Mount Washington, MA

SELECTBOARD MEETING
MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2021 7PM
ZOOM MEETING

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When: Jan 25, 2021 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Topic: Selectboard meeting

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• Approval of Minutes from Previous Meetings
• Approve Warrants
• Highway Dept Matters: Review progress of highway dept. and goals for next two weeks and any longer term issues, including BETA recommendations and accomplishments
• Mount Washington Broadband Network. Crocker follow ups; White Mountain follow ups; subscriber correspondence/contract update; additions; and update from Jeb, if any, and any other issues.
Updates on any other outstanding issues- Planning Board Zoning; Building PermitEyes; DCR Falls Parking; Egremont Fire; Quiet Title; Hazard Mitigation

• Citizen Speak time

Planning Board “Zoom” Meeting

*ZOOM PUBLIC REMOTE ACCESS BELOW

Thursday, January 21, 2021

6:00 pm

Agenda

• Approval 12-10 Minutes
• Code of Ethics and Conflict of Interest Update
• Update on Roles of Building Inspector and Zoning Enforcement Officer
• Participation at Public Meeting vs. Hearing
• Review of Attorney Mark Bobrowski’s Feedback on Zoning Bylaw
• Bylaw Next Steps and Public Hearing Timing
• New Business
• Citizen Speak Time

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PUBLIC NOTICE
JANUARY 15, 2021

As many of you will have noticed, Mount Washington is now indicating a RED Zone designation on the COVID 19 Maps for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

We had five positive cases reported on January 14, 2021. It is important to understand that these zone designations are based on a statistical algorithm. Because our population is so small a small number of cases within the town will have a much bigger statistical impact.

The individuals who have tested positive have been contacted by the Contact Tracing Collaborative and/or the Board of Health and they have been given the required information to help them through the situation.

If you are not contacted by our Health Board or the Contact Tracing Collaborative (CTC) you are not considered to be at risk for COVID 19. If you do not feel well, contact your healthcare provider. If you do not have one, please call the Berkshire Health Systems hotline at 855-262-5465 (855 BMC-LINK) and they will assist you.

As always, we ask that you take the standard precautions seriously. Wear your masks whenever you are in public or carpooling with people you are not living with. Wash your hands frequently and avoid touching your face. Limit non-critical travel – shopping in person for items that are not absolutely necessary is not a good idea. Take advantage of curb-side delivery for groceries and pharmacy needs if you can. Use take-out food sparingly; cooking at home is the best idea. Meals and/or groceries can be delivered if you are unable to manage. Do not hesitate to call the Board of Health Agent at 413 528-1798. All calls are absolutely confidential.

Even though there are “gathering” guidelines – public AND private – avoid gatherings if at all possible.

The Berkshire Health Systems patient portal at berkshirehealthsystems.org will get you all of the information you need for vaccine availability and access to vaccinations. If you are not using Berkshire Health Systems the DPH site at mass.gov/covid19 will be the best resource for you.

Date: January 15 , 2021

Time: 5:30 PM

Location:           This is a ZOOM meeting per Governor’s directive

Here is the sign in information. All attendees will have to identify themselves due to hacking of public meetings. Thank you.

Topic: January Board of Health
Time: Jan 15, 2021 05:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

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Agenda – January 15, 2021

1. Review and Approval of Minutes of November 11,2020
2. Transfer Station Update
3. New Licenses and Permits
4. COVID 19 Update
   1. Current Numbers
   2. Vaccine Schedule
5. Update of FDA training

In order to help us all to stay connected during power outages, severe storms or another type of emergency, it is wise to make sure that we have someone in town who we can contact for help.

We are asking everyone to consider setting up an ”Emergency Buddy”. This can be a relative, a neighbor or a friend with whom you can get in touch. This way at least two households stay connected. It does not have to be a long, involved conversation. Something along the lines of “I just wanted to make sure you are ok” can make a huge difference to someone who may be feeling anxious or isolated.

This is not just for seniors – it is for all of us. Everyone will benefit from the act of reaching out to someone else during these stressful times.

We have extraordinary technology available to us, but there are times when it is simply not accessible. A personal connection can make all the difference.

Of course, for a life-threatening emergency, 911 is your first contact. But if the situation is something that can remedied without emergency services, your “Emergency Buddy” can be an important link in keeping our community safer.

Questions?  Call Ellie Lovejoy at 413 528-1798 ellielovejoy@townofmtwashington.com.

NOTICE REGARDING THE AVAILABLILITY OF COVID VACCINE

As many of you have already heard, the Pfizer vaccine for the COVID virus received emergency approval last night and has been released for distribution.

It is certainly good news, and we expect that more brands will be approved in the very near future.

However, along with the good news there is a lot of inaccurate information coming from a multitude of sources – social media, print media (ones that you may think are reliable) and the various types of news media.

