Leverett Town Seal

Massachusetts

Leverett

Town of Leverett
9 Montague Road
Leverett, MA 01054
Town Clerk: (413) 548-9150
Tax Collector: (413) 548-9666
Assessor: (413) 548-4945
Town Hall Fax: (413) 548-1035
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Select Board

Tuesday, September 17, 2019, 7:00 pm until 9:00 pm
Town Hall, 9 Montague Rd
A meeting of the Selectboard

Meeting of Selectboard

Members: (Quorum)

  • Absent: Peter d'Errico, Chair
  • Present: Tom Hankinson, at 7:00 PM
  • Present: Julie Shively, at 7:00 PM

Also Present:

  • Margie M.
  • Lisa S.
  • Jerri for the Montague Reporter

See original Agenda Final Minutes

Meeting opened: 7:00 PM

Meeting closed: 11:04 PM

  1. Meeting Preliminaries

  2. Executive Session

    To conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with nonunion personnel or to conduct collective bargaining sessions or contract negotiations with nonunion personnel. Selectboard will reconvene in Open Session after the close of Executive Session.

  3. Appointments

    • 7:00: Library Trustees, Geothermal

      General Discussion...
      Library Trustees (also present Lisa S-W.; Joan G.; Chris C.; Elaine B.; and John K.)
      The Library Trustees came in to discuss how to fund fixing the geothermal heating system at the Library. It has been problematic on-and-off since it was installed 14 years ago. It has been more reliable recently as a closed-loop system. Two of the 4 compressors need replacement for a cost of about $7000. Additionally it has been recommended that supplemental heaters be installed at a cost of $20,000. The Library has been saving their state aid in an account intended to supplement capital costs as necessary and was prepared to pay $20,000 for the heaters. They were hoping the Town could pay for the new compressors. The board explained that the funds are not available now and would need to be requested at a STM which will be held this fall. The Library has $26,000 in their savings account and may decide to front the money for the compressors so the work can begin sooner.
      The Library had been bequeathed a large sum of money but felt that to use it for heating repairs seemed wrong. The board suggested that they consider solar panels in the future and they had discussed that as a suitable plan for the money in the future.

    • 7:30: School Committee Update

      General Discussion...
      (Bethany S. and Kip F. also present)
      Bethany reminded the board that a member of the School Committee will be at one of their meetings per month either with an update or just to listen in on the issues of the town in general. Bethany said that the school year is off to a good start and that the new principal is doing well. They hired 6 new staff over the summer to replace outgoing people. They fared well with circuit breaker funding, receiving an extra $12,000. There were some losses in food service which is typical. The one surprise concerning funding was an additional $87,000 in incoming school choice funds. This is early information and susceptible to change. There are 142 children enrolled, 22 of them school choice.
      Kip reported that Sean Mangano, Finance Director for the Regional School, is leaving in December. Discussions about assessments may begin earlier than usual and Kip asked for budget guidance ahead of those meetings in November.

    • 7:45: Teawaddle Water Update

      General Discussion...
      (also present Pat D.; Steve N.; Virginia G.; Skip F.; Macaylla S.)
      The board updated the residents on Teawaddle Hill Rd. about the meeting with Barrett Mully from Aclarity and the possibility of his technology purifying their water at the tap. Margie, Tom, Peter, and Julie met with him and he offered to set up his system in the Highway Garage. The town would have a technician bring water samples from the houses and test the results. There will be no charge. This was met with mixed reviews. Questions will need to be asked, if the filtration works, like how long will the filter last and how much volume can it handle? It will be fully vetted if it becomes a possible solution.
      Steve wanted to know if simultaneously the Wilcox and Barton testing will be going on. Tom and Julie agreed that yes, it will. The Goodale well is suitable and the Goodale’s agreed to the testing. Steve wanted to know if Wilcox and Barton had been paid anything yet and if so, how much? Margie gave him a copy of an invoice for $15,000 that has been paid. Steve was also upset that the scope of the work has expanded to include Skip Fournier’s well. After going to the neighborhood and viewing the topography, a rock outcropping was noted that made the engineer think that the Fournier well should be included in the testing. Skip is not willing, at this time, to have his well be part of the study. Skip, who has resigned from the Well Committee, said that he thinks two things are important: that Wilcox and Barton be evaluated regularly and that more research should be done on protecting the homeowners.
      Skip has a list of questions that he would like to forward to Wilcox and Barton to be answered. He will forward them to Tom for reading for technical clarity before forwarding to Wilcox and Barton and the rest of the group. Pat asked about the meeting with DEP. Margie responded that DEP has stated that whatever the water solution turns out to be, that they will continue monitoring if residents are drinking water from the area.
      Tom and Julie agree to proceed on all fronts going forward.

