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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSelect Board 03/16/2022Select Board Meeting Minutes March 16, 2022 Present: Mr. Neil Rhein, Chairman; Mr. Michael Trowbridge, Vice -Chair; Mr. Frank DelVecchio, Clerk; Mr. Jess Aptowitz and Mr. Steve Schoonveld were present in Town Hall, Meeting Room 3 A/B-fflr.[J evmpumas, Town Manager and Mr. Barry LaCasse, Assistant Town Manager/Finance Director were alsoTrP3Ot OFF ICE 1. Call To Order Select Board Meeting -Pledge of Allegiance Zt7Z ' Al _ 5 A 111 54 Mr. Neil Rhein, Chairman called the meeting to order at 5:3013M. Mr. Trowbridge asked for a moment of silence for Richard D'Onofrio who had passed away. Mr. D'Onofrio was a Selectman H2 fHehAsk6d those present to state the Pledge of Allegiance. He reminded everyone that the meeting was being b'rdad&st live and taped for future broadcast on Mansfield Cable. 2. Recognition of Nancy Wall Chairman Rhein began by stating that tonight they were recognizing Ms. Nancy Wall, who is a long-time active volunteer in Mansfield. Mr. DelVecchio read the proclamation prepared for Ms. Nancy Wall signed by the Select Board. Each of the Select Board members offered words of congratulations and thanked her for her many years of service to the Town of Mansfield. Ms. Wall also thanked all the volunteers who have been behind her and supported her. 3. Recognition of Ralph Maloon Mr. Trowbridge read a proclamation in honor of Ralph Maloon and presented it to RIM Engineering. Mr. Craig Cygawnoski was present to accept the proclamation. Mr. Trowbridge stated that Mr. Cygawnoski the nephew of Mr. Maloon would be running the company. Senator Paul Feeney and Representative Adam Scanlon were present to also provide proclamations. Mr. Cygawnoski stated that Mr. Maloon was always welcoming anyone to come work for him and he taught them how to be civil engineers. 4. Town Manager's Report ➢ Snow Deficit ➢ FY2023 Budget Update ➢ Proposed Bus Service -Logan Shuttle ➢ Site Specific Alcohol Licenses ➢ Operations of the Municipal Ambulance Service Select Board Questions and Comments on Town Manager's Report Mr. Dumas began his report stating that the COVID case number is at eleven cases, but noted that there is a new variant that has emerged over seas and is being watched very closely. Mr. Dumas stated that the website project is underway with the MIS Director. Mr. Dumas stated that Mr. John Cogliano is working to provide regular Logan Airport bus shuttle service from South Attleboro and Mansfield train stations. Mr. Dumas then noted that the snow and ice deficit are estimated to be $424,577.94 as of today. Mr. Dumas stated that later in the agenda is the SRF Funding for the PFAS component for Walsh Well and he provided an update on Senate bill 2591, site specific alcohol licenses has been successfully referred out of the Senate Committee. He then stated that his meeting with the Xfinity Center is quickly approaching and there will be more to follow in the coming weeks. Mr. LaCasse then provided a budget update to the Select Board. He stated that the first cherry sheet from the Governor provided $89,000 and it was revised and now provides $189,000. Mr. LaCasse then stated that there have been three budget subcommittees and he is going through each line of the budget and has reduced the $4.5 million -dollar deficit to just about $1 million and will be proposing a delay in full funding of OPEB like last year and will catch up at Fall Town meeting. Chief Desrosiers, Fire Chief was present and gave an overview of the ambulance rates which have not been updated since 2018 by the Select Board. Chief Desrosiers stated that the Town runs two paramedic ambulance services and it takes 16 staff members, and 1 captain who supervises. The personnel costs are estimated at $2 million. He stated to purchase a new ambulance it costs $370,000 which is done every three years. The additional costs include supplies and Select Board Meeting Minutes March 16, 2022 vehicle maintenance, education and training. Chief Desrosiers stated that all of the billing is electronic which provides efficiency. He stated that if you receive a bill, there could be a copay from your insurance or there may be a deductible that you are responsible for. There are