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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSELECTMENminutes05282008-20080714102406 Town of Mansfield Board of Selectmen Minutes of May 28, 2008 Present: Chairman Sandra Levine, Vice Chairman Ann Baldwin, Clerk Kevin Moran, Selectman George Dentino, Selectman Jess Aptowitz, John D'Agostino, Town Manager The Board of Selectmen's meeting was called to order at 7:00pm followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Atty. Edward Valanzola and Robert Burns, Casey O'Conors owner were present. Point of order from Selectman Dentino. The board did not vote on who would represent the town, the police chief or town counsel, or both. Mr. Dentino also mentioned that he did not receive follow up information about the cases before the meeting. Chairman Levine stated that she as the chair made the decision to have Chief O'Neill come to the board by himself. Packets of information from the police chief were placed in each Selectman's mailbox in addition to the reading folder. However, Mr. Dentino did not recall receiving the information so he wanted to delay the hearing. Chairman Levine did not feel delaying the hearing was warranted and Chief O'Neill continued with his case. The officers involved in the two separate incidents recapped both of them for the board. April 13, 2008 Sergeant Crosman was directed to go to the area of Casey O'Conors as newspaper delivery personnel had complained of bar patrons harassing them. After dealing with this situation Sergeant Crosman noticed a seemingly intoxicated woman and then companion man exiting the bar and entering a vehicle. After a few minutes of following them Sergeant Crosman stopped them and after a few questions and field sobriety test Officer Kelly assisted in placing the driver under arrest and the passenger in protective custody. April 18, 2008 Officer Danner was parked on Old Colony Way and monitoring pedestrian traffic received notification from Officer Kelly that three males had exited Casey O'Conors and appeared intoxicated. As Officer Danner approached the men, two left towards neighboring condos and one man fell against his vehicle while trying to enter it. After trying to administer a field sobriety test Officer Danner placed the man in protective custody. It was determined by a portable breath test that his blood alcohol level was .225'Yo almost three times the legal limit. The man was then released into the custody of his father. Board of Selectmen Minutes of May 28,2008 1 Attorney Valanzola stated that he was representing Mr. Burns at this hearing for the alleged violations. They have not had the opportunity to question the officers involved so technically the officers' testimonies are considered hearsay. However, they do not contest the information provided by the officers. Selectman Aptowitz asked if any of the suspects were minors and Chief O'Neill stated no. Selectman Dentino asked if the chief had a suggestion on what the board should do about this situation. Chief O'Neill suggested that the Board of Selectmen issue a written warning to Casey O'Conors as he has been working closely with Mr. Burns and Atty. Valanzola to ensure that this does not happen again. Atty. Valanzola then stated that since the incidents all bartenders in addition to the managers have been safe serve certified. Police details have been added on Fridays and Saturdays to ensure proper crowd control. Mr. Burns has also been preventing patrons from entering the establishment after llpm to ensure that people who have been out drinking don't just come in for last call. Shots of alcohol are no longer being served in addition to different dinner specials and entertainment to draw in a more mature crowd. Mr. Burns stated that he feels terrible that this has happened and has been present at the establishment on Fridays and Saturdays in addition to the manager on duty. He is thankful that neither of the incidents had a tragic outcome/accident. Selectman Aptowitz asked what the staff does when patrons come in and already appear intoxicated. The staff asks the person if they would like a cab or they call the police if necessary. Chairman Levine asked how the staff might respond differently to this situation in the future. Now that all staff is properly trained they are very aware of the signs of intoxication and are cautious. Chairman Levine stated that serving alcohol is a privilege not a right and now that this has happened the board will be watching establishments more closely. Motion: To issue Casey O'Conors a written warning for these incidents of over service. (Baldwin/Moran) 5:0 passes Selectman Aptowitz stated that he has lost a family member to a drunken driver and takes alcohol abuse very seriously. Selectman Dentino stated that he too feels that this is a serious matter and hopes that Mr. Burns learns from this experience. Board of Selectmen Minutes of May 28, 2008 2 Safety plan asked for from TGIF last week after a large bar fight. Since then the manager has requested police details (Friday/Sat) and has submitted a safety plan to the police dept. The Chief stated that the fight was not directly attributed to the service of alcohol. Richard Rogan, Mansfield Town Taxi manager was present. Due to the price of gas and