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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOS MINUTES 7-25-1979BOARD OF SELECTMEN /LIGHT COMMISSIONERS A G E N D A July 25, 1979 7:30 p.m. - Call to Order Warrant 7;45 p.m. Executive Session v Litigation against the Town /A 8:10 p.m. - Delta Projects, Inc. Thomas Wachtel] George Young - Re: Flag Service Article submitted by Paul Boyden Article for flag service - Selectman Mahana Minutes of July 18, 1979 Correspondence Town Manager's Report Board Reports PENDING - - - - - -- Traffic Lights at 106 & Franklin Traffic Lights at Rt. 140 & Forbes Blvd. Job Classifications (Sept. 1 deadline) Back Bay Brook Phase 3 Water Rates Foxboro Mall (traffic pattern) Sanitary Landfill Oak St. Culvert Railroad Station Parking Meeting tomorrow night in Brockton at the Holiday Inn Westgate Mall - MMWEC -7:30 p.m. Deadline for the closing of the warrant for the Special Town Meeting- August 13. BOARD OF SELECTMEN /LIGHT COMMISSIONERS Minutes of the Meeting July 25, 1979 Present: Selectman Lyman C. Avery, Frank Colella and Norman Mahana. Selectman Caponigro arrived late. Selectman Robert DeLong is on vacation. Town Manager William P. Metropulos not present. The meeting was called to order at 7:33 p.m. A warrant in the amount of $143,508.93 was noted. A motion to approve the warrant was made by Selectman Mahana, seconded by Selectman Colella. Voted 3 -0 Selectman Avery noted that Voucher 145 in the amount of $1668.18 is being held out for ques- tioning, this is a voucher for Project Spoke a school department expense, not a town expense. A Revenue Sharing warrant in the amount of $12,642.57 was noted for street improve- ments. This was approved on a motion by Selectman Mahana, seconded by Selectman Colella..Voted 3 -0. Chairman Avery noted that he would entertain a motion to go into Executive Session to discuss litigation against the Town. Motion made by Selectman Mahana, seconded by Selectman Colella. Roll call vote: Selectman Avery, yes; Colella, yes; and Mahana, yes. The Board will return to open session. (Executive minutes typed separately) Selectman Caponigro arrived during Executive Session. Back in open session at 8:00 p.m. The Board met with Kevin Murphy of New England ( Security due to an increase in the premium of the town's liability insurance. The amount budgeted was $42,725. the premium came in at $49,600. This increase Kevin noted is due in part to a 7% increase across the board in property values plus last year's rate structure was based on 10 months and not 12 months , that is basically the reason for the increase from last year. The Town Manager also had a memo on this in which he notes that he budgeted $48,195.00, however, during the budget process the amount was cut back to $42,725.00. A motion was then made by Selectman Mahana, seconded by Selectman Caponigro approving the amount of $6,341.00 from the reserve fund to pay the Town's insurance package. Voted 4 -0. Delta Projects, Inc. A meeting was held with the Board and a representative from Delta Projects, Inc. an organization looking to locate in Mansfield the purpose of housing and educating mentally retarded and mutli- handicapped adolescents, ages 13 to 21 on a short term basis. Representatives from the Department of Mental Health and residents from the area that this program may locate were also present represented by Attorney John R. Keach. (This transcript is prepared separately) The Delta Project discussion ended at 9:45 p.m. and the Board recessed until 9:55 p.m. After recess the Board met with former Town Manager George Young, to question why the flags on all the Commons are not being flown. Also in attendance was the Commander of the VFW and Commander of the American Legion. -1- BOARD OF SELECTMEN /LIGHT COMMISSIONERS Minutes .of the Meeting July 25, 1979 Page 2 Since July 1, 1979 the flags have not been flown on the Commons due to a cut back in the budget. The cost of purchasing and raising the flags each day .plus taking them down would necessitate about $1281.45 needed. Selectman Mahana made a motion to in6art an article in the Special on August 13, to raise $1281.45 for flag service, seconded by Selectman Colella. Voted 4 -0. Selectman Mahana noted that a similar request will be submitted to the FinCom to transfer this amount and if approved he will withdraw his article. Selectman Caponigro noted that he was not aware of this cut, that it had gone by him at budget meetings but feels that we should be able to get one of the town employees to do it. Selectman Avery noted that he feels the money should not have been cut and would not have voted for the transfer unless an article was submitted. Selectman Colella then made a motion that the flags be flown on all the Commons starting tomorrow morning and Jimmy Mel be instructed to do it. Seconded by Selectman Caponigro. Voted 4 -0. Selectman Mahana moved that the warrant for the Special Town Meeting be opened, seconded by Selectman Caponigro- Voted 4 -0. Two articles by petition were noted submitted by Paul Boyden for the Special Town Meeting on August 13, 1979• Both articles refer to a parcel of land contingous to "Old Colony Way ". A motion to submit these articles for the Special Town Meeting was made by Selectman Caponigro, seconded by Selectman Mahana. Voted 4 -0. An article sponsored by the Board of Selectmen was noted regarding Self -Help, Inc. and the Hartwell School. This article was approved for submission in the Special Town Meeting by