6:00 p.m. Call Meeting to Order, Review Agenda, Review Minutes: 9/5/23
6:05 p.m. Pole Hearing

• National Grid needs to move 2 poles on 8A (Jacksonville Stage Rd) near Sumner Stetson Road to do bridge work 
• SB approved moves

6:20 p.m. Landfill Mowing—opening of bids and award of contract

• DEP requires once a year mowing of the former landfill on Avery Brook Road
• Three towns share in the cost.

• Saladino Property Maintenance bid for mowing 7 acres and cleaning out retaining pool is $4172.
• Last year the low bid for mowing, trimming, and cleaning out pool was $2700. This company did not bid this year.
• SB approved the bid from Saladino Property Maintenance.

Community Hall Flooring

• Need to delay putting flooring in men’s bathroom due to a moisture issue.
  
• Contractor will use sheet vinyl instead of composition flooring in both bathrooms as it is a better method for bathrooms.
• Contractor can continue to work in the other spaces while moisture problem is addressed.

Foot Clinic

• SB signed a letter of approval for the foot clinic grant.

6:20 p.m. Landfill Mowing—opening of bids and award of contract

• DEP requires once a year mowing.

• Saladino Property Maintenance  bid for mowing 7 acres and cleaning out retaining pool is $4172.
• Last year the low bid for mowing, trimming, and cleaning out pool was $2700. This company did not bid this year.
• Three towns share in the cost.
• SB approved the bid from Saladino Property Maintenance.

MTRSD changes in district agreement—review

• Sue: numbers are not consistent between May and current version of the agreement. Feels Heath is going to be one of the losers in this agreement. There are still things that are unclear. Too many times Heath has not been treated fairly. Not going be pressured into doing it faster than she is comfortable with.
• Elissa: Needs to learn more about the issue. Will meet with Budge Litchfield and Ken Rocke. 
• Robyn: This is a very complex issue which must be understood before we commit to the new agreement.
• Ken: how the above minimum contribution is calculated is critical and needs to be understood.

Bylaws & Enforcement—review of Sept. 5th discussion

• Sue: We had a good beginning last meeting, need to organize steps. Need to meet with Mohawk estates, need to set priorities, likes the idea of sending a letter first, need to think about consequences for non compliance.
• Elissa: Need a point person to keep the log of complaints. Hilma says this falls under the purview of the SB.
• Robyn: how to keep complainants names anonymous, respect confidentiality. Need to think about enforcement.
• Steps: Begin Central Register of violations and set priorities. Letters should go out with tax bills.
• Letter to include companies that will pick up junk cars
• We currently have an active complaint regarding illegal burning

11 Bellor Road LLC—update on fence compliance & in-person visit

• True Cannabis has asked SB to move forward on an agreement extension (two years).
• Hilma, Elissa, and Sue Lively met with two people from Choice Cannabis and Glorius Cannabis who are potential buyers of 11 Bellor Road farm and farming rights.

Salt Shed—update on feasibility study

• Brian met with the consulting firm to ask for more information on the feasibility of both sites rather than just Bray Road.  SB approved $1500 more to cover the cost.

Special Municipal Employees—review of process needed

• Special Municipal Employees are ones that hold more than one municipal position that may require some flexibility in conflict of interest requirements.
  
• Hilma to create a list of people impacted

Letter from Fire Chief, Nick Anzuoni, regarding the unreasonable length of the 8 hour power outage on a day when there was no weather emergency. He feels the town should write to National Grid objecting to this service.
Landfill

• The DEP is going to require additional well testing at the former landfill at an additional increase of 50% of cost. Our testing cost is now at $4000 (one third)

FCSWMD

• Elissa has met with representative (Jan) from FRCOG regarding ways to save cost.
• When there is a pickup, both containers should go even if one is not full. Saves $70 a trip.

Rowe Late Bus

• No response from Rowe in response to Heath letter that cost sharing of the bus was not budgeted this fiscal year, but would be added to the next ATM.