payment plans and hardship options. The Town is not considered an in -network provider because as a Town we do not sign contracts with the private insurance companies. Chief Desrosiers then asked if any of the Board members had any questions. Mr. Aptowitz asked if the ambulance arrives to your home and only provides a bandage and there is no transport is there a bill to that resident for that service and the Chief responded that there was no fee if no transport. Mr. Schoonveld stated that this information would be good as an FAQ on the Town's websites. Mr. DelVecchio stated that Chief Desrosiers provided a list of billing amounts from other surrounding Towns and asked the Chief if he believed it would be similar across the State. Chief responded that he would expect that the range is similar however large cities that have a billing department may be different but it is not feasible for small Towns. Mr. DelVecchio asked about the Town website and what can residents expect for changes. Mr. Dumas responded that it has a new look and feel and works better with phones and tablets. He stated that it will be easier to use the calendar to find an agenda. He stated that it will take about six months to implement the changes. Mr. DelVecchio commented that there is information on social media that stated that there is a $4 million -dollar deficit, but is now down to $1 million. Mr. LaCasse noted that the budget posted online was the version created for the January 15t requirement of the charter, he stated it is not updated but changes are made daily to make reductions. Mr. Aptowitz asked if Mr. LaCasse has been working with the schools to make those reductions. Mr. LaCasse responded that he has met with Mr. Donoghue and Ms. Murphy and have another meeting next week but they have not proposed any cuts at this time. Mr. Schoonveld commented that tonight was the first-time hearing that it was down to $1 million and Mr. Trowbridge commented that it has been mentioned at all the Budget Subcommittee meetings and Mr. DelVecchio stated that it was also mentioned at the last Select Board meeting. Mr. Schoonveld thanked Mr. LaCasse for the salary file that was provided to him and noted first that the Police Department budget was up 8.3 percent over last year. He then noted that part of the Boards responsibility is to maintain job descriptions and compensation grades for all employees. Mr. Schoonveld then stated that he noted a title change for Deputy Chief Ellsworth was Acting Police Chief. He asked if this was a change that already happened or if it was one expected in fiscal year 2023. Mr. Dumas responded that Michael Ellsworth is currently the Acting Police Chief but it was a human resource matter that would not be discussed at a public meeting. Mr. Schoonveld stated that he had some questions as it pertained to public safety and communication. Mr. Schoonveld stated that he has not received a notice and only had one phone call with the Chair on the matter in October of 2021. Mr. Schoonveld asked Mr. LaCasse if there should be money placed in a reserve account for litigation as it pertained to this matter. Mr. LaCasse stated that these questions should be discussed in executive session and Mr. Schoonveld responded that his questions were of fact and not of privacy or concerns and just wanted clarity and communication. Mr. Schoonveld then asked Mr. Rhein and Mr. Trowbridge if they received communication about the matter and he stated that the residents in Town should know when the head of public safety has changed. Mr. Schoonveld made some additional comments about the Town Manager and his oversite and unwritten duty to the Town and was concerned with the lack of transparency and communication and asked for an independent and immediate investigation be completed. Mr. Rhein asked about parking if they wanted to take the bus service to airport. Mr. Dumas responded that it could be in the private lots but believes that many would be dropped off and not leaving a vehicle parked. S. Resident Questions and Comments Mr. Peter Wiggins from Mansfield Avenue in Norton was present and stated that it was a beautiful day and people were enjoying themselves and said COVID was not over and we should not live in fear of the variant. Mr. Wayne Smith, 6 Judy's Lane was