Selectmen’s Meeting Minutes — May 17, 2007—7:00 p.m. — Memorial Hall

Call to Order:  Chairman Manners called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.  Other members present: Joe Judd and John Payne.

Acceptance of Minutes: a motion was made by John to accept the minutes of April 19th, and April 24th, 2007.  Motion seconded by Joe.  Motion carried unanimously.

Noteworthy News:

• Chinese delegates are scheduled to visit Shelburne during the first week of June.
• A welcome luncheon is scheduled for June 4th at the Shelburne-Buckland Community Center at 11:45 a.m.
  

Department Liaison Reports:

Police – Joe has begun preliminary discussions with Superintendent, Michael Buoniconti, Jackie Daley, Principal of Buckland-Shelburne Elementary and abutting neighbors about the possibility of relocating the police department to the area of land adjacent to the school grounds and band shell.  If all were in agreement, Shelburne would relinquish the town-owned ball field on the north end of the school in exchange.
Highway – Bob reported that the highway repeater located on Massamet is out of service.  Estimates for repair are approximately $2,000.  Until the repairs are made, the highway department is without radio service.  Bob also noted that the town-wide phone system was utilized recently to notify residents in the village of the scheduled street sweeping.
Town Office – John reported that if all goes well, the town web site will be up and running by the end of this month.

OLD BUSINESS:

Wilbert L. & Bertha Rainville  RE: Right of First Refusal – after soliciting input from the various town boards as to whether or not the town should or should not exercise the right of first refusal, the results were as follows:
Assessor’s – should not; Conservation Commission – should not; Open Space Committee – should not; Planning Board – should not; Zoning Board – should (to preserve the industrially-zoned portion of the property for future industrial use).
In discussion, John stated that he sees no reason to pursue the town’s right of first refusal.  Both the Land Trust and Mass Audubon have been involved but no one has the funds available to purchase the property.  Joe agreed, stating that he did not want to hold up the process any longer.  Following the discussion, John made a motion to execute the required paperwork indicating that the Town will not exercise its’ option to purchase the Rainville property in accordance with Chapter 61A, section 14.  The motion was seconded by Joe.  Motion carried unanimously.

Arms Library – the Board would like to set up a meeting with the Trustees to initiate discussion concerning ownership of the library.  The Selectmen would like to determine whether or not the trustees are interested in relinquishing ownership of the building to the town.  Joe stated that Susan Flaccus has volunteered to begin locating heirs of the original agreement.  Bob agreed to schedule a meeting with the trustees.

NEW BUSINESS:

Little Mohawk Ball Field – Bob was approached by the Little League organization who is concerned about vandalism of the field.  In recent months, it appears that a vehicle has driven around the baseline tearing up the sod.  Bob suggested locking the gate with a series of padlocks that could be made accessible to the various groups who use the field.  The Board was supportive of the idea and suggested that Bob speak to the Highway Superintendent.

Smoking – Bob would like to explore the possibility of eliminating smoking while on the job (a law currently exists for police personnel only).  State law currently prohibits employees from smoking in public buildings but does not prevent them from smoking outside throughout the work day.  The Board seemed supportive of Bob’s suggestion.

Four-Way Stop Sign @ Old Greenfield Road & Zerah Fiske Road – a request to eliminate the four-way stop sign has been received.  Before taking any action, Joe will seek input from Chief Walker.  If he is in agreement, the stop signs will be removed.  John suggested replacing the “stop” signs with “yield” signs.

Schedule All Board’s Meeting – the Board discussed the possibility of scheduling the next “All Board’s” meeting for 6:00 p.m. following their June 14th meeting.  No date was decided upon.

Senior Center Director Position – Joe met with Interim Director, Jackie Stanford and Council on Aging Chairman Chris Meyers to discuss the “search” for a new Director.  Minor changes to the job description were made and draft copies will be provided to the Selectmen for their consideration.  Given the instability of the position over the last few years, the three discussed the possibility of restructuring the position.  Joe intends to meet with Council on Aging members as well as Selectmen from member towns to discuss the concept.  He will report back to the Board at a later date.
Senior Center Lease – Joe is scheduled to meet with the Masons to discuss the lease.

