Shutesbury Board of Selectmen October 16, 2007 Meeting Minutes Members present: Chairman Rebecca Torres, Debra Pichanick and Ralph Armstrong. Also Present: Town Administrator David C. Dann and Leslie Bracebridge, recording. Meeting opened at 7:06 P.M. Appointments Police Chief Harding: * Review of the Mutual Aid Agreement feedback from Leverett: Chief Harding will contact Attorney MacNicol for an explanation of the recommended changes. Leverett has suggested that Sunderland could be added to the agreement, along with Shutesbury, New Salem and Leverett. Chief Harding recommends that all towns agree on the wording and then the document be signed by all towns. * Review of Building Security codes. Codes will be changed as needed. Emergency Management Director and Fire Chief Tibbetts: * Shutesbury and Leverett’s counter-proposal to Amherst’s proposed increase in ambulance fees of $31,000: Selectmen unanimously voted to send a proposal for Shutesbury’s ambulance service to Amherst Town Manager Laurence Shaffer in advance of the coming Saturday’s 4-town meeting. The proposal includes a willingness to enter into a long term agreement of at least 5 years and that each year Shutesbury would be willing to increase the payment by 3% of the previous year. The FY 09 rate would be a 3% increase from the current FY 08 payment. Ambulance service is exempt from Chapter 32B so it does not need to go through the bid process, but it must include a town meeting approval. A Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) is an all hazards plan of operation for all the town’s major departments that would be needed to keep the town running in the event of a major disabling event. It must be filed with and approved by the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA). It may eventually be required for MEMA reimbursement. There is a maximum of $750 available to each town for reimbursement. Bob Berry from MEMA Region 4 has offered to serve as a consultant to Chief Tibbetts to create this plan. There are three templates available or a town can create its own template. * National Incident Management System (NIMS) compliance: Now individual towns can determine to what level they want their officials to be trained. Towns will still need to state what the town would do in the event that an incident requiring higher training occurred. Chief Tibbetts has a plan for which level of training that various officials would be trained. The 400 level is the highest level required of town officials at this time. There is a November 30 deadline to file the plan. If the deadline is met, unused funds may be released. Chief Tibbetts and Chief Harding will review a plan of NIMS training together including Selectmen at the 100 training level and non-emergency department heads at the 200 level. Compliance with the training plan has a January 28, 2008 deadline. The plan will include a proviso that the training must be available in hours that are convenient for volunteers and that reimbursement be made available. Topics 1. Community Preservation Act (CPA): If it is adopted at the 2008 Annual Town Meeting, taxes would start for FY 09. The first state match would be awarded in October of 2009 based on FY 09 tax collections. Selectmen unanimously voted to appoint Paul Lyons, Joanne Sunshower, Susan Mosher, Amanda Alix and a member of the Finance Committee to serve on a CPA Study Committee. George Arvanitis may also volunteer to serve on the committee. The charge of the committee will be to study and evaluate the feasibility of the Community Preservation Act for the Town of Shutesbury and to bring a recommendation to the Board of Selectmen. If the recommendation is positive, the committee will educate the voters of the town through educational workshops and a public hearing. The Committee will develop a timeline that includes legal requirements and which meets the committee’s educational requirements. Select Board Action Items 1. Selectmen unanimously voted to approve the September 18 and 25, 2007 meeting minutes as written. Selectmen unanimously voted to sign the minutes of September 27 with the clarification that due to being an abutter to the Lake Wyola Dam, Debra Pichanick was in attendance as a resident and not as a member of the Board of Selectmen. Selectmen unanimously voted to approve the minutes of October 9 with removal of unanimous in the vote to declare Oct. 24 as United Nations Day. 2. Selectmen signed vendor warrants totaling $690,532.29 and payroll warrants totaling $75,786.49. New Topics 1. Selectmen unanimously voted to sign a Chapter 90 request of $27,000 to pave and apply Cape Cod berms to Stowell Road. 2. Unanimously voted to sign the contract with Baystate Home Guard Inc. in the amount of $12,500 for repairs to the library. 3. Following a surplus equipment invitation to bid opened on October 15, Selectmen unanimously voted to declare the following items as surplus equipment, and award them to the corresponding high bidders: a pair of 300 gallon fuel tanks on skids to James Kicza for $185, a John Deere grooming mower to Joe Boisvert of the North Hadley Sugar Shack for $275, a 1977 Dodge Pick-up to Al Springer for $351, a Lister alternator to Eric Hamm for $427 and a Lister diesel engine to Eric Hamm for $307. The remaining items for which no bids were received will be re-bid at a later date. 4. Personnel Action Forms were approved and signed for Nancy Long and Denise Chiminiello for changes to the duties of Animal Inspector and for the resignation of Library Director Jane Buchanan. 5. Following a Planning Board proposed memorandum of agreement between the Board of Selectmen, the Planning Board and the Highway Superintendent, regarding alterations to roads and subsequent research done on “official maps” retired Franklin County Engineer Bill Allen volunteered to come and speak to Shutesbury public officials about roads in general. Selectmen agreed to invite him to the October 30, 2007 Select Board meeting at 8 PM. The Planning Board and Highway Superintendent will be invited to attend the meeting. Selectmen adjourned at 10:20 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Leslie Bracebridge Administrative Secretary 071016 Select Board 1