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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin brd of selectmen 06/06/01 .-' T I' RECEIVED ' O¡/d CI F"P"r,(~, OFF" '., 'I" CE 0' JUN I 4 411 10: I 8 June 6, 2001 M ~_, ,. HAS ANS¡-IELD Chairman Louis P. Amoruso, Chairman; Michael W1fm~~l&; Vice Chairman Bradford E. Wills; and Selectmen David W. McCarter and Daniel Donovan. Town Manager John D'Agostino Board of Selectmen Minutes of r Present: The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m., followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. . Warrant No. 50 in the amount of $2,988,083.27 Motion: To approve and sign (McCarter-Wills) 5-0 with Selectman McCarter abstaining from Municipal Building Committee payroll Passes r . Minutes of May 30, 2001 Motion : To approve (Wills-McCue) 5-0 Passes . Request for Transfer from Reserve Fund of $30,851.42 by Police Chief Arthur M. O'Neill due to unanticipated increases in the cost of heat, telephone, electricity and motor fuel Discussion was held as to whether this transfer is necessitated by unforeseen expenses or if it is due to improper budgeting. It was suggested that although heat, electricity and motor fuel have increased, it was not known why there were unanticipated phone expenses of $3,700. Motion: To recommend approval of the transfer request to the Finance Committee for everything except phone expenses pending further information (McCarter-Wills) 5-0 Passes r . Grant Application prepared by the Historical Commission for the Fisher- Richardson House - Board needs to vote that John D'Agostino, as Town Board of Selectmen Minutes of June 6, 2001 1 r Manager. is authorized to execute a contract; Clerk must attest to the vote and sign Motion: To authorize the project, including a $57,200 matching fund portion of the grant (Wills-Donovan) 5-0 Passes · Follow-up memo on authority of Selectmen regarding letter from Thomas A. Fuller suggesting a curfew be imposed on ice cream vendors Send a letter to Mr. Fuller and advising him of the possibility of presenting a citizens petition to enact a noise by-law at Town Meeting. · Copy of letter of commendation from Police Chief Arthur M. O'Neill to Officer Paul Hargadon for his actions in conjunction with an armed robbery at the Diaz Market on Elm Street Motion: To send him a letter of commendation (Wills-McCue) 5-0 Passes · E-mail from Mark Cook, Highway Operations Manager, advising that the "blind driveway" signs on Fruit Street were installed June 5th. r . E-mail from Park and Recreation Director Lorilee Fish reminding everyone of the rededication of Memorial Park on Thursday, June 14th, with the ceremony and celebration to take place from 6:00-8:00 p.m. · Information packet from the Office of the County Commissioners of Bristol County re: Advisory Board Meeting - This meeting is held once a year. Amos Robinson was our representative; however, a current member of the Board of Selectman must f/Ï/ the position. Nomination: To appoint Vice Chairman Wills to represent us at the Advisory Board Meeting (Donovan) Vote: 5-0 Passes · Letter from Reps. Michael Coppola and Elizabeth Poirier in response to the Town's concerns regarding redistricting. · Letter from Goodwin/Procter requesting expansion of the area covered by the Tweeter Center's Alcoholic Beverage licenses for an event on July 18th. Chairman Amoruso explained it would be a modification of their liquor license and it would be in effect for the entire year. He recommended the Board let them know what the procedure would be r Board of Selectmen Minutes of June 6, 2001 2 r Motion: To send them a letter advising them it would require a hearing and to get an opinion from the Building Inspector/Zoning Enforcement Officer and the Planning Board. (Wills-McCarter) 5-0 Passes . Fax from Town Counsel Robert Mangiaratti of letter from Attorney Robert G. Funke Bill Flannery was at the meeting to present twelve of the fourteen young people involved in Boys/Girls State. They were: Mike Rhoda, Danny Bayon, Pat Hill, Eddie Drake, James Lindsey, Rick Scartelli, Michaela Fair, Amy Fasoli, Emily Turcott, Stephanie Collins, Emily Noonon, and Stephanie Smith. Not present due to their participation in a band concert were Christina Spagnoli and Gwendolyn Holt. Mr. Flannery explained the program, wherein the boys will be going to Stonehill College for three days and setting up a mock municipal government. The experience includes classes in law, economics, Proposition 2 î, etc., giving them knowledge of ,r how local and state government operate. The program is run by the American Legion. The girls will be going to Bay Path Community College for two days and have a similar program run by the American Legion Auxilliary. The top two from each state go on to Washington, D.C., as representatives to Boys Nation. Town Manager D'Agostino gave a brief explanation to the group of Mansfield's Town Manager form of government with three elected bodies. He equated the Board of Selectmen to the Board of Directors of a company. The Selectmen are also the Light Commissioners, the Water and Sewer Commissioners, the licensing authority and the appointing authority for most