Selectboard and Finance Committee

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Monday, February 27, 2023, 6:00 pm until 8:00 pm
Town Hall
A meeting of the Select Board

Selectboard Meeting - 5 Academy Hill Road, Conway - 6:00 p.m.
Meetings are now held every other Monday and are at this time accessible via Zoom.

If Zoom is unavailable the meeting will continue in person.

Meeting of Select Board

Members: (Quorum)

• Present: Christopher Waldo, at 6:00 PM
• Present: Philip Kantor, Chair, at 6:00 PM
• Present: Erica Goleman, at 6:00 PM

Also Present:

• Alan Singer
• John Craine
• Roy Cohen
• Laurie Lucier
• Lee Whitcomb
• Rhyanna McLeester
• Ron Sweet
• Véronique Blanchard and Adam Reed.

See original Agenda Final Minutes

Meeting opened: 6:00 PM

Meeting closed: 7:40 PM

0. Meeting Preliminaries

   • Meeting Opened / Attendance Taken (see above).

   • Minutes Approved: Tue, Feb 21 - Selectboard and Finance Committee

1. Warrants

   • - Vote to approve the Accounts Payable Warrant, the Payroll Warrant, and the Payroll Deduction Warrant .

     MOTION, moved by Philip Kantor, seconded by Erica Goleman: .

     Pass: Aye: Erica Goleman, Philip Kantor, Christopher Waldo.

     1. Conway_W23-19_AP_Warrant.pdf
     2. Conway_PW23-19_Payroll_Warrant.pdf
     3. Conway_PDW23-19_PR_Deduction_Warrant.pdf

2. Meetings Attended by Select Board Members

   • General Discussion...
     Chris attended a Capital Improvements Committee meeting.

3. Public Comments. None

4. Unfinished Business. None.

5. New Business

   • - Budgets to review: 141-Assessors, 142-Revaluation, 192- Building Maintenance, 422-Highway, 23-Snow & Ice.

     General Discussion...
     Finance Committee was called to order at 6:07 and adjourned at 7:32 to discuss the following budgets.
     
     141-Assessors. Areas that have been contracted such as Map Maintenance and Software, have seen an increase in line items. The Assessors were able to lower the clerk's hours from 15 to 10 and have reduced site visits to show a reduction in budget totaling $70,876.
     
     192-Building Maintenance. The increases in this budget are focused in Ground Maintenance as the contract for mowing the town properties will be increasing. The trust funds for the cemeteries which had previously been used to pay for the mowing have dwindled, placing more of a burden on the ground maintenance portion of the budget. Unfortunately, contracting out the mowing is still cheaper than the town taking it over. There would have to be a significant capital investment for mowing equipment and an increase in Highway hours focused on mowing in order to eliminate contracted services, which would significantly affect the Highway Department's ability to perform its other tasks. Proposed budget totals $88,500.
     
     422-Highway. The increase in the Highway budget revolves around the inflation everyone is experiencing. Fuel has increased close to 100% for diesel. This expense hits the town twice. The need for Highway, Fire Department and Ambulance to run the trucks is the first hit. These costs are then filtered down into the rentals, such as the grader and chipper, and materials such as gravel for the roads. It was also mentioned that if a piece of equipment breaks down while in our possession, companies are increasingly putting the burden on the town to fix equipment and perform routine maintenance tasks while in possession of rented equipment. Due to these increased costs, in order to maintain the current level of service, the proposed budget is $655,683.
     
     423-Snow & Ice. Snow and Ice saw an increase to $129,459 for the same reasons as 422. However, this is a budget that can overspend and the town has this in mind moving forward with the recommendation.
     
     
     

     1. FY24-5.pdf

   • - Vote to appoint Cory Skinner as regular Highway Equipment Operator/Laborer.

     General Discussion...
     Cory is currently employed as a temporary Equipment Operator/Laborer and has agreed to become a regular full time employee

     MOTION, moved by Erica Goleman, seconded by Christopher Waldo: .

     Pass: Aye: Erica Goleman, Philip Kantor, Christopher Waldo.

   • - Vote to sign the annual caucus warrant.

     MOTION, moved by Erica Goleman, seconded by Christopher Waldo: .

     Pass: Aye: Erica Goleman, Philip Kantor, Christopher Waldo.

     The motion passed with a change of time to 7:00 p.m.

6. Items Not Anticipated 48 Hours in Advance of the Meeting

   • None.

7. Town Administrator update

   • 1. TA_2023-02-27_Update.pdf

8. Selectboard member comments/concerns

   • General Discussion...
     Frontier budget will be discussed on March 7 and voted on March 8. This will also be an official Select Board meeting.
     
     Conway Grammar School will vote on its budget on March 16. This will also be a posted Select Board meeting.
     
     The Board would like to set up a time to listen to the representative from DCR regarding a wood bank.

9. Mail

   • None.

10. Announcements

    • None

11. Meeting Wrap-up

    • Next Meetings:
      1. Mon, Mar 6, at 6:00 PM "Selectboard and Finance Committee" -- Town Hall
      2. Mon, Mar 13, at 6:00 PM "Selectboard and Finance Committee" -- Town Hall
      3. Mon, Mar 20, at 6:00 PM "Selectboard and Finance Committee" -- Town Hall

The listing of matters is those reasonably anticipated by the Chair which may be discussed at the meeting. Not all items listed may in fact be discussed and other items not listed may also be brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by law.

Minutes approved on Monday, Mar 6, 2023