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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin brd of selectmen 03/28/01 .. Present: Tn~~'N ~f~ER.~VED Board of Selectmen ' .>.; !.' \ S OFF ICE Minutes of OJ APR -5 ~H 9: 20 March 28, 2001 f1 . !.; '.. MASf¡,SJ"ElD Chairman David W. McCarter; Clerk Bradford E. WftFs~~~IfrSen Louis P. Amoruso and Daniel Donovan. John D'Agostino, Town Manager r The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m., followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. ( · Warrant No. 40 in the amount of $3,386,522.64 Motion: To approve (Amoruso-Wills) 4-0 Passes with Chairman McCarter abstaining from Municipal Building Committee payroll .r-- · Minutes of March 21,2001 Motion: To approve (Amoruso-Donovan) 4-0 Passes · Executive Session Minutes of March 21,2001 Motion: To approve but not to release (Amoruso-Donovan) 4-0 Passes · Transfer Request of $9,750.00 for Environmental Site Assessment r-- Town Manager D'Agostino explained the transfer request being presented is needed to do a 21E environmental site assessment on a parcel of property which is being sought to expand parking space at the Library/COA Facility on Hope Street. Before going to the voters at town meeting, it is necessary to perform a 21E on the property to insure that the land is not contaminated. This property is close to the gas station at the corner of Hope and Pratt Streets and could present a contamination problem. It would be a prudent amount of money to expend in order to give us assurance that the property is not contaminated. Chairman McCarter asked if there was any discussion of sharing the costs of this expense with the owners. Town Manager D'Agostino said we're having an appraisal of the property done. The owners could elect to build on the site or sell it outright. We didn't anticipate a 21E would be needed on this property. Therefore, it falls under the Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 28. 2001 r category of unexpected expenditure. This acquisition is on the Capital Improvements Projects list and is Board approved. Motion: To recommend the transfer request and forward to Finance Committee (Wills-Amoruso) 4-0 Passes · Letter to Chairman David McCarter from Verizon Communications announcing fifth annual EdLink Awards program which promotes creative education in Massachusetts classrooms. (School Department was copied.) · Letter to the Board from AT&T Broadband presenting the 2001 license fee check due to the Town in the amount of $3,261.50, reflecting the 6,523 subscribers as of December 31, 2000. · Letter to Board of Selectmen from Mass Highway concerning National Bridge Inspection Standards, including a report on Mansfield Avenue/North Main Street Bridge. r Chairman McCarter called for questions and comments. There were none forthcoming. Selectman Wills stated that Jay Barrows from the Downtown Association was going to come in and talk about the parking in the downtown, but he guessed he couldn't make it. Town Manager D'Agostino said he spoke with Mr. Barrows earlier in the day. The downtown merchants are not in favor of the 30-minute parking restriction. Mr. Wills suggested they want to police themselves. The Town Manager outlined the restrictions that had been discussed previously at last week's meeting. The restrictions will be Monday through Friday in the residential areas. In the downtown area, the two-hour restriction will apply Monday through Saturday. We will follow through on this with the Police Department. We will make an assessment of the 30-minute parking restriction. The Chief of Police was not necessarily in favor of that kind of restriction. The downtown association will not concur on a 30- minute restriction. Businesses need as much access as possible. Selectman Amoruso stated we are looking for input from the downtown. r-- Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 28, 2001 2 r Selectman Donovan announced that former Selectman Frank "Chico" Colella had suffered a heart attack on his way back from Florida while traveling through New Jersey. He asked that the audience please say a prayer for Chico and added that tonight our prayers are with him. The Town Manager reported on the following: r-- · The Town Manager read a notice that would be delivered to residences and placed on cable announcing a water main replacement project on Jewell and Angell Streets. The Water Department will be replacing the water mains on these roads commencing on April 9, 2001. The work is scheduled to be completed in about 90 days. They may run into ledge in the area. Selectman Wills asked if we had money in the budget. The Town Manager said yes we did have money in the budget. We had additional