I call the meeting to order unfortunately Diana will is unable to be here this evening so it'll be me and my colleague Greg I'll start with our public participation at Town hatf s board meetings the Hatfield selectboard welcomes everyone to its meetings and all other public meetings of the the town of Hatfield all regular and special meetings of the boards and Committees of the town of Hatfield shall be open to the public and shall confirm to the open meeting law executive sessions are closed to the public and will be held only as prescribed by the statutes of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts it is important to recognize that the open meeting law affords the opportunity to listen to the proceedings but not necessarily participate during meetings of the SW board an attempt will be made to find a balance between hearing from members of the community and conducting the required business of the half select board uh that being said we'll move to announcements do you have any announcements do not okay I have a couple announcements uh the summer spring into summer series will start at Smith Academy Park on Friday May 17th uh there's more information about the band online on the town website there's also more information about uh the other summer series events that our celebration committee will be having on Sunday May 26 the town will absorb uh Memorial Day honoring uh those veterans that gave the ultimate sacrifice at 10:00 a.m. the honor guard will be visiting all the town cemeteries and at 12:00 the parade will kick off ending here at Smith cany park in front of town hall with a small ceremony and then after that ceremony at 2:30 at the prum there will be a chicken barbecue open to the public and more information about tickets for the chicken barbecue can be uh gotten on auxiliary Hatfield American Legion auxiliary web page or the legion web page so those are the two events coming up this month and with that said I do want to make a comment I've heard a lot of people discuss the last override and and the tax increase but I have not heard from anybody about all the different money that a lot of people have worked hard to save the town of Hatfield so I just want to remind people that you take the 5 and 10 project uh we we got a $2 million Grand at the beginning and then when we ran into trouble with help from Senator Joel cers for and uh Lindsay Saad and secretary M can's office uh we then got another 1.5 million and under the wastewater treatment plant we got uh 2.4 million at first we weren't going to get a grant and then with the help of Congressman McGovern's office and Marlene uh making some phone calls we got the 2.4 million so with those two projects that's 5.9 million that we've been able to get to the town but it's taken a lot of people working and efforts and I do want to also say over the years I've been on the board both police Chiefs both Fire Chiefs the DPW the Town Administrator town clerk uh schools everybody's worked to get different various grants for the town of Hatfield so when we talk about paying taxes we should also mention all the people that have been involved working hard to get money for the town of Hatfield so I just wanted to bring that up that's been sort of bugging me for a while anyways uh we'll now move if that's okay to public forum do we have anybody here for public forum come on up then I assume I can use this mic yes just anything just speak good evening and thank you for this opportunity to speak about paint stewardship legislation presently before can you hear them I can't hear them at all I just sent should I repeat is M [Music] on start again okay thank you good evening and thank you for this opportunity to speak about paint stewardship legislation that is presently before the house Ways and Means Committee my name is Tom Irwin I live in Dalton where as a member of the waste management recycling committee we were facing the same daunting waste crisis that Hatfield faces rapidly increasing hauling costs and tipping fees and looking for a solution after careful study of ways to address this issue paint stewardship seemed like the F perfect first step and after confirming was working well in the eyes of consumers and retailers in Vermont New York and Connecticut I became an advocate for this law paint stewardship is a program where paint can be returned to any participating paint retail store whenever they're open without a disposal cost and without regard to where the paint was purchased the cost to Consumers will be 75 cents per gallon paid at time of purchase 80% of the latex that's returned uh can be reprocessed original specs and sold for at most 50% of original cost then benefits primarily it would be a service that Hatfield residents will value this is quickly apparent by noting that 92% of 735 Western Massachusetts residents who dropped off items at household West waste Day events signed petitions asking their legislators to become co-sponsors this suggests 92% of Hatfield residents that car that have unwanted paint in their basements and likely there are many would be supporters of this law it will also present no cost to municipalities it will save hous hazardous Way St costs although 28 reps and 12 Senators including representative sabadosa and Senator Comerford sponsor or co-sponsor this bill significant Municipal support through resolutions is critical to compel the Ways and Means Committee to seriously consider paint stewardship view it favorably and send it to the floor for a vote hence I respectfully request the Hatfield select board put paint stewardship on an upcoming agenda to make possible adding their valued endorsement of paint stewardship through passing a supportive resolution thank you for your attention and consideration thank you anybody else here for public forum I'll take a motion on the minutes I'll make a motion that we accept the April 10th 2024 meeting minutes I'll second all in favor any discussion all in favor I and I'll make a motion that we accept the April 23rd meeting minutes as well I'll second any discussion no all in favor I motion carries okay we'll move to topic one our police chief is on Zoom with us this evening hi Chief how are you I know you want to discuss just a uh issue that you have with a uh W wicker license violation yeah so uh every once in a while we do um I have the school resource officer from Deerfield uh Sergeant ravish he comes down with uh some students some under 21 um students that he has and