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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin brd of selectmen 03/16/05 r ;... \: f' t" I \1 '- ;) i ~ ';;,. ,....r ;..., 1 '~ }",,, - r- "('. tlC'1: IrE '.'1 i v.. / Present: Town of Mansfield Board of Sele~tmen \.15 iH{R 211 Mi S: ll4 Minutes of March 16,2005 ,L.. ;t:.LD Chairman Steven MacCaffrie; Vice Chairman Ro~~'~~@&~!l8~rL1~rnard Dolan; Selectman Louis Amoruso and Selectman Michael McCue Town Manager John o. D'Agostino The Board of Selectmen's meeting was called to order at 7:35 p.m. followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. . Warrant No. 38 in the amount of$ 2,919,634.21 Motion: To approve (Achille - McCue) 5-0 Passes . Executive Session Meeting Minutes of March 9, 2005 Motion: To approve but not release (Achille - Amoruso) 5-0 Passes ~ . Regular Session Meeting Minutes of March 9, 2005 Motion: To approve (McCue - Achille) 5-0 Passes . Check from Bay Brook Village, LLC in the amount of $8,225.00 Motion: To accept check for deposit into the Local Housing Partnership Fund (McCue - Amoruso) 5-0 Passes . Email from the Department of Revenue dated March 9th announcing that the new Massachusetts School Building Authority plans to post estimated FY06 ongoing school construction reimbursements on its website. . Informational pamphlet from State Representatives Betty Poirier and Selectman McCue Coppola dated March 10th regarding the senior "circuit breaker" tax credit. r . Letter from Comcast dated March 8th regarding the annual license fee for 2004. Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 16,2005 r . Fax from Congressman Barney Frank dated March 11 th concerning the I-495/Route 140 Interchange in Mansfield. . Memo from GATRA received March 14th notifying the Board that the next meeting of the GATRA Advisory Board will be held on Wednesday, March 23rd at 2:00pm at the GATRA Office, located at 2 Oak Street, Taunton. . Notice from SRPEDD received March 14th announcing the cancellation of the SRPEDD Commission meeting for March 23rd. The next meeting of the Commission is set for April 27th. . Correspondence received March 15th regarding the Goods and Services On-Line Fundraising Auction for the Mansfield High School Senior All-Night Party 2005. Information about donating and bidding can be obtained by emailing2005allnightparty@comcast.net . Memorandum from DPW Director and Water Operations Manager dated March 11 th regarding the Village at Cedar Heights Water Connection. Motion: To approve water connection (Amoruso - McCue) 5-0 Passes .~ The Department of Public Works came before the Board to discuss different trash options. Mr. Lee Azinheira, PE DPW Director: Waste Management is currently picking up curbside trash and recycling in Mansfield and is also providing trash disposal under a contract, which expires at the end ofFY'06 (June 30, 2006). If we are to make changes in FY07 this is the time to start the planning process. The amount of trash generated in Mansfield has increased at an average of about 2% per year and the cost of disposal as well as pickup will continue to increase. The Town operates the Mansfield Green, which is open two (2) days per week. We recommend that the Mansfield Green continue in operation, although we remain open for discussion on the details of the overall operation Weare looking at ways to try to control future costs while at the same time continuing to provide a similar level of service to the public. The simplest thing to do is to leave things as they are, however we feel that it is our obligation to consider other alternatives that might be better for the Town in the long term. Also in attendance to help answer questions were: r' Betty Amicone, DPW Office Manager; Selectman McCue Ahern, Public Buildings/Special Projects Manager; Jim Nocella, Municipal Services Manager, New England Region, Waste Management; Ms. Mirza Mirza, Municipal Assistant Coordinator, contracted by DEP to assist Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 16,2005 2 r municipalities with solid waste and recycling matters; and Joseph Delaney, Municipal Manager, Rehrig Pacific Company. Selectman McCue asked why are containers are here and Mr. Azinheira replied that they are here to show what the containers look like - they are samples. Mr. Azinheira noted that information passed out at last meeting included a spreadsheet of estimates on what the pounds would be generated per container if the containers were to be used. Chairman MacCaffrie said that we have seen the scenarios many times: if someone looks at the trash that the town produces, you outstrip the balance. Other towns have colored bags - reduced trash by 32%, increased recycling by 34%. People are paying for it in their taxes. We are going to get beat up on it no matter what we do. This Board promised condo owners that we'd pick up their trash, so that will need to be added. Mr. Azinheira said that these are important decisions to consider. Chairman MacCaffrie said that we can make a logical presentation at Town Meeting. Town Manager asked the Chairman if he is suggesting that we go to Town Meeting with this or go through it in a budgetary process the way we do now and Chairman MacCaffrie replied that it will be handled at Town Meeting either way. r Mr. Azinheira suggested that if we are going to implement a change, we should get a commitment in the fall; if the Town Meeting approves it in May 2006, which would not give a lot of time to educate people about the changes. The Town Manager added that the more lead time to educate people, the better. Selectman Achille commented that he believes this conversation is premature. Selectman Dolan asked Ms. Mirza if any towns in her district use the