Selectboard Meeting Minutes
Otis Town Hall
Conference Room
Tuesday, July 13, 2021, at 7:00 PM
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.
Topic: Selectboard
Time: Jul 13, 2021 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
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Attendance: Larry Southard-Chair, Gary Thomas, Terry Gould, Larry Gould, Jill Moretz, Heather Gray, Sonia Morrison, Hal Kobrin, Diane Provenz, Troy Fluckiger, Jim Crandall, dunhi, Ann O’Donell, Arlene & Frank Tolopko, Lynne Geane, Steven Levy & Gail Gelburd.
Call to Order:
7:00 PM
Approval of Minutes:
Minutes from June 22, 2021 and July 06, 2021 were unanimously approved as written.
Pole Hearing: Larry opened the public hearing. Karla Laramy spoke on behalf of the petition. Four new poles are to be added between 1340 and 1431 West Center Road. These are Eversource only. They are to add support to the existing loop and will provide an alternate way for the electricity to loop to customers in the event of an outage. No abutters were present to comment. The Board unanimously approved the pole petition. Paperwork is in the office to be signed and then certified by the Town Clerk.
Appointments: Larry made a motion to appoint Bill Hiller to the technology committee and as MLP manager. This had been discussed prior but needed the appropriate amount of time to pass. Diane Provenz wanted to know if this was a paid position and if Bill is an employee or agent of Westfield Gas & Electric. It was clarified the position is paid and he is not affiliated with WG&E. Terry asked that we have regular meetings to familiarize ourselves with the MLP workings so that in a year when Bill anticipates stepping down it is a smooth transition. Larry Made a motion to appoint, Terry seconded, unanimously approved. In regard to the interview for an in-house assessor Larry stated that after considering everything he was not in favor of making a change at this time. They liked the applicant but also recognized the Board of Assessor’s support of RRG and the fact new personnel had been brought on. Larry made a motion not to appoint a principal assessor. Terry seconded, unanimously approved.
Year End Transfers: Larry made a motion to approve moving $4,500.00 to vocational and $2,200.00 to waste disposal both from vehicle maintenance. Finance Committee approved. Terry seconded, motion passed unanimously.
Transfer Station Violations: The Board had two violations that had been submitted from staff at the transfer station. The first one was for trash being left outside the gate when the station is closed. Gary said he doesn’t know why people continue to do this. Terry suggested a robocall on holiday weekends to help people remember the schedule. Larry made a motion to suspend use of their compactor sticker for 60 days. Unanimously approved. Larry made a motion to do a robocall next time, seconded and approved. The second offense is someone from out of Town and a repeat offender. Larry made a motion to follow up with a do not trespass order through the P.D. Seconded, and passed unanimously.
St. Paul’s: Larry spoke to say he had a chance to meet with Diane and Lynne Geane. He was encouraged and felt everyone was in agreement on next steps and moving forward. Diane spoke to say Steve McAllister from Clark & Green had reviewed the next step plans and offered his comments and timeline. Larry Gould had reviewed these. We were still waiting to hear back from Town Counsel if there were any issues we should be aware of in regard to O.P.T. being the funding source for work at St. Paul’s. Brandi would continue to follow up. Diane asked to move forward with requesting a proposal from Clark & Green for design work. Everyone was in agreement on this and next steps.
Review and Approval of Warrants:
On the Selectboard table for review and signing.
Announcement: Larry read an update on the Southern Berkshire Public Health Collaborative that Otis has joined. This partnership will build a comprehensive health collaborative with the other joining south county towns. Amy Hardt and Jill Sweet are recognized as our public health nurses that will be handling any health cases in Otis.
Diane announced Otis will be hosting its Community Celebration Aug 21st.
Adjournment:
7:38 PM