Chilmark Board of Selectmen August 21, 2018 Meeting Minutes
Present: Chairman James Malkin, Warren Doty and Bill Rossi.
Tim Carroll, Police Chief Jonathan Klarèn, Joan Malkin, Peter Cook, Rebekah Thomson, Anja May, Deb Packer, Clark Goff, news reporter Rich Saltzberg and MVTV videographer Lynn Christoffers.
At 5:00 PM Chairman Malkin called meeting to order in the Selectmen’s meeting room.
Minutes:
Draft minutes from the August 7, 2018 meeting were reviewed. A correction was made. Mr. Rossi moved to approve minutes as corrected. Mr. Doty seconded the motion.
SO VOTED: 2 Ayes, 1 Abstain James Malkin was not present 8/7/18
Chairman Malkin said we will take items from agenda out of order if we have persons is here to address them. Chairman Malkin asked for the Preschool item to be discussed.
Preschool RFP:
Chairman Malkin said we have a response from our RFP for the Chilmark Preschool space. Anja May said they were very happy to submit a proposal. Anja said we are comfortable with the space and our relationship with Chilmark School. Chairman Malkin asked if there were any questions or comments. Mr. Rossi and Mr. Doty said this response we received is thorough and complete. Mr. Doty said he was pleased to see the page on finances with all the detail provided. Mr. Doty said this program has been a huge success and that it should be continued.
Mr. Carroll said the Superintendent of Schools sent an email and the Chilmark School Principal called. Mr. Carroll said both Superintendent and Principal would like to include that the floors be cleaned every summer as they have been. Mr. Carroll said the Superintendent wanted to let you know they are considering pre-k. Mr. Carroll said they were initially not agreeable to 20 year lease but the 5 year lease they were ok with.
Mr. Rossi moved to accept the proposal for Chilmark Preschool as tenant at the Chilmark School and authorize a lease. Mr. Doty seconded the motion. SO VOTED: 3 Ayes
Mr. Doty asked when we would have a new playground. Mr. Carroll said they would be on island August 27, 2018.
Chairman Malkin asked for Ms. Malkin and Mr. Cook to speak to the item they are present for.
Ms. Malkin said they were present to discuss the bus turnaround in Menemsha and the pedestrian walkway.
Pedestrian Walkways & VTA Turn Around in Menemsha:
Mr. Carroll said the engineers haven’t given us anything yet for the bus turnaround. Mr. Carroll said he spoke with them today and they are working on it. Mr. Carroll said they are aware of the September 5, 2018 Conservation Commission date for the NOI. Mr. Carroll said as for the sidewalk Mr. Brewster is working on it but we have not received it to date.
Pedestrian Paths Continued…Ms. Malkin referred to a letter from Kevin Burchill that had recommendations concerning cross-walks. Ms. Malkin asked that Mr. Carroll speak to Planning Board Administrative Assistant for the letter content.
Mr. Carroll said last time we received a letter from Mr. Burchill was to the Selectmen and through the police department. Ms. Malkin said they would not want to miss input. Mr. Carroll said Mr. Brewster is acting on 2 years of input to work from and Mr. Burchill was a part of that.
Mr. Doty said he was working with Janet Weidner and Mr. Carroll and Mr. Brewster on the DiMaura and Greenebaum properties for pedestrian paths. Mr. Doty said we (afore mentioned group) have not had any discussion about crosswalks at this stage of our public safety improvement projects.
Mr. Doty said the latest update about the pathway at the Greenebaum property is whether there are any archeological finds related to Native American artifacts.
Mr. Doty said as for the bus turn around we are waiting for an exact definition & plan from Vineyard Land Surveying to submit to the Conservation Commission for a determination.
Mr. Carroll said the plans from Planning Board Subcommittee and Mr. Brewster call for a cross walk on the end of the walking pathway; from fish market to Comfort Station. Mr. Carroll said Mr. Brewster had also recommended 2 crosswalks by the Bite restaurant. Ms. Malkin said a crosswalk at the end of the bridge. Mr. Doty said the crosswalks have not been part of our focus at this time.
Deb Packer arrived and handed out a copy of the visioning session facilitated by MVC Bill Veno January 12, 2016 about Menemsha Traffic, Parking & Pedestrian Access. Ms. Packer said the original discussion was to have a yellow line painted on the pavement as pedestrian walkway. Ms. Packer asked to revisit that option. Selectmen thanked Ms. Packer for the information.
Up Island Regional School District - funding formula working group:
Mr. Carroll said they (working group) assessed the concept of whether or not the middle school was at a different rate of expense. Mr. Carroll said it came out with a minimal difference, which shifted from year to year. The working group’s recommendation was not to pursue adjusting the middle school rate at this time.
