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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin brd of selectmen 06/02/04 Present: OL.¡ JUN '7 Af'Î II: 02 '.; .' >·····"·'LD 1·li~.;·'');· it MASSACHUSETTS Steven W. MacCaffrie, Chainnan; Vice Chainnan Roger S. Achille, Clerk; Bernard J. Dolan; and Selectman Louis P. Amoruso. Selectman Michael W. McCue was unable to be at the meeting. Town Manager John O. D' Agostino Board of Selectmen Minutes of June 2, 2004 ,.'''1 " ,,, '.'\ \ ! f~ t·.·...' ¡'(tLt y r..U . I'i ': fì ~< C:, I) C' r.: I C E .. ." "., . ¡ I r The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m., followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Marilyn Lewis of the Fair Housing Committee introduced the winners of the Annual Fair Housing Poster Contest. She thanked school department personnel for their assistance. The winners of the contest were: 3rd Prize Kimberly Boi - $10 gift certificate from Bookends 2nd Prize Mike Leonard - Soccer Ball from Grogan-Marciano Sporting Goods 1 st Prize Laura McHugh - Soccer Ball from Grogan-Marciano r Sporting Goods and $25 gift certificate from Videomania Grand Prize Catherine Maroney - $200 savings bond from North Easton Savings Bank Chainnan MacCaffrie presented certificates to each of the winners in honor of their accomplishment and thanked all those who participated. Bill Flannery asked each of the delegates to introduce themselves. They were: Michael Cyr, Samuel Elich, Gregory Clayman, Drew Cavanagh, Emilee Greco, Sarah Jaquette, Kailin Collins, Julianne Smith, Kathleen Braque, and Jessica Cohen The boys will be going to Stonehill College for their sessions June 11th to 16th. The girls will be holding their meetings the following week. Students have to be recommended by their guidance counselor, write an essay, and be interviewed. The American Legion pays their expenses. r Town Manager D' Agostino addressed the delegates, speaking about the type of government established in Mansfield and other parts of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He explained that Mansfield has a Home Rule Charter, has three elected Board of Selectmen Minutes of June 2, 2004 1 boards, and a strong Town Manager fonn of government. He also explained the r appointment process whereby he appoints staff and the Board of Selectmen appoints volunteer committees which serve in various capacities to carry out the work of the Town in conjunction with various Town Department Heads. He further explained the roles of the elected boards, with all working as a team to move Mansfield forward. Chainnan MacCaffrie spoke of the importance of citizens contributing to the community through serving on various Town boards and committees. He noted his interest in politics began at the age of twelve when he began working with his father in support of people running for election in Norton. He offered words of encouragement to the students and congratulated their parents. A public hearing was held on the petition of Verizon and the Mansfield Municipal Electric Department for a pole location at Branch Street and Jake's Way. The notice of public hearing as it appeared in The Sun Chronicle on May 19, 2004 was read into the record. Motion: To open the public hearing at 8:00 p.m. (Amoruso-Achille) 4-0 Passes r Paul Schneider of Verizon spoke regarding the petition, noting the pole will be moved to the other side of the street. Line Foreman Gary D' Ambra of the Light Department concurred. DPW Director Lee Azinheira also noted his support for the application Motion: To close the public hearing at 8:05 p.m. (Achille-Dolan) 4-0 Passes Motion: To grant the pole location as described in the petition (Achille-Dolan) 4-0 Passes A public hearing was held on the petition of Verizon and the Mansfield Municipal Electric Department for a pole location at Pratt Street and Fuller Place. The notice of public hearing as it appeared in The Sun Chronicle on May 19, 2004 was read into the record. Motion: To open the public hearing at 8:10 p.m. (Achille-Dolan) 4-0 Passes r Mr. Schneider noted a new building is necessitating the relocation of the pole. Mr. D' Ambra noted it's a violation of the public safety code with the wires going between Board of Selectmen Minutes of June 2, 2004 2 r two properties. They are relocating the poles ftom the northwest corner of the property to the northeast corner of the property. Motion: To close the public hearing at 8:13 p.m. (Dolan-Achille) 4-0 Passes Motion: To grant the pole location as described in the petition (Achille-Amoruso) 4-0 Passes Selectman Achille asked Mr. Schneider about the status of the pole in the middle of the island at West and Gilbert Streets. Verizon is still attached to the pole and they were asked to remove it so the pole can be removed. r Kathie Horowitz of Mansfield Women of Today spoke of the fundraising activities