Selectboard Meeting Minutes
Otis Town Hall
Gymnasium
Tuesday, September 12, 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.
Attendance: Larry Southard, Gary Thomas, Terry Gould, Brandi Page, Larry Gould, Diane Dyer, Sue Brofman, Dana Pustinger, Jen Catolane, Chris Bouchard, Kris McDonough, Tammy Weidhaas, plus attached list.
Call to Order: 6:30 PM
Approval of Minutes: Approval of the minutes from 8/22 were tabled. They had not been completed yet.
106 Leonard Rd: Chris Tryon was present from Berkshire Geo for the septic approval. Jim Wilusz was unable to attend but sent his review and endorsement to the Board. This is a repair of a failed system and will require two variances. The abutting well distance is 92.6 feet and just shy of the required 100 foot setback. They intend to comply with Jim’s recommended testing of the wells. After brief discussion Terry made a motion to approve. Gary seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
Center Fire Station Paving: Bids were due today at 2:00 pm. We only received one submission. Brandi recommended the Board award the work to Williams Paving for $99,941.01. Terry made the motion. Gary seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Williams Paving will work with Maintenance to schedule the work.
Trick or Treat: The Rec Commission members updated the Board that they had settled on Saturday Oct 28th from 6:00 – 8:00 pm for Trunk or Treat. The Ridge is also hosting a “Haunted Lodge” at the same time. Police will be helping with people crossing the highway between the two events. The Board decided on Trick or Treat the same evening between 5:00-6:30 pm. This gives the events a half hour overlap.
Transfer of Liquor License, 1898 East Otis Road: John Drost was present along with the applicant Brooke Tame. The license with transfer from KTI Restaurant Associates to Knox Trail Bar & Grill Corp. Larry congratulated Brooke and the transfer was unanimously approved. Heather will file the signed paperwork with the State.
Erbe Lot: Larry gave some background on the Board’s decision to move forward with the lot for a planned Annex to Town Hall. He stated he had met with Diane and Sue B. since the last meeting. He wanted to make it clear the Select Board has always supported the Library. Sue spoke to say the Erbe site was ideal for their goal with the MBLC grant but that they do support the Police and understand their space needs as well. Brad Havill, the current Library Director, gave a statement highlighting the needs of the library and the amount of activity they see. Circulation requirements are challenging for small libraries. Diane Provenz wanted to let everyone know that Hal had reached out to BRPC to get a price for them to assist the Town in analyzing space needs and with studying the best use of our buildings. They quoted us $35,000 for this work. Diane feels the town itself is ill equipped to make these building decisions on their own. There were a few comments in support of having a Master Plan. Terry clarified that we already do have a Master Plan and that it has had at least one small update so far. She also clarified the Annex is not a proposed police station. It is a multiuse building that will include space for the police along with a proposed fitness room and other overflow need from Town Hall. There was discussion about alternative properties that the Library group has started to consider as well as confirming the timeline for application and award of the grants. They asked if the Town would consider purchasing the Old Otis Inn property if it came up for sale. Gary felt the Town should consider acquiring the property if it was ever listed. Larry asked about the current timing for the design of the annex. Brandi stated that the architects had submitted their qualifications earlier in the day and those would then be ranked. The front runner would be recommended to the Board for their meeting on Sep 26th for approval. We would then move forward with designing the annex and hopefully be going to the voters in May 2024 for approval to borrow and construct the building. Terry stated she is comfortable moving forward with the annex as previously decided. Larry inquired of the Library group if a shared building would be favorable. They felt size and parking constraints made a shared building not ideal for their purposes. They declined wanting to explore that option. Chris Bouchard was in favor of the Town constructing a building for the space needs identified and not continuing to reuse existing properties that pose long term constraints. Larry closed the public discussion. He felt exploration of the alternative sites would be the best scenario for expansion down the road and a new library with lots of possibilities. Terry made a motion to move forward with the annex and have the architect qualifications reviewed. Motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
Adjournment: 8:02 PM