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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSELECTMENminutes03282012 Town of Mansfield Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 28, 2012 Present: Chairman Jess Aptowitz, Vice Chairman Olivier Kozlowski, Clerk Douglas Annino, Selectmen Moran, Selectman George Dentino William Ross Town Manager Absent: Conservation Commission interview Michael Healey, Pineview Terrace resident. He has a master degree in Geology/Hydrogeology in addition to 25 years' experience in the environment field. As such he is interested in being on the Conservation Commission. Selectman Moran asked Mr. Healey if he has any customer service experience. It's important to have a commission member that has both technical knowledge and interpersonal skills as they deal with the public quite a bit. Mr. Healey stated he has worked with the public as a company liaison on different jobs. Selectman Kozlowski asked what he sees as an appropriate use of conservation land. Mr. Healey stated he knows that Mansfield is rich in conservation land and would like to see it utilized for passive recreation. Selectman Kozlowski also stated there is an article on the warrant to get rid of local bylaw control of wetlands. Mr. Healey stated that would be a very bad idea for many reasons, a primary is that Mansfield's drinking water comes from local aquifers. Selectman Annino thanked Mr. Healey for volunteering with the town. He also stated that customer service is important as we serve the residents in addition to protecting wetlands. Selectman Dentino thanked him for coming in and volunteering. He also commented that he would like to see him come to town meeting. Mr. Healey travels a lot for work but would like to attend when he can. Chairman Aptowitz thanked him for coming in as well. He also expressed the importance of treating people fairly when they come before the commission. We really try to balance the needs of residents vs. protection of wetlands. Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 28, 2012 Motion: To appoint Mr. Healey to the Conservation Commission to fill a 4 year term to expire January 1, 2016. (Annino/Moran) 5:0 passes Municipal Building Committee interview Steven Rosen, Lewis Rd resident. He is interested in being on the MBC. Mr. Rosen works as an HVAC mechanic. He is also very interested in downtown revitalization. Selectman Annino stated that the downtown revitalization program is a very important one. However, the MBC primarily works on municipal building projects such as the highway garage. Mr. Rosen became a US citizen a few years ago and would now like to get involved in local government. He enjoys giving back to the community. Selectman Dentino thanked Mr. Rosen for coming in and volunteering. Selectman Moran asked Mr. Rosen what professional organizations he is involved with. He replied that he belongs to HV AC, heating and fire protection groups. Selectman Moran stated that the MBC is a very important committee that saves the town a lot of money. Selectman Kozlowski thanked Mr. Rosen for coming in and asked him about the building and fire codes of commercial buildings. Mr. Rosen stated the codes become more stringent every year and he belongs to safety groups so he can keep up with the changes. Motion: To appoint Mr. Rosen to the Conservation Commission to fill a 5 year term to expire January 1, 2016. (Annino/Moran) 5:0 passes FinComm update Andy Gazzolo, FinComm Chairman, Tom Ratcliff and Carl Chambers are also present. Chairman Gazzolo provided a slide show that demonstrated the amount of spending vs. revenue over the next few years. Even with cuts expenditures the town will be paying 4'70 over net school spending. Without cuts the town will not be able to support the spending growth without a prop. 2 t tax override. Boord of Selectmen Minutes of Morch 28. 2012 2 In addition, the town doesn't just rely on residential taxes. The town also has a commercial base but we cannot always count on that revenue due to uncontrolled industrial decline. Mr. Ross also explained how the state has passed more and more state expenses to the town through legislation and "plain just passing the buck." It has become quite an issue and we need to lobby our legislators to press the state to keep up their end of expenses. The FinComm is concerned that the school committee has not made cuts to their budget and has a 2.2 million deficit. They will have to cut personnel like the municipal side did a few years ago. Even with the municipal cuts in place, the town still has a 1 million deficit to work out itself. Chairman Aptowitz stated that he has children in school and does not want to see the schools suffer. However, our buildings and roads are crumbling and need repair. The town also needs to reserve funds for public safety such as ambulance and fire service. Mr. Ross reiterated that we cannot continue to cut and provide