Board discusses WSWMD budget
GUILFORD — GUILFORD - Guilford's representative to the Windham Solid Waste Management District (WSWMD), Cheryl Franklin, presented her interpretation of the district's fiscal year 2017 budget to the Selectboard at its Nov. 23 regular meeting.
Franklin, whose family owns Franklin & Son Rubbish Removal in Vernon, noted a few concerns, including the lack of contracts with some of the new MRF (Materials Recovery Facility) towns that are slated to send their recyclables to the district's Old Ferry Road facility, and what she said was an absence of liquid assets. She said she shared her concerns at one of the WSWMD's recent board meetings.
Guilford Selectboard Chair Sheila Morse asked Franklin what will happen if the WSWMD does not stay solvent.
“My question, at the end of one of these meetings, to the chairman of the board, and one other person is, well, what if this budget gets passed and we see as we continue through the year, that, you know, we're more and more in the red,” Franklin responded.
Franklin continued with, “He said, 'We'll be forced to shut down.' That was their answer to me."
When Morse asked Franklin if this meant Guilford needed to “shop around” for a new waste facility, Franklin said the chairman of the Finance Committee said the WSWMD's current planned FY17 budget gives them “more wiggle room” and, with close monitoring, “if it starts to go in the red, there are things we can do to start to curtail that... without hopefully closing the doors."
Franklin told board members the budget could change at the December 10 public hearing.
Board member Anne Rider made, then withdrew, a motion approving the budget “with reservations."
“With so many movable targets, I don't know” if the board should make a motion, Rider said.
Instead, with her colleagues' approval, Rider encouraged Franklin to gather information, and “if it is not substantially changed, the Selectboard advised [Franklin] to support that budget."
Algiers village center designation renewed
GUILFORD - Planning Commission Chair Michelle Frehsee asked the Selectboard to ask the commission to submit paperwork to renew Algiers as a certified village center through the state's Agency of Commerce & Community Development. The renewal is scheduled for Jan. 2.
The application requires a town's selectboard to instruct the planning commission to renew the certification, Frehsee said.
“There's no need for a public hearing [because] it's just a renewal,” Frehsee noted.
At the Nov. 23 regular meeting, the board unanimously voted to instruct the planning commission to apply to have Algiers' Village Center designation renewed.
Town office now insulated
GUILFORD - Emergency Management Director Ron Lenker and Selectboard Chair Sheila Morse recently spent 90 minutes crawling around the town office building's attic.
Lenker and Morse installed insulation around the building's heating pipes in the effort to increase the system's efficiency.
After the installation, Lenker said he used infrared thermography, and saw no temperature change outside of the pipes in most places, which means their fix is working well. In the places where he saw a change he described as “slight,” he said he will add foam insulation.
“I think we made a huge hit, because when I come to work now, the building feels warm,” Lenker said.
“Thank you both so much,” board member Anne Rider said to Lenker and Morse.
Morse said she had fun.
Town needs an auditor
GUILFORD - “Vermont statute requires we have three auditors,” Selectboard Chair Sheila Morse told her colleagues at the Nov. 23 regular board meeting.
Currently, the town has two auditors: Neil Quinn and Cathi Wilkin.
The board agreed to “pound the pavement” to fill the position before town meeting elections.
According to Guilford's official website, “The Town Auditors play a vital role in preserving the democratic nature of Vermont's local government by ensuring that local officials are accountable for their expenditures of the taxpayers' money. It is the Town Auditors' job to review the accounts of local officials and report their findings directly to the taxpayers for review. Town Auditors also compile and publish the Annual Town Report."
The website instructs all interested parties, provided they are registered to vote in Guilford, to contact the Town Administrator at 802-254-6857, ext. 105.