HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOS MINUTES 06-15-2016Board of Selectmen Minutes
June 15, 2016 D
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Present: Jess Aptowitz, Chairman; Frank DelVecchio, Vice- Chairman,ZMic 13�row�bfip}�gf
Clerk; George Dentino, Steve Schoonveld, and William Ross, Town Manager.
Mr. Aptowitz called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m, and read the agenda.': 'Tlfere wasiaCgefi�r�l
discussion of what is important over the next five years. Mr. Schoonveld distributed copy of a 5
year narrative developed by the Finance Committee to all in attendance. Chairman Aptowitz
asked that Mr. DelVecchio run the meeting, as this meeting had been requested by him. Mr.
DelVecchio stated that he would like to have departments come in over the next few months and
tell the board about what's going on in their respective departments. He wants the Board to look at
things from a very broad perspective and then brainstorm strategies to deal with things more
proactively. He stated that this would give the Board an opportunity to see how things are related
and then prioritize what it wants to accomplish.
Mr. DelVecchio believes that among major topics should be Economic Development, general
management and finance issues and service delivery. In that respect, he would like to have the
departments heads come in and have a conversation with the Board about the operations of their
departments. He suggested building a discussion tree. He suggested that each member state their
thoughs:
Mr. Trowbridge believes that, among major topics should be the Cabot Park,
Management/Finance (organization and increased communication), forecasting future needs,
employee policies, senior needs assessment.
Mr. Dentino would like to find a way for the Board to sit down and look at some positions and
performing a staffing assessment. Mr. Aptowitz indicated that he would ask Town Counsel if
there is an exception to do this in executive session.
Mr. DelVecchio stated that downtown goals should be a major category, including parking and
green space, assessing facilities needs of the Town, financial transparency, and a review of the
Charter.
Mr. Schoonveld would like the Cabot Park to be competitive. All agreed this is an important goal.
He believes that the Downtown needs to be someplace people want to visit, that the TOD needs to
get going. He stated that recreation and the bike path need to be looked at closely. He believes that
improving relationships with businesses is important. He would like to be able to respond to
resident's concerns but feels that communication of the needs is a problem. He believes the Board
needs to begin to look at succession planning and the Sr. Tax Program.
All agreed that the image of the Board needs to be that of a proactive organization.
Chairman Aptowitz stated that it was the goal of the Board to vote and do what's best for the
community and selectmen have to support the entire Board's position. He believes that the Board
should set policies to deal with the press and with the use of social media.
Board Of selectmen's Meeting June 15, 2016
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The Board agreed to title the document resulting from this meeting `BOS Vision Outline Draft"
and agreed that this would be a document that would undergo frequent updating.
Mr. Aptowitz asked if any members had any other thoughts. Mr. Trowbridge stated that he had
consulted with Chairman Aptowitz seeking authorization to make a gift of badges to the Board
members. He explained that he would be paying for them out of his pocket. He stated that the
Badges are historically significant to the Board and that he thought it would be something that he
would like to carry on. He stated that badges would be below the $50 ethics limit. The Board
thanked Mr. Trowbridge.
Motion to adjourn (Trowbridge/DelVecchio), passes 5 -0
Signatur
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Documents used in this meeting:
Five Year Planning Narrative (Finance Committee)
BOS Vision Outline Draft 6/15/16
Board Of Selectmen's Meeting June 15, 2016
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