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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin brd of selectmen 03/23/05 (" 1/ ~ n 'ii,)1 ~' i..,.~, i<,j (\ r~r: lC r ,. i t j '._ , Present: Town of Mansfield Board of Selectmen C ~j 9: 0 9 Minutes of March 23, 2005 .11, .,,,i iL.LU Chairman Steven MacCaffrie; Clerk Bernard Dolan; sJib;~~1ta (:iJJHi~ fAY~so and Selectman Michael McCue Town Manager John o. D' Agostino (arrived at 7:35pm) Vice Chairman Roger Achille was not present at meeting The Board of Selectmen's meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. . Warrant No. 39 in the amount of$3,308,870.00 Motion: To approve with exceptions, pending explanation by Town Manager (voucher numbers 128377 & 128379) (Amoruso - McCue) 4-0 Passes ( . Regular Session Meeting Minutes of March 16, 2005 Motion: To approve (Amoruso - Dolan) 4-0 Passes · One-Day Wine License for the Rotary Club of Mansfield for their Wine and Fine Dining Auction on April 10th from 7-1 Opm at the Mansfield Cable Access Studio Motion: To re-approve license (Amoruso - McCue) 4-0 Passes o Dr. Ray Martin, President ofthe Rotary Club of Mansfield, came before the Board to discuss the Auction. The April 10th auction will be televised live from the Mansfield Cable Access studio. Proceeds from the auction will be targeted to Rotary International's Pure Water for the World Project, which provides water filtration devices for villages in central and South America; the Mansfield Rails to Trails Project; and the Journey to Resiliency. Informed the Board that the auction will be televised at LaDonna's and at Cheng-Du as well, so non-Mansfield residents and people without cable will be able to watch the auction. . Drainlayers License for Callahan, Inc. Motion: To approve license (McCue - Amoruso) 4-0 Passes ( , · Retail Wine and Malt License for Cork's Fine Wine and Liquors Motion: To sign liquor license Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 23,2005 . , r (Amoruso-McCue) 4-0 Passes . Letter from Comcast's Manager of Government Affairs received March 14th regarding the 2005 Annual Notice Filing. . Email from the Downtown Business Association dated March 14th requesting Wednesday, July 13th as the date for their Annual Sidewalk Sale. They are requesting that the street be closed down from 5pm to 10pm. Motion: To close North Main Street from Route 106 to South Main Street, pending approval by Police Chief and Fire Chief (Amoruso - McCue) 4-0 Passes . Letter from Comcast to Mansfield Cable Access Corporation dated March 15th regarding the Semi-Annual Access Payment. . Letter from Ken Picciandra of Cottage Auto Sales dated March 16th regarding Class II Auto Sales License, listing repair facilities utilized by business. r- . March newsletter from Department of Revenue's Division of Local Services dated March 16th. . Letter from Robert Shaw of Shaw Auto Leasing, Inc. dated March 17th regarding Class II Auto Sales License, listing repair facilities utilized by business. . Letter from Cyn Environmental Services received March 18th regarding the notice of 120-day regulatory submittal of a Response Action Outcome Statement for Janco Environmental Services. . Letter from Bergmeyer Associates, Inc. dated March 18th regarding Mansfield Transit Oriented Property Development - Zoning Approach. . Correspondence received March 22nd regarding the Goods and Services On-Line Fundraising Auction for the Mansfield High School Senior All-Night Party 2005. Week 3 of the Auction is now underway and interested parties can email 2005allnightoartv@comcast.net to be placed on the mailing list. . Selectman McCue indicated that he may unable to serve as one of the Selectmen's representatives to CIP due to family commitments, so the Board may need to appoint a new member. - Chairman MacCaffrie stated that Selectman Achille indicated he would be willing r- Motion: To appoint Selectman Achille to the CIP (MacCaffrie) 4-0 Passes Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 23,2005 2 r · Memorandum from Fire Chief Robert Bellavance dated March 14th regarding the status of the 1977 ladder truck. · Memo from Town Manager dated March 15th regarding the Mansfield Municipal Light Plant Audit. · Memo from Town Manager dated March 15th regarding the Route 495/Route 140 Southbound Ramp Access. o Selectman Dolan noted that it will cost $1 million to construct a ramp and Town Manager noted that land takings are costly · Memo from Town Manager dated March 16th regarding Mansfield's MBTA assessment. o Town Manager said that what started out to be a nominal fee when it first started is now up to $104,000. Added that the Town has a right to a certain level of service if we pay that much. o Selectman McCue said that if the town refuses to pay it, the state will take it out of the cherry sheets. r- Town Manager asked the Board to make sure that all of the warrant articles are on that the BOS intends to have on there. The Board can technically add because it is not posted and signed - it is closed to the general public. He also noted that we have the ability to eliminate articles as well. Selectman McCue noted that the Board has voted not to support articles. Article 21 Discussion: Chairman MacCaffrie asked when we are going to have figures concerning CIP articles, wastewater treatment plant, etc. Town Manager said