Discussion of working with VHB Engineering on an MVP application for the Dugway; trying to settle broadband questions; hosting a culvert workshop and Berkshire East in July; guardrail questions on Ashfield Road; deferring discussion of suing the state over school funding; Finance Committee to meet soon to try to finalize budget; early fuel-bid questions; questions about the HEROES act; renewing the contract for the EMS cellular-paging app.
A few quibbles about the Charter Television contract; proposed changes to veterans’ tax breaks; signing the contract for highway supplies; appointment of animal-control officer; discussion of computer contract; MVP possibilities; questions about bumper stickers on town vehicles; road update; questions about the portrayal of the Council on Aging on the town website.
Getting to know the new temporary Town Clerk; musings about funding priorities; signing letter to the governor about vocational-school transportation funding; Ashfield Road update; signing Tri-State mutual-aid contract; the fire department’s hopes for a new grant; concerns about PILOT funding; pole hearings for Spectrum on the horizon.
Setting a single tax rate; appointment of Peter Beck as interim Mohawk Trail Regional School Committee member; discussion with Town Clerk candidates; discussion with the DCR about its interest in acquiring land on West Hill Road; Mohawk Trail School updates; writing a letter to the governor about school funding. (The Ambulance issue was passed over as there was no news on that front.)
A couple of warrant questions; still looking for a Town Clerk; cybersecurity update; possible changes to frequency of pay for a few town employees; Ashfield Road update; waiting to figure things out at King Corner; resignation of a school-committee member; an offer to fix or replace the building’s broken shutter.
Discussion about continuing education courses for the road crew, expansion of work on Ashfield Road (and repair of surface of the road), minor Town Clerk update, a question about Environmental Justice status of the town, discussion of possible temporary ambulance solution from Colrain, rescheduling of first board meeting in November to the sixth because of Election Day.
Signing of Notice of Intent for King Corner project; update on common-driveway issues on Middle Road and East Road; internet woes around town with the GONETSPEED system; Ashfield Road update, including hours spent watering the road by the Fire Department; garage-bank stabilization plan coming together; notice from the Shelburne Falls Fire District that it would no longer respond to calls in Hawley.
Discussion about Town Clerk’s budget for conference attendance; worries about internet around town; concerns about health dangers from construction dust on Ashfield Road; setting agenda for the next meeting; garage bank-stabilization update; memorial contributions to the Fire Department; setting a date to meet about the school sustainability study; discussion of the Northern Tier Railway proposal; conversation about proposal from a civil engineer to get grants for Hawley; general invitation to the Fire Department anniversary party.
Neighbors’ disagreement about trash disposal on West Hawley Road; discussion about how to help the Mahasiddha Nyingmapa Meditation Center get a building permit; questions about two current bills; appointment of a poll constable for 2024 and discussion of possibly obtaining a vote-counting machine; possible uses for an Emergency Management Performance Grant; update on Ashfield Road construction; needed repairs to the South Hawley Cemetery; revisiting the construction on Middle Road; Tinky’s upcoming vacation plans; questions about the front-door lock; an old laptop appears.
Figuring out the budget for cemetery mowing; allaying concerns about construction on Ashfield Road; the possibility of expanding work on Ashfield Road; plans for garage-bank stabilization; rethinking methods of working on fuel bids; concerns about improper storage of Town Reports; questions about Berkshire East common driveway; sorting through which town email addresses proved essential.
Discussion with nurse Meg Ryan about elder- and dementia-friendly initiative; worries about warrants especially in regard to paying for cemetery mowing; quick road update; discussion of new firearms legislation and designation of the Town Office as Hawley’s municipal building; cyber security update; consideration of language to put at end of official emails; signing the warrant for the September primary election.
Board of Health hearing resumed to approved small changes to septic regulations; opening of fuel bids, the decisions about some of which had to be postponed because of strange wording; questions from the health agent about opioid funds and Narcan dispensers; update on Ashfield Road project; signing of letter to legislators about paint disposal; discussion of new site called Grant Central for highway news; update about war monument; no news about broadband; more questions about house numbering; announcement that the Fire Department was preparing to celebrate its 40th anniversary.
