Board of Selectmen
January 7, 2009
Minutes
Members present: William Cavanaugh, Doug Walter, John Murray
Others Present: Richard Furlong
7:00 PM Meeting opened. Reviewed minutes. Doug motioned to accept the minutes of December 17, 2008, John seconded. All in favor.
Public Input: None.
The Selectmen reviewed the memo from the Finance Committee regarding FY 2010 Budget Planning. Briefly discussed the budget. Richard advised that Mike Falk will be coming in to speak with the town employees about the budget sometime next week.
The Selectmen reviewed letter from Rob Gorden regarding the Lee Area Traffic Study Group. Rob advised that the Becket options were considered unworkable and the group is looking at options west of Lee. He thanked the Selectmen for appointing him to this committee. Richard advised that the federal government is looking for “Shovel Ready” projects in towns to help the employment situation.
The Selectmen reviewed the letter from Tom Matuszko of Berkshire Regional Planning Commission regarding the Community Development Block Grant. Richard explained the process for getting CDBG grants. He advised that there may be money available to spruce up the village area. Briefly discussed the Becket General Store and what is happening with the testing that is being done.
The Selectmen discussed the false alarm fine assessed to the Becket Athenaeum. Richard explained that since the Town funds part of the athenaeum’s budget, he does not think it should be assessed a fine. Discussed the bylaw for false alarms. John motioned to waive the alarm fee assessed to the Becket Athenaeum and return the check, Doug seconded. All in favor. Richard advised that the problem with the alarm system has been repaired.
The Selectmen reviewed the monthly reports of the Building Inspector and the Ambulance Department. Discussed holding a meeting with emergency personnel to discuss the ice storm to see if there were things that could have been handled better. Bill will attend this meeting which will be held on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 at 12:00 noon.
Any other business: Richard advised that the town manager for the Town of Cheshire asked if Becket would be interested in joining the Multi Town Housing Development Grant. Lanesborough would be the lead town. Discussed how this grant works. The Selectmen are interested in joining the Multi Town Housing Development Grant Program. Richard advised that if someone sells their home before the loan is forgiven then the money comes back to the town. This has happened and the town re-loaned this money to someone else to put in a new well.
Richard advised that he gave each of the road districts the FEMA paperwork that the town received. He also advised that there are no contractors approved by FEMA to do debris removal and in spite of the state of emergency towns would need to need to formally go out to bid for this. He also advised that FEMA will pay 75% of the cost of the ice storm damage and the town would have to come up with the rest of the money that the state does not pay.
Richard advised that the Lieutenant Governor wants a list of projects that the town has ready to go in the next few months. Richard advised that the following was put on the list: Algerie/Bonny Rigg Hill Road in the amount of $650,000, Yokum Pond Road Bridge in the amount of $300,000, and Wade Inn Road in the amount of $750,000. Richard called Rep. Denis Guyer about putting Washington Mountain Road on the list. Washington Mountain Road goes through three different towns and this has been on the TIP Program for a long time so Richard asked Rep. Guyer to push for this project. He said that we may not get anything for these projects but we need to at least try.
Bill asked if there have been any interested people for the seven town advisory committee that is looking into changing the Regional School Agreement. Richard advised that no one came forward. Bill thought that Jeremy Dunn was interested in this committee. He feels that someone from Becket should be on this committee because it is very important.
Ann Krawet submitted a letter of interest to the Town Administrator Search Committee. The Selectmen do not want an eight member committee. Discussed having an alternate for this committee.
Reviewed correspondence.
7:45 PM Doug motioned to adjourn, John seconded. All in favor.
Reviewed payroll/expense warrants.
Respectfully submitted, _______________________________
Nina Weiler, Secretary William F. Cavanaugh, Chairman
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