Stamford Select Board — 2025-09-04 (Regular)
- Approval of August 7 minutes
- Approval of August 25 minutes
- Highway update: 2025/26 aid project signing, chip-sealing plans
- Recycling updates and fee review
- Northern Berkshire Ambulance Service survey
- Planning Commission grant and grant match
- Correspondence: passenger rail letter of support; municipal excess weight permit (McElwain Contracting)
- Draft employee policy handbook review
- All boards meeting reminder (Sept 11)
- 911 numbering update
- Town sign update
- Delinquent dog update
- Old business: opioid case settlement
- New business: emergency management blizzard planning session; school safety update; BCA checklist purging; property tax appeal process question
- Executive session (personnel matter) and return
- Adjournment
Motions (11, 11 passed)
Approval of August 7 minutes mover not statedpassed
Approval of August 25 minutes mover not statedpassed
Sign the 2025/26 aid project (culverts installed, stone line ditching finishing) mover not statedpassed
Send letter of support for the passenger rail (western Massachusetts to Boston) project John (per chair's 'john you made a motion'; speaker label not verified)passed
Municipal excess weight permit from McElwain Contracting (Ferrisburg, VT) mover not statedpassed
Approve revised draft employee policy handbook mover not statedpassed
Town sign: move forward with the sign and install it on the school building, and install the old sign on the building Kurt (per chair: 'So, Kurt made the motion')seconded: Mike (final read-back 'Mike, second'; chair first said 'John, second')passed
Go into executive session mover not statedpassed
Come out of executive session Kurt (transcribed 'by Kirk made a motion to come out')seconded: John (per 'second by John')passed
Offer the job to James McPherson mover not statedseconded: Kurt (per 'yes Kurt second')passed
Adjourn the meeting mover not statedpassed
Other decisions
| Recycling fees | Board is losing money at the recycling center but decided to leave individual fees as-is (last individual fee raise 2023; punch cards $95 since 2022) and revisit next year; discussed passing through costs for items like TVs/refrigerators that the town pays to dispose of. |
| Northern Berkshire Ambulance Service survey | Survey from an MPA graduate student (named Chris Nolan Zell in transcript) about whether towns would be charged for ambulance service covering 13 towns. No formal vote on responding. Agreed an unidentified selectman ('Speaker 1', who has ties to the service) will ask the ambulance service whether Stamford has a representative on the board of directors and, if not, look at getting one; board to consider encouraging annual donations (to be noted in the minutes). |
| Opioid case settlement | Town previously decided to join the settlement; Lori (town clerk) to fill out the online registration, designate/sign correspondence, and keep the board informed; 'all in agreement'. |
| School safety suggestions (state police visit) | State police gave the principal safety suggestions (fence gate, barrier/boulders at front door, safety glass grant already applied for). No decision by the select board; principal to discuss with the school board; items to be raised at the joint/all-boards meeting. No cost to the town identified. |
| 911 numbering update | Bob Briggs and his team are working on 911 numbering. |
| Property tax assessment appeal process | A resident's assessment appeal did not receive an appeal-notice date; board reviewed the process (lister notices, then BCA notice with dates, certificate of mailing as proof of sending). No formal action taken. |
| Trees in front of the school | The two large trees/shrubs in front of the school building are to be cut down (principal OK'd, school board OK'd), including for safety (hiding spots, eaves). |
Who owes what (12)
| Action | Owner | By when | Note | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Get budgetary figures/quotes for fall chip-sealing (Ron Kowalski coming around in October; 8th Street) for the December budget | Dave, DPW ('Speaker 9' label; not independently verified) | before December budget | open no date in the minutes ¶ ¶42 | |
| Check whether Stamford has a representative on the Northern Berkshire Ambulance board of directors; if not, look at getting one; talk to the ambulance service ('John') in the capacity of a selectman | — | — | Volunteered by an unidentified selectman ('Speaker 1' label) with close ties to the service. | open no date in the minutes |