Selectman Mahana, seconded by Selectman Caponigro. Voted 4 -0. A motion to close the warrant for the Special Town Meeting was made by Selectman Mahana, seconded by Selectman Caponigro. Voted 4 -0. The minutes of July 18, 1979 were noted. A motion to approve the minutes was made by Selectman Colellq,seconded by Selectman Caponigro. Voted 4 -0. Correspondence A letter was noted from Ron Montaquila relative to a meeting held last week on the subject of GASOHOL. The letter contains answers to some of the questions raised at that meeting. A memo from the Town Manager was noted regarding the "additional cruiser" for the police department. The memo outlines the exact cost of this cruiser, plus his reasons another one is needed. The Selectmen however, are opposed to this purchase. An application for a sewer connection permit was noted for Mary Connors, 6 Aspen St. This was approved on a motion by Selectman Caponigro, seconded by Selectman Colella. Voted 4 -0. l A street excavation permit from New England Telephone to do work on the corner of No Main St. and Park was approved on a motion by Selectman Caponigro, seconded by Selectman Colella. Voted 4 -0. This was also approved by the highway director. -2- I BOARD OF SELECTMEN /LIGHT COMMISSIONERS Minutes of the Meeting July 25, 1979 Page 3 A report from the police department was noted regarding disturbances at the local liquor establishments in the Town during the week. No disturbances were reported. Correspondence was noted from the Coalition for State Aid Equity a group of mayors and selectmezviho have been studying the State's local aid distribution formulas and have developed a new distribution formula called "The Growth Factor ". A note on the bottom of the page from the Town Manager indicated that he had spoke to an Albert D1Gregorio and would discuss this at the next meeting. Two house moving permits submitted by D.R. Betts, No. Attleboro were noted. One of the moves is from 375 West St. to across the street and from 365 West Street to So. Walnut Street. It was noted that a balance is still pending with the light department for two previous moves that D.R. Betts made and approval of these two recent permits was denied until payment is received on the back balances. Selectman Mahana also noted that West St/ is a senic road and the Planning Board should be notified to ensure that no tree cutting is done. A letter of resignation was noted from Robert Powers, resigning from the Finance Committee but requesting that he be allowed to remain on the Audit Advisory Committee until the Town's audit is complete. Selectman Caponigro moved that a letter be sent thanking Bob for his work serving on the FinCom and the Board appreciates his wanting to stay with the Audit Advisory Committee. Seconded by Selectman Colella. Voted 4 -0 A memo was noted from the Town Manager thanking all employees, department heads, boards and commissions for their conscientious efforts to do well and enable us to end FY79 with an unexpected balance of approximtely $44,000. in the "Operations and Maintenance "account. Copy of a letter was noted from Al Turinese addressed to Governor King on what the impact of the passage of the bottle bill would be to the Town of Mansfield. S.E. Mass. Health Planning and Development, Inc. requesting that the Selectmen vote for ten members for the Attleboro /Taunton Subarea Council. Selectman Caponigro moved to cast a. vote for P. Saunders as the Major Purchaser of Health Care and that Chairman Avery cast ballots for the other nine positions, seconded by Selectman Colella. Voted 4 -0. Copy of a letter was noted from the Town Manager addressed to Joseph DiRienzo advising him that it is illegal to place any signs upon public property and utility poles. Bills submitted by Town Counsel went before the Board for approval. These bills are the result of various court cases and total $1036.55• Approval of the bills was moved by Selectman Mahana- seconded by Selectman Caponigro. Voted 4-0. Copy of a letter was noted to Morse & Beggs from the Town Manager requesting a completion date on the Stephen F. Keach War Memorial and the West Mansfield Monument. Town Manager's Report The Town Manager informed the Board that the water table at our welts has dropped approximately 4' (from 12' to 8') and are not being replenished rapidly enough. He suggested that the Board place a mandatory water ban into effect immediately. -3- BOARD OF SELECTMEN /LIGHT COMMISSIONERS Minutes of the Meeting duir 25, 1979 Page 4 (' Selectman Mahana recommended placing a ban on the watering of lawns and the washing of cars until such time that our wells are replenished, seconded by Selectman Caponigro. Voted 4 -0. The Town Manager also reported that Robert Bellavance has completed a course in a Pilot I.V. Module program and is now certifed to administer I.V.'s when necessary. This is done only when in direct contact with a doctor. The 106 /Franklin St. traffic signal has been energized and is presently on "blinker" As soon as all necessary signs and other markings are complete the state DPW will authorize it's regular program. The police department has received a new radar unit at a cost of $950.00, 100% reimbursed by the State under the safety grants program. This purchase was the result of closely monitoring the expenditures in the police expense account. Board Reports Selectman Caponigro noted that he would like the Town Manager to get in touch with someone from the telephone company and see what can be done about