Public Hearing on Budget (Draft) for Fiscal Year 2O11.

This year’s public hearing with the Finance Committee was held on April 20, 2010. Thomas Dubrey, chairman of the Committee, together with Anthony Roman and Andrew Harhay presented the draft of the budget for FY2011 and explained how they will keep the town fiscally afloat during these economic hard times. Dubrey had an unexpected clear answer to tax collector Nancy Talbot’s request for more funds. Read more and watch the video»

Posted on 7 May 2010, 00:01 - Category: Town Politics
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Speak out Holland! (no.14)

As every 6th of the month, everybody is invited to go of topic here. Do you have any questions or suggestions? Comment about anything that is amusing you or about anything that is bothering you, but do it in a civilized manner! I will delete obvious lies and offensive comments. To read previous comments under this category, click on “Speak Out Holland” on the left of this blog under the heading “Categories.”
Peter Frei

Posted on 6 May 2010, 00:01 - Category: Speak Out Holland
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Janice Vera Swenson

You may don’t know her name but you know her friendly face; she was one of the two ladies at the table where you would check-in and get a paddle at the town caucus and other town meetings. She also gave a helping hand to Kristin LaPlant in the town clerk's office. Janice past away last Sunday May 2, 2010.
Residents living around the lake are familiar with the daily boat rides she took with her long time friend of 50 years, Mary B vandenBerg. The couple lived together on 27 Hamilton Drive.
Janice-Vera-Swenson-taking-a-boat-ride-on-Hamilton-Reservoir The picture on the right shows the couple all bundled up on their last boat ride for the year 2009 on December 12.
Peter Frei

Janice Vera Swenson born October 2, 1925 in Maplewood, New Jersey to Robert M. Swenson, Sr. and Vera (Thulander) Swenson, died Sunday (May 2, 2010) at home in Holland, Massachusetts. She is survived by her long time friend of 50 years, Mary B. vandenBerg; her nephew Ralph M. Swenson III, of Burlington, Vermont; her niece, Siri S. Marshall of Minneapolis, Minnesota; and her sister in law Margaret Swenson of Barrington, Rhode Island. Dr. Swenson earned the bachelor of arts degree from Douglass College, the Master's of Social Work from Columbia University School of Social Work, and the Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Connecticut. She served as the Executive Director of the Connecticut Valley Council of Girl Scouts, then became Professor of Sociology at Southern Connecticut State University. Following retirement from SCSU she worked seasonally for the U. S. Department of the Treasury in income tax preparation. After moving permanently to Holland, MA, Janice served the community as Registrar of Voters and as a member of the Holland Finance Committee. Jan enjoyed daily boat rides on the Hamilton Reservoir, adventure van travel from the Panama Canal to the North Slope of Alaska and many places in between. She always provided a loving and safe home to rescue dogs, and was renown for her quick wit and snappy lines. She has donated her body for study to the Medical School of Tufts University. Anyone wishing to make a memorial donation in her honor is invited to make a contribution to the charity of the donor's choice. To leave an online condolence, click here!

Posted on 5 May 2010, 19:12 - Category: The Town Common
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Brian Johnson‘s sign at the four corners not too large after all!

My aquisations were incorrect, it was not intentional and here is how it happened: The town zoning bylaws clearly restrict political signs to 288 square inches, see paragraph (i), and (d) of subsection 7.11:

7.1 SIGNS

7.11 General Restrictions and Allowances:

Any exterior sign or advertising device hereafter erected or maintained shall, except as expressly provided, conform to the following restrictions:

  1. No sign shall be so located that it will cause danger to traffic by obscuring the view of a public way.
  2. Flashing, blinking, revolving signs and similar displays are not permitted except by special permit by the Board of Appeals.
  3. No sign shall be place on or project over town property or be placed on utility poles which are located on town property.
  4. Nothing in this bylaw shall forbid property owners from erecting on their own property signs not more than two square feet in area containing the words “No Dumping”, “No Trespassing”, “Private Property”, “Beware of Dog”, “Blind Driveway” or other customary signs of similar import.
  5. One sign for each family residing on the premises indicating the name of the owner or occupant or pertaining to a permitted accessory use provided, however, that said sign shall not exceed two square feet in area, or twelve feet in the aggregate.
  6. One sign not over nine square feet in area pertaining to permitted buildings, structures and uses of the premises, other than dwellings, and their accessory buildings.
  7. Temporary signs aggregating not over twelve square feet in area pertaining to the sale or lease of the premises on which said signs are located, provided that said signs shall be permitted for a period not exceeding one year.
  8. Directional signs not exceeding two square feet in area pertaining to churches, schools, institutions and other non profit uses, or to the location of businesses, places of accommodation and professional offices.
  9. Political signs shall be allowed as a matter of right, but shall not be greater in either area or in the aggregate, than that allowed for non political signs.

