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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOS MINUTES 12-1-1976BOARD OF SELECTMEN /LIGHT A G E N D A December 1, 1976 • 7:30 p.m. - Presentation to Mr. Harold Jackson - Treasurer's warrant Minutes of the Previous Meeting • 7:45 p.m. - tight DepartmOnt Director James Hall re Rebate (Class 1 license application for Vachon Chevrolet Clerk's Folder (Renewal of Loding House license for 296 No. Main ( Street, Maurice Shribman • 8:00 P.M. - Hearing - Change of Location for Mansfield Liquor Mart • 8:30 p.m. - Bimonthly Meeting of Board and Committee Chairmen • - Town Manager's Report • - Board Reports Board of Selectmen ( Minutes of the Meeting December 1, 1976 Present: Selectmen DeLong, Caponigro, Colella, Clemmey, and Titus; Town Manager Dennis Hannon. Meeting opened at 7:40 p.m. The Chairman of the Board presented a service award to Mr. Harold Jackson, retiring gas inspector, who has held that position from 1962 - 1976. Selectman Clemmey moved to approve the Warrant in the amount of $292,118. Seconded by Selectman Caponigro, and voted 5 -0: Selectman Titus moved that the minutes of the November 22 meeting be ap- proved. Seconded by Selectman DeLong, voted 5-0. Letter to Chairman of Board from the Mayor of Taunton, Benjamin Friedman, asking that Mansfield be represented at a meeting on December 15 at 6:30 in the evening to vote on the formation of the Greater Attleboro - Taunton Regional Transit Authority. There was discussion by the Board: Select- man Caponigro pointed out that the Board voted against this the last time, and there was discussion of getting more information on what the town would be committed to by a favorable vote. The Town Manager will get more information on this and the Board will take a vote on this next week. � x Light Department Director James Hall met with the Board to discuss the re- bate to be given to residents. He reviewed the calculations on what per- centage profit the Light Department would realize if the following amounts were to be returned to customers: $150,000 returned, estimated 9.1895 % profit $200,000 returned, estimated 7.7984 % profit` $100,000 returned, estimated 10.5807 % profit Mr. Hall recommended that $150,000 be rebated to electrical customers. He cited the up- coming Route 495 project as the reason for not returning the whole amount of $200,000 saying that there would have to be a cash outlay by the Light Department in January and February, and that it was not known when the State would be reimbursing the town for this. He said that there would be about $30,000 involved here, and that he did not want to see the Light Department be in the cash position it was in after the rebate in 1974. Selectman Caponigro asked about the status of the billing machine in the Light Department. Mr.. Hannon said that he has talked to 2 consultants about studying the needs of the town in this regard. He said that he had discussed this with the Arthur Young Company, the firm that had done the Light Department audit. Mr. Hannon discussed setting aside about $15,000 for a study. He said that (- - Motions passed) -1- Board of Selectmen Minutes of the Meeting December 1, 1976 Page 2 he could have an proposal in about 2 weeks on approximate costs. Mr. Hall said that in the meantime, he has the problem of having only one billing machine, and when that goes down, he has to get the bills out by hand, which is much more costly and time - consuming, causing the other regular work to backlog. Selectman DeLong suggested that the Town Manager get some figures from consultants on the cost to conduct a study of needs for data processing or billing machines. The Town Manager said that perhaps $5,000 - $10,000 could be set aside from this.money saved from contract demand savings. Selectman DeLong moved that $150,000 be rebated to electrical customers. No second to the motion. Selectman Clemmey said that he would like to see $175,000 rebated. The Chairman stated that he thought the entire $200,000 should be given back. Mr. Hall reported that MMWEC had sent a letter telling of the increase due January 1 in the Contract Demand R -11 rate, which would not result in a direct increase to the Light Department, but would decrease the savings realized. Mr. Hannon pointed out that receipts would be slowed in January by the rebate , and that the Light Department would have to have the cash for the Route 495 job. Mr. Hall said that $52,000 would be needed in materials and labor for the West Street job (Rt. 495), and again, it was not known when the state would reimburse the town for this money. Selectman Clemmey moved that $175,000 be rebated to electrical customers. Seconded by Selectman Caponigro, voted 4 -1, with Selectman Colella opposed. (Note: see Page 7 for motion further explaining this rebate.) Selectman DeLong suggested that the Board give the Town Manager direction as to what information they would like to have regarding the consultants' study proposals. The Board and Town Manager discussed