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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSelect Board 5/6/20Select Board Meeting Minutes May 6, 2020 Present: The members of the Select Board all participated remotely via using GoToWebinar: Mr. Jess Aptowitz, Chairman; Mr. Michael Trowbridge, Vice -Chair; Mr. Neil Rhein, Clerk; Mr. Frank DelVecchio and Mr. Steve Schoonveld. Mr. Kevin Dumas, Town Manager and Mr. Barry LaCasse, Assistant Town Manager/Finance Director also participated using the GoToWebinar. 1. Call To Order Select Board Meeting - Pledge of Allegiance Chairman Aptowitz called the meeting to order at 6:OOPM. He then asked those present#o state fie Ptedkeb�Allegiance. He reminded everyone that the meeting was being broadcast live and taped for future broadcast on Mansfield Cable. The public was not allowed to be present in Town Hall. Chairman Aptowitz read a statement and provided an email address and phone number to those watching directing residents to send their questions in, and they would receive a response within twenty four hours. 2. COVID-19 Update Ms. Amy Donovan -Palmer, Health Agent was present to update the Board on changes that have happened since the last meeting. She stated that the Governor's order now requires anyone over the age of two to wear a face covering if they are unable to keep a six foot social distance, and requires them to be worn in all retail stores unless they have a medical condition. She stated that non -essential businesses can now have a few employees come in to the business and manage online orders and can make no contact deliveries. The Select Board members made some comments and asked Ms. Palmer some questions. Chief Desrosiers continued the discussion and provided an update to the number of COVID cases; he stated there was a total of one hundred twenty one positive cases and twelve COVID related deaths in Mansfield. He then stated that as of May 1, 2020 the State was taking over the tracking of COVID cases and noted that there would be a lag in the recovered cases. Chief Desrosiers thought this was a good initiative as all the information will be centralized. The Select Board then asked the Chief some questions and made some comments. Mr. Schoonveld stated his concerns about the lack of and inconsistent reporting of Mansfield specific COVID related deaths in the Sun Chronicle. A lengthy discussion was had around Mr. Schoonveld's concerns that the public had a false sense of being safe. Mr. Dumas and Chief Desrosiers provided answers, but Mr. Schoonveld remained concerned. 3. Town Meeting Safety Plan Discussion Mr. Schoonveld stated that he had asked for this agenda item and stated that he wanted to make sure Town Meeting works and is successful. He stated that there needs to be a safe environment. Based on a conversation with Paul DeRensis who said that all which is needed is to just take votes on June 23rd and there is an opportunity to move some articles to a later meeting. Mr. Schoonveld also emphasized the need to prepare the public in advance. He stated rhetorically that we all want a robust Town Meeting. Chairman Aptowitz asked Chief Desrosiers for his thoughts after looking at the high school for Town Meeting and he stated that the cafeteria was probably the best option because each person needs thirty-six square feet and there is flexibility to move chairs around in the cafeteria versus the auditorium that has stationary seats. Ms. Palmer stated that as of now there are no gatherings of people of ten or more people. That would need to be changed and every Town is facing this challenge. Chairman Aptowitz asked about outside options for Town Meeting and Chief Desrosiers answered that lighting, bugs and weather could be tough, but it was doable. Ms Palmer and Chief Desrosiers stated that the Governor's order remains and that there remains a 10 person limit. Mr. Rhein suggested the Xfinity Center and Ms. Palmer answered the question was asked of Jeff Mann from the Xfinity Center, but at this time the facility was not operational because there was no plumbing and electricity and it requires weeks of work to get the facility operational. Mr. DelVecchio stated that there should be more guidance from the Governor as many cities and towns have a Town Meeting. He then added that this is a public health issue and the Board should not be concerned with attendance as keeping everyone safe is the main priority. Mr. Trowbridge asked to get the square footage of the auditorium, gym and cafeteria and also thought Xfinity