boards and committees. All the rules and regulations that govern us are found in our charter, with Mansfield being one of the first four Massachusetts communities to establish a charter back in the 1920's. He further reviewed his role in appointing various department heads, with Town Meeting being the legislative body appropriating the money to be spent and determining how they want it spent. . Leonard Flynn speaking for the Natural Resources Trust - announced the (' rescheduling of the rained-out celebration last Saturday to be held from 10:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Scott-Goyea Farm off Oak Street this Saturday. Board of Selectmen Minutes of June 6,2001 3 r . Steve MacCaffrey, 236 Mill Street - spoke of the adverse possession issue involving Norton Estates. He suggested that once the Selectmen had reached a preliminary decision on what they were going to do, it should have been made public so he and others with experience in similar situations could have had input. He said they had not maintained the property. He also spoke of Saturday Town Meetings, noted the last time it was attempted it took 2 î hours to get a quorum. His third issue was the Town Meeting regarding the quorum issue to open the Special. He said he spoke to two people in the Attorney General's Office regarding the quorum count, without identifying the Town, and was told he has probable cause for a complaint. He suggested we follow a consistent procedure as to how the meeting will be run and not switch from one method to another. He stated that the Board should make an attempt to see if the Town Moderator would announce what rules he's going to follow prior to the start of Town Meeting. Steve MacCaffrie and Peter DeTrolio offered to serve on a committee to review and recommend changes to the By-Laws regarding the operation of Town Meeting. Chairman Amoruso noted the Moderator's agreement during the Charter review process to provide them with this information. Motion: To establish an ad-hoc committee to review the by-laws relative to the r conduct of Town Meeting (McCarter-Wills) 4-1 with Selectman Donovan opposed A notice will be put in Cable Access inviting residents to apply for appointment to the ad-hoc committee. Leonard Flynn suggested the Charter already spells it out. George Dentino, Gladiola Terrace - noted he has agreed with the Board to wait until later in the meeting to further discuss the Norton Estates matter. Jack and Nick Riccio of Mill Farm Estates were present with Water Operations Manager Kurt Gaffney to explain their request. Mr. Gaffney said they have complied with all the requirements of the new water policy, but need to do a model of the impact on the town. Jack Riccio noted this is the last phase of the project that was started in 1992. Mr. Gaffney pointed out he was not here when the original project was approved, noting the water line is not looped. Mr. Riccio stated that even if he loops it, he's still going into a dead-end line. He noted this is not a r new subdivision. Mr. Gaffney said it would prevent having a dead-end line on Saw Mill Court. The end of Plowshare, Barnboard and others all go into a dead-end, and Board of Selectmen Minutes of June 6, 2001 4 r , that's how it was done when the subdivision was approved. He would have to run a loop down Holstein, which is already completed, back to Mill Farm Drive. Town Manager D'Agostino noted the issue arose because we wouldn't let the developer on Franklin Street go forward with the project unless he looped the main. Our responsibility is to look out for the water quality available to people within the subdivision. Mr. Riccio said it would cost an additional $20,000. but it's not a money issue. He will still be looping it to a dead-end line, so it doesn't make any sense to have to loop it. Mr. Gaffney noted the applicants need to receive permission to extend the water line, and the current policy is not to allow dead-end lines. He acknowledged that this subdivision was approved ten years ago when looped water mains were not a requirement. The difference between this and others who have been required to loop the main under the policy is that the other subdivisions had not begun construction. This one is almost complete and was started ten years ago. Town Manager D'Agostino acknowledged he brought up the issue of looping with Mr. r Gaffney as a parity issue, noting it was required of another developer. Mr. Riccio said he did not know until tonight that he was going to be required to loop the main. Motion: To waive the requirement to loop the main because it is an old approved subdivision that has been under construction for ten years. (Donovan-McCue) 4-1 with Chairman Amoruso opposed Passes Mr. Gaffney introduced a modification to the water restriction policy to allow for a Special Permit to be issued for the watering of new lawns only for fourteen consecutive days between the hours of 5:00 and 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. during Phase I of the Water Use Restrictions. There is no charge for the permit, which will be issued following an inspection to determine the need for the new lawn watering permit. Motion: To amend Phase I of the Water Use Restrictions to incorporate a Special Permit process for the watering of new lawns (Wills-Donovan) 5-0 Passes ,.