Windham Solid Waste Management District (WSWMD)
Brattleboro, Vermont
Board of Supervisors Meeting
Via Zoom* and In-person
Draft Minutes of June 12, 2025
Members Present: (In-person)
Chair: Michelle Cherrier, Dummerston; Vice Chair (interim): Dan Toomey, Putney; Dave Eastman, Guilford; Kevin Stine, Dover (alternate); Stephan Chait, Halifax (alternate); Kate Ullman, Jamaica; Jim Damato, Readsboro; Irvin Stowell, Townshend; Sandra Rulewich, Vernon; Jim Pinkerton, Vernon (alternate); Liz Spector, Wardsboro; Merrill Mundell, Wilmington
Members Absent: Amanda Ellis-Thurber, Brattleboro; Stephen Dotson, Brattleboro (alternate) Stanley Noga, Jr, Brookline; Doug Wellman, Brookline (alternate); Dan Baliotti, Dover; Lewis Sumner, Halifax; Jessica Pollack, Jamaica (alternate); Ellen Dudley, Marlboro; Carla Meskill, Marlboro (alternate); Doris Knetchel, Newfane; Rickey Harrington, Somerset; Kent Young, Stratton; Lou Bordeaux, Westminster
WSWMD Staff Present: Robert Spencer, Executive Director; Vicki Hayes, Finance Manager & HR Administrator; Peter Gaskill, Programs Coordinator; Alex Lacy, Outreach Coordinator; Anita Grant, Office Manager & Operations Liaison/District Clerk
Other Guests: None
*Due to an issue with Zoom, the meeting ID had to be changed at the beginning of the meeting, causing Supervisors to be stuck in waiting rooms or unable to attend. Anita is working to resolve the Zoom issues moving forward to minimize interruptions.
As a quorum was present, Michelle called the meeting to order late at 6:20 PM.
- Roll Call of Supervisors: Anita performed a roll call of supervisors present. (11 towns, 12 supervisors)
- Changes or Additions to the Agenda: None
- Approval of Minutes- May 2025: Stephan Chait pointed out that Dan Toomey was listed twice; Anita will amend the minutes.
Merrill made the motion to approve the amended Board of Supervisor minutes from May 2025, Jim seconded, and the motion carried with two (2) abstentions.
- Approval of Check Register- May 2025:
Discussions took place regarding the replacement of the shift assembly on the Sterling; Vicki reminded the board that the roll-off truck had been pushed up on the Capital Plan for replacement in late FY 26, but needed to be fixed for current hauling.
The check for Southern VT Sprinkler to replace the frozen pipe was late billed, as the company had to wait for the entire MRF to defrost before the pipe could be replaced.
Merrill requested that the itemization of the Visa be a little easier to read. Anita will work on that section of the register.
Jim made the motion to approve the Check Register of May 2025, Irv seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.
- Approval of Financial Statement- May 2025:
Vicki reported that the District ended the month with a deficit of $71,600, an improvement from the $92,000 deficit reported last month. She mentioned that revenues were up 25% compared to the budget. However, expenses related to the Compost Facility Expansion (CFE) caused overall expenses to exceed the budget by about 11%. If the CFE expenses were excluded, the District would have been approximately 6% under budget, resulting in an estimated surplus of $115,000. Despite this potential, Vicki expressed skepticism about the District ultimately achieving an actual surplus.
Jim made the motion to approve the Financial Statement of May 2025, Dave seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.
- Update on Bid Response for Transfer Station & Recycling RFPs:
Peter outlined the basic program for picking up compost from the District transfer stations, as Casella is currently picking it up, yet the compost is not coming to the WSWMD facility. Meetings and discussions had been held with four towns (Jamaica, Dover, Townshend, and Wardsboro), and WSWMD had been listed as a bidder on the RFPs. Peter explained that the program was low-cost, using existing equipment (pickup truck, trailer, cart-tipper) and that the payback on the expense of the carts would be paid back within twelve months.
He explained the potential for adding school pickups along the same route, as well as incorporating other member towns, as their contracts were up with their current compost haulers. This ‘pilot’ would allow WSWMD to work out any issues ahead of taking on more accounts and streamline the process. Peter said no additional staff would need to be hired, and the workload was currently a four-hour route, once a week.
