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

➢ 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