- Board of Selectmen Minutes of June 6,2001 5 r Ken Hackett. Operations Manager of the Wastewater Treatment Plant. asked for formal adoption of changes to Schedule A of the Town of Mansfield Sewer Use Regulations adopted February 21, 1996. These changes are less restrictive in four areas and are in accordance with the Department of Environmental Protection's pre-treatment levels. Motion: To adopt the changes to Schedule A of the Town of Mansfield Sewer Use Regulations (Donovan-Wills) 4-1 with Chairman Amoruso opposed Passes Frank Foss, Manager of Government Affairs, was present at the Selectmen's request to discuss signal quality and customer service issues. Brian Joyce, plant operations supervisor at Foxboro, was also present. Chairman Amoruso reported we're still having signal problems in town, particularly on the access channels, and also on some of the other channels. He noted the comments coming back from the surveys put out by the Ad Hoc Cable License Review Committee. r Mr. Foss reiterated the need to have names and addresses where households are having signal problems and said he has received them from only the Town Manager's office. Chairman Amoruso noted Cable Access Corporation has reported numerous efforts to get the quality improved. Mr. Joyce reported on-going dialogue with Jack O'Neill of Mansfield Cable and detailed their efforts. He stated there has been improvement since they've been addressing the problem. At the time of the complaint he and Mr. O'Neill spent three days tracking down the source of the problem, which lead to a modem at the High School. When it was turned off, the problem went away. Chris Mayo at the High School was notified of the problem and was told they needed to have someone come in and adjust it. When the modem is replaced, the problem will be eliminated. The equipment they are using is no longer manufactured. The I-Net hub is in the Foxboro office, and the residential and I-net are combined in Foxboro. Mr. Joyce reported he looks at both the Foxboro and Mansfield access channels every day to monitor the signal quality and, when it doesn't look good, they respond to it within 24 hours. Mr. Foss noted there could be multiple problems, but this is what they've r discovered to date. The fact that the lines disappear when the modem is unplugged makes it suspect. Mr. Joyce said the majority of the time he hears from Jack Board of Selectmen Minutes of June 6. 2001 6 r O'Neill and he reports back to him as soon as he determines the source of the problem. If people are experiencing problems, they should call. Selectman McCarter asked about digital television and HDTV. Digital television has been available since last summer through the use of a digital cable box. HDTV requires a special television and currently there are only two area channels broadcasting in an HDTV format. Chairman Amoruso asked for an update on customer service, noting he still gets many complaints about the response time. Mr. Foss acknowledged there are still some problems, but noted AT&T Broadband has not laid off personnel as have other cable companies. They have instead moved personnel to customer service to improve efficiency in this area. They have also broken down the system to give them the ability to handle the calls without routing and to track the calls as to whether they are cable calls or high speed data problems. Right now they only have regional phone numbers and cannot decipher Mansfield calls. They hope to have a new system operating by the fall. At the time the license was written, it was through CVI, which was a local system, and it was possible to track Mansfield calls. They agreed to that condition of the license because they had the capability to comply. r Selectman Donovan asked if there is any way for people to choose individual stations. Mr. Foss replied that they do not offer á la carte programming. Selectman McCarter asked if Road Runner service has been provided to the Library. Mr. Foss stated he did not know, but will find out. Mr. Joyce said he believes it is in the assessment stage right now. Selectman Donovan noted there are many communities considering bringing in service of their own in response to consumer demand for á la carte programming. He asked how they plan to combat that. Mr. Foss noted Time Warner tried it, but found the equipment needed in the head-end was cost prohibitive and it made for too many channels to be handled. There were also commercial reasons why it was not offered. Bill Gerber, representing Cable Access, of 362 Central Street - noted as a subscriber he's shocked that Mr. Foss has no names and addresses. He spoke of waiting over an hour to get through and when they arrived later for a service call, neither channels 9 and 15 had any programming at the time. The signal on the scroll was fine. As Clerk and Chairman of the Board of Cable Access he noted he's received no written communication from the Town or AT&T. Channels 9, 15, 17 and 98 are the responsibility of the town. They just appropriated $2,000 to replace the modem at the high school if that would solve the problem. He asked that ,-. Mansfield Cable Access be copied on all communication between AT&T and the Town to keep them in the loop. He also asked about the "holes" in the AT&T lineup Board of Selectmen Minutes of June 6,2001 7 r card. stating he's been told that the price of getting the fifth channel back will be the elimination of the Food Channel or some other channel people want. He asked whey the fifth channel couldn't be put in on one of the upper 90's channels. He also stated they provide signal-not equipment. Mr. Joyce explained the modem is a two-way signal system. If you buy a modem tuned to that frequency it won't work. It's necessary to be sure the modem has the capability of supporting both the incoming and outgoing frequencies. Mr. Gerber asked if there are any other ways to get the signal to the head-end. The School Department (Chris Mayo) has the specifications needed for the new modem. Chairman Amoruso assured Mr. Foss that we will encourage people who are having problems to call him. Mr. Joyce noted they respond at all hours. Town Manager D'Agostino reported on the following: . The Water Resources Commission meeting is scheduled for June 14th at 1:00 p.m. The Conference room is 1102 - on the 11th floor-at EPA, One Congress r Street in Boston. It appears we are meeting all the conditions and they will probably vote in the affirmative to allow the permit to go forward. He brought two issues to the Board's attention. First, was a comprehensive residential water conservation program. We have to meet 65 gallons per day per household. Currently we're at 69 gallons. The other component is public education on water conservation. The staff recommendation is that the Town provide proof that the program has been funded prior to operation. A letter was sent to Michelle Drury through Mark Smith at the Water Resources Commission. The differences between our well and Foxboro's have been recognized. They are reviewing a plan that outlines the interbasin transfer performance standards. . Representative Poirier will host a meeting with the House Transportation Secretary here tomorrow and then go on a site visit to the Route 106 underpass. MBT A platform construction has not been resolved yet and he hopes to meet with Frank Gay tomorrow. . Read the "Destiny of Our Youth" mission statement, which was inclusive of the elements of the Mansfield community. The goals and objectives set by the conference were also reviewed. r · Has developed a seminar, conference and travel expense policy with the input of Town Accountant Bea Kearney for their review. The per-diem portion of the Board of Selectmen Minutes of June 6, 2001 8 r policy will be reviewed in light of cost-of-living adjustments for various areas. Selectman McCarter suggested that all travel must have the prior approval of the Town Manager. · We are completing our orientation package for next Wednesday and it will be ready prior to the meeting. We're planning to group department by function, allowing 20 minutes per group, followed by a roundtable discussion. · Draft CSS Memo is in packet. It is scheduled for June 26th. The Executive Summary is provided. · We've received $299,846.31 in two checks in settlement of the Skanco case. It's in a Wastewater Account entitled User Account/Foxboro. He recommended the funds be transferred at Town Meeting to the Wastewater Depreciation Account. . Norton Estates: George Dentino of Gladiola Terrace noted he assumed the r Board of Selectmen and the Town Manager never received the full file from Attorney Mangiaratti until recently. He suggested decisions were made based on information that was never received. He reviewed the conveyances of the deeds, noting that Mr. Mangiaratti told the Board the land in Mansfield and Norton were conveyed. He noted the Lot "9" discrepancy that was really Lot "7". An exact date was not determined-only the early 1970's. The permit was not checked out and traced. It was based only on a statement made in the deposition. The portrayal of storage of construction equipment is inaccurate and is contradicted. The assessment and payment of taxes stated is in error. The first assessment was in 1982. On page 39 of Enos' deposition he states it was never used as refuse except from 1994 on. He asked who is the "we" referred to by Mr. Mangiaratti as examining the town's tax records and finding nothing. He also noted his disappointment that Mr. Mangiaratti stated he did not have a strong opinion and would do whatever the board wanted. He asked if in fact Mr. Mangiaratti had advised them to settle because they did not have a strong case. Mr. Mangiaratti was informed of this is 1992 and has had several opportunities to advise the Board based on his knowledge of having the town declare it as open space for recreation or conservation. The litigation began in 1994. He spoke of the chain being broken for active and continuous use and exclusive use as stated in Mr. Enos' deposition. He failed to satisfy the ;- continuity and exclusive use from 1982 to 1994 necessary to claim adverse possession. All attendees at the Executive Session claim