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Notes for Tue, March 24 2026 at 4:30 PM

3/23/2026

➢ Call Meeting to Order, Review Agenda, Consent Agenda, Meeting Minutes: 03/17/2026
o Accounts Payable & Payroll Warrants
➢ Appointments
o 4:30PM Mia Francesconi, Town Coordinator – End of Probationary Period; Employee
Evaluation – SB: had very positive feedback, felt Mia was a very fast learner and very responsive. Mia: is content with learning as she goes and feels supported by the SB. Salary was discussed; the position is a grade 18. Entry salary is $35.10, and $39 is mid. SB voted to add a $1 raise per hour to bring Mia to $36.10 until end of the fiscal year.
o 5:00PM Liam Cregan, Franklin Land Trust – Heath & Colrain Conservation Effort

Applied for a Forestry Legacy Grant which ended up bought by the Audubon Society
Seeking a grant to create a 500-acre contiguous parcel using private and conservation land. Bob and Janet Delise wish to put land into conservation, the Sumner family wishes to sell 11 land-locked acres to Fish & Game which will connect other conservation parcels. FLT has a grant to buy the Griswald land and barn.

➢ Select Board Discussion/Decision Items
o Highway Department – Discuss Paving Options

Robyn would like more clarification on the different types of road reclaiming.
Number 9 Road: "new work chip seal" technique recommended that as a cost saving but still produces a product that is a good option, 6 to 8 year est. life.
Colrain Stage Road: same process with the addition of a black top binder, 8 to 10 year est. life.
Tyson would like to apply for a STRAP grant
Will expressed concern that there are some areas on Number 9 Road where the road is completely gone. He would rather do part of it right then do a "band aid."
Tyson will need to fill the holes on Jacobs Road. Hope to get some unused money from the salt shed.
Will to speak to Tyson tomorrow regarding Jacobs Road and more information on the approach to Number 9 Road repairs.

o Animal Inspector Nomination – Elissa and Will voted to nominate Aimee Jarvis
o Annual Town Meeting Warrant – Review/Discuss 03/24/2026 Draft

School Article: discussed that capital improvement projects for Colrain School are included in the Mohawk budget. The building is owned by the Town of Colrain.
Rowe bus: we can't seem to get a number for Heath students that ride the bus
Revolving Fund: money is taken in for a project and expended to pay for the project. Should we have that kind of account, we need to be sure there is a way to follow how money is spent. Robyn would like to put in a warrant article to eliminate the two revolving accounts. This is to be brought up with FinComm which is meeting on Thursday.
Put in an article for highway and fire garage overhead doors ($30,000)

o FY ’27 Budget – General Discussion; Review/Discuss 03/24/2026 Draft
Certain line items were looked at to verify the amount budgeted. It is best to listen to the tape for this area.

Looking at what an additional 80 hrs for the Police Dept will cover
Discussion of an additional 8 hrs per week for Building Maint Coordinator. This is tied to the mowing contract as Tim is paid to mow by the Highway Dept.
Discussion of the cost of the copier and maintenance.
Discussion of the town paying for police coverage at the Heath Fair. Is it quid-pro-quo where the town benefits from the fair and the fair benefits from the coverage?

➢ New Information/Updates
o Town of Colrain Surplus Police Cruiser

Robyn would like a list of the work that was done on the vehicle. Nick knows the vehicle.
The MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) from Colrain has more detail than simply the purchase and needs to be looked at.

o Lease Agreement Next Steps

Hilltown Youth Performing Arts; lease has been sent out
Valerie Isaacs; Sawyer Hall- lease has been sent out
Heath Historical Society; paid the rent, amenable to current license
Carin Freeman; amenable to current license

o Boards’ Clerk & Office Assistant Job Postings

No update. Mia has not been able to find the previous posting.

➢ Public Comment

Resident objected to the wording in meeting minutes regarding eliminating one road crew member. Robyn said the minutes will be looked at and corrected.
Priorities are warped with focus on Jacobs Road.
Felt the best interest of the town is not being addressed by the town government.
Could not follow all that was said, it's best to listen to the tape to catch it all accurately.

➢ Mail

COA was awarded a grant of $3000 toward an outdoor patio outside the Senior Room
FRCOG is accepting requests for a traffic counting program.
MTRSD letter on a calculating error indicating a Heath underpayment of $13, 991.
Letter announcing a fund FRCOG fund raiser in August, Deerfield Dirt Road Randonnee)
Letter from the Choice Power Supply Program, I'm not sure what it indicated.