NEMA

• Heath is not getting compensated by Federal government for washouts caused by storms. 
• SB to write to state officials.

Community Hall 

• Problems needing attention—water pooling by the lower door and a  broken gutter.
• Drainage in that area is poor.

COA

• Seeking to remove garden area outside the COA door and replace with a patio

aaas
5:32 p.m. Appointment—Joe Saladino re: snow plowing services

• Joe of ​Saladino Property Management attended and expressed his interest in working with the town. Has already seen the roads.
• Addressing one Select Board concern, he stated that the same driver will plow a standard route and there will be a backup who also knows the route. The driver lives in Shelburne and will have a truck with him.
• Joe expressed concern about mud time as all his vehicles are 550s and don't do well in the mud. He will work with the highway dept for a solution.
• Sue Lively wants to be sure about the chain of command: Jeff Johnston first, then Hilma and SB
• SB members discussed the contract and will update with any revisions, and then  sent to Joe for his review and possible changes.

6:00 p.m. MTRSD—request for changes in District agreement

• Budge Litchfield pointed out that the original agreement was written before there were Choice and Charter schools
• DESE uses foundation enrollment for the purpose of determining all types of enrollment-based education funding.  [Foundation enrollment is a count of the number of pupils for whom a school district is financially responsible on October 1st of any given year.   It is comprised primarily of local resident schoolchildren attending their community’s local or regional school district.  However, it also includes students for whom the district is paying tuition, such as those at Commonwealth charter schools, other school districts, special education schools and other settings.   It does not include tuitioned-in students from other districts, because their home districts are paying for those students’ costs. ]
• Five district towns have voted yes to the agreement, Plainfield, Shelburne, and Heath are 3 out of 8 towns that have not voted yet.
• The intent of the new formula is to "level the playing field" by including the choice and charter students in enrollment numbers for all towns.
• Ken Rocke expressed concern that this change could have significant financial impact on Heath in the future. He would like to better understand the methodology.

Rowe School Committee—request for shared expense of late bus cost. Right now Rowe pays the full cost for Heath, Charlemont and Rowe students and have done so for many years.

• This was not budgeted for this year. The SB will send a letter to Rowe explaining that we can include this in our next budget process, but it is too late for this year.

6:45 p.m. Bylaws and Enforcement—discussion of need for more extensive bylaws for mobile units and discussion regarding enforcement policy for bylaw infractions. (Held in conjunction with the Planning Board, the Board of Health, and the Police Chief.)

• ​Robyn: Complaints come in many ways and get funneled into the SB.  Residents need to understand how a complaint should come in, and how and when action should be taken. "Zoning issues only get dealt with when there is a complaint not as a matter of addressing issues as they are observed." This is not necessarily how it should be, but short of canvassing all properties, this seems the only way possible at this time.  The is a question as to who is responsible to enforce which by-law.  Ownership is not always clear.
• Sue Lively: we may need to prioritize what gets addressed in what order
• Doug: Zoning Board has to be complaint driven, observation does not work as we don't have the resources to go around and investigate.  Need to start the communication with everybody at once. ZB is going to go through the zoning laws looking for things they need to work on. Must start with letter to the town stating what needs to get cleaned up and with some time frame for people to correct. ZB has no enforcement authority. They go to Jim Hawkins. 
• Sheila: are we only addressing trailers right now.  BoH is currently concerned about some septic issues. 
• Does the SB address anonymous complaints?  Not in the past, not a formal rule.
• Doug: make a policy that the boards do not have to reveal the name of person complaining.  Removes need for anonymous.  A complaint must be verifiable.
• Define jurisdiction of an issue and the who/how of verification. 
• Sheila: need ways to help residents comply. Need to make sure in our fairness that all properties are covered.
• John, police chief: people who haven't complied probably won't comply. Will be a high cost in legal fees. There are tons of problems in Heath.
• Alice: the trailer on 8A in right-of-way should just go.  Trash is an easy one to fix (in winter it is visible).
• Next steps for boards and how can SB help: 
  • update what we have
  • must prioritize, can't tackle it all at once
  • problem is not our bylaws, it is enforcement
• Should have a tiered approach: health issues first, old cars leaking oil, septic problems. trash in yard less so.

