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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin brd of selectmen 01/10/01 Present: R~Ç~~1\~~~!Fr \cf. Board of Selectmen lCWH\ C-!-' "" 2~ 2b Minutes of 0 \ jM~ ,a p~ January 10, 2001 '1"1 .'fC,;:"\£,\,O M~SS~CHUS£11S Chairman David W. McCarter; Clerk Bradford E. Wilrs~' Selectmen Louis P. Amoruso, Amos M. Robinson; and Daniel Donovan. John O. D'Agostino, Town Manager r The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m Motion: To go into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing pending litigation and to return to Open Session at the conclusion of the discussion. (Wills-Amoruso) Roll Call Vote: Robinson, aye; Amoruso, aye; Wills, aye; Donovan, aye; McCarter, aye. Passes The meeting reconvened in Open Session at 8:05 p.m., followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. (\ . Minutes of January 3, 2001 Motion : To approve (Amoruso-Wills) 5 -0 Passes . Warrant No. 29 in the amount of Warrant No. 29 - $2,630,049.82 Motion : To approve (Robinson-Amoruso) 5-0 with Chairman McCarter abstaining from Municipal Building Committee payroll and Selectman Robinson abstaining from School Department payroll Passes . Letter from David Ting announcing the Great Waves Water Park is withdrawing their proposal to locate in Mansfield. Chairman McCarter noted the good that came out of it, with the change in zoning and tightening up the water policy. r\ Board of Selectmen Minutes of January 10, 2001 1 r Peter De Troha, Elm Street - thanked the Zoning Board of Appeals for what they did to discourage the Water Park. Selectman Donovan - responded to the Fire Chief's comments regarding micro- managing and denied he ever said he was "out to get him." He noted he feels the Chief owes him an apology unless he can bring forward the person who supposedly attributed that statement to him. Anthony Black, Ryan Bonneyman and John D'Agostino - co-captains of the Mansfield High School Senior Varsity Team were present to announce the wheelchair game between their team and the Mass. Hospital School of Canton. John invited the community to the 5th annual wheelchair game, taking place tomorrow night at 7 o'clock at Mansfield High School in order for Mansfield students to heighten their awareness of people with disabilities. Admission is $1, with all proceeds to be donated to the Mass. Hospital School. r Patrick Rogers of the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA) and Ed Tartufo, Bob Jones and Lenny Flynn of the Canoe River Aquifer Committee were present. Ed Tartufo introduced the members of the Canoe River Aquifer Committee which works cooperatively with the five towns within the aquifer. Pat Rogers spoke of his role being the Taunton Watershed Team Leader. He said his job is to work with communities, targeting money to various communities. He noted Mansfield's aggressive role in environmental issues. The EOEA Annual Report was presented to the Board. He noted water knows no boundaries and what one community does to its water resources affects others. He presented a sign, prepared at the Bristol-Plymouth Regional Vocational School, identifying Mansfield as being within the Taunton River Watershed. The sign can be erected within Town at a location of our choice. He noted the Canoe River Aquifer Committee's involvement with the appropriation of $50,000 by DEM for a study for the Canoe River Aquifer. Mr. Tartufo noted the Canoe River Aquifer, comprising 12,000 acres, is only a small part of the Taunton River Watershed. He spoke of other projects they are working on, stating the committee does not use money from the community, but finds other sources through grants. We have over 600 acres of land bordering the Canoe River in Mansfield. We received a $50,000 grant to do a GIS study of the Canoe River Aquifer and Mr. Flynn showed the map of Mansfield's r portion. Every parcel in the aquifer has been identified by assessors' records, enabling them to "click" on the parcel number for additional information about the Board of Selectmen Minutes of January 10, 2001 2 ('\ì parcel. Their objective is to protect the asset by acquiring as much of the land around the aquifer as possible. Mr. Tartufo also spoke of the Mill Pond Dam, behind which is a large part of the Town's water supply. On May 12th they are holding Canoe River Awareness Day. Mr. Jones noted that in October of last year there was a meeting with the Town Manager, Town Engineer and Conservation Agent. Capital Improvements Committee will be presented with a proposal for inclusion in the Town Meeting Warrant. Mr. D'Agostino reported there was money set aside for two dams. There is a balance in the account, but we will need to appropriate the difference between the balance and the cost of construction. The information needs to be presented soon for inclusion. Mr. D'Agostino suggested submitting two articles, one through CIP and one for the Town Meeting Warrant that can be withdrawn at a later date if it's not needed. The work is critical in that it stabilizes Cate Springs Well. Mr. Rogers saidd there are no funds available from the State at this point, but at some point a letter could be directed to Dave Clarke of DEP. Selectman Amoruso noted the problem last year at CIP was there was no actual cost available. Mr. Tartufo said they will get bids on it. Mr. D'Agostino said we could use funds for engineering work to get a more accurate cost. Mr. D'Agostino will have Lee Azinheira and Dick (, Lewis choose a