billing, census, payroll, etc. The needs of the School Department would not be considered, as they already have their own data processing. Mr. Hannon said that he should have the information in about 2 weeks, de- pending on the budget work schedule. Selectman Colella passed the gavel to Selectman Clemmey, appointing him the Acting Chairman. Mr. Colella left the room. Acting Chairman Clemmey opened the hearing on the petition of the Mansfield Liquor Mart for a change of location. The application notice and legal advertisement were read. The change of address would be from 525 North -2- Board of Selectmen ( Minutes of the Meeting December 1, 1976 Page 3 Street to 367 North Main Street. Mr. Bart Jackson spoke in favor of the license, and presented receipts to the Board of the notice to the abutters. Mr. Jackson also presented a copy of the School Board minutes in which a vote was noted that gave permission to have the package goods store within 500 feet of a public school (Spaulding). Selectman Caponigro asked when the business would be moving. Mr. Jackson replied that it would be about the middle of February. John Gross, 140 Tremont Street, asked if the applicants would be meeting with the Downtown Development Committee. Mr. Jackson said that to the best of his knowledge, there would not be any outside renovation . Carol Lucas, 100 Williams Street, spoke in favor of granting the move, say- ing that she thought it was a good idea. Beatrice Thayer, 57 Charles Street, spoke against the license, saying that this would be in an area already congested with traffic. Selectman Clemmey said that there would be traffic problem there no matter what business was there. The hearing was declared closed. Selectman DeLong moved to grant permission for the change in location for the Mansfield Liquor Mart. Seconded by Selectman Caponigro, voted 4 -0 (Selectman Colella not in room). The Board took action on the Class 1 application from Vachon Chevrolet tabled from last meeting. Selectman Titus moved to approve the license application at? 12 Pratt Street (with storage lot at 17 Pratt Street) for Vachon Chevrolet, Inc. Selectman Clemmey questioned #9 on the appli- cation regarding signing of contract under Section 58, Class 1. Mr. Denis Vachon noted that when the application was filled out, the contract was forthcoming, but he now had it. He showed the contract to the Board. * Selectman DeLong seconded the motion, and it was voted 5 -0. Renewal for lodging house license at,296 North Main Street from Maurice Shribman. Selectman Titus moved to approve the renewal. Seconded by * Selectman Caponigro, and it was voted 5-0. Correspondence: from SRPEDD regarding A -95 review of Route 495 /Relocated 140. Copy to be sent to the Planning Board and Conservation Commission. Application from Richard Staples, 856 School Street, for Board of Health. -37 Board of Selectmen Minutes of the Meeting December 1, 1976 Page 4 Bimonthly Meeting of Board and Committee Chairmen with Board of Selectmen Civil Defense - Robert Button, Civil Defense Director, reported to the Board regarding his organization's activities. He noted that a letter has been sent to the Selectmen about the use of the Fairfield Optical property for storage of a generator now on private property, and about possibly designating the larger building as an emergency shelter in times of storms or disasters. Selectman Delong moved to grant permission to store the generator in one of the garages on the Fairfield parcel. Seconded by- Selectman Clemmey, voted 5 -0. The request for use of the building as an emergency shelter was taken under advisement. Civil Defense meetings are usually called for Saturday mornings as needed. Louis Garland of the Lions Club requested that the Board of Selectmen ap- prove a change of location for the Bingo games from the Gloria Columbo Hall to the Qualters Middle School. Mr. Garland noted that he has the approval of the School Committee, Fire Chief, and Building Inspector. He said that if the Board approves this, a letter so stating should be sent to the Lottery Commission. Selectman DeLong moved to approve this request, which was seconded by Selectman Clemmey and voted 5 -0. Recreation Commission - Louis Cinelli reported for the Recreation and Parks Department and Commission. He reported on the work being done by the Parks Department to ready equipment for the spring and reported on scheduling problem for the Youth Programs at the Middle School. He also discussed correspondence with Mr. Hutchason regarding acquisition of his property for Memorial Park expansion. The Town Manager discussed the appraisals being done in connection with a federal application for a grant for this acquisition. Meeting night - first and third Mondays of month. Bicentennial Committee - Carol Lucas discussed Bicentennial activities. She said that the original 1925 and the 1975 films of the parades have been converted to safety film and now are stored in the town's vault at the town hall. She said that a firm in Boston, Atkins