From townadmin at shutesbury.org Fri May 1 09:29:08 2009 From: townadmin at shutesbury.org (townadmin@shutesbury.org) Date: Sat May 29 17:51:10 2010 Subject: [Announce] Town Administrator's Report Message-ID: <20090501162908.4007.qmail@virt12d.secure-wi.com> TA Report 5.2.09 (Please note attachments are available at town hall. You can call or email me and I can mail you any attachment you would like.) Farmers Market: New expanded hours- Shutesbury Market is set to open rain or shine 5/16. Becky Torres has volunteer to be the market coordinator. Please contact her if you have any questions or if you are interested in being a food or artesian vendor. Come to behind town hall and buy locally every Saturday from 8:30-12 noon. Flyer attached. Shutesbury's 250th Birthday: A very good first meeting of the 250 Committee was held Saturday and there is a lot of excitement about planning for Shutesbury's 250th birthday in 2011. Maryelise Lamet and Janis Gray will be co-chairs; Linda Avis Scott is the Secretary, for the first year. Dina Stander will give a brief update at Annual Town Meeting. Notes from our first meeting are attached. The basic idea so far, is that the committee would like to support existing community activities and or add an event of a natural history, historical, cultural/arts each month of the year. Everyone who is interested is welcome to participate, next meeting May 20 7pm. Other committee members are Karen Traub, Judith Makepeace and Elaine Puleo. Energy audit, energy efficiency measures: The Energy and Building Committees meet last week to review the three DOER Energy Audit reports. Everyone agreed that the best way to proceed is implement as many of the conservation and energy efficiency measures that have the quickest pay back period. Before the Energy Committee will bring their recommendations to the Select Board they have set up a meeting with Nationalgrid to see what financial incentives they may help with. That meeting is set for Monday June 1st. We are also pushing, with not too much success, MTC to use some of our Green-up funds for conservations measures, see email. CDBG participation: Franklin County Regional Housing and Redevelopment Authority is beginning working on 2010 application. Funding for FY09's application will be known in July. At the moment participation in housing rehab program makes good sense. Select Board will be discussing this. Project Manager request moving forward: The sub committee reviewed three Requests for Qualifications for Owners Project Manager for the construction of the Public Library. The scope of service for this phase only is to assist in the preparation of an RFQ for the selection of the Architect, help with site selection, and to oversee the Architect's work as it relates to the library design. The committee ranked the three proposals and will begin the negotiations with the firm ranked first. If the price is affordable and committee likes that firm we can conclude the negotiations and draft a contract. Funding for the Project Manager comes from the Library Planning Grant. Lake Wyola Dam update: Great news! Final inspection will take place Monday 9am with our engineer Morris Root, Tro-Con Corporation contractors, Phil Kinder Clerk of the Works, Ward Smith Environmental Monitor, Howard Kinder Dam Gate Keeper, Al Springer and Ralph Armstrong Select Board members. To date Tro-Con Corporation ranks up there as a very good contractor. Because of states bidding laws and regulations it is a bit of a crapshoot as to the quality of the bidder. FYI: Thanks to the initiative of Finance Committee member, Bill Wells we are getting an insurance quote from Bell Hudson Insurance Agency. April's edition of City and Town attached. Connections April Newsletter attached. Swine flu-Bill Elliott will have attached handout for town meeting and give a brief update on BOH activities as it relates to the influenza-outbreak. CPA has $19,991 as of 5/1/09. I will try and get a committee meeting going in the next two months. Current FY09 Expense Report and Revenue Report. Gazette article about Leverett's ATM, do not forget our meeting Saturday 9am! If you want to kick back after attending town meeting at 6pm another family night at the movies is showing The Tale of Despereaux at 6pm-see flyer. