Members present: William Cavanaugh, Mark Karlberg, George Fuller
Others Present: Richard Furlong, David Bonney, Gerry Galliher, Hildegarde Freedman, Colleen O’Connor, Beth VanNess, Mercedes Gallagher
7:01 PM Meeting opened.
It was announced that no one in the audience was audio taping the meeting.
Selectmen’s Comments and Announcements: George advised that Bonny Rigg Hill and Algerie Roads are coming along and the highway department is now working on paving the waterways. He also advised that Bob Cooper’s truck body is in and so is Bert Goodermote’s sander. He said all of the highway trucks are running fine except for his truck. It is at Ben Funk’s being repaired and he should have it shortly.
Mark motioned to accept the minutes of November 10, 2010, Bill seconded. George asked if the company that will be installing the new well at Fire Station #1 has been there to see where the well will go. Richard advised that he has not heard anything from them yet. All in favor.
Public Input: Colleen O’Connor gave the Selectmen the letter that was sent to property owners in North Becket regarding the water survey that is currently taking place. She asked who was paying for this survey. Richard advised that BRPC received grant funding for this from a previous Local District Technical Assistance grant program. She advised that her Title 5 report that is in the Board of Health files is not correct and she was wondering if BRPC is using these files to map out the septic systems and wells in North Becket. She feels that in order to get grant money for possibly a municipal water or sewer system, this survey needs to be accurate and she does not think that it will be if they are going by the Board of Health files. She knows of two different properties that do not have
an accurate Title 5 from the Board of Health. She advised that a survey was done back in the 80’s by U-Mass and wanted to know about that. Richard advised that the only one that he knows about was the survey to see if the wells were contaminated by the salt run-off by the highway department. She feels that the town could use a municipal water system before it could use a sewer system. George advised that the Selectmen would check into this and get back to her. Richard advised that it was his understanding that the next step would be to do water quality tests on the wells in North Becket and if it showed to be a problem then a small municipal water system could be put in place. Mercedes Gallagher advised that she spoke with Mr. Sexton, from BRPC, and he told her that he knows that the Board of Health records may not be accurate so he has been in contact with property owners to see if he could get the information from them.
Hildegarde Freedman announced that she is running an event called Club Hope. The club meets once a month at the Knox Trail Inn in Otis and also meets twice a month at the First Congregational Church in Lee. This club is for people to go and discuss issues they are having in their lives with other people and it also has live music. She also advised that there is a children’s Christmas Party on December 18th from 2:00 – 5:00 p.m. at the town hall.
The Selectmen reviewed the Quitclaim Deed for property donated to the town. This property was donated and accepted by the town two years ago but the town never received a deed for the property because the person who donated it was in bankruptcy. Briefly discussed property donations. Mark motioned to sign to sign the Quitclaim Deed and donation letter, Bill seconded. All in favor.
The Selectmen discussed the District Local Technical Assistance Grant Program. BRPC needs to know by December 15, 2010 what the town wants to use the funding for if the grant is awarded. There are two general categories of eligible projects. They are Sustainable Development/Land Use Objectives or Municipal Partnerships. The Selectmen would like to get some feedback from the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Planning Board. Briefly discussed how these two boards only meet once a month so it may be difficult to get their feedback by the December 1st meeting. The Selectmen will take this up at their meeting on December 1, 2010.
Any other business: Beth VanNess asked what a person could do if they own property in a subdivision but they cannot access their property because there is no road to it. There is only a paper road. Richard advised that the property owner needs to see what was recorded at the Registry of Deeds to see if the road was part of the subdivision that was filed. If the road should be there then the owner would need to take this up with the Sherwood Greens Road District. If the Road District does not put the road in then the owner would need to take them to court.
Richard advised that there is a joint application authorization form that needs to be signed for the Microenterprise Assistance Program. Mark motioned to sign the Joint Application Authorization Form for the Microenterprise Assistance Program, Bill seconded. All in favor.
Richard advised that the town received a meeting notice of the Center Pond Lake District and also a proxy form. He gave the Selectmen a copy of this meeting notice so they could review and decide at a later meeting how they want to handle the proxy.
Richard advised that according to the Betterment Bylaws, the Selectmen are the enforcers of the article regarding unregistered vehicles but they could vote to designate the Zoning Enforcement Officer to enforce this. Bill motioned to designate William Girard as the enforcer of Article 17, Section 8 of the Betterment Bylaws, Mark seconded. All in favor.
The Selectmen reviewed the Becket Ambulance Department Request for Write-Off Report that came in today. Bill motioned to send all of them to the collection agency, Mark seconded. All in favor.
Richard advised that he had George sign forms for the Fire Station #2 renovations. This job will be rebid sometime in December. He also advised that he had the oil separator removed from the specs and explained why he did this. He explained that the radiant heat in not in the floor it is in the walls and ceiling.
Richard advised that the town administrator search committee has interviewed 4 applicants last Friday and will be interviewing 4 more this Friday.
Briefly discussed going back to a twice a month Selectmen’s Meeting schedule. Richard advised that this time of year is slower and does not feel they need to meet four times a month. The Selectmen could always schedule an extra meeting from time to time.
Reviewed correspondence.
Briefly discussed the Yokum Pond Road property donation. Richard advised that he is still trying to determine if there is a dam on this property.
Mercedes Gallagher gave the town a synopsis of the weed survey that was done on Center Pond. This year’s weed survey showed that the invasive weeds are at an all time low so the pond would not need to be chemically treated; the hand pulling is all that needs to be done. The Selectmen thanked her for doing an excellent job with the hand pulling project.
8:27 PM Mark motioned to adjourn, Bill seconded. All in favor.
Reviewed payroll/expense warrants.
Respectfully submitted, _______________________________
Nina Weiler, Secretary George Fuller, Chairman
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