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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin brd of selectmen 12/01/04 f"f". ""'" \i...." ~··1~ ?~'"" (," ,'-; -t~ U Board of Selectmen Meeting Minutes December 1, 2004 -' ~_. . nT;:-clCc- ,.1 ¡ ¡ c. [~!L nr.r - r¡ PM 2' 2 c: ,. 1....,_f..... .I i ¡ ¡ . -v ¡:"i i~\ r;i ~3 r:- ¡ ¡ 'f Present: Chairman Steven W. MacCaffrie; Vice Chairman ~~~~~ 1~~U'è~f~lJÆ Bernard J. Dolan; Selectman Louis P. Amoruso; Selectman Michael McCue, and Town Manager John O. D' Agostino. The meeting was called to order at 8: I 0 p.m. by Chairman MacCaffrie following the conclusion of the Light Commissioners meeting. Weekly Business · Warrant No. 22 in the amount of$1,000,376.29 Motion: To approve. (Achille/Amoruso) 5-0 Passes · Warrant No. 23 in the amount of $3,477,846.73 Motion: To approve. (Amoruso/Achille) 5-0 Passes · Minutes of November 17, 2004 Motion: To approve as amended. On Page 5 statements attributed to Mr. Amoruso were Mr. McCue's. (Amoruso/MacCaffrie) 5-0 Passes Licenses and Permits · Drainlayer's License from Podgurski Corporation, 8 Springda1e Avenue, Canton. This is a new application. Application and all documentation are in order The Treasurer has advised us that Podgurski Corp. has no outstanding payments due the Town of Mansfield. Town Engineer John Sullivan recommends approval of this Drainlayer's license. Motion: To approve. (McCue/Achille) 5-0 Passes Correspondence · Letter dated November 30th from Attorney Robert Mangiaratti to Shaun Burke (copied to Board of Selectmen) regarding bond proposed by the developer of the Village at Willow Crossings for the completion of Cobb Street from Town Counsel. Chairman MacCaffrie asks to hold for discussion. · Memo dated November 30th from Shaun Burke inviting the Board to the next meeting of the Hatheway-Patterson Steering Committee on Monday, December Board of Selectmen Minutes of December 1, 2004 1 7th at 7:00 p.m. in Meeting Room 2ab. Representatives from the consulting firm The Cecil Group will discuss land use options. · Notice dated November 30th from Canoe River Aquifer Advisory Committee for next meeting scheduled for December 2nd at Sharon Town Hall. · Letter dated November 23rd from R. Duff Collins, Woodard & Curran, to Chairman MacCaffrie regarding notification of Combined Phase II, III and IV Report, Mansfield Highway Garage. · Letter dated November 18th to Planning Board (copied to Board of Selectmen) from Steven MacCaffrie regarding the Willow Crossing Development Permit. · Letter dated November 22nd from Atty. Robert Riccio, Riccio & Riccio, with check in the amount of $8,225.00 representing developer's required contribution to the Housing Support Fund. Town Accountant Bea Kearney advises that the Board must vote to accept this check. An account has been set up to receive these funds. Motion: To accept the gift of $8,225.00 from Riccio, Riccio & Riccio and place it into a Housing Support Fund for affordable housing initiatives and then transfer it to the affordable trust fund once established. (Dolan/McCue) 5-0 Passes · Letter dated November 5th to Board from Department of Housing & Community Development regarding Community Development Block Grant/CDF II. · Letter dated November 22nd to Board from Nancy Leonardo, Manager of Government & Community Relations, Comcast, regarding price changes that will soon go into effect for certain Comcast services. ~ Mr. McCue questioned why the fee charged to the subscriber, which is returned to the town in the form of subscriber fees, has gone up. The Town Manager explained that the agreement between the Town and Comcast requires this increase. They are only required to notify the Town of changes. The Board would like Comcast to come in and explain the rate changes. · Letter dated November 22nd to Board from Alexander Bardow, Bridge Engineer, Mass Highway regarding National Bridge Inspection Standards, Balcom St.- Wading River. · Letter dated November 19th to Roger Achille, Chairman, Light Commissioners, from Norton Board of Selectmen requesting technical assistance with its lighting project at the Norton School Complex off West Main Street in Norton. Motion: To turn over request to Light Department/Light Commissioners (McCue/Amoruso) 5-0 Passes · Memo dated November 23rd to Town Engineer John Sullivan (copied to Board of Selectmen) regarding full-time entry-level engineer in the Engineering Department. Board of Selectmen Minutes of December 1, 2004 2 ~ Board members asked a variety of questions involving the position and how it would be structured. Town Manager explained that this would come out of Chapter 90 funds, which is a lump sum amount. This position would be entry level and would not be a permanent full time position and will be funded until Chapter 90 funds are exhausted. The purpose is to work on drainage projects in-house rather than contracting out for those services and enable us to complete the project all at once utilizing proper design and construction. This would be an employee of the Town, rather than contract service. The need is there and would outweigh any cost incurred