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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSELECTMENminutes07282010 Town of Mansfield Board of Selectmen Minutes of July 28, 2010 Present: Chairman Moran, Vice Chairman George Dentino, Clerk Douglas Annino, Selectman Jess Aptowitz, Selectman Olivier Kozlowski, William Ross, Town Manager Absent: AT & T conduit hearing Robert Hoekstra, Senior Project Manager is present on behalf of TCG New Jersey, Inc. (TCG), a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T Corp. Lee Azinheira, PDW Director is also present. Access Partners is hereby requesting from the Town of Mansfield, permission to lay, maintain and operate underground conduits, with the cables to be placed therein, under the surface of the following public way: Hampshire Street, from the existing manhole at building #100 Hampshire Street to the new proposed telephone manhole # 3, (2) 4" PVC conduits-2 Quad ducts, approximately 17 feet in length. Hampshire Street, from the proposed telephone manhole #3 to the proposed Telephone manhole # 2, (2) 4" PVC conduits-2 Quad ducts, from the proposed Telephone manhole # 2 to the Mansfield/Foxboro town line (2) 4" PVC conduits-2 Quad ducts approximately 1388 feet in length. All conduits shall be placed at the approximate depth of 48" and in accordance with the requirements of the Town's Department of Public Works. In addition, all work near wetlands has been submitted to the Conservation Department. Selectman Aptowitz asked if the trenches will be in the street or next to the street? The trench will be in the street with a patch but flow-able fill will be used to prevent sagging or separation of the patch. Selectmen Annino and Dentino had a few more questions about the design elements of the project that were addressed by Mr. Azinheira and Mr. Hoekstra. Motion: To grant conduit placement as presented pending Conservation approval and use of infra red. (Aptowitz/ Annino) 5:0 passes Board of Selectmen Minutes of July 28, 2010 Comcast flammables hearing Lee Zazofski, General Manager of the Comcast Center and John Engler, Facilities Manager for the Comcast Center is present with Chief Boldrighini and Lt. Don Tebeau from the fire dept. The Comcast Center currently has a license for up to 3,000 gallons of LP-gas. They would like to apply for a new flammables license for up to 4,000 gallons of LP- gas. This amount would include the small amounts that patrons bring on the facilities as well as their own storage. Selectman Dentino asked the fire dept. to come up and provide a brief update on the issuance of this license. Chief Boldrighini came to the podium and explained why they felt the need to increase the amount of LP-gas on the facilities grounds. The Fire Dept. supports the granting of this license and has worked well with the Comcast Center in the past. Selectman Dentino asked Mr. Engler what the LP-gas is used for and where the gas is stored. Several different size tanks are spread throughout the facility and are documented on the flammables license application. After a short discussion, Chief Boldrighini stated that customers bring small tanks on propane onto the property and the Comcast Center is ultimately responsible for that so they would like to increase their storage capacity to cover this additional amount. Motion: To grant the Comcast Center a 4,000 gallon LP-gas license. (Aptowitz/Kozlowski) 5:0 passes Planning Board applicant interviews Shawn MacDonald, Oak St resident and Planning Board Associate member for the last two years, he is now applying to be a full voting member of the board. He works in the construction trade and involved in Mansfield youth sports. James Ragazzo, King Arthur Way resident, is applying to be on the board as well. Mr. Ragazzo is an accountant and comptroller as well as a real estate agent. He has lived in town for many years and would like to give back to the community by serving on the Planning Board. Board of Selectmen Minutes of July 28, 2010 2 Ralph Penney, Maple St resident and former member of board, would like to apply to be on the board as well. He is a long time resident as well and has been on the Planning Board and Board of Selectmen in the past. He also owns an Engineering firm in town. He would like to give back to the town via his service and is interested in seeing the downtown grow and prosper. Selectman Dentino noted that Mr. MacDonald has been an alternate for a couple of years and has always felt that alternate members should be given the first chance for full membership. He is also familiar with Mr. Penney and Mr. Ragazzo's background and asked Mr. Ragazo's why he would like to be on the Planning Board as opposed to a financial committee as Audit or FinComm. Mr. Ragazzo stated that while he works in the financial industry he would like to volunteer in a different area such as planning. Selectman Annino stated that he has worked with Mr. MacDonald and Ragazzo in the past and thinks they would be a fine addition to the Planning Board. Selectman Aptowitz