Windham Solid Waste Management District (WSWMD)
Board of Supervisors Meeting
Via Zoom and In-person @ 327 Old Ferry Rd, Brattleboro
Draft Minutes of April 11, 2024
Members Present: (In-person & Zoom)
Chair: Michelle Cherrier, Dummerston; Vice Chair: Patrick Moreland, Brattleboro, Dan Towler, Brookline; Kevin Stine, Dover (alternate); Lewis Sumner, Halifax; Stephan Chait, Halifax (alternate); Doris Knechtel, Newfane; Dan Toomey, Putney; Irvin Stowell, Townshend; Sandra Rulewich, Vernon; Liz Spector, Wardsboro; Merrill Mundell, Wilmington
Members Absent: Michael Becker, Guilford; Jessica Pollack, Jamaica; Stillman Vonderhorst, Marlboro; Rickey Harrington, Somerset; Kent Young, Stratton; Lou Bordeaux, Westminster
WSWMD Staff Present: Robert Spencer, Executive Director; Vicki Hayes, Finance Manager & HR Administrator; Anita Grant, Office Manager & Operations Liaison/District Clerk
Other Guests: None
As a quorum was present Michelle called the meeting to order at 7:01 PM
- Roll Call of Members: Anita performed a roll call of members present.
- Changes and/or Additions to the Agenda: None
- Annual Reorganization:
Anita informed the Board that she is in contact with the appropriate town offices to secure their representative’s information and appointment letters. Some have been received, others will be sent following the April Selectboard meetings. Michelle welcomed Liz Spector as the new representative for the town of Wardsboro, a position that had been vacant for over two years. She also mentioned that Lou Bordeaux was the new representative for Westminster, but he was absent from the meeting.
Election of Officers
Chair: Michelle Cherrier, Dummerston
Merrill made the motion to re-elect Michelle as the Board Chair, Dan Toomey seconded, and the motion was carried.
Vice Chair: Patrick Moreland, Brattleboro
Lewis made the motion to re-elect Patrick as the Vice Chair, Irv seconded, and the motion was carried.
Treasurer: None- Michelle offered the position, but as in the past, there was no treasurer elected.
District Clerk: Anita Grant
Doris made the motion to re-elect Anita as the District Clerk, Dan Toomey seconded, and the motion was carried.
Re-establish Executive Board
Lewis made the motion to re-establish the Executive Board to consist of the Chair & Vice Chair of the Board of Supervisors, as well as the heads of the Finance Committee and the Policy & Personnel Committee, Doris seconded, and the motion was carried.
Confirm Committees:
Finance Committee: Members include Merrill Mundell, Michelle Cherrier, Patrick Moreland, Sandra Rulewich, and Liz Spector. Committee chairs will be elected at the commencement of the next Finance Committee Meeting.
Policy & Personnel Committee: Members include Dan Toomey, Dan Towler, Michelle Cherrier, and Sandra Rulewich. Committee chairs will be elected at the commencement of the next Policy & Personnel Committee Meeting.
Meetings: Meetings will continue to be held on the 2nd Thursday of every month except for February & July at 7 PM. Meetings will be held both in person at 327 Old Ferry Rd in Brattleboro at the WSWMD offices and electronically via Zoom.
Check signers: The current roster of check signers will remain in effect. This includes Michelle Cherrier, Patrick Moreland, Jim Damato, Dan Toomey, and Sandra Rulewich.
Official Newspapers & Confirm Warning/Posting Locations: The meetings will be continued to be warned publicly at the Brattleboro & Vernon Town offices, the WSWMD office, and online at the District’s website.
Doris made a motion to continue to use The Commons & the Deerfield Valley News as the District’s newspapers, Merrill seconded, and the motion was carried.
- Approval of Minutes- March 2024: Stephan Chait pointed out that Anita neglected to list Lewis Sumner as absent at the March meeting. Anita will amend the March minutes to reflect Lewis’s absence.
Patrick made a motion to accept the minutes from March 2024 with the amendment, seconded by Doris, and the motion carried.
- Approval of Check Register- March 2024:
Anita informed the Board that she is now combining the electronic fund transfers paid to single vendors into one-line entries on the check register, rather than showing on various dates.
A question was asked regarding the compost testing completed by the University of Maine and if the results were available publicly. Anita informed the Board that the results are posted on the website and are available in hard copy at the office.
Lewis made the motion to approve the Check Register for March 2024, seconded by Merrill and the motion carried.
- Approval of Financial Statements- March 2024:
Vicki informed the Board that the $88,000 deficit from February’s financials had been resolved. However, March ended with another deficit of $47,000. She is optimistic that the increasing tip fees and compost sales in the next three months will offset the loss in March. Vicki also reported that the revenues for the period were 4% higher than budgeted. Additionally, the SWIP grant of $38,000 for HHW costs had been received, and another pesticide grant of $5,600 would be rewarded in April. She assured the Board that there were no capital expenditures that were not included in the capital plan. Vicki emphasized the importance of monitoring expenses closely for the next three months, as expenses are 5% over budget and require scrutiny. She also reported that solar RECs were offset by $20,000 due to the transformer failure from last year.
Patrick made the motion to approve the Financial Statements for March 2024, seconded by Doris and the motion carried.
- Approval of FY 25 WSWMD Transfer Station Fees:
Patrick led the Board in a summary of the Finance Committee’s review of the proposed transfer station fee increases. Highlights of the discussion included that the FY 25 Access sticker fee would increase from $50 to $60, also offering a six-month sticker fee after 12/31/24 for $35, to expire on June 30, 2025. It was also reported that customers purchasing or renewing an access sticker would also receive a coupon for a free bag of compost ($7 value). Due to the increasing costs of recycling, it was determined that the sticker fee is directly driven by recycling costs and an increase was unavoidable. Since hauling costs are undetermined for FY 25, a $25 increase in the tip fee for disposal went from $190/ton to $215/ton, effective July 1, 2024, to balance the revenues vs. expenses for the FY 25 budget.
Patrick made the motion to approve the FY 25 WSWMD Transfer Station Fees, effective May 1st, 2024, seconded by Doris and the motion carried with one abstention.
- Review Compost Facility Expansion(CFE) Request for Bids:
Bob reviewed the bids with the Finance Committee, and with their recommendations, asked the Board to approve the contracts submitted by the three lowest bidders. He asked that the Board have Michelle Cherrier be the designated signer, and the bids are outlined as follows:
- Sitework by Zaluzny Excavating Corporation of Vernon, VT for $196,7000,
- Fabric building on concrete blocks by ClearSpan Fabric Structures International, Inc. of Glastonbury, CT for $188,831, and
- Compost Aeration & Heat Recovery, by Agrilab Technologies of Enosburg, VT for $211,707.
The three bids totaled $597,238, and the Board thanked Bob for all his hard work in breaking the project into phases to make the project break ground in 2024. The project is still expected to be finished by the Fall season and will be District and grant-funded.
Patrick made the motion to approve the three contracts for the Compost Facility Expansion, to be signed by the Board Chair to Zaluzny Excavating Corporation, ClearSpan Fabric Structures International, and Agrilab Technologies not to exceed $600,000 (six hundred thousand dollars), seconded by Dan Toomey, and the motion carried.
- Executive Session (if needed)
- Other Business: The meeting to discuss a contractual matter has been scheduled for April 15, 2024, at 11:30 AM by the Executive Board.
- Next Meeting: Thursday, May 9, 2024 @ 7 PM
- Adjournment: Lewis made the motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Irv and the meeting adjourned at 8:03 PM.
Minutes prepared by,
Anita Grant
Office Manager & Operations Liaison/District Clerk