when the individual's employment is terminated. Town Manager handed out additional memorandum explaining justification for position. An entry-level job description is in place. Town Manager thinks that the cost of benefits and layoff are outweighed by the cost savings in completing these projects in-house. Staff believes strongly that this is a good use of the Chapter 90 funds and allows us to complete projects at a savings to the Town. The same amount of money ($50,000 which includes entry level salary and benefits) spent over a three-month period for contract services would cover a year's time to fund an entry-level engineer. Selectman Dolan said if there a need for this position for a year's time, then there is a need for the position for the next ten years. Either we will contract out these services or we will not complete as many projects. We need to know the exact numbers. The Board wants to hear directly from John Sullivan before making a decision on a budget matter. We will bring him in for future discussion with the Board. · Letter dated November 15th to Board from Nancy Leonardo, Manager of Government & Community Relations, Comcast, regarding customer care information, product offerings, and commitment to the community. · Letter dated November 17th to Board from National Grid informing that New England Power Company has scheduled Vegetation Management Treatments on rights-of-ways, which pass through town. · Email dated November 19th to Board from Michelle Roque, 10 Windsor Place, regarding the Fairfield Green proposed 200-unit development on West Street regarding concerns of projected overpopulation of schools. · Letter dated November 16th to Ellen Roy Herzfelder, Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, (copied to Board of Selectmen) regarding Phase I of the Town of Mansfield Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan. · Memo dated November 18th to Board from Town Engineer John Sullivan regarding House-to-House Inspections Program at 238 Branch Street. · Letter dated November 18th to Board from Mary Valentino, 70 Potash Road, requesting Slow Children and Handicap Child signs and decrease in speed limit on Potash Road along with copy of petition submitted October 18th requesting same. This was previously responded to by Officer Lance Lawson. Town Manager to write letter to Ms. Valentino in response. Board of Selectmen Minutes of December 1, 2004 3 · Memo dated November 18th to Board from Patrolman Lance Lawson in response to Potash Road Sign Request. · Letter dated November 17th to Board from Massachusetts Municipal Association regarding MMA Executive Committee Meeting Tuesday, December 14th at 10:00 a.m. · Letter dated November 10th from Southeastern Regional Planning & Economic Development District regarding Transportation Enhancement Activities (TEA) Program. Interviews for Housing Authority Edward Carl, Beth Oberlander, and Douglas Murphy of the Mansfield Housing Authority and the Board of Selectmen held interviews for a joint appointment to the Housing Authority to fill an unexpired term left vacant by retiring Mary-Lou Cotton. The Housing authority joined the Board to present questions to the applicants. This appointment will be effective until the next General Election scheduled in May of 2005. Three applicants were present: Dan Donovan of 97 Court Street, Richard Blandori of 10 Pratt Street, and Bill LeBlanc of 6 Fawn Lane. Chairman MacCaffrie began with an opening statement saying the Board of Selectmen shares a vested interest in this appointment. He asked that the Housing Authority members direct their questions after each applicant makes an introductory opening statement. Mr. Dan Donovan comes forward first and states that one of the reasons why he would like to serve in this capacity is that from his previous time served on the Housing Authority he found the board to be one of the very best to serve on. In the end, all issues were discussed very well, the board is very dedicated, and they always do the right thing for Mansfield. Mr. Richard Blandori came second and introduced himself as a lifelong resident of Mansfield and a senior citizen and stated he knows the problems seniors face and can relate to them. He was a former School Board member and Recreation Commission member. Mr. Bill LeBlanc was the third applicant to come forward and stated he moved to Mansfield approximately one year and six months ago, he has no prior committee experience, is a responsible citizen and resident and offers his services. He is an Engineer for Reuters News Service in systems analysis and he has construction project insight and overall understanding. Chairman MacCaffrie asked the Housing Authority members, Beth Oberlander, Edward Carl, and Doug Murphy, to introduce themselves and then present their questions to the applicants. Ms. Oberlander asked Mr. Donovan the following three questions. 