the level of service we want to provide. Something has to give and we are trying to sort it out to the best of our ability. TGI Fridays Restaurant- corp . change of directors There has been a corporation wide change of directors and as it was such a large transaction the application when to the ABCC first and then to each city/town for local approval. Motion: To approve change. (Moran/Kozlowski) 5:0 passes Town meeting warrant discussion The Board of Selectmen reviewed the articles with the Town Manager. Town Counsel Atty. DeRensis is also present for discussion. Article 1: FY13 budget appropriations for municipal expenses in the amount of $38,844,364.00. Article 2: FY13 budget appropriations for the school dept. in the amount of $41,772,232.00 Article 3: Appropriation from Electric Dept. receipts for MMED maintenance and plant operations. Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 28. 2012 3 Article 4: Establishes FY13 budget appropriations for the water enterprise fund. $4,244,285.00 Article 5: Establishes FY13 budget appropriations for the wastewater enterprise fund. Article 6: Establishes FY13 budget appropriations for the airport enterprise fund. $74,090.00 Article 7: Establishes FY13 budget appropriations for the parking enterprise fund. $483,000.00 Motion: To support. (Annino/Moran) 4:1 passes (Dentino nay) Article 8: Transfers FAA and MassDOT grants received to reimburse the airport capital account. Article 9: Transfers the earnings from previous years budget for use by the Airports Capital Improvement Program. $108,192.00 Article 10: Transfer budgetary amounts to and from different line items to cover deficits. Article 11: Town related Establishes FY13 budget appropriations for the wastewater enterprise fund. Article 12: Establishes FY13 budget appropriations for the wastewater enterprise fund. Article 13: Transfer money into the capital stabilization trust fund. Article 14: Transfer insurance claim reimbursement funds back into PD capital outlay budget. $31,544.00 Article 15: Transfer legal settlement amount back into the Town Managers FY12 budget. $25,000.00 Article 16: Transfer a sum of money into the Town's Stabilization Fund. Article 17: To pay outstanding unpaid FY12 bills. $89,650.93 Article 18: WWTP- To pay outstanding unpaid FY12 bills. $23,180.80 Article 19: Household hazardous waste collection. $6,650.00 Boord of Selectmen Minutes of March 28. 2012 4 Article 20: Annual article that allows town residents to receive real estate tax exemptions. Article 21: Two-thirds payment of the FY14 revaluation of all town properties by the Board of Assessors. $111,800.00 Article 22: Place $400,000.00 into the OPEB Trust Fund to fund a portion of future retirement costs. Article 23: To use funds paid by commuter to design and build better access to the train. Commuter Rail Access Improvement Account $200,000.00 The board has significant issues with article 23. It conflicts with article 7 and has additional formatting issues. In addition, Selectman Dentino mentioned that several studies have been done on this topic and nothing has been resolved yet. Planning Board Chairman Tom French has joined the meeting to discuss the issues that article 23 has. Mr. French briefly explained how the planning board would like to use this money. The land taking of the previous plans will take a long time and be costly. They would like to develop a plan that will help the area in the short term. Atty. DeRensis had a few suggestions on changing the language of article 23. Replace language that says "access to and from the train station." To access to and from the train station parking lots to the streets. There also needs to be a funding mechanism such as the Town Manager being the spending authority. Motion: To support. (Annino/Moran) 4:1 passes (Dentino nay) Article 24: Establish a building inspector -directed revolving fund FY13 Article 25: Establish a police directed revolving fund for FY13 Article 26: Establish a library directed revolving fund for FY13 Article 27: Establish an EMS directed revolving fund for FY13. Article 28: Establish a fire dept. directed revolving fund for FY13 Article 29: Establish a procedure for disposing of tailings. Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 28. 