present to state his concerns with the Town adding additional alcohol licenses. He said the benefit to the Town was small because the Town only receives the annual license fee from the liquor stores unlike restaurants that have the sales tax added. Select Board Meeting Minutes March 16, 2022 Mr. Marc Corsillo, 1604 West Street was present and asked if the Police Chief would receive his annual raise and if he has been inactive would it still happen. Mr. Dumas responded that all non -union employees move a grade and step each year. 6. Discussion and Consideration of the Change of Manager for LongHorn Steakhouse Mr. Daniel Marshall was present from LongHorn Steakhouse was present stated he has been working there since 2017 and Ms. Joellen Sasserville is no longer with the restaurant. Mr. Marshall added that Ms. Sasserville left as of February 20th. Mr. Aptowitz asked if the Town was notified timely and Ms. Champagne responded that they had notified us within three days. Mr. Aptowitz asked if there had been any incidents and Mr. Marshall responded that the staff are well trained and they passed a sting. Motion: To approve the change of manager application for LongHorn Steakhouse. (DelVecchio/Aptowitz) Passes 5:0 7. Discussion and Consideration to Allow the Town Manager to Executing Documents for the Walsh Well SRF Application Mr. Dumas stated that beginning on page eight of the packet and Mr. Dumas would like to be able to execute the document once it is ready. Mr. DelVecchio asked for a summary of the financing and Mr. Dumas responded that it is up to 6.6% loan forgiveness, 1.5%for non PFAS components and zero percent for PFAS components of the project. Mr. Schoonveld asked how much savings that is to the Town and Mr. LaCasse responded that he did not have the exact calculation and Mr. Schoonveld believed it was about $300,000. Motion: Move to approve the Town Manager to act on behalf of the Applicant, as its agent, in filing applications for, executing agreements regarding, and performing any and all other actions necessary to secure for the Applicant such loan(s) for construction or planning of Water Pollution Abatement Projects as may be made available to the Applicant pursuant to the provisions of the Massachusetts Clean Waters Act (M.G.L. c.21C) for the Walsh Wells PFAS Treatment System & Well Upgrades, Project DWSRF 7040. (DelVecchio/Trowbridge) Passes 5:0 B. Presentation of Nip Bottle Warrant Article —Julie Jones and Sally Fehavari Mr. Trowbridge asked if there was a need to have a public hearing on this item and Mr. Rhein stated he was not sure but he was going to step away from this item as he has a conflict of interest in regards to this item and asked Vice Chair, Mr. Trowbridge to take over this part of the meeting. Ms. Julie Jones and Ms. Sally Fehavari were present to give a presentation to the Select Board on the citizens petition that they have submitted for Town Meeting. The ban is for the sale of plastic nip bottles smaller than fifty milliliter in the Town of Mansfield and it would go into effective on January 1, 2023 if approved at Town Meeting. Ms. Jones provided some reasons supporting why they to ban them. The Select Board members asked a few questions and Ms. Fehavari and Ms. Jones answered. Mr. Dumas stated he would find out the requirements for a public hearing on this item. Mr. Mark Corsillo, 1604 West Street came forward and stated that the majority of nip bottles are 50 milliliter and the language used in the warrant article was "smaller than 50 milliliters" and believes that would exclude the ones they are trying to ban. He then commented that it may lead to people buying the 100 and 150 milliliter bottles and cause them to be more intoxicated. Mr. Wayne Smith 6 Judy's Lane stated that need more education on how to dispose of things because nip bottles are not the only items being littered. Select Board Meeting Minutes March 16, 2022 Mr. Miguel Sanchez owner of Bristol Liquors came forwarded and agreed that educating the residents better because if this passed he believes this will hurt liquor store owners in Town. He said he would rather see giving a deposit for each nip bottle like soda cans to help with littering. 