revenue to cover this project through the Capital Improvements Program. Selectman Donovan stated that it was not a new project. He asked, as far as replacing the water mains, don't we know what's in there? Town Manager D'Agostino explained that we are trying to institute the SCADA system through GIS that will allow us to map everything out across town. This would include linear feet above and below ground. We are digging deeper for this project in certain sections, so there is some uncertainty what we'll find. That was part of the drainage problem that existed previously within this section of town. . The Town Manager is scheduled to meet with Bob Shunejko of Housing & Community Development in Boston regarding a Block Grant for the Home Maintenance Program along with Gale Farrugia, Mike Ahern, and Shaun Burke on Wednesday, April 4, 2001 at 10:30 a.m. They'll be leaving at 9:00 a.m. The purpose of the meeting is to establish a senior repair program for repairs to seniors' homes. The goal is to keep seniors in their homes longer. Some seniors have the means to make repairs, but are wary of contracting out the work. The seniors must meet income guidelines to participate in the program and bring their homes up to building code. Sometimes seniors will leave their homes because of the cost of repairs. We have trained professionals on staff here in the town hall who could go out and do inspections for the seniors to assist them with these projects. ~ · The Town Manager and staff met with Water Resources Commission, DEM and DEP earlier today in Senator Jo Ann Sprague's offices in the State House. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the status of the Morrison Well permit. Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 28, 2001 3 - r- The meeting was necessary and Senator Sprague played a vital role in the process in getting all parties to come together to discuss the situation. The permit has not yet been issued. We have spent a considerable amount of money on the process to date. The original town meeting appropriation was $757,100.00. Total costs to date have been $1,670,823.00. The total cost of the project upon completion will be $3,087,622.00. This represents a significant increase over what was expected. If a community does not have a significant amount of money set aside, future well permits will be very expensive. The Morrison Well is a very important, integral part of our community's water supply system. It provides a considerable amount of flexibility. It gives us good quality water. It would be a disservice to the community to stop our process now. We are much closer today than we were two weeks ago. When they issue the permit, there is a whole new set of provisions that we need to meet. The state has established new criteria which includes leak detection, meter updates, low flow devices, water audit, comprehensive residential conservation program, etc. These conditions must be met before we will be issued the permit. Chairman McCarter asked do we have the money for these items? Town Manager D'Agostino said we may not be able to use the well in the dead of summer when we need it the most. We have a commitment from DEP that they would issue the permit with the conditions stated. We would have to have our plans approved by the M WRA. r Under the Interbasin Transfer Act (ITA) two agencies control the issuance of the permit. We would have had the well in the ground a year ago if it were not for the ITA. We are now transferring the water from one basin to another. The only reason we are asking for this permit is because we need it. Chairman McCarter stated we have to do something. Mr. Azinheira said some communities could wind up with moratoriums. Town Manager D'Agostino said we have a water extension policy, which is a very progressive approach, and other communities are asking us for a copy of it. The state was very excited about the process. The permit should be issued in around a week or so. This is the first permit of its kind to be issued. Our consultants Woodard & Curran said we should be able to use the well. Without these experts to put this application together, we would not be as close to obtaining the permit as we are. Chairman McCarter stated that this was based on our consultant's direction and guidance. The last thing we want is not to be able to use the well during our peak demand summer weeks. Selectman Amoruso said without Senator Sprague's assistance, we would still be waiting. She definitely helped us. Our issue will be getting them to live with the deal. It's still a slippery slope. We have to continue to keep on top of this. r- Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 28, 2001 4 -.. r . DPW