Cynthia Boettner RE: Request for Reappointment to the Open Space Committee – Cynthia is currently a member of the Open Space Committee and her term expires in June.  She is requesting that the Board reappoint her so that she may continue her involvement in open space planning.  Cynthia’s request will be tabled until annual appointments are made in June.

Jessica Murrow RE: Request to Host Morris Dancers Performance – Ms. Murrow is requesting permission to host the Morris Dancers on Wednesday, May 23 from 6:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. on Mechanic Street.  Following the dance, there will be a neighborhood barbecue.  A motion was made by John to approve the request.  Motion seconded by Joe.  Motion carried unanimously.

APPOINTMENTS:

7:15 p.m. John Taylor, Emergency Management Director RE: NIMS Training Policy – John reviewed a “draft” policy which outlined who should be trained and at what level for the National Incident Management System (NIMS).  Once the policy is established, the Town will have to ensure that individuals are trained to their specific levels.  After review of the policy a motion was made by Joe to accept the outline.  John seconded the motion.  During the discussion John Taylor suggested one minor change: ICS 800 should reflect the same individuals as ICS 300 and ICS 400.  Everyone agreed to the minor change.  Motion carried unanimously.

CONNECT-CTY Notification System – John reviewed the statistics of the initial two “roll out” calls which reflected a success rate of 78%.  There are still approximately 49 “bad” numbers on the overall call list that John hopes to isolate in time.  There has been very little negative feedback since the system has been up and running.  John provided the Board with a “draft” notification procedure for their review.  No further action taken.

7:30 p.m.  Karen Gould RE: Hate Mail – before proceeding with the intended subject matter of her appointment, Karen read a rather lengthy opening statement alleging that she feels “victimized as a common citizen”.  Following her opening statement, Ms. Gould requested to read a letter that she referred to as “hate” mail; a letter that she had received from Shelburne resident, Carolyn Wheeler.  Following a brief discussion, the Board agreed that the matter was between two private citizens and should not come before the town.  Ms. Gould disagreed with the Board’s ruling stating that she felt threatened by the letter’s content.  The Board recommended that if in fact Ms. Gould felt threatened, she should forward her concerns to the appropriate authorities.  No further action taken.

7:45 p.m. Eugene Butler RE: Open Space Appointments - Mr. Butler, a member of the Open Space Committee appeared before the Board to express his concerns regarding the lack of action on behalf of the Selectmen for failing to appoint individuals to the Open Space Committee.  Mr. Butler requested that the remaining six appointments be made immediately.  Bob explained the process that the Board has always used in the past when making appointments and the reasons why these particular appointments have not been made.  Mr. Butler did not agree with past precedent whereby the Chairman of the particular Board recommends individuals to the Board of Selectmen.  He referred to the process as “loading”.  Bob explained to Mr. Butler that the Board intends on scheduling an “All Boards” meeting in June to discuss several procedural matters with the hopes of creating some uniform structure for use by all town boards and committees.  No further action taken.

Public Comments: Jim Gamache if there was any reason why the Board had to limit the number of appointments to the Open Space Committee; suggesting that the Board appoint all 18 individuals.  Bob explained that town meeting voted on the structure of the Open Space Committee limiting membership to no more than 15.  Any changes to that structure would have to be voted on at a subsequent town meeting.

8:00 p.m. Executive Session:  A motion was made by Bob to enter into executive session for the purpose of discussing an employee’s health and well being as well as to discuss pending litigation.  Following the executive session, the Board will adjourn the meeting.  A roll call vote was taken as follows: Bob – yes, Joe – yes and John – yes.

Meeting adjourned 10:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,

Terry Mosher
Executive Secretary