BETHEL — The select board meeting on June 21 rivaled the recent town meeting in length – lasting over two hours.
“We are doing a lot of housekeeping in the next few meetings,” said new Select Board Chair Meryl Kelly.
Several clarifications, questions and suggestions prolonged the meeting.
At the head table in town office with Kelly were members, Michele Cole, Pat McCartney, Sarah Southam, and Frank Del Duca. Town Manager Natalie Andrews and Town Clerk Jessicca Grover were also there.
Cole said, “I don’t see anyone here from the Gemini. I would ask that we move that up on the agenda in case they show up.” The Gemini had asked for approval of their victualer application and were listed lower on the agenda. “So why move it, if they’re not here?” asked McCartney. Cole said it would show courteousness to people coming before the board for one item. She said she’d like to see that implemented going forward. Moving it up passed 3-2.
Cole and Southam abstained from approving the previous BOS meeting minutes
In her town manager report, Andrews said, “Mr. Walker passed his test with a 93% he has expressed his interest in a permanent superintendent position [of the Waste Water Treatment Plant]”
The new owners of 507 Walkers Mills Road feel the clean up has, “yielded very positive results,” said Andrews. She said they will be continuing to clean up the route 26 house lot that had been filled with junk cars, breaking up the black top, etc.
Randy Autrey is the new assistant manager at the airport.
Select board is asked to attend a two-hour joint meeting of the housing code review on Mon. July 31.
Inland Woods and Trails is requesting $20,000 toward an eight-mile intermediate hiking trail.
Town office will close early on June 30 for year end housekeeping.
The board approved a 1,500 gallon Class A new pumper truck for the fire department for $685,500. The deposit needed immediately is $325,000. They will sell the old truck; the new truck will be ready later this year.
Fire Chief Michael Jodrey said, “the prices were coming back extremely scary. We were looking at everything and anything that would fit the budget.”
Cole asked that setting the standard agenda format be rolled into rules and procedure work.
Said Cole to Kelly, “I appreciate your chairman report. In recognition that we might have some changes. A fundamental basic is that we’re all equal. Equal vote, equal voice. I appreciate your comment and look forward to working together.”
Cole asked that Andrew’s select board agenda packet deadline be 4 p.m. on a Friday for the following week’s board meeting. Andrews said she would do her best. She said that other items might need to be added in the five days between Friday and the following Wednesday meeting.
Cole said she would like to make a motion and McCartney said, no, it should be a request only. Cole said, “we are piecemealing agenda items.”
Andrews pointed out that her recent review asked for the agenda to be piecemealed. “It will be undoing what I was asked to do in my review,” said Andrews. In her recent review, the (former) board had asked that she send them a preview of the larger items, but continue to piecemeal smaller items to the agenda as they arose.
Del Duca seconded Cole’s motion.
“It’s not a performance standard. It’s just a procedure that’s very clear to us, clear direction, clear to the public what’s happening,” said Cole. She added that there is a provision in the code for items to be added.
Resident Tabaitha Steward said if the status quo was working it shouldn’t change.
Cole’s motion failed 4-1.
Discussion and consideration of a Board of Selectman code of conduct (same as the code of ethics) was briefly discussed. Cole said, “I’m not sure if this is really necessary. For me it can infringe on free speech.” They voted to move it to a workshop, with Cole opposed.
Kelly introduced a form that would track where ordinance questions come from since they sometimes they didn’t know. Steward complained that the select board short-term rental ordinance was not backed by the select board who had asked them to pursue it in the first place.
“I got tons of phone calls from many people who were really ticked off. .. I think this will help, but not completely.” Steward said the select board did not stand behind them. “When you are personally getting attacked from people who own STR’s … I think you guys should have stood behind us,” she said.
The form was approved unanimously.
The board voted to post and advertise open committee seats of people who have quit. First they voted to accept Neil Scanlon’s resignation from the Board of Assessors. That board now has one vacancy.
Danny Whitney, school board chair, resigned effective July 1. His delayed final day voided the advancement of the write-in school board candidates on the June 13 ballot, said Kelly. SAD-44 school board has one vacancy for a one-year term. She suggested the write-in candidates be notified.
A fifth seat on the conservation commission needs to be filled. Southam will stay on both boards (conservation and select board). “So Sarah is going to stay on and that was determined how?” asked Cole.
The Bethel Recreation Board has two vacancies: one is undesignated and one is from Greenwood. Bob Oickle (new Greenwood select board member) and Lucy Abbott have both resigned.
“I am going to ask that we put out for the 12th budget committee member,” said Cole adding that she would need to resign because select board and budget committees are in conflict. Bennett clarified, saying there are two openings, not one.
When a cell phone rang for the second time during the meeting, Kelly issued a stern warning. The offender apologized and left, but not before calling out DelDuca for leaving his phone on during meetings, too.
Kelly suggested and the motion passed to ask each of the town committees to come once to meet with the select board at a scheduled meeting.
Kelly asked the board to do a debrief of the annual town meeting. “For instance making sure the numbers were correct. My number one thing.” Kelly suggested that they coordinate with the school board calendar so the eighth grade parents, whose children were graduating, wouldn’t have to choose between events.
She also suggested they better distinguish between voting day and town meeting day. “Just a little clarity, If we’re trying encourage civic duty.”
Steward said people need to learn to go to the town’s web site and not to Facebook’s Team Bethel for their news. “Team Bethel, it’s just bad. No one wants to go to Team Bethel anymore. Put the [town’s] link on there, that’s where you go.”
Kelly said her dream of dreams is to have town-wide party every time there’s an election. “But I won’t push that, yet.” she said.
The undesignated fund article came before the capital improvements article on the town meeting warrant. At town meeting, resident Jane Ryerson, had asked that it had been moved to the end. This had not been the precedent as Ryerson had said it was, said Kelly. Nevertheless, Kelly asked if others agreed and if the two articles should swap places on future warrants.
Before that could be finalized, McCartney asked why a candidate that had dropped out was still listed on the ballot. “She didn’t withdraw in time,” said Kelly. McCartney asked why the town didn’t publicize the candidate’s withdrawal, Andrews said, “It is not the town’s responsibility to post that. We don’t do that.”
Andrews said the tri-town (Bethel, Hanover and Newry) leaders are discussing a punch card system for the transfer station. In part, because they are running out of contractor containers too soon. One pick up load is one-punch, larger sided trucks would be two punches.
Cole suggested they table it so they can see the tri-town committee report. Kelly said administrative matters should be left to the town manager. Del Duca said he’d like to be able to know the written procedure.
As they continued into the second hour, Cole said, “I have several items.”
The Ethel Bisbee lot summer usage was discussed by the select board. The possible usage (there was confusion as to what the usage was) was a concern of the ad-hoc committee. “They (the committee) would like more guidance,” said Kelly. The EBS ad-hoc committee will meet at 5:15 p.m. on July 18, at the Bethel Library. Their meetings are open to the public.
Cole continued. She’d like to see the new grant position under the purview of the Town Manager, not the Town Clerk.
She said she had an observation about the entertainment permit. “In the code it says a public hearing is to be had before the approval of an entertainment permit … I’d like to see that implemented going forward.”
She said she had an observation from the last several meetings. She commented on a form for food trucks that is different from the common victualer’s license and said that it is possible that the online renewal for autos wasn’t working. “I would ask that you look into that.”
She asked about a street light that was out on the Route 2 overpass and the possibility that bridge lights are too dim.
It was after nine, when McCartney made a motion to adjourn.
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