Town of Otis
Select Board Meeting Minutes
June 12, 2018
Meeting called to order at 7:00 pm in the Town Hall conference room. It’s being recorded and a quorum is present.
Present: Select Board Chairman Don Hawley, Selectman Bill Hiller, Selectman Gary Thomas, Town Administrator Becky Stone, Terry Gould, Michael Ernst, Roberta Sarnacki, Larry Gould, Dan Hamill, Rebecca Hamill, Dave Conklin, Kathy Conklin, Marion Middleton, Miguel Santana, Chris Tryon, David Hamill, Linda Hamill, Jim Wilusz, Tom Nadolny, Sonia Morrison, Russ Kitson, Filipe Cravo, Dave Roberts, Joshua Cotugno, Terry Rooney, Dave St. Laurent
Approval of Minutes: The May 23, 2018 Select Board meeting minutes were approved as written by Don and Bill, with Gary abstaining.
Board of Health: 82 South Gate Island Road: The previous system has failed and they are proposing a jet bat pretreat system. Everything is at least 50 feet and all abutters have been notified. They will require initial potable well testing for all wells, a contract for the new system, and well testing for all wells for two years afterward. Jim believes the new system design meets maximum feasible compliance and is the best that can be done. The Select Board unanimously approved the new design with the recommended letter of conditions.
20 Pleasant Drive: This is a new design for a failed septic and is a jet bat pretreat system design with a 1000 pump chamber and PercRight disposal field. The new system is farther away from the lake than the existing failed system. The closest well is 54 feet. We need a variance for the owner’s well and for the abutters well which is located at 89 feet. The same letter of conditions for 82 South Gate Island Road will apply for this address as well. The Select Board unanimously approved the new design with the recommended letter of conditions.
77 North Gate Island Road: The well is located within their garage. This is a new jet bat pretreat design, 2 pump chamber, with a PercRight system 1 ½ feet above grade. The same letter of conditions for the two above addresses will also apply to this address. The abutter was concerned with disrupting their leach field so the contractor will communicate with the abutter pre-construction. The Select Board unanimously approved the new design with the recommended letter of condition.
221 Ridge Avenue: This is an upgrade with owner variances. It is 84 feet from the owner’s well to the leach field. It is a standard system with a 1000 – 1500 gallon tank with a leach field. This will also need to go before Conservation. The Select Board unanimously approved the new design with standard testing and the condition that Conservation approved it as well.
Jim will compile the condition letters for each of the properties.
East Otis Fire House Paving: The prep work is completed, but Derek wanted to give the site some time to settle as significant boulders were removed. The contract is up in mid-July. Don suggested we wait a week and then contact Lane to come in and do the job. The Select Board unanimously approved this suggestion.
Reservoir Road Culvert Project: Berkshire Engineering has been waiting on MassDOT to review the revised plans. The bid was awarded to Vergilio before the revisions were made so the cost is now up to $605,000 from $462,000, which means we will probably have to put this back out to bid. MEMA thinks requesting another extension could be a long shot. If we withdraw, we need to explain to FEMA why we are withdrawing and we will need to reimburse them the $40,000+ they already gave us. If we do nothing we may no longer be eligible for FEMA money. We may be able to apply for a Bridge grant (up to $500,000) in order to cover the cost of this project. The town will not have to put aside money up front for this grant. Don Hawley said DCR was the entity that dropped the ball on this project. Bill noted we have spent over $40,000 of our own money and we should fight reimbursing the money. It is not Otis’ fault that DCR and MassDOT can’t get a revised plan approved. We were ready to move forward with this project before Dam Safety said the plans had to be revised. A motion was made to notify FEMA of our withdrawal, apply for the bridge grant, and then make a decision based upon the results of these actions. The Board unanimously passed the motion.
East Otis School House: No one was able to connect with their contacts so this was tabled until the June 26th meeting.
CET Extension Agreement: The Letter of Intent has already been submitted to them so Don signed this document.
WWTP Solar Project: The entire contract with Ace Solar is for $51,998.85 and the invoice to be paid is for $25,999.42. Larry noted the size and cost of the installation did not outweigh the solar benefits. The materials are used all the time and are generic, therefore we were recommended not to pay the invoice. There is no penalty clause or termination agree-ment in the contract. However Town Counsel says this is a legally bound contract and the vendor is willing to have us pay for only materials to get us out of the contract. Town Counsel also suggested we get a release from the vendor for the other part of the contract. Don says we have the money in the grant fund and we should just go ahead and pay the invoice. Then we can rebid the installation and hopefully get a better price. The Board unanimously approved.
Approve FY2019 Poll Worker List: The Select Board unanimously approved the Poll Worker list as presented by Lyn.
Reappointments: The position of Police Chief was the first to be brought up. Roberta asked to be reappointed. Several persons in attendance spoke against her and others for her as Police Chief. Bill recused himself from the vote and both Gary and Don voted to not reappoint her as Police Chief. Don then recommended the Police Dept. remain as is if they so choose, and Dan Hamill was appointed Interim Police Chief effective July 1st until further notice. All persons applying as Police Officers were duly reappointed.
All other reappointments and appointments went as presented with Bill abstaining from appointing himself and Don abstaining from appointing himself as well.
Other:
Accounting Grant: The paperwork for the $76,000 Accounting grant is due Friday. Becky is checking with the state as to who should sign since Don is the new chairman. Bill applied for the grant while he was still chairman.
Interim Police Chief Duties: We will schedule a meeting to discuss the duties of the Interim Police Chief.
The Select Board meeting was unanimously adjourned at 8:26 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lisa D’Orazio
Selectmen’s Secretary
Town of Otis
List of Documents
- A copy of the CET Extension Agreement will be filed with these meeting minutes.
- A copy of the letter from Ace Solar regarding the WWTP Solar project will be filed with these meeting minutes.
- A copy of the DEP notice of noncompliance for the sewer system will be filed with these meeting minutes.
- A copy of Lyn’s Poll Worker list for FY2019 will be filed with these meeting minutes.
- A copy of the Reappointment positions and persons to be appointed/reappointed will be filed with these meeting minutes.
- A copy of two letters testifying to keeping Roberta as Police Chief will be filed with these meeting minutes.
- A copy of the email correspondence regarding the East Otis Fire House paving will be filed with these meeting minutes.