Selectmen’s Meeting Minutes — May 31, 2007—7:00 p.m. — Memorial Hall

Chairman Bob Manners convened the regularly scheduled meeting of the Shelburne Select Board at 7:01 pm; also present were Joe Judd and John Payne.

Minutes of the May 17, 2007 meeting were considered and, on a motion by John, seconded by Joe, approved unanimously.

Noteworthy News:
1. The luncheon celebration with our new sister village from Mutianyu, China will be Monday, June 4 at the Shelburne – Buckland Community Center;

2. The District Attorney’s office has completed its Open Meeting Law investigation of complaints against certain committees regarding various zoning revisions and found no violations except the need for additional minutes in three cases.  Joe read a press release summarizing the DA’s findings.

Department Liaison Reports:
1. Bob reported on the need to repair a section of the sidewalk on Deerfield Street;
2. He noted further vandalism at the ball field;
3. Reclamation and grading work is planned for Hawks and Guy Manners Roads;
4. A section of the bank along Brook Road collapsed in the recent heavy rains; since the section is near a stream and in an environmentally sensitive area both the Army Corps of Engineers and the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife are involved in the repairs and rebuilding; currently one side of the road is closed and during repairs the entire road will have to be closed.

Appointments: 7:30 pm – Jim Stacy

1. Moderator appointments

a. Finance committee has one opening and Jim would welcome suggestions;
b. Tech School – current appointee is up for reappointment;

2.Historical Society Sidewalk reconstruction – Jim presented a plan for rebuilding the circular sidewalk on the west side of the Historical Society along Severance Street; he requested the following -

a. The town crew remove the existing sidewalk;
b. The sidewalk footprint be narrowed from 5 feet to 4 feet;
c. The town supply about 3 to 4 yards of gravel (less than $100 cost) for under the new sidewalk and some loam for along the edge;
d. The Historical Society will pay for the construction and installation of the new sidewalk, resulting in minimum cost to the town;

Motion: John moved and Joe seconded a motion to approve Jim’s request, the motion passed unanimously.

3. Town Bylaw changes – Jim is giving some thought to possible changes to the town bylaws which would address some of the procedural issues that occurred at the last town meeting; he wants the meeting to flow efficiently, allowing time for good discussion of opposing views, but not dragging on over procedural delays;

Old Business:
1. Arms Library – Bob continues to work on a plan for the roof situation

2. Senior Center Director –

a.Joe reported the new job description has been accepted by the Council on Aging (Duane Scranton, Bill Perlman, Stephan Racz and Joe;)
b. The Council decided not to consider joint directors but rather to advertise a sole director job;
c. Next is forming a hiring Committee with representatives from the four towns, Bob will serve for Shelburne

4. Senior Center Lease –

a. Council on Aging had an excellent meeting with the Masons, over 20 people participated;
b. Possible lease modifications include reducing the term from 10 to 5 years and various minor changes and  responsibility clarifications;

5. Annual Appointments are scheduled for the next SB meeting (June 14, 2007); discussion ensured about the proper procedure regarding the 18 candidates for the 6 Open Space positions –

a. Joe noted that the Selectboard will try to pick the 6 best candidate who fit the needs of the Open Space Committee, which may not be the first six individuals who submitted their names;

b. After discussion on selection procedure John summarized the options as follows:

i. If the Selectboard has no recommendation from OS, the Selectboard will pick the 6 best candidates;
ii. If the OSC can meet before June 14th, it should recommend 6 names to the Selectboard
iii. If the OSC can not meet, its members could each submit to the Selectboard a list of his or her 6 choices;
iv. The Selectboard could postpone a decision on the 6 openings until after the OSC has had a chance to meet and make its recommendations;
The Selectboard preferred options (ii) or (iii) which John agreed to communicate to the OSC;

c. Guidelines to the OSC for its recommendations on candidates include –

i. Diversity of views,
ii. Ability to work effectively in a committee structure,
iii. Support of the Open Space mission statement,
iv. Time to participate regularly and actively in the committee work

6. The Conservation Restriction (CR) for the Billiel Property which Shelburne’s Conservation Commission will hold should be ready for signing by next week; the Con Com requested a few minor changes at its last meeting and expects to approve and sign the CR at the June 7th meeting, after which it will be ready for Selectboard signatures.

New Business:

1. John presented the request from Memorial Hall Associates that they be reimbursed for the cost of air conditioning or heating when the town uses Memorial Hall.  The Planning Board held one meeting this winter in the Hall.  Based on that meeting and on its own usage experiences, MHA estimates the utility cost of a 2 hour meeting at about $50 which it proposed as the reimbursement amount.  After discussion which included recognition of the improvements and benefits MHA has generated by its use of Memorial Hall, the Selectboard declined to provide reimbursement for heating and/or air conditioning costs.  The Selectboard noted that the existing lease agreement, which was negotiated extensively, clearly states that Shelburne may use the Hall as needed at no cost.

2. The Shelburne Falls Cub Scouts requested its annual July 4th Parade Permit. Motion: Joe moved and John seconded a motion to issues the Cub Scouts a Parade Permit for July 4th.  The motion passed unanimously.

3. The DA’s letter was reported in Noteworthy News.

4. The “thank you” letter from Chairman Bob Manners to Residents of Shelburne was read and has been reported in the local newspapers.

5. Shelburne’s contract with FRCOG (COG) for health inspection services will renew automatically on July 1, 2007 unless canceled.  In view of the on going evaluation of COG services and the possibility that Shelburne may decide to use its own Board of Health or an independent inspector for housing complaints, John requested that the Selectboard issue a notice of cancellation to COG.

Motion: John moved and Joe seconded a motion to cancel the COG Board of Health contract effective July 1, 2007.  The motion passed unanimously.

John reported briefly on his ongoing evaluation of the COG / Board of Health services regarding housing and food inspections and other BOH issues.  Joe is continuing to develop information about independent inspectors.

Correspondence: None
Public Comment: None

Adjournment: There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 8:21 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted by: 
John Payne, Clerk of the Selectboard