also stated that he supports alternate members moving up to full membership. He believes that while all candidates are qualified for appointment, there are only two full seats available so one will be appointed to an alternate position instead. Selectman Kozlowski asked the candidates what experience each of them would bring to the Planning Board. As Mr. MacDonald works in construction and has been on the board for two years he is well versed in planning and zoning bylaws. Although Mr. Ragazzo does not work in the construction industry he is familiar with planning and zoning bylaws through his real estate experience. Mr. Penney is an engineer and works primarily with the DEP, however he has worked on projects that required planning board approval. Chairman Moran asked the candidates what they would propose for the downtown area. All three of the candidates would encourage downtown growth through incentives and creative marketing. Obviously the economy plays a large part in development of the downtown area and the town has been working with civic organizations to assist in this endeavor. Motion: To nominate Shawn MacDonald to a full member, term to expire January 1, 2013. (Aptowitz/Kozlowski) 5:0 passes Boord of Selectmen Minutes of July 28, 2010 3 Selectman Dentino would like to nominate Ralph Penney to a full member seat as he has years of experience on different boards and committees. Motion: To nominate Ralph Penney to a full member term to expire January 1, 2011 (Dentino/ Aptowitz) nomination did not receive any further votes, motion fails. Motion: To nominate Ralph Penney as an alternate member with a term to expire January 1, 2014. (Aptowitz/Dentino) 3:2 passes (Kozlowski, Moran nay) Motion: To nominate Jim Ragazzo to a full member, term to expire January 1, 2011. (Annino/Kozlowski) 5:0 passes Discussion: Selectman Annino asked the board for their opinion on a potential conflict as Jim assisted him in his election campaign. The board did not feel this would be an issue. Chairman Moran stated the candidates will need to be sworn in by the town clerk, and take a short state ethics test before serving on the board. FinComm financial forecast Jim Lazzara and Karl Chambers from the FinComm are present for discussion. The Finance Committee prepared an assumptions list for the next five years. . Salaries will increase by 3.2% per year . Expenses will increase by 3ro per year . Neutral employment . No new programs . Town administration has worked with FinComm on forecasts. · School administration has not provided any plans or information. . Our debt service will need to be aggressive to address imperative needs. · We must start to fund our unfunded liabilities in FY12 . Pensions increases at 7ro per year The Finance Committee recommends that the town make drastic changes in their expense profile. Unless the Federal Government injects new funds into the economy, the next 3 years will be very difficult. Town Counsel review Chairman Moran asked the board if they are ready to vote on choosing town counsel. He does not want to belabor the issue if any of the members are not comfortable on voting this evening. Board of Selectmen Minutes of July 28. 2010 4 Selectman Dentino has questions about if Kopelman and Paige were willing to work for a flat fee. The minutes reflect the answer was no but Selectman Dentino thought they changed their mind by the end of the meeting and would get back to us. Mr. Ross will follow up with Atty. Kopelman. Selectman Aptowitz and Mr. Ross feel strongly that they would like to stay with present counsel for at least labor issues as they have invested a great deal of time and money with union contract negotiations. Mr. Ross gave a brief overview of the breakdown of expenses by HTML provided by Town Accountant John Stanbrook. This tabulation was compared to a quote for services provided by Deutsch/Williams. Motion: Hire Deutsch and Williams for town counsel (general) (Aptowitz/Dentino) 4:1 passes (Annino nay) Amendment to motion: Three year contract with an opt-out provision. Q&C None Weekly Business Warrant No. 10055T in the amount of $331,935.60 Motion: To approve. (Aptowitz/Dentino) 5:0 passes Warrant No. 10055E in the amount of $1}56,632.18 Motion: To approve. (Aptowitz/ Annino) 5:0 passes Warrant No. 10055S in the amount of $721.187.01 Motion: To approve. (Annino/ Aptowitz) 2:3:0 fails (Moran/ Aptowitz/Kozlowski nay) Discussion: Selectman Aptowitz stated that this school vendor warrant was over $700,000 and many purchases were capital items. Capital items have to go through CIP for approval and they were not. As such, he will not approve this warrant. Mr. Ross confirmed that several purchases were not processed through the CIP committee as they should have and he has spoken with school administration about th is issue. Selectman Dentino would like to remove the items that the board has issue with and approve the rest of the warrant. Boord of Selectmen Minutes of July 28. 