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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSelect Board 10/01/2025Select Board Meeting Minutes October 1, 2025 Present: Mr. Walter Wilk, Chair; Mr. Michael Feck, Vice -Chair; Mr. Kostas Lta�'W.&*AkkOWndan Roche and Ms. Maureen R. Doherty were present in Meeting Room 3 A/B afW Josh Rgiroe, Acting Town Manager was also present in meeting room 3 A/B. 1fl15 �L' 4u4 1. Call To Order Select Board Meeting- Pledge of Allegiance -CC c Mr. Wilk called the meeting to order at 6:30PM. He then read the broad cast�me,�s6g6lkh isk�d those present to stand for the pledge of allegiance. 2. Discussion of FIFA World Cup and Impacts for Public Safety Departments Chief Sellon and Deputy Chief Archer were present. The Chief stated that he thought the meeting was going to take place in executive session. Mr. Wilk asked if he could still have a discussion and leave out sensitive information. The Chief explained the challenges of having the World Cup next summer in the region along with the concerts at the Xfinity Center and wanted to talk about what could be done as part of the licensing process that should be considered. Mr. Wilk asked Ms. Champagne to set up an executive session for the next meeting. 3. Discussion of Southeastern Massachusetts Regional Emergency Communications Center (SEMRECC) Chief Sellon stated that in 2014 it was his idea to go to regional dispatch center. He stated that he has some critiques and that there have been a series of missed opportunities, noting SEMRECC is not as successful as it could be. Chief Sellon stated that the fire chiefs and police chiefs do not have a say in how the organization runs and only the Town Managers from the communities of Norton, Mansfield, Foxboro and Easton that are on the Board and have votes. He stated that all of the other regional dispatch centers include the chiefs in their Boards. Mr. Wilk asked how would the Town go about changing it would be through all four communities agreeing to that change in the agreement. He stated that there were missed opportunities to add other communities to SEMRECC that would have provided a cost savings to the Town. Mr. Wilk asked if other communities have the same concerns and Chief Sellon responded that other communities added more police officers to man the front desk to fill the gaps and Mansfield went with a civilian desk clerk. 4. Discussion of Radio Towers This item will be discussed at the November 5th Select Board meeting in Executive Session. The Chair then skipped to agenda #14. 5. Discussion of Roland Green School on Dean Street Land Use Mr. Wilk stated that the Roland Green School has been turned back over to the Town from the schools and is a vacant property. He stated that the Board has discussed having the building demolished and selling as individual house lots. He stated that stabilization funds could be used for the demo and then replace the funds once the lots are sold. Mr. Feck asked if the Town could do a RFP instead of an auction because it is town owned land and may be more beneficial and Ms. Doherty confirmed they could. Mr. Reinke asked Mr. Ahern to give an update on the hazardous waste assessment. Mr. Ahern stated that they identified various hazardous things that will need to be removed prior to demolition. The cost is approximately $275,000. He stated that then the building demolition, disposal of it and to plant seed once its torn down would be another $275,000. He stated that they also included $70,000 for miscellaneous for a total of $650,000 and should take about three months. Ms. Sarah Raposa stated that she wanted to make a pitch for the town to consider a historical repurpose to turn into apartments and condos and put out an RFP before doing an abatement and demolition. Select Board Meeting Minutes October 1, 2025 Mr. Feck commented that it does make sense to put an RFP out there. Ms. Raposa stated that there are a group of developers that have special niche for redeveloping historical buildings which can retain the character of the neighborhood. Ms. Raposa stated that she worked in Medfield on the former state hospital project and the site began with thirty-five very dilapidated buildings that no one thought could be reused but learned a lot about the historical preservation process and it can be done. Mr. Roche stated that it is a good consideration. Ms. Doherty asked what the timeline was. Mr. Wilk stated that he thought they would get money at fall Town Meeting to demo the building and auction the lots in the spring. Mr. Feck recommended including the Planning Board in the discussions because for some projects they would need to approve a special permit. Ms. Doherty asked Mr. Reinke to check with counsel to see if it is a vote of Select Board or a vote or Town Meeting to surplus the property. Mr. Wilk stated that they should consider the neighborhood and the chocolate factory project took a very long time to get completed and he wanted to avoid a situation like that. The Board agreed to proceed with putting the cost for demolition on the Fall Town Meeting warrant and also do an RFP. 6. Town Manager's Report ➢ Miscellaneous Items Select Board Members Questions and Comments on Town Manager's Report Mr. Reinke stated that there is road construction the week of October 14'h on North Street the last 700 feet will be ground and repaved. He also noted that the week of October 20t' Barnboard will be ground and repaved. There were no questions from the Board. 