TOWN OF EGREMONT, MASSACHUSETTS

MEETING OF THE SELECT BOARD

MINUTES

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Date:    January 17, 2012 

Time: 7:02PM

Place: Town Hall

Egremont

Present at the head table were Chairman Turner, Vice-Chairman Burdsall, and Selectman Flynn. Present and recording minutes was Office Administrator Brazie.

Present in the audience were Tom and Juliette Haas, Tom Sierau, Priscilla Burdsall, William Weigle,

Bev Almond, Nigel Peacock, Matthew Syrett, and for parts of the meeting Sandra Martin, Nancy DuVall, Adam Brown and Hawk Metheny.

MINUTES:

             The minutes of the January 3, 2012 meeting were accepted with corrections. Johnathan Taylor noted that WiredWest doesn’t know yet which Town Hall’s will need a “central office”.

SCHEDULED ISSUES:

             Juliette Haas reported on the Board of Health’s annual income and activity (see attached reports). She noted that storage containers have become an issue and are not currently regulated.

             Hawk Metheny and Adam Brown, of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, reported that the ATC here at the historic Kellogg property on Route 41 is staffed by Adam Brown, who is an Egremont resident. ATC has preliminary plans to expand it’s parking to allow for more community based use of the property, such as workshops and classrooms. They are looking for ways to engage the community and local youth.

             William Weigle asked the Board to help with the process of getting the draft hydrants repaired, maintained and installed. (Attached is the letter he read and on file is supporting information.) It was noted that installations these days are complex and there is a great deal of bureaucratic read tape involved that cannot be circumvented. The Draft Hydrant Committee is working very hard on all ends of the paperwork. The Board offered it’s help in anyway that it could if needed. The Board voted to lift the former unwritten restriction to only allow certified welders unless the law requires certification. The requirement for $1M in liability insurance will be retained.

TOWN OFFICIALS:

             Jonathan Taylor asked for the Board’s support on WiredWest’s application for a Community Innovative Challenge Grant to complete the market survey, engineering survey and pole survey. WiredWest is still planning to be done in June of 2013. He reported that there are residents in South Egremont now able to get DSL from Verizon. The Board voted unanimously to support the grant application and signed the necessary paperwork.

NEW BUSINESS:

             Juliette Haas presented the Board with a proposal for a part-time Sustainability Coordinator funded through Recycling profits. This would be 5-6 hours per week to do additional energy efficient projects such as solar and micro-hydro, and broaden the town’s recycling programs. The Board suggested that the information be passed on to the Finance Committee, that a proper job description be written and that it be for a 1 year trial not 18 months. The Board will discuss further at its next meeting.

It was reported that the Hampshire Power contract has cut Town electric bills considerably, that the Highway Garage has had no electric charge for 5 months, and that the Town has the highest per capita recycling rate in Berkshire County.

             Chairman Turner reported that the SBRSD administration has begun the process of talking about the closure of the three outlying schools. Public hearings are scheduled in the three town’s that house the schools, with Egremont’s hearing being on January 25 at 6:30pm at the North Fire Station. After the hearings the School Committee must take a vote on the closures, this vote requires a super majority of 7 of the 10 members voting to close. Then the vote goes to Town Meetings, at which 4 of the 5 towns must vote to close. Discussion took place regarding the educational effects on the children, the benefits of small rural schools, the funds needed to maintain the outlying buildings, the economics of having a school in the town’s village and the actual budget figures being rumored about. Matthew Syrett presented the Board with a report that he put together (attached).

OLD BUSINESS:

             The Board will discuss the latest letter from Attorney Glover, representing Mr. Hakim, regarding the blocking of Nicholson Road at the hearing to discuss the abandonment of maintenance on the lower portion of that Road.

SELECTMEN’S ITEMS:

             The Board approved the request of James Olmsted to carry over 4 vacation days into the new year.

             Selectman Burdsall will touch base with Colleen Ramsay about the Personnel Director position, which she has said she cannot take on at this time. Other suggestions were to contact RM Consulting in Great Barrington, the MMA or a place like the Plastics in Sheffield to see if they have someone who might be interested.

             Office Administrator Brazie reported that the new Highway Truck has arrived.

             The Board tentatively scheduled an interview and possible appointment to fill the Finance Committee vacancy on Tuesday, January 31 at 6:45pm. The applicant is Kevin Zurrin.

             The Board will look at the budgets received and discuss at another meeting.

Meeting adjourned at 9:27 pm.

Mary Brazie,

Office Administrator

minutes.12/jan17

The recording of the minutes is on record at the Town Hall for 90 days. Anyone who wishes to may obtain a copy or listen to the recording at Town Hall. Attachments are on file at Town Hall.