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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSelect Board 10/19/2022Select Board Meeting Minutes October 19, 2022 Present: Mr. Michael Trowbridge, Chair; Mr. Frank DelVecchio, Vice -Chair; Mr. Neil Rhein, Clerk; Mr. Jess Aptowitz and Ms. Diana Bren were present in Meeting Room 3 A/B at Town Hall. Kevin Dumas, Town Manager and Mr. Barry LaCasse, Assistant Town Manager/Finance Director was also present. 1. Call To Order Select Board Meeting - Pledge of Allegiance Mr. Michael Trowbridge, Chair called the meeting to order at 5:35PM. He noted that the Pledge of Allegiance was done at the Light Commissioners meeting just prior to this meeting. He then reminded everyone that the meeting was being broadcast live and taped for future broadcast on Mansfield Cable. 2. Recognition of MEMA by Chief Desrosiers Chief Desrosiers was present stating that he wanted to recognize the amount of volunteer hours that Emergency Management does in our community and surrounding communities. He stated that they are a regional asset and in 2022 they have a total of 1,325 volunteer hours. Chief Desrosiers then introduced Michael Papagno, Assistant Director who introduced the MEMA members who were present. The Board asked a few questions and offered words of appreciation for the work that they do for the community. 3. Town Manager's Report ➢ PARC Grant --i 0 ➢ Federal DOT- Reconnecting Communities Grant - ➢ FY2024 Budget to-r n:)o ➢ CIP Update n7a r-ryl rn: ➢ North Main Street Fire Station Remediationc w- ➢ Water/Sewer Bill Updates tc >rn D G Cn rri ➢ Police Officer Addition r nr' o ➢ Mattress Ban w F ➢ Website Launch rrn, ➢ Retiree Health Insurance Rates January 2022 Select Board Questions and Comments on Town Manager's Report Mr. Dumas began his report stating that there are about twenty active COVID cases in Mansfield and encouraged everyone to get their COVID booster and flu shot. He then announced a new hire Peter Roach who is Police Officer that began this week and he will be sworn in at the November 2"d Select Board meeting. Mr. Dumas then stated that the Planning Department and Planning Board are going to wait for annual Town Meeting to complete the Transit Oriented Development Zoning changes and will look to get more public participation. Mr. Dumas provided an update on the PARC Grant for Harry B. Chase Jr. Place, the Bond Rating review meeting and the construction of the new playground at Plymouth Street. Mr. Dumas stated that there will be a new format for the water and sewer bills adding a section showing usage data. Mr. Dumas then asked the Board to look at the new website for the Town and highlighted the work on the DPW's page with the mattress ban recycle program with HandUp and the Waste Wizard app that provides information on how to dispose of or recycle items. Mr. Dumas then updated the Select Board on the North Main Street Remediation, a Federal DOT grant and retiree health insurance rates for January. Mr. Dumas then asked Mr. LaCasse to provide an update on the FY2024 Budget, CIP and Tax Title, Auction. Mr. LaCasse then began his update stating that he had a department head meeting and discussed the challenges with the FY24 budget process with everyone. He stated that CIP will meet on October 26, 2022 to talk about the five-year plan and discussion of the items that have price increases and six new requests to discuss. He lastly stated that great strides were made in the Tax Title Auction. He stated that the committee met and discussed twenty-seven parcels of land and voted unanimously to recommend that Select Board Meeting Minutes October 19, 2022 they all be sold via tax title auction. He stated Sullivan and Sullivan will be doing to the auction on November 17th and hoping to have better success than last year's auction. Mr. Aptowitz stated that prior to the last tax title auction it was discussed to put some money and time into the parcels and make them ready to build to get more money for them and then asked if any of that was done. Mr. LaCasse responded that work was done on the parcels with Town resources last year and those parcels are part of this auction however no further work was done on any of the parcels and they will be sold as is. Mr. Aptowitz then asked if there is there a minimum bid price. Mr. LaCasse stated that they are taking the advice of the auctioneer and some will have a minimum bid and others will be an absolute bid price. Mr. Aptowitz asked about CIP and putting the brakes on certain items and pass on some items at this time. Mr. LaCasse responded that there have been discussions and some items are not going to get funding at Town Meeting. Mr. Dumas added that there are some projects that need to be done and he