what we do is they try to buy alcohol from the establishments in Hatfield um most of the time um they're not able to purchase uh we did have have an incident with the halfeld market where one of them was able to purchase a I believe it was a blue moon light uh the clerk never asked for ID um normally uh what I do is I send a notice to The Establishment uh when there's a violation for a first offense um however this establishment in 2019 which you know was five years ago um in May May um also sold at that time to a minor so this is the second violation um there really is no time frame um and we do this because we don't want one of our Stores um you know getting a reputation for selling miners so it's my suggestion that um you know that they uh have to appear in front of the licensing board which is you all um and maybe come up with a plan on how they're going to move forward with you know strengthening their policies and and training so that this uh doesn't happen in the future okay so right now you're recommending are you recommending that we have a hearing on this establishment to find out what's happening okay uh marleene for the purpose of that is that something we need to vote on uh yes okay so uh please Chief to co is uh recommending a hearing on this establishment so I'll make a motion that we proceed with a hearing on the establishment that's mentioned in his F and in the information presented to us okay I'll second that any discussion no all in favor I I okay thank you Chief uh thank you we'll have the hearing and and we'll figure out out how we got to go about this because I know it's been quite some time I think we've had a hearing on the establishments in town have been pretty pretty good over the years so yes that that is true and we want to keep them good okay so you have you anything else for us that's it okay well have a good evening then yeah you too thank you topic two will be Financial update from accountant in terms treasure collector and an authorization of bond anticipation notes so I'll hand it over to you guys okay you can why don't you both introduce yourself so the town remembers who everybody is hi I'm Tammy walowski assistant Treasurer collector here at the town uh I'm John Clark I'm the interim Treasurer collector um been here since the last week of August of 2023 Elizabeth up oh she's Mar Town accountant for have build at this time um actually been working with you guys just for a few months now okay so uh on this B anticipation note oh yes um the bond anticipation note is for $4,350 th000 what it is is we call it a um a rollover it's a temporary temporary borrowing until we actually uh complete a project um uh that's the way municipalities do it I'm sure you're familiar with it in in the state of Massachusetts um we we borrow a piece of the project this happens to be the wastewater treatment plant upgrades the $12 million USDA loan um uh $4 million was borrowed and in addition to the borrowed short term and in addition to that uh $350,000 was borrowed for a mini pumper for the fire department now um it was issued a year ago uh just about a year ago May 16 of 20123 and it's coming due um in nine days so we've been working on this we've been working on this since late February um uh the Town Administrator uh uh Miss lowski um and um our uh uh our financial advisors and uh we went through a number of steps to uh bring it to fruition and we sold the note last week um last two uh on May 2nd um last Thursday I believe that was and um uh we're getting delivery on it on May 16th our um our friends and colleagues or our our our um our finan fincial advisory firm is setting it up so when the money comes in when the money gets delivered to the bank uh the money will pay off the note and we will move forward until the uh beginning of November of 2024 that's when uh according to the cash flow projection the uh uh expend the expenditure of $4 million will be completed so what will happen then is um an additional amount we'll roll that $4 million with an additional amount I would assume uh if the if the project is on schedule and it's due to be completed in um sometime in 2026 we would uh go forward and borrow at least another third of it or uh uh perhaps the rest of what we anticipate the expenses to be um and that will come about uh that will begin that process sometime in October mid midd of October late I'm sorry August middle of August late August will we start setting it up will we um uh map it out figure out what we our needs are for how long and we'll get and most likely get an opinion since it will be more money we might get an opinion from standard and poor the uh rating Agency for um uh Financial projects and and and debt insurances in the state of M okay the only question I had I was talking to Marlene I mean we borrowed 4 million last year for the water treatment plant and then we're borrowing another 4 million this year but our project cost was uh nine right as we had 9.7 plus .7 plus 1.4 plus an additional I I think this the supplemental yeah yeah the supplemental so that'll be um so when you if you're bwing four and then another four and we owe nine where are we getting the other million are we waiting burrow what happens is we have to pay back the $4 million assuming the uh uh fire chief gets his mini pumper we'll be paying back you know we're we're rolling both over because the chief hasn't got the mini pumper yet it's not completed and the uh it's expiring you know in a little over a week and we need to move it forward now our cash flow States us at probably about a third of that $4 million and the end date to that is uh late October so we've made a decision to move it to the to the end of October the beginning of November and my recommendation will be to add at least another third of the cost and an additional $4 million on top of the um uh $4 million so in other words it would be somewhere around $8 million depending on the length of the project we don't want to go any longer than a year so so if the project cash flow is accurate and it will be completed in the year we'll borrow the remaining amount of the expenses okay so that's the finance committee have any questions or concerns on this Bond we need a motion on this marlein well I have a number of documents for the the select board to sign yeah there's just signature pages they they they're getting smarter not hard they have to vote where vote of the select board they have to vote all those yes they have to they have