Select Board Notes, September 21, 2021

[These are my personal notes from attending the meeting, and may contain errors.]
 
Public Comments - none
 
Town Coordinator Report

1. Northeast IT – all buildings are wired, we have two guest links, HeathGuest, with a user agreement required, but no password; and a HeathTown account with a secure PWD for employees.
2. Regionalization grant reviewed and approved. Heath can apply for unspent balance of initial grant which for Heath is $34,370.
3. Attended STAM (Small Town Admins) meeting
   1. Time spent on wrapping up CARES act funds spending by Oct 31. Final availability is Dec 31.  
   2. Four infrastructure needs such as roadways, sidewalks, and streetscapes are now combined under one application.
   3. There were a lot of questions on the level of Chapter 90 funding. Towns get the same annual amount while construction costs increase. Towns are limited to do less and less each year.  Plea for legislators to look at that and possibly increase Chapter 90 funds.

[“https://www.mass.gov/chapter-90-program.]

1. MVP (Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness) Meetings – Oct 25, 27 meetings to work on infrastructure, environment. 

Link to MVP:  https://townofheath.org/p/95/Municipal-Vulnerability-Prep-MVP

1. Met with fire chief, Nick Anzuoni, and firefighters assoc. regarding the purchase of a used vehicle with association funds for transporting firefighters to other towns.

 
6:15 p.m. Axon Properties Presentation—Ryan Jundt

• Presentation by a cannabis-growing interest that has contracted to purchase Tommy Flynn’s property at 136 Hosmer Road.
• They will be seeking a host agreement to grow, not process, marijuana. Once the plants flower, the intent is to ship them to a facility for processing.
• A video of their presentation is available at  https://townofheath.org/p/110/Meeting-Video-Presentations​

​Fire House Update – Robyn has been focusing on the needs of the fire department and EOC, which are critical. There are health issues of mold and critters, along with the lack of sanitary facilities. She engaged the fire chief, BoH, the building inspector, and Randy Crochier from FRCOG  in looking at the issues. The proposed plan of action:

• The EOC building is uninhabitable and will be closed for now. EOC to relocate to Jacobs Road. 
• The fire trucks will continue to be stored in the current garage and everything else in the garage moved to a safer environment, the most important of which is the expensive turnout gear currently kept in wooden lockers in the firetruck building.
• Robyn, with the help of volunteers, was able to obtain metal lockers from the Greenfield Fire Department which were slated to be destroyed. All the gear now stored in the fire garage will be moved to the building that houses the brush truck. 
• To free up this space the brush truck will be stored at the fairgrounds as it has been in the past. The brush truck building is heated, sheet rocked, and has a cement floor which should keep the turnout gear dry and free of mold.
• Radios – Radio tower is set up at Jacobs Road, the last connection has to happen with the actual radios. Fire engine radios will be used for communication now and a laptop will be in the building.
• Robyn is also looking into a commercial dehumidification system for the garage for firefighters’ safety. The system will continue to be used by the highway garage assuming the firetrucks at some point will move to another location.
• Generator need at Jacobs Road – the transfer switch has been put in place with grant money. Some money is left in the grant account, and Robyn is seeking some solution, such as moving the current generator for the EOC to Jacobs Road and then sharing the highway generator with the fire garage. Robyn has been looking into other possibilities and Greenfield has offered a small generator as well.
• Town will receive a letter from the building department as to whether it is possible for the EOC building to be rehabbed.
• Vote to be taken next week.

 
COVID-19 Municipal Protocol, Concerns
 
Office relocation –No matter what has been done to close off the second floor of Sawyer Hall, it is just not working. Robyn has met with Hilma and Tim and has made some recommendations:

• Relocation of the Town Clerk and Town Coordinator should happen by end of the month or mid-October—they must be in a place where they can be accessed safely and securely.  The infrastructure is in place to do this.
• Other groups that need security are  targeted to be moved by the end of October.  
• Robyn stated “We need to be able to serve the town in the most accessible, safe, secure fashion that we possibly can”  . . .   and further stated that’s not the second floor of Sawyer Hall right now.

 
Communication system for the police and EOC is one of the biggest challenges—Hilma to work with Tim and Robyn on this.  Tax Collector and Assistant Assessor need to be available to public.  Robyn would still like to see the center buildings used effectively, efficiently, and safely and repair what needs to be repaired.
 
There was a discussion of the need for a copier in both Sawyer Hall and Jacobs Road for those who will be remaining there.
 
Town Redistricting
Boundary lines have not changed, the 2020 Population is 723 residents. There is a required vote to affirm that the boundary lines are true and accurate and that the town will remain as one voting precinct. Vote was taken.
 
Rural Roundtable
Budge Litchfield and Sue Lively will attend.
 
Tri-Wire
Has filed for bankruptcy. Select Board is not sure yet of all the implications.
 
HRST Update
“On Thursday September 9 the Heath Regionalization Study Team voted to suspend most aspects of our study. This was a painful decision but as was clear from the data and facts we shared on Tuesday; we really had no choice. Locking the town into a long-term governance arrangement as described in the proposed draft regional agreement [with Charlemont and Hawley] was just unacceptable.”
—https://townofheath.org/files/2021-09-09_HRST_Update.pdf
 
Presentation of Findings: https://townofheath.org/files/2021-09-08_HRST_findings_v-9-6-21d-1.pdf