Wallingford Fire District No. 1

 MINUTES OF THE PRUDENTIAL COMMITTEE MEETING
 August 8, 2007

The official copy of these minutes can be obtained at Wallingford Fire District #1 Office.

 

Called to Order:

Chris Rabtoy called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.   Also present were Chris McPhee, Rose Regula and Stephanie Biagini/Clerk-Treasurer.    

Visitors:  Jeffrey Allen, Warren Allen, Jim Bowen, Stephane Goulet, Gregory Macleod, Peter L. Miller, Barbara Taraska, John West, Melissa Whitmore and Hebert Yengel  

Members from the Highland Beach Association (HBA) came before the board to discuss the logistics for the Fire District billing them for water usage and water bond payment at the water pit not from each residents home.  Ms. Whitmore, HBA Treasurer had a few questions/concerns regarding the process.  Mr. Miller, HBA Board Member gave a brief presentation on the water usage over the bridge and his findings had shown inconsistencies.  C. Rabtoy offered to gather the meter readings from 2006 to present date.  They will be handed over to Ms. Taraska for her to compile an analysis of water usage.  C. Rabtoy offered the meter reading device to HBA to use until they purchase one of their own.  J. West said the fire district has the right to sell water and the HBA is regulated with a WSID number. He also said that there is household insurance that could be purchased by homeowners for their water lines for as little as $3.00.  Information will be forward to the committee for review.  Mr. Miller said he has a concern a water meter, Mr. Rabtoy suggested that a request be put in writing for the district to send the meter out to be for testing.  R. Regula said that the district is charged from the State of Vermont for the master water meter.  Mr. Rabtoy made the motion to not proceed with billing water through the water pit for HBA until 2008.  C. McPhee seconded the motion.  No further discussion.  Motion carried (3-0).   

J. Bowen was asked to present bids for the floor in the lodge walk in cooler.  He didn’t have any bids at this time to present.  A brief discussion ensued about the floor.  The decision was made to have J. Bowen and C. Rabtoy meet to evaluate the floor.  

There was discussion about the condition of road leading in to the lodge and the possibility of having some gravel available.   

C. Rabtoy made the suggestion to give the Hayes Foundation $50.00 towards clean-up fee, because they needed to clean the grounds from a previous event before their event.  C. McPhee made the motion to accept his suggestion.  C. Rabtoy seconded the motion.  No further discussion.  Motion carried (3-0).  

There was an issue regarding a booking at the lodge booking.  There was a contract/paid in full and the other event did not have a contract nor made any payments for the date in question.  The customers that had a contract were sent away.  The other event was able to stay without a contact and with no money down.  The caretaker had requested a contract and had not received one to date.  C. Rabtoy said to make sure that we check with the office to see if there is a contract/booking in the future.  He said just because organizations books every year, they should not assume that they have it without completing a contract and make a deposit.  

The treasurer requested that the caretaker call into the office for expenses over $50.00 for a purchase order.  Also she requested that the caretaker no longer take money for the lodge rentals.  The customer should be mailing or dropping off payments in the box at Town Hall.  This will elevate the caretaker from having to write checks from his own personal account on behalf of the customer or having to make a trip to the office with the checks and or cash.  

R. Regula had a concern about an event that was scheduled on the same day as the WFD Rescue 50/50 function.  J. Bowen said that he worked out a deal with the Maple Leaf to have WFD Rescue come in the evening before to set up for their event.  He said that Maple Leaf paid for Friday and understood WFD Rescue only needed the lodge for an evening event.  R. Regula didn’t agree that an event should be booked on the same day as another.  The treasurer said that all future bookings need a contract, even if there is not a charge for the use of the lodge.  The accountant suggested that the lodge calendar coincide with the contracts for auditing purposes.  

John West came before the board to discuss the hourly wage for the part time water/sewer operator (Dale) and to give the board a quick overview of his work performance.  J. West and M. Breznick are very pleased with his abilities. C. Rabtoy made the motion to increase Dale’s pay from $10.00 per hour to $12.00 due to his knowledge/qualifications.  The pay would be retro active from his first day of work.  C. McPhee seconded the motion.  No further discussion.  Motion carried (3-0).  

J. West said that he’s gathering information about hosting a high school student(s) particularly from Mill River to learn about the water/sewer system.  The State would hold the liability for the student(s).  

Water/Sewer Rates:  The rates were set as Water $3.58/per 1,000 gallons and Sewer $5.08/per 1,000 gallons.  C. Rabtoy made the motion to set the rates as discussed.  C. Rabtoy seconded the motion.  R. Regula had questions on a couple of readings.  C. Rabtoy asked her for specifics, she didn’t bring the specific questions to the meeting.  The treasurer noted comments about the readings to include pool water allowances, notification to residents of high readings and re-reads.  R. Regula would not agree to the water rates.  No further discussion.  Motion carried (2-1).  

A discussion ensued regarding meters that residents are in question about, due to inconsistencies in their readings.  C. Rabtoy explained the Water/Sewer Ordinances that been put in place in 2002 and the proper channels for the residents to go through.  (The ordinances are available at the fire district office).  

Prudential Committee Pay Order:  C. Rabtoy made the motion to accept the pay orders as presented there had been a question from R. Regula regarding the electric for the Fire Department it had gone up again from last month.  The explanation given was that it had been a hot month, extra radios, batteries charging and due to bingo being held on the second floor.  A request was made to contact CVPS and have them come out and conduct an analysis of the building and offer energy saving tips for the Fire Department.  R. Regula questioned the bill from J. Ingalls.  C. Rabtoy explained that it was a detailed bill from the storm a few months ago that affected the caretakers cabin and CVPS had said that there wasn’t anything wrong at the cabin when in fact there was.  In order to send the bill to CVPS for payment, there needed to be detailed documentation from the plumber.  C. McPhee seconded the motion to accept the pay orders as presented.  No further discussion.  Motion carried (3-0).  