Director Azinheira came back to the Board to clarify the water rates discussed at last week's meeting and their effective date. At last week's meeting, a water rate increase of 15.1io was approved. The approval did not reference an effective date or refer to the actual rates. For clarification, he is recommending the increase be made effective April 1, 2001 and presented the rate schedule (rates attached). Last week's memorandum to the Board was off about $.50 in the rates. Chairman McCarter ask if we're still cheaper than the MWRA? Mr. Azinheira said we're far cheaper; the MWRA rates are much higher. Motion: To support the 15.1 io water rate increase effective April 1, 2001 as outlined in attachment (Amoruso-Donovan) 4-0 Passes r . DPW Director Azinheira and WPCF Operations Manager Hackett gave an update on the status of the compost facility project. They found some deficiencies that have been passed on to the consultant. Mr. Hackett met with CDM to reprogram the changes. They ended up with a net reduction in cost. The changes have now gone through and operation should start next week. They should be composting by Tuesday or Wednesday. They are waiting for controls to be installed. Mr. Azinheira wanted to start up in January, but they feel more comfortable starting up now next week. The contract was awarded for $839,000 and the final contract amount after change orders was $791,644. Town Manager D'Agostino said that of the $1.7 million that was budgeted, the final estimate remains a $1.5 million. We will be $200,000 under cost. Mr. Azinheira said we'll end up with a better building at a fraction of the cost on certain items with Public Buildings/Special Projects Manager Mike Ahern's administering some of the work. They were able to build it for much less and will be able to finish the project by the close of the fiscal year (June 30, 2001). We would have spent a lot more if we had not performed a lot of the work in house. Selectman Donovan asked if we will make some money? He complimented staff on a job well done. Mr. Azinheira stated we hope to make some revenue from this. A considerable amount of time was spent on this project by staff. Selectman Amoruso asked why we are paying CDM $20,000 above and beyond the original cost estimates? This is a change order that allows for up to 100 hours for upgrading the composting operations manual, which we must submit to r-- Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 28, 2001 5 r DEP, and also provides up to 100 hours for composting start-up services. A warrant article for SCADA is on the annual town meeting warrant. Motion: To recommend change order of $20,000 to CDM for upgrading the composting operations manual and composting start-up services (Wills-McCarter) 4-0 Passes ~. 'J .7r~'· :~b.If!!rl¡f'1!v3") :"nr.p.r"tif í,if'Y;f,"'" ,"Jf "f 1>' .<'II/j<;.v:;r;"¡,;·':F!;:Y J .:C.{(,1¡P¡,V" ' """-<1 ~;."" 1", "" + '" ,5':-0 ->;"""'" J.! ).,,::7 ~ ~b" .A..,..,'1!.. P, 0J.}, »>_ "" ~ ø h' ø., ß 0 '--. þ- " r: / r . On March 14, 2001, the Winter Maintenance Budget deficit was at $53,561.00 and with that week's warrant, anticipated bills and payroll, it was expected to reach $142,000.00 due to previous storms. The deficit is currently $136,118.88, in addition to that, this week's warrant is for $7,680.00 and payroll is estimated at an additional $2,600.00 from Monday night's snowstorm. This brings the current estimate to $146,400.00. Some bills for parts and materials may still be outstanding and could add to the projected deficit. Selectman Donovan asked if we get emergency money from the state, what will we get? Mr. Azinheira said we haven't seen anything yet. We had little or no flooding. We were very lucky. Town Manager D'Agostino said we have corrected several of our problem areas which were funded at previous town meetings and have additional drainage improvements to be funded at the upcoming annual town meeting. We have made a tremendous effort to address trouble areas and this has had a large positive impact on our drainage system. Chairman McCarter asked if we could make Snow & Ice into a revolving account and carry over any surplus from year to year in an effort to set aside money in a creative way for use in future years. Town Manager D'Agostino said he doesn't think it would benefit the town. As long as we appropriate the same or more, we can run a deficit on that line item. Mr. Azinheira said an article has been drafted for the special within the annual town meeting to transfer money to this account from available funds. Some years we use surplus funds from Snow & Ice to help offset budget shortages in other areas of the budget. We have to appropriate funds every year in accordance with