➢ New business that could not be anticipated 48 hours prior to the meeting

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Notes Tue Mar 17 2026

3/17/2026

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Call Meeting to Order – THIS MEETING MAY BE AUDIO RECORDED
➢ Review Agenda
➢ Consent Agenda
o Meeting Minutes: 03/10/2026
o Accounts Payable & Payroll Warrants
➢ Select Board Discussion/Decision Items
o Annual Town Meeting Warrant – Review/Discuss 1st draft

Article 9: Late Bus - not recommended by FinCom. Unable to determine how many, if any, heath students ride the late bus
Article 11: Requirement of Boards & Committees to give SB a heads up if a grant application needs monies from the town. Elissa to look into the history of the article.
Discussed where lease monies for each building should go: currently there are no Jacobs Rd and Sawyer Hall rental accounts. Monies from HYPA do not go into a building account.
Need to review revolving funds regarding needs and requirements. Revolving Funds are listed in Mass General law.
Robyn would like to close accounts where the requirements are complete and there are no expenses.
Budget for office assistant

o FY ’27 Budget – General Discussion

This was truly a general discussion. A lot of line items were entered as placeholders. If I get a copy of the draft budget, I will send it out.
Discussion of the Police coverage at the Heath Fair paid by the Town. Per Elissa it is a benefit to many town organizations: Heath Union Church supper, the Firemen's barbecue, Friends of the Library book tent, the Historical Society raffle, and the Highway Dept which stores vehicles there over the winter.
The Fire Dept is dropping its request for turnout gear from 2 down to 1.
There was a discussion of stipends. FinComm had recommended eliminating some stipends entirely, but the Select Board has reservations. Review of the criteria for stipends, one of which was how often a board or committee meets.
An issue was raised that the MPL Manager position was supposed to end with the buildout, but continues on. Question was raised as to why the 5 members could not handle the role.
The Town Coordinator grade was raised, but here will be a discussion later with Mia.

o Lease Agreement Next Steps

Hilltown Youth Performing Arts - Mia will be doing edits to the lease agreement
Valerie Isaacs - rental of former meeting room in Sawyer Hall. Elissa has worked on a lease agreement which the SB will review when edits are done. Valerie plans to take possession by April 1 of this year.
Historical Society has not paid rent for space in Sawyer Hall due to some lease confusion. The $1200 rent due will be paid once a treasure transition which is taking place has been done.

o Highway Department – Discuss Paving Options

The two options for reclaiming the roads are binder and chip sealing
Colrain Stage Rd is targeted to have both done as it has heavier traffic and is an emergency route. The chip sealing cost for CSR is different from that proposed for the other roads. It is possible to do the binder this year and chip seal next year.
Will downloaded guidelines from DOT for roads. He is concerned about culvert replacement. He also spoke with the Road Boss in Northfield who spoke about the possibility of doing binder and chip seal on the worst parts of the road and other parts the following year.
Robyn investigated new work chip seal over gravel which is proposed for Number 9 Rd and Sumner Stetson—Conway uses it frequently. Robyn wants to know the life expectancy of this method.
Elissa brought up the condition of Jacobs Road. Something needs to be done as soon as weather permits.

o Board’s Clerk Resignation – Discussion & Acceptance – Vote Anticipated

Elissa and the Boards Clerk met and the clerk is willing to continue with only the BoH until the end of the year at 5 hours a week. The SB voted to create a temporary position for 5 hours a week at the current rate.
SB voted to accept the resignation and the position will need to be posted.

o Office Assistant Position – Discuss Position/Tasks

SB voted to post for the job at 10 hours a week.

o MIIA Rewards – Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association, a different kind of insurance provider

There is a way to accrue credits which can turn into money

Heath Community Resource Fair – Select Board & Town Coordinator Participation

SB discussed what they might offer, perhaps talk about open volunteer positions. Taking place on April 18.

o CodeRED Alerts Not Delivering – Update from Support Team

CodeRED has responded that the cause is at the number for a number of possible reasons. The messages coming back from the attempted call is "Busy". OOMA may be the source of the problem.

➢ New Information/Updates

None

o Town of Colrain Surplus Police Cruiser
➢ Public Comment

New seating arrangement has improved the audio and a resident expressed appreciation.

➢ Mail

Resident noted mud season has made for impassable road conditions on Underwood Hill Rd and Sumner Stetson. Looking for speedy action to correct the situation.
Building Use Committee (BUC) would like to advertise rental space in the buildings.

