Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOS MINUTES 6-29-1988BOARD OF SELECTMEN l 15 MINUTES OF MEETING JUNE 29, 1988 PRESENT: Chairman Harrington; Selectmen Dunn, Markt, Tartufo, Levine; Town Manager 1. The meeting was called to order at 7:30 P.M. and the Flag was saluted. Immediately following, the Town Manager introduced the Town Accountant, Laurence Gallagher, and the new Fire Chief, Kenneth Shedden; they were wel- comed by Chairman Harrington. Larry Gallagher advised that all bills are paid through June 28, 1988 and cash receipts through March 31st are posted. He said he has a girl coming in three hours a day, which is a help. 2. Minutes of June 15, 1988 * MOTION: To approve the Minutes of June 15, 1988. Markt /Dunn VOTED: 5 -0 3. Warrants #54, #54 -A, #55, #55 -A, and #1 * MOTION: To approve Warrant #54 in the amount of $1,083,955.47, dated June 21, 1988, broken down as follows: General Fund - $121,635.86 Revenue Sharing - 1,345.20 School Lunch - 6,369.83 Special Revenue - 9.608.81 Capital Projects - 2,141.14 Sewer Enterprise - 4,873.91 Water Enterprise - 1,743.06 Electric Enterprise - 936,237.66 Dunn / Markt VOTED: 4 -0 Levine abstained * MOTION: To approve Warrant #54 -A in the amount of $2,167,937.02 (Payroll) dated June 21, 1988. Tartufo /Dunn VOTED: 4 -0 Levine abstained * MOTION: To approve Warrant #55 in the amount of $275,829.01, dated June 28, 1988, broken down as follows: General Fund - $ 99,311.76 Revenue Sharing - 58.56 School Lunch - 5,702.13 Special Revenue - 2,263.86 Water Enterprise - 3,223.75 Electric Enterprise - 165,268.95 Dunn / Markt VOTED: 4 -0 Levine abstained * MOTION: To approve Warrant #55 -A in the amount of $222,848.23 (Payroll), dated June 28, 1988. Dunn / Tartufo VOTED: 4 -0 Levine abstained BOARD OF SELECTMEN MINUTES OF MEETING JUNE 29, 1988 PAGE 2 * MOTION: To approve Warrant #1 in the amount of $288,407.95, dated July 1, 1988. Dunn /Markt VOTED: 5 -0 Licenses & Permits a) ABCC Form 43 for change of type license from General On Premises to Restaurant Common Victuallers; this was to correct an error on the orig- inal application which the ABCC picked up on,for Great Woods, Inc. MOTION: To approve and sign the ABCC Form 43. Tartufo /Dunn VOTED: 5 -0 b) New England Petition No. 88 -3 for Joint Pole Relocations on Hope Street; existing pole is blocking driveway to new Library /COA facility. MOTION: To approve New England Petition No. 88 -3. Markt /Dunn VOTED: 5 -0 c) MOTION: To approve and sign Mass. Dept. of Public Works Form HED -077 as "Notification in Writing" for amount to be incurred as the actual cost of work during FY -89 (State Aid - Highways) in the amount of $1,007,283.00. Tartufo /Dunn VOTED: 5 -0 Paul Folkman, Karl Clemmey /Jackson Court Paul Folkman had been asked to meet with the Board for an update and pro- posed changes at Jackson Court. Paul opened by stating the Zoning Board of Appeals had granted a variance in 1986, the old house was to remain and he would develop 25 parking spaces on the railroad right -of -way and be respon- sible for the maintenance. He said they have been on hold for approximately one year due to zoning problems. Their basic proposal now is to remove the old house and construct two 2 -unit buildings with a one -car garage attached to each new unit. The reasons are: 1) General planning on the site; the old and new do not blend well; 2) the quality of the old house would require a large investment; adding two one -car garages would cut down the need for ad- ditional parking spaces on the Town -owned land. He said, however, he could eliminate the two garages and enlarge the parking lot if that is preferred. Chairman Harrington asked Paul why he had not gone back to the neighbors about this change as he had done previously. Paul said things have happened in the interim which made him not want to extend the courtesy at this time. The meeting was then turned over to the Board for questions. Selectman Levine questioned the turn - around now; Paul said he feels it is just a change of opinion after experiencing problems with the old house. Selectman Dunn questioned the access onto Court Street; Paul said the ZBA required a speed bump at Court Street, he suggested a sidewalk. BOARD OF SELECTMEN MINUTES OF MEETING JUNE 29, 1988 PAGE 3 A resident said the corner of Court Street and Columbus Ave. was their head- ache, and that they were told there would be no opening onto Columbus Ave.; it appears that was a ZBA requirement. The resident said they would prefer to see the old house renovated. Kevin McNatt, a former resident of the Court Street area and former member of the Downtown Advisory Committee, presented a number of arguments concern- ing the entire Jackson Court development. He said there should have been three variances, not just one; State laws say Selectmen control public prop- erty, not the Zoning Board of Appeals. He quoted Town By -laws indicating violations; said he was opposed to cars exiting onto Court Street. Chairman Harrington asked him to leave his information with the Town Manager. He went on to say there should be a deed or lease for parking on public property, and the Planning Board should not allow substitutions for parking; the Building Inspector issued the Building Permits, he should have requested the other two variances if they were needed. Paul Folkman advised the Board that the Zoning Board had "continued" his hear- ing of June 21st and requested that he be notified if there was going to be further discussion by the Selectmen. 