By Curt Peterson, Standard Correspondent
BARNARD — Unforeseen problems seem to crop up through the snow at the new firehouse work site next to town hall at every select board meeting, and the Dec. 28 meeting was no exception.
Three issues involved the new well that had to be drilled to over 600 feet at a cost of $8,600 to achieve a water flow of approximately a half-gallon per minute.
Selectmen said the water flow rate would not meet state standards for approval regarding the new Barnard emergency services facility. The well is also meant to replace an old well that formerly supplied only town hall.
Selectman Tim Johnson reviewed the three alternatives to remedy the situation: Adding additional casing around the well to provide back-up storage intended to compensate for the slow flow rate by making stored water available as required; hydro-fracking around the well in hopes of allowing more water to reach the suction point, which is expensive and comes with its own risks; or drilling a new well at a site closer to the old well. The replaced well had good water flow, but, according to Select Board chair Rock Webster, the water had a strong sulphur taste. If any of these alternatives is chosen it will mean added costs.
The town has already spent over $1,800 in emergency repairs to the new well following a collision between a machine belong to site contractor Naylor and Breen and the well head. A new pump had to be installed, repairs done to the structure, and significant debris had to be cleaned out in time for a play performance in town hall.
Selectmen reported that Willis Consulting Engineers of Woodstock, who has been overseeing the site and well work, advised they have spoken to the contractor about the damage, and suggested the town should deduct the cost of the well damage caused by Naylor and Breen from their final invoice for the work.
The state has determined that the new septic system leach field is too close to the well, which will also hold up construction permits. The Willis firm, according to selectmen, has accepted responsibility for this error and is working on a plan to remediate the problem.
Could it be that drilling a new well to achieve better water flow would also solve the leach field proximity problem?
At their last meeting the selectmen registered surprise that Naylor and Breen had pulled their machines and workers off the job when the first snow fell at the site. Johnson remarked the contractor had bragged about getting all the work done before Dec. 31 because they were able and willing to work in winter conditions, yet they seemed to have vacated the job at the first sign of weather. He had suggested to select board administrator Preston Bristow that a reminder of the Dec. 31 contract deadline would be appropriate.
Selectman Bob Edmunds said at this meeting that the Willis firm had approved Naylor and Breen’s departure.
“Mike Willis explained almost all the work is completed, and they can finish up quickly as soon as warmer weather comes.” Edmunds said.
Reached on Monday, Mike Willis told the Vermont Standard in an email, “We are presently actively working on all the items (mentioned above), but not in a position yet to answer your questions.”
He said the firm will be making a report to the select board this week.
Last but not least, the board considered Charlie Davis’s contract as clerk of the works for the firehouse project building stage in the spring. At issue at the last meeting was workers compensation insurance – Davis works alone and does not have the coverage, the state requires either evidence of coverage or a signed exemption by a one-man operator, and the Vermont League of Cities and Towns strongly suggests that towns require it of all contractors doing any work for the municipality. At their last meeting chairman Webster had said he thought making an exception for Davis would be setting a precedent — that everybody who wanted to work for the town would want to have the requirement reconsidered. Bristow had been asked to discuss this with Davis, hoping to get it resolved by last Wednesday’s meeting.
According to an email from Bristow, Davis has not gotten coverage, Edmunds said, and Davis wasn’t aware of any details of a conversation about it between Davis and Bristow. Johnson said he was “dead set against” putting Davis on as an employee, which would bring him under the town’s workers compensation coverage and possibly cost the town more for unemployment insurance coverage as well. The board agreed to table the discussion until Bristow returns at the Jan. 11 meeting.
Bristow, who had been on vacation last week, said in an email, “Charlie Davis can get workers compensation insurance but it will cost him thousands (of dollars). He is willing to sign a hold-harmless agreement, which our insurer does allow. However, the town has been requiring all contractors to get workers compensation, so there would have to be some extenuating reason to make an exception.”
Pete Fellows of the Two Rivers Ottauquechee Regional Commission appeared before the selectmen to discuss the Mt. Hunger Road bank slide. He reported that 16 contractors had attended the pre-bid meeting to review the project and specifications, and eight actually submitted bids. The low bidder for phase I was G& N Excavators, Inc. of Moretown, with a price of $183,620. The town had budgeted $243,000 when they applied for a funding grant, so the lowness of the bid surprised them. They had asked TRORC and Holden Engineering, the consultants on the project, to check out the winning bidder’s references and make a recommendation.
Fellows presented a letter from Holden saying they had done work with G& N in the past and were aware of at least one similar project they had handled successfully.
G& N is owned and operated by Michele Gaboriau as a certified woman owned business with a 30-year track record. Vermont has the highest per capita number of woman-owned businesses in the country – one third of all privately-owned Vermont companies are owned by women. Most of those companies are small and produce modest revenues. According to an organization called Change the Story, more lucrative business, such as the type Gaboriau owns, are owned by men because most of the employees in those fields are men. They opine that employing more women in the construction field would result in more women starting their own construction businesses.
Based on Holden’s letter and Fellows’ analysis, the board accepted G& N’s bid.
The board expressed ongoing concern over funding the project, then being reimbursed from the grant.
“These bills will be coming at that time of the year when the town is strapped for cash,” Edmunds said.
Fellows assured the Board that the process of getting paid would take no more than 2-3 weeks once the invoice and record of payment are received by TRORC.
“I’m good at moving invoices along quickly,” he said.
He told Webster that interest costs incurred by the town when borrowing to finance the project would not be redeemable as part of the grant.
The town will have to pay approximately $30,000, or 10 percent, of the final cost of the project, plus any interest incurred.
This article first appeared in the December 29, 2016 edition of the Vermont Standard.