Board of Selectmen
August 19, 2009
Minutes
Members present: William Cavanaugh, John Murray, George Fuller
Others Present: Tony Blair, David Bonney, Alice Briggs, Bill Brownhill, Kathy Furtado, Hope Robitaille, Susan & John Deacon, Colleen O’Connor
7:00 PM Meeting opened. Reviewed minutes. John motioned to accept the minutes of August 5, 2009, George seconded. All in favor. George motioned to accept the minutes of August 11, 2009, Bill seconded. John abstained from voting since he was not at the meeting. Motion passed.
Public Input: Sue Deacon thanked the town for repairing the beach. She explained that there has been a problem with the water eroding the sand on the beach. The lifeguards did not know who to call about this. George advised that he spoke with the lifeguards and told them to contact Lenny at the highway garage or to call his cell phone if they had a problem like that. George advised that there has been an ongoing drainage problem at the beach since they put up the wall. He explained what needed to be done to correct this problem. Tony suggested that they do a site visit to see what needs to be done. The Selectmen briefly discussed the issue with the land at the beach. Camp Greylock owns the property next to the boat launch which the town was interested in acquiring to move
the boat launch away from the beach area.
Kathy Furtado advised that she had an issue with the company that is removing tree debris from Sherwood Forest. They are piling the debris too high in the trucks and consequently some wires were pulled off her house which caused some damage to it. She explained that the driver that pulled the wires down did not even stop. She would like to see some police presence because the trucks are flying up and down Wells Road. She contacted her insurance company and is waiting for them to come out to her house. She was told that the contractor would not travel on Wells Road any longer.
The Selectmen reviewed letters of interest from Hope Robitaille and Kathy Furtado and also from John Deacon for the Harbor Master position. Hope and Kathy would like to do this together. The Selectmen asked the individuals questions. George asked what experience they each had with this position. None of the interested people have experience in the Harbor Master position. They have experience in boating for many years and John Deacon worked on the Conservation Commission also. Briefly discussed going through the conservation commission for permits to place docks and floats in the lakes. John asked why they were interested in this position. Kathy advised that she is retired now and is around all the time and wants to be involved in the town. John Deacon said that he is
on the lake all the time so he feels this would be good for him to do. He feels that he could help people with boating safety and be around more than the last harbor master. The Selectmen advised that the Harbor Master does not patrol private lakes and does not issue permits for docks on private lakes. It was brought up that there is no job description for the harbor master. Tony will try to come up with a reasonable job description. Bill advised that Bill Puhalski, a former harbor master, would be willing to speak with the new harbor master to discuss the position. George motioned to appoint John Deacon as Harbor Master term to expire June 30, 2010, John seconded. All in favor.
The Selectmen reviewed a letter of interest from Ann Krawet to be appointed to the Community Preservation Committee. John motioned to appoint Ann Krawet to the Community Preservation Committee term to expire June 30, 2010, George seconded. All in favor.
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August 19, 2009
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The Selectmen reviewed a request from Ann Leonhardt to name private road off Leonhardt Road and a request from residents to change the name of Manning Road to London Lane. Ann Leonhardt sent her request in writing. The London’s did not send their request in writing. Bill did not have a problem naming a new private road but his concern was that Leonhardt Court is off of Leonhardt Road and that could get confusing. The fire chief and ambulance department did not have an issue with this. Tony has not had a chance to discuss this with the police department. George motioned to name the private road off of Leonhardt Road Leonhardt Court, John seconded. All in favor. The second request was from an owner who lives on Manning Road who wants to change the name. Bill feels
that because this road was already named and registered as Manning Road they should not change it. It could set a precedent for other road name change requests. George motioned to table this until they get the request in writing, John seconded. All in favor.
The Selectmen reviewed letters to appointees from the Town Clerk asking them to come in to be sworn in. If a person does not get sworn in they cannot act in an official manner. The Town Clerk is reminding them that they need to be sworn in.
The Selectmen reviewed the email from Del-Rich regarding the repair of a small section of the drainage line at the Becket Washington School. There has been an ongoing problem at the school because of this broken drainage line. It has caused a sink hole by the fence near the parking area. Del-Rich has repaired the broken line at no charge to the town or school. The Selectmen would like a letter of thanks sent to Del-Rich for repairing the broken drainage line. Colleen advised that the janitor has been throwing waste water into the drainage system by the school and subsequently this water is going into the river. She was concerned that chemicals such as floor stripper or floor wax could be going into the river. Tony advised that he would speak with the school about this situation.
Tony advised that it was brought up at a CDBG Meeting that Karen Karlberg was interested in being on the task force. He also advised that two of the people that the Selectmen appointed to this committee declined the appointments. The CDBG Task Force had no problem if she was appointed. John motioned to appoint Karen Karlberg to the CDBG 2009 Task Force, George seconded. All in favor.
The Selectmen reviewed the Becket Ambulance Department Request for Write-Off Report. Tony thought that it does not hurt to send these to the collection agency because it does not cost the town anything to do so. Discussion followed about possibly sending a second request from the town. Also briefly discussed hardships and what the process would be. John motioned to initial the Becket Ambulance Department Request for Write-Off Report, George seconded. All in favor.
The Selectmen reviewed the monthly report of the Board of Assessors.
Any other business: Tony advised that he and George attended the meeting with Mass Highway regarding the Wade Inn Road truck issue. He advised that this meeting was more productive than he thought it would be. Governor Patrick was in Otis reviewing the windmill and he was cornered by Williams Stone Company about Wade Inn Road. He spoke with people in Boston about how this could be addressed in a timely manner and because of this; it went from the back burner to the front burner. Tony explained that there may be a way for trucks to enter the turnpike off of Algerie Road which would help keep them off of
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Wade Inn Road. He also advised that he sent an email to the trucking companies asking that they try to stay off the road during the times that the school busses would be traveling on the road.
Tony advised that he is working with the Town of Chester to provide bussing for the vocational students. He received a bid from Dufour, Inc. but this came in quite a bit over what was appropriated. Tony advised that in the best case it could save approximately $37,000.00. He explained how the bussing would work. George was concerned that the children would be picked up too early. Tony feels that that is the price they pay for going to a voc school. The town pays approximately $14,000.00 for tuition for each student plus the transportation costs. George was also concerned about school closings. Tony explained that he will have all the contact information before school starts. He feels that this will work out fine and if it does not then the town will have to go with
Dufour.
George advised that he does not want his signature on the cell phone policy because the highway department needs to sign this policy. Tony does not feel that this applies to the cell phone policy because it does not deal with George’s salary. He will find out and if George’s signature cannot be on it then the other Selectmen will need to re-sign the policy.
Nina advised that Len Tisdale dropped off Chapter 90 Project Requests after the agenda was completed. The Selectmen reviewed the Chapter 90 Project Requests. John motioned to sign the Chapter 90 Project Requests in the amount of $24,935.00 for the Quarry Road Chip Seal Coating and in the amount of $43,100.00 for Fred Snow Road base overlay with geo-textile road fabric, Bill seconded. George abstained from voting. Motion passed.
Tony advised that he would like to implement a policy that would get a packet to the Selectmen on Monday afternoons for their review before their meetings. This would give the Selectmen a chance to review the information before the meetings and help them to be better prepared for the meetings.
Tony advised that Foresight Land Services is currently working on the Bonny Rigg Hill Road culvert replacement. He also advised that Yokum Pond Road is closing on September 8, 2009 between County Road and Leonhardt Road for the bridge replacement. It should be closed for approximately six weeks.
Reviewed correspondence.
8:45 PM George 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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