2010 5 Selectman Kozlowski asked what would happen to warrant bills if the Board of Selectmen did not approve them? Chairman Moran stated the items would not be paid until they are approved. After a lengthy discussion the Board of Selectmen decided to deny the warrant payment due to confusion over what a capital item actually is. Motion: To support Warrant No. 10055S except for items that the town manager and FinComm chairman feel are capital items. (Aptowitz/ Annino) 5:0 passes Warrant No. 1l003T in the amount of $3,100,767.16 Motion: To approve. (Aptowitz/Kozlowski) 5:0 passes Warrant No. 1l003E in the amount of $5,527.21 Motion: To approve. (Aptowitz/Kozlowski) 5:0 passes Warrant No. 11004T in the amount of $124,604.20 Motion: To approve. (Kozlowski/ Aptowitz) 5:0 passes Warrant No. 1l004E in the amount of $272,546.58 Motion: To approve. (Aptowitz/Kozlowski) 5:0 passes Warrant No. 1l003PT in the amount of $332,063.36 Motion: To approve. (Aptowitz/Kozlowski) 4:0:1 passes (Dentino abstain) Warrant No. 1l003TV in the amount of $92,286.95 Motion: To approve. (Aptowitz/Kozlowski) 5:0 passes Warrant No. 1l003PS in the amount of $838,699.71 Motion: To approve. (Aptowitz/Kozlowski) 5:0 passes Warrant No. 1l003SV in the amount of $233,683.89 Motion: To approve. (Aptowitz/Kozlowski) 5:0 passes · Board of Selectmen meeting minutes of June 23, 2010 Tabled to next week for discussion . Board of Selectmen meeting minutes of June 30, 2010 Motion: To approve. (Aptowitz/ Annino) 5:0 passes . Board of Selectmen meeting minutes of July 14, 2010 Motion: To approve. (Annino/Kozlowski) 5:0 passes Board of Selectmen Minutes of July 28, 2010 6 Correspondence · Mr. Ross wrote a memo to the board regarding him attending the ICMA conference this fall. Motion: To support Mr. Ross in attending conference. (Kozlowski/ Aptowitz) 5:0 passes · Resident request for "stop ahead" sign on Bird Road at the intersection of Maple. PD had no objection. Motion: To approve. (Dentino/Kozlowski) 5:0 passes · Request for building permit waiver for MMAS for the September 18th -19th art festival. 3 tents with surface weights to be removed Sept. 20th. Building dept. has no objection. Motion: To approve. (Aptowitz/Dentino) 5:0 passes . Email from East Mansfield resident regarding the availability of Verizon Fios. Town Managers Report · Reorganization of first floor departments. Mr. Ross would like to implement a reorganization of the building, health and planning departments and would like the Board of Selectmen's support prior to doing so. After a brief discussion, the Board of Selectmen supported the reorganization proposal. . Motion: To extend meeting to llpm. (Aptowitz/Kozlowski) 5:0 passes · Smith & Nephew has renewed their building lease in the Cabot Business Park so they will be staying in Mansfield for many years to come. . Mr. Ross has given the board his six month review events and objectives to review. . Mr. Ross has been working with the DPW on getting cost analysis for a new South Common flag pole. · The Mansfield Housing Board of Directors will have to get separate liability insurance from the town as they are a quasi government agency. . Overview of conference Mr. Ross attended last week. Very informative. . West St. construction to start August 2nd Board of Selectmen Minutes of July 28. 2010 7 BOS Old and New · Selectman Kozlowski: He has been on the Mansfield Housing Corp. and is glad that the issue of insurance has been settled. He has also been following the issues of casinos and gambling in MA. Please contact your representatives if you have any issues to address. · Selectman Aptowitz: Last week he attended the ribbon cutting of Tyco Value and it is a beautiful facility. Mr. Aptowitz asked if there has been any progress on getting boards and committees into meetings as we have been slow to do this. Chairman Moran stated that he has been scheduling over the year as time allows. The Board of Health will be coming to the August 11th meeting. · Resident asked Mr. Aptowitz about a fee on their Verizon Fios bill that stated it was a town fee. Mr. Ross will follow up with them. . Selectman Annino: None this week . Selectman Dentino: The towns Verizon wireless bills are usually about $2k a month. Who uses our cell phones and how many do we currently have? Mr. Ross will follow up He also asked about issues with crack sealing and residents that have had problems with the service. Questions about employee course for $400.00. The course was for the use of high powered rifles and machine guns. Mr. Ross will follow up. . Chairman Moran: He went to Tyco ribbon cutting as well and really enjoyed the visit. He would like to encourage additional company such as Tyco coming to the park. He did not want to change town counsel however; the deal with Deutsch and Williams is too good to pass up. The town needs to save everywhere they can and sometimes it is uncomfortable. Board of Selectmen Minutes of July 28, 2010 8 Adjournment Motion: Adjourn meeting at !0:50pm (Aptowitz) 5-0 Passes <J3o~4l:. ~ Signature of Clerk ~uJ1" II, 2tJltJ Date of Approval Boord of Selectmen Minutes of July 28, 2010 9