2012 5 Article 30: The revenue sources in article 5 (2011 town meeting) contained an inadvertent error. This article will correct the sources of funding. Article 31: Authorize the Board of Selectmen to petition for special Home Rule legislation that would allow the town to enact a public endangerment act. Selectman Kozlowski asked to change the wording of the last by adding "a fee shall not be imposed on anyone not taken into protective custody." Motion: To support. (Kozlowski! Annino) 4:0:1 (Moran abstain) Article 32: Protective custody cost recovery be-law proposal. Selectman Kozlowski asked a couple of questions about budget numbers and the ability to raise those numbers by 10'1'0. Atty. DeRensis briefly outlined the Dept. of Revenue guidelines for budget numbers. Article 33: Rt. 106 mural proposal by the non- profit Mural Committee. Proposed to be part of the North End beautification project. Article 34: Utilization of easement on Copeland St. for East Mansfield substation electrical lines. Article 35: Removing the filing fee schedule from the wetland protection bylaw. It could then be modified by the Conservation Commission. Article 36: To allow the Conservation Commission to accept a wildlife habitat report from a consultant in lieu of a site visit from Natural Heritage. Article 37: Transfer of properties (tax taken) to the Conservation Commission. These parcels abut NRT land. Article 38: Transfer of tax taken parcel to the Conservation Commission. This would help insure protection of the Canoe River aquifer. Article 39: Parcel as identified as Map 14, Lot 20 has back taxes owed to town. Owner wants to deed over to Conservation Commission in lieu of payment. Article 40: Citizens petition. To repeal Town Wetland Protection By-law and revert to state statues. Article 41: Citizens petition. Vote to accept DiMascio Drive and Shea Circle as public roads. And accept related drainage, water and utility easements. Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 28, 2012 6 Selectmen Dentino and Kozlowski had a few questions about article 41. The wording is unclear if the article addresses just the property in Mansfield or the parts in Norton. Atty DeRensis stated that as this is a citizen's petition the wording must stay as is. And we would only be able to vote on the land in Mansfield. The parts in Norton would be governed by the Town of Norton. Article 42: Citizens petition for zoning changes. two parcels behind Erin Center change from R-2 to I-I would allow retail development. Article 43: Citizens petition for zoning changes. Parcels abutting Erin Center change from R-2 to I-I would allow retail development. Article 44: Citizens petition for zoning changes. Addition of new B4 remote business zone. This would be in addition to the current B3 zone. Article 45: Citizens petition for zoning changes. This article would make several use changes in the B3 zone. Proposed density changes as well. Article 46: Citizens petition: To auction off at public auction the vacant parcel of land on Essex St. map 37, lot 26. Article 47: Citizens petition: To grant a special permit for older building reuse through the Planning Board. Article 48: Citizens petition: To grant a special permit for older building reuse through the ZBA. Amend the towns zoning by law for this use. Q&C Ellen Banach, Lancashire Drive. She would like to know how and when budget cuts are made. The residents would like to be able to make an educated decision prior to town meeting. Chairman Aptowitz and Mr. Ross stated that the Fincomm often reviews the budget in detail in their meetings. Those meetings are available on cable access for viewing in addition to having the budget available on the town website. Nancy Madonna, Rumford Ave. In addition to cuts, she wanted to know what the town was doing to increase revenue via override and/or economic development. Chairman Aptowitz stated that the FinComm has done those calculations and even with overrides the expenses are unsustainable over time. Board of Selectmen Minutes of March 28. 2012 7 Selectman Moran stated that the town continually tries to court industry to fill the business park and bring revenue opportunities to the town. Business in MA is very competitive and hard to locate/keep. Town infrastructure and stability are key to attracting residents and business alike. Mr. Ross further explained the budget process and how the state law requires budgets to be presented at town meeting. Capital expenses are drawn from reserves as they are one- time expenses. It is unwise to use reserves to sustain the operational budget. The school committee did that last year and would like to do it again this year. However, as Chairman Aptowitz stated, the town has to support more than the schools. We have other populations segments such as the senior citizens that have needs as well. Both the school and the municipal side have serious capital needs and cannot afford to continue without addressing the issues. Cindy Fernandes, York Rd. Her children suffer due to large class size and over- burdened teachers. She stated that we need to support the schools better as to attract more residents and businesses to town. Chairman Aptowitz briefly explained how the tax levy is set and how the town budget is supported. The school committee is autonomous from the selectmen/town manager and they spend their funds as they see fit. They receive 70~o of the general fund and the municipal side supports the health insurance for both the school and the municipal sides. It makes for difficult budgeting and they are doing the best they can. Selectman