to um they have to they have to vote to approve the uh Bond the notes and uh and processes says vote of the select board yes okay so I have a motion here you have a motion that we have to read yeah it's uh basically on the bottom I can state it for you this is I need to read it report where is that motion then the very bottom it says members of okay so that's the motion that we have to that's the motion for the bond anticipation not yes okay so they do not have to vote what they have in their they do have to vote they do have to vote to approve the issuance of the new money which is actually the same amount of money but that's what they it's called because it expires on May 16th and it needs to be renewed for another five months five months and two weeks so there has has to be a vote um that the board votes to approve the um uh the uh authorization of a ban rollover okay so I can recite it and I can ask for your vote well I mean I have to put I I can't say I ask you to vote I'd have to say I I make a motion to vote to approve the notes and Provisions of a bond anticipation note totaling 4, 350,000 to be delivered on May 16th 4 million of barlings are the result of a prior note issued on May 16th 2023 to pay for the first segment of wastewater treatment upgrade project 350,000 or for the purchase of a fire department mini pump both projects were authorized by town meeting vote on May 10th 20122 under article 17 perfect sir second that we have a second do we any discussion no all in favor I hi thank you very much thank you okay so they still need to proceed to vote these as well yes they need to bundle this and give them the documents to sign oh I believe they're in the sign they're in the signature folder you have all those they're in their the documents they need to sign are in the signature folder well these are all just signatures so it will be a lot more quick move a lot more I think that's what what's in the signature folder right here yes all those documents yes okay well the okay these are just the signature pages do it a little differently now for your convenience but please I welcome any signatures any and all signatures yeah we'll send we'll sign them tonight no problem I mean since since everybody's here now since we got the bond anticipation note over with we now we can move to a financial update well I think John just said you still have to vote all these okay these items here all I have is this right here just read the first paragraph that's all you need to do now it says the clerk of the select board I interpret that as one with the most seniority membery I would recommend that you or your colleague member gag first paragraph of vote don't have to read it on okay just this part just that part okay I the clerk of the select board well I'm not the clerk am I officially or um I would say I would there's no official clerk so I would say the one with the most seniority sir so I would go with that okay I have the select Board of the town of Hain Massachusetts town certified that a meeting of the board held May 7th 2024 of which meeting all members of the board were duly notified and at which a quorum was present following votes were unanimously passed all of which appear upon the official record of the board in my custody and I voted to approve the sale 4, 350,000 5.25% General obligation Bond anticipation notes the note of the Town dated May 16 2024 and payable November 1st 20124 to Piper sandw company at par and accured interest if any plus a $23,100 do I have to continue with the next no you're good okay so I'm good that's fine well there's a number of documents besides that so I'll take that one and whenever you're finish at your convenience thank you okay hey can I ask a question I you guys in the process well just just a second just a second I'm trying to figure out if we're still do you need anything else to vote on here with this this they just need to sign the sign sign the pages well that that in all the rest of the documents there's an additional six signatures that uh go along with it for various reports again I have them in a Consolidated format provided by lock Lord where they can just sign the signature sheets okay that's if I believe if that would expediate it or or be more more efficient for the board the rest of them are individuals we both have to sign right yes another one next one is right here there's two of these sign one signature here no that's town on the left there's two there's the second page to that that's one some reason they want and then to the left uh the uh uh clerk has to certify some of these so there's there pages with her name statement to it there correct let's see these two that one that one that one I forgot one still sign that one too should have brought another pen right use all the ink yeah thank you so we're all signed you signed I'll seal it and deliver it okay okay Mr kahill not not trying to thank just want of summarize what I thought I just heard confirm so the town given the the wastewater treatment plant project how is authorized to B approximately $10 million is that 9.7 is that what I I heard it's actually it's actually 12 million 29,000 with a grant of 2.4 million yes yeah so it's roughly 9.7 okay so the towns the town share is 9.7 corre we've been authorized to borrow that yes uh what we've done so far is we' borrowed a short short-term ban of $4 million right last year which is going to expire in a couple of days okay and what what the selectman have just done if you ask the selectman to borrow another $4 million ban to pay basically to refinance that refinance the band correct that first band okay so so we're still we have $4 million of debt outstanding so over the course of the project we will end up borrowing more money via short-term bands I assume there will be another ban for sure sure okay and at some point at some point when the project is done we will then term out the entire project over 20 years or 40 years or what happened USDA okay so that's what's happening here yes okay we're rolling over the first band we're refinancing it and we're anticipating having to use additional bands constructed okay okay okay so we're all set with the bond so I know what every everybody's been waiting for is the uh Financial update from the accountant and interterm Treasurer so uh I don't know who wants to start the accountant want to start or the interm treasurer wants to start I can start to you Elizabeth I guess I'll start folks um not sure what