Selectboard Meeting Minutes
Otis Town Hall
Conference Room
Tuesday, August 24, 2021, at 7:00 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: Selectboard Meeting
Time: Aug 24, 2021 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84428933049?pwd=K255ZGl6aXczN3dkZks5WTVURGlUQT09
Attendance: In person: Larry Southard-Chair, Gary Thomas, Terry Gould, Brandi Page and Jim Crandall. Via Zoom: Larry Gould, Hal Kobrin, Scott Schultze (Ryder), Sonia Morrison, Diane Provenz and Patricia Strauch.
Call to Order: 7:00 PM
Approval of Minutes: Larry made a motion to approve the minutes of Aug 10th as written, Gary seconded and all approved.
Paving Bids: Paving Bids were opened and reviewed earlier in the day. Larry made a motion to award the project to Northeast Paving as the lowest responsible bidder. They came in at $418,677.00. Motion seconded and all approved.
Paper Compactor Surplus: There were no bids received for the old compactor. Maintenance will strip off any usable parts and it will be sold for scrap value.
Cutting Plan: Scott Schultze was present via zoom to answer questions about the proposed cutting plan. The trees are marked and can be reviewed at this time. The forester estimates the market is high right now and the bid process for the timber sales should yield good results. The Town can handle the bid process or the forester can handle it. Whichever way the Town is comfortable proceeding. Larry made a motion to review and continue until the next meeting. Motion seconded and all approved.
Transfer Station Violation: We had another case of illegal dumping at the Transfer Station. The facility was closed and a car pulled up and proceeded to leave garbage even after personnel doing maintenance told them not to and that there were cameras. The Board, Jim Crandall and Police are very frustrated this keeps happening. Gary suggested suspending their compactor permit until next season as well as the Police issuing a monetary fine. Larry made a motion to do the above, Terry seconded and all were in favor.
Maintenance Supervisor: It was announced Jim Crandall will be retiring in January. Larry made a motion to table this item so that further review of the job description(s) could take place. Terry seconded and all were in favor.
Cultural Council Appointment: Carol Burke submitted an application to be appointed to Cultural Council. They currently have 5 members and would like to see this happen. Larry made a motion to appoint Carol, motion seconded and all approved.
Special Town Meeting: Brandi stated we have a few things have already cropped up to require a Special Town Meeting. We have possible bylaws, a vote for moving forward with the Library Pilot Grant and a vote for needed spending on Harmony Hall. During budget season capital requests for Harmony Hall were held off so that we have a chance to inform voters of all the needed improvements and constraints we face with the building so they can feel informed before they vote to appropriate money for that purpose. After brief discussion Larry made a motion to set November 16th as the date for STM. Motion seconded and all were in favor.
Wireless Communication Bylaw: Planning Board submitted a draft of amendments to the wireless communication bylaw. Larry asked what an “attractive nuisance” is. Hal stated the changes to the current bylaw are noted in red. After brief discussion Larry made a motion to continue review and table until our next meeting. Motion seconded and all were in favor.
Review & Approval of Warrants: Payroll and vendor warrants are on the table for signature.
Any Other Topics: Sonia asked if the Historic Commission should represent at the information meeting for Harmony Hall. Terry felt this wasn’t needed as it’s simply getting info to the voters. At this point Historic doesn’t have a role with this building. We’ve discussed the issues with Harmony Hall in the past and we need to move forward. Gary feels the building itself it has historic value and if the Historic Commission feels they can fund raise that would be beneficial. Sonia feels Harmony Hall is a very important building. Diane spoke to say OPT had received the check from the Fitzpatrick Trust and they are happy to be making progress. Hal doesn’t understand why other Boards are not communicating with Planning in regard to Town Buildings. He was also upset that a recent grant round did not include a submission for work on the Master Plan. Terry spoke to remind him that the master plan is only about 5-6 years old and they have the opportunity to make one page amendments to the master plan every year and have so far failed to do so.
Adjournment: 7:51 PM