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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin brd of selectmen 02/25/04 r Board of Selectmen Minutes of February 25, 2004 , ~J (-'j Present: ~L:- ::"~ \ ì ::; Michael W. McCue, Chairman; Steven W. MacCaffrie, Vice Chairman; Roger S. Achille, Clerk; Selectmen David W. McCarter and Louis P. Amoruso. Town Manager John O. D' Agostino The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m., followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Motion: To go into Executive Session to discuss collective bargaining strategy for negotiations (MacCaffrie-Amoruso) Roll Call Vote: McCarter, aye; Amoruso, aye; MacCaffrie, aye; Achille, aye; McCue, aye All in favor--Passes The meeting reconvened in Open Session at 8:00 p.m., following by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Chairman McCue announced that the Selectmen had met in Executive Session with the School Committee and Finance Committee to discuss negotiation strategy regarding labor contracts. Since the Executive Session ended earlier r than had been anticipated, he suggested Selectmen act on other agenda items until such time as the Downtown Merchants group arrived for their scheduled meeting with the Selectmen. · Warrant No. 35 in the amount of$3,311,436.71 Motion: To approve (Amoruso-Achille) 5-0 with Selectman McCarter abstaining from Municipal Building Committee payroll Passes · Minutes of February 18,2004 Selectmen's Meeting Motion: To approve (Amoruso-MacCaffrie) 5-0 Passes · Minutes of January 28,2004 Executive Session Motion: To approve but not release (Amoruso-McCarter) 5-0 Passes r Board of Selectmen Minutes of February 25,2004 1 ~ (' · Memorandum from DPW Director Lee Azinheira with update on the status of Verizon's work in removing the overhead lines in the Downtown area · Letter from Mansfield Emergency Management Director Robert B. Button requesting Selectmen's approval to receive an award of a $750 Gift Certificate to the Channing Bete Company to obtain CPR manikins and related equipment for MEMA Motion: To approve (MacCaffrie-Amoruso) 5-0 Passes · Letter from Southeastern Regional Services Group requesting approval and signature of the assignment of a contract from Road Solutions to Innovative Municipal Products (U.S.) Inc. Motion: To approve and sign (MacCaffrie-Amoruso) 5-0 Passes Selectman MacCaffrie, who also serves as Chairman of the Housing Task Force, spoke of the Affordable Housing Production Plan that has been completed by the Housing Task Force in conjunction with Judith Barrett of Community Opportunities Group. The r document provides the Town with a tool to control an influx of 40B proposals by giving the Zoning Board of Appeals more power to accept or deny them. The Planning Board has also been asked to draft a Zoning By-Law amendment on inc1usionary zoning which will also help us to reach and maintain our 10% affordable housing ratio. The Affordable Housing Production Plan recommends setting up a non-profit, which can raise funds and work with developers to develop property on our terms. It allows for the purchase or receipt of property which can be turned over to the non-profit to work with a developer to build up our stock. In that way we can dictate the number of units and have some control over the development. Tax-title takings could be transferred to the non-profit with the approval of Town Meeting. There would be a deed restriction that the property would stay affordable. Once approved by the Board of Selectmen this document that will go to the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) for their review and hopefully their approval. Motion: To approve the Affordable Housing Production Plan, with the appropriate GIS maps being included, and to send it to Judith Barrett tomorrow to be submitted to DHCD (MacCaffrie-Amoruso) 5-0 Passes Selectman MacCaffrie pointed out that once the plan is approved by DHCD we will need to set aside money to carry it out through the next step. r Board of Selectmen Minutes of February 25,2004 2 r Town Manager D' Agostino: · Selectmen had asked for an update on the status of the recycling program at Mansfield Green since we started the sticker fee program. DPW Director Lee Azinheira will have a report next week. He noted that since the fee for the stickers began in September and the item sticker program did not start until January, there may not be sufficient data yet to build an accurate database from which to draw conclusions. There has, however, been a considerable reduction in the number of items left at the Mansfield Green. · Referred to Lee Azinheira's memo on the state of the Elm Street Bridge Project. MassHighway refers to a 2004 completion date but there appears to be a discrepancy of a year. They're now saying September 2005, but there's not much we can do about it other than express our disappointment at the delay in the project. They're in the process of signing an extension with the contractor that they did not inform us of. There are flagmen on the tracks in the area of the work being done to be sure the workmen clear the area. Selectmen Amoruso pointed out they established an agreement with us and they've failed to do what they said they'd do. We would never have agreed to the road opening if they told us it would take this long. He also asked what's going on with the other bridge and suggested we let our representatives know that District 5 is taking on these projects that affect our Light Department. and School Department without letting us know what's going on. Town Manager r D' Agostino reported it looks like they'll be starting mid-March to April. They'll switch the traffic over and begin working on the other side of the road at that point. · He has spoken with Chief O'Neill on three occasions regarding the information needed by Dr. Mullin. The Chief has promised he will send it to Dr. Mullin forthwith. He's aware of the time constraints and will be given until next week to get it done. · Membership in the Tax Incentive Financing (TIF) Committee is still pending. The Industrial Development Commission (IDC) is meeting tonight and will appoint their delegate. The Board of Assessors will also be naming their delegate tonight and the TIF Committee will then begin meeting. One of the first proposals they will be working on is Medco, which will result in increased employment opportunities. There is no limit as to how many we can approve, as long as they meet the criteria. It has been structured to be project or building specific and the clock ticks on each project individually within the twenty-year window. He anticipates interest from a couple of other companies in the immediate future. Medco