Town of Otis
Select Board Meeting Minutes
September 25, 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 Chair Don Hawley, Selectman Bill Hiller, Selectman Gary Thomas, Town Administrator Becky Stone, Stephen Nelson, Terry Cook-Visser, Mac Visser, Jeff Gamelli Jr., Jack Conboy, Mike Conboy, Patricia Strauch, Stephanie McNair, Wayne Moon, Sabino Caracciolo, Larry Gould, Lisa D’Orazio
Approval of Minutes: The September 11, 2018 Select Board meeting minutes were unanimously approved as written.
Board of Health: 142 Kibbe Road: Steve Nelson is the designer. There are a number of options for a difficult site. The system had a Title 5 done July last year and had a conditional pass. The owner’s well is only 40 feet to the well and is trying to get a clear Title 5. One option is to move the well ten feet and add a Jet pre-treat system to the existing setup. The existing system is still working well. No one understood why moving the well ten feet was going to help the owner. There was a question as to whether it was a two or four bedroom home. If it is a four bedroom design, the existing system does not have the capacity. Pete suggested if this was the case, then put in composting, keep the well where it is, and use the existing system for gray water. The well would have to continue to be tested and the pre-treatment would not be required. Due to the bedroom question, nothing could be approved tonight. Since the house is up for sale, it needs to be brought up to an adequate solution so the future owners aren’t stuck with a problem.
Paving Bid Review and Award: Town Hill Road and Cold Spring Road West were put out for a paving bid that was previously opened. Lane was the lowest bid at $127,280.00 out of four bids and Lane was awarded the bid. Palmer Paving, HMA Contracting and Maxymillion were the other bidders.
Surplus Property Bid and Award: Bids went out for purchasing our surplus sander unit and the surplus backhoe and were previously opened. Only one bid was received for the surplus sander in the amount of $352.59, and it was decided to award that purchase to the bidder. Two bids were received for the surplus backhoe and it was awarded to the highest bid at $4,128.00. Low bid for the backhoe was $2,733.00 and a third bid arrived a day after the bids were due, so it was not opened.
Establish Bid Opening Procedures: In the past, the Select Board has opened the sealed bids, but the process changed when we got a Town Administrator. Don would like to go back to the Select Board opening the sealed bids. Bill agreed the significant ones should be opened at board meetings. Don noted that the Select Board should at least be notified of all bids going out and a Select Board member should be present at the bid openings. Larry reviewed the past process with the board and he and Becky both noted that most bid openings need to be reviewed before an award is made. Bill suggested bids be opened at 4:00 pm with at least one Select Board member present. It was unanimously agreed that each bid opening would have a letter to the board stating what it is for and openings would be set for after 4:00 pm.
Sign State Election Warrant: The warrant was presented to the Select Board and was signed.
Designate Safety Officer: This position is required by our insurance carrier. Keith O’Neil was recommended by Becky and unanimously approved by the Select Board to be Safety Officer.
Harmony Hall Deed Research: Becky was authorized to go ahead and find out what we do and do not own and whether there are any deed restrictions.
School Committee Resignation: Hillary Howard has moved out of town so she resigned from the school committee. Her position is up for re-election in May 2019. The Select Board requested Becky ask and see if they can get by without that seat being appointed, or if they have someone they can recommend to the Select Board for appointment until May.
Berkshire County Selectmen’s Association meeting: Lisa informed the board of the upcoming meeting on October 18, 2018 in case anyone was interested in attending.
Bay State Canna Holdings, LLC: They would like to put a cultivation and manufacturing facility on the corner of Dimmock Road and Route 8. They were questioning whether the town was receptive to this type of business or were we moving forward with a moratorium. The Select Board noted that a moratorium would have to be voted on by the townspeople and we didn’t see how we’d have time for that, so no moratorium was expected to be put in place. It was also noted BSCH did their due diligence with their Community Outreach per town counsel and the Cannabis Control Commission. Moving forward with the facility will give the town 3% of gross revenue for five years. The Select Board asked to see a copy of their financial projections. The Select Board also wants to host an Information Meeting to get the town’s perspective on this. BSCH also asked if the town had property where they would like to have a facility like this located. The Board agreed this was possible, but had no knowledge of where this might be.
The Select Board unanimously adjourned the meeting at 8:21 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lisa D’Orazio
Selectmen’s Secretary, Town of Otis
List of Documents
- The bid tabulation sheet for the Paving Bids will be filed with these meeting minutes.
- The bid tabulation sheet for the Surplus Property bids will be filed with these meeting minutes.
- A copy of the resignation letter for the School Committee will be filed with these meeting minutes.
- A copy of the Berkshire County Selectmen’s Association dinner invitation will be filed with these meeting minutes.
- A copy of the signed warrant for the November State Election will be filed with these meeting minutes.