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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOS MINUTES 10-29-86BOARD OF SELECTMENy�i, MINUTES OF MEETINGI OCTOBER 29, 1986 4 t 0ti�r���ff' PRESENT: Chairman McNair; Selectmen D'Onofrio, Mahana, Dunn, Harrington; Town Manager 1. The meeting was called to order at 7:30 P.M. and the Flag saluted. 2. Minutes of October 22, 1986 * MOTION: To approve the Minutes of October 22, 1986. Harrington /D'Onofrio VOTED: 5 -0 3. Warrant #20 * MOTION: To approve Warrant #20 in the amount of $2,224,439.20, dated October 21, 1986, broken down as follows: General Fund - $ 856,039.75 Revenue Sharing - 50.00 School Lunch - 25,201.63 Special Revenue - 120,131.37 Sewer Enterprise - 1,205,382.39 Water Enterprise - 3,581.08 Electric Enterprise - 14,052.98 Mahana /D'Onofrio VOTED: 5 -0 4. Licenses & Permits a) Application for three (3) Taxi Licenses for new owners of Town Taxi, 5 Old Colony Way. - Both owners (to be) were present, Marcia Lori and Paula J. Savill. * MOTION: To approve the three applications for Hackney Licenses. Harrington /Mahana VOTED: 5 -0 `a b) Application for two (2) One -Day All Alcoholic Licenses, Tri- County Beagle Club, for November 11th, 11:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M., and November 22nd, 6:00 P.M. to 12 Midnight. * MOTION: To approve the two One -Day All Alcoholic Licenses subject to the fees being paid. Dunn /Harrington VOTED: 5 -0 5. Correspondence a) Copy of Memorandum to Town Engineer from DPW Director re: Chapter 90/ t North Main Street Improvements. BOARD OF SELECTMEN MINUTES OF MEETING OCTOBER 29, 1986 PAGE 2 b) Letter to Town Manager from U.S. EPA re: Reapplication for a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System. c) Letter from Dept. of Revenue re: Filing of Schedule A. d) Copy of letter to Manager of Light Dept. from TAMS re: Partial payment of bill. e) Copy of letter to the Building Inspector from Chairman of Airport Commis- sion re: Vote to accept the Civil Air Patrol for one year. f) Letter to the Tom Manager from Merckens Chocolate Co., Doug Tarble, Plant Manager, re: Adjustment of billing back to August 1985. They have referred it to their Legal Department. * MOTION: Forward the information to Town Counsel as soon as possible. Harrington /D'Onofrio VOTED: 5 -0 g) Copy of letter to W.R.C. Properties, Inc., from Town Counsel, re: Mainten- ance of pipes and pumps within the town. h) Letter to Board of Selectmen from Director Colella, Mansfield Housing Authority, re: Authority's proposed Emergency Case Plan for tenant select - ion. - To be displayed on the Town Hall bulletin board. i) Bulletin from Community Antenna Television Commission re: Clarification of Billing and Termination of Service Regulations. A Letter from MMA re: Workshop at New England College in Westborough Novem- ber 13th on Waste Disposal Liability. Q Letter from Office of Incident Response, DEQE, re: Copy of most recent list of confirmed sites of releases of oil and hazardous materials. 1) Six (6) Informational Guideline Releases from Mass. Dept. of Revenue, Division of Local Services, Property Tax Bureau. - Already adopted in the recent Special Town Meeting. m) Letter from Army Corps of Engineers re: Site Inspection of WWTP Novem- ber 13th. n) Letter to Chariman McNair from David J. Piccolomini, 86 Church Street, re: Increase in property taxes. o) Copy of Petition for registration of land and request to have line of public ways determined. - To be referred to Town Counsel. BOARD OF SELECTMEN MINUTES OF MEETING OCTOBER 29, 1986 PAGE 3 p) Letter from DEQE, Division of Water Pollution Control, re: 1987 State Priority List for Grants for Infiltration /Inflow Rehabilitation. - The Town Manager said the Town has an application pending for this pro- gram. - It was suggested that Rep. Vernon be asked for a list of State water funds available, and include a request for list for solid.waste also. q) Letter from Chief Executive Assistant, Plymouth County Commissioners, accompanied by signed copy of the Contract for computerization of Park- ing Tickets. r) Copy of Minutes for Newly- Formed Advisory Council on Drug /Alcohol Abuse meeting October 23rd. s) Letter from DEQE re: Program to comply with requirements of Chap. 510 of Acts of 1980 authorizing reimbursement for annual costs of chemicals for operation and maintenance of water pollution control facilities. t) Letter of thanks from Barrows Insurance and Folens Pharmacy to the Board for attending their ribbon cutting ceremony. u) Notice of Public Hearing by Dept. of Public Utilities re: U.S. Sprint Communications Co., November 24th, 1:00 P.M. v) Notice to Parking Clerks re: Changes in Handicapped Parking Laws. w) Copy of Memorandum to All Department Heads from the Town Manager re: Accounts Payable in the absence of a Town Accountant. 