and Riley, had submitted a proposal for editing and narration at a price of $13,000 and that the Committee felt that this was too much money to spend on this. Ms. Lucas said that the Committee still has about $9,000 and wanted to spend it on some permanent project. Selectman Titus discussed the possi- bility of using a portion of that money towards the erection of the pro- posed veterans' memorial. Ms. Lucas will consult with her committee. Ms. Lucas also questioned the date on which her committee would disband. Selectman Clemmey discussed putting an article in the next annual town meeting to hear the committee's final report at the end of this fiscal year, June 30, 1977. Ms. Lucas also discussed replacing the flags on the two commons from their budget. Meetings called Sunday evenings as needed. Board of Assessors - AI Turinese reported that the tax bills have gone out and the Assessors were now meeting with people who have questions on the assessments. Meeting nights - Wednesdays. Library Board of Trustees - Members of the Library Board and Head Librarian -4- Board of Selectmen ( Minutes of the Meeting December 1, 1976 Page 5 Peg Bradner were present. Mr. Beatty discussed the survey being done in connection with the work of determining the future needs of the Mans- field Public Library. The Library Trustees have been meeting with the Municipal Building Committee in this regard also. The Trustees meet on the first Tuesday of the month. Board of Appeals - Chairman George Wotjkiewicz discussed the character of the applications coming before the appeals board - from homeowners seeking variances to enlarge a home or Ijuild'on a non - conforming lot. He said that industrial variances were conspicuously absent. He said that the Planning Board, which is responsible for proposing zoning changes seems to be a stricter, more conservative board than the zoning board, which at this time is more lenient and liberal. Meeting nights are the first and third Tuesdays of the month. Municipal Building Committee - Chairman Robert Saquet told the boards and committees that work was just about done on the Robinson and Qualters Schools additions, and that the High School roof work was nearly done. He discussed the work being done with the Library Trustees and discussed the Fairfield property. Selectman DeLong questioned the prices given in their recent letter for renovating the building $60,000 to $80,000. Mr. Saquet said that cost was based on the average $20 per square foot for that type of building. The Town Manager reported on the insurance engineer's visit to the property. Also discussed was the type of possi- ble renovations for the buildings. Chad Maurer of the Downtown Develop- ment Committee discussed the possibility of selling the property and putting this back on the tax rolls. George Wotjkiewicz and Selectman Titus agreed with this. M.B.C. meets the first and third Thursdays of the month. Council on Aging - President of the Council Brad Johnson reported an:' activities. Items discussed: Fairfield building use, federal grant, clothing and food co -ops, and home care services. Council meets on the first and third Mondays at the Drop In Center. Board of Health - Chairman Karl Clemmey reported on perc tests, Camelot subdivision; and answered a question about the state inspection of school restrooms. Mr. Clemmey reported that the Board of Health had changed its meeting night from every Tuesday to every Wednesday. Great Woods Study Committee - Dr. Charles Meszoely reported that his com- mittee had decreased the request for acquisition funds this year from $50,000 to $20,000 and that the State would be petitioned to reimburse $10,000 of this. He said that his committee meets on Wednesday evenings, and very rarely do residents attend. Conservation Commission - Member Fred Rys reported for Chairman Paul Boy - den who was not present. He reported that three members of the Commission attended the Conservation Law Foundation seminars. Also discussed was the restoration of Cabot Pond. Mr. Rys said that the Commission would be view- ing this on Saturday morning with engineers. Meetings - second & fourth Tuesdays. -5- Board of Selectmen Minutes of the Meeting December 1, 1976 Page 6 Planning Board - Chad Maurer represented the Planning Board. He said that Board meets every Wednesday evening and sent a letter to the Democratic Town Committee explaining the procedure for getting on the agenda for any interested parties. Planning Board items discussed were: business zoning, downtown development, Rumford River Estates. Downtown Development Committee - Chad Maurer alsorreported for this commit- tee. He said that a formal presentation would be made at the 1977 Annual Town Meeting and that a preliminary presentation would probably be made be- fore Christmas. He said that these meetings were scheduled around the vari- ous members' schedules. John Gross, 140 Tremont Street, commented that he felt a citizen could not attend meetings of the major boards, as they were all held simultaneously