A. Town Department Reports/Requests
(1) Final Preparation for Strategic Plan Revision Public Forum (*) Chairman Pereen, the Town Planner, Strategic Planning Committee Cameron, and I met on September 29, 2022 to finalize the presentation that will be offered at the SPC’s upcoming public forum on October 6, 2022. The same group previously completed final editing and released for public review the working draft of the revised Essex Strategic Plan for 2022-2027 and the entire Committee will take public input on the 6th.
Recommendation: Board discussion as necessary.
B. Computer Systems
(1) Annual External Network Penetration and Phishing Testing As is the case each year, I have arranged for a private IT consultant to attempt to penetrate the Town’s computer network at its Internet-facing communication link. We have been conducting this testing for several years now and the consultant has not been able to penetrate. The consultant also conducts simulated e-mail phishing and social engineering campaigns to attempt to get users to disclose information or navigate to or open unsafe content. Recommendation: I will update the Board as necessary.
C. Personnel
(1) Safety Committee Meeting Summary and Loss Control Grant (*) I attended the Safety Committee meeting on September 29, 2022, along with Chairman Pereen. The meeting featured a discussion regarding what the Town might apply for with respect to our insurer’s annual loss control grant. The Town is eligible for up to $10,000 under that grant and two possibilities include work that is going to be needed to upgrade two Town elevators for fire code changes and the purchase of a backup server for body camera and, eventually, cruiser dash cam video files.
Recommendation: Board selection of grant application topics and authorization of the Chairman to submit the application.
D. Procurement/Ongoing Projects
(1) Solid Waste/Recycling Services Contract Update (*) At the last meeting, I discussed how the Town’s negotiating team had met with personnel from Covanta and Commonwealth Hauling and that we would meet again on September 27, 2022 to understand from these companies whether we might be able to extend the existing agreement for a short time. Previous to that discussion, the negotiating team had met with Casella and we had been awaiting a new set of figures for Casella to provide end-to-end transfer station services.
At the meeting of September 27, 2022, personnel from Covanta, Commonwealth Hauling, and Maguire Equipment proposed that the Town consider keeping existing arrangements in place, albeit via a new type of structure. Presently, Covanta utilizes Commonwealth and Maguire to deliver services under its expiring contract. Covanta has agreed to continue this arrangement for an additional six months (through June 30, 2023), with the understanding that the tipping fee will increase sharply on January 1, 2023 and that the Town will be responsible for keeping all equipment running during the extension period. The Town will be able to rely on Maguire for support in that area (at the Town’s expense), during the short extension period. During the extension period, the Town could negotiate with Covanta, Commonwealth, and Maguire separately to cobble together complementary contracts to achieve what is being done already, under the expiring contract, and be ready for a new arrangement for July 1, 2023. The Town also already uses Dynamic Hauling for recyclable hauling services and that arrangement would not change under this scenario. Both Covanta and Commonwealth have provided the Town with draft contract documents.
Whether the Town chooses to go with the end-to-end Casella proposal (still waiting for new figures) or with a suite of complementary contracts, new transfer station equipment will be required and should still be sought at the Fall Town Meeting. Generally, new equipment will include two, new small compactors for recycling compaction (we had no such equipment in the past), a new solid waste compactor to replace the decades-old unit (style will depend on which contracting option the Town chooses), replacement of garage doors on the transfer station building, new fencing around the transfer station, and any related activities. The advantage to the end-to end solution is that, albeit more expensive, the contractor guarantees an attendant to ensure that only official Town trash bags are going into the compactor. The Town has had a difficult time in always having Town personnel at the transfer station to monitor dumping during station hours. The advantage to the less-expensive suite of contracts is that we would continue to work with familiar companies and operations.
Another matter that is necessary to address during the six-month extension period is that the pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) system involving official Town trash bags will need to commence. As noted above, the tipping fee will increase dramatically on January 1, 2023 and the added cost will be defrayed with the bag
Click Here To View The Town Of Essex Administrator's Report - October 3, 2022
