Selectmen’s Meeting Minutes — January
10, 2008—7:00
p.m. — Memorial
Hall
The meeting was called to order by Chairman, Joe Judd. Other members
present: Bob Manners. Member John Payne was not able to attend due to
a conflict in scheduling.
Acceptance of Minutes: A motion was made by Bob to accept the meeting
minutes of December 20, 2007 as presented. The motion was seconded by
Joe Judd. Motion passed unanimously.
Noteworthy News:
* Public Officials Training, 01/14/08, Memorial Hall, 6p.m.-9p.m. Guest
Speakers: Attorney Shawn Williams, Public Records Division & Bob
Ritchie, Attorney General's Office.
* Special Town Meeting, February 21, 2008 at 7:30 p.m., Memorial Hall
* Public Hearing with Comcast to discuss community needs; 2/27/08; 7:00
p.m., Buckland Shelburne Community Center
Department Liaison Reports:
Highway Department - Bob reported that the Highway crew as been extremely
busy with back-to-back snow storms. The snow and ice budget has approximately
$2,000 remaining.
Police Department - Joe reported that everything is status quo.
7:15 p.m. John Bos RE: Shelburne Cultural Council
Appointment - John
appeared before the Board along with Mary Schreiber of 6 Wall Street,
Buckland with the hopes that the Board would consider her appointment
to the Shelburne Cultural Council. Mary is a retired clergy person and
former hospice nurse. She moved to Buckland over a year ago and is currently
serving as a volunteer at the Visitor's Center, she is a member of the
Greenfield harmony chorus, the administrator of a newly formed hospice
choir and a member of the Sustainable Energy Action Committee. Ms. Schreiber's
appointment would restore the council's membership to the required minimum
of five. After a brief discussion Bob Manners agreed that Mary would
be a wonderful asset to Shelburne's Cultural Council and made a motion
to appoint her. Joe seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously.
7:30 p.m. Finance Committee/ Town Moderator RE:
Review of "Draft" Special
Town Meeting Articles - Members present for the discussion was Gerry
Dubie, Greg Oles, Lynn Benander and Moderator, James Stacy. Members absent:
John Wheeler and Laura Sandvik.
The Selectmen reviewed the proposed warrant articles slated for the special
town meeting. No objections were voiced. Joe indicated that the Planning
Board and Zoning Board were meeting jointly this evening to consider
bringing forth a zoning by-law amendment at the special town meeting;
a request brought forth by Attorney Parsons who is representing the owners
of 33 Bridge Street. The amendment would facilitate the revitalization
of the fire ravished lot. If both Boards were in agreement to bring forth
the amendment at a special town meeting, they would be required to first
hold a public hearing; therefore postponing the special town meeting
originally scheduled for February 7th, to a later date.
OLD BUSINESS:
Senior Center Lease - Joe reported that member towns were scheduled to
meet again this week with the Masons to discuss the lease however;
the meeting was cancelled as a result of the lease document not having
been finalized.
Draft Guidelines for Recording of Meeting Minutes
and Fulfilling Requests for Public Records - no action taken.
Update Policy for Grant-Related Payments - no action taken.
Apex Orchard Lease Renewal - Lessee, Tim Smith has indicated that he
would like to renew the lease however; he does not want the town to remove
any more trees. The Highway Superintendent had requested that the lease
renewal allow for the removal of an additional two acres of trees. Bob
suggested that he and Pete meet with Mr. Smith to see if the lease could
be negotiated for a term of less than five years.
Deane Merrill RE: Request to Produce and Distribute
Copies of "History
and Tradition of Shelburne" - no action taken.
Transfer Station Attendant Position - nine applications for the position
were received. Bob Manners, Pete Hillman and Terry Mosher will review
the applications and recommend 3 to 4 individuals for interviews.
Cowell Gym Custodial Position - following the resignation of Jeff Johansmeyer,
the Board agreed to seek a cost proposal from "All About Cleaning" who
currently provides cleaning services to Memorial Hall and the two town
libraries on a weekly basis. The proposal received from owner, Gary Herzig
included cleaning and disinfecting the two restrooms; replacing all paper
and soap products, vacuum and/or dry mop all other floors, including
front and rear stairwells; elevator will be vacuumed and mopped as needed
for a weekly cost of $75.00. After review of the proposal, a motion was
made by Bob to award the proposal to "All About Cleaning" through
June 30, 2008. Joe seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously.
