Board of Selectmen 
Meeting Minutes
October 27, 2008

Present: All three Selectmen, Members of the Finance Committee: John Trickey, Fred Vanderbeck; Members of the “Bucket Loader Committee”: Rick Adamcek, Ken Aldrich and other members of the public.

Approval of minutes: Huber made a motion to accept the minutes of the October 14, 2008 meeting, Martin seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Liaison reports:
Town Hall offices and DPW: Martell reported that everything is ‘going well’ and there are no complaints.
Fire Department: Martin passed out statistics for the month.
Police Department: Martin reported that he had met with Chief Fleury and informed him of what the Board would like him to keep track of.
School Committee: Huber remarked that the School Board was scheduled to arrive at 7 p.m. to (jointly) appoint a new member to the School Board to finish out the term of Maureen Ecclestone who moved out of district and resigned.
Library: Huber reported that Director Adam Novitt had given him paperwork in regards to a grant application to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. If Pelham can raise $1500 worth of matching funds, the Foundation will award the town $5,000 worth of computers (two in 2009 and two in 2010) for “general use”.

Energy:

• Huber reported that the energy audit of the Community building has been completed and we are just waiting to receive the report.
• Huber also reported that a test is scheduled to be performed on November 16th to determine heat loss from the building. Huber reports that the testing will be done at no cost to the town because it is being used as a ‘learning’ experience for Umass students who will be allowed to attend and observe. Ordinarily, the test would cost about $2,000.
• Novitt and Huber are in the process of writing an ‘open-ended’ grant for alternative fuel in anticipation of possible applications to have a ‘head start’ on the paperwork.

Bucket Loader:

• The Bucket Loader Committee, after meeting and reviewing the machines presented, decided to recommend the John Deere 444 from Schmidt Equipment.
• The Deere quote was ‘in the middle’ of those received but was the only machine that met all of the specifications.
• The “implements” (additional tooling necessary for the use that the DPW plans for the machine) for the least expensive machine are twice as expensive as those for the John Deere.
• Chairman Martell asked if the new machine has everything that the old one had – Adamcek and Huber assured him that it had all that and more.
• Adamcek reported that he is going to have radios installed which would allow the operator to speak with the police. He reported that the radios could be installed for six or seven hundred dollars and suggested adding $1,000 to the quote to cover the cost.
• Selectman Martin made a motion to accept the recommendation of the committee and approve the allocation of $85,150 ($84,150 quote plus $1,000 for an adapter plate and two-way radios, etc.) from the Capital Equipment and Expenditures Stabilization Fund for the purchase of a 2009 John Deere 444K Wheel Loader. Huber seconded, motion passed unanimously.
• A representative from Schmidt Equipment who attended the meeting said that the order would be made immediately upon receiving the award letter and that the ‘build time’ in Davenport, Iowa would be approximately sixty days.
• He also noted that, by approving and ordering at this time, the town avoids a scheduled price increase of 8 ½ %.

• Selectmen directed Leahey to send a letter of acceptance to Schmidt Equipment as soon as possible.

Legal Account:

• Chairman Martell wanted to discuss the legal account.
• He reports that the line item began, at the beginning of FY09, with twelve thousand dollars and, as of now, has a balance of $7,679.
• It was agreed that the lion’s share of cost was for two issues: the status of firefighter John Jerome and the Keyes property/Kestral Trust Conservation Restriction.
• The Amherst Road project also has the potential to ‘eat up’ funds. Martell offered to speak with Adamcek regarding that project and what the “next step” will be.
• Selectmen discussed briefly whether or not the Kestral Trust could be billed for the legal opinions solicited in regards to the Keyes Conservation Restriction.
• It was also mentioned that only the Selectmen could solicit an opinion from town counsel.
• Chairman Martell reported that, when Len Kopelman of Kopelman & Paige is called directly, the town is not charged for the time.

Old Business:
Discussion regarding John Jerome and the continued payment of disability benefits.
Ed Martin made a motion to go into Executive Session on November 3rd at 7 p.m. to discuss the issue,
Huber seconded, motion passed unanimously.
Selectmen directed Leahey to draft a letter to Jerome informing him of the session and to send it certified, return receipt within 48 hours of the meeting time.

New Business:

1. Selectman Martin opened up a discussion by asking if the Board could write a letter to Chief Fleury to “let him know what is expected” in regards to the following (at least):

• ‘Comp’ time
• hours of the Police Station
• transparency of the Department
• Huber suggested the possibility of a ‘reception counter’ at the Police Department

No action taken at this time.

1. The Personnel Board will meet tomorrow night to interview DPW potential candidates to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of James Kicza. There were approximately 14 applications, that number has been whittled down to six  and those six will be interviewed by the Board and DPW Superintendent Rick Adamcek. A recommendation will be made and an appointment will happen sometime in November after the elections.

School Committee:
Michael Hussin and Tracy Farnham of the Pelham School Committee attended the meeting and presented Kathy Weilerstein to fill to slot vacated by Maureen Ecclestone. Weilerstone is an educator certified in K-12 and K-8 in Special Education. She works at UMass and has two daughters in Pelham Elementary School.

Huber made a motion to accept the nomination of Weilerstone to the Pelham School Committee to serve out the two remaining years of Ecclestone’s tenure (2010). Martin seconded. Motion passed unanimously.

Meeting adjourned 7:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted
Kim Leahey