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Date: 6/26/2023
PELHAM — It’s back to the drawing board as far as the town clerk position. Select Board Chair Bob Agoglia told David Shanabrook, the other member present to open June 20’s meeting, the person appointed by the board earlier this month backed out.
“I’m kind of sad to say that the person that we hired, Chloe Delgatho, to the town clerk position, decided that it wasn’t going to work for her, after she had roughly a little over a day in the position,” Agoglia said. “We had appointed her as our town clerk, at our last meeting, with her appointment effective date of June 13.”
Agoglia’s immediate plan of action was to re-appoint Sandra Burgess, officially the town clerk until June 15. Assuming Burgess is amenable, the lone sticking point was the correct reappointment date. Select Board assistant Susannah Carey told Agoglia the motion needed a specific date because towns are required to have someone in the position every day.
Agoglia and Shanabrook voted to appoint Burgess as the interim town clerk. Agoglia then saw a second necessary action was to reconstitute the town clerk search committee. Agoglia, Carey, Nancy Blackmur and Jessica Barr served on that committee. Blackmur, as town clerk in Orange, is experienced in similar hiring processes.
“I’ll reach out to them in the morning and explain to them what happened,” Agoglia said. “I’ll see if everyone is willing to make it a do-over.”
Tara Loomis, present for the board’s next discussion, introduced the idea of installing a paved walking path around the playground, in the vicinity of the school. The idea was suggested to her by Karen Smith, from the Council on Aging.
“Perhaps you might consider adding a walking path, especially one that is accessible, due to the aging population in Pelham, to have a place to walk,” Loomis said. “There are no sidewalks, for the most part, in the town,” and few places for elderly residents to take a stroll.
The idea struck a chord with board members. Agoglia asked, “Do we know if we actually have land there, to do that?”
Loomis didn’t know whether the field is regulation size for a sport or if there are surplus square yards to accommodate a walking path around the perimeter. She knew regulations of the Americans with Disabilities Act may apply, which stipulate a minimum width of 3 feet for walking paths.
Robert Rowell, a member of the Board of Assessors, was also in attendance. Rowell volunteered that a bowtie-shaped piece of land, adjacent to the playground area, included wetlands that prevent most uses. Rowell knew the land was owned by David Rabinowitz. He suggested it was an option to explore, since the possible uses for the land are limited.
“There’s probably enough room [there] to put 3 feet of walking space,” Rowell said. He intimated the area is spacious enough to host additional uses. “It’s just whether it’s in wetlands or grubby stuff. The lot is like 10 acres of land for the playground, for the school.”
Agoglia commented that Richard Adamcek, supervisor of the Dept. of Public Works, would know what footage is available and whether a walking path was possible. The chair of the board also noted a project to make the playground ADA compliant was in the works. If a walking path becomes another feature in the area, the two projects could be nicely complementary.
Shanabrook reminded the board of the presence of the school and what that implies: reduced access during school hours.
“Bob, I don’t know if they’re thinking about it being used by the public only on weekends, because it’s on school grounds,” Shanabrook said. “I don’t know if they would like that.”
The library, adjacent to the elementary school, Agoglia said, is kept completely separated during the time the school uses it. The path would also have to be closed during school usage, a less than optimal condition, but required to maintain student safety.
Loomis questioned whether space around the Rhodes Building could be used for a path within the general area defined by South Mountain Road, Jones Road and Cadwell Street. Shanabrook appreciated the suggestion.
“The nice thing about having it at the community center, especially if we’re still looking at the pavilion, it’s like making it a center where a lot of stuff is going on,” Shanabrook said. “But what about the other side of the fence? That was what you were originally talking about.”
The Rabinowitz property lies on the other side of the fence. Motivated as he was by a good idea, Agoglia concluded that a call to Adamcek and Pelham Elementary School Principal Brenda Darling were in order. Shanabrook was also intrigued by the idea of a paved walking path.
“It’s a great idea,” Shanabrook said. “It would be nice.”