Minutes of Meeting – October 17, 2012; meeting called to order at 7:00pm. Present: Ken Fowler;
Ed Lane; Channing Gibson; Dave Roche; John McNinch.
At 6pm, the Board met with the Finance Committee to discuss the upcoming budget season.
Citizen’s Open Forum: Ralph Petillo from the Chamber gave a brief overview of the summer tourist season. Overall, the summer was good with 3492 room stays and a 27% increase in the ½ Tix sales. In addition, the Apple Squeeze and Tub Parade were huge successes. Cameron Spaulding from the Berkshire Beacon invited everyone to attend an upcoming debate for the State Representative seat to be held on 10/31 at 7:30pm at the Lenox Library.
MOTION by CG, seconded by DR to accept the Minutes of October 1. 5/0 vote. MOTION BY DR, seconded by EL to accept the Minutes and Executive Minutes of October 3 as presented. 5/0 vote.
Hillcrest Education LP Storage Tanks public hearing: KF read the notice as it appeared in The Berkshire Eagle. MOTION by JM, seconded by CG to open the public hearing. 5/0 vote. Jim Sorrentino from Hillcrest explained that they are cleaning up the property, and decided to consolidate the current number of tanks. After the Board’s questions were answered, MOTION by JM, seconded by EL to close the public hearing. 5/0 vote. MOTION by JM, seconded by CG to approve the storage facilities license as requested. 5/0 vote.
Planning Board Chairman Katie McNulty Vaughn and Mark Smith appeared before the Board to update them on a proposed new sandwich board sign regulation/by-law proposed for the upcoming May 2013 ATM. She explained that this by-law will be part of the Town By-laws, not the Zoning By-laws. The Selectmen will be the application permitting authority, and each sign approval will be for one year. A meeting will be held on November 13 to receive public input on the draft by-law. One issue that needs to be considered is if the signs should be allowed in both commercial and residential areas. It was suggested that a sticker be created that would be affixed to the sign to show that it had gone through the approval process.
Tad Ames from Berkshire Natural Resources Council presented the Board with a proposed Conservation Restriction for the watershed lands. He explained that a CR would be a better way to protect the land for the long-term. He went on to explain that the process involved a perpetual legal agreement between the land owner and an entity that holds the CR. This document would prohibit residential, commercial and industrial development on that area of land. It would not, however, limit the continued expansion or improvements to the water supply. The CR would typically be between the Conservation Commission and a qualified conservation entity such as BNRC. MOTION by DR, seconded by JM to proceed pursuing a Conservation Restriction easement with BNRC. 5/0 vote.
Sam Greenfield plaque: Per the public monuments guidelines, the Board held a second meeting before approving of the slightly larger plaque. MOTION by DR, seconded by JM to approve a 6”x12” plaque honoring Sam Greenfield for installation in Kennedy Park as presented. 5/0 vote.
The Community Center is requesting permission to install a swinging seat and arbor on the front lawn of the Center. A plaque honoring Katie and John Keator is to be installed on the swing back. A similar swing was previously there, but deteriorated and had to be removed. It was agreed to post the information on the installation downstairs for public viewing, and to place this item on the October 29 agenda per the public monuments guidelines.
Librarian Sharon Hawkes gave an update on current activities at the Library such as a Scrabble tournament and gingerbread house competition. She also mentioned that there is a computer area dedicated to the Town’s new on-line inspections.
BOS Reports: EL informed the Board that the HDC has approved the installation of a new front doors at the Community Center. DR clarified comments he made at the recent Selectmen’s retreat regarding “fixing what is broken”. KF explained that the Board wishes to look at how we are delivering services. These efforts are not complaint driven necessarily, but rather an effort at continual improvement. JM stated that the Open Space Committee will be gearing up by January. CG stated that the new CPC application is great, and is much more specific. He sees the information derived from the applications as a possible marketing opportunity. KF asked the Board to move forward with miscellaneous appointments. MOTION by KF, seconded by CG to appoint Jane Hackmann, Susan May, Gene
Hunter and Suky Werman to the Environmental Committee. 5/0 vote. MOTION by JM, seconded by DR to appoint Colby Lewis to the Finance Committee. 5/0 vote. MOTION by JM, seconded by CG to confirm Cathy May as the Housing Authority’s representative to the CPC Committee. 5/0 vote.
MOTION by JM, seconded by DR to restrict parking for voters only from the monument to Church Street on the November 6 Election Day. 5/0 vote. MOTION by DR, seconded by CG to hold the next Selectmen’s meeting on Monday, October 29 at 7pm rather than the usual Wednesday, October 31 date. 5/0 vote.
KF then brought up a letter the Board received regarding parking around town. It appears that many merchants are parking all day long in spots that should be left empty for potential customers. Merchants should try to utilize the public parking lot behind the Berkshire Bank. It was agreed that the Town needs to come up with a more user friendly plan for parking around Town.
MOTION by DR, seconded by EL to appoint Amy Lane as interim town accountant, to work one-half day per week. 5/0 vote.
Meeting adjourned at 9:20pm.
Minutes Taken By: ______________________ Minutes Accepted By: ______________________
Mary Ellen Deming Clerk
Director of Administrative Services Board of Selectmen
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