Select Board

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Monday, December 18, 2023, 6:00 pm until 8:00 pm
Town Hall
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)

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

Also Present:

• Western Mass Power Engineer team
• Adam Reed

See original Agenda Final Minutes

Meeting opened: 6:06 PM

Meeting closed: 7:00 PM

0. Meeting Preliminaries

   • Meeting Opened / Attendance Taken (see above).

   • Minutes Approved: Mon, Dec 4 - Select Board

1. Warrants

   • - Vote to approve the Accounts Payable Warrant W24-10 in the amount of $272.576.03; the Payroll Warrant PW24-10 in the amount of $146.958.39, and the Payroll Deduction Warrant PDW24-10 in the amount of $35,990.50.

     MOTION, moved by Philip Kantor, seconded by Christopher Waldo: .

     Pass: Aye: Philip Kantor, Christopher Waldo. Not Present: Erica Goleman.

2. Meetings Attended by Select Board Members

   • General Discussion...
     Chris attended a Capital Improvements meeting and installed the cameras at the Transfer Station.
     
     Phil attended a School Committee meeting.

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 to help obtain compensation for losses to private residences and property.

     General Discussion...
     There was more rain that affected some basements in town. Some more work will need to be done on Pine Hill and Shelbourne Falls roads to fix some further damage. Baptist Hill stills needs further engineering and work to be updated.

     MOTION, moved by Philip Kantor, seconded by Christopher Waldo: .

     Pass: Aye: Philip Kantor, Christopher Waldo. Not Present: Erica Goleman.

5. New Business

   • - Discussion on National Grid’s Outreach Team for the Central to Western Mass Energy Improvement Project; Dani Eaton, Power Engineers.

     General Discussion...
     Western Mass Energy Improvement Project will be upgrading the systems in the area. They will be replacing 29 structures, some of which will be increased in height by 5 to 20 feet. An increase in height will mean an increase in the base of the structure.
     
     The board had concerns about the impact on environment during this process and the visibility of the towers for those enjoy time in nature. The project team will be sending the town a more detailed presentation. It does appear this will be a project in which the town does not have a great deal of input.

   • - Discussion and vote on flag flying policy.

     MOTION, moved by Christopher Waldo, seconded by Philip Kantor: To adopt a new flag policy for the Town of Conway.

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

     To avoid non town organizations using town poles, a new flag policy was researched and created for Conway.

   • - Discussion of Special Town Meeting.

     General Discussion...
     Through feedback for citizens and observations from the Selectboard, it is felt that Special Town Meeting went well and all involved with it's production will continue to strive for future smooth meetings.

   • - Vote to approve and sign the business licenses for 2024.

     MOTION, moved by Philip Kantor, seconded by Christopher Waldo: To sign the business licenses for the upcoming year.

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

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

7. Town Administrator update

   • 1. TA_2023-12-18_Update.pdf

8. Selectboard member comments/concerns

9. Mail

   • - Veteran’s Service Officer’s Association

     General Discussion...
     Chris, being familiar with Veteran's programs, will be looking into this program. He feels it's probably fine but will double check.

10. Announcements

11. Meeting Wrap-up

    • Next Meetings:
      1. Tue, Jan 2, at 6:00 PM "Select Board" -- Town Hall
      2. Sat, Jan 13, at 11:00 AM "Emergency Selectboard meeting" -- Town Hall
      3. Sun, Jan 14, at 4:00 PM "Emergency Selectboard meeting" -- Town Hall

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 Wednesday, Jan 3, 2024