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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOS MINUTES 11-12-1975BOARD OF SELECTMEN A G E N D A November 12, 1975 • 7:30 P.M. - Call to Order Treasurer's Warrant Minutes of the Previous Meeting Clerk's Folder - Application for Second Class Auto License from John C. White (White's Auto Repair) Correspondence • 8:00 p.m. - Hearing - Mansfield Depot, Inc., for All Alcoholic Beverage License 1 • 8:15 P.M. - _Atwood Street Sewer Assessments • 8 :30 p.m. - Appointment of Agent for MMTEC by Light Commis- sioners • 9:00 p.m. - Arthur Young Company (Peter Hood and Paul Downey) to discuss Light Department Audit 0 Town Manager's Report Board of Selectmen Minutes of the Meeting ( November 12, 1975 Present: All Board members, Town Manager Dennis Hannon. Meeting opened! at 7:34 p.m. Treasurer's Warrant was approved on the motion of Selectman Titus, seconded by Selectman Colella, and voted 5 -0. Selectman Belong moved that the minutes of the November 5 meeting be ap- proved as submitted. Seconded by Selectman Titus, voted 5 -0. Clerk's Folder - Application for a Class II Auto License from John C. White, d/b/a/ Whitds Auto Repair, School Street. This was taken under advisement for a week and will be put on the agenda for next week's meeting. Two applications for taxi permits were received: Ideal Taxi, owner - Patriot Taxi Company, Incorporated, 24 Oak Street, Foxborough; and Waterman Taxi, operating under the name of Mansfield Depot, at 131 Morse Street, Foxborough. The Board took these applications under ad- visement: until further information could be obtained about the appli- cants. A letter of resignation was received from Louis Garland of the Board of Health. The Board accepted his resignation with regret and will send a letter of thanks. From the Great Moods Study Committee, letter asking permission to have the Town Counsel do the title search on the land acquired at the 1975 Annual Town Meeting. All Board members were in agreement. Letter will be sent to the Town Counsel. An application was received from Norman Mahana for the Planning Board, Board of Appeals, and the Board of Health. A copy of a letter to the Municipal Building Committee from Rodney Plourde was received. Mr. Plourde was resigning from the M.B.C. after 3 years' service to that committee because of personal reasons. A letter of thanks will be sent to Mr. Plourde for his service to the town. Letter to the Selectmen from the Municipal Building Committee asking that Norman Paulsen be appointed a full voting member in light of Mr. Plourde's resignation. This will be discussed next week, and the M.B.0 will be no- tified. Also received from the M.B.G., letter advising that the School Committee had requested a special town meeting for school construction projects, for additional spaces at the Robinson and Middle Schools, to be held on December 15. This was discussed, and Selectman Titus moved to set a special town meeting for December 15. Seconded by Selectman Levine, and voted 5 -0. Selectman Titus also moved that the warrant for this town meeting be closed on December 3. Seconded by Selectman Levine, voted 5 -0. l Letter received from Chairman of the Board of Selectmen of Sharon inform- ing Mansfield of the vote taken to oppose pending application for funds -1- Board of Selectmen Minutes of the Meeting November 12, 1975 ( Page 2 for upgrading the Penn Central Railroad's Midland Branch until assurances are received that commuter service to Boston would be maintained with mini- mal disruption. This vote was taken by the Southwest Area Selectmen's Coordinating Committee, which asked the individual boards of selectmen in the area to adopt a resolution to support the vote and forward the resolu- tion to the appropriate offices in Boston. Selectman Levine read the resolu- tion (copy attached) and moved that this resolution be adopted by the Board of Selectmen of the Town of Mansfield. Seconded by Selectman Colella, and so voted. Town Engineer Ron Dubuc met with the Board to discuss the Atwood Street Sewer assessments. He reported that the total construction costs had been $11,590.35 and that the Town policy was to assess half of the construction costs to the land owner with frontage along the street, according to the amount of frontage. A total of 840 feet of frontage was assessed at a cost of $6.899 per foot to the owners, as follows: Land Owner Frontage (feet) Assessment Bieniecki, Mildred & James E. 80 $551.92 Butler, Norman A. Jr., & Phyllis I. 150 1,034.85 Conley, Mary A. 50 344.95 Conroy, Stephen J. & Corrine M. 73 503.63 ( Fernald, Lisle G. and Helen C. 100 689.90 Garland, Eleanor M. at al. 110 758.89 Hodges, Edson D. and Marion C. 83 572.62 Kuplast, Alfred J. Jr., & Phyllis L. 70 482.93 Merigan, Helen Joan 124 855.48 .840 feet $59795.17 The following 4 lots on Atwood Street were not assessed for the following reasons: Shaw, Robert P. & Virginia M. - 379 Central Street, with a 20' right -of- way to Atwood Street. This is not being assessed as it is an undersized lot, and a sewer assessment is being paid by the owner for frontage on Central Street. Butler, Edmund F. & Mary E. - One Atwood Street. This lot is hooked into the Central Street sewer line. The assessment was paid in the early 1940's by the then- owner, the America