To make sure that no other rules apply to political signs erected on parcels in the business district, I started to read subsection 7.13.
campaign-sign-of-Brian-Johnson-at-the-four-corners Under paragraph (a), I read “Signs shall pertain only to a use or business conducted on the premises on which they are located and must conform to the height regulations in the appropriate district.” This sentence is unambiguous and restricts permitted signs to signs that “pertain only to a use or business conducted on the premises on which they are located...” There is nothing that would indicate that there are exceptions, there is no language such as “except,” there is also no restriction on the term “signs.” It does not read, “business signs...” it just reads “signs shall pertain only to a use or business conducted on the premises on which they are located...” There was no need to read any further, political signs are not allowed at all according to the meaning of paragraph (a) of subsection 7.13.

However, I just read the entire subsection 7.13, and to my surprise political signs are mentioned under paragraph (f). Not only are they allowed, they can measure up to “200 square feet in the aggregate.” A political sign could be as large as 10 feet by 20 feet if erected on a parcel in the business district.
The word “aggregate” is a term used to describe the one-dimensional property of a group of items and not the two-dimensional or three-dimensional properties. The word is correctly used to describe the length or height of an item (sign) and not the surface in square foot. I do apoligize for jumping to a conclusion. Anybody familiar with our bylaws will agree with me that our bylaws are a mess and need to be rewritten to avoid ambigiuous interpretations and situations like this one.
Here is subsection 7.13 in its entirity:

7.13 Business Districts

In all business districts the following signs and no other are permitted:

  1. Signs shall pertain only to a use or business conducted on the premises on which they are located and must conform to the height regulations in the appropriate district.
  2. The total surface area of no one exterior sign on any one property shall not exceed one square foot for each linear foot of street frontage; however, in no instance shall the total surface area of all exterior signs combined on one premises be more than 200 square feet in area.
  3. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this bylaw, religious and public institutions shall be permitted to erect signs in the aggregate of not more than fifteen square feet, and only on property belonging to same.
  4. Illuminated signs shall be located twenty five feet or more from a residential district boundary line.
  5. No sign shall extend over public property.
  6. Political signs not exceeding 200 square feet in the aggregate.

Peter Frei

Posted on 18 May 2010, 14:34 - Category: Town Politics
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We need a debate between candidates.

The Holland Blog has an average of 125 visitors a day and this number will rise in the days before the annual town meeting (May 25) and the annual town election (June 7.) Many people, including myself, do not know all the candidates. Robotic-arm-microphone-stand A debate between the candidates would be ideal, the Holland Blog can offer you the next best thing. I will make an attempt to post here on the blog two one-hour audio recordings of two question-answer sessions with the two candidates running for the three year term on the Board of Selectmen.
You, the readers of the Holland Blog, are encouraged to email me questions to be asked during the recorded question-answer sessions. Please email me your questions to peterfrei@cox.net.
I will then setup a time and place and will read the questions to the candidate. The candidate then has 3 minutes to answer the question. I will limit the number of questions to twenty. Once I have both sessions recorded, I will then post the audio files on the blog for everybody to listen to.
If either of the candidates, Michael P. Kennedy or Raymond P. Korny chooses not to participate, I will post the audio recording of the candidate that chooses to participate.
If there is interest in such question-answer sessions to get a debate going, I will send a formal letter inviting the two candidates to participate in the question-answer session.
Peter Frei

Posted on 1 May 2010, 09:34 - Category: Town Politics
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Selectboard Meeting of April 20, 2010.

Stormwater-Management-Facility-on-intersection-of-Mashapaug-and-Sand-Hill-Road
Last Tuesday, April 20, the selectboard met the second time this month.

Earl Johnson did what he and other members of the Johnson clan do best, disseminating fictional “information.”

