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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOS MINUTES 1-19-1977BOARD OF SELECTMEN A G E N D A January 19, 1977 • 7 :30 p.m. - Call to Order, Approval of Warrant Minutes of the Previous Meetings (Jan. 12 & 17) Clerk's Folder - No new business Correspondence • 8 :00 p.m. - Mr. and Mrs. Pearl, Ware Street, re Neighborhood Disturbance • 8:15 p.m. - West Street Layout • Town Manager's Report • Board Reports ( Budget Review - Police Department Budget ) BOARD OF SELECTMEN Minutes of the Meeting January 19, 1977 Present: Selectmen DeLong, Caponigro, Colella, and Titus. Selectman Clemmey joined the meeting in progress. Also present, Town Manager Dennis Hannon. Meeting opened at 7:40 p.m. Selectman Caponigro was made Acting Clerk. Warrant: $374,701.80 - Motion to approve by Selectman DeLong, seconded by • Selectman Caponigro, voted 4 -0. Minutes of January 12 Selectmen's meeting: motion to approve by Selectman • Caponigro, seconded by Selectman DeLong, voted 4 -0: Minutes of January 17 Light Commissioners' meeting: motion to approve by • Selectman Caponigro, seconded by Selectman DeLong, voted 4-0. Correspondence: Memo from Town Planning Director regarding articles for 1977 Annual Town Meeting for the proposed sewage treatment plant. Letter from the Acting Fire Chief that Thomas Leonard has been appointed as the Acting Deputy Fire Chief, effective January 21. Notice of Complaint of Prohibited Practice hearing (Firefighters) at the Labor Relations Commission, Boston. Letter from Town Counsel regarding the Municipal Building Committee. Copy of the letter of commendation to the Highway Division from the Board for efforts in snow removal. Copy of the town's letter to the State DPW about keeping the intersection of Route 140 /School /and West Streets clear during snow removal. Copy of the town's letter to the rubbish collection contractor. Letter from Carla Schrage regarding termination of rail service for commu- ters to Boston. Request from Chief D'Afile regarding the parking limit on Thomas Street, requesting thea one -hour limit be changed to 2 hours to help the merchants. (Vote taken later in meeting.) Correspondence from SRPEDD regarding the A95 review process. Letter from PM Club advising of upcoming project. ( Application from Frederick Cornford for Airport Commission. Letter from Town Counsel James Grady asking whether the Board of Selectmen approves of a request from the Town's Conservation Commission to examine the ( %< Motions passed.) -1- BOARD OF SELECTMEN Minutes of the Meeting January 19, 1977 Page 2 title of land owned by the Town Of Mansfield and Norman A. Gray on the Rumford River Estates Plan. The Town Manager noted that this was an un- usual and expensive request, and that he would seek clarification from the Conservation Commission. Notice of decisions from the Board of Appeals. Letter from the Water Resources Commission regarding Foxboro's plans for sewage treatment. Letter from the Executive Office of Communities and Development re County Budgets. Report of Sewage Treatment Plant flows for `1976. Letter from Attorney John P. Curran, that Twin Oaks Village was under new ownership as of January 12, 1977. The Town Manager noted that a $15,000 security deposit has been received. Invitation from Trinity Baptist Church to the Installation service for the new pastOr. Service will be a the East Mansfield church on January 28 at 7 p.m. Two Board members will attend. Annual Report from Bristol County Mosquito Control. * it .. Residents of Ware Street met with the Board to discuss a neighborhood disturbance. Chief N. Lawrence D'Afile present for disscussion. Clifford Pearl, 446 Ware Street, told the Board that this was not the first incident; that there have been several minor and 3 - 4 major incidents. He said that the parties have made this a nuisance situation, and he was con- cerned about the fire equipment and police having to be all at the one loca- tion, leaving other areas unprotected. He noted that the fire department was called out on false alarms and the vehicles could not get through be- cause of the parked cars from the party. He also said that the police were called in from Norton, Foxboro, Easton, State Police and other towns. He said that the neighbors have been putting up with these parties for the past few months. Children in the neighborhood were woken up by the noise from the parties. About 18 children under 10 years of age live in the area. He said that the people from house #200 - 800 were directly affected by the noise, and that some people from Branch Street also were bothered. He asked what could be done about this to correct it. Raymond Goddard, 496 Ware Street, said that his family was frightened, and that he has told the Selectmen about this situation before. "Butch" Gormley 486 Ware Street, told the street from the house in question. partment does not have the manpower. -2- the Board that he lives right across He said that he knows the Police De- He told the Board that he has not had BOARD OF SELECTMEN Minutes of the Meeting January 19, 1977 Page 3 a full night's sleep in 8 months. He noted that the Police Department does respond, but cannot spend the entire night there. George ar Goddd 377 North Main Street, said that he was at a family gather - ing on are treet last atur ay evening. He said that he was there when the calls were made to the Police and also there when they (Police) arrived. He said that he was there for a while because the car was blocked. Allan Willis, 495 Ware Street, said that everything