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SB Meeting Notes May 24

5/24/2022

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Town Return to in-person meetings

State may require a return to in-person meetings in mid July which will impact recordings. SB will tentatively plan to return on July 19. Robyn will look into recording options.
Chairing Zoom meetings is difficult. SB would still like to have meetings recorded or have a live feed for their meetings.

Discussion of town office hours

Public hours at Jacobs Road need to be listed on a schedule. Need Heath remote participation rules to be available to Boards and Committees.
In-person office hours need to be scheduled for various departments. Residents need to know when people are available to the public.

Holidays

SB will add National Independence Day, June 14th, to the list of paid observed holidays. It is a Federal and State holiday.
SB will change reference to Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day

Boards Clerk

Reporting to many boards may make it difficult to prioritize among them. Need to have a reporting structure, possibly Town Coordinator.
Hilma will check in with Planning Board and Zoning Board on list of duties to determine if the time and tasks look like they will meet their needs.
Hilma to post job through local networking.

Meeting with Library Trustees
Deb Porter talked about the trustees strategic planning, the desire to be inclusive in that planning, and to have a cross committee and resident AdHoc committee to consider what is best for the Town and its residents.

Trustees continue to work on strategic planning while being faced with the findings of Jeff Dougan from the Massachusetts Office on Disabilities who toured Sawyer Hall.
Jeff's Dougan's report noted parking and egress issues and issues inside the libray as well.
Changes to comply inside the library would require the reduction of the book collection by 40 to 50%.
Link to Jeff Dougan report:

https://townofheath.org/files/ADA_Compliance_Report_Library_SH_04-14-22.pdf
Kate reported on community feedback

Many noted the library as an important part of their Saturday morning routine of the dump, the Post Office, and the library.
Others would like more programs that could be accomodated in a larger space.

SB Input

Sue: Would like a report from this organization on every building
Facilities Committe did some of the work proposed for the AdHoc committee. Do the costs, do the financials, whether it is possibly to do it.
Brian would like to separate the two issues. Also noted that it is illegal to have public meetings in a place that is not accessible. (1) make Sawyer Hall accessible (2) what to do with the library
Robyn: we know there are accessibility and egress issues on our properties. It is the SB job to figure out what steps we take to address these and other issues in all our buildings and how the buildings can be used..
There is a limit on what a group of volunteers can pull together. There is a time frame needed and a cost to get the information, and a level of expertise that the Town needs and deserves when it comes to looking at all our properties and how we see them being used in the future. Live is changing for all of us . . . while it is difficult, it is inevitable. There is a cost, but there is a bigger financial cost to just keep pushing off and not dealing with difficult issues.
Until such time we can resolve accessibility and egress issues at Sawyer Hall, the only solution is using Jacobs Road. The SB job is to get information on what it takes to make the buildings ADA compliant. The SB must bring in outside help to make sound decisions on what is the best for the Town.

In summary

Deb: how do you bring people along in the process. We can't apply for grants in a facility that is not accessible. People need to see the report and in a way that serves our public, Need a public meeting so people understand that there is no arbitrary decision made. Strategic planning will continue and the need to operate out of Jacobs Road will not determine the future home of the library. The Trustees want a public meeting to explain that the current situation is driven by the Massachusetts Office on Disabilities report not the Trustees.

Brian: post the report and then hold a meeting. Solving accessibility is the number 1 issue because of legal implications.
Sue: we are illegal and that needs to be addressed soon. We must move the library someplace or break the law. It would have to be strictly informational. Need to set guidelines for the meeting.
Robyn: sees no issue with having an informational meeting and lay out the next steps. If you love the library it is not the building, its the library.
There was a motion to support the recommendation of the library trustees to operate out of Jacobs Road while the accessibility issues at Sawyer Hall can be worked out.

Town Offices Location

Must operate out of Jacobs Road until there is a plan for all the buildings
Need to determine the physical needs of all the buildings
Also need an ADA evaluation of Jacobs and Community Hall
Need a neutral person or group to look at the buildings and our needs as a whole and the long term cost of maintaining.
Robyn, speaking for herself, has no intention of eliminating any piece of property until someone proves to her that this is the right move for the town.
Wants to bring in residents but when there is all the information available to make good decisions.

Salt Shed

Alison from MVP sent info on how to apply for possible sources of funding such a FEMA . Need to look at developing Bray Road. Need cost estimates.

Green Communities

Brian has has an estimate on weatherization insulation but no contract

Other

Coverage during Hilma absence: Has been working with Nancy Thane on what she needs to do. Mary will pick up mail from the Post Office.
Jacobs outdoor lighting: Alec Gilson has been out with COVID, The work to begin when he returns.
A letter to the SB from Athol regarding State House bills proposing that money from Host Community Agreements go to the state, greatly reducing the amount that goes to the hosting municipality. SB needs to be active in support of objecting to this legislation.
Bob Viarengo requested SB support for a 150th anniversary celebration for Community Hall. SB is willing to sponsor a celebratory event organized by the HHS and HHC or a special committee.