| Report the Planning Commission grant match amount to the select board for the budget | Lisa (Planning Commission) | — | Grant application not possible until Sept 1; town plan chosen over the other option. | open no date in the minutes |
| Fill out the opioid settlement registration/correspondance online and keep the board informed | Lori (town clerk) | — | open no date in the minutes | |
| Pay 50% deposit for the sign design, obtain design for board approval (do not install before approval), coordinate installation with the school (after hours/weekend) | — | — | An unidentified speaker ('Speaker 2' label) who has been coordinating with the sign installer (Winpo; 'Jim' asked to handle talking to him) committed to this. | open no date in the minutes |
| Continue 911 numbering work | Bob Briggs and his team | — | open no date in the minutes | |
| Attend emergency management blizzard planning session at the fire station; Bob to contact Dave about it | selectmen (Bob to reach Dave) | 2025-09-10, 6 PM, fire station | Planning session for the Oct 22 tabletop exercise; chair will not be in town on Oct 22. | overdue the minutes set 2025-09-10 and it has passed |
| Delinquent dogs: owners to contact Lori (Eric Malinchuk had a rabies certificate appointment near end of August; Jamie Kuzo's rabies good through September 2025; 'Waters' has moved away) | dog owners / Lori (clerk) | — | Down to two dog owners; notices sent, no fines yet; 'let the process happen'. | open no date in the minutes ¶ ¶403 |
| Report results of the BCA checklist purging done with the justices of the peace; short session (~4 or 6) if the board wants to act | — | next select board meeting, Sept 18 | Offered by an unidentified member ('Speaker 3' label). | open no date in the minutes |
| Call James McPherson tonight with the job offer | Nancy L. Bushika (chair) | 2025-09-04 evening | overdue the minutes set 2025-09-04 and it has passed ¶ ¶493 | |
| Chair of each board to contact individual members so at least one member attends the all-boards meeting (open to the public) | chairs of each board | 2025-09-11, 6 PM, school | overdue the minutes set 2025-09-11 and it has passed ¶ ¶259 | |
| Send the (short) letter of support for the passenger rail project | — | — | 'No rush' - 'tomorrow or next week'. | open no date in the minutes |
scripts/action_status.py --done "a phrase".Money (5)
| Town match on 2025/26 highway aid project | Stated as '25% of 11.5' and '11.5. 875' in the transcript; dollar units unclear (likely $11,500 with a $2,875 match). | — |
| Excess weight permit fee (McElwain Contracting) | Certificate of insurance also noted. | $10 |
| Town sign installation on the school building¶ ¶266 | 'The sign is going on the building for $800.' A second/new sign design is being done (CNC) with up to three design changes. | $800 |
| Sign design deposit | Pay 50% to see the design before installation; one selectman said 50% 'is probably already donated.' | 50% (transcript also says 'Pay him the $50') |
| Recycling fee context (not a town expenditure) | Punch cards $95 since 2022; last individual fee raise 2023; e-waste (laptops/tablets/monitors/TVs/printers) free at Bennington, Reedsboro, Searsburg transfer stations; refrigerator $50, $100 if put in dumpster; 30-yard roll-off carried $100+ extra fees per one selectman's anecdote. | — |
Public comment (1)
| Pete (resident, addressed by the chair as 'Pete'/'peter'; labeled 'Speaker 11' in transcript) | Decrepit sidewalk in front of his property (running from Middle Road toward the vacant property at 1135): rebar sticking up, exposed in spots; the new state sidewalk stopped at Mill Road; asked whether the state or the town can fix it. Board indicated the remainder of the old sidewalk is still state responsibility; he said he left a message for them. |
Follow-ups named in the minutes
- Lake Champlain Sea Grant / VT DEC presentation on new flood mapping (Flood Safety Act) - Lisa to find out when it is and whether the select board wants to host; state-wide.
- Discuss the town sign's status and school safety concerns at the Sept 11 all-boards meeting (no decision to be made there).
- BCA checklist purging results to be reported at the Sept 18 meeting.
- Planning Commission grant match amount to be reported for the budget.
- Delinquent dog owners to contact Lori (two owners remain).
- Revisit recycling fees next year.
- Cut down the two large trees in front of the school building (principal and school board OK'd).
- 911 numbering work by Bob Briggs' team.
- Emergency management tabletop exercise scheduled for Oct 22.