having some land- scaping done around the new switch house control box on West St.near the Town Hall. Selectman Mahana noted that he has received complaints from people living on Oak St. near a very dangerous curve, this particular caller said that someone came up over his lawn, did a u -turn and took off again. This area has quite a population of children, about 15 just in this immediate area. This caller noted that he is going to take things into his own hands and build a barrier on his lawn. Select- man Mahana noted that he would like to have the Town Manager and highway director take a look at the spot and possbily have some type of a guardrail erected. End of Board Reports Cal Vizedom, 70 NO. Main Street, asked the Board if he could have a few minutes of their time to discuss a problem across from his house. Mr. Vizedom noted that young people are congregating on the wall in front of Selectman DeLong's house, --t. He noted tonigW there were about sixteen young people sitting on the waii anu ne called the police, it took two police cruisers to move them. Cal noted that according to the police they have permission from SElectman DeLong to sit there. Selectman Avery noted that he should come back when Selectman DeLong is present and that he intends to speak to the police and Selectman DeLong about this. There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 10:55 p.m. -4- BOARD OF SELECTMEN Minutes of the Meeting July 25, 1979 l Delta Projects, Inc. (Transcript) Selectman Avery opened the hearing at 8:10 p.m. and noted that contrary to what he has heard around town the Board has not made any commitments one way or another regarding this program and that this meeting tonightis an attempt by the Board to find out what is going on relative to this program and also to hear from the other side (opposition) Town Counsel Charles Mulcahy noted that he is not familar as to what the Delta proposal is and there are certain subjects and operations exempt from zoning by-laws and ordinances under Chapter 40A Section 3. Facilites used for educational purposes under this chapter involving the process of developing and training of mentally ill are exempt. An 'occupancy permit" is also requiredby the building inspector who determines after inspection of the facility that this facility will be used for a specific purpose and the number of people to be housed in this facility. Town Counsel noted that he would like more information on the exact purpose of Delta Projects, Inc. Thom Wachtel], Executive Director of Delta Projects, Inc. introduced himself and also introduced Ed Sliney, Program Director for the program that they are under contract with, with the Dept. of Mental Health and John Zareki, Project Coordinator with the Dept. of Mental Health and Ann Crary, the Director for mental retardation programs in the greater Attleboro area for the Dept. of Mental Health and Mansfield is one of the towns in the greater Attleboro area. Mr. Wachtel) noted that Delta Projects, Inc. has a contract with the Dept.of Mental Health and are interested in establishing a program. The Dept. of Mental Health contracts with private non - profit organizations to develop programs for the mentally retarded, these are community programs serving various kinds of needs that the mentally retarded people in the state may have and the regional office of the Dept. of Mental Health is contracting with Delta Projects to establish a short term community residency program for adolescents age 13-21 years of age. These would be adolescents presently living in their homes, who because of a particular need whether it be a crisis in the family, a family emergency, a skill problem that the family might be having with the youngster or a problem dealing with a certain type of behavior that the child might be having is in need of a short term stay outside of the home. Delta Projects, Inc. will be providing intensive training and skill development for that youngster, also providing training for the family as well. When the child returns back to the home which would be a period of a maximum of 30 days, the family will be able to better work with that youngster in whatever the problem is. The program will also be serving children whose families may be in crisis, such as a sudden death in the family or an emergency situation where the mother has to go into the hospital and because the youngster is severely retarded it is difficult to find service for babysitting or a family member who is trained in working with a severely retarded youngster. Those are the two major focuses and purposes of the program, for multi- retarded children ages 13 -21 The program is going to be very highly staffed. The program is designed to serve between four to six asolescents at anyone particular point of time and the program ( is staffed so that there will be at least two trained program managers and a counselor in the program at all times for supervision and training with the youngster in addition to the program director who will be at the site most of the time and a position called "prime coordinator" that person will be working with the families and school teachers of many of these youngsters. Page 2 Delta Projects, Inc. July 25, 1979 Supervision of the program is very important because one of the major ingredients of the program is to improve this youngsters skills or goals to remain at home so that he does not have to be institutionalized. The program will serve the entire Region 5 of the Dept. of