The Brattleboro Selectboard continued to celebrate their EMS decisions, and voted to make a third ambulance and 24-7 AEMT position permanent.
The board also discussed diversity and inclusion, especially as it relates to Republicans, and contemplated the best way to interview and appoint committee members.
Preliminaries
Chair Ian Goodnow – thumbs up! We will begin… just one remark. From the library. It is library card signup month. If you don’t have one, sign up! You get books, passes to museums, a telescope, wifi hotspots and other things. The best school supply for your kid. Talk to the library!
(no Tim or Jessica)
Interim Town Manager Patrick Moreland – one comment – gratitude to Len Howard. He was acting town manager last week while I was on vacation visiting my father in California.
Liz McLoughlin – you can get movies at the library.
Daniel Quipp – I watched a movie on canopy on Saturday.
Liz – Informative traffic safety meeting recently.
Rikki Risatti – I am here hoping for clarification about committee appointment interviews are going. I had some guesses why I wasn’t called for an interview.
Ian – we don’t do interviews when it isn’t contested. Wwe just do the appointments.
Rikki – when there was the ADA committee, I wasn’t entitled to an interview, is that the same here?
Ian – when we do the committee appointments, that’s when to speak to it.
Rikki – OK, I didn’t want to assume I was entitled to the seat and was looking forward to the interview.
Daniel – we only do interviews when it is contested. People apply and sometimes they are appointed or not. It’s not that anyone gets appointed.
Ian – we should clarify our discretion over interviews. Can we have the attorney look int this? I’m not sure. It may just be the board’s discretion.
Rikki – I trust the discretion, I just want to understand it.
Daniel – when you fill out the application, you fill it out and we judge based on the application. It should be as good as it can be. If it is contested, then we do interviews.
Rikki – when they aren’t appointed, do you tell them why?
Ian – I want to know if we can choose to not do interviews.
Rikki – I’d just like to understand your discretion.
…
Kurt Daims – I have some grim comments about the climate. Listening tot he news people know it is unfathomable what is going on in Pakistand. 1/3 of the country is under water. the board has not taken a good emergency attitude about the climate yet. It could hit us in many ways. There could be mass suicides. Studies of emotional stress, kids are very stressed out, not by the disaster, but by the lack of action of adults and governments. My fear is there will be mass suicides among children. I talked with 6 psychologists. Would Greta Thunberg’s suicide lead to copycats? They all said yes. I’d like the board to think more in a disaster frame of mind. There is a crisis in democracy, and housing, and climate. I hope we can do it. I’m in denial. But we really all need to get into an emergency attitude.
Ian – we have an interpreter and closed captioning. Is there any issue? Okay, thanks…
Renee Woliver – Boys and Girls Club – the safety and security of our downtown. We are asking to stop illegal and dangerous behavior downtown. We had a national rep come to to a safety assessment at 9am and immediately expressed concern about public drinking and asked if it was typical. She hadn’t seen anything like this within 500 feet. It is happening here. Our members walk and get harassed, offered drugs, propositioned…. She recommended never going to the garage alone for staff. Our staff are unsafe and it will get worse as it gets darker. They suggested a camera and buzzer system, a panic button to connect to the police, and get a heavy plexiglass front entry. It will cost us significantly. We already pay $1000 to park our vans and more for space in Elm street lot. Friday I was embarrassed by our town. People are actively living and selling things from the lot. I worried about my safety and the safety of my car. A fistfight tumbled out onto Flat Street… at 8 am. What if a kid was injured. There are people using drugs and alcohol on the lots, on Elliot Street, on Flat Street. Why aren’t there outreach workers at these key locations? Why aren’t organizations helping? Why aren’t police issuing citations? We must document the issue, regardless if tickets are paid. This makes our town less livable. It threatens our business. We have new restaurants and this makes it more difficult for them. People won’t come downtown. It is time for you to do something. WE are asking you to stop illegal and dangerous behavior downtown. This body is failing to keep citizens safe.
Ian – want to attempt a bit of a response to that? Patrick, speak to Elm Street parking lot situation… I have questions as well.
