Selectboard Meeting Minutes
Otis Town Hall
Conference Room
Tuesday, April 26, 2022, at 6:30 PM
This meeting is being conducted remotely through Zoom.
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 are kept for the sole purpose of drafting minutes and are available by request.
Topic: Selectboard
Time: Apr 26, 2022 06:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
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Attendance: Chair Larry Southard, Gary Thomas, Terry Gould, Brandi Page, Andrew Acuzzo, Lynne Geane. On zoom: Ann O’Connell, Phil Magovern, Cathy’s Iphone & Geoff Geane.
Call to Order: 6:30 PM
Approval of Minutes: The minutes from Apr 07, 2022 were not approved as written. They will be edited to reflect the Finance Committee not having a quorum and resubmitted. Apr 12th were approved as written.
Kayak Drawing: The applications that had come in were all given a random bingo number. Andrew Acuzzo spun the bingo cage and pulled 8 numbers. B10- Maddy Venne, I19- Nancy Hansen, B7- Emily Venne, B4 Summer Saffer, O67-Kim Theil, B13-Carol Namiot, G51-Joe Dobosznky, N31-Brad Lamansky. Brandi will reach out to people and set up a time for the kayaks to be picked up.
Appointments: Eric recommended the Board appoint David Cleaveland for the summer maintenance position. Larry made a motion for the appointment, Terry seconded, motion passed unanimously. The Planning Board recommended Christine Fluckiger for the Planning Secretary position. Larry made a motion to appoint Christina, Gary seconded, motion passed unanimously.
St. Paul’s Update: Lynee Geane was present to update the Board on the progress at St. Paul’s. Glenco construction had recently completed the emergency work. They were also able to fix the missing siding for an additional $350.00. It is recommended there be clean up of the bat guano in the attic and an exterminator for the powder post beetles. Larry Gould has set up some test areas to see if the beetle damage is old or still happening. Gary asked if Paul Holtz at Mass Historic had received the remaining information for the grant. It was stated that yes the info had been received by the deadline.
Annual Town Meeting Warrant: The Board reviewed the draft warrant. Brandi stated that Article 8 had been worded to include Algerie along with paving a portion Reservoir at Derek’s recommendation. There was a brief discussion about the wording and if it was better to separate the free cash and stabilization motions. The wording was left as is and the article requires a 2/3 vote to pass. Larry felt Article 15 was premature as Historic hadn’t even settled on a proposed name at this time. Lynne Geane agreed and said they are still wrapping up the survey. Article 15 was withdrawn. Terry asked if Article 14 was redundant. Larry felt it wasn’t. He stated that settling on a use was needed as we work toward final design. The use ultimately dictates certain building code which would have to be included in the final design. The draft language seemed like a broad use. Terry asked if it will restrict us in the future. Larry and Historic didn’t feel it would. Diane spoke to say that it will make it easier to obtain grants and donations to say definitely what the building is going to be used for. The Board then discussed Article 16 which was a citizen petition from Sandisfield to amend the regional agreement. Terry requested that the Board not support this article. She feels the current agreement and formula for school committee member is appropriate and these changes are not needed. The School Committee members represent the district and the children not their towns and this is clear in their duties. This article suggests and Sandisfield/Otis representation which is not appropriate. Larry made a motion to add a clause that this article is not supported by the Selectboard. Gary seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Terry stated for the record she has a grand-daughter in preschool. Lastly they discussed Article 18 to pass the new library construction funding as a contingency if Shutesbury was to not pass the funding. Larry made a motion to withdraw this article, Terry seconded, and it passed unanimously. The Board would convene a Special Town Meeting for this article if we were offered the grant.
Other Topics Not Anticipated: Andrew Acuzzo is looking to build on Great Woods Road on .23 acres. He does not have the required 100’ between the proposed well and septic and is looking for a variance. The Board advised him to reach out to Larry Gould and Jim Wilusz to clarify the appropriate steps to move forward. Brandi read aloud a notice form the Highway department in regard to temporary road closures as the prep for paving. Also yearly appointments have been posted and letters have gone out.
Review & Approval of Warrants: Payroll and vendor warrants are on the table for signature.
Not Anticipated:
Adjournment: 7:30 PM