6. Open Meeting /Train Station /Parking Chairman Harrington opened the meeting by reviewing the existence of continu- ing complaints from residents, businesses, commuters, as well as traffic problems, all connected with the train station location and lack of adequate parking facilities. He also mentioned that it is a matter of a safety hazard as well, then turned the meeting over to the Town Manager. Tom started by saying there is a long -term and a short -term problem. Al Travares of GATRA was present, along with GATRA's architect. Tom said he and the Planning Director, Mike LaCasse, have met with the MBTA, but discus- sions have not progressed far enough yet to make anything public. Chairman Harrington asked Tom if he felt progress was being made, because he feels the MBTA has been dragging their feet; Tom said he does feel they are making pro- gress. The MBTA has acquired the Clemmey Tank parcel, but Town Meeting killed the Article for incorporation of Allen Street. Drainage is a problem for the Clemmey parcel; the area is not conducive to on -site drainage, and GATRA does not have the funds to pipe the drainage off the lot. They do not, therefore, expect to pave the lot; it is expected to provide 150 additional parking spaces. Police Chief, Jesse Earls, was present, and Chairman Harrington asked him to address the traffic problem in the area. Jesse said it is, for the most part, in the evening. Having a policeman at the Rt. 106 intersection was mentioned; Jesse said one cop would not help, it would require four. James Foster, a resident on Draper Ave., said the traffic and dust are so bad that ( after 18 years, he has decided to sell his home; he also asked about consid- eration of a grade crossing from County Street BOARD OF SELECTMEN MINUTES OF MEETING JUNE 29, 1988 PAGE 4 Selectman Dunn expressed concern about not paving the lot, saying the Town paved the lot it developed on the other side of Rt. 106, and he would like to see it done right for this one. Selectman Tartufo asked them to make it advantageous for Mansfield residents since the townspeople bear.th`e brunt of the problems. MOTION: To request opinion from the Building Inspector whether they have to pave their lot and whether MBTA has to provide parking the same as any other business. Tartufo /Levine VOTED: 5 -0 The Town Manager said he would like the Building Inspector to secure the opinion of Town Counsel on this. Linda Jodice, who owns a business downtown, said she would like to have a committee formed and to do something right now. Chairman Harrington sug- gested that one Selectman work with Linda Jodice to start a Downtown Study Committee; Selectman Ed Tartufo volunteered. The Chairman then asked for an immediate press release for input in 4 to 6 weeks. GATRA asked for the Board's direction as to how to proceed; they were told the Board would have a decision at the July 13th meeting of the Board. In closing the discussion, Selectman Levine asked if something couldn't be done about the dangerous intersection of Crocker Street and North Main Street where two one -way traffic lanes come together right after a curve. 7. Old Business - Town Manager a) Tom reported on the sale of the Spaulding School; there was only one bid submitted by Mary & Donald Steele; Mary Steele was present. (Selectman Tartufo left the room for this discussion). The bid was $174,801.05, just $1.05 over the minimum established. Mary Steele advised that the biggest consideration in the bid price was the cost of demolition which was esti- mated at approximately $100,000. She said they have made no decision as to what they will do on the property, commercial, residential or a combin- ation of both, but it will be tastefully done for the community. The Town Manager recommended proceeding with the sale. Selectman Levine said she was concerned about the appearance and parking in that end of town and asked "Where is this town going ?!" She suggested taking down the Spaulding School and creating a parking lot there for businesses. She pleaded, "Don't get rid of Town property!" and then showed a petition signed by business people who agree with her. Select- man Markt said he supports selling and using the money for water resources, which Chairman Harrington also supported. MOTION: To reject the bid and retain the Spaulding School property for Town use. Levine /no 2nd BOARD Of SELECTMEN MINUTES OF MEETING JUNE 29, 1988 PAGE 5 MOTION: To sell the Spaulding School for $174,801.05, the proceeds to be used for purchase of land for