state guidelines. r-- . Selectmen Wills and Donovan served on the Tweeter Center Entertainment License Subcommittee. Several meetings and several hours were spent reviewing the license with town staff and the Town Manager. Upon conclusion of those meetings, changes were incorporated into the existing license to form a new draft document (copy attached). The changes have been approved by Town Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 28, 2001 6 r Counsel. Selectman Wills read over the changes as highlighted in the attached document. Under Item #10# Chairman McCarter asked how much does the clean up of bio- hazardous material cost the town after a typical event? Town Manager D'Agostino answered approximately $1,600 for clean up if all units are occupied. Under Item #15, the fine structure for any violation of 105 CMR 170.000 Rules and Regulations for the implementation of M.G.L. UIe Governing Ambulance Services and Coordination of Medical Services was discussed. In compliance with the license language, a show-cause hearing would have to be scheduled. Under Item #16, Town Manager D'Agostino stated that if Tweeter does not have sufficient parking, their capacity would be lower. The zoning by-law addresses this issue. This is issued and enforced by the Building Inspector and Fire Chief. r Upon finishing the reading of the proposed changes, Selectman Wills stated that the Sub-Committee has finished their work and makes their recommendation for approval of the draft changes. Town Manager D'Agostino said if the Board approves these changes, we will send it to the Tweeter Center. General Manager Bruce Montgomery has provided input on the license. Selectman Amoruso raised a concern about the start date on the license saying we may need to change that date if we agreed to let them open early. The Town Manager doesn't want the date to move every year. Selectman Amoruso said if we find it's moving forward too much, we can just say no to it. We should start the effective date on the date we gave them permission to start the concerts. Selectman Donovan asked should we leave it up to the Town Manager to check with Bruce Montgomery on the date? Chairman McCarter said we are guided by certain state statutes which can make reasonable conditions within the entertainment license. The same type of license is not applicable to all entertainment licenses. Due to the nature of the entertainment center, it creates its own set of specific problems and certain situations that don't apply in all cases. r-- Under page 8, Town Manager D'Agostino asked the Board if it wants monthly status reports on the status of the zoning compliance. The center does not have the parking at this point. The Building Inspector cannot issue a building permit as long as there is a pending appeal. We need to change the language on the status of the appeal, which is being made by an abutter. The Town's attorney will get us this information. Town Counsel has filed an appearance on behalf of the town. The last paragraph could come out; this last sentence should come out. Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 28, 2001 7 r Chairman McCarter states that certain issues came to light when we held the public hearing on the incident wherein a patron attending a concert died. Town Manager D'Agostino said we could have a mix of EMTs and paramedics required in the language. The state doesn't mandate staffing levels. Many communities don't have paramedics on staff. Selectman Wills said the Fire Chief says he is asking only for what we provide on our own ambulances. Selectman Amoruso asked are we asking for more than what we provide? Is this the intent that we ask for paramedics? We should not hold someone to a standard we do not meet. The Town Manager said we provide a high level of service. The Tweeter Center has a high concentration of people in a relatively small geographical area and the Chief is asking for two paramedics. It is the Town Manager's insistence that we have as many paramedics on duty as possible. The paramedic is teamed with EMTs to provide them with on-the-job experience and training. We can check that. r Chairman McCarter stated we discussed with Bruce Montgomery the limousines should pay some sort of fee. He is asking if this was brought up? Selectman Wills said if they are charging, then it is a commercial parking lot. The Town Manager said we put in the license what we thought was appropriate to protect the town. We were not negotiating a license but trying to provide what is in the best interests of the town. The Tweeter Center could choose not to sign the agreement. Selectman Amoruso said they could sue us for being arbitrary and capricious. The Town Manager