Shutesbury Board of Selectmen September 8, 2009 Meeting Minutes as amended and approved on 9/29/09 Members present: Chairwoman Elaine Puleo, Al Springer and Eric Stocker. Also Present: Town Administrator Rebecca Torres and Administrative Secretary Leslie Bracebridge, recording. Meeting opened at 6:30 P.M. Topics 1. Cost sharing information of Union 28 specialists/teachers, needed to do a cost savings analysis is not yet available. This topic could be touched upon at the proposed 5-town Union 28 meeting (for Saturday, September 12 or October 3) and discussed under Updates below. Becky will update the Select Board as information becomes available. 2. Becky is waiting for confirmation of the potential September 21 meeting with Amherst-Pelham Regional schools Superintendent Alberto Rodrigues. Updates 1. Discussion of a potential meeting of the Union 28 Towns Select Boards, Finance and School Committees on either 9/12 or 10/3 included the following points: * Both Leverett and Wendell will be discussing the get together at their meetings this week. Some representation is available from Erving, two people from New Salem, and a number of Shutesbury Finance and School Committee members. Should the Union 28 Committee be invited? The Reconfiguration Committee has not met recently. It’s important to make it when all towns can be represented. Leverett may not want to attend and requests an agenda: * Welcome and introductions. * Succinctly talk about such things as how each town is finishing our financial years, our free cash status, future borrowings, what new projects will affect available cash. * Comparisons and changes in budgets and per pupil costs over the last 5 years for all 5 towns would be of interest in understanding the school budgets. * Should the towns delicately discuss that we have budget constraints before the Union 28 budget is crafted? * Which partnerships are the towns entertaining under the potential break-up of different unions? a. The town spends $12,000 per pupil at the elementary school. Putting in state and grant money brings the cost up to $13,000/pupil. The regional assessment costs average $8500/pupil/year. (The total costs are closer to $15,000.) b. Sending the Shutesbury 6th graders to Amherst would increase education costs by $275,000 because the fixed costs will remain at the Elementary school and there will be an increase for each additional student at the region. c. Would parents want their children joining the middle school a year younger? Would children be introduced to more drugs and alcohol? d. If we were a Union with Amherst and Pelham, we would have no control over where the children attend school. e. Legislative actions are opening up doors for schools and towns to quickly create different sharing combinations. f. In some ways it would make sense for Leverett and Shutesbury to align with Amherst Pelham Region. These are the kinds of topics that could be discussed with the proposed Union 28 five towns. What looks good, what are constraints, what do you want to see happen? Share information in a receptive way. 3. Becky summarized a meeting with Consultant Alan Weiss re: Fire Station soil contamination: * Alan Weiss met with Town Administrator Torres, member Springer and (Eric Stocker could not be present for the full meeting). * Alan has not yet developed a closure statement (due the end of October) but will get it done * Alan feels that Shutesbury needs a larger organization to continue the clean-up consultation, because they would have a risk analysis specialist (LSP) who can determine how in depth the town has to go. If there is liability involved, there could be a conflict of interest for him also. * Onderick (who will be moving to his Lake property soon) also recommends getting an LSP * The approach to go in aggressively and dig it out seems to be the best approach. * Water pumped out needs to be treated as well as the soil. * Don’t have to get to zero contamination, only to what will not cause further problems. A really dry summer would make it easier to dig it out. * Alan would be willing to stay on, on an hourly basis to review the contract at $110 per hour and then separate out. * Are there new clean-up funds from the stimulus funds? Ben Fish put Shutesbury on the list but they don’t have anything yet. * The next move is to do an RFP. Review the scope of services. a. O’Reilly was the high bidder last time. A lot of work that O’Reilly bid was not on Weiss’ original estimate. b. ECS is a bigger LSP firm for gasoline stations and into the remedial stuff 20-30 years into the future. c. Companies can review Alan Weiss’ Shutesbury work through the DEP website. d. The Scope of Services needs to be kept general. e. November 10 would be a potential date for a special town meeting. Becky will consider timelines on the RFP * Every June 1st the town will be hit with a compliance report for $2-3,000. a. Need to create a budget line item at the special town meeting for the “gas spill.” * The Tier 1B June 1, 2009 permit requires phase 2 completion on June 30, 2011. 