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.shutesbury.org/pipermail/announce/attachments/20090501/df15638d/attachment.html From recycling at shutesbury.org Mon May 4 12:39:59 2009 From: recycling at shutesbury.org (recycling@shutesbury.org) Date: Sat May 29 17:51:10 2010 Subject: [Announce] Talking Trash: Roadside cleanup recognition Message-ID: <20090504193959.13424.qmail@virt12d.secure-wi.com> The Recycling Coordinator and the Recycling and Solid Waste Committee would like to thank and recognize some residents for their contribution to the cleanliness of our roadsides. A recent event: Walking home from the Town Election on Saturday, Randy and Tonya Dettmers combed both sides of Montague Road, collecting trash and recyclables as they went. In their two and a half mile trek, they gathered a full bag of trash, and a full bag of recyclables. We know that many of you pick up trash, cans and recyclables on your daily exercise walks, and it certainly helps to keep our community attractive for all, and makes drivers think twice before spoiling the view with new trash. Janice Stone of Montague Road can often be seen on her return loop with roadside debris in hand, and Sally and Andy Fairfield do the same, on their walks to and from the library. We know that many town trail users practice the principle of "trash in/trash out", and often bring home more than they brought along. Our thanks go out to all of you for your efforts. If you have a regular route that you pick up, we’d love to share that info; and if you would like to get some extra "community service" trash bags for those things you are putting back into the trash system, and off the roads or trails; just let us know, and we’ll be happy to take care of you, as you help to take care of the Town. For more info, or to report other good Samaritans, please contact Recycling Coordinator Sarah Martell at recycling@shutesbury.org or leave a message at 259-3796. From townadmin at shutesbury.org Thu May 7 09:17:14 2009 From: townadmin at shutesbury.org (townadmin@shutesbury.org) Date: Sat May 29 17:51:10 2010 Subject: [Announce] Update on Town Administrator's Search Message-ID: <20090507161714.15925.qmail@virt12d.secure-wi.com> UPDATE ON TOWN ADMINISTRATOR'S SEARCH Ralph Armstrong, Chair of the Town Administrator’s Search Committee thanked committee members Karen Traub, Gary Bernard, Walter Tibbetts, Melinda LeLacheur, Kathy Carey, and Lori Tumominen for their hard work and thoughtfulness. The Committee reviewed 19 resumes and interviewed 7 candidates before they unanimously selected two finalists, Becky Torres and Aaron J. Chrostowsky. The final interviews will be at a special Select Board meeting Monday night May 18 beginning at 7pm. The public is welcomed and copies of their resumes can be obtained from David C. Dann, Town Administrator at Shutesbury’s Town Hall. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.shutesbury.org/pipermail/announce/attachments/20090507/d42eedd0/attachment.html From townadmin at shutesbury.org Fri May 8 11:39:37 2009 From: townadmin at shutesbury.org (townadmin@shutesbury.org) Date: Sat May 29 17:51:10 2010 Subject: [Announce] Town Administrator's Report & Selectboard Agenda Message-ID: <20090508183937.22056.qmail@virt12d.secure-wi.com> TA Report 5.9.09 (Please Note attachments are available at town hall or you can call or email me and I will mail you any attachment you would like.) Town meeting: With a small attendance, all the warrant articles passed as well as the proposed budget. The FY10 budget does not use any cash reserve and cuts $34,718 from FY09 budget. Newspaper article attached. The senate will debate their version of the FY10 budget in the next two weeks with the recent revenue news that revenue collection continues to fall and that the state is looking at $900 million dollar budget gap in FY09. See attached legislative alert from MMA which states that the senate plans to cut at least $1 Billion from the house passed FY10 budget-stay tuned. Lake Wyola Dam: Morris Root, Engineer gave the project a clean bill of health at the final inspection Monday morning. Everyone was very satisfied with the quality of the workmanship and cooperation of the Tro-Con Corporation. The projected costs dating back to 2005 is $295,882. The amount includes all the permitting, clerk of the works, environmental controls, engineering, and construction costs. See new spreadsheet. Morris Root will prepare final report for the Office of Dam Safety and in about a month Ward Smith will make another visit to make sure the grass has grown sufficiently before the environmental controls are removed. Town Administrator search: Ralph Armstrong, Chair of the Town Administrator's Search Committee thanked committee members Karen Traub, Gary Bernard, Walter Tibbetts, Melinda LeLacheur, Kathy Carey, and Lori Tumominen for their hard work and thoughtfulness. The Committee reviewed 19 resumes and interviewed 7 candidates before they unanimously selected two finalists, Becky Torres and Aaron J. Chrostowsky. The final interviews will