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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSelect Board 11/17/2021r Select Board Meeting Minutes November 17, 2021 Present: Mr. Neil Rhein, Chairman; Mr. Michael Trowbridge, Vice -Chair; Mr. Frank DelVecchio, Clerk;Mr. Jess Aptowitz and Mr. Steve Schoonveld. Mr. Kevin Dumas, Town Manager and Mr. Barry LaC�$ Assistant Town Manager/Finance Director were also present in meeting room 3A/B at Town Hall. RECE IY� FJRKs OFFICE 1. Call To Order Select Board Meeting - Pledge of Allegiance /� (� Mr. Neil Rhein, Chairman called the meeting to order at 5:30PM. He then askW?thU% AsAn to.staofe the Pledge of Allegiance. He reminded everyone that the meeting was being broadcast live aridx ht future broadcast Ertu� on Mansfield Cable. _Fri j;�; �SFTTS 2. Introduce New Employees to Select Board: John Ellard, Shawn Precourt, Sharon Varricchione, Chris McDermott and Josh Reinke Mr. Dumas introduced the above employees and each of them came forward to state a few things about themselves. Members of the Select Board welcomed them and wished them the best in their positions. 3. Town Manager's Report ➢ Community One Stop for Growth FY2022 Housing Choice Community Grant Update ➢ Integra Life Sciences ➢ EACC TIF Follow-up ➢ Miscellaneous Items Select Board Questions and Comments on Town Manager's Report Mr. Dumas began his Town Manager reporting that the Town received the One Stop Grant in the amount of $82,500. He then continued in his report updating the Board on many Economic Development items. Mr. Dumas then stated that the State will meet on December 9, 2021 and that will be the next step with the Walgreens TIF. Mr. Aptowitz asked Mr. Dumas to look into how much vacant property is actually left in the Cabot Industrial Park. Mr. Dumas responded that there is a 50,000 square feet lot for development in the park. There is another vacant parcel but it is owned by Lacerta and they have intentions of building on that lot which would be their fourth location in the park. Mr. Rhein asked what the One Stop Grant would be used for and Mr. Dumas responded that it will be for the work to create a TOD Overlay District. 4. Resident Questions and Comments Mr. Peter Wiggins from Norton was present, he stated that he used the GATRA Go service and it works well. S. Discussion with Xfinity Center of the 2021 Concert Season Deputy Police Chief Ellsworth and Fire Chief Desrosiers were present in meeting room 3 A/B and Mr. Jason Sandoval, Xfinity Center General Manager and Sarah Shevlin, Operations Manager were present via GoToWebinar. Chief Desrosiers noted there were no major incidents that occurred and it was a very short season. Deputy Chief Ellsworth stated that Mr. Sandoval and Ms. Shevlin were great to work with, he further noted it was a late season and colder than what they are used to. He stated that the communication network from Xfinity to the Town's fiber has not been reliable and that will be a project to work through before the next season begins. Mr. Sandoval thanked the Select Board and Town Manager for the support. He stated it was a quick ramp up and there was a total of nineteen shows and the venue hosted 250,000 fans. He stated that Xfinity Center staff worked well with the Town's Public Safety. The Select Board members had some comments. Mr. Trowbridge asked how confident Mr. Sandoval was that the connectivity issue would be solved and Mr. Sandoval responded that he has someone on his side working with someone from Mansfield Electric and they are hopeful that they can identify a potential fiber line that may already be run. Mr. Schoonveld thanked them for hiring Mansfield residents and Mr. Sandoval responded that he hears often times that people say the venue was their first job and they plan to continue to hiring from the local community. The Board skipped to agenda number nine to open the hearing and then returned to agenda number six. Select Board Meeting Minutes November 17, 2021 6. Update from Keep Mansfield Beautiful Mr. Jeff Ward, Executive Director was present from Keep Mansfield Beautiful. He gave a presentation that included the members of the committee and provided some photos and information on the programs that Keep Mansfield Beautiful does. Mr. Ward stated one of the challenges the Committee faces is the lack of funding for some of the initiatives they want to take on. Mr. Trowbridge stated that with a hundred -million -dollar budget there should be some funding allocated to Keep Mansfield Beautiful because they are part of the Town. Mr. Dumas recommended that Mr. Ward meet with Mr. LaCasse to discuss budget needs. Select Board members thanked Keep Mansfield Beautiful for their efforts. 