Selectboard Meeting Minutes
Otis Town Hall
Conference Room
Tuesday, October 11, 2022, 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: Selectboard
Time: Oct 11, 2022 06:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87589357747?pwd=R3FYS3RDZGIwN0tTdTJ0K0RVUllKQT09
Attendance: Larry Southard-Chair, Terry Gould, Brandi Page, Tammy Weidhaas, Lauren Nelson, Rich Phair, Chris Bouchard, and Max Koivisto. On Zoom: Gary Thomas, Kelly Hamdan, Lyn O’Brien, and Phil Magovern.
Call to Order: 6:30 PM
Approval of Minutes: The minutes from 9/27 were approved as amended & 9/29 were approved as written.
Election Warrant: Larry made a motion to approve and sign the election warrant for November 8th. Terry seconded and motion passed unanimously.
Otis Rescue Squad: Rick Phair voiced his concerns about the ongoing problems at the Rescue Squad. They are still facing challenges with staffing and haven’t been able to secure a director. Becket alone has already answered 70 calls this calendar year. Calls that come in after the hours we are staffed continue to be a problem. Chris Bouchard and Rick have been responding to the majority of these after hours calls themselves. Max Koivisto echoed that nationwide shortage of EMT’s and the lack of new recruits coming into the field. One concern is new legislation being drafted which goes back to the requirement of having two EMT’s to be able to roll the ambulance. A waiver was granted during COVID that allowed the ambulance to roll with one EMT and one first responder. This has worked well for us with no negative impact. The fire department has had 150 calls so far this year and 76 of those were medical. There was discussion about the benefits and shift structure that make the positions more attractive to new hires. Larry made a motion to draft a letter with our concerns on the amendments to the legislation. Motion seconded and passed. Larry also made a motion to send a letter to the Rescue Squad Board with our concerns and pressure them for a response if we were to pull our funding and support alternate emergency services for residents. Motion seconded and passed.
Beavers: Kelly Hamdan gave a recap of the timeline so far in handling the beaver problem near their property. In response to a permit for letting the highway minimally breach some of the dams a letter back from ConCom stated a Notice of Intent would need to be filed and the property owners would need to grant permission for any inspections and or breaching of dams. The Board did not feel it was appropriate for the Town to file the NOI that it should be filed by the property owner(s). Brandi is going to put together a list of affected owners and corresponding map for Kelly. We can also send the link and guidelines for the NOI.
Contracting for Snow & Ice: The Board reviewed a draft packet to be pushed out to interested contractors in providing snow and ice assistance this winter. Brandi wasn’t sure how competitive the rates were. Chris Bouchard had current rates from the community he works in and said he could send those in for comparison. Larry made a motion to advertise to work pending a slight adjustment in the rates to make them competitive. Terry seconded and motion passed unanimously.
Personnel Policy Updates: The Board began looking at updated for the personnel policy. They discussed and approved changing the probationary period from 30 days to six months. Larry made a motion to table and continue discussion to the next meeting. Motion seconded and passed.
Review & Approval of Warrants: Payroll and vendor warrants are on the table for signature.
Not Anticipated: The Fire Department asked to set a date of April 15th for the training at the Erbe building. The Board was fine with that.
Adjournment: 8:11 PM.