1) Do you know what properties are managed by the Housing Authority? Mr. Donovan went first and replied that he wanted to see the seat filled properly and stated that the votes taken by the Housing Authority are important. When he previously served on the board, he insisted that everyone be able to provide their input at their meetings. He wants to see this seat filled and is happy to see younger individuals interested in the vacancy. He was concerned about how decisions were made regarding certain projects and felt that residents appreciated what was accomplished during his tenure on the Authority. He was Board of Selectmen Minutes of December 1,2004 4 happy to fill the Executive Director's position with Mr. Michael Forbes. Mr. Forbes was instrumental in making good things happen. The Housing Authority has to administer the Section 8 program and this was accomplished at great savings to the Housing Authority. 2) Are you interested in the position full time after May of 2005? Mr. Donovan would take that under consideration in the future and will cross that bridge at that time. 3) How do you see your position in relation to the Executive Director? Mr. Donovan has no problem with the relationship with the Executive Director and praises Mr. Forbes and his work; residents are very happy with him. He stated that we do give them the best we can. Edward Carl had no questions for Mr. Donovan. Doug Murphy stated that it was great to see the applicants present. He knows Mr. Donovan and Mr. Blandori and is happy to see Mr. LeBlanc as a new applicant. Ms. Oberlander asked Mr. Blandori the same three questions. 1) Do you know what properties are managed by the Housing Authority? Yes, he said there are three senior citizen complexes and several houses around town. 2) Are you interested in the position full time after May 2005? He is interested in the position after the General Election in 2005. 3) How do you see your position in relation to the Executive Director? He'd like to learn more about the board and is confident he can do so and educate himself on what is necessary to resolve problems. Ms. Oberlander asked Mr. LeBlanc the same three questions. 1) Do you know what properties are managed by the Housing Authority? Mr. LeBlanc has spent time reviewing the Housing Authority website information. There are 138 units, 1 house for 8 disabled residents and 23 other family-units. There is involvement with Section 8 housing. 2) Are you interested in the position full time after May 2005? He thinks he is interested in serving as much as he can. He is interested in the Housing Authority more than other boards and committees and thinks he would find the work interesting and rewarding and would be interested in permanent seat. 3) How do you see your position in relation to the Executive Director? He believes that the Executive Director does the majority of the work behind the board but is not quite sure of the role of the committee. Ed Carl had no questions for Mr. LeBlanc. Selectman McCue next referenced that the Town is contemplating a joint venture with the Housing Authority for over-55 housing. His question was: What opinion do you have on the Housing Authority overseeing that project? Mr. Donovan replied that the Housing Authority is the right board to oversee the project as opposed to a private firm. Residents come first and an outside firm would not do as good a job. The Housing Authority knows who needs what and who is deserving. Mr. Blandori feels the same way that the Housing Authority handles these facilities very well. Mr. LeBlanc does not feel he has enough information to respond to this question. Board of Selectmen Minutes of December 1, 2004 5 Selectman Amoruso echoed what was said previously and is glad to have three applicants for this position. It will be a difficult decision. He asked: Do you feel we have sufficient housing here in town and should we expand? Mr. Donovan said you never have enough. There are more people in need than we have housing for which is controlled by the state. If you can put people into housing, we never have enough. Mr. Blandori feels the same way and he hopes that it will not affect the school system. Mr. LeBlanc does not feel he has enough knowledge of the needs and pressures upon town services, etc. and how increases in housing will impact these and would need further information to comment. Selectman Achille had no particular questions but repeated that it is pleasing to see three applicants also and particularly the new resident Mr. LeBlanc. It is satisfying to have three good solid choices to choose from. Selectman Dolan has no questions but asked that the other two applicants that are not appointed consider other openings on boards and committees. Mr. Donovan said he just wanted to see the seat filled. No one can fill Mary- Lou's shoes. Selectman MacCaffrie had no questions. He was also pleased that there are three applicants. It shows a specific generosity for a new member who is willing to come forward. At election time the seat will be wide open. Anyone could be elected. He thanked the applicants for their time and asked for a nomination. Doug Murphy nominated Dan Donovan; Edward Carl nominated Richard Blandori; Beth Oberlander nominated Bill LeBlanc. All in favor of Dan Donovan - 2 (Murphy/McCue); All in favor of Blandori - 4 (Carl/McCaffrie/Dolan/Achille); All in favor of LeBlanc - 2 (Amoruso/Oberlander). Mr. Blandori is appointed. Congratulations to Mr. Blandori. The Housing Authority is thanked for their participation. A letter of appointment to Richard Blandori will be sent and copied to the Town Clerk for Mr. Blandori to be sworn in. Motion: To appoint Richard Blandori to the Housing Authority to fill an unexpired term left vacant until the next General Election in May 2005. (Carl/McCaffrie/Dolan/ Achille) 4-0 Passes DPW Director Lee Azinheira, Highway Operations Manager Mark Cook, Chief of Police Arthur O'Neill, Fire Chief Robert Bellavance lead discussion with the Board regarding the winter overnight parking ban. On November 23rd Lee Azinheira and Mark Cook met with Chief O'Neill and Chief Bellavance to discuss ways to address the need for a winter parking ban. They were all in agreement that they would prefer to keep the previous parking ban in place, however, they also identified other alternatives. One alternative was to reinstate the previous parking ban which does not allow all overnight parking on the street for more than one hour between midnight and 6:00 a.m. Any vehicle parked overnight will be towed at the expense of the owner during the winter months December I st through April 30th. The second alternative is to reinstate the parking ban only for the Board of Selectmen Minutes of December 1, 2004 6 downtown business district and supplement with a published town-wide parking ban as needed for snow plowing or other emergency operations. The third alternative is to publish town-wide the parking ban as needed for snow plowing or other emergency operations. These would run similarly to school closings. The Police Chief is also investigating if our cable provider could run a message scroll across all Mansfield television screens with cable. The problem with a published ban is notification because we do not have a local radio and/or television station and people have so many different choices available to them that they may not see the notices. With six years of experience with a published parking ban, DPW Director Azinheira has found it far more problematic than Mansfield's previous bans. Cars illegally parked would delay plowing operations, because you need to call the Police, who would then call for a tow truck and in the meantime, the plows have to go around the illegally parked vehicles. During snow emergencies, the Police Department often get busy responding to traffic accidents and do not have the manpower to address all of the illegally parked cars. Chief O'Neill appreciates the Board's reexamination of the policy. The Police Department does maintain flexibility with enforcement of the ban. In cases of need, they do make exceptions in ticketing and/or towing. They do give out warnings with courtesy notices the first few days of the parking ban. Sometimes it is an aggravation and a challenge to get all vehicles off the road. Residents have to make arrangements. Selectman Achille asked what is the definition of the "downtown area"? Chief O'Neill replied it is between Copeland and Hope St. and Town Hall to the Train Station. The Chief has checked into all possibilities in terms of notification to the public, using both the Town's website and Cable TV. Cable said they could not run a scroll along the bottom of Mansfield televisions. We could use Boston/Providence TV. Selectman Achille said it is very easy to place an announcement on the local Government Channel 15. Selectman Dolan asked why can't Cable run a scroll like the Amber Alert that they run on the network stations in Boston? Selectman Amoruso said we have to educate people to the ban and is willing to look at compromise for the downtown area, but not town wide. The Chief stated that icing conditions requiring sanding and salting are made more difficult if vehicles are in the roadways. Selectman Amoruso said the majority of people understand to get their vehicles off the road when a storm is approaching. It seems to be unnecessary to get vehicles off the road if the weather is good. Chief O'Neill said the town is used to the ban. A combination of compromise has been made in the past for certain downtown residents with stickers. The past is not a good indicator of the future even with satellite weather forecasting. Selectman McCue favors continuation of the parking ban. Selectman Achille thanks everyone for coming out and echoes Mr. Amoruso's sentiment that we have more access to information and should know when storms are approaching. There should be certain corridors where the ban is kept in place and feels that we should look at more narrow corridors. Not all streets need to be included in the ban. Highway Operations Manager Mark Cook briefly stated that by keeping the vehicles off the road, it's an "insurance policy" of sorts that enables us to plow the roads efficiently and completely. Selectman Achille felt that there may be areas where we should keep the Board of Selectmen Minutes of December 1,2004 7 ban intact. The Chief said during an active storm, the policy of the Police Department is