December 14, 2024 Selectboard Special Meeting Minutes

OFFICE OF THE SELECTBOARD

TOWN OF HALIFAX, VERMONT

SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES- DRAFT

December 14th, 2023

6:00 PM AT THE HALIFAX TOWN OFFICE

CALL TO ORDER

Edee Edwards called the meeting to order at 3:30pm. Other members of the Selectboard present at the meeting are Karen Christofferson, Tristan Roberts and Randy Pike. Other members of the town are Mike Fournier, Emily Dow, Stephen Chait and Stephanie Pike.

CHANGES AND ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA

There are no changes to be made to the agenda. 

NEW BUSINESS

Budgeting for FY25 and Highway items are the main focuses for the meeting today. 

Regarding the Green Mountain Power and Gravel Project we endured over the Summer of 2024, the grand total thus far, including labor, equipment and materials is $177,638.90. The Town of Halifax fronted this bill out-of-pocket for the GMP Project. Patty Dow will be looking into this further. 

If the Town of Halifax helps with the gravel more, it will lead to better road maintenance. Looking at the facts of how time consuming each load of gravel can be, we see that reciprocated on our Road Crew employee’s timesheets. Mike mentioned the town won’t be able to front the bill for this and may need to pay an outside company to do it. For which Randy suggested hiring a subcontractor. Follow-Up conversations about this may be in future meetings. 

Edee and Emily will draft a letter to GMP, Tim Jones and others who should be included to be transparent in creating a more detailed and accurate contract for the following years. As it is appreciated the project has progressed, it was an unknown factor in the beginning of how much time, materials and equipment our employees would have to endure. 

For our Road Crew: It is very important to take care in detail in tracking your timesheets so your time is allotted for the work you completed. Thank you for all that you do for the Town of Halifax.  

Highway Department

The budget for the Highway Department needs fine tuning and better accounting for 45.65% of the budget allotted for this department. 

Please note that a Needle Mover on the budget spreadsheet will turn Red if the budget is raised 5% and higher.

Stephanie Pike entered the meeting at 3:46 pm. 

The Highway Department budget should be revisited to account for the new 5th employee the department recently hired. This will help the Selectboard obtain more accurate amounts for the budget spending. As some line items on the spreadsheet can be altered and moved, the budget and its inclusions should be as accurate as possible. 

Other Needle Mover items such as health Insurance and Retirements directly impact the percentage of the budget spent. 

Budget Needle Movers

  • Radio repeater– This is a one time purchase and not a regular bill, therefore can be zeroed in the current budget. 
  • Building Repairs and Maintenance– In the Selectboard tab, Line 39, added $5,000 to cover fuel and service for Generator Servicing since it’s covered by EMD. 
  • Office Cleaning & Supplies– 2 new laptops were purchased which caused a rise in the budget. However, the budget can reduce to $750 as that should be manageable for the year. 
  • Shops Supplies and Tools– Changes to be made are combining Account# 7644 and 7645 as they are related. Leveling fund at $1500.  
  • Winter Sand– The total spent in FY23 is $125K and for FY24 was $111K. The budget will raise 5% to account for the suggested inflation price in the following year. The typical budget for Winter Sand is based on 4000 yards, which is a proposed budget of $120,120 for FY25.
  • Salt– The Town of Halifax is currently under contract for salt. Mike said the town has never used all 450 Tons of salt but, always been right around the number or 2-3 loads over. Weather and Season are major factors in how much salt will need to be used to suffice for the year. At the Weather Meeting Edee attended, they determined that Winter of 2024 should have the average amount of precipitation and be warmer than usual. Warmer temperatures will cause the atmosphere to be closer to freezing and thus more, might need more salt. 
  • Salt Shed– Changes to be made are to delete this line item as the account can be transferred to Misc Road Repairs.
  • Misc Road Repairs– Changes to be made to this line are adding $2,000 to account for acquiring the Salt Shed Line. 
  • Please note: Account 7455 is noted to include both Erosion Control and Hydroseeding. 

Mike mentioned that Halifax is replacing more culverts than in previous years but they get many grants to cover the majority of the cost. In order for the Highway Department to replace culverts, the budget will level funds with a generous budget to allocate for these costs. 

