MINUTES

February 21, 2012

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 7:30 PM.  Board members in attendance were John LaFlamme, Lewis Sumner, and Edee Edwards.  Others in attendance were Fred Cheney, Brad Rafus, Joe Tamburrino, Ray Combs, Margo Avakian, Earl Holtz, Tim Putnam, Mitchell Green, and Board Secretary Phyllis Evanuk.

Approval of Minutes

Mr. Sumner moved to approve the minutes of the January 28, 2012 special meeting as written.
            Mr. LaFlamme seconded the motion.
The motion carried 3-0, and the minutes were approved.

            Ms. Edwards moved to approve the minutes of the February 15, 2012 special meeting with one correction; “sight” should be site.
            Mr. LaFlamme seconded the motion which carried 3-0, and the minutes were approved.

New Business

Update on Purchasing Policy

·        Mr. Tamburrino presented copies of the purchasing forms showing the changes that the Board had adopted at the last meeting.  He advised that a meeting of the review task force will take place this week and they will report any recommendations to the Board at a future meeting.

Purchase Order for Deer Park Road temporary bridge

·        On the matter of the temporary bridge at Deer Park Road, he gave the Board a purchase order for them to sign, advising that some items might need to be adjusted due to the length of the bridge having changed since the initial costs were presented.  The length is shorter so it may reduce the amount.

Blacktop Bids and Reclaiming Bids

Company                                 Paving                                                  Reclaiming

Pike Industries                          $678,487.50                                        $13,552.50

[6,031 units @ $112.50 per unit]          [9,035 sq.yd. @ $1.50 per sq.yd.]

Springfield Paving                                                         [7/10 mile x 22’ wide @ $1.25 per sq. yd.]

No totals given

DMI Paving                              $559,000

[321,600 sq. ft.]

All State                                                                                               $14,126.36

[8,213 sq. yd. @ $1.72 sq. yd.]

Warner Bros. LLC                   $554,136

(All State)

EME                                        $84.20 per ton

Lane Construction                    $482,995.25                                        $8,583.25

[breakdown is for three items]        [9,035 sq. yds.@ .95 per sq. yd.]

Mr. Cheney from Lane Construction noted that their price is firm for the 2012 season; it does not have an escalator clause in the bid.

David Thurber of Springfield Paving (EME) advised that it is hard to give an accurate amount of final tonnage, due to the irregularities of the roads to be paved.  He also stated that their asphalt is virgin no reclaimed asphalt is in it. He advised this is a much nicer product.

Mr. LaFlamme asked Mr. Rafus if he had input and Mr. Rafus advised that the tonnage was pretty close so they should base their decision on the per ton cost.  In the end the tonnage will be whatever it needs to be to do the job, so the per ton cost is the key.

Mr. LaFlamme moved to award the blacktop contract to Lane Construction.

            Ms. Edwards seconded the motion which carried 3-0.

            Mr. LaFlamme moved to award the reclaiming contract to Lane Construction.

            Mr. Sumner seconded the motion which carried 3-0.

Fire Department FCC license

Mr. LaFlamme advised that the Fire Department had inadvertently allowed their FCC license to expire.  In order for them to renew it now they first have to get a confirmation letter from the Internal Revenue Service verifying that they are a not for profit organization.  If the Town gets the license and allows the Fire Department to use it as a town service, in the future there will be no renewal fees because it is a municipal government.  The Fire Department is willing to pay all costs associated with the Town procuring the license.

            Ms. Edwards moved to have the Town procure the FCC license on behalf of the Halifax Fire Department with the Fire Department paying all associated costs.

            Mr. Sumner seconded the motion which carried 3-0.

Town employees’ uniforms contract

Mr. LaFlamme advised that they had been looking into changing from using a uniform service to a clothing allowance for employees.  They have discovered that they cannot get out of the contract at this time. The term of the current contract runs through 2015.  The annual cost is $6,900 and it looks as though they will need to honor the contract.  Mr. Tamburrino will look into it to see if there is a way to terminate the contract.  It was noted that they still would need to contract for shop towels/rags due to the environmental requirements.

Earl Holtz, EMD job description

The Irene “Lessons learned Task Force” met twice, chaired by Maggie Bartenhagen.  Two things came out of these meetings.  One is that they need a job description for the Emergency Management Director.  They have 2 descriptions as guides.  The other thing that they felt should be done is developing an all hazards plan for the town.  This is something that should be done once the job description is completed and the EMD is appointed as that person should be involved in developing the plan.

Mr. Sumner advised that as the Emergency Management Director he has been following what the state requirements are.  He has a book detailing what is required.  He also continues to attend training associated with the position.

Mr. Green advised that Vermont Emergency Management sets the requirements for the EMD position and because they pay the bill, they should have the say.

Mr. Tamburrino advised that the EMD should be included in these meetings as he can give insight as to what the job entails and what is already being done.

After more discussion it was suggested that the Marlboro description and the state description should be available for the next Selectboard meeting so that a description for the EMD for Halifax can be pulled together and be available at the time the EMD appointment is made for the coming year.

Update on Deer Park Road temporary bridge

Mr. LaFlamme advised that Green River Road will be closed tomorrow to allow the assembly and installation of the temporary bridge.  The road will be closed through Friday afternoon.

Review Temporary Bridge Justification

Ms. Edwards advised that she has incorporated input from people who had offered to assist in strengthening the justification for the temporary Deer Park Bridge.  She gave a summary of the statistics regarding travel times and distances, difficulty for emergency services, and reasons why the procurement of a temporary bridge appears to have been delayed so long.

The Board reviewed the draft and agreed they should run it by the FEMA rep, Jeff Kirkland, and see what suggestions he may have.  They will review again at the next meeting.

Bond preparation personnel

This will be revisited after the town has submitted the bond application.  The deadline for submission is May 1, 2012.

Hearing of Visitors

·        Mr. Tamburrino reported that the decking from the Reed Hill Road Bridge was inspected by the engineers from SVE and they are not reusable.

·        Mr. Combs asked if it was usual for people to get up and leave as soon as the main item of their interest was finished.  He advised that it appeared disrespectful to him, and thought that they should be interested in all that is being discussed, not just a single topic.

Old Business

·        Selectboard secretary: The Board reviewed the draft that Ms. Edwards had distributed at the last meeting and discussed incorporating the concise description offered by the current secretary with the draft.

Ms. Edwards moved to integrate the two documents into a final draft to be reviewed and adopted at a future meeting.

Mr. LaFlamme seconded the motion which carried 3-0.

·        Weir Road Bridge: Research is ongoing regarding the status of whether or not this is a private or public bridge.

Other Business

Mr. LaFlamme advised they have a PW (project worksheet) for Deer Park Bridge repair

which is just under $400,000 and additional riprap at $17,000.  FEMA would like them to just accept this and sign it.  Ms. Edwards advised that Jeff Kirkland had assured her that the estimates were good and that reimbursement would be paid for reasonable expense.

Ms. Edwards further advised that she is comfortable either way, sign it tonight or wait a couple more days to get input from the SVE engineers when they meet with them on Friday.

A short discussion of what this PW includes and what services would be in addition to the costs and scope in this PW.  It was agreed that they will hold it for an opinion from SVE.

·        Mr. Tamburrino advised that this is the last meeting for the secretary and he wanted to thank her for all the work she has done and the assistance she gave him in developing the bid forms and purchase orders.

Communications/Mail

The mail was reviewed and appropriately filed.

Selectmen’s Order to Town Treasurer for bill payment

The order for payment of bills was completed and signed.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 9:48 PM.

Respectfully submitted,
Phyllis H. Evanuk
Secretary