barrels and she replied that none use the barrels. Selectman Dolan further added that he can see major problems if the barrels are going to be used, particularly in the winter. Jim Nocella from Waste Management said that efficiency is where you get cost savings; have 35,000 carts out in several communities and it has worked very well. Mr. Azinheira noted that DPW has talked with other providers and added other companies are looking at automated systems. Amos Robinson, former Board of Selectmen member, asked Chairman MacCaffrie for the opportunity to address the Board. Amos Robinson, 178 Mill 'Street, Mansfield Noted that Mansfield has to make sure that Waste Management does the right thing. He started Mansfield Green in early 1990s with others. The rubbish trucks are picking up recycling - that was not the way the program was set up. Maybe we need to have trash and recycling pickup on different days and added that the system needs to be fixed. This is happening to others r' throughout town. He would like Waste Management to address this issue now. Ifhe doesn't get Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 16,2005 3 .r' something recycled during the week, he goes to the Green on the weekend. If recycling is co- mingling with the trash, his tonnage is going up. Mr. Azinheira said that if anyone notices anything like this happening, he encourages them to call DPW when it happens and they will follow up on it right away - there is no reason for that happening. Mr. Nocella said that Waste Management employees are instructed that recycling is not to go into the trash - they have training on this and that Waste Management has separate vehicles for collecting each. There is no reason for this to happen and we need to address this and added that Waste Management has a large commitment to recycling. Selectman Achille said it is his understanding that any container can be used for recycling and Betty Amicone noted that the Mansfield recycling container needs to be put out for them to stop - other bins can be used in conjunction with the Mansfield bin. Mr. Nocella said that they encourage people to physically separate the trash from the recycling - put on different sides of the driveway, etc. Selectman Dolan confirmed that as long as the Mansfield bin is out there, you can put out other bins that say recycling so they will pick it up. Ms. Mirza asked if the driver notifies the residents in they put their recycling out wrong - is there something in the contract? Ms. Amicone said that the drivers will leave it there instead a/just putting it in the trash, so the resident will know that it was put our wrong; and the drivers will leave a sticker too. ,- Selectman Dolan asked Ms. Mirza if Wrentham does the "pay as you throw" program and what the specifics are of that. Ms. Mirza replied that each person is allowed one container (32 gallon barrel), after that, they have to buy bags and that some estimates were done, and they have exceeded their expectations. She compared Wrentham to Mansfield - with the Wrentham program, they average 30 lbs per household per week. In Mansfield, it is 55 lbs. - that is kind of a glaringfigure. If the goal is to reduce costs and increase recycling, some savings could be found at the incinerator. Pay as you throw can be shaped for each community - each community is different. Chairman MacCaffrie noted that the sentiment that he has received is that people pay for it in their taxes and they want it to stay the same. To go to "pay as you throw" will probably get defeated at Town Meeting. We can't tell the citizens of Mansfield what to do - if they want to pay more for trash, we need to find a place in the budget for it. Town Manager noted that we could expand service to include condos and Chairman MacCaffrie said that needs to happen - it was promised to them but it never happened and added that when we re-negotiate next year, it needs to be addressed. ~ Selectman Amoruso said that the Town needs have to look at a cost-benefit analysis first before we can commit to anything. Having a bag or a container provided to each household before you have to start paying is an option. Chairman MacCaffrie added that the Town needs to look at the recovery issue in the number of years. Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 16,2005 4 r- Mr. Azinheira said that the cost will be a little bit higher in the initial 5 years because we are providing a container to each household. We'll work with the people here at the meeting and the town accountant to work up financial projections. Noted that Ms. Mirza has a lot of information to come up with different scenarios. Mr. Azinheira asked the Board if they should consider the 35 and 64 gallon barrels and Chairman MacCaffrie replied yes. Ms. Mirza also mentioned that there is a 48 gallon cart available from another manufacturer. Selectman Amoruso said that the townspeople have spoken: we need to keep a reasonable amount in the tax rate and there needs to be an overflow for those who cannot keep that amount. Ms. Mirza added that the state's goal of recycling is that 70% and funding this through the tax base is a key issue. Wrentham dealt with the same issue -- keeping the mqjority of the costs in the tax base by giving out the first container. They had interns following the trucks at the beginning -- about 15% of the households used bags, the others used that one container. A discussion ensued regarding what is recyclable and what is not recyclable. Mike Van Splinter, 155 Gilbert Street r' Mr. VanSplinter noted some problems that he would like to mention. Left Solid Waste Committee for a job at a casino in Connecticut and was in charge of solid waste management there. The impression of