-Public Comment
Jessie Weigand questioned placement of cell tower in Heath, does not see a need in Heath.
Praised the Planning Board for rejecting AT&T proposal.
 
6:10 p.m. Office Assistant Interview—N. Thane
Listed many roles requiring organizational skills and noted her experience in town business as a substitute for Heath Town Clerk.
With no other candidates having applied after the job has been posted for one month, the Select Board voted to offer the position to Nancy Thane.
 
COVID-19 Municipal Protocol, Concerns
Charlene Reynolds, PO Manager, is back to work after a negative COVID test.
 
HCA Certification Forms
Atty Mark James said that state-required HCA certification forms for the four farmers need to be signed. Select Board voted to approve and forms will be signed.
 
Hilltown Youth Recovery Theatre
Reviewed latest lease document which still has some open issues:

• Need to fill in the square footage. Storge space usage needs greater definition.
• Term of Lease needs to be filled in
• A security deposit section was added
• SB wants the ability to review the agreement to ensure utilities are covered.

• Removal of ice and snow – this is done by HWY dept as schedule permits rather than on a specific schedule.
• No permanent alterations are allowed without written permission of the Select Boar and must be reversible.
• Concern express regarding storage space requested as it is shared space and access to utilities and equipment.
• Concern expressed for the supervision of minors, need 2 adults at all times.
• The lease amount has not been agreed to yet.

 
BoH Meeting Scheduled for 7 PM Wednesday, Dec 1
       Topic: COVID-19 Collaboration Meeting with Community Stakeholders
       Chair: Gene Garland (Chair, Heath BOH)
       Moderator: Phoebe Walker (FRCOG)
       BOH Goal for meeting

• Seeking community input
• Setting guidelines for lessening and enhancing safety measures as needed
• Town Employee exposure guidelines

     FRCOG Update on COVID-19 (30 min – Phoebe Walker)

• Status of COVID in Massachusetts, Franklin County, hill towns, and in Heath
• CDC guidelines, vaccines, masking, testing opportunities
• What are neighboring communities doing?

     Open floor for community input and questions (45 min total – 3 min each please)
     COVID Collaboration Committee in Heath? (5 min – Garland)
 
Other business
David Conlin would like an exemption to allow him to take a part time position open at Buckland Shelburne school while he already has another municipal position. SB approved.
 
Executive Sessions: not held
Jesse Weigand expressed concern that there are no updates on the AT&T cell tower. Robyn apologized and cited the regulation regarding current litigation that prevents the Select Board from discussing in a public forum.

MEETING AUDIO

​6:08 p.m. Call to order delayed due to zoom bombing.
Robyn had to set up a waiting room to screen callers as hackers were intruding on the call. Users should show their full names so Robyn can identify callers and allow them into the meeting.
Public Comment - none
6:15 p.m. Building Use Committee: Pam Porter, chair

• Pam Porter discussed clarification to municipal sponsorship in the Building Use Policy.
• SB approved the updated policy wording.
• JR is now a certified kitchen. BUC is working on the website  to advertise kitchen at Jacobs Road, Also working on establishing a Community Kitchen at the Community Hall.
• Doug Mason: Stove is not certified for Massachusetts. If converted to automatic ignition, stove could be certified. Pam to call Gilette Equipment Co about this possibility.
• Sue Gruen: Any time one enters a public building they must be masked. We have 6 cases of COVID in Heath.
• Pam: When is HVAC work to be done at Community Hall?

Brian spoke with Roger Harris from Rise Engineering who had met with sub-contractors this week. Roger expects to get a quote in 2 weeks from them. Robyn feels there may be delay in getting the needed equipment.

• Pam: Can air filters be borrowed from Sawyer Hall. Robyn does not have an issue with the concept of borrowing, but would like to understand how they would work upstairs in the Community Hall.
• Pam: BUC has been unable to get a financial report. Hilma to assist Pam with this.

 
7:00 p.m. Axon Properties/Crucial: Development Agreement with 11 Bellor, LLC.
Mark James, Lawyer and Ryan Jundt for Axon were present. Sue Lively stressed that the Select Board has spent numerous hours working through the agreements and have been as thorough as they can be.
[Having attended Select Board meetings for over 18 months I can appreciate the enormous amount of time Hilma and the Board has spent on this individually, with town counsel, and in meetings.]  
 
The development agreement is with the entity purchasing the property at 11 Bellor Road (55 acres) and includes a list of items that both the developer and the Town of Heath have agreed upon. The development plan includes the allowance for 4 Host Community Agreements with 4 separate farmers.
 
Host Community Agreements are maintained between the town and the farmers using the property. These HCAs are approx. 2 acres each.