may be in a position to host it by the end of June. Mr. Schoonveld also recommended that residents need to come to Town Meeting educated so that by the time the meeting happens it is less than an hour, and he then added that planning has to happen now. Mr. Dumas stated that he has been in contact with Jeff Mann from the Xfinity Center and they need at least six to eight weeks. He stated another idea was using the parking lot and using a FM radio station instead of using the high school. Mr. Trowbridge also stated that other Towns have their meeting in early June and that would give opportunity to learn from those towns and post all the information online. Select Board Meeting Minutes May 6, 2020 4. Discussion and Consideration of Xfinity Entertainment License Mr. Dumas stated that the Xfinity License will start on May 30, 2020 and expire on April 30, 2021 and that was the only change from last year license. Chairman Aptowitz asked for a motion first and then to have discussion. Motion: To approve the 2020 Xfinity Entertainment License. (Rhein/Trowbridge) Mr. Trowbridge commented that the Town should approve this as they are a large business in Town and given what is going on with COVID if they can extend the season it should be allowed. Mr. Schoonveld stated the license should always be this time frame and allow them to hold other type events besides concerts. He added there is revenue that is being missed the first half of this year. He asked if anything else was changed in the agreement and Mr. Dumas confirmed it was only the dates that changed. Mr. DelVecchio stated the relationship has improved with public safety and the Xfinity Center over the last few years and agreed that the time frame should be extended. Roll Call Vote: Mr. Rhein —Yes Mr. DelVecchio—Yes ChairmanAptowitz - Yes Mr. Trowbridge —Yes Mr. Schoonveld - Yes Passes 5:0 S. Discussion and Consideration of Commercial Parking License Renewals for: • Mansfield Parking, LLC —75 Chauncy Street • Foundry LLC-1 Foundry Street • Foundry LLC —214 North Main Street • Rumford LLC —875 South Main Street Motion: To approve the 2020 Commercial Parking Licenses for Mansfield Parking LLC, Rumford LLC and two for Foundry LLC as presented. (Rhein/Trowbridge) Mr. Dumas confirmed that it was approving the same spaces that were granted last year. Mr. Schoonveld stated that the lots at the train station were granted extra spaces for construction and asked if there should be a contingency added to the license for when the META construction is complete. Mr. Trowbridge commented that it should be allowed for the whole year and revisited during next year's renewal. Mr. Rhein commented that the police requested new signage in the regulations and asked if the lots had complied with that. Mr. Dumas stated he would follow up and confirm that it applied to all licenses and that it was complied with. Mr. Schoonveld stated he was concerned with the number of extra cars entering and exiting the lot and how that affects traffic and that he did not want to wait a full year to fix that. Mr. DelVecchio agreed the number needed to be revisited, but logistically it seemed easier to wait until next year and noted that people may not be commuting into the city as much given the current situation with COVID. Chairman Aptowitz asked when construction was expected to be done and Mr. Dumas answered possibly October. Mr. Schoonveld agreed that there will probably be less people commuting into Boston and that the project may not be completed by October. Roll Call Vote: Mr. Rhein —Yes Mr. DelVecchio—Yes ChairmanAptowitz - Yes Mr. Trowbridge — Yes Mr. Schoonveld - Yes Passes 5:0 6. Notification of 2020 Annual Water Restrictions Mr. Dumas read the memo from the Water Department. There was no motion needed from the Select Board. 7. Budget Update for FY20 and FY21 Mr. LaCasse provided a budget update on FY20 stating that the Town continues to have a spending freeze on expenses. He provided an update on the local government revenues stating that property taxes were above target levels. He stated that the top ten local receipts were trending at five percent below anticipated levels which was not surprising due to the current state of emergency. Total local receipts were $71,000 below target levels. He then stated that general government expenses were seventy eight percent expended and he then provided an update on the enterprise accounts. Mr. Dumas commented that the Town was trending well for this year and was confident that any shortfalls would be covered by turn backs from departments because of the spending freeze. Chairman Aptowitz noted that tomorrow evening was a joint Select Board Meeting Minutes May 6, 2020 meeting with the Finance Committee and School Committee at 7:30PM to further discuss FY21. The Board made a few comments and held their questions for the meeting on May 71h 8. Resident Questions and Comments There were no resident questions or comments received by email before the meeting. 