Windham Solid Waste Management District (WSWMD)
Brattleboro, Vermont
Board of Supervisors Meeting
Via Zoom and In-person
Minutes of April 13, 2023
Members Present: (In-person & Zoom)
Chair: Michelle Cherrier, Dummerston; Vice Chair: Patrick Moreland, Brattleboro.
Dan Towler, Brookline; Kevin Stine, Dover (alternate); Stephan Chait, Halifax (alternate), Doris Knechtel, Newfane; Dan Toomey, Putney; Irvin Stowell, Townshend; Sandra Rulewich, Vernon; Kevin Hughes, Westminster; Merrill Mundell, Wilmington
Members Absent: Michael Becker, Guilford; Jessica Pollack, Jamaica; Stillman Vonderhorst, Marlboro; Bob Matte, Readsboro; Rickey Harrington, Somerset; Kent Young, Stratton; Wardsboro: Vacant
WSWMD Staff Present: Robert Spencer, Executive Director; John Fay, Programs & Operations Manager; Vicki Hayes, Finance & Office Manager.
As a quorum was present Michelle called the meeting to order at 7:05 PM
1. Roll Call of Members: Vicki performed a roll call of members present.
2. Changes and/or Additions to the Agenda: None
3. Annual Reorganization:
There are no new Supervisors at this time. Michelle reminded everyone that the annual appointments are due. Since only two Selectboards had responded to the District Clerks request to designate the Town’s Supervisor it was suggested that the District Clerk create a form to send to Selectboards to assign their Supervisor, and to indicate that the current Supervisor will be their appointee until the District is notified otherwise. It was also discussed that the District Clerk will be reaching out to the supervisors for an update on their contact information.
Election of Chair: Patrick nominated Michelle for Chair and Merrill seconded. Motion carried.
Election of Vice Chair: Michelle nominated Patrick for Vice Chair, Irv seconded. Motion carried.
Election of Treasurer: Michelle noted that there is no immediate need to fill this vacancy.
Election of District Clerk: Vicki noted that Anita Grant is willing to serve as Clerk for another year. Patrick nominated Anita for District Clerk, Doris seconded. Motion Carried.
Re-establish Executive Board: This Board consists of the Chair and Vice Chair of the Board of Supervisors, and the Chairs of the Finance Committee and Policy and Personnel Committee.
Confirm Committees: The Finance Committee- Merrill Mindel -Chair, Patrick Moreland, Kevin Hughes, Jim Damato and Michelle Cherrier are members. The Policy and Personnel Committee- Dan Toomey-Chair, Michelle Cherrier, and Dan Towler are members.
Meetings: Meetings will be held for 10 months of the year, excluding February and July. They will be held on the second Thursday at 7:00 PM via ZOOM or attendance in person at 327 Old Ferry Rd. Moved by Irv, seconded by Patrick. Motion carried.
Check Signers: Michelle mentioned the need for another signer that is closer to town. Sandra has volunteered and Michelle will work with the office to get her added at the bank.
Designated Newspapers: Merrill made the motion to continue using The Commons and Deerfield Valley news, Doris seconded and the motion was carried. Also discussed was the availability of online notifications. We will continue to post notices and warnings at Vernon and Brattleboro Town Halls, and the District front door as well as the District website.
4. Approval of Minutes from March 13, 2023:
Motion to accept the minutes from March 13, 2023, as written; made by Merrill, seconded by Patrick. Motion carried.
5. Approval of March 2023 Check Register: Michelle mentioned that the Finance Committee reviewed the check register. There were no additional questions by the Board.
Motion to approve the Check Register for March 2023; made by Patrick, seconded by Doris. Motion carried.
6. Approval of Financial Statements for March 2023: Vicki noted that the results for March still show a deficit. This is expected to be covered in the next few months. She also mentioned some grant funds and Renewable Energy Credits will be coming in this last quarter and will help the deficit. Also, the staff continues to review purchases on a weekly basis.
Motion to approve the Financial Statements for March 2023; made by Patrick, seconded by Merrill. Motion carried.
7. Approve Proposed Transfer Station Fees FY 2024: Patrick reviewed the proposed fees, effective May 1, with additional input from Irv and Doris. A recap of fee changes were: Access Stickers $50.00, Bulbs over 10 are now $.020 a foot, remove the $28.00 for over 19” tires as we are charging for passenger tires at $4.00 a tire, 1 lb. propane tanks are now $1.50 to equal our cost to dispose of, no longer charge for oil filters, new product Soil Mix bags @ $10.00 each, and Earth Machines to $75.00. CPI changes for compost tip fees will go into effect July 1, with approval to round pricing to the nearest $0.50.
Merrill made the motion to approve the new fees with the changes, seconded by Dan Toomey. Motion carried.
8. Discuss Stubb/Bellco Surface rights: Patrick gave an overview of the background and where the issue currently stands. It is now in the hands of our attorneys. We are awaiting their response to our request on how to resolve this quickly. It was recommended that the Executive Board be given the authority to resolve this situation. Kevin Hughes made the motion to authorize the Executive Board to act on the Board’s behalf, seconded by Dan Towler. Motion carried.
9. SWANA Annual Scholarship: Bob gave a quick overview on the availability of scholarship funds from SWANA for those with college bound students.
10. Programs Manager Report: John reviewed the activity and financial results from 2022 on the HHW depot. The District has been able to serve more residents and save money with the depot. This year we will be opening for collection on Fridays from 8:30 to 11:30. Our first date is May 5th and we will also be open Saturday May 6th to accommodate the beginning of the season rush.
The swap shop opened for the season on April 8 for donations, they will be alternating weekends for donations and shopping again this year. We have been performing some maintenance and cleanup to the building. We also will be giving them a storage trailer for larger items that may be collected. The Swap staff is looking for more volunteers, and we invite any Board members to volunteer if they wish.
11. Executive Director’s Report:
• Bob reported that grant funding was secured from the VT Agency of Natural Resources in the amount of $277,000, paired with the $150,000 from the USDA grant, and the board-approved surplus of$225,000 gave the District $652,000 towards the CFE project.
• The Closed Loop project has started in earnest and the District is receiving $11,000 to take part in the study.
• The Extended Producer Responsibility bill for Household Hazardous Waste (H.67) has gained momentum. Bob made the decision to submit a letter of support from staff, and both John and Bob testified on the District’s behalf in support, along with most other Vermont waste districts.
• The Bottle Bill seems likely for the first time in 30 years to actually make changes and add glass, mainly wine bottles, to the redemption program.
• Bob also reported that a part-time truck driver was hired to help ease the hauling costs and the new driver would be making several hauls per week at less cost than Triple T. He also updated the board that Joe Gobin (yard foreman) was attending driving school to obtain his CDL as well, further ensuring that such hauling could once again be done by staff.
• Triple T Trucking and Brattleboro Salvage were recently purchased by Casella Waste. Our contract will remain in effect. We will have to go out to bid when they expire with Casella.
• OCC (cardboard) has increased by $10.00 to $58.00 a ton. Good news for us.
12. Executive Session (if needed): None
13. Next Meeting: Thursday, May 11 @ 7:00 PM
14. Other Business: None
15. Adjournment: Patrick made the motion to adjourn, and Irv seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 8:20 PM
Minutes prepared by,
Vicki Hayes
Finance and Office Manager