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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin brd of selectmen 10252006 ~ ", >, ,~ RECEIVED ('l rFn<s OF~ ICE Present: 1"lAi~SFIELO MASSACHUSETTS Chairman David McCarter, Vice Chairman Louis Amoruso, Clerk George Dentino and Selectman Ann Baldwin John D'Agostino, Town Manager Town of Mansfield Board of Selectmen Minutes of October 25. 2006 06 NOY -9 PM 3: 34 ,r The Board of Selectmen's meeting was called to order at 7:30pm, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Steve MacCaffrie, 236 Mill Street- Brought up the issue of jacking under Route 495 and the offer made by Fairfield Green and asked the Board to do due diligence on the matter. ~, Kevin Doyle, 35 Fruit Street - Congratulated Selectman Baldwin on her election. Spoke of the increased parking at the train station and believes that the town needs the additional 100 parking spaces. Mr. McCarter noted that the applicant has requested to submit additional information to the Board, which the Board has yet to receive. He noted something needs to be done about the traffic situation at the high school on Election Day. Mr. McCarter suggested that a letter to the Superintendent asking that students park elsewhere on Election Day may be warranted. The Town Manager said that we can do that, but he isn't sure what effect the letter will have. He pointed out that we don't have control over the scheduling of school on Election Day and that the decision is made by the School Committee. Mr. MacCaffrie noted that we have sent a letter to the School Committee in the past. He believes that the public safety officials can close the school and believes that the Chief of Police can close the parking lot. Mr. MacCaffrie suggested that they schedule a staff development day, where only teachers are present. Robert Mangiaratti, Esq. and Susan Jacobs, Esq. of Volterra, Goldberg, Mangiaratti & Jacobs were present for the discussion. Mr. McCarter said that Town Counsel would like to discuss broader indemnification issues. Mr. Dentino asked who represents who in the sexual harassment case. Atty. Jacobs said that we do not have an appearance in the Stoyle case and in the Beliveau case, her office represents all of the town officials. Mr. Kesten also defends the town officials. In the 5toyle case, Atty. Kesten represents all of the town officials. r Board of Selectmen Minutes of October 25, 2006 1 ~ .. ~ . , Mr. Dentino began by referencing the section in the Town Manager's contract involving indemnification. He defined the word 'indemnify' and provided synonyms for the word. He said that he has questioned for years that the Board doesn't have the right to indemnify ~. anyone against civil rights violations. He referenced the letter from Atty. Jacobs dated July 17th as well as his letter requesting clarification, whereby Atty. Jacobs replied with a letter dated August 23"d. Mr. Dentino said that Atty. Jacobs references MGL Chapter 258, section 9 in her letter but doesn't believe that this reference should be considered with respect to this matter and believes that section 13 of the same chapter should be used as reference. Mr. Dentino said that we have seen that plaintiff's attorneys see this as a civil rights violation. Mr. Dentino believes that the defense attorney would not answer his question as to whether or this is a civil rights violation. He doesn't think we can indemnify the Town Manager against civil rights violations in this case because the Town Manager could be found against. At the present time, Mr. Dentino said that we have spent or paid an excess of $250,000 in legal expenses. We owe Mr. D'Agostino and the Board of Selectmen legal expenses, but to what extent do we owe legal expenses? The Town has insurance and Mr. Dentino believes that we should be paying for insurance counsel. Mr. Dentino asked the status of the insurance counsel. Atty. Jacobs noted that the two cases have been consolidated for the purposes of trial. She does not believe that there is any insurance coverage in the Beliveau case. There is insurance potentially available in the Stoyle case and Atty. John Davis was named as insurance counsel. He had to withdraw from the case due to a conflict and Atty. Kesten made an appearance. Atty. Mangiaratti said that all of ..........., the Stoyle legal fees have been borne by the insurer. Atty. Mangiaratti said that only Atty. Kesten has filed an appearance in the Stoyle case. In the Stoyle