BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. – The Rockingham Selectboard met on Tuesday, Dec. 16, in the lower theater meeting room at the Rockingham Town Hall, where they heard a presentation of the draft audit from Richard Brigham, certified public accountant with Sullivan Powers. The audit report concluded that, both on the revenue and expense side, the numbers came in close to what was budgeted.
Town manager Scott Pickup told the board, “These auditors are very organized, which I and Alyssa [Harlow, town finance director] appreciate. It’s been a good transition from the old firm to this firm.”
Pickup also commented, “It has been a challenging year, but a good year. Fund balances came out in a healthy place.” Pickup gave much of the credit to Harlow.
Also on the night’s agenda was a detailed review of the Flat Iron bump-out redesign project. Liza Sargent, an engineer with SVE Associates, gave the presentation. She had been tasked with estimating engineering costs based on plans produced by the town and Bellows Falls Downtown Development Alliance.
With a portion of the project funded through several grants, the construction estimate provided by Sargent was $111,610.
“There are other costs associated with this project,” reported Pickup, which they had planned for, adding funds to the highway department budget to pay for everything outside the original extent of the work. Pickup said, “The scope has certainly grown, as you can see.”
Pickup explained that, as the project moved forward, things became more complicated, in part due to the location of the Flat Iron Cooperative building.
Sargent told the meeting the modifications would “increase [pedestrian and traffic] safety, add an ADA-compliant access on the Bridge Street crosswalk, and prevent water from crossing through the island.” A portion of the sewer will need to be replaced as well, and there will be repairs made to the sidewalk.
While reviewing budget items, Pickup and the board discussed staffing in the clerk’s office. The board had intended to reduce one of the two positions to part-time in the coming year, but had received a request from Kathleen Kelly, the town clerk, to maintain two fulltime positions based on their workload, especially with regards to town elections.
Pickup said he and Harlow would review the budget again and bring suggestions to the board at their next meeting on Monday, Dec. 22.
Just prior to adjourning, the board discussed options for Pickup’s replacement. Chair Peter Golec said the immediate goal was to hire an interim town manager to fill the position when Pickup leaves the post to become the town manager for Springfield. Golec said a hiring committee would be formed after the holidays.