Land Com- pany. Rasanen, Kustaa and Saima - This lot is not being assessed because it was assessed on the Central Street side. Silver Street - This lot also is not being assessed; it is a paper layout - an undersized lot. Selectman Levine moved that the Board of Selectmen of the Town of Mansfield at a meeting held on November 12, 1975, vote to assess sewer betterments in -2- Board of Selectmen Minutes of the Meeting ( November 12, 1975 Page 3 accordance with Chapter 80, Sections 1 and 2 and other related sections of the General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, at an assessment cost of $6,899 per foot of frontage. A list of the betterments to be assessed on each parcel of land is as';previously listed. The motion was seconded by Selectman DeLong, and voted 5 -0. At 8 p.m. there was a hearing on the application of Paul E. Jodice for an all alcoholic beverage license for the Mansfield Depot, Inc., located at 60 Oakland Street. Selectman Levine read the application for the license, and asked for the certified mail receipts showing proof of no- tification to abuttors. Brad Johnson, who will be the treasurer of the business, provided them to the Board. Paul Jodice spoke, stating that he would like to offer something different to the downtown area, and that this would be different from anything that is in town now. He said that this is zoned industrially, and that any type of business that would go into the building would add to the traffic. He said that there is a traffic problem in the area now, but would provide off- street parking for his customers. Some of the residents speaking against the license were; Joan and Robert Tartufo, 71 Oakland Street; MaryAnn LeBlanc : 47 A Oak- land Street; Mildred Shields, 105 Oakland Street; Laurence J. Jackson, Keefe Lane; Delores Benson, 38 Pleasant Street; Fred Kovelesky, 91 Oak- land Street; Sue Pompeii, 112 Charles Street; James Hickey, 57 Charles Street. One of the residents provided the Board with a petition of 42 people opposed to the granting of the license. Those speaking in favor of the license were: Beatrice Thayer of 57 Charles Street, and Americo,. Day, of Central Street. One other unidentified person spoke on behalf of the license, stating that he did not think this would worsen the pro- blem with the traffic much more than it was now. Attorney Johnson said that he could see no real legal objection to the license. Those opposing the license cited traffic problems as the main objection to the granting of the license. Selectman Titus said that he would rather see the license be granted to someone of Mr. Jodice's character because if something did not go smoothly, Mr. Jodice would take steps to correct the situation. The Board listened to further comments and then the Chairman declared the hearing closed, stating that this would be discussed again next week at. 7 :40 p.m. on November 19. Selectman Levine moved that the plans for the building be available for the, ]3oard, and also that the Police Depart- ment make available the number of accidents in this area for the last 5 years for the next meeting. .(There *was' .no second or vote recorded, nor any objection raised.) Representative Phil Filosa met with the Board. He reported that the legisla- tion for the sewage treatment plant should be filed by the first Wednes- day of December. He said that the general bill could be filed, and detail such as the exact description of the land could be amended. Also discussed by Representative Filosa was the status of tk-B Route 495 project. He said that there is much confusion as to the status of this project right now, and that he had been trying to meet with the Governor and Transportation Department. The Board asked him to arrange a meeting with officials to discuss Route 4951 and Mr. Filosa asked the Board to write a strong letter. -3- Board of Selectmen Minutes of the Meeting November 12, 1975 Page 4 The thsd topic discussed by Representative Filosa was the possible use of the Foxboro State Hospital facilities for criminal sex offenders now housed at Bridgewater. He explained that the Bridgewater facility had been under law suit to move the patients housed there now because of "conditions unfit for human habitation ". Selectman Titus stated that the Board should carry by hand to the State the "strongest personal ob- jections" to this. Representative Filosa urged the Board to write a very strong letter opposing this. Selectman Titus moved that the Mans- field write a strong letter as soon as possible making a personal ob- jection to this. Seconded by Selectman Levine, and voted 5 -0. John Kennedy from Clean Community, Incorporated, and an engineer from Camp, Dresser and McKee met with the Board to discuses the new landfill and recycling center at the junction of Route 495 and Route 1 in Plain- ville. Tonnage costs for Mansfield to use this landfill versus the costs per ton for the Town's own landfill were discussed by the Board, Mr. Kennedy, and DPW Director Tom Bonome. Mr. Kennedy explained that the Town would recoup some of the costs in payments for the aluminum, glass, copper, and zinc. Also discussed was the sale of steam to generate electric turbines for MMWEC, and possible reimbursements to the Town for this. Mr. Kennedy explained that municipal contracts (for 20 3e ars) were