said was true. He said the neighbors want to hear what kind of action is planned for this. He said that the Police do the best they can, but it took 2 hours to get enough men down there. He said that the ambulance may get stuck there the next time be- cause of °the:traffic being blocked. He said that they wanted a definite an- swer - that they wanted no more parties in that house, and would do whatever legally possible to stop the parties. "Butch" Gormley said that he wanted to reemphasize that he lives with this every night. Allan Willis said that he had been awoken at 5 a.m., that the noise starts again as soon as the police leave. I Elena Goddard read a note from Edna Morse of 253 Branch Street, relating how she has been bothered by people driving into her driveway looking for the parties. Beatrice Thayer, 57 Charles Street, discussed voting more money for the Police Department to increase the manpower. Clifford Pearl said that he was not criticizing the Police Department. Unidentified resident discussed having someone down there of rank that can direct people from out of town, and noted that the Police have a rough job. Clifford Pearl .said that on Saturday night, only 3 men were on duty from the Mansfield Police Department. Town Manager Hannon said that the Chief should give the legal background on the problem. Chief D'Afile said that there is no way to stop a party in one's home if they are not disturbing the peace. He said the first report of this disturbance was noted on the log as coming in at 12:05 - that cars were blocking the road. When the officer arrived, there was no noise. At 12:55 several calls were re- ceived - 2 Mansfield officers went down to the area and spoke to the persons in charge of the party, who advised the officers that they would take care of things. He said that another call came in at 3 a.m., and then 2 cruisers from ( Norton, 3 from Foxboro, 1 from Easton, 3 State Police, 1 from Plainville, the "paddy wagon" from North Attleboro, 2 cruisers from Attleboro - a total of 26 officers, were dispatched. He said that false alarms were rung in, but it could not be proved who had done this. Chief D'Afile said that he spoke with the owner of the home, who said that he rented this to 3 -4 people, and that no -3- BOARD OF SELECTMEN Minutes Of the Meeting January 19, 1977 Page 4 parties were supposed to take place. The Chief noted that about 80 -100 people were at the party on Saturday night, and that the neighbors had plenty of reason to be upset. He:s6id.that' cars` %blocked the roadway. He said that the people who are renting the house contacted the owner and gave their notice to leave by February, and that 'there would be no more parties from now on. Chairman Colella asked what the Board could do to answer the people. Chief D'Afile reiterated that nothing could be done if the party was in- side the house. The only time the police can act is when there is a disturbance and the officer is present. He said that the law and supreme court decisions on civil rights required that the officer must be present to see the crime being committed. He said that if there were another party, one course of action would be to place a couple of men at the location to see that nothing happened. Another action might be to tow cars that are blocking the road. He said that the men could be placed there provided that they did not violate anyone's constitutional rights. Selectman DeLong questioned who was in charge of the officers at the scene. The Chief answered that the officer at the desk coordinates this, and that the senior Mansfield officer at the scene is in charge. He also noted that Mutual Aid between towns does not cost the Town of Mansfield anything unless the men from the other towns were in for over 8 hours. Raymond Goddard said that the cost of the protection for the other people in the towns where the police came from was what bothered him. He said that he called Selectman DeLong at 11:35 p.m. and then called Sgt. Jones. He said that it was almost 2 hours before the other Police arrived. Chief D'Afile noted that the officer in charge at the scene called the desk at 1:35 and advised that the situation was out of hand; mutual aid was then put into effect. The Town Manager noted that the other possible charges were checked out, and there seemed to be nothing that the people in charge of the location could be charged with at the present time. He said that people from the party were arrested and charged with disturbing the peace and public intoxication. Clifford Pearl asked if the number of people living under one roof would not constitute a zoning violation. The Town Manager said that he did not think it did. He also discussed the Board of Health regulations. He said that he did not know what the State building code said, but that this would be checked with Bert Cook. ( Selectman Caponigro asked if there were any laws that the Board of Selectmen or the Police Chief could act under to declare emergency parking on Ware St. Chief D'Afile noted that under the bylaws, the police chief can evoke a ban on parking. -4- / BOARD OF SELECTMEN Minutes Of the Meeting January 19, 1977 Page 5 Selectman Caponigro suggested that some sort of charges be brought, even if a court would not uphold it. Selectman Titus said that the people in this neighborhood should not have to put up with this. He said that this situation started last year, and that there must be a way to stop this. He discussed the number of cars parking there, and said that the Board should "declare an all out war" to find a way to