BoH - Towns around have been updated to moderate for COVID. There are no free test kits anymore. People should be wearing N95 when in a group. BoH is not getting data except through hospitalization.
​Review Minutes: 8/8/23, 8/22/23
Other Business
Disclosures of a Special Municipal Employee—vote to approve

• Approval of a disclosure by  a person who holds more than one paid position in the Town. S
• Alice Wozniak is disclosing that she is an Assistant Assessor which is a paid position, Clerk of Boards which is a paid position, a Finance Committee member, and holds another position.
• SB approved.

11 Bellor Road LLC—update on legal fees reimbursement and fence compliance

• A check from one farmer in the amount of $12,728 to the Town has been made out and should be at the Post Office as of September 5.
• Cannabis Commission is changing how communities are paid for community  impact - State will get more and towns will get less. 
• SB members will review agreements with developer and farmer for Sept 19 SB meeting. Only True Cannabis is actually working.
• When there is a failure of fa armer to meet requirements of the agreement the Town needs to have recourse.

Salt Shed—update on feasibility study

• Robyn met with Brian and went through the garages and salt shed
• Town needs to pull together budget numbers for both locations. We have existing reports on both locations (existing and Bray Rd)  from various sources.
• Current fire depart building is a tear down. Fire trucks could go into the existing hwy garage. 
• There is cost for drainage for existing salt shed site than originally thought.

Study of ADA access to Sawyer Hall—discuss resident offer

• SB approved the letter of response to the resident regarding the proposal.

ARPA Funds—update on use

• Criteria for use—as long as the SB declares the money is for compensation for lost revenue the money can be used. It can be used to buy a truck.
• Jeff Johnston now has direction to start looking for a truck.

FCCIP - Franklin County Cooperative Inspection Program email notification

• The FCCIP provides state-mandated building, electrical, and plumbing/gas inspection services (or a subset thereof) to 16 Franklin County towns and is responsible for zoning enforcement in 15 towns.  The program’s mission is to provide participating towns with professional inspection services by certified inspectors and to be a clearinghouse for information regarding building, zoning, plumbing/gas, and wiring requirements.

Tonight's Topics
6:00 p.m. Call Meeting to Order, Review Agenda
6:01 p.m. Appointment—Joe Saladino re: snow plowing services
Highway Department—update with Superintendent

• Jeff has created a weekly update form to better assess what tasks are being performed.  
• Joe S to take over one of the routes replacing one truck
• Need at least $1500 to bring the 2003 International truck up to winter conditions—fixing seals, welding, wiper assembly. Need $5000 in addition if the motor is repaired/replaced. 
• The 2012 has been parked for safety issues and repair costs.
• Chapter 90 funds may be available by Sep/Oct timeframe. Usually about $200,000. South Rd to be blacktopped from center to fork for $80,000.  Scheduled for Oct 11.
• Biggest problem for roads is undersized culverts which can't handle the heavy rains which causes washouts.  Have 54 primary culverts and many others.
• Need a master plan for the road care.
• Wait on truck repairs until ARPA review is finalized. Hilma needs an ARPA contact and will be in an ARPA seminar tomorrow.
• Saladino also does cemetery work. Some stones in North Cemetery are chipped, may by caused by mowers.
• Trying to do some patching of potholes and ditching.
• FinComm recommends using half ARPA funds for truck ($103,000).

