SB Meeting Notes May 24

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.