matter, Atty. Kesten is the only one who has filed an appearance for all of the individuals in this case. Mr. McCarter asked why this discussion has anything to do with the indemnification discussion. Mr. Dentino said that with respect to the indemnification and the paying of all of this money - we know that this case could go either way. Mr. Dentino sees no reason why the taxpayers of this town should be paying for all of the legal costs. Mr. McCarter said that we are the defendants. Atty. Mangiaratti said that there is a fundamental misunderstanding - indemnification means that we would pay for the loss. That issue is entirely separate from defense - indemnification is not defense. Mr. McCarter said that there are two duties: the duty to defend and the duty to indemnify. Atty. Mangiaratti said that section 13 of c. 258 is not applicable to the Town of Mansfield; the town would need to accept the provisions of such section. Atty. Mangiaratti recommends that the Town vote to accept the provisions of MGL c. 258, section 13 to protect town employees and members of volunteer boards. Atty. Mangiaratti noted that there are two types of torts: negligent and intentional. It is -...... Board of Selectmen Minutes of October 25, 2006 2 ,I . complicated and confusing for even those who use it on a regular basis. Atty. Mangiaratti said that section 9 is in effect in Mansfield. r Atty. Mangiaratti reiterated that defense and indemnification are two different matters. He said that if there is a judgment against the town or individual defendants, we will look at indemnification issues when the cases are over. Mr. Dentino believes that we should protect the residents by taking all of the invoices and put them into an interest-bearing escrow account. He believes this would protect the defendants and the townspeople. Motion: Immediately stop paying invoices and put them into an interest-bearing escrow account to protect both defendants and townspeople (Dentino - no second) Mr. McCarter doesn't believe that the motion isn't in order because the Town is a named defendant because it is bound by charter to defend. Mr. Dentino said that he believes the defendants should pay their own legal fees with their own money. Mr. Amoruso believes that is ridiculous. DPW Director Lee Azinheira and Town Engineer John Sullivan were present. r Mr. Azinheira noted that Fairfield has offered to pay the Town $50,000 to use one of the abandoned water lines under Route 495. He has checked with the Water Department and the Electric Department to see if they could foresee a future use and neither one could foresee a future use. He opened the bids for the installation of new water mains and the low bidder was at $75/foot and the high bids came out with an average of $98/foot. Mr. Azinheira believes that $50,000 is a reasonable amount for an abandoned water pipe. Mr. Dentino asked which sleeve they would use. Mr. Azinheira said that they would likely use the smaller one, the cast-iron pipe. Mr. Azinheira said that he is here tonight to see if the Board would like to grant Fairfield permission to use the 8-inch pipe in exchange for $50,000. Mr. McCarter said that we want to put this issue to rest. ,,--- Motion: To approve the use of the 8-inch pipe for going under Route 495 and accept the $52,000 donation for the Housing Trust Fund (Amoruso - Baldwin) for discussion Mr. Amoruso doesn't think we should give something away for free, but if we have a reasonable amount of money that could come to the town, it seems reasonable. Mr. Dentino agrees that there is a benefit but believes it is a $100,000 job and believes that we should amend the motion to be $75,000. Mr. McCarter doesn't want to abandon the water line because you never know when the town may need it and doesn't believe we can Board of Selectmen Minutes of October 25, 2006 3 . \ accept the money as a gift. Mr. McCarter believes that the part of the motion to put into a gift fund is also out of order .", Amended motion: To approve the use of the 8-inch pipe for going under Route 495 and accept the $52,000 donation for the Housing Trust Fund, subject to the approval of the Town Accountant or going into the General Fund (Amoruso - Baldwin) 2-2 fails (Mr. McCarter and Mr. Dentino opposing) Motion: To accept $75,000 into the General Fund (Dentino - Amoruso) 3-1 Passes (Mr. McCarter opposed) Police Chief Arthur O'Neill and William Sarro of Dub's Discount Liquors were present for the discussion. Mr. McCarter noted that