Select Board

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Tuesday, September 12, 2023, 6:00 pm until 7:00 pm
Town Office
A meeting of the Select Board

Selectboard Meeting - 5 Academy Hill Road, Conway - 6:00 p.m.
Meetings are now held every other Monday and are at this time accessible via Zoom.

You can join us live on zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6586796584?pwd=V05VK1V4MktSdFU4NGVBWndDb0pFQT09

• Meeting ID: 658 679 6584
• Passcode: conwaysb

Meeting of Select Board

Members: (Quorum)

• Present: Christopher Waldo, at 6:00 PM
• Present: Philip Kantor, Chair, at 6:00 PM
• Present: Erica Goleman, at 6:00 PM

Also Present:

• Ron Sweet
• Bob Armstrong
• Laurie Lucier
• Patricia Lynch
• Jenifer Remilland
• Veronique Blanchard and Adam Reed

See original Agenda Final Minutes

Meeting opened: 6:03 PM

Meeting closed: 7:54 PM

0. Meeting Preliminaries

   • Meeting Opened / Attendance Taken (see above).

   • No minutes to approve.

1. Warrants

   • - Vote to approve the Accounts Payable Warrant W24-07 in the amount of $105,366.11, Payroll Warrant PW24-07 in the amount of $128,535.43, and the Payroll Deduction Warrant PDW24-07 in the amount of $30,852.65.

     MOTION, moved by Philip Kantor, seconded by Erica Goleman: .

     Pass: Aye: Philip Kantor, Christopher Waldo, Erica Goleman.

2. Meetings Attended by Select Board Members

   • General Discussion...
     Chris met with Jan Warner and the Town Administrator to discuss the Transfer Station Forum.
     
     Phil met with the Superintendent of Schools, as well as the other schools in Union 38, to begin discussions of an operating agreement among all those in the district.

3. Public Comments. None

   • Public

4. Unfinished Business.

   • - Discussion and possible vote(s) regarding the July 2023 rain events on steps Town is taking to remediate town damages; obtain Town compensation; alleviate and address resident concerns; remediate Town infrastructure which worsened flood damages; assist private individuals and non profits in remediating damages; and obtain compensation for losses to private residences and property.

5. New Business

   • - Discussion and vote to appoint Mark Gollehon to Parks & Recreation for a term ending June 30, 2026.

     MOTION, moved by Philip Kantor, seconded by Erica Goleman: .

     Pass: Aye: Philip Kantor, Christopher Waldo, Erica Goleman.

   • - Discuss and vote to sign letter to Natalie & Paul re: no FEMA declaration

     MOTION, moved by Philip Kantor, seconded by Erica Goleman: To sign the letter when it has been reformatted. .

     Pass: Aye: Philip Kantor, Christopher Waldo, Erica Goleman.

   • - Discuss and vote on South County Senior Center grant partnership.

     General Discussion...
     Jennifer Remillard attended the meeting to discuss a joint grant with Deerfield that would benefit the COA in both towns. The grant will bring $200,000 to help with a variety of programs. Both towns will be able to investigate tablets for seniors, cameras for remote events, training for people focusing on technology, some staffing and other programs. The Select Board was enthusiastic about this idea and a letter of support will be sent the Deerfield for Conway's interest in the grant.

     MOTION, moved by Erica Goleman, seconded by Christopher Waldo: .

     Pass: Aye: Philip Kantor, Christopher Waldo, Erica Goleman.

   • - Discuss and vote to hire Brandon LaVecchia as a part time Police Officer.

     General Discussion...
     Tabled to the next meeting.

   • - Discuss and vote to sign procurement of public works construction services.

     MOTION, moved by Philip Kantor, seconded by Erica Goleman: To spend $750 for FRCOG to create bid documents for bridge repairs. .

     Pass: Aye: Philip Kantor, Christopher Waldo, Erica Goleman.

   • - Discuss and vote to sign MVP contracts with GZA and FRCOG.

     MOTION, moved by Erica Goleman, seconded by Christopher Waldo: .

     Pass: Aye: Philip Kantor, Christopher Waldo, Erica Goleman.

   • - Discuss and vote to sign a letter to state legislators on proposed DPU guidelines on municipal aggregations.

     General Discussion...
     Department of Public Utilities guidelines for municipal aggregations currently allow selectboards to oversee the processes for making decisions for their towns. The DPU is proposing changes that would remove powers from selectboards and regulate the process at a state level. Bob Armstrong brought this to the board's attention and requested we send a letter to our representatives to see if they can help to stop these new regulations. It was agreed to have Bob and the Town Administrator to work on this before the September 25 meeting.

   • - Discussion regarding the street lights in town.

     General Discussion...
     The few street lights we have in town are becoming a large expense. It was decided that we should look into alternatives. This could be no lights, buying the poles, looking into more energy efficient lights and timers so they are not on all night. The Sustainability Committee will be investigating the economic savings for the different options.

   • Joint Meeting with Board of Assessors; Classification Hearing - Discuss and vote on tax classification.

6. Items Not Anticipated 48 Hours in Advance of the Meeting

   • None.

7. Town Administrator update

8. Selectboard member comments/concerns

   • General Discussion...
     Chris suggested that a survey be created to discuss the changes at the Transfer Station.

9. Mail

   • - Energy Improvement Project Mass DOT Reeds Bridge embankment

     General Discussion...
     A letter was sent from the DOT that said the embankment is the land owner's property. The DOT did not feel the embankment was deteriorated to the point of repair.

10. Announcements

11. Meeting Wrap-up

    • Next Meetings:
      1. Thu, Sep 14, at 6:00 PM "Transfer Station Forum" -- Town Office
      2. Mon, Sep 18, at 6:30 PM "Select Board" -- Town Office
      3. Mon, Sep 25, at 6:00 PM "Select Board" -- Town Office

The listing of matters is those reasonably anticipated by the Chair which may be discussed at the meeting. Not all items listed may in fact be discussed and other items not listed may also be brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by law.

Minutes approved on Monday, Sep 25, 2023