the rise of related expenses in general they are proposing raising the taxi fare rate from $3.00 for the first mile and $2.50 for each additional mile to $4.00 for the first mile and $3.00 for each mile thereafter. The company has not raised the rate in many years and while this rate raise may reduce the number of people taking cabs the company needs to increase its rates in order to stay viable. Motion: To approve rate increase of $4.00 for the first mile and $3.00 for each mile thereafter. (Baldwin/ Aptowitz) 5:0 passes Paula Savill, Foxfield Taxi was unable to make meeting and sent letter of support for Mr. Dellorusso's efforts. Lee Azinheira and Michael Ahern were present for discussion. Due to a delay in winter conditions and available manpower the garage renovations have been delayed. They hope to have the work done at the highway garage by the end of October and staff will be performing what work they can, as opposed to hiring contractors, to save money. Mr. D'Agostino asked how many times the DPW staff meet with the Municipal Building Committee. Mr. Azinheira stated that they have met with the committee a couple of times over the winter and are now ready to go. Single stream automated recycling will begin soon in July. Louis Amoruso, Brookside Drive, is an applicant for this new committee. Mr. Amoruso has had many years of experience negotiating past cable contracts and he would like to assist with the development of a Verizon license. He also has Verizon FIGS Board of Selectmen Minutes of May 28, 2008 3 in his summer home and it works well. He would like to see Mansfield become part of the Boston market as opposed to Providence, RI with the broadcasting of HD channels. There is legislation being heard right now that would allow cities and towns to charge for the use of their telephone poles that the committee will monitor. Motion: Appoint Louis Amoruso to the Cable Advisory Committee. (Moran/Baldwin) 5:0 passes Ben Yeransian and fellow members were present at meeting. Mr. Yeransian recapped their efforts to bring a haunted woods fund raiser to town this fall. They will be donating all profits to the animal shelter. Selectman Dentino asked if the committee would be better served under the auspice of the Park and Recreation Commission. Under our charter the Park and Recreation Commission may not be able to have ad-hock committees. As the teens running this groups are under the age of 18 one or both of their parents would need to be on the committee. Thomas Yeransian (father) does not feel this will be a problem and they will download committee applications to be filled out. The group has also been in contact with a town resident that has a trailer full of equipment that they could use for their event. The only catch is that the town will need to find a place to store this trailer during the "off season". Mr. D'Agostino will discuss possible locations with DPW and the resident. Motion: To create (and appoint Mr. Thomas Yeransian in anticipation of an application) the Haunted Hallows Committee. (Baldwin/ Aptowitz) 5:0 passes Reasons for debt exclusion override election discussed. Motion: To have special election on July 15th for the purpose of a debt exclusion override. (Aptowitz/Baldwin) 5:0 passes Article 16: MIS Capital Improvements $17k & Article 18: Highway Capital Improvements $51k (intergraded with 15,22,23,26 on motions sheet) Board of Selectmen Minutes of May 28, 2008 4 Article 19: $450,000 for Water treatment facility planning bonds, $150,000 for water planning bonds passed by vote of the town meeting May 20, 2008. Article 20: $100,000 for comprehensive wastewater treatment planning bonds passed by vote of the town meeting May 20, 2008. Article 23: $86,000 for police equipment bonds passed by vote of the town meeting May 20, 2008. (Intergraded with 15, 16, 18, 22, 26 on motions sheet) Article 26: $113,000 for school remodeling bonds. (intergraded with 15, 16, 18, 22, 23, on motions sheet) Article 27: $270,000 for sewer bonds passed by vote of the town meeting May 20, 2008. After a short discussion the board decided to put the debt exclusion items forward together as a lump sum. They were separated at town meeting during discussion so the residents could see what each item was. However it was the intention of bond counsel to put the items forward as a whole after town meeting. Motion: To put the single item debt exclusion on the warrant for July 15th. (Baldwin/ Aptowitz) 4:1 passes (Dentino nay) · In May the DPW met with Waste Management to discuss the implementation of single stream recycling. This will start on July 14th with the distribution of new 64 gallon recycling totes. However, mailing and cable announcements will begin soon to alert residents of the change. · Auditors work is in progress and the report should be available by the end of June. · Warrant No. 47 in the amount of $606,125.20 Motion: To approve warrant No. 47 in the amount of $606,125.20 (Baldwin/ Aptowitz) 4:0:1 passes (Dentino abstains) · Warrant No. 48 in the amount of $5,194,305.70 Motion: To approve warrant No. 48 in the amount of $5,194,305.70 (Baldwin/ Aptowitz) 4:0:1 passes (Dentino abstains) . Minutes of April 16th, 22nd, 23rd, 30th 2008 Motion: To approve minutes of April 16th. (Baldwin/Dentino) 3:0:2 passes