 Okay, so let's hear I'm going to use the hammer Okay, so let's call the meeting to order and the first item is minutes from March 21st Is there a motion? I'd move for approval with any changes that are necessary. Is there a second? Second go through it page one Page two I have one in page two At the very bottom there was a discussion of the following encouraging commercial industrial growth I think that was just really Mike's question and an answer and I Read this it feels too much like we had a discussion about encouraging industrial growth, so I'm not sure how to either strike it because it was not really an extended discussion or Maybe just put development instead of growth discussion of the following topics No encouraging. Yeah, I know but if we put the word topics in would that imply that these are just topics We were discussing and we were advocating either way. I'm just throwing it. I don't like the encouraging part. Okay Just strike encouraging Sure discussion very commercial industrial growth Sure I'm gonna polish it actually I'm Wrote on my notes and then I didn't on page one actually approval of the February 21st minutes I actually believe it was just the three of us that approved the February 21st minutes and then the five of and then the The others approved the March 2nd minutes. I think that's true. Okay Page three page four the motion is approving the minutes with the Modifications that have been suggested all those in favor. Why all those opposed The eyes have it. Okay, great Public comment general issues, this would be a time for anybody watching on Zoom or anybody in the room to speak on pretty much any issue It doesn't have to be it could be one of the issues that we're gonna be talking about later But you might be best to wait, but you can if you want any issues. Is there anybody? No one on zoom 10. Okay, anybody in the room Okay liquor tobacco and licensed renewals Eric So I've included a second batch of liquor licensed renewals with the agenda this evening We received some clarity from the Department of liquor control through the clerk's office They had a new system underway and we thought it was going to be One year for each license even it was renewal from the date of renewal But they told us that's only from new licenses now. So everything is back on a year cycle of May 1st, April 30th So we provided the board in February a first batch of renewals about the board approved that evening We've now got a second batch of renewals the motion. I've suggested a bit of modification for my manager report on Friday It's asking you to approve these liquor licensed renewals for a term of May 1st through April 30th of next year and I've made that draft motion to encompass what the board approved in February To encompass to that April 30th time. I would put them all in that same trajectory You we've also had clarity that tobacco licenses also need to be approved in moving forward So you have a second attachment with tobacco licenses. These have been forward to me from the town clerk We staff recommends approval. You will see included in the list was was one Business that had a violation in the last year the board's direction to me was to have business owners provide Speak to that violation and causes to remedy it in the future So I include that with you to you yesterday for that establishment as well So that's included in the list to consider this questions comments Not the chair would be looking for a motion The chair like to have so one motion is our two motions included in the one Given the lack of controversy have a one motion both concepts So I'd move to the liquor license renewals as transmitted. They did a February 21st, 2023 and April 4th 2023 through April 30th 2024 and also moved to approve tobacco license renewals as transmitted Then April 4th, 2023 through April 30th, 2024 Is there a second I second it all those in favor signify by saying aye aye all those opposed nay The eyes have it great. Okay Next item national opioid settlement discussion We have an assistant attorney general in fact we have a very excellent assistant Mr. Kenny Jill Abrams Good evening Jill No, okay Anyone who's ever worked with he's worse than a name be allowed to touch anything. He's worse than an angry judge So welcome Do you want to jump into your presentation or? Comments or sure and I'm happy to do whatever you like I can sort of give a high level description of what the settlement is and will astens involvement in it. I don't know if any of you Were on the select board during the prior settlement So if you were some some of us heard this okay, we're not so My name is Jill Abrams And I'm from the Attorney General's office, and I'm the state's point person on the opioids litigation Which has been going on for I guess about five or six years now And so the settlement that we are talking about tonight is the second a nationwide settlement So Attorney General's offices across the country banded together And either investigated or litigated against a number of opioid manufacturers and some pharmacies that We found troubling And have reached a series of settlements. So The settlement that we're talking about tonight is with five entities Teva and Allergan who are manufacturers Walgreens Walmart and CVS pharmacies and Each of the settlements has slightly different terms They vary in length from one to fifteen year payouts and they total thirty nine million dollars for the state And the reason that I'm here is because for these settlements. There's a condition to any state getting the money and The conditions are as follows There's a base amount of every settlement That is automatically paid to the state and its municipalities and then what's called an incentive payment because The defendants would prefer not to pay all of the money But if they're going to pay all of the money, they want to know that every municipality of a certain size agrees to release them from future liability and So what they've said is if a state gets to a certain level of engagement by all of its municipalities You get why dollars and and there's a formula for that So in Vermont in order to have the maximum amount of money come to the state the eight municipalities with populations over 10,000 12 of our 14 counties and Four towns who are litigating have to all agree to sign on Together with the state and so the state has made the decision through the attorney general to sign on So we'll know we'll have some base amount of money The way the money gets divided in this settlement like the previous settlements is that 15% of the money goes to the state general fund 15% goes to be shared amongst