• Development Agreement with 11 Bellor, LLC. — Approved
• Host Community Agreement with Alchemy Cannabis, Inc.—Approved
• Host Community Agreement with Vega Cannabis, Inc.— Approved
• Host Community Agreement with True Cannabis, Inc.— Approved
• Host Community Agreement with Vybz, Inc.— Approved

 
There will be a Community Outreach with the HCA farmers on Nov 29, notices posted in town and also in the Recorder.
 
COVID-19 Municipal Protocol, Concerns
There will be a Dec 1 meeting with the Select Board and Board of Health to discuss COVID planning/strategy/common policy.
Sue Gruen: COVID numbers have tripled in the area in the last 6 days.

• Trying to get 100 kids who are over the age of 5 at Hawlemont vaccinated. VAX bus returning in 3 weeks.
• Working to update the BoH Emergency Preparedness Elders list. Need to get all community members on the Robo call list.
• Post Office will be closed Friday due to COVID as there is no one to cover for Charlene that day. Services may be limited as substitutes have varying degrees of  training.
• Greenfield Community College is the best place to be tested for COVID.

Other Business

• Hilltown Youth Recovery Theatre: Long-term lease discussion tabled until next Tuesday.
• Rt 8A Branch Brook Bridge – Jeff Johnston is still trying to get needed information from the state.
• Fire House – Hilma is working on pulling together a letter for state officials including reports from fire and emergency management. Brian is expecting a report from Brian Halloway, a structural engineer, on the condition of the existing buildings which will be included in the letter to the state.
• Green Communities update – Annual report was submitted. Roger Harris, an engineer at Rise Engineering will be submitting a proposal which is expected by mid-December. It is unlikely the work will start until after Jan 1 and not completed until early spring.

Town Coordinator’s Report on items not previously discussed

• Jacobs Road generator: HWY Dept finished the trench for the electrical conduit and prepared site for cement pad for the generator. Jeff Johnston working on getting cement poured.
• Propane Tanks: It’s difficult to get comparable estimates, 3 vendors have come to the site, Hilma has 1 estimate so far.
• EMPG –The  Emergency Management Planning Grant of $2500  which Tim applies for each year was awarded. The SB voted to accept as required as part of the grant process.

Mail & Email

• Paper Shredding Event: Turned out to not be worthwhile. Heath cost was $189.25, but only 6 residents participated.
• Senior survey results
• Nancy Thane is the only applicant for Office Assistant Position. Interview scheduled.
• Interest expressed for position on Parks & Rec. SB wants to wait until they review and update the committee charge.

​COVID
Employee who has come in direct  contact with someone who has tested  positive for COVID.: That employee can return to work if tested at least 5 days  after exposure with a negative result,  (2) has no symptoms, and (3) is fully vaccinated, If not, employee needs to stay out of work for 14 days. 

Council on Aging (COA) Meeting with SB {approx 35 mins]
COA Survey
The COA surveyed all persons 60 years of age and older to determine wants and needs. The survey had a 70% response rate. One outstanding response was seniors want more interaction with all age groups.  There were also many offers to volunteer.

Senior Program Coordinator 
The COA would like to revamp this position to make increased use of this position. Need to understand the role regarding supervision. If the position is funded by the town and it needs to go to town meeting next May to be voted on.  If the position is funded by a grant ,then the COA  can advertise the position for the length of the grant. A town employee ultimately reports to the SB, but some level of supervision can be granted to others.   The COA and BoH need to coordinate efforts for services for seniors.

Axon Properties,  Alchemy Cannabis, Inc. [approx. 1 hr]
Mark James - Atty for Axon
Nicole Costanzo - Atty rep for town
The contract on the Bellor Road property expires next Wednesday, November 24.  Axon is seeking a signed Developer Agreement and Host Agreements by then in order to move forward on the purchase. 

This was a lengthy discussion. The Select Board had limited time to review a Developer agreement that was introduced this week. The agreement would allow the developer to enter into additional host agreements using the same terms and conditions as the first four without having to go back to the Select Board. The Select Board felt this should not happen without restrictions and not be open ended

The Select Board agreed to meet Friday at 10 AM to review updated documents from the discussion. They may schedule a meeting for Monday if needed, hoping for agreements that they can vote on by Tuesday at the latest.  

[If you would like to comment on this topic, go to the new page: News & Views}
​
Community Impact Fees

• HCA will  include a community impact fee for the host community which is a percentage of gross annual sales of the ME or MT, ( Marijuana Establishment (ME) or Medical Marijuana Treatment Center (MTC),
• Developer agreement is 1.5% annually.
• Each HCA is 1% annually.

Community Outreach

• The Community Outreach meeting to explain the cannabis operation is scheduled for November 29. Sue Lively expressed concern about how to reach the community as a whole to avoid misunderstanding or misinformation regarding the cannabis operation.

Office Partitions
Quote requested, waiting for response.
 
