Town of Otis
Select Board Meeting Minutes
September 27, 2016
Meeting called to order at 7:00 pm in the Town Hall conference room.
Present: Chair Roberta Sarnacki, Selectman Don Hawley, Selectman Bill Hiller, Michael Ernst, Russ Loring, Mary Adams, Kathy Carroll, Walter Engels, and Marion Middleton
Approval of Minutes: The September 13, 2016 Select Board meeting minutes were unanimously approved as amended. The Highway Interview minutes of September 22, 2016 were approved as written by Bill and Don, with Roberta abstaining.
Board of Health: There was nothing on the agenda.
Miscellaneous Accounts: Chris documented a list of special project accounts that had remaining balances. The Select Board reviewed the list and acknowledged that the remaining amounts were probably too small to be used. The Select Board unanimously agreed to turn over the remaining dollar amounts to the General Fund and close these accounts.
Other:
Broadband Financing: Bill noted that he had met with the Finance Board last week and Technology plans to initially borrow $2.5 Million of the approved $4.0 Million authorized to be borrowed by the townspeople. This initial borrowing will be short term borrowing so we can fund the start of the broadband installation in town. The hope is for us to get subscribers as the buildout takes place to offset some of the costs. The Finance Board listened to the proposal and made some recommendations which were presented to the Select Board tonight. The Boards were fine with the estimate presented and Bill believes Clark Rowell should have paperwork ready for the next Select Board meeting for the board to sign. Bill reiterated that the town will own the physical equipment that Otis taxpayers are paying for. Some of the fiber may require long lead times for actual delivery. The telecommunications hut, which will contain the equipment, is planned to be built with concrete.
Finance Board: Terry Gould is the new chairman.
West Center Road Paving: Russ wanted to know if the paving project on West Center Road was completed yet, because his driveway and others need finish work. He was asked to contact the Highway department directly and let them know his concerns. The Select Board also noted that if anyone has the same issue with the Route 23 paving they should contact Mass. DOT in Lenox with any questions.
Recreation Center Event Expenditures: Kathy Carroll brought up the discussion she had with Chris Morris that perhaps the Recreation Center could get a gift card to both BJs and Walmart in the amounts they had spent last year for the Gingerbread House and Easter Egg Hunt events. Then the gift cards could be used this year for the same purchases. The Select Board will check with Chris on how this might work.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:25 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lisa D’Orazio
Selectmen’s Secretary
Town of Otis
List of Documents
A copy of the Proposed Account Closures authored by Chris Morris will be filed with these meeting minutes.
A copy of the email from Bill Hiller listing the proposed Short Term Borrowing dollar amounts will be filed with these meeting minutes.