7. Discussion and Consideration of Memorandum of Understanding for the "Bristol -Norfolk Public Health Partners" Collaboration Between the Towns of Easton, Foxborough, Norton, Mansfield and Sharon Ms. Amy Donovan -Palmer was present for this agenda item. She came forward and stated that each of the Towns that will be in this collaboration have the MOU and it will cover shared services for four positions. The positions are epidemiologist, an epidemiologist admin as well as the food and housing inspector positions. The Select Board shared comments of how many different things the Health Department is responsible for and it is in line with regional collaboration that the Town already participates in. Motion: To approve the memorandum of understanding for the "Bristol -Norfolk Public Health Partners" Collaboration Between the Towns of Easton, Foxborough, Norton, Mansfield and Sharon as presently prepared and to allow the Town Manager to make any necessary corrective or non -substantive changes thereto at the recommendation of Town Counsel or by representatives from the Towns of Easton, Foxborough, Norton, Mansfield and Sharon. (DelVecchio/Trowbridge) Passes 5:0 8. Discussion and Consideration to Accept the Legal Descriptions for the New Boundaries for the Precinct Lines Ms. Marianne Staples, Town Clerk was present with the redistricting map. She stated that in October the Board approved the 7th precinct and the boundary lines, however after that meeting the State drew their lines for the state districts and their lines went through four of the precincts splitting them in half. She stated that she went back to the drawing board with the States help to redraw the precinct lines and now only precinct two and six are divided. Mr. Aptowitz asked if registered voters would be notified of their new precinct and Ms. Staples confirmed that they would receive a notification in the mail. Ms. Staples also stated that she will be having additional staff present for the first election and added that she is thankful all the voting happens in one place. Motion: To accept the legal descriptions for the new boundaries for the precinct lines. (De lVecchio/Trowbridge) Passes 5:0 The Chair then skipped to agenda number ten. 9. In Accordance with Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 40, Section 56, The Select Board Will Hold A Public Hearing for The Purpose To Adopt The Percentages Of The Local Tax Levy To Be Borne By Each Class Of Real And Personal Property For Fiscal Year 2022 at 6:OOPM Motion: To open the public hearing at 6:12PM. (DelVecchio/Aptowitz) Passes 5:0 The Chair asked for this hearing to pause while they went back to agenda number six Mr. DelVecchio then read the public hearing notice for the record. Mr. Schoonveld commented that the Commercial Industrial values are higher this year compared to last year. He asked Mr. Brogie if he knew what the peak or valley was. Mr. Brogie, Chief Assessor came forward and stated that this year was a recertification year so there was more work done on the tables. The last revaluation was in 2017 and they used to be every three years and now it is every five years. Mr. Schoonveld believed that 1.2 might be an appropriate shift. Mr. Trowbridge commented that he always looks at the averages and he thought at 1.17 the homeowners and industrial would be close, he thought 1.2 would be a substantial increase. Select Board Meeting Minutes November 17, 2021 Motion: To make the split 1.17. (Trowbridge/DelVecchio) Mr. Trowbridge withdrew his motion. Mr. Aptowitz stated that he looks at the average tax bill for Mansfield and compares it to the surrounding towns and Mansfield is in the middle. Mr. Aptowitz asked how many single-family homes and industrial properties there were in Mansfield and Mr. Brogie responded approximately 5,500 single family homes and 108 industrial properties. Mr. Aptowitz noted that businesses save with the low electric rates and that this was a good year to lower the split tax rate and he was thinking 1.19 and 1.2 for the split. Mr. DelVecchio stated that it looks like everyone has done the same analysis, but have slightly different numbers and he was thinking 1.18. Mr. DelVecchio commented that the