you're expecting me to report on for financials but I can update you I've sent over all of the revenues um to date that we have received um we are currently for your local receipts that are used um you know that you raise on a recap we are in Surplus right now so we have met our anticipated estimated local receipts and we'll um hopefully with all of the two more months so we'll exceed it by more um real estate we're on Target and in good shape there with our collections all of our state aid is on On Target um we always hope that they haven't changed what they estimated they were going to be giving us um personal property also is in good shape in collections we have posted most most everything through April there's only a handful of receipts that are out there that maybe come up about $155,000 just looking for a couple of um clarifications on things so we get those posted and I see that Timmy's already put a bunch of May seips in there so she's she's on it and on top of getting that stuff into us very quickly um that's where the revenues are anybody have any questions on those for me finance committee any [Music] questions I'm sorry more interested in the expense side interested I didn't hear that oh expense side more interested in the expense side expense side okay thank you well I know that when we last looked at it we were in very good shape I'll run a quick report right now so I can give you an update on that bear with me one second we were well within um mostly 70% everywhere where you would expect to be more like 80% expended so we were in really good shape but I will um quickly run a report and give you a low down of that so overall the budget is at um just just want generally to make sure that everybody's on track that there's no unexpected things that are going to be uh thrown at us at year end that we would have to come up with money for I I know we have AR huh right AR in right there's um as you know there's a there's snow and ice deficit which we you know looks kind of anticipated you had an odd winter with small snow storms that cost more money than a large snowstorm because you're out there you know sanding and everything I've always said that I'd rather have a foot than two or three inches um but that's the biggest Troublesome area that I see but we've addressed that in in the budget right so so we should be all set we have enough money in free cash to take care of our snow and ice deficit yes yeah I mean you can raise it on the recap but it's never really a good idea and you know there may be enough money left over in some other departments we can do interde departmental transfers anything else okay one last thing I'll mention is that we have had a fisc year 23 audit we are still waiting for the final well at least the draft from the Auditors I finished up with them um beginning of last week they thought they may have it to us at the end of the week but you know they're probably are finalizing a few things and hopefully we'll get it this week to see where we're at it there was nothing really significant that they brought up to me so H how how come don't we generally do the audit in the fall yeah why are we so late I that I don't know I don't know if anybody's worked with um roselli Tony rosell's company to schedule that I don't know who worked on that Marlene would you know I was in communication with the accountant prior to Elizabeth oh okay I'm sorry when did Elizabeth start February February February so okay so so she's essentially catching up what hadn't gotten done yeah prior to this so but we have U free cash has been certified free cash was certified have we done what is it schedule a and all that schedule a was submitted was submitted so so as far as the state goes we're we're in okay shape yeah we're caught up okay okay that's good we don't have a history of being caught up so that's why I asked a question well I'll try to beat all of those dates next year because that's what I do every year I I have this goal where I try to get it done earlier than I did the previous year although that does set the bar a little high sometimes okay any more questions for Elizabeth I'm good I guess we can you got questions for John nice to meet you you know virtually meet you John's got a report I guess I do I do um I'm I'm going to go over in a spatial uh format um of my time here I came in the last week of August um this past summer and uh proceeded to do you know all the requirements of what a Treasurer's Office Treasurer collector's office needs to do throughout the course of the year um but first I was uh um wonderfully uh exposed to the process here in um uh of uh of tax collection and Reporting processes by uh Joanne she was the um treasurer's Clerk and she the first the first week I was here she showed me about how all the postings went and and how they were labeled how they were named Etc turnovers and whatnot and had a party for her as she was leaving that day uh um uh and then uh when I said well I can I can take over that and I was told uh by my colleagues no you're not here his his cash is this is that so uh I'm going to go like I said a spatial format um tax compl recapitulation worksheet the recap um uh you know for setting the tax rate annually uh was completed and submitted in time to set the uh fy2 24 tax rate um uh that's a state in you know local requirement um statement of indebtedness was also built into that which was uh um uh uh something I hadn't done in probably a decade and I managed to work my way through that so that uh worked out well um and uh let's see next is uh other post-employment benefits I'm sure you've uh most people in this in this field are are aware of uh uh of OPB and the unfunded um uh liability with health care and worked on that U took a list of all employees um the most current Insurance date sent it along to our actuary and created that report which is an annual required by the state and federal government um let's see uh what else do we do six years of tailings uncashed Tex UNH checks pardon me um uh it's which is a best practices um uh uh through Auditors and an Auditor's requirement so we managed to clean that up within took a couple months it took a couple months yes it took a while but we we sent letters we were able to um reissue some checks which was good that were stale dated and uh uncashable um we sent letters to everybody that was on that list and uh we were able to get a lot of them to you know uh uh their checks and uh the rest of it we've put