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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSELECTMENminutes04112007-20070424131237 Town of Mansfield Board of Selectmen Minutes of April 11, 2007 Present: Chairman David McCarter, Vice Chairman Louis Amoruso, Clerk George Dentino, Selectman Ann Baldwin. John D'Agostino, Town Manager The Board of Selectmen's meeting was called to order at 7:30pm, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Steve McCaffrie, 236 Mill St. Thanks to John for apology of last week regarding email discussion. He brought up the issue of Selectman Dentino being denied access to Electric Dept. meeting. He believes that since members of the FinComm were there that Selectmen should be able to attend. Motion: To open public hearing. (Baldwin/Amoruso) 4:0 passes Robert Burns, Manager and Attorney Edward Valanzola present for hearing. Mr. Burns stated that he has lived in Mansfield for many years, loves the town and with LaDonna Restaurant gone there is a void in town for a nice family restaurant. Selectman Dentino asks about the licensee name. The actual name that will be on the license will be "ARB Enterprises". The silent partner is not listed on the investors' page of the application as they will not be received stock or dividends from the company. The hours of operations will be as follows, closed Monday, Tuesday-Saturday 11am to 12:30am, Sunday 12pm to lOpm. There will be an assistant manager as well; this person will have alcohol serving training. Selectman Amoruso asks about any entertainment plans. Mr. Burns does not plan on offering entertainment. He anticipates that the restaurant will employ about 10 people. Selectman Baldwin asks about a lease for the property. There is an intent of lease but the final lease has not been worked out. Chairman McCarter asks about the building renovations in regards to the fa~ade of the building. Mr. McCarter asked about Mr. Burns experience as a bartender and site plan issues. He also asked about where restaurant patrons will park. A parking plan is being developed for the business as downtown parking is limited. Board of Selectmen Minutes of April 11, 2007 1 Motion: To close public hearing. (Amoruso/Baldwin) 4:0 passes Motion: To approve application subject to site and parking plans. Also subject to the lease being finalized and a building permit issued. (Amoruso/Baldwin) 4:0 passes Motion: To open public hearing. (Amoruso/Baldwin) 4:0 passes Bryan Schwanke, Senior Director of Hr, Attorney Frank Bonanni and Manager of Record, Edward Rush are present. An overview of the business practices of Bertucci's was given and Mr. Rush stated that all servers will be Serve Safe trained. Selectman Amoruso asked about the possible closing of the smaller Chauncy St. restaurant once the mall Bertucci's is open. There is a lease of 4-5 years left on the Chauncy St. location. After that it may not be maintained as a Bertucci's, perhaps another style concept restaurant. A brief discussion ensued about the corporation having two locations within Town; both having all alcohol licenses. Selectman Dentino is a little troubled about Bertucci's having two of the town's all alcohol licenses. Mr. Rush stated that although the current Bertucci's on Chauncy St does 45'Yo of its business in take out, they restaurant is always full on weekends. He believes that the Town and the restaurants clientele can support both locations as there are many people that frequent the current location that may not want to deal with the traffic at the future mall location. Chairman McCarter stated that Bertucci's has been a good neighbor to the Town and has not had any liquor violations. The Chair also asked about site plans, approval of a building permit and lease for the new restaurant location. They are being applied for through the Building Department. Motion: To close public hearing. (Amoruso/Baldwin) 4:0 passes Motion: To approve all alcohol license subject to obtaining all licenses and permits necessary, signed lease agreement and enclosure of patio egress. This egress will only be used for emergencies. (Amoruso/Baldwin) 4:0 passes · Discussion of Town Meeting warrant articles will be delayed until next week. · Warrant No. 41 in the amount of $3,507,237.47 Motion: To approve warrant No. 41 in the amount of $3,507,237.47 (Amoruso/Baldwin) 3:0:1 (Mr. McCarter abstaining from check #368852) Passes Board of Selectmen Minutes of April 11, 2007 2 · Board of Selectmen meeting minutes of April 4, 2007 Motion: To approve Board of Selectmen minutes of April 4, 2007 (Amoruso/Baldwin) 4:0 passes · Commercial parking lot license for 875 S. Main St. Realty Trust Motion: To approve Commercial parking lot license for 875 S. Main St. Realty Trust (Amoruso/Baldwin) 4:0 passes · Commercial parking lot license for Foundry LLC Motion: To approve Commercial parking lot license for Foundry LLC (Amoruso/Baldwin) 4:0 passes · Commercial parking lot license for Nancy Gray McNeeley Motion: To approve Commercial parking lot license for Nancy Gray McNeeley (Amoruso/Baldwin) 4:0 passes · Memo from Shawn Burke, Planning Board Director, update on changes made to Zoning By-Laws Amendment, Section 1.5.11. · Memo from Lorilee Fish, Recreation Director, revised warrant article on Special Town Meeting. The Recreation Commission sponsors this article. · Correspondence from Sandra LaRosee, Assistant Treasurer/Collector, regarding