What the extraction was unsure about
- Transcript is an automated transcription (faster-whisper large-v3 + pyannote diarization) with heavy ASR errors: 'Lake Cheyenne Plain' (Lake Champlain), 'Environmental Conservation on the Flood Act 21' (VT DEC), 'binary blizzard', 'cali fish furnace', 'Westfield State University', 'reedsboro'/'searsburg', 'Winpo', 'beck's', 'Gloria', 'Kuzo/Kusa', 'Curpio', 'slutman' (selectman).
- Front-matter present list contains 'Kurt Gamari John Dunn' as a single entry - likely two people (Kurt Gamari, John Dunn) with a missing comma; used verbatim as instructed.
- Only Nancy L. Bushika is labeled by name in the transcript; all other attributions (Dave, John, Kurt, Mike, Lisa, Lori, Pete, Jim) come from in-band references, not verified speaker labels. 'Speaker N' labels were not used to assign identities.
- Sign motion second: chair first said 'John, second' then 'Mike, second'; final read-back said 'Mike, second' - recorded as Mike with note.
- Handbook motion: the dispute over removing the birthday and floating holidays (net +1 holiday) was not clearly resolved in the transcript before 'Motion to approve. Second. All in favor.' was taken and passed.
- Handbook effective date stated as '2031' - almost certainly a transcription error; actual date unknown.
- Aid project match figures '25% of 11.5' / '875' have unclear units; not asserted as dollars.
- Executive session content was not recorded; the James McPherson job offer (position not stated) was reported immediately after returning from it.
- Input file actually resides at transcripts/2025/2025-09-04_selectboard.md (the 2025/ path in the task does not exist); content read in full (1083 lines).
Transcript
Speaker 2 — the same voice as in 58 recordings (the archive does not name this person)
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Speaker 4 — the same voice as in 39 recordings (the archive does not name this person)
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Speaker 3: .
Speaker 6: Could you speak up loud, please?
Speaker 9: Yeah.
Speaker 9: Oh, it's just for the flood?
Speaker 11: the state but i just figured i would have because the state put in the sidewalk and then they said
Speaker 12: and i don't believe they acknowledge that it exists right because it's buried in several spots
Speaker 13: exist and pete could take it out and nobody would say anything well we're in there right away right
Speaker 14: i can just say don't complain the only thing i was thinking um under electronic waste is not
Speaker 15: the regular holton avenue do we accept refrigerators uh we yep how much fifty dollars we accept refrigerators so and we just uh it's a hundred dollars if you put it in the dumpster
Speaker 17: smoke detectors no do i don't know anything about that do you no except i have a bunch of them on the way home
Speaker 18: to get rid of I think the smoke you could take back to the place you bought
Speaker 19: to the ionization ones are yeah bill you could go on to the Bennington County
Speaker 20: oh yeah I did you also make fire yeah and that website for the people can go
Speaker 21: I don't think they've been raised to it.
Speaker 22: of directors, and my understanding was each individual town had someone sitting on that
Speaker 15: I think they want a feeling of what the towns feel like do if the towns are
Speaker 14: previous years calls I have a question is this student part of Northam's
Speaker 15: that this is gonna be potential we did get a letter from John and he asked us to
Speaker 23: anything from the town
Speaker 24: so they were at one time and I don't know if it changed because I wasn't in
Speaker 12: third question there's some people they seem like a fishing operation yeah how how we feel
Speaker 25: well they i don't know that we should pay the insurance company pays for these calls now a
Speaker 15: and i don't know the percentage if you're trying i just heard if the insurance company pays for
Speaker 26: they come into they're number one the number one money makers right right and i'm just saying
Speaker 25: you know at least it'll be in minutes what's that i believe i get like the mail mail every year enable us or what they send out yes yeah so they they solicit
Speaker 15: nothing's going to happen right away right it's just a study i didn't see the questions i wasn't
Speaker 14: here but i would like to have them they're online if laurie sent an email okay so they're in there okay i was probably having a baby yeah you had a lot of that's my new thing
Speaker 6: information have you applied for the grant yet um cali fish furnace started working on it so um
Speaker 27: work seven o'clock you said yeah yeah um and this is for both the town plan and the i think we're
Speaker 28: um i don't know i didn't read it all it seems like that i'm sure there would be some kind of
Speaker 29: areas i mean people would want to invest in coming in on that rail into north adams invest in the
Speaker 30: you'd like tomorrow to sign it or what's your thought yeah or next week there's no no rush no
Speaker 15: until the full board could look it over so we're going to wait one more meeting it's up to you guys
Speaker 31: So if this was a big company, I'd be against the 8 hours, but because there's two guys.