6. Old Business a) The Town Manager reported cost of the Highway Garage contract to be $278,000; completion is expected by next Spring. b) The Town Manager had given each Board member a copy of his proposed Pur- chasing Policy. - It was suggested that copies should also be given to the School Commit- tee. * MOTION: To accept the Purchasing Policy. D'Onofrio /Harrington VOTED: 5 -0 c) Selectman Harrington reported he had attended the VFW Candlelight Cere- mony for MIA /POW and found it a heart wrenching one. d) Asked about the new ambulance, the Town Manager said it should be in town about mid - December. BOARD OF SELECTMEN MINUTES OF MEETING OCTOBER 29, 1986 PAGE 4 e) Selectman Harrington reported that at the MIIA meeting in Hyannis last weekend they had commended Mansfield on its handling of the risk /loss program and Mansfield is now being used as an example for other towns. f) The Town Accountant sub - committee advised not to appoint an accountant for a temporary position, but to use the Bureau of Accounts. They hope to begin to interview applicants immediately. It was suggested that both the Town Manager and Chairman of the FinCom be present for the interviews. * MOTION: To accept the committee report. D'Onofrio /Dunn VOTED: 5 -0 g) Selectman D'Onofrio and Dunn provided a report on their sub - committee review of the Planning Board membership turn -over (see attached), which covered both their findings and recommendations. MOTION: To accept the report of the sub - committee. Mahana /Harrington VOTED: 5 -0 h) Chairman McNair reminded the Board that the Assessors need a decision on the classification factor, which he had discussed with each member prior to the meeting. * MOTION: To classify at 113 %. D'Onofrio /Dunn Selectman D'Onofrio stated for all property owners is porary measure to help the turn to a singular rate by work with the Town Manager egies to meet that goal. VOTED: 5 -0 his considerations as: A singular tax rate the most equitable. Classification is a tem- homeowners. The goal of the Board is to re- the next re- evaluation, and the Board will and Finance Committee to develop budget strat- 7. Public Hearing /New England Telephone The Clerk read Petition No. 86 -14 for one (1) conduit abutters had been notified. The Town Manager said he from Mr. Bausk informing him that he could not attend felt it should not be necessary. The Director of the present and advised there are no utilities in that ar, line will go in the same conduit. location on Bird Road; had received a call the hearing, but he Light Department was ?a, and the electric * MOTION: To approve New England Telephone Petition No. 86 -14. D'Onofrio /Dunn VOTED: 5 -0 A REPORT TO THE BOARD OF SELECTMEN BY THE SUBCOMMITTEE INTERVIEWING THE PLANNING BOARD APPOINTEES INTRODUCTION The Planning Board of Mansfield normally consists of seven individuals who are, by Town Charter, appointed by the Board of Selectmen for five year terms. Since September 1985 there were five individual members who either did not seek reappointment to a second term or who resigned in their first term. Because of the turnover which has occurred on the Planning Board, the Board of Selectmen formed a subcommittee consisting of John Dunn and Richard D'Onofrio to look into the matter. The subcommittee has interviewed all present members of the Planning Board, the five former members of the planning Board, and four of the town's full -time staff that have close inter- action with the Planning Board (Town Manager, Town Engineer, Planning Director and Building Inspector). Each group of interviewees were asked a series of previously prepared questions (attachments A, B and C) which were designed to allow the subcommittee to better understand each individual's perspective on the reasons for the turnover in the Planning Board Membership. FINDINGS After interviewing eleven present and former members of the Planning Board, the subcommittee finds that while health, family or other personal reasons were, in fact, a major consideration on the part of those who resigned or did not seek reappointment, there were additional and extenuating reasons also privately cited by the five former members that should be identified to the Board of Selectmen. These additional reasons for resigning or not seeking reap- pointment included: 1) The amount of time devoted to the discussion of propos- als was characterized as excessive and unnecessary, with certain projects being described as scrutinized Page 2 and questioned beyond what they (the former members) considered to be reasonable or productive. The un- necessary, unproductive and protracted discussions were described as coming from one Planning Board mem- ber. 2) Because of the excessive discussions, the meetings of the Planning Board allowed for no real planning to take place and some therefore became disenchanted with the position. 3) The distracting interaction (whispered conversations and note - passing) which took place between one member of the Planning Board and a former town employee while projects were being evaluated, discussed and deliber- ated upon in formal session was considered inappro- priate by other Planners. 4) There was the perception by some of the former members that certain developers were not extended the objec- tivity and impartial treatment that their projects deserved by one member of the Planning Board and some stated they were personally embarrassed when this occurred. It should also be indicated that these same basic feelings were also shared by two present members of the Planning Board. The subcommittee also found that it was the view of the majority of former and present members of the Planning Board that the turnover in its membership is considered more harmful than beneficial to the town for the following reasons: 1) The body of knowledge to be mastered, and that which is required for effective participation in Planning Board activities consists of the Subdivision Regula- tions, Zoning Bylaws and the applicable General Laws of the Commonwealth. 