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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOS MINUTES 8-3-1983BOARD OF SELECTMEN MINUTES OF MEETING AUGUST 3, 1983 The meeting was called to order at 7:32 P.M. PRESENT: Selectmen Dunn, Wills, D'Onofrio and McNair; Town Manager 1. Minutes of Julv 20. 1983 meetina There was discussion as to whether Item 12 -C was a proper Motion and whether the policy was actually adopted; it should be clarified as to what was voted on. * MOTION: To reconsider the existing policy and to substitute the written document as "Selectmen's Policy on Minutes of Meetings ". D'Onofrio /McNair VOTED: 3 -1 Wills opposed MOTION; To approve the Minutes as amended. D'Onofrio /McNair VOTED: 3 -1 Wills opposed 2. Warrents * MOTION: To approve Warrant #6 in the amount of $153,420.34, broken down as follows: General Fund - $105,955.78 ( Federal Revenue - 3,933.65 Special Revenue - 696.00 Recreation Revolving - 335.00 Sewer Department - 5,704.87 Water Department - 2,744.97 Electric Department - 34,050.07 D'Onofrio /McNair VOTED: 4 -0 * MOTION: To approve Warrant #5 in the amount of $300,502.16, broken down as follows: General Fund - $258,425.06 Cafeteria Revolving - 474.58 Special Revenue - 6,167.32 Sewer Department - 3,091.14 Water Department - 3,762.07 Electric Department - 28,581.99 D'Onofrio /McNair VOTED: 4 -0 3. Applications & Licenses Sewer Connection Permit for Mansfield Housing Authority for an emergency septic system problem at 253 West Street, and request to waive the fee. * MOTION: To approve the Sevier Connection Permit Application and to waive the $25.00 fee. D'Onofrio /McNair VOTED: 4 -0 BOARD OF SELECTMEN MINUTES OF MEETING AUGUST 3, 1983 PAGE 2 It was decided not to sign the Patterson's Central Liquors, Inc. license due to a communication from the Department of Revenue concerning outstand- ing tax obligations. The Board needs written notice that said obligations have been taken care of. 4. Correspondence a) Letter from Coast Realty Associates re: Adult bookstores in response to letter from Board of Selectmen; they approve. b) Copy of letter to Mansfield Central Liquors from Dept. of Revenue re: Transfer of liquor license. Letter requires compliance with Dept.'s tax obligations to Commonwealth before license may be granted. c) Copy of letter from Planning Board to Town Counsel re: Cabot's Pond. d) Copy of letter from Town Counsel to Planning Board re: Cabot's Pond. e) Letter from Massachusetts Municipal Association re: FY -84 State Budget. f) Notice of Public Hearing from Dept. of Public Utilities re: New England Telephone charges on Direct Inward Dialing. g) Letter from Division of Water Pollution Control re: Public Hearing to be held on Federal Construction Grants. Since we have already received our funding for these projects, no action required. h) Copy of letter from Acting Town Manager to Town Counsel re: Grant's Pond litigation. i) Copy of letter from Town Counsel to Acting Town Manager re: Clarifica- tion of statements made relative to Grant's Pond. * MOTION: To send a copy of the correspondence from Town Counsel to Mr. Ray Goddard. D'Onofrio /McNair VOTED: 4 -0 j) Notice of annual dues for the Bristol County Selectmen's Association. * MOTION: To pay dues of $50.00. McNair /D'Onofrio VOTED: 4 -0 Q Letter from Governor Dukakis re: Binding arbitration. * MOTION: To write to Governor and Massachusetts Municipal Association stating opposition to any statute involving any closure mechanism. Wills /McNair VOTED: 4 -0 1) Copy of letter to Whitman & Howard from Acting Town Manager re: Clari- fication of certain issues on Michael - Angela Estates. BOARD OF SELECTMEN MINUTES OF MEETING ( AUGUST 3, 1983 PAGE 3 m) Copy of letter from Town Counsel to Board of Selectmen re: Explanation as to why the suit concerning Michael - Angela Estates was withdrawn. MOTION: To send a copy of the letter to Mrs. Margot Jellinek. D'Onofrio /Wills VOTED: 4 -0 n) Memos from Chief of Police re: Liquor disturbances and radar violations for week of July 20 -27 and July 27 - August 3, 1983. o) Notification from SRPEDD re: Priority listing for highway improvements. No priorities designated for Mansfield through FY -87. P) Letter from Mansfield Jaycees re: Use of Spaulding School by the Elks. No formal proposal submitted to the Board from the Elks; no action re- quired until such formal proposal is received. q) Copy of letter to Zoning Board of Appeals from Town Counsel re: King Street variance, r) Copy of letter to Town Manager from Town Counsel re: Graphic Labora- tories land swap. s) Copy of letter to William J. Galarneaux, Esq. from Town Counsel re: Suit against Town - t) Memo from Dept. of Environmental Quality Engineering re: Land Aquifer Program. Deadline for submitting application is October 31, 1983. DPW Director, Planning Director and Town Manager will prepare the appropri- ate application. u) Letter from SRPEDD to Richard Curley re: Municipal assistance. In the past the Planning Board has taken advantage of this; assistance could be used to assist the Planning Board in