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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOS 10/24/2018Select Board Meeting Minutes October 24, 2018 Present: Mr. Jess Aptowitz, Vice -Chairman; Mr. Steve Schoonveld, Clerk; Mr. Frank DelVecchio and Mr. Neil Rhein. Mr. Michael Trowbridge, Chairman was not present. 1. Call To Order Select Board Meeting- Pledge of Allegiance c0"WED OFFICE Mr. Aptowitz called the meeting to order at 6:30PM. He reminded every�Or e' hl kI i'e meeting was being broadcast live and taped for future broadcast on Mansfield Cable. He asked if there �YrrRmM4'vf tie audience recording, to which the Mr. Aptowitz acknowledged that Mansfield News would be recording. 2. Public Hearing In Accordance With The Provisions Of Massachusetts Gppet. Lain) IChl F82 Section 22, By The Select Board Of Their Intent To Lay Out The Following Streets As A Public Way on October 24, 2018 At 6:30pm In The Select Board's Meeting Room, 3A/B, Town Hall, Six Park Row: Forest Heights Drive Mr. Schoonveld read the legal notice for the record. Motion: To open the public hearing. (Schoonveld/DelVecchio) Passes 4:0 Mr. Shaun Burke came forward and stated the street was not voted on in the spring at Annual Town Meeting, but it has been carried over to the Special Town Meeting. He confirmed the recommendation from staff is to accept this Street. Mr. Burke stated the Planning Board has not yet voted on any of the streets, but they will be making their recommendation at their next meeting. Mr. Aptowitz asked if it was okay for the Select Board to vote without their recommendation. Mr. Burke stated it would not be a problem. There were no comments from the public. Motion: To close the public hearing at 6:30PM. (Schoonveld/DelVecchio) Passes 4:0 Motion: To approve Forest Heights Drive subject to final inspection from the Planning Department. (Schoonveld/DelVecchio) Passes 4:0 3. Public Hearing In Accordance With The Provisions Of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 82 Section 22, By The Select Board Of Their Intent To Lay Out The Following Streets As A Public Way on October 24, 2018 At 6:35pm In The Select Board's Meeting Room, 3A/B, Town Hall, Six Park Row: Marie Drive Mr. Schoonveld read the legal notice for the record. Motion: To open the public hearing at 6:35PM. (Schoonveld/DelVecchio) Passes 4:0 Mr. Shaun Burke stated that there was no punch list and all items have been completed and recommend the Board support the acceptance as a town way. There were no questions or comments from the public. Motion: To close the public hearing. (Schoonveld/DelVecchio) Passes 4:0 Motion: To approve Marie Drive subject to the final inspection by the Planning Department and Road Inspector one week prior to Special Town Meeting. (Schoonveld/DelVecchio) Passes 4:0 4. Public Hearing In Accordance With The Provisions Of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 82 Section 22, By The Select Board Of Their Intent To Lay Out The Following Streets As A Public Way on October 24, 2018 At 6:40pm In The Select Board's Meeting Room, 3A/B, Town Hall, Six Park Row: Dutton Drive Mr. Schoonveld read the legal notice for the record. Motion: To open the public hearing at 6:40PM. (Schoonveld/DelVecchio) Passes 4:0 Mr. Shaun Burke stated this subdivision is fully complete and there were no outstanding issues or punch list items. He stated that the Planning Board will vote on this at their next meeting and his recommendation is to support acceptance of the street. There were no questions or comments from the public. Select Board Meeting Minutes October 24, 2018 Page 1 Motion: To close the public hearing at 6:40PM. (Schoonveld/DelVecchio) Passes 4:0 Motion: To approve Dutton Drive subject to the completion of the final inspection from Planning Department and Road Inspector one week prior to Special Town Meeting. (Schoonveld/DelVecchio) Passes 4:0 5. Budget Discussion with the School Committee, Finance Committee and Senator Feeney Members of the School Committee, Finance Committee and Senator Feeney were present for this agenda item. Senator Feeney started the discussion and provided an update on the State Budget. He noted that the budget was balanced before formal sessions ended on July 31st. The total budget was just over $42 billion; $4.9 million in K-12 Education, $200 million invested in the opioid crisis as well as conservative investments to increase the stabilization funds. Senator Feeney stated that additional Chapter 90 funding was approved and Mansfield would be getting about another $150,000. Senator Feeney also encouraged everyone to come to his office hours that he hosts at various days and times here in the community. Senator Feeney also noted that next year he anticipates lots of discussions about how to retrofit schools to make them safer. Mr. Dumas then stated that the philosophy and vision of One Town one budget