Board of Selectmen Minutes of May 28, 2008 5 Motion: Change typos on 22nd and approve. (Baldwin/Levine) 3:0:2 passes Motion: To approve minutes of April 23rd. (Baldwin/Dentino) 3:0:2 passes Motion: To approve minutes of April 30th. (Dentino, Aptowitz, Moran abstain) 2:0:3 · Block party request back from public safety for Carriage House Lane. June 28th 2pm-8pm. Both police and fire approve. Motion: Aptowitz/Baldwin 5:0 passes · Letter from Max Performance requesting used of Maple St. to Bird St. in Mansfield as part of their event on August 17th. Routed through public safety and approved. Motion: Aptowitz/ Moran 5:0 passes · Request for transfers from reserve fund from Lee Azinheira, DPW Director in the amount of $70,967.49 to the winter maintenance budget for snow and ice removal. Motion: Approved as read. (Baldwin/ Aptowitz) 5:0 passes Discussion: Selectman Aptowitz is concerned that this transfer will drain the reserve fund and will left too little for other expenses such as motor fuel. Selectman Dentino stated that he believes that motor fuel will run short in the coming year with the spike in fuel costs. Mr. D'Agostino stated that he has increased motor fuel expenditures by $30k for FY09. · Request for restricted water installers license for SL T Construction Corp. Recommended by Kurt Gaffney. Motion: Move to approve restricted water installers license for SL T. (Aptowitz/ Moran) 5:0 passes · Letter from Boy Scout Troop 55 announcing Christopher Cullaz, Brian Claus, Sean Litchman and Jeff Lessard have attained the rank of Eagle Scout. They would like to invite the board to the ceremony on June pt at 6:30pm at the St. Mary's Parish Center. Motion: To prepare and sign proclamations (Aptowitz/Moran) 5:0 passes · Letter from Margaret Flannery of Cobb St. in regards to getting the RFP process going on the Shawmut Ave property. Board of Selectmen Minutes of May 28, 2008 6 . Thank you letter from Rachael Fisher-Parkman of the MMAS. They appreciate the speedy response to their request to have the Crocker Street sign moved for greater patron visibility. . The final paving for School St. by Mansfield Crossing is scheduled for June 2nd. · Letter from Patricia Lestan of Willow St. regarding the tree trimming and luminated signs on Rt. 140 for Mansfield Crossing. She requests that the signs be turned off by 1O:30pm. Response from Nick Riccio, Shaun Burke and Butch Fuller are attached to letter in coor. Folder. . Important train meeting on Thursday, May 29th at 7pm in the Norton Middle School. This will focus on the proposed south coast rail project and its impact on our town. . Old business from Chairman Levine: Send thanks to Fire, Police honor guards and scout groups for participating in Memorial Parade. VFW for refreshments. And of course John Hogan. Peter Conti for the band. If you live on Essex or Ware Sf's please contact the DPW if you need a curb or road cut as it will be repaved soon and cuts will not be allowed for the next five years. · Old business from Selectman Dentino: Shrubbery circles in cul-de-sacs. Some residents are taking care of these and making gardens out of them. Perhaps they should be given plaques just like the garden club. Issue of trees being trimmed on private property by the Light Dept. The limbs were impeding the lights shining on the side walks. Request for maintenance records on town vehicles has been made in the past at a dept. heads meeting a couple of months ago and he would like to make the request again. Also the issue of who picks up mail, when, how often and in which town car was discussed. · Old business for Selectman Moran: Review of financial information with town manager. Congratulations to Eagle Scouts. Board of Selectmen Minutes of May 28, 2008 7 · Old business from Selectman Baldwin: Flag holder on S. Common needs to be painted and it costs 4-5 thousand dollars to paint and fix it. Town Manager D'Agostino believes that it is in the budget for FY09. · Old business from Selectman Aptowitz: Motion: To work with the TM, BOS and FinComm in establishing financial parameters before the start of negotiating all union and non union labor contracts. (Aptowitz/Baldwin) 5:0 passes · New business from Selectman Baldwin: None · New business from Selectman Aptowitz: Announcement of office hours for June. He would like to start advertising for a new Town Accountant so they can get a good head start before Bea retires in the fall. He would also like to see a financial update section on the agenda. New business from Selectman Dentino: Is the board going to continue with questions and comments? Chairman Levine stated that the meetings have been quite busy and it is the least productive way to communicate with the board. Residents can call board members at home, the Selectmen's Office; email them at work or at home. Residents can also mail requests or come to the office and request to be on the agenda for any issues. · New business from Selectman Moran: None · New business from Chairman Levine: Announcement of summer schedule. Meetings will start at 7pm and conclude by 10:30pm. . Reminder on Fly In event at the airport. June 27th, 28th, 29th Motion: To adjourn at !0:40PM (Baldwin) 5-0 Passes ^~ ~-t-~ Signature of Clerk ~~ 't 2~~~ Date of Approval Board of Selectmen Minutes of May 28, 2008 8