Members Present: Chairman Douglas R. North, Vice Chairman Steve Lobik, Clerk Joseph M. Prior
Secretary: Dale Barnes-Johnson
Open the Meeting: The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m.
Accept the Meeting Minutes: Meeting minutes were not prepared for acceptance.
OLD/NEW BUSINESS
W&S Personnel ~ Thursday, March 8, 2012 Dale called Town Administrator Gretchen Neggers on behalf of the Commission to request being included on the Selectmen’s agenda. Gretchen later advised something be submitted in writing from the Commission to the Selectmen. The Commission prepared a letter to the Selectmen explaining their concerns; since this department was initially formed it has continued to grow and evolve. The water system has expanded and become more sophisticated, numerous additional sources, increased storage facilities and two types of water treatment systems. In addition to the responsibilities related to providing safe drinking water, the department had also been given the responsibility to maintain and operate a waste water sewer system in the 1980’s, which
as with the water system has also continued to expand, while never increasing the labor staffing level. This growth and evolution has created strain on our ability to operate and maintain these systems in a reliable and safe manner. At our current labor staffing level work is not getting completed as needed and more and more often staff are required to work alone in the field. Working in this manner is a safety concern for this Commission. For some time the Commission has discussed the need for an additional laborer at prior meetings and the fact that our Superintendent is out of work for an extended period of time only intensifies this problem. The Water & Sewer Department which provides essential services cannot operate as it has for the last 8 years and the Commission only sees the labor burden increasing in the years to come. The need for an additional laborer has been known, but it always comes back to finances and again the higher
priority capital improvements always took precedence. Unfortunately recent events including the aftermath of the tornado and injury to our Superintendent have placed the Commission in a position where they can no longer wait for the perfect time to add another person to the staff. The Commission respectfully submitted a request for the Selectmen’s approval and support, the W&S Department needs to increase its labor staffing as soon as the process will allow, not only for safety reasons, but to avoid non-compliance notices from the DEP.
Monday, March 12, 2012 Gretchen e-mailed that the Commission is not currently scheduled to meet with the Selectmen; as it was too late to schedule them by the time the request was received as the Selectmen had a number of other items already scheduled and would advise how they want to proceed.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012 in preparation for that night’s Commissioners meeting, Dale e-mailed Gretchen for a status update and was advised the Selectmen approve and endorse hiring a temporary laborer given the challenging circumstances the department is facing. They want to wait for more specific data and also for Craig’s return before moving forward on any permanent change, but are not necessarily opposed, just want more time for the appropriate level of analysis. Evidently the Selectmen had time to discuss our request but without the Commission in attendance.
The Commission was frustrated as they are quite familiar with the circumstances they have been dealing with for years and question what exactly the Selectmen need for further analysis. The Commission feels it is imperative that they meet with the Selectmen to discuss this issue. Money is available in the budget due to Craig being out and it is not practical to hire an outside contractor to supplement the department and pay $75/hour which adds no permanent value. In our situation with our known workload it is more efficient to hire an employee vs. paying a premium for a consultant. Secondly after being told they were not going to have time to discuss our labor staffing level, the Commission is highly disappointed and find it quite odd the Selectmen met
and discussed the topic without the Commission being there to provide the necessary information. The Commission and Dale will draft a response to the Selectmen and repeat their request to schedule a meeting. The Department needs an additional full time skilled laborer, if can’t go forward with a full time employee they will have to hire an outside contractor.
NEXT MEETING: The next meeting was previously set for Wednesday, March 21, 2012 at 6:30 p.m.
ADJOURN: A motion was made by Doug to adjourn from open session to go into executive session at 7:10 p.m. Motion seconded by Joe. Motion passed unanimously.
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Joseph M. Prior, Clerk
cc: Selectmen
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