Town of Otis
All Boards Meeting Minutes
September 23, 2019
The meeting was called to order by Gary Thomas at 6:32 pm in the Town Hall conference room.
Present: Select Board Chair Gary Thomas, Selectman Bill Hiller, Sonia Morrison, Dan Hamill, and Nancy Crandall.
Historical: Sonia gave an update on items to be stored at Harmony Hall, such as pictures and maps. She reported that she met with Patricia at Rec to start coordinating storage. Patricia will have maintenance move some things out to make room. Sonia reported that a small desk has been donated that was actually used at the East Otis Schoolhouse. They are waiting on RFP news from Becky. There was discussion about books to be digitized and kept at the town hall and/or donated. Sonia will discuss this project at their next meeting and they will take care to keep books of historical value and those written by local authors, as well. Additionally, Tom will be meeting with the Town Clerk to locate some historical items stored in the vault.
Police: Dan gave a department update and noted that it has been a very busy summer. The new AEDs are deployed and a nice upgrade from the old ones, though it hasn’t been necessary to use them yet. The cruisers are being parked in the garage again, so the department is working on establishing a booking room in the officers’ room with tall office dividers. They are obtaining quotes for a minimum of 2 cameras to monitor who is coming into the town hall building. They are obtaining quotes for benches. They will be getting one bench through the Sheriff’s office to be constructed by inmates at no cost to the town. Dan is very pleased with the new evidence room built by the town maintenance department and wanted to thank Jim Crandall for a job well done. The new room is fully operational, secure, exactly what the department needed and puts the town in compliance. Detail work has been busy, especially for the fiber installation. He is now working on a budget for MEMA Emergency Management Performance Grant due for submission. He has been busy with gun permits, billing details and reviewing reports. He is also updating officers’ files making sure their certifications are up-to-date to stay in compliance with MPTC and CJIS. Mandatory in-service training is coming up in the next few months. Next weekend they will attend classes qualifying for handguns and long guns, a new mandate required twice a year. There was discussion about a need for more officer participation in detail and patrol work, especially in the summer. Dan will discuss conducting future officer evaluations with Becky. He would like to do 6 month evaluations for the new officers.
Recreation: Bill and Gary read and discussed the August and September reports/memos submitted by Patricia regarding Rec updates and concerns. They asked Dan about the AED unit that was given to Rec when Dan got new ones for the PD. Dan gave an explanation of how Rec can check the device and that usually the only service it will need is a new battery. Dan will stop by the Rec department to show Patricia how to check the device and explain what service it may need in the future, but that the costs are minimal. To summarize, he explained that if the green light is blinking, the unit is operating normally. If it is blinking red, then there’s something that needs attention on the unit. If that’s the case, the power button can then be pressed and held down for the unit to begin a self-test, which then gives instructions on what needs to be addressed. He said that nine times out of 10, it simply needs one new 9-volt battery. Every 2 or 3 years or so, the pads need to be replaced (adult and pediatric), but the pads are not too expensive.
Municipal Lighting Plant: Bill reported that things are going well.
Technology: Bill reported that the RFP drop contract has been pulled together and will go out to bid in the next day or so. Gary and Sonia had questions about Whip City Fiber and the subcontractors involved with the internet for the town, which Bill was able to answer.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:02 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Nancy Crandall
Selectmen’s Secretary, Town of Otis
List of Documents
1. August Recreation Commission updates Memo from Patricia Richard to Select Board and Town Administrator, dated August 15, 2019.
2. September Recreation Commission updates Memo from Patricia Richard to Select Board and Town Administrator, dated September 18, 2019.