Moreland – the points are real and serious and there are ongoing challenges. We aren’t doing nothing and and we aren’t doing enough. The police know about it. They are working on new signs, and no public drinking. We live in a civil society and expect certain behaviors – it’s real and needs to be addressed. Elm street is totally out of control. It isn’t as easy to change behavior. Someone set up shop in the parking lot. It is a clear violation, it isn’t a crime, it is a civil violation, and some aren’t that concerned about it.. give me a ticket, go ahead. Tat’s been a challenge. We have lots of people working on it. We are hoping for a resolution by the end of business tomorrow.
Daniel – thanks for taking the time. It takes a lot to stand there and do that. I’m trying no to be defensive. I used to work for the boys and girls club, and worked for a human service agency. Like most of us dealing with the pandemic, poverty, housing – those people are flat out. People are laboring to do the best we can to deal with a system that is pretty broken. We’re not here to solve poverty – I strive to work towards that. We have a lot of bandaids to apply. We continue to do that in hopes of a longer term improvement for everyone in town.
ian, I’d add two things. The board drives policy decision and told town staff to tell us about cameras and the parking garage. We can request an update asap, in the next month. I don’t feel it is our role to micromanage, but to see if policies are being effective. I’d like to hear from Hardy and Moreland on these issues. It is an ongoing thing. I’d like to get an update. On human services, it is worth mentioning that RTM is now start to meet for HS decisions. Got and talk to them. That is a perfect forum for accountability issues. Make the points now where the committee is working.
Liz – the short staff of the police and groundworks – they are flat out and working on this. I still support a police substation in the transportation center. I think that could be very helpful.
Dick Degray – Patrick answered one question. I apologize for waking you up in California last week. Everyone is on the same team here. There is frustration on this side. Saying we are short-staffed, you have to find alternative. I don’t think we’re workin hard on finding alternatives. You mentioned the substation, but also upgrading cameras… that’s a couple of phone calls and we’re done with it. That’s a major question. The substation is a staffing issue. Someone on the street is a better solution. You alluded to getting this on the table and getting and action plan. I thought we were working toward that. Burlington just got 100 cameras. That was a big step – they have real issues – but we have issues. A murder on Putney Road. people don’t want to come shop. The Transportation Center is an absolute mess. We have an ordinance – change the ordinance – make it criminal. Like the guy walking nude. I was on the board. It took the board 5 months. It should have been criminal and civil. Raise the fine. And thanks to the town for assistance with things I’ve needed done.
Ian – we are on the same team, and we need to make this a safe community. I want to address one point, then move on.. the idea of a substation is not a decision that has been made yet. It is a policy decision about swallowing the rental income. It’s not a forgone conclusion. We need to know if it is viable. As for cameras, patrick… do you agree…
Patrick – I don’t disagree with Dick. I promised I’d come back with an expectation of expenses. I do have a sense of the cost and some other options around downtown. And the capital cost of a substation is not insignificant. Why cost so much? It will take some time to finish this. For example, the cameras – could be small, medium or large options. I can try to hurry it up, but there is less to look at than just dollar signs.
Daniel – Hearing the question of fixing existing cameras seems to be something more straightforward to get options. Could we decouple that from the other investments?
Patrick – the camera system is functional but not very effective. It was original to the building. They’ve evolved. The system installed isn’t anything I’d recommend. It need to be bulletproof… and those aren’t cheap. We can make that decision…
Daniel – if we do have info on that specific topic, we could get that sooner that the other info… I’d prefer that.
Consent agenda
A. Paving – Award Bid
B. Structures Grant – Authorize Grant Application
(They discuss my point, and read the two items quickly… hurrah!)
Patrick Moreland – I’m not sure who Chris is. I was anticipating speaking to these… the paving is straightforward. The structures grant is to accept, not apply.
Degray – you put the dollar amounts in, and I thank you, where is the paving job… just say what is it for. $64k for paving on X street.
Ian – I hear you. It is in the backup material…
Consented!
(good try!)
Water & Sewer
Dan Tyler – It is for the Walnut Street replacement event – steep bank by the RR tracks. It cost more than we thought. Got one bid for $96k. We recommend accepting the bid.