7. Public Comment (Per the Select Board Operating Procedures: The Chair may give visitors who are not listed on the agenda an opportunity to speak to the Board during the Public Comments session; however, the Chair may limit their speaking time at the discretion of the Chair.) There were none. 8. Update from Boards, Committee's and Commissions Board of Health — Ms. Kasia Fernette came forward and stated that she is the current Chair and has been on the Board for nine years. She stated that the health department has one full time employee and one part time employee. She stated that the Board of Health's mission is to protect, preserve and improve the public health, environment and wellbeing of residents. She then stated that a lot of their work revolves around inspections but they have had substance abuse trainings and are currently hosting flu and COVID vaccine clinics throughout October. Recreation Commission — Mr. Mitch Bregnard was present and discussed the accomplishments of this year noting that they maintained full enrollment in several programs and he listed them. He then mentioned all of the community events they hosted. He stated that the Commission also voted to name the Recreation Scholarship in memory of Lorilee Fish. Ms. Sherri Gurnon could not attend but offered her thanks to the Recreation Commission and Ms. Mary Sellner. Mr. Bregnard then stated that he hopes that budget is addressed. Ms. Doherty talked about naming the little foot bridge after Lorilee Fish. Mansfield Housing Corp — Mr. Lou Amoruso was present and stated they have a house lot and are looking to put a 40B development on the parcel. He stated that they are hoping to be more involved with the Planning Board and have five members and are always looking for more members. Keep Mansfield Beautiful — Mr. Jeff Ward was present and stated what they have accomplished with a top ten list. He then acknowledged that Nancy Wall a long-time member of the Committee had passed away. He then stated that he is happy to have two additional members approved by the Select Board and they are planning the fall clean-up which will be held the first two weeks of November. Select Board Meeting Minutes October 1, 2025 Finance Committee — Ms. Sara Walsh was present and stated that the Committee meets monthly on the third Thursday of the month to review the Financial Reports. She stated that they just finished reviewing and updating the Financial Policies and have sent those to the Chairs of the Select Board and School Committee. She stated that are also planning to launch a survey to the community. They will also be focusing on educating the public on the budget process and override. Planning Board — Ms. Sharon Friedman provided a written statement that Mr. Feck read for those present. The update included information on their public hearings for zoning items for Fall Town Meeting. He then noted the project and application reviews that they are working on as well. Conservation Commission — Mr. Mike Healey then came forward and provided an update on the Department and the Commission. He stated that they are currently looking at the fee schedule for fillings and when compared to other communities, Mansfield is on the lower end. He stated that the are also looking into a tree by-law. The Open Space and Recreation Plan and Hazardous Mitigation Plan will be complete soon. He then provided an update on the Stormwater Regulations and markings on trails. He also stated that the department will be needing a part-time agent in a few years. 9. Update from Mansfield Food Pantry Aaron Nicodemus came forward and stated that the food pantry started in 1997 and served twelve families and this past week they served 192 shoppers. He stated that the demand is increasing dramatically. He stated that they are concerned about the cuts that may come from the federal government. He stated that they are rising to meet the need but donations are leveling off and are concerned how the federal cuts could affect their biggest supplier which is the Boston Food Bank. The Board thanked them for their work and Ms. Doherty commented how they always put out the items on sale for people on Facebook. 10. Discussion and Consideration of Change of Manager Application from Ancharon Restaurant Inc. dba Catman Cafe Attorney Sydney Prokos was present virtually via GoToWebinar along with Mr. Kalyan Ancha the owner of Catman Cafe. She stated that the manager of the restaurant bought the restaurant a year ago and has worked closely with the previous owner. The previous owner was the manager of record with the ABCC and he was officially leaving and therefore Mr. Ancha was going to be the new manager of record. She stated that there are zero changes to the external business and hope the Board would be in support of this change. Mr. Loukos asked if he has been a manager before and Ms. Prokos responded that he is the current owner. Motion: To approve the change of manager application for Ancharon