Selectmen Meeting Minutes — May 29,
2008—7:00
p.m. — Memorial
Hall
Call to Order:
The meeting was called to order by Chairman, Joseph Judd. Other members
present: John Payne and Robert Manners.
Acceptance of Meeting Minutes:
A motion was made by Bob to accept the meeting minutes of May 15, 2008.
John seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously.
Noteworthy News:
* Bridge of Flowers celebrated its' 80th anniversary!
* Boston Post Cane will be presented to Eleanor Graves who has resided
in Shelburne her entire life. The Board will present the cane on Friday,
May 30, 2008 at 5:30 p.m. Eleanor currently resides at the Mohawk Manor
Rest Home.
Department Liaison Reports:
Town Office - the town audit has been completed for fiscal year 2007.
The Board of Selectmen has reviewed the final audit and will schedule
a meeting with Dan Haynes of Hirbour & Haynes, P.C. sometime next
week if schedules permit. John reported that he has had very good discussions
with both the Treasurer and the Fiscal Officer regarding improving
efficiency and will begin to look at ways of reducing overall operating
costs.
Highway Department - the Highway Superintendent is heading to Shelburne,
Vermont to look at a used dump (2000-2001) truck. The crew continues
to work on the dirt roads; reclaiming work will be done on Zerah-Fiske
and Patten Road and a skim coat of pavement is slated for a portion of
the Colrain-Shelburne Road. Joe reported that he has been notified of
potholes on Mercy-Anderson Road and recommended that the crew take a
look at the road. The Brook Road Slope Stabilization project is out to
bid with a bid opening date of June 23rd. There has been a lot of interest
in the Highway Garage Roof Replacement project. Bids are due on June
4th.
Police Department - Joe will convene the first meeting of the police
study committee within the next week to ten days.
Appointments:
7:15 p.m. Beverly Neeley, Town Clerk RE: Election
Update - the Town Election
will be held on Monday, June 9, 2008. The polls will be open from 10:00
a.m. until 8:00 p.m. Beverly read the list of candidates seeking re-election.
There are no contests.
7:30 p.m. Jamie Godfrey RE: Senior Center Request - Jamie appeared before
the Board seeking approval of a proposal to suspend all programs and
activities (with the exception of Meals-On-Wheels), for a two-week period
beginning June 30 and ending July 11th to allow the staff to address
several essential tasks/projects that they would not be accomplished
otherwise. Jamie spoke of the several long range plans that the Center
would like to address: changing the mission/changing structure/changing
name of the Center; look at Adult Day Care possibilities; new funding
sources; transportation; long term space needs; etc. The entire Board
was extremely supportive of the Senior Center's proposal. They felt it
was a wonderful idea in terms of long-range planning and agreed that
it would be time well spent. Their only concerns were: was nine days
enough to accomplish all that is outlined, and does the staff have enough
energy and stamina to tackle all of these tasks in such a short period
of time. Jamie spoke of his amazing staff and believes that this "retreat" would
be energizing rather than depleting. As for the length of the recess,
Jamie will speak with his staff to see how they feel about the timeline.
He will let the Board know if there are any changes. Jamie intends to
bring his proposal to all of the Center's member towns. The Board complimented
Jamie for the Center's innovative thinking.
Old Business:
Senior Center Lease - Donna MacNicol is still reviewing and making changes
to the document.
Appointment of Police Station "Site" Review Committee - John
Payne made a motion to appoint the following individuals to serve on
the committee: Steve Walker, Frank Field, Jr., Rick Lane, Rodney McBride,
and John Richardson. Bob Manners seconded the motion. Motion carried
unanimously.
F.C. Regional Housing & Redevelopment Authority RE: Citizen Participation
Plan - despite the Selectmen's pleas to the public, no one has offered
to serve in this capacity. Terry will notify the agency.
Arms Library RE: Becoming a Town Department - work will begin after the
Board reorganizes in July. Joe reported that he has placed a phone call
with Mass Historic hoping to seek some direction on the roof replacement
project
New Business:
Breezeway Farm RE: Amendments to the Contract Extension
Language - two
weeks ago, Breezeway Farm presented motions for the Board to approve
relative to the FY'06 CDBG Social Service programs. Those motions amended
the budgeted amounts but did not include performance period extensions
through March 31, 2008. In order to remedy this, Breezeway Farm presented
the Board with the following motions for approval:
- Motion #1: To extend
the contract time period and amend the budget of the project sub-grantee:
A motion was made by Bob Manners that the FY'06 contract with the Community
Action for the West County Emergency Food Pantry Program in Shelburne
and Buckland be extended until March 31, 2008 and to amend the budget
from $20,000 to $21,702.04. John Payne seconded the motion. Motion
passed unanimously.
- Motion #2: To extend the contract time period and
amend the budget of the project sub-grantee: A motion was made by Bob
Manners that the FY'06 contract budget with Community Action for the
First Call for help Program in Shelburne and Buckland is extended until
March 31, 2008 and its budget amended as presented. John Payne seconded
the motion. Motion passed unanimously.
Highway
Department Budget Deficit - Bob reported that the Highway Maintenance
account has a balance of $14,425.55 which is not enough to cover the
remaining four weeks of payroll. Bob is unsure of how the deficit occurred
but estimates that an additional $5,000 will be needed to cover the end-of-year
expenses. Pete will be asked to attend the next Selectmen's meeting to
discuss the deficit. In the meantime Bob will meet with Scott Sawyer
to discuss funding possibilities.
Correspondence:
None
Public Comment:
None
Motion to Adjourn - a motion was made by bob to adjourn the meeting
at 8:08 p.m. Motion seconded by John. Motion carried unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Terry Mosher
Executive Secretary |