Liz – it is under budget.
Tyler – there are additional costs we’ll take on for the site.
$94,660 approved – 3-0
Declaration of Inclusion – Discussion and Possible Adoption
Daniel – could we turn the air conditioning differently so we aren’t so cold?What is that in Roberts Rules?
Ian – Point of Comfort… we have a presenter here…
Fred Brunig – I’ve been working with several others in the county and hoping to inspire boards to adopt the declaration of inclusion. Al Wakefield joins us on zoom, one of the founders. Mary Gannon is here, too. Curtis Reed is also here. The Declaration of Inclusion started 3 years ago after disturbing events nationwide. They wanted to be proactive in Vermont and put out a system of fairness and acceptance and diversity are primo in towns minds. The governor proclaimed inclusion week for the second week of May. The VT Chamber of Commerce supports it and hosts the website. VCLT is also behind this. Lisa and Curtiss have been working to make Brattleboro free of prejudice of all kinds. We’re all working toward the same ends. From different directions. It’s great that Brattleboro has already begun this work in the HR department. This segment is a logical next step. I’ll read the declaration – Brattleboro condemns racism and welcomes all… and wants everyone to feel safe and welcome. We condemn all discrimination and strive for equality in our community… people can live freely and express opinions…
Ian – thanks for the presentation and description.
Bob Harnish – Feed gave a beautiful introduction. We’re pleased to have this kind of interest in the SE corner of VT and we hope you will see fit to adopt tonight. I’m here for any questions, as is Al. Al is more articulate than I am.
Al – really pleased that Fred and Lisa and Mary… I’ll let the next person speak to it.
Curtiss Reed – by adopting the declaration isn’t isn’t just a box that is checked. It requires work by the selectboard to do the work of the declaration. Don’t look at this from on hight. Be involved in day to day decisions.
Mary – I appreciated the opportunity to come tonight. I think Brattleboro is positioned well for this because systems are already in place. The conversation is already happening with employees and new employees . That work is continuing. This is a way to strengthen what the town employees are doing, and that you have their back and can allocated resources as needed.
Ian – anyone we miss? No?
Liz – I echo the good things that have been said and the work that has been done, but also equity and inclusion is a major part of our selectboard goals and in every town department. It is a nice way to bring this issue to the fore. We’re only too happen to coalesce around this statement.
Tim arrives.
Daniel – it says we welcome all – and thinking about it, people’s socio-economic status is a way people feel less that welcome here. Maybe we add it. maybe there is a more artful way to say it.
Fred – that’s perfectly ok.
Al – each town has looked at this and have reviewed it and discussed it as is. 10-15% have amended it, mostly to the good. I recognized social-economic status… add it it is appropriate.
Ian – if the board likes the friendly amendment we can vote on it tonight. I echo wha has ben said already and this is a goal this town can always be striving towards. Peter Elwell was a huge proponent of this work and want to mention his name, and if we adopt it, let’s hold it against our actions and always strive to meet it.
Tim – I spoke to Fred earlier…happy I made it for the vote itself and appreciate the work that has been done.
Kurt Daims – hi. I have a different take on inclusivity in Brattleboro. maybe we are so proud of our inclusiveness… the state of democracy is poor, not due to racism. Republicans and Trump supports and conservatives are an oppressed minority here. I’m on the other side, but I see disrespect and scorn for Republicans in public debate. I’ve defended church goers and republicans. Trumpers demonstrated downtown a while back, and no one bother us, but when they had 6 people there, there was a huge heckling counter demonstration. That shows a lack of tolerance. I don’t know how you can fit this into the resolution, but our democracy is in poor shape because we aren’t respecting conservative people in town.
Liz – I’d image that Trumpers would be in the category of “all persons”…
Ian – The last paragraph has wording about speaking opinions respectfully. Open to additional language.
Daniel – political identity isn’t a benign box where all is acceptable. Much discrimination in the county now… broadly people all people are welcome, but it isn’t a level playing field. My personal opinion.
Mary – thanks to Kurt for raising that. The spirit of the declaration is also about how do we bring people together to have the kinds of dialogue that could improve the fabric of our democracy. Diversity isn’t a thing, it is a verb.