that he did not have the CIP list with him and noted that the CIP has not met on these articles. Town Manager believes that Article 21 is the one that Chairman MacCaffrie is referring to. Selectman Dolan informed the Board that wastewater is not on the list that he received from CIP, as he is a member of CIP. Town Manager said that $500,000 is the request for wastewater - $400,000 for facility evaluation and design and $100,000 for inflow and infiltration (1&1) ... we have 1&1 initiatives to maintain every year. It is coming out of the wastewater budget, not the town budget. Selectman Amoruso noted that the town has met its commitment to the state ($2.2 million). The Town Manager agreed and noted that the $100,000 will be for minor repairs down the roads - special projects to maintain that level of viability for the system. Selectman McCue asked if the $100,000 for a specific purpose. The Town Manager noted that the Town Engineer has completed major 1&1 improvements; required to fund an ongoing program through the sewer rate - it is maintaining the integrity of the system. Selectman Amoruso asked if it seems like a CIP item for the future and the Town Manager noted that it will be a line item in future budgets. r- Article 26 & Article 28 Discussion: Chairman MacCaffrie commented that Articles 26 and 28 are still wrong and the Town Manager agreed that they have not been changed. Chairman MacCaffrie noted that Article 28 does not Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 23,2005 3 ,r- read correctly and doesn't spell out the rights and duties of alternate members, according to the Attorney General. Town Manager noted that the intent of28 is correct. Selectman Amoruso added that in Article 28, 'to fill a vacancy' is the wrong terminology. Selectman McCue questioned where they should there be boiler plate language somewhere they can use. Selectman Dolan commented that the Board doesn't want the Attorney General to tell us that these Articles are screwed up again. Selectman McCue suggested the phrase 'remedy and ineligibility' to be placed in the Article. Town Manager noted that two articles are needed: one to create the composition of the Planning Board and the other to indicate what the duties and responsibilities are. Chairman MacCaffrie questioned whether two Articles are needed. Town Manager said that the explanation for Article 28 should be for Article 29 and that Article 28 needs to slide down to Article 29. Selectman Amoruso noted that if we need 2 Articles for the composition of the planning board, then we do not have it. Town Manager said that Article 26 constitutes composition; the AG wanted in the motion the duties of the alternate members. Selectman Amoruso asked if we could we use the language from the ZBA alternate language for the planning board language. Town Manager said that if we eliminate any aspect ofthe charter, we should strike out language and add the appropriate language but he does not know what the duties are. Selectman Amoruso suggested that we use the ZBA alternate language. Town Manager noted that we have a while to straighten it out. r- Article 30 Discussion: Chairman MacCaffrie asked if we are going to get an explanation from Planning Board on why we have to add in a site plan review. Town Manager said that this came up 5 years ago and wasn't approved at Town Meeting. He believes that this doesn't provide a necessary check and balance and noted that he has not yet talked to Tom French or any Planning Board members about this issue. Chairman MacCaffrie added that he wants to hear from both sides (planning and building) before voting on the issue. Town Manager noted that he didn't realize this was submitted until it was on the warrant - the Planning Board put it on. Article 31 Discussion: Selectman McCue noted that it is too premature to act on Article 31 but wants to add changes as recommended by Judy Barrett; he submitted some language. Town Manager noted that there weren't a lot of changes and we put the whole thing in. Article 32 Discussion: Selectman Amoruso noted in reading over Article 32, it reads gas-powered but noted that ~lectric-powered vehicles are used as well and as he reads it, he doesn't think that this article prohibit those. Town Manager added that if we use "powered apparatus", that would be better. Chairman MacCaffrie clarified for the general public that this doesn't meant that you can't have it in your driveway (driveway isn't a private way); he had to explain to constituents who didn't know what a private way was. Selectman Dolan has questions about enforcing this on private ways and the Attorney General may look at it. Selectman Amoruso noted that he lives on a private way - people can drive on a private way, they cannot stop on a private way. ,--- Selectman Amoruso commented that Town Counsel probably hasn't looked at these. Town Manager - clean this up as best we can so the warrant reflects a good portion of the motion. Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 23,2005 4 ( Selectman Dolan told the Town Manager that the Board voted on the weekly warrant before he arrived with four invoices. The Town Manager noted that he can find out what the invoices are for for the Board. A discussion took place regarding the four invoices and the Board asked the Town Manager to find out what they are for. Town Manager noted that he will pull them and tell them not to proceed. Motion: To support Article 12, relative to enacting various exemptions that go to disabled and elderly (McCue - Amoruso) 4-0 Passes ~ Article 13 Discussion: Chairman MacCaffrie said that he likes the concept of Article 13 and believes that this is something that could work but needs cooperation. Selectman Amoruso noted that this enables us to do it, rather than requiring us to do it and Selectman McCue further added that enabling us to do it is one step closer to doing it. Town Manager said that there would be intent to do it from his perspective but Selectman Amoruso believes that is not the intent of the School Committee. Chairman MacCaffrie added that down the line, there needs to be a median ground for cost savings. He further added that some cities and towns are looking at doing this. Selectman McCue said that the conversation should start immediately. Town Manager agreed that it doesn't make sense to have duplicative services if you can streamline and put it under one department. There are some duplicative services between the Town and the School Department. Selectman Amoruso asked if we doing it under MIS now and the Town Manager replied that yes, the MIS staff consists of one full-time and one part-time (20 hours). Selectman Amoruso added that if they are doing work over at the School Department now, then we could be in violation right now. Selectman Dolan noted that just because we accept the provision doesn't mean we have to do it. Town Manager added that if we accept the provision, we have to work out a plan to implement it. Selectman McCue commented that it is in a step in a direction we haven't taken yet and would like to have a conversation on this with the School Committee - it opens a door and Selectman McCue would prefer that the School Committee enter into it cooperatively with the Selectmen. Town Manager noted that the provision requires the approval ofthe School Committee before anything can be implemented. Selectman McCue believes that we should be talking to the School Committee now. Town Manager asked if the Board has any other comments regarding the warrant and the Board replied no. r- Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 23,2005 5 r- Route 106 construction status: There has been an RFP and a selection of a contractor but there is no signed contract between MassHighway and the contractor. As a result, a pre-construction conference cannot take place until the contract is signed. Town Manager anticipates a spring startup and noted that the contractor is meeting with town departments and individuals. A pre-construction conference involves the contractor, the Town and MassHighway. Comcast's Semi-Annual Access Pavment to Mansfield Cable Access: A check in the amount of $133,306.48 was sent overnight mail to Mansfield Cable Access on March 15th. Town Manager said that this check represents the semi-annual funding to the Town in the amount equal to 5% of its annual gross revenues. Airport Security Executive Session: Noted that an executive board session is being set up with appropriate departments regarding airport security issues. ~ Federal HiS!hwav MeetinS! at State House: We have scheduled a federal highway meeting on Wednesday, March 30th at 1 :OOpm at the State House with federal highway officials, Congressman Barney Frank and the Town's legislative delegation regarding the recent ruling about the median cut on Route 140. Town Manager said that the Town has to get federal approval to cut the median on Route 140 by the Golden Triangle. In addition, the Town is requesting a waiver not to study a northbound slip ramp. The Town Manager is attending this meeting. New Hires Memo: Town Manager has provided the Board and the Finance Committee with a budget memo regarding new hires and added that he has met with staff about this issue- spent time with staff and has reduced the initial request down from $759,000 to $363,727.49. He is proposing to add in staff for various departments: public safety, Building Department, Library, COA, DPW, and MIS. This proposal will get us to the FY03 level but noted that we will need additional personnel in FY07. Included with the memo are spreadsheets which include salary and all benefits and is based on the assumption that the individual would be taking the most expensive plan. Selectman Dolan questioned the cost medical coverage - under group insurance, it costs $14,000 per person per year for insurance and noted that seems high. Town Manager noted that the Town is in a consortium of 19 communities. Town Manager believes that the Town is getting a good deal with the consortium compared to other communities. He noted that health care costs are high to begin with and everything goes out to bid, even for supplies. Selectman Amoruso commented that there were other requests from departments and asked if those will be looked at when the five-year projection is done. Town Manager replied yes - we project out on the same five-year forecast and project our staff needs may be- and we look at population increases and other such drivers that result in additional need for capacity. ~ Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 23,2005 6 r- Town Manager said that he is not sure what the Board's feeling is on this; with respect to