SELECTMEN’S MEETING

May 27, 2020

6:00 pm - ZOOM

1. CALL MEETING TO ORDER / PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

2. TOWN ADMINISTRATOR WEEKLY UPDATE

The Town Administrator updated the board on the following items:

· The top portion of the Warrant was sent to legal to review. Response was a few minor changes.

· June 1, 2020 all Motor Vehicle Branches are scheduled to open.

· Road Commissioners contacted the Town Administrator and requested signs be ordered for Brais Lane and 7^th Street.

· O’Donnell’s pulled property cards and will be out and about in the community doing assessments; there will be no going into resident’s homes. They will be armed with a letter indicating what they are doing in town and markings on their vehicles.

· Town Report has gone to print.

· An email was sent to staff and no response was received. Hours will need to be calculated to figure out PTO and the mapping program in Trio needs to be reviewed. A meeting will be held and the Town Administrator asked that the Board liaison please sit in on the meeting.

· MS Word program was purchased for Code; there is an electronic link to be downloaded to install. Installation was tried today but there are some password encryption issues to be resolved.

· Mousam Lake is open. The town is receiving a lot of calls concerning visitors not quarantining and wants to know what the BOS are doing about it. The Board is not responsible and as a resident they are welcome to call law enforcement with their concerns.

· Goat Hill document has been signed and will go out tomorrow.

· Voter letter will be drafted to send to residents informing them why the Selectmen changed the voting format this year.

· The Town Administrator asked the Board of Selection how they wanted to reopen the Town. Discussion ensued. Decision was made to return to regular schedule on June 8^th (including full operation of hours, time sheets and duties). Doors will remain locked and clients will be handled on a first come first served format. All social distancing and safety measures will be in place. June 24^th the BOS will revisit their decision.

3.         WARRANTS/BILLS

4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA

A motion was made by Selectmen David Winchell to approve the agenda as written; seconded by Selectmen Ed Walsh.  No discussion. All in favor.

5. MINUTES OF LAST MEETING

A motion was made by Selectmen David Winchell to approve the minutes from May 20, 2020; seconded by Selectmen Ed Walsh. No discussion. All in favor.

6.        DEPARTMENT HEAD / COMMITTEE CHAIR UPDATES

- Transfer Station

Mr. Bob Mann updated the Board of Selectmen on the following:

· New employee is working out very well.

· Hand outs were given out and received well.

· Asked to discuss closing Sundays due to the container being full at the end of Saturdays. Discussion ensued regarding containers, hoppers, amount of trash, those who use the Transfer Station on Sundays and what the plan should be for the summer. Bob Mann and Selectmen Ed Walsh will look into an extra container and another compactor. The plan decided upon was to close on Sundays for the next 2 weeks to formulate a plan and look into what measures are needed; then decide, depending on overflow, how to move forward for the summer. This means the T/S will be closed on May 31^st and June 7^th and then reopen for Sundays.

7. OLD BUSINESS

A. Article 43

The Town Administrator read out an email received from the Road Committee Chair. Part of the email commented that the Town Administrator had not responded for 3 months. The Town Administrator clarified what was done since the request in response to the request.  Opportunities were given for Mrs. Berlin to come in and look at the document, purchase the copies and review information. Discussion regarding predetermined agenda topics was discussed and the fact that no formal FOI requests are needed to be filled out by committees.

This was put on the BOS agenda as an opportunity for the Road Committee to ask their questions. Note, this article started as a petition but was put on the Warrant by the Selectmen and not as a petition. Mr. Jay Ward was present and asked several questions. 

· Mr. Ward asked about grading. A general instruction letter was read by Mr. Ward stating grading was eligible. Selectmen David Winchell explained routine maintenance needed in Spring and Fall did not qualify. Routine maintenance versus grading on roads to prevent run off into the lakes was discussed. Mr. Ward went back and forth on how this is misleading if the road has problems. Selectmen Winchell commented that there are roads in Acton that do not border water whom could benefit from funds but can’t apply and it is not fair that roads bordering roads get their routine maintenance paid for each year. If the road has serious issues and needs to be revisited years year than the road needs to be corrected.

· Mr. Ward asked that the word “from” be removed from Question 5 to clear up statement about lake clean up. That BOS agreed to remove the word for clarity.

· Selectmen Winchell reminded Mr. Ward that the way the Board is doing this application is more fair and transparent.

· Mr. Ward asked about applications on hold and why they are being held when they were applied for in good faith under the old rules. Response was that there were auditor concerns and these were turned in at the same time and the Selectmen put them on hold under they could grasp clarity on the application process for all.

· The Town Administrator will pull together another ZOOM meeting, not attached to a BOS meeting, to give the Road committee an opportunity to ask further questions; a date of June 8^th will be emailed to the Road Committee.

8. NEW BUSINESS:

A. Sign Warrant

The Town Administrator and Treasurer met with Paul Poyant regarding Article 4 to go over the warrant. MMA was unable to get back to the Town Administrator. After review it is all set for the BOS to make a motion to sign the warrant.

A motion was made by Selectmen David Winchell to sign the warrant for July 14, 2020 Secret Ballot Town Meeting; seconded by Selectmen Ed Walsh. No further discussion. All in favor.

Selectmen Ed Walsh thanked everyone for their efforts in pulling this warrant together.

B. Voter Letter

The Town Administrator read a draft letter paragraph by paragraph for the Board’s approval or edits. The letter was a detailed summary of the Board’s reasons and decision for holding this year’s Town Meeting Warrant Articles as Secret Ballots on this year’s election roster. The Board agreed with the letter as written. The Town Administrator pointed out that due to a date conflict with graduation on June 8^th, the public hearing has been moved to June 17^th. July 8^th public hearing date will remain the same. The Board decided that they would like the letter to go out for delivery on June 10^th or 11^th.

C. Beach

The Town Administrator brought to the Board concerns received by Acton residents with regards to a large amount of out of state tourists are gathering in large numbers on Horn Pond Beach. The Board of Selectmen stated that this was state owned property and any concerns residents might have will need to be addressed there as they have no jurisdiction. This beach has always been a problem area for other reasons and the Selectmen have had no power.  The Town Administrator will pass concerns onto the Contract Deputy.

9.         PUBLIC COMMENT: None

10. ANNOUNCEMENT

· Starting June 4, 2020, the Planning Board will hold Zoom meetings every Thursday in June at 6 30 pm.

· June 12, 2020 – Absentee ballots starting

· Mailing to be sent to reach voters by June 10^th or 11^th.

11. MEMBERS PRESENT

Selectmen Ed Walsh, Selectmen David Winchell and Town Administrator, Jennifer Roux.

12.       ATTENDANCE (screen names as designated on Zoom)

Dan Krampetz, Bob Mann, Molly (Dennis Long), Rollins iPad, PGP ipad 3 (mini), Judith Shain, Rich Hart, Valerie, Jay Ward, Joyce Bakshi, Arnie, Virginiia, Elise and laptop (Cheryl Drisko).