Town of Otis
Select Board Meeting Minutes
July 24, 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 Chair Don Hawley, Selectman Bill Hiller, Selectman Gary Thomas, Town Administrator Becky Stone, Terry Gould, Michael Ernst, William O’Brien Jr., Michael O’Brien, Jim Crandall, Mary Adams, Kyle Pettibone, Steve Pulaski, Brenda Pulaski, Keith Pulaski, Linda Pulaski, Pete Kolodziej, Chris Tryon, Lisa D’Orazio
Approval of Minutes: The June 25, 2018 All Boards meeting minutes and the July 10, 2018 Select Board meeting minutes were approved as written by Don and Bill.
East Otis School House: Jim requested clarification on what repairs were left to be done at the school house. The Board would like all of the chimney structure removed and to take off the rotted rakes. They also want to put plywood up over the broken window. The roof has been inspected and it is okay. The building needs to be kept secured so no one can enter.
Harmony Hall: The outside needs paint, but the existing outside paint has lead in it. The roof is in bad shape and it will cost about $11,000 to replace windows. The total costs for needed repairs will be over the allowed percentage of the assessed value, which means we will then be required to bring it up to existing building codes. Putting in an elevator to the second floor will alone cost close to $100,000 and we’ll lose the office. The Planning Board had previously held public meetings for suggestions as to what to do with Harmony Hall with very few people in attendance. The Select Board said to table any decisions on Harmony Hall until Planning had another public meeting in September. This meeting should have a robocall made to residents and notices should be posted at the Rec Center and in town.
Board of Health: 633 Pine Road: this is an existing failed system. In order to get the best location, the owner’s existing well, which is up by the road, will need to be decommissioned after the new well is deemed viable. This new well drilled will be put in closer to the lake for fit. The new well needs to be deemed viable before the old well can be decommissioned. This will be a Fast Pretreat unit with a pump chamber to a perc right leach field. Chris still needs to confirm the number of bedrooms being designed for. Two abutters well swill be affected and all abutters have been notified. The Pulaski family is one of the abutting properties. Their well is to the north and is 65.8 feet from the new field, the south abutters are 81.0 feet and the owners new well will be 71.7 feet. All three wells are required to be tested prior to any installation beginning, and the new system will require a maintenance contract for the life of the system. All three wells will need to be tested annually for two consecutive years after the installation. A copy of the maintenance contract needs to be filed with the septic plan. Pete feels the existing design meets with maximum feasible compliance and all three board members voted to approve this design with the stated conditions.
Jim Wilusz is having an issue with people putting in septic systems with approved plans, but no permits being taken out. Otis is looking for a standard process to penalize violators. Pete suggested we have a regulation for penalties for a first offense, a second offense, etc., and determine at what point in time the town can revoke a license. Pete thinks Jim Wilusz may have a draft version available for review. When Otis has a final draft ready, Pete suggests the town meet with the contractors for their feedback and then finalize it with Town Counsel before making it a full regulation.
Approve and Sign the State Primary Warrant: It was approved and signed by all three Select Board members.
PorchLight VNA: The new agreement was approved by all three members and signed by Don Hawley.
BRPC Alternate: Gary was again designated as the alternate for FY 2019.
Surplus Equipment: Derek wants to declare the small pickup sander and the JCB backhoe as surplus equipment so he can put it out to bid. The board unanimously voted to declare the stated equipment as surplus inventory.
Accounting Software: Vadar came in today to give another demonstration. They met with everyone (Accounting, Treasurer, Tax Collector, School, Assessors, Becky, Heather, Finance). There are now no issues or problems and it appears SoftRight will be going away. Bill would like the Select Board to begin the contract process so we can get moving on this. We have been awarded a grant to cover the cost of upgrading the software.
Other:
2018 Mass Driver Skills and Safety Event: Kyle was awarded first place in Driver Skills and Training for Loader Operation and Safety out of 26 competitors. This qualifies him to go to the National competition in Colorado at the end of September to receive additional training and classes. Derek requested the Board give him permission to go with full pay for those days and the Board unanimously agreed to do so. Massachusetts Highway Association will pay for Kyle to go to Colorado.
Swearing In Reappointments: There are still six people remaining from reappointments who have not been sworn in for their positions. The number was double this last week, but we are making progress.
By roll call vote, the Select Board voted to go into Executive Session for purposes of discussing a personnel issue at 7:40 pm.
By roll call vote the Select Board voted to end Executive Session at 7:56 pm and the Select Board meeting was immediately reconvened and unanimously adjourned at 7:56 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lisa D’Orazio
Selectmen’s Secretary, Town of Otis
List of Documents
- A copy of the signed Porchlight VNA agreement will be filed with these meeting minutes.
- A copy of the signed State Primary Warrant will be filed with these meeting minutes.
- A copy of the BRPC Alternate paperwork will be filed with these meeting minutes.
- A copy of Derek’s email about Kyle’s award will be filed with these meeting minutes.
- A copy of Lyn’s memo detailing who still needs to be sworn in will be filed with these meeting minutes.