the Vermont municipalities and 70% goes to what's called the opioids abatement fund and that's a fund that's overseen By virtue of a legislatively mandated Fund itself for the money to go into and then there's a committee that oversees it and the committee is headed by the Department of Health and Has members on it that include seven members designated by the Vermont League of Cities in town so that there'll be a mix of small and larger towns people with lived experience doctors who prescribe medication for opioid Abuse And some some other medical professionals and people who are expert in the field so What happens is each year a certain amount of money will come to the state and the money gets divided as I said 15% to the munis 15% to the state and then 70% to the abatement fund And the catch for the money is that the money must be spent for the purpose of abating the opioid crisis And I think to date if if my math is right Williston has received Somewhere around twenty eight and a half thousand dollars over the last couple of years from Payments from the opioid settlement. So this will be in addition to those payments The so so I think that's kind of high level what what the settlement is and I'm happy to answer any questions you might have Questions from the board So signing on we're just waving our terror our right to sue them separately. So that's exactly and as I recall we had Sure, if you were on the board at the time, but we had Law firm come to us at one point and ask us to sign on which we did not That was before my time, but I did sign the most recent one and I was here for that Yeah Yeah, but the concept being that we would have somehow that we would have a right to sue these pharmaceutical companies on our own Or join other municipalities and in order to Jill correct me if I'm wrong in order to Protect themselves from all these smaller lawsuits coming at them We wave our ability to do that and we get we get part of the settlement exactly Any other questions or comments? I Assume Eric doesn't have a burning desire to sue them separately You know as as Jill shared the town's received just about thirty thousand dollars from the first Settlement that we sign on to staff is reviewing. There's certain uses for that funding So we plan to bring back to the select board some Options and look for your direction on how we want to spend that settlement dollars to support our community and folks in recovery and different options that we have here and we we would look similar if The town signs on to this and we start receiving those payments Making a plan and then we did we fall through with it from from funding that comes in How long do we have to spend the abatement one As long as you like so there's no mandatory spending Part of the settlement money that is coming in through the prior settlement is over 18 years And like I said some of these settlements are one year some are three years some are five years So so it's sort of a rolling source of money, but if for example you Were to decide that there's a project that you don't have sufficient funds for now And you wanted to save up for a few years and spend the money later You're you're able to do that so so long as the money goes to Abate the opioid crisis in some way you can spend it how you like and when you like How do we determine what we spend it on is there any Guidelines that we could find yes, and I can I can send it to Eric if you like so so there is a Document that's attached to all of the opioid settlements It's like 14 or 15 pages long and it gives really examples of things you can spend it on You don't have to spend it on those specific things, but sometimes Some of the towns have said there are things on their ideas for expenditures that they just you know They hadn't been aware of and so the the first line of it says You must use the money to date the opioid crisis Including but not excluding these ways and I think the list is Probably about as long a list as any of us could think of so there was a group of people across the country who came up with list But if you think of something else, you're certainly welcome to spend it on that But it's got a it's got to contribute in some way to opiate to abating the opioid crisis. Thank you. Sure We've got a copy of that list so we review now and thinking about some options printed the select board coming up here You know interestingly there there there isn't Except there is a notice that will come out. I think it's going to be annually That says if you've Spent the money on something other than opioid abatement. You have to report it So so they're sort of doing it in the reverse. I don't think it's impossible That at some point Maybe somebody would decide to do an audit across the country just to sort of make sure that the money is being spent The way it should but there is no specific plan of which I'm aware But it's sort of out there in the ether that there's a settlement administrator that oversees all of this And so I think if it is certainly within their right if they chose to do that to do that But there's not a specific plan of which I'm aware Sure So before before I call for a vote, I did want to say I was only very glancing Lee In maybe one or two meetings with Jill when I was division chief in the AG's office and I think this is a They said that the practice of law is like an iceberg that most of it is hidden under water And you see the tip of the iceberg and so we're seeing the tip of a huge iceberg Tonight, I mean the amount of work that Jill did and the office to but Jill spearheading it Against these very very powerful litigants Was is extremely impressive and I just wanted to say thank you In public for that. Thank you. That's very kind. It's been a privilege to do it and I only wish it was more So is there a motion Sure, I moved to authorize the town manager to enter into a national settlement agreement with opioid manufacturers Teva Al Brin CVS Walmart and Walgreens. Is there a second second all those in favor signify by saying aye All those opposed the eyes Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you Next agenda item Chittman solid waste district fiscal year 2024 budget and I understand we're going to have Sarah Reeves presenting Remotely and Kelton for you. You're here for that. Can you come on up to the table and we will grill you relentlessly? Girl Sarah she knows all the stuff Good evening And again, thank you for the time on the agenda. I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you tonight about our budget and I'll just share the screen Thank you to for Kelton for being there for this. I do appreciate that