Select Board Meeting

Tuesday, December 17, 2019, 6:00 pm until 9:00 pm
Town Hall
A meeting of the Selectboard

Meeting of Selectboard

Members: (Quorum)

  • Present: Peter d'Errico, Chair, at 6:00 PM
  • Present: Tom Hankinson, at 6:00 PM
  • Present: Julie Shively, at 6:00 PM

Also Present:

  • Present: Peter D.
  • Julie S.
  • Tom H.
  • Margie M.
  • Lisa S.
  • Jerri H. for the Montague Reporter
  • Steve N.
  • Greg

See original Agenda Final Minutes

Meeting opened: 6:00 PM

Meeting closed: 7:50 PM

  1. Meeting Preliminaries

  2. Appointments

    • 6:00: Police Chief Contract

      General Discussion...
      Postponed.

    • 7:00: Fire Dept. Swearing-in

      General Discussion...
      John Ingram brought in Tyler Hancock to be sworn in as a lieutenant. A short ceremony followed. John reported that a $6,400 grant had been awarded for a washer/extractor for contaminated clothing which had previously been brought to Amherst for laundering. A $2,685 grant was also awarded for protective hoods. John asked the board to appoint a new member as well.

      MOTION, moved by Tom Hankinson, seconded by Julie Shively: . Motion: To appoint Andrew Coblyn to the Fire Dept. pending a satisfactory physical. Vote: 3-0 in favor.

      Pass: Aye: Tom Hankinson, Julie Shively, Peter d'Errico.

    • 7:05: Transfer Station - Shutesbury Request, FCSWMD information, ClimCell Recycling

      General Discussion...
      Transfer Station Coordinator, Annette Herda met with the board on a list of topics. The Town of Shutesbury asked if residents of their town could drop off bulky waste items for free. The board said no, they will need to pay by the item. The Shutesbury Highway Dept. came to the Transfer Station (TS) with a small truckload of bulky waste for which Annette wrote a bill. There has been some discussion about whether the TS is operating in the red. Annette reported that that is not the case. Last year the TS took in $49,000 and expended $45,000. This year revenue is at $29,000 and expenditures are at $26,000 so far. She did briefly mention that next year this will not be the case as the cost of recycling is going up considerably instead of being a revenue stream. She has been talking with FCSWMD Coord. Jan Ameen, who is aware of all the changes and has offered to come to a meeting to discuss the options and effects of the recycling changes.
      Tom had a question about a product that he is using, that others may also be, and wondered if it should be recycled or composted. It is called climacell and is packaging used in food service. Annette thought recycling would be fine but that she would check with Jan Ameen.

    • 7:30: Rhonda Cohen new Elementary School Principal

      General Discussion...
      Postponed due to weather.

    • 8:00: Energy Committee, Idling Policy

      General Discussion...
      Postponed.

  3. Business

    • Approve minutes of November 26

      General Discussion...
      Approved

    • Consultant Fee Bylaw

      General Discussion...
      Postponed

    • Dog Officer Complaint

      General Discussion...
      Postponed.

    • Four-town Regional School Update

    • Meet/appoint new Highway Employee

      General Discussion...
      Highway Supt., Matt B., came in with a candidate for a position in the Highway Department. Robert Eagles had been interviewed the previous week by the hiring committee. The Select Board reviewed his application and asked some questions.

    • Police Regionalization

      General Discussion...
      Postponed.

    • Sign Broadband Ring Agreement

      General Discussion...
      Signed.

    • Sign Transfer Station Inspection Report

      General Discussion...
      Signed.

    • Sign CDBG housing rehab grant budget adjustment

      General Discussion...
      Signed.

  4. Mail

    • Bogus email

    • Eversource: Tree work

    • Laurie Brown, resignation from Community Pres. Commission

  5. 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 prepared by Lisa Stratford

Minutes approved on Wednesday, Feb 12, 2020