said, when it comes to public safety, we have considerable leverage. The Board doesn't have to vote on this tonight; he will get more clarification on the paramedics. Selectman Amoruso thinks the Fire Chief wants an ALS but not necessarily a paramedic. We will have to check with the Fire Chief on the paramedic requirement. On page 7, Chairman McCarter discussed the fine structure. He asked do we have to show what bearing the fine structure has to the cost of the impact the violation has on the town? Town Manager D'Agostino said we have broad leeway in this matter. Selectman Wills said the officer in charge would establish how long they run over. Selectman Amoruso suggested we all should know whose clock we are going by. If it's only one or two minutes over, how do we deal with this? This should be very clear and should be added to the language. The Town Manager said it was the Police Chief's statement that the officer in charge would call what the time is. We should all agree on who is in charge and watching the clock. r The Town Manager will speak with Bruce Montgomery on changing the date from May 15 to May 12. We will have the final draft next week and take a vote then. Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 28, 2001 8 r Chairman McCarter would like Town Counsel to review the fine structure to see if it's going to hold up. He supports the fine structure; he just wonders if we can include it. Bruce Montgomery says if the fine structure goes into the language, the price of tickets will go up. Selectman Donovan asked would he rather have the license taken for a couple of nights? Chairman McCarter explained we have several other means to deal with running over. The Town Manager stated if it causes a public safety concern, we can still take the license. We could do both: give them a fine and revoke the license. ~~1;¡r:1\¡ß "·$v T'1':j¡1 .V;g~iGF Thffi,' ~~t)Jj ~fMgr'9r±i: ~~1," , ,:1; 'f?', r- · Chairman McCarter would like to wait to review the warrant articles until we have a full board present. Selectman Amoruso expressed concern that it appears the School Department has two budget warrant articles and questioned if this was double dipping. Perhaps we could speak with Superintendent of Schools John Moretti. The Town Manager announced that on Tuesday night, April 3, we will be discussing this in a joint meeting among the Board of Selectmen, the School Committee and the Finance Committee. We have had some very constructive meetings with Superintendent Moretti. We will balance the budget before town meeting and are trying to avoid waiting until the last minute to do so. Based on our budget taskforce meeting Tuesday with John Moretti, Unc Lynch, Bea Kearney, Richard Boucher, Lou Amoruso, Andy Gazzolo and the Town Manager, we agreed we need a joint meeting/workshop next Tuesday evening to iron out several issues placing our cards on the table to reach a budget resolution. The Town Manager stated the Board should vote to close the warrant for the special. He presented petitioner requests to remove certain street acceptance petitions from the annual town meeting warrant. Motion: To withdraw Article 46-50 street acceptance articles by request of the petitioners (Wills-Amoruso) 4-0 Passes r Selectman Donovan questioned whether it's a good idea to have the special town meeting on the second night of town meeting. The Town Manager said we usually open with the annual and then adjourn and go to the special on the first night. It is something new we are proposing this year. Hopefully we will have a quorum on the second night. Selectman Amoruso thinks it's good to present the town and school budgets in one night rather than stopping the annual and then picking up the special. Town Manager D'Agostino said the Superintendent is requesting the Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 28, 2001 9 ,"-"'- joint meeting Tuesday night to discuss the budget. We're getting closer to a balanced budget. Hopefully a joint meeting will help us get to a point where we can agree. The School Committee will post a meeting for next Tuesday. The Finance Committee will post on Tuesday and Thursday of next week. Motion: To hold joint meeting with School Committee and Finance Committee on Tuesday, April 3 (Amoruso-Donovan) 4-0 Passes · The Town Manager announced that the Mansfield Electric Department is requesting a waiver of all permit fees associated with site plan approvals and building permits for an enclosure for electrical relay and control equipment at the Gilbert Street Substation. Motion: To waive whatever fees the Board has the power or authority to waive (Donovan-Amoruso) 4-0 Passes r Town Manager D'Agostino suggested that we can ask the Planning