Members present: William Cavanaugh, John Murray, George Fuller
Others Present: Tony Blair, David Bonney, Bill Brownhill, Colleen O’Connor, Gene Pike, Beth VanNess, John Hall, Maddy Elovirta, Gale LaBelle
7:00 PM Meeting opened.
Selectmen’s Comments and Announcements: George asked if anyone read the article in the Country Journal about the town receiving the STRAP grant. He was upset that the article just mentions Terry Walker as writing and receiving this grant and does not mention Lenny Tisdale’s work on the grant. Tony advised that Ms. Walker was hired by the town to assist Lenny in writing this grant but she in no way completed the grant by herself. Bill advised that Alice Briggs is the reporter for the Country Journal and this should be brought to her attention.
Bill advised that the Seven Town Advisory Committee meeting on January 27, 2010 has been postponed until February 10, 2010. Bill will attend this meeting. Tony advised that he spoke with Jim Stankewicz and was told that Becket’s assessment of the school operating budget would be less than last year.
The Selectmen reviewed minutes of the previous meetings. John motioned to accept the Executive Session minutes of January 20, 2010, Bill seconded. Motion passed. John motioned to accept the minutes of January 20, 2010, Bill seconded. Motion passed.
Town Administrator’s Report:
Tony advised that the CDBG application is almost finished and will be submitted on time. It needs to be in Boston by February 12, 2010.
Tony advised that the Department of Conservation and Recreation is hosting public forums to come up with forest plans for public forests in Massachusetts and the closest forum will be in North Adams on Saturday, February 6, 2010 and in Pittsfield on that same day.
Public Input: None.
Tony advised that the third quarter preliminary tax bills will be going out soon and that the Department of Revenue has not yet approved the revaluation of property so we do not have a tax rate set. The Town is borrowing in anticipation of revenue because the tax bills are going out so late and the town has not had significant revenue coming in. Tony also advised that the bank note is for $400,000.00 and the interest rate is 1.25%. John motioned to sign the bank note in the amount of $400,000.00, George seconded. All in favor.
John Hall, Fire Chief, addressed the Board regarding the Fire Department fees. He advised that the town has not increased the fees for the fire department in a very long time. He checked with surrounding towns to see what they charged and found that Becket’s fees were much less than most towns. He also advised that the State is requiring the fire department to do much more extensive inspections than it used to require. George asked what the liquor license inspection was. John advised that this is for the annual inspection of clubs and restaurants, and where it applies also for the hoods over stoves. John Hall would like the fees to take effect March 1, 2010. John motioned to accept the fire department fees effective March 1, 2010, George seconded. All in favor.
Tony advised that the fee increases would be put on the town’s website.
The Selectmen reviewed the letter from Susan H. Donnelly advising that she will be retiring on June 30, 2010. Tony asked the Selectmen how they wanted to go about adverting for this position and how they wanted to conduct interviews. Tony thought it would be a good idea to advertise the position in the Berkshire Eagle, the Country Journal, The Beacon, the Springfield Republic and the Boston Globe. Tony thought that Susan Donnelly should be included in the interview process because she will know what to look for. Briefly discussed how the Department of Revenue approves the values of property and how difficult it is to do a revaluation. The Selectmen wanted to know if either of the two other assessors wanted the position. Tony advised that they are not interested in filling the head
assessor position. The Selectmen would like to get this advertised as soon as possible. Tony will have the advertisement by next meeting.
Tony advised that he had a meeting with Western Massachusetts Electric Company regarding street lights. This meeting was to see that the town was billed correctly for street lighting. At this meeting Tony found out that the two floodlights at the town hall cost approximately $700 a year and thought that we could probably do without the lights. Briefly discussed the issue of lighting over by the pavilion. Maddy expressed concern about that light. She feels that if it is turned off it might encourage bad behavior at the pavilion and park area. George asked if they could change the heads. Tony advised that WMECO could turn the lights off for one week so we could see if it makes a huge difference and if we do not like it they can turn the lights back on. George motioned to have
the flood lights turned off for one week, John seconded. All in favor. George feels that the departments and committees should be notified about the lights being turned off.
The Selectmen reviewed the monthly reports of the Dog Officer, Board of Assessors, Ambulance Department, Police Department and Citations issued by the Police Department. George motioned to accept the reports, John seconded. All in favor.
The Selectmen reviewed the Dimensional Special Permit for the construction of an existing non-conforming single family residential house at 31 Western Avenue. The Selectmen have no objections to this permit.
The Selectmen reviewed the variance application to construct garage 4.27 feet from frontline setback at 462 Long Bow Lane East. The Selectmen have no objections to this application.
Any other business: None.
Reviewed correspondence.
7:35 PM John motioned to adjourn, George seconded. All in favor.
Reviewed payroll/expense warrants.
Respectfully submitted, _______________________________
Nina Weiler, Secretary William F. Cavanaugh, Chairman
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