9. Discussion and Consideration for Massachusetts School Building Authority Statement of Interest Applications for Qualters Middle School Boiler Replacements Mr. Dumas stated that the Board approved this last year however because there were so many applications, Qualters Middle School Boiler replacement project became ineligible based on the systems age. Resolved: Having convened in an open meeting on March 16, 2022, the Select Board of the Town of Mansfield, in accordance with its charter, by-laws, and ordinances, has voted to authorize the Superintendent to submit to the Massachusetts School Building Authority the Statement of Interest Form dated February 10, 2022, for the Qualters Middle School located at 240 East Street, Mansfield, MA 02048 which describes and explains the following deficiencies and the priority category(s) for which an application may be submitted to the Massachusetts School Building Authority in the future. Submitted Statement of Interest — Priority 5- the Qualters Middle School was constructed in 1953, the building boilers are over 30 years old & in poor condition, they do not operate effectively & efficiently. This situation and the environment it creates presents many challenges in delivering the best education possible for the students of Mansfield; and hereby further specifically acknowledges that by submitting this Statement of Interest Form, the Massachusetts School Building Authority in no way guarantees the acceptance or the approval of an application, the awarding of a grant or any other funding commitment from the Massachusetts School Building Authority, or commits the Town to filing an application for funding with the Massachusetts School Building Authority. (DelVecchio/Trowbridge) Passes 5:0 10. Discussion and Consideration of Revised Summer Camp Counselor Job Description Mr. Dumas stated that there are three changes that needed to be made to the Summer Camp Counselor job description. He stated that Ms. Sherri Gurnon, Recreation Director worked with Human Resources to make some necessary changes. Motion: To approve the revised Summer Camp Counselor job description. (DelVecchio/Trowbridge) Passes 5:0 11. Discussion and Consideration of Adoption of Special Employee Municipal Positions Mr. Dumas stated that in 1984 there was a vote taken by the Select Board to adopt special municipal positions and referred to all appointed and elected officials. It has been recommended by Town Counsel that this matter be voted again and specify each of the positions. Mr. Dumas then read a list of all the board/committees and all of the job titles for both the Town and School. Mr. Schoonveld asked Mr. Dumas to clarify what this means for the average resident. Mr. Dumas responded that an employee of the town can not hold two positions within the town either paid or unpaid unless they are designated a special municipal employee and even volunteers are considered employees of the town. Motion: To adopt the list of special employee municipal positions as listed in the packet. (Del Vecch io/Trowbridge) Passes 5:0 12. Select Board Member Committee and Liaison Updates Mr. Aptowitz and Mr. Trowbridge had no updates. Mr. DelVecchio stated that the Finance Committee is meeting tomorrow and grants will be discussed. Mr. Schoonveld stated that he went to a meeting at Mansfield Cable Access Committee last night. He stated that he offered them compliments on their great service and offered the Select Boards help. There was a concern however on why there are three appointed Select Board members on the Committee. Select Board Meeting Minutes March 16, 2022 Mr. Rhein stated that the Downtown Committee met last week and had good attendance. He added that the main item out of that meeting is a Fall Festival on October 11t and to manage the costs it will be one day just on Saturday. He then noted that there was ongoing discussions to enhance Harry Chace Place with a pavilion and public art. He then stated that Waste Reduction and Recycling met and are working on getting large stickers to put on recycling bins to identify what can and can not go in the recycling bins. Lastly, Mr. Rhein stated that Keep Mansfield Beautiful will be having the Great Mansfield Cleanup on April 301h and encouraged residents to register to participate and he added that there are two vacancies on the Keep Mansfield Beautiful Committee. 