GREATER UPPER VALLEY SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT DISTRICT, PO Box 58, No. Hartland, VT 05052 (296-3688)
[Approved 1/8/2015 ]
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEETING
November 20th, 2014
Location: GUV District Office
North Hartland, VT
Board members present:
Ben Bradley (Thetford Rep.)
Phil Swanson (Woodstock Rep.)
John Timken (Bridgewater Rep.)
Vern Clifford (Pomfret Rep.)
Neil Fulton (Norwich Rep.)
Stephen Willbanks (Strafford Rep.)
Board members called in: Bob Stacy (Hartland Rep.) , Paul Haskell (Sharon Rep.)
Staff present: Bryan Tibbals (Recycling Intern), Stephen Lambert (Admin. Assistant.
), Tom Kennedy
(District Manager)
Board members absent: West Fairlee, Vershire
Chair, Steve Willbanks, opened the meeting of the Board of Supervisors at 4:31 PM.
1.
DISCUSSION OF REVISED PUBLIC MEETING LAW EFFECTIVE 7/1/14:
Information was handed out to the Board regarding the Public Meeting Law that went into effect as of July 1 st
, 2014. Discussion ensued.
2.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE 6/5/14 BOARD MEETING:
With a revision to the Board meeting minutes on June 6 th
, 2014 (Neil Fulton was listed as
Alternate for Norwich, changed to Representative), Neil Fulton made a motion to accept the
June 6 th , 2014 as amended. Ben Bradley seconded the motion. All in favor, motion carried with no abstentions.
3. FINANCIAL REPORT:
Tom Kennedy summarized the Profit and Loss and Balance sheets for fiscal year 2014. He noted that the District realized a net income of $16,517.51 for the fiscal year.
Tom then went over the current fiscal year 2015 financials, from July to October. He told the
Board that we are 33% of the way through the fiscal year, and that the District’s income was approximately 55% with expenditures at 30%.
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Neil Fulton made a motion to receive the FY 2014 and FY 2015 financials as presented. Bob
Stacey seconded the motion. All in favor, motion carried with no abstentions.
Tom discussed with the Board the current status of the Hook property which is located at 103 Mill
Street. He said that there were a number of options with the property; we could level the building and keep the land or sell the house and the property. Tom suggested that a potential use of the proceeds would be to renovate the house where the office is currently located. It was also proposed that the current GUV building be rented after the rehabilitation of the building was complete. The
GUV staff would possibly move to the education building located at the Hartford Transfer Station.
Tom proposed getting a real estate agent to view the Hook building and put together an estimate on its sale value.
A motion was made by Neil Fulton to proceed in using a real estate agent to estimate value of the Hook property and surrounding land of 3.5 acres and attempt to sell the property/building. Vern Clifford seconded the motion. All in favor, motion carried with no abstentions.
Tom Kennedy discussed the fiscal year 2016 draft budget. Tom told the Board that the FY 2016 budget was level funded, and there were no significant changes. Tom went over the line items with the Board. Carl’s revenue was discussed. Tom told the Board that Casella had expressed interest in renting part of the GUV’s land for the purpose of storing roll off containers. An annual amount was discussed, along with a contract between the GUVSWMD and Casella.
Tom told the Board that the education line item was increased to $14,000 from $4,000, due to the outreach requirements related to Act 148. Tom told the Board that the uncertainty remained with coupons and permit sales/expenditures. Tom said the office overhead included money for repairs to the GUV office building, such as the chimney liner that needed to be added and some chimney exterior repair, which will be done in the Spring.
Tom told the Board the insurance line item was increased to include the Hook property. Tom noted that our property taxes should decrease because the District has enrolled in the current use program recently, and that the current use program which should go into effect in FY 16.
Tom said that the direct expenses on the FY 2016 budget were level funded, and the audit line was increased to account for yearly increases in Fothergill’s services. The admin/consultant line was increased to $7,500 in case additional services were needed with the Act 148 laws.
Tom then told the Board that a net income of $38,400 was projected for the end of fiscal year
2016, and the budget was unbalanced. The Board indicated that it should be left alone for now.