Board of Health hearing about slight changes to septic regulations; signing of change order for Ashfield Road work; discussion of King Corner project; consideration of letter of support for paint-disposal legislation; approval of agreement for shared conservation agent; appointment of election workers; thoughts about the tax collector’s mail; concern about the war memorial in East Hawley.
Update on road work; quick debriefing on Dugway listening session; appointments for FY 25; fuel bid deadine set; designation of MBI point of contact; worries about the roll call in East Hawley; break in at the fire station; concerns about house numbering; a donation of equipment; setting dump-sticker prices; too many unregistered vehicles at some residences.
Query about rules for cellular-phone towers; debriefing on Annual Town Meeting; update on road projects; cemetery issues, including vandalism; questions about the town’s share of opioid settlements; proposal to have Narcan disposals near town buildings; proposed resignation of the director of emergency management; more Town Office repairs.
Discussion about schools and more with Anne Gobi, the governor’s director of rural affairs; concerns about school budgets; slight lightening of the budget for the following year; board reorganization; preview of FY 25 appointments; list of needed repairs at the Town Office; preview of Dugway listening session; proposal to use the County dog shelter; discussion of writing a letter of support to encourage more local medical care.
In this special, off-week meeting, the Selectmen accepted the bids that had come in for surplus equipment, totaling $24,751. Also discussed were new paving issues on Route 8A, the listening session about the Dugway planned for May 29, debris left in the ditches of town cemeteries by volunteers, and problems with a recent cycling event in town.
Update on road work; discussion of applying for Green Communities help with the fire station; getting ready to have a new water heater and mini-split, signing of a FRCOG letter of support; discussion of committee vacancies; sending the Town Clerk to a conference; setting a hearing date for the Dugway; brief conversation about broadband; writing a letter to Adams Ambulance in the hope of its reinstatement.
Meeting with Rep. Natalie Blais; discussion of emergency work on West Hawley Road; COLA decision for FY25; setting a date to talk with Randy Crochier of FRCOG; appointment of Benjamin Duga as interim police chief; questions about relationship with Charlemont vis-a-vis road equipment; brief discussion of Ashfield Road construction; decision to put some old road equipment up for bid.
Brief pole hearing with National Grid; conversation with Bob Ide, new community relations person at National Grid; discussion with Lloyd Crawford and Virginia Gabert about the FY25 budget; questions about Board of Health training requirements; Tri-Town Landfill paperwork; questions about Bob Stone’s property; discussion of town-tree-tapping violation; construction issues at the corner of Pudding Hollow Road and Route 8A.
Conversation with officials from the Mohawk Trail Regional School/Hawlemont Sustainability Study; initial discussion about mini-split problems; update on the new hot-water heater; a possible variance request for the future; update on highway-department work; preliminary options for web hosting; extending the King Corner contract; budget information needed soon.
Joint hearing with Conservation Commission about Middle Road joint driveway, eventually suspended until February 26; signing of MassWorks contract for Ashfield Road; discussion of how to juggle grant administration in future; selection of priorities for DLTA funding survey from FRCOG; some progress on hot-water heater; brief broadband report; preliminary planning of Selectboard contribution to the 2023 Town Report; discussion of correspondence from John Sears about muddy roads and vocational transportation funding; signing of contract with Upper Pioneer Valley Veterans’ Services; preview of March visitors to the Selectboard.
Signing of letter of support for a shared conservation agent; discussion with Town Clerk about election protocols; identification of town priorities to send to the governor’s rural-affairs director; submission of pre-contract information for the Ashfield Road grant; ongoing concerns about unmarked dirt roads (and discussion of how to get signs for them); soliciting comments about floodplain mapping; need for gasoline for a new town vehicle.
Deciding on an additional continuance for the Middle Road driveway hearing; discussion of the need for a new bucket loader for the highway department; no real broadband news; renewal of contract with FRCOG for purchasing highway materials; continuing discussion of replacing the hot-water heater in the Town Office; discussion of the need for additional road signage; questions about using Tick Report; renewal of contract for the cellular emergency-services contract for one year.
Report about probably steep increase in vocational-school transportation in the fall; meeting with GZA representative about plans for King Corner; continuing discussion of replacing the hot-water heater; discussion of needed road signs; nomination of 2024 inspector of animals; holiday elves at the Town Office; holding off on Chapter 90 decisions until the budget it more certain.