9. Review and Approve Consent Agenda All items on the Consent Agenda may be adopted with a single motion. Any member of the Select Board may request that an item be withdrawn from the Consent Agenda for separate consideration in which case that item will be voted on separately from the remainder of the Consent Agenda. All licenses have been routed through Town Hail Departments and any conditions have been noted below. a) Approval of Select Board Meeting Minutes for: • April 1, 2020 • April 29, 2020 b) Vote To Approve Warrants: • Town Vendor Warrant No. 20043T in the amount of $2,322,651.48 • Electric Vendor Warrant No. 20043E in the amount of $47,307.70 • Town Vendor Warrant No. 20044T in the amount of $177,895.41 • Electric Vendor Warrant No. 20044E in the amount of $11,267.13 • School Vendor Warrant No. 20044S in the amount of $621,077.50 • Town Vendor Warrant No. 20045T in the amount of $116,251.21 • Electric Vendor Warrant No. 20045E in the amount of $14,203.02 c) Permits and License: • Consideration of 2020 Drainlayers License for MJM Construction Corporation Inc. Motion: To approve the consent agenda. (Rhein/Trowbridge) Passes 5:0 Roll Call Vote: Mr. Rhein —Yes Mr. DelVecchio—Yes ChairmanAptowitz - Yes Mr. Trowbridge — Yes Mr.Schoonveld —Yes 10. Consideration and Approval of Town Payroll Warrants: • Town Payroll/Town Medicaid Payroll 20043PT in the amount of $334,509.14 Motion: To approve Town Payroll/Town Medicaid Payroll 20043PT in the amount of $334,509.14. (Rhein/Trowbridge) Passes 4:0:1 Roll Call Vote: Mr. Rhein —Yes Mr. DelVecchio—Yes ChairmanAptowitz - Abstain Mr. Trowbridge — Yes Mr. Schoonveld - Yes • Town Deductions Vendor Payroll 20043TV in the amount of $105,279.26 Motion: To approve Town Deductions Vendor Payroll 20043TV in the amount of $105,279.26. (Rhein/Trowbridge) Passes 5:0 Roll Call Vote: Mr. Rhein —Yes Mr. DelVecchio—Yes ChairmanAptowitz - Yes Mr. Trowbridge — Yes Mr. Schoonveld - Yes • Town Payroll/Town Medicaid Payroll 20044PT in the amount of $372,019.05 Motion: To approve Town Payroll/Town Medicaid Payroll 20044PT in the amount of $372,019.05. (Rhein/Trowbridge) Passes 4:0:1 Roll Call Vote: Mr. Rhein —Yes Mr. DelVecchio—Yes ChairmanAptowitz - Abstain Mr. Trowbridge — Yes Mr. Schoonveld - Yes • Town Deductions Vendor Payroll 20044TV in the amount of $123,017.60 Motion: To approve Town Deductions Vendor Payroll 20044TV in the amount of $123,017.60. (Rhein/Trowbridge) Passes 5:0 Roll Call Vote: Mr. Rhein —Yes Mr. DelVecchio—Yes Chairman Aptowitz - Yes Select Board Meeting Minutes May 6, 2020 Mr. Trowbridge — Yes Mr. Schoonveld - Yes • School Payroll/School Medicaid Payroll 20044PS in the amount of $1,646,723.75 M6tion: To approve School Payroll/School Medicaid Payroll 20044PS in the amount of $1,646,723.75. (Rhein/Trowbridge) Passes 3:0:2 Roll Call Vote: Mr. Rhein —Yes Mr.DelVecchio— Abstain ChairmanAptowitz - Yes Mr.Trowbridge— Abstain Mr.Schoonveld - Yes • School Deductions Vendor Payroll 20044SV in the amount of $516,318.30 Motion: To approve School Deductions Vendor Payroll 20044SV in the amount of $516,318.30. (Rhein/Trowbridge) Passes 5:0 Roll Call Vote: Mr. Rhein —Yes Mr. DelVecchio—Yes ChairmanAptowitz - Yes Mr. Trowbridge —Yes Mr. Schoonveld -Yes • Town Payroll/Town Medicaid Payroll 20045PT in the amount of $357,588.57 Motion: To approve Town Payroll/Town Medicaid Payroll 20045PT in the amount of $357,588.57. (Rhein/Trowbridge) Passes 4:0:1 Roll Call Vote: Mr. Rhein —Yes Mr. DelVecchio—Yes ChairmanAptowitz - Abstain Mr. Trowbridge — Yes Mr.Schoonveld - Yes • Town Deductions Vendor Payroll 20045TV in the amount of $113,772.06 Motion: To approve Town Deductions Vendor Payroll 20045TV in the amount of $113,772.06. (Rhein/Trowbridge) Passes 4:0:1 Roll Call Vote: Mr. Rhein —Yes Mr. DelVecchio— Yes ChairmanAptowitz - Yes Mr. Trowbridge — Yes Mr.Schoonveid-Abstain 11. Correspondence • Notification from Verizon of Programming Changes • Notification from Xfinity of Programming Change • Letter from Bristol County Agricultural High School of 2020-2021 Estimated Tuition • Letter from Resident Mary Kate Flynn • Letter from TEC Associates Mr. Rhein read a summary above the correspondence items. 