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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSELECTMENminutes06162010 Town of Mansfield Board of Selectmen Minutes of June 16, 2010 Present: Chairman Moran, Vice Chairman George Dentino, Clerk Douglas Annino, Selectman Jess Aptowitz, Selectman Olivier Kozlowski, William Ross, Town Manager Absent: Fire Dept. presentation Fire Chief Boldrighini was present to give a short speech about a near tragedy that was obverted by a civil hero. Mr. David Fitzgerald was the passenger in a vehicle traveling on Stearns Ave heading toward rt. 106. His friend, that was driving, had a seizure and lost control of the vehicle. Mr. Fitzgerald managed to wrestle control of the car just before entering rt. 106 and crashed the car into road side trees thus saving their lives and possibly the lives of many others traveling along rt. 106 Chief Boldrighini presented Mr. Fitzgerald an award and citation for his bravery. The Board of Selectmen then all congratulated Mr. Fitzgerald for his efforts. Donation of land to Conservation Realtor Ken Parsons was present to inform the Board of Selectmen about the land that the Vickery family is donating to the town for passive recreation. The Conservation Commission will be the stewards of this land. It is about an acre plus on S. Main St. and is contiguous to land held by the NRT. Selectman Kozlowski asked Mr. Parsons if the land would have access to the conservation land off Judy's lane. The bridge to that area is not currently open. Selectman Dentino asked Mr. Parsons a couple of questions about the use of the land and Mr. Parsons showed him on the map that was provided. Selectman Annino noted that this is a substantial donation and wanted to properly thank the family for their generous offer. Mr. Ross will speak with the Conservation Commission about getting a sign for the land. Board of Selectmen Minutes of June 16. 2010 Motion: To accept land donation and have marked placed on land. (Aptowitz/Kozlowski) 5:0 passes Chief Boldrighini and Mr. Parsons came back to the podium for a couple of minutes to discuss the ambulance fund. We had one in the past and it was quite successful. They are thankful that the town has decided to institute one again. Mr. Parsons stated it is a very important fund to them and thanked all the donors and contributors of the effort. Council on Aging Award State Representative Elizabeth Poirier was present to give an award to the COA and Director Gail Farrugia. Chairman Sonia Walgreen was also present. She first congratulated the new Board of Selectmen members on their election and noted how handsome the board was. Ms. Farrugia spearheaded the Senior Spectacular with Rep. Poirier and it was a fantastic event for the seniors in the area. Rep. Poirier presented Ms. Farrugia and Ms. Walgreen a check in the amount of $1000.00 Motion: To accept donation on behalf of the town. (Aptowitz/Kozlowski) 5:0 passes Strategic planning session with School Committee The School Committee opened their meeting and introduced themselves to the Board of Selectmen and audience at large. Chairman Mike Trowbridge, Frank DelVecchio, Lisa Losiewicz and Jean Miller were present in addition to Supt. Hodges. Mr. Ross gave a brief overview of the strategic plan that they are going to be working on. He would like to work with Ms. Hodges in determining both short and long term goals. Developing community goals as well as financial goals are very important to the residents of the town. Ms. Hodges stated that yes, the school side and municipal side sometimes have different needs and priorities but they are one town and need to work together as such. Chairman Trowbridge has spoken with Shaun Burke, Town Planner about the Master Plan that was completed a couple of years ago. It is an excellent document and provides a great deal of information that the boards can use to develop their own "master plan". Boord of Selectmen Minutes of June 16, 2010 2 Selectman Annino was on the Planning Board at the time this document was created and is very familiar with it. Mr. Ross is looking forward to using it as a tool for creating a strategic plan for the town, as a whole. After a short conversation the school committee and the Board of Selectmen agreed to work collaboratively on a plan with representation from both boards. Mr. Ross and Ms. Hodges have discussed using a professional facilitator to help them develop a comprehensive plan. They hope to have a draft form by the end of the summer. Selectman Dentino would like to have sub committees as well to discuss the major issues of salaries and benefits. However, some of the other board members felt that while those are important issues, they need to concentrate on the vision of the community, where they want to go, before discussing the vehicle in which to get there. Chairman Moran would like to also incorporate a five year budget forecast into the planning process. He will speak with FinComm and see when they can get together to review assumptions as soon as possible. Mr. Ross and Ms. Hodges would also like to involve John Stanbrook, Town Accountant and Ed Vozzella, Finance Director in the discussions as they are "the men in the field". Selectman Kozlowski suggested that if all the meetings were posted, regardless of members attending, that everyone would have plenty of notice, committee members and the public alike. Mr. Ross stated they need to establish a steering committee to form the frame work of the plan before they develop sub committees and the like. Mr. Trowbridge suggested that two school committee members, two Board of Selectmen members, Mr. Ross and Ms. Hodges get together in two weeks to get the ball rolling. The revisions of the open meeting law were also briefly discussed and the school committee/board of selectmen will hold a joint information session for all boards and committees to review the changes. The school committee adjourned and left the meeting at 8:15pm. Q"C Paul Goldenberg, Branch St. resident has questions about the tree clearing along the rails to trails path. Board of Selectmen Minutes of June 16, 2010 3 Mr. Ross has walked the trail with area residents and has discussed the town's plans with them. MA law allows the trail and