C. McPhee left meeting for another engagement at 8:20 p.m.  

Proposed Fire Truck Quotes:  S. Goulet came before the committee to update the fire departments efforts on obtaining proposals of a new fire truck along with a paraphrase for each of the distributors/manufacturers and the departments recommendation.  They are as follows: KME - $242,500, E-1 - $252,611, Four Guys - $275,000, Pierce - $278,000 and American LaFrance – could rebuild the current truck to the department’s specifications and said that we were wasting their time.  (Copies of the Fire Apparatus Bid information is on file at the Fire District Office)  The board could not come to consensus on what the next step would be.  C. Rabtoy explained the “Resolution of Necessity” to R. Regula, which was passed by the committee already.  S. Goulet said that as time goes on there’s a good possibility that the quotes would go up, especially on the quotes that are over 7 months old.  He said that 2008 models would be rolling out soon.  The treasurer offered to call E-One and ask if there would be an increase in their quote.  

Installation of Fire Hydrant:   The committee reviewed costs from two different plumbers/excavators for the installation of the fire hydrant on School Street .  A discussion ensued on the quality of work for each professional.  The cost of the project came to approx. $5,595.00 (includes plumber/excavator and supplies).  C. Rabtoy made the motion to accept the cost provided by Action Plumbing and K. Ruane Excavation.  Permits are in the process of being completed.  It had not been determined which budget line the project would be paid for.  C. Rabtoy said that relief valve would be installed for water, so some of the project would be paid from the water budget along with the fire budget.  R. Regula seconded the motion pending available funds.  No further discussion.  Motion carried (2-0).  

Note from Citizen:  R. Rabtoy read a note from Winnie Stack, thanking the Fire Department and their committee of volunteers for an outstanding job on the fire works this year.   

Approval for Minutes:  C. Rabtoy made the motion to approve the minutes for July 11, 2007 .  R. Regula said she would read them as soon as she could.   C. Rabtoy made the motion to table the approval of minutes until the next meeting.  R. Regula seconded the motion.  No further discussion.  Motion carried (2-0).   

C. Rabtoy made the motion to approve the minutes for July 24, 2007 .  R. Regula seconded the motion.  No further discussion.  Motion carried (2-0).  

Purchase of New Sludge Pump:  C. Rabtoy made the motion to purchase a new sludge pump ($2,722.00).  R. Regula seconded the motion.  No further discussion.  Motion carried (2-0)  

M. Breznick wrote a note to the board requesting the purchase for a Chlorine Meter ($763.00) as this time it’s not EPA compliant.  C. Rabtoy made the motion to purchase the Chlorine Meter.  R. Regula seconded the motion.  No further discussion.  Motion carried (2-0).  

Sure-Pack for Access to Sewer Plant:  C. Rabtoy made the motion to purchase sure-pack for the access road to the Sewer Plant.  R. Regula seconded the motion.  No further discussion.  Motion carried (2-0).  

Sewer Hook-up on Main Street :  C. Rabtoy asked if anyone had contacted the office regarding permits/fees needed to tie into the sewer lines.  No communication at this time has been made.  C. Rabtoy suggested a letter be sent to the homeowner stating they needed a permit and asking them who their plumber was.  There’s also question as to whether or not there had been a connection into the water system and is the building strictly residential or does to include commercial use.  Fees will vary as to what the actual structure would be used for.  

C. Rabtoy made the motion to have a donation made in the memory of John Drew in the amount of $100.00 to the Masonic Charities of Vermont.  R. Regula seconded the motion.  No further discussion.  Motion carried (2-0).  

Old Business: C. Rabtoy has left message for Phil Baker regarding the project at Bill Cobleigh residents and insulating their pipes so that they can be removed from the winter blow off list.  He has given P. Baker until Friday to return his call and let him know who much the project will cost.   

C. Rabtoy made the motion to reimbursement Start/Finger wedding party for their facility rental of $450.00.  R. Regula seconded the motion.  No further discussion.  Motion accepted (2-0).  

A wedding had canceled and requested their deposit be reimbursed.  C. Rabtoy said that they would be able to be reimbursed only if another booking took place on their original date.  The treasurer will follow up with a potential renter for that date.   

C. Rabtoy had someone go and evaluate the tree removal at the Haley residents.  He was given a quote of $600 to clean up the property.  R. Regula said before anything was decided on, she would see if she could obtain another quote.   

Public Comments:

No comments.  

Other Business/Announcements:  R. Regula said that the portion of the audit should be charged to the lodge as well.  C. Rabtoy made the motion to charge the lodge $1,000 for their portion of the audit.  R. Regula seconded the motion.  No further discussion.  Motion carried (2-0).  

Executive Session:

None  

Next Meeting:

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Prudential Committee will be held at on

August 22, 2007 @ 7:00 p.m. – Town Hall.

Adjournment:

C. Rabtoy made the motion that the meeting be adjourned.  R. Regula seconded the motion.  No further discussion.  Motion carried (2-0).  Meeting was adjourned at 9:30 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted:

Stephanie P. Biagini - Clerk/Treasurer                                       Date Approved: August 22, 2007

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