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Sanitary board approves claims amid dispute over $14,003.90 Global/Frontier locate bill
Summary
Board members approved payment of routine claims but questioned a $14,003.90 invoice for sanitary locates performed by Global (for Frontier). Speakers debated whether the installing utility or the town should be billed and agreed to seek contract clarification before future work proceeds.
The town's sanitary board voted to approve claims on the consent of members, after an extended discussion about a $14,003.90 invoice for eight sanitary locates performed by Global Engineering related to Frontier work.
The discussion began when Speaker 4 asked why the town would be billed for locates performed in connection with Frontier’s installation. “Why should we pay for them locating for them?” Speaker 4 asked, calling the $14,003.90 total into question. Speaker 5 said his understanding is that Frontier is not a property owner and therefore the installing utility should pick up the locate costs rather than the town.
Speaker 3 said Global Engineering has been doing most locates since the transition and that the sanitation staff were not part of that contracting decision. “I did not set the 811 until Global,” Speaker 3 said, explaining that Global has handled locates since the changeover. Speaker 2 said the town’s practice historically left some locate responsibilities with the utility and recommended staff review the contract before committing to pay large invoices.
Despite the unanswered questions about responsibility, Speaker 4 moved to pay claims from the claim book with appropriate signatures; Speaker 1 seconded and the roll call returned affirmative responses. The board also moved separately to pay specific outstanding invoices called out during the meeting, including a Superior Pumping invoice.
Board members agreed on next steps to prevent recurrence: start an email thread to clarify who should be billed for future locates, have the staff member who manages locates confirm existing contracts, and verify whether town equipment and training are adequate so in-house locates can resume if necessary.
The motion to pay claims carried; the board recorded the Superior Pumping invoice number 4140 and a gas-water invoice 25SVC0642 in the minutes. Further invoices identified as older (one dating to October) will be tracked by staff for funding availability.
