Board of Selectmen Meeting, November 4, 2024
Facilities maintenance issues, road grader out of service, status of the Old Fire Station.
Facilities Maintenance Budget Review
Facilities Maintenance Manager Alan Trant presented his report on maintenance issues the town needs to address in the next one to three years. This is the first year the town has had a Maintenance Manager and has had such a thoroughly researched maintenance plan presented to the board.
Trant has identified $200k worth of work that needs to be done to preserve the town’s facilities. Nearly all of this work is for exterior repairs, but it also includes some HVAC and plumbing repairs. Trant noted that this is just for what is now known. It does not cover unanticipated failures. For example, he had just learned of an unanticipated failure of a concrete apron at the Highway Garage that had broken off and had sunk four inches into the ground, requiring urgent repair.
Only $53k is left in the building maintenance fund. One or more warrant articles will be required to fund this work, raising concerns among the board about the ability of the board and the Budget Committee to recommend this work to the voters given the limitations of the 4% tax cap. While this cap does not restrict the voters from approving spending, it does prevent the board and Budget Committee from recommending spending over 4% more than the town raised in taxes the prior year. As in 2024 the voters rejected the town’s proposed operating budget and $560k in recommended warrant articles for highway reconstruction, design for a new police station, and the re-assessment fund, there’s an unusually low ceiling on what may be recommended to the voters for 2025.
The board discussed some of the details with Trant. For example, many of the town’s buildings need their roofing ridge caps replaced due to the deterioration of the shingles. The parking lot of the Old Town Hall, now being used by the SAU, needs substantial drainage work estimated to cost $30k to $40k, in addition to the substantial portion of the work that can be done by the Highway Department. The Highway Department needs a new storage shed.
Old Fire Station
Trant has inspected the Old Fire Station and concluded that it is uneconomical to save the building. He recommended that it be demolished. Both the roof and the floor leak.
Autumn Road Grading
Fall road grading began on November 4 on Shore Drive; however, the grader promptly broke down. It is now in the shop awaiting diagnosis. Grading must be completed before the ground starts to freeze. If the grader cannot be brought back into service soon, one will have to be rented at the cost of $14k/mo.
It was noted that a new grader has been on the CIP for many years now, with its acquisition continuously pushed into the future. Replacement is currently slated for 2026 as a warrant article.
Other Issues
The Town has an open position for someone to take minutes for meetings of the Planning and Zoning boards.
The Highway Department has an open position for a full-time truck-driver/heavy-equipment-operator/laborer.
The veterans’ memorial that had to be removed to install the library’s new septic system has been reinstalled in a new location near its old location.
The Community Center’s gym floor is scheduled for replacement on November 12-14. This required the blood drive to be moved to the Fire Station.
In the board’s meeting last week the Highway Director proposed acquiring a sander for one of the plow trucks. The board unanimously approved spending $7.5k from the highway equipment fund for this purpose.
Election
It’s election day. If you’re still not sure who to vote for, see the Nottingham Blog’s voter guide.
Watch the video:
Does the budget committee or board of selectmen ever consider cuts? Seems like they’re constantly looking for increases in spending, there is waste in every budget, why not look to cut?