home values for next year will be going up and Mr. Brogie stated that they will use all of calendar 2021 sales and he noted he receives the deeds for the residential sales all year and they are strong. Mr. Dumas commented that the reason why there is a split tax rate in the Town is to weather the difference between commercial and residential, and this year there is an opportunity to come down significantly. Mr. Rhein asked if there were any members of the public that wanted to make a comment or ask a question. Mr. Mark Corsillo came forward and asked what impact this has on his tax bill and if this shift means that it will go up and Mr. Trowbridge responded that everyone's bill is going to go up. Mr. Aptowitz added that the Board is using a split to help ease the "pain" equally amongst businesses and residents and when looking at the tax bill the rate per $1,000 will go down, but the value of one's house will have increased. Mr. Rhein stated that he believed of going in the middle with 1.18 and 1.19. Motion: To close the public hearing. (Aptowitz/Trowbridge) Passes 5:0 Motion: To set the tax split at 1.18. (Trowbridge/DelVecchio) Passes 5.0 10. Discussion and Consideration of the Select Board's Interest in Exercising the First Right of Refusal for Property Located on Old Elm Street Mr. Dumas stated that Mr. Robert Saquet had delivered a purchase and sale agreement to the Town. The property is under Chapter 61 for forestry and the Town has the first right of refusal and can make the choice to purchase the property. Mr. Dumas recommended referring the matter to the Planning Board, Conservation Commission and Open Space Committee to get their recommendation as to whether the land should be purchased by the Town. Mr. Dumas then explained the process noting that the time constraints are waived due to COVID. Mr. DelVecchio asked what the time frame would be if it were not under COVID and Mr. Shaun Burke, Town Planner who was in the audience stated it would be one hundred and twenty days. Mr. Trowbridge commented that he did not see this site as a high value open space and the price that is being shown is very substantial and the Town could get a lot more usable or beneficial space for that money. He further noted there was a lot of wetlands on the property. Mr. Schoonveld asked if there was a lot of buildable space on the thirty- three acres and Mr. Trowbridge responded that there was not. Mr. Rhein commented that the map does not show lots of wetlands. Mr. Trowbridge responded that is because it is a relatively flat site and within the last few years a developer walked away from purchasing the land because it has a significant amount of wetlands. Mr. Aptowitz commented that he would like the property appraised so that the Board could decide on whether the parcel was worth the $769,000 price. Mr. DelVecchio commented that he would like the opinion of the Planning Board, Conservation Commission and Open Space Committee. Mr. Schoonveld commented that he was surprised to see how much land the Town already owns around this parcel and if purchased it would create a significant area of open space and believes this should be considered. Mr. Rhein agreed and also wanted to get the input from the other Committees/Boards before making a decision. Motion: To refer the matter to the Planning Board, Conservation Commission and Open Space and Recreation Committee for study and recommendation to the Select Board as it relates to the Master Plan, 2012 Strategic Plan and the Open Space and Recreation Plan. (DelVecchio/Schoonveld) Passes 4:1 The Chair then moved to agenda number nine. Select Board Meeting Minutes November 17, 2021 11. Select Board Member Committee and Liaison Updates Mr. Schoonveld noted that there is a bill to have taxes on Netflix and other streaming services and thought regionalization of Cable may be a good thing. Mr. DelVecchio commented that the Finance Committee is meeting tomorrow. He noted that there was nothing new with the Airport Commission. Mr. Trowbridge asked if the draft of the Special Education Stabilization Fund and the draft of the Charge of the Budget Subcommittee were circulated and Mr. LaCasse responded that he had sent the information was given to the respective Board. Mr. Aptowitz noted that the Volunteer Advisory Subcommittee would be meeting and the Audit Committee should be meeting soon as well. Mr. Rhein noted there is a Downtown Advisory Meeting tomorrow and the Community Service Awards Committee is meeting December 8tn 12. Continued Discussion of 50 West Street Property There was nothing new to discuss. 