tonight: the town has a lot of ideas, but no concrete data. The own is not using their assets, and asked if the taxpayers are willing to lay still has concerns about some peculiarities in our current deal. Mr. Azinheira noted that the town wants to make some changes when the contract is up next year. Mr. VanSplinter noted that the town has a lot of assets, but has shot ourselves in the foot and said that there are many things that we can do but we aren't doing. Mr. Azinheirq noted that the town has had a very aggressive education campaign. Mr. VanSplinter noted that everything is recyclable and biodegradable and that the town has to analyze the problems by looking at the schools in what businesses recycle. He added that the solid waste committee was in the schools and meeting service organizations 14 years ago. Mr. Van Splinter hopes things can be brought back to the way that he used to be. Mr. Azinheira added that senior citizens work at the Green and the cost is cheaper than having a DPW worker there. The watching of what people bring in is an issue and noted that if we have two people at the gate, it could help. Town Manager remarked to Mr. VanSplinter that the town could certainly use his help. Mr. VanSplinter noted that if the Green is closed, everything goes back to the curb. Money is to be made on the compo sting side of things too, and there is a market for wood chips internally. There is a lot to be done a lot of assets to be tapped. And that the town should do an audit on all the factors. The Board thanked Mr. VanSplinter. ~ Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 16,2005 5 r George Dentino, 2 Gladiola Terrace: Said that Mr. VanSplinter makes a lot of good points, but said that the Green lost $150,000. Mr. Dentino said that the contract says trash is picked up from a hundred businesses in town but believes that nobody knows what businesses are getting their trash picked up. Joe Delaney, Municipal Manager, Rehrig Pacific Company: Mr. Delaney described various programs being used throughout the region, and how other towns are dealing with trash and recycling. His company produces the 48 gallon containers. The Board instructed Mr. Azinheira to look at all of the options, not just the automated and the modified pay as you throw. Selectman Achille asked the Chairman to continue the dialogue in the next few months and Mr. Azinheira said that they would look at everything. .~ Mr. Robinson said that he is getting vibes that the Selectmen want to close the Green and Chairman MacCaffrie replied that that is misinformation. He added that the Board does not want the town to pay double for stuff that is already being given out at the curbside collection - we want to be able to take microwaves etc. and noted that he would be on the town meeting for fighting for the Green. Selectman Dolan also noted that none of the Board members want to close the Green. He also noted that no one he talks to would support pay as you throw. Mr. Robinson said he is setting the record straight that pays you throw is not an option to the people of this town. Selectman McCue agrees with Selectman Dolan and Mr. Robinson and he probably could not support a pay as you throw program and added that there was a vote of five or six years ago that people wanted to pay for trash pickup in the tax rate. Selectman McCue also noted that there are so few services across all age groups and boundaries and one of them is curbside pickup. The Town Manager noted that we are trying to provide options for people to recycle more and asking them to help the town. The town's curbside recycling it at 11 %. Green recycling is at 32%. He also noted that the town is not looking to take it out ofthe tax rate, but rather looking to make it more efficient: perhaps adding condos increase recycling these of the issues that the town has to deal with. Mr. VanSplinter added that we need to talk about education and going into the schools to educate the students. Selectman Amoruso noted that we need to reach the adults. Mr. VanSplinter asked ifresurrecting the solid waste committee concept be an option. Selectman Dolan asked if he would be available and Mr. VanSplinter replied yes. Selectman Dolan added that he agreed with Selectman Achille that this topic should come up again and Selectman Amoruso suggested talking about trash once a month. ~ · Began revenue review with Superintendent Moretti, Town Accountant, Finance Committee and others. The budget figures look a little better this year and the budget process is expected to go smoother this year as well, noted that the town cut $100,000 on the operational side of the town. Town Manager received a call from Norton Town Manager Jim Purcell, who said his vocational education assessment went through the roof. Selectman Amoruso added that the assessment is based on what you paid last year, and the formula is Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 16, 2005 6 r- r' -. self-perpetuating. Town Manager added that the town is going to try to balance the budget without using stabilization funds, possible. He noted that the funds were used in the past three years and also added that the House is up to six weeks away from producing their budget figures. He said that Town Meeting is scheduled for May 3, but that may need to be delayed because the town would not have a good read on the budget figures. The Superintendent agreed that should be delayed until the middle of May. The Town Manager said that the houses budget figures could be more conservative than the Governor's budget figures. But that the House may give more money to growth communities. He noted that the leadership changes in the House and Senate have delayed things. Selectman Dolan asked