Select Board Meeting Minutes
Otis Town Hall
Conference Room
December 22, 2020
7:00 p.m.
*This meeting is being conducted remotely through Zoom. You must check back within 24 hours of the start time for a link to join.
Pursuant to the Governor’s March 12, 2020 order suspending certain provisions of the Open Meeting Law, G.L. c. 30A, Sec 18, this meeting is being held via remote participation to the greatest extent possible. Every effort is being made to ensure that any member of the public may access the meeting in real time, via technological means. Agendas will be amended to show the link and participation code to access the meeting no sooner than 48 hours before. Recordings and/or draft proceedings of the meeting will be available on our website as soon as possible.
Attendance: Selectmen Chair Bill Hiller, Selectmen Larry Southard, Selectmen Gary Thomas, Heather Morgan, Brandi Page, Lyn O’Brien, Jen Driscoll, Terry Gould, Celeste Watman, Arlene Tolopko, Mike Kulig and Diane Provenz.
Call to Order
7:00 PM
Approval of Select Board Minutes. Dec 8th, 2020
The Select Board approved the minutes with the correction of Bill’s last name from Hill to Hiller.
Board of Health. 23 Parish Drive, variance
Mike Kulig presented to the Board. He stated the property perked well in the front of the property, but the system will need a variance. The well for the property is about 50 feet from the proposed gravity system. The system is the equivalent of a sand filter. It is about 10 feet from the right of way. The system will need a variance due to the proximity to both the owner’s well and the abutter’s well. Jim Wilusz agrees with the plan if both wells are tested first, the abutter’s well is tested and paid for by the applicant for two to three years after the system is installed, and if there are no abutter objections. The neighbor had been notified of the meeting. The Selectmen unanimously approved the plan and variance.
Erbe Building
The Select Board discussed the removal of the person who has been occupying the Erbe building. The person who is currently residing in the building was never part of the lease agreement. Jeremia will recommend an attorney to the Select Board that specializes in the summary in this are so we can move forward with the eviction process. The question was brought up regarding the Town’s liability in regard to any issues with the occupant or the house that might come up. Brandi will talk to Jeremia regarding the Town’s liability. The Select Board agreed to hire an attorney as a consultant to explore what the Board’s options are.
Kitchen, Food Pantry
Food has gone missing from the food pantry and expired food has been left. One recommendation was to lock the kitchen to control access to the food pantry. Anyone who has a key to town hall has access to the food in the food pantry. Brandi suggested keeping a list of who has a key to town hall. Terry mentioned that no food has gone missing in the past week. She said that she will put food a side for anyone who needs it. The suggestion of adding security to town hall was also discussed. Due to COVID it’s important to know who is accessing the space and limit that. Terry would like to give it a couple more weeks and see what happens. She will keep the Select Board updated. The Select Board agreed to table it for now.
Review and Approval of Warrants.
Any topics not reasonably anticipated by the Chair at the time of the original posting.
Gary received a complaint regarding the clerk at the Otis Post Office not wearing a mask. Jim Wilusz was consulted and explained the Post Office is under Federal jurisdiction and there is nothing the Town can do. The Post Office is not under local jurisdiction. Arlene asked if there is a Federal Post Office rule regarding employees wearing masks. Gary will follow up.
Celeste had a question regarding the Erbe building. Celeste would like to know if the Select Board has any plans for it. There will be no discussion until the occupant is gone from the premises.
Lyn mentioned that none of the town buildings have Christmas lights or decorations. She hopes next year will be better. She also wanted to talk about the amount of salt used on West Center Road. She was wondering if the trucks could be calibrated to use less salt. She is concerned about her trees dying and about the salt contaminating wells. Bill explained it might be due to the trucks turning around. He will talk to Derek.
Adjournment.
7:39
Respectfully submitted by,
Heather Morgan
Selectmen Secretary, Town of Otis
List of Documents
Letter from Community Legal Aid
Town of Otis MA Proposal – revised December 17, 2020