Speaker 32: I personally don't think it's going to get abused by two of the guys.
Speaker 33: You don't think it might change just come Friday when you've got, you know, 50 hours
Speaker 14: right it was 14 right two weeks and
Speaker 34: to roll over yeah it says here on page 3
Speaker 12: or not. Typically it's a couple days we get paid out.
Speaker 15: That's just my opinion.
Speaker 35: Is that right?
Speaker 15: He'll still get the four days.
Speaker 15: Yeah.
Speaker 15: Not the.
Speaker 28: I'm just
Speaker 36: this is above
Speaker 14: what's unbecoming
Speaker 15: number four
Speaker 37: number fifteen
Speaker 14: you could outlaw
Speaker 28: Had a question.
Speaker 18: when I asked a different board.
Speaker 15: Okay?
Speaker 14: Something with paint in it.
Speaker 38: It's their business.
Speaker 26: Right.
Speaker 39: with the motion.
Speaker 40: To install it on it.
Speaker 3: To install it.
Speaker 26: Well the two big trees, definitely.
Speaker 41: You're going to get an opportunity to just.
Speaker 42: It's all on the CNC machine.
Speaker 19: Yeah.
Speaker 31: can be changed like that bring it right to you and let you look at it maybe on a half day or
Speaker 3: something but it also takes about some hours because they want to look at it too i'm good
Speaker 43: I'm not going to let him put the sign up front without your approval. I'll bring it to you.
Speaker 19: Now, now.
Speaker 43: What are we worried about?
Speaker 44: If we want three people, if we want three or four people that tied this up by two years to choose the sign, we'll just send them the picture and let them choose the sign.
Speaker 45: And they can run for select board next time.
Speaker 41: Thank you, Jim. Thank you.
Speaker 28: Yes.
Speaker 12: Okay.
Speaker 43: where what the good guy told me.
Speaker 43: No, it's not, there's plenty of time.
Speaker 21: Four dogs.
Speaker 15: Yeah, it was just-
Speaker 14: crosswalk this is i don't remember what the whole thing when they put in the sidewalks one thing i
Speaker 36: then you don't have traffic we have rules of people that cross from that parking lot to this
Speaker 45: right there and i'm sure they'll follow that line do they have to do they have to leave school
Speaker 38: evacuate the school we have to get the church is where they go to that's their center which there
Speaker 46: they get in the church and wait for the bus or whoever comes i mean if it's just a fire
Speaker 14: suggestions turn into ideas sometimes then you've got to watch to make sure that
Speaker 12: the ballards are there right down the whole front of the school
Speaker 32: you're going to batter the whole building right you know again that's something that
Speaker 36: puddle on the ground now you got ice you know i look at it like this how many kids slipped on ice
Speaker 40: come up at some point you know wheels yeah boulders too could be a hazard if they're
Speaker 32: are all suggestions by a state trooper was this while he was in patrol in stamford just like oh
Speaker 32: town and started to make these jet work i did hear he got like eight i'm not true it is eight
Speaker 47: maybe dui people stopped well one was in the paper so yeah we know one yeah we said stamford's a house
Speaker 48: now you guys you're locked up like i know just i'm not i'm all for it
Speaker 14: it's not paid this will be just it's a debatable thing yes in the upcoming meeting and what you're
Speaker 49: notice never received the notice of a date for an appeal so they the way it should work is after
Speaker 49: but i just want to know the process it should be on their schedule they should have a schedule of
Speaker 15: okay they can get ready for next year right right but
Speaker 15: you just say that it was which proof that we sent it i would you know if it was me i would have called
Speaker 28: And second by John, okay, we're out of executive session
Speaker 17: During the meeting make motion we adjourn the meeting
Transcribed 2026-09-04 (faster-whisper large-v3, CUDA; names corrected per data/name_fixes.json). Names corrected against the minutes. Diarization is automated and over-splits one person into several labels. Raw model output with timestamps: SRT.