Vassalboro Select Board
Minutes of the Meeting
October 24, 2013

Members Present: Rob Browne, Lauchlin Titus, and Phil Haines

Others Present: Mary Sabins, Mary Grow, George Hamar, Tom O’Rourke, and Pine Tree Waste Representative Jim Dunning (7:30 p.m.)

1. Call to order – The meeting was called to order by Chairman Titus at 7:00 p.m.

2. Minutes – On a motion made by R. Browne, seconded by L. Titus, the Board voted to accept the minutes of the 10/10/13 meeting as written. P. Haines abstained from the vote as he was not present at that meeting.

3. Public Hearing on the General Assistance Ordinance – Chairman Titus called the public hearing to order at 7:02 p.m. There being no public comment, the hearing was closed and on a motion made by P. Haines, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to adopt the newly revised GA Ordinance and new appendices as proposed by the State.

4. Solid Waste Hauling bids – Sabins distributed a spreadsheet summary of the bids received and announced that the apparent low bidder was Michael Bolster with prices of $195 per trip to haul MSW to PERC; $150 per trip to haul bulky waste to Norridgewock; and $75 per trip to haul recyclables to the China Transfer Station. Transfer Station Manager George Hamar and Attendant Tom O’Rourke spoke up in support of Pine Tree Waste’s bid proposal and price of $115 per trip to haul recyclables to Waterville to their Zero Sort program. George and Tom stated that participation in the zero sort program would save a lot of the work they must perform now, and they feel the public would recycle more if they didn’t have to sort the items. After discussion, the Board agreed this was an attractive alternative, but we are uncertain if the Board were to split the bid award to two different contractors, if Bolsters and Pine Tree would each agree to transport one type of rubbish without all types of rubbish. On a motion made by P. Haines, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to delay the decision on the bid award until further information is gathered.

5. Reports – a. Status Report – No report given, therefore no action taken. b. Road Report - On a motion made by P. Haines, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to accept the report as presented. c. Financial Report - On a motion made by P. Haines, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to accept the report as presented. Sabins will call First Advisors Investor Matt Weaver to request his appearance at an upcoming meeting to provide an update on the town’s financial investments.

6. Treasurer’s Warrants – Sabins read the items on the Treasurer’s Accounts Payable Warrant aloud as is customary, and discussion was given about the final contract payment listed on the warrant to the mowing contractor, A&H Properties. Due to lack of performance issues of the mowing contractor, a motion was made by P. Haines, seconded by R. Browne, and voted unanimously by the Board to red line (remove) the $2,745 payment for A&H Properties. On a motion made by P. Haines, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to approve warrants #23 and #24. Warrant #24 was approved with the new adjusted total of $283,226.21.

7. Solid Waste hauling bids (revisited 7:45 p.m.) – Pine Tree Waste Representative Jim Dunning arrived at the meeting and the Board chose to revisit this agenda item. Mr. Dunning mistakenly thought the Board meeting began at 7:30 instead of 7:00 p.m. Discussion ensued regarding the zero sort recycling program, and Pine Tree’s other hauling bid options. Mr. Dunning stated that Pine Tree would provide the collection canister for the zero sort program with no monthly rental fee. He also stated that the volume of trash recycled has increased in other towns that have joined this zero sort program, and he expected that Vassalboro’s recycling volume would increase, maybe even double, as well because the recycling program is so easy – no sorting required and all recyclables can be stored at home in the same container or clear plastic bag until disposal. Discussion was also given about Pine Tree’s bid for hauling the bulky waste to Juniper Ridge for $115 per haul at $65 per ton instead of our current plan of hauling our bulky waste to Waste Management in Norridgewock at $159.10 per trip and $68+ per ton. The Board felt this proposal was a viable one and after discussion, P. Haines made a motion to award the bulky waste and recyclable bids to Pine Tree. This motion was seconded by R. Browne, and voted unanimously by the Board. In a separate motion P. Haines moved to award the MSW hauling bid to Bolsters. This motion was seconded by R. Browne, and voted unanimously by the Board.

8. Other – 1. Sabins noted that the Town Registrar of Voters Jim Schad will be having extended hours on Thursday, October 31st until 7:00 p.m. as required by law for absentee voting and registration purposes. 2. The annual Tree Lighting event was discussed. Sabins asked for suggestions for a song leader since the past year’s song leaders have another commitment and are unable to assist. L. Titus suggested calling Tim Giroux of the Kennebec Valley Chordsmen to see if they would agree to perform. 3. The ripple effect on the new metal roof at the town office was discussed. The effect is named “oil canning”, according to the contractor. Sabins has a meeting with the contractor planned for tomorrow to discuss it. The Board was not concerned about the ripple appearance as long as the roof doesn’t leak.

9. Adjourn – There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 9:02 p.m.

/mss

These minutes were read and accepted by the Select Board on 11/7/13 with the following amendments: None.