To: Board of Selectmen
From: Brian J. Bullock
Town/Light Manager
Date: September 28, 2007
Subject: Miscellaneous
Selectmen Goals - At your request, we have scheduled a special meeting on Tuesday, October 9, 2007 at 6:30 p.m. in the Starbard Building to discuss and prioritize the Selectmen’s FY 2009 goals.
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Changes to Trash Collection Routes - According to the enclosed memo from Dennis Lipka, Director of Growth Management, on Monday, October 8, 2007, we will implement changes to the trash collection routes for Tuesday and Wednesday. We are moving some collections from Tuesday to Monday, and some Wednesday collections to Thursday to reduce the number of households to approximately 1,200 per day for these two routes. This will facilitate collections with the upcoming shorter daylight hours and increased likelihood of wintertime inclement weather. Notices about these changes were attached to each trash container affected starting this past Monday, September 24. The changes are also on the town’s Web site.
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Passports - Please refer to the enclosed letter from Ann Barrett of the US Department of State regarding the processing and issuance of passports. As you know, our Town Clerk’s Office accepts applications for passports. We have seen a substantial increase in those applications. Kathleen Peterson, Town Clerk provides the following update:
Fiscal Year No. Passport Applications
2007 556
2006 395
2005 336
2001 101
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Main Street Traffic - Larry Galkowski, DPW Director reports that his staff met with Mass Highway Traffic Division personnel to review issues with traffic speed through intersections, and lane merging, etc. Mass Highway is reviewing accident information and current conditions and will report back to us with their findings and recommended modifications.
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Public Safety Day - The Holden Police and Fire Departments will be holding Public Safety Day on Sunday, October 14, 2007 from Noon to 4:00 p.m. All are invited for a fun and informative event. Further information will be provided.
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Public Power Week - Next week has been designated as Public Power Week by the American Public Power Association (APPA). The Light Department has scheduled two activities to which the Selectmen are cordially invited. On Tuesday, October 2, at 12:00 Noon, the staff of the Light Department will be hosting a luncheon for Holden Seniors at the Senior Center. The Senior Center staff has graciously volunteered to prepare the meal, which is Chicken Parmesan. You are welcome to attend. There will also be a guest speaker to talk about energy conservation.
Later on Tuesday, October 2, we are having a brief ceremony to open the new Bullard Street Substation. The event will take place at the Substation at 4:00 p.m. and will be followed by light refreshments. We hope you can attend one or both events.
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EMR Services Study Committee - Enclosed is a draft executive action creating a Holden Emergency Medical Response Services Study Committee. The Committee will look into a town EMR system that would be implemented in two phases: Basic Life Support (BLS) would become effective July 1, 2008; Advanced Life Support would be implemented July 1, 2009. The town is required to operate a full year at the BLS level prior to advancing to the ALS service.
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Town Business Office Hours - The following is presented for your consideration. Town offices have returned from “summer” schedule to our regular business hours – 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in most cases. Our staff has collectively requested that we consider keeping our summer hours year-round. That would mean we would open one-half hour earlier and close offices one-half hour earlier throughout the year. If the Selectmen were to be amenable, the change to “summer” hours would apply to Starbard Building, Town Hall, and other administrative offices. The Library hours would not be affected.
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Holiday Lighting Displays - I would like to share with you the enclosed email regarding the town display of holiday lights – Christmas trees, wreaths, Menorah, etc. The courts have ruled that a Christmas tree and Menorah, as a display, are secular and therefore can be included in a town holiday display.
To the extent practical, town holiday displays will be lit simultaneously. However, the installation of wreaths by the Light Department may or may not coincide precisely with the lighting of the bandstand area, due to their scheduling demands – they fit this task in with other work priorities.
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Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions concerning these matters.
Brian J. Bullock
Town/Light Manager
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cc: Department Heads
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