Mental Health which includes the Town of Manfield and Attleboro area. It will also serve children who may be muli- handicapped being that they are physically handicapped as well as mentally retarded. They may need wheelchair assistance, therefore, they need special supervision and special kind of instructions inside the house, bathrooms have to be designed on ground floor levels to service multi- handicapped, that is why a program like this is necessary because relatives of handicapped are not usually set up with facilites like these in their homes. Skills these children may be having difficulty with and that this program will work on would be teaching them to feed themselves, dress them- selves and also some of the children may be having a behavior problem that the parents are having difficulty with }which requires highly structured help in helping the parents to deal with a mentallyretarded child. Because this child is slower intellectually and does not have the intellectual capacities that a normal child may have there are special kinds of techniques and skills that they will hopefully and successfully be able to use in their program and train parents so that child can learn these skills and live for a long period of time in his own home. Mr. Wachtel] noted that is basically the program design and purpose of the program, as far as where they stand right now, as far as the Town of Mansfield is concerned he thought that what he might do first is ask John Zareki, who is the Dept. of Mental Health, regional representative just briefly explain what these kinds of services are and why we have been asked by the Dept. of Mental Health to look into the Mansfield area to establish the program. Mr. Zareki, noted that the Dept. of Mental Health did a this area last Spring as to what services were needed for parents of children Who are mentally retarded or handicapped living at home to help them so that they will be able to keep their mentally retarded son or daughter. They checked to see where people were going and what kind of services they were looking for and one of the things that we saw that people needed was "emergency services" emergency and temporary shelter services for the severely handicapped. So we decided that this was an important need, that these were people that would end up not living at home if continued over a long period of time. Sometimes parents get very frustrated in a crisis problem and the child will have to go to an institution so we decided to try and see if we could set up a program, a small program at first, to see if they could help the parents of children mentally retarded or handicapped to better deal with them. In order to do this, a notice has to be put in the paper saying that they (Dept. of Mental Health) would like to have such and such a program developed and they have so much money available to develop this program, describe the kind of things that Thom daid and who they would like to have it serve and in what way. They received responses from a number of different agencies and the reason that they selected Delta Projects, Inc. is becuase it had a history of doing very well in this kind of program, sort of short-term, highly structured program for severely handicapped children and adolescents. That is how they got involved in coming into this region. The other part of it is, why the Attleboro area was chosen? The Attleboro area was chosen because of a couple of reasons. Attleboro has done a very good job of finding respite providers and managing respite services in homes. In fact there are a number of providers living in Mansfield right now, -2- BOARD OF SELECTMEN Page 3 July 25, 9179 Delta Projects, Inc. The other reason is that there are a number of different programs in the area that the Dept. of Mental Health sponsors which are regional in scope, which means that they are located in one place but they serve people from other towns. Taunton and Brockton have programs sponsored by the Dept. of Mental Health which except referrals from other towns but there are none in this specific area. So, Mansfield and North Attleboro were the areas singled out for this type of program, because they do not have a lot of community residents in it at this point in time. Thom noted that at this time he would like to explain the status of the program at this point in time. They have been looking at sites. There intentions are that they are not going to be buying the house itself, there is a gentleman who is from the Town of Mansfield who is interested in purchasing a house that we will hopefully lease from him for the purpose of the program. The way their contract is written with the Dept. of Mental Health, they are not allowed to use the money that they receive to actually pay a mortgage payment themselves plus they are a non - profit agency who runs programs and does not have a lot of capital to be able to buy property and things of that nature. Mr. Wachtel] noted that they have looked at several different houses and have at this point not made any commitment nor made any offer on any houses. When the letter was sent from us to Selectman Avery and Mr. Metropulos a couple of weeks ago we indicated at that point that we had not found any particular location . a couple of weeks ago we called Mr. Metropulos and told him that there were a couple of houses that we looked at and had some interest in and asked Mr. Metropulos what he thought about the houses, about the community, etc. Nothing in fact has happen