6:45 p.m. Public Comment, Review Minutes: 8/8/23

• Phones
  • There are no usable phones in the town garage due to the change over to internet phones.
  • May need to put the Verizon line back in.
  • We need a working phone for the fire alarm. We must to have 2 phones (one as backup). Could make use of the line at the transfer station.
• AT&T Tower status—it was reported that engineers have been fine tuning discussions with intervenors

Other Business
Employee holding more than one paid position—review documents and vote. Request from Alice Wozniak for determination that this is allowable. SB voted to approve the request.
Heath Historical Society—review of license

• Concern about the length of a 10 year lease/license to the town for use of the former  assessors office for $100/month.
• Legal Council has said the SB can not have a payback clause for improvements done by the HHS in a lease to the HHS if there is an early termination. This could be done at ATM (Annual Town Meeting).  Some type of fund similar but not the same as a stabilization fund was suggested as an alternative which Bob Viarengo thought was a good idea.
• HHS is concerned that some portion of money they expend will be lost if the:  
  • town decided to move offices back to Sawyer
  • town was to use building for another purpose or sale

Community Hall—floor repair update

• Sept 18 start, plumber coming in the week before, Tim needs to do 3 coats of wax after and the plumber needs to come back in. Total of 3 weeks expected for work.

Recording of meetings—update

•  Recordings have been tested and are viable.  SB needs to announce availability.

Review of appointed Boards and Committees—FY24 appointments

• PO Appointment has been made—Laura Holdsworth.

Unfinished Business—review list and revise as needed

• Meeting to take place regarding unsafe and/or, unregistered vehicles storage.
• Robyn feels this should not be addressed by complaint, but by policy or procedure. 

Salt Shed—update on feasibility study

• Study is not complete and when done, it will cover both properties, existing and Bray Road.
• Discussion of whether we need a master plan for all municipal services—(1) do we need to just address the salt shed or  (2) all our long term needs.
• Discussion of a possible modified plan for Bray Road, but  more than just the salt shed,

Study of ADA access to Sawyer Hall—discuss resident offer

• Offer from a resident to fund a feasibility study for Sawyer Hall. Includes getting the individual qualified to do the study and then getting a report which they would share with the town. Goal towards making the building self supporting.
• Robyn felt this could be the CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) piece needed by  Brian McHugh, to get funds for Sawyer Hall.

Special Municipal Employees—review of process needed to designate a special municipal employee

• Designation goes with the position not the employee.
• Designation can allow some exemption from aspects of conflict of interest.

Late Bus for Mohawk students -

• Town of Heath got a letter from Rowe about the late bus for students from Heath, Rowe, and Charlemont. 
• Rowe has been paying for all of it for years and would like the cost shared between the 3 towns.
• $6550 is one third of the cost which Rowe would like Heath to pay.
• This can't be done at this time as the budget is set.

Agenda Items for  Tue Aug 8 below:
6:00 p.m. Call Meeting to Order, Review Agenda, Review Minutes: 7/25/23, 7/31/23

Topics
Heath Historical Society—review of 10 lease 

• Suggestions from HHS if lease is ended prematurely: 
  
• If the Town sells, rents or demolishes Sawyer Hall or there is a total change of use of the building, HHS would like a full refund of $20,000 spent on capital  improvements.
• SB issue - what if HHS wants to end the lease before 10 years? Should the money spent be depreciated over time?

Community Hall—floor repair update

• Dennis Booska (sp?)  has been contacted and he plans to provide possible start dates by the end of the week.  There has been some difficulty contacting him.

Recording of meetings

• A courtesy not a requirement.
• Barbara Gordon and Elissa Viarengo are recording the meetings to verify feasibility.
• Appreciation expressed for Barbara's efforts to understand and test the recording program,  Audacity.
• Pat McGahan to post audios to the Town website if program goes forward.

Town Nurse Position Description—review updated proposal

• Claire has concerns with the new proposal from the BoH. There needs to be further discussion.
• Robyn has concerns that the new proposal may not be feasible from a salary standpoint going forward.
• Sue feels that there needs to be a review by several people to look at our needs as a Town and what may be covered by FRCOG.  Home visits are a high priority.