be at a special Select Board meeting Monday night May 18 beginning at 7pm. The public is welcomed and copies of their resumes can be obtained from David C. Dann, Town Administrator at Shutesbury's Town Hall. Spring review of L/C/P footprint project: FYI: FY 2010 CDBG grant info attached for Select Board discussion 5/12 A big thank you goes out to Bob Groves, a member of the Building Committee who has spent two days to install the new storm windows at the Old Town Hall. FRCOG Quarterly Report and Annoucements as well as newsletter attached. If you are interested in their 2009 Annual Report copies are available in my office. Pioneer Valley Bike Commute Week May 9-16 info attached with lots of events up and down the valley. If you did not pick up your allotment of garbage bags a ATM for the coming year, the next several opportunities, that are all at Town Hall, are Saturday May 9th from 9am-12noon, Wednesday 13th 5:30-8:00pm, and Saturday 16th 9am-12noon, Tuesday 19th 5:30-8pm, then Bulky Waste Day at DPW Saturday June 6 10am-2pm. FCCIP April report of building activity attached. Series of community forums being launched by Patrick-Murray Administration on the economic choices facing the Commonwealth. See attachment closest forums for our area are in Orange 5/18 or Amherst 5/19. Franklin Regional Transit Authority Advisory Board meeting 5/21-agenda minutes available at Town Administrator's office for anyone interested. BOH gets approval for seasonal flu vaccine- Kudos to BOH see email from Bill. Shutesbury Selectboard Agenda May 12, 2009 Appointments: 7:00 Call to Order 7:05 Police Chief 7:20 Tim Hunting, summer hours annually review, overtime after us of 6hrs, chip seal TH 7:45 Bill Elliot/Walter Tibbetts EDS and appoint Planning Committee Topics Fy2010 CDBG application Traffic count request TA Search Select Board Action items: Approve minutes, Sign Warrants Sign MEMA/FEMA reimbursement contract if all work is complete Future Select Board Meetings: May 18, 7:00 (special SB meeting to interview TA finalists ) May 26, 7:00 June 9, 7:00 June 23, 7:00 (also special election for Select Board) Other meetings: Please refer to Official Bulletin Board at Town Hall and or check with Town Clerk. May 13, 1:00 Historical Commission May 13, 7:00 LFNAC May 13, 7:00 Cultural Council event-Pastel Painting lesson 6-8pm May 13, 8:00 Planning Board in Conference room May 14, 7:00 Conservation Commission May 16, 9:00am LWAC May 18, 7:00 Town Administrator’s Search Committee with Select Board May 19, 4:30 Board of Assessors May 20, 7:00 250th Celebration Committee May 20, 7:00 School Committee May 20, 7:00 Web Committee May 20, 7:30 BOH May 20, 7:15 Personnel Board May 21, 7:00 Open Space Committee May 27, 8:00 Planning Board May 28, 7:00 Conservation Commission June 1, 7:00 Energy Committee June 2, 4:30 Board of Assessors June 2, 7:00 Library Trustees June 2, 7:00 Fin Com June 3, 6:00 Building Committee June 3, 7:30 BOH June 6, 10-2 Bulky Waste Day at DPW -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.shutesbury.org/pipermail/announce/attachments/20090508/4cf2e5c2/attachment.html From townadmin at shutesbury.org Thu May 14 05:28:02 2009 From: townadmin at shutesbury.org (townadmin@shutesbury.org) Date: Sat May 29 17:51:10 2010 Subject: [Announce] Free Phone-In legal advice Message-ID: <20090514122802.25543.qmail@virt12d.secure-wi.com> On Wednesday May 20 from 3:30-7:30pm DIAL-A-LAWYER (413) 782-1659 for anyone needing FREE legal advice. This is a public service of the Massachusetts Bar Association. From townadmin at shutesbury.org Tue May 19 12:07:45 2009 From: townadmin at shutesbury.org (townadmin@shutesbury.org) Date: Sat May 29 17:51:11 2010 Subject: [Announce] Select Board chooses new Town Administrator Message-ID: <20090519190745.25421.qmail@virt12d.secure-wi.com> Press Release May 19, 2009 The Shutesbury Select Board unanimously selected Rebecca Torres to be their next Town Administrator. Rebecca Torres has accepted the position. Her start date and contact negotiations will commence immediately. Rebecca Torres has been a volunteer in municipal government for over 18 years, most recently as a Select Board member for 9 years, and Select Board Chair for the last 7 years. Please join us in welcoming Becky to a new role that eagerly awaits her many skills and expertise. The Shutesbury Select Board. From police.chief at shutesbury.org Tue May 19 13:45:59 2009 From: police.chief at shutesbury.org (police.chief@shutesbury.org) Date: Sat May 29 17:51:11 2010 Subject: [Announce] Police Logs - May 1-15, 2009 Message-ID: <20090519204559.27202.qmail@virt12d.secure-wi.com> Older logs are available online at http://www.shutesbury.org/police/pdincident.html 01 May 1400 Trespassing, Atkins Reservoir - Amherst Water Dept. reported complaint with officer. 