Shutesbury Board of Selectmen March 11, 2010 Meeting Minutes Members present: Chairwoman Elaine Puleo, Al Springer and April Stein. Also present: Town Administrator Rebecca Torres and Administrative Secretary Leslie Bracebridge. Meeting opened at 7:35 P.M. Appointments Police Sergeant Wall: 1. Fielded questions concerning the status of the rusted out SUV (See March 11, 2010 letter from Chief Harding to Board of Selectmen regarding the 1999 Ford Expedition.) * Selectman Springer states that he spoke with the ESP repair provider and confirms that repairing the Expedition is not cost effective. * The Police Department recommends a V-6 Ford Explorer priced at approximately $30,000 (as paid by Leverett a year ago) for a replacement vehicle. * Becky quoted the Finance Committee Chairman as saying there is currently $198 unallocated in the FY 11 budget, with 10% cuts to local aid and 10% cut to lottery. * Chief Harding tried a basic search for used vehicles. We don’t know the histories of used vehicles. The Expedition was purchased used for $10,000 5 years ago and needed frequent repairs. It was the least used of the Police Department fleet of vehicles. A four-wheel drive vehicle is an absolute necessity for inclement winter weather for department work: for the dirt roads and long driveways. * We’re almost into summer. Can we take time to look for a good used vehicle? The basic price for the new is $22,000 with the required extras for police department use the price is anticipated to reach $30,000. Every time there is a new vehicle, there are many additional costs for transfers: sirens, lights, radios, decals. * What if not replaced? It is primarily used for emergencies in winter, for use when the regular cruiser is under repair, and when 2 officers are on shift on Friday nights and for big events in town. * The question goes first to the Capital Plan Committee which will meet on March 25. The Finance Committee will be notified at their March 23 night meeting. * We have to go to a town meeting to pay for a new or newer used replacement vehicle. If the vehicle purchased is used for $5,000 to $7,000 we can fund it with a finance reverse transfer. * ESP says the Expedition is unsafe and should not be used; Selectmen agree they must heed the advice and take the Expedition off the road immediately. * Could we do something very, very interim such as renting or leasing a vehicle? Based on the kind of use, Officer Wall is not sure police car leases are available; plus installation of lights and radios is expensive for short term use. * Surrounding towns have 4-wheel drive vehicles. * The Accountant thinks leasing is the best source for a vehicle for use until annual town meeting, if possible. There could be a FY 2010 special town meeting before town meeting to buy before July 1. The Treasurer will figure out the funding mechanism. A used vehicle could be funded through a reserve fund transfer if approved by the Finance Committee with a cut-off amount between $5,000 and $10,000. * Should we go with a new vehicle to avoid repairs for a period of time? It’s not used regularly. * The new vehicle dealer MHQ may do the transfers of some of the equipment from the old vehicle to the new vehicle as part of the cost. * In rough estimates, it may be beneficial to go new. * This will go to the Capital Planning and Finance Committee. * The Chief will have to be involved in how to get through this emergency period. * Would a neighboring town rent Shutesbury a vehicle? * More research will be done in anticipation of next Tuesday’s Select Board meeting. 2. Recent home break-ins: * Montague Road, March 10, one active break and one attempted and New Salem had one break-in. * An announcement has been sent out to residents to lock doors and report suspicious vehicles. 3. Selectmen received copies of a letter from the Highway Safety Division of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security regretfully informing the Police Department of the cancellation of the FY 10 Traffic Enforcement Equipment Grant, which would have been $3,000 for Shutesbury. Topics 1. Chief Harding learns of SUV safety issue: Chief Harding was not present. See discussion above. 2. Discussion with the School Committee regarding the formation of the “Committee to Engage in Reflection of Educational Goals and to Explore Options” to be held March 18, 2010 at 9 PM during the School Committee meeting. * The School Committee voted to put together a sub-committee of the school committee. This does not work for the term sub-committee, and will not work for town-wide representation and to give the townspeople a perspective different from the newspaper stories. The Select Board could help by setting up a broad-based committee. They could appoint representatives from other town committees and the general public. A school sub-committee would have to be made up of only school committee members. * It is incredibly important to look at this thoughtfully, with respectful and intelligent conversations that bring out the facts. * April supported Elaine serving as the Select Board representative to the committee as voted at the March 5 meeting. * The charge would be: “To explore all options for configurations for the public education of the children of kindergarten through 12th grade students.” * This does not duplicate the work of the current Amherst K-12 Regionalization committee which is restricted to 4 specific towns. * The discussion 17 years ago was more about money (costs of leaving the Union) than educational goals. An announcement by the Amherst Superintendent saying that activities at the Shutesbury Elementary School would be scheduled by the Superintendent’s office down in Amherst dissuaded voters to regionalize. It was learned later that use of the newly renovated Shutesbury Elementary School could remain under local control through language in the contract. * Bullying happens at school, at home, on the Internet and even with adults. Bullying happened years ago as it does today, but today with communication technology invading all aspects of our lives, children cannot escape bullying even when they go home. * If the override doesn’t pass in Amherst the high school will be very different from what it was then. * Selectmen discussed the potentially negative implications of the proposed combining of the East Street and “SAHS” (South Amherst High School) at the regional level. 3. Preparation for new (Select Board) meeting dates: * Selectmen will meet Mondays at 6:30 PM for short emergency topics as needed; and have regular meetings every other Tuesday also starting at 6:30 PM for now: o Monday March 22nd, Tuesday March 30th, Monday April 5th, and Monday April 12th (in hopes that the warrants can be prepared early for that week) and Tuesday April 20th. o Elaine requests a meeting with the Finance Committee on Tuesday April 27th. 4. A motion was made and seconded to go into Executive Session for reason number 3 and not to resume open meeting at 9:13 PM: Springer – aye, Stein – aye and Puleo – aye. Select Board Action Items 1. Selectmen did not have meeting minutes in time to review them before tonight’s meeting. Minutes of March 2nd and 5th will be reviewed on March 16th. 2. See Topics # 3 above. 3. Selectmen practiced using Skype in advance of any need for its use. New Topics 1. Air quality readings at 37 and 60 Leverett Road addresses will be available for Friday morning’s meeting at the Department of Environmental Protection’s regional headquarters regarding the soil contamination site. Shutesbury’s Licensed Site Professional Jim Okun of O’Reilly, Talbot & Okun wants to think through the scope of work. 2. Discussion of July 1 changes to Open Meeting Law and keeping minutes of off site meetings. Selectmen voted to go into executive session and not resume open session at 9:13 PM. The next Select Board meeting is Tuesday, March 16 starting at 6:30 PM. Respectfully submitted, Leslie Bracebridge Administrative Secretary 100311 Select Board 1