Town of South Hero
Wastewater Committee
Minutes of a Meeting on March 9, 2026
Present: Sue Arguin, Rich Goggin, Nate Hayward, Bob Krebs, Steve Robinson, Peter Zamore,
Greta Brunswick, Nora Brown, Lynnette Claudon, Joan Falcao
The meeting was called to order at 4:30 pm.
On motion by Bob and second by Nate, the minutes of the November 10, 2025 meeting
were approved.
Peter reviewed the current status of Otter Creek’s engagement. Otter Creek has
completed its work on the project. It has submitted invoices for the additional work identified in
the second contract amendment, which are in the process of being paid and reimbursed. It is
likely that reimbursement will be funded through the DEC-ARPA and ACCD-CRRP grants.
The committee reviewed the responses to the wetlands delineation RFP by VHB,
Fitzgerald, Arrowwood and Bowman, including the proposed charges, scope of services and
experience generally and with the Vermont village wastewater program. Based on the
discussion and upon motion by Bob and seconded by Nate, the committee agreed to pursue a
contract with either VHB or Fitzgerald. Nora will follow up with Peter on this, with a goal of
entering a contract as soon as possible.
We then reviewed the responses to the requests for qualification to provide step 2 services
(involving project design, permitting and environmental studies, among others). Responses were
received from Dubois & King, Weston & Sampson and Verdantas. Based on the relative level of
experience with wastewater projects in Vermont and subject to the results of a scoring matrix to
be developed, the committee decided to interview Dubois & King and possibly Weston &
Sampson and thereafter pursue a contract in the near future.
The final topic of discussion was the status of funding. The remaining balance of grants
(DEC ARPA and ACCD CRRP) is currently approximately $104,000, which must be spent by
the end of September 30 (DEC) and December (ACCD) of this year . Roughly $28,000 of that
amount will be needed to pay the remaining Otter Creek invoices and the wetlands delineation
work. The remaining amount is insufficient to fund all of the step 2 work. As a result the
committee agreed that the step 2 contract should be separated into phases, with the initial phase
addressing design of the wastewater disposal components (but not the collection system) and any
further work needed to complete the design. Additional work will occur when further funding is
secured. The town will be applying for a Congressional earmark from Senator Welch’s office this
month, and will pursue further funding as opportunities arise.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:40, with no further discussion or action.