12. Town Manager's Report Mr. Dumas updated the Board on several items. He stated that 284 residents participated in the Hazardous Waste Day. Mr. Dumas then commented on the hard work on the team and stated that he would provide the Board with a list of items that have done and worked on during the COVID-19 Pandemic. He then commented how well everyone was working together remotely. He then updated the Board on ReLeaf and that they are waiting for their license from the Cannabis Control Commission. He then updated the Board on paving at Fairfield Park on May 11th and that DPW will be cleaning and striping the commuter lots this Saturday, and the PGA golf tournament has moved up a week August 19-23, 2020. Lastly, Mr. Dumas provided an update of communication received from Mass School Building Authority for the High School curtain wall project, some expenses were ineligible, however the project was still within budget. 13. Select Board Member's questions and Comments Mr. Trowbridge commented that he was happy with the services being provided to keep the Town moving during this time. Mr. Rhein stated that there is a COVID-19 state wide webinar Friday that he will be attending. He then stated that as the liaison to the Open Space Committee they have brought to his attention trail maintenance and that it will need to be addressed as many people are using the trails now. He stated that there are several trees down on several trails and that there should be a plan to provide regular maintenance to the trails. He then asked what the plan would be going forward at the MBTA for the landscape that was done, as there are lots of weeds there right now and asked if the Town responsible or is the Town responsible for maintaining it. Lastly, Mr. Rhein asked Mr. Dumas about when the next Downtown Committee meeting would Select Board Meeting Minutes May 6, 2020 be, specifically because it would need to be decided if there would be a fall festival. Mr. Dumas believed that large scale events would all be cancelled for this calendar year, Mr. Schoonveld commented that he saw employees from the DPW working and they appeared to be happy working again. Mr. Schoonveld asked how the permitting and inspection process was going and if there has been any activity. Mr. Dumas answered that the building department has been processing permits that are dropped at the drop box and inspections are now being handled, however there has not been many of them. Mr. Schoonveld hoped that work picked up so the Town could see an increase in revenue. Mr. Schoonveld commented about Town Meeting and hopes that no matter when it is held that it needs to be a safe environment and planning needs to start. Mr. Schoonveld then asked if there could be information about the Master Plan to educate the residents either as a webinar or recorded on cable. Lastly, Mr. Schoonveld asked about the fencing at the Paine School and Mr. Dumas answered that it was staging area for work being done on the water main repairs in that area. Mr. DelVecchio stated that it is a difficult budget time and was happy that tomorrow was a meeting with the Finance Committee and School Committees that includes lots of financially savvy members. He then commented about the Master Plan and how it has been a robust process with a lot of participation. He added that the Planning Board picked a good consultant to help facilitate the process and there was a sixty day comment period so there were lots of opportunities for residents to give input. Chairman Aptowitz stated that the payment being made to the MBTA should be close to zero and Mr. Dumas commented that was correct. He then stated that the employees who work for the Town are people to and may have a lot going on with their own families and it is not easy for anyone. Chairman Aptowitz stated that lots of people are wearing masks and asked if the parks and the track at the school were open. Mr. Dumas stated that people should not be gathering in large groups and the track was not open, but people were jumping the fence. 14. Any items not anticipated by the Chair 48 hours prior to this meeting There were no items. 15. Adjourn Motion: To adjourn the Select Board Meeting of May 6, 2020 at 7:4613M. (Schoonveld/DelVecchio) Passes 5:0 Roll Call Vote: Mr. Rhein —Yes Mr. DelVecchio—Yes Mr. Trowbridge —Yes Mr. Schoonveld - Yes nat e Minutes prepared by Carrie Champagne Chairman Aptowitz - Yes e n � Dat Select Board Meeting Minutes May 6, 2020