they conducted to raise money for various local projects, one of which was the Mansfield Skateboard Park. A check in the amount of $2,500 was presented. She noted their excitement in contributing to the project that will serve the youth community. They are also in the process of making other donations to benefit various non-profit agencies, social service agencies, and health and educational programs in Town. They. will be donating a total of $7,500. Anyone wishing to assist them in this cause can send donations to P. O. Box 205, Mansfield. Skateboard Park Chainnan Pat Bums noted they currently have $64,000 or their original goal of$71,000. · Warrant No. 49 in the amount of $4,066,142.60 Motion: To approve (Dolan-Achille) 4-0 Passes · Minutes of the May 26,2004 Selectmen's Meeting Motion: To approve (Dolan-Amoruso) 4-0 Passes r · All Alcoholic Beverages license for El Azteca Mexican Restaurant at 310 North Main Street - previously approved by Selectmen and final approval now received from the ABCC Motion: To sign (Amoruso-Achille) 4-0 Passes Board of Selectmen Minutes of June 2, 2004 3 · Drainlayer's license of P. Beatty Excavation, Inc. of Mansfield - recommended for r approval by Town Engineer John Sullivan Motion: To approve the renewal (Amoruso-Achille) 4-0 Passes Town Manae:er and Staff · Letter from Police Chief Arthur M. O'Neill seeking the Selectmen's assistance in collecting a bill for a detail provided to an event sponsored by the Foxboro VFW Post. Requests that Foxboro Selectmen be notified so they may take this into account when the liquor license comes up for renewal. Motion: To authorize the Chainnan to send a letter to the Foxboro Board of Selectmen on our behalf (Achille-Amoruso) 4-0 Passes Town Manager D' Agostino noted he sent a letter to the Foxboro Town Administrator regarding the matter on the Selectmen's behalf. r · Letter from MEMA Director Robert B. Button requesting Selectmen vote to charge the Local Emergency Planning Committee with the task of developing the Mansfield Pre-Disaster Mitigation Plan which needs to be in place by September 30, 2004, with SRPEDD technical assistance provided as needed. Motion: To so charge that committee (Amoruso-Dolan) 4-0 Passes · Memorandum from Nick Riccio, Inspector of Buildings, rendering an opinion on the request of Uno Chicago Grill for a refund of the fees paid for various licenses and pennits at 390 West Street · Memorandum from DPW Director Lee Azinheira asking for Selectmen's approval of a proposed change in the Street Opening Pennits/Street Cut Guidelines Motion: To approve the amendments as presented (Achille-Dolan) 4-0 Passes · Sidewalk Extension Application received from Allison Ford & Robert Fink of 82 Samoset Avenue No recommendations have been received Both options are requesting Town participation, but we do not have money for it. More information is needed prior to considering it further. The application was tabled, with the notification to be given to the petitioner that the application needs to be further completed and that greater participation by the neighborhood is needed for further consideration. .r' Board of Selectmen Minutes of June 2, 2004 4 · Memorandum from Town Engineer John D. Sullivan, Jr., re: application for sewer r extension/Ware Street - public hearing recommended Motion: To hold a public hearing and if approved, the appropriation will be made at a future Town Meeting. (Dolan-Amoruso) 4-0 Passes · Memorandum from DPW Director Lee Azinheira re: Proposed Sidewalk at 15 Hampshire Street - approval recommended DPW Director Lee Azinheira has met with Tyco representatives and they have done the engineering and will be paying for the work. It will be our sidewalk and it will be constructed according to our specifications, as they did in the past. Motion: To approve the installation of the sidewalk (Achille-Dolan) 4-0 Passes Boards and Committees · Letter from fonner Planning Board member Bernie Dolan resigning from his seat on that board due to his election to the Board of Selectmen Motion: To accept the resignation and send a letter thanking him for his service (Achille-Amoruso) 4-0 Passes · Letter from Paul J. Folkman resigning immediately from the Board of Assessors Motion: To accept and send a letter of thanks and appreciation (' (Achille-Amoruso) 4-0 Passes Residents · Letter from Mansfield resident Joan I. Brandt regarding salary increases of Town employees · E-mail from Greg Ryding of 796 Maple Street regarding sticker fees for the Mansfield Green Other · Letter from Benjamin C. Boynton of the Mansfield Elks inviting the Selectmen to participate in the annual Flag Day Ritual on Monday, June 14th, at 7:00 p.m. on the South Common. The Elks will also be collecting any service-worn flags for honorable retirement. · Received notice today of the comment period to HUD. The Consolidation Plan will be available on