location for the sign, probably somewhere along Route 106. Bruce Montgomery, General Manager of the Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts, and Robin Pickette of New England Sportservice were present to address the Matter. Attorney Ken Felter, representing New England Sportservice, was also present. Tweeter Center was named at least four times in six months as the place where individuals had their last drink prior to being arrested for an alcohol related offense. Ms. Pickette explained they take alcohol service very seriously. Every one of their employees having anything to do with alcohol is TIPS trained. They also have a sports service training program, teaching servers what to look for after carding the patron, and they are tested and re-tested halfway through the season. Security Systems, Inc. was contracted to help control the alcohol consumption away from the stands to prevent pass-offs to underage patrons. The past year" Mystery Shoppers" were used for two shows to ensure that alcohol policies were observed. Ted Mahoney, an inspector for the ABCC, has also visited the facility. Signage is located at every location where alcohol is served, and their ID policy is also posted. r Every person is carded regardless of age. Board of Selectmen Minutes of January 10, 2001 3 ,,-. Attorney Felter explained the way the program works. Chapter 90 Section 24J is the statute under which the notices are sent out. The last drink complaints are extremely unreliable and are not meant to accuse the establishment of negligence. One of the offenses was on April 15th, yet there was no concert prior to that. Another offense was May 12th, with no event taking place. There was an arrest on July 21st, but there was a concert on July 20th and it's possible the person was arrested after midnight. No alcohol is sold at Tweeter Center after 9:30 p.m. however. Mr. Montgomery noted 600,000 people attended The Tweeter Center last summer. They take everyone of these complaints seriously, but feel Sportservices does an excellent job. Mr. Donovan noted it's all hearsay, with the complaints not being made under oath. Clerk Wills noted four complaints out of 600,000 patrons does not indicate a problem. Selectman Amoruso noted being at the Tweeter Center on two occasions, and he was carded when purchasing alcohol. Selectman Robinson noted the discrepancy in dates goes to show people say whatever they want to. Chairman McCarter expressed his pleasure that they did take the time to go to District Court and actually check out the complaints. He noted problems in the parking lot ( and the need to get them out of there faster to avoid such complaints. The Town Manager reported on the following: . Has been asked by the Town Engineer to announce the Design Public hearing on the 25'Yo design of the Route 106 project at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 11th. He read the scope of the design proposal. The hearing will be televised. Selectman Robinson noted it's crucial for residents to get involved in the hearing and express their concerns regarding the project. DPW Director Lee Azinheira and Town Engineer John Sullivan will also be at the hearing to advocate for the project. . On January 17th at 10:00 a.m. there will be a meeting with Senator Sprague at her office in Boston regarding the status of the Town's permit application for the Morrison Well. We're hoping to get the permit as promised with the conditions agreed to during the hearing process. r . The Town Manager's evaluation forms are available for the Board's completion. Chairman McCarter asked for clarification regarding the rating criteria, which Mr. D'Agostino provided Chairman McCarter asked that Board of Selectmen Minutes of January 10, 2001 4 r Selectmen complete the evaluatIon and return them to him within the next couple of weeks. r . Reminded everyone that Town Meeting Warrant articles should be submitted by February 20th for the Selectmen's review. We are now in the process of reviewing individual departmental budgets in depth. At this point our revenue projections are estimates and we need another couple months of data to come up with accurate projections. We anticipate a slowing of the economy, but not a recession. There will still be an expansion, but we don't believe our growth will be what it has been in the last few years. Chairman McCarter suggested the Community PreservatIon Act be reviewed and considered for the Town Meeting Warrant. Clerk Wills suggested road improvements and sidewalks also be considered, in addition to funding inflow and infiltration. The Town Manager recommended that once the bond authorization is retired in two years, we go back out for another authorization for future infrastructure improvements, as Chapter 90 money is not sufficient for our needs. He noted there is also a proposal under gas tax funds in which he anticipates getting involved in. He said we also need to revisit a sidewalk extension program where abutters are paying a percentage of the cost, allowing us to maximize the amount we would set aside in a bond authorization. Chairman McCarter suggested including the speed limit trailer as a CIP item. . At the request of Clerk Wills, he discussed the policy of sidewalk plowing and fire hydrants. It has been the policy of the Town to plow sidewalks within a certain distance from the schools. It is, however, the responsibility of homeowners to clear the sidewalks in front of their homes and they are liable for injury sustained if