The Board of Selectmen met with Silver Lake Regional School District Technology Director Steve Pellowe to discuss the potential installation of a projector in the meeting room. Selectmen, at their meeting on Monday, July 17, said this will make presentations easier and allow those watching at home on television the ability to see any presentations made before the Board.
Pellowe presented two different options for projectors to the Board of Selectmen and said he has good plans for proceeding with either. The choice presented to the Board was whether to use an interactive smartboard or a non-interactive projector. In addition, another interactive option was discussed which uses a LCD television screen.
The interactive system has pens that allow you to take notes with dry erase markers. Pellowe said you can save these notes, annotate them, highlight certain points in a slide show, and even post the annotated versions to the town website. According to Pellowe, the interactive television allows this sort of note-taking, but uses electronic pens rather than dry erase markers.
The Board of Selectmen asked how much more an interactive system would cost. Pellowe didn’t have an exact number, but gave a “ballpark estimate” of about $600 more for the interactive system. Selectmen John Traynor said they will need to get a quote on the interactive system.
Board of Selectmen Chair Christine Joy asked if the projections would show up well for television viewers at home. Pellowe said, “Projectors tape pretty well and are used at School Committee meetings.” The cameraman from Area 58 TV also added his input saying he can get a shot of the wall for the proposed projector location without issues.
One potential part of the proposal the Board of Selectmen wanted to stay away from was using a carted mobile projector. Selectmen Clerk Mark Russo listed four problems with mobile: “Time, money, placement, and responsibility.” All members of the Board mentioned responsibility and had worries about the mobile cart not being put back in the same location.
After the Board receives a quote from Pellowe, they plan to decide on which type of projector to get.
Dog Complaint Update
The Board of Selectmen received the full report of the dog bite incident on 73 Mayflower Road from Animal Control Officer Frank Bush. The incident was first addressed at the Board of Selectmen Meeting on Monday, July 10, 2017.
Selectman Mark Russo said that allegedly the victim was on the dog owner’s property for real estate purposes and was taking pictures. When first brought up at the July 10 meeting, what happened was not entirely conclusive.
Frank Bush’s report said the three dogs’ quarantines are now over and all three dogs are in healthy condition. However, it’s still unclear which dog or if any of the three was the one that bit the victim, making it difficult to conduct a dog hearing.
Selectmen Chair Christine Joy said she doesn’t want to just let the incident go because there are children who live in the area and wants to be positive that no one, especially children, are at risk. According to the Board Selectmen, the Board of Health was also involved with the proceedings because there was a quarantine to prevent any potential spread of rabies. The Board of Selectmen will ask the Board of Health their course of action before the Selectmen make any proceedings.
Assistant Assessor Deb Stuart met with the Board of Selectmen to discuss the ongoing Solar project and how the assessors recommend going forth with a valuation approach. Stuart said she recommends going with the income approach rather than basing it on property value.
Stuart said, “I don’t know any town using it (the personal property valuation approach).”She also told the Board that there’s more recourse the town can take if needed, using the income approach. Stuart also said that this is what the Board of Assessors recommends.
Selectman Chair Joy reminded anyone who was newly voted, appointed, or volunteered to a board or committee must be sworn in before they can vote on their respective board/committee. This can be done by seeing Town Clerk Tara Shaw in her office.
Joy also announced she emailed former Selectmen Chair Colleen Thompson’s contact, Mina Heidi. Heidi is a professor at Northeastern University who teaches grant writing. The Board wants to explore the possibility of having Heidi’s students work on town grants as projects for the students.