Chairman Malkin said there is a joint meeting (Aquinnah, Chilmark & West Tisbury) tomorrow on continued discussion of the regional formula.
Site Visit Tea Lane:
Mr. Rossi reported on the visit to Tea Lane - Kingsbury site. Mr. Rossi said he visited twice; once with Keith (Highway Superintendent) and once with Ms. Kingsbury and Kevin Oliver.
Mr. Rossi discussed the drainage problem. Mr. Rossi said he has a call into the person who was in charge of the project when the change to the drainage was done. Mr. Rossi would like to hear information from this individual about the project to make sure information is in line with what we were told. Mr. Rossi said Ms. Kingsbury has an idea of what should be done. Mr. Rossi said she might be on to something with her ideas.
Site Visit Tea Lane Continued…
Mr. Rossi said he spoke to the contractor who last did the work, which was 2005 not 30 years ago. Mr. Rossi said this contractor was not part of the project that had the culvert that filled up Ms. Kingsbury’s pond. Mr. Rossi said part of Ms. Kingsbury’s request is that the Town drain the pond (on her property) and clean the pond to fix up 30 years of mess on her property. Mr. Rossi said he personally has issue with that. Mr. Rossi said he would like to correct any issue with drainage or runoff that goes onto her property from the town road (Tea Lane).
Mr. Rossi said he is seeking a price from Mr. Glavin of DECA who did the last work on the area. Mr. Rossi said Mr. Glavin recommended using a 24 inch culvert instead if a 12 inch culvert. Mr. Rossi said Mr. Glavin reported this upgrade in size of culvert would handle the drainage of water that is coming down the long trench alongside Tea Lane. Mr. Rossi said we should have the price from Mr. Glavin next week. Mr. Doty and Chairman Malkin thanked Mr. Rossi for his work on this project.
Peaked Hill Pasture - Use Committee Update:
Chairman Malkin said the Peaked Hill Pasture Use Committee has met 4 times and are meeting again on September 5, 2018 8:00 AM for 1 hour. The committee has developed a list of approximately 15 to 18 ideas of what might be done with the land. Chairman Malkin said we will (use committee) now build the advantage and disadvantage of each idea and once that is completed we will have public meeting to bring these ideas to get input from the town and eventually refine further and bring 3 or 4 proposals to Annual Town Meeting.
Chairman Malkin said there was a suggestion of moving the Chilmark Community Center to the site out of the center of town. Chairman Malkin said he met with the board of the Town Affairs Council last Saturday and they had no interest in moving from their current location. Chairman Malkin said this committee will not proceed with the suggestion any further.
Peaked Hill Pasture Road Association - New Agreement:
Mr. Rossi said he went to the meeting where there was discussion on changing the formula of the dues. Mr. Rossi said the Town will have more exposure in terms of road maintenance. Mr. Rossi spoke of a mediation session at lawyer’s office with the Land Bank. Land Bank has paid back dues and has agreed upon payment that will be 1 payment per lot. Town of Chilmark will be taking on 20 % of the cost instead of 1/3. It was agreed to revisit the formula after there is a determination of what will be done with the Town’s 16 acres.
Mr. Rossi said he agreed to the change from 1/3 to 20% of the road maintenance coasts, and moved to authorize this new agreement. Mr. Doty seconded the motion.
SO VOTED: 3 Ayes
Meeting House Road- building lot update:
Mr. Rossi said he has received nothing from Reid Silva at Vineyard Land Surveying. There are no new updates at this time until we receive information from Mr. Silva on the site work we have authorized. Mr. Carroll said Selectmen have at least 10 things on Reid’s plate that he knows of there might be other town departments tasking him with projects too.
Updates Continued…
Chairman Malkin said as for the Bus Turnaround and Fire Station engineering for ConCom we can assume there is a backlog as we have Reid Silva on these too. Mr. Carroll said we are looking at the October ConCom meeting to have these done rather than the September meeting.
Landfill Post Closure Use Permit - Engineering Estimate:
Mr. Carroll said he is hoping to get a quote from Reid for what it would cost him to file and do the paperwork for us. Mr. Carroll said the road we have assumed would go through the landfill to the fisherman storage lots and Fire Department training site needs discussion. Mr. Carroll said the neighbors expressed a concern. Mr. Carroll also said he DEP sent correspondence to us concerning access control and dust control if we did have road go through the landfill.
Mr. Carroll discussed utilizing existing Middle Line Road. Mr. Carroll said we could consider taking more responsibility of Middle Line Road and use it to access of the discussed area. Mr. Carroll said John Keene is willing to come into the site either way. Mr. Doty volunteered to analyze the options and return to the next Selectmen’s meeting with a recommendation.
