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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSELECTMENminutes05092012 Town of Mansfield Board of Selectmen Minutes of May 9, 2012 Present: Chairman Olivier Kozlowski, Vice Chairman George Dentino, Clerk Kevin Moran, Selectman Douglas Annino, Selectman Jess Aptowitz William Ross Town Manager Absent: Reorganization of Board Mr. Ross opened the Board of Selectmen meeting and called for nominations for Chairman. Motion: To nominate Olivier Kozlowski as Chairman (Moran) 4:1 passes (Annino/Kozlowski/ Aptowitz aye) Dentino nay Motion: To nominate George Dentino as Chairman (Dentino) 1:4 fails (Annino/Kozlowski/ Aptowitz/Moran nay) Motion: To nominate George Dentino as Vice Chairman (Annino) 5:0 passes Motion: To nominate Kevin Moran as Clerk (Aptowitz) 5:0 passes Motion: To nominate Kevin Moran as Chairman of Light Dept. (Aptowitz) 1:4 fails Motion: To nominate George Dentino as Chairman of Light Dept. (Annino) 4:1 passes (Aptowitz nay) Selectman Moran requested reconsideration of previous motion. Motion: To reconsider last motion (Annino) 5:0 passes Motion: To nominate George Dentino as Chairman of Light Dept. (Annino) 5:0 passes Motion: To nominate Kevin Moran as Vice Chairman of Light Dept. (Annino) 5:0 passes Board of Selectmen Minutes of May 9, 2012 Motion: To nominate Douglas Annino as Clerk of Light Dept. (Moran) 5:0 passes Comcast Center licenses Bruce Montgomery and Audrey Butler from Comcast Center are present with counsel Rick Novak. Rod Hoffman, Town Counsel is present. Entertainment license agreement: Chairman Kozlowski stated he has been on the Comcast Center license subcommittee this past year with Selectman Aptowitz and then asked him to provide a brief description of the process the sub-committee used in drafting agreement. Selectman Aptowitz stated that he, Olivier, Bill and the two chiefs met regularly with Mr. Montgomery over the past 6 months to draft a complete agreement. The sub- committee kept the Board of Selectmen up to date on what was happening and Mr. Montgomery also came to a couple of Board of Selectmen meetings as well. Chairman Kozlowski stated he had been having issues with the new indemnification agreement. Due to the recently settled disability claim of an auxiliary office he wanted additional insurance added to the agreement. However, he has been working with Mr. Montgomery to iron out the issues. Selectman Annino stated that the town should bear some of the cost and liability of officers that work detail at the center; they are town employees even on detail. A lengthy discussion ensued among the board members and the town manager about the reasons for hiring auxiliary officers, who they work for and why. Due to MA law the officers are required to be paid by the Town of Mansfield, not by the town they work for or the Comcast Center. Even though the Comcast Center has security at events they are still required to have detail officers. Mr. Montgomery and his counsel stated that the insurance indemnification at hand is a complicated issue and they are working on finding coverage. However, insurance coverage may not be available as coverage of details officers is dictated by MA law. Mr. Montgomery stated that he has no problem with sharing in the costs of insurance; and is will to sign an indemnification contract similar to the one in place in Foxboro. Selectman Dentino is concerned how much the policy will cost and how much of it the town would pay. Unfortunately we do not have a policy or policy figure yet so it is difficult to say. Board of Selectmen Minutes of May 9, 2012 2 Selectman Moran asked town counsel Hoffman how the Mansfield license agreement rates against others he has seen. Atty. Hoffman stated that the insurance coverage is similar to Foxboro's. Amos Robinson, Mill St. is a former Selectman and stated that the former board did get involved in license approval. However, Selectman Aptowitz stated that was not his experience. Sandra Levine, So. Walnut St. is a former Selectman and stated that the board she was on also worked on license approval as well. However, that was a long time ago and the work was done prior to the Board of Selectmen approving the finished document. Motion: To approve license with agreement to pursue insurance. (Annino/Moran) 4:1 Kozlowski nay Selectman Dentino had questions about the Comcast Center's website statement about prosecution of the possession andlor consumption of alcohol. Mr. Montgomery provided a written statement of his experiences during the licensing process. Chairman Kozlowski called a 5 minute recess while the Board of Selectmen reviewed the statement. After the recess Chairman Kozlowski called for a vote on the license and indemnification agreement. Mr. Montgomery did not read his statement as prepared and given to the board. Parking lot license: Motion: To approve license (Moran I Annino) 5:0 passes Q&C None Weekly Business Warrant No. 12045T in the amount of $174,366.00 Motion: To approve. (Kozlowski/Moran) 5:0 passes Warrant No. 12045E in the amount of $1,369,212.41 Motion: To approve. (Kozlowski/Dentino) 5:0 passes Board of Selectmen Minutes of May 9,2012 3 Warrant No. 12045PT in the amount of $280,334.69 Motion: To approve. (Kozlowski/Moran) 4:1 passes (Dentino nay) Warrant No. 12045TV in the amount of $82,179.34 Motion: To approve. (Kozlowski/Moran) 5:0 passes Warrant No. 12045PS in the amount of $4,421,976.92 Motion: To approve. (Kozlowski/Moran) 4:1 passes (Dentino nay) Warrant No. 12045SV in the amount of $455,357.28 Motion: To approve. (Kozlowski/Moran) 5:0 passes Board of Selectman meeting minutes of April 18, 2012 Motion: hold Board of Selectman meeting minutes of May 2, 2012 Motion: hold . Letter from Union St. resident regarding the increase of on street parking on