Great. Thank you very much. As you mentioned, my name is Sarah Reeves I'm the executive director for the Chittman solid waste district and we are here to present to you our fiscal 24 budget proposal and Ask for your support and if you agree your adoption as a Kind of a reminder for some folks who might be tuning in at home or Are there in the audience who they either be new to Chittman County or new to Vermont? Just to tell folks who we are we are CSWD. We are a municipality formed about over 30 years ago by the municipality is using towns in Chittman County to manage the waste generated by residents businesses institutions and schools on their behalf and Since this is our budget presentation. I also like to highlight where we receive our revenue and and from where we do not receive revenue so you can see in Pie chart we have three main containers or buckets of revenue our user fees or also known as a tip fees and those are Fees that are paid directly to us At one of our locations where we will directly manage the waste so such as at the drop-off center or at The compost facility another bucket is the sale of product and materials So literally the sale of compost that they get at ODF and sale of local color paint And recycling bears sorted by the materials recycling facility the third main bucket is we call the solid waste management fee and That is the fee that is charged at the Coventry landfill It's charged directly to haulers when they bring Chittman County trash to be disposed from the landfill Where we do not receive revenue is directly from our municipalities our cities and towns We don't see any revenue from your income tax sales tax or property taxes I also like to let folks know how we're doing in Chittman County and This slide is actually based off of the latest waste characterization Waste studies that were done both by CSWD and the state. So this is actually as of 2020. So I In strongly anticipate that these numbers will change particularly since on July 1 2020 was when that last part of Act 148 Was put in place and and many more people started diverting their waste scraps Nevertheless You can still you can see this is a good illustration to show that while we do a very good job at diverting waste from the landfill There's still a good chunk that we could further divert So of the amount that is being land-filled just about half of that amount according to get in 2020 probably still close Could go into a blue bin for recycling could be recycled as organics Maybe you've got some scrap metal in there or some e-waste Well, maybe something that's even considered construction demolition degrees. So this is my my pitch my plea To folks to take another look to you know before they put something in their trash bag the trash barrel to just Take another moment to consider is that actually where should be going or can I actually put that into a different stream and keep it out of So our bottom our bottom line for fiscal 24 We are budgeting revenue in the amount of 15 million 401 Dollars we are budgeting expenses at 14 million four hundred and two thousand dollars forty seven that leaves us just under nine hundred thousand dollars Should all go according to this budget and that revenue and excess of expenses then we'll get flowed into CSWD's reserves a couple of years ago our board approved a We call it a waterfall effect, but it's a priority list of our reserves and we implemented a minimum at a maximum on that so if In the order of priority of the reserve whether the operating reserve the capital reserve It's always management fee, etc Once that maximum is reached then if there's still remaining excess revenue That is then flowed into the next reserve in order of priority and arms onward down It will Land all of it will land and the capital reserve at the end of the day A short note about comparing fiscal 24 to 23 We are anticipating or it's budgeting revenue just under 10 increase We are also budgeting a under just under nine percent increase in our expenses. I'm high rolling The one increase that we're actually pretty excited about which is our administrative costs The bulk of that increase is due to our new office facility. So we Just this week have started moving into our new offices At 19 gregory drive. So just over the line from willis tainted to south brollington. We are sharing space In the south brollington police department Not in the department, but part of their their building And so we are that increase is due to a new a new lease Expense that we have so we're we're moving our things out of ebb and road and We will be there for at least five years, but most likely a little bit longer This is a new slide. I don't think the select board has seen this one before And this is to it can kind of highlight How our programs are funded out of which buckets So we like to I want to point our your attention to the operations programs Which are our drop-off centers the materials from the second facility the environmental depot rover and the organic diversion facility Our charter says that once we have a disposal facility And we've interpreted that to mean the docks the mirf, etc That those facilities should be should generate the revenue from user fees And we have further interpreted that to mean that those facilities should strive to be self Funding self-sufficient and we have struggled with that and I'll show you one That first bucket the cell waste management fee is one we don't struggle with Because everyone is Basically just a charge after landfill is remaining at 27 a ton and again that is charged To the haulers and they pay that on those chin and counting tons I am asking our board to Take a a another not another look, but just to to talk more about the applications of this fee right now This management fee Does what do we think it would do it supports the management of the district it supports outreach and education programs It helps to pay for workshops for example that we provide and the field tramps that In the tours It also is the source for Any subsidies that any of our other operations require and that's You'll see why we're we're trying to focus on that this year Our materials recycling facility Is not needing a subsidy, but we are needing to increase the tip fee Starting to live one from 80 dollars per ton to 85 dollars per ton. And this is a direct result of a A new contract that we have with our murph operator Hasella and that contract went from 45 dollars a ton to 70 dollars per ton that we pay Hasella to process recycling that goes to the murph The old contract ended last june and the new one started on march 1st So we are not raising