Town of Otis
Select Board Meeting Minutes
July 10, 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: Select Board Chairman Don Hawley, Selectman Bill Hiller, Selectman Gary Thomas, Terry Gould, Michael Ernst, Dan Hamill, Rebecca Hamill, Dave Conklin, Kathy Conklin, Dave Roberts, Michael O’Brien, Lisa D’Orazio
Approval of Minutes: The June 26, 2018 Select Board meeting minutes were approved as written by Don and Bill pending Becky’s approval, with Gary abstaining. The July 3, 2018 Select Board meeting minutes were unanimously approved as written.
Board of Health: No one was at the meeting so topic for discussion was tabled until July 24th.
Letter to Collector for Sewer Payments: Becky had drafted the Sewer Commitment Letter, Lisa presented it for the Board’s approval, and it was unanimously approved and signed by all three Select Board members.
Other:
Tyringham Road Improvement Project: The person who was handling this grant proposal for the town has determined she does not have time to continue with this so Becky will be handling the grant for the town in the future. Becky drafted a letter to the MassWorks Infrastructure Program in support of the grant application and Lisa presented the letter to the Board. It was unanimously approved and signed by all three selectmen.
Verizon Pole Hearing: The Board was made aware of this request and the Public Hearing will be held on August 14, 2018 at the 7:00 pm Select Board meeting.
Recreational Marijuana Manufacturing Facility Community Outreach: The owners of the proposed facility have scheduled this for Thursday, July 12, 2018 at 7:00 pm in the Town Hall Gym.
Interim Police Chief Position: Michael Ernst presented his research that supports we have enough money budgeted in FY2019 to pay the Interim Police Chief for 34 hours per week at $23.30 per hour with no stipend. The money will come from a combination of the budgeted Sergeant’s salary line item, the Chief Salary line item, and the Chief Stipend line item. All Select Board members unanimously approved this recommendation. Becky will draft a letter for the Town Treasurer so she and the Accountant know how to account for this pay. The Interim Police Chief position will remain in effect until the Select Board decides to discuss it again in the future.
Police Dept.: It is running well under the transition. All part-time officers except Charles “Chip” Whiting will be scheduled for under 1000 hours per year per officer and the Interim Chief will move office hours from Wednesdays to Thursdays from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm beginning August 9th.
The Select Board meeting was unanimously adjourned at 7:30 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lisa D’Orazio
Selectmen’s Secretary
Town of Otis
List of Documents
- A copy of the sewer commitment letter will be filed with these meeting minutes.
- A copy of the letter to MassWorks Infrastructure Program will be filed with these meeting minutes.
- A copy of the notification of the Bay State Canna Holdings, LLC public Community Outreach event will be filed with these meeting minutes.
- A copy of the paperwork submitted by Michael Ernst to prove we had the funds for the Interim Police Chief salary will be filed with these meeting minutes.