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Members voice privacy, cost worries about contractor inspections
Summary
Board members raised privacy concerns about contractors entering yards to take measurements and questioned whether adding contractors to policy would force the contractor to raise fees; a staff speaker said the contractor's not-to-exceed contract pays about $100,000 per year.
Board members debated the privacy implications and potential cost impacts of extending the inspection policy to subcontractors and contracted evaluators.
A committee member said, "I feel like the way we've been doing it is an invasion of privacy," arguing that walking into backyards and taking measurements without permission should be restricted. Staff and members discussed whether the contractor would need to take new measurements or simply verify existing data, and whether the town would incur higher fees if the contractor adjusted charges at renewal.
A staff speaker offered a fiscal detail during the exchange: "We pay them about a $100,000 a year, p k." Members suggested administrative mitigations: marking inspections as "refused" when access is denied and estimating from public vantage points rather than entering private property. The board ultimately adopted the expanded policy while affirming that no forced entry would occur.