to pull cars in for safety purposes. The center of town is the most congested and requires more towing of vehicles. This reduces our ability to plow efficiently. Motion: To rescind previous vote instituting on-street overnight parking ban. (Achille/Amoruso) 5-0 Passes Motion: To institute the second alternative to reinstate the parking ban only for the downtown business district and supplement with a published town-wide parking ban as needed for snow plowing or other emergency operations. (Achille/Amoruso/MacCaffrie/Dolan - aye; McCue - nay) 4-1 Passes Ads will be placed by the Mansfield Police Department effective December 1 st and the Department will leave courtesy notices on vehicles parked on-street overnight for a two- week span. They will also supplement announcements on radio basically using what the School Department uses for school closings. Chief O'Neill appreciates the Board's time. DPW Director Lee Azinheira brought before the Board an update on the pavement schedule and presented the members with his memo dated December 1, 2004. The following road improvements have been completed: ~ Angell Street Drainage Improvements ~ Angell Street (Temporary Thin Overlay) ~ Jewell Street (Reclamation, Binder & Overlay) ~ Aspen Street (Reclamation, Binder & Overlay) ~ Smiley Avenue (Reclamation, Binder & Overlay) ~ Lakeview Road (Reclamation, Binder & Overlay) ~ Lakeview Avenue (Overlay) ~ Chestnut Street (Reclamation, Binder & Overlay) ~ Beech Street (Reclamation, Binder & Overlay) ~ West Church Street (Reclamation, Binder & Overlay) This work was accomplished due to the efforts of Mark Cook, Highway Operations Manager and his crew who had to balance the ongoing maintenance work along with these improvements. Selectman Amoruso congratulated Mr. Cook on his accomplishment. The Town Manager stated that many streets are not properly laid out and that engineering services are required to do so. There are 15 staff members currently in the Highway Department. The Board asked Mr. Azinheira for an explanation of Town Engineer John Sullivan's memo for an entry-level engineer. He explained that the Engineering Department is short staffed and the paving projects have been difficult. Mr. Azinheira suggested the entry- level engineer position to Mr. Sullivan in order to keep projects moving forward. The Board of Selectmen Minutes of December 1,2004 8 Engineering Department is extremely productive but they cannot keep up with the current workload. Selectman Amoruso asked what is the definition of "temporary." The response was a year and a half. We need to establish a salary figure. Selectman Achille asked if this is really a policy decision? He does not want to vote on this. What is the definition of policy? He cannot make an informed decision. Under the Town Charter, the Town Manager has the ability to hire and he feels we need this position. This concept is just informational for the Board. Mr. Azinheira said the goal is to keep moving with the projects. He feels that the Engineering Department, for its size, puts out a great deal of projects. He prefers not to do this for the long-term, however, if we do not add staff now, he feels that we may not be able to proceed with some of the proposed projects for calendar year 2006. The largest of these is Branch Street, which we have been talking about for a number of years. He asks for the Board's support on this temporary position. Town Accountant Bea Kearney leads discussion with the Board regarding the Fiscal Year 2004 Financial Audit. Reference is made to Ms. Kearney's memo to Town Manager dated October 18th wherein she states that after recent discussions with Light Department Director Gary Babin, both she and Mr. Babin are in agreement that the Town should maintain their separate audit for June 30, 2004. The Light Department portion of the 2004 audit has been or is near completion. The Town side remains and year-end financials are complete. Our current auditors, R.E. Brown & Co., have one year left of a three-year proposal, which they will continue to honor. This would cover the June 30, 2004 Town of Mansfield audit, incorporating the aforementioned Light Department audit. Ms. Kearney believes that this would be the most expedient route to follow at this point in time. Discussions regarding electric audit timing and a switch to a June 30th fiscal year are ongoing. Ms. Kearney believes Mr. Babin would prefer to begin a new fiscal year as of July 1, 2005. He has also suggested the possibility of using the Light Department's current auditors for a December 31, 2004 audit. Ms. Kearney states we should solicit a proposal for a combined audit as of June 30, 2005 using one audit firm. The question does remain, however, as to whether only one combined audit will suffice for the Light Department purposes, or if a separate audit will continue to be necessary. In either instance, one audit firm could perform both. The Town Manager is looking at incorporating an audit committee established with a different composition of members from other towns in the area. He may serve on another community's committee. The committee