1825 Traffic Stop, Cushman Rd. - Warning issued. 1830 Trespass, January Hills Rd. - Individual walking dog at Atkins Reservoir was advised that animals are not permitted in the reservoir or watershed area. 1900 Assist Other Dept., New Salem PD. - New Salem officer requested assistance with traffic stop. 2015 Traffic Stop, Leverett Rd. - Citation issued for defective equipment. 2030 Traffic Stop, Leverett Rd. - Citation issued for expired registration. 2135 Traffic Stop, Rte 202 - Citation issued for speeding. 02 May 0850 Assist Other Department, Sunderland PD - Officer requested to assist Sunderland PD in their jurisdiction. 1200 Arrest, Wendell Rd. - Officer initiated an arrest based on court issued warrant. 2115 Animal Complaint, Schoolhouse Rd. - Resident reported their dog was shot with a pellet gun by neighbor. 03 May 1145 Traffic Stop, Leverett Rd. - Citation issued for speeding. 1215 Illegal Dumping, Sand Hill Rd. - Officer observed the dumping of appliances off of Sand Hill Rd. 1415 Traffic Stop, Rte. 202 - Citation issued for speeding. 1425 B&E of M/V, Gass Lite Ln. - Visitor reported their items had been taken from vehicle while attending party. 05 May 1445 Medical Assistance, Leverett Rd. - Officers assisted Shutesbury EMS and Amherst Fire Dept. with reported medical issue at a Leverett Rd. residence. 1755 Assist Other Dept., New Salem - New Salem officer requested assistance in locating an individual. 06 May 1935 Traffic Stop, Locks Pond Rd. - Citation issued for speeding and expired registration; vehicle towed. 1925 Traffic Stop, Wendell RD. - Citation issued for speeding. 07 May 1725 Traffic Stop, Leverett Rd. - Citation issued for speeding. 2100 Animal Complaint, Town Hall - Officer responded to a complaint of a bat inside the building. 08 May 1620 Citizen Complaint, Birch Dr. - Officer requested for neighbor dispute. 1735 Traffic Stop, Wendell Rd. - Citation issued for speeding. 2030 Suspicious Vehicle, Atkins Reservoir - Officer investigated an unattended vehicle parked in the reservoir area. 2055 Traffic Stop, Leverett Rd. - Citation issued for speeding. 09 May 1600 Animal Complaint, January Hills Rd. - Officer requested for complaint of continuous barking of neighbor's dogs. 1830 Traffic Stop, Prescott Rd. - Citation issued for speeding. 2045 Traffic Stop, Leverett Rd. - Citation issued for speeding. 10 May 1325 Citizen Complaint, January Hills Rd. - Officer investigated complaint of illegally parked cars in the Atkins Reservoir area. 1710 MVA, January Hills Rd. - Officer investigated two car accident, no injuries. 11 May 1815 Traffic Stop, Pelham Hill Rd. - Citation issued for speeding and no license in possession. 2010 Traffic Stop, Leverett Rd. - Citation issued for speeding. 12 May 0755 Traffic Stop, Leverett Rd. - Citation issued for speeding. 1000 Traffic Stop, Leverett Rd. - Citation issued for speeding. 1545 Court Process, Birch Dr. - Resident of Birch Dr. was served with a restraining order issued by Orange District Court. 1800 Traffic Stop, Locks Pond Rd. - Citation issued for speeding. 1715 Trespassing, Atkins Reservoir - Officer trespassed individual found fishing at Atkins Reservoir. 1745 Traffic Stop, Pelham Hill Rd. - Citation issued for speeding. 2050 Traffic Stop, Leverett Rd. - Citation issued for speeding, defective equipment. 13 May 1515 Assist Other Dept., New Salem - New Salem PD requested assistance with MVA, Rte 202. 1645 Warrant Service, Wendell Rd.- Officer attempted warrant service at a Wendell Rd. residence. 1655 Parking Complaint, Lake Dr. - Resident requested an officer to deal with parking problem on Lake Dr. 1720 Traffic Stop, Lakeview Rd. - Citation issued for speeding. 1940 Traffic Stop, Leverett Rd. - Citation issued for speeding. 1950 911 Hang-up, Pelham Hill Rd. - Officer responded to a 911 emergency hang-up call from a Pelham Hill Rd residence. 14 May 1520 Assist Other Agency, Leverett Rd. - Officer assisted Leverett Highway Dept. with traffic control for downed tree. 15 May 1700 Traffic Stop, Leverett Rd. - Citation issued for speeding. 1915 Suspicious Vehicle, Pelham Hill Rd. - Officer investigated a vehicle parked in the woods off Pelham Hill Rd. 2020 Traffic Stop, Leverett Rd. - Citation issued for speeding. 