Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin brd of selectmen 10/10/01 r Board of Selectmen Minutes of October 10, 2001 ,. HECEIVED t_,~_1 I", ~ (" ~ r- ¡-. I L ",;¡ ..,' , L',.(~ OI:FICc- , '.' L o I OCT 18 M1 9: 02 "1Þ. ¡,~ SF I ELD M Þ. S S /1. C H USE T T S Present: Chairman Louis P. Amoruso; Clerk Michael W. McCue; Vice Chairman Bradford E. Wills; and Selectmen David W. McCarter and Daniel Donovan. Town Manager John O. D'Agostino The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m., followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Chairman Amoruso announced a telethon that would be taking place during the meeting for the" Making Strides Against Breast Cancer" Walk to be held in Boston on Sunday. NMS Tobacco Control Program Director Karen Doucette invited those watching to call in their pledges and gave the numbers that would be in service until 9:00 p.m. to take calls. r · Warrant No. 16 in the amount of $2,818,510.79 Motion : To approve (Donovan-McCarter) 5-0 with Selectman McCarter abstaining from Municipal Building Committee payroll Passes · Minutes of October 3, 2001 Board of Selectmen Executive Session Motion: To approve but not release (McCue-Donovan) 5-0 Passes · Minutes of October 3, 2001 Board of Selectmen's meeting Motion: To approve (McCue-Donovan) 5-0 Passes r · Parade Permit application for the Annual Veterans Day Parade to be held Monday I November 12th atl0:00 a.m. Board of Selectmen Minutes of October 10, 2001 1 r Motion: To approve, subject to the approval of the Police and Fire Chiefs (Donovan-McCue) 5-0 Passes · Parade Permit application for Mansfield High School Annual Homecoming Day Parade to take place Saturday, October l-¡th at 3:00 p.m. Motion: To approve, subject to the approval of the Police and Fire Chiefs (McCue-Donovan) 5-0 Passes · Parade Permit application for the Annual Forest Park Neighborhood Halloween Parade on Wednesday, October 31st from 4:30-5:00 p.m. Motion: To approve, subject to the approval of the Police and Fire Chiefs (Wills-Donovan) 5-0 Passes · Notice to Residents - Invitation to Apply for Appointment to Town Boards and Committees appearing in the Sun Chronicle October 10th and 17th · Drainlayer's License Application of Barrows Contracting, 519 Gilbert Street, Mansfield - recommended for approval by Town Engineer John Sullivan Motion: To approve the drainlayer's license of Barrows Contracting (Donovan-Wills) 5-0 Passes r · New England Sportservice Alcohol Licenses: Hearing was held last week for alteration of licenses due to change of officers and directors. Motion: To approve the change of officers and directors and sign the licenses (McCarter-Donovan) 5-0 Passes Town Manager and Staff · Memorandum from Town Clerk Helen Christian - October 10th: vote to close Warrant for November 6th Special Town Meeting - There is one article on the warrant for a Zoning By-Law amendment Ken Butler of the Mansfield Music and Arts Society offered to postpone their article to the time of Town's Special Town Meeting when the date is set. Motion: To close the Warrant for the November 6th Special Town Meeting (McCarter-McCue) 5-0 Passes · E-mail from Ptlm. Lance Lawson recommending approval of the installation of "No Parking Anytime" signs on the east side of South Main Street between the r East/West intersection south to the property line of the restaurant bordering Board of Selectmen Minutes of October 10, 2001 2 r South Main Shell, and a "No Parking Here to Corner" sign 20 feet north of the Park Row intersection. Motion : To approve (McCarter-McCue) 5-0 Passes · Invitation from the Electric Department to attend their Open House at the Gilbert Street Substation October 20th from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Telethon Challenge: To match a $100 donation - challenge taken by Chairman Amoruso; Selectman Donovan; and Town Manager D'Agostino Chairman Lou Andrews introduced the committee: Steve MacCaffrie; Ralph Penney; Peter DeTrolio; Maureen Doherty; Jim Donnelly; Town Moderator Bob Saquet; and staff advisor Helen Christian. Mr. Andrews noted they divided their recommendation into three areas. Priorities were established at their first meeting. Making changes to speed up Town Meeting r and make it more efficient were set as priorities. Four meetings were held and consensus was reached on their recommendations. Recommended By-law Changes: · To qualify what constitutes a quorum count by adding "present in the meeting room" · Speed up procedures - recommendation on method of taking a count · Order of articles be established by lottery, with the exception of the budget articles to be taken in order · Reconsideration of articles delayed until at least three other articles have been considered (would keep special interest groups at the meeting longer and allow people to think about what they've voted on prior to being asked to reconsider) · Clarifying how Town Meeting is run by replacing Section 10 · Add a new section regarding availability of the warrant, recommending it be available ten business days prior to the Town Meeting and available in five public places throughout town and on the Town website · Setting ending time at 11:00 p.m. with a two-thirds vote necessary to continue · Amendments to articles must be provided in writing, with the moderator given the authority to go onto the next article while the author of the amendment writes it out r . Presentations should not exceed 15 minutes Board of Selectmen Minutes of October 10, 