would be composed of a cross section of people with a financial audit background. Selectmen McCue and Amoruso did not believe that the intent was to use other towns. The composition would be other boards: Municipal Building Committee, etc. Originally, Finance Committee member Jack Goldberg initiated the audit oversight process concept. It was agreed that he would look at a recomposition of the committee and the Finance Committee thinks the composition is a good idea. A proposal would be drafted for the Board's review. The Town Manager thinks other towns would be interested in this type of committee structuring. The Audit Committee concept should be included in the RFP for the audit. Board of Selectmen Minutes of December 1, 2004 9 Motion: To continue the audit with R.E. Brown & Co. (Dolan! Achille) 5-0 Passes The Town Manager will talk with Electric Director Gary Babin about the DTE report and will resolve what auditor will be chosen. The Town Manager will sign the audit engagement letter with R.E. Brown & Company to extend the agreement to include fiscal year 2004 audit for $32,000. Attorney Mark Roberts of McRoberts, Roberts & Rainer, LLP, presented to the Board the Hercules Landfill Phase II and II Agreement and Bid Package. He is consultant to the Town and specializes in this field. Mr. Roberts gave a brief overview of the history of the property. The Town bought the property in the 1960's when Hercules moved out. It was thought that the Town may have used it as a municipal dump. In the investigation process, we conduct a Phase I study and Penney Engineering performed this Phase I study. Hercules and the Town split the fees 50/50. There was no evidence that the Town ever used the landfill. The next phase is Phase II which is the comprehensive site assessment. This is a capped landfill phase. For the last year we've been negotiating with Hercules and the Town wants Hercules to pay their fair share. The Town signed a DEP agreement to close the landfill. Hercules agrees to pay the costs for testing. Phase III is determination of what happens next. Hercules has agreed to pay for that as well. The proposed agreement stipulates that the Town has input. There is a whole range of possibilities as to how we will move forward. The Town will choose three companies; Hercules will choose three. The Town and Hercules will have to agree on the environmental professional based on both price and approach. They have to report to both the Town and Hercules. A principal contact for the Town will review reports and all bills before going to DEP and our comments will have to be incorporated. The arbitration clause has been reduced. The Town can go to mediation, arbitration or go to court if we choose. We stood firm on getting options. We have the right to peer review. Mr. Roberts can perform this service for the Town. The Town would like to provide "in-kind" contribution in lieu of cash payment. Board members received copies of the final agreement with Hercules and a copy of the bid package that will be going out to the prospective consultants. Atty. Roberts recommends we sent it to Woodard & Curran as they are already working for the Town, Environmental Compliance Services, Inc. and GeoInsight, Inc. All three are capable and experienced both with landfills and hazardous waste sites. Hercules has mentioned also soliciting a bid from Roux Associates, who Atty. Roberts is using on two sites. They have not indicated whom else they will have bid, but we should be able to agree on a consultant out of these four. A bidders conference is scheduled at Town Hall for Thursday, December 9th from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon with a visit to the site at 11 :00 a.m. The Town Manager is scheduled to attend this meeting to insure that the consultants, consistent with the scope of work, understand that they are reporting to both the Town and Hercules. Board of Selectmen Minutes of December 1, 2004 10 We need to hire the environmental professional now and get initial work underway before snow falls and then hit the ground hard in the spring. The Town Manager says we need to discuss the need to get a couple of residential homes which are currently on well water moved over to the public water supply as a precautionary measure at cost to the Town. Wells within 500 feet of the site raises levels of contaminants and Hercules would want to hook up these residents to water and the Town could provide in-kind service for this. The wells have been tested and nothing has been detected. It is recommended that we use this as a bargaining chip for future consideration. Mr. Roberts wanted to bring the Board up to speed and the Town Manager will be signing the contract and the RFP will be drawn up. Mr. Roberts will also keep the Board apprised as to where we are going. Selectman McCue asked has Hercules been cooperative? Mr. Roberts said they have changed their attitude significantly. Originally they believed that the Town as owner should be the responsible party. They have pretty much dropped that. They are now willing to pay their share. Their in-house counsel is