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Select Board Minutes 10/06/2015
SELECT BOARD MINUTES FOR MEETING
Tuesday, October 6, 2015 – 7 pm
Holland Town Hall
27 Sturbridge Road
Holland, MA


Present: Lawrence Mandell, Chair
  Andrew Harhay, Member

Absent: Elias Gillen, Member
 Kelli Robbins, Executive Secretary

Call to Order: Mr. Mandell called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm.

Approval of Minutes: Motion 100615-1: Mr. Mandell made the motion to waive the reading of the minutes and accept as written for September 15, 2015. Seconded by Mr. Harhay. All in favor.

Old Business:
  • Lake Drawdown – Motion 100615-2: Mr. Mandell made the motion to begin the drawdown of the Lake Hamilton on October 13, 2015, with the lake to be lowered 2 inches/day until achieving a drop of 24 inches below the normal level. The Lake is to be maintained at the lower level until 45-60 days after the first freeze.
Note: The above-stated process conforms to the recommendation made by the Conservation Board at the September 16, 2015 Select Board meeting.
  • Liaison List – Chair tabled item; for discussion at the next meeting.
New Business:
  • Capital Planning – Mr. Mandell noted that the current General Bylaws call for a 13-member Capital Planning Committee and he would like to work towards restoring a functioning committee. Mr. Mandell said he would ask Ms. Robbins to reach out to the Town positions outlined in the current bylaw and post committee openings for the two Town voter positions in the 13-member committee. Mr. Mandell indicated that we can discuss the structure at the next few meetings and hopefully get a committee in place in early 2016. Mr. Harhay noted that, when the Department of Revenue did their financial management review of Holland, they recommended that the Committee be reconstituted, but with a membership of no more than five people.  A few years ago, FinCom did draft wording for a revised bylaw that closely aligned with the DOR recommendation. Mr Harhay suggested that that draft, along with the original bylaw, be reviewed to come up with a workable final structure.
On the subject of capital planning, Mr. Harhay said that last Thursday evening he attended a seminar sponsored by the Hampshire County Selectboard Association on the topic “The Capital Plan and How to Pay for It.” There was a speaker from the small town of Pelham (pop. 1,500) and the relatively large town of Amherst (pop. 38,000). Both towns had detailed, long-term plans for how their capital dollars would be allocated and both indicated that their key to success was in the planning; the better the planning, the better would be the results. Mr. Harhay said that Holland has many of the key planning elements; the town now has a long-term plan for funding small vehicles and FinCom has worked with Highway to draft a potential roadway improvement plan. The part of a long-term plan that we don’t have is one for maintaining Town buildings.
  • MEMA Grant – Mr. Mandell said that the Massachusetts Emergency Management Association will make available population-based grants, with Holland being eligible for a $2,460 grant. The Town has filled out an application for the grant and Mr. Mandell will talk with MEMA representatives at a meeting he will be attending in Agawam on Thursday.
  • Policies – Mr. Harhay indicated that our new accounting firm has been a very good source of information on procurement and financial policies and practices employed by other MA towns. The financial management review performed by the DOR recommended that Holland develop core financial policies and also recommended setting up a financial management team that would periodically meet to discuss our processes and Holland’s financial performance. The goal was to make sure that officials were ‘on the same page’ and working as a team. Mr. Harhay said that he thought it important that we work to follow-through on those recommendations. Mr. Mandell said to have the minutes show that Mr. Harhay ‘volunteered’ to take the lead on forming that type of work group and would have it added to the Action Items tracking sheet.
  • Bylaw Committee – Chair tabled item; Ms. Robbins to report progress at next meeting.
  • Fishing Tournament – An application to have a fishing tournament on October 10, 2015, starting at 7 am has been received; this was a tournament that had been approved for last week, but not held. Mr. Mandell signed the application approving the new date.
Legal Activity Update: Chair tabled item; Mr. Gillen to report at next meeting.

Announcements:
  • Action Items Update – Mr. Mandell again noted that the Select Board is maintaining a spreadsheet of action items being pursued; residents can visit the Executive Secretary’s office to see the items being tracked.
  • Trunk or Treat – Mr. Mandell confirmed that the Halloween ‘Trunk or Treat’ event, sponsored by the Holland Elementary PTO, will be held on Saturday, October 31st from 5 to 7 pm. As in past years, vehicles are to park on East Brimfield Road with trunk facing out. Police will close East Brimfield Road, from Sturbridge Road to Dug Hill Road, from approximately 5 to 8 pm.
  • The Chair announced that the Planning Board will hold a public meeting Tuesday evening, October 27th at 7 pm to solicit input for an update to the Town’s Master Plan. The meeting will provide Holland residents, business owners and officials with the opportunity to provide their ideas and visions regarding areas that the Town should focus on over the coming decade; the results of the recent Community Survey will also be presented. The meeting will be held at the Holland Community Center and all residents are encouraged to attend.


Public Access:
  • Chris McCooe thanked the Holland Police, Highway, Kelli Robbins and the FHRA for their support of the recent special weed treatment of the Lake. Boats stayed off the Lake, so the treatment should be very effective. Ms. McCooe asked about the status of the title search on Lot 30 (site of the South Basin boat ramp on Shore Drive). The Chair indicated that information went out to two firms and that we are waiting to see if either firm wants to do the work and the cost. Ms. McCooe thought that the Town clearly owned Lot 30, since that is what is indicated on the Assessors map; she thought that it was Lot 31 where the ownership is unknown. Mr. Harhay said that, although Lot 30 was supposedly acquired by the Town during a land auction some 15 years ago, the problem is that we can’t locate a title. Mr. Harhay said that it seems prudent to perform title searches on both Lots 30 and 31, since ownership is really not clear for either lot. Chris provided the Board with a map showing that the Town owned two lots on Mashapaug Road, which might provide a viable option for a boat launch. Mr. Mandell thanked Chris for her input.
  • Chris McCooe said that Paula Brown from Brimfield Ambulance had planned to attend the meeting, but must have been delayed, so Chris wanted to provide her information. Brimfield Ambulance covers the towns of Holland, Wales and Brimfield and is selling 2016 calendars as a fundraiser; the calendar has pictures taken in each of the towns. The cost is $10/calendar and the ambulance corps would appreciate support from the residents of Holland.
Adjournment: Mr. Mandell made a motion to adjourn at 7:35 pm. Seconded by Mr. Harhay. All in favor.

Submitted by: Andrew Harhay, Acting Secretary


Kelli A. Robbins, Esq.
Executive Secretary
Town of Holland
27 Sturbridge Road
Holland, MA 01521
Phone 413-245-7108 EXT. 101
Fax 413-245-7037