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

Called to Order: Chairman, Joseph Judd called the meeting to order at 3:04 p.m.  Other members present: John Payne.  (Bob Manners was unable to attend due to his work schedule).

Joe reminded those who are taping the meetings with personal video cameras that it is allowed providing that their presence does not interfere with the meeting.

Acceptance of Minutes: passed over.  Neither Joe nor John had had an opportunity to review the minutes of July 12th.

Noteworthy News:
The Board of Selectmen is hosting an “All Board’s / Committee Meeting” for Chairman’s and Recording Secretaries on Wednesday, July 18, 2007 at 6:00 p.m.  Pizza will be served.  The meeting will provide an opportunity to discuss a variety of meeting Board/Committee related topics like appointments, minutes of meetings, record keeping, etc.

Department Liaison Reports – employees have received notification through their weekly payroll of the Board’s vote to change the frequency of payroll from weekly to bi-weekly effective week-ending October 20, 2007.

Old Business:
Arms Library – nothing new to report.

Senior Center Lease – nothing new to report.

Outstanding FY’08 Appointments – John reported that there is one outstanding appointment to be made on the Board of Health.  He has spoken with Deb (Wholey) Coutinho of Taylor Road in Shelburne who has expressed an interest in serving.  Ms. Coutinho is an Emergency Medical Technician in Shelburne and would like to come in and meet with the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Health on July 26th.

Village of Mutianyu – Bob is in the process of drafting a letter of thanks to the Chinese delegates for their most recent to Shelburne.

Draft Tobacco Policy – Joe read Donna MacNicol’s suggested changes to the policy draft.  Both John and Joe agreed that Donna’s suggestion to delete the three-step warning process made sense and that a notification period is warranted before the policy goes into effect.  Bob is researching smoking cessation classes and then a letter will be drafted to employees.

Senior Center Director Position – 35 resumes were received for the position.  The Council on Aging along with member towns has designated representatives to serve on the selection committee.  Joe will serve as Shelburne’s representative with Terry Mosher as his alternate.  The first meeting will be held on Wednesday, July 25 at 9:00 a.m. at the Shelburne Senior Center to review resumes.

New Business:
Invitation to meet with Buckland Selectmen RE: Shared Use of Highway Equipment – John believes that the concept is a good one and merits discussion however, he has a lot of questions. For example: who would operate the equipment, who would be responsible should damages occur and how would overall liability be handled?  Rather than make a decision this evening, Joe suggested that we wait until Bob is present.  No further action taken.

Rachel Popowich RE: Boswell’s Book Party – on Friday, July 20, 2007, Boswell’s Books will be hosting a party to celebrate the release of the final Harry Potter book.  The party will begin at 10:00 p.m. and last until just after midnight.  Party organizer, Rachel Popowich would like permission to “spill” over onto the sidewalk area therefore is requesting the use of two parking spaces in front of the bookstore.  Chief Walker has reviewed the request and has given his approval.  After a brief discussion, a motion was made by John to approve the party on July 20th between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and midnight providing there is suitable coordination with the police department and proper notice given to the neighborhood.  Joe seconded the motion.  Motion carried unanimously.

S.F.A.B.A. Annual Road Race & Use of Memorial Hall – at the request of fellow Selectmen, Bob Manners emergency medical technicians would like to establish a medical treatment facility in the meeting room of Memorial Hall to treat race participants who suffer from dehydration or other injuries.  The space worked well last year as it provided a private cool setting for those who needed attention.  A motion was made by John to authorize the use of Memorial Hall on the day of the road race with the understanding that Bob Manners would provide access to the building and oversee its’ use.  Cleanup of the building and waste disposal would be the responsibility of those using the space.  Joe seconded the motion.  Motion carried unanimously.

Chris Martin RE: Sustainable Energy Initiative – Mr. Martin appeared before the Board seeking the endorsement of his group’s efforts to generate discussion on ways to conserve energy using the Pioneer Valley Energy Plan as a guide; discover affordable ways to conserve energy; create a strategy and draw expertise.  The group is hosting a meeting on August 7th at 7:00 p.m. at the Buckland Town Hall and they would like the support of the Shelburne Board of Selectmen.  John made a motion to support the group’s sustainable energy initiative and encouraged the public to attend their meeting on August 7th.  Joe seconded the motion.  Motion carried unanimously.