Board to waive certain fees. · Selectman Amoruso stated that he read through AT&T Broadband's response to the town questioning the cable check. They say we are wrong on several things. He doesn't agree that we were wrong and doesn't accept their response. We should have that check for over $100,000 here this week or we should start to fine them. He asked that the Town Manager call them for that check. We will assign a retroactive fine. It is the 5'0 annual fee that we are waiting for. It was approximately $180,000 last year. There is some significant interest lost. We have put up with a lot. Motion: If we don't receive the check by March 30, which was due March 15, we will fine them retroactively. (The license allows for certain limits.) (Amoruso/Wills) 4-0 Passes r · Chairman McCarter brought up the South Main Street exit from town hall. Traffic Enforcement Officer Lance Lawson and Chief O'Neill went out and Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 28, 2001 10 r looked at the problem. Should we put up a sign? The Chief suggested a sign not to park within so many feet to the corner. This will be an agenda item next week. · Chairman McCarter asked Selectman Wills if he had any old business. He stated no old business. · Selectman Donovan asked what is the policy on fixing up lawns dug up by snowplows? He asked that we look into 20 Park Street that sustained some lawn damage. Selectman Amoruso stated they took out the whole berm on his street. Other places around town had been damaged. When the weather clears, others will be reported. r · Chairman McCarter expressed concern about Motorola leaving the industrial park and asked if there were any motivating factors that weighed on their decision to sell? Did the town playa role? Town Manager D'Agostino explained their emphasis has changed from one of production. They used to manufacture on-site which has been phased out. The need is no longer there; it is now market-driven. Taxes were not an issue. Services were not an issue. It does represent 10% of our electric revenue. This should be a concern to the town. Selectman Donovan said there was an article in tonight's Sun Chronicle by Light Department Director Jack Beliveau on the loss of revenue. The Town Manager will meet with Motorola and Planning Director Shaun Burke to review their options and arrange a meeting for the Board of Selectmen. Chairman McCarter wants to be sure we are not part of the problem. He asked if this area is included in the biotech zone? This could be a good selling point. Town Manager D'Agostino said they want to stay in the 495 area. If we had a redevelopment authority, we could have acquired that parcel. We should know about all the factors that are within our control. Selectman Wills said the IDC should be working on this as well. The Town Manager said they will be invited to the meeting. A lot of interest in this property has been generated. · Chairman McCarter asked Selectman Wills if he had any new business. He said no new business. ~ · Selectman Donovan discussed the rail safety meeting with Amtrak that he and Selectman Amos Robinson attended. Amtrak said whatever fencing we have is all we're getting. Selectman Robinson has much more information and will be updating the Selectmen upon his return. By the end of this year, Amtrak plans Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 28,2001 11 r to have ten high-speed trains on schedule. Selectman Donovan deferred further to Selectman Robinson for his update to the board at a future date. Motion: To adjourn at 9:50 p.m. (Amoruso-Donovan) 4-0 Passes Sigrid:; { tv~ 9 ~~L~~p~VQ' r ~ Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 28, 2001 12 Mansfield Water Rates ,-- Metered Rates ($/1000 cu. ft.) Water Rates Water Rates , Effective Effective Quarterlv May 15, 2000 April 1, 2001 (15.1% increase) Small (3/4 - 1") 0 2,400 $23.65 $27.22 2,401 3,900 $25.56 $29.42 3,901 6,000 $28.95 $33.32 over 6,000 $35.76 $41.16 Medium (1-1/2 - 3'1 0 12,900 $23.65 $27.22 12,901 20,100 $25.56 $29.42 20,101 39,900 $28.95 $33.32 over 39,900 $35.76 $41.16 Large (4" and up) 0 50,100 $23.65 $27.22 50,101 99,900 $25.56 $29.42 99,901 150,000 $28.95 $33.32 over 150,000 $35.76 $41,16 Monthl'l r Small (3/4 - 1") 0 800 $23.65 $27.22 801 1,300 $25.56 $29.42 1,301 2,000 $28.95 $33.32 over 2,000 $35.76 $41.16 Medium (1-1/2 - 3j 0 4,300 $23.65 $27.22 4,301 6,700 $25.56 $29.42 6,701 13,300 $28.95 $33.32 over 13,300 $35.76 $41.16 Large (4" and up) 0 16,700 $23.65 $27.22 16,701 33,300 $25.56 $29.42 33,301 50,000 $28.95 $33.32 over 50,000 $35.76 $41.16 Irriaation Meters all use $35.76 $41.16 · The above rates do not reflect the 10% discount for paying within 30 days ~ 1 '."~~...:.ç:''-.~.'''-:'