responsible for their change of attitude. It is not considered a big problem for Hercules. Mr. Roberts has been very instrumental in this process and the Board thanks him for this update. Mr. Jerome Spiezio of 431 South Main Street appeared before the Board as an interested applicant in the vacant seat on the Board of Assessors. Mr. Spiezio made a brief statement on his background. He is a qualified assessor trainee in the state of Massachusetts. He previously served on the Downtown Advisory Committee and he relayed his experience on that committee with the Board. He has more time to offer to the Board. This would be an unpaid position, now that the stipend has been removed, and a three-year commitment. This vacancy is an unexpired term ending January of 2007. Mr. Spiezio does not regularly attend town meeting, but he will be required to do so if he is appointed. He knows the town is going through a lot of change with the tax revaluation and feels he has an overview of the situation. He believes the tax rate is fair the way it is and that it is a balanced rate for business as well as residential. Selectman Dolan said that the Town tried to protect small businesses and they could not find a way to help the 162 small businesses in Town. By definition, any business under $lM in value with fewer than ten employees is considered a small business. We asked does the state have a mechanism for helping small businesses and the response was that there was no way to do that. All the Town could do is to help encourage small business. Mr. Bill LeBlanc also shows interest in the Board of Assessors. The Board discusses taking more applicants on this seat, but Mr. Dolan feels that the seat has been vacant for some time, Mr. Spiezio has applied and he's ready to take a vote. Motion: 2007. To appoint Mr. Spiezio to fill the unexpired term to expire in January of (Dolan! Achille) 4-1 Passes Board of Selectmen Minutes of December 1,2004 11 An appointment letter will be sent to Mr. Spiezio. Mr. McCue asked Mr. LeBlanc to consider other positions available and thanked both applicants for coming in. Leonard Flynn, 102 Jewell Street, came forward and referenced a letter from SRPEDD regarding a pictometry update which is available to towns. This process would provide a much higher resolution than GIS and is offered by MassHighway to towns at no expense. It's a server type file. This goes in four directions and gives a three-dimensional picture much higher than GIS. Some towns have signed up and recommends that the Town sign up for this. We would not need any other computer hardware or software than what we have for GIS now. The Town Manager will contact SRPEDD and sign the Town of Mansfield up for this pictometry update. It's a two-year renewable contract at no expense to the Town. This is part of the Smart Growth initiative. George Dentino, 2 Gladiola Terrace, came forward and said that it would be prudent for the Board to take a look at the opinion from the Department of Revenue regarding expenditure of monies for fuel assistance that came up at Finance Committee meeting last year. You can only expend money for electricity and not for oil and gas. Previously $20,000 was allocated and now you have $40,000. He also asked Chairman MacCaffrie about borrowing from Light Department funds. He had asked for a reason for the two sets of books for Light Department. What is the benefit to the ratepayer? Chairman MacCaffrie stated he will provide the information Mr. Dentino is requesting when it is available. Mr. Dentino says that if you expend monies on the part of the ratepayer, it has to have a benefit to the ratepayer. Town Managers Report Reservations for the MMA Annual Meeting & Trade Show should be made soon as the deadline for registration is quickly approaching. If Board members wish to attend, we need that information soon. Please let us know. The Tax bills are out and due in 30 days by December 29th. Please pay early to help our cash flow. The Treasurer/Collector will appreciate that. Town Counsel and S¡ecial Counsel will attend a Conference of Counsel meeting on Monday, December 6 with the Housing Appeals Committee in Boston at the Saltonstall Building on the Developer's Appeal of the 40B project known as the Fairfield Green project on West Street. Attorneys Mangiaratti and Gheller will report back to the Board at some point on any issues which are important to the Board. Staff met with Attorney Mangiaratti on the sewer flow calculations and Mr. Mangiaratti feels comfortable with the rationale used thus far on the sewer calculations/capacity and whether or not an extension verses a hook up are one and the same. Board of Selectmen Minutes of December 1,2004 12 The MBT A will hold a Capital Improvements Project public hearing on December 8th at 6:00 p.m. at the Mansfield Public Library on Hope Street. We are also scheduled for a board meeting that evening. Selectman McCue asked about the meeting with MBT A /CIP hearing. Are you aware of anything pertaining to the Town of Mansfield? The Town Manager says these meetings are required. The meetings are regionally