Selectboard meeting of December 1, 2009.

No agenda is available for this meeting.

Appointments:
Selectman Petersen initiated a meeting between the selectboard and the new zoning enforcing officer Nelson Burlingame. Burlingame was appointed on Tuesday September 22, 2009, after Jack Keough resigned as zoning enforcing officer. Wettlaufer: “What have you been looking into for us?” Burlingame reported that he will tackle two issues, the Minkley and the Sullivan property. Both properties have been the subject of discussion before, see Selectboard Meeting of August 4, 2009.
I assume that Burlingame was talking about the following properties of the two owners; Paul Minkley’s properties on 36 Stafford Road and the vacant lot on Old County Road, and Vincent Sullivan’s property on 249 Mashapaug Road on the east side of the main cause way (parking lot with the Fedex trucks).
Wettlaufer informed Burlingame that Jack Keough’s mother passed away on November 19. Click here, to read the obituary. Burlingame had reservations about the zoning map, “it is tough to read it, it is so small..”
Here is an image of the actual zoning map at the town clerk’s office:

There is actually no accurate zoning map available anywhere, and this is going on for years now.
According to the town clerk Kristin LaPlante, the building inspector Jack Keough is in charge of creating a new map but has not done so; this conversation took place on February 12, 2009 between Kristin LaPlante and the writer, Peter Frei.

The most currant map is dated June 25, 1984. The area were the proposed truck stop is planned to be built is still shown as "Special Conservancy District."
The voters of Holland followed the recommendation of the select board and voted to rezone the locus to commercial/business during the special town meeting of July 28, 2005.
On the left is the legend to the outdated map.
Burlingame stated that he is familiarizing himself with the zoning bylaws and general bylaws of the town.
Wettlaufer, “There are some changes coming that they [the members of the Planning Board] were behind.”
The Holland Blog will inform its readers extensively in the coming weeks about these coming changes.
Old Business:
Two business licenses that needed to be corrected before they could be issued were now issued to team Hoyt seasonal restaurant, and the New Holland Market, both on Mashapaug Road.

MIIA press release:
Wettlaufer started talking about reading a press release from MIIA which provides health insurance to the town. The town participates in a wellness program and is saving money on the premium by doing so.
Linda Blodgett coordinates and organizes an annual health fair, a nutrition class in the fall, and exercise classes as Wellness Coordinator. The classes include aerobics, Pilates, yoga, tai chi, and also how to make healthier food choices and shop accordingly. “I love the programs. It’s very important to help our employees be happier and healthier and it’s also good for our town’s insurance program,” Mrs. Blodgett said. With 2,500 residents and 80 town employees, the program won the “Best Wellness Program for a Small Member Group” award last year.
As Wettlaufer began to read the press release, Johnson objected and begged Wettlaufer not to read the whole thing. Wettlaufer leaned over to Johnson and tipped Earl’s massive belly and said:
“You probably ought to..”

Earl Johnson:
“don’t start.. I will get you some hair-growth..”

Wettlaufer, while he was looking at Earl’s vast belly:
“hair growth doesn’t have anything to do with rising healthcare cost.. However THAT APPENDIX you have there..”

It was funny for a change.

Dog pound:
A discussion about the dog kennel or dog pound followed. The discussion is going on for three years now. The town of Brimfield, Wales, and Holland are attempting to regionalize the facility to save money. After a decision was made to build the facility in Holland, Wales suggested to build it there for a lower price, $3600.00. While the discussion was ongoing, I left the meeting as I was recording it at home and was just there to take pictures. The three selectmen are ignoring me anyway and don’t answer any questions I may have. As I was walking out of the meeting, Earl Johnson said:
“I hope you do report it right this time Mr. ... Guga..ahh ... uaah ... JERK!

Wettlaufer:
“Why give him even the time of the day?”

Johnson:
“Why not? He reminds me to Dr. Goebbels from the second World War!”

Petersen:
“Easy, easy...”

