Windham Solid Waste Management District (WSWMD)
Brattleboro, Vermont
Board of Supervisors Meeting
Via ZOOM And In-person
Draft Minutes of June 10, 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; Russell Hodgkins, Westminster; Nancy Meinhard, Wardsboro, Stephan Chait, Halifax Alternate.
Members Absent: Rickey Harrington, Somerset; Kent Young, Stratton David Jones, Brookline; Michael Becker, Guilford; Stillman Vonderhorst, Marlboro Kevin Stine, Dover; ;Greg Meulemans, Jamaica.
WSWMD Staff Present: Robert Spencer, Executive Director; Vicki Hayes, Office Manager/Bookkeeper/District Clerk; John Fay, Programs Manager.
Others Present: Dan Towler, Potential member from Brookline.
As a quorum was present Michelle called the meeting to order at 7:06 P.M.
- Changes and/or Additions to the Agenda: Add Staffing discussion as 7A.
- Approval of Minutes of May 13, 2021:
Jim made a motion to accept the minutes as presented, Lewis seconded. The motion was carried – Nancy abstained.
- Approval of Check Register- May 2021: It was noted that some may not have received the second page of the check register. The full register was discussed at the Finance Committee meeting.
Motion was made by Merrill to accept the check register of May 2021, Lewis seconded and the motion carried.
- Approval of Financial Statement – May 2021: Bob discussed the highlights. He
mentioned the seasonal fluctuations of tip fees, the increased Renewable Energy Credits and the grant income. He also highlighted some of the expenditures for the month, HHW supplies, disposal costs and the final bill for the gutters.
Merrill moved to accept the Financial Statement for May 2021, Patrick seconded and the motion was carried.
- Approval of Backhoe Purchase, and Food Waste Dumpster Purchase: The need for a second backhoe was discussed. It is a Capital Plan Purchase in Fy22 with 40% funded by the Infrastructure Grant.
Merrill made the motion to Designate any Surplus for FY 21 to the Capital Plan and
Designate the corresponding cash as well. Jim seconded, and the motion was carried.
The Food Waste Dumpster will be paid for out of the current operating funds, with a 40% funding from the infrastructure grant.
Merrill made the motion to approve the purchase of the Food Waste Dumpster. Doris seconded and the motion carried.
Jim made a motion to approve the signing of the Purchase Order for the Backhoe, Irv seconded and the motion carried.
- Update on Federal Earmarked Money for Expanded Compost Facility: Bob gave a brief recap on where this process is currently going. He has submitted a $500,000.00 project for consideration.
- Status of Rolloff MOUs: Bob updated everyone on the current status. At this point we are only missing agreements from two towns. He explained that he expects to see these soon.
7A. Discuss staffing: Jim discussed his observation of the need to add a staff member to the
Yard team. He feels that the aging of the workforce, vacation time and increased needs in
the Yard and compost servicing will justify the add. Patrick feels we should see documentation for the need as well as a financial analysis on how to pay for it. It was decided to pursue this discussion at the August meeting.
- Programs Manager Report: John gave an update on the HHW Depot. On June 1st we had our first pickup by Heritage Environmental Services. John expects this depot to save us funds on HHW. This process appears to be assisting the Community. Brattleboro Fire Department has sent all their shifts over to see the operation. We are working on getting the alarm connected. CEGs will be paying a fee as well.
The Swap Shop is expected to reopen on July 10th. Watch for the announcement on the Front Porch Forum.
USDA Technical Assistance Grant- John is working on literature for towns. It will be town specific.
SWIP grant-John is working on outreach. We may be taking the compost workshop “ on the road” to some of the towns.
The 2022 Technical Assistance grant will be focused on Food Scraps. This is scheduled for October.
- Executive Director Report: Our annual solar inspection was completed on My 31st, this expense is covered by Greenbacker now. We are operating at 100% capacity.
The ground water well sampling for KAS is also finished.
Cardboard (occ) pricing is up to $133.00 a ton.
- Executive Session: None
- Next Meeting: August 12, 2021 @ 7:00 P.M. via Zoom and in person.
- Other Business: Executive Board meeting is expected in the next several weeks for Bob’s annual review. Vicki has minutes to include for that meeting.
- Adjournment: Meeting was adjourned at 8:25 P.M.
Minutes submitted by,
Vicki Hayes
District Clerk