Selectboard Meeting of July 8, 2009

To read the Selectmen's agenda click here!

Minutes from last meeting where accepted.

Committee Report from Acting Police Chief, Brian Haughey:

Herb Duggan has been named Emergency Management Officer. There is a need in all communities to improve protocols to respond to any and all types of disasters, hazards, or threats that may occur within the community. The plan is to form a committee which will include the town hall emergency manager (currently Mr. McDonald) along with representatives from the Police Department, Fire Department, Highway Department, Board of Selectman, Board of Health, Council on Aging and any other town department or agency that could help in an emergency. The overall goal is to establish the functions of each department which will improve overall communications between these departments and the public. Ultimately this will allow for a more effective response to any disaster, natural or man made. MEMA, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency will assist the committee, once it forms, developing a plan, training personnel and providing information to citizens and the community as they prepare, respond or recover from any emergency. The first Emergency Response Committee meeting is scheduled for Thursday July 23rd at 7pm. This will be an open meeting, so the public is welcome to attend.

Aeronautica Presentation:

This was a green energy presentation. Aeronautica is a company that provides wind energy systems. That’s right... Windmills in Holland! It sounds like a great idea! Recent legislation has been passed which puts green energy options much closer in reach. In addition there is grant money available and incentives for towns or communities to have “wind parks” (2-3 windmills—not wind “farms” which would be hundreds of windmills) to potentially provide, at least in part, energy to possibly 150 homes at a time. This is called neighborhood net metering. The best part is that net metering can make your meter actually spin backwards! which will save you money! Also, the additional power that is produced as it gets fed out to the grid can be assigned to other meters that you own, or to meters of your choosing (your friends and family) which passes the savings on. The current political climate really is very favorable to go green, and with the grant money that is out there, along with assistance from Aeronautica to private individuals, neighborhoods, and towns, implementing wind power is a smart way to save money and decrease our dependence on fossil fuels. Go Holland, GO GREEN!

Town Hall Janitorial Maintenance Contract:

There were supposed to be three proposals submitted for consideration. Only one company (TLC Cleaning) actually submitted a proposal. The proposal for 3 hours of cleaning services every other week will cost $150/month. This is a savings from the $230/month that is currently being paid out for what sounds like a less than acceptable performance. The three selectmen accepted the new cleaning proposal and unanimously voted it in.

”Three LETTERS from three concerned CITIZENS:”

The next order of business was about letters addressed to the Select Board from three concerned residents of Holland. The letters raise concerns about the Adler trucks carrying hazardous waste which are parked and maintained at the site where the proposed Flying J truck stop will be located. Chairperson Wettlaufer named the three concerned citizens during the meeting.
At the same time he essentially dismissed the concerned individuals as “troublemakers” and showed his irritation at having to address what I think are legitimate concerns. Wettlaufer stated in an accusatory manner that the three citizens, “want to cause some more trouble... for a... I’m sure this is more of the same thing.. For these people that want to fight against anything to do with anything coming into town on the state line.”

Mr. Wettlaufer, these “trouble makers” are concerned citizens. But you have turned it around and suggested that their legitimate concerns are opposition to a ( truck stop propsed by your personal friend) into “against anything coming into town” as you label them “troublemakers.” Why can’t you be honest and state that they are against a truck stop and against hazardous waste close to a fragile aquifer, the aquifer most of us depend on for our drinking water? ”

Wettlaufer went on to say, “let me tell you, this health matter of the Adler trucks with hazardous waste was looked into by the Department of Environmental Protection and was resolved.”

I can’t believe the town of Holland keeps re-electing Wettlaufer. He really doesn’t care one little bit about the town, the groundwater, the potential contamination to the lakes, or the concerned citizens. The take home message he sent out was, if you question anything, if you are a concerned citizen, then you are nothing more than a troublemaker! Wettlaufer will send out a type of form letter to the three concerned individuals telling them that the Adler trucks are empty when they are parked off the east side of Mashapaug Road.
I think James Wettlaufer altogether missed the point! It has been suggested that these trucks that carry hazardous waste (which they are now empty of) are being WASHED while parked in their nest off of Mashapaug Road. The Adler website offers to have the cleaning done: “All Adler rental equipment is serviced by experienced Adler technicians, plus we offer cleaning services to simplify the rental return process for our customers.”
Click on any Adler link to read their webpage.
Gee... washing off hazardous material... And putting it into OUR groundwater and lakes... it just doesn’t sound like a good idea to me! Does James Wettlaufer know that the Department of Public Health has been tracking this area for over 10 years? We apparently have a higher incidence of both breast and prostate cancer in this area. Maybe washing hazardous waste directly into our aquifers is the reason why we have this local increase in certain types of cancers. I re-iterate... do the Holland voters really believe James Wettlaufer is a dutiful, concerned public servant looking after YOUR best interests??? Oh... and for the record... the three individuals who voiced their complaints about the Adler trucks are also the same individuals who have been collecting signatures opposing the truck stop proposed by Wettlaufer’s friends and associates Grossi and Bergeron. Do you think that (just maybe) this is the REAL reason why James Wettlaufer, chairman of the board, is trying to dismiss them as “troublemakers?”

Appointments:

Appointments were made for expiring terms of police officers, members of the Conservation Commission, the Council on Aging, Animal Control, Executive Secretary, Town Counsel, Veteran Ground’s Officer, and volunteer Lake Control. To read the list, click here!