In an effort to get the MOST ACCURATE INFORMATION, please check in regularly with the Commonwealth’s website www.mass.gov/covidvaccine. This site is the only official site for Massachusetts and it is dedicated to giving you the most accurate and up-to-date information available.

Availability of the vaccine, distribution and the actual immunization process will be posted with complete transparency. The 3-phase approach to the program is required due to the enormous complexity of the operation. The risk-group approach is based on very sound data and experience.

We have all been faced with stresses due to this pandemic. I can assure you that the Massachusetts Department of Health and every one of the 351 municipalities in the Commonwealth have been working tirelessly on these problems. The efficacy and safety of the vaccines has been subjected to rigorous scrutiny and will continue to be monitored.

We are dedicated to making sure that everyone will have access to the vaccine as quickly as possible. There will be NO CHARGE for the vaccine or administering the vaccine.

Due to the current surge in positive cases, we have moved back a step in our socialization. We are at Phase 2, Step 3 and there are changes that will be in effect as of Sunday morning at 12:01 AM (12/13/20), so it is important to check the www.mass.gov/covid19 website for details. Any organizers of an event MUST notify the local Board of Health BEFORE the event. Restaurants are also seeing some changes in protocols.

The following directives have not changed:

WEAR YOUR MASK; WASH YOUR HANDS; IF YOU FEEL ILL, STAY HOME!

Should you have questions, please contact me at ellielovejoy@townofmtwashington.com.

Click here to read the notice.

The Town of Mount Washington wants to keep everyone up to date on important Town-related information. For that purpose, we regularly send out pertinent information by email.  If you are a resident or property owner and would like to be included in those emails, please contact Elisabeth Lem at elem@townofmtwashington.com.  If we have your contact information, but you have not received messages in the past, please check your spam/junk folder and label the message received thru Mailchimp as “not junk”.

The Town also maintains an emergency telephone outreach service, with 113 contacts listed.  The service is only used for emergencies and important alerts.  If you are not currently receiving these calls but would like to be added, please send an email to Brian Tobin at briantobin@townofmtwashington.com, or call him at 413-528-3204.  Each contact may include up to five telephone numbers.

N O T I C E

TO ALL PROPERTY OWNERS AND GUESTS IN MOUNT WASHINGTON

The Board of Health is reminding everyone that SOCIAL DISTANCING is critical to avoiding spreading the COVID-19 virus. When you are exercising, you are breathing harder and potentially exposing people in your proximity to contamination. If you are out walking, jogging or bicycling, please be careful about respecting distance requirements for others who are also exercising.

USING OUR ROADS ON FOOT OR BICYCLE REQUIRES CAUTION. Our roads are narrow, have little or no room on the sides and frequently have low visibility around curves. Running, walking, or riding in low-light environments REQUIRES reflective clothing and/or lights. Moving rapidly from sunlight to shadow can make you difficult to see.

Stay aware, stay safe.

Thank you.

Town of Mount Washington
Board of Assessors

September 9, 2019

Dear Property Owner(s):

Mount Washington is currently undergoing a property re-inspection program to satisfy the requirements of the Massachusetts Department of Revenue.  Properties that have not been inspected in the past nine years have been coded for a regular, cyclical inspection.

The purpose of the inspection process is to verify the data in which the assessed values are in part based. Since soundly based equitable assessments require accurate property data, we ask that you permit us to inspect your property.  A complete inspection consists of an exterior as well as an interior inspection of your property.  Typically these inspections take a few minutes and consist of a walkthrough of your basement and living areas.

The Town of Mount Washington Board of Assessors has retained contracted services with Mayflower Valuation, Ltd to assist us in this effort; representative(s) of this company will be conducting these inspections.  Over the next several weeks, one of the representatives will visit your home.  If no one is home or you wish to not have an interior inspection, the representative will do an exterior measurement of the buildings on your land.  If you prefer to have an appointment please contact the Assessor’s at 413-528-2686.  The two dates available for appointments are October 19^th and October 26^th between the hours of 9 AM and 4 PM.

Names of the Property Inspectors are:
Duane Adams
Make and Model of Vehicle:  2008 Audi (Blue) MA Plate Number: 9RD590

Lisa Quackenbush
Make and Model of Vehicle:  2017 Cadillac XT5 (White) MA Plate Number: 193TJ6

Both representatives will have a photo id as well as a copy of this letter. Our local Chief of Police and our Constable will also be informed.

It is mutually beneficial that we view property to ensure accurate information.  Your assistance in this effort is greatly appreciated as we strive to maintain accuracy of our parcel data.

Thank you,

Vicki Torrico
Tom Furcht
Jeb Rong

Board of Assessors
Mt. Washington