2140 Traffic Stop, West Pelham Rd. - Citation issued for speeding. From townadmin at shutesbury.org Fri May 22 09:03:46 2009 From: townadmin at shutesbury.org (townadmin@shutesbury.org) Date: Sat May 29 17:51:11 2010 Subject: [Announce] TA Report and Selectboard Agenda Message-ID: <20090522160346.6469.qmail@virt12d.secure-wi.com> TA Report 5.23.09 (Please Note attachments are available at town hall or you can call or email me and I will mail you any attachment you would like) New Town Administrator: At a special Select Board Rebecca Torres was unanimously selected to be the next Town Administrator. Rebecca Torres has been a volunteer in municipal government for over 18 years, most recently as a Select Board member for close to 9 years, and as their chair for 7 years. Please join all of us in welcoming Becky to her new role. Becky will be on board July 1 and over the next few weeks she and I will work together for a smooth transition. FY10 Budget update: The Senate voted to raise sales tax that mirrored the House vote. The push for new taxes comes as the state is grappling with decreasing revenues. Without new (tax) revenues, we will have to make deeper budget cuts. We hope to avoid that and have planned in our budget for an additional $25,000 cut in state aid. Once we have the final state budget figures (state aid), together with the completed union contracts being negotiated, we will be able to determine if we can stay with our current approved budget or plan a special town meeting to seek approval for final adjustments. Proposal for sale of real estate property at 5 Haskin Way: Douglas Auctioneers will be attending the next Select Board meeting with Gabe Voelker, Town Treasurer to discuss the process and procedure to sell the summer camp that belongs to the town thru tax title. Attached is the info. Possible funding source for erosion issues at Fiske Brook: Bill Elliott has paved the way for possible state funding. The north cove at Lake Wyola is continuing to fill up with sediment coming from the banks of Fiske Brook. Joan Deely of Franklin Conservation District is willing to partner with us in a 604B Research/Planning Grant to study the problem that could then lead to a 319 DEP grant which solves the problem. We are helping Franklin Conservation District out by letting them use the cost of the our repair work at Lake Wyola Dam as a 319 match for a different proposal they are submitting to DEP in FY10. See email. EDS/Planning Committee: Brenda Franks or Edith Huntsberger-MOU LFNAC moves forward with the hiring of Owner's Project Manager (OPM): The OPM hiring Committee reviewed and ranked three OPM proposals in April. The OPM will work with LFNAC to determine the location and design of a new library. In early May the committee interviewed the top candidate DA Sullivan. DA Sullivan is experienced, has excellent reference and will only charge the town for the hours worked. They were unanimously selected and Mark Sullivan is the representative working under the contract. The contract amount is ($7,350) and will be reviewed by town counsel, Library Trustees and signed June 9 by the Select Board. Funding for the OPM is from the LFNAC's Planning grant. Broadband Community Forum: Governor Patrick will be joining Sharon Gillett, the new Director of the Massachusetts Broadband Institute, on Tuesday May 26th from 10:00 to 11:30 am in New Salem for a community forum on broadband. The event will be taking place at New Salem Town Hall, 15 South Main Street. Broadband Committee member Weezie Houle is planning to go, and there may be others as well. LWAC chart of activities: Dam update: Next Town wide mailing will go out June 15th: This will probably be the last mailing till Our Town newsletter is mailed in the fall. Recycling Coordinator and Bulky Waste Day update: Start the house cleaning now. Free by the roadside begins this weekend and whatever is left over you can bring to Bulky Waste Day June 6, 10am-2pm at the DPW. Sarah Martell, our new Recycling Coordinator will be starting our educational effort to improve our recycling percentage very shortly. If you are not sure what you can recycle and need our new Almanac let me know and I can mail you a copy or you can come by and pick one up at Town Hall. FYI: Conservation Commission will be officially informing the Select Board/Town Administrator to notify the CC of any future work that is within 100 feet of a wetland. Peter Gees sent information to our legal counsel concerning ownership of lot M-30, see attached letter. Suffolk University is conducting luncheon June 5 with guest speaker Timothy Cahill on the State of the Local and National Economy, see flyer. Biomas power plant being considered in Greenfield, see Recorder's pros and cons. FY09 most recent expense report attached. Volunteers are working on repairs to the church on the town common. Shutesbury Selectboard Agenda May 26, 2009 Appointments: 7:00 Call to Order 7:05 Police Chief 7:10 Gabe Voelker and Douglas auctioneer