KINGFIELD – The Board of Selectpersons convened for the first time in the new year on Jan. 18 via Zoom.
The Board approved the new earned paid leave policy that is now required by state law.
The law took effect Jan. 1 and states that any employer that has ten or more employees must offer one hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked.
In a prior workshop the board discussed the idea of paying off accrued sick time for employees to start everything fresh with the new earned paid leave policy.
“We were going to pay off the sick time that was accrued so we are all starting off on an even keel going forward,” Board Chair Wade Browne said.
The board voted to pay the $10,254 in accrued sick time which will come out of the Selectmen’s Contingency.
The board reviewed a quote of $16,500 for town office remodeling. The estimate didn’t include new flooring or the secure work stations for the office employees. The workstations are intended to protect the office employees by providing glass with a voice hole and a slot to exchange papers.
Currently the front office is closed as a safety precaution.
“It’s all Covid driven at this point…if the disease isn’t getting any better than we ought to leave it closed,” Walter Kilbreth said.
The rest of the board echoed Kilbreth’s sentiment.
“We don’t need to endanger our help,” Raymond Meldrum said..
The board approved the sewer commitment from January to March.
The board also voted to accept passed quit claim deeds.
At the end of the meeting Kilbreth brought up the flooding that occurs on Rapid Stream Rd. Though Rapid Stream isn’t a town road the residents are looking for assistance in doing something about the river.
Kilbreth argued that the town doesn’t have responsibility to protect the road, but it does have a responsibility to protect the people on that road.
“If there was an emergency up there and there’s flooding, somebody will die,” Kilbreth said. “We’ve had two floods in three weeks.”
The town hasn’t put any money into the issue yet, but they do have someone looking into options for what can be done about the Rapid Stream.