on Wednesday evenings. Selectman Clemmey stated that no matter what night were picked, there would still be a conflict because of the number of boards and committees. Selectman DeLong said that he thought the meeting nights for committee should not be changed if it would conflict with even one member's plans, t as they agreed to serve on the particular board knowing that particular evening was set aside to meet. John Gross discussed the changing of the Board of Health's meeting night. Chairman Karl Clemmey said that he would discuss this with other members of the Board of Health. Members of the Press also commented on the meeting schedules. John Gomes, Gale Lane, also commented on this. James Tarte suggested meeting on alternate weeks. Committees not present at Bimonthly Meeting: Airport Commission, Finance Committee, Industrial Development Commission, Industrial Development Fi- nancing Authority. John Gross reported that the Buillding and Housing Code Committee were not meeting. He said that he would like to see board vacancies advertised for the up- coming annual appointments. The Clerk of the Board read the report from the Youth Council, whose members were unable to attend this evening. Dennis Hannon reported that the Capital Improvement Committee's report was forthcoming. The remaining correspondence was read and action was taken on the follow- ing: From Camp, Dresser & McKee, letter regarding the eligibility for reimburse- ment of certain engineering costs in connection with the Sewage Treatment Plant Improvements. Selectman Caponigro moved to contact Representative -6- Board of Selectmen Minutes of the Meeting December 1, 1976 Page 7 * Heckler to enlist her aid in this. Seconded by Selectman DeLong, voted 5 -0. Letter from Lawrence Jannello regarding Cabot Pond project. Selectman Caponigro suggested writing to the Conservation Commission asking them to keep the Selectmen up to date on this. Selectmen Clemmey moved that the rebate voted earlier in the meeting be deducted from the arrearage of overdue accounts rather than from the Decem- ber billing. Seconded by Selectman Titus, voted 5 -0. Town Manager Items: Street Excavation Permit - Frank Bonvie, Ware Street. Mr. Hannon reported that a culvert under the stneet had been crushed by the weight of trucks, and that Mrs. Bonvie had discussed this with the Conservation Commission and DPW Director. Mr. Hannon said that Mrs. Bonvie would bear the cost of the drainage pipe if the town would waive the $5;000 bond normally required for street excavation permits of contractors. Selectman DeLong moved to grant the permit and waive the $5,000 bond. Seconded by Selectman Titus, and voted 5 -0. Norton Water Commissioners Meeting - Mr. Hannon reported that the Norton Water Commissioners would meet with the Board to discuss possible looping of water mains near the townlines. December 28 at 7 :30 in Norton. Student Intern - Jon Edwards would be completing his internship with the town next week. Mr. Hannon reported Mr. Edwards had worked on a bulk pur- chase bid for clerical and office supplies. Plonowski Dog Complaint - Mr. Hannon told the Board that the court hearing was set for 2 p.m. on December 3• Sewer Connection Application - Paul Jodice, for 105 Pratt Street. The town manager told the board that the property appeared to be properly assessed for sewer, but had to do some map work. This was for one house lot. Select- man Titus moved to approve this pending Town Manager's approval. Seconded by Selectman Caponigro, voted 5-0. Budget work - coming along, budget due to Board and FinCom by December 21. The Board discussed Church Street traffic. Selectman Clemmey discussed direction signs for the intersection of North Main and Oakland Streets. Selectman Caponigro asked that the Planning Board give a copy of the plans for Rumford River Estates to the Selectmen for their review. -7- Board of Selectmen Minutes Of the Meeting December 1, 1976 Page 8 Selectman DeLong reported that he had attended the MMWEC Advisory Com- mittee meeting as the Board's Delegate, and that an alternate should be appointed in case he were unable to make the meetings. Selectman Caponigro moved that Selectman Clemmey be appointed as delegate. Se- * conded by Selectman Clemmey, voted 5 -0. At 11:15 P.M. Selectman Clemmey moved to go into Executive Session to discuss negotiations. Roll Call Vote: Caponigro - yes, DeLong - yes; Clemmey - yes, Titus- yes, and Colella - yes. It was noted that the Board would not return to open session. In executive session, the Board members discussed correspondence from Arthur Murphy, the Town employment contract negotiator, concerning Mansfield's participation in a "Friends of the Court" brief on behalf of a town disputing various negotiation proposals infringing on manage- ment rights' areas. Mr. Hannon is to contact Mr. Murphy for additional details. Also discussed were various points for the up- coming negotia- tions for the police factfinding and fire contract. All business concluded, the meeting adjourned. N