someone slips and falls on them. He said we have a difficult time plowing, let alone salting and sanding sidewalks. Selectman Donovan noted receiving complaints about the plow not clearing the släewalk sufficiently, then the compacted snow froze and made the conditions worse. r . There is no regulation about clearing fire hydrants, but they should be cleared as a matter of public safety if there is enough snow to block them. We are in the process of replacing street signs with new, more easily read street signs. This has been particularly effective when out-of-town departments are providing mutual aid in emergency situations and are not familiar with our streets. Selectman Robinson requested that the DPW Director contact Stow or Concord about a new product they're using that's more effective than calcium chloride and is environmentally friendly. Mr. D' Agostino noted seeing roads down to blacktop in other towns because Board of Selectmen Minutes of January 10, 2001 5 r they're using more salt. Some neighborhoods have requested applications of less salt and more sand. Selectman Donovan requested a message be put on cable asking people to clear their sidewalks and hydrants. Chairman McCarter asked if it would be possible to plow Fulton Pond. · Is in the process of setting up a meeting with Superintendent Moretti and Russ Hall to start an educational safety program within the schools, hopefully by February or March. · A summary of the changes in the Police Department contract was provided to the Board, which he reviewed. He asked that an Executive Session be held prior to finalizing the Supervisory Contract. · "Martin from Mansfield" has reported that for the months of November and December, in 1989 we had 2181 BTU days; 1995, 1883; 2000 we had 1877. Normal is 1679. Selectmen Robinson asked where we are with the World War II Scholarship r applicants. We have not received any. Selectmen Robinson clarified he is talking about the progress of the World War II veterans receiving high school diplomas. Mr. D'Agostino noted he has spoken with Jerry Scherma and will stay on top of it. It is something we should do. Selectman Amoruso presented a couple of letters he received from Ralph Armstead to go into the reading file regarding Southeastern Regional School. He also noted seeing many Christmas trees that have not been picked up and asked that the policy be announced. DPW is picking them up during this week. Selectman Donovan asked if all school busses cross the bridge on Plain Street in West Mansfield. He was told our busses can't go over it, but North Attleboro's are. He asked that the weight be checked for safety reasons. Chairman McCarter asked for an updated draft of the liquor license violations from Attorney Mangiaratti. Selectman Robinson spoke of other towns having problems with roofs on schools r built around the same time as ours. Selectman Amoruso noted the MBC has already checked that and discovered there were others built at the same time with the Board of Selectmen Minutes of January 10, 2001 6 r same materials that are failing. Selectman Donovan asked how long we've known it's been going on and why we're not pursuing it vigorously. Selectman Amoruso noted the problem was discovered before the building was finished and the finger- pointing began at that time. Chairman McCarter asked when the suit was filed, noting he doesn't hold out much optimism that we'll ever see any money from it. The Town Manager stated that if we receive anything, it will be compensation for materials and we will still be responsible for labor. Selectman Donovan expressed concern that a piece of the roof will fall and injure a student. He and Chairman McCarter both stated it should be pursued more vigorously. Mr. D'Agostino reviewed the process being taken, noting problems encountered. Chairman McCarter saidd Attorney Volterra has been handling the case and asked if we could have him come in to discuss the matter with the Board. Selectman Amoruso asked if we had any response to a meeting with other schools in our regional vocational-technical school district to discuss mutual concerns. The Boards of Selectmen and City Councils of all cities and towns within the district were notified, with a response only being received from West Bridgewater. They wJ1l not be attending the MMA Conference, however. We will schedule a meeting here. r Clerk Wills asked about meeting with Norton on the water bill. A meeting has been set up with Town Manager Chris McCabe on January 24'" at 10:00 a.m. in Norton. Chairman McCarter asked about property on Essex Street on which we received notice. Mr. D'Agostino noted an interest in the land on the part of the Town and we have set aside funds for conservation land acquisition. A CIP article will be submitted regarding the parcel. If we had a Land Bank, we would have the funds available. Selectman Amoruso suggested we could put the State's version on the Town Meeting Warrant. It would also require a referendum question on the ballot. Chairman McCarter reminded the Board we will be hearing from Richard Brady from DMG-Maximus to present the Police Management Study and the Police Chief will be joining. He also congratulated Chief O'Neill on being elected President of the Southeastern Massachusetts Police Chiefs Association. Motion: To adjourn at 10:00 p.m. (Donovan-Robinson) 5-0 Passes r Board of Selectmen Minutes of January 10, 2001 7 · . ( r r [ tvJl /)o)c/ Drite of Ápproval Board of Selectmen Minutes of January 10, 2001 8