the website and is available now only in Attleboro and Taunton. r Board of Selectmen Minutes of June 2, 2004 5 · Both Lee Azinheira and Helen Christian have provided written comment regarding r the sticker program at the Mansfield Green. It is working in two ways-reducing the volume of discarded material and partially subsidizing the cost of the Green overall. Free stickers to multi-car families after the purchase of the first sticker would create a budget shortfall and create additional work for the Town Clerk's Office. He requested that the fee structure be continued as is. Selectman Achille asked when the sunset provision expires. He anticipated this would be discussed within the framework of discussion at that time. Motion: To have a workshop on the topic on one of the off weeks in the summer (July 21 st - will be posted and Selectmen will take notes - post for 7:30 p.m.) Extend sunset provision to July 28th (Achille-Amoruso) 4-0 Passes Selectmen Dolan asked for infonnation on the cost of separating the recycling. Staff has noticed that when there's an incentive to recycle, such as Pay-As- Y ou- Throw, there is more recycling. · Draft environmental impact report for the Golden Triangle project shopping center has been copied to the Board. The most glaring comment has been an alternate access point other than School Street. Access off Route 140 makes it sensible to talk about northbound access to Route 495 from that area as well. Selectman Amoruso said he has some concern about how many street lights we'll end up with on Route 140. He suggested access from the shopping plaza itself would serve that need They r would propose a cross-over prior to the light at School Street. He believes the developer would be willing to pay for a curbcut that would allow people to enter the shopping center or continue around to Route 495, similar to the U-turn at the Home Depot in Norwood. Those interchanges would have to be designed to take a 16- wheel tum-around. Selectman Dolan noted it would be a win-win situation, keeping the traffic off School Street and preserving the area at South Main Street. Copies of the comments by staff will be made available at the Library, Town Manager's Office, and the Town website. · The new ambulance has been delayed in its arrival to Mansfield. It will be delivered in approximately two weeks to be outfitted by Emergency One in North Attleboro. We should received it two weeks after that. It is his desire to have all those who worked so hard to raise the money for it to be on-hand for a ribbon cutting ceremony prior to the ambulance being put into service. ~ Selectman Achille: · Asked about scheduling a workshop on a structure for a redevelopment authority. Town Manager D 'Agostino will work on a package and will contact people in the industry to talk to the Board Chairman MacCa.ffrie asked for something to be done with and through the Industrial Finance Authority also. Board of Selectmen Minutes of June 2, 2004 6 r Selectman Dolan: · Reported that Selectman Amoruso did a good job representing the Board at the Memorial Day Parade. Chainnan MacCaffrie: · Will be preparing some suggestions regarding the sticker system for Mansfield Green. · Asked about the request for fee waivers for Route 106 - the terms of the approved Selectmen's fee waiver policy were reviewed by the Town Manager. Chainnan MacCaffrie noted the capital costs were not waived for the School Department when he was on the Municipal Building Committee. Fee waivers were strictly for Town's portion of the building inspection and pennit fees. He asked what was written in the specifications when the contractor bid the job. If they were included in the bid documents and they're waived, we should get a credit. Lee Azinheira noted that prior to this project Public Works has never charged themselves afee. They may have been wrong, but that it how it has been done. Selectman Dolan questioned if we're being asked to waive a fee that we're paying ourselves. If it's in the bid and we waive it, we want the money back. Lee Azinheira will detennine if it was in the bid. r · Skateboard Park - suggested to DPW Director Lee Azinheira that if during the construction you overlap all the materials being hauled out with hauling materials in, it would cut down the timeframe. Mr. Azinheira noted the plan is to excavate the whole area to make sure there is no unsuitable material. They are working around an active park and do not want to stockpile materials. They don't have the luxury of having personnel dedicated to just that project, so there will be times when the area is unattended Selectman Amoruso: · The sign on the small island at the Train Station is not there anymore and he saw someone taking a left onto Mansfield Avenue. He was also asked if we have any signs along North Main Street where cars come out of businesses onto the street, noting they should not be tuming out in the opposite direction of the one-way traffic. Selectman Achille: · Asked that Helen Christian be notified of the workshop on the Mansfield Green in case she is interested in attending. Asked that the workshop begin at 7 instead of 7:30 and be kept it to an hour to an hour and half. .