2) While the normal turnover rate allows for new members to acquire this knowledge over a reasonable time, the present situation does not. This circumstance, in the view of some present and former members, may be working to the town's disadvantage. A number of very positive suggestions also came forth in our interviews as to how the problems associated with an inordinately Page 3 high turnover rate might be ameliorated in the future. These included: 1) A Charter revision to provide Associate Member status as is now done with the Zoning Board of Appeals. 2) Requiring potential applicants to attend Planning Board Meetings for a predetermined time before actually making an appointment so that the scope of commitment required of each member is fully understood. In addition, some present members of the Planning Board voiced concern for: 1) The level of support given the Planning Board by the staff. 2) The need to consider the addition of legal counsel that specializes in Planning Board issues because of the current litigation workload involved and level of other demands on the time of Town Counsel from other constituencies in town government. RECOMMENDATIONS The subcommittee, having considered all the information developed in numerous private interviews with former and present members of the Planning Board, and professional staff that has a close relationship with that entity, would make the following recommendations to the Board of Selectmen: 1) That the Board of Selectmen, as the appointing author- ity of the Planning Board under the Town Charter, inform a member of the Planning Board of the reported adverse affect which that individual's demeanor has allegedly had on the decision of former members in not seeking reappointment or in their resigning before com- pleting their term of appointment. 2) That the Board of Selectmen similarly advise the Chair- man of the Planning Board of the additional and exten- uating reasons which former members cited for not seek- ing reappointment or submitting their resignation. 3) That the Board of Selectmen strongly recommend that the Chairman of the Planning Board take appropriate steps to: Page 4 a) eliminate superfluous, excessive or unwar- ranted discussion. b) establish an agenda format that provides for a planning component, where possible and feasible, as part of every meeting. 4) That the Board of Selectmen consider amending the Town Charter to provide up to two Associate Members who would have voting authority in a manner similar to that which is provided the Zoning Board of Appeals. 5) That the Board of Selectmen study the feasibility and advisability of providing the Planning Board with spec- ial legal counsel. 6) That the Board of Selectmen request the Town Manager study the possibility of an annual evaluation of the Planning Staff in which the Planning Board members have an opportunity to comment. 7) That the Board of Selectmen consider the development of an evaluation mechanism that provides those who appear before Boards and Committees in the Town over which the Selectmen hold appointive authority, the opportunity to evaluate, comment and constructively critique its oper- ations and procedures. BOARD OF SELECTMEN MINUTES OF MEETING OCTOBER 29, 1876 PAGE 5 Mr. Nelson, from the audience, asked if the conduit location had been ap- proved by the Planning Board. It had not, so the suggestion was made that it might be worthwhile in the future; the Selectmen said they would take it under consideration. New Business a) Selectman Mahana said he had run into Rep. Karol at the MMA Annual Meet- ing last weekend in Hyannis. Rep. Karol is a member of the State Trans- portation Department, Selectman Mahana suggested asking Rep. Vernon to invite Rep. Karol to attend a Mansfield Selectmen's meeting to discuss Mansfield's commuter problem. The Town Manager suggested asking Francis Gay, of GATRA, to attend also. He went on to say he understands Foxboro is hoping to have a station established at Cannon Forge, there is talk of another in South Attleboro, and the Providence Station is to be re- opened next year, for commuters. The Town Manager was asked to contact Rep. Vernon as soon as possible for the suggested meeting on November 12th. b) Selectman Dunn told the Board of a telephone conversation he had with a resident, speaking for the neighborhood in the area of Highland /Draper Avenues, which the Board had received a petition from for Residents Only Parking. He said she has a real concern and has been put on next week's Agenda. c) Selectman Harrington reminded the Board that it is budget time and sug- gested a Budget Workshop one night, with invitation to both the School Committee and Finance Committee to attend as well; he suggested sometime in November. The Town Manager was asked to set it up. d) Chairman McNair addressed a former complaint regarding traffic on Cottage Street. MOTION: To make Cottage Street One -Way, in an Easterly direction, from Rumford Avenue to Old Colony Way. Dunn /Harrington VOTED: 5 -0 e) Chairman McNair also expressed concern for Norton Avenue which should have a posting of SLOW. The Town Manager will look into this. 9, Adjournment MOTION: To ad'ourn at 8:35 P.M. D nn /Harrin ton VOTED: 5 -0