Shutesbury Board of Selectmen August 18, 2009 Meeting Minutes Members present: Chairwoman Elaine Puleo, Al Springer and Eric Stocker Also Present: Town Administrator Rebecca Torres and Administrative Secretary Leslie Bracebridge, recording. Meeting opened at 6:35 P.M. Appointments 6:35 PM Appointment with Police Chief was cancelled. 1. Bio-Mass discussion: Town Administrator Torres: * Summarized the Russell, MA bio-mass project which has been covered in newspapers recently. * Greenfield is addressing feedback on a number of bio-mass projects. * Smaller bio-mass facilities at the Quabbin Reservoir headquarters and at Cooley Dickinson Hospital have been more accepted than the larger facilities. * Health issues are brought up. * Becky: Got to know people working on the Russell project through her last employment. A forester with large tracts of land under conservation restrictions is involved with Russell Bio-Mass. Their objective is not to denude the forest. The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is putting some limits on cutting plans. Al: Windmills off the coast are rejected; no matter what you do there will be someone who doesn’t like it. You either have to drill some more oil wells, build some nukes or start accepting some alternative energy system. Athol had bio-mass built into their high school; they like their system. Eric: Bio-mass could be good without the huge systems being proposed for Russell and Greenfield requiring many trucks per day traveling through semi-residential areas. Selectmen were asked if they wished to endorse or not endorse a letter written by the Town of Wendell objecting to the proposed Greenfield bio-mass projects: Eric: Doesn’t feel qualified to endorse or not endorse a bio-mass project. Elaine: Wants neither to endorse nor not endorse the letter in order to maintain working relationships with our neighboring towns. Becky: Promotes commitment to the goals for local energy: It only takes one opposing voice to thwart 10,000 efforts to promote a new energy system. So, if you support it at a certain level, define the level so the government doesn’t assume silence to be “anti biomass” at every scale. Eric: Eric is not qualified to commit to a big system. Al: Would only object to the large number of trucks driving through residential areas. He does not feel that delivery trucks would be driving through downtown Greenfield. Becky: It also allows local foresters to sell their product. Al: In the Wendell state forest tornado clean-up the trees were chipped into the box and trucked off. This can also work with standing timber. The Department of Conservation and Recreation is cutting the red pines once planted at the Quabbin that are taking up water that could otherwise go into the Reservoir. Elaine: When foresters harvest trees for lumber, the slash previously left behind would instead be chipped up and taken. The forested site would be neater and more conducive for hiking. Elaine: Could there be a more neutral statement? Eric: Do we have to make a statement? AL: Supports bio-mass, it could help the forests and countries, but he does not want to tell the people of Greenfield what to do because he does not want the people of Greenfield to come to Shutesbury and tell us what we should do. Becky: If the communities do not respond to the Wendell letter, it gives more credibility to the negative statement. Elaine: Offered to write a letter expressing the thoughts brought out at this meeting and bring it to the next meeting for consideration. 2. In the presence of Lake Wyola Advisory Committee Chairman Robert “Bob” Thompson, the Select Board reviewed a draft Water Resources Committee Charge: Elaine: Where would funds come from to do geology and hydrology studies? Bob Thompson answered: The Lake Wyola Association (LWA) raised $10,000 on the advice of Senator Rosenberg’s aide, Mary Jane Bacon. Bob is no longer a member of the LWA but he recommends that we first need to speak with an engineering firm. Bob is willing to do whatever needs to be done to get some money. He would like the money to go toward an engineering study. Most engineering work can be done from aerial views and GPS right now. Becky: The town could piece together money as was done for the Planning Board’s revised zoning bylaws project. At least $2,000 should be made available to the committee to get started; then grants could fill in the gaps. The Committee initially needs to be funded through the town. Selectmen discussed residential density, geology, septic problems, and the formation and function of the Water Resources Committee. Selectmen unanimously voted to approve a Water Resource Committee charge as follows: Shutesbury Water Resources Committee Charge Adopted 8/18/09 The charge of the Water Resources committee is to protect the town’s water resources, to preserve the quality and quantity of water available to the community. The committee will utilize geology and hydrology studies, reports from specialists, and historical data to identify a baseline of current conditions, with ongoing research and reviews to track environmental trends, and systems at risk. Appropriate solutions must be sought for different districts in town. For example, one area of town may need a public well and another may need a wastewater treatment plant. To determine site sensitive solutions the committee will visit similar facilities in our region to learn about them. The committee will compare effectiveness of different methods and make a recommendation to the select board. If capital projects are deemed necessary to protect water resources the committee will prepare a comprehensive plan, including cost estimates to be brought to town meeting. The committee will be appointed by the Select board and made up of 7 members representing the BOH, Planning Board, Conservation Commission or Open Space Committee, the Lake Wyola Advisory Committee and 3 members from the community. Initially the term lengths will be scattered, 2 one-year terms, 2 two-year terms and 3 three-year terms. Term of office shall be for 3 years, not to exceed 3 consecutive terms, or 12 years. Topics 1. Selectmen agreed to meet regularly from 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM on alternating Tuesdays. Meetings will end sooner than 9:30 PM if possible. If Selectmen cannot get to something important, an extra meeting will be decided upon and posted. 