4. Electricity Contract: * Patriot Energy: Give them an exclusive so that they can beat the price that Constellation gives us as a small buyer. * Also talking about bid dates and do it on a specific date so that the comparison is apples to apples. * TA must verify that giving them an exclusive will not hurt the town’s relationship with Constellation. * Also looking at Hampshire Power. Riskier: Paying what the rate is all times creates spikes and doesn’t give a fixed price, making it hard to estimate annual energy costs. * Can go out to bid from 1 to 5 years. a. The numbers are increased on the 5 year. b. The economy is so unpredictable. Right now rates are the lowest they’ve been for 8 years for natural gas which dictates all other energy costs. In the end the Selectmen will need to sign a contract. Becky will try to map out the options on a grid for the Selectmen to make their best choice. 5. The CET ground mounted photo-voltaic bid is not yet written. It will be ready for next week. 6. Green Communities will meet in Athol on Sept. 16 at 7 PM with the Western Mass Regional Director Jim Barry on the agenda. Selectmen may attend the meeting Select Board Action Items 1. Neither the 9/1 meeting minutes nor the 9/2 minutes with Al and Eric at the soil contamination site visit with the Consultant were available for review. 2. The Emergency Dispensing Site (EDS) mutual aid agreement with Leverett is ready to be signed. It will be sent to Leverett, as they have not yet seen it, with the understanding that Shutesbury Selectmen are willing to sign it, and will, if Leverett approves and sign it. 3. Elaine: Bicyclists report the speed bumps are better and they can get around them. * It is suggested that they be picked up for a group ride, such as the cancer support ride, because bikes could not go over them. o The cost of 3-4 hours of Highway Department time would need to be reimbursed by bike ride groups. * Taking the speed bumps in and out would not damage the speed bumps, but repeated in and out could wear the pavement so the bumps would have to be moved a slight distance. o Installation should coincide with the opening and closing of the state park beach. o Signs will be removed from the poles, or the signs covered so that motorists will only see the caution at the times the speed bumps are in place. Perhaps a sign stating “Caution Bad Corner could replace the speed bump signs in the winter. Selectmen agreed that Elaine sign the response letter to Daryl Cupak. 4. Selectmen agreed to sign a re-worded letter to the Union 28 Superintendent concerning the counting of school lunch money. New Topics Becky: * There is a revised list of Select Board meeting dates that fits with the warrants and personal schedules of participants. If Selectmen want to meet on a Monday at 4 PM it will be posted as needed. * LFNAC: Has narrowed down applicants for designs services to the library to 4. Two were on Al’s list. Three were preferred by Phil Kinder. Phil has talked to the Library Director and will be at the interviews. Capital Planning Committee member Jeff Quackenbush took the books of the selected 4 and will read and rank them. Site determination will happen in January. Mark Sullivan Project Manager was very helpful. This will be discussed at the next ADA committee meeting. * The ADA Committee will meet on September 28. Elementary School Principal Bob Mahler will get a school representative for the committee. Martina Carroll will work closely with the LFNAC. * Has not yet finished the “Wash Your Boats” sign. * There will be a dog hearing coming up. There are a couple of problem dogs at lake and in town center. The dog officer now has a dedicated line within the Police Department telephone system. Elaine: * Tomorrow from 3:30 to 5 PM: There will be a Department of Public Health sponsored H1N1 virus teleconference. Board of Health Chairman Bill Elliott will be here with his speaker phone. * The next town newsletter will contain an Emergency Management Planning Committee survey. * Elaine summarized the Community Breakfast recently held at UMass which she attended. Selectmen unanimously voted to appoint Gail Fleischaker to the Web Committee. A motion was made, seconded and unanimously voted to adjourn at 8:55 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Leslie Bracebridge Administrative Secretary 090908 Selectboard 1