Selectmen Meeting Minutes — September 14, 2009—7:00 p.m. — Memorial Hall.

Call to order: Chairman, John Payne called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Other members present: Joe Judd and Robert Manners.

Media Present: Cameron Graves, Shelburne Falls Independent

Acceptance of Minutes: Bob made a motion to accept the minutes of August 20, 2009 as presented. Joe seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously.

Noteworthy News:

• Open Meeting Law Training Session, September 23, 2009 at 3:00 p.m., Buckland Town Hall
• Special Town Meeting, Monday, September 28, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. in Memorial Hall.
• 100th Anniversary Celebration of the Stone Tower will be held on October 10, 2009.

Department Liaison Reports:
Highway -- road-side mowing underway; Mack Truck is undergoing repair (new front springs); Zerah-Fiske Road is scheduled to be oiled and stoned next week. John commended the crew for their brush cutting efforts on Bardwells Ferry Road.

Police -- Joe reported that he met with the police department this evening to discuss several topics. He indicated that it was a good discussion and that he is pleased with the overall performance of the department.

Town Office -- John reported that the finance department is running well; and the Town Collector is working hard to bring in delinquent tax money. John reminded taxpayers that if they have not paid their taxes nor established a payment plan; they are at risk. John noted that he attended the Highland Communities Initiative bi-annual conference this weekend in Ashfield and it was a great session. Lastly, John reported that the Gitsis project is moving forward at a good pace.

7:10 p.m. John Ryan, Breezeway Farm Consulting RE: CDBG Public Hearing - The purpose of the hearing was two-fold. First was to discuss the activities funded under the joint 2008 Community Development Block Grant application with the Town of Buckland and second; was to begin thinking of ideas for Shelburne's 2010 Community Development Strategy. Dan Lawrence from Weston & Sampson was present along with Charity Day from the Franklin County Regional Housing and Redevelopment Authority.

Hearing #1: John Ryan gave an overview of the 2008 CDBG projects (Grant #575) which included infrastructure improvements to Phase 2 of Main Street in Shelburne and Conway Street in Buckland; housing rehabilitation projects in Shelburne and Buckland; and general administration. John indicated that tonight's hearing was the final hearing relative to Grant #575; and to date, all feedback has been positive. John credited much of the project's success to Weston & Sampson Engineering who has done a great job keeping residents informed through weekly construction notices and weekly on-site job meetings. Members of the Selectboard indicated that they have been very pleased with the professionalism and timeliness of both the general contractor and representatives of Weston & Sampson. Throughout the entire Main Street project only one complaint was received by a resident whose phone service was accidentally severed. Her complaint was relative to the length of time it took for Verizon telephone to restore her service. John Payne asked John Ryan why he thought this particular project was carried out so much better than the last (referring to Main Street Phase 1). John Ryan felt there were many factors contributing to the success of phase 2 including the first-hand knowledge of what was below the surface in terms of infrastructure; the project did not impact the business district; the streetscape was not impacted therefore creating less controversy amongst residents and the working relationship with the contractor has been much different; noting that Mass West has been nothing but professional.
Charity Day of the Franklin County Regional Housing and Redevelopment Authority was pleased to report that of the $150,000 awarded for housing rehabilitation, $30,000 has been committed for one project in Buckland and one project in Shelburne. There are 6 more applications pending. Charity explained that because there are more applications than funding, her organization is keeping a waiting list. No public comments were voiced.

Hearing #2: John Ryan provided hearing participants with a copy of last year's Community Development Strategy document and encouraged everyone to begin thinking about potential projects for next year's application. In an effort to reach a larger group, Breezeway Farm has developed a community survey for Shelburne & Buckland which will be made available in several locations throughout both towns as well as on-line. The survey will serve as a useful tool in determining the communities "project-related" priorities whether it be handicapped accessibility, a new senior center, housing rehabilitation, infrastructure improvements, social service programs, etc. Surveys should be returned to the town by mid-October. Anyone interested in taking the survey on-line can do so by accessing the following website address: Click No public comments were voiced. Hearing closed at 7:30 p.m.