Review of appointed Boards and Committees—FY24 appointments

• A​pproved appointments : Conservation Commission - Kerry McNay, ZBA - Dena Briggs

Unfinished Business—review list and revise as needed

• Ethics and Open Meeting Law Training - needs to be done at all boards meeting.
• Assessment of the center buildings.

Salt Shed—update on feasibility study

• Seemed to only evaluate Bray Rd, not the current site. Robyn to contact the company.

District wants an STM to vote on the amendment to the district agreement

• The district has been asked many questions but has not provided answers
• The 8 Towns in the district do not have any common forum to work through the issues with the agreement.

Representative Natalie Blaise declared a State of Emergency due to the lack of shelter for an increasing number of migrants.
Mail - items not already covered above

• Complaint about open burning and illegal dumping in Mohawk Estates 
• There has been more communication from cannabis farmers regarding legal fees due the Town
• They are requesting for more detailed financial information

The only article on the warrant was to move money from the Equipment/Vehicle Stabilization Account to a Truck Purchase FY24 account.  The article was recommended by the Select Board and Finance Committee.
​
The article failed to pass by two thirds with 41 in favor and 24 against. Jeff Johnston pointed out that while we do have 3 plow trucks, 2 are not reliable (both of which were purchased before his tenure): Truck #1 is a 2003 and was due for replacement this year, Truck #2  is a 2012 which has had constant and costly mechanical failures.  Jeff reported that the fleet does include a Dodge 5500 pickup that can be used for some work such as clearing intersections and a grader that can be used, but not as a permanent replacement of a plow truck.  Without money to work with, Jeff can not shop around for a used replacement vehicle before winter,  STM Truck Handout

Review of appointed Boards and Committees—FY24 appointments

• Selectboard is waiting to hear from counsel if SB members can be on boards. Counsel reports they can be liaisons at this time not members. This can be changed at Town Meeting.
• Parks & Rec—Appointed Bob and Chelsea as members, Pat McGahan and Lyra Johnson-Fuller as ex-officio members.
• Board of Health - Sheila Litchfield on the Town Website  appointed for 3 year term.

[A volunteer form is available on the website at https://townofheath.org/p/50/Volunteering ]

Elissa unable to attend.
6:00 p.m. Call Meeting to Order, Review Agenda, Review Minutes: 6/13/23
6:05 p.m. Public Comment
6:20 p.m. Appointment: Mike Cucchiara, Parks & Recreation Committee chairman, update on activities

• Mike's focus is to continue work on the Woodlands Partnership of Western Mass. There is an opportunity to raise $75,000 in a grant money for a through-trail project connecting the Shapiro trail to Rowe, and $25,000 in grant money for in Town land work. FRCOG is working on mapping the route from Catamount State Forest, through the center of Town to Rowe. [The work on this trail by Mike through Parks & Rec has been an amazing effort and a wonderful benefit to the Town]
• A group of volunteers in town got together to fund the resurfacing of the basketball court and paint new lines for both basketball and pickleball. They also purchased portable pickleball equipment for use by all.   
• When questioned about the pickleball net moving into the Jacobs gym during the cold weather, Mike pointed out that taping lines on the gym floor is not good for the floor and everything is done by volunteers and there is only so much time in the day.

Other Business
Heath Historical Society—review of lease and possible vote

• Not discussed  due to absence of one Select Board member

Community Hall—floor repair update

• Samples were shown for vinyl composition tile (same as what is there). Elissa to recommend a color choice.

11 Bellor Road—update

• Robyn has contacted Jim Hawkins, FRCOG building inspector, regarding the options the farmers have to deal with the non-conforming fence.
• Hilma to provide the SB with an accounting of the money owed to the Town

Telephone System—update

• Hilma met with Granite Telecommunications, www.granitenet.com/, by phone. for a status update. The phones are ordered and there are DIDs for all extensions. [DID numbers can route calls to any type of phone, including voice-over-IP (VoIP) phones, mobile phones and landlines. They are often used with call forwarding services so that calls can be routed to the person or department even if they are not in the office. ] 

Review of appointed Boards and Committee​

• Voted to approve a number of appointments. Some are delayed awaiting appointment letters and other awaiting legal ruling on whether in a small town, SB members can appoint themselves to committees.

