.
[1:20:43] That kind of thing. Or a
[1:20:44] light storm, they go in, they finish quickly. And yeah,
[1:20:46] we understand the bigger storms.
[1:20:48] It is what it is. We have to be...
[1:20:50] I understand that. But,
[1:20:52] uh, exactly.
[1:20:53] I fought all last winter to
[1:20:54] get them to push the snow
[1:20:55] back off the roads. Uh, on Academy
[1:20:59] Street going down to 22A, I could
[1:21:02] see the S and the T of the stop sign
[1:21:05] all winter. The rest was all
[1:21:08] under the snowbank. So,
[1:21:11] you can't tell me that can't be
[1:21:12] fixed.
[1:21:13] The next day, there was a
[1:21:17] whole lane missing—
[1:21:18] not just the whole lane.
[1:21:20] The first street right here. Same thing.
[1:21:23] If we're still here, then we'll take care
[1:21:25] of it. Exactly. Exactly.
[1:21:28] Yeah.
[1:21:29] Oh, he's not going to go away that fast.
[1:21:33] Dennis, do you have anything else for
[1:21:34] round two?
[1:21:35] No, I'll let that go. That's
[1:21:36] enough. Okay,
[1:21:39] I have a couple of things. Uh, first
[1:21:41] is, does the town own any land?
[1:21:45] Like, just acres of land?
[1:21:48] Lots
[1:21:49] with lots of trees.
[1:21:52] In some places. Yeah. Did you ever
[1:21:54] think about cutting it down and putting that
[1:21:56] money back into the town? It's
[1:21:58] done. It's been done before. It was
[1:22:00] done about 10 years ago, I think.
[1:22:03] Yeah.
[1:22:04] Um, we were talking about getting a
[1:22:07] forester to check it out and
[1:22:09] give us an estimate. Joe was supposed to be
[1:22:11] working on it, but the forester
[1:22:14] never got in touch.
[1:22:17] Yeah.
[1:22:17] Or something happened
[1:22:18] that... Yeah, that's what... it just fell through
[1:22:20] . So, but yeah, we do it
[1:22:21] . We do that. I
[1:22:24] was just curious that it's
[1:22:26] actually from Big Hill Road to Benson
[1:22:28] .
[1:22:28] Yeah.
[1:22:29] Oh, wow.
[1:22:30] Because our road ends there,
[1:22:33] we go all the way to Benson. So, all of
[1:22:36] West Haven, that side is actually
[1:22:38] ours.
[1:22:38] Oh, okay. This is the other side.
[1:22:45] Uh, the second thing is, um, I want to read a
[1:22:47] letter here, dated today, 9/29/26.
[1:22:55] Dear Select Board Members,
[1:22:57] please accept this letter as my
[1:22:59] formal resignation from the
[1:23:01] Fair Haven Select Board, effective 9/29/26. This
[1:23:06] decision is made for
[1:23:08] personal reasons, um, which require my
[1:23:11] attention. I am grateful for the
[1:23:13] opportunity to have served the people
[1:23:15] of Fair Haven and to have worked
[1:23:16] alongside my fellow board members and
[1:23:18] town officials. It has been It has been an
[1:23:20] honor to serve the residents of Fair
[1:23:22] Haven. I appreciate the trust you
[1:23:24] placed in me and the opportunity to
[1:23:27] continue contributing to the community. I
[1:23:30] wish the board select, the
[1:23:32] village staff, and the residents of Fair
[1:23:34] Haven continued success in the future.
[1:23:37] Thank you for the opportunity to serve and
[1:23:40] help the village. Sincerely, Keith
[1:23:43] Hire. So, with that said, this is my
[1:23:46] last meeting, and thank you
[1:23:49] all so much for everything. I appreciate it.
[1:23:52] Thank you, thank you, Keith.
[1:23:53] Thank you. Thank you for serving on the board
[1:23:55] .
[1:23:55] Absolutely.
[1:23:59] Um, in these situations, I can't recall
[1:24:01] what we did in Mr. Doran's case,
[1:24:03] but is a motion required to
[1:24:04] accept the letter? It would
[1:24:08] n't hurt.
[1:24:11] I then move to
[1:24:12] accept Keith Hire's letter of resignation
[1:24:14] from the board with heavy
[1:24:15] heart
[1:24:17] and much appreciation.
[1:24:19] No second.
[1:24:23] Thank you for serving on the board. Um, as
[1:24:26] we've seen over the years,
[1:24:28] people come in and out of the board a
[1:24:31] number of times. So perhaps we'll
[1:24:33] see you again in these seats
[1:24:36] in the future.
[1:24:37] There will be a Vacant.
[1:24:39] Uh, everyone in favor of the
[1:24:44] motion.
[1:24:45] is approved. Thank you. Thank you.
[1:24:54] Excuse me, ladies. Clothes. You can always
[1:25:00] come sit with us now.
[1:25:02] That's right. Here's
[1:25:05] everything I have. Rich, I don't have anything
[1:25:12] for tonight. Okay. That's fine
[1:25:18] . Um, well, there's a storm that's been
[1:25:20] hitting the East Coast. It looks like we
[1:25:23] won't get the worst of it.
[1:25:25] But if we had gotten the worst of it, you
[1:25:27] could have been notified about
[1:25:29] that storm on VT Alert, which is a
[1:25:30] big emergency. That was good.
[1:25:37] You could do yourselves a favor and sign up
[1:25:39] for those notifications.
[1:25:41] The State House or something. No,
[1:25:45] we have to get you. We have to
[1:25:47] get you now.
[1:25:49] I can help you with that if you need it,
[1:25:50] and I'm happy to help anybody else
[1:25:52] if they need it. Um, and I think I'm
[1:25:55] going to leave it there for tonight.
[1:25:58] I'll leave things as they are for
[1:26:00] tonight as well. Review
[1:26:03] financial reports. Okay. Tonight,
[1:26:07] I file a motion to accept the
[1:26:10] payroll payment order for $
[1:26:12] 42,126.10. Go ahead. Second. I
[1:26:19] second. Everyone in favor?
[1:26:21] The motion is approved. I
[1:26:24] also move to
[1:26:26] accept the check order for $
[1:26:28] 749,174.71. And that, just so you all know
[1:26:37] , if you didn't check, has
[1:26:39] over $500,000 in school fees. So I
[1:26:41] know everyone shuddered a little
[1:26:43] because I did too, but yes. Do
[1:26:46] I hear you for a second? Everyone shocked
[1:26:47] by that. Everyone in favor, the motion is
[1:26:50] approved.
[1:26:53] And I'm not sure if I received what I
[1:26:55] normally receive that tells me how
[1:26:58] the checkbook is
[1:27:00] currently in your box. You have it right up there
[1:27:04] .
[1:27:05] Oh, okay. Yes, yes, yes. I see.
[1:27:07] Uh, our checkbook is
[1:27:10] currently at $115,376.71. That's good
[1:27:21] . Uh, food truck frenzy
[1:27:24] tomorrow night.
[1:27:26] No. Uh, no. Next week.
[1:27:28] Next Wednesday.
[1:27:29] Oh, still a week away. Yes.
[1:27:35] I will accept a motion to go into
[1:27:38] Executive session under 1 VSA 313A3 for
[1:27:41] legal and personnel reasons.
[1:27:44] I will file a motion to enter into
[1:27:46] executive session under 1 VSA 313A3.
[1:27:50] I support that. Everyone in favor? Fine
[1:27:53] . Whatever.