Selectmen Meeting Minutes — June 13,
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 Minutes:
A motion was made by John to accept the minutes of May 29, 2008 as presented.
Bob seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. A second motion
was made by John to accept the minutes of June 3, 2008 as presented.
Joe seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously.
Noteworthy News:
Congratulations to all of the candidates who were re-elected to town
seats.
Department Liaison Reports:
Town Office - John reported that he is moving forward on a couple of
initiatives; he will report back to the Board at a later date.
Highway - reconstruction work underway on sections of Zerah Fiske and
Patten Road; also a portion of the Colrain-Shelburne Road will be resurfaced.
Police - kicked off the first meeting of the Police Site Review Committee.
Joe provided members with an overview of the town's efforts relative
to relocating the police department from 1990 on. Their next meeting
is scheduled for June 19th at 7:00 p.m.
7:15 p.m. Allison Evans RE: Use of Brownfield's
Grant Money for Environmental Assessment - Ms. Evans is interested in developing the former Swan Block
property. After speaking with the Community Development Corporation,
she was referred to Peggy Sloan of F.R.C.O.G. who told her about the
Brownfield's grant. Ms. Evans would like to take advantage of the funding
for the purpose of conducting a site assessment to ensure that the site
does not contain soil or groundwater contamination. Although Ms. Evan's
plans are in the initial stages, she intends to build a two story wooden
structure which will house her pottery business in the basement, retail
space on the first floor and living space on the second floor. Members
of the Board were very supportive of Ms. Evan's plans and were happy
to hear that the property will be redeveloped. Bob initiated a motion
to send a letter of support on Ms. Evan's behalf to the Brown field Steering
Committee requesting that a phase 1 site assessment for hazardous materials
be conducted at the former Swan Block property at 69-73 Bridge Street.
John seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously.
7:30 p.m. Pete Hillman RE: Highway Budget Deficit - after reviewing
the highway department projected expenditures for the remainder of fiscal
year 2008, Pete anticipates a budgetary shortfall of approximately $1,500.
Rising costs of fuel, heating oil, diesel and patch have been contributing
factors. After reviewing the list of highway related accounts with surplus
balances, it appears that the deficit could be alleviated by transferring
funds from the Toyota Lease account and the John Deere Loader lease account.
A motion was made by Bob to authorize the transfer the unused balance
of the above mentioned accounts to the Highway maintenance account to
offset the year-end deficit. John seconded the motion. Motion carried
unanimously. Terry will provide the necessary paperwork for signature
by the Board of Selectmen and Finance Committee next week.
OLD BUSINESS:
Senior Center Lease - Joe is trying to coordinate a joint meeting with
member towns, Mason representatives and Counsel to review the lease
language. A date has yet to be determined.
Police Site Review Committee - see noteworthy news.
NEW BUSINESS:
Highway Garage Roof Replacement Bids - the town received 6 bids for the
roof replacement project. The low bidder is Doug's Carpentry of Ashfield,
MA in the amount of $36,000. All required paperwork is in order however,
before awarding the bid; Pete will check references and report back
to the Board.
Highway Department RE: Purchase of Gasoline - the highway department's
gasoline supplier, Rice Oil has recently sold eight of their businesses
to Irving. As a result, effective June 15th, the town will no longer
be eligible to receive a discounted rate, nor will they be able to maintain
a charge account. Pete is in the process of trying to obtain a credit
card for the purchase of gasoline. In the meantime, Joe will also contact
the F.R.C.O.G. to see if they have any suggestions.
F.R.C.O.G. RE: Highway Gravel Bid - Pete reported that at the present
time the bid has not been awarded by the F.R.C.O.G. Initially the low
bidder was a supplier unknown to town officials and Pete had questions
relative to the origin of the product, ability to haul the product, etc.
Now that those questions have been answered, Pete is waiting to receive
a sample of the gravel to ensure that it is of good quality. As for any
other unresolved problems with the overall bid process, the F.R.C.O.G.
is in the process of resolving them. Joe emphasized that he wanted to
be clear on the process; noting that the town must have a valid reason
not to award the low bidder. Although no decisions were made, Joe would
prefer to have Pete bring forth any and all bid award recommendations
to the Board of Selectmen (the awarding authority) before any decisions
are finalized.
Other Highway Business RE: New Holland Tractor has
been sent to Keats for repair. It appears to have transmission-related problems.
Zoning Board of Appeals RE: Various - the Zoning
Board of Appeals requested information relative to Old Albany Road: Is the road abandoned? Does
the town plow the road to the town line? Can a resident build within
6' of the town's right-of-way? Pete Hillman was able to provide most
of the answers however; the ZBA would like to know how to obtain input
from various town boards/officials when specific cases come before them
that could have impact on the town if their input is not obtained. The
ZBA would also like to have the newly revised zoning map stamped and
signed by the Town Clerk signifying that it is an official copy. Lastly,
the ZBA raised questions relative to the proposed clerical position.
They would like to see the individual(s) answer to one person rather
than three separate boards. Although no final decisions have been made
regarding the structure of those positions, Joe indicated that he feels
that the individual(s) should be responsible to the respective Board
Chairmen's. John stated that clearly the preference would be to hire
one individual rather than two and he suggested that Terry Mosher could
manage the position. Given the number of questions raised by the ZBA,
Joe will ask Chairman, Joseph Palmeri if he would like to meet with the
Selectmen.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Hill Cemetery - James Gamache, a member of the Historic Commission asked
that whoever is mowing the cemetery to use more care. James noted that
some of the stones are scratched from being hit with the mowing deck.
Pete Hillman indicated that he would speak with the contractor.
Adjournment:
A motion was made by Bob to adjourn the meeting at 8:25 p.m. John seconded
the motion. Motion carried unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Terry Mosher
Executive Secretary |