the comprehensive planning pro- gram. v) Notice from Bristol County Selectmen's Association of a Clambake on 8/11/83. w) FY -84 Cherry Sheet shows Mansfield will receive $2,662,189; assessments and charges against the Town $419,852. Town Manager is in process of preparing a complete analysis of revenue for the next fiscal year. Be- fore the analysis can be completed the exact amount of the new assessed valuation has to be received from the Board of Assessors. x) Memo from Richard D'Onofrio to Town Manager re: MBTA ticket sales. y) Notification from Planning Board re: Vacancy on the Board. MOTION: To advertise opening on Planning Board and Conservation Com- mission. Wills /D'Onofrio VOTED: 3 -1 McNair opposed BOARD OF SELECTMEN MINUTES OF MEETING AUGUST 3, 1983 PAGE 4 z) Notification from SRPEDD re: Environmental impact statement on the 128 - West Resource Recovery Project in Plainville. Concerns SRPEDD wants ad- dressed in the impact study are: the aquifer that serves Foxboro, Plain- ville, Attleboro and Mansfield; and the impact of taking groundwater from the Wading River Aquifer, which proposes to remove 25% more from the Wading River Aquifer than USGS estimates is available; as well as effects on air quality. A copy of this letter has been sent to the Plan- ning Board. Discussion followed this item covering Mansfield's alternatives for the future for handling trash and trash collection. Selectman D'Onofrio voiced his strong feeling that if at all possible, the Town continue to absorb the cost of trash disposal and not eliminate the one "service" the Town still offers residents at no cost to them. This wish was sup- ported by the other members of the Board. aa) Memo from Richard D'Onofrio to Town Manager & Police Chief concerning a police problem. bb) Letter from Corps of Engineers re: 7/27/83 Progesss Inspection Report. cc) Letter from Municipal Airport Comnission:re: Town Counsel review of grant proposal and related documents and contract for rehabilitation of runway lights, raising existing beacon and installation of taxi -way hold signs. * MOTION: Approve review by Town Counsel of the grant proposal and related documents, and the'contract between the Town and contractor who will be doing the work. Wills /McNair VOTED: 4 -0 dd) Memo from Town Clerk to Town Manager re: Juror selection. ee) Letter from Historical Commission expressing concern with the recent vote to limit the scope of the minutes of Board meetings. * MOTION: To forward a copy of the present policy to the Historical Commis- sion. D'Onofrio /McNair VOTED: 4 -0 5. Public Hearing - 8:00 P.M. - Community Development Grant Town Manager presented the purpose of the Hearing and then described what the Grant can mean to Mansfield. The public hearing is to fulfill a legal requirement of the grant application, as well as to receive citizen input on the proposed improvements. Under Public Law 98 -8, known as the Emergency Jobs Appropriation Bill of 1983, Mansfield is one of 122 municipalities eli- gible to apply, because of its unemployment rate. All projects funded under this grant have to be completed within one year. Because of the time period limitation, Town Manager recommends that the application focus on continued improvements within the downtown area because: this is an area where substantial amounts of statistical data has been gathered over the years; Town boards and committees have spent considerable time and effort BOARD OF SELECTMEN {- MINUTES OF MEETING AUGUST 3, 1983 PAGE 5 in preparing plans and programs for the improvement of the area; Mansfield already has received a grant under the Public Works Program and the Commun- ity Development Grant monies would supplement the work that is being done under that program: The Public Works Program will accomplish: Concept design of all required public improvements within the downtown area; engin- eering design of High Street bridge; design and construction of a commuter parking lot; design and construction of circulation improvements from Rt. 106 southerly to intersection of Old Colony Way. The Jobs Bill application, estimated at $500,000, will be for the completion of all the major improve- ments within the designated downtown area. After the project is complete the downtown area will have new sidewalks, streets, drainage improvements, street lighting and street tree planting which will run from Park Row northerly through to the intersection of Oakland Street and Mansfield Avenue. The formal application will be prepared and ready for the Board of Select - men's signatures on August 17th for submission on the 19th of August. The hearing was then open to the floor. Ralph Seifert, member of the Down- town Advisory Committee, spoke of this as an initial application on the part of the Town for some funds that might be realized to complete some major projects that have been focused on for a number of years, and that as the number of applications and the timetable proceeds there will be more public hearings and opportunity for further input should this Grant be given to the Town. He