Selectboard and Finance Committee

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Monday, March 20, 2023, 6:00 pm until 8:00 pm
Town Hall
A meeting of the Select Board

Meeting of Select Board

Members: (Quorum)

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

Also Present:

• Jan Warner
• Lori Hall
• John Craine
• Laurie Lucier
• Rhyanna McLeester
• Jan Ameen
• Bob Armstrong
• Chris Larabee
• Henry Hortsmann
• Véronique Blanchard and Adam Reed.

See original Agenda Final Minutes

Meeting opened: 6:00 PM

Meeting closed: 7:03 PM

0. Meeting Preliminaries

   • Meeting Opened / Attendance Taken (see above).

   • Minutes Approved: Mon, Mar 13 - Selectboard and Finance Committee

1. Warrants

   • - No warrants.

2. Meetings Attended by Select Board Members

   • General Discussion...
     The school budgeting meetings and the snow storm were the top events the Select Board was dealing with over the week.

3. Public Comments. None

4. Unfinished Business.

5. New Business

   • - Appointment of Lori Hall as Assistant Treasurer Collector.

     General Discussion...
     Lori Hall was put forth as the candidate to fill the position of Assistant Treasurer Collector by Jan Warner, Treasurer Collector. The Select Board approved the appointment by Jan.

     MOTION, moved by Philip Kantor, seconded by Christopher Waldo: To hire Lori Hall as Assistant Treasurer Collector.

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

   • - Bob Armstrong, discussion of upcoming aggregation negotiation and appointment of delegate(s).

     General Discussion...
     The 3 year contract the town is part of for electricity is coming to an end. The 13 towns that are part of the aggregate will begin looking at indicative prices on April 10th and will use those prices to discuss what is best for the town moving forward. The official contract pricing will come out on April 24th and the town will have two hours to choose options. The Select Board needs to appoint a delegate that can make the final decision.

     MOTION, moved by Philip Kantor, seconded by Christopher Waldo: Appoint Bob Armstrong as the delegate to the aggregation negotiation with Veronique Blanchard as the alternate.

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

   • - Discussion and possible vote on creation of special municipal employee designation for representative to FCSWMD.

     MOTION, moved by Philip Kantor, seconded by Erica Goleman: Creation of special municipal employee to FCSWMD under the conflict of interest law, M.G.L. c. 268A.

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

     The goal of this position is to allow board members to hold multiple positions in their own towns.

   • - Reschedule the April 17th Select Board meeting.

     General Discussion...
     A quorum will be present so there was no need to reschedule the meeting.

   • - Discussion on selectboard questions for Police Chief candidate Don Bates.

     General Discussion...
     The Select Board felt that most of the questions they had for Don were covered by the search committee. It was decided that a more informal question and answer session will occur at the next meeting when Don is present.

   • - Treasurer request to have the Select Board authorization to sign Treasurer's deed for 0 off Ashfield Road.

     General Discussion...
     0 Off Ashfield Road is a ''Land of Low Value'' and can now be transferred to the town to be sold. Two auctions were held and there were no bids. This process has been going on since 1995 accumulating $19,694.29 in back taxes. The town will be looking to sell the property to recoup the legal fees that have been spent and those that will be spent to finish the process. The current total is $1,184. The Select Board will vote to have Jan Warner sign the deed and they will discuss a price for sale in one week during executive session.

     MOTION, moved by Philip Kantor, seconded by Christopher Waldo: Have the Town Treasurer sign the deed for 0 Off Ashfield Road so the town will have ownership of the property.

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

   • - Town Administrator request to dissolve the Energy Committee and create a Sustainability Committee.

     General Discussion...
     The Energy Committee currently has no members. By dissolving this committee it can go into the creation of a Sustainability Committee. This would broaden the scope and hopefully get more grants for the town. The Town Administrator will bring an outline of the new committee's responsibilities to the board in the future.

     MOTION, moved by Philip Kantor, seconded by Christopher Waldo: To dissolve the Energy Committee and create a Sustainability Committee. .

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

6. Joint Meeting with Finance Committee, 6:30

   • 6:30: Joint Meeting with Finance Committee - Budgets to review: Discussion of budget as a whole and Cost of Living Allowance (COLA).

     General Discussion...
     A quorum was not present for the finance committee so these items were tabled until the next meeting.

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

   • None.

8. Town Administrator update

   • 1. TA_2023-03-20_Update.pdf

9. Selectboard member comments/concerns

10. Mail

    • General Discussion...
      National Grid will be performing some vegetation management in April. The town has no regulatory say in this process and the letter has been posted so citizens are aware.
      
      

      1. FY24_Conway_30_Day_Sideline_Letter.pdf
      2. ROW_1625_Conway_Town_Map.pdf

11. Announcements

    • None

12. Meeting Wrap-up

    • Next Meetings:
      1. Mon, Mar 27, at 6:00 PM "Selectboard and Finance Committee" -- Town Hall
      2. Mon, Apr 3, at 6:00 PM "Selectboard and Finance Committee" -- Town Hall
      3. Mon, Apr 10, at 6:00 PM "Selectboard and Finance Committee" -- 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 Monday, Apr 3, 2023