Dentino asked the ladies how they expect to increase revenue. Are they willing to accept higher fees for sports, busing and extra curricula activities? Are you willing to pay for trash pickup? Higher revenues result from less expenditures. Financial stability only comes from concessions and we are not getting that from the school unions. He also suggested that they voice their concerns to the school committee so that they realize that parents are willing to pay more for more services. Mr. Ross further expanded upon how the town struggles to save money where ever it can. One example was how the municipal side contracts a lot of work out, such as custodial services instead of employing custodial and grounds keeping staff. Boord of Selectmen Minutes of Morch 28, 2012 8 Vote to hold hearing - street acceptances Last week the Board of Selectmen voted to layout DiMascio Drive and Shea Circle. This week they voted to hold public hearing. Motion: To have public hearing regarding street acceptance of DiMascio Drive on April 11th at 7:00pm. Motion: To have public hearing regarding street acceptance on Shea Circle on April 11th at 7:15pm. Weekly Business Warrant No. 12039T in the amount of $1,804,809.21 Motion: To approve (Kozlowski/Moran) 4:1 passes (Dentino nay) Warrant No. 120395 in the amount of $14,888.67 Motion: To approve (Moran/Kozlowski) 4:1 passes (Dentino nay) Warrant No. 12039PT in the amount of $266.131.99 Motion: To approve (Moran/Kozlowski) 4:1 passes (Dentino nay) Warrant No. 12039TV in the amount of $82,460.05 Motion: To approve (Moran/Kozlowski) 5:0 passes Warrant No. 12039PS in the amount of $1,430,389.02 Motion: To approve (Moran/Kozlowski) 4:1 passes (Annino nay) Warrant No. 12039SV in the amount of $434,218.33 Motion: To approve (Moran/Kozlowski) 5:0 passes Minutes of February 15, 2012 bos meeting. Motion: hold Minutes of March 7, 2012 bos meeting. Motion: hold Letter from Elks requesting permission for May 3_6th carnival. . Special permit from the bos for fireworks display Motion: To grant permit for carnival. (Moran/Kozlowski) 5:0 passes . Waiver of town fees associated with sponsoring carnival. Motion: To waive town fees for carnival. (Moran/Kozlowski) 5:0 passes . Permission to have carnival banner over Rt. 106 from April 18 to May 6. Motion: To grant permit for carnival banner. (Moran/Kozlowski) 5:0 passes Boord of Selectmen Minutes of March 28, 2012 9 Commercial parking lot application from 888 Main St. Motion: To approve (Kozlowski/Moran) 5:0 passes Hackney driver license application. Town Manager recommends approval. . Steven MacKinlay. Motion: To approve. (Moran/Kozlowski) 5:0 passes . Paul Thibeault. Motion: To approve. (Moran/Kozlowski) 5:0 passes . Kevin Davis. Motion: To approve. (Moran/Kozlowski) 5:0 passes . Hackney Carriage license application from Bill's Taxi Service. Report has come back from Officer Lawson. Motion: To approve. (Dentino/Moran) 5:0 passes Correspondence . Letter from Sandra Levine regarding sight line at CVS (Giles place) Mr. Riccio has already sent corp. an enforcement letter to restore site. . Letter from ACS Relay for Life event. Event on June 15th and 16th at the JJ. They would like to place sign on the south common for May, until Jun 18th. Motion: To approve. (Kozlowski/Moran) 5:0 passes Town Managers Report . Letter from NEPPA read into record about N. Attleboro Electric not being a member and paying $20,000.00 more than Mansfield for training. . Citizen visited with Mr. Ross about the use of street sweeping during the weekend. The town must sweep twice a year as this is required by the states storm water regulations. . Strategic Planning Charrette is this Saturday 9am at the High School. . Progress is ongoing at the Bird St. electric substation. . Mr. Annino is looking at carpet samples for the conference room. . The Fire Dept. needs some new equipment and has gone before CIP. . Special Education in Mansfield is great. However, the state had promised to fund 60')'0 of the expenses when it started and to date still only reimburse towns 5')'0 of the costs. The state has continually passed their responsibilities to the local taxpayer and we are struggling to pay for it all. Boord of Selectmen Minutes of March 28. 2012 10 BOS Updates . Selectman Kozlowski: None . Chairman Aptowitz: Apology for being short with Selectman Dentino earlier. We need to continue to work together for the best of the town. Crossroads Veterans Association will be meeting this Friday at townhall. . Selectman Annino: Happy about the applicants that applied for committee positions. . Selectman Moran: More on unfunded mandates from the Commonwealth. Mansfield also has a lot of great conservation; walking areas where you get really get out there. . Selectman Dentino: None Motion: Adjourn meeting at 1O:57pm (Kozlowski) 5:0 passes :f30Ujlk- ~ Signature of Clerk ~/1~2tll2 Date of Approval Boord of Selectmen Minutes of March 28. 2012 11