Restaurant Inc. dba Catman Cafe pending routing. (Roche/Doherty) Roll Call Vote: Loukos — Yes Feck—Yes Doherty — Yes Roche —Yes Wilk — Yes Passes 5:0 11. Discussion and Consideration of Capital Charge Waiver/Reduction Request for Butter Dreams 291 North Main Street Mr. Wilk invited Mr. Kuplast the owner of the property to come forward. Mr. Josh Reinke provided information on the property and the fee that the applicant was seeking a waiver for. Mr. Reinke stated that Mr. Kuplast stated that the cost of soil and the environmental cleanup is now at $40,700 and do not know what the total cost will come to. Mr. Reinke recommended the Board consider reducing the fee by taking the difference of $62,385 and $40,700 that he has paid already. Mr. Feck commented that he wants to see a successful business and this a unique situation. Mr. Loukos asked what the Town had spent for the cleanup of the property and Mr. Ahern stated that the Town spent $550,000 on the site. Mr. Roche stated that the cost he has to pay could increase and the Board should wait and waive the fee after he knows how much the Select Board Meeting Minutes October 1, 2025 additional cost will be. Mr. Wilk asked to add this to the October 15th agenda. Ms. Doherty asked when he was anticipating opening and he responded March. 12. Review and Discussion of The Collins Center Timeline for the Town Manager Search (Discussion to Include Community Meeting, Screening Committee, Next Steps, Tentative Schedule, etc.) Ms. Mary Aicardi was present virtually from the Collins Center. Ms. Doherty stated that the Board went through a procurement process and the Collins Center was hired to assist with the Town Manager search. Ms. Doherty then went through the proposed timeline, the makeup of a screening committee and the public input sessions for employees and residents. Ms. Mary Aicardi then stated the most important item is that the screen committee applicants must be available for the meetings. The Board then discussed whose email should be provided for those applying to be on the screening committee but were leaving it up to Mr. Reinke to decide. Ms. Doherty stated that the Select Board will not be at the input sessions and Ms. Aicardi stated that this helps employees speak more freely. Mr. Loukos asked for a press release on this to go out. 13. Discussion of Assistant Town Manager/Finance Director Position Mr. Reinke stated that the Assistant Town Manager/Finance Director Position is vacant and on hold. Mr. Reinke was proposing to remove the Assistant Town Manager part and just have the position be a Finance Director. Mr. Reinke stated that he does not see the workload to support the Assistant Town Manager position. He then provided a matrix to compare the Assistant Town Manager and Finance Director and also noted a reduction in salary which would save about $50,000. He stated that the range for the position would be $128,000 to $153,000. He stated that Mr. LaCasse would come to help train the Finance Director when they are hired. Ms. Doherty had a slight modification to the job description and stated that under the encumberment section to add MCPPO certified or can receive the designation within eighteen months. Motion: To approve the job description as amended. (Doherty/Roche) Roll Call Vote Loukos— Yes Feck— Yes Doherty — Yes Roche —Yes Wilk — Yes Passes 5:0 14. Discussion and Consideration on E-bikes on Town Bike Paths and Developing a Bylaw or Regulation on their Use Chief Sellon stated that Lt. Connor is working on this and the Town of Norton is facing the same issue. Chief Sellon stated that they were going to look at a by-law however he suggests the town hold public sessions to talk about it and research what other communities are doing and that by spring Town meeting there could be a proposed by-law. Mr. Feck asked what is the state law with age and riding bikes on the road because there are lots of kids riding bikes on the roads that do not know the rules of the road. Chief Sellon stated that bikes are not supposed to exceed 20 mph. There are mopeds and dirt bikes and its chaos right now. Ms. Doherty asked if they need to wear helmets when riding an e-bikes. Deputy Chief Archer stated that a -bikes are easily modified aftermarket to make them go faster and they can go up to 40 mph. The Chair skipped back to agenda #5. 15. Consideration to Open the Special Town Meeting Warrant and Schedule it to Close on October 17, 2025 at 12 noon There was no discussion. Motion: To open the Special Town Meeting Warrant and Schedule it to Close on October 17, 2025 at 12 noon. (Roche/Doherty) Roll Call Vote: Loukos — Yes Feck— Yes Doherty — Yes Roche —Yes Wilk — Yes Passes 5:0 Select Board Meeting Minutes October 1, 2025 16. Discussion and Consideration to Support State Senator Jacob Oliveira's Bill to Remove Candidate's Address from Ballots Mr. Wilk stated that given the recent events and safety of people in political office this would help provide more privacy however he noted there are so many ways for people to find addresses. Mr. Loukos commented that he saw no harm in sending a letter and Mr. Feck commented that it makes sense given the climate today. Motion: To send a letter of support to the State Delegation to