in What's called the tailings account and that takes it out of the um out of the vendor account payroll whatever whatever checking accounts we have um so uh let's see oh tax title analysis um you know preparing for tax title now I I gotta say I may have kicked I may have started the ball rolling down hill but uh uh Miss wendowski did a fantastic job of of keeping at we sent letters I had a letter template that we sent out and uh we create there was three letters created from the Vadar system that um were able to um uh nudge it along and it went from 25 um potential tax title leans which is you know like pretty a pretty scary proposition these days in in Massachusetts local government down to five and I think we've got it down to four it's pretty much close pretty much down to four so that's very good so there'll only be an ad there'll only be an ad in the paper they will go from um uh being uh a delinquent taxes for the current you know for the past fiscal year to um actually what is called a taking which is a form that um it transfers from the uh collector's side as a collectible in the the um uh fund accounting uh process to a um uh an asset which um any tax title that is not any delinquent taxes from a prior fiscal year in the following fiscal year that goes un leaned um will cause a deduction to free cash so we're making sure that that's every last penny is covered so that we don't affect free cash um budgets that yeah let's the uh budgets were uh uh quite a project um there's there was a lot in involved in it um the treasurer's office budgets of course for Treasure and collector's expenses and salaries and whatnot um uh salaries are calculated townwide including schools and Enterprise um all employees uh Insurance um for Town employees and retirees Medicare retirement uh water stew water sewer storm water oops that's in the wrong spot my apologies okay Medicare retirement so we were able to um uh get through um uh the uh the budgets effectively um and I believe they were approved um and let's see um yeah I don't know why that article is in there the the water sewer stormr that just jumped out from the bottom of my page my apologies uh free cash certification that went very well we agreed to balances and we each did our part and uh fortunately I had uh uh Patty cotton helped find the the worksheet that had the numbers on it and I was able to complete the treasurer uh tax report um with what was preset by uh the previous Treasurer um so that went well um now the next was the ban now the ban it's not just a a simple process of uh okay we want to borrow this go to the financial advisors we had to analyze cash flow um due dates additional future funding you know in other words based on the cash flow um preparing the uh uh official statement that was quite a work in progress that was completed has been published in uh um uh on what's called Emma and that's the um uh that records all the borrowings of government agencies in the country so we have our financial our official statement published and completed um we had a discussion with standard and poor um I thought it demonstrated good Financial um stewardship um and uh we'll see if uh they when the report is completed how we did I'm I'm hoping for a continuation of a stable outlook on the doublea with a stable outlook for the town of Hatfield uh let's see um yeah we just got the documents that you signed we're fedexing them off tomorrow and uh that's where I am today okay that's where I stand today which is um I'm going to be exiting uh the town of Hatfield today unless of course they need me for any questions or whatever I'll be 100% available um everybody's got my number uh they've got my personal email and the more than welcome to reach out to me if there's any need to uh to go over items or or whatever now I will go over um you know these were the financial tasks completed throughout the course of the last eight and a half months what didn't go completed I'm sorry to say is fy2 24 cash reconcil reconciliations that's being worked on now with the accountant and uh the assistant Treasurer collector I put my part in um as far as you know the way to go about it in the best fashion um and that once once that begins its uh uh uh uh once the process the new process is is finalized and completed that should move very quickly right up to date um uh let's see what else the the other items that were not completed were um the tax title ad we're still waiting until the last minute for people to come forward but we won't wait too long I can promise that and the year end close which we're not at yet and that's what I have for the um Bill R Bill R Hatfield select board and uh the uh uh the residents of Hatfield oh we do appreciate your time here at Hatfield and all the work you've done I know the finance committee probably has some questions are we reconciled with the school reconciled with the school um as far as their expend and maybe maybe it's not your side maybe it's the maybe it's the accounting side but I know you know some years back there was some questions about you know reconciliation there too so I know you mentioned some other places where we're not completely reconciled I didn't know if we're fully reconciled with the school I don't have that information I don't think that uh I'll I'll jump in here thank you um I I'll reach out to the school to see what they have done in the past I have not seen something um I know that they enter into a system on their side and then they send it to us and we enter on the Vadar system those are the two things that should be true of um so I will reach out to them and get back to you on that Richard was working on Elizabeth Richard was working with the school okay this is all a part of it all there continue that all their expenses I forgot sorry Elizabeth go ahead I did forget to mention that um we do have um receivables reconciled with some small variances that we're working on some of them are timing issues that we do have a lot of reconciliations done everything that the schools do um is is through the uh treasurer's office and the accountants office so we we get their reports we Rec recile their accounts along with you know their balances their accounts along with um with the town offices so it's it's really one big reconciliation for the schools and the towns the school the the school is a part of the town it's not a you know not a district or anything and and then you two the accountant and the treasure you reconcile