the Town Manager ifhe is looking to change town meeting and the Town Manager replied that we can keep at the same for now, but that the to the board would need to decide soon and added that town meeting must be concluded by June rt. Selectman Amoruso said that if town meeting is late, it would have to be done that week and if the town failed to get a quorum, there could be problems. The Town Manager doubted that getting a quorum would be a problem. The Town Manager said that the Board does not need to make a decision tonight, but wanted to let them know and said that once we know the date of the Annual Town Meeting, the Board will need to schedule the Special Town Meeting. · Mansfield has inherited new business in the Industrial Park - Spherics of Rhode Island will be moving to Mansfield and that this business will create 25 new jobs in the next two years _ this is a big deal for Massachusetts and Mansfield. If they expand, expansion could be significant, but depends on how they do with their biotech business. The Town Manager believes that the biotech overlay district plus tax incentives were of help to bring this company to town. The Town Manager added that he also hopes to announce soon that a national company will be moving into the Industrial Park and that this company will relocate their corporate headquarters here. If this happens a TIF will be needed. Selectman McCue said he thinks it is significant that getting involved in the ETA is crucial, and hopefully means the redevelopment of the Industrial Park. Selectman McCue added that jobs are going to Mansfield residents and people are spending money and town. It is a wonderful ripple effect. · He met with the Tri- Town Chamber of Commerce and with Norton Town Manager Jim Purcell on Wednesday morning. They spoke about the grants for the downtown area and noted that it was a very good meeting. · Spoke of memo regarding staff additions. He will be meeting with department heads and the memo will be available for board members on Monday. · Spoke on the issue of the ambulance fees. The Town Accountant is working on it and she is putting together a spreadsheet using the memos from both the Fire Chief as well as herself and the Board will have it on Monday. · The capital improvements committee (CIP) has met for the first time and it was an eventful first meeting. Ken Torman is Chairman, Selectman Dolan is Vice-Chair and Jess Aptowitz from the Finance Committee is Recording Secretary. Town Manager noted that we will begin to review requests for CIP articles. Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 16,2005 7 r- Motion: To intend to layout streets and hold a public hearing on Michael Lane street acceptance on April 6 (MacCaffrie - Achille) 5-0 Passes Selectman Amoruso: · Selectman Amoruso asked Town Manager ifComcast has sent the check directly to Cable Access and asked if the Board could see the accounting because the deadline was today. Selectman Dolan: · Selectman Dolan wanted to let the public know that calling information will cost $1.25 for each call and thinks this is outrageous. · Selectman Dolan noted that the first day of spring is coming and wants to get on MassHighway to work on the School Street Bridge. He asked the Town Manager to get a timeline on the Elm Street Bridge. The Town Manager replied that they moved equipment. The Town Manager also noted that the snow and ice budget is in a deficit of over $335,000. He did note that the town will be getting over $lOO,OOOfrom FEMA. r' Selectman Achille: · Selectman Achille commented that he read in The Sun Chronicle about terrorism at the airport. He thinks this is interesting topic and asked if the Board should be discussing this with Police and Fire. He noted that we live in the town that has Gillette Stadium, the TPC and the Tweeter Center around us and said that he would like to have a discussion on our preparedness at the Mansfield Airport. Selectman Amoruso noted that we need in executive session with the Airport Commission to discuss this. Selectman Achille said that small airports were reported as being targets, according to a New York Times article. Selectman McCue said that we don't want to discuss too much in public. Selectman Achille said that he would like a roundtable. The Town Manager thinks it a good idea to discuss these issues in executive session with the Airport Commission, Police Chief, Fire Chief and MEMA. Chairman MacCaffrie: · Chairman MacCaffrie asked where the town stands on Campbell Street. The Town Manager replied that he is met with the Housing Authority - the survey has been started on the parcel; the title search is underway with Town Counsel; money has been appropriated and the town is waiting for the state to produce the title. Once that happens, the town can surrender $125,000 to purchase the property. He noted that there are two bills in the Legislature awaiting action relative to an affordable housing trust fund He did say that the town is a couple of steps away, but we're working through the process. r' · Chairman MacCaffrie asked if Mansfield has any buildable land and the Town Manager replied that he will check and get a list of buildable properties. Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 16,2005 8 r r r' Chairman MacCaffrie brought up the issue of the fire station kitchen. The Town Manager said that Yale Appliances donated the appliances and thatjire officials are meeting with Home Depot next week about flooring etc. The Town Manager noted that this has not dropped off the map and that the town is at the mercy of those who can donate. (Amoruso) 5-0 Passes ~a~ Signature of Clerk :M.arc/i 23, 2005 Date of Approval Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 16,2005 9 . ,