on these houses and in fact ;they are not really looking at these houses any longer, and These were reportedly mentioned at the Selectmen's meeting a few weeks ago. Selectman Avery noted that he wanted to comment on what Mr. Wachtel] said in regards to the fact that he did state that he sent a letter him him and the Town Manager and that the Board instructed the Town Manager to send a letter to him, that if Delta Projects, Inc. was going to be involved in a particular property or several properties that it would behoove them to discuss this possibility with the neighbors in that area and soforth. Mr. Wachtell noted that this was correct. Selectman Avery noted that he had a couple of questions: 1. We have PACE in Mansfield. and asked Mr. Wachtell to give the distinction between PACE and Delta Projects, Inc.? Mr. Wachtell noted that first of all they are two different cooperations. The way in which the PACE program operates and the way in which ,the.program that we are hope- fully going to be operating soon is funded the same waVthey have a contract with the Dept. of Mental Health as well as we have °a contract with the Dept. of Mental Health, Their program is geared as a long term group home,for mentally retarded adults, our program is a more short term program for mentally retarded adolescents, that is basi- cally the difference. The other difference is because our program is short -term in nature and specifically geared towards very intensive training, it is more highly staffed and this is not a criticism of the PACE program it is just the design of the program. Selectman Avery noted to Mr. Wachtell that you refer to short -term and asked Mr. Wachtell to zero in on what "short -term " is. Mr. Wachtell noted that short -term would be a maximum of 30 days Mr. Wachtell noted the reason that particular figure has been chosen because of a program in Cambridge by Delta Projects for approximately five years for young children ages 3 to 13 and that program is primarily an intensive training program and short -term care program for the younger population and provides some of the same services that this program will provide for the younger population. -3- BOARD OF SELECTMEN Page. 4 July 25, 1979 Delta Projects, Inc. Mr. Wachtel] noted that he has found this 30 days to be a successul length of time to provide this kind of short -term care to be able to work with the youngster and to be able to work with the family, provide relief to the family to intercede if there is a crisis or emergency in the home and the need for the child to be out of the house and it is a successful and appropriate length of time and this is where the 30 day figure came from. Some of the children might not be there for 30 days but that would be the normal length of stay for the program, it would not be longer than 30 days. Selectman Avery noted that he had two other questions, and this one might be sort of a brutalize question, but in talking about a maximum of 30 days, are we talking about "glorified babysitting ". Mr. Wachtell noted, not at all, Selectman Avery asked what the program hoped to accomplish in that 30 days. Mr. Wachtel] noted that 1. in a crisis situation where the child has to be out of the house, where the family has an emergency, the mother has gone into the hospital and the child needs someplace to stay, that is one purpose of the program. 2. the other major focus that they hope to work on, is assessing what that child's ability and skills are in that 30 day period and begin to work with that and then most importantly with the parents, so that when the youngster leaves they can begin to perhaps work on some of those skills and problems in the home. Again, this is based upon a model Mr. Wachtell noted that has proven to be very successful in their Delta Home in Cambridge where they don't necessarily completely change a child's skills or increase a child's skills or change a child's behavior in that program but they make a very good start and are able to work with the families and are able to continue to become more effective teachers with their children. Mr. Wachtel] noted that the question of babysitting was a very good question and they don't want it to be a babysitting service, that can be very dangerous, to set up a babysitting service which is not providing any kind of help to the youngster because the child may well regress if he is not getting the supportive services of the program. Selectman Avery noted that he had one other question. Selectman Avery noted to Mr. Wachtell that he referred to mentally retarded but he also referred to multi - handicapped. Are we talking about physical or mental handicapped. Mr. Wachtel] noted that the way that the state and the way that the profession defines multi - handicap, is someone who is mentally retarded plus a physical handicap, not someone who is emotionally disturbed and physically handicapped or who has a drug problem with a physical handicap. Selectman Caponigro asked if juvenile deliquents would be involved and Mr. Wachtel] noted "no" that there has to be a primary diagnosis of mental retardation. Select- man Caponigro asked, other than Cambridge where else they had a program. Mr. Wachtell noted that they have another program which is different than the Cambridge one in Concord. This program is more of a long -term program for older adolescents and adults and is not the same type of program. Mr. Wachtell noted that they had been asked by the Dept. of Mental Health to start a program