Town of Otis
Planning Board Meeting Minutes
January 11, 2016
Town Hall Inspectors’ Office
Meeting called to order at 7:00 pm in the Otis Town Hall Inspectors’ Room. The meeting is recorded and a quorum is present.
Present: Michael Ernst, Hal Kobrin, Jim Carlin, Jim Kauffman, Terry Cook, Al Koivisto, Eammon Coughlin, Tom Matuszko
Approval of Minutes: The December 14, 2015 minutes were approved as written. Jim K. made the motion to accept and Michael seconded. Hal abstained as he was not present.
Master Plan Draft Presentation: Copies of the final draft of the Otis Master Plan with appendices, the Executive Summary and Action Plan, and the Otis Open Space and Recreation Plan were presented by BRPC to the Planning Board. Hal suggested the Planning Board members take until next month’s meeting to review the documents and plan to vote on approving it then. Several members noted the Board has been updated on progress on a monthly basis and as three members of the Steering Committee are also Planning Board members, they had full confidence in the end result and would like to vote tonight. Jim Carlin made the motion to accept the drafts as written, Michael Ernst seconded, and the drafts were unanimously approved as the final version and will be presented to the Select Board tomorrow night.
BRPC Delegate: BRPC meets the third Thursday at 7:00 pm every other month and attendance by the same person is preferred. State law requires the delegate to be a Planning Board member. Hal moved to accept Michael Ernst as the Planning Board delegate for BRPC, and the vote passed unanimously. Hal also moved that the Planning Board present Jim Kauffman as the alternate delegate for appointment by the Select Board. Michael seconded and that passed unanimously.
Review FY2015 Budget so far: We currently have not spent anything for this fiscal year, but we are expecting to have expenses in the spring when we revisit the revised site plan for the proposed solar farm on High Rise Road.
MGL Requirements for Planning Boards: Lisa handed out various chapters and sections of MGL that regulate how Planning Boards should be run, and there did not appear to be anything that precluded the Board from having deadlines for submissions for the next agenda. After a lot of discussion on the topic, Terry Cook moved that the Planning Board monitor the situation for a few months, Hal seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.
Other:
DLTA Grant: Hal noted we missed the application deadline for the latest DLTA grant round and we will have to wait another year to apply.
Complete Streets: Hal noted Craig was appointed by the Select Board and our next step was working on the town’s policy. BRPC is willing to work with the town on that.
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church: Hal has verbally approached the Episcopal Diocese and discussed with them the possibility of returning the land and building back to the town. Hal’s premise is based upon his belief the town originally donated the land and townspeople helped build the Episcopal Church then donated it to the Diocese and therefore the town should have first consideration. Hal proposed the town take it back for no money and maintain the building as it currently is: a seasonal summer chapel. The town could then declare the single lot as an historical site, which we have plenty of records to back up. Hal made a motion to present this to the Select Board, seconded by Jim C., and Hal Kobrin, Jim Carlin, Jim Kauffman, and Al Koivisto voted to approve the motion, with Michael Ernst and Terry Cook voting against. The motion passed with a quorum vote.
Michael E. moved the meeting be adjourned, Jim K. seconded, and the meeting was unanimously adjourned at 8:50 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lisa D’Orazio
Planning Board Clerk
Town of Otis
List of Documents
A copy of the 2015 Final Master Plan, with appendices, the Executive Summary, the ???, and the Open Space and Recreation Plan for the Town of Otis will be kept on file and available in the Inspectors’ Office at Otis Town Hall.
A copy of the MGL chapters and sections handed out at the meeting will be filed with these meeting minutes.
A copy of Hal’s document regarding St. Paul’s will be filed with these meeting minutes.