Topics Emergency Management Performance Grant award Appoint EDS Planning Committee and adopt mission Sale of recent acquired property from tax title Bethany D. Hinton's letter regarding her interactions with the Conservation Commission Vacancies to be filled on Personnel Board and Fin Com Select Board Action items: Approve minutes, Sign Warrants, Lake Wyola Association special event forms Sign FEMA/MEMA contracts Sign Emergency Management grant Future Select Board Meetings: June 9, 7:00 June 23, 7:00 Also special Select Board election 12:00 noon to 8pm Other meetings: Please refer to Official Bulletin Board at Town Hall and or check with Town Clerk. Every Saturday 8:30am till noon is Farmers/Craft Market behind Town Hall May 27, 7:00 Recycling Committee May 27, 8:00 Planning Board May 28, 7:00 Conservation Commission June 1, 7:00 Energy Committee June 2, 4:30 Board of Assessors June 2, 7:00 Library Trustees June 2, 7:00 Fin Com June 3, 6:00 Building Committee June 3, 7:30 BOH June 6, 10-2 Bulky Waste Day at DPW June 10, 7:00 250th Committee June 10, 1:00 Historical Commission June 10, 8:00 Planning Board June 11, 7:00 Conservation Commission June 14, 10:00am walkers, 10:30 runners-Lake Wyola Road Race at Association Building on Shore Dr. June 15, 7:00 Emergency Team Meeting @ Fire Station June 16, 4:30 Board of Assessors June 17, 7:30 BOH June 17, 7:00 School Committee June 17, 7:00 Cemetery Commission June 18, 7:15 Personnel Board June 20, 9:00am LWAC June 23, 12:00 noon-8pm Select Board election June 24, 8:00 Planning Board -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.shutesbury.org/pipermail/announce/attachments/20090522/c97d42b7/attachment.html From library.director at shutesbury.org Fri May 22 09:26:15 2009 From: library.director at shutesbury.org (library.director@shutesbury.org) Date: Sat May 29 17:51:11 2010 Subject: [Announce] Library Wireless Internet - down until Tuesday Message-ID: <20090522162615.22283.qmail@virt12d.secure-wi.com> The Wireless internet service at the library is temporarily out of order. We expect to have it repaired by 3:00 pm, Tuesday, May 26th. We apologize for the inconvenience. From townadmin at shutesbury.org Fri May 22 14:22:46 2009 From: townadmin at shutesbury.org (townadmin@shutesbury.org) Date: Sat May 29 17:51:11 2010 Subject: [Announce] Town Administrator's Report - May 23, *Corrected Version* Message-ID: <20090522212246.16816.qmail@virt12d.secure-wi.com> TA Report 5.23.09 (Please Note attachments are available at town hall or you can call or email me and I will mail you any attachment you would like) New Town Administrator: At a special Select Board meeting Rebecca Torres was unanimously selected to be the next Town Administrator. Rebecca Torres has been a Shutesbury volunteer in municipal government for over 18 years, most recently as a Select Board member for close to 9 years, and as their chair for 7 years. Please join all of us in welcoming Becky to her new role. Becky will be on board July 1 and over the next few weeks she and I will work together for a smooth transition. FY10 Budget update: The Senate voted to raise sales tax that mirrored the House vote. The push for new taxes comes as the state is grappling with decreasing revenues. Without new (tax) revenues, we will have to make deeper budget cuts. We hope to avoid that and have planned in our budget for an additional $25,000 cut in state aid from the Senate. Once we have the final state budget figures (state aid), together with the completed union contracts being negotiated, we will be able to determine if we can stay with our current approved budget or plan a special town meeting to seek approval for final adjustments to our budget. Proposal for sale of real estate property at 5 Haskin Way: Douglas Auctioneers will be attending the next Select Board meeting with Gabe Voelker, Town Treasurer to discuss the process and procedure to sell the summer camp that belongs to the town thru tax title. Attached is the info. Possible funding source for erosion issues at Fiske Brook: Bill Elliott has paved the way for possible state funding. The north cove at Lake Wyola is continuing to fill up with sediment coming from the banks of Fiske Brook. Joan Deely of Franklin Conservation District is willing to partner with us in a 604B Research/Planning Grant to study the problem that could then lead to a 319 DEP grant which solves the problem. We are helping Franklin Conservation District out by letting them use the cost of the our repair work at Lake Wyola Dam as a 319 match for a different proposal they are submitting to DEP in FY10. See email. LFNAC moves forward with the hiring of Owner's Project Manager (OPM): The OPM hiring Committee reviewed and ranked three OPM proposals in April. The OPM will work with LFNAC to determine the location and design of a new library. In early May the committee interviewed the top candidate DA Sullivan. DA Sullivan is experienced, has excellent reference and will only charge the town for the hours worked. They were unanimously selected and Mark Sullivan is the representative working under the contract. The contract amount is capped at ($7,350) and town counsel will review the contract. Library Trustees will sign the contract June 2 and the Select Board will sign June 9th. Funding for the OPM is from the LFNAC's Planning grant. Broadband Community Forum: Governor Patrick will be joining Sharon Gillett, the new Director of the Massachusetts Broadband Institute, on Tuesday May 26th from 10:00 to 11:30 am in New Salem for a community forum on broadband. The event will be taking place at New Salem Town Hall, 15 South Main Street. Broadband Committee member Weezie Houle is planning to go, and there may be others as well. Emergency Dispensing Site (EDS) update: At a recent meeting of the Emergency Management Team is was suggested that Shutesbury needs to appoint an EDS Planning Committee to develop a site in Shutesbury that will dispense medication at the next Select Board meeting. Committee composition could include Board of Health members, Fire Chief (Emergency Management Director, Police Chief (Assistant Emergency Management Director), Select Board rep, and two community members interested in public health. Next Town wide mailing will go out June 15th: This will probably be the last mailing till Our Town newsletter is mailed in the fall. Recycling Coordinator and Bulky Waste Day: Start the house cleaning now. Free by the roadside begins this weekend and whatever is left over you can bring to Bulky Waste Day June 6, 10am-2pm at the DPW. Sarah Martell, our new Recycling Coordinator will be starting our educational effort to improve our recycling percentage very shortly. If you are not sure what you can recycle and need our new Recycling Almanac let me know and I can mail you a copy or you can come by and pick one up at Town Hall. Emergency Management Performance Grant: Attached is the summary for grant up to $2500 for yet to identify activities to enhance our emergency management procedures. The SB will sign grant at their next meeting. Energy Committee will meet with Nationalgrid Energy Efficiency Coordinator: The Energy Committee and Building Committee will meet with Mike Neptune June 1 from Nationalgrid to review incentive programs and procedures they have for municipalities. See handout. Copies of our completed Energy Audit reports are available from me. FYI: Conservation Commission will be officially informing the Select Board/Town Administrator to notify them of any future work at the Fire Station that is within 100 feet of a wetland. Peter Gees sent information to our legal counsel concerning ownership of lot M-30, see attached letter. Suffolk University is conducting luncheon June 5 with guest speaker Timothy Cahill on the State of the Local and National Economy, see flyer. Biomas power plant being considered in Greenfield, see Recorder's pros and cons. FY09 most recent expense report attached. Community volunteers are working on repairs to the church on the town common. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.shutesbury.org/pipermail/announce/attachments/20090522/dbd11bdd/attachment.html From recycling at shutesbury.org Fri May 29 05:19:26 2009 From: recycling at shutesbury.org (recycling@shutesbury.org) Date: Sat May 29 17:51:11 2010 Subject: [Announce] Bulky Waste Day Volunteers Needed Message-ID: <20090529121926.17266.qmail@virt12d.secure-wi.com> Hello Shutesbury Residents, Bulky Waste Day is just around the corner (Saturday, June 6); if anyone is interested in volunteering for the day (10am-2pm), or some period of time during the day, your help is most welcome. Primarily, help needed is in the form of stacking / organizing items, helping to direct people to appropriate bins for their items and so on. This is a great day to meet you local community members, the recycling committee, and help out the town all at the same time! If interested, please let me know via email: recycling@shutesbury.org, or feel free to stop by and volunteer your time the day of the event. I would also like to remind everyone that starting this upcoming week, the recycling committee is encouraging a "Road Side Swap Week". Put items still in usable condition, but no longer of use to you, out at the end of your driveway with a "Free" sign for others to take home with them. I have