MIS, if we take on a larger role, we would need additional capacity - they are stretched pretty thin as it is. Chairman MacCaffrie said that there was a justified presentation about this issue. Town Manager noted that we need to get back to FY02/FY03 levels with respect to Police and Fire. Town Manager said we added partway through the budget two firefighters; his recommendation is to add one Fire Lieutenant - that would allow senior personnel to train the Lieutenant before senior personnel retires. Town Manager said that the building inspectors request should be honored as the revenue will offset the cost of the position. Chairman MacCaffrie commented that if the revenue falls below an income level, the position should be eliminated Town Manager said that hours could be adjusted but this is a union position. Chairman MacCaffrie noted that the salary range is in line with part-time inspectors. Selectman Dolan asked if highway requested a certain number of personnel. Town Manager replied that yes, two, and that includes the mechanic. Town Manager said that the Library is requesting two part-time library positions - both are without benefits; for next year, additional personnel would be needed based on population figures. Ambulance Receipts: Provided the Board a memo regarding this issue and noted if we were not to collect all that has been billed, the Town would be running a deficit of $95,000 in FY05. Chairman MacCaffrie noted that the Board should wait for Selectman Achille to be here before we make a decision. r- Sewer Connection/Foxboro: Town Manager said that the Board will need to meet in Executive Session regarding a sewer connection permit for a new 40B project in Foxboro. Selectman Amoruso asked on what basis they believe they have a right to send something in that they cannot send as part of the agreement. Chairman MacCaffrie questioned the need for an executive session and Town Manager replied that we need an executive session because the Town may need to pursue legal action. Chairman MacCaffrie said that we should send a letter, through Town Counsel, to DHCD telling them that Foxboro is in violation ofthe agreement. Motion: To send a letter to DHCD regarding the sewer connection and the Town of Foxboro (McCue - Dolan) 4-0 Passes Grant Funds: Town Manager reported that the Bristol County Homeland Security Grant has been received. He is preparing other grant with COA Director Gale Farrugia for social services outreach and Alzheimer's support and noted that this grant is due in June. ~ Town MeetinS! Postponement: Noted that postponement of Town Meeting until May 17th or later may be a recommendation we'd like to pursue. Reported that he met with Superintendent Moretti to discuss the budget as well as design of additional classroom space. He expects to get numbers from the House during the middle of April. Selectman McCue reported that he met with the MMA Executive Board and he heard the same thing. Town Manager fears that the Governor's local aid figures are higher than the House's figures and recommends holding the Special within the Annual Town Meeting for May 17th. Selectman McCue asked the Town Manager whether we have determined what Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 23,2005 7 r' issues can be placed on the Special and the Town Manager reported that the town is about $500,000 over in snow and ice removal and there are some other articles we may want to consider. Motion: To postpone the Annual Town Meeting until Tuesday, May 17,2005 (Amoruso - Dolan) 4-0 Passes MeetinS! with the Finance Committee: The Town Manager reported that he is scheduled to meet with the Finance Committee a week from Thursday to discuss the budget and will have proposed cuts. It is hopeful that the School Department will have cuts to make to produce a balanced budget. He noted that we are still under the intention of balancing the budget without the need for the use of stabilization funds. Currently, we have $1.6 million in stabilization funds. His recommendation to the Finance Committee would be to take 40% of free cash at Fall Town Meeting and commit it to stabilization until we reach threshold of $4 million. Selectman McCue asked if that is, a policy or a goal? Town Manager replied that Town Meeting is the appropriating authority; it is prudent to do that; Town Meeting can say no to it but he doesn't think that would happen. Selectman Amoruso: · Noted that the ribbon-cutting for the Highland-March Executive Suites is tomorrow, Thursday, March 24th from 5-7. Town Manager noted that he plans to attend, and Chairman MacCaffrie indicated the same. r- Selectman McCue: · Asked Town Manager how much money forgone re: telecommunication loophole? Town Manager replied that it is about $86,000-$150,000 and noted that Assessor Nancy Hinote has that information - it is a significant amount of money. Town Manager told the Board that a violation notice was sent to Bay State Gas regarding digging in our area and will gather information for the Board. Chairman MacCaffrie: · Asked which Thursday the Town Manager is meeting with the Fire Department regarding the station kitchen and the Town Manager replied that that meeting is taking place tomorrow. McCue 4-0 r'~ Signature of Clerk March 30, 2005 Date of Approval Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 23, 2005 8