Marta Gossage – Hi there. I’m on mobile so no video. The tolerance of intolerance is something scholars and people talk about. I don’t think we need to include the intolerance. We should be against intolerance if it comes to our town. We don’t all agree that we’ll be quiet and listen to intolerant people.
?? – I’d like to echo what Mary said. This is a tool ad in the 65 towns, this discussion came about because something happened, and it was a tool for discussing. It’s a goal for 65 towns to think about who we are and what we want to be. Even when we talk about how to approach other towns, all the issues Kurt raises are there. This is a tool for those conversations.
Ian – what was the first town to adopt it?
Bob – the Town of Franklin.
Tim – happy with he way it is written and with Daniel’s addition.
Kurt – I need to clarify. I didn’t imply we want to tolerate intolerant people. We shouldn’t assume someone who isn’t liberal or progressive is intolerant.
adopted 4-0, with Daniel addition of social-economics
Monthly EMS Update and Contract – Discussion and Possible Approval
Fire Chief Howard, AC Kier, and Doctor Storn
Chief – (reads report) we did 318 calls in August. 45 were false alarms. 31 services calls. 10 fire-related. BFD continues to adjust to working with Golden Cross. New staff are learning to work with GC. Our work is being reviewed. Aug 29 Dr. Storn gave in person training. BFD members complete advanced EMT courses and take the national test. We have 3 in the paramedic program doing well so far. We’ve done over 500 calls, avg call 27.09 minutes… we had a three alarm fire in town and mutual aid worked as expected.
Ian – Dr Storn… explain your role?
Dr Storn -I’m an emergency physician and my role is on training quality assurance and implementing protocols in VT D13..
Marta – whatcha doing? You okay?
Liz – 4 min response time is pretty good!
Ian – the quality assurance.. how are things going? The board has had two updates before this, but haven’t heard from you.
Dr Storn – globally, we are in month three and overall. Really no major incidents. No major medical problems directly related to the rollout of the new EMS system. It is a big shift to bring the firefighters up to speed, and to work with the hospital to transport. But overall the rollout has gone really smoothly.
Ian – so we have a presentation now, then board discussion of the contract, then the public.
Chief – when we signed the contract, the contract said we’d have an advanced EMT 12 hours a day. After talking with them, they provided it for 24 hours at no additional charge. At the 3 moth mark, we decide if we continue or go back to 12 hours. We’ve done 689 total calls, 484 medical emergencies. 11.1 calls a day, 16.74% of the time we need two ambulances. Having two plus the fire engine at central plus an ambulance in west Bratt is crucial. 68.4 % are cleared medical calls within 30 minutes. 22.9% it is 45 minutes. 6.4% is 60 minutes. 2.3% is for 1-2 hours. The CT machine at BMH was down, then had to go to Cheshire, so it brought our time up. Sometimes we stay with people that fall down and make them a sandwich so it takes a while. This data supports our request for the third ambulance. One was down while we replaced batteries yesterday, so having the third helps. Currently we pay GC $75k, plus $33k for training, plus $38k for the EMS study… I recommend we allow the second 24-7 EMT and the third ambulance. $37.5k this year, then $50k after.
Dr. Storn – the last slide. The breakdown of 11 calls a day isn’t evenly spaced. It often comes in bunches. Statistics don’t always line right up. Mutual Aid and backup for EMS calls are more difficult to arrange. If we go past available ambulances, that response time goes up drastically.
Liz – the statement the doctor just mad makes me feel very committed to the third ambulance.
Daniel – it is interesting – we see data every day about calls you are going to. It is clear to me that a 24 hour period will have lots of downtime, then lots of calls within a tricky time period. Important for the public to understand. Why spend $37k on a 3rd ambulance… we want to respond as quickly as we can. I’d like to shift how we present this to the public. We’ve given them lots of call logs. One piece of data not on it is how long it takes to get to a call. It gives me the confidence that the transition is going well. the call by call data shows this is going as it ought to be going. And there are ways we can improve. We got off to a solid start and will build on that.
Tim – I want to.. yo mentioned operational challenges. Could anyone throw out something a layman could understand – something to understand what that means?
