Meeting of the Washington Board of Selectmen at Washington Town Hall. August 31, 2020

Transcription

1 Meeting of the Washington Board of Selectmen at Washington Town Hall August 31, J. Huebner called the meeting to order at 7:00PM. Attending for the Select Board was J. Huebner with R. Grillon and T. Drugmand attending by conference call. After confirming all call-in participants J. Huebner motioned to approve the minutes from August 17, 2020 as printed. T. Drugmand seconded. The motion passed unanimously. 2. Call-In Participants: L. Levernoch, T. Johnson, D. Drugmand, K. Lew. 3. Highway Department: The blacktop plant was able to provide the blacktop for Upper Valley Road so the crew installed culvert pipes on Summit Hill Road. Upper Valley Road paving will begin on Tuesday. With a two man crew the job will take a little longer. A. Southard has a doctor appointment this week. He is hoping to get sign off on returning to work. J. Huebner motioned to pay medical for A. Southard for the month of September. D. Grillon seconded. The motion passed unanimously. The September invoice will be paid in tonight s warrant. A. Shannon also has an appointment next month regarding light duty status. T. Johnson asked that the employee benefit package started. The Board changed the probationary period from six months to three months moving his review date to December 1 st. J. Huebner motioned to change A. Shannon hourly rate to $ D. Grillon seconded. Motioned passed. J. Hostetter will ask J. Lumbra for an employee benefit paperwork package. T. Johnson informed L. Levernoch the culvert above her house will be done within the next month. T. Johnson met with DCR regarding the Forest Cutting Plan. DCR is going remove a couple of trees clearing up to the wall to clean up around the cemetery. The Town has not received acceptance for chapter 90 for Blotz. J. Huebner reported Francesca Heming from DOT advised the town to accept the lowest bid for the Middlefield Road bridge ahead of the paperwork approving additional funds. It was decided the Town would wait for the paperwork, which reportedly is coming soon.

2 Nothing new on grants or engineering from Gill for the Lenox Whitney Road bridges. The Board asked T. Johnson to verify all necessary paperwork has been submitted to FEMA for the Frost Road culvert. The crew will be working on paving, gravel roads and roadside cutting completed before winter. 4. Administrator Assistant: J. Huebner motioned to approve using the Assessor s laptop for non- Assessor town business. T. Drugmand seconded. Motion passed unanimously. J. Huebner motioned to approve $ dollars for recording the five-acre cemetery property the Town purchased from Pittsfield. T. Drugmand seconded. Motion passed. It was decided the funds should come out of the cemetery accounts. The Board asked J. Hostetter to the Planning Board, Conservation Commission and Finance Committee to send the Town Clerk copies of their minutes. It was decided the Administrative Assistant office will be open from 7PM to 8PM on the Monday evenings the Board does not meet. 5. Board of Health: The Board of Health will research fining Family Unity for violation of the Court Order. 6. Broadband: K. Lew reported Eversource committed to sorting out the true-up amounts for towns by September 1 st. Due to the unexpected $60, reimbursement for Eversource, the payment received in advance changed from 75% of the anticipated cost to close to 100%. He will work towards finalizing the make ready cost for the EOHED true-up reimbursement before the next meeting. The next opportunity for cash infusion is the State reimbursement for drop service. The drop credit deadline has passed but the Town can offer a few waivers if new customers want to sign up. K. Lew is cautiously optimistic that once he reassesses what is left over from the construction costs residents could pay fewer out of pocket expense for installation. Adjusting the drop policy to increase installation cost subsidies would require Board approval. The Board would need to approve a second EOHED submission for an additional $196,000