Generator
Propane tank installation – town legal said town could not enter into proposed long-range contract for installation, so town is now seeking quotes for installation.  One company has already come to look and more quotes anticipated next week.
 
8A Bridge
Jeff Johnston waiting for response from state engineer as to when they will be back to reinspect. Hilma crafting a letter to Mass DOT to express the urgency of the bridge repair. Jeff will be putting up signage to make bridge one way to prep for plowing. Sue would like signage to be more visible.
 
Burrington Bridge
Brian spoke with Carl Ayers who said a Notice of intent is coming. Brian will need to schedule a Conservation Commission site visits.
 
Green Communities
Community Hall: Brian meeting Roger Harris and two contractors on Thursday, November 18. Energy Advisory Committee is posted for Thursday night, but may not have a quorum.

Post Office Substitute
Need more substitutes to cover Charlene's time away. Bill Fontes was appointed.

Email 
Letter from a concerned citizen regarding Bellor Road land sale and cannabis  operation demonstrating the need for the upcoming Community Outreach. SB needs some kind of a statement and it should start with the town meeting vote two years ago to allow for  a cannabis business in Heath. This led to more discussion about communication with the community.

Communication with Community 

• Sue expressed that there is significant misunderstanding and misinformation of many issues in town and thought perhaps a mailing would be helpful.
• ​In addition to the need for information on cannabis Sue mentioned that the town has many important issues that should be communicated such as  the pole hearing, green communities, Hilltown lease, 
• Information can grow and change and misrepresent what is happening.
• SB could have monthly mailings, but would need someone to provide content.
• Robyn mentioned the effort to provide more information on the website and added that people also need to make some effort to educate themselves on town issues.

Recycling Dividend 
 SB voted to accept $4200 as required.
​
Executive Sessions:

1. AT & T Mobility
2. Hilltown Recovery Theater lease

 My notes, my errors and ommissions.
​
Public Comment: none
 
Axon Properties/Crucial: Host Community Agreement

• Host agreement is not back yet.
• Heath lawyer is doing the final review. Since there are multiple farmers  and the possibility of adding more, all HCAs will be between the town and each individual farmer. 
• The Heath lawyer proposed a development agreement laying out the the potential growth with the land being leased to multiple farmers. 
• Hoping for a final draft by the end of the week.

COVID-19 Municipal Protocol, Concerns

• Request to open Sawyer Hall bathroom to public use. Employees in the building are not comfortable with this.
• There has been a request to have the library and post office hours overlap. Trustees are not comfortable with this as well. If it was decided to overlap, they would likely go back to window service.
• These requests would require a COVID policy change.  Brain said it may be time to revisit and  relax some restrictions. 
• The BoH would like to meet with the Select Board and other stakeholders on Next Steps for COVID so that everyone is on the same page and we move forward together and be consistent.  Many surrounding towns are dropping some restrictions.
• Office relocation—there are suggestions for final layout of the financial room into 4 quadrants.

Click on Read More for remaining notes

My notes, my errors or omissions
​
Other Business

• Outstanding MPL invoice for $10, 891.57 for buildout, approved by MLB and within budget, was approved by SB.
• Hilma will be taking a vacation day on Friday.
• Used generator for Jacobs Road arrived today. Needs to be hooked up to transfer switch.
• Council on Aging to meet with Select Board at November 9 meeting.
• Hilma expressed appreciation to volunteers helping with sorting and archiving of town records. So that Hilma can continue with her daily work.

 
7:15 p.m. Hilltown Theatre

• Have dropped down request to use of 1 room rather than multiple rooms.
• Anticipated gym use by theatre group is approx. 88 days a year. Gym is the sticking point in the negotiations.
• Want pre-school room, kitchen use, gym storage closet, and shared gym space for $15,000 to Jan 2023.
• Want use of art room for 5 weeks in summer and 2 weeks in winter if room is not being used for additional $5000.

 
8:00 p.m. Axon Properties/Crucial
If necessary, the Select Board will call an Executive Session for one or both of the following purposes:

• Axon now has a contract on 11 Bellor Road planning for  4 HCAs (Host Community Agreement)
• Added a charitable contribution to the Hilltown Theatre.
• Business plan is the same as on Hosmer Road with 4 growers/4 host agreements, video available:  Axon Presentation
• May wish to expand to more HCAs later as the land could support more.
• Axon wants to move forward with Community Outreach, but says that HCAs can be approved prior to outreach[? This seems odd].
• Select Board could possibly take a vote next Tuesday.

 
Select Board moved into executive session at 8:40.

• For deliberation and strategy for entering a long-term lease of space at the 18 Jacobs Road municipal building with Hilltown Theatre

• For deliberation and strategy in New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC d/b/a AT&T Mobility v. Town of Heath. [This must not have taken place or discussion not completed as it is again scheduled for Mon, Nov 8 from 1 to 2 PM ]