Town Of Sutton Board Of Selectman |
Meeting Minutes--
Minutes Accepted and filed with the Town Clerk on-------------------------------------- _11/18/2008_ by a vote _4-0-1___
7:00 p.m. – October 28, 2008
Sutton Town Hall, Selectmen’s Meeting Room
Members in Attendance:
Michael Chizy, Chairman; John Hebert, Vice-Chairman; Richard Hersom, Clerk; Ryan Fattman, Member
Also in Attendance: James Smith, Town Administrator; Debbie Jacques, Administrative Secretary
Chairman Chizy calls the meeting to order at 7:00 followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
No comments under Public Forum
Selectman Hersom motions to approve the October 14, 2008 minutes, Selectman Hebert seconds, all in favor passes 3-0-1
2009 Board of Selectmen meetings: The board reviews the scheduled BOS meetings for 2009. Board is in agreement that the meeting dates look ok at this time. The schedule will be given to the Town Clerk to post.
Unveiling of new Town website: TA Smith states that this has been in the works for 6 months. TA Smith thanks Paul Holzwarth (present in the audience) for the critical roles he has played in the previous web site as well as his input on the new web site. Mr. Holzwarth, a volunteer in town, developed, operated and maintained the old web site. TA Smith asked him to also be part of the new website team. At this time, Selectman Rick Hersom reads a Certificate of Recognition honoring Mr. Holzwarth. Mr. Holzwarth thanks the board for the recognition. He states he has volunteered at the Senior Center for 10 years, holding computer classes for the seniors as well as his every Monday, Wii games. He also takes hard drives that have been donated, cleans them of old information and gives it out to interested seniors. Mr. Holzwarth says
this is a big hobby for him and it keeps him busy. The board is in agreement that Mr. Holzwarth is an asset to the town. The board thanks him for his years of service as well as his input on the new web site.
TA Smith introduces the new web site to the board. The site has the same address as the previous www.suttonma.org. Jim thanks Pam Nichols, Cable Coordinator for her very important role in this site as well as all the department heads and other town hall employees for their work on the site. It will be up to the department heads to maintain their department information and keep current. Jim’s mission for this new site is to bring government to the people of Sutton. Jim also states that it will be easier to do business with the town making it more enjoyable and timely. Capturing
the feel of Sutton was a goal in the new website, it is in a library format and there is a lot of information archived at the site. Also available at this site is the ability to watch the meetings a day after they have been held. This will help keep board members as well as the residents of Sutton up to date with local goverment issues if they are unable to attend the meetings. A few of the other areas for convenience are paying bills on line and access to Vision Appraisal to look up information on each property in town. There will be a red banner that will be on the main page announcing any type of emergency notification such as issues with water or an Amber alert. Jim, Chief Towle and Chief Maynard are the only 3 that have access to this. Selectman Fattman says “great job”, the new web site captures the pristine charm of Sutton Ryan questions if streaming is available as well as being able to sync the calendar on a pda, blast emails or e-letters. Jim states he will
check in to this. Selectman Hebert and Selectman Fattman both agree that school cancellations should be available as soon decided. Selectman Hebert also feels this is builder friendly and may bring more business into town. Selectman Hersom responds with “great job” thanks to the entire team involved. Rick feels the residents should be proud of this site and to become actively involved in continuing to build it and improve communications with town government. Selectman Chizy says job well done. Mike feels this web site has a wealth of information. The name of the company that has helped build this site is Virtual Town Hall. Jim informs board that $6,000.00 was paid out of last years budget to get this up and running. The annual fee will be approximately $2,000.00. T
Town Administrators Update:
· Tri-Board meeting rescheduled for December 1, 2008 at 7:00pm
· State Budget situation continues to worsen. Highway position has been temporarily frozen.
· The Sheriffs’ office began Monday, Oct. 27th and should be done by the end of the week.
· Letter from Rep. Jen Callahan discussed. A tour with the DCR is scheduled for Nov. 13th, time to be determined.
Round Table:
Selectman Fattman in regards to the letter from Rep. Callahan thought all earmarks had been eliminated in the State budget. Jim states that this is an Environmental Bond Bill which is for designated projects.
Selectman Fattman was pleasantly surprised by the turnout of the 1st annual Camp Marion Fall Fest. He would like to thank all that made the success happen. During this event, items were donated for the food pantry as well as contributions for Marions Camp.
Selectman Chizy informs all that there will be 3 Flu Clinics at the Town hall. The dates and times are as follows:
Nov. 3rd 10am – 2 pm
Nov14th 9am – 12 pm
Dec. 2nd 6pm - 8:30pm
Selectman Chizy: Food Pantry in need of supplies as well as contributions. A wish list can be found on the new website.
Hearing no further discussions, Selectman Hersom motions to adjourn the meeting, Selectman Fattman seconds the motion all in favor passes 4-0
Meeting adjourned 8:15 pm
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