13. Resident Questions and Comments There were no resident questions and comments at this time in the meeting. 14. 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 Hall Departments and any conditions have been noted below. A. Vote to Approve Meeting Minutes: • January 5, 2022 B. Vote to Approve Warrants: • Town Vendor Warrant No. 22036T in the amount of $349,790.07 • Electric Vendor Warrant No. 22036E in the amount of $23,853.65 • Town Vendor Warrant No. 22037T in the amount of $2,708,286.68 • Electric Vendor Warrant No. 22037E in the amount of $2,666,140.75 • School Vendor Warrant No. 22037S in the amount of $386,956.24 C. Consideration of Permits and Licenses: • Banner Application for Keep Mansfield Beautiful • Consideration of Constable Application of Matthew Pauliks • Consideration of Special Events Application for Celebration of Animals Event on Saturday, September 17, 2021 • Consideration of Special Events Application for Farmers Market at Town Hall • Consideration of Banner Application for Scouts BSA Troop 51 • Consideration of Banner Application for Mansfield Shelter Friends and Request for Signage on Town Property D. Consideration of Proclamations: Motion: To approve the consent agenda. (DelVecchio/Trowbridge) Mr. Schoonveld had some edits to the January 5 minutes. Motion: To withdraw the January 5th minutes from the consent agenda. (Trowbridge/Aptowitz) Passes 5:0 Motion: To approve the consent agenda. (DelVecchio/Trowbridge) Passes 5:0 15. Consideration and Approval of Town Payroll Warrants: • Town Payroll/Town Medicaid Payroll 220336PT in the amount of $394,514.13 Motion: To approve Town Payroll/Town Medicaid Payroll 220336PT in the amount of $394,514.13. (DelVecchio/Trowbridge) Passes 5:0 Select Board Meeting Minutes March 16, 2022 • Town Deductions Vendor Payroll 22036TV in the amount of $124,429.69 Motion: To approve Town Deductions Vendor Payroll 22036TV in the amount of $124,429.69. (DelVecchio/Trowbridge) Passes 5:0 • Town Payroll/Town Medicaid Payroll 22037PT in the amount of $446,585.39 Motion: To approve Town Payroll/Town Medicaid Payroll 22037PT in the amount of $446,585.39 (DelVecchio/Trowbridge) Passes 5:0 • Town Deductions Vendor Payroll 22037TV in the amount of $146,328.91 Motion: To approve Town Deductions Vendor Payroll 22037TV in the amount of $146,328.91. (DelVecchio/Trowbridge) Passes 5:0 • School Payroll/School Medicaid Payroll 22037PS in the amount of $1,799,711.98 Motion: To approve School Payroll/School Medicaid Payroll 22037PS in the amount of $1,799,711.98. (DelVecchio/Trowbridge) Passes 4:0:1 (Trowbridge Abstain) • School Deductions Vendor Payroll 22037SV in the amount of $576,955.16 Motion: To approve School Deductions Vendor Payroll 22037SV in the amount of $576,955.16. (DelVecchio/Trowbridge) Passes 5:0 16. Correspondence • Letter from Cathy King resigning from Keep Mansfield Beautiful • Letter from Xfinity of programing changes • Letter from Verizon of programing changes Mr. DelVecchio read a summary of the above correspondence items. 17. Select Board Member's Comments and Questions Mr. Schoonveld commented that Mansfield Cable did a greatjob broadcasting the boys' basketball game. Mr. DelVecchio, Mr. Aptowitz and Mr. Trowbridge had no comments. Mr. Rhein stated that on April 6th there will be the community service awards presentation. Mr. Rhein then stated that it was time to start the Town Manager's Annual Review and that he will be sending the form out. 18. Any items not anticipated by the Chair 48 hours prior to this meeting There were no items. 19. Enter into Executive Session and Not Return to Open Session under Exemption No. 6, M.G.L. Chapter 30A, Section 21- A. To discuss strategy with Respect to collective bargaining or litigation if an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the government's bargaining or litigating position. Also, to conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with non -union personnel; to actually conduct collective bargaining and contract negotiations with non -union personnel. Mr. Dumas stated that there was no longer a need to meet in executive session. Motion: To adjourn the March 16, 2022 Select Board Meeting at 7:10PM. (Aptowitz/Schoonveld) Passes 5:0 Signature Minutes prepared by Carrie Champagne iLl�. Date Select Board Meeting Minutes March 16, 2022