for older adults and young adolescents who primarily !lived in institutions because they are severly handicapped, severly retarded and have severe skill problems and would not be able to fit into the traditional group resident program. This is a different kind of program, serving a different kind of population for a different purpose more of a long-term program. Selectman Caponigro asked, why Mansfield? Mr. Zareki noted currently there ar.e.four -4- BOARD OF SELECTMEN Julp 25i 1979 NP5 Delta Projects, Inc, towns in the Attleboro area, presently there is one house in Mansfield run by PACE, in Norton there are 3 apartments for mentally retarded adults, then there are two homes for mentally ill adults in No. Attleboro and one house for mentallyill adults in Attleboro and seven apartments for mentall;yretarded citizens. So one of the reasons is that there is only one in Mansfield but No. Attleboro is also suggested as a possible site. Region 5 is cities and towns from Attleboro to Plymouth and from Fall River to the Cape. Selectman Mahana asked Mr. Zareki how many of these programs are in the Rehoboth area, a nice wide open area. Selectman Mahana wanted to know why an area that is highly dense in population to locate. Mr. Zareki noted that he does not think that was a consideration, density in population. Mr. Wachtell noted that one of the reasons for the Attleboro area is the good strong support services in this area.. The mental health system and respite care system in the area is a very stong system and would help in delivery of services for them as well as they would be able to provide some of their training if needed and they have talked about this with other programs in the Attlboro area. Selectman Mahana asked what he meant when he said supportive services. Mr. Wachtell noted that hospitals, mental health facilites in the area, the excellent respite care services in the area which is very important in helping to arrive at a successful program. Selectman Mahana noted that one of the things that bother him is the age group. The 13-21 age group would be dealing with teenagers and wanted to know who determines the mental stability and instability of these youngsters and couldn't a trouble maker be determined mentally ill? Mr. Wachtell noted that they might be determined mentally Ill but not mentally retarded. Mental retardation is not someone in trouble with the law, clients are provided by the Dept. of Mental Health . The program is speci- fically designed for children living at home who will be returning to the home. What they hope to do is assess what skills and capabilites that youngster hasd begin to work on some of those areas with the kinds of techniques and training and educa- tional techniques they have used successfully in other programs and to work with the family so that when they go back home they can continue to work with those youngsters. The learning process for a mentally retarded youngster is very slow much slower than that of a normally intelligent child and they try and give the parents new techniques and also remember the fact that we also try and give relief in cases where families need their child out of the home because they have other place to leave that youngster. Mr. Wachtell noted that the program will work with between 4 & 6 youngsters, 6 would be the absolute maximum at anyone time. There will be at least 2 staff persons at all times a total of 9 staff people direct -care staff people who will be responsible for the program at all times and at varying times of the day, the staffing pattern will be 3 or 4. Selectman Colella brought up the area being considered and why they picked such a congested area. Mr. Wachtell noted that they are not looking at any specific site, just looking for an appropriate site that will provide a normal type of setting for the children. If the sites in question were being considered the people in that area would be contacted prior to leasing. John Keach, Attorney representing a number of the people here tonight asked to speak. Attorney noted that he is representing a number of people from the area surrounding 625 No. Main St. and noted that they are opposed to this project . It is a small community, congested area and a tighly knit community with a population of small children, 18 of which are under ten years of age with a bus stop in the immediate area. What we are dealing with is a big unknown and recognizes that we are dealing with mentally retarded youngsters taken from a crisis situation which most of us -5- BOARD OF SELECTMEN July 25, 1979 Page 6 Delta Projects, Inc. consider to be a behaviorable situation for some period of time which I gather in the Concord complex run by these same people or by an affiliated organization runs up to four years in time for institutional or custodial care or whatever one may call it. Some of the problems that the people are afraid of are a decrease in property value, not so sure that they won't be getting court referrals into this program and turning a piece of property into a multi family usage. They are also worried about drugs, disturbed children who are frequently in trouble. They have no assurance that these type of problems will not filter into the community and also one other thing that bothers them is that this type of organization could have come into this community in the dark of night in all probability and not let any of us know, and that's been done and Attorney Keach feels that this organization has been