Support State Senator Jacob Oliveira's Bill to Remove Candidate's Address from Ballots. (Roche/Doherty) Roll Call Vote: Loukos — Yes Feck— Yes Doherty —Yes Roche —Yes Wilk — Yes Passes 5:0 17. General Budget Discussion — Including Budget Subcommittee Update The general budget discussion agenda item is a regular Select Board agenda item that will be for the discussion on any fiscal year budgets and may include discussions of past fiscal years or future fiscal years. Mr. Wilk stated that there was a Tri-Board and they talked about the schedule and noted that the budget started at a $5.9M shortfall and went down to $5.1M. However, the shortfall is back to $5.3M as new growth was not certified as high as anticipated. Ms. Doherty asked how many employees are in unions and Mr. Reinke responded that the would need to find out. 18. Select Board Member Committee and Liaison Updates Ms. Doherty provided an update on CIP who met to discuss the Fiscal Year 2026 and Fiscal Year 2027 CIP. She stated that there is $800,000 in Free Cash and ultimately up to this Board for how that is used. She stated that the Committee approved the Schools request for $250,000 for intercom systems in the Jordan Jackson Elementary School and Qualters Middle School. She then stated that she went to a Triad meeting and noted that they do a lot of safety items for seniors. She then stated that MMED is hosting a Halloween luncheon. Mr. Loukos stated that the Audit Committee met this evening and are meeting again October 15t' with Mansfield Municipal Electric Department at SPM. 19. Public Comments (Per the Select Board Operating Procedures: The Chair may give visitors who are not listed on the agenda an opportunity to speak to the Board during the Public Comments session; however, the Chair may limit their speaking time at the discretion of the Chair.) There were none. 20. 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 and events have been routed through Town Hall Departments and any conditions have been noted below. A. Vote to Approve Meeting Minutes: ➢ September 17, 2025 B. Vote to Approve Warrants: ➢ Town Vendor Warrant No. 2613T in the amount of $4,480,245.33 ➢ Town Vendor Warrant No. 2613E in the amount of $371,267.39 ➢ Electric Vendor Warrant No. 26135 in the amount of $777,655.99 C. Consideration of Permits and Licenses: Select Board Meeting Minutes October 1, 2025 ➢ Consideration to Approve Special Events Application for Downtown Business Association for Annual Christmas Parade pending routing through Town Departments D. Proclamations: ➢ Captain Kevin Fontes Motion: To approve the consent agenda. (Roche/Doherty) Roll Call Vote: Loukos— Yes Feck— Yes Passes 5:0 Doherty — Yes Roche —Yes Wilk — Yes 21. Consideration and Approval of Town Payroll Warrants: ➢ Town Payroll/Town Medicaid Payroll 2613PT in the amount of $1,116,172.53 Motion: To approve Town Payroll/Town Medicaid Payroll 2613PT in the amount of $1,116,172.53. (Roche/Doherty) Roll Call Vote: Loukos—Yes Feck— Yes Doherty — Yes Roche —Yes Wilk —Yes Passes 5:0 ➢ Town Deductions Vendor Payroll 2613TV in the amount of $350,107.89 Motion: To approve Town Deductions Vendor Payroll 2613TV in the amount of $350,107.89. (Roche/Doherty) Roll Call Vote: Loukos—Yes Feck— Yes Doherty — Yes Roche —Yes Wilk — Yes Passes 5:0 ➢ School Payroll/School Medicaid Payroll 2613PS in the amount of $2,007,305.80 Motion: To approve School Payroll/School Medicaid Payroll 2613PS in the amount of $2,007,305.80. (Roche/Feck Roll Call Vote: Loukos— Yes Feck— Yes Doherty — Abstain Roche —Yes Wilk — Yes Passes 4:0:1 ➢ School Deductions Vendor Payroll 2613SV in the amount of $562,098.84 Motion: To approve School Deductions Vendor Payroll 2613SV in the amount of $562,098.84. (Roche Roll Call Vote: Lou kos—Yes Feck— Yes Doherty — Yes Roche —Yes Wilk — Yes Passes 5:0 22. Correspondence ➢ Invitation to Halloween Costume Parade from Parks and Recreation ➢ Notification from Verizon Mr. Roche read the above correspondence items. 23. Select Board Member's Comments and Questions Ms. Doherty stated that the invitation for the Halloween parade includes participation in the parade and then being a judge for the best costume. 24. Any items not anticipated by the Chair 48 hours prior to this meeting There were no items. 25. Adjourn Motion: To adjourn the October 1, 2025 Select Board meeting at 8:4513M. (Doherty/Roche) Roll Call Vote: Lou kos—Yes Feck— Yes Passes 5:0 Doherty — Yes Roche —Yes Wilk —Yes Select Board Meeting Minutes October 1, 2025 Signature Minutes prepared by Carrie Champagne Documents used in meeting: Date ®r /s /P 1. Application from Catman Cafe for a Change of Manager 2. Fee Waiver Request from Butter Dreams 3. Timeline of the Town Manager Search from The Collins Center 4. Comparison Chart of Assistant Town M anger and Finance Director Position 5. Memo from the Town Clerk for Special Town Meeting Timeline/Dates 6. Email from Madison Dunphy for Removal of Candidates Addresses from Ballots 7. Meeting Minutes of September 17, 2025 8. Special Events Application from Downtown Business Association for Annual Christmas Parade 9. Invitation to Halloween Costume Parade from Parks and Recreation 10. Notification from Verizon Select Board Meeting Minutes October 1, 2025