Transfer Stations

• Some folks do not want to affix the dump sticker to their window and use the yellow stickers..
• The transfer station expenses exceed income by approx. $20,000 and our taxes make up the difference. 
• People from Vermont are bringing their trash to the transfer station which costs Heath taxpayers.
• The SB will do a write up to let folks know of the new transfer station attendant and the rules that have been in place some some time. A sign will be posted as well.

6:00 p.m. Call Meeting to Order, Review Agenda, Review Minutes: 5/30/23
6:05 p.m. Appointment: Community Development Program—request for extension to complete housing rehabilitation program activity.  Extension approved.
6:15 p.m. Public Comment 
Community Hall—floor repair update

• Robyn got a quote of $1,200 more for bathrooms for sheet vinyl bringing the total cost to approx $10,000 which is what we have from insurance.  SB will commit to contractor and  look for scheduling.  Given cost of sheet vinyl and tiles are about the same, SB will ask for input from Tim Lively.
• Epoxy - $6 sq ft for 2 coats epoxy ($8000 for 2100 sq ft) 
• Elissa stressed that the floor condition did not preclude use of the second floor and Robyn said that the work would be scheduled so as not to interfere with the fall art show.

11 Bellor Road—update
Robyn and Hilma met with cannabis  farmers— Chris (True Cannabis)  other team members, and developer(s) [I think].  
Outcomes:

• Requested removal of 8 storage trailers- Done. One construction trailer remains.
• Requested  contact information for the new legal council for developers and farmers - Received.
• Farmers need an extension to the host agreement. The SB will not do anything until monies owed to the Town are paid.
• Farmers  will seek a building permit for a barn to replace the storage trailers 
• No crop is expected until 2024.
• Robyn spoke with Doug Mason, chair of the Planning Board, on what was actually approved originally and determined the front fence is not in the proper location.
• Robyn spoke with Bill Hawkins. Farmers need a building permit for the fence as it is over 6 feet and need to relocate it to meet the zoning setback [50 ft front, 25 ft sides].  Farmers can ask for a special permit and if not granted they can appeal.
• Barbara Rode raised issue that the bylaws are not followed when granting a special permits.  There must be an impact statement.

Trailers, unregistered vehicles:

• ​:The SB will meet with the Planning Board, and Board of Health, on a plan to begin to move on compliance regarding  trailers, unregistered cars, etc.  The thinking is a town wide contact is needed  giving people some time to comply before enforcement.

Telephone System—update

• Bill Fontes and Hilma have the details for phone ordering,  there will be separate lines for each extension. They will start the process of adding lines and upgrading the phone system. They will have weekly meetings with Granite Telecommunications.

Review of charges:   

• Ag Commission: See if there is interest in a new Agricultural Commission and what would be the goals? Possible food coop, farmer's market. Heath is a food desert. Makes us rank higher for certain grants for local access to food.
• Building Facilities Committee: need to reach out to current members to determine interest in continuing and working with SB on their role.
• Building Use Committee: need to review their role, still an important committee.

Review of appointed Boards and Committees—FY24 appointments

• Hilma will be contacting persons  to determine if they wish to continue in their appointed position. She will also be sending out the Parks & Rec charge to persons expressing interest in that committee.
• Lorraine Berger is not taking reappointment to the BoH.  Need to fill one BoH position so they have a quorum.  SB appointed Sheila Litchfield for a remining term ending June 30 so the BoH will have a quorum and will revisit appointments next meeting.
• There are many committees with open positions. Go to the Town website at https://townofheath.org/p/50/Volunteering and click on the volunteer form to see what is available.

