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Conway

  • Town of Conway Massachusetts
  • 32 Main Street
  • 413-369-4235
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Select Board

Monday, September 22, 2025, 6:00 pm until 8:00 pm
Town Hall
A meeting of the Select Board

Meeting of Select Board

Members: (Quorum)

  • Present: Christopher Waldo, Vice Chair, at 6:00 PM
  • Present: Elaine Campbell, at 6:00 PM
  • Present: Erica Goleman, Chair, at 6:00 PM

Also Present:

  • Susan Schroder
  • Don Bates
  • Bob Baker
  • Gemma Vanderheld
  • Deb Donaldson
  • Katie Goodall
  • Janet Chayes
  • Laurie Farkas
  • Veronique Blanchard and Adam Reed

See original Agenda Final Minutes

Meeting opened: 6:00 PM

Meeting closed: 7:31 PM

  1. Meeting Preliminaries

  2. Meetings Attended by Select Board Members

    • General Discussion...
      Elaine attended a School Committee meeting discussing health insurance and a smart climate system for the school.

  3. Public Comments. None

    • Public

  4. Unfinished Business

  5. New Business

    • - Discussion and vote to hire Russ Dupere as special labor counsel.

      MOTION, moved by Christopher Waldo, seconded by Elaine Campbell: .

      Pass: Aye: Erica Goleman, Elaine Campbell, Christopher Waldo.

    • 6:00: - Update on Public Safety Offices and future plans.

      General Discussion...
      The Police Chief reported that staffing is looking good. In the future, combining resources with other towns may be a necessity but not something Conway is seeking to do. The second cruiser is showing its age and will probably need to be replaced in the next few years.
      The Ambulance department has 5 staff. The perfect world number would be 10 to 12. It is becoming more difficult to find people to sign on. A preliminary contract has been signed for the new ambulance.
      The Fire Chief has recruited two new firefighters bringing us up to 13. However, the town still faces the problem of Monday - Friday, from 8 to 5, there are no volunteers in town to respond. The town may want to look into having an EMS/firefighter on staff during the work week. There are new trucks coming out that may not require modification when we look to purchase a new vehicle in the next couple years. Chief Baker is also looking to retire in the new future so the town will need to keep a replacement in mind.

    • 6:20: - Discussion and vote on placement of Right to Farm signs. Susan Schroder.

      MOTION, moved by Erica Goleman, seconded by Christopher Waldo: To move forward with making and placing the signs at the entrances to the town.

      Pass: Aye: Erica Goleman, Elaine Campbell, Christopher Waldo.

    • 6:35: - Discussion and vote on a request from Laurie Farkas for Conway to sponsor a free grant related to investigating removal of a dam.

      General Discussion...
      Laurie would like to apply for a grant on behalf of the town to gain more information about the removal of the Flag Dam on Shelbourne Falls Road.

      MOTION, moved by Erica Goleman, seconded by Elaine Campbell: To allow Laurie Farkas to apply for a dam removal study on behalf of the town with the assistance of the Town Administrator. .

      Pass: Aye: Erica Goleman, Elaine Campbell, Christopher Waldo.

    • 6:45: - Discussion and vote on a request to use the South River Meadow for photography; Katie Goodall.

      MOTION, moved by Erica Goleman, seconded by Christopher Waldo: To allow Katie Goodall to photograph students in the South River Meadow for school and family pictures.

      Pass: Aye: Erica Goleman, Elaine Campbell, Christopher Waldo.

    • 6:55: - Update from the Assessors: George Forcier.

      General Discussion...
      The conversion of the new software for the Assessors should be done by January 1. There will be an $1800 fee to update names with properties and an additional $1800 for the conversion. The Board of Assessors will wait until January so it is a one-time purchase. The can get free GIS maps but the information must be updated. This links with the January timeline to have things completed.

    • 7:00: - Discussion and vote to sign MVP FY26 contract.

      MOTION, moved by Erica Goleman, seconded by Elaine Campbell: .

      Pass: Aye: Erica Goleman, Elaine Campbell, Christopher Waldo.

    • 7:05: - Discussion and possible vote on a date for special town meeting. November 8th suggested.

      MOTION, moved by Christopher Waldo, seconded by Elaine Campbell: To set Special Town Meeting for November 8th at 10:00 am.

      Pass: Aye: Erica Goleman, Elaine Campbell, Christopher Waldo.

    • 7:05: - Discuss and vote to sign letter of support for use of Fair Share revenues for education; Sunderland school committee.

      MOTION, moved by Christopher Waldo, seconded by Elaine Campbell: .

      Pass: Aye: Erica Goleman, Elaine Campbell, Christopher Waldo.

    • 7:05: - Discussion and vote on creating a new Conway Garden Club.

      General Discussion...
      Chris Waldo thinks it would be nice to have a garden club to help beautify town areas. It was suggested by Janet Chayes that pollinator group might take that on. This will be investigated further.

    • 7:05: - Vote to appoint Joe Strzegowski as an Associate member of the Planning Board.

      MOTION, moved by Erica Goleman, seconded by Elaine Campbell: .

      Pass: Aye: Erica Goleman, Elaine Campbell, Christopher Waldo.

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

    • - Sign the Festival of the Hills contract.

      General Discussion...
      The contract was signed.

  7. Town Administrator update

  8. Selectboard member comments/concerns

  9. Mail

  10. Announcements

  12. Meeting Wrap-up

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 Thursday, Oct 9, 2025