very kind to us, but that doesn't mean that we have to like what's going to happen. They don't want it and have a petition for whatever value that may be from those people in the area of 625 No. Main Street, it contains 56 people who signed it and he thinks that the point raised by the Selectmen is one that he would like to think would be an alternative to the organization and that would be to arrange themselves in a less densely populated area where there is not so much con- tact with what we would have to call sad to say "normal children" who have difficulty enough growing up. We are not anti - humanitarians, we are not people who want to ignore people who are "emotional disturbed" or retarded or physically handicapped forget about them and put them in an attic. The question of whether or not they ought to be forced upon us in our own neighborhood, where we have very little control over our destiny, no answers as to what's going to happen and he does not think that *:. Wachtel] or the Board of Selectmen can tell them what is going to be the long- term or short -term affect on the neighborhood. This is a big intrusion on a very fine benefical part of the community for the Town of Mansfield. We just don't want it. We have a lot of questions that we would like to ask and he doesn't want to kid these people by telling them that we are favoring it, if we are just asking to find out whether or not we are in favor of it because we certainly are not. Atty. Keach: Are you an educational cooperation? Mr. Wachtell: We are a non - profit charitable cooperation. Non - profit tax - exempt charitable organizaion. Atty. Keach: Under the General Laws Chapter 40A-Section 3, which allows non - profit entities into the community and not be subject to zoning requirements, for education. Atty. Keach: Are you a non - profit educational organization? Mr. Wachtel]: I do not want to get into that only because I am not interest in sneaking in where somebody doesn't want me but to clarify that, the ruling of the courts has been that if the program is of educational use, not the cooperation having an educated - - - -we are not establishing ourselves as an educated cooperation and running a formal school, we run programs that do training and education and they are of educational use, that's how community residences have used this state law. Atty. Keach: Will you at any time accept for custodial care those that are emotional disturbed, those who have drug related problems, court referrals. Mr. Wachtell: We have no relation whatsoever with the courts. Referrals come solely from the Dept. of Mental Health. Attorney Keach questioned the cost of operating a program like this per day. Mr. Wachtell noted that he cannot give a per day cost but the total budget for the year is $159,000. Mr. Wachtell noted that he will mail a copy of the charter as well as a copy of the Board of Directors of his non - profit cooperation to the Selectmen. There is no one from the Town of Mansfield who is a member of the Board of Directors but one of the things that they are planning to do is to establish a local advisory board to the program and this would be their community link for the operation of the p ro0 ram. -6- BOARD OF SELECTMEN July 25, 1979 Page 7 Delta Projects, Inc, Attorney Keach noted that above from somewhere it has been determined that we need another program and perhaps we ought to consider locating it in Mansfield. Speaking from the people in the area of 625 No. Main St. he would like to re- commend to Mr. Wachtel] that he try another area, Dighton, Berkeley, Freetown, Swansea, Somerset, Rehoboth, Seekonk or maybe some agricultural zone which would allow for a reasonable development. These children by the way are only going to be here for a short period of time, they are not involving children within the community: Mr. Wachtel] noted that many of them may come from homes within Mansfield. Attorney Keach wanted to point out to the people that this program is not just for children in the Mansfield area, they may come from Taunton, Middleboro, Attleboro, So. Attleboro, shipped in for indefinite periods, not that these people shouldn't get care if it is available or needed. People here tonight continued Attorney Keach are not here tonight to say, don't confuse it with the fact that we are opposed to it, there is a great amount of community effort in this area and inquiry to the point that they felt they should hire an attorney because they felt they were being stepped on. Attorney Keach noted that he wanted to thank the Board for bringing this into a public format and also thank representatives from Delta Project, Inc. even though we are opposed but giving them a chance to let their objection be known rather than coming in, in the dark of night. Alice Brassard who noted that she lived in the area of 625 No. Main St. has heard many rumors for two weeks and she refused to listen , refused to make up her mind until she came and heard for herself. She heard about ex- convicts, drug abusers, sex offenders etc. and she is glad that she waited to hear what Mr. Wachtell had to say, and now she has made up her mind . She feels that it is a good program obviously not one person in this area has a child who needs this kind of help or they would know that they belong in the neighborhood in a normal setting only beneficial to themselves. If they can't be home for a short period of time then they should be placed in the same type of situation that they came from and she