donation to the Fire Dept. in the amount of $500.00 Motion: To accept $500 donation for the Fire Department as described. (Amoruso/Baldwin) 4:0 passes. Chief Bellavance has sent out thank you letter. · Memo from John Sullivan, Town Engineer, regarding widening sidewalk at 444 Pratt Street. This action will revolve the grass strip issue. The Town Manager reported the following: · The issue of Selectman Dentino being denied access to an Electric Dept. meeting. The intent of the meeting was primarily a staff meeting with Jess Aptowitz and Jack Goldberg invited to participate in the meeting as professionals in the finance field. They were invited to participate for their professional financial expertise, not as Finance Committee members per say. Board of Selectmen Minutes of April 11, 2007 3 Mr. D'Agostino's understanding of this issue is that this was nothing more than a staff meeting with two members of the FinComm that are volunteering their professional financial expertise. Selectman Dentino stated that FinComm members have gone over to the Electric Dept. for years and now they are going over as professional advisors? According to Selectman Dentino "That is suspicious at best." He further stated that the Charter states that the Board will have over all responsibility for public funds, the appointment of a Town Accountant and the inspection of these accounts regularly. The Board appoints both the Finance Committee and the Town Accountant. MA General Law states that the Municipal Light Board shall appoint a Manager that is under the direction & control of the Light Board. The Light Board shall have the authority under the vote of the town's people to maintain the plant through their manager. Selectman Dentino went to the Light Dept. for an audit meeting. However, Mr. D'Agostino stated that the Charter does not allow Selectmen to attend staff meetings. The Town Manager is the administrator of the Light Department. Selectman Dentino asked Mr. D'Agostino "what do you administer other than policies of the Light Dept?" Mr. D'Agostino responded that under Chapter 164 of the MA General Laws the manager has exclusive rights to hirelfire personnel for the dept. The hiring of a financial auditor is included in this right. Chairman McCarter stated that the Charter does not pertain to Light Commissioners. There are different rules that apply to Light Commissioners vs. duties of Selectmen. The Town Manager agreed that this is the case. Chairman McCarter also feels that staff members should be allowed to meet without Selectmen/Commissioners present. If a Commissioner really wants to participate in a meeting they should express this desire in advance, not just show up at a meeting unannounced. That is really what the issue here is. Mr. D'Agostino stated he disagrees with Selectman Dentino and perceived that the meeting was indeed a staff meeting with the auditor. This was not posted as a public meeting. The Board will receive the full audit report in a posted public meeting when it is completed by the auditor and staff. Selectman Amoruso also believes that the Light Commissioners do not belong at staff meetings. The Board should have a policy defining their duties and responsibilities in regards to staff meetings. There has never been one and it has been an item of discontention for quite some time. Under Chapter 164 the Manager Board of Selectmen Minutes of April 11, 2007 4 does control staff and staff meetings. To simplify past issues of control the Town Manager and The Electric Dept. Manager have become one and the same. Mr. D'Agostino further stated that he believes that Selectman Dentino is mistaken and the Selectmen have not directed FinComm members to participate in past audits as that would be in direct conflict with Chapter 164. Jess and Jack were asked to participate in lieu of having an audit sub committee. These two people are a wealth of expertise and the Town is lucky to have them volunteer their services. · Discussion of School Committee meeting budget analysis. Mr. D'Agostino stated that the towns contribution for the education of Mansfield's children is higher than the report given at the meeting. Chairman McCarter thanked the Superintendent and the School Committee for inviting him to their meeting and stated that he is concerned about the impression given at that meeting that the town is not giving enough resources to education. A 2.8 million increase is being asked for by the School Committee and he wonders what that means for the town as a whole. Without a contingency budget from the school committee and/or fincomm in the case of an override failure, a balanced budget will have to incorporate reductions in school staff and support in addition to cuts in the municipal side to make it. Discussion of the effects that health care costs are having on the town budgets bottom line. Health care costs supplied by the town for school staff should be included in expenses in educational spending. The municipal side carries the cost of supplying coverage to the school side. Selectman Amoruso did not attend the School Committee meeting and does not plan to until they produce an alternative budget to their override proposal. To say the town has decreased their contribution to the schools is disingenuous at the least, and new aid has come to the Town through Chapter 70 funds. He also asked how many people are coming