NEW BUSINESS:
Vote to Direct Representative Guyer to File Special
Legislation for Tax Relief - a motion was made by Bob in support of the special town meeting
warrant article directing Representative Guyer to file special legislation
on behalf of Shelburne to provide real estate and personal property
tax relief to the property owners as well as the businesses who suffered
total losses as a result of the fire at 33 Bridge Street. Joe seconded
the motion. In a brief discussion following the motions, Joe noted
that the language may be changed somewhat to include the town's intention
of seeking PWED funding to reconstruct the road layout for Memorial
Drive. The steep grade and narrow width of the road made it extremely
difficult for firefighters to bring the trucks behind the building.
Joe is waiting for more information from Senator Rosenberg's office.
Motion carried unanimously.
Arms Library Association RE: Questions Concerning
December 6th Discussion - following a joint meeting with Arms Library Association trustees and
finance committee members relative to the ownership of the Arms building
and oversight of library operations maintenance, the Board received a
letter from Trustee, Jim Culleny seeking responses to five questions
that would assist them in their decision making process. The questions
were relative to management of endowments; financing necessary repairs
to the library; the Town of Buckland's involvement; whether or not Buckland
residents could continue to serve as trustees; and whether or not the
town intends to use the building for any other purpose then as a library.
In a brief discussion, both Bob and Joe agreed that the management of
the Arms endowments would remain with the library trustees. As for the
remainder of the questions, many of the answers are unknown at this time.
Bob agreed to draft a response for the Board's review.
Stantec Consulting Services RE: Mechanic Street
Retaining Wall - Stantec
Consulting Services submitted a written cost proposal in the amount of
$21,350 along with an outline of their proposed scope of services for
a change order that is being recommended by Breezeway Farm Consulting.
The need for the change order became apparent when the contractor hired
to remove and reconstruct a section of the Mechanic Street voiced concern
for the integrity of the retaining wall that abuts the sidewalk. Terry
Mosher explained that the repair and/or replacement of the Mechanic Street
retaining wall was not included in the scope of the original sidewalk
replacement project (a component of the FY'06 Community Development Block
Grant). After several discussions with town officials, John Ryan, the
contractor, representatives from the bank of Western Mass and the project
engineer, a decision was made to pursue the repair and/or reconstruction
of the wall. The Bank of Western Mass has agreed to partner with the
Town and pay for construction costs associated with the walls repair
and/or replacement. Terry Mosher recommended that the amount of the change
order request be reduced by $600. In Stantec's proposal, a fee of $600
was being charged for an independent meeting with bank officials. Given
that the bank has agreed to work in partnership with the town, all meetings
will be held jointly. A motion was made by Bob to approve a proposed
change order submitted by Stantec Consulting Services relative the FY'06
Community Development Block Grant Project in the amount of $20,750. The
change order; a supplement to the original grant application will provide
the following scope of engineering services:
- Evaluation of the Mechanic Street retaining wall;
- Three repair/replacement
solutions;
- Design plans and specifications for
the preferred solution.
After no further discussion, the motion was seconded by Joe. Motion
carried unanimously.
Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs RE: Smart Growth
Grant - the Falls Observation Area Task Force Committee have requested
that Shelburne submit a grant application request to the Executive Office
of Energy & Environmental Affairs with the hopes of receiving $20,000
to be used for the planning and design of a handicapped accessible, interpretive,
deck and walk way in the area known as the glacial potholes. Joe explained
that this grant is a reimbursable program whereby if the town is awarded;
we would have to upfront the money then seek reimbursement. Bob made
a motion to submit the application on behalf of Shelburne. Joe seconded
the motion. Motion carried unanimously.
CORRESPONDENCE:
Department of Conservation & Recreation RE: Trail Council - in an
effort to enhance the on-going development and management of the Mahican-Mohawk
recreational trail, stakeholders in the trail are working to establish
a Mahican-Mohawk Trail Council to share accomplishments, further the
development of the trail, and coordinate management and maintenance strategies.
The Department of Conservation and Recreation's Greenways and Trails
Program is helping to facilitate this process. Any one interested in
participating in the trail council can attend a meeting scheduled for
Monday, January 14, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. at the Shelburne Falls Village
Information Center.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
None
ADJOURNMENT:
A motion was made by Bob to adjourn the meeting at 8:10 p.m. The motion
was seconded by Joe. Motion carried unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Terry Mosher, Executive Secretary
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