the tip fee until july 1 so we'll be covering that increase in this last quarter This increase of five dollars is designed to try to recover some of the expense of That 55 increase in the contract cost that we have with Hasella We are budgeting for the sale of recycling to be still very conservative And hopefully you see that fiscal 22 line item material sales That is considered to be an anomaly. No one in the industry anticipated the robust commodity pricing in fiscal 21 22 And everyone recognizes that that was an odd year So we are further recognizing that in this year and budgeting again very conservatively the markets are Somewhat stable, but they are still suppressed Which is resulting in a again very conservative Hopefully conservative number Our organic diversion facility a compost facility We are also increasing the tip fee from 65 dollars a ton to 70 dollars a ton on july 1 And you can see why and that last line item where it says income in fiscal 22 We quite nearly broke even we kind of considered that a a break even This year 23. We are budgeting a two hundred and eleven thousand dollar Deficit so in the red and in fiscal 24. We're also looking to be in the red and that Large swing is is directly related to loss of inbound separated boot scraps That were had been diverted to Hasella's de-packaging facility. So when they opened that facility and took in materials that need to be separated from their packaging because they couldn't be Distributed to public so for human consumption animal consumption for donation and and could not be landfill. They did need to be Separated and liberated from the packaging source separated material had also been diverted to that facility So we've we've grabbed some of those tons back, but we are nowhere near where we were in fiscal 21 and 22 so that that negative at the bottom is is Another budgeting concern for us and and that's You know is paid for or made whole by the salaries management the revenue drop-off centers similarly at then Running at a in the red running at the subsidy for many years And it continues to grow We the actual in fiscal 22 was just under four hundred thousand dollar subsidy again That was brought to zero. There's always managed a few revenues fiscal 23 budgeted 422,000 and if we did not increase that fees In fiscal 24, we would have another 421,000 dollar subsidy needed for the drop-off centers So we will be increasing our bag prices From $2 to $3 for a small bag to $8 for a medium bag and $11 for a large The small bag is about up to about 18 gallons The medium bag is up to about 33 34 gallons of trash and then the the large bag is up to about 44 45 gallons of garbage and as a a bit of a Align in there for Pre-color pricing just as a bit of a reference Pre-covid we were at $2.75 for a small bag during covid. We decided again We we didn't know what we didn't You know, I guess in the beginning of covid and we decided that we didn't want to handle coins So we decided for some of the bad prices to go up and some to go down We went down on a small bag as a nod to not trying to You know Further Exacerbate some folks who were having difficulties at the time But it never did cover cover the cost of managing that material So we're going up Again as of July 1 and a note here as well to say that the drop-off center system does represent nearly half of our employees and and those associated costs And an additional note is that materials management costs continue to go up and those are the costs the expenses that we have to um colors and and for transportation to move materials from our drop-off center to the transportation or You know to The murals, etc. So those fees have all gone up at at least 12 percent So another change that we are looking to make as well starting in july Is to shift all of our drop-off centers would be exception of cleansburg to a tuesday to saturday schedule And that is designed for several reasons One to give all of our drop-off center operators two days off in a row. They've never had that Another is to make communicating the hours of operation much easier to the public No longer would they have to go to our website and take a look at the checkerboard schedule to see kind of who's open When and where they can go And then to make it more efficient for our maintenance crew to get into any of the drop-off centers Monday and to do repairs and and maintenance painting things like that the only dock that will Continue to only be open one day as heinsberg and that is a condition Of the lease that we have with the team And this is probably not a surprise to anyone On the select board by cswg also has continues to be experiencing staffing challenges We are budgeting a seven percent cost of living adjustment for employees in this budget However, our total compensation for employee is only up 1.4 percent as compared to fiscal 23 And the way that we were able to mitigate some of those costs because the benefit Health care costs as well went up pretty significantly as I'm sure you're aware We moved our employees who Take the health care plan to a lower cost For the district so a higher deductible plan for employees as of january 1 And we will be increasing the employee contribution to premiums to 3.5 of salary as of july 1 So those moves did help to offset the very large increases to the health care Plans and then moderated the cost of living adjustment Not to watch here on the capital plan other than To let you know a couple of things that there are some Major investments being proposed for two of our drop off centers So the melton drop off center and the brollington drop off center in fiscal 24 And at the the balance at the end of the year in our reserve Will be just under 3.4 million dollars So that excess revenue that we saw in fiscal 22 from the mirf that was unanticipated. This is where that landed So this is where uh, why we're able to have a Very healthy capital reserve and be able to continue to make these necessary infrastructure for your visit iron drop off centers It is one reserve that we are Not Um, completely certain we will Have an adequate amount to continue past its requirements. So We have are required by the federal government to Have a post closure reserve adequate to maintain the The closure needs for the landfills that we are responsible for Overseeing in williston. So we took on our responsibility for the town's landfills and then the wild landfill the cswd ran for a few years And then wrapped that into a closure plan and that was 30 year closure plan and we're at about year 28 27 28 on that closure plan And we have enough in the reserve to make it to year 30 with a little