Peter indicated that since these were member towns, formal contracts would not be required, and MOUs (Memorandums of Understanding) would be pursued instead. After much discussion, Merrill asked Peter and Vicki to prepare a spreadsheet showing the impact of the revenues on the assessments of the individual member towns, whether they were participating or not. Merrill was adamant that the expenses of the program should not affect the non-participating towns.
- Program Coordinators Report:
- Peter reported that the Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Depot was up and running every Tuesday from 8:30-10:30 and that an average of ten residents were coming each week.
- He discussed the mattress request for proposals (RFP), mentioning that there were two companies, in addition to Casella, interested in providing mattress recycling. He suggested that mattresses could potentially be collected from the transfer stations at the same time as compost pickup. He noted that this idea is still a work in progress.
- Peter has just finished the Hauler & Caretaker License applications, a state requirement to be completed annually.
- Peter reported that the Wardsboro Transfer Station encountered an issue with the state regarding battery storage. Peter personally went and picked up multiple 5-gallon buckets of mixed batteries that came back to WSWMD to be sorted and dumped into the drums to be sent to Call 2 Recycle, where the District is paid $.25/lb.
- He emphasized that, due to some turnover among transfer station attendants, the Transfer Station Operator’s Manual needs to be updated and redistributed. This will ensure that all attendants are aware of the latest program requirements, and he plans to visit the transfer stations to identify any issues and assist the newer attendants.
- Peter was asked about the milk carton recycling program that he was investigating. He mentioned that he has been unable to advance the program, but WSWMD is doing everything possible to provide signage and prevent milk cartons from ending up in compost. Since there is currently no recycling program for milk cartons, they must be sent to the landfill
- Outreach Coordinators Report:
- Alex reported that she was applying for a grant from the Closed Loop Partners/Composting Consortium for approximately $15,000 for outreach & education regarding compost contamination. She assured the board that this was not a product-testing grant (as WSWMD had done in the past with Closed Loop), but a new endeavor based solely on outreach and education.
- A question was asked about her outreach to area restaurants, and she explained that as part of the annual SWIP (Solid Waste Implementation Plan), she was required to visit a certain percentage of businesses to provide education. She indicated that she primarily focuses on restaurants due to their more complex composting needs.
- She gave a summary of the Guilford Central School Compost Pilot. She created an online survey for residents to participate in to gain access to the hub, and she had twenty-six (26) active users and has already picked up over three hundred pounds of compost. Alex reported that it was going well and that she would share pictures via email of the setup.
- Alex asked for ideas for Front Porch Forum posts, as WSWMD can now do up to three postings per month. Michelle suggested keeping the reminders about battery recycling and other quick hits as pertinent posts moving forward.
- Executive Director’s Report:
- Bob explained how much of his time had been consumed with refining the controls of the newly expanded Compost Facility. He reported that the facility was performing better than expected, and that the compost being produced was more degraded and had smaller particle sizes, which resulted in more compost products and less tailings.
- Bob reported that the compost had been screened to a finer size of 3/8 inch for distributors interested in purchasing super sacks. He also informed the board that bulk compost sales were only being sold to distributors due to a decrease in compost inventory.
- Bob reported that Hubbard was now sending the chicken bedding as well as the animal carcasses, and the mix was incorporating nicely into the composting process. Since March, the District has received over $10,000 in tip fees from Hubbard.
- He also noted that he was working on the RFPs with Peter and assisting Alex with the grant paperwork over the past month.
- Executive Session (if needed): N/A
- Other Business: Vicki explained that she wanted a Finance Committee Meeting in August to start the FY 27 Budget & Capital Plan. She also stressed that any supervisor was welcome to join the FC meeting to observe the budgeting process and was welcome to join the committee as well.
- Finance Committee Meeting: Monday, August 11, 2025 @ 6 PM
- Next Meeting- Board of Supervisors: Thursday, August 14, 2025 @ 6 PM
- Adjournment: Jim motioned to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Liz, and the meeting adjourned at 7:46 PM.
Minutes prepared by,
Anita Grant, Office Manager & Operations Liaison/District Clerk