already found an excellent lawn chair to watch my garden grow! Thank you neighbors! Best Regards, Sarah Martell Recycling Coordinator From townadmin at shutesbury.org Fri May 29 08:36:27 2009 From: townadmin at shutesbury.org (townadmin@shutesbury.org) Date: Sat May 29 17:51:11 2010 Subject: [Announce] Town Administrator's Report - May 30 Message-ID: <20090529153627.9228.qmail@virt12d.secure-wi.com> TA Report 5.30.09 (Please Note attachments are available at town hall or you can call or email me and I can mail you any attachment you would like.) Broadband forum: Several Shutesbury folks went to the meeting in New Salem. In the words of Jon Thompson, "The meeting with the governor was quite good! Many people were in attendance. John Olver, Deval, Stan, etc. Verizon was called on the carpet as was Comcast. Peter D'Erico spoke as did Robby Lepzer. I went away encouraged. The governor gets it!" The next meeting is June 5, 4:30 at the South Deerfield Fire Station on Route 5 and 10. I have also attached some more meeting notes from Hugh Field and Aron Goldman that includes the link for the MBI's survey page, please take some time to fill it out. It will give a clear picture who has broadband service. Here is the link http://maps.massgis.state.ma.us/broadband/broadband_survey_no_map.htm Attached is the state's handout on the Massachusetts Broadband Institute. Also in the news is the merger of Berkshire Connect and Pioneer Valley Connect, email attached. FY10 Budget: Senate releases their budget proposal. See new revenue sheet with attached cherry sheet. At this time we do not have to make any further budget cuts. The Fin Com will be reviewing the information as well as making their final FY09 adjustments at their next meeting, June 2. FY09 Budget: One more month in current fiscal year, see current expense and revenue report. The Fin Com will make its usual end of year adjustments at their next meeting June 2. In preparation of the meeting I went over all the overspent accounts with our Accountant and likely line items we can transfer revenue from, see attached spreadsheet. Auction at 5 Haskins Way June 23: The Select Board agreed to contract with Douglas Auctioneer for the sale of a small summer camp located at 5 Haskins Way. Taxes have not been paid on this property for 18 years and it has finally worked its way thru tax title/land court. Information on property and auction will be posted on our Web page as soon as they are available. Lake Wyola Dam update: Environmental Monitor, Ward Smith's final report is attached. The Clerk of Works, Phil Kinder has completed all his oversight. We all want to thank Phil for his hard work. He worked every hour the contractors were there in all kinds of weather. On the agenda for LWAC is to discuss a possible dedication/ceremony to thank everyone, plus Stan and Steve for their hard effort to secure funding. Bulky Waste Day coming up soon: Bulky Waste Day is just around the corner (Saturday, June 6); if anyone is interested in volunteering for the day (10am-2pm), or some period of time during the day, your help is most welcome. Primarily, help needed is in the form of stacking / organizing items, helping to direct people to appropriate bins for their items and so on. This is a great day to meet you local community members, the recycling committee, and help out the town all at the same time! If interested, please let Sarah Martell know via email: recycling@shutesbury.org, or feel free to stop by and volunteer your time the day of the event. Also starting this upcoming week, the recycling committee is encouraging a "Road Side Swap Week". Put items still in usable condition, but no longer of use to you, out at the end of your driveway with a "Free" sign for others to take home with them. FYI: Bell & Hudson has withdrawn their proposal to insure the town for this year, see email. They felt at a disadvantage and rushed in trying to get all the necessary information for a quote. They will start sooner next year. Their interest, however did spark MIIA's new proposal, at a reduced premium. Final FEMA/MEMA contract and paper work was submitted. We have requested $67,893. Hopefully all of it will come soon. See attached cover letter. MassInc will present "Incomplete Grade: Massachusetts Education Reform at 15" with a panel discussion on June 25 see attached info. Executive Summary available from Town Administrator or go on line www.massinc.org/fileadmin/researchreports . Donna is reviewing attached contract for DA Sullivan & Sons, Library Project Manager. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.shutesbury.org/pipermail/announce/attachments/20090529/14b7c5be/attachment.html