2. Green Communities Planning Assistance Grant (See also August 4, 2009 minutes): * Shutesbury could not team up with Leverett to strengthen the application for Green Communities Planning Assistance (as was suggested on August 4) because Leverett did not apply for the grant. * Becky searched for other area towns to team up with and was referred to the North Quabbin Area Towns that had formed a regional collaborative agreement for the purpose of the grant. While it was too late to sign onto their inter-local agreement before the grant application deadline Becky was able to arrange for Shutesbury’s information, including a letter of commitment, to appear within the North Quabbin Area Towns application. * Both Representative Kulik and Senator Rosenberg signed a support letter for this group. * Shutesbury should hear by the end of next week if the grant has been approved. 3. Selectmen reviewed the FY 09 List of Encumbrances and Carry-overs: * These funds will not be going into free cash. * Becky sought feedback from the Select Board before authorizing the list. * Selectmen made no recommendations for changes. 4. Library Facility Needs Assessment Committee (LFNAC) – RFQ Designer Services for Library Facility: 13 interested parties attended the August 14 library facility walk-through of both the property behind town hall and Lot O-32, with Library Director Mary Anne Antonellis and Town Administrator Rebecca Torres present. The consultants will put together their conceptual ideas for an architectural design. (Proposals are to be submitted by Wednesday, Aug. 26 at 1 PM.) Updates 1. In the presence of Lake Wyola Advisory Committee Chairman Robert “Bob” Thompson, the Select Board reviewed Lake Wyola Signage and the Clean Boat Issue: Bob: Requests the Select Board “do the right thing” when it comes to “invasives” at Lake Wyola. * Does not want us to be “second-guessing” ourselves when we are “covered with invasive weeds.” * Got a “wake-up call” with the zebra mussels and is trying to figure out the probabilities. * We’ve never addressed this as strongly as we need to now. * There are a few people at the lake who are willing to inspect boats. Bob volunteered to be out at the ramp on Saturday mornings at 6:30 AM for a couple of hours. * Recommended a gate that is open a couple of hours or days per week to let boats in and out. * The Conservation Commission signs are not easily seen. “People are driving right past them.” Becky: The request of the Conservation Commission is that a sign stand be situated right to the left of the boat ramp with the three signs: the town’s Watercraft and Persons Using Lake Wyola bylaw, a Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) sign concerning nuisance vegetation and a DCR informational sign on zebra mussels. That stand of signs will be installed soon. Bob: Expects no decision tonight. It’s a long ride down to the boat ramp. There could be signage in 10 different places to stop boaters in their tracks. “Do not enter if your boat is not clean.” “Stop: If your boat is not clean, stop and clean it.” Bob added, “We can’t have enough signage.” Elaine: If that was the only place that boats could enter the Lake, we could deal with it. There are a lot of places where people put boats in. Bob: Recommends review of Vermont law fining people $1,000 if caught with “invasives” on their boats. * The preferred method is to sanitize a boat. * In the absence of sanitization, a scrub brush should be made available for use by boaters. Elaine: Acknowledged the concerns that Bob brought to the Board and suggested an announcement regarding “invasives” be put in the Our Town town-wide newsletter scheduled to go out mid-September. 2. Speed bump update: * Shutesbury’s insurance people instructed Becky to send all claims regarding auto damage from the speed bumps to the insurance company (but the claims will not be approved.) * The old speed bumps were returned; the new, lower speed bumps are in the highway garage and will be installed soon. * One of the speed bump warning signs has mysteriously disappeared. * A report was received that some people are very angry and will burn the speed bumps if replaced in the same location. * A new location will be settled upon for the placement of the new bumps. 3. On August 13 Becky walked through the soil contamination site with Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Director of Brown fields Clean-up Operations resource person Ben Fish. * Becky will be putting out a request for proposals for phase 2 of the soil contamination response. Consultant Alan Weiss answered some questions concerning what we need to do next and how to go about it. * Alan will write an IRA closure report to put the town in compliance with DEP requirements. * If the town had taken the property for back taxes the town wouldn’t have to do anything more than what has already been done to address the soil contamination. When a town takes a property for back taxes there is a document that relieves the town of certain liability and clean-up tasks. * Ben Fish thinks we’re on a list for clean-up funds. He will help Shutesbury sort out which clean-up method to use; there are alternative methods to try before taking out all the soil. Ben said that they don’t take down many buildings. * Al: If we had the law changed so that Shutesbury is treated in the same way that other towns who take properties for back taxes are treated, we wouldn’t have to do a thing. Federal and state governments would not be liable, but town governments are. Becky meets with Alan Weiss on September 2. 