Selectmen Meeting Minutes — September 4, 2008—7:00 p.m. — Memorial Hall

Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. by Chairman Manners. Other members present: John Payne and Joe Judd.

Acceptance of Minutes: a motion was made by John to accept the minutes of August 21, 2008 as presented. Bob seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously.

Noteworthy News: Nothing reported.

Department Liaison Reports:
FCCIP Building Permit Schedule - John presented a new fee schedule adopted by the Franklin County Cooperative Inspection Program on July 24, 2008.

Fundraising Event for Barack Obama - permission to hold the event at Memorial Hall on September 7th was denied after seeking advice from the Attorney General's Office and Attorney Donna MacNicol.

Highway: grave opening at Hill Cemetery over the weekend; Bridge Street sidewalk repair has been completed; and garage roof has been re-shingled. Bob reported that Finance Committee member Jerry Dubie has some concerns with the manner in which communication relative to the roof repair was dispersed. Bob will follow-up with Jerry.

OLD BUSINESS:
Bridge Street Sidewalks - members of the highway crew repaired the uneven sidewalks on Bridge Street.

F.R.C.O.G. RE: Pioneer Valley Clean Energy Collaborative - tabled.

NEW BUSINESS:
Office Restructuring - after much discussion a motion was made by Joe and seconded by John to begin the process of restructuring the Town Hall as recommended by the Police Site Review Committee. The Assessor's Office will be relocated to the Selectmen's Office, the Police Department will move into the Selectmen's Office and the Selectmen's Office will relocate across the hallway in the former police office. Motion carried unanimously.

7:00 p.m. James Richardson, Tree Warden RE: Bridge Street Trees - Mr. Richardson recommends that new holes be cut around the Bridge Street trees to allow for better root growth. He will report back to the Selectmen at a later date with plans.

7:30 p.m. Open Space Committee - Cindy Boetner gave an overview of the "Land Evaluation Workbook"; a tool developed by the Open Space Committee to help guide the Board of Selectmen as land preservation opportunities arise in the Town. The workbook lists attributes that help identify, describe and quantify features of a site that may make it desirable for the preservation of one or more resources/uses such as agriculture, forestry, wildlife habitat and water protection capabilities as well as scenic qualities, historic resources and recreational opportunities. Gene Butler recommended that the following changes be considered before finalizing the Land Evaluation Workbook. Those changes are as follows: all inspections by appointment only; evaluation of parcel to be done by trained, qualified, or licensed professional; and the Shelburne Open Space Evaluation Guidelines will be the resource for the evaluation. Regardless of the 120 approval period, Joe requested that the Town be sensitive to people's timetables. The Selectmen were supportive of the Open Space Committee's evaluation process.

The Board endorsed the Open Space Committee's request to apply for grant funds for map placement and implementation. Also discussed was the need for various publications relative to: Trail Ethics, Trail Guides, etc. The Committee intends on scheduling a fall forum for landowners.

7:45 p.m. Michael Duffy & Glenn Cardinal RE: Cable Negotiations - two Cable Advisory Members appeared before the Board to provide an update of the negotiation process for the renewal of the Cable Television Licenses for the towns of Buckland and Shelburne. Comcast's filed a Formal Renewal Proposal on May 22, 2008, and subsequently amended the proposal on September 3, 2008. Members of the Cable Advisory Committee have met to consider the subsequent amendment and have until September 22, 2008 to formally respond. Before finalizing their response to Comcast, the Committee wanted to first review their concerns with the Boards of Selectmen. They will present the finalized document to the Selectmen for their consideration on September 18, 2008.

OTHER BUSINESS:
Gene Butler RE: Tech School Budget - Gene recommended that the Town send a letter to the Tech School thanking them for returning their unspent budgetary allocation for FY'08.

Adjournment: a motion was made by Joe to adjourn the meeting. Motion seconded by John. Motion carried unanimously.

Minutes recorded by Joseph J. Judd
Board of Selectmen