also yes we reconcile uh we reconcile to the cash in the Bank to the general leder right and we're current on that or relative current we're getting there we're working on it that's good that's good there were some some years there it was we were way behind with it yeah with all the with all the movement and the the changes um yeah this this it's there's been some work to do but um we'll get there thank you yes Mike quick questions for John John what is our S&P Bond rating a double a stable double a stable you anticipate that that I'm hoping fingers crossed fingers crossed is um uh uh they were concerned about a couple of items but we I believe we allayed their fears effectively you know there was a reason why there was a an operational override and it's because of current cost had to be the town had to get caught up on on current expens is that uh you know was starting to was starting to move in the opposite direction and now it looks like it should be stable it doesn't look like we'll need any more operational overrides at least in the near future by my by my observation yeah there were some cash discrepancies that we had not cash but discrepancies that had to be reconciled and I assume once they're reconciled our our rating should be fairly strong should continue well I've always I I've always said that what this what this town does to address its uh needs financially is is stronger than a double A even stable double A so we'll see how that goes one other question on open yes sir um you're said you went through and did a op uh estimate yeah and what a liability actually went down by $245,000 okay great and what how does that compare to what Rosetti's uh they usually come in with an estimate of our opep as well every year when they do the annual their review and Report you have any idea how that well it's it's it's roughly our liabilities in the high 7 million area 7.9 I think and um now I came from a big town I I I I came from the town of Bill R and we had a third of a billion dollar in OPB liability almost $300 million pretty much throughout yeah it's pretty much an issue there's really no there's no real effective way of doing it unless unless somehow it's decided by gby to um to join uh um uh the retirement funding and um the oped funding the other post-employment benefits roll it all together and push it out to 2060 that that's been a that's been a thought out there that's what I've heard but I don't know if that's still so relevant I I think it's it's yeah it is an ongoing problem there's no question about it but every year the money is appropriated from uh available funds to pay the insurance right so it's um I I don't know I don't want to disparage the uh the gasby they they do a great job and uh we on some level we all report to them in in local government question policy it's not there's no law of physics that states that many people don't pay you go systems are legi yeah I was just wondering how Mis calculation pred against R's estimates that's all I know it's it's a large amine so we have anything else for discussion on this topic Marlene no no so we thank thank you Elizabeth thank you John appreciate your your time when always thank you see you again talk to you soon okay now I don't know if finance committee is moving we're moving out you're moving out okay so we like you guys a lot all right hey I give every a chance to to get out thank you gentlemen thank you thank you John youn thank you good job as it's only been two times but still good job good odds okay topic three overview and update discussion uh just a reminder to all residents May 14th uh town meeting 700 p.m. Smith Academy and I strongly suggest you go to the town website the uh articles are posted especially when it comes to uh the planning boards recommendations to the town they're they're pretty intense so uh please take the time to read those to see how which way you want to vote on those articles so can we use your sure go right ahead oh okay okay people upstairs oh okay okay uh for the residents do do you feel we need a quick overview of the Articles tonight um I don't think so because there's only a few there's there's a few articles for grants that we have a shot for talking about grants there's three shots there yeah and the fire department override uh there's the the pond project yeah several several Community preservation projects so again you can always go online and look at the Articles unless you feel there should be oh no the information's out there I hope everybody can look at it okay okay so D DPW report if Phil wants to come up have a seat [Music] thank you Phil we're ready for your report in front of you is the contract for the wastewater treatment plan I believe that has to be voted so this project is is 9,393 9,393 700 so we need a we did a vote on this already right you you voted at a previous meeting to accept the bid that was submitted but this is the contract okay so so just a motion to accept the contract yes so I'm looking for the the contractor is WM Schultz Construction Inc I don't think I have that motion is in your in your packet that's it right there that's the signature this one yeah so I have the entire contract here you'd like to look at it um but it's pretty lengthy yeah I don't I I just need to uh what I need for the motion it's right in your packet right on the agenda under topic four number two I'm sorry number one yeah but I mean do you have a written motion that we have to uh it's right there under yeah where it says vote okay so I'll make a motion to award wwtp upgrades project contract to W schz Construction Incorporated for 9,393 700 I'll second that any discussion all in favor I okay motion carries okay next subject is uh the next is the water and sment what's a water AB bment there's no yeah yes comp to our estimates so the the bid did come in slightly higher than what we had estimated um and on the town meeting we're we were looking at a supplemental of of 1 million 400 right um the treasure he didn't reference it when he was here earlier um but he had a conversation with Bond Council today and divisional local Services has a provision um that if there is um an increase and it's related to a a previous debt exclusion authorization approved um at town meeting and by correct so we can apply to the divisional local Services we have a form that we have to complete um for that additional 1.4 it it is so I um am in communication with Town Council because we really don't have to vote it we can