Selectboard approves contract amendments after ARPA audit finds missing state language

The selectboard approved first amendments to engineering services agreements with the Dufresne Group for two village wastewater projects after auditors flagged missing state contract provisions in an ARPA grant agreement.

"The North Village ARPA grant was audited by Vermont Agency of Natural Resources... they went through this whole audit process and determined that the grant agreement that we signed with our contractor... did not contain agency requirements," the town administrator (S4) told the board. Staff prepared a first amendment to add the agency’s required language and to update project schedules; the administrator said the change is intended to satisfy audit requirements for both north and south projects.

The board also discussed adding a debarment‑review step to the town’s purchasing policy. The administrator said the proposed debarment review would require checking a government website and the secretary of state's records; they argued the town should only apply that step where the contract requires it. Speaker 1 moved to accept the proposed amendments and to authorize the town administrator to execute them; the motion passed on voice vote.