Watch the video of the meeting or, read more»


Posted on 28 Apr 2010, 14:50 - Category: Board Of Selectmen
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200,000 Page Views!

Time to celebrate.....
The Holland Blog went online for the first time at 13:30 hours on Saturday February 14, 2009. Last Monday night, the Holland Blog was viewed 200,000 times (page views or hits).
I would like to share one of my favorite YouTube videos with the readers of the Holland Blog to celebrate this special occasion:
A tribute to our founding fathers produced by Soomo Publishing.



Posted on 26 Apr 2010, 21:41 - Category: The Town Common
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James P. LaMountain exonerated again, this time by Justice Moriarty II.

Honorable-Justice-Cornelius-J-Moriarty-II The Selectboard, represented by Super Lawyer Tani Sapirstein, didn‘t get their way in Court.
Superior Court Justice Honorable Cornelius J. Moriarty II, denied the town‘s request for a permanent injunction to enjoin the LaMountains‘ from open burning of brush and issued his ruling the following day.
Justice Moriarty‘s ruling was again - for the third time on this question - in favor of the LaMountains‘, and once again the three men holding the highest office in our town were the ones on the wrong side of the law. What do they care, the majority doesn't seem to mind paying for it all...

The Ruling by the Superior Court is another embarrassing defeat to our “leaders.”
Read more»


Posted on 26 Apr 2010, 00:01 - Category: Ongoing And Past Litigation
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Earl & Brian Johnson, "Keep the team together!"

Some of you may remember the Johnsons' campaign slogan, "Keep the team together." My hope for a positive change was dashed at the caucus when Brian Johnson's nomination for the highway surveyor went unopposed. There was a rumor in town that a most (more) qualified long time resident would be willing to serve the community and challenge Brian Johnson for the highway surveyor position. Kristin LaPlante confirmed today that 52 year old George Carling filed his nomination papers yesterday, Kristin LaPlante: "I have not had the time to certify the signatures yet, but it seems that he has more then he needs." George Carling who previously worked for the highway department for one year under Woods wants to end the deterioration of Holland's roadways (something Brian Johnson is not currently doing) and make a difference. While Brian Johnson founded J & G Construction in 2008 while holding his office, George Carling sold his business recently to devote his undivided attention to better the roads and ways of our town. The community, after all, will get the opportunity to "keep the [Johnson] team together," this time outside the town hall..
Peter Frei

Posted on 20 Apr 2010, 12:57 - Category: Town Politics
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Selectboard Meeting of April 6, 2010

On April 6, the selectboard met the first time this month, read more»

Posted on 16 Apr 2010, 22:13 - Category: Board Of Selectmen
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Last chance today; Census Forms, IBM and Hollerith.

If you have not mailed in your 2010 census form, today is your last chance to do so (I’m sure that they will still take it if you mail it tomorrow).
The task of processing the huge amount of census-data has an interesting story.
Back in 1890 the census data was first counted and analyzed utilizing “modern” data processing. Ten years earlier, Herman Hollerith worked on the 1880 US census to make a few dollars. He just received a degree in Mine Engineering and could not find employment in his line of work. The counting of the date was a laborious and error-prone operation that cried out for mechanization.
For the next 10 years, Hollerith worked on his invention and won the competition for best machine to process the census-data to be collected in 1890. "alternate His machine utilized punch cards, measuring 3.25 by 7.375 inches, the same size as the dollar bills at the time. (US banknotes were reduced in 1929 to their present size.)
This was the first wholly successful information processing system to replace pen and paper, and reduced a seven-year job to three months. Yes, that’s how long it took in 1880, and for 1890 it was projected to take 13 years!
Hollerith is considered the father of digital data collecting and processing. Hollerith’s machine saved the 1890 taxpayers five million dollars, and earned him an 1890 Columbia PhD.
Hollerith started his own business in 1896, the Tabulating Machine Company, which was also in charge of tabulating the date for the 1900 census. In 1900 Hollerith’s automatic mechanism to feed the cards allowed an even faster processing of the data. In 1911 the Tabulating Machine Company merged with three other companies and formed the Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation, or CTR. In 1924, CTR was renamed and became International Business Machines, or our familiar IBM.
Hollerith can also be looked at the founder of IBM.
Peter Frei

Posted on 16 Apr 2010, 13:16 - Category: The Town Common
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