Town Hall : Hours of operation

Earl Johnson made a motion to close the Town Hall on Tuesdays at noon so “that work can get done without being hindered by people coming in.” Johnson’s motion was definitely in favor of limiting the public’s access to our local government. Mr. Wettlaufer did not see the need to close the Town Hall on Tuesday afternoons pointing out that it would not save any money and that they currently already have a four day work week since the Town Hall is closed on Fridays. Mr. Petersen made the practical and pragmatic suggestion to table the issue until the next meeting. This would allow for a better assessment of whether or not there is a true need to close offices to public access on Tuesday afternoons again, so more work can be done, without interruption. Part of government’s job is to be available to the people. The current hours of operation are already limited. I stopped at the Holland Town Hall on my lunch break last Tuesday to request some paperwork. Intentionally I took a late lunch (1pm) so I would not arrive there while they were at lunch. My mission failed. The Offices were closed from noon until 2 pm, and I only get 30 minutes for my lunch-break. It is hard to access some of the offices in the Town Hall as it is. People who hold public office simply need to endure interruptions from the public. The fact that the public is interrupting them is also the reason why they have work that needs to be done. In the end the issue did get tabled until the next meeting, basically because all three selectmen currently hold different opinions on the topic.

Fiscal 2009

There is a possible special town meeting on Wednesday July 15th. The purpose is to discuss final transactions needed to finish up fiscal 2009.

Committee to select our new Chief of Police:

Currently there is no firm date for the meeting of this committee. Consideration has been given to making the position of Chief of Police a part time position. Earl Johnson suggested that the Acting Chief, Sgt. Brian Haughey should be given a raise “if he is going to keep on doing what he is doing.” Haughey’s current salary of $43,000 would be increased to approximately $47,000. With the budget for 2009 already submitted, and with no line item in that proposed budget to adjust the salary of the acting Chief of Chief some discussion took place surrounding how to get the acting Chief a salary increase. It was determined that it can and should come out of what has been budgeted for “officer’s wages.” Also, it is worth mentioning that personal use of the police vehicle is not included for the Acting Chief. The plan is that the Chief Selection Committee will write a job description as well as a specific selection criteria to guide the selection of the next Chief of Police. The Police Chief Association will be involved with the selection process as well. One of the benefits to this is that they will incur all the expense of advertising for the Chief position as well as the fact that their arena for advertisement is specifically police officers which is far more efficient than simply placing an add in the newspaper. Another benefit would be legal protection. Any Chief of Police that is a member of the Police Chief Association is provided with counsel should that Chief be named in a lawsuit.

Complaints:

Earl Johnson claimed that there were several complaints this past weekend (4th of July weekend) about cars parked on the side of the road by the beach area on Mashapaug Road. He said there were 20 cars on the side of the road, two cars inside of the beach and there must have been a gazillion people on the beach. He went on to say that “cars parked off a main road like that is a hazard” and that “something should be done.” Johnson moved to have the Highway Department ordered to install “NO PARKING” signs. The beach area that is being discussed some people may know by the name “Mike’s Beach.” Earl Johnson and James Wettlaufer have ongoing history with the owners of Mike’s Beach. James Wettlaufer suggested that the police should be asking people to move cars if parking is dangerous or blocking traffic. Earl Johnson did admit that NONE of the cars were actually blocking traffic, and Christian Petersen pointed out that usually the cars park up along an access road located right across from the beach. Johnson’s motion to install “NO Parking” signs was accepted as a way to eliminate the hazard that Earl Johnson perceives from have no cars actually block traffic. James Wettlaufer was satisfied that no parking signs would give the police the ability to enforce “no parking” as he said, “they aren’t going to be nice to anyone.... They could care less” about the people that use the beach. It was 4th of July weekend, so it makes sense there were more cars than there usually are at any beach! I can tell you where there was a parking hazard. Sandy Beach Road. Someone that lives there was having a huge party. Two-way traffic was impossible. There was hardly room for one car to pass... but honestly, it was in the spirit unique to the 4th of July. It happens once a year. Calling Earl Johnson to complain about a even a true parking hazard was the furthest thing on my mind. In comparison, Mashapaug Road was hardly a hazard as no one actually blocked traffic and cars could drive through at a regular speed. If Johnson truly wanted to help the situation he should have made a motion for there to be a cross-walk! Potholes are hazardous too. There are a lot of those in Holland and the Highway Department’s time would be better spent fixing those. The blinking light to slow traffic in front of Holland Elementary School that did not work for nearly ten years. Has it been fixed? Because that is a very real safety concern. Maybe The “NO PARKING” signs are just another attempt to harass the owners of the hillside property.

More complaints:

There were additional complaints about Mashapaug Road according to James Wettlaufer. He allegedly received a number of complaints about a property located at the corner of Vinton Road and Mashapaug Road about debris and the number of unregistered vehicles there. According to the selectboard, the property belongs to Carolyn Reardon. Carolyn Reardon was the write-in candidate against Earl Johnson for the seat on the board of assessors. Carolyn also left several comments on this blog criticizing Earl Johnson.
A letter will be sent to Carolyn Reardon asking her to “tidy up.” Doesn’t anyone ever make a complaint to the Police Department? Or are the complaints so bogus that no one wants a written record in the police log book? It seems to me that only in Holland complaints are made to members of the Select Board instead of the Police.

Government should be for the people, by the people.

Dana Manning