Email to Heath Connects w Building Updates 11/16/20
Dear Fellow Heathans, The next Select Board meeting is tomorrow, Tuesday November 17. It is important to hear what is being said and to speak. You can use the public comment period at the beginning of the meeting to express your ideas on town issues. Right now only one side of the building use issue is being heard and the Select Board needs to hear from you as well to create balance. Please be there to support Sue Lively who is reading her letter on the task force report. ------------------------------------------------------ Building Updates There has been a lot going on over the past months relative to the use of our buildings. Below are some updates on what is happening. Jacobs Road Rental for Tri-wire: Tri-wire has contracted to rent space at Jacobs Road for morning meetings and storage. The Select Board has approved the use at $7000 for 14 months. For Covid considerations the Tri-wire workers will enter and leave from the playground end of the building in the back and have a dedicated restroom at that end. The contract starts on Monday, November 16. Remote Learning: Three classrooms and the gym are the current locations for remote learning serving two teachers and 13 students. Rental for Theatre Group: Jonathan Diamond has requested use of the gym for certain nights and weekends. The pods in the gym will be arranged to accommodate both uses while ensuring safe distancing and sanitization. Adult Internet Use: The School Use Committee is working on setting up pods in the cafeteria for adult internet use following this week's foot clinic. Foot Clinic The Foot Clinic takes place two days every other month in the cafeteria. This week it takes place on Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 17 and 18. The next clinic is in January. There are volunteers to sanitize between foot clinic visitors. Community Hall Projects being worked are insulation, windows, and heating. There is a request to open up the building for adult internet use. Ventilation remains an issue for the Hall. Sawyer Hall, Community Hall, Jacobs Road In the past several weeks Pam Porter and Pat McGahan hosted two realtors and Randy Coochier from the Franklin County Community Development Corporation to determine the feasibility of rentals in the town buildings. The purpose was to gather information to help move forward on making the best use of our buildings. The report on this activity will be presented to the Select Board at the next meeting and will be sent out to Heath Connects following that meeting. Joint Committee Creation The Select Board has created a building use committee to facilitate use of both the Community Hall and Jacobs Road for both rentals and community use. The committee is made up of 9 persons and should have its first meeting in December or soon after the new year. Tentative members are Barbara Travers, Chris Luis-Schultz, Kara Leistyna, Lyra Johnson-Fuller, Mary Sumner, Pam Porter, Pat McGahan, Sue Gruen. The current committees for the school building and the community hall will end in December.
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To Heath Select Board,
I am concerned by the efforts of the Grans and their supporters to continue delay of discussion regarding the Task Force report. Their reasoning is that we must face our fiscal crisis first. I disagree. Good fiscal planning requires a balance of understanding your current needs, your future hopes and your fiscal capabilities. The report from the Task Force goes a long way in helping the town understand its facilities strengths and weaknesses, as well as laying out some potential options for the future. Before individuals make decisions regarding the future, they need to understand the present. Therefore, offering residents an opportunity to gain a better understanding of the report is one essential step in moving forward. Continued delays are allowing inaccurate information and beliefs to become entrenched. You have recently received a letter from Margaret that outlines some reasonable considerations for such an informational meeting. It is time to take action. Sue Lively To: The Select Board
From: Margaret H. Freeman Date: October 16, 2020 Re: Facilities Task Force Report I was concerned to see that the planned zoom meeting on October 17 that has been postponed was referred to as a Town Forum. It was my understanding that it was to be a hearing I therefore agree with Jean Gran’s public comment at the meeting October 13 that such a “Forum” meeting implies back-and-forth discussion that would not contribute to the easing of tensions in our town. I therefore suggest that any title be avoided that will give a wrong impression as to the purpose of the event, and suggest the following: "The Select Board has scheduled a time on zoom to hear from Heath residents and taxpayers their responses to the Facilities Task Force report on the use of town buildings." It was my understanding that the Select Board had agreed to listen to those in town who would like to express their views concerning the Task Force report and its findings in order to get a sense of how town residents and taxpayers felt about the future of our town with respect to the use of town buildings. It was not intended to be a referendum, either binding or otherwise. The Select Board has the authority, the mandate, and the power to make such decisions on behalf of the town. Three problems face the Select Board as you make decisions about the zoom meeting:
One final concern the Select Board needs to consider is how to reach all residents equitably, both those with internet access and those without. Adams Mail Service can distribute a letter to every household in town through the Post Office more cheaply than first-class mail and almost as quickly. Heath Town Talk can testify to the success they had in doing so. I hope that helps! Dear Select Board:
I am concerned that the issues currently facing Heath and its future are being focused on the former school property at 18 Jacobs Road. By focusing solely on the question of 18 Jacobs Road instead of looking at the whole picture of Heath's dysfunction will not solve Heath's problems. Better to follow the Facilities Task Force lead and put 18 Jacobs Road where it belongs: as just one part of the larger picture of how best to control expenditures and manage town resources to meet our needs. A wise British parliamentarian many years ago said that the one who frames the issue controls the outcome, or words to that effect. Focusing solely on 18 Jacobs Road without considering the problems facing all our town properties is not the solution. . . . I support the Select Board in exercising its elected authority, mandate, and power to consider the facts and act as necessary for the good of all of us in Heath and not just those who speak loudest. Margaret H. Freeman From: patricia.mcgahan01@gmail.com <patricia.mcgahan01@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 26, 2020 11:47 AM To: 'HeathTownCoordinator' <bos@townofheath.org> Subject: Public Safety during the Pandemic Dear Select Board, I am writing to express my concern regarding public safety during the pandemic. I recently had to go to Sawyer Hall on town business. My concern is that town offices and the post office are in a building with only one egress and therefore, one-way traffic with appropriate social distancing is not possible. The Select Board must take action to ensure that all residents and employees of Heath can transact town business in safety. Thank you for your hard work and your concern for Heath residents, Pat McGahan Honor the Past, Meet the Challenges of the Present, and Provide for the Future
