Town of Otis
Select Board Meeting Minutes
June 26, 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: Selectman Bill Hiller, Selectman Don Hawley, Town Administrator Becky Stone, Walter Engels, Terry Gould, Michael Ernst, William O’Brien Jr., Michael O’Brien, Star O’Brien, Marion Middleton, Dave Conklin, Kathleen Conklin, Sonia Morrison, Diane Provenz
Approval of Minutes: The June 12, 2018 Select Board meeting minutes were unanimously approved as written.
Discuss Interim Chief Duties: Don stated Dan will be handling the Chief’s duties beginning July 1st and until the Select Board decides what to do. The Select Board would prefer to discuss this topic when all Select Board members are available for the discussion. The discussion will include pay, duties, and other affiliated topics. Dan also needs to resupply guns and purchase tires, so the Select Board recommended he get quotes tomorrow so the Board has something to encumber funds against. The next meeting will be Tuesday July 3, 2018 at 6:00 pm.
Board of Health: Jim Wilusz is having an issue with people putting in septic systems with approved plans, but no permits have been taken out. Otis needs to set a policy for enforcement. Tabled for the next Select Board meeting.
Review and Sign the Library and Museum Annual Contract: Becky noted that dates were changed and dollar amounts were based upon the May town meeting vote. Two Select Board members and Walter signed the contract.
Review and Sign the Rescue Squad Annual Contract: Becky again noted dates were changed and dollar amounts were based upon the May town meeting vote. Two Select Board members signed the contract.
Continue with Reappointments: Both Tonia Carrington and Renee Dube were reappointed to their respective positions. Sarah Skibski was also appointed as the Zoning Board Alternate member.
East Otis School House: Michael O’Brien spoke with a vendor and the cost to do the work is approximately $30,000 just to jack up the building. The vendor recommended a concrete slab be located and installed and the building be moved to the concrete slab. The roof is really thin, but it could be coated and the boards underneath appear to be pretty good. The roof should run about $15,000 – $20,000. Corrections to satisfy the insurance problems still need to be quantified so we can report back. Sonia noted the building needs to be intact so we can get grants for the building. The chimney is coming down and the building is currently secured. The rotting wood will be repaired, and the broken window will be boarded up.
Social Media Policy Complaint: The Board has taken the complaint under advisement and will take it under consideration when Gary returns.
Verizon Account Access-Police Department: This will be turned over to Dan at the end of the week and will be dealt with at next week’s meeting.
Other:
Historical Property Inventory: Diane has been working with Bonnie Parsons and the 60 or so properties that were formerly identified as having historical value. Bonnie proposes we set up the properties near the center of town as historical districts and not as landmarks, either as a single district or as individual properties as historic. Bonnie is hoping to have a workup on these properties done soon. Diane is trying to reach the Town Accountant to establish a capital fund to handle fundraising monies and grants. Don suggested she speak with the Fire Department and see how they set up their account.
Letter to Authorize MLP Stipend: Bill has a letter to authorize a stipend be paid for the additional work for the Municipal Light Plant. The money will come from the MLP accounts.
Select Board Agendas: Walter could not locate tonight’s agenda on the website – nothing was listed at all.
Accounting: Michael highlighted in yellow the money that will get moved from the Reserve Fund to various expense accounts. Michael also presented where money will get moved from one account to another to cover shortfalls. Michael has a problem covering the overpayment from the Town Administrator Salary and asked the Select Board’s advice. It was decided to cover this from Health & Sanitation. The Select Board noted Derek has encumbrances that he wants to apply. Don and Bill unanimously voted to approve all of Michael’s money transfer recommendations. Michael also proposed we move $3000 from Health & Sanitation into the Police Department Expenses so Dan has enough to encumber funds for what he needs to get quotes on.
Metal Storage Building for Highway: Derek needs a storage building for equipment. This could come from an encumbrance based upon an estimate.
The Select Board meeting was unanimously adjourned at 8:03 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lisa D’Orazio
Selectmen’s Secretary, Town of Otis
List of Documents
- The Reappointment list for this meeting will be filed with these meeting minutes.
- The email and attachments for the social media complaint will be filed with these meeting minutes.
- The email from the Police Chief regarding scheduling of hours will be filed with these meeting minutes.
- A copy of Michael’s accounting transfers will be filed with these meeting minutes.