noted that she would like to make a statement about disruptive children, a lot of times the dis- rumption is due to the parents themselves not being able to handle the child and Mansfield has not done it's share in this type of program. A lot of people say "why Mansfield" why not, there is no reason to say that this program should be in somebody elses neighborhood, it's hypocriticaland prejudice. Everybody deserves the same chance as long as they haven't violated another person's rights, there is nothing wrong with these people they just need a little more love and affection and she thinks that everyone of them has a right tube helped with that love and affection. This is not a problem, this is a solution and we' ught to help. Bob Shaw of Central St. questioned the qualifications of the staff to be involved in the project. Ed Sliney noted that he has personally worked with mentally retarded children and adults for 7 years, 4 years in a large state institution as a teacher and director for behavior problem children and the last 2 years he has worked as a pyschologist with behavior assorted children who are disruptive and have had problems. His educational background is from St. Anselm's College; Manchester, N.H. and the' University of Massachusetts'in Boston with a degree in psychology. Mr. Wachtel] noted that his background is: a Bachelor's degree from the City College in New York in psychology, a Master's degree in Rehabilitation from Northeastern University and he is presently completing a Doctorate in Applied Sociology at Boston University. -7- BOARD OF SELECTMEN July 25= 1979 Page 8 Delta Projects, Inc. Questions from various residents in the audience from the area of 625 No. Main St. were based on answers that had already been answered by Mr. Wachtell and agS.bcYates that were present tonight. Such as, type of program, length of stay, what the program hoped to accomplish and the term "glorified babysitting program ". Mr. Wachtell was asked how long they intended to lease the certain property and he noted that he hoped to take out a 9 -year lease, hopefully longer. Joanne Wood asked what the excellent respite care services there are available to the community, what it is and how it is utilized. Mr. Wachtell noted that the respite care services that are already in service in the Attleboroarea would be better explained by Ann Crary from the Dept. of Mental Health. Ms. Crary noted that presently the Attleboro Association of Retarded Children has a contract with the Dept. of Mental Health to provide respite services for mentally retarded children and adults, and if somebody is in need of services from the respite contract they contact the Attleboro association and services can be worked out. Mr. Wachtell noted that the severity of handicapped is different, the homes that Ms. Crary was talking about cannot serve a more severely handicapped population especially a handicapped population that may be more physically handicapped as well because they don't have the space available physically to handle this. Joanne Wood said she still does not know what respite care is, what is provided in this community to make this area an attractive site. Mr. Wachtell noted that respite care services is something which fairly new, 4 or 5 years old. Delta House in Cambridge is probably the first respite.care service in the state for mentally retarded children. Essentially the purpose of respite care service as they define it, is people wanting to provide a relief situation for families because it has been extremely stressful to bring up normal kids „ it's twice as stressful to bring up mentally retarded children. In order to maintain mentally retarded children in the community so that they don't have to be placed in institutions. The concept of respite care services has been successfully developed to provide families with relief and providing them with training and specific skill areas that they are having problems in. The program that Ms. Crary just described is a program where families in their own homes provide respite care to mentally retarded individuals. The question of Chapter 766 was brought up that is now in process in the school system. This is a different type of program funded through formal education programs. Diane Mangiratti, a school teacher noted that the adolescents being described tonight may be too severly handicapped to go to school, the ones that are she can attest are to be praised. The school in which she teaches has some of the less severely retarded attending, who bake muffins in the morning that they sell to the teachers, they are very well behaved, polite and as a matter of fact better behaved than the children that she has to teach all day. Mr. Wachtell noted that the contract with the Dept. of Mental Health is a yearly con- tract and at anytime can be voided if the program does not follow the guidelines of the Dept. of Mental Health in the specific purposes that this program was set up for, which answered many of the questions relative to whether or not once this program got off the ground could other types of people be brought in, alcoholics, drug abusers, etc, It was also noted that the building inspector of the Town would have to issue an occupancy permit staH(ng the number of occupants and what the building is to be used for. So, anytime that this type of program has a change in the number of occupants or it's use it will -then again have to be inspected by the building inspector End of Hearing- 9;45 p.m. i