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SB Meeting Notes for May 17

5/24/2022

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MVP -Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness presentation. Extremally well done and important to Heath. I will post the link to the presentation when it comes up.
State Cannabis Control Commission sent form letter seeking assurance that True Cannabis cultivation is in compliance with our local bylaws. Hilma was authorized to fill out compliance form in the positive.
MTRSD: Barbara Rode will continue until July 1 as representee to MTRSD. The Town received documents requested from the district. Robyn would like feedback from the finance committee. Some of Heath's FinCom members were meeting with Colrain's FinCom members regarding district finances. Recorder has requested an article be written about the error issue.
Auditor coming on Monday, May 23.
IT Grant: Hilma submitted the final report on $45,000 IT Grant received by Heath.
Mosquito Spraying Opt Out program. Sue Lively attended the BoH meetings on the state's program for spraying. BoH recommendation is to opt out of aerial spraying only, but be part of targeted ground spraying if a need arises. If a public health emergency comes up related to mosquitos Heath would need state assistance so it is not wise to opt out completely. Heath has had no positive mosquitoes in the last two years. Heath is a member of PVMCD (Pioneer Valley Mosquito Control District) which does background trapping for $1000 per year. PVMCD could share information with the state for aerial spraying in public heath emergency. Not every town is allowed to opt out of aerial spraying, but a strong part of way Heath was able to was we belong to a mosquito control district (PVMCD). Barbara Gordon recommended that we budget to become full members of the PVMCD to get more traps and better surveillance. SB voted to follow BoH recommendation.
Zoom Meeting Technical Problem: the meeting incurred technical problems. Question arose if it were caused by broadband, Zoom, or peoples' own equipment.
ATM
- The SB discussed confusion on Article 22 at the end of town meeting where people were unable to say thank yous to people, and make announcements as in the past. The SB did clarify that it was never intended as a political soapbox or a public comment period. The SB did not have input to the abrupt end and entered into a discussion with legal regarding a topic they had wanted to address through Article 22. This had been previously requested of the moderator. The decision on the floor between legal and the moderator concluded that town business was at an end.
- Brian refuted public comments made that " 'Town meeting takes a vote and the Select Board does whatever they want' is blatantly false and the people saying it should know better."
- Robyn would like to reopen the conversation about where employees are and our buildings and town offices Goes into building accessibility and usage. Plane to discuss next week. Ususally after ATM the SB goes to meeting every other week.
- Indoors vs outdoors: 90% of town meetings in the state were indoors. Brian expressed concern that people say stuff and there is no way to correct it. The SB needs a vehicle to say "This is how we made this decision, it was a reasonable decision, and it wasn't done recklessly." An informal survey of multiple towns indicated that most town meetings were held indoors and only one required masks and that was Heath. Heath's decision was more safe than other towns in that the mask mandate was in place. At the time the decision was made all information from the state and the BoH was taken into consideration.
- Barbara Gordon commented that some towns have pushed their meeting into June to allow for more flexibility with timing the meeting.
- Sue Lively: she attended the last BoH meeting and there was discussion on when does personal choice become the lead in what we are doing. Before determining to have the ATM indoors the SB considered input from the BoH; the State; the FRCOG Health agent, Randy Crosier; other towns; considered the square footage of the space, air circulation requirements, and chair spacing. At what point and how do we put more responsibility into the hands of the individual. Sue is comfortable with the research done and the decision
Building Accessibility and Safety: moving to next week when Library Trustees are attending.
Green Communities: awaiting a contract on insulation project, tech school has brought up their trailer and did preliminary work on the lighting project at Jacobs Road outside lights.
Mail: SB vote to accept letter of resignation from Kate Peppard for BoH Clerk
Waste management: prices are still high enough on recycled materials so Heath is still getting money back rather than having to pay in.
Public Comment period: this is a dilemma for me as I am trying to keep these notes factual and unbiased while what I hear at public comment is not. I may address comments on the Reader's Chime In page.

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SB Notes for Tuesday, May 3

5/3/2022

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Budget items and warrant articles that SB will need to be prepared to discuss:

How to address MTRSD assessment error which is not part of Article 3. SB felt it needs to be part of Article 23 which is a non-voting article.
- The Town plans to pay what it owes, but not until the SB understand the numbers.
- Lack of confidence in the current numbers
Need to clarify the reason for removing the pre-school support line.
- State formula has changed, and now every child is given a half a day of pre-school.
- Heath has been the only town in the district offering a full day
Need to prepare the reasons for the Town Coordinator salary increase.
- Additional hours needed to get the job done.
- Adjustment to mid-grade based on job performance discussed at hiring time.
COLA adjustment.
- Cost of living has gone up significantly and town employees need to be given the salaries they deserve, and need to bring them in line with surrounding towns.
Increase in legal fees will need to be explained.
Flag Hill Road improvement

MTRSD Error Discussion

Follow up letter was discussed to be sent to the district.
Letter was discussed to be sent to the surrounding towns.
Town of Heath intends to pay their bills but we must understand what we are paying for.
Budge Litchfield, School Committee, requested to see the letters as soon a possible to help with his interaction with the district.

Building Use

SB has opened Community Hall, both floors, and Jacobs Road for Scheduled Use
Sawyer Hall, second floor, remains closed.
Returning library hours to pre-COVID is in the purview of the Library Trustees.
Public Safety Guidelines (not requirements): 25 people per 1000 square feet.
Community Hall: 2200 sq ft upper level, 1800 sq ft lower level.
Mask mandate remains in place in the buildings.

Building accessibility

Independent report on Sawyer Hall was done and will be brought up after Town meeting.

Heath is to receive $173,745 from state for improvements in transportation network in response to past harsh winter. Bray Road named as a good candidate.

Hilltown Youth open house at Jacobs Road on Sunday May 15 from 11 am to 1 pm.

Trapeze will be set up
Dignitaries are scheduled to come
Open to all

Board of Heath
Barbara Gordon will not seek reappointment at the end of her term of service in June.

Request for individual responses to emails from SB members

Members must respond as a board, not individually

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