~ Selectman Dolan: · Reported the Police Color Guard placed 2nd out of 53 units in a competition in Rhode Island. He noted they buy their own unifonns, practice on their own time, and donate their time to be at these functions. Board of Selectmen Minutes of June 2, 2004 7 r Motion: To send them a letter of congratulations (Dolan-Achille) 4-0 passes Chainnan MacCaffrie: · Asked that the Selectmen's Secretary position be posted and advertised so that there can be some training prior to Mary-Lou's retirement. Town Manager D 'Agostino noted her retirement date has not yet been firmly established. He also pointed out that there is no money in the budget to pay two salaries for that position simultaneously. Chainnan MacCaffrie suggested that someone filling the position would not be paid at the same rate. He also reiterated the need for training and suggested that he expects the Selectmen to have some input regarding the decision. Shirley MacPhee of Union Street - retired from the Board of Assessors. Expressed her disappointment at the way the stipend for the Board of Assessors was eliminated. She referred to it as backroom politics at its worst and said it was disrespectful. They are the only Board that has to be certified by the Department of Revenue. Setting and defending the values for the Town is not an easy task. If they had met with the Assessors and discussed it with them, she is sure the salary could be reduced without being eliminated. She commended those who have served in the office over the years and asked that the r Selectmen think carefully before doing something like this again. George Dentino of Gladiola Terrace - talked about Article 18 of the Town Meeting asking for an appropriation of funds for Wastewater. The night of the meeting a transfer of $1.2 million for replacement of the switchgears was requested, and goes on to say they were installed in the 1970's, when in fact it was 1985. He further questioned the representation that it was becoming "unreliable". He reviewed the breakdown of the $1.2 million, pointing out that the inclusion of a new generator and other items in the amount are not the replacement of the switchgears. DPW Director Lee Azinheira noted there is a high contingency because the final design has not been done. Selectman Dolan questioned if the Town Meeting has already voted on this why it is being questioned now qfter it's already been approved by Town Meeting. Chairman MacCaffrie asked Mr. Dentino what his question is. Mr. Dentino asked why we're replacing the generator. It was capable only of running half the plant. Additional attempts were made in an effort to explain the matter to Mr. Dentino, but were unsuccessful in satisfying him. r- Pat Bums of Creedon Street and Chainnan of the Ad Hoc Strategic YMCA Planning Committee - said they held their final meeting tonight and he presented their findings. Following his explanation of the bid process, he reported on the four charges given them less than two years ago. They have now completed their charge and are thus putting it in the hands of Parks & Recreation and DPW. All those on the committee would like to be contacted when the Community Center project is ready to be looked at and they are willing to accept that charge. He provided the names of those individuals who assisted Board of Selectmen Minutes of June 2, 2004 8 , . them and asked that they be incorporated into the minutes. Those individuals are the r members of the Board of Selectmen from October 2002 to present (Dan Donovan, Lou Amoruso, David McCarter, Mike McCue, Steve MacCaffrie, Roger Achille, and Bernie Dolan) and Mary-Lou Cotton, Selectmen's Executive Secretary; Town Manager John D' Agostino and his Executive Secretary, Eileen Ouellette; DPW Director Lee Azinheira, Special Projects Manager Mike Ahern, and the DPW Staff; Town Engineer John Sullivan; Chairman MacCaffrie thanked him on behalf of the Board, noting the task could not have been accomplished otherwise. Motion: To include the names in the minutes of all those who helped the Committee with the project (Amoruso-Dolan) 4-0 Passes Selectman Dolan asked if they wouldn't prefer to remain as a committee until the Skateboard Park is complete. Their task will not be complete until the completion of the project. There is no need for them to meet, but the Selectmen would like them to still exist as a committee when the Skateboard Park is opened. Motion: To adjoum at 9:36 p.m. (Amoruso) 5-0 Passes ,r ~:kferP~ ~ -- ) p '"'~ Date of Approval r' Board of Selectmen Minutes of June 2, 2004 9