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Transfer-station bids stalled by USDA specs; board sends DES comment letter and reviews warrant articles
Summary
Select Board members discussed rejected bathroom bids at the transfer station after USDA-required bid-spec changes, reviewed the recycling-building design and potential $132,000 engineering costs, approved a comment letter about the DES White Lake substation permit, and previewed warrant articles, including EV chargers and library solar grant funding.
The Tamworth Select Board on Dec. 19 heard an extended update on transfer-station projects, took a vote to send a comment letter to New Hampshire DES on a local substation permit, and reviewed draft warrant articles for the 2025 town meeting.
Speaker 6 said the town rejected a single bathroom bid that came back at roughly $250,000 and reported that USDA-required bid specifications differ from the town’s existing documents. Because USDA technical and procurement requirements could force rework of bid documents, Speaker 6 said the town may decide to decline USDA funds for the bathroom and build the facility with town funds on a simpler procurement schedule. “I’m contemplating meeting in mid January with a handful of people where we may decide that we don't want the USDA money,” Speaker 6 said, adding that the town’s internal funding authorization runs out in 2025 even though USDA authorizations may extend to 2027.
The board also reviewed a proposed recycling-building design and a Sanborn Head engineering services letter; Speaker 6 said the design-phase engineering cost currently shown was about $132,000 and that the board had returned the document for revision due to identified problems.
Separately, the board considered and voted to send a comment letter to NH DES regarding the White Lake substation permit. The letter, drafted by Speaker 6, asked DES to consider air-quality and groundwater containment issues and invited the facility operator to allow town officials to review containment systems; the board approved sending the comment letter by roll-call vote 4–1 (Speaker Roberts recorded a dissenting vote).
Speaker 5 ran through draft warrant articles for 2025, including an expendable trust fund proposal, a $152,000 fire-truck capital-reserve article, a $350,000 Depot Road bridge article, a library solar installation (grant-funded), and a $78,000 warrant article to install four EV chargers (partly covered by a foundation contribution and an NHDOT grant). The board noted that several petitioned warrant articles will be presented at upcoming meetings and that grant outcomes could nullify some warrant articles if grants are not received.
Members of the public urged adding an emergency/ decontamination shower in the transfer-station bathroom design for employee safety; staff said they would explore options that would not necessarily require hot-water systems and would follow up with design and cost implications. Board members directed staff to continue design work, to re-evaluate the USDA funding tradeoffs, and to report back with revised bids and a plan for the January meeting schedule.
The session ended after routine fiscal approvals and a nonpublic session; the board recorded roll-call votes for multiple encumbrances and payroll and accounts-payable manifests during the meeting.