bit extra However, there are some significant unknowns specifically how We may be required to manage The forever chemicals so PFAS and PFOA that may be in our leachate which it's Basically this these materials are in every landfill's leachate. So it's not a surprise But what we don't know is to what extent and what costs will be involved With having to treat that before it can go to a wastewater treatment plant. So We're confident that we have enough to to work through year 30, but we know we will not be able to move to the next phase which is a A lower-level monitoring phase of landfill life when it's closed, which is custodial care because of This is potentially very expensive unknown and how we manage them too. So this is an ongoing conversation at the federal level of the state level as And I guess that you probably have heard of so we are We are watching and we're going to need to plan to augment this particular reserve because we're confident we will not have enough And I do like to remind all of our member municipalities that in our charter It does say that the legislative bodies of each member municipality. Let's vote to approve the district's Budget. So I'm going to Stop my share And ask Any questions from the board Kelton was kelton going to be speaking? Yeah, I'd like to just give a quick. Yeah, go ahead as the representative for the past for the past year I think the district has done a Wonderful job. I mean as she as sarah put there. It's been a very capital intensive Few years. I think they've done a good job Also looking at projects that didn't make sense They were looking to initially build a new office here in wilson But Financially the the budget just got thrown out the window with building costs everything like that. That's why they moved to gregory gregory lane. I sat on the Special committee for the benefits and we we went through a lot of stuff As far as the benefits and trying to find ways to Offset the cola, but still I mean cswd still has incredible benefits That they offer their employees So it was a trying to find that balance to keep the budget in line with with such a large coal last year and looking as well At such a large, you know cost-living increase this year You know, I think there's there's big few years. They've modernized they've modernized the compost facility I don't know if anyone's had a chance to go there But they've done a lot to modernize the compost facility and bringing it so that you're gaining a lot of operational efficiencies And I know the murph will do that as well Um, so I think you know, I think they've sarah and her team have done a wonderful job And I I definitely would push everyone to support the budget But I know sarah is obviously happy to answer any questions and Um, I am as well But I think they've done a great job and you know everyone on the board is really vetted everything and challenge where challenges needed but also Um, I think they've always had the answers when when we have challenged Different different decisions they've made Questions or comments from the board CSWD's done a great job. I mean, this is a very important position, you know for the community and So I applaud you for that. Is there uh, Where are we standing on the mandatory compost we ever see? That I remember was brought up at one time. Have we ever gone into that? How has that gone and also I know that Due to difficulties you've gone away from compostable plates and silverware and cups and I think I I can understand why Yes, um the so the mandatory um I'm glad you phrased it this way actually It's The last part of act 148 was to Direct all generators of food ways to keep those food scraps out of the landfill somehow And so it actually doesn't mandate composting. So depending on what's in your town you're in You can have access to the drop-off like like we provide you can bring it to our facilities and drop off your food scraps You can hire a hauler to collect those food scraps. Um, you can compost in your backyard You can compost at a community composting facility Or some communities. I think it may only be south brollington in chinning county, but will allow garbage disposals So you can manage the food scraps that way as well. So it's immediately within I would say within Three months around july 1 2020 We saw a huge uptick in the amount of residential food scraps being diverted from disposal um, so You know, we heard from haulers who literally could not keep up with the demand for for services We we were having trouble keeping up with the demand for um backyard composting workshops. So residents really did Pick up their the pace and and we're paying attention and we're asking questions good questions and we're participating It's been a bit More of a struggle on the commercial side So that's where the opportunity really lies in further diversion of organics and food waste Is focusing now on On the the smaller Generators of commercial food scraps the large generators. They're they're they're there It's the smaller ones that still need to I think have some more outreach done. So we're now turning Um turning our focus to those smaller commercial generators and as far as The I'm liking on the second part of your question. I got the mandatory part compostable foodware. Thank you. Good. Thank you Yes, um, we did we stopped accepting compost a little service wear. Um, so And the reason for that was because it's very very difficult for um, our operators at the compost facility also for consumers to be able to tell the difference between a like a um a Plastic cup that is compostable and a plastic cup that is not compostable They are designed to look pretty much exactly the same So there's a lot of inadvertent contamination that happens Um with with those materials. So we were one of the only composting facilities in The region and maybe even in the country that we're still accepting those materials. The norm Is to not accept them. So we've been working with The folks that we had done a lot of outreach to who had switched over on alternatives and you know, what could they be doing instead? So We spent about a year and a half with the group of stakeholders and talking them through their options and we have seen a dramatic decrease in the amount of compostable food wear that In service wear that is in the compost Coming in but it it still does It still does get in there. So We are focusing a lot making sure that we're pulling contamination out at the beginning of the process And um and producing a really clean product at the end, but It was just the local likes were just too too good Now is the issue and I think on your questionnaire There has been a large increase in food scraps since the the law went into effect in diversion of food scraps from the landfill as well as Wilson also has a de-packaging facility That diverts packaged material As well from the landfill and then that could be separated to go to digesters Yeah, I'm pretty amazed that your increase in compost. It's it's a great story It really is keeping it out of the landfill. Thank you. Thank you. Are there questions? Okay, so I'd move to approve the fiscal year 2024 Shouldn't the solid waste district budget as presumed? Is there a second? Second all those in favor signify by saying aye. All right. All those approved or opposed may The eyes have it it is approved. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you guys very much. Thank you Thank you. Come on by Thank you Next on the agenda declaration of inclusion Pat crystaly Good evening. Hi. How are you? Good. How are you doing? I'm good. I'm going to apologize in advance because I'm probably even do a lot of coughing Recovering from an illness, but I'm not contagious. Okay. So my apologies So thank you for having us for a few moments this evening We are here to share our support and to ask All of you to consider Signing and adopting the declaration of inclusion with the state of vermont We we believe as members of the racial equity partnership Excuse me That a diverse community is a thriving community And that Williston welcomes values appreciates and honors all people Regardless of their identities And that the declaration not only would show our shared vision But also enhances the values and the commitments that were adopted by the select board in october of 2022 We also believe that the declaration is A visual way of sharing out within the community and in the broader state Our commitments to diversity equity and inclusion and anti racism By aligning with the state's mission and vision Regarding diversity and inclusivity and that by signing the declaration We would be advancing community and economic growth and creating a community that people will want to gravitate towards We also believe that by signing the declaration and advancing the work of the dei And racial equity partnership work that we would be creating a community where people would feel welcome safe and have a True sense of belonging and that by signing the declaration You would all be acknowledging a responsibility and an obligation to advancing the values And holding ourselves in each other accountable To a greater sense of of humanity And in addition to that that we would be taking ownership And well as done for the work that we've already started and the work that the select board Has has been supporting And then lastly, I would just like to share that by signing the declaration that we would be Reinforcing our commitments as leaders in the community and advancing the truth that we that we must do more And if we do that We would we would be increasing You know folks wanting to come to williston We would be bringing a more diverse group of people to williston that not only to visit or work or recreate What a place to call home is As of today when I made a phone call there were 104 cities and towns out of 247 that have already signed on So we would be asking all of you to be Considering this as an important piece of williston as part of our dei work And part of our visualization plan within williston And I think I would say in addition I think if you were to look at the website that we talked about Adopting a declaration and implementing activities and programs and advancements in your community And if I sit back and look at the work that's been going on for the past couple two or three years We're already doing that So by signing a declaration we're sort of codifying that commitment for the town of williston and looking at that moving forward I think we're also supporting the state The state has a Inclusion week that's sort of timely may 7th through the 13th Is inclusion week in vermont and for the past couple years the governors put out a proclamation related to inclusion in the state of vermont So it's probably a timely time for for you all to think about that to be part of maybe that sort of Proclamationism moves forward and I think that it's The implementation part's interesting because if you look at the website and read about sort of the expectations that they're looking for We're doing a lot of that working with schools working with faith faith institutions in the town Working with the library. We've got a town committee. So we're already moving forward. So this is just another way from my perspective of Former codifying that work And this work has also been supported by the vermont league of city and towns As well as by the vermont office of racial equity. So it's sort of coming together Doing that for the town of williston. So we're excited about that if if you all are willing to sign on to that Yeah, and I don't know if all of you have had a chance to to read The declaration of inclusion and really what we would be asking you to sign But when I when I look at the language of of the declaration and I compare it To the town values that we adopted back in october Everything that we've already signed on to within the town is is within Within the declaration of inclusion So we are here to show our support from the racial equity partnership and to ask all of you To consider this and in addition If there's part of this declaration that you that you don't like or that you want to change so that it's more unique to williston That is also something that we that we have the ability to do So just wanting to to put that out there and hear any questions or Thoughts feedback that any of you might have Thank you Questions and comments As eric knows, um, I was a big proponent of getting williston to sign the declaration of inclusion This was something I felt really strongly and passionately about We are um Will be municipality number 105 um, and and as I said, uh, christalie has mentioned, you know, we've already been doing a bunch of this work, but um, I I think that this is a important show of solidarity for this work throughout our state And that um, it's overdue That was frankly gonna be my question is why are we 105? weren't we why weren't we number five? We really shouldn't as town I'd like to see us be more in leadership than waiting till half the half states already signed on Sometimes when you're doing the work, you don't know about all the other stuff that's going on because you're focused right here in williston So I've thought I wasn't made aware of this until Relatively recently that makes