13. Resident Questions and Comments There were no comments or questions. 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: • November4,2021 B. Vote to Approve Warrants: • Town Vendor Warrant No. 22019T in the amount of $834,825.78 • Electric Vendor Warrant No. 22019E in the amount of $43,252.82 • School Vendor Warrant No. 22019S in the amount of $327,100.72 • Town Vendor Warrant No. 22020T in the amount of $2,170,666.25 • Electric Vendor Warrant No. 22020E in the amount of $1,906,999.32 • School Vendor Warrant No. 22020S in the amount of $110.41 C. Permits and Licenses: • Consideration of Special Events Application for Downtown Business Association Annual Christmas Parade • Richard Brothers Request for Fee Waiver for Boy Scouts Tree Lot D. Consideration of Proclamations: Motion: To approve the consent agenda. (DelVecchio/Trowbridge) Passes 5:0 15. Consideration and Approval of Town Payroll Warrants: • Town Payroll/Town Medicaid Payroll 22019PT in the amount of $436,777.48 Motion: To approve Town Payroll/Town Medicaid Payroll 22019PT in the amount of $436,777.48. (DelVecchio/Trowbridge) Passes 5:0 • Town Deductions Vendor Payroll 22019TV in the amount of $138,108.95 Motion: To approve Town Deductions Vendor Payroll 22019TV in the amount of $138,108.95. (DelVecchio/Trowbridge) Passes 5:0 • School Payroll/School Medicaid Payroll 22019PS in the amount of $1,785,385.78 Motion: To approve School Payroll/School Medicaid Payroll 22019PS in the amount of $1,785,385.78. Select Board Meeting Minutes November 17, 2021 (DelVecchio/Trowbridge) Passes 4:0:1 (Trowbridge Abstain) • School Deductions Vendor Payroll 22019SV in the amount of $575,075.51 Motion: To approve School Deductions Vendor Payroll 22019SV in the amount of $575,075.51. (DelVecchio/Trowbridge) Passes 5:0 • Town Deductions Vendor Payroll 22019TVS in the amount of $3,252.24 Motion: To approve Town Deductions Vendor Payroll 22019TVS in the amount of $3,252.24. (DelVecchio/Trowbridge) Passes 5:0 • Town Payroll/Town Medicaid Payroll 22020PT in the amount of $712,045.38 Motion: To approve Town Payroll/Town Medicaid Payroll 22020PT in the amount of $712,045.38. (DelVecchio/Trowbridge) Passes 5:0 • Town Deductions Vendor Payroll 22020TV in the amount of $262,886.56 Motion: To approve Town Deductions Vendor Payroll 22020TV in the amount of $262,886.56. (DelVecchio/Trowbridge) Passes 5:0 16. Correspondence There were no correspondence items. 17. Select Board Member's Comments and Questions Mr. Schoonveld commented that about fines for construction projects who work on Saturday or Sunday. He stated that the fine is $25 and many contractors would pay the fine to work on the weekend. Mr. Dumas responded that he would look into the matter. Mr. Trowbridge commented that it could be something that is part of a special permit that could be enforced. He then stated that Town Meeting went well except he continues to feel embarrassed when the Town does not do the due diligence in a timely manner. Mr. DelVecchio noted that many of the Board and Committee have terms that are expiring and if anyone was interested in volunteering to be on a committee they should apply. Mr. Trowbridge wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and asked for an update on Community Gardens. Mr. LaCasse responded that he spoke with the owner and due to COVID there have been delays, but they are hoping to have the building started in April. Mr. Aptowitz asked for an update on cell phone coverage and Mr. Dumas stated that he spoke with Verizon and it is a known problem and Ms. Eileen Cummings is going to be an advocate to get this onto a project schedule. Mr. Aptowitz wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Mr. Rhein thanked Mr. Mike Raymond, Veterans Agent for a great Veterans Day Parade and the staff for a successful Town Meeting. 18. Any items not anticipated by the Chair 48 hours prior to this meeting Mr. Rhein then stated that there was a last-minute request from the Jewish Center to place a menorah on South Common like they have done in previous years. Motion: To approve the request. (Trowbridge/Schoonveld) Passes 5:0 19. Adjourn Motion: To adjourn the November 17, 2021 Select Board meeting at 7:4913M. (Schoonveld/Aptowitz) i'Z42 Si ature Date Minutes prepared by Carrie Champagne Select Board Meeting Minutes November 17, 2021