  4. Business

    • ADA Grant

      General Discussion...
      Money for the ADA Grant will go towards projects at the school, PSC, and library.

    • Appoint Transfer Station Supervisor

      General Discussion...
      Sam Karlin, Transfer Station Supervisor, will be out for a period of time and Annette asked that Pat Duffy be appointed to fill in.

      MOTION, moved by Tom Hankinson, seconded by Julie Shively: Motion: To appoint Pat Duffy as temporary Transfer Station Supervisor. Vote: 2-0 in favor.

      Pass: Aye: Tom Hankinson, Julie Shively. Not Present: Peter d'Errico.

    • Community Compact Projects

      General Discussion...
      Margie reviewed suggestions for the Community Compact Grant. The three that will be pursued are Narcan for Fire Dept., police dept. regionalization, and Complete Streets.

    • Eversource project on Pratt Corner Rd.

      General Discussion...
      The Pratt Corner Road partial closing by Eversource is in Shutesbury, not Leverett.

    • Firewall security renewal/public wifi security

      General Discussion...
      Margie discovered that a 3-year contract for the firewall is much less expensive than the current one-year plan which is what was budgeted.

      MOTION, moved by Tom Hankinson, seconded by Julie Shively: Motion: To purchase a 3-year firewall contract with $1000 extra to be paid from the Select Board account. Vote: 2-0 in favor.

      Pass: Aye: Tom Hankinson, Julie Shively. Not Present: Peter d'Errico.

    • Highway Uniform Contract

      General Discussion...
      Margie sent a copy of the Highway Dept. Uniform Contract to Donna and it was found to be illegal. The company didn’t know that and will let the town out of the contract. They have asked if we would be willing to buy the uniforms.

    • Sign Contract for Shutesbury Rd. culvert work

      General Discussion...
      A contract for culvert work on Shutesbury Road, initiated by Miho, was signed.

    • Town Hall Chimney

      General Discussion...
      The Town Hall chimney needs a new liner at a cost of about $5100. Two-thousand six hundred is available from Town Meeting, the rest will be paid for out of the Town Hall maintenance account.

  5. Mail

    • 2020 Census Appeal, 34 of 36 addresses accepted

    • ATM articles 21, 22, 23, and 24 accepted by the Atty. General's Office

    • Letter from Bob Dolan re: Diane Crowe dogs

    • Letter of Resignation from Sohan Tyner, Fire Dept.

    • Sample letter from Historical Commission to land owners on Sawmill River and Roaring Brook

    • Veteran's Dist. Meeting Notice, Minutes, Benefit Payments

    • Western MA Municipal Conference

  6. New Business

    • 1 Dudleyville Rd.

      General Discussion...
      (also present: Linda H.; Brian B.; Peggy C. and John I.)
      These neighbors came in to discuss the dilapidated 1 Dudleyville Road and to see if the Select Board could help with a solution to clean it up. Linda called DEP in Springfield and they suggested that the Fire Chief may be able to do an inspection of the property for safety issues. John responded that he can only inspect from the outside of the house unless he has consent from the owner. He will call Dave Roberts, the Zoning Enforcer for Leverett, for a time that they can look together. Brian also asked to be included. If a fire hazard is found by John he can put signs up warning firefighters of the danger. It is possible that if taxes have not been paid for the last three years, the town could auction the property. Margie will talk to the Tax Collector.

    • Misc.

      General Discussion...
      Margie will draft a “remote participation” agreement for board and committee members for the board’s next meeting.

      The board approved the painting of a cross-walk in front of the Town Hall.

  7. Meeting Wrap-up

The listing of matters is those reasonably anticipated by the Chair which may be discussed at the meeting. Not all items listed may in fact be discussed and other items not listed may also be brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by law.

Minutes approved on Wednesday, Oct 16, 2019