off of grants and are not covered under the general school budget? These people are not employees and should only be covered under grant status. The budget numbers are continuously changing during the budget process so costs are often hard to pin down. The school budget does also not include carrying costs so the total cost of education can be misleading. · Town Managers budget report. The FinComm has proposed a municipal budget of 1.3 million. $850,200 in departmental budget reductions have been broken out by dept. in handout given to Board. This reduction would eliminate all new personnel and services. A 3.5'Yo budget increase has also been requested for FY08. The Town Manager would like to put $300,000 into stabilization from the FY08 budget. Board of Selectmen Minutes of April 11, 2007 5 There has been a spike in unsustainable revenue of 1 to 1.2 million this year but it will not be in the FY08 budget as it is not an annual occurrence. Most of this will come through as free cash, certified and be available for use at the fall town meeting. The traffic study, master plan and sewer expansion projects will most likely be in the FY09 budget. Current Chapter 90 funds are already committed. There are also additional funds needed for infrastructure improvements. The Town Manager would like to reserve 60-70% of the revenue increase to fund the previously mentioned projects. However, the budget numbers are still in flux, so in the mean time the revenue will go into stabilization. · Town Manager has had a discussion with Governor's Office regarding Mass Highway's promise of a right hand turn from Rt. 140 for Mansfield Crossings. This issue has spent 18 months at the state level, even longer at the federal level. Mr. D'Agostino has still not received a breakdown of the safety issues that MA and Federal Highway are claiming. The Town has not been asked for input into making a decision and Senator Timilty in addition to our delegation have been working on our behalf. Mr. D'Agostino has requested a meeting with our delegation, the Governor's Office, Mass and Federal highway reps. to get some resolution to this issue. Mr. D'Agostino stated that Governor Patrick ran on a platform of government collaboration and this is currently not happening. So far, the situation unfortunately does not look favorable for the Town. Information requested from Selectman Dentino regarding meeting way back for details and timeline of project. John will compose for future meeting. There are special permit requirements in relation to the right hand turn, details need to be reviewed. There is also a potential for occupancy permits for the mall to be held up if these requirements are not met. Legal counsel would have to be consulted in this case. Mr. D'Agostino stated that the developer has been quite cooperative through out the project. Selectman Amoruso stated that MA Highway has not held up their end of the bargain and the Town has acted in good faith all this time. However, the problem still needs to be addressed by the Governor's Office and the Highway Division at a future meeting so we can bring this to a resolution. · Selectman Baldwin asked Selectman Dentino about emails that he requested from the Town Manager. Is he looking for individual emails or all correspondence? Selectman Dentino stated that he is looking to receive a copy of all email correspondence between the Town Manager and Board members from the time he joined the Board. Mr. D'Agostino stated that this information is ready. Board of Selectmen Minutes of April 11, 2007 6 · Selectman Dentino asked about the destruction of residential properties from town plows and equipment. He will forward information to the Town Manager for review. Mr. D'Agostino stated that the town will repair (rake, loam & seed) all areas destroyed by town personnel, and anyone that feels that the town personnel has done so, should call the Highway Dept. · Selectman Dentino also has questions about the Community Development Programs assessment of the town down area. He also has trouble with the Community Development Strategy for the downtown. One is the rehabilitation of affordable housing stock. This would utilize the tools of higher density and may not be beneficial to the town in relation to the pressure on town services. The other thing that troubles Selectman Dentino occurred in the public hearing for the grant submission. This is where the town would purchase land/property and maintain for affordable housing units in the downtown. Mr. D'Agostino stated that this was a possibility discussed at that meeting but not necessarily proposed. · Chairman McCarter asks about the developments of the Fails Oil property RFP. There is a draft being prepared by staff and will be presented to the Board soon. Maureen Doherty will be consulted. · The Tweeter Center entertainment license is almost ready for review for the Board. The Police Chief has received billing from previous years. · Selectman Dentino asks the Board what they feel about him or any Selectman attending audit meetings for the Electric Dept. Chairman McCarter, Selectman Amoruso & Selectman Baldwin felt that the audit meeting was a staff meeting and Light Commissioners should not be allowed to attend. Motion: To adjourn at lO:lOpm (Amoruso) 4-0 Passes f'ec'tp&- ~ Z1~~ Signature of Clerk ~'/ It!; 2~~? Date of Approval Board of Selectmen Minutes of April 11, 2007 7