HomeMy WebLinkAboutSELECTMENminutes03122008-20080429141826
Town of Mansfield
Board of Selectmen
Minutes of March 12, 2008
Present:
Chairman Louis Amoruso, Vice Chairman Sandra Levine, Selectman David
McCarter, Selectman a'George Dentino, John D'Agostino, Town Manager
The Board of Selectmen's meeting was called to order at 7:30pm followed by the Pledge of
Allegiance.
Gail Farrugia, COA Director was present for discussion.
Meals Site Coordinator and Activities Coordinator are funded from the Executive Office
of Elder Affairs and Bristol Elder Services. Positions are paid through grants funding
however the job descriptions have not been accepted by the Selectmen.
These positions have been held by long time employees and will be missed. However Gail is
fortunate that she has received many applications to fill these two important positions.
Selectman Dentino is concerned that the grants will expire and the employees will have to
be picked up by the town budget or the employees given benefits. Mr. D'Agostino stated
that is not the case here.
Motion: To approve job descriptions as listed. (Levine/McCarter) 4:0 passes
Harold Henry, Activities Director and Robert Golder, NEFFA President gave a short
presentation. Chairman Amoruso asked Mr. Henry to review the parking and
transportation plan as they need approval from the board before they can be set.
Selectman Dentino went to the event last year and enjoyed himself. It was very well run
and looks forward to attending again this year. Mr. Golder has been working closely with
fire personnel and the fire dept. is satisfied that the proper safety precautions will be
taken. Parking and traffic were a bit of a problem last year and they have adjusted the
plans for this year to accommodate those needs.
Selectman Levine asked about the bussing and transportation that the festival will be
providing. Mr. Golder and Mr. Henry have been in contact with Lt. Seekell to discuss this.
As Selectman McCarter is satisfied with the presentation he has no additional questions
and welcomed the festival back to town. Selectman McCarter encouraged the event
management to utilize the town's downtown businesses and the new mall while they are in
Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 12,2008
town. As it happens, they did last year and will be doing so again this year for vending and
catering needs.
Motion: To approve entertainment license and waive fee. (Levine/McCarter) 4:0 passes
Harold March was present. Mr. March has been doing a lot of work for Rhode Island
businesses and in the Attleboro area and would like to be able to work in Mansfield.
Motion: To appoint Harold March as constable. (McCarter/Dentino) 4:0 passes
None
Town Managers
. The Elks breakfast previously mentioned is a fundraiser for the Democratic
Committee.
. The Great Mansfield clean up campaign has raised $1000 already for the event.
21 organizations committing over 100 people have already signed up and additional
volunteers and funds are still needed for this May 3rd event.
. CIP meeting has been rescheduled to a later date.
. Budget meeting with the School dept. and FinComm last night.
. House resolution came in this afternoon providing 4.3 percent increase. However
this is still unclear how this will affect our budget. The budget has yet to be
balanced and it will be by June 1st. The school side has a significant budget gap to
close and it is uncertain how they will accomplish this. There have been reports of
layoffs and possible school fees for services/programming.
. Lost dog alert. Elderly lady has lost her dog and as the dog is epileptic he needs
medical attention. Please call the dog officer or town hall if you have any
information.
. Questions from Selectman Dentino about operational overrides vs. debt exclusions.
The town manager is not in favor of overrides as they are forever; however he is
generally in favor of the use of debt exclusions are they are for a limited time and
for a specific purpose.
. Selectman Dentino stated once again salaries and benefits make up the majority of
the budget and that is really where they need to focus on. Another lengthy
discussion about the budget ensued.
. The question of whether the Fire Chief and Deputy Fire Chief should have town
seals on their cars. Selectman Baldwin wanted to have these individuals excluded
from the seals but there was a miscommunication on how to proceed last week.
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. Warrant No. 37 in the amount of $2,717,588.66
Motion: To approve warrant No. 37 in the amount of $2,717,588.66
(Levine/McCarter) (Mr. McCarter abstaining from check #381181)
3:0:1 passes (Dentino abstains)
. Application for Entertainment license from NEFFA already approved.