Chairman Malkin said after attending the Middle Line Road Association Meeting he said there are some items to be aware of:
- Members thought the Town should pay more than they are now for dues
- Members do not like the “Death Pit” deer carcass burial pit
Mr. Doty said when we have a good land use plan in place the pit will no longer be located there.
Fall Paving Projects - evaluate current needs with Highway Superintendent:
Mr. Carroll said he wanted to talk about paving because the time moves very quickly and that the plant closes at short notice. Mr. Carroll described photos taken with Highway Superintendent of roadway heading down North Road to Menemsha. The asphalt is failing at the intersection of North Road and Basin Road. Mr. Carroll said there is another section on Basin Road on the other side of the bridge by Stanley’s that is coming apart. Mr. Carroll said to utilize State grant funds for the road work we must do job in at least 500 continuous feet.
Mr. Carroll said while Keith was away he asked him to come up with a bunch of hand jobs for his crew to do without him. Mr. Carroll said they have been working on the Squibnocket road and might already be done.
Discussion turned to funding for the paving projects. Chairman Malkin said he looks forward to Keith’s recommendation on how to spend the $168,000.00
Volvo Commercial- Futuristic Films - in Menemsha:
Mr. Doty said the proposal from Volvo Films was an appropriate date but the plan is complicated with a large crew of 12 people. Mr. Rossi moved to approve this request to film in Menemsha September 7th or 8th. Mr. Doty seconded the motion. SO VOTED: 3 Ayes
Chilmark School - Playground Monday August 27:
Mr. Carroll said as reported earlier installers are arriving on the 27th of August. We have about $20,000.00 outstanding on the invoice but that is entirely for the labor of installing. Mr. Carroll said the workers will be parked on the grounds with a mobile home during the installation of the playground.
Harbor Boat Update:
Mr. Carroll said the boat builder said they will request the 50% deposit closer to the scheduling of boat building. Mr. Carroll said he expects this to be in September and asked for permission to send payment when requested.
Mr. Doty moved to authorize Tim Carroll to pay the 50% deposit when payment is requested by builder. Mr. Rossi seconded the motion. SO VOTED: 3 Ayes
Town Clerk - Appointment of Election Officers:
Chairman Malkin said Town Clerk has sent a letter to the Selectmen recommending they appoint the following Chilmark voters as Election Officers:
Michele Leonardi, Jane Greene, Joan Jenkinson, Holly T. Norton, Deborah K. Silliman Wass and
Ann Wallace
Mr. Doty moved to appoint these Chilmark voters as Election Officers. Mr. Rossi seconded the motion. SO VOTED: 3 Ayes
Housing Committee - request for $100,000 rental Assistance - CPC Funded:
Chairman Malkin read the letter from the Housing Committee:
The Housing Committee has respectfully requested $100,000 of CPA funds allocated to the Rental Assistance Program for future subsidies; to sustain the current rental situations in FY19 + FY20, and to support potential additional rental situations. At the new rent rates it is estimated that the current available funding ($22,000) will carry the program a further 6 to 7 months.
Mr. Doty moved to approve this request. Mr. Rossi seconded the motion. SO VOTED: 3 Ayes
Chairman Malkin said that wraps up our agenda.
Mr. Doty said he would like to say over the past number of years he has been close friends with Mark London. Mr., Doty said he (Mark) went through a remarkable struggle the past number of months in Mass General Hospital. He had hoped a bone marrow transplant would solve his Leukemia. At first looked like it was going to work but it all went downhill and he passed away on Saturday August 18, 2018. Mr. Doty said Mark really loved Chilmark and he served Martha’s Vineyard Commission with all his heart and would like to say these words of remembrance of Mark London. Mr. Carroll said the Memorial service will be Sunday September 9th at the Chilmark Community Center.
At 5:45 PM Mr. Rossi moved to adjourn, Mr. Doty seconded the motion. SO VOTED: 3 Ayes
Minutes respectfully submitted by Diana DeBlase Approved 09/04/2018
Document List:
- Draft minutes from Selectmen’s August 7, 2018 meeting
- Proposal for Chilmark Preschool Contract
- 2016 visioning notes Menemsha planning brought in by Deb Packer
- West Tisbury Accountant’s report from assessment formula working group 8/16/18
- 1995 design specifications for drainage reconstruction Tea Lane - Kingsbury
- New Pasture Road Association agreement document
- Lawrence Lynch 5/8/18 bid for paving
- Lawrence Lynch 2/5/18 paving bids & paving 5/7/18 bids
- Request from Futuristic Films to film in Menemsha in September 7th or 8th
- Explanation from Futuristic Films about the specifics
- Photos of sites Futuristic Films intend to film at
- Town Clerk recommendation for Election Officers to be appointed
- Letter from Housing Committee requesting CPC funds of $100,000. For rental assistance program
- Same letter addressed to CPC
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