Phil Swanson made a motion to present the fiscal year 2016 Budget as presented for the
January 2015 public hearing. Neil Fulton seconded the motion. All in favor, motion carried with no abstentions.
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4 . DISCUSSION OF REGIONAL WASTE STUDY AND OUTCOME:
Tom began this portion of the GUV District meeting by indicating that there was an expressed interest in composting regionally. Another discussion point was a permanent HHW facility to collect hazardous waste material throughout the year. Further discussion ensued. A final report from DSM was handed out to all the Board members for review.
DISCUSSION OF VARIABLE RATE PRICING ORDINANCE: 5.
Tom reported that the Agency of Natural Resources and the Windham District were working on a plan based on Act 148. Tom said the ordinance could be adopted by the District, or on a town-bytown basis. He said if the District adopted the ordinance on a town by town basis, we would be required to receive 100% concurrence or we couldn’t get our SWIP approved by the State. The
Board indicated that a District-wide approach would be preferred for the ordinance.
Tom said that recyclables could be charged as long as the cost is embedded in the trash costs. GUV would need to adopt a draft that would be sent to all the District towns. Phil Swanson said that
VLCT was working on a template for the ordinance, and it could be used by the District. Tom reminded the Board that the ordinance would need to be adopted no later than July 1 st
, 2015.
Tom said that he would update the Board by the next meeting date, a draft would be sent to the towns, and a hearing would be held before the ordinance was adopted
6. UPDATE ON COMPOSTING AT THE GUV FACILITY:
Tom Kennedy told the Board that James McSweeny had looked at the GUV site, and will help the
District a business plan. The start date was targeted for January 1 st , 2015. Discussion ensued, such as transportation, a proposed sludge tank, and a small-scale operation encompassing 1 to 2 acres of
GUV property. Tom said that by 2020 organics would be banned from the landfill sites.
7. NEW BUSINESS:
Town officials from Norwich, Hartford, Lebanon and Hanover have been discussing the feasibility of use the Hartford HHW facility as a regional facility. The Hartford HHW facility which presently is not be used as a HHW facility. The plan is for the participating municipalities to use their staff to develop cost estimates to determine the cost to reopen the facility. The participating municipalities would share in the renovation and operational costs
Tom then told the Board that the landfill recertification had been allowed to expire, but the current
Act 250 permit still had time to be renewed. Tom said that at this time, there were no plans for a landfill at the GUVSWMD site. He then said that the Act 250 permit was good until 2017. Further discussion ensued.
Ben Bradley made a motion to let the landfill recertification lapse. Neil Fulton seconded the motion. All in favor, motion carried with no abstentions.
Special collections that are hosted by the District was discussed. Tom stated that there were a
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number of issues with the collections this year and he proposed that a formal agreement signed with the host town that town employees and employees with equipment be available to assist with the collections. Tom also stated that the District go out to be bid to find a hauler who would assist with the collections with a requirement that a packer truck be on site. Steve Willbanks expressed a desire for Strafford to host a hazardous waste event for next year. Tom indicated that the events for next year would not be listed in the Green Pages to avoid conflicting information because this year some of the dates of the collections needed to be changed from the dates listed in the guide and this created some confusion among town residents and town employees.
Tom Kennedy discussed the SWIP with the board. Tom stated the SWIP needs to be submitted to the Solid Waste Division by December 15, 2014 and the Division will review the SWIP and return it to the District for refinement. The SWIP needs to be approved by the District by July 2015. A draft of the SWIP will be distributed at the January meeting.
8. OLD BUSINESS:
Tom told the Board that the Act 250 permit was received and that the deer issue had been fully resolved with the help of Twin State Sand and Gravel. The total cost paid by TSS&G for the deer yard mitigation was approximately $186,000.
9. SET NEXT REGULAR MEETING DATE
Phil Swanson proposed that the GUV meet every other month. The next meeting date proposed for January 8 th , 2015, would include a public hearing regarding the fiscal year 2016 budget.
A motion was made to end the GUVSWMD Board meeting at 6:00 p.m. All in favor, motion carried with no abstentions.
Respectfully submitted,
Stephen A. Lambert
Administrative Assistant
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