Dr. Storn – being based solely in Brattleboro, there are limitations about Brattleboro’s ability to leave. It is bigger for Brattleboro to lose paramedics out of the area for a period than a private service with more ambulances and people. We’re in Brattleboro and can’t compensate geographically. BMH doesn’t have treament for all. How do we decide which come to BMH and transfer out, or go elsewhere. Then in the spectrum of care – folks are on scene for 5 minutes before transport. You can do just a bit… how do you navigate risks and benefits of doing care on scene vs a 3 minute ride to BMH?
Tim – that’s an example of where it is counterintuitive – being so close generates another set of challenges.
Dr – that stats sometimes gloss over the specifics, but when you look at the entire course of patient care… sometimes spending more time on scene means better care two hours later at the hospital.
Daniel – is that a conversation you are having? (yes) And will you spend more time, and get a third ambulance…
Liz – is it actually routine or a case by case judgement?
Ian – public?
AC Kier – we have a few models – the public wants to see vs what we are providing. We can add response time to all the calls. if there are other things you’d like to see, let me know.
Daniel – we got an email about Bob Oeser – I know the answer to how long it takes to get auto a call. Each line is a story and so much in each call that will never be expressed by a spreadsheet.
Liz – maybe you have some advice for how to present data to the public that would be medically correct.
Dr Storn – off the cuff thought is that it could be more graphical, rather than each call, have the average s and the max and min and distributions.
Kate O’Connor – I love the info you are providing. I want to clarify one thing and have 2 questions. Sept 9 memo it says $168,500 spent on EMS expenses, and two things were left out – $52k for wage increase for fire personnel, and for the physicians, so the total is $23o+k… The Triton approved $38k, but in the report in is $48k. And the Triton study, they will be here Oct 18 and 19th, what will they be doing. There is a SB meeting and public forum, and what is the public’s role in those?
Chief – medical oversight was an expense whether we took over the EMS transport or not. As for the study, they are coming. The 18th they will be here at the board meeting and speak to the public, and then the 19th there will be a public forum at 6 pm to ask questions. It will be one BCTV and virtual. There will be a survey going out for the public as well – 10 questions. They will be busy both days, meeting with staff…
Ian – not sure the board knew all that… we’ll get the info out.
Daniel – look for it on Instagram. The increase in salaries… we did do an amendment to the contract for raises, and Kate thinks that should be in out tally, and we didn’t, so why?
Patrick – we certainly could.
Daniel – should we?
Patrick – you asking me? Okay, I think the analysis of what we are spending vs Rescue is not important right now. It is a transition and is of monumental importance, and whether we get to that phase or do something different. i don’t know where we are going to land. None of has seen the Triton study. We don’t know where we’ll land. Counting what we spend vs the previous model isn’t helpful due to the transition we are in.
Daniel – you could evaluate dollar for dollar…
Tim – I agree with adding that in, but I’m bugged by adding the Triton study in because it is a one time cost. It’s not ongoing. For me, it isn’t all about the money, but money is important and we need to have that information. It’s about more than money.
Liz – there were varying reasons to increase fire dept salaries. We would have done it regardless of the provider.
Kate – it is the public that wants to know this info. It’s not important if you think it should be revealed.
Tim – I totally hear that, but if the public doesn’t get all the information, that a little Apples and Oranges, too. See the whole picture.
Liz – those two items would need notes to explain them.
ian – I hear you Kate… it is kinda complicated. There is also a little bit.. the way we are spending the money id different. Training is an investment that the town benefits from. I appreciate that you bring this up each time we do an EMS report. There is some disagreement on the board. 10 minute break.. til 8:12pm.
Climate delayed is climate denied
World-wide research by the medical journal Lancet shows that children feel betrayed by adults (government) not taking action on climate crisis. Children are suffering rapidly increasing high levels of stress. This could lead to suicide, and I’m scared it could lead to mass suicides. Children are in a way more resilient than adults are to the crisis, maybe because they don’t understand it, or because they don’t deeply appreciate life as adults do. What hurts children more than the crisis itself is the entire adult world stressing and doing nothing about it. If we adults, governments, the selectboard, don’t find the guts to take action on the climate crisis, we betray our children.