but we don't have to I mean the project went out five years ago or so so I mean you can't expect the same estimate from over the years so that's we're always it seems in government you're always behind the curve when you when you get the project and then by the time you finally get all the approvals and get the bidding we're always behind as far as prices the engineer recommended you know that um the 1.4 um was important to the project you know it just the yes the additional 1.4 and he identified those projects at a meeting several weeks ago or I shouldn't say those projects the um additional work and those are important to make sure that the plan operates safely and and correctly yeah it's it's it's for the two clarifiers down there we it was the first and second alternate that is in the bid packet but we feel that why the contractors are there Now's the Time to do it not to put it off because it's really the heart of the plan okay moving to water abatement 144 Pantry Road correct so the water abatement as you can see by the pass fills that we sent the meter to Tha sales to see what happened it jump because something happened there because as you can see by the amount of the bills compared to the previous four years of billing that it's nowhere close so and there's no leaks in the house so my recommendation is to approve the 144 I noticed on this one they we're so concerned they even going to take the water meter back because they the company itself is surprised how this meter jumped up like a thousand times it happens I mean but of all the billing I mean it's been 1,300 plus bills out there and there's this is the second or third abatement so it's pretty good well this has happened with the meters before around here what's that has this happened before it has yeah with the meters bumping like that really I mean I see it's been happening for the company I wonder it happened for us okay it's rare but it does happen nothing's perfect how entertaining A okay uh I'll make a motion that we Abate the water charges in the amount of 21567 for 144 Pantry road I'll second any discussion no all in favor I okay motion carries and those are in the signature file the uh contract that you just awarded and the abatement one of those I think we sign maybe okay no these are done well we'll check it check it afterwards make sure we have all the signatures okay you got any updates on five and 10 or five and 10 is moving slowly along I mean it's the groundwater I mean it's it's a slow process w i mean your colleague can attest to it he's out there once in a while and it's tough going just tough going any updates uh previously when you were here before you mentioned the fact that there was a water issue a storm water getting dumped into the sewer line and it was from North Hatfield down correct uh did you is did you find that we have that uh under the assessment that's going to town meeting for water Wastewater and storm water part of that is to test to do some smoke testing so that will take place once and if the town accepts the assessment plans that we will do smoke testing up in that area and what that does it will identify who's hooked in and who's not as far as storm water uh you can bang on doors but people will tell you yes or no when it happened it was a problem a big problem you know and and if we identify the residents through the smoke testing is that then we have the authority or the board will have the authority to send out letters giving them a fair warning that within a certain amount of time they have to disc connect that some pump or whatever is running in there that shouldn't be uh as you know the town bylaws are pretty clear that it's $50 fine once you find out and then it's $50 per day after if you don't unhook and I thought there was something in the town Bol laws when I was reading them there might be even a $300 fine for First Defense yeah there's there's a bunch of fines for dumping storm water into the Wastewater system uh Pavilion seems to be moving right along at a fast pace uh do you think it'll be done before the end of May uh well now the some of the subs have to come in I mean okay you know that they have to roof it the electrician has to come in I mean it looks nice they did a nice as far as I know it's UNS scheduled pretty much it is UNS scheduled we had a meeting there this last earli this week or last week there last Thursday had a meeting outside there and I mean he said everything looks on schedule as you know they were waiting for the structural engineer to give them the go ahead to pour the the forms that and they did that and then the structure went up in two days so they put the you know the sheathing on it two more days so it's it's moving right along and our balcony project where what's the status on our contractor for waiting to hear from the contractor I yeah I reached out to him and we're waiting to hear from our contractor okay I mean I don't think it's going to be that long of a process once he gets up in there please express our concerns I will I will he you got anything else for us uh well that's it I mean you know that we had a longtime employee left you know resigned and we're in a process and we hired a new employee I don't know a couple weeks ago and then we have another employee returning so next next meeting we'll have uh you know the authority to wage in new employee form for you to fill out Max Max barlett's coming back to work so yeah they be up to full staff in a couple weeks well we'll still one short but that's okay we'll get by well we have the position post the postings on MMA and the website and somebody will come through hopefully hopefully okay any questions for Phil no no that's great I'm really happy about to see something going on over here I I know it's been a long process people were in that and I know people that were involved walking or driving by going there's something there that's nice waited a long time you know what's this for Progress done it'll be done it's progress yeah they yeah they can since he's here so you you've submitted this um employee Personnel form forther approval for this is for Max you're talking about so yeah I didn't know if because it wasn't on the agenda but I guess you could bring it up under business so new business and okay so we just sign that and then uh here I'll set we can move to Town Administrator report okay yes you do have to vote on that the employee form yes want make a motion we got it in I'll make a motion that