Municipal Light Plant--method of income transference to town

•  Robyn, Hilma, Alice, Sheila, and Dave  met to discuss and understand how this will be done.
• Financial Planning--discussion
• Communications—methods of dispersing information to residents

Mail

• Most mail was covered previously. 
• Letter from state finding that the SB was not in violation of Open Meeting Law regarding complaints filed earlier in the year by Jesse Weigand.

6:00 p.m. Call Meeting to Order, Review Agenda, Review Minutes: 5/16/23
6:05 p.m. Public Comment

• Contact the Town Coordinator: bos@townofheath.org to sign up. This does not preclude speaking but may determine order of speaking.
• Three-minute comment limit per person.
• Public Comment period will end at 6:20 pm, or before then, if there are no further comments.

Other Business
Parks & Recreation—participant waiver [for race ending at the Heath fairgrounds during the fair]

• SB would like the form to have a place for entrants to write in the specific event that the form applies to. The form was approved as amended.​

Community Hall—estimate for basement floor repair for damaged tiles from winter pipe break 

• Robyn verified with contractor that the $7000 price for the floor did not include the bathrooms.
• Robyn is waiting on an epoxy quote .
• Robyn ask resident, Will Emmett,  if he would share cost of his recent epoxy floor installation in his workshop.
• As Will's cost was not that far off tile replacement , the Board did not want to move forward without the epoxy quote.

Trailer Complaint—Complaint about trailer in disrepair on Bray Road

• Robyn has written a letter to the complainants that this trailer does not fall under the purview of the SB and will cc the BoH. 
• A discussion followed about  how to deal with trailers in violation of the zoning bylaws. Doug Mason said that at one time the Zoning Board had written a letter giving residents two years to comply with the zoning bylaws regarding trailers in violation. The letter was never sent—Doug to retrieve the letter and the Planning Board  will meet with the Select Board on how to move forward.
• An email had been sent by a concerned resident about equality in enforcement when dealing with trailers.
• Robyn agreed that there should  be equality, but expressed concern about where to start as there are many trailer and automobile zoning violations in Heath.

Special Town Meeting (STM)—discuss need and set date, if needed.

• The purpose of the meeting would be to move money.
• The Finance Committee recommended to let the money in question rollover to free cash and not have the expense of a STM.

11 Bellor Road—update [cannabis farmers  zoning violations and legal action may be required]

• TrueCannabis responded that they have met with  FRCOG and they are not in violation. Doug Mason (Planning Board chair)  feels they are in compliance with the fence and that storage containers are allowed in Heath.  The containers had been used as work areas which is not allowed.  They did not get a permit for the electrical work and the  electrical has been removed and they are now in compliance. 
• Residents Barbara Rode, Craig Gerry, and Mike Freeman were allowed to speak on the topic.
• Hilma had a phone conversation with one owner, Chris [last name not stated].  The farmers intend to pay the legal fees as promised. He said that the  Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) had recommended the storage containers. They plan to build a barn and then remove the containers.
• The Select Board is not getting any communication from the farmers.   All  communication is  with the FRCOG with neither party including the Select Board. 
• There was supposed to be a yearly public hearing  with the farmers which has not happened and is overdue.
• The Select Board needs a timeline and clarity on the status of the host agreement.

Telephone System—review proposal for services and vote [the Town wants to get a better financial option than current]

• SB approved using Granite Telecommunications. for our phones —15 lines.

Review of appointed Boards and Committees—planning

• Farmer's Market - see if there is interest in reviving
• Board of Health (BoH),  Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA), and  Cultural Council have many openings.  There are no members of the Agricultural Commission.
• Need to look at Building Use Committee (BUC) and Building Facilities Committee roles, do we need both?
• Created a SB liaison to the BoH. Robyn suggested Elissa who accepted.
• SB members reviewed their many liaison positions to various boards and committees with some changes.  Sue L will take over from Robyn as the  liaison to the Highway Dept.

