Selectboard Meeting Minutes
Otis Town Hall
Conference Room
Tuesday, March 28, 2023, at 6:30 PM
This meeting will be held in person at the location provided on this notice. Members of the public are welcome to attend. A remote option is offered via zoom with the link provided below.
Please note that while an option for remote participation is being provided as a courtesy, the meeting will not be suspended or terminated if technological problems interrupt the virtual broadcast, unless otherwise required by law. Anyone with interest in any specific item should plan in person attendance.
Topic: Select Board
Time: Mar 28, 2023 06:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
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Attendance: Larry Southard-Chair, Gary Thomas, Terry Gould, Brandi Page, Mary Kay Pinkham, Phil Magovern, , Tammy Weidhass, Arlene & Frank Tolopko,Lois Hall, Lynne Geane, Gloria Mamokhin, Ann O’Donell and Diane Dyer. On Zoom: Denise Hardie, Larry Gould, Michelle, Sue Ebitz and Travis Walsh.
Call to Order: 6:30 PM
Approval of Minutes: Minutes from Feb28, 2023 were approved as amended.
Appointments: The Board discussed the 4 letters of interest that were received for the formation of the RAAC (Regional Agreement Amendment Committee). Interested parties are Denise Hardie, Frank Tolopko, Mary Kay Pinkham and Sue Brofman. The Board discussed recommending all 4 to the School Committee and letting them appoint the three best suited. The applicants voiced preferring the Board select three this evening. Denise asked to have the letters of interest made public. They will be attached to the minutes. Larry made a motion to move all four forward to the School Committee. Gary seconded and the vote was unanimous.
Caucus Call: Gary read aloud the positions posted for the Caucus which is the be held April 11th at 7:00 pm. Caucus posting attached.
Pole Petition Hearing: Travis Walsh was present for Eversource. This pole is at the corner of Algerie and East Otis Road. It is being added to increase reliability and redirect the feed which will avoid outages. Larry made a motion to approve the petition. Terry seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.
Library Trustees: The Library trustees were present to ask the Town for a letter of commitment for the upcoming MBLC Library Construction grant round. Applications aren’t due until next year so this letter just puts us in the round initially. Larry stressed how long the time line is and felt it would be hard to promise the Erbe location for that amount of time. Ultimately tow sites need to be identified for the application and this letter doesn’t tie us to any sort of restriction on the proposed sites. Larry made a motion for the Board to submit the letter of intent. Motion seconded and unanimously approved. The Library was also looking to do some work in their kitchen and had submitted a plan. The Board reviewed the proposed work. After brief discussion it was decided Larry Gould would meet on location with Eric and they would recommend back on the work. Item will be tabled until that time.
Short Term Rental Bylaw: After some discussion, the Board felt they still wanted time to review recent edits. They were not ready to push a draft to the Planning Board. Item continued until the next meeting. They thanked Larry Gould for his continued work on this bylaw and all the thought that has gone into it. The Board wants to be fully comfortable with it when it moves forward.
Discussion of Rescue Services: Larry stated that the Board has a meeting posted for March 31st at Becket Town Hall to meet with their Select Board and discuss the possibility of a shared ambulance service. Otis Rescue Squad had said they were meeting in two days and that the Board should be there. The Board discussed their availability and it was already too late to post a meeting for Thursday at that time. Gary asked if we had received any budget documents from Rescue. Brandi confirmed we had not received anything. Larry Southard expressed that the Town very much supports the Otis Rescue Squad and the work that they do. We have a national shortage with EMT and first responder staffing so part of the challenge is not unique to Otis. We have invited them on more than one occasion to discuss the best way to move forward. To squash any rumors what is currently on the table is that Becket has presented us with an opportunity to explore a shared ambulance between the two towns. The Board is simply taking the opportunity to have a discussion with Becket and see what this would look like. It may not end up being the direction the Board feels is best but for now we want to gather all the information.
Review & Approval of Warrants: Payroll and vendor warrants are on the table for signature.
Not Anticipated: Frank Tolopko asked if his wife being on the School Committee was a conflict with his appointment to the RAAC being considered. It was not thought to be a conflict.
Adjournment: Open session closed at 7:51 PM.