2001 3 r · No person shall address the Town Meeting unless recognized by the Moderator and may not speak more than once on the same subject without going to the end of the line and awaiting his/her turn to speak again · Rules used by the Moderator, when not specifically spelled out by the Charter, shall be governed by Town Meeting Times or Roberts Rules of Order · Clarification of existing Town Meeting procedures regarding the appointment of tellers for vote counts Procedural Recommendations: · Saturday Town Meetings - their research of other Towns found Saturday Town Meetings did not increase attendance except in those towns that have held Saturday meetings on a regular basis. They recommended taking a straw poll on the issue at the next Town Meeting. Explanation of Articles: · Sponsor should provide an explanation of and reason for an article being on the warrant; anyone opposing it should provide an opposing view in writing. These should be available at the time the warrant is available. · Provide ability for individuals to ask questions prior to the time of presentation on the floor of Town Meeting. r Procedures: · Advise people that a secret ballot is possible on articles with a dollar amount of $10,000 or more. · Discussed whether Live Cable broadcast keeps people at home. Suggested delaying broadcast by one day. · Moderator should make a greater effort to have all voters seated prior to conducting a standing count. · Would like a uniformed officer present in the auditorium at all times during the meeting. Vice Chairman Wills questioned whether having the warrant available ten days in advance would create confusion as the budget numbers change many times in the interim. Town Moderator Saquet noted the dollar amount would not have to be included in the article at that point. The motion doesn't change when a final figure is plugged in. Many articles do not change, but it has to be understood by the public that it is still a draft at that point. A dollar amount cannot be amended upwards. Selectman McCarter noted his support of the work done by the committee and the r recommendations made. Board of Selectmen Minutes of October 10, 2001 4 r Town Manager D'Agostino asked about the recommendation for a summary of what a "yes" vote or "no" vote would mean. He noted it would put the sponsor in a position of writing a "slanted" view. Mr. MacCaffrie noted it would provide an opportunity for a minority opinion to be presented. Discussion ensued as to when public input is aI/owed. He noted the finance Committee Saturday meeting with the Department Heads not being a forum for public comment, although the meeting is open to the public. The effort to get people involved in the Town Meeting process was debated, with the question of when the public is allowed input being the pivotal issue. The Town Manager noted the budget is a policy document-not a political document. He suggested the possibility of the Finance Committee hosting a public hearing on the warrant articles with the public invited. Chairman Amoruso noted our Charter requires the Board of Selectmen to determine the order of warrant articles. Town Meeting can change the order by a two-thirds vote on the floor of Town Meeting. He also noted there are articles that need to be and should be grouped. He stated his concern about regrouping articles by lottery that should be grouped together. Mr. Donnelly argued for the lottery system as a means of countering special interest groups, getting a better cross-section of the town at the meeting for all articles, and keeping a quorum. Mr. Saquet cited a survey taken by the Massachusetts Moderators Association of how r the matter of reconsideration is handled by other towns and the fact that the information was used in making the committee's recommendation. Mr. Saquet pointed out that each of the by-law changes would have to be put to the voters as a warrant article and they would have the opportunity to decide on the changes to the by-law. It appeared that although the lottery system provides everyone an equal opportunity to have their articles considered in prime time, it does not provIde for an orderly meeting. Town Manager D'Agostino noted this information will be presented Monday morning at the Department Heads meeting at 8:30 and suggested Mr. Andrews may want to be present. Mr. Andrews said their other concern is getting the Town Meeting Guide published. Clerk McCue noted he favors the changes going to a Town Meeting vote and appreciates the work done by the committee. The Town will have the Town Meeting Guide printed and distributed. . The Board needs to authorize him to file for a State Revolving Fund (SRF) loan for a stormwater management loan and a comprehensive wastewater study to r meet DEP requirements. Selectman Donovan questioned what would happen if Board of Selectmen Minutes of October 10, 2001 5 r other towns decicle to treat their own waste. The process was explained, noting it has a/ready been approved at Town Meeting Motion: To authorize the Town Manager to sign the application for the Stormwater Phase II Management Plan (Wills-Donovan) 5-0 Passes In so voting, The Board of Selectmen resolved: 1. That the Town Manager is hereby authorized on behalf of the Applicant to file applications and execute agreements for grant and/or loan assistance as well as furnishing such information, data and documents pertaining to the applicant for a grant(s) and/or loan(s) as may be required: and otherwise to act as