Shutesbury Board of Selectmen Meeting Minutes December 19, 2006 Members present: Chairman Rebecca Torres, Debra Pichanick and Ralph Armstrong. Also Present: Town Administrator David C. Dann and Leslie Bracebridge, recording. Meeting opened at 7:00 P.M. Select Board Action Item #1: The Select Board unanimously voted to accept the November 28, 2006 and the December 12, 2006 meeting minutes as written. Appointments Police Chief Harding: * Shutesbury received a Community Policing award in the amount of $11,299. * No local police departments have heard of any awards yet from the Governor’s Highway Safety grant. * Selectmen reviewed proposed school safety policies and procedures. The school principal and nurse will review the plan which will then be kept at the school, with the Emergency Management Director and with the school superintendent. * Up-coming Police Department schedules were discussed. Finance Committee Chairman Eric Stocker and members Russ Greco, Al Beswick, Russ Wilson, Al Springer, Lori Tuominen and Patrick Callahan and School Committee Chairman Daniel Hayes, and member Marianne Jorgensen met with the Selectmen in a preliminary budget planning meeting: Regional School Committee member Marianne Jorgensen: * The Town of Amherst is in a financial situation even "more dire" than last year. * The Amherst Town Manager asked for a 1% increase only in the FY 08 budget. * To provide level services the regional budget would need to increase by about 6% over the current year. Therefore, $1.4 million of services must be cut. * Amherst has formulated a new committee composed of their library, finance, school, select board and other major services representation to plan the budget. Marianne is a member. The Committee will look at the pros and cons of an override. * Needs input from the Shutesbury Finance Committee and the Board of Selectmen. * Distributed a document: "Amherst Public School District Pelham Public School District Budget Planning Meeting #1: Data and Direction Fiscal Year 2008" * School choice and more so, charter schools drain away from the school budget. * As opposed to previous years, Dr. Hochman will first create a base budget (including mandatory items), and a 1% budget and what it would look like. As he receives information from the towns and the state he will add it into the base budget. In other years a needs based budget has been produced first and cut. General comments included: * Shutesbury recommended a 6% state income tax * The Finance Committee goal is for the town’s entire FY 08 budget to increase only by three percent. * Shutesbury’s share of the $1.4 million in cuts would be approximately $140,000. Not needing that for the region will help to balance the total budget. * Think carefully about what quality of education Shutesbury wants to have. * Negotiations are taking place with all three region professional staff groups. * Dr. Hochman would like to come up to Shutesbury in January to talk about the budget in a joint meeting/public forum. * The inspection report projects $25,000 for repairs to Lake Wyola Dam. * A goal of the federal government is to have fewer dams. * The Highway Department garage is in need of renovations. * Commitments that Shutesbury has been putting off are coming to the forefront. * Wastewater treatment plant. * The school loan will be ending and the Treasurer could possibly "bundle" projects for better rates. The Selectmen will prepare a letter to Senator Rosenberg and to Representative Kulik, for Finance Committee feedback on January 9, concerning the unanimous May 2006 town meeting vote recommending an increase in state income taxes in order to get more funds back to the schools in Western Massachusetts. A copy of the letter will be sent to Massachusetts Municipal (MMA) President David Kielson. Old Topics: Selectmen unanimously voted to authorize the Shutesbury School Committee to gift an older math curriculum series to a school system in need. Topics A. Selectmen reviewed a list of activities the Town Administrator plans to work on between January and June (Addendum #1.) Selectmen added: * Coordinate hiring a hydro geologist as part of the zoning bylaw revision preparation process. * Support the Planning Board with zoning bylaw preparation; ensure public education. * Monitor the state response to the Lake Wyola Dam report. B. Selectmen will sign the Emergency Action Plan (EAP) and the Dam Engineering Report at their December 27 meeting. Shutesbury will need representation at any state review of the report and the EAP. If no member of the Dam Management Committee can attend then David Dann will be asked to go. Costs for the dam in addition to the estimated $250,000 rebuild would/could include: * Alternating year inspections, * A retainer for a consultant dam engineer, * Annual maintenance, * A Dam Management position, and * Anything new from the state’s response to the report and to the EAP. All the facts and costs would have to go before "a very educated town meeting." Selectmen reviewed and provided input to a summary of the dam’s status, which Ralph prepared for the January Our Town town-wide quarterly newsletter. In light of Dam Management Committee Chairman William "Bill" Elliott’s December 16 resignation announcement, which Bill said would become effective on December 31st the Selectmen discussed options for continued oversight of the dam. New Topics: Pelham Selectman Ed Martin and Finance Committee member Bill Martel will meet with Becky and David on December 28 at 7 PM to discuss regionalization of public safety services. Becky anticipates no commitments, just conversation. Walk-Ins Shutesbury Athletic Club President Mark Snow stopped in to sign the Memorandum of Agreement between the Club and the Town. A motion was made, seconded and unanimously voted to adjourn at 9:30 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Leslie Bracebridge Administrative Secretary 061219 Select Board 1