June 25, 2018

The meeting was called to order at 6:30 pm in the Town Hall conference room. It was announced the meeting was being recorded.

Present: Chairman Don Hawley, Bill Hiller, Becky Stone, Rich Phair, Lyn O’Brien, Derek Poirier, Walter Engels, Keith O’Neil, Jeanne Randorf, Michael Ernst

Assessors: Everything is going well and staff is working with the auditors.

Clerk: Sent out letters for dogs still needing licensing. Books being restored went out today. The 2020 Federal Census requires us to update our streets. Bill says we have that for the fiber project and we can get that out.

Celebrations: We had the event on June 16^th and Wanda Houston played at the Izaak Walton field. We had a good turnout and the weather was nice.

Cultural Council: We just wrapped up the fiscal year and just filed a lot of reimbursements. We had the Tag Sale in May, all the barrels are planted in town and we are praying for rain, and upcoming is their schedule of events for the summer. They are coming up with a community survey to see what people would like to see in town.

Energy: The turbine is running fine. There are some problems with the High/Low setting and we are monitoring that. The next project is the joint Highway/Fire/Rescue building and we are hoping to have a preliminary blueprint for the subcommittee to review. This is expected to be a multi-year project.

Finance Board: Had a meeting on June 12^th and reviewed the expenses. Some transfers need to be made and some departments had minor over expenditures. The Reserve Fund should be able to cover this.

Fire Dept.: The Rescue Truck chassis has been ordered and it is expected for Thanksgiving, but Rich thinks Christmas or New Year’s is more likely. It has been pretty quiet for calls. They would like to get with Larry and review any problems that may happen at the turbine site. Don thinks electrical may be a problem sometime, but that would be a good idea to get together. The East Otis parking lot came out good and is finished, but vehicles are requested to stay off it until at least the end of this week. Steak Roast signs and tickets are all set and it will be at the Main Fire House this year.

Investment Advisory Committee: Needs to meet for the MLP investments.

Highway: They helped with the East Otis Fire House parking lot and grounds maintenance, cleaned up after the fiber work. They finished the grading, mowed, weed whacked. Truck cab and chassis should be in by December or January, and work should be finished on the new truck by May. The Backhoe is in and we should see it next month. The current Highway backhoe needs brakes and will then go to the Transfer Station. The one currently at the Transfer Station will go. Our new Eversource mower is temporarily disabled. Derek thinks we should do salary surveys again before budget season. He also needs to discuss comp time, salary time, and overtime. We are submitting the grant paperwork for the Reservoir Road Small Bridge Program and Derek hand delivered the paperwork to meet the deadline.

Library: The building is celebrating its 60^th anniversary. This began with a contribution from Mr. Hunter that began the organization. There will be a Pizza party to celebrate this event. The evening speaker events are being well attended as are the children’s programs.

Maintenance: Beach is setup for the summer. Goose droppings are reduced but dog droppings have increased. We have a camera up and the Board asked to send copies to the Dog Officer. Recreation has asked for additional sand and landscaping at the beach and Maintenance has asked them to get permission from DEP for the work. They have had nine burials, sold six lots, put in cornerstones. They have also assisted the Library with space rearranging. The East Otis Fire House generator is online and paving has been completed and they thanked Highway for their help. Town Hall is being power washed and windows cleaned. Summer help is working out well. They are considering a new bottles and cans container for next budget season.

MLP: Fiber just got Phase 2 approval and Phase 3 will move directly from there. Working with Accounting to get bills out.

Planning: We have a group that wants to establish a Recreational Marijuana manufacturing facility in town. The proposed site has been moved from Algerie Road to the corner of Dimmock Road and Route 8. The condo project for the old J&D Marina site has been downsized and is now within zoning bylaw regulations. The old plans were for private docks, but the new owner is considering a public launch now. He was told he probably wouldn’t have to do a new traffic study, but after thinking about it, Planning thinks a new traffic study may be needed.

Rec. Center: Don read the document sent by the Rec. Center. Their gym usage is increasing and they’ve scheduled a CPR course for Rec. Center staff. We have no applicants for a swim instructor this year, or for an assistant. Movie nights will resume in September. Several workshops and programs were cancelled due to low enrollment. Beachgoers have complained about unleashed dogs at the beach and speeding on Great Woods Road. They have been in contact with Maintenance on this.

Technology: Buying Lyn a new fax machine and Police Dept is also getting one. We plan to have another training for the new website.

WWTP: Got the primary tanks cleaned out last month – this is an annual event. DEP sent a notice about inflow infiltration study. Since we are so small we are not set up for this and were told not to worry about this, but we are now getting notices that we are not in compliance. Keith has reached out to the state to determine if we are or are not the correct size for this. We are trying not to have to invest in the costs for this if we aren’t required to. We just got the okay for another five year operating permit for the plant, but there is a 30 day public comments period for it. Heather has advertised for this in the Berkshire Record. A grease trap has been installed at Fratelli’s recently. We have had issues with their grease traps for about five years. We still need to get a copy of their pumping contract. Beach testing has been going well and we’ve been passing with flying colors. Drinking water continues to be good. All wiring and relay problems that we used to have are now relatively quiet. Sometimes humidity causes breakers to trip, but it currently runs very well. We have a contingency fund to replace any catastrophic equipment failure. Repaving may be needed for next year.

Zoning Board: There is nothing to report.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:32 pm.

Respectfully Submitted,

Lisa D’Orazio

Selectmen’s Secretary

Town of Otis

List of Documents

A copy of the email from the Rec Center will be filed with these meeting minutes.

A copy of the email from Becky regarding the Assessors will be filed with these meeting minutes.

A copy of the Otis Cultural Council event flyer will be filed with these meeting minutes.