Minutes of Meeting – March 20, 2013; meeting called to order at 7:00pm. Present: Ken Fowler;
Ed Lane; Channing Gibson; Dave Roche; John McNinch.
Citizen’s Open Forum: Carolyn Barry asked for an update on the ambulance billing collections. The TM stated that the billing agency the Town uses is doing a better job. The new manager at Eastover informed the Board that they are hosting a car show the weekend of June 28 and 29, and asked if the Town could support it in some way. KF suggested that he utilize the Chamber of Commerce.
MOTION by CG, seconded by JM to accept the Minutes of March 6 as presented. 5/0 vote.
JM read the public notice advertisement for an annual A/A innholders license request from The Cornell Inn, Inc. MOTION by JM, seconded by CG to open the public hearing. 5/0 vote. Tim McCaffrey and General Manager Lance Fyfe gave a brief overview, and were present to answer any questions. They explained that while they know that they must be open to the public, it is their intent to focus on inn guests. MOTION by JM, seconded by CG to close the public hearing. 5/0 vote. MOTION by JM, seconded by DR to grant an annual A/A innholders license to The Cornell Inn, Inc. 5/0 vote.
JM then read the public notice advertisement for the alteration of licensed premises, the Stockbridge Wine Cellar. MOTION by JM, seconded by CG to open the public hearing. 5/0 vote. Joe Nejaime appeared before the Board to answer any questions they may have pertaining to this application. MOTION by JM, seconded by CG to close the public hearing. 5/0 vote. MOTION by JM, seconded by CG to approve the alteration of licensed premises to the Stockbridge Wine Cellar, Inc. 5/0 vote.
MOTION by DR, seconded by JM to approve the seasonal all alcohol club license for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Inc. d/b/a Seranak. 5/0 vote.
Cable Contract Update: Linda Miller and Steve Moretz from the Cable Advisory Committee and John Mucha from Time Warner Cable came before the Board to update them on the proposed new 10-year contract. She went through the highlights of the contract, including that there will be a local office located in one of the five towns and that there is a mandatory three and six year review of the contract. MOTION by JM, seconded by EL to approve having Kopelman & Paige represent the Town in negotiations and a review of the proposed contract. 5/0 vote.
BRTA rep. Scott Laugenour updated the Board on the BRTA and asked for permission to once again offer free rides on the BRTA. He noted that Lenox ridership increased over 30% while the rest of the system was flat. More riders in Lenox means our annual fee to BRTA is lowered. MOTION by JM, seconded by EL to approve of free rides on the BRTA bus within Lenox on Fridays and Saturdays between Earth Day and Columbus Day. 5/0 vote. MOTION by EL, seconded by CG to offer free rides between Lee and Lenox on the weekend in September which hosts Apple Squeeze and Founders Day, subject to BRTA and Town of Lee approval. 5/0 vote.
Events Consultant: Four interviews were conducted earlier in the day, and a decision should be reached within a few days. A special meeting was scheduled for 3/27 at 5pm to finalize this matter.
FY14 Budget: The Board will vote on the budget at their April 3 meeting, following a presentation by the Finance Committee. To date, all budgets, except for the school department, have been approved. EL brought up hiring of an events coordinator, and his concerns about it. All agreed that having the money approved does not automatically mean the town will hire an events coordinator. Carolyn Barry questioned how the Events Committee, that meets every other week, could properly oversee an events coordinator? She was informed that that individual would report to the TM. The Board then briefly discussed some of the proposed warrant articles such as the CPC items and the sale of two acres with the Laurel Lake house. The Board voted to host a public forum on Wednesday, April 24 at 7pm to review the various
warrant articles.
MOTION by EL, seconded by CG to award a contract to Ben Funk, Inc. for the purchase of two new dump trucks for a total cost of $226,715, and to authorize the TM to sign a contract for same. 5/0 vote. MOTION by EL, seconded by CG to approve of a change order in the amount of $82,418.28 with JM Maxymillian for the de-watering at the new New Lenox Road sewer pump station project. 5/0 vote.
MOTION by JM, seconded by DR to join the electric aggregation proposal being coordinated by the City of North Adams. 5/0 vote.
Consent Agenda: MOTION by JM, seconded by CG to approve a common victuallers license and an entertainment license for television to Burger King. 5/0 vote. MOTION by JM, seconded by EL to accept the deed for a small parcel of land down by the pedestrian bridge that voters had previously approved the town accepting. 5/0 vote.
BOS Reports: JM stated that the open space surveys are beginning to come in, and that the watershed conservation restriction document will be included in the ATM warrant. CG reviewed a proposal from Kevin Sprague regarding a test run of Google Display Ads. It would cost the Town $300 for one month for the ad itself, and $125 to Kevin Sprague for design work. The Board felt that this was a good way to test the waters. MOTION by DR, seconded by CG to approve not more than $500 for design work and advertising on Google. 5/0 vote. EL stated that he would like to see more seniors take advantage of the various activities occurring at the Community Center. He also announced the Easter Egg Hunt scheduled for March 30 at 11am in Lilac Park. He also briefly updated the Board on plans for the Roche
Reading Park, and that the Town needs to be mindful of what type of maintenance will be required. Finally, the Board issued their condolences to the Coakley family in the loss of their grandson, Roger Muchnick, a serviceman who recently died in a training exercise in Las Vegas.
By roll call, CG, EL, DR, JM and KF voted to go into Executive Session at 9:20pm to discuss contract negotiations, and to not return to open session.
Minutes Taken By: ______________________ Minutes Accepted By: ______________________
Mary Ellen Deming Clerk
Director of Administrative Services Board of Selectmen
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