continues with the cooperation amongst all Town Departments. He stated that the Town is at the level it was projected to be and serves as a base for FY20. Mr. John Stanbrook stated that he started with a moderate approach as he has in past years. He identified the five revenue assumptions: new growth, State Aid, local receipts, free cash and indirect costs. However, Mr. Stanbrook stated there will not be any free cash used this year in the budget. The starting place for the FY20 budget was a 2.9% increase over the FY19 and the General Fund was just under $100 million dollars. Mr. Walter Wilk, Chairman of the Finance Committee commented that Mr. Stanbrook has been very accurate using the moderate approach, and should give himself credit and the numbers he is using are realistic. Mr. Wilk asked Senator Feeney if there were any thoughts from the Senate on reducing unfunded mandates or increasing funding on mandates because that would be like giving more money to the Town. Senator Feeney replied that there are robust debates every time a bill is going to place costs with cities or towns and he noted that each community has different capabilities to fund certain items. Ms. Lynn Cavicchi from the School Committee noted that there is a new accountability system from the state regarding MCAS that will need additional resources. She also noted that last year the Special Education funds were much lower because the outplacements were lower than the year before. Ms. Cavicchi also noted that a number of the union contracts are being negotiated this year and insurance is a huge portion. Mr. Wilk asked if the insurance rate was locked in for two years and if the insurance task force would be meeting in the spring. Mr. Schoonveld confirmed that it was and they would be meeting in the spring. Mr. Dumas stated that the CIP process has been refreshed and discussions on department priorities will be helpful in adjusting the budget and where the focus will be. Mr. Wilk stated the Town has not done a good job on developing the industrial park and there is not a cohesive plan for economic development. It was expected that by now the Town would have an additional $500,000 in tax revenue based on the changes made to allow higher density buildings. Mr. Wilk concluded by saying "It's not an expense problem, it's a revenue problem" and believes the Town the School do a great job minimizing expenses. Mr. Dumas commented that he has been working with the IDC and that it may be necessary to add an economic development person or a firm to help with growth. Mr. Wilk and Senator Feeney agreed that it would help and the Town needs to market itself to businesses. Senator Feeney and the School Committee left the meeting at 7:2713M. 6. In Accordance With Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 40, Section 56, The Select Board Will Hold A Public Hearing For The Purpose To Adopt The Percentages Of The Local Tax Levy To Be Borne By Each Class Of Real And Personal Property For Fiscal Year 2019 at 7:30PM Mr. Schoonveld read the public notice for the record. Motion: To open the public hearing at 7:3013M. (Schoonveld/DelVecchio) Passes 4:0 Select Board Meeting Minutes October 24, 2018 Page 2 Mr. Aptowitz stated the Select Board would not vote on a tax rate until the next meeting when Chairman Trowbridge would be in attendance. Mr. Greg Matoian and Mr. Dana St. James were present from the Board of Assessors as well as Nancy Hinote, Assistant Assessor and Mr. Wilk, Chairman of the Finance Committee. Mr. Stanbrook began the discussion and provided a high level overview of setting the tax rate for FY19 and explained that this year there is a negative debt exclusion which is a one-time occurrence, totaling almost a million dollars from a school project. He also stated that the DPW/Public Safety Complex Debt and the third round of borrowing will affect FY20. The total maximum allowable levy that can be raised in taxes is $63,412,343 which is a 2.62% over FY18. Mr. Stanbrook then stated that if the new Complex was not built the taxes would have gone down this year by .01%. Mr. Aptowitz added that it is not standard across all properties because a home value may have changed. Mr. Stanbrook stated that it doesn't mean that everyone's tax increase will be 2.62% it means that the total tax levy increase will be 2.62%. The current shift is 1.27 which means that Commercial, Industrial and Personal Property taxpayers pay 27% more Mr. Wilk, Chairman of the Finance Committee also provided a presentation to the Select Board and stated that 65 cents of every tax dollar goes towards education which businesses do not use. Mr. Wilk also stated that in the Finance Committee's regional tax comparison and some Towns have a single tax rate and Mansfield is at the lower end of regional tax growth. Mr. Wilk encouraged the Board to think about several questions before making a