sense. Yeah, I didn't know if we knew about it and we're hesitating to sign it Any other questions or comments If not, the chair would be looking for a motion I'll move to adopt the declaration of inclusion for the town of williston second Any discussion? All those in favor signify by saying I All those opposed may the eyes have All right, thank you Take care of yourself Yes circulating a Form that's a little uh dressed up with our letter head on top and I can uh I think we can like frame this and we'll share this round Maybe hang it up downstairs right near the you know, the window or something like that when people come to the town hall great Next agenda item from out league of cities and towns welcoming and engaging communities cohort recap Credit is that going to be you think Eric's going to present but I can certainly add in So I include the board, uh, just a recap memo and in your packet this evening So, uh, wilson was one of eight communities selected to participate in the blct welcome welcoming the engaging communities cohort If we worked with the consulting firm abundant son the board That was in place last november might recall a retreat with them Leading a initial policy discussion on dei work Our this group met eight times. We kicked it off last october at the lcp town fair and we wrapped up A couple weeks ago in middlebury for our second in person and then we had six zoom sessions in between And this news abundant sons epic framework. This is a strategic methodology based on data and science Aimed at catalyzing organizations to build better cultures from within Abundant sons use this model with hundreds of private and nonprofit clients around the world. This was their first implementation at a public municipal setting So we used a cohort model with our seven fellow municipalities With this work and part of this was a survey it looked at six criteria And this cohort overall engaged 519 local officials using this survey And it scores communities based on criteria of supervisor relationships co-worker relationships Respect culture organizational commitment to diversity inclusion and organized organizational advocacy So one of the key takeaways from the survey for the cohort Was that municipal workforces and volunteers are in part with other nonprofit and private sector organizations When it comes to challenges and opportunities for inclusion and belonging So one of our takeaways and next steps will be to share this data with the select board at a future select board meeting Wilson specifically that we can pull that out of the cohort data Um, Greta and I consult on some key takeaways. Just a couple to share It's important to examine diversity in a broad lens at conversations education and policy making This work in diversity equity inclusion Doing at the right pace for your organization It's certainly going to be an ongoing learning experience and journey It can progress at a slow and deliberate pace and we can always do better and then strive to work and improve and do better Um, and we found there was immense value in this cohort setting with other municipalities who are engaged actively in this work We've made a lot of great connections with other municipal leaders and other cities and towns Um, in middle barrier, we were talking how it's supposed to be the finale But we said, you know, it's really only the beginning where we plan to have this group stay connected and Spoke with the lct and executive director ted brady about keeping that engagement with this cohort and helping to lead the other efforts and Engage and moving forward So so working through this and next steps my thought for the town I'd like to lead a development of an overall strategic equity plan for our town government I anticipate this plan would focus on many different areas For example, organizational culture staff development policymaking It would define specific tasks in each focus area to work on Think of this to serve as a roadmap to chart and measure progress over time This this type of approach is something the cohort was was discussing a bit and we can collaborate with with other towns And how to formulate these strategic plans moving forward There's some grant opportunities available from the vermont community foundation to assist with this work I know they have some grants available for towns So if we want to bring on a consultant to help lead us through that process and engage multiple stakeholders throughout our workforce and our government and our policy makers We've also looked at the organizational cultures. You know, it's a key tenet of the epic framework here And we've our hr team We've been having some initial conversations about what some further staff development might look like and working So having discussions internally about our culture what it means to work here What are How we instill the town's value statements in our work every day and how to recognize that so I think that's going to be Something we'll really be focusing on in the the next months here from a from a staff bus standpoint And just again workplace cultures It's going to be an overall important part of the overall overall equity plan Moving that direction and and it was a key takeaway for me from from this work with the with the cohort I just I think it was a great opportunity for us to do some kind of internal um An internal look into the You know staff volunteers elected officials and kind of the diversity that does exist within our town where there's room for growth where there's room for additional work And to really kind of brainstorm that and and certainly there are there are Places, you know that that we have You know seen some some need for improvement But I I think that this was A good first step to really see and to really look internally and say, you know What are we doing, you know to promote? You know justice equity diversity inclusion within our town As an employer as a as a you know A place where people want to volunteer and want to live and want to engage so questions or comments I guess that's a maybe just talk a little bit more about it because it seems very I saw the The internal versus external it seems like it's very this is very was it is it very internal as a first step Or is this project focused on internal infrastructure for the town For the equity plan itself From for the grant or the cohort or the next steps was it yeah I think it would encompass both by my thought, you know, there's going to be some work on the internal organizational culture component But also the external facing Select board led policy making components as well. I I think we talked about a bit