7:30 p.m. Roland Butzke, Siemen's Building Technologies RE: Preliminary Energy Audit Results (John Wheeler, Finance Committee also present) -- The Franklin Regional Council of Governments contracted with Siemen's Building Technologies on behalf of several Franklin County towns so to enable municipalities and schools to use energy and operational savings within their existing buildings to fund necessary building upgrades, retrofits and other improvements typically without requiring an increase to the budget. The first step of this program is a preliminary energy audit of all town buildings at no cost to the town. Siemen's Building Technologies conducted the preliminary audit this spring and provided the town with results; specific to each building. Siemen's representative, Roland Butzke reviewed the results of the audit, explained how the program works, and answered many questions. The program guarantees savings by law. If the Selectboard is interested in taking the next step, Siemen's Building Technologies would conduct an Investment Grade Audit that would include suggested improvements, costs of said improvements and guaranteed savings. The cost of this audit is determined by the total square footage of all town buildings (an estimated $1,300) however, if the Selectboard move forward with recommended improvements the cost of the detailed audit gets rolled into the total cost of the program. The program is typically funded through a third party lender and typically requires no capital monies or additional ongoing expense. The savings realized by the improvements is what is applied to the loan. The F.R.C.O.G. is currently working on several financing options and should have more information available within a month. At the Selectboard's next meeting, Joe has arranged for John Cormier of Rice Oil to make a presentation on photo voltaic technology.

OLD BUSINESS:
Open Space Committee RE: Proposed Policy for Chapter 61A -- no action taken.
Abandoning Town Private Roads -- progress ongoing. On a lighter note, Bob reported that one of the roads in question; near Clark Covair; is still registered as a Mass Highway rest area for Route 2. Pete will contact Mass Highway to discuss further.
Arms Library Update -- the members of the Board will be meeting with Arms Library representatives in October. A date has yet to be scheduled.

Proposed Meal Tax -- Joe has contacted Representative Guyer's Office to find out how the State intends to send monies, generated by the meals and lodging house tax, back to cities and towns. Joe has assured businesses that no decision will be made without their total involvement. He made it clear that this exercise is simply to sort through the legislation and determine whether or not it is worth pursuing. Joe will report his findings back to the Board in October so that a decision can be made.

Drainage Problems on the West-side of Memorial Hall -- run-off from the adjacent properties roof drains have caused the embankment behind Memorial Hall to slide creating problems below on the cul-de-sac off of Deerfield Ave and; on occasion, has caused water to seep into Memorial Hall's basement. Pete Hillman has spoken with the property owner and has suggested the installation of a drop-inlet that would channel the storm water run-off properly. The town is in possession of a defective drop-inlet structure that was rejected from a road reconstruction project approximately 6 years ago. Pete is willing to donate the drop-inlet structure if the Board allows. Members of the Board briefly discussed the potential dollar value of the drop-inlet structure and agreed that the property owner should pay a "fair and reasonable" price for the surplus material. Rather than take immediate action, the Board decided to postpone their decision until their next meeting.

NEW BUSINESS:
Shelburne Fire Department RE: Boot Drive - Fire Chief, Angus "Terry" Dun has requested permission on behalf of the Shelburne Fire Department to hold a fundraising "Boot Drive" on October 11th (rain date of October 12th) on the Colrain-Shelburne Road (near the town highway garage) between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Chief Walker reviewed the request and recommended that safety vests be worn by participants and that signage be placed on the town roadway to caution motorists. A motion was made by Joe to approve the request as presented, John seconded the motion. Vote taken: 2 in favor, 1 abstention (Bob is a volunteer member of the Shelburne Fire Department).

Mary Schreiber, Cultural Council RE: Request the Appointment of (2) New Members -- Mary Schreiber, Chairperson of the Shelburne Cultural Council requested that the Selectboard appoint two new members. They are as follows: Chris King of Main Street and Daniel Lieberman of Skinner Road. Motion to appoint Chris King and Dan Lieberman was made by Bob. Joe seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously.

OTHER BUSINESS:
Dog Licensing -- the Town Clerk provided the Board with a list of seven residents who have failed to license their dogs in accordance with Massachusetts General Laws. Each of the residents has received letters of reminder, a phone call from the Animal Control Officer and a "late" fee citation of $25.00. The last procedural step remaining is to instruct the Chief of Police to file necessary paperwork so that individuals receive a court summons. Following a brief discussion, the Board decided to send a final letter of warning before initiating the court summons process.

CORRESPONDENCE: none

PUBLIC COMMENT: none

ADJOURNMENT -- Joe made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:25 p.m. Bob seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Respectfully submitted,

Terry Mosher
Executive Secretary