they had no knowledge Board of Selectmen Minutes of June 6, 2001 9 r that Tweeter was interested in this land. The Board noted the first corroboration they had was from Mr. Muir at the Tweeter storage of flammables hearing. On May 1, 1996, there was a letter from AI Turinese to Bob Mangiaratti that established a value of $24,800 and suggested the land may be more valuable to Great Woods. The recommendation was made at that time to continue the negotiations and not to settle until after Great Woods was contacted. There's a record of a $10,000 offer, and a $15,000 offer. There's no record of a $15,000 offer being turned down and there's no record of an offer of $20,000. Mr. Mangiaratti stated there was an offer of $20,000- where did it come from? r He provided the following reasons for fighting the stipulation: On May 2nd the Board voted to reconsider and stop the stipulation if it hadn't been filed. On May 3rd Mr. Mangiaratti sent a letter to Atty. Funke asking him to hold off on filing the stipulation until we could meet with him. It was signed, sent to Funke, but not filed with the Court on May 3rd. On May 4th Mr. Funke sends a letter back to Mr. Mangiaratti that he will file the stipulation with the Court on May 11th-which he did. Mr. Dentino stated this is important because on March 27th there's a letter from Mangiaratti to Funke that states it is being sent with the understanding that he will hold it in escrow until he receives the check for $20,000. Mangiaratti said last week we have not received the money yet. Mangiaratti to Funke on 2/21-upon receipt of the executed stipulation I shall hold the same in escrow pending payment to the Town through you for $20,000. The stipulation was filed on May 11th. It is now June 6th and the money still has not been received. That constitutes a breach of the agreement and provides the grounds needed. Selectman McCarter noted the Selectmen are volunteers and take the job seriously. They do rely on the advice of experts, and when Counsel recommends a settlement they agree to it. He stated there was no intent to deceive anyone or hide anything, but there was discussion regarding the negotiations that would have been damaging if the other side were privy to our strategy. At this point in the meeting the 11:00 p.m. curfew was reached. Motion: To extend the meeting until 11:15 p.m. (Donovan-^^cCarter) 5-0 Passes Selectman McCarter noted his decision was based on the representation that our ,-- case was weak and we were likely to lose and to continue to spend money on attorney's fees did not make sense. Board of Selectmen Minutes of June 6. 2001 10 r Mr. Dentino stated he's done everything he could in the last four weeks to show them misleading information and inaccurate information and has provided them an out for breach of contract. He said he is comfortable asking the Selectmen to fight this. Selectman Donovan said he does feel like he was blind-sided if there was knowledge of the Tweeter Center's interest in the property and the Board was not made aware of it. Chairman Amoruso said the Board was aware that the land was adjacent to the Tweeter Center. Mr. Dentino noted the value of land is determined by who is interested in it and for what purpose. Selectman McCarter said his decision was based on whether we were likely to prevail. Chairman Amoruso agreed that Mr. Dentino has certainly pointed out defects in the process, but stated he is not sure he wants to continue the fight. Mr. Dentino read from the deposition in making his argument that there was not continuous use. There were only roads in Lot 7-not Lot 9 or 29. Larry Enos did not know what land he was using. Town Manager D'Agostino noted the Board asked to go out and look at the land. Chairman Amoruso said they wanted to do that prior to this week and he's not sure whether we'd know whether we were on Lot 7 or 9 or anything else. Selectman "...-- Donovan said he believes they should fight it and he would still like to go look at it. Selectman McCarter suggested letting them prove their case, stating he hates to turn down $20,000, but doesn't want to lose the land for that if it's more valuable. To fight it will cost even more. It has to be appraised at fair market value and we don't know what that will be. It's landlocked and is only valuable to those abutting it if they have a use for it. Motion: To ask Attorney Mangiaratti to take any and all action necessary to stop the stipulation from becoming a judgment of the Court and to further challenge the action of Norton Estates. (McCarter-Donovan) 4-1 with Chairman Amoruso The Board reviewed and approved the survey regarding Saturday Town Meeting and agreed to have it go out with the Electric bills. Selectman McCarter brought up the letter distributed to the train commuters and said he is willing to put a civilian flagger there. Chairman Amoruso noted it is still in arbitration. ",..- Due to lack of time, there was no new business discussed. Board of Selectmen Minutes of June 6, 2001 11 r I r r' I Motion: To adjourn at 11:20 p.m. (Donovan-Wills) 5-0 Passes (/d~~ Signature of Clerk / 3 ) vN' 0 I Date of Approval Board of Selectmen Minutes of June 6. 2001 12