Brattleboro Common Sense
brmse.org
#BCS
brmse.org
More... EMS Update and Contract
Robert Oeser – Thanks you for this discussion and to the Chief – for answers to my questions. I have this in a file and share it with folks. Email me to get it all. I have three questions coming out of those as follow ups, but have two more.
Daniel – so your email questions are very good and pertinent. Could you select some and ask them so we can reveal that information.
Ian – my feeling is – what is weird is it isn’t part of the record or backup material. Trying to pull that into the public record.
Liz – he could ask the questions…
Bob – I’m open to any direction if I can understand it. There were 9 questions. Some were my questions. Two comments and three comments about eh Q&A
Ian – that’s where it gets weird – responses to emails that isn’t in the public record…
Bob – we’ll read it… you discussed counting money tonight and how to count it as associated with he EMS service. I suggest a simple rule – code it all up from as EMS and as Liz said, at some point there could be notes or explanations, but it is coded up front. There other is, I don’t know if there was an answer about the $23k additional figure for the Triton study…
Ian – it was a typo
Bob – then, going through and referring to questions I submitted… #3 and #4. Of the 536 reported calls were ALS and the answer was 132 were billed as ALS – were the AL:S calls staffed at minimum with a paramedic 24-7. The answer was GC is contracted to provide a paramedic on shift, but the question is are they on the truck? The next question – do you know how many GC employees work in a tour of duty, do they report to Brattleboro after reporting from a shift elsewhere. The answer was to ask GC this question. If fatigue was a concern, we’d address the concern immediately. Can we be more pro-active in our integration with GC if we don’t have an answer to that issue? It would avert a problem if addressed ahead of time. This question was asked in August and the answers was the same. The town contracts with GC… you can delegate it to me to call them… With question #6… it is long…
Ian – I’m trying to figure out the right way to do this. Summarize the questions and I will ask Bob Fisher about the best way to do this in the future.
Bob – in supporting documents in August, the overtime has gone up in September. Question is – how much overtime and staff turnover is attributable to EMS. The answer was none of the 4 departing firefighters left because of EMS in Brattleboro – 2 went to do EMS with better pay. The concern is, if we have EMS employees leaving because of hours and pay, is that a concern down the line? The final question is #7, thanks for explaining the call to Harris Ave…how much time elapsed? The answer was it took 25 minutes to arrive on the scene. Question is, is there a process issue to how that developed and why it took 25 minutes?
Chief – as far as AEMT and paramedic – we have one paramedic and FD on one ambulance at Central, the first two have paramedics or AEMTs on those ambulances. For #5, I talk daily with Golden Cross and if it is a fatigue issue it will be addressed immediately. As for #6 – yes, we will address this in negotiations soon. We are on 24 and off 48. They have less hours and more money. I can’t knock personnel for leaving for better work. Across the country, there are more fire and EMS jobs than can be filled. They can go anywhere they want and name their price, regardless of we do EMS or stay Fire.
AC Kier – #7, that was an operational error on my part. That 25 minutes was delayed in transport because of that decision. Was there a process that we can learn from? We evaluated that incident – there were 6 calls in a 20 minute period. We evaluated that wan what we could do differently, and the plan has altered. If we use mutual aid, someone can cover and hold in Brattleboro…
Bob – I didn’t want to blame anyone but look at the process… make sure that is underlined.
Daniel – I hear you but it is hard – 650 odd calls and we pick one out of that as representative. The question you asked.. it felt like there was a question underneath that, about whether repossess are timely. I applaud AC Kier to recognize a wrong decision, I wouldn’t want that cherry-picked piece of data to be representative…. and want to put it out there, a call time of 25 minutes isn’t entirely unheard of. The would have happened under the previous contract, often enough. I want to push back on that. A little curious as someone who works for 8 hours… I can’t imagine working 24 hours. When we have a provider come int the department to work a 24 hour shift?
Chief – some 24 hours, some 12 hour shifts.
Daniel – are they working at other companies before us?
Chief – one likes to work 3 days in a row.. no fatigue so far.
