 |
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 2004
The regular meeting of the Monson Board of Selectmen convened at 7:00 p.m. In attendance were Kathleen C. Norbut and Richard E. Guertin. James R. Manning was absent. Also present were the Town Administrator and the media. Town Counsel was not present.
Mr. Guertin announced the School Committee meeting is also in session and M-PACT will cut over to that meeting immediately following the Selectmen’s meeting, which takes precedence.
Mr. Guertin made a motion to accept the meeting minutes of April 13, 2004 – open session. Ms. Norbut seconded and it was so VOTED.
Scott Walker, Chairman of the Summerfest Committee and Betty Bouchard, also of the Summerfest Committee approached the Board of Selectmen along with a representative from C & J Amusements out of Springfield. Mr. Walker stated this year, the fireworks will be held on Friday, July 2nd at 9:00 p.m. A band will play prior to the fireworks from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. with food vendors and a wall climbing, as was done last year. The parade and Summerfest activities will take place on Monday, July 5th, , as the 4th of July falls on a Sunday and church will be in session. The carnival containing eight to ten rides will be set up and operated by C & J Amusements for five days in Cushman Field from July 1st to July 5th to encompass the Summerfest festivities, and will
operate from 5:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. or 11:00 p.m. The rides operate off of one large generator, which produces 15 decimals of noise. A Harley Davidson Motorcycle upon take off produces 28 decimals of noise. The trees will help act as a buffer for any noise. The generator will be placed at the rear of the field and will run one-half hour before the show opens and 15 to 20 minutes after the rides are closed. The rides will accommodate children and an adult. Since they are out of Springfield, all the workers will go home to sleep at night. They will have one office trailer and one house trailer on the site. The house trailer is for security and someone is on the site 24 hours a day. The Summerfest Committee has gone over many issues with C & J Amusements such as clean-up, sani-cans, lighting, police coverage, power, insurance, etc. For references, C & J Amusements currently have a carnival set up in Belchertown while doing a Jimmy Fund benefit at Stop & Shop. They have
done the Peach Festival in Wilbraham, Christ Lutheran Church in Southwick, Taste of West Springfield, Holyoke Spanish Festival, Springfield Spanish Festival and the Great Barrington Fire Department. Parking was also discussed as were EMT and Police coverage. The representative said they normally don’t need police coverage, if they see teenagers standing around, they ask them to move on as they don’t induce loitering. Ms. Norbut said the Board of Selectmen would want a copy of the insurance policy. Mr. Walker stated he has already spoken with Steve Slozak of the Parks and Recreation Commission, who was unable to attend this meeting tonight with the Board of Selectmen on the use of Cushman Field. It was agreed Mr. Walker would come back before the Board of Selectmen for another meeting at which time the Selectmen would vote on a specific time for operation. The dates suggested looked favorable. Also, Mr. Walker will come back with information or approval from the
Parks and Recreation Commission for the use of Cushman Field, EMT’s, if a detail officer is needed, parking, etc. It was agreed Mr. Walker would also give any copies of licenses and certificates of insurance to Ms. Neggers prior to the next meeting. The representative stated C & J Amusements is licensed by the State of Massachusetts and the rides are inspected each time they are assembled. Ms. Neggers said the towns’ Building Inspector, through the office of Executive Safety, would be involved as well. The representative also said the Building Inspector as well as the Electrical Inspector would come out with the State Inspector.
Mr. Guertin made a motion to appoint Todd Mongeon as a part-time dispatcher effective immediately through June 30th, 2004. Ms. Norbut seconded and it was so VOTED.
The next item on the agenda was a request for a Town Wide Cleanup sponsored by the Monson Tourism Committee. Ms. Neggers explained Jean Bailey was unable to attend this meeting but will be at the next meeting to provide details. Ms. Neggers said the Monson Tourism Committee is in the process of preparing for the second annual Town-wide Clean-up. Volunteers will go out to pick up trash from the sides of the roads, riverbanks and anywhere it is accumulating. This is the same as last year and maybe a little more comprehensive. The tentative date is for June 19th. Mr. Guertin made a motion to approve Jean
Bailey and the Monson Tourism Committee’s request to move ahead with the second annual town-wide cleanup with a tentative date for Saturday, June 19, 2004. Ms. Norbut seconded and it was so VOTED. Ms. Norbut also noted the Quaboag Valley Chamber of Commerce for their annual award has selected Ms. Bailey for her outstanding participation in the Chamber of Commerce and she will be receiving that award this Saturday night, May 1st. Ms. Norbut congratulated Ms. Bailey. Ms. Neggers also congratulated Ms. Bailey and added that it is a well-deserved recognition for someone who has created so many positive changes within the Town of Monson, and added, it’s a refreshing experience.
Mike Norton approached the Board of Selectmen to present the Board with an overview of his proposed bike race to be held on Saturday, June 19th. Mr. Norton said the whole race will be over in four hours. By 9:15 a.m. all the riders will be off of Route 32. There will be 450 riders in this race. The last race, which was held on April 24th, had 580 riders. The bikes travel at a speed of 25 to 30 mph. Mr. Norton explained that within the first half-hour, all the bikes will have gone down Route 32 to Fenton Road. The riders travel this course only once, unlike the race held in April, which was a continuous course, in which the riders rode over the same course repeatedly. Ms. Norbut asked about the possibility of switching the day to a Sunday. Mr. Norton explained the next day is Father’s Day.
It was agreed next year to change the day to Sunday so as not to interfere with businesses along the route. Ms. Norbut said another issue with the race is the warm-up period, which is unstructured. Mr. Norton said this is from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and that the riders stay on Margaret Street. The Board of Selectmen agreed to have the riders limited to the parking lots of Granite Valley Middle School and Quarry Hill Community School for the warm-up period.
Mr. Guertin made a motion to allow Mike Norton permission to hold a bike race on Saturday, June 19th, 2004, starting at 8:30 a.m. and running until 12:30 p.m. The race will start at Granite Valley Middle School, go down Thompson Street, turn left onto Route 32, follow Route 32 to Fenton Road and proceed over Fenton Road into Brimfield. The motion is with the understanding traffic issues relative to Palmer Road would take place between 8:30 a.m. and 9:05 a.m. and also that the warm-ups would be limited to both the parking lot at Quarry Hill Community School and Granite Valley Middle School and not on Margaret Street. The motion is also with the understanding that next year the race will be held on a Sunday, if we have it, and not on a Saturday. Ms. Norbut seconded the motion and it was so VOTED.
In other business to come before the Board of Selectmen, it was announced a Kids Fair, for young children, with games and ID kits, will be held at Pathfinder on May 8th beginning at 10:00 a.m. The Palmer/Monson Family Network sponsors this.
It was reiterated the Annual Town Meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 10th at 7:00 p.m. at Granite Valley Middle School. Everyone is strongly urged to mark their calendars as the community is faced with some difficult decisions to make and they would like to see as many voters as possible in attendance.
Mr. Guertin also reiterated that following this Board of Selectmen’s meeting, M-PACT would switch directly over to the School Meeting.
Correspondence was read and completed.
At 7:45 p.m., Mr. Guertin made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Ms. Norbut seconded and it was so VOTED.
Respectfully Submitted,
_____________________________
Richard E. Guertin, Clerk
| |
