Town of Otis
Select Board Meeting Minutes
March 28, 2017
Meeting called to order at 7:00 pm in the Town Hall conference room, is being recorded, and we have a quorum.
Present: Chair Roberta Sarnacki, Selectman Don Hawley, Selectman Bill Hiller, Chris Morris, Michael Ernst, Peter Kolodziej, Jim Wilusz, Walter Engels, Terry Gould, Jamie Carr, Jesse Cook-Dubin, Pete Sullivan, Jim Kauffman, and Jack Conboy
Approval of Minutes: The February 27, 2017 All Boards and February 28, 2017 Select Board meeting minutes were unanimously approved as written. The March 22, 2017 PT Police Officer Interview minutes were approved as written by Bill and Don, with Roberta abstaining.
Board of Health: Peter and Jim had submitted policy changes to the Select Board earlier in the year. Jim began by outlining the recertification process for installing septic systems and keeping that within the town’s control. Jack Conboy has requested some changes be made to the Title 5 policy. Jack asked that there be another witness to a Title 5 inspection with a $100 fee to the homeowner. Peter, Jim, and the board all noted they don’t feel there is a need for this, but Don suggested the board reread the proposal and meet once more to make a final decision. Tabled until the April 25th Select Board meeting.
Liquor License Transfer: The Grouse House currently has their liquor license in the name of Otis Associates, Inc. which is 100% owned by Jamie Carr and Jamie is the manager of record. Since Butternut ski area purchased Otis Ridge, they would like to transfer the ownership to Otis Ridge Ski Area, LLC, of which Jamie is a 25% owner and Butternut is a 75% owner and Jamie will remain the manager of record. Chris and Heather reviewed the application for completeness and Chris said its ready to be signed. The Select Board signed the paperwork and it will then be sent to the ABCC Board for their approval.
Meet with Sandisfield Select and Finance Boards to discuss school: No one contacted Sandisfield to invite them so no one was here for the meeting. Discussion tabled.
Broadband: Bill presented to the Select Board the proposed logo for the Otis Broadband website, otisfiber.com. Bill also noted that Technology would like to put out RFPs for material, construction, and network maintenance bids, but then execute those RFPs through WG&E so we can aggregate the quantities for discounts. Roberta and Don both voted to approve Technology going forward with this process. Bill abstained from the vote.
Citizen Petitions: Lyn noted that there usually are citizen petitions for the Annual Town Meeting and when the petitions are delivered right before the meeting, it causes a lot of confusion and disruption. She requested a deadline for submission be set and suggested that it coincide with the voter registration deadline date, which is always 20 days before the Town Meeting. The Select Board unanimously approved setting this as the deadline for petitions each year. This year that deadline date will be April 26th.
Animal Inspector Nomination: Tonia is still willing to take on this responsibility and the Select Board once again approved her nomination. As soon as she signs the paperwork and Lyn notarizes it, the document will be mailed to Boston’s Dept. of Agricultural Resources.
Rescue Truck: The former rescue truck that has been used by Maintenance for the past few years is no longer useful to them. Maintenance would like to declare it surplus inventory and the Select Board unanimously voted to do so. It will be put out for bid.
Fire Dept. Mutual Aid Agreement: The document was presented to the Select Board and signed by all three members. We still need the Fire Chief’s signature.
Other:
Berkshire Co. Selectmen’s Assoc.: A notice was previously provided to the Select Board and no one can make the meeting this year.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lisa D’Orazio
Selectmen’s Secretary
Town of Otis
List of Documents
A copy of the new logo for otisfiber,com will be filed with these meeting minutes.
A copy of Lyn’s email requesting a deadline for citizen petitions will be filed with these meeting minutes.
A copy of Tonia’s email agreeing to continue as Animal Inspector and a copy of the paperwork being returned to MDAR will be filed with these meeting minutes.
A copy of the Berkshire County Selectmen’s Association dinner meeting announcement will be filed with these meeting minutes.
A copy of the Fire Dept. Mutual Aid Agreement will be filed with the