being sought, and that he could have a price per ton for the Town of Mansfield within the next couple of weeks. Letter from Chairman Carol Lucas of the Mansfield Bicentennial Commit- tee- informing the Board that the cost to restore the 1917 Seagraves pumper would be $2,000 and that the Committee did not feel that this project should be pursued at this time by them. Selectman Levine sug- gested that the Firefighters' Association be contacted to see about some fund - raising project to raise money for the restoration. With the ap- proval of the Board, Mr. Levine will contact the association. Meeting as Light Commissioners, the Board reviewed the Audit reports prepared by the Arthur Young Company represented by Peter Hood and Paul Downey. Mr. Hood explained that there were two reports: the certifi- cation of the financial statement of the Light Department, and a letter of comments and suggestions, which is a by- product of the actual audit. The second report, Mr. Hood explained, tended to be a "negative report" as the positive aspects of the operation of the Light Department were not listed, only suggestions on cost savings and record - keeping. He said that his over -all impression of the accounting procedures and per- sonnel were very favorable, and that some of the procedures recommended in the letter of comments and suggestions had already been implemented by the Department. Selectman Levine asked Mr. Hood if the audit would be suitable for bond council if bonds were sought in connection with the entitlements recently discussed in MMWEC. Mr. Hood said that the audit showed the current economic status of the Light Department, and that this should be more than adequate. Chairman Caponigro asked Mr. Hood if he would suggest or recommend any further investigation of the Light Depart- ment's accounting procedures. Mr. Hood said that no, he was satisfied. Town Manager Dennis Hannon said that this was the first audit ever done of the Light Department by a certified accountant. Chairman Caponigro -4- Board of Selectmen Minutes of the Meeting November 12, 1975 Page 5 asked Mr. Hood if she' company had found anything in the audit, would it have been pointed out. Mr. Hood replied that it would have been. Select- man Levine asked if there would be a problem with implementing some of the suggestions as far as costs were concerned. Light Department Director James Hall answered that one of the suggestions under consideration was to read the residential meters less frequently and maybe read the meters bimonthly and bill an estimated bill every other billing. Selectman Levine asked if there was a set of procedures for the accounting in the Light Department written down in any one place. Mr. Hood said that there was not. Another item discussed was the possibility of going to auto- mated bookkeeping and billing with adjoining towns. Other items discussed: inventory, depreciation of equipment, encumberance accounting, and con- struction repayments. Selectman DeLong discussed with Officer Manager Geraldine Lemieux cash flow projection. The Chairman recommended that the Light Director meet with the Board again in a month to report on what changes had been made and what suggestions Pad been implemented. Town Manager Hannon suggested that the Light Department be audited annually. Mr. Hood said that the expense for this would be about $3,500 plus out -of- pocket expenses. After further discussion, Selectman Levine moved that the Board, as Light Commissioners, accept from the Arthur Young Company both the Financial Statements (18- months ended June 30, 1975) and t}n Letter of Comments and Suggestions, make both reports public record, and that the Board make the financial statement an annual budget considera- tion for the Light Department. Seconded by Selectman Titus, voted 5 -0. The :reports will be on file with the Town Clerk's office and in the Town Manager's Office, and copies of the reports will be sent to the DPU. In another matter, Selectman Levine moved that the Board of Light Com- missioners nominate James F. Hall as director for MM4EC from November 1975 to November 1976. Seconded by Selectman Titus, so voted. Mrs. Peter DeTrolio of Rumford Avenue met with the Board to discuss alleged violations by Dr. Torman regarding a sign on his property. She also discussed parking problems and asked that Dr. Torman be required to provide off - street parking for his patients. The Chairman explained that according to zoning, he cbuld -not be required to do this. The Town Manager will check into the size of the sign and ask that this will be in conformance with zoning. Selectman Colella discussed the combined garbage rubbish collection and stated that he was in favor of the separate collections. A juror was chosen: Albert Collins, 99 Oak Street. Also discussed was proposed kennel bylaw. A letter will be sent to Town Counsel in this regard. Selectman DeLong questioned whether the zoning permitted repair of motor- cyles for the business at the corner of Samoset Avenue and Old Colony Way conducted by Peter Picciandra. This will be checked. -5- Board of Selectmen Minutes of the Meeting ( November 12, 1975 Page 6 Two people were chosen for the jurors list: Hazel M. Blomstrom, 7 Bliss Avenue, and Elizabeth O'Donnell, 150 Gilbert Street. Meeting adjourned at 11:30 p.m. C.'t