we accept the rate adjustment request for Max Bartlett has presented well it's it's not really a rate adjustment he's being high Ed back so it's a yeah way to to hire him and pay him at the rate that's it's a okay say make a motion to rehire I would say just make a motion to approve the uh employee Personnel form for Max Bartlett okay I'll approve the employee form for Max Bartlett I'll second any discussion there all in favor I I okay motion Carri all right and he's being hired as a laborer right heavy equipment operator labor okay okay Town Administrator report um the first item is a request that I received from Pioneer Valley Planning Commission um the pvpc along with the Franklin Regional Council governments is proposing to submit a project application to the state under the municipal vulnerability preparedness action Grant this would be the next Grant application round and they're reaching out to communities um in actually hamon Hampshire and Hampshire ham yeah and Hamden um counties so Hatfield is among the the list of communities that they've contacted to support this Grant application and the idea is to appoint several elected officials or leaders from each Community to meet seven seven times throughout the year um to look at the strengths and vulnerabilities of the Army Corps of Engineers flood management system in the upper Hampshire and Hampton counties and um there is an estimated in kind match of 15,400 I asked if that was per community and they said no it is not again it's just an estimate but the 15,400 would be for all of the towns so each town would would have a portion of that 15,400 in in kinda it would be your time that you you're given to attending the meetings yeah there's 11 towns listed in the last page right Long Meadow Springfield agam West Springfield chiap Holo eastampton South Hadley Northampton Hadley and Hatfield so that be over a little bit over a thousand per town if they set this up yeah so you know the point of this is to you know take a look at at at the um Connecticut River for flood resiliency and what prompted this was all the flooding last year that took place and throughout the this process if they're awarded the contract these communities will also um my understanding is maybe um communicate with Vermont towns that suffered greatly as a result of that flooding last year so it is a study and um of flood resiliency along the Connecticut River and they're asking part participants to be identified at some point in the future well I I think it's good to help us with flood management and if you have all these towns together might even allow you to get federal grants absolutely and federal money uh to help make sure that dyke stays strong and and we have water management because that's important and and I just want to know as part of the comprehensive plan um developments you know one of of the components or chapters of of that plan was flooding and so I mean we we need to take it seriously so I would recommend that the town participate in this and if the board is willing to do that then um I would ask for you to um sign the letter or authorize me to sign the letter of support to send well I'll make a motion to support the regional flood resilience project application to the municipal accountability preparedness action grant program as submitted by f far Cog and pvpc no second that uh any motion made motion seconded any discussion no all in favor I I okay so there you go Marlene it's a great idea thank you it's good for the town um the the next item is is basically a notification and you may have heard of this heard about this in the news um Governor Haley signed a bill into law um that per permanently allows um on premises licenses licensed for the sale of alcohol beverages this would be um distilled Spirits cordials Liquors or um mixed drinks to be taken off premises so if you recall during covid when people were just doing takeout the state allw allowed um mixed drinks to be um taken off premises they had to be you know they were covered with a seal um but now this has been signed into law permanent but I mean the mixed drinks is if the way I read it is you have to purchase something to eat you do there is a in order to get the mixed string to go that is correct and it has to be prepared there I guess right yeah with the purchase of at least one item of food prepared on site that's sufficient to serve one individual okay your next item would be uh this is just a quick update at a previous meeting I notified the board of uh a letter of interest from the owners at 106 Depot Road that's the Northeast Christmas tree farm that they were interested in selling the property and um I had a follow-up conversation with one of the owners and the family has decided um not to sell the property and continue to keep it in the family okay which I thought was nice idea and topic six uh next item again is a a followup this is continued old business um far the farm Bike Tour fundraiser which is uh scheduled for Sunday June 2nd between 9 and 12 um the board wanted had asked if this would just be one group traveling on bikes but I understand from the organizer there will be um about 20 people um in 10 to to a group so there'll be two groups and we've received an updated route of that tour which we will post on the town's website and they're going to be meeting at Prospect Meadow Farm at 9:00 a.m. and I don't know if you received this in your packet the ride is about two and a half miles to glona farm then they'll turn on to Route five and 10 for a short distance and after and and the idea is to stop it at some of the Farms along the Route and that's on the website it it will be on the website perfect great so that was just some additional details and I don't think the board has any concerns with that right I do not okay uh do we have any new business um I don't have any new business the fire chief did submit an appointment or a new hire it does not require the board to vote and that should be in the signature folder right here right yeah oh one this is a p perdm firefighter EMT je be at the bottom there it is that one okay we got to sign that one [Applause] too oh okay I don't that was anything different than what John had them signed right it was the same thing okay so we got all our sign chairs and we're all set and there's no new business no there isn't any new business so I'll I'll take a motion to adjourn I make a motion we adjourn okay I'll second all in favor right iose you thank you e