WOODBURY – The December 23 Woodbury Select Board meeting marked the appointment of a new town treasurer, Lilian Baron.
The board discussed the pros and cons of moving to a five-member select board from the current three-member board, noting that, while it would be good to have more board members work on different subjects, it would be difficult to get two more people to serve. Meetings would also take longer, with more members to weigh in on decisions. An article would have to be on the town meeting warning for voter approval if the board wanted to proceed in expanding. No action was taken on the matter.
Town Treasurer Brandy Smith has been working on the FY26 draft budgets. She said, with the budgeted FY25 $90,000 allotment to the Highway Equipment Replacement Fund (HERF) and two more quarterly payments for Swenson Quarry there would be sufficient funds for the purchase of a new 10-wheeler dump-plow truck in time for next year’s winter plowing work.
Smith said they are waiting for the last of the FEMA 2023 flood repair reimbursements to come to the town and will then distribute the reimbursement dollars to the general or highway budget funds.
For the previous two weeks, to December 23, total cash received was $32,583.26, of which $31,908.26 came from delinquent tax payments and $675.00 from permits, recording, copies etc. There was an electronic transfer of $32,274.82 from FEMA as part of the 2023 reimbursement. To date, Woodbury has received approximately $240,000 for that disaster, with $52,000 left to collect. Payroll came to $10,829.03 and accounts payable totaled $84,944.53.
Woodbury Volunteer Fire Department (WVFD) Chief Paul Ceruitti and President Retta Dunlap provided an update for the board. Once the WVFD moves out of the annex, hopefully next summer, it will be up to the town to pay to keep the building open for the food shelf. There is only one heating system zone and the total for heat and electricity for last year was $4,653. The food shelf budget proposed for FY24 was less than $1,300.
The WVFD hopes to move into the new fire station in mid-January. There are several small projects to finish up but soon the station will be operational. Notably, the construction has stayed within budget so far.
The WVFD has also been working towards a USDA application for the addition to the new firehouse. They are trying to keep costs low, but engineering costs and the expense of permits required by the USDA are difficult. The new sprinkler system will also raise the total cost. Ceruitti and Dunlap said the buyout of the old fire station was initially deemed incomplete by FEMA, then later determined to be complete, another example of the confusion FEMA continues to bring to this process.
John Reid proposed that the town purchase a laptop with a large screen to be used for remote or hybrid meetings in small settings. This laptop could be useful with the larger remote-access equipment, since the laptop provided with that system does not work. The cost would be around $800. After a discussion regarding the deficit that the purchase of new IT equipment has created for the FY25 budget, and possible ways to cover that deficit, the purchase was ultimately approved.
In other business, the town listers were advised by the tax department that the town property maps must be updated before the reappraisal can be done. Lister Bonnie Collins has taken this on and has contacted three possible companies that offer the work.
The contractor in line to finish the town office basement repairs is injured and unable to do the work. Board member Lizzy Higgins will contact the person she hired to complete the sheetrock taping, patching and painting. Member Chris Casey will install the fire door. Casey has ordered a bulkhead door from RK Miles. The board noted this is not a flood insurance project, but needs to be done regardless.
Bills and payroll orders were signed at the end of the meeting.
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