Adding Juneteenth to the list of the road crew’s holidays; brief discussion of the status of the town’s trucks; approval of Town Clerk conference expenses; preliminary look at designs for King Corner culvert; questions about the late Bob Stone’s property; continuing plans to remove the trees behind the Town Office.
Discussion with representatives from WiValley and Charter Communications about broadband possibilities; getting to know small-business person from the state; road and culvert update; decision against calling a special town meeting (for the moment); ambulance update; report on school-funding forum at Mohawk Trail Regional High School; scheduling a tax-rate hearing.
Discussion about replacing the red plow truck and scheduling a Special Town Meeting to pay for the replacement, issues with the Sears Road culvert work, decision to extend contract with Adams Ambulance Service, more website feedback, letter from National Grid about adding an electric vehicle to Hawley’s “fleet.”
Discussion with the building inspector and health inspector about Thorsson property on Middle Road, discussion about a shared conservation agent, discussion of proposed letter from the school board about a bill for rural school funding, overview of proposed website, approval of a dog pen for the dog officer, issues with the red plow truck.
Discussion of surplus property, allocation of responsibilities for personnel evaluation, report from the Mohawk Trail Regional School Committee, decision to remove trees behind the Town Office, brief discussion of the Dugway, letter from John Sears about the Technical School, dog complaints abated, report from Will Cosby and Wayne Lemoine about broadband conference and discussion of some possible broadband options, discussion about books in the Rich/Hamdan home.
Decision about fuel bids, speculation about the future of the Franklin Technical School, discussion about the roads in the State Forest, decision about Sears Road easement, decision to try new snow route on Labelle Road, decision to leave the website static for the moment, dog complaint in East Hawley, question from road crew about the Juneteenth holiday.
Pole hearing, discussion of roads in the State Forest, conversation with the Velazquez family about the property across the road, adoption of special-permit review with the Planning Board, discussion of complaint about the schools by Nicole Parker, overview of culvert work, dump-sticker pricing, and more.
Election of chair for the coming year, recommendation from the Communications Committee to hire Tuman Design, Personnel Committee’s proposal to hire a mediator for the road crew, discussion of possible disposal of some town property, decision to pass on a short-term rental tax, questions about getting into the state forest, increase in transportation funding for vocational school.
Discussion about USDA’s National Resources Conservation Service about designating farmland in Hawley, discussion of Franklin Land Trust bike ride in August, scheduling of meeting with the Planning Board about site-plan review, check in with road crew about working relations, discussion about possible new plantings behind the town garage, cemetery woes, update on properties up for possible auction, concern about the housing of the town’s historic weights and measures, question about a possible pudding contest in 2024.
Discussion about changes in public-health network, preview of JAM charity bike ride in July, road work discussion, signing of opioid settlement agreement, tabling of discussion of private well regulations, questions about tax collector’s internet access, discussion of what to do with 339 West Hawley Road, preview of financial information for Town meeting, questions about changes to office furnishings.
Presentation from Meg Ryan about age-and-dementia-friendly communities; draft of budget for FY24; brief discussion of snowstorm expenses; approval of dedication for Town Report; discussion with a representative from the DCR about its possible purchase of land on West Hill Road; look at draft budget; awarding of Sears Road culvert work to Davenport Trucking; appointment of animal-control officer; discussion of ongoing personnel issues.
Formal adoption of Hazard Mitigation/Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness plan; discussion of a site-plan review rule by the Planning Board; narrowing down of designer for new website; discussion with Chris Tirone about Chris’s complaint that the Selectboard had violated open-meeting laws in conferring about him; update on road and culvert work; decision to adopt new cellular paging app for EMTs for a trial year; discussion with Chris Tirone and others about issues related to his work, held in open session at Chris’s request.
Discussion of changing Labelle Road snow route; preliminary ideas about redesigning Hawley’s website; update about the budget for the following year; identification of issues needing state assistance; problems with the red one-ton truck; welcoming new interim town clerk Donna Desmarais Lemoine; update on Sears Road culvert project.
2022 and Earlier
Meeting minutes that predate the 2023 website redesign have been imported from the previous TownOfHawley.com website with minimal modifications. If you have trouble with any of these old links or documents, please let us know at info@townofhawley.com.