will be speaking on the plans in Mansfield tomorrow and have stated this is the best process they have ever been involved in. · He will be out of town for the next few days. Lee Azinheira will be serving as Acting Town Manager until Tuesday night when he returns. Conservation Agent Richard r Lewis will also be out of town next week. Board of Selectmen Minutes of February 25,2004 3 .. r · The Insurance Advisory Committee has unanimously voted for the Delta Dental Plus Option with a monthly premium cost of $94 for the family plan. Teachers involved and the unions on the Town-side have all agreed to a 70/30 split in health care with the addition of the dental. Rates are guaranteed for two years and the entire group supported the dental plan option. · Has asked Lee Azinheira to schedule a pre-removal meeting with Comcast and Verizon. They have very little incentive to work cooperatively with each other where we can get both parties together. . Spoke to Lee Azinheira on the status of the Wastewater Treatment Plant. He is waiting for a report from the engineers on the switch gear. One of the issues that is going to come out is that the switch gear will need to be replaced at an estimated cost of $500,000. We mayor may not end up taking be this route. Selectman Amoruso suggested it may pay to have a peer review of their findings. The draft of the Annual Town Meeting Warrant, which closes on March 1st, was briefly reviewed. The review resulted in the following decisions: r . Discussion on Article 27 regarding Director of the Light Plant-article to remain as drafted. · Request from School Committee to add a placeholder for a possible article for a $2.25 million override. It was noted that putting the article on the warrant is at the Selectmen's discretion. Selectmen discussed putting the article on the warrant as requested, even though they previously voted unanimously not to support an override. Discussion also took place as to the School Committee's ability to get the override question before the voters in some other way. Concern was expressed because the override request includes both operational and capital items. It was noted that once an override is approved, the base never goes down. It also takes away the Town's ability to control the budget. We would not be able to leave Town Meeting with a balanced budget and set the tax rate in a timely manner.. Motion: To place requested article on the warrant (Amoruso-no second) Fails Sandra Torman, owner of the The Yam Shoppe, spoke of the twenty-eight parking spaces on Old Colony Way changed temporarily to commuter parking. She reported it is a congested part of town, with more businesses just being added, and they need parking r spaces. There are fifteen businesses facing Old Colony Way. It is also used as overflow Board of Selectmen Minutes of February 25,2004 4 (' r (' parking for businesses on North Main Street. She stated that tonight she has classes at The Yam Shoppe with twenty-eight students and three teachers, which equates to thirty- one cars. H&R Block also utilizes many spaces in that area during tax season. Chairman McCue noted they were designated for commuter parking on a temporary basis and there is a demonstrated need for parking spaces in the area. One side of Old Colony Way is currently dedicated to two-hour parking; the other side is commuter parking. Joan Holske of Kids Fashion also indicated the need for additional parking in the area. Selectmen referred to a recommendation from John Sullivan that we return a fair amount of parking spots to the way they were. He suggested seven spots remain as commuter parking and ten revert back to the businesses. Merchants indicated that people are afraid to park in the commuter spaces on nights and weekends, so it affects them all the time. Motion: Those spots that were 2-hour parking prior to the Train Station construction revert to 2-hour parking effective in 30 days (Achille-MacCaffrie) The Town Manager suggested that all the spaces could revert back to two-hour parking and we could have staff monitor it and report back in six months. Parking is congested now, but the spaces in the area of the Cuneo building are under-utilized. Joan Holske noted they were unde- utilized, but there are now more businesses there. Jay Barrows of the Downtown Business Association echoed the sentiments of the merchants. He also noted the need to have finality for train customers and make Old Colony Way attractive for people coming down the back way. Steams has been empty for awhile and is being done. Sterling Manufacturing now has three tenants after being vacant for seven or eight years; there are competing interests with computer store and Catman Café, gift shop, counseling service. There has been increased activity in that area in the last year. He also reminded the Town of the need to fix the bike trail as it goes from West Church to High School to get it back to normal parking on the west side of North Main Street. Selectman McCarter said he spoke with Mr. Sullivan and he made the recommendation based on his observations. Mr. Barrows noted they had agreed to advocate to diagonal parking but it wasn't wide enough. He asked that the motion put forth be adopted, noting there's still a lot of interest in the downtown. The poles are finally coming down, there will be change in lighting, and the Planning Board is looking at a façade improvement incentive. Vote: 3-2 with Selectmen Amoruso and McCarter opposed Passes Selectman McCarter: · Asked when are we going to act on the Tweeter license. Selectmen MacCaffrie suggested the issue of limo parking be looked at this year. Overtime performances were also a concern last year. Chairman McCue requested that any comments on the license agreement be forwarded to the Town Manager to be included in discussions with Bruce Montgomery Motion: To have the Town Manager enter into discussions with Bruce Montgomery, Executive Director of the Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts, with all comments Board of Selectmen Minutes of February 25,2004 5 r to be addressed sent to the Town Manager (McCarter-Amoruso) 5-0 Passes Selectman McCue: · School Street residents had put together information on some traffic mitigation measures they wanted. He asked that it be put back on the radar screen. He also noted the need for signage to slow the traffic down through the residential area. Selectman Amoruso: · Had someone tell him there is not enough public education as to what can be recycled and what can't be. He suggested it be put in the Live Wire and on Cable. Motion: To adjourn at 9:38 p.m. oruso) 5-0 Passes r 3/0r Date of Approval r Board of Selectmen Minutes of February 25,2004 6