Dr Storn – as an emergency physician – important to keep in imind that you will fund and staff a 100% efficient system. The question is what percentage of time is ok to activate mutual aid.
Tim – One of the things I was seeking to see happen was the responsibility return and lie in a town employee. Mistakes happen to everybody. They happen with contracted providers, too. Think about the way AC Kier owned up to this, but a separate provider, would we know about it or correct it? Would we learn from it? This is an instance where one of the side benefits really comes to us. This moment just happened. It is a thing we should think about.
Liz – What I’ve been hearing is all these decisions is on a case by case basis, and all sorts of reasons go into the decisions. It can’t be boiled down to a number or a dollar. The doctor says our department is doing well, and we have to look at the big picture and we’re doing a good job. I’m happy with that and the way the decision to have a third ambulance was handled.
Ian – additional discussion?
approved 4-0
Monthly Financial Report
Finance Director Kimberly Frost says all is well, and reads the monthly report. 2 months in to the fiscal year. All funds ok. 3.8 million in outstanding loans, and the fund has $204k available for additional grants and loans.
Daniel – revenue – personal property fines – we’ve already got $8k, more than budgeted.
Frost – people paid their fines.
Daniel – fire salaries?
Frost – we are dealing with lots of summer vacation. I talked with the Chief. There were shifts that needed to be covered, Guys were on vacation.
Moreland – not all overtime is the same. Some, the staff salaries will go down when the overtime goes up. It has happened in the police dept. When there are greater vacancies there is more overtime, and less scary paid. We’re seeing some of that in there with the Fire Department.
approved! 4-0
Committee Appointments
Ian – we have two potential appointments – they are Jacqueline (Jaki) Reis to the Citizen Police Communications Committee (CPCC) and Rikki Risatti to the Agricultural Advisory Committee as an ex-officio non-voting member. Let’s take one at a time. There was some discussion about whether to have interviews if it is non-contested. Tonight, we’ll do these as we have in the past.
Liz – Jaki has spoken to the board many times…
Ian – I feel weird about the CPCC and should it be changed, sort of does it make sense to appoint to it. We still have it so we should staff it. I’m committed to modifying or abolishing it. It may be better if we have it fully appointed. Nominations
Liz – Jaki!
4-0 approved
Ian – okay, the other one is the Agricultural Advisory Committee as an ex-officio non-voting member. patrick, can you speak to the language?
patrick – I want to clarify that there are two position types on the Ag committee – there were changes and adjustments last time around. The board said 7 voting members and have 3 non-voting members with expertise in local food systems. The vacant position is what we are talking about tonight.
Liz – the planning dept and ag committee wanted to broaden it to discuss food service and a wider range of needs, and loans and therefore I’d think this appointment would not be appropriate.
Tim – why? a change was made after?
Liz – someone with expertise or influence in the food industry…
Daniel – Rikki Risatti applied, and if I hear you Rikki doesn’t have the experience.
ian – I agree. A voting member resigned and there is an opening and I encourage Rikki to apply to that one, rather than for this, because it doesn’t fit with what these members are for.
Rikki – I wish I had an opportunity for an interview, and for Liz to explain why I’m not qualified. I worked with NOFA, and partnering with local farmers to start a radical business plan and with eh USDA and Human Services to change our food security to allow people more access to food. I am deeply involved in that and this would be another way for me to contribute.
Ian – Thank you Rikki. It’s up to us. Anyone want to make a nomination?
Daniel – we learned today about the opening for a voting member, which might be more in line with Rikki’s experience. This is an unusual position, to serve a specific position.
Ian – I’d echo Daniel point.
Rikki – do I need to reapply or can you use this application? (no objection…) If someone else gets it, can I be considered for the x official seat?
Daniel – that’s more suited for you. Ex officio is a specific type of applicant to advise but not vote.
Ian – it would be helpful to talk to the sustainability coordinator.
Rikki – I did talk to Gary Stroud and Sue Fillion.
Ian – more appropriate to apply for the voting member, and I appreciate your question about interviews and will look into it.
Patrick – how long do we keep open the application announcement… a month…
Rikki not appointed