3 reimbursement for the 192 drops already installed. T. Drugmand requested a customer list to use to review for potential additional customers. J. Huebner will begin setting up the Kent Lew Appreciation Fund. Setup an account through the Treasurer then advertise it to public. 7. Building Maintenance: The Town is waiting to hear if the $116, grant application submitted to the ADA is awarded. J. Hostetter relayed M. Roos s report that the Dura-Last roofing passed inspection. The Duro-Last, Inc issued a 20-year warrantee certificate. J. Huebner signed on behalf of the Town. 8. Town Clerk: J. Huebner motioned to appropriate $1, to purchase a resident drop box. T. Drugmand seconded. Motion passed unanimously. J. Hostetter will confirm with A. Mikaniewicz classifying the drop box as general resident drop box for multiple purposes. 9. Correspondence: Request Workmen Compensation Insurance audit. RMV notice J. Huebner will follow-up. 10. Emergency Manager: J. Huebner will ask P. Mikaniewicz to contact G. Goebel regarding the status of the COVID-19 FEMA reimbursement and Emergency Manager status. The Town may need to find another Emergency Manager if G. Goebel is no longer available. 11. Green Communities: The Committee is working on identifying a one-acre piece of town property to designate an area for large scale solar. The Town Hall parcel is on the border line for size. Will it be enough with half of the area is wooded? The Department of Energy Resources frowns upon clearing trees for a designation. Town Park is protected under Article 97, which would require a legislative act to change. Other considerations include the piece of land below the Town Common but that is designated historical property. There is a parcel of land where the town took position of on Lower Valley Road that borders the railroad. The five acres for the cemetery an option as it needs to be cleared away for burials and the designation is only an acre. Private land was also discussed. That would take any potential revenue or energy savings from the Town.

4 P. Arnold is the BRPC resource to assist with changing the zoning bylaw. The reduction plan work will begin once the zoning is settled. 12. Police Department: J. Huebner had asked Chief Miller to investigate the heavy truck traffic on Blotz Road. The concern is the fully loaded, large trucks will cause damage to the road. Perhaps that is what caused the damage to the culvert. J. Huebner forwarded notification from the Berkshire Trail Riders Association annual recreational dual sport motorcycle event on September 19 th and 20 th to Chief Miller. The Registry of Motor Vehicles has not sent the accident report for the Washington Mountain Road accident that caused damage to the fiber network. 13. Selectmen: The Board accepted T Drugmand change to the Selectboard letter adding with just a few dozen customers left to the report on Broadband. J. Huebner motioned to approve the Selectboard letter submission to the Tracks as amended. D. Grillon seconded. Motion passed unanimously. J. Hostetter will send it ASAP to the Tracks as they re kind enough to wait for the Boards review and approval. The Selectboard will meet on September 14 th, 28 th, October 5 th and 19 th. In response to the COA request to use the auditorium when weather changes making yoga in the park uncomfortable. The Board will reserve time to discuss opening up the Town Hall more at the next meeting. 14. Special Town Meeting: A Special Town Meeting is tentatively scheduled for the November 9 th 7PM at the Highway Garage. 15. Vocational Education: J. Huebner forwarded to the Town of Becket the $2, bill from the state for B. Phillips unemployment. B. Phillips will drive the school bus again this year. He will the take the bus for a test drive then the Highway department will go through it from bumper to bumper. J. Huebner signed the new Inter Municipal Agreement to transport with the Town of Becket two students along with Washington s one student to McCann Tech for the school year starting on September 15 th. This year McCann is teaching ½ students twice a week. J. Huebner will see if schedule can accommodate grouping the students so all travel on the same day.

5 J. Huebner will research the letter from the RMV regarding the school bus registration. 16. Woody s: The Board received an from J. Trudeau expressing interest in purchasing Woody s. J. Huebner directed him to the Planning Board. G. Campbell is working on placing the lien. T. Drugmand added there is a lot of public information on other properties owned by Mr. Trudeau. 17. Other: T. Drugmand will follow up with E. Lampron regarding the Always Growing use of town property, especially since the Town Hall property is being considered for by-right solar. It may not be worth pursuing disposition of the property C. Willis had thought was part of his property. He s no longer using it to access to his property. The Town does not qualify for a Brownfield grant for the old landfill because the Town is not an Economic Distressed Area (EDA). 18. Adjournment: T. Drugmand motioned to adjourn the meeting at 8:24PM. D. Grillon seconded. Motioned passed unanimously. Accepted: Date Accepted: Date Accepted: Date Respectfully submitted, Jodi Hostetter