Honor the Past Heath has a rich and resilient history, with many descendants of original families still working and living in town, others taking up summer residence, and retirees attracted to its rural and peaceful environment. Town employees and volunteers have been active in societies, boards, and committees to create a community that has provided for the education of its children, ensured the safety of our physical infrastructure and dwellings, established the Heath Herald and the Heath Fair, and taken care of our historical past. We can best honor the past by building on what has gone before, taking advantages of what has been created and the amenities we have. Challenges for the Present There are many problems we face in meeting the town’s needs. Among them are:
Provide for the Future As we determine what we need to focus on in order to meet our needs now and in the future to further develop a sense of community, the following are some of the more critical issues to consider:
18 Jacobs Road is the only place large enough to accommodate meetings and events, with plenty of handicap-accessible parking. The needs of the Police Station, Fire Department, and Emergency Operations for adequate safe and secure facilities for meetings and vehicles can be accommodated at 18 Jacobs Road with less expense than creating a Public Safety Complex at Bray Road. The grounds at 18 Jacobs Road are the only space adequate for a town-owned solar array. Envisioning 18 Jacobs Road as the town’s municipal center would free up the Historic Center for re-envisioning activities and events that would attract both residents and visitors while maintaining its historic character. Above all, we need to revive our past resiliency in facing our challenges to financially provide for the town’s needs while keeping our tax rate within bounds. To do so, it is no good holding on to past practices. We need to develop fresh ideas and employ them for the benefit of our town and its future generations. —Margaret Freeman Life’s wanderings took Margaret and me to the former Heath School this
morning; sitting in the front hallway, I remembered our first experience of that incredible building. We moved to Heath in June of 2002 from California (my roots and Margaret’s U. S. roots always were here and not there) without much idea of what to expect. We spent the summer readying for the start of our house renovation. That September we saw notice of a talk being given at the School by Elisabeth Sifton, daughter of the great German-American philosopher Reinhold Niebuhr, who summered in Heath years ago. So we went. I was struck immediately both by the size of the turnout for a small village and the high level of intellectual sophistication that Ms. Sifton’s talk (correctly) presumed in the audience. Later we learned that that beautiful school building had been designed by a local architect. We realized we had retired to the right place. As I thought of that day now nearly two decades ago, I looked anew at the many reminders of the generations of schoolchildren who have been educated in Heath School. I was reminded yet again of what an incredible social, historical, cultural, educational, and, yes, emotional asset that building is to our town. We must treasure it for the treasure it is and the treasure it holds. —Don Freeman To: the Heath Select Board Here is information regarding Bob Gruen’s question about the use of classrooms at 18 Jacobs Road before the ventilation had been repaired. The standard for ventilation used by the town for learning hubs was one that was set by MTRSD [Mohawk Trail Regional School District] and DESE [Department of Elementary and Secondary Education] for students sharing remote learning space. The school gym was approved for use as a learning hub by the Superintendent of MTRSD and the Community Hall was also approved, as long as windows could be kept open. On the basis of the Superintendent’s approval, the Select Board voted to approve both the former school and the Community Hall for educational use, as long as the windows at the Community Hall could be kept open. * The use of the Art Room by Tri-wire is not subject to DESE and district standards for ventilation. The standards for Tri-Wire's use of classroom space are the same as those which allowed us to continue to use the office space at Sawyer Hall, which also lacks mechanical ventilation, to conduct town business. It’s possible, under these standards, that Tri-Wire could have rented Community Hall for their purposes, but that is not the space they requested.
Finally, it is true that the Learning Hub used some classrooms before the ventilation was repaired, but only for one household or family pod per classroom. In other words, the classrooms were not used for shared learning space. They were used for individual learning space. * In the end, you will recall, the Community Hall was not used for educational purposes first, because of fire code violations and then because of the lack of adequate internet access. Northeast IT refused to boost the free WIFI signal at the Hall because it would have put the security of the town’s data at greater risk. According to their contract they may not do anything that increases the security risk to the town’s data. —Pam Porter, Manager of Remote Learning Hub To: the Heath Select Board
Here is information regarding Bob Gruen’s question about the use of classrooms at 18 Jacobs Road before the ventilation had been repaired. The standard for ventilation used by the town for learning hubs was one that was set by MTRSD [Mohawk Trail Regional School District] and DESE [Department of Elementary and Secondary Education] for students sharing remote learning space. The school gym was approved for use as a learning hub by the Superintendent of MTRSD and the Community Hall was also approved, as long as windows could be kept open. On the basis of the Superintendent’s approval, the Select Board voted to approve both the former school and the Community Hall for educational use, as long as the windows at the Community Hall could be kept open. * The use of the Art Room by Tri-wire is not subject to DESE and district standards for ventilation. The standards for Tri-Wire's use of classroom space are the same as those which allowed us to continue to use the office space at Sawyer Hall, which also lacks mechanical ventilation, to conduct town business. It’s possible, under these standards, that Tri-Wire could have rented Community Hall for their purposes, but that is not the space they requested. Finally, it is true that the Learning Hub used some classrooms before the ventilation was repaired, but only for one household or family pod per classroom. In other words, the classrooms were not used for shared learning space. They were used for individual learning space. * In the end, you will recall, the Community Hall was not used for educational purposes first, because of fire code violations and then because of the lack of adequate internet access. Northeast IT refused to boost the free WIFI signal at the Hall because it would have put the security of the town’s data at greater risk. According to their contract they may not do anything that increases the security risk to the town’s data. Pam Porter, Manager of Remote Learning Hub |