Windham Solid Waste Management District (WSWMD)
Brattleboro, Vermont
Board of Supervisors Meeting
Via Zoom and In-person
Draft Minutes of September 14, 2023
Members Present: (In-person & Zoom)
Chair: Michelle Cherrier, Dummerston; Vice Chair: Patrick Moreland, Brattleboro; Dan Towler, Brookline; Lewis Sumner, Halifax; Stephan Chait, Halifax (alternate); Doris Knechtel, Newfane; Dan Toomey, Putney; Irvin Stowell, Townshend; Sandra Rulewich, Vernon; Kevin Hughes, Westminster; Merrill Mundell, Wilmington
Members Absent:
Daniel Ballioti, Dover; Michael Becker, Guilford; Jessica Pollack, Jamaica; Stillman Vonderhorst, Marlboro; Jim Damato, Readsboro (alternate), Bob Matte, Readsboro; Rickey Harrington, Somerset; Kent Young, Stratton; Wardsboro: Vacant
WSWMD Staff Present: Robert Spencer, Executive Director; John Fay, Programs Manager; Vicki Hayes, Finance & Office Manager; Anita Grant, Administrative & Operations Assistant, District Clerk
Michelle called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
- Changes and/or Additions to the Agenda: None
- Approval of Minutes from August 2023:
No discussion.
Patrick made a motion to approve the minutes from August 2023, seconded by Lewis, and the motion was carried.
- Approval of Check Register for August 2023:
Michelle indicated that the Finance Committee had reviewed the check register in detail, noting also that the trademark registration for “Project C.O.W.” was renewed for another ten-year period. There was no further discussion on the check register.
Patrick made a motion to accept the August 2023 check register, Doris seconded, and the motion was carried.
- Approval of Financial Statements for August 2023:
Bob did an overview of the financial statements for August, highlighting the revenues performing at 21% of the budget through three months of FY 24. He indicated that higher OCC sales, increases in compost sales, access stickers, and some MERP grant money awarded helped with the month finishing at a $22,000 surplus.
Merrill made a motion to accept the Financial Statements for August 2023, Patrick seconded, and the motion was carried.
- Program Manager’s Report:
- John is an active board member of NRRA (Northeast Resource Recovery Association) and wanted to remind the board that most of the transfer stations within the District benefited from WSWMD’s membership as they are members by proxy. NRRA spans from Maine to New Jersey, with its headquarters being in NH. NRRA is responsible for the freon recovery program as well as the tire disposal program.
- Lithium battery safety kits were successfully delivered to all 7 transfer stations within the district, and upon his visits realized that there would be some turnover in transfer station attendants over the next few months, so he will schedule another Transfer Station Operator training to make sure all new operators are brought up to speed on District programs.
- USDA Grant update: October’s USDA Grant includes funding for a pilot program developing a food scrap drop-off hub for businesses underserved by haulers in their areas. The grant also provides for direct waste assistance to town facilities, and Alex Lacy will be returning to work on the grant.
- HHW Depot: John reported that the number of walk-ins has been increasing over the past month as the program is ending for weekly drop-offs in October. He also informed the board that the contract with Heritage Environmental would be up in 2023 and going out to bid for 2024. A question was asked about a remote Hazardous Waste Collection, and he indicated that there was a tentative date for September 2024 in Westminster.
- Vermont is the first state in the union to pass an EPR (extended producer responsibility) bill for consumer hazardous waste reimbursement. House Bill 67 would hopefully be initiated in 2025 or 2026 and would help defray the HHW costs by a third to a ½.
- John and Anita spent two hours at the Putney School categorizing and inventorying their hazardous waste for an upcoming disposal.
- Compost Demonstration Open House: John will be accompanied by a UVM Master Composter for his open house on 9/23/23 to take place at the WSWMD Backyard Compost Demo Area from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
- Executive Director’s Report:
- Bob reported that the District was not awarded EPA funds through the SWIFR grant program for the compost facility expansion (CFE), but since most of the project has already been funded it was not a crucial part of the CFE going forward.
- Bob also reported that 3 RFPs (requests for proposals) were going out for the CFE for contractors on the project, completed with Steve Horton’s assistance. Mr. Horton is the consultant who was hired as the project construction manager.
- He indicated that he and Adam Grinold, director of BDCC, met with a company producing biochar that is interested in leasing some MRF space.
- He let the board know that Rich Earth Institute was buying the District’s spare 40’ long shipping container for storage for $1,000 and is interested in renting the MRF employee breakroom for winter office space.
- Bob updated the board that a Quit Claim Deed had been filed in Brattleboro relinquishing Bellco’s alleged surface rights at the CFE area, and hopefully, the other two parties will also execute similar deeds.
- Since Goodenough Rubbish is no longer processing its customer’s cardboard, WSWMD has taken on more OCC and this past week secured ten tons of baled cardboard from LePage Bakeries (Country Kitchen) in Brattleboro.
- Bob will be attending the WasteCon Conference put on by SWANA (Solid Waste Association of North America) in Boston at the end of September. Bob is a Vermont representative on the Board of Directors of the Northern New England Chapter (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont).
- Bob reported that he and Sandra Rulewich will be attending the Vernon Selectboard meeting next week to discuss the development of a transfer station in the town.
- Bob let the board know that a sewer lift pump had failed and since the backup pump was also almost 20 years old, he approved both pumps for replacement, and the work was almost completed.
- Bob thanked the board for approving the equipment capital plan, as the twenty-year-old skid steer is slated for replacement this year, and one was ordered from United in Springfield for $59,000, to be delivered as soon as possible.
- Bob indicated that he had been in touch with Keene State College about composting their food scraps again. Currently, they are being hauled by Waste Management to Martin’s Farm in Greenfield. Bob set this up with KSC after WSWMD’s permit capacity had been reached two years ago. Now that the larger permit has been obtained, Bob is looking for more sources.
- He also reported that he and John had recorded a 60-second radio ad that is currently playing on WTSA (96.7 FM), to promote the District’s recycling services.
- Executive Session (if needed): None
- Next Meeting: Thursday, October 12, 2023 @ 7:00 PM
- Other Business: None
- Adjournment:
Irv made a motion to adjourn the meeting, Patrick seconded, and the meeting was adjourned at 7:42 PM.
Minutes prepared by,
Anita Grant
Administrative & Operations Assistant, District Clerk