well development or conserva- tion, Markt /Dunn Selectman Dunn said he felt the money should be put into an in- vestment account which will benefit the town; consensus was it cannot be earmarked. Selectman Markt withdrew his Motion. MOTION: To sell the Spaulding School for $174,801.05 to Mary and Donald Steele. Markt /Dunn VOTED: 3 -1 Levine opposed b) Updating the air conditioning /heating situation, the Town manager said three proposals were received and opened June 27th; each quoted cost of approximately $12,000 per unit and three weeks for completion. None rec- ommended the adaptable units. With Camp Dresser & McKee review, it is proposed to go with the membrane installation which is faster and cheaper, and Tom hopes to go ahead and have the membrane installed during the wait- ing period. He was asked to check into the warranty, and the Board con- sensus was to go ahead. c) Classification and Salary Matrix - The Town Manager distributed copies of the Job Description for Public Safety Dispatcher, which he said would be classified as an 'A'. Chairman Harrington asked if evaluations had been completed for non -union personnel; Tom said he hopes to sit down with each this next month. Selectman Tartufo was concerned that evaluations are not all made at the same time, and said he would like to see them done prior to Town Meeting for purposes of the budget being correct and up -to -date. He asked, is the matrix worth anything at this time with the budget and line items already established? Is there proper placement of personnel? If the Town loses someone, then the position can't be filled where it is on the matrix, and if the new employee is moved up, then that throws other sim- ilarly classified positions off. Classification should be based on know- ledge, responsibility, length of employment; all need to be considered, plus the private market. He suggested comparing the classifications of the Planning Director vs. the Building Inspector; he pointed out that the Planning Director is backed by the Planning Board, while the Build- ing Inspector bears the entire responsibility for his position. He ended by saying it can't be solved now because the cart is before the horse. Selectman Dunn said he has talked at length with the Town Manager and Tom wants to change the system but it will take at least six months. Selectman Dunn suggested not approving the Classification tonight, but go ahead with the salary recommendations. Positions are ranked on job description and responsibility. He believes the responsibility of the Selectmen is to adopt a matrix, the responsibility of the Town Manager BOARD OF SELECTMEN MINUTES OF MEETING JUNE 29, 1988 PAGE 6 is to place the employees where he feels they belong. Chairman Harrington addressed placing similar jobs at same levels; i.e., Fire Chief /Police Chief, Town manager Secretary /Selectmen Secretary; the percentage increase may differ. He also mentioned that the Town Clerk and Health Agent both work very hard, indicating he felt their classifica- tion needed reconsideration. The Town Manager said he wants to develop a new personnel policy, new job descriptions and matrix, but it will take some time. * MOTION: To maintain the '88 Matrix with an increase in the salary fig- ures by 3 %. Dunn / Markt Following discussion indicated the Board could not adopt and approve a new matrix tonight; the Town Manager stated the Board only has choices on classification, not salaries. Chairman Harrington clarified that the Town Manager could put through the increases and the Board may resolve the classification later. Selectman Markt said the Board must make a commitment to do this, and Chairman Harrington suggested making the first Board meeting in August a workshop on classification. Summing up, the consensus of the Board was to direct Tom to go ahead with his proposed salary increases. 8. New Business a) Motion to approve Peat Marwick Main & Co. proposal for FY -88 audit in the amount of $34,000. Levine /Dunn VOTED: 5 -0 b) Tom reviewed a situation on King Street which one resident has been try- ing to have resolved for many months. Both ends of the street are paved, but the middle section is not, and there are boulders across so that it is not a through street. The resident who discussed it with Tom would like the entire street opened and paved; there are some residents on the street who do not. Consensus of the Board was to ask the resident to cir- culate a petition and present it. c) Selectman Dunn said there are water connections which, when shut off some blow and flood cellars; he believes it is caused by plastic pipe hook -ups or a compression fitting. He would like to have it looked into. d) The Chairman asked all Board members to have the Town Manager evaluations to him in two weeks. e) Correspondence was deferred until the next Board meeting due to the late hour. BOARD OF SELECTMEN MINUTES OF MEETING JUNE 29, 1988 PAGE 7 9. Adjournment MOTION: To adjourn (at 12 Midnight). Dunn /Tartufo VOTED: 5 -0 MINUTES APPROVED