provided the example of the roof at Town Hall. If it is not addressed soon it will cost the taxpayers more money down the road because the water is coming in. Mr. DelVecchio and Ms. Bren had no questions. Mr. Rhein asked about the website and what were the improvements made. Mr. Dumas noted all of the things that were changed on the opening page of the website and how it was more user friendly. Mr. Rhein asked if the applications can be submitted online and Mr. Dumas stated that many are pdfs and do not get completed online. Mr. Rhein then took a minute to talk about the Waste Wizard and textile recycling with Simple Recycling. Mr. Rhein asked about water bills and if it can be paid for online and Mr. Dumas said all of the bills can be paid online and is detailed on the Treasurer's website. Mr. Trowbridge asked if the abutters of the tax title properties would be notified and Mr. LaCasse stated that Sullivan and Sullivan will notify all abutters of all properties to advise them of the auction. 4. Resident Questions and Comments Mr. Whiggins, 157 Mansfield Ave, Norton stated he had his COVID Booster and that we do not need to be worried about a surge of COVID. He also noted that the commuter train parking lot is busy. S. Discussion and Consideration of Common Victualler and Entertainment License for Realejo 4 MA 2, Inc. dba Aroma Joe's Mr. Jeff Realego was present via GoToWebinar and stated that the business was opened in September. Mr. Realego stated that the business was started in 2000 and in 2015 began to franchise. He stated that his first store in Swansea and this is the second location for him. He stated that he wants customers to have a friendly and energetic customer service and a personal environment and there are no speakers at the drive-thru. He also added that they want to create a relationship with the community. The Board wished them success. Motion: To approve the 2022 common victualler and entertainment license for Realejo 4 MA 2, Inc. (Rhein/DelVecchio) Passes 5:0 6. Tax Classification Presentation and Discussion with the Board of Assessors Mr. Dan Brogie, Chief Assessor was present to provide a presentation to the Board on the Fiscal Year 2023 Tax Classification. Mr. Brogie began the presentation explaining what a tax classification is and then explained that this year's assessments are based on the sale of properties in the calendar year of 2021. He stated that single family values have increased 11.8%, condominium values increased by 8.9%, commercial values increased 3.6% and industrial values increased 7.2%. Mr. Brogie stated that new growth includes new construction and renovations and it was 10.782 million for residential, 3.8 million for commercial and 4.2 for industrial. Mr. Brogie noted that the largest growth was with personal property and that was largely due to Amazon. He then stated that the allowable levy for FY23 is $75,102,185. The Select Board members asked a few questions and made some comments. Select Board Meeting Minutes October 19, 2022 Mr. Trowbridge asked if there could be a report to show what a business would pay for electric and taxes in Foxboro compared to Mansfield. Mr. Dumas stated that he ran a couple of those reports for larger businesses and Foxboro's rate is almost equal however MMED electric cost was $993,000 for the year and in Foxboro with National Grid it would be $1.45 million. Mr. DelVecchio added that Foxboro does not have trash and recycling included in their tax bills, residents have to hire a service on their own. 7. Discussion and Consideration to Open the Special Town Meeting Warrant and Schedule it to Close on November 9, 2022 at 4PM Mr. Trowbridge noted this is for the Special Town Meeting on Thursday, December 1, 2022. Motion: To open the special town meeting warrant and schedule it to close on November 9, 2022 at 4PM. (Rhein/Aptowitz) Passes 5:0 8. Discussion and Consideration to Appoint John J. Ellard, Jr. as the Tax Title Custodian Mr. DelVecchio asked what is a tax title custodian. Mr. LaCasse responded that it is the person the Board is designating and authorizing this person to sell the tax title properties at auction. Motion: To appoint John J. Ellard, Jr., Town of Mansfield Treasurer/Collector, as Tax Title Custodian pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 60, Section 77B. (Rhein/Aptowitz) Passes 5:0 9. Discussion and Consideration of Land Sale ad hoc Committee Recommendation Motion: To adopt and recommendation of the Land Sale ad hoc Committee for the public auction sale of the following tax -title properties: Parcel # Address 005.030 Tremont St. 019-101 ICn a St. Rear 021-'56 iC men Ave. Rear 02-1155 Edch• St. Rear 036.035 Cohunbiae Rd 036.036 Cohunbiae Rd 036-044 COkU11bine Rd 036-045 lCohunbilie