urged everybody to vote for this application. Marydee Flynn asked for an explanation of the phrase "private investment" which Town Manager said does not mean money going to private property owners for improvements to their property, but rather a pulling together of what has already been done by private investments (such as the grain mill, the Mansfield Ford property, the Fairfield project) for "public improvements" to the area with this grant. Allan Johnson, 760 East Street, asked for the amount of the grant; Town Manager said the estimated amount at this time was $500,000, and if the fund- ing comes through the project would start about October 1, 1983. Jim Wills, 28 Darby Drive, questioned funding of various projects and, speci- fically, Mansfield's chances of winning this grant vs. the other 121 communi- ties. Town Manager explained that by choosing the project as part of an on- going one, an overall plan, vs. something new, not yet started, is a positive factor. Marydee Flynn inquired as to how the amount awarded is determined. Town Man- ager said it has varied from one year to another; sometimes a town will re- ceive what they request; another year the amount will be divided equally to all towns. The Hearing closed at 8:34 P.M. BOARD OF SELECTMEN MINUTES OF MEETING AUGUST 3, 1983 PAGE 6 6. Accountant Report - 8:30 P.M. Town Accountant, Barbara Hagg, presented an end -of -month summary for the Board, as well as a breakdown of the Warrant, and explained the advantages the computer affords in keeping a check on the various accounts by percent- ages, overrun notice, etc. She answered questions concerning handling of problems when indicated, future possibilities with the computer, and even storage of the voluminous monthly records. She feels the computer program is a definite asset, and has enjoyed working to get it into full operation. Old Business - Town Manager a) August 23, 1983 is proposed as the date for an on -site review of the wastewater treatment plant. Selectmen Dunn, Wills, D'Onofrio and McNair all indicated the date was acceptable. b) Town Manager reviewed the items on the Selectmen's Action sheet and up -dated some. c) Town Manager reminded the Board that two members were needed to discuss performance objectives with the Town Manager. MOTION: To appoint John Dunn and Richard D'Onofrio to discuss perform- ance objectives with the Town Manager. Wills /McNair VOTED: 4 -0 New Business - Town Manager a) Several complaints have been received from residents of the Fulton Street area concerning increased parking due to the increase in business on North Main Street. Several suggestions have been made to alleviate the situation, and Town Manager has asked the Police Chief to give him a for- mal recommendation. b) The Planning Board is presently considering a subdivision off Elm Street, West Elm Estates, which abuts the Ash property where a municipal well has been approved, but is not being pursued at this time. It is neces- sary that the Town acquire a right -of -way to Elm Street; Town Manager has, therefore, suggested to the Planning Board that they require the developer to provide an easement over their property to the Ash property, and has suggested a 12" water main be installed instead of the required 8" c) The DPW Director has recommended that the Town enter into a Change Order with the Walsh Construction Company for the paving of a portion of Fruit Street, as part of the sewer installation project. The DPW Director has contacted State Highway people who have stated that the Town can utilize a portion of the sewer grant as the 25% local match for the Chapter 90 BOARD OF SELECTMEN MINUTES OF MEETING 1 AUGUST 3, 1983 PAGE 7 work. This gives the Town the unique opportunity of having Fruit Street paved from South Main Street through to Short Street without additional local appropriation. The portion of the project that Walsh is respon- sible for will be done by Walsh; the balance of the repaving will be done under the Town paving bid. Walsh is ready to start the paving work within the next two weeks. * MOTION: Approve, up to $8,000 ineligible cost, Change Order for the purpose of repaving Fruit Street to the 24 foot width. Wills /McNair VOTED: 4 -0 * MOTION: Approve Chapter 90 application for the same project in an amount yet to be determined. Wills /McNair VOTED: 4 -0 9. New Business - Selectmen a) Selectman McNair would like to see the Town wells monitored during the remainder of this dry season. b) Selectman D'Onofrio asked for a comparison of 1982 vs. 1983 Building Permit fees; he would also like to have Fire Chief Leonard prepare a pattern on false alarms. c) Selectman Wills asked Town Manager to look into the condition of the Paine School property, which is in shabby condition and, he feels, is not good advertisement for the Town; it is located on a well traveled route, so is seen by many non - residents. d) Discussion was held on the supervisory position in the Public Facilities Division. * MOTION: To adjourn at 10:45 P.M. Dunn /McNair VOTED: 4 -0 Minutes approved: Clerk Date signer