4. We have no update for an electricity supplier to be selected by October 2009. 5. The new highway garage roof cannot easily accommodate a photovoltaic array. * A free standing photovoltaic array could go behind town hall, perhaps on the school roof if it was reinforced enough at the time that the original array was installed, and a number of other town owned south facing exposures. * The first choice of the Energy Committee would be right outside the Town Hall parking lot to maximize the energy rebates. The paperwork must be completed by November 6 to take advantage of the rebates; construction could be delayed until spring. * You can walk under the free standing units. * The angle of the array is changed 4 times per year to maximize solar exposure. * The rate of return on energy fed back into the grid is currently being repaid at 5 cents per kilowatt. It may be possible to trade kilowatt hours for kilowatt hours as needed, in lieu of payment. * The pipes that hold the array are concrete reinforced. The pipes used to anchor the array are 8.5 feet into the ground, and 13 feet into the air. * The cost would be $35 - $40,000: $20,000 is available in Green-up funds. The Mass Technology Collaborative (MTC) rebate based on the number of kilowatts that the system is rated for would cover the remaining $15,000 to $20,000. (Bob Thompson discussed geo-thermal heat which pumps warm water from under ground to the surface for cooling in the summer and heating in the winter. He discussed a model that he visited that is working “flawlessly” with a return on investment of 10 years (based on the highest of last year’s energy rates.) It may be a longer payback time now. Becky reported that we are limited to bio-mass, solar and wind; geo-thermal does not qualify for these grant funds, but that geo-thermal is under discussion by the Library planning committee. * A decision on the process of approval is needed soon: Town meeting? Public Hearing?: o Photos of a sample project will be placed in the September Our Town Newsletter with a technical article from the Energy Committee and an informational piece from the Selectmen. o The project needs to be put on a “fast track” as a signed contract is due in November. o There would be a potential for a town meeting vote to go down and the funds would be lost. o Becky will put out a flier with the energy committee summary attached in the Town Administrator’s report with a request for town committees’ input. o The Library’s first choice for a new library is Lot O-32 depending on the results of the wetlands delineation. o To a suggestion of using an existing energy budget line of $13,000 minus what was spent on energy efficient refrigerators: the top priority for the Energy Committee is Energy Conservation which is their top priority for the $13,000. Some portion of this fund could be used if necessary. * The Library will be making a decision soon where they prefer to plan a new library. Select Board Action Items 1. Selectmen reviewed the July 21, 2009 Select Board meeting minutes: a. The Gass Lite Lane property quit claim deed will be forwarded in time for the fall special town meeting. b. The auction property is back in land court. The furniture is now considered abandoned property. c. Insurance will cover the elevator repairs. * An elevator part will arrive in 3 or 4 weeks. * The town will pay the $1,000 deductable for the nearly $8,000 of repairs discussed on 7/21/09. d. The Police Department contract was agreed upon and needs to be signed. Becky will follow-up. e. It seems that the union has not signed off on the school contract. * Increments between the steps are 4%. * The old contract steps will be compared to the new contract steps. f. The fence question at North Laurel Drive is not the town’s problem. Selectmen unanimously voted to approve the July 21, 2009 minutes as written. Selectmen reviewed the minutes of August 4, 2009: a. The charge for the public water resources committee is under Appointments above. b. The Chairman made a public comment that the Board will not take on a new issue at 9 PM at night unless it is an emergency. Chairman Puleo will try to address walk-ins early and if the topics require more time, an alternate date will be set. See also #1 under Topics above. Selectmen unanimously voted to approve the August 4, 2009 meeting minutes. Selectmen signed vendor warrants totaling $94,955.47 and payroll warrants totaling $72,795.90. * For any construction under $10,000 there must be three quotes. * For services only, no quote is needed for anything under $5,000. 2. Selectmen unanimously voted to appoint Ellen McKay Town Collector effective August 19, 2009. 3. Selectmen unanimously voted to appoint Gary Bernhard Recycling Coordinator effective 8/19/09. New Topics Amherst has invited Shutesbury to drive an older vehicle in their 250th parade. Becky has been in touch with Fire Chief Tibbetts who is in touch with the private owner of Shutesbury’s first fire truck. Future Select Board meetings: The Selectmen, at least Elaine and Al will walk through the church with Kathy and Greg Steve to see renovations on Saturday, August 22 at 10 AM. A motion was made, seconded and unanimously voted to adjourn at 9:41 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Leslie Bracebridge Administrative Secretary 090818 1 Select Board 1