he received a request from Mr. Sarro and the Police Chief to be on the agenda. Mr. Sarro thanked the Chairman for affording him the opportunity to speak. There are many reasons why people should vote no on question 1. The opposition is leading people to believe that it will not hurt people who currently hold liquor licenses. It is possible that drugstores, gas stations, etc. could apply for these wine licenses if they comply with the food-selling requirement. It is not just grocery stores. He noted that the ABCC has come out against Question 1. Mr. Sarro went on to say that there are 2,750 package store ~ licenses and if passed, this ballot question will add an additional 3,000 wine licenses. He noted that each business in the Commonwealth can hold 3 liquor licenses. He noted that the prices are governed by the ABCC, but you cannot sell below cost, as the proponents of Question 1 are stating they will do. Mr. Sarro noted that MADD is not voting no on Question 1 because the grocery stores have contributed to MADD in the past. The Mass. State Police Association has voted no on Question 1. Mr. Sarro asked the Police Chief if the police can check the bag of an underage person if the person was coming out of a liquor store. Chief O'Neill replied that police has probable cause to search the bag of a person coming out of a liquor store but could not if they were coming out of a supermarket. Mr. Sarro said that package stores are required have the manager to be TIPS trained and most of the establishments have at least 90'10 of their employees are TIPS certified. Mr. Sarro noted that the Board of Selectmen ask the townspeople to vote no on question 1 and to ask the Board not support issuance of these licenses. Chief O'Neill said that we do not need to double the opportunities for underage kids to obtain alcohol. We have 24 open cases of underage people arrested for underage drinking -.... Board of Selectmen Minutes of October 25, 2006 4 j . and it is a growing problem. His department is entrusted to protect the residents of Mansfield and passage of Question 1 will cause his department trouble. r Mr. Sarro noted that the Board is the licensing authority as well as the penalty authority. He noted that the Board can shut down a package store for a period of time and if a supermarket was to sell wine illegally, supermarkets would not be forced to close the store, just the wine aisle. Mr. McCarter noted that we have all seen the television ads and read the literature both pro and con. He noted that area towns have voted not to support Question 1. Mr. McCarter noted that the competition and fairness issue appeals to him but that the public safety issue is important too. He has concerns about the definition of a food store, particularly the phrase "or other seller". Mr. Amoruso said that he has concerns as well. The law, as it sits right now, only allows three licenses per entity. He doesn't see the great benefit to the town. He would like to urge the people not to vote for Question 1. Mr. Dentino noted that the Board is the licensing authority but doesn't think that we can tell people how to vote. Mr. Amoruso said that as the licensing authority, we need to look at how alcohol can get into the hands of underage people. He doesn't want large companies running over small business, but as a member of the Board, that is not his point. Mr. Amoruso said that he doesn't hear a lot of people demanding wine in grocery stores. In terms of offering leadership, it is bad to put this on the Police Department and not readily enforceable. r Motion: Recommend to the townspeople that they vote no on Question 1 (Amoruso - Baldwin) Mr. Amoruso said that turning down a request for a license will be a problem because the applicant can just appeal to the ABCC. Vote: 3-0-1 Passes (Mr. Dentino abstaining) . Warrant No. 17 in the amount of $668,479.69 Motion: To approve (Amoruso - Baldwin) 4-0 (Mr. McCarter abstaining from check #359328) Passes . Warrant No. 16 in the amount of $3,891,057.16 Motion : To approve (Amoruso - Baldwin) 4-0 (Mr. McCarter abstaining from check #358989) Passes r . Minutes of October 11, 2006 Selectmen's Meeting Motion : To approve (Amoruso - Baldwin) 3-0-1 (Mr. Dentino abstaining) Passes Board of Selectmen Minutes of October 25, 2006 5 . I. · Application for Parade Permit for the Veterans Day Parade on Saturday, November 11th at 1O:00am, beginning at Memorial Park and ending at the Keach Memorial. Po/ice and Fire have reviewed