Select Board

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Monday, April 1, 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
• Present: Erica Goleman, at 6:00 PM

Also Present:

• John Craine
• Alan Singer
• Tom Donavan
• Phyllis Craine
• Ken Ouimette
• Chris Herrmann
• Peter Jeswald
• Bob Armstrong
• Roy Cohen
• Veronique Blanchard and Adam Reed

See original Agenda Approved Meeting Minutes

Meeting opened: 6:00 PM

Meeting closed: 7:49 PM

0. Meeting Preliminaries

   • Meeting Opened / Attendance Taken (see above).

   • No minutes to approve.

1. Warrants

2. Meetings Attended by Select Board Members

   • General Discussion...
     Phil met with FRTA to discuss senior transportation for Conway.

3. Public Comments. None

   • Public

4. Unfinished Business.

5. New Business

   • - Discussion and vote on three year software contract for accounting and treasurer.

     MOTION, moved by Erica Goleman, seconded by Christopher Waldo: To have Veronique sign the software contract after corrections are made to make it clear it is a 3 year contract.

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

   • - Discussion and vote on Public Safety building bids.

     General Discussion...
     The Public Buildings Committee voted to reject the bids for the Public Safety Building. This is due to some issues the Highway Department has with the Selectboard. As of March 20, the issues need to be resolved within 45 consecutive days or the project will have to go back out to bid.

   • - Discussion and vote on Highway Superintendent stipend/bonus for flood related work.

     General Discussion...
     Phyllis suggested a letter be written to Ron Sweet informing him on the Selectboard decission.

     MOTION, moved by Erica Goleman, seconded by Christopher Waldo: To give the Highway Superintendent a $20,000 bonus for all the repair work done after the flood damages to town roads.

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

     MOTION, moved by Erica Goleman, seconded by Christopher Waldo: An amendment was made to specify the funds for the Highway Superintendent will come from the disaster relief money Conway received from the state.

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

   • - Discussion and vote to sign Letter of Support for Ashfield’s MVP project on the Ashfield lake dam.

     General Discussion...
     The Town of Ashfield is pursuing a grant to remove the manual controls to the dam and convert the system to automation. This is something that would also benefit Conway.

     MOTION, moved by Christopher Waldo, seconded by Erica Goleman: To approve a letter of support for the Ashfield Lake dam project.

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

   • - Discussion on potential for new transportation services through FRTA.

     General Discussion...
     FRTA is considering a new transportation program and Conway could be used as a pilot. This program would act more like an Uber for the citizens to get to medical appointments or shopping. Volunteers would be needed for the service. The town will be looking into the promotion of this project and further particulars. All agreed it was a good idea.

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

   • none

7. Town Administrator update

   • 1. TA_2024-03-25_and_04-01_Update.pdf

8. Selectboard member comments/concerns

9. Mail

10. Announcements

11. Joint Selectboard and Finance Committee.

    • - Discussion and vote on capital requests; 142 Reserve Fund; updates to several general fund accounts, Transfer Station Attendant's salary increase request from the Town Administrator, COLA review.

      General Discussion...
      The Finance Committee was called to order at 6:32 and adjourned at 7:48.
      Capital Improvements was called to order at 6:32 and adjourned at 7:35.
      
      The Grammar School sent in a capital improvement request after the the 48 hour posting. Under items not anticipated the following was discussed.
      
      The school needs to improve their security system and phone system to meet new state requirements. There is no timeline from the state, but if an incident occurs the town would be under pressure to comply. Capital voted 4 - 0 for the security improvements and 4-0 to return the HVAC rebate to the school for the mini-splits.
      
      Capital improvements voted 4 - 0 in favor of the following requests for the warrant.
      
      $100,000 for the fire department pumper truck account.
      $100,000 for the new ambulance account.
      $100,000 for a replacement plow/pick-up truck.
      $100,000 for a replacement compact loader.
      
      More information will be sought concerning the police cruiser capital request and grant opportunity.
      
      The overall budget was looked at including different COLA and salary request options, and a request from the Town Administrator was submitted to raise the wages at the Transfer Station to $17 an hour for attendants and $19 an hour for the manager. It was also agreed to switch the $1,000 back from the police department to the elections budget for payment to constables during elections.
      
      

12. Meeting Wrap-up

    • Next Meetings:
      1. Mon, Apr 8, at 6:00 PM "Select Board" -- CANCELLED -- Town Hall
      2. Tue, Apr 9, at 5:30 PM "Select Board" -- Town Hall
      3. Wed, Apr 10, at 6:00 PM "Selectboard Meeting" -- Town Hall
    • Publish Draft Minutes
      Meeting Closed at 7:49 PM.

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, Apr 10, 2024