Transfer Station Attendant—employee appointment [two applicants, both from Heath]

• Two applicants applied—both very qualified candidates making the choice very difficult.  
• The hiring committee made  a recommendation of Lee Lively based on his years of experience with hydraulics.  The  SB approved Lee Lively.
• The two candidates were to be notified  on Wednesday. of the results.
• The Board also discussed how to communicate that new transfer permit stickers are needed July 1 and where to get them.

Transfer Station Bag Sticker Fee—Franklin County Solids Waste Management) FCSWMD (recommends  raising to $2 per bag

• Our current expense for trash is approx. $55,000, permits and stickers bring in approx. $35,000 with the Town  paying the difference of approx. $20,000. Raising the stickers to $2 will reduce  this to approx. $10,000.

Municipal Light Plant--method of income transference to town [how does broadband money come back to Town]

• There will be a meeting on Wednesday, May 31  to discuss this  (Sheila Robyn, Hilma, and our town accountant)

Fuse Energy--[FUSE wants Heath to signup for a share in a solar display at no cost to the Town. Sponsored by  DOER (Dept of Energy Resources) to lower carbon footprint.]

• The Select Board  feels there are too many unknowns to commit to a 25 year agreement.
• The Board contacting other towns that had joined the plan and did not get positive feedback.
• The Board voted not accept the proposal.

Financial Planning--discussion [initiated by a letter from a resident concerned about long term financial planning]

• Robyn stated that the first step belongs to the Finance Committee as elected officials. 
• Discussed the need for more long range forecasting rather than working  year-by-year and  Elissa added that we need to communicate better on the budget with town's people and with more lead time up to Town Meeting. [My Note: In early spring meetings between FinComm and the SB both boards expressed this as goal. Long term forecasting would help make this possible.]
• Hilma mentioned the need for a capitol planning schedule and said that the DOR had a long range forecasting sheet. 
• Robyn suggested the June meeting with FinComm for transfers would be an opportunity to begin discussion of long range forecasting and begin working on the budget with this in mind in September. 
• There was a suggestion to create a document/letter/ request to FinComm detailing what the  Board  would like to get for this effort.
• Ned Wolf from FinComm recommended we take advantage of resident Ken Rocke 's offer to help with understanding the MTRSD amendment to our District agreement.
• Robyn suggested we look into what FRCOG Annual Report services other towns take advantage of.
• One long range perspective brought up was a town administrator skill shortage that other towns are experiencing.  Hilma's eventual retirement needs to be included in forecasting.

Communication—methods of dispersing information to residents 

• Elissa raised the question about how to better keep the residents informed.  
• Robyn responded that  there are periodic mailings from the Select Board (SB), phone calls to all residents about upcoming meetings of importance,  a SB report in the Heath Herald, information on the Town sign board outside Sawyer Hall, and most importantly, the Town website has Select Board Agendas  and minutes,. 
• Robyn recognizes that  this is not working for all residents, but feels that to some degree it is the responsibility of the resident to be better informed when there is so much information available. She pointed out that the SB meeting is open to all residents, but not well attended.
• The SB talked about mailing a brochure that would detail sources of information,  and referenced the  welcome packet [recently proposed by Bob Bourke and Elissa] for new residents with needed information.
• An email from a resident regarding  remote format for SB meetings was discussed.  [My Note: This had been discussed at previous meetings and usually lost momentum when cost was raised.] 
• Robyn said that hosting Zoom meetings and running the SB meetings was not efficient as it was distracting and made everything take longer. It is not something she would do again. 
• Hilma was asked about the live broadcasts done by the Heath Union Church.  Hilma to get more info from organist, Dennis Ainsworth, who set up the church's live broadcasts.
• How to fund something similar to the church was discussed and both Elissa and Barbara Gordon (chair of the Cultural Council) suggested grants as a possibility. [Not sure if there was a follow up to this].