drainage to be cleared as needed by the town. Mr. Goldenberg was very upset that trees adjacent to his property were cut down. Although the trees were not on his property they afforded him a great deal of privacy that is now gone. Mr. Ross stated that the drainage ditches were clogged and needed maintenance. Although the ditches were properly designed when installed, they do clog over time and need to be cleaned and maintained. Mr. Goldenberg stated that he did not feel the Board of Selectmen were looking out for the residents when they cleared cut these trees; destroying trail neighbors privacy. After questions from Selectman Dentino, Mr. Ross asked Mr. Azinheira, DPW Director, to address why the work was done the way it was. Mr. Azinheira explained why and how the area will be cleared and offered to take the resident to the site for a further explanation. Weekly Business Warrant No. 10050T in the amount of $133,703.59 Motion: To approve. (Aptowitz/Kozlowski) 5:0 passes Warrant No. 10050E in the amount of $91,394.33 Motion: To approve. (Aptowitz/Kozlowski) 5:0 passes Warrant No. 10050S in the amount of $314,687.91 Motion: To approve. (Aptowitz/Kozlowski) 5:0 passes Warrant No. 1004PT in the amount of $422,753.35 Motion: To approve. (Kozlowski/ Aptowitz) 4:1:0 (Dentino nay) Warrant No. 1004TV in the amount of $84,539.53 Motion: To approve. (Aptowitz/Kozlowski) 5:0 passes Warrant No. 1004PS in the amount of $1,578,336.69 Motion: To approve. (Aptowitz/Kozlowski) 5:0 passes Warrant No. 1004SV in the amount of $455,062.24 Motion: To approve. (Aptowitz/Kozlowski) 5:0 passes Board of Selectmen Minutes of June 16, 2010 4 . May 26th bos meeting minutes. Motion: To approve as amended. (Aptowitz/Kozlowski) 5:0 passes . All alcohol license and common victualler license signed for Asia Grill. Correspondence . Letter from fEMA regarding disaster assistance in Mansfield. 421 people registered and over half a million dollars distributed. . Email from Hemlock Lane resident inquiring about yearly water rate increases. Response suggestion from Lee Azinheira attached. . Email from Atty. Mangiaratti regarding appeal of Wines and More retail liquor license. Action is required of the board if they want him to file an appearance. Motion: To approve filing by Atty. Mangiaratti. (Aptowitz/Kozlowski) 5:0 passes . Complaint of vicious or barking dogs from Angel St. resident. Animal control officer Collins has talked to the resident and she wants intervention from the board. Mr. Ross will follow up with parties. . Letters of Commendation from PD Chief O'Neill for actions taken by Officer Wright, Officer Armstrong and Dispatcher Campbell. Town Managers Report . Athletic Commission issued license for event at the Holiday Inn and let the town manager and bos know that if they have any problems with the event to let them know. Mr. Ross has talked with Chief O'Neill and details are all set. . Update on possible open door GA TRA service. Selectman Dentino is concerned that the service really isn't "free" although Mr. Gay has stated so in his letter. The board would like confirmation from the MBTA of this arrangement as well. Businesses in the industrial park are also interested in a service to that area as well. However, that is a separate issue to be dealt with, at a later time. . follow up with Electric Dept. bills question from Selectman Annino last week. The program is for low income, elderly residents that need assistance. There is a $400 per year cap on assistance. Board of Selectmen Minutes of June 16. 2010 5 · The town dropped Reverse 911 a couple of years ago due to costs. However, Bristol County Sheriffs Office is coming up with a county wide system that would address the issues that this system would provide. · Mr. Ross wanted to discuss open meeting law changes with all board and committees. Especially the chairs of those committees so everyone is aware of what is needed of them. . This Friday the department's heads will meet with the Board of Selectmen members to update them on their dept. activities. BOS Old and New · Selectman Kozlowski: went to his first MMA training course on Saturday and found it very informative. They also covered the changes in open meeting law during the session. . Selectman Aptowitz: Last Wednesday when we had the combo meeting they were looking for MMED info from National Grid. Mr. Ross has conferred with Mr. Babin about it. He asked about the status of our budget numbers. Mr. Ross has been getting reg\llar updates from Mr. Stanbrook regarding the budget and they are on target with their numbers. He also thought it would be a good idea for the whole board to go to the MMA annual conference next January. It costs money but thinks it is worth it for the educational experience. Motion: To allow the Board of Selectmen to attend the MMA conference in January 2011. (Aptowitz/Kozlowski) 5:0 passes He has heard from several residents and business owners about the rusty flag pole on the South Common. It is an eyesore and he has several ideas about how to go about replacing/repainting the pole. . Selectman Annino: Questions about construction company from CT. that the schools are using. The school did not provide a detailed breakdown of the work provided. · Selectman Dentino: Section of current affairs that talks about a sewer tie in memo does not have back up documentation. As such, Mr. Ross gave a brief explanation of the situation. Board of Selectmen Minutes of June 16. 2010 6 Also, kudos to Mr. Ross for enforcing 37.5 hour work weeks at the MMED. Mr. Ross stated that he has been in government work for 40 years now and has enjoyed working with the Town of Mansfield. · Chairman Moran: He knows that this will be another difficult budget year but he feels we are heading in the right direction with the school committee. Relay for Life (American Cancer Society) group in Mansfield raised $450,000 thousand dollars during the event. Motion: Selectman Annino and Selectman Kozlowski are going to be the bos reps. on the new Strategic Planning Steering Committee. (Aptowitz/Dentino) 5:0 passes Adjournment Motion: Adjourn meeting at 9:40pm (Aptowitz) 5-0 Passes '13()~~?;: ~ Signature of Clerk ~~.5~ 2tilti . Date of Approval Board af Selectmen Minutes of June 16, 2010 7