➢ New business that could not be anticipated 48 hours prior to the meeting
➢ Meeting Adjournment
Posted in accordance with the provisions of MGL C. 30A §§ 18-25 by Mia Frances

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Notes for Tue March 10 2026

3/14/2026

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Call Meeting to Order – THIS MEETING MAY BE AUDIO RECORDED
Will Emmet not present
➢ Review Agenda - moved to later in the meeting
➢ Appointments - moved to later in the meeting
5:00PM
Highway Superintendent, Tyson Howard – Budget Hearing w/ Finance

Priority for road repair with Chapter 90 money: (1) Colrain Stage Road (CSR) from town line to Bray Rd since it is a route for emergency vehicles (est. $541,000), (2) Number 9 Road (est. $417,000), and (3) Sumner Stetson Road (est. $140,000). Discussion around whether work will be binder and/or chip seal in an effort to spread coat over more than one year. Tyson would like to wait on Sumner Stetson Road until next year.

Recycling Dividend Program (RDP) Project Ideas; FY ’27

Consensus is to use the dividend to replace the platform to the recycling bin.
Tyson suggests wood because the platform is in constant need of repair due to damage by trucks picking up the bin. When Tyson calls about the damage the response is "what are you gonna do?" indicating that there is nothing they can do about the problem. Tyson is not in favor of a metal ramp or one with wheels because these are problematic in their own way.

Power and lights to the Salt Shed and power to the Fire Garage (?).

Robyn to call Palmieri. Unable to trench to the propane tanks until the earth thaws.

Salt Shed "door"

Iron Horse claims that the building is not designed for a door, but Robyn has been given plans for one.
After discussion, the decision is to not go forward with a door at this time

5:30PM
Finance Committee – Budget Hearings w/ Highway Superintendent

Revisiting the roads discussion with FinComm. Alice W sees CSR as a priority since it is an EMS route. Tyson is ok with doing just the chip seal on CSR and then do all 3 roads.
Culverts were discussed as something that needs to be addressed when the road work was done
Highway Garage and Fire Garage doors- FinComm feels they should be replaced but money should come from free cash. Motors are $18,000 each for Fire Dept doors. Highway dept only needs doors not motors.
Capital request for mower: Tyson withdrawing the request, going to try other things
Capital request for a truck: had one truck down in the last storm. Another truck has no heater and has to go back to the dealer. FinComm favored waiting one more year before buying a truck. Tyson is ok with waiting a year.
Lengthy discussion of summer vs winter help and what accounts they should go under. It is pretty dull nit-picky stuff and my mind wandered.

6:00PM Police Chief, John McDonough – Budget Hearing w/ Finance Committee

Getting complaints about traffic. It would be helpful to get these in email or as a phone message.
Ticking has its issues since it requires an officer to go to court if the ticket is appealed. Ths costs the town, so it is hard to say if ticketing is a loss or gain for the town.
Spoke of putting in for grants for more solar powered roadside speed signs.
Chief is doing all required maintenance on the police vehicle
Chief is budgeted at 14 hours per week.
Asking for 80 additional hours for part time officers (not sure of time period)
Heath Fair comes out of the Chief's budget. Ag Society does not pay for this detail. Dena B feels a police presence at the fair is a good thing and supports more hours for the police dept. Elissa to take back to Ag Society to determine any public safety issues. Alice W feels we need to have a written detail rate for services. Elissa mentioned the Ag Society quid-pro-quo arrangement where the Fire Dept holds their chicken BBQ at no charge and the Highway Dept stores vehicles over the winter in return for work on the pulling track.
Mohawk Estates makes a donation to the Fire Dept when they hold their fireworks.
An admin would not reduce much time for the chief as a lot of his admin work is with firearms permits which has to be done by him.

COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) discussion

I didn't see this on the agenda, but maybe the admin discussion led into it.
I believe FinComm agreed to the current % which was 2.5 or 2.8.

➢ Review and consent to Agenda
Approve Meeting Minutes: 01/13/2026 (ES); 02/24/2026; 02/24/2026 (ES)
o Accounts Payable & Payroll Warrants
➢ Select Board Discussion/Decision Items
o Citizen’s Petition – “Resolution in Support of “Act Establishing Medicare for All” –
Review/Approval for Inclusion on Annual Town Meeting Warrant – Vote Anticipated
o Liquor License – Decide if an Event needs a One-Day Special Permit
o Route 8A Over Underwood Brook Culvert/Small Bridge Project – Discussion re.
Easements
o Appointment of Library Substitutes – Molly A. Lane and Caitlyn Irene Semanie
o Board’s Clerk Resignation – Discussion & Acceptance – Vote Anticipated
o FY ’26 Department of Ecological Restoration (MassDER) Culvert Assessments –
Review Proposal to Evaluate Culvert Conditions in Heath; Letter of Support
➢ New Information/Updates
➢ Public Comment
➢ Mail
➢ New business that cou

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