S.F.A.B.A. Bridge Dinner RE: Request to Close Iron Bridge to Traffic – the S.F.A.B.A. has requested to close the Iron Bridge for the community dinner on Sunday, August 19, 2007 from 3:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., allowing for set-up and clean-up time.  A motion was made by John to approve the closure during the requested times.  Motion seconded by Joe.  Motion carried unanimously.  A letter of request will be forwarded to Mass Highway.

S.F.A.B.A. Bridge Dinner RE: One Day Liquor License – a motion was made by John to approve the request for a one-day liquor license to allow Shelburne Falls Wine Merchants to serve beer and wine at the annual Bridge Dinner to be held on August 19, 2007.  The motion was seconded by Joe.  Motion carried unanimously.

Planning Board Directive from Public Records Division –the Planning Board has received a letter from the Publics Records Division in response to an appeal that was filed by James Wall.  Mr. Wall had requested minutes of the Planning Board dating back five years.  Upon fulfilling the request, the Planning Board notified him of the fee estimate relative to his request.  After review of the appeal, the Public Records Division found the fee estimate “excessive” and requested that the Planning Board reduce the fee.  Subsequently, the Planning Board met, took the letter into consideration and waived the fees.  Following their decision, the Planning Board sent an email to the Board of Selectmen seeking clarification.  They stated that their initial decision to the assess charges was based on the advice of Counsel and requested that the Board of Selectmen explain the inconsistencies between Counsel’s advice and the Public Records Division.  Joe stated that he does not believe information provided by either counsel or the Public Records Division is incorrect and suggested that if the Planning Board wished to take the matter up further with Counsel they should do so using funds from their expense account.

District Attorney’s Office RE: Complaint of Open Meeting Violation – Joe read a letter received by Assistant District Attorney, Cynthia Pepyne who is investigating a complaint that the Board of Selectmen violated the Open Meeting Law.  Specifically it is alleged that a majority of the Board of Selectmen made a determination not to reappoint Irene DeJackome to the Board of Health.  The complainant alleges that the deliberation took place prior to the Selectmen’s meeting on June 14, 2007.  The letter requests that specific documentation be submitted no later than July 31, 2007.

Other Business:
Board of Health RE: Appointment of Health Agent – John referenced the Board of Health minutes of June 21, 2007 whereby the Board appointed Irene DeJackome to serve as their Health Agent.  John stated that he spoke with Donna MacNicol about the legality of what happened and found that Ms. DeJackome may not be appointed to any other position while serving as a member of the Board (her term expired June 30, 2007).  Furthermore, she must wait 30 days after the completion of her appointed term before accepting another appointment.  The Board of Health is posted to meet this evening at 5:30 p.m. John offered to stop by their meeting to discuss the Health Agent’s appointment, to mention Deb Coutinho’s interest in serving and continue discussion assuring them that he wants to continue working in a teamwork fashion.

Considerations for the Board – Joe asked the Board to considering the following three suggestions:

• Send a “charge” back to Committees and Boards who were involved in the Zoning By-Law update to begin their work again on the “vital” updates (leaving the “hot bed”         items like site plan review aside).

• Request that individuals wishing to have an appointment before the Board of Selectmen submit their request in writing five days in advance (to include any supplemental materials for the Board to review).
  
  
• Place a time limit on the public comment period so that it does not exceed 15 minutes.

Public Comment:
Jim Wall requested that the Board of Selectmen carefully examine the Planning Board’s accomplishments over the last ten years citing areas that he felt were problematic.  He asked that the Chairman of the Board of Selectmen seek the resignation of the Planning Board Chairman.  Joe thanked Mr. Wall for his comments and reminded him that members of the Planning Board are elected.

Adjournment – a motion was made by John Payne to adjourn the meeting at 4:03 p.m.  Joe seconded the motion.  Motion carried unanimously.

Respectfully submitted,

Terry Mosher
Executive Secretary