decision and that the Board should create a tax policy to use to set the tax rate. On behalf of the Finance Committee he recommended that the Board reduce the split to encourage and drive additional businesses to Town. Mr. Dumas stated that the data provided by the Assessors shows that businesses will see an 11.17% increase to their tax bill while the average family house only will see a 1.09% increase if the split were to remain at 1.27. He added to Mr. Wilk's point that businesses do not use all the services in Town and it is an issue the Board needs to discuss to make the split as fair as possible. Mr. DelVecchio stated that to keep the actual impact smooth from year to year research needs to be completed. He did not believe that businesses would swarm to Town with a lower tax rate because many factors impact the decision. Mr. Wilk disagreed believed that taxes impacted businesses decisions to move here especially when they are moving into neighboring towns. Mr. Aptowitz stated the Board needs to take into account next year when there will be a 5-6% increase. Mr. Schoonveld stated that the split has been changed three times in ten years and it has been done to even out the volatility in the assessment values of the industrial properties. Mr. Schoonveld stated that businesses and residential homeowners want predictability. He then stated that his biggest issue was that the average residential value has gone up 20% and commercial and industrial has only gone up 12% in the past nine years and he wanted to know why. Mr. Aptowitz answered it was market driven. Mr. Schoonveld stated he was concerned about next year and wanted to be able to do something with the rate this year to reduce the impact of next year. Mr. Schoonveld also asked what businesses should be attracted to Mansfield that will bring long term tax growth. Mr. Stanbrook recommended that the Board could give the businesses a one or two point break. Mr. Aptowitz suggested looking at Free Cash and Mr. Wilk disagreed that it would be a mathematical error. Mr. DelVecchio agreed with Mr. Wilk that Free Cash could be a bridge, but there would need to be a large source of growth coming. Mr. Aptowitz stated that as part of the budget discussion the Board needs to consider the impact to the residents. Mr. Matoian stated that the Mr. Wilk did a great job and stated the Board of Assessors creates the evaluations on the properties which is market driven which also causes the variables. Mr. Schoonveld suggested the Assessors look at best practices of other communities to help smooth the volatility of the commercial and industrial tax base. There were no questions or comments from the public. Motion: To continue the public hearing until November 7, 2018 at 6:3013M. (Schoonveld/DelVecchio) Passes 4:0 7. Discussion of Special Town Meeting Warrant Articles and Potential Vote Mr. Stanbrook stated that CIP has not yet been voted on the dollar values for Article 6 and Mr. Schoonveld stated the Board should wait for CIP's recommendation. Mr. Dumas stated Article 14 was dropped from the warrants and the articles have been renumbered. Select Board Meeting Minutes October 24, 2018 Page 3 Motion: To support the Town Meeting Warrant Articles numbers 14, 17, 18. (Schoonveld/DelVecchio) Passes 4:0 8. Consideration to Sign and Approve the Special Town Meeting Warrant Motion: To approve and sign the Special Town Meeting Warrant. (Schoonveld/Rhein) Passes 4:0 9. Consideration to Sign the Conservation Restriction from NB Realty Trust, Nye Realty Trust and Jess Development, LLC Motion: To approve and sign the Conservation Restriction from NB Realty Trust, Nye Realty Trust and Jess Development, LLC. (Schoonveld/DelVecchio) Passes 4:0 10. Discussion of North Main Street Fire Station and West Street Police Station Use Mr. Dumas stated there was no update until after November 19th when Mr. Ahern will provide information. 11. SEMRECC Update from Town Manager Mr. Dumas stated Thursday October 18th closed on the High Rock location for then dollars and the State awarded SEMRECC $2 million. 12. Resident Questions and Comments There were no resident questions or comments. 13. Review and Approve Consent Agenda All items on the Consent Agenda may be adopted with a single motion. Any member of the Select Board may request that an item be withdrawn from the Consent Agenda for separate consideration in which case that item will be voted on separately from the remainder of the Consent Agenda. All licenses have been routed through Town Hall Departments and any conditions have been noted below. a) Approval of Select Board Meeting Minutes for: • October 10, 2018 b) Vote To Approve Warrants: • Town Vendor Warrant No. 19016T in the amount of $2,152,840.47 • Electric Vendor Warrant No. 19016E in the amount of $1,774,257.26 • School Vendor Warrant No. 190165 in the amount of $456,438.96 • Town Vendor Warrant No. 