get the people out of the house. He asked if there were any way to condemn the building. Chairman Colella said that he wanted to declare this an emergency area so that cars could not park on the street until further notice. Chief D'Afile said that it might be possible to put "no parking" signs on both sides of the street for emergency snow removal purposes. Selectman DeLong asked if this would bother any of the neighbors. Several replied that they would not be bothered by this as everyone else has off - street parking. There was discussion of how far down Ware the proposed parking ban should go. Most of the residents agreed that from Branch to Short Street would prevent problems, the house numbers from 442 - 600. Raymond Goddard what would happen to the people found parking there - could they be arrested? Chief D'Afile said that they could not be arrested, but that the cars could be towed. Selectman DeLong suggested that Town Counsel Grady be asked to attend next week's meeting to discuss possible further action. He said that there may be enough grounds to go to court on. Selectman Titus recommended that the Building Inspector also be present for the meeting. Another resident asked what could be done if someone were urinating on their front lawn. Chief D'Afile said that as long as the person were not overex- posing themselves, nothing could be done. Allan Willis asked that if this were to happen again, that there be definite, immediate action. x x Selectman Clemmey arrived at 9 p.m. The Board then discussed the West Street layout with Town Highway Division Engineer Ron Dubuc and Engineer Ralph Maloon and DPW Director Tom Bonome. The Board reviewed plans for West Street from the North Attleboro town line to the intersection of West /Tremont /Grove Streets. is BOARD OF SELECTMEN ( Minutes Of the Meeting January 19, 1977 Page 6 The Board also discussed having a preliminary hearing regarding the West Street proposal. North Main Street parking regulations were again discussed. Selectman Caponigro moved to change the parking limit on the west side of North Main Street from Crocker Street northerly for 253 feet to be 2 hour parking * from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Seconded by Selectman DeLong, voted 4 -0 (Selectman Titus out of.the room.)* *VOTE RESCINDED AT THE JAN. 26, 1977, MEETING. The regulations for the east side of North Main Street were discussed. Selectman DeLong moved that the "east branch" of North Main Street, from Crocker Street to Kingman Avenue, be changed to 2 hour parking from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. Seconded by Selectman Caponigro. Discussion: the Board discussed the affect on the businesses in the area, and decided to table this until next week and get some input from the merchants affected. The motion and the second were withdrawn. i•C is iC Thomas Street parking regulations were discussed. A memo from Chief D'Afile was read asking that the Board consider a change to make the present one -hour parking two hours for the merchants. Selectman Caponigro moved to change the present one -hour parking restriction on Thomas Street to two hours. Seconded * by Selectman DeLong, voted 5 -0. Transfer Request - The Town Manager told the Board that the Planning Board is requesting a transfer in the amount of $225 for the engineering account that was inadvertently closed out (the $1,000 account should have been car= ried forward). Selectman DeLong moved to approve the transfer request. Se- conded by Selectman Caponigro, voted 5-0. Sealer of Weights and Measures - Mr. Hannon said that the present Sealer may be interested in continuing the position.' Selectman Caponigro said that James Langille of the First Christian Church on Otis Street in Mansfield wanted to know if the Board of Selectmen would write to the M.B.T.A. regarding the rental or lease of the property across the street from the church to be used as a parking area for cars. Selectman Caponigro * moved to do this. Seconded by Selectman Titus, voted 5 -0. Selectman Colella asked that a letter be sent to the Jaycees thanking them for the plaque recently presented to the Board. The Board agreed to release the check to RIM Engineering held last week. The Town Manager said that he had one item for Executive Session regarding BOARD OF SELECTMEN Minutes of the Meeting January 19, 1977 Page 7 negotiations. Selectman Caponigro moved to go into Executive Session to discuss negotiations. Seconded by Selectman DeLong, roll call vote: Se- lectman Caponigro -yes; Selectman DeLong -yes; Selectman Clemmey -yes; Select- man Titus -yes; Selectman Colella -yes. It was noted that the Board would not return to open session. The Board adjourned the open session at 10:25 p.m. In Executive Session, the Board discussed with Dennis Hannon the progress of the last Firefighter Union /Town negotiation session held that afternoon at the public library. The Town Manager outlined several points where there was common agreement, but indicated there was still no resolution on the Third Man provision and the minimum manning proposal. Alltogether, he thought little progress has been made. The State Labor Relations Commission's hearing is scheculed for January 27, and apparently the Union anticipates that the Commission will decide on that issue before the UAiomWi'shesemosschdd6I.e another negotiation session. The Town Manager reported on the status of the Public Works /Parks negotiations, which will have its third negotiation session on Wednesday, January 26. All other business concluded, the meeting adjourned. -7-