  • Coal Patch– Leveled fund and no change for FY25.
  • Supplementary Road Assistance for FEMA– FY24 was budgeted for Vaughn and Pike Roads with FEMA grants the town has acquired so it will not be carried into the FY25 budget. This line item will be changed to zero. 
  • Trucks– The town bought a Chevrolet 6500 which will be on the account for FY24. The Highway Equipment schedule is referenced for this to see current funds spent. The town trucks #2, #3, #4 and newly added #5, have the aggregate cost of principal and interest totaling $168,916.02. Sale/Trade-In is pending for Spring 2025 which will affect the line item budget during that time. 
  • Property and Casualty Insurance VLCT– Edee is reaching out to Patty to confirm if the renewal invoice has been received. The PACIF renewal for the generator at the Fire Department has been added to the list. The budget for this has increased this year due to a new piece of equipment on schedule. The Halifax Fire Department would like a higher level of insurance on these items as they are very important to maintain. Edee created a draft email to be reused for following years to make the renewal process a little simpler. 

*As a reminder, the Town of Halifax Fire Department is set up as its own entity rather than included in the City so it’s the town’s responsibility to budget for the costs.  

  • Diesel Fuel– The Summer Diesel and Winter Diesel budget is $75,000 as it is a cost that can change based on multiple factors. 
  • Conferences and Training– This line has been reduced to $250 for infrequent use. 
  • Electricity– Halifax has some solar panels at Windham Solid Waste, through a program of which the town gets some funding returned. There are also solar panels on the Town Garage roof. This budget item has been level funded for FY25. 
  • Propane– This budget item has been reduced to $8,000 because it covers 2000 Gallons used on average. Will confirm: A new heating system may come with MERP to assist with costs.
  • Consolidated Communications– Current plans are to cancel service with Consolidated Communications and sign up for DVFiber for faster internet and phone service for which Karen will follow up. Based on mid-tier service level and annual cell phone cost, the budget will be $2,520. The town had under-budgeted in previous years. 

*It’s noted by Stephan that care should be taken to port the town phone numbers to DVFiber to continue using the same telephone numbers. 

*Please note that the Town Clerk’s email address will change with the service change. More information will come about this as we get closer to switching service. 

  • Gravel– Based on 6500 yards at $33 delivered, the budget allocates for $215,000. GMP will replace the gravel they use during the Gravel Project. The Town of Halifax is not responsible to cover this. In the next Bid for gravel, the proposal will be used with a more accurate yardage and that is less than 10,000 yards.. 
  • Stone Crushed and Ditch Stone– Zaluzny won both bids for crushed stone and ditch stone. The Town of Halifax made an emergency payment of $50,000 over budget in FY24. Level fund this year but may raise next year depending on how much of the crushed stone stockpile is used. 
  • Future goals in mind for the Town of Halifax include making contributions to the Reserve Fund that was created in 2014. After the Reserve Fund got spent in 2022, there haven’t been any contributions since. As a good rule of thumb, the Town of Halifax should have 1 to 2 months saved in the reserve fund to use for emergencies, such as tropical storms, to have the ability to pay bills and employees in a timely manner. 
  • Chloride– Materials for this budget item include tank rental and safety gear. The Highway Department manually adds Chloride to the road salt to save costs versus having other companies add it. Level fund at $25,000 because it covers year round road treatment as Halifax roads need care in all seasons. 
  • Resurfacing Fund– For FY24 Budget, the fund was cut by $100,000 because there were ample funds in the reserve. It’s believed that the town won’t need FEMA in FY25, which came with savings in itself, and should allocate some of those savings back into the Resurfacing Fund so the town’s pavement maintenance and new paving don’t fall behind. Budget funding for resurfacing the roads raised to $350,000 and may be revisited. 
  • Road Signs– As there are replacement costs for worn and new signs, $1,200 for FY25 should be manageable.  

HEARING OF VISITORS

No visitors wished to speak. 

EXECUTIVE SESSION

Edee Edwards made a motion to hold an Executive Session at 6:15pm. 

Randy Pike seconded the motion. 

Motion carries 5-0. 

ADJOURNMENT

Rhonda made a motion to adjourn at 6:38pm. Randy seconded the motion. Motion passed 5-0

 

Respectfully submitted, 

Emily Dow

Halifax Administrative Assistant 

 

Recording Link: https://youtu.be/IkPaHoBDSM4