Bicknell leaders press to finish asset inventory as insurance renewal looms

Mayor Noreen opened the discussion on the town's insurance inventory, saying Carrie had circulated a list and "I will be the first to admit I failed," and that several members had not completed their assigned inventories. The council reviewed items listed for coverage — the firehouse, community garden and greenhouses, a 1998 four-wheeler with a $1,000 deductible, mowers, a dump truck, trailers, Veterans Park monuments and playground equipment — and questioned whether listed insured values reflected replacement costs.

The council discussed how to set values and what to insure. One member noted the deductible on the four-wheeler is $1,000 and questioned insuring items worth less than that; others suggested using replacement-value coverage for items the town wants to protect. Councilors also raised that some listed values appear low compared with what members recall, for example Veterans Park and memorial monuments, and one member said they had personally raised more than $400,000 in in-kind contributions for site improvements.

To ensure the insurance list is accurate before the July renewal, members agreed to a practical next step: form small teams to walk town properties and assemble a single shared inventory. "I can make a spreadsheet and instead... you can share it with everybody," a member offered; others volunteered to count specific sets of items (Christmas containers, cemetery shovels, garden stock) so the town can set insured values and list items as insured or not insured. Mayor Noreen said staff will follow up with the town's insurance contact and that the inventory should be sufficiently detailed to support replacement-value decisions.

Councilors emphasized that raising insured values will increase premiums but leave assets protected. They asked staff to report back with a completed shared inventory and recommended values ahead of the renewal so the town can decide which lower-value items to omit from coverage.