the authorized representative of the Applicant in connection with this application; 2. That the purpose of said loan(s), if awarded, shall be to fund planning Activities; 3. That if said award is made the Applicant agrees to pay those costs which constitute the required Applicant's share of the project cost. r Motion: To authorize the Town Manager to sign the application for a Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan study (Wills-Donovan) 5-0 Passes In so voting The Board of Selectmen resolved: 1. That the Town Manager is hereby authorized on behalf of the Applicant to file applications and execute agreements for grant and/or loan assistance as well as furnishing such information, data and documents pertaining to the applicant for a grant(s) and/or loan(s) as may be required; and otherwise to act as the authorized representative of the Applicant in connection with this application; 2. That the purpose of said loan(s), if awarded, shall be to fund planning or construction activities. 3. That if said award is made the Applicant agrees to pay those costs which constitute the required Applicant's share of the project cost. · Mansfield Lodge of Elks will be hosting a breakfast for seniors at the Lodge on October 20th, with a shuttle service being provided from the Council on Aging for the 8:00 and 9:30 a.m. seatings r Board of Selectmen Minutes of October 10, 2001 6 r . There are no park benches missing at the Fulton Pond park area that DPW is aware of. There were two that were taken out to be repaired and they have been fixed and replaced. · He is in the process of continuing to contact other Town Managers of member communities of Southeastern Regional School District about meeting during the January MMA Annual Meeting and will be asking for agenda topics · A photo shoot has been scheduled for Thursday, October 11th, at 1:00 p.m. at the Mill Pond Dam site. · The Policeman's Ball is scheduled for Friday, beginning at 6:00 p.m. at the Holiday Inn. · On Thursday, October 18th the EPA Regional Office will host a public hearing on the Hatheway Patterson site for the $5-12 million cleanup. The Town is in the process of taking property in the area for non-payment of taxes. Chairman Amoruso noted he has been contacted by the woman who wl1l be conducting the hearing and she's offered to meet with the Selectmen at 6:00 p.m. on that night. r · Provided the Board with figures for the Stabilization Fund, noting the proposal to put $500,000 into Stabilization would be $200,000 short according the recommendations given by the Department of Revenue. The telethon for the "Making Strides Against Breast Cancer" Walk concluded at 9:00 p.m. Pledges from Town Hall employees totaled $1,100 and telethon donations were $1,010 for a total of $2,110. Selectmen McCarter: . Asked about the status of the Train Station project. We are pursuing a land purchase with an owner in the "Kiss and RIde" area. There is a desire on the part of Amtrak to raise the track by nine inches, so the platform and design work done to date needs to be redone. The issue remains of who is r going to pay for it. Until Amtrak gets additional Federal funding, they are not in a position to do so. He suggested it's time to have Frank Gay of Board of Selectmen Minutes of October 10, 2001 7 r GA TRA back in to clear up some of the issues. The second phase of the project may incorporate the reconstruction of the brIdge. There are many decisions that need to be made. Diagonal parking on Old Colony Way may provide some parking relief during construction and may be a good use of the 20 hours of work provided by SRPEDD. Despite the appearance that nothing is happening, there is a lot going on. We have consent from one property owner who is willing to sell to the Town at a reasonable price. · Asked about the status of fencing along the tracks, noting at one point Amtrak said they would be doing more. Congressman Barney Frank advised us that Amtrak has done all they agreed to and anything additional is up to the Town. Vice Chairman Wills: · Stated he thinks the Hutchason Property should be left in the name of the people who donated it. Town Manager D'Agostino suggested making the decision in conjunction with the Recreation Commission. The land was left to the Town many years ago to be used for recreation. Clerk McCue: r . Has been in touch with Town Engineer John Sullivan regarding SRPEDD's availability to do the traffic study. Selectman McCarter: · Asked about the new fire truck that he understands has been delivered to the Town. We have possession and believe it is being lettered. · Has been down to the new track and it shows the spirit of cooperation between the Town and the Schools in providing a facility that will be used by many segments of the community. He commended the effort. Town Manager D'Agostino noted his pleasure with the working relationship and the accomplishments that have been achieved The synthetic surface will be put in place shortly. Chairman Amoruso: · Announced the groundbreaking ceremony at 15 West Street on Sunday at r 11:30 a.m. for the expansion of Our Daily Bread Food Pantry Board of Selectmen Minutes of October 10, 2001 8 r r r . Asked members to complete and return the Town Manager's evaluation as soon as possible. He will compile the results and announce the composite. Motion: To adjourn at 10:23 p.m. (Donovan-McCarter) 5-0 Passes (~~ !.. It! í7f (Jï Date of Approval Signature of Clerk Board of Selectmen Minutes of October 10, 2001 9