Chelsea Selectboard Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, September 6, 2022, 7:30 pm at Chelsea Town Hall
Selectboard Members present: Levar Cole, Mark Whitney, Merrill Whitney, Geoff Clayton, Bruce Hook
Other Town Employees present: Marianne McCann (Administrative Assistant)(Herald), Gayle Durkee
(Treasurer), Rick Ackerman (Road Foreman).
Members of the public present: Gregg Herrin
- Call Meeting to Order
Meeting called to order at 7:33 pm by Levar Cole. - Conflict of Interest Disclosure
None. - Changes to the Agenda
Geoff Clayton will add a couple things. Admin. Asst. will add a couple things: letters received. - Town Clerk
Town Clerk is not in attendance. Liquor License request for event date 9-3-22 presented. Cole asked,
since event date has passed, do we need to take action? No action taken. - Town Treasurer
Gayle Durkee stated there are no drastic changes in the budget. Cole asked if there are any drastic
windfalls? No. Durkee stated the Canon copier lease is up. There is a quote for the same copier package.
Can we go ahead and lease a new one for a 5 year contract? Similar to the last one. Action: Selectboard
has no objection. Proceed.
Gayle Durkee stated we have an updated RFP for auditor services. Last year it was around $10,000. This
year it might be more, possibly $16,000 or $18,000. Action: Selectboard will make a decision at the next
meeting, Sept. 20. Send the RFP to Selectboard. Add ARPA money and the single audit threshold into the
RFP information. - Department/Liaisons Updates
Re: Highway: Truck Sale: Ready to sign a contract with Auctions International for the sale of the 2012
International truck. Contract not sent in yet, due to possible interest from Craigslist ad. Contract would
be exclusive sales opportunity to Auctions International. Wait and see if Craigslist sale is arranged.
Re: Old Town Garage: Bruce Hook stated he has received many comments on the need to paint the
roof. Hook will know more about the project details this week, because Ward wants to paint it the
following week.
Re: Highway Access Permit: Ruben Hook has requested a Highway Access Permit. Rick Ackerman stated
he has looked at the location, it’s all fine, but he has not signed the form yet. Selectboard requested
Ackerman sign the form and it will be placed on the next agenda, Sept. 20.
Re: Hook Road Ditching Project: Ackerman stated on Monday we will start on the Hook Road Grants in
Aid program. Tad Boardman has been contacted regarding using his excavator. This is routine work. We
are all set. Will there be any road closings? Yes, when we do the culverts. Ackerman usually notifies the
fire and ambulance departments for road closings.
Re: Transfer Station: Clayton stated he has researched stickers. The general cost would be between 75
cents and $1.25 each to get the stickers. The name and the year would be printed. One color. Simple.
We could start this program in January. Selectboard must decide about surcharges. Selectboard must
consult with Snook and do advertising in advance of instituting the sticker program. Non residents
would pay for stickers. Residents would get free stickers. This is a discussion, no decisions have been
made. Clayton suggests charging $50. for non-resident stickers. Unless, the transfer station charges for
recycling.
Cole stated he does not want it to seem like we are taking money that we don’t have to take. Nonprofits do not pay for trash. What about community organizations? This is something to talk about.
There are different issues. Recycling costs a lot. Now there are fuel surcharges. Only one company is
interested in doing the service for the Town. Perhaps one thing will not solve all our problems at the
Transfer Station.
Re: Bear Mitigation: Clayton stated he is starting on the shed this week.
Re: Letter to Illegal Dumpers: Clayton stated he wrote a draft of a proposed letter to illegal dumpers.
Clayton read the draft out loud. Clayton will make changes and we can sign at the next meeting.
Re: Water/Wastewater: Merrill Whitney stated he has not talked to Nolan.
Re: Town Mowing Cost Estimate: Mark Whitney contacted Brian Farnham and Jeremy Farnham. Brian
did not return the info. Jeremy did return the info. Mark Whitney read aloud the dollar amounts quoted
per piece of land mowed. (There are numerous separate pieces of lawn to be mowed throughout
Chelsea. Each had a separate price quote.) Mark Whitney reported that Jeremy Farnham would love to
work for Chelsea, and he could maybe do sidewalk plowing. Cole stated ordinarily we would put out an
RFP. Cole stated we would have to work out the cost from the Highway budget and compare. Mark
Whitney can check in and write up an RFP and go from there. Clayton stated he knew two kids
interested in mowing. Whitney stated Brian and Jeremy both mentioned that to set foot on a town
property, you have to carry a million dollar insurance policy.
