Additional chairs had to be arranged in City Hall’s meeting chamber Tuesday evening, as at least three dozen concerned residents crowded in to see the Borough Assembly at its end-of-month meeting.
On many minds was the ongoing strike of public employees, 24 of whom took up pickets on June 22. (See adjoining stories) Of residents in the room, seven opted to speak their mind on the matter during the meeting’s “persons to be heard” segment.
Several exhorted the Assembly to resume negotiations with the employees’ union, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1547. Talks
concerning a new collective bargaining agreement, ongoing since the summer of
2014, came to a conclusion with the Assembly’s vote to implement the city’s last
best offer the previous
Tuesday.
“It looks like headbutting is all I can see here,” commented Gary Allen Sr. He observed
that the strike was costing taxpayers and utility users money through delayed projects and legal disputes. Others concurred, and brought up other concerns, such as curbside trash pickup.
“We’re being asked to take our garbage to the dump. But what about people without cars or the elderly, what are they supposed to do?” wondered Dave Andresen.
Because of the nature of persons to be heard segments, council members are not able to directly speak to speakers’ concerns or answer questions. However, interim manager Carol Rushmore did attempt to speak to the city’s perspective on the strike and further negotiations. As of June 20, negotiations are considered over, with the contract terms that the Assembly adopted that day applying as of July 1. The city considered the process at an impasse when IBEW members rejected its offer from June 9, which among other things increased hourly wages by $0.75.
It was due to that decision that unionized workers ultimately went on strike, hoping to bring the city back to the bargaining table. IBEW has since filed an unfair labor practices complaint with the state labor agency, which leaves open the potential for a reversal depending on the outcome.
In other business, Assembly members approved sole-source procurement of an excavator for the waste transfer
facility, one of two capital project items deemed critical in next year’s budget. The equipment is critical for moving waste at the dump, and the current model – pushing two decades old – is “held together with Band-Aids,” as Rushmore put it.
The new model is a Caterpillar 311F, to be purchased from NC Machinery in the amount of $184,680. Purchase of a replacement had been budgeted for an amount of up to $200,000, and funds were drawn from the Sanitation Department budget.
As Trident Seafoods begins its processing season, Rushmore reported conditions at the water treatment plant were good so far. Despite the strike, a dually-licensed plant operator has been found to temporarily manage operations, assisted by two previously hired seasonal workers. Two filtration bays were cleaned over the weekend, and treated water reserves are full.
And with such a large audience in thrall for the meeting, the Assembly was finally able to secure a volunteer for one of two board positions that have remained persistently vacant, on the Convention and Visitors Bureau. Sitting in for the union dispute, Heidi Armstrong put her name up for consideration and was appointed by the mayor, to serve until the seat’s expiry in October 2018. She was sworn into the office by the city clerk while the Assembly sat in on a lengthy executive session. Consulting the borough’s attorney regarding the strike, no course of action was taken or apparent after returning to the meeting.
Assembly member Dave Powell at one point wanted to put to bed rumors that the Assembly was behind plans to close down a proposed cannabis retail and cultivation business. Happy Cannabis owner Kelsey Martinesen had applied for and secured state licensing for the business after the Marijuana Control Board began accepting applications last year, navigating a lengthy zoning update process and receiving his conditional use permit last December.
The shop has not yet opened, and in April Martinsen had expressed disappointment at a decision by the Assembly to levy an excise on cultivated marijuana additional to state retail taxes.
“That would be a business decision by him,” Rushmore explained, referring to any decision not to open. By her reckoning the state licensing and local permitting had been approved, provided a fire marshal review was obtained.
“We’ve been waiting on that,” she said. “If he’s gotten one we haven’t seen it.”
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