Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOS MINUTES 1-28-1998Board of Selectmen Minutes l January 28, 1998 Present: Chairman Madan, Clerk Royle, and Selectmen Colella, Mahana, and Robinson John D'Agostino, Town Manager 1. The meeting was called to order at 7:30 PM followed by the pledge of allegiance. A. Scott Johnson, a Boy Scout working on his citizenship merit badge, led the pledge of allegiance. B. Certificate Presentation Chairman Madan presented certificates to the following persons: (1)Outstanding Civic Organization Award for Organizing Mansfield's first Annual First Night • Mansfield Women of Today (2)Outstanding Citizen Awards Organizing Mansfield's first Annual First Night • Rosemarie Bryant • Eleanor McCarter (3)Outstanding Employee Awards for helping the Women of Today organize their first Annual First Night • Michael Ahern, DPW • Gary D'Ambra, Light Department C. Plaque Presentation Chairman Madan presented Joe King with a plaque in appreciation of his twenty -nine years, 1968 -1997, of dedicated service to the Town of Mansfield Highway Department D. Warrant No. 3 1 - $1,051,13 5.62 Motion: To approve Warrant No. 31. ( Royle- Mahana) All in favor. Chairman Madan abstained from all Building Department items and Clerk Royle abstained from all Health Department items. E. Minutes • January 21, 1998 Motion: Move to approve. (Boyle - Colella) (4 -0 -1) Robinson abstained. Passed • January 14, 1998 Motion: Move to approve. (Colella - Royle) All in favor. Passes. E. Licenses and Permits Gatra Dial -A -Ride Transportation Contract Motion: Move to approve and have the Chairman sign. ( Royle- Mahana) All in favor. Passes. Town Manager D'Agostino reported that this contract is in effect for two years, while previous contracts lasted only one year. ( • Reserve Fund Transfer Request for Town Manager Relocation Expenses Motion: So moved. (Mahana- Royle) All in favor. Passes. • Application of Mansfield Women of Today for an Auctioneer Special Permit for March 14, 1998, at the Holiday Inn and Request for a Fee Waiver Motion: So moved. (Robinson - Mahana) All in favor. Passes. Motion: Move to waive the permit fee for the Auctioneer Special Permit. ( Royle- Mahana) All in favor. Passes. • Letter from Hockomock YMCA Requesting a Waiver of the Permit Fees Associated with the Mystic Club Demolition Permit Motion: Move to waive the Town's portion of the fees related to the demolition of the Mystic Club for the YMCA. (Boyle- Robinson) All in favor. Passes. • Willis Street Release Deed Granted to Lori Abbot Motion: So moved to execute and sign the enclosed release deed. (Robinson - Royle) All in favor. Passes. • Letter from Helen Christian, Town Clerk, requesting the Selectmen set the polling hours for the March 16 election from 7AM to 8PM Motion: To request the Town Clerk amends the voting hours to 6am to 8prn. (Mahana - Royle) All in favor. Passes. F. Correspondence Resident Letter from Lisa Melton, 10 Robinson Court, stating she is very dissatisfied with Time Warner's cable service and urging the Selectmen to consider opening Mansfield's cable service to another company Letter from Karl Clemmey, 390 West Street, requesting the Selectmen hold a workshop to review license fees and yearly monitoring for adjustments that may be necessary Letter from Bill Moore, 54 Union Street, thanking the Selectmen for appointing him to the Municipal Building Committee State and Local Government Letter from the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency announcing the availability of funding under the Flood Mitigation Assistance program of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the Federal fiscal year ending September 30, 1998 Miscellaneous Letter from Carol A. Hevey, Greater Boston Division of Time Warner Cable, stating Steve Grossman, who has served as General Manager for the Foxboro division, will assume a new position with Time Warner in the Greater Boston area. Doug Whiting, Vice President of the Customer Operations for Time Warner Cable's Greater Boston division, will assume Mr. Grossman's responsibilities until a successor for Steve can be named. Letter from Bruce K. Heald, 101 Summer Street, Foxboro, concerning the Oakland Street railroad crossing 2. Questions and Comments Walter Meehan, 292 Williams Street, inquired about the status of work being done in the area Williams Street Bridge without the proper permits. Town Manager D'Agostino stated the engineer who performed the work has been informed that he must apply for permits in the future. Mr. Meehan asked if the party responsible for removal of trees from within the scenic way without the proper permits has been ascertained. Peter DeTrolio, 496 Elm Street, stated