. Renewal request for water installers license for REBCO Inc. (Water Operations
Kurt Gaffney recommends approval)
Motion: To approve. (Levine/McCarter) 3:1 passes (Dentino nay)
. Letter from Lorilee Fish regarding donations for the Great Mansfield Clean Up on
May 3rd. Lagasse-Sweet (in the industrial park) is a wholesale distributor of
cleaning and paper product supplies. They will be donating items for the clean up.
The Ostrowski family of Fruit Street also contributed $100 to the event as they
will be away the weekend of May 3rd and wanted to contribute to the clean up.
Additional $250 donation from Camp, Dresser & McKee (CDM) for clean up.
Motion: To accept donation and send thank you letter from board.
(Levine/McCarter) 4:0 passes
. Correspondence from Helen Christian requesting the board vote to postpone the
annual town meeting of April 8th to May 20th at 7pm. Special TM at 8pm.
The board will open warrant April 16th and close warrant April 23rd.
They will then sign the warrant on April 30th. Last day to post warrant is May 6th.
Motion: Move to postpone town meeting from April 8th to May 20th.
(McCarter/Levine) 4:0 passes
Motion: Move to postpone special town meeting from April 8th to May 20th.
(McCarter/Levine) 4:0 passes
. Letter from resident Alan Sirota on Nicole Rd. regarding mail box damage.
Letter has been forwarded to the appropriate staff.
. Letter from Caritas Norwood Hospital inviting board to event on March 26th.
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· Letter from Jim Miller of Mansfield High All Sports Booster Club. They will be
holding road race on Sunday, May 18th and are requesting permission for event.
Motion: This item has been tabled to ensure police and fire have approved.
. Revised loan documents from Roxanne Donovan, Treasurer-Collector. $325,000
taxable sewer bond anticipation note.
Motion: Move to approve revised note. (Levine/McCarter) 4:0 passes
. Letter from Chief Boldrighini requesting exemption of town seal from his car and
the Deputy Fire Chief's car due to privacy issues.
Motion: To approve exemption. (Levine/McCarter) 4:0 passes
Discussion: Selectman McCarter would like to wait and vote on this next week so
Selectman Baldwin can be here as this was her idea. He also stated that as he saw
the need for the fire chief and deputy chief to be excluded from policy he would
vote on it this week if the board so desired. The board voted to approve.
. Press release from Chief O'Neill regarding women's self defense/safety course.
. Old business from Chairman Amoruso: None
. Old business from Selectman Dentino: Checking on if lights replaced at the train
station that he asked about last week. The electric dept. is working on it.
Selectman Dentino still has lingering questions about job classifications and levels.
He believes that the board should be involved in setting classifications in addition
to approving job descriptions. Mr. D'Agostino stated that the job description and
classification had gone through the collective bargaining process as it should have.
They didn't just make it up and present it to the board as Selectman Dentino has
suggested. The Town Manager stated he follows the charter as his rule book and
invited Selectman Dentino to review it for clarity.
Selectman Dentino also stated that the board has not spent enough time reviewing
the budget. They had a budget review session with dept. heads last week and some
of the board members couldn't be bothered to stay for the whole meeting.
He is upset by this and would like the board spend more time on breaking down the
budget as it is one of the most important issues they handle. Chairman Amoruso
stated that a line item by line item review of the budget is not necessary and a
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waste of time. The town manager and the fincomm develop a budget with the dept.
heads and will provide a recommendation when all the numbers are set.
Until that time, an overview of the budget as it develops is sufficient.
. Old business for Selectman McCarter: Please keep up discussions with our school
administration about the budget.
Old business for Selectman Baldwin: Not present
Id business for Selectman Levine: Please check to make sure cable advisory
committee posting is on website and cable if not on there already.
· New business from Selectman Baldwin: None, Not present
· New business for Selectman McCarter: None
. New business from Selectman Dentino: He went to another south coast train
meeting in Attleboro and voiced the board's objection to the proposed Attleboro
line.
. New business from Selectman Levine: Congratulations to Steven Passanisi on
getting the MBTA to turn off the train whistles while passing through at night.
. New business from Chairman Amoruso: Questions about ZBA letter referencing
Fairfield and he would like to see the developer come in.
. Water filters for West Mansfield residents that have had reoccurring water
issues will be provided. Water line is also going to be replaced soon.
A
Motion: To adjourn at W:15PM
(Levine) 5-0 Passes
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Signature of Clerk
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Date of Approval
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