Town of Otis
Planning Board Meeting Minutes
May 9, 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, Al Koivisto, Rona Knight, Terry Cook
Others Present: Sonia Morrison Kobrin
Approval of Minutes: The April 11, 2016 minutes were approved as written. Rona Knight abstained.
Planning Board Representation: Michael Ernst began by noting Hal had been quoted in documents stating Planning Board approval on positions the Planning Board had not voted on. Some were quotes printed in publications and others were documents with the Town Seal that the Planning Board had not seen. On February 18, 2016, a letter was issued to Mr. Abdow under the Planning Board letterhead that the Planning Board had no knowledge of. Michael also pointed out that on January 11, 2016 the Planning Board only voted to present Hal’s January 11 document to the Select Board and not to take the Episcopal Church, St. Paul’s, as town property as reported in the newspaper. Michael made a motion that members of the Planning Board should not issue public statements on the Board’s behalf without prior Planning Board approval. Both Rona and Terry agreed that the Planning Board should be kept informed, especially if the information is on Planning Board letterhead. Rona made a motion that any pending item be discussed with the board as it happens. Neither motion was seconded and no action was taken on either motion. The Planning Board requested copies of the communication between the Town Administrator and Hal on the subject of St. Paul’s Church.
Elder Affairs Breakfast Event: Everyone was given a handout about the event. It was noted Lisa thought this may be of interest due to what was discussed for the Master Plan revisions.
Other:
Complete Streets and TIP/TAC: Hal had a lot of discussion on this. Hal offered to share the email stream from the Town Administrator on this topic with the Planning Board members. We already have a boiler plate Policy for the town that has been presented to the Selectmen, but the Select Board has yet to sign off on this. Hal made the motion that the Planning Board encourages the Select Board to engage the Transportation Advisory Council (TAC) and become active voting members and seek funding and back the Complete Streets. Michael recommended Complete Streets be eliminated because the Select Board has already responded to that. The motion was seconded without referencing the Complete Streets program, Michael opposed and all others were in favor so the motion passed with a quorum vote. Rona asked if perhaps someone from the Select Board could attend Planning Board meetings so the Select Board would know first-hand what was discussed by the Planning Board. They hope someone will come to the June meeting.
Hal moved the meeting be adjourned, Al seconded, and the meeting was unanimously adjourned at 8:07 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lisa D’Orazio
Planning Board Clerk
Town of Otis
List of Documents
A copy of paperwork dated 2-18-16 on Planning Board letterhead that the Planning Board members did not see previously will be filed with these meeting minutes.
A copy of the Planning Board Powers & Duties will be filed with these meeting minutes.
A copy of the email regarding the Elder Affairs Breakfast event will be filed with these meeting minutes.