Re: Admin. Asst./Elected Town Officers: Levar Cole stated the Selectboard is not supervising the elected
town officers. - Public Comments
Cole stated Kate MacLean was on the agenda. She had called about a Liquor License. Kate MacLean is
not here. - Approve Minutes
Levar Cole moved to approve the minutes of August 16, 2022. Merrill Whitney seconded the motion.
Motion passed unanimously. - Administrative Assistant Report/Grants Administration
Re: Hiring for Water/Wastewater job: AA reported ads up in two water oriented electronic job boards,
Vermont Rural Water Association, and National Rural Water Association. No applicants to date. Cole
suggests a $4,000. Signing bonus for water job. Action: Add the $4,000 signing bonus into existing ads.
Can we change the ads if there is a person who is certified? Clayton suggested making the job a
contracted position. Cole stated we can start talking about contract commitments. Mark Whitney stated
the contract route would sell it as paid on the job training.
Re: Scheduling for 2023 Budget Planning /Discussion: AA can make up a schedule fitting all
departments into the regular Selectboard Meetings throughout the fall. Cole stated last year we booked
everyone. We hope to start this process in mid October. Action: Re-do last year’s calendar with current
dates.
Re: Cultural Arts Grants: Cole recommends we proceed. Cole is not concerned about moisture. The
other concern is the State will come in and tell us what to do about fuel. We can do this on our own
terms now. In the future, there could be legislation about new construction or no use of non-renewable
combustible fuels. Clayton stated the State of Vermont is pushing electric. The State wants no
combustion at all. Whitney stated oil burning is back up heat. Wood pellet would be primary heat. Cole
stated we wanted shared risk with the State. We got it. We got the grant. We are in a lot better place
than I thought we would be. I have no objections. Selectboard agreed. Cole signed the grant agreement.
Re: Phillip Mulligan/Window Dressers request to be on the agenda for Sept. 20 meeting: Action:
Selectboard will not respond. Window Dressers will not be on agenda again. Mulligan can speak on
public comments.
Re: TRORC Services Survey: Paper version presented to Selectboard. Action: Selectboard declined to
participate. Cole stated I am waiting for a response from the Department of Justice, that I sent more
than a year ago, regarding policing, when we had a problem with the town police. I asked for basic
community pamphlets and brochures for the citizens and senior citizens about what they could do to
remain safe.
Levar Cole moved to approve the orders. Mark Whitney seconded the motion. Motion passed
unanimously.
Orders totalling:
General: $28,427.77
Highway: $10,970.99
Water/Sewer: $2,725.18 - Appointments
None. - Executive Session for Human Resources
Executive Session not necessary. Instead, a Human Resources discussion. Action: Administration
Assistant will put an ad out for the AA position.
A credit card is required for online hiring services, like Indeed. The Selectboard is in agreement there is a
need for a town credit card. The problem is, we cannot make a mistake. We can have town people
authorized. Cole suggests making a town credit card policy. Keep it to a minimum. Clayton stated we are
already in a relationship with a bank. Clayton recommends not bringing on another credit card company
to complicate the mix. There are more cyber security concerns with Visa and Mastercard. Cole stated we
will check with Mascoma. Cole will check with Gayle and report back next meeting. Chelsea needs a
credit card policy.
Action: Selectboard agreed Cole will decide on overseeing an ad for the AA position. Selectboard agreed
to move Kasey Peterson/Grants Administrator to $20. per hour. Selectboard agreed Levar Cole and Mark
Whitney will be candidate interviewers. Selectboard agreed to advertise the pay rate for AA position at
$25.00 per hour. Action: Re-type ad. - Adjourn
Meeting adjourned at 9:37 pm.
The next regularly scheduled Selectboard meeting will be Tuesday, September 20, 2022, 7:30 pm at the
Town Hall.