You know, we we've been engaging and having conversations But I think how we can if we can create a different roadmap of these areas We want to focus on and then task within those areas I think it helps us stay on track and it helps the community see what our what our progress is and what our efforts are focused So I guess another way to ask my question is like where would things like If we want to move forward on looking at non-citizen voting or some housing justice, you know equity kind of issues those those Where would those fit into this framework? Yeah, I would look at those You know encompassing town policy initiative. So I think part of that would be the select board And maybe consulting with some of your policymaking boards on on some of those major initiatives Fund under those lenses. I I can see this being a It's going to be a collaborative collaborative effort with many entities and bodies to work through out where those priorities would be Because there's certainly one whole section of like, let's make sure our policies are inclusive, right? And then there's the next question of us. Are we missing policies? So Any other questions or comments So there's no formal action required I think Just the work sounds important and I think it's gone. Well, but is there other feedback or is that pretty much Feedback I think yeah, and I think it's it's one step in a in what's going to be a conversation and that's going to Be part of everything, you know, this is the the conversation needs to happen across all All all all areas and and So yes, it's not This is this is a great step But it's part of many many steps that that we as a town need to take Yeah, I look forward to some conversations that more directly impact our Citizens Okay, next agenda item fiscal year 23 audit engagement letter So the the board may recall at your last meeting your consensus was to carry on with solvent powers as our arting firm for another three-year engagement We got the distributors yesterday just came in from them the the engagement letter the board would need to take action as the You contract with the auditor to accept the engagement letter and sign it this evening I know truly has as reviewed at the board has any any questions on that We had a good discussion this two weeks ago, and I think we had consensus on going forward with Sullivan powers, so I'd Move to approve an order engagement letter with the firm Sullivan powers for the fiscal years 20 23 through 20 25 And authorize the town manager to enter the contract Uh, yes Is there a second Any further discussion all those in favor Hi, all those opposed signify by saying nay the eyes You know, I'll circulate the letter with the signature page on the top Catamount community forest committee select board representative So the board has a vacancy for its representative on the catamount community forest committee Um, I think they they meet about they meet once a month Simon miles our conservation planner staffs the committee So be for the board to to look to consider a point one of your members to discern that role I would be honored to accept the position There's some question if you were just scratching your nose last time I'll move to a point Mike isham as the select board's representative on the catamount community forest management committee Is there a second second all those in favor signify by saying Hi All those opposed nay the eyes have it. Thank you. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you really Thank you CCRPC transportation advisory committee alternative appointment Eric So we have an opening for this regional committee typically the assistant public works director serving this role public works director bruce whore is our primary representative Looking for the board to consider a motion to appoint hard our newly promoted assistant public works director christine dory to serve in this role discussion Questions comments If not chair, we look for a motion I move to appoint christine dory as the alternate representative to the chitin county regional planning commission Transportation advisory committee. Is there a second? Second. Is there further discussion on the motion? All those in favor signify by saying aye Aye As opposed nay the eyes have it managers report I'll be brief Just to highlight for my written reports. I want to congratulate and thank our administrative assistant in our assessor's office debbie career She retired this past week after a ten years of great service to the town Supporting every all the efforts in our assessor's office So we're able to see her off with a little celebration last week I just want to publicly thank her for her service to wiliston And just a quick update community center scoping and library assessment steering committee still eating a more catchy name than that But work is underway still a lot of good conversations. I know are taking place and we'll continue to push ahead I think the name is the ongoing joke at this point. It will never be changed, but There are going to be a couple open public sessions If you all haven't had the chance to be interviewed for this study, I encourage you to to to to come next Thursday the sixth and the 10 Um, I will be here and hopefully somebody else will be joining me From 6 to 8 p.m. To do interviews. So if you have a moment to stop by Feel free. I haven't asked like four times already I only did it once though That's all I have to see. Thank you. Great. So we do have um actually two items That we would be very wise to go into executive session on um so In order to facilitate that the chair would ask for a motion Greta, you have to do this. You're really good. I'm gonna do it All right, I'll move to find the premature public knowledge regarding attorney client communications and a labor relations agreement with employees Would clearly place the town into substantial disadvantage And further move that we enter executive session to discuss a labor relations agreement with employees And a contract matter under the provisions of title one sections three one three a one f and title ones Title one sections three one three a one b of the vermont statutes and invite Town attorney david ru public works director bruce four to join for attorney client communications and police chief patrick foley police lieutenant josh more and finance hr director Shirley gadel lackey for the labor relations agreement with employees and town manager eric wells to join for both discussions Is there a second second All those in favor Nobody so we are going to go into executive session and we will Not be coming back into regular session at the conclusion of it