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Select Board approves expedited tree‑removal bidding approach to meet April deadline for industrial‑park work
Summary
Facing an April 14 deadline to clear trees in the industrial-park work area, the board agreed to proceed with a bifurcated bidding strategy (state-paid pulls for marked pole trees, town-paid cutting for remaining trees) and to start specifications without NBRC procurement requirements if necessary to meet the schedule.
Town staff told the board the Agency of Transportation and Vermont Land Trust had identified roughly 113 trees, about 75% within the town's work area, and that the town must remove marked trees before April 14 to keep road and utility work on schedule. The project team proposed two bid options so the town could present a breakdown of state‑reimbursable "pulling" work versus town-paid cutting.
Board members agreed to pursue both conversations with AOT and VLT and to prepare bidding specifications so the town could award a contract quickly if the state opted not to reimburse the full cost. One member said avoiding the NBRC procurement requirements for certain elements could speed the process; another cautioned that procurement rules and grant conditions must be tracked. The board gave staff direction to draft the specifications and to begin outreach to AOT, VLT and local loggers; no formal appropriation beyond routine contracting was made at the meeting.
Why this matters: removal of trees in the work area is necessary to construct road, utility and stormwater infrastructure for the industrial park. Timing affects contractor availability, grant‑reimbursement eligibility and project schedule.