parade route and approved. ~ Motion : To approve (Amoruso - Baldwin> 4-0 Passes · Application for Parade Permit for Forest Park neighborhood Halloween parade on October 31st at 4:30pm, beginning at corner of York Rd. & Lancashire Dr. and ending at corner of.York Rd. & Victoria Ln. Police and Fire have reviewed & approved parade route Motion : To approve (Amoruso - Baldwin> 4-0 Passes · Vote to intend to lay out a portion of Cobb Street and Jake's Way at a public hearing at 7:40pm on Wednesday, November 8th Motion : To approve (Amoruso - Baldwin) 4-0 Passes · Drainlayer's License for Rudy V. Pompeo, Inc., 40 Mathewson Drive, Weymouth Motion : To approve (Amoruso - Baldwin> 4-0 Passes · Vote to sign the warrant for the Special Town Meeting Motion: To sign (Dentino - Amoruso> 4-0 Passes --...... · Vote to sign the warrant for the State Election Motion: To sign (Dentino - Amoruso> 4-0 Passes · Memo from DPW Director Lee Azinheira requesting that a section of the east side of Rumford Avenue be designated as "no parking" from the telephone pole in front of 53 Rumford Avenue to a point in front of 69 Rumford Avenue located 50 feet north of the Town access way. Motion: To designate a section of the east side of Rumford Avenue as "no parking" from the telephone pole in front of 53 Rumford Avenue to a point in front of 69 Rumford Avenue located 50 feet north of the Town access way. (Amoruso - Dentino) 4-0 Passes ~ Board of Selectmen Minutes of October 25, 2006 6 t ' . Memo from Town Engineer John Sullivan informing the Board that Northern Construction re-started the Route 106 reconstruction project on October 16th. ,,--- . Copy of letter sent by the Town Manager to MassHighway regarding the condition of the median along Route 140. Mr. Dentino read the letter. Mr. Dentino believes there is a large amount of trash, generated mainly from Stop & Shop and believes the maintenance is mandated in the Special Permit. . Memo from the DPW Director regarding the Mill Street road closure. Mr. Dentino read the notice. r . Letter from Stephen Cerullo of the Catman Cafe, requesting permission to serve liquor on Thanksgiving beginning at 8:00am as part of their annual free Thanksgiving breakfast buffet. Mr. Dentino asked why we have to grant them permission. Mr. McCarter noted that their license doesn't allow them to serve until 11:00am. Ms. Baldwin noted that last year was the first year they did this. Mr. D' Agostino noted that they cannot serve alcohol for free. Mr. Dentino asked if there were any incidents and Mr. D' Agostino replied that we did not hear from the Police Chief that there were any incidents. Motion: To extend the license to 8:00am for Cat man Cafe for Thanksgiving Day as part of their free Thanksgiving Breakfast Buffet (Amoruso - Baldwin) Mr. McCarter noted that he will abstain from the vote. Vote: 3-0-1 (Mr. McCarter abstaining) Passes . Memo from the Town Engineer regarding the request for a blinking light at 1007 West Street. Mr. McCarter asked why we would be asking them to pay for it. Mr. Amoruso said that we did the same with the situation at St. Mary's. Motion: Ask DPW to confer with St. Gregory's with regard to whether they are willing to pay for the light (Amoruso - Baldwin) 4-0 Passes . Letter from Bruce Montgomery of the Tweeter Center, providing the Board with attendance records from its September 16th concert and a check in the amount of $508.00 for the overage at said concert. Motion: To accept check from the Tweeter Center in the amount of $508.00 (Baldwin - Dentino) 4-0 Passes . Memo from the Town Engineer regarding the street acceptances for the fall 2006 Special Town Meeting. Mr. Dentino read a portion of the memo. r Board of Selectmen Minutes of October 25, 2006 7 .. · Comments from DPW and Police regarding the request from a resident for a truck exclusion on West Street and signage at the intersection of West and Hampshire Streets stating "end of industrial zone." Both Police and DPW believe that signs can ~ probably be done, but MassHighway has final say over exclusionary zoning on public ways and will require engineering studies and other warrant requirements. Mr. Amoruso asked if it will be worthwhile to contact MassHighway and Mr. D' Agostino said that we will contact them on this matter. Mr. Dentino asked that the tonnage limit is on the bridge. Mr. D' Agostino said that he doesn't have that information in front of him, but it allows for truck tr.affic. Mr. Dentino has concerns that if there was