Select Board Meeting Notes, March 1, 2021

FinComm Portion of the Discussion

• Town departments have turned in budgets. Select Board to schedule police, fire, highway, and MLP regarding their budgets.  Select would like to explanation of significant increases or decreases.
• FinComm wants to understand increases in technology expenses.
• Select Board has received emails regarding broadband cost and will seek further information on expenses to date.
• Building Facilities Committee may have capital requests
• Need informatiom on the implications of CARES act on budget.

Building Maintenance

• Brian reported that two insulation bids received— $27,000 and $13,900. SB voted to accept $13,900 which was close to what was expected.

COVID

• Robyn sent out COVID Use Guidelines for review
• Phones issue at Jacobs Road delays move by employees. Town phones use internet for phones and which is not set up at Jacobs Road. A technician from Crocker Communications is scheduled.
• Indoor hotspot
  • Select Board approved the go ahead for the MBI hotspot. Brian to write up a Use Policy for the SB to approve prior to allowing requests for adult use. Unauthorized persons entering the building will be covered under the use guidelines. Jacobs Road has an intercom and safety door to facilitate this.
  • In answer to an meail regarding at hotspot at Community Hall, Hilma responded that the hotspot requires an MBI connection which only Sawyer Hall and Jacobs Road have.

 
Mail & Email Protocol – Robyn to try to get policy out for review
 
Regionalization — Not much on thei except Hawley is eager to move forward on regionalization.
 
Other Business — The SB approved $120 from the Jacobs Road Revolving Account for an online calendar for scheduling use of Community Hall and Jacobs Road. Hilma verified that their was a minimum of $1500 in the account from the Tri-Wire rental.
 
MLP Meeting

• MLP manager, Sheila Litchfield, reported that significant invoices were coming in for broadband. It takes 3 to 4 weeks to get money, broadband bills coming in regularly now, Sheila wants to proceed with borrowing. Costs mentioned:

• Tri-Wire invoice  to be paid $119,000. Total estimate for Tri-Wire is $750,000.
• Western Gas & Electric WG&E bills for engineering and design have not been paid in full yet.
• Police invoices for details, some are still outstanding.
• Drop Service cost of $695,000.

• State grant money – We received all grant money expected for now.  Once state knows how many drops more money will be available but won’t happen until Phase 4 is complete. 
• Subscriber money goes through Wired West and then distributed to towns.  Revenue may start in April when Phase 1 is done and more when Phase 2 goes live later this year.
• Art Schwenger said that Wired West works on a July 1 to June 30 year, so we should get a payment by mid to end of July.
• Sheila noted that Broadband is a $400 million project.
  • Bills for approximately $100,000 are coming in almost every week.
  • There was a discussion about which was most cost effective, borrowing the full amount of the $450,000 loan or a partial amount.
  • The estimated interest for the full amount is $15,000 with a $550 fee.
  • There is also a $1,000,000 note maturing in September.
  •  The SB voted to authorize borrowing the full amount of $450,000 as the best choice at this time with so many bills coming I.

 
Small Bridge Project – not sure where this bridge is, but Jeff Simmons has been working for some time on proposals coming in t the highway department.
 
Green Communities — No updates.
 
Email
BoH Email – Brian expressed that an email from the Board of Hall stating that Sawyer Hall was COVID safe had no basis in fact and that he had already stated the benefits of Jacobs Road as a safer environment that follows existing safety guidelines.  Brian further felt that the email was opinions founded on the “Safe the Center” bias. [My opinion, and I stress my opinion, is that the behavior of the BoH through the pandemic has consistently placed concern that nothing change in Heath Center over the welfare of employees and residents.]
 
Robyn – There were emails with a common theme of concern or complaint that the SB should be reaching out to the BoH,  SB to generalize the nature of the emails and send a response to the BoH.
 

• Questions about broadband money will be addressed at next SB meeting.
• Email from Jesse Weigand on his constitutional rights about the fact that no vote was taken on the moving employees to Jacobs Road during the pandemic. SB  will respond in writing.
• Mary Holan expressed concern about cost of broadband and moving employees to Jacobs Road and then back after the pandemic.  She spoke on this during public comment as well.

 
Town Coord Report

• Most items already discussed.
• Had a telephone conference with Northeast IT regarding town email addresses for individual SB members and what email addresses may be obsolete. No outcome mentioned at time of the meeting.