Town of Otis
Select Board Meeting Minutes
April 9, 2019
Call to Order: Meeting called to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Town Hall conference room. A quorum is present and the meeting is being recorded.
Select Board Members: Chairman Don Hawley, Bill Hiller, Gary Thomas
Others Present: Town Counsel Jeremia Pollard, Larry Gould, Terry Gould, Stephanie McNair, Tom Gecewicz, Michael Ernst, David Reiner, Peter Puciloski, Frank Tolopko, Jack Conboy, Kiro Gutic, Jackie Gentile, Bruce Wall, Russ Kitson, Jopatra Black, Thom Garvey, Hal Kobrin, Rona Knight, Mike Snow, Clay Dilts, Jim Crandall, Sonia Morrison, Diane Provenz, Don Truax
Approval of Minutes: The March 26, 2019 Select Board meeting minutes, the March 25, 2019 All Boards meeting minutes were unanimously approved as written.
Fratelli’s Update: Both Jack and Kiro were here to discuss the grease traps at Fratelli’s. Kiro had hired a licensed Connecticut plumber to install the grease trap and there was a question as to whether our Plumbing Inspector had actually inspected the work. Within the month of April, Fratelli’s was asked to submit all their grease trap documentation, including when it was inspected by a licensed MA plumbing inspector, a copy of all pumping records, a copy of the pumping contract, and the size of the grease trap pump. Don did warn the establishment that if the grease gets into the E1 pumps and sewer line again, Fratelli’s will be charged for any and all costs to fix the problem.
Host Community Agreement: Both Town Counsel and the lawyer for Turning Leaf Centers Otis, LLC have agreed on a draft of the HCA. During review of the HCA, Jeremia made one addition for Police details to be paid for by Turning Leaf Centers at the Select Board’s request. Neither Mr. Puciloski nor David Reiner, President of Turning Leaf, had any objections to this so the agreement was amended to include that provision with everyone initialing the change. Jeremia also requested that the “unless” clause in the onsite consumption section be struck. The Select Board does not want onsite consumption and decided this can be addressed at a later date should the law change. This clause was struck and this change was also initialed by all parties. Jeremia also noted for the public’s benefit that the Community Impact Fee was documented at 3% and this HCA was the final financial agreement with the town. The Marijuana Bylaw was then discussed – please see narrative under “Other:” section.
Approval of Budget Minutes: Joint Budget meeting minutes were unanimously approved for March 13, 2019, March 14, 2019, and March 19, 2019. The March 20, 2019 minutes were not yet ready for approval.
Discuss Articles for Annual Town Warrant: The Planning Board requested the Select Board add a warrant article to reduce the size of the Planning Board membership once again. They used the wording from the last time this was requested to model this warrant article. Jeremia also requested the town include a warrant article for the town to vote on authorizing a 3% retail sales tax in town.
Other:
Marijuana Bylaw: During the discussion of the contents of the Host Community Agreement, several points were brought up by the public. Jeremia noted the bylaws are legislative and the effective date goes back to when the townspeople passed the bylaw as long as the bylaw is accepted by the Attorney General’s office. Larry noted there are a lot of conflicts with MA law and with Otis Zoning bylaws, so language will need to be changed in the draft bylaw.
Rec Center Programs: Bill Hiller requested that all new Rec Center programs be approved by the Select Board first before implementing them.
Community Outreach Moderator: Lisa asked if the Select Board was planning to pay Blake Middleton for moderating the Community Outreach meeting on March 30, 2019. The Select Board unanimously agreed to pay him $50.00.
Southern Berkshire Household Hazardous Waste: The CET has discontinued its contract to handle hazardous household waste from the member communities, so Jim Wilusz has documented a new process to cover what CET used to do for this entity. Both Don and Bill voted to join Jim Wilusz’s new group to replace CET. Gary was temporarily out of the room.
Budget Meeting: One last Joint Budget Meeting will be held on April 16, 2019 at 6:00 pm to discuss the final budget amount and determine if its within the 2 ½% override. They will also review final numbers for Free Cash and Stabilization from the draft Annual Town Warrant.
The Select Board meeting was unanimously adjourned at 8:17 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lisa D’Orazio
Selectmen’s Secretary
Town of Otis
List of Documents
- A copy of the email cover letter from Turning Leaf Centers Otis, LLC will be filed with these meeting minutes.
- A copy of the draft Community Host Agreement (before changes at the meeting) will be filed with these meeting minutes.
- A copy of letters to Fratelli’s dated April 19, 2016 and June 8, 2016, as well as an internal email to the Board of Health dated June 18, 2016 will be filed with these meeting minutes.
- A copy of the email from Jim Wilusz dated March 15, 2019 regarding the future of the Southern Berkshire Household Hazardous Waste will be filed with these meeting minutes.
- A copy of the FY2018 and FY2019 financials from SBHHW will be filed with these meeting minutes.
- A copy of the CET contract that was terminated by CET will be filed with these meeting minutes.
- A copy of Becky’s email to the Sect and Finance Boards regarding the draft Annual Town Warrant will be filed with these meeting minutes.
- A copy of Karen’s financial spreadsheet in response to Becky’s email will be filed with these meeting minutes.
- A copy of the draft Annual Town Warrant (minus the Article 2 spreadsheet) will be filed with these meeting minutes.