driven. Would there be Mansfield issues we should bring up? Mr. D' Agostino would like to see handicap ramps improved on both sides. We have the highest ridership on the line. Selectman McCue asked did we get the benches? Mr. D' Agostino says no, there are no benches now. There is a concern about vandalism to the benches. On December 9th at 7:00 p.m. there is ajoint Wastewater Management workshop with the Towns of Norton and Foxborough at the Norton Council on Aging at 55 West Main Street. On December 10th the Friends Christmas Party is scheduled at the Council on Aging at 11 :30 a.m. We usually have a good Board attendance. The Town Manager asks if the members will let him know if they plan on attending. On December 11 th the Seniors Christmas Breakfast is scheduled at the Mansfield Lodge of Elks from 7:30 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. at the North Main St. location. There are two seatings: one at 8:30 and another at 9:30. There is a Regional ETA meeting scheduled for Wednesday, December 15th at 8:00 am at Dean College in Franklin. The ETA meeting concerns acceptance of additional communities into the ETA target area. It was a 2/3' s vote. Each community Board of Selectmen would have to make a ratification vote and recommendation to the regional committee. The ETA is so new now that accepting communities is not wise at the moment. Other communities share borders with other ETAs and provide options for these communities. On December 16th the Town Manager is scheduled for a Coffee Hour with the Seniors at the Council on Aging at 10:00 a.m. The Board is invited to attend and he will take department heads to the meeting as well. The program usually runs about 1 Y2 hours. Selectmen's Old/New Business · Selectman Dolan has no old or new business. · Selectman Amoruso referenced a letter from George Dentino to The Mansfield News claiming that he was involved with bringing the tax rate to level. This is 100% wrong Mr. Amoruso emphatically states. He never supported going to level and may support the change back when that is allowed. It was a 4-1 vote. Mr. Amoruso felt the need to clarify what actually had happened. · Selectman McCue had no old or new business. · Chairman MacCaffrie stated we loose sight of the fact that we always ask for routing slips on various projects and we ourselves are not included on those routing slips. As Road Commissioners, he is totally against bonding out the rest of a project and would Board of Selectmen Minutes of December 1, 2004 13 like to see the person that was issued the special permit complete his work. We have had a bad track record with developers finishing projects. We run out of bond money before the project is completed. We should tell a developer that they cannot sell the property until it is complete. Selectman Dolan met with Town staff and asked if we lost money on a bond. We have not lost any. Most of them make cash deposits. Selectman Amoruso said the Town had to finish Francis Avenue. There was no attempt to repave the road that was damaged during construction. Even though we are reimbursed for our personnel costs in labor, that takes us away from other projects. Selectman MacCaffrie said it's hard to collect on a bond. He wants a developer to finish his project and not leave it up to the Town. General discussion ensues about bonds and their limits and obligations as it relates to the granting of a special permit. Selectman Dolan said we have to be careful about interfering with Planning Board decisions. A general discussion follows about regional parking issues involving the train station and the need for Board of Selectmen input. There is a need to help get the traffic out of there. Town property and town roads and the issuance of a parking permit are large issues that should be under the purview of the Board of Selectmen as Road Commissioners. Shaun Burke is aware of the parking proposals Mr. Clemmey and Mr. Ditchman have in mind. He is aware of the Hatheway-Patterson site reuse project. We need more knowledge of what is out there. We have a right to develop Town owned property in the way in which we see appropriate. Motion: To continue until 11 :15 pm. (Amoruso/McCue) 5-0 Passes Selectman McCue is interested in closely following how this develops; he has concerns. Selectman Dolan said it sounds like a lot more parking is going to be proposed. The current rail cannot handle the increase in ridership. We all agree we need to make the Board's wishes known and that we'd like to share concerns and have input. · Selectman Achille was at the Mansfield Green on Saturday and commented that the Water Treatment Plant at the Highway Garage looks like it's coming along. The project is at 35%-40% at construction level building wise. The tank is up. If interested, the Board can take a tour on a Saturday. It's coming along nicely. The Municipal Building Committee has done a wonderful job on this project working with staff and the contractor. Adjournment Motion: To adjourn at 11: 15 p.m. (McCue/Achille) 5-0 Passes ~ / 2- ç:¡:-(J t/ Date of Approval Board of Selectmen Minutes of December 1, 2004 14