By STEVEN JUPITER
BRANDON—At its regular meeting on Monday evening, the Brandon Selectboard discussed two expenses that had not been part of the budget workshops in the fall.
The first was for a new salt shed. The current shed is not large enough to accommodate the amount of salt that the Highway Department deems sufficient to last an entire winter. The department ran out of salt this winter, because of supply-chain issues, and a larger shed would allow the town to purchase and store more salt at the beginning of the season.
An attendee asked the Board why this expense hadn’t been discussed during the budget workshops in the fall, calling the shed a “budget breaker.” The estimated cost of the hoop-type shed is $35K – $40K, though no actual bids have been received yet.
Interim Town Manager Bill Moore said he deferred to the experience and judgment of Shawn Erickson, who has argued for the necessity of a new shed. The attendee responded that department heads should make their needs known in the fall, during the budget workshops, in order to facilitate “long-range planning.”
The Board then discussed whether it made sense to delay construction of the shed until the town was ready to build a new town garage, since it may be cheaper to erect the two structures simultaneously rather than as separate projects.
Moore reiterated that he is expecting another quote on the project and no action was taken.
The other expense that had slipped through the budgetary cracks was for a dump truck that the town ordered in January 2022 and is now ready for delivery. Somehow the expense had not been taken into account during the budget workshops and money needs to be allocated for the purchase now.
The town debated several approaches. Board member Tracy Wyman proposed buying the truck outright (at a cost of $255,138.00) using 50% ARPA funds and 50% Option Tax funds. The town has approximately $574K in Option Tax funds and several hundred thousand in unearmarked ARPA funds. Board member Tim Guiles suggested using the $100K that had been set aside to pay off other equipment leases to pay down the lease on the truck. Board member Brian Coolidge recommended buying the truck using only Option Tax funds.
The proposal that was ultimate adopted by the Board was offered by member Cecil Reniche-Smith: pay off the other equipment leases with the $100K as planned and put the remainder of that money toward the new truck, the balance to be paid with Option Tax funds. Since the cost of the equipment leases is approximately $67K, the remaining $33K could be applied to the new truck, necessitating an expenditure of $255,105 from the Option Tax funds. Town Treasurer Sue Gage noted that this expenditure would be recouped in tax revenues in less than a year. The motion to adopt this approach was passed unanimously.
This approach will not affect the budget, since the $100K had already been budgeted and the Option Tax fund is discretionary.
Board Chair Seth Hopkins expressed “dismay” that the expense had somehow slipped through the cracks and recommended in the future that all purchase orders be immediately entered as line items in the following year’s budget.
In other business, the Board unanimously approved a permit to allow the Gran Fondo cycling event to use town roads for 8 hours on June 24. The event uses Route 73 from the Brandon Gap to Forestdale and then Route 53 from Forestdale to Salisbury. Neither the Fire Department nor the Police Department consider it a hazard. No roads will be closed for the event and signs will be posted warning motorists to look out for cyclists.
The Board appointed Bill Moore as Municipal Project Manager for the Union Street sidewalk project, a position that David Atherton had been slated to take before his resignation. Moore will not receive additional compensation for this work. He will do the work either in his capacity as Town Manager (interim or permanent) or as Economic Development Officer, in the event that he isn’t hired as permanent Town Manager.
The Board appointed Daniel Snow of Brandon as Alternate Representative to the Rutland Regional Transportation Advisory Committee.
It was announced that both the Town Health Officer and the Town Rental Housing Code Enforcement Officer had tendered their resignations. Both positions are part-time and come with stipends.
Town Clerk Sue Gage reminded the town to license all pet dogs by April 3 to avoid penalties. The Town Office will be open on Friday to accommodate dog owners who need to license their pets.
In his report, Interim Town Manager Bill Moore noted:
- On March 21, Assistant Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator Tim Kingston had responded to a call for an overflowing manhole in Green Park. Dundon’s was brought in to vacuum out 4,500 gallons of grease and other non-flushable materials. Moore warned businesses and residences alike to avoid flushing grease and non-flushable wipes down the toilet.
- Before its meeting on April 10, the Selectboard will visit the Wastewater Treatment Plant to inspect the progress being made on the upgrades there.
- Brandon received a Municipal Planning Grant to partner with the Rutland Regional Planning Commission on an interactive map of the region’s historic, cultural, and recreational assets, in order to facilitate tourism.
- A replacement will be needed for Steve Cijka, Brandon’s Chief Wastewater Operator, who plans to retire in 2024. Vermont Rural Water can help advertise and train for the demanding position.
- The Rec Department has extended registration for spring baseball & softball until April 1. Late registrations will incur a $30 fee.
- A Square Dance will be held on April 1.
- Brandon Idol’s 80s night will take place on April 8 at 6:30.
- On April 15, World of Hurt Wrestling will rumble at Town Hall.
The Board’s final bit of public business for the night was to approve a warrant for $204,220.02 for the town’s bills. A breakdown of the bills is available on the town website in the Selectboard packet for 3/27/23.
In executive session, the Board discussed the following:
- 12 applications have been received for the Town Manager position. 1 application was withdrawn, so there are currently 11 active applications. Seth Hopkins has recused himself, since he is one of the applicants, and the remaining 4 Board members all have copies of all the applications.
- On Wednesday, March 29, the Board will meet in a duly warned executive session at 7 p.m. to winnow the applicants down from 11 to the 4 who will be interviewed. The Board will also compose a slate of questions to ask of each candidate.
- The Inclusivity Committee, led by Sue Gage, will also compose a slate of questions to ask each applicant.
- The 4 interviews will be held on Monday, April 3 and Wednesday, April 5 in duly warned executive session.