Union St. Requests that the Board of Selectmen authorizes no parking on part of the street. Discussion: This has been an issue for Selectman Aptowitz for some time and would like to see parking banned on Union St. . Letter from William St. resident regarding turtle crossing signs. Mr. Ross stated he will have the DPW order some. . Letter from Balcom St. resident regarding budget being balanced without the input of the fincomm. Town Managers Report . Cate Springs well is up and fully functional. . The Fire Fighters Union ratified their contract yesterday. . The street seal coating program will be beginning soon. . Due to the mild winter the DPW has had some time to fix some of the town's catch basins that have been in disrepair. Board of Selectmen Minutes of May 9,2012 4 . Comments from public about the town hall being closed at noon on Friday. However, that policy has been in place for over 10 years and townhall is open on Wednesday evenings for residents that work during the day. · Looking for public comment on the strategic planning process which is posted on the website. . The North Common Gazebo is being delivered on Monday and will be installed soon. · New microphones and projector have been installed in the Board of Selectmen conference room. The majority of the costs was paid by Mansfield Cable Access and is already being utilized for trainings and meetings alike. . Chairman Kozlowski: Asked about the town/school possibilities of having everyone put on Softright. Mr. Ross stated that they have talked about and perhaps later in the year they can try it. Right now they are using a bridge software to share data. Congratulations to Selectman Dentino for election to his third term. . This Saturday the YMCA will be leading a set up day for the new Community Garden on Essex St. . Selectman Aptowitz: Yes, congratulations George. This is your 3rd term on the board and you put in a lot of time serving the town. Asked if we had sent Mr. Sarro's letter to town counsel and Mr. Ross has. . Selectman Annino: Wanted to make sure that past chairmen receive letters of appreciation for their service. Mr. Ross stated he will make sure it is done. This is a good board with different opinions. However when times get hard we need to work together. The fincomm issue is over now. Also, the Comcast Center license insurance agreement should have been done long before tonight. It is only 10 days before the first concert. He is also glad that the town is getting some more insurance proposals for town coverage. Mr. Ross stated that we won't have many as there are only 3 companies that even write municipal insurance. Chairman Kozlowski asked if we needed to do an RFP and Mr. Ross said no. Also looking for report from Dr. Mullen on the Strategic Plan. Mr. Ross stated it will be available soon and a summary will be in mailboxes tomorrow. Boord of Selectmen Minutes of May 9.2012 5 He would also like to schedule a walk downtown together, as a board, to review what is going on and might be needed. The pros and cons of doing the walk during the day or night were discussed but not decided, perhaps after summer schedule is set. Mr. Ross also stated that joint meetings for town/school staff will be scheduled soon. If you have any questions you want asked during the meeting let me know. Selectman Annino asked if they had considered moving the school and town staff in together but Mr. Ross stated that space is an issue. . Selectman Moran: Would like to start working on the downtown parking committee draft again. Congratulations to Mr. Dentino, Mr. Smith and Mr. Saquet on their successful elections. . Selectman Dentino: Thank you everyone for your support. Also thanks to Wayne Smith and Jim Perry from School Committee for all their hard work in town. One of the former fincomm members sent him a letter about no coming to the Board of Selectmen meeting. He wished that Jess would have called the members and invited them individually and given it the personal touch. He is also disheartened that the FinComm members did not want to come into a meeting and discuss what happened. And unfortunately the email and his reply were posted in the newspaper without the context of the discussion. Perhaps the former members did not come to the meeting as school committee was invited as well in the invitation. He further asked that the Board of Selectmen reconsider and extend another invite. However, Mr. Moran stated that he does not see the need as they have clearly indicated they are not interested as long as he, Jess and Bill were involved. Selectman Aptowitz stated that he felt the Board of Selectmen and the School Committee were supposed to working together so he included them in the email. He extended an appropriate email invitation as the chair and none of them replied. Selectman Dentino stated that perhaps the mention of the school committee hampered their acceptance. Having them invited was not the soft touch, the olive branch he though the Board of Selectmen was going for. Boord of Selectmen Minutes of May 9, 2012 6 Selectman Aptowitz further stated that there were 6 envelopes with resignations in his mail box the day after town meeting. The budget was passed by the majority of town meeting so the people spoke. A discussion further ensued about the intent of the invitation to the fincomm and if it was welcoming enough. Chairman Kozlowski stated what is done is done and we need to move on. The individuals in question are residents and are always welcome to a meeting or to speak with him. The fincomm does not need to be protected from the school committee so that should have no relevance on the matter. Adjournment Motion: Adjourn meeting at 9:07pm (Moran) 5:0 passes 'J;e<d# ~ ;1?t~ 23. 2012 Date of Approval Signature of Clerk Board of Selectmen Minutes of May 9. 2012 7