he has a question regarding one of the Selectmen and asked if the Selectmen's meeting would be the proper forum for the question. Mr. DeTrolio stated he does not feel Mr. Robinson has the right to work for cablevision and serve on the Board of Selectman. Selectman Robinson responded that he spoke with Carol O'Hare of the Ethics Commission and she informed him that lie could sit on the Board as long as he abstains from all votes pertaining to cablevision. Mr. DeTrolio stated he read the law and it states that a Selectman cannot work for a license holder, for which lie has signed a license, for at least a year after serving on the Board of Selectmen. Mr. DeTrolio requested to see the opinions in writing. 3. Old Business A. Town Manager Town Manager D'Agostino reported on the following: • According to Fire Chief Sliney, paramedics have been hired and are scheduled to begin working on February 9 and 16. The paramedics will function at basic level until appropriates licenses are obtained, hopefully by the end of February. The new employees will be presented to the Selectmen in the near future • An update on charges owed Mansfield by Norton has been provided in the Selectmen's Reading File. The current balance owed is $161,147.80. Selectman Mahana stated he would not be in favor of allowing any additional sewer hookups until the current charges are paid. Selectman Mahana also asked if the future agreements could allow for a late penalty for payments made after the due date. • The cost to repair the Oakland Street and Maple Street railroad crossings is $57,316 and $59,590, respectively. A portion of the charges will be assessed to abutters who use the rail. Mr. D'Agostino will be discussing the best way to repair the crossings with the DPW Director. • Mr. D'Agostino expects to have a schedule of all fleet vehicles on Friday. Mileage, identification number, year, make, and model of vehicles will be included in the schedule. Mileage reports will be requested on a quarterly basis. Clerk Royle suggested the overall vehicle condition should also be included in the schedule. Selectman Mahana stated a year and a half ago he made a motion that no town vehicles may be taken home and that he would like to revisit the policy. Vehicles may only be taken home with the Town Manager's approval. Town Manager D'Agostino stated he would raise this issue at the next Department Head's meeting and provide a suggestion at next week's Selectmen's meeting. Lastly, Selectman Mahana asked if the Selectmen are invited to attend staff meetings. A summary of all Town Warrant Articles and copies of each submitted thus far have been given to each Selectman. The Town Meeting warrant will close on Monday, February 2. W. D'Agostino stated he is stressing to Department Heads that Special Town Meetings should be used to pay past due bills and for emergency items only. Clerk Royle stated that she does not feel that the Special Town Meeting within the Annual should take precedence over the Annual. Selectman Mahana stated because he may not be present at next week's Selectmen's meeting, he asked if Selectmen would, in his absence, submit a Landbank article similar to one proposed by the Town of Barnstable. The article would institute a fee of 1/2 of 1% on of all land transfers, exempting the first $100,000 of the purchase price. The fee would be placed in a fund for the protection of public drinking water supplies, acquisition of open space and conservation land, provision of bicycling and walking trails, and enhancement of opportunities for recreation. Motion: So moved to place on the warrant. (Mahana -no second) • The City of Cambridge received a grant to hire additional police details to monitor school bus stops "School Bus Stop Task Force", and Mr. D'Agostino will research whether or not grant money is available. • Mr. D'Agostino clarified a statement he made at last week's Selectmen's meeting concerning Mansfield's need for an upscale family restaurant as an anchor at the commuter rail station. • Town Manager D'Agostino attended a meeting in Boston this week with Selectman Colella seeking funds for land acquisition and land redemption and clean up for the train station. The town will continue to work towards packaging the site as an economic development initiative. • While in Boston, Mr. D'Agostino and Selectman Colella also met with a new manufacturer who may be relocating to Mansfield. Clerk Royle stated that she would be interested in attending an MBTA commuter rail station with the Town Manager. In response, Mr. D'Agostino stated that the Selectmen are invited to a Train Station Committee meeting in Mansfield on March 3, at which State and Federal Officials will