Road 036.046 CohuiiWae Rd 036.056 Thorutou Road 036-05- Tttomton Road 036.058 Thonston Road 036-072 Thornton Rd 036-0-3 Thornton Road 036.082 Basirerre Road 036.086 Badrus Road 036.OSS Barbenr-Road 036.098 Barberry Road 036-093 Azalea Rd 036.094 Azalea Rd 036.095 Azalea Rd 036-102 Azalea Rd 036.021 Azalea Road Rear 036-109 lAzalea Rd 041.099 Ericic Rd Rear 042-194 \fcatahan Lane 043.145 IDustin Court (Rhein/Aptowitz) Passes 5:0 10. Discussion and Consideration of FY23 Goals and Objectives The Board discussed the goals and objectives. Ms. Bren amended the language for goal eight to include in the column next steps: "Work with the Finance Committee to identify and generate meaningful comparative tax and other financial information for public dissemination." Mr. DelVecchio said that the wording for goal fifteen was not clear and had the word communication is in the sentence twice. Ms. Bren then stated she offered the amendment that reads "Increase communication to residents and businesses, Select Board Meeting Minutes October 19, 2022 to build awareness and transparency. Utilize various channels of communication; Website, Cable Access, Social Media, Town Newsletter." The next steps were listed as "Create a cross communication grid of what channels to use for what type of notice (identify all channels). Commit to a Town Newsletter each QTR (emails and published across channels), one to include a survey to be used to enhance communication ongoing." Mr. DelVecchio asked about goal number five that is to apply for grant opportunities as he thought this was something that is already done. Mr. Dumas stated that it is done but it is important and is a goal that is tracked and measured. Mr. Rhein stated that he thought goal six is routine and may not need to be on the list. Mr. Dumas responded that all of the contracts are being negotiated this year and it is going to take up a significant amount of his time as well as the department heads. Mr. Rhein then asked about Green Communities and if the Town has received the check. Mr. LaCasse said it is a determination grant and have to apply for reimbursement, the State does not just send a check. Motion: To approve the FY23 goals as amended. (DelVecchio/Bren) Passes 5:0 11. Discussion and Consideration to Adopt the Ad -Hoc Committee Policy Motion: To adopt the ad -hoc committee policy as presented. (Rhein/DelVecchio) Passes 5:0 12. Discussion and Consideration to Adopt the Holiday Decorations Policy Motion: To adopt the holiday decorations policy as presented. (Rhein/DelVecchio) Passes 5:0 13. Consideration to Approve and Sign the Town Election Warrant Motion: To approve and sign the Town Election Warrant. (Rhein/Aptowitz) Passes 5:0 14. Consideration to Approve and Sign Town Boundary Markers Mr. Trowbridge stated that one boundary is crooked and Mr. Dumas stated that this was crooked in 2017 the last time it was done and there has been correspondence to get that corrected. Motion: To approve and sign the Town Boundary Markers Document prepared by Richard Alves, Town Engineer/Assistant DPW Director. (Rhein/Aptowitz) Passes 5:0 15. Select Board Member Committee and Liaison Updates Mr. Aptowitz stated that the Audit Committee met and heard earlier at the Light Commissioners meeting how that went. Mr. DelVecchio stated that the Budget SubCommittee met and things are progressing well. He added that he is also the liaison to the Board of Assessors and Mr. Brogie did a great job with the presentation tonight. Ms. Bren thanked Mr. DelVecchio for going to the Budget Subcommittee because she was traveling. Mr. Rhein said that Waste Reduction and Recycling is working on a mailer that will take people to the waste widget. He also noted that Keep Mansfield Beautiful met last week and they are working to plan the fall litter sweep that is the first two weeks of November and residents can go out when its convenient for them during those weeks. 16. Resident Questions and Comments There were no resident questions or comments. 17. 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: • September 7, 2022 • September 21, 2022 B. Vote to Approve Warrants: Select Board Meeting Minutes October 19, 2022 • Town Vendor Warrant No. 23013T in the amount of $787,323.75 • Electric Vendor Warrant No. 23013E in the amount of $298,425.83 • Town Vendor Warrant No. 23014T in the amount of $820,524.56 • Electric Vendor Warrant No. 23014E in the amount of $3,658,748.15 • School Vendor Warrant No. 23014S in the amount of $915,256.88 • Town Vendor Warrant No. 23015T in the amount of $2,566,371.10 • Electric Vendor Warrant No. 23015E in the amount of $77,965.74 • Town Vendor Warrant No. 23016T in the amount of $205,792.83 • Electric Vendor Warrant No. 23016E in the amount of $330,475.16 • School Vendor Warrant No. 23016S in the amount of $450,323.15 C. Consideration of Permits and Licenses: • Consideration of Special Events Application for the Annual Veterans Day Parade on November 11, 2022 • Consideration of Special Events Application for the Downtown Business Association Christmas Parade for November 27, 2022 D. Consideration of Proclamations • Randy Waters • Mass Arts Center Motion: To approve the consent agenda. (Rhein/Aptowitz) Passes 5:0 18. Consideration and Approval of Town Payroll Warrants: • Town Payroll/Town Medicaid Payroll 23013PT in the amount of $578,024.05 Motion: To approve Town Payroll/Town Medicaid Payroll 23013PT in the amount of $578,024.05. (Rhein/Aptowitz) Passes 5:0 Town Deductions Vendor Payroll 23013TV in the amount of $178,697.92 Motion: To approve Town Deductions Vendor Payroll 23013TV in the amount of $178,697.92 (Rhein/Aptowitz) Passes 5:0 • School Payroll/School Medicaid Payroll 23013PS in the amount of $1,878,993.55 Motion: To approve School Payroll/School Medicaid Payroll 23013PS in the amount of $1,878,993.55 (Rhein/Aptowitz) Passes 4:0:1 Trowbridge Abstain • School Deductions Vendor Payroll 23013SV in the amount of $555,519.42 Motion: To approve School Deductions Vendor Payroll 23013SV in the amount of $555,519,42 (Rhein/Aptowitz) Passes 5:0 • Town Payroll/Town Medicaid Payroll 23014PT in the amount of $455,724.68 Motion: To approve Town Payroll/Town Medicaid Payroll 23014PT in the amount of $455,724.68. (Rhein/Aptowitz) Passes 5:0 • Town Deductions Vendor Payroll 23014TV in the amount of $141,647.18 Motion: To approve Town Deductions Vendor Payroll 23014TV in the amount of $141,647.18 (Rhein/Aptowitz) Passes 5:0 • Town Payroll/Town Medicaid Payroll 23015PT in the amount of $454,340.64 Motion: To approve Town Payroll/Town Medicaid Payroll 23015PT in the amount of $454,340.64 (Rhein/Aptowitz) Passes 5:0 • Town Deductions Vendor Payroll 23015TV in the amount of $144,849.28 Motion: To approve Town Deductions Vendor Payroll 23015TV in the amount of $144,849.28 (Rhein/Aptowitz) Passes 5:0 • School Payroll/School Medicaid Payroll 23015PS in the amount of $1,868,747.54 Motion: To approve School Payroll/School Medicaid Payroll 23015PS in the amount of $1,868,747.54. (Rhein/Aptowitz) Passes 4:0:1 Trowbridge Abstain • School Deductions Vendor Payroll 23015SV In the amount of $602,869.13 Motion: To approve School Deductions Vendor Payroll 23015SV in the amount of $602,869.13, Select Board Meeting Minutes October 19, 2022 (Rhein/Aptowitz) Passes 5:0 • Town Payroll/Town Medicaid Payroll 23016PT in the amount of $ 498,096.39 Motion: To approve Town Payroll/Town Medicaid Payroll 23016PT in the amount of $ 498,096.39. (Rhein/Aptowitz) Passes 5:0 • Town Deductions Vendor Payroll 23016TV in the amount of $152,026.14 Motion: Town Deductions Vendor Payroll 23016TV in the amount of $152,026.14. (Rhein/Aptowitz) Passes 5:0 19. Correspondence • Letter from Randy Waters • Notice from Verizon of Programming Change • Notice from Verizon of TV Content Update • Invitation from Park and Rec — Halloween Parade Mr, Rhein read a summary of the above correspondence item. 20. Select Board Member's Comments and Questions Mr. Aptowitz asked how quickly before the testing will be back for the N. Main Street remediation at the old fire station. Mr. Dumas responded within a week it is expected and the attorneys are in touch with one another. Mr. Aptowitz then thanked everyone who helped with the Andruzzi Foundation event and the Special Olympics over the weekend. Mr. DelVecchio stated that residents can apply to serve on Board and Committees as the terms run until the end of the calendar year. He encouraged individuals to apply as some committees have less time commitments than others. Ms. Bren echoed what Mr. DelVecchio said and each committee has a different time commitment. Ms. Bren then thanked everyone who helped plan the Fall Festival and noted it was a fun and successful day. Mr. Rhein agreed with Ms. Bren that the Fall Festival and Downtown Committee was a heavy lift for the Town Manager's office. Mr. Rhein stated that he seriously doubted Mr. Dumas's decision to move forward with the event on Saturday it turned out to be a great event. He then stated that he was at the Bio- incubator's ribbon cutting and it is a beautiful facility and is fully leased with biotech startups. Mr. Trowbridge stated that the Fall Festival was a great event and thanked everyone involved. 21. Any items not anticipated by the Chair 48 hours prior to this meeting There were no items. 22. Adjourn Motion: To adjourn the October 19, 2022 Select Board Meeting at 7:33PM. (Aptowitz/DelVecchio) Passes 5:0 Signa ure Minutes prepared by Carrie Champagne Date Select Board Meeting Minutes October 19, 2022