to be an exlusion, it would limit school buses. Mr. D'Agostino believes that the signage will help and we could put up the signs. Motion: To approve placement of the "end of industrial zone" signs up in the appropriate places (Amoruso - Baldwin> 4-0 Passes The Town Manager reported the following: . Met with the Finance Committee last night for a first pass of the Special Town Meeting warrant, which the Board will have to review soon. Mr. McCarter said that the November 8th meeting will be focused on warrant articles. ~ . Lauren will be assuming the position of Town Manager's Executive Secretary on November 13th. He thanked Lauren for her work as the Executive Secretary to the Board of Selectmen and believes it will be a seamless transition in her new position. He noted that he provided the Board of Selectmen with the finalists' resumes. He has selected Karen Doucette as the Executive Secretary to the Board of Selectmen. Mr. Dentino feels that the Town Manager should not be hiring the Executive Secretary. Mr. D' Agostino said that the Board of Selectmen is a policy board of the town and they only hire the Town Accountant and the Veterans Agent. Mr. D' Agostino said that the Selectmen's Executive Secretary is a full-time position and is a town employee and reports to the Town Manager. Mr. D'Agostino said that he will get an opinion from Town Counsel. Ms. Baldwin: . Spoke with the Fire Chief recently about the collection agency. She would support signing with a collection agency, as the town would get a portion of the money, along with the collection agency getting a portion of the money. Mr. D' Agostino said that we are working on a policy. ~ Board of Selectmen Minutes of October 25, 2006 8 I . Mr. Amoruso: r . None r ,--.,. Mr. Dentino: · Asked that a portion of the minutes of the August 30, 2006 Executive Session - Part 3 be added back in as it was an accurate comment made and was taken out when the Board voted to approve them. · Discussed the memo sent by the Town Manager to the Treasurer/Collector regarding a cash audit. Mr. D' Agostino said that when any new Treasurer/Collector comes to a new town, they always audit the department. If she needs outside help, she will seek assistance. Mr. Dentino believes we need an outside auditor come in so Ms. Donovan will get a clean slate. Mr. McCarter suggested having Ms. Donovan come in to discuss the matter. Mr. D'Agostino said that it is our desire to handle these matters internally. · There has been a deadlock on the Southeastern Regional Board on hiring a Superintendent. He would like our representative to come in and inform the Board as to why they cannot get a superintendent. · Referenced the memo from Mr. Sullivan regarding Chauncy Street and the Route 106 underpass. The Town Manager said that we are going to ask Town Meeting to provide the Board the option to seek takings, etc. · Referenced the letter from the Town Manager to GATRA asking about a possible taking of the train station. Mr. D I Agostino said that there is a revenue stream for the property. He noted that we need to discuss these issues with Mr. Gay. Mr. D'Agostino said that we would like to extend the hours of the train station. The taking over of the train station was the town's intent the whole time. There are some opportunities and we will take a look at all of them. Mr. Dentino said that he doesn't see opportunities. · Referenced the letter from the Sharon Credit Union regarding the Animal Shelter Building Fund. Mr. D' Agostino noted that the credit union mistakenly wrote the check to the town, not the building fund. There was a discussion about the letter that the Town Manager signed with the Animal Welfare Committee/Building Shelter Fund, requesting funds from local businesses. Mr. McCarter noted that the Town Manager sent a letter with the quasi-public venture, requesting money from local businesses and the money would go directly to the Animal Shelter. Mr. McCarter: · Thanked Lauren for her work with the Board. · Asked about the status of the request for stop signs in the Brook Street area. It was noted that the resident did not agree with the recommendation of the Police Department and the Board voted to ask the department to monitor the events at that intersection. Board of Selectmen Minutes of October 25, 2006 9 Motion: To adjourn at 10:45pm (Amoruso) 4-0 Passes ~~~ ~ Z9~~ Signature of Clerk n,~&?nk ~ 2titi~ Date of Approval Board of Selectmen Minutes of October 25, 2006 10 ~ . . ~ """ , .~