be present. B. Selectmen Clerk Royle asked if the Town Manager ever received an answer to her inquiry of whether or not Mansfield receives money in lieu of taxes for state -owned land in the town. Town Manager D'Agostino responded that the Town Accountant has been researching the issue. Clerk Royle inquired about the status of land for sale in Mansfield, which she brought to Mr. D'Agostino's attention because of the Town's potential interest in the property. Clerk Royle commended the Town Engineer for his engineering the design for the Town Hall's drainage system. Selectman Colella requested DPW paint the curb at the intersection of North Main Street and Samoset Avenue yellow to prohibit parking, which would allow for better sight distance. Selectmen Colella requested DPW install "Do Not Feed the Geese" signs at Fulton's Pond. Selectman Colella stated last Sunday he received a few calls from residents in the Cottage Street, Newton Street, and Back Bay area, asking why a sidewalk plow was sent out when only an inch of snow had fallen. Selectman Mahana referenced a copy of a letter he received from Congressman Frank to the President of Amtrak requesting installation of fencing along the tracks and stated he is looking forward to seeing Amtrak's response. Selectman Mahana stated last week, he brought up the subject of his annoyance with Mansfield's cable rates. Selectman Mahana asked the Light Department Manager to contact Shrewsbury officials, who operate a municipally owned cable company, and inquire of the initial capital cost to start the town -run cable service. Mr. Larch, Light Department Manager, should have the information available for the Light Commissioner's meeting on Monday. Selectman Colella asked if the present cable license could be re -bid. Mr. D'Agostino is scheduled to meet with Town Counsel to review the structure of the Request for Proposals. 4. New Business A. Town Manager Town Manager D'Agostino reported on the following: • The Selectmen are invited to attend a Train Station Meeting on March 3 in Mansfield, at which officials from both the State and Federal level will be in attendance. The Selectmen will be receiving an evaluation of the Town's computer and network system, which reveals the inadequacies in the MIS system. Mr. D'Agostino is reviewing upgrading the main and munis servers. Centralized computer specifications will also be established for all new purchases for all departments. Establishment of a webb page for Mansfield is being reviewed, as is expansion of internet access capabilities for all departments. A Computer Team has been organized, which will review all future requests for purchases. Clerk Royle questioned the estimated cost for the server upgrades and internet access. Selectman Mahana questioned the benefits of a webb page. Although the Town budgeted for a 5% health insurance cost increase, the actual increase is only 1.9 %. A balanced budget is expected for the Finance Committee's and Selectmen's review in the middle of February. The budget will be within Proposition 2 '/2. The Osco Drug grand opening will take place this Friday at 1:00 PM. B. Selectmen Selectman Robinson asked when the new police station would officially be open. Mr. D'Agostino reported that it looks like the end of February. Last minute detail work has to be completed by the contractor. Selectman Robinson also asked if an issue with the police station electric bill was ever resolved, and Mr. D'Agostino stated the bill has been paid. Motion: That we insert a land bank program on the Town Meeting warrant as written for Cape Cod except that funds received would remain in the town and the 1% tax on (' property transfers in Mansfield should be reduced to 1/2 of 1 %. (Mahana Royle) (4 -1) Selectman Robinson opposed. Passes. Selectman Colella asked if a room could be located in the Town Hall for the Emergency Management Agency. Selectman Mahana stated he feels the town -wide phone bills are extremely high, but that the towns present contract for phone services will expire in 2002 or 2001. Motion: To institute a hiring freeze for all municipal positions unless justified by the Town Manager and ratified by the Selectmen. (Mahana - Colella) (3 -1 -1) Clerk Royle abstained and Selectman Robinson opposed. Passes. Chairman Madan stated he read in the Sun Chronicle that Selectman Ron Alameda was injured in a skiing accident and he would like to send him a card. Municipal Building Committee Appointment — One Vacancy — 1999/One Applicant - Kenneth Gay Motion: So moved to appoint. (Robinson - Royle) All in favor. Passes. 5. Adjournment 9:20 PM Motion: To adjourn. (Colella - Mahana) All in favor. Passes. erk's Signature U Date of Approval