Woodlands Partnership, mohawktrailwoodlandspartnership
Lisa Hayden, MTWP Administrative Agent provided an update on the work. This is a locally controlled partnership with the state and the federal government. About: 
"Initiated in 2013, the MTWP is a collaboration between the Franklin Regional Council of Governments, Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, Franklin Land Trust, Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, a US Forest Service Liaison, and the MTWP Advisory Committee. The formation of an Advisory Committee to help oversee the project was a key recommendation from a series of community meetings held in 2014 to gather public input on the project. The MTWP Advisory Committee has met regularly since 2014 to craft a project plan, the State legislation, and a draft business plan and governance structure. The Committee is comprised of representatives from 19 of the 21 towns and regional organizations representing land conservation, economic development, forestry, regional planning and the environment."
Mike Cucchiara spoke about gains from grants:

• Shapiro trail project off Flag Hill Road
• Acquired Davenport land 
• Trail expansion project to Catamount State Forest
• Submitted a grant with Rowe to create a regional trail that includes Rowe (Rowe contact is Hannah Poplawski)

COVID & Mask Wearing

• The Select Board, based on Mass government policy, made a motion to change the mask mandate to a mask advisory pending a recommendation of the BoH. The motion was tabled to have time to investigate any legal issues and to get a recommendation from the BoH.
• Franklin County  is now in the low risk area.
• Question arose whether  individuals or committees can require masks even if the mandate is lifted.

Appointments
Existing Select Board roles will not change:
Sue Lively:  Landfill Rep, Regional Kennel Rep, Council on Aging
Brian: ​FCCIP Rep, FRTA Rep, FRCOG Rep, Licensing Board, Heath Herald Correspondent, Conservation Commission, Energy Advisory Committee.   FCCIP (Franklin County Cooperative Inspection Program to share inspection resources),
Robyn: HWY Liaison, Emergency Planning Rep, SB Chair
Other positions were reviewed for appointment and openings.

Some discussion on following committees and positions:

• Senior Center Coordinator - for this year this is just a stipend position.
• Ag Commission:  ​For promoting agriculture. currently, no members.
• Building Use Committee: change from 7 to 5 members, Elissa Viarengo appointed as a member.
• Building Facilities Committee:  has become inactive since report was produced but charge was to continue their work,
• Other: Letters will be sent out to committee appointees who are continuing and openings on committees to be announced on the website.

Town Buildings & Offices—public information meeting recap

• There was confusion between Mass Office of Disability (advisory role only) and the ADA.  There were two separate pieces: (1) the Select Board moving forward on investigating accessibility in all the buildings and (2)  the library trustees need to understand accessibility issues for library strategic planning.
• Brian contacted Jeff Dougin from the Mass office of Disabilities who is coming on June 30 to go through Community Hall and  Jacobs Road, and Jeff will also walk through Sawyer Hall for which he has already done a report.
• Nick Anzuoni , Fire Chief, will not require a second egress in the JR library during this transitional time, but would be a consideration if the library were to move permanently.

Shared Space Policy

• Hilma to be the liaison for any potential conflicts for shared space.
• SB approved what was presented.
• Outdoor space not being used by Hilltown Theater is available for drop-in use 
• Interior public spaces (atrium, gym, cafeteria ) are available for use when not scheduled when the building is open for municipal use.

​Salt Shed

• Will look at potential site work for moving the salt shed to the Bray Road property

Interview Teams

• Boards Clerk Interview Team: Elissa Viarengo, Brian DeVriese,  Hilma
• Highway Employee Advertisement & Interview Team: Hilma, Jeff Johnston, Will Emmet (Highway liaison from the Finance Committee).

MTRSD FY22 Assessment Error

• Request from FinCom that we need clarification of the assessment error.
• Information provided from MTRSD is not complete and not adequate .
• SB will not authorize payment until the error is understood.

Green Communities Update

• Chris Collins from ECI  to send Brian a contract this week
• Tech School finished replacing lighting fixtures in all short outdoor lighting.  The tall ones won't be done until next fall. They need a lift for these.  They have a 10 week wait time for the outdoor entry light fixtures so that won't be done until the fall. They will be able to do interior fixtures next fall as they will have new students.

Mail

• SB voted to allow closure of the road in front of CH for the art show in the fall

6:30 p.m. MLP Backhaul Cost Sharing Agreement
David Gordin reported on the work of the MLP (Heath Broadband) to provide redundancy for the broadband network. The towns of Heath, Rowe, Charlemont, Colrain, and Leyden have worked together on a 5-town agreement and obtained $400,000 from the state to build the infrastructure.  Sheila Litchfield and Sue Lively gave Dave Kudos for guiding the MLP  so well through the process.  The $400,000 grant is the second highest awarded in the state.
7:00 p.m. Public Information Meeting about Library Relocation 
This was an hour and a half where people were able to ask questions and express their feelings about the relocation of the library operations to Jacobs Road.  Some of the discussion points are in the bullets below, but interested persons should listen to the audio tape starting at about the 2:10 position on the tape.

• We have known Sawyer Hall has had ADA compliance issues for years, why move now?
  • We never had an alternative location before.
•   Why only evaluate Sawyer Hall? What about the rest of the buildings?
  • All town buildings will be evaluated  The timeframe for this was driven by a specific need of the library trustees to understand what issues would be faced for strategic planning if the library remains in Sawyer Hall.
• Isn't the Post Office also  in non compliance and does that put us in jeopardy of losing it?
  • Yes, and is one of the reasons that it has been difficult to move forward on the non compliance issues.
• Has grant money been sought?
  • Not for the specific issues in the ADA report. Grant money has been spent on elevators in both Sawyer Hall and Community Hall, and making the bathrooms in Sawyer Hall ADA compliant.  
• When was the ramp built?
  • Over 18 years ago on land donated by the Gruens.  It is non compliant because it exits into the road and there is a lip caused by wear over time.
• What about maintenance and ADA  issues at Jacobs Road. The handicapped parking is too far from the building,  sidewalks and berms are in need of repair.
  • Yes, but these issues are less egregious than what we face at Sawyer Hall.
• What ADA needed modifications will be required at Jacobs Road?
  • The building was ADA compliant when built and does not have additional legal requirements. The fire chief would like a second egress from the library, which would require replacing a window with a door and putting in a walkway.  He plans to consult the fire marshall and could insist this be done. 
• Why haven't we been maintaining these building right along?
  • I didn't catch a definitive response to this. [My Comment: I do know that (1) obtaining   grant money and bids takes time, and the alternative is to raise taxes, (2) at ATM we voted in a $4,000,000 broadband project and to loan $200,000 in the stabilization fund to broadband.  It's a matter of choice how we spend out tax dollars.]
• There was questioning of the integrity of the Select Board in the matter
  • ​The only response I noted was that this was a library trustees decision driven by their long term strategic plan for the library. [My comment: The ongoing personal attacks on the Select Board by a group unhappy with how the town is being managed continues.]

Other business

• CDBG grant was extended . This grant was mentioned last meeting as a possibility for accessibility funding.
• Jeff Johnston, highway department superintendent,  will submit fuel bid.
• WRAP Contract: SB signed contract for Bray Road repair.
• Ned Wolf analyzed the MTRSD assessment error giving the Select Board clear data.