19017T in the amount of $1,558,342.43 • Electric Vendor Warrant No. 19017E in the amount of $46,726.27 c) Permits and License • Consideration of Event Application for Annual Veterans Day Parade on November 12, 2018 • Consideration of Event Application for Annual Christmas Parade on November 25,2018 • Consideration to Waive the Electrical Permit Fee for Richard Brothers Electric for 10 Columbine Road for the Habitat for Humanity • Consideration to Waive the Sewer Connection Capitol Fee for 10 Columbine Road for Habitat for Humanity d) Proclamations Motion: To approve the consent agenda. (Schoonveld/DelVecchio) Passes 4:0 14. Consideration and Approval of Town Payroll Warrants: • Town Payroll/Town Medicaid Payroll 19016PT in the amount of $395,672.47 Motion: To approve Town Payroll/Town Medicaid Payroll 19016PT in the amount of $395,672.47 (Schoonveld/Rhein) Passes 3:0:1 (Aptowitz Abstained) • Town Deductions Vendor Payroll 19016TV in the amount of $120,130.14 Motion: To Town Deductions Vendor Payroll 19016TV in the amount of $120,130.14. (Schoonveld/Rhein) Passes 4:0 • School Payroll/School Medicaid Payroll 19016PS in the amount of $1,666,064.73 Motion: To approve School Payroll/School Medicaid Payroll 19016PS in the amount of $1,666,064.73. (Schoonveld/Rhein) Passes 4:0 • School Deductions Vendor Payroll 19016SV in the amount of $535,877.67 Motion: To approve School Deductions Vendor Payroll 19016SV in the amount of $535,877.67. (Schoonveld/Rhein) Passes 4:0 • Town Payroll/Town Medicaid Payroll 19017PT in the amount of $386,962.27 Select Board Meeting Minutes October 24, 2018 Page 4 Motion: To approve Town Payroll/Town Medicaid Payroll 19017PT in the amount of $386,962.27. (Schoonveld/DelVecchio) Passes 3:0:1 (Aptowitz Abstained) Town Deductions Vendor Payroll 19017TV in the amount of $113,275.57 Motion: To approve Town Deductions Vendor Payroll 19017TV in the amount of $113,275.57. (Schoonveld/Rhein) Passes 4:0 15. Correspondence • Letter from Verizon with Municipal Emergency/Trouble Reporting Procedures • Letters from Verizon on Programming Changes • Letter from Bristol County Agricultural High School for a Change to the Tuition Billing Procedure Mr. Schoonveld read a summary of the above correspondence items. He added that Parks and Recs may cancel the parade due to the predicted weather, but a decision will be made Saturday, October 27th at 12PM. 16. Town Manager's Report Mr. Dumas explained the new format of all CIP requests and discussed making it available online. Mr. Dumas noted that the Strategic Development Committee met yesterday and established the following vision statement "We envision a vibrant, sustainable, mixed-use village experience that provides connectivity to adjacent neighborhoods that is complementary to existing downtown businesses while bringing a harmonious design which balances the needs of residents, businesses, and commuters." Mr. Dumas then stated that earlyvoting is available through November 2nd and Fall Town Meeting will be November 13, 2018. He added that the Town Accountant position has been posted and applications are due by October 31't. Mr. Dumas updated the road work schedule and asked the Board for consideration of a banner request for the Mansfield Women of Today. Motion: To approve the banner request for the Mansfield Women of Today to display their banner from November 5, 2018 to November 15, 2018. (DelVecchio/Rhein) Passes 4:0 17. Select Board Member's Questions and Comments Mr. DelVecchio stated that he attended the annual Selectmen's conference and noted that one takeaway from the meeting that was stated by Mr. Paul DeRensis, Town Counsel and Selectman of Sherborn was that as a Selectman you have to be patient because things take a long time. Mr. Schoonveld agreed the Board is impatient and Boards should have goals and objectives. He then stated that the DPW open house was a great event and if the Town waited until today to begin the project would have cost more because of interest rates. Mr. Schoonveld then noted several items from The Beacon publication. Mr. Rhein stated that the special election had a 10% voter turnout and thanked the Town's Clerks office for running the elections smoothly. Mr. Rhein suggested the CIP Budget include becoming a green community. Mr. Dumas commented that there needs to be a follow up meeting with further discussions. Mr. Aptowitz stated that Friday is the safety luncheon at the COA that is hosted by the Electric Department. He also noted that Electrical Commissioners meeting is Monday, October 29th at the DPW building. 18. Any items not anticipated by the Chairman 48 hours prior to this meeting There were no items. 19. Adjourn Motio . o adctober 24, 2018 Board of Select en meeting at 9:08PM. (Schoonveld/DelVecchio) Passes jour he 4:0 Y1;w Si a ure Date Minutes prepared by Carrie Champagne Select Board Meeting Minutes October 24, 2018 Page 5