Windham Solid Waste Management District (WSWMD)
Brattleboro, Vermont
Board of Supervisors Meeting
Via ZOOM And In-person
Draft Minutes of August 12, 2021
Members Present: In-person/Zoom Michelle Cherrier, Chair, Dummerston; Patrick Moreland, Vice Chair, Brattleboro; Dan Toomey, Putney; Lewis Sumner, Halifax; Jim Damato, Readsboro; Merrill Mundell, Wilmington; Doris Knechtel, Newfane; Irvin Stowell, Townshend; Sandra Rulewich, Vernon; Stephan Chait, Halifax Alternate; Jessica Pollack, Jamaica Alternate; Dan Towler, Brookline.
Members Absent: Rickey Harrington, Somerset; Kent Young, Stratton; Michael Becker, Guilford; Stillman Vonderhorst, Marlboro; Kevin Stine, Dover; Greg Meulemans, Jamaica; Russell Hodgkins, Westminster; Nancy Meinhard, Wardsboro.
WSWMD Staff Present: Robert Spencer, Executive Director; Vicki Hayes, Office
Manager/Bookkeeper/District Clerk; John Fay, Programs Manager; Dale Bessette, Transfer Station Operator.
Others Present: Abe Noe-Hayes and Julia Cavicchi of Rich Earth Institute; Laura Sibilia, Vermont State Representative.
As a quorum was present Michelle called the meeting to order at 7:02 P.M.
- Changes and/or Additions to the Agenda: Move item 6 on the agenda to 2.
- Approval of Inclusion of Rich Earth Institute in SWIP: John recapped the need to update the SWIP to include the Westminster collecting location. Rich Earth is applying for a new certification and it is necessary for it to be included.
Jim moved to include the Rich Earth Institute’s new certification for their Brattleboro and Westminster facilities and update the SWIP accordingly. Irv seconded.
There was further discussion on whether the street address was required for Rich Earth’s three locations.
Merrill moved to amend the motion to read; Move to include Rich Earth Institute’s new certification for their Old Ferry Road and Birge Street, Brattleboro and the Route 5, Westminster facilities and update the SWIP accordingly. This was seconded by Jim and the motion as amended was carried.
Laura Sibilia, a Vermont State Representative was introduced and welcomed.
- Dale Bessette Retirement: Dale gave a short recap of his 19 years with the District and thanked the Board for the opportunity to work at the District. His official retirement date is November 5th. Michelle and Bob thanked him for his service to the District.
- Approval of Minutes – June 10th, 2021: Several Board members did not see the minutes, it was decided to postpone the approval to the next meeting and resend them.
- Approval of Check Register – June 2021: The check register was vetted at the Finance Committee meeting. There was no further discussion.
Lewis moved to approve the Check Register of June 2021, Jim seconded and the motion was carried.
Approval of Check Register- July 2021: As this was also discussed at the Finance Committee and there were no other questions;
Doris moved the approve the Check Register of July 2021, Jim seconded and the motion was carried.
- Approval of Financial Statement- June 2021: Vicki recapped the year end results. The Surplus of $79,533.92 was noted. This surplus was designated as Capital Reserve as per the Board vote in June Our Audit for FY 21 was completed last week and we are expecting no further adjustment to the results. Overall a very good year.
Jim moved to approve the Financial Statement for June 2021, Doris seconded and the motion carried.
Patrick thanked everyone for the hard work.
Approval of the Financial Statement for July 2021: Vicki pointed out the highlights from July, another good month with a Surplus of $80,182.31.
Jim moved to approve the Financial Statement for July 2021, Merrill seconded and the motion carried.
- Employee Performance Review Status: Bob informed the Board that he is working on the employee reviews, evaluating some management changes and currently looking to hire Dale’s replacement.
- Programs Manager Report: John explained that we are in the last quarter of the USDA Technical Assistance Grant. This expires on September 30th , the focus has been on assisting towns with Training and Website needs.
The next USDA TA Grant for $68,000.00 begins October 1st. This grant is similar to the last grant with a focus on Food Scraps. We will be using in house personnel on this grant with a possibility of adding Athena Lee Bradley to assist.
Athena has been hosting Compost Workshops. They have been very successful. Her next Workshop is scheduled for Halifax, and another one in Fall.
HHW Depot has had steady use with 184 customers coming since opening May 1, and we are saving on disposal costs.
MuseArts is assisting us with the website upgrade. The new version will launch soon. There was further discussion regarding the yard map for the website and whether we need to change the location numbers to match the box numbers.
- Executive Director Report: Bob reintroduced Laura Sibilia, Vermont State Representative. She is working with Bob and Jim on engaging the legislature on the compost facility capacity issue. Representative Sarah Coffey is spearheading a meeting with the Windham legislative delegation on September 7th to present our facility needs. The District cannot expand our compost facility without a permit change. Compost is a major source of our revenue stream, no increase without expansion. ANR requirements are difficult to change.
Laura thanked everyone for the invite. She is looking forward to Sarah’s meeting. She explained that she is not well versed in the working of the facility. She said that towns have received additional funds and will be getting more from the counties. She asked if it was possible to get funding from the Towns. Bob explained that was probably not likely but we could certainly give it a try. More to come on this subject.
Bob gave a brief overview on the Audit of FY21. At this point no major issues have been found and we are expecting final results over the next couple months. Bob said the auditors told him Vicki had everything well organized, making the audit more efficient.
The District has had its third burglary. Entry was through the MRF this time. Additional cameras and motion detectors have been added. We are currently waiting for insurance proceeds.
Bob has been assisting Greenbacker on finding a more efficient method than manual mowing of the landfill cap around the solar arrays. Bob identified several sheep farmers to see if they can be used to keep the foliage and grasses down.
Swap Shop is operating again. They are currently alternating weeks for drop off and shop.
We are groundhog trapping on the landfill. So far have trapped 12.
We have completed the landfill monitoring well annual testing. So far we have an acceptable level of contaminants.
The District is now responsible for the operation and monitoring of the landfill gas flare. There isn’t sufficient gas to run a generator. We may seek an amendment on the permit to allow the release of gas.
Bob is working with Athena on a Windham Foundation Grant and Town of Brattleboro multi-family units food scrap disposal.
Compost sales have leveled off for the Summer. We expect an increase in Fall with our new top soil mix.
Sticker sales are doing well. In 10 years we have doubled our sales. We expect to sell over 2000 this year. Skip is currently running a sticker check.
MOUs for the transfer of the roll-offs to the towns has been completed with all seven towns. They are off our books and insurance will be adjusted.
Irv mentioned that Townshend is looking for a new Transfer Station Operator. The previous one has retired.
- Executive Session: None
- Next Meeting: September 9th at 7:00 P.M. There will not be a Finance Committee meeting prior.
- Other Business: It was requested that we allow time at the next meeting to discuss the status of the Compost Expansion and the ARPA monies.
- Adjournment: Meeting adjourned at 8:34P.M.
Minutes submitted by,
Vicki Hayes
District Clerk