Goebbels was Hitler’s propaganda minister. According to Wikipedia Goebbels “exerted totalitarian control over the media, arts, and information in Germany. In that position, he perfected an understanding of the “Big Lie” technique of propaganda, which is based on the principle that a lie, if audacious enough and repeated enough times, will be believed by the masses.”
Interesting... interesting.., now I know what kind of books are on Earl’s nightstand and were he got his style and inspiration to “govern.” Some people read Hitler's "Mein Kampf," I read instead Kropotkin's "Mutual Aid."

Earl Johnson a psychopath?
One of the traits of a psychopath is, “poor behavioral control,” clearly exhibited here (and other times) by Johnson. Other traits of psychopaths are:
Parasitic lifestyle, failure to accept responsibility for own actions, glibness/superficial charm, pathologic lying, callous/lack of empathy, grandiose sense of self-worth, conning/manipulative... Any resemblance?

$3,900.00 contract with USI Consulting Group:
The next point on the agenda was signing a contract (service engagement agreement) for services of a consulting firm. The firm is USI Consulting Group located in Glastonbury, CT. The actual signed agreement is on page 11 of the USI documentation, click here, to view the document.

Town employees and some of the board members, including the three members of the Board of Selectmen not only get a pension, they are also included in a so called “Postemployment Benefit Plan Other Than Pension Plan (OPEB).” This plan includes postemployment health & welfare benefits for the town’s current and future retirees. As we all know, these kind of expenses spiral out of control and the Government Accounting Standards Board (“GASB”) issues binding statements municipalities need to comply with addressing the problem. GASB is the independent, not-for-profit organization formed in 1984, and issued “statement 45” which generally requires that state and local governmental employers account for and report the annual cost of OPEB and the outstanding obligations and commitments related to OPEB in essentially the same manner as they currently are required to do for pensions. The requirement kicked in for municipalities with less than 100 members on December 15, 2008.

Fortunately for those with less than 100 members under their OPEB plans, and Holland has less than 100), their entrance requirements have been lightened. These members aren’t required to have an expensive actuarial valuation done and they only have to estimate the benefit costs every three years in most cases. The GASB 45 Alternative Measurement Method (AMM) is a streamlined approach for these late entrants (municipalities with less than 100 members, others had to comply one and two years sooner). To receive the GASB statements, municipalities need to pay a $205 subscription fee.
The $3,900.00 cost of the contract is an unnecessary expense! What the town actually is doing is outsourcing homework nobody seems to be interested in doing at the town hall. It is more fun to usurp power and oppress opponents then to care and do something beneficial (saving money) for the community. Any additional work not covered by the installment of the service engagement agreement will cost the town an additional $250.00 an hour.

Kevin Gleason ongoing investigation:
Selectman Petersen is working on a report for MIIA, the liability insurance company of the town, needed for a settlement of the monetary damage the Police Department caused under Gleason. Earl Johnson made sure that no details were discussed during the public meeting.
Kevin Gleason promised to pay $9,934.00 out of his retirement fund to the town as restitution. According to Wettlaufer, the town is “chasing the payment for several months now,” to no avail. Gleason seems to be uncooperative and in violation of Judge Velis court order according to Wettlaufer.
Wettlaufer: “He has thus far for what ever reason not signed and it has been months..”
I suggest Kevin’s buddy Earl uses his charm and some christmas cookies to convince Kevin to sign the release document during his next visit at the jail... (sorry, I hear Gleason only spent two days in jail and was released with a bracelet around his ankle; however, Earl will know where to find his buddy..).

Appointments:
Thomas Cooley(?)was appointed as an intern student to the Cable Commission. His term will expire on June 30, 2010.
Unfortunately I never got a copy of the official agenda Kristin LaPlante is suppose to email subscribers. During a phone call today, she promised to post it on the town’s official webpage. She didn’t. Sorry Mr. Cooley if I spelled your name incorrectly.)

December 10, 2009, Peter Frei