Members present: William Cavanaugh, Mark Karlberg, George Fuller
Others Present: Richard Furlong, David & Eva Bonney, Beth VanNess, Colleen O’Connor, Ann Spadafora, Steve Rosenthal, Gerry Galliher, Mark White, Rita Furlong, John Deacon, Nancy & David Devane, John Deacon, Pat Mullins, Josh Lombard, Chuck Chiecko, Elton Ogden, Rob Gorden, Meredyth Babcock, Stu Bresnoff
7:03 PM Meeting opened.
It was announced that Beth VanNess was audio taping the meeting.
Selectmen’s Comments and Announcements: Mark reminded the Selectmen that the initial meeting of the Sherwood Forest Lake District will be on Saturday, October 9, 2010. Bill would like something put in the Country Journal that “Trick or Treat” will take place on Sunday, October 31, 2010 from 5-7 pm and anyone wishing to participate should leave an outside light on.
George announced that because he is not feeling well tonight, Bill will be chairing the meeting.
Mark motioned to accept the minutes of the September 15, 2010 meeting, Bill seconded. George abstained from voting because he was absent from that meeting. Motion passed. Mark motioned to accept the minutes of the September 22, 2010 meeting, George seconded. All in favor. Mark motioned to accept the minutes of the September 29, 2010 meeting, George seconded. All in favor. Mark motioned to accept the minutes of the Executive Session meeting of September 29, 2010, George seconded. All in favor.
Public Input: Ann Spadafora addressed the Board regarding her Becket Woods Road District bill. She advised that the amount on the bill for the first two quarters is more than it should have been because last year had a one-time increase. She also advised that she is only going to pay the amount that should have been billed and she does not feel she should be penalized with interest if she does not pay the full amount. She had spoken with the Department of Revenue and they advised her that the town could not ask for more than half of what is due for the first two quarters. Richard advised that the law for sending out the first two preliminary tax bills is based on what was paid the year before. If the budget amount is decreased then the taxpayer would pay less for the third and fourth quarter
tax bills. Ann Spadafora would like a revised bill sent out to all Becket Woods Road District property owners. Richard will check with DOR to see what the town needs to do.
Colleen was confused about why the police chief gets paid approximately $15,000 a year but the fire chief only gets paid $3,500. Richard advised that the police chief only gets paid approximately what the fire chief gets paid. The amount she was looking at was the police chief stipend plus what the police chief gets paid doing part time work. Bill advised that anyone could petition to have the fire chief’s stipend increased and it would have to be voted on at a town meeting. Ann Spadafora advised that the Finance Committee would like to increase the amounts that are paid to the fire chief and police chief. Ann feels that the fire chief position is more complicated than she thought and feels that the town should hire someone for approximately 15 hours a week to get everything done.
George advised that John Hall could have delegated some of the work to the other officers of the fire department but he did not. Nancy Devane asked if the Selectmen would be implementing some procedures that all department heads can follow so that something like this does not happen again. The Selectmen will look into this. Bill advised that the fire department does not do monthly reports and if they did they could see if any problems exist. Colleen advised that 30 years ago the fire chief’s position was more simplistic then it is now. Mark explained the procedure that needs to be followed if anyone wishes to increase the salary of any position in town.
The Selectmen asked John Deacon how his first year as harbor master went. He advised that overall things went well. He changed things slightly to make things easier. He was not sure about whether a person needs to have a dock permit for docks that are affixed to land. He needs clarification so everyone is on the same page. Richard will look into it and let him know. John advised that there was one issue about a person wanting to unload a boat during the beach hours and he wants to know if it is legal to deny a person access to the boat ramp. Richard advised that the sign at the beach is to try to have people launch their boats during off hours but the town does not have legal authority to deny anyone from launching their boats at any time. John feels that if it is not
enforceable then they should move the buoys to make it safer for people to launch their boats. He would also like to learn CPR in case he ever needs to use it. Richard will check with Jim Kupernik to see if this could be done. He would like the police to patrol the beach area more often so they can make their presence known and this could deter problems from occurring.
Pat Mullins from BRPC addressed the Board regarding the 2011 Community Development Block Grant. She advised that one of the things that needs to be done before the grant is submitted is to have the Community Development Strategy updated. She explained that there are only minor changes from last years plan. These changes do not change the intent of this plan. Colleen advised that there is a section in North Becket that has barrels of toxic materials in the ground near the river. She explained where they are located. Pat advised that they cannot change the scope of the grant but this could be included at another time. Elton Ogden explained the housing rehab portion of the grant. Richard asked if a person needs to have septic or well repairs does their house need to be up to
code. He answered that if it is only well or septic repairs then they are not required to have everything in their home up to code. Pat advised that the Selectmen need to sign off on the Community Development Strategy before they hold a public hearing on the grant application. The Selectmen could do this at their next meeting. Mark motioned to request public comment on the proposed municipal community development priority list and to have these comments in to Richard by next Wednesday, George seconded. All in favor. George motioned to hold a public hearing on November 10, 2010, Mark seconded. All in favor. The Selectmen will have a week to review the application and sign off on it by November 17, 2010.
George advised that he met with the fire department and as of last night the fire department did not have anyone that they wanted as fire chief. Richard advised that the appointment of fire chief is his appointment and the Selectmen need to vote to approve his appointment. He feels that if the fire department is not okay with Richard’s choice then they can submit a name after June 30, 2011. George motioned to approve the town administrator’s appointment of Ray Tarjick as fire chief term to expire June 30, 2011, Mark seconded. All in favor.
The Selectmen reviewed the bids for the sander and dump body for the Highway Department. Richard advised that the highest bidder did not have the certificate of non-collusion so he is out of the picture. The lowest bidder did not have a bid bond included in his bid package. He claims that the town never sent him the legal notice with the specs for the equipment. Richard spoke with the attorney and it is not up to the town to make sure the contractor has seen the legal notice. It is up to the contractor to make sure he has everything that is required to bid on the equipment. After Len Tisdale reviewed the bids submitted it was determined that the specs were not met by the lowest bidder anyway so the next lowest bidder should be awarded the bid since they have all of the requirements. Mark motioned to award the bid for the sander and dump body to Zwack, Inc. in the amount of $12,995.00 for the sander and in the amount of $29,675.00 for the dump body, Bill seconded. George
abstained from voting. Motion passed.
The Selectmen reviewed the bids for the Class 1 Bituminous Concrete Type I. Richard advised that all the bidders met the requirements. Mark motioned to accept the bid from Palmer Paving in the amount of $61.95 per ton for Class 1 Bituminous Concrete Type I, Bill seconded. George abstained from voting. Motion passed.
Richard explained that the 19 land-locked acres on Quarry Road that the Selectmen decided to sell to the Becket Land Trust in the amount of $1.00 has not been transferred to the Becket Land Trust because the cost of doing the deed transfer has not been done. Richard feels that the decision of who should pay for the cost of recording the deed should be made by the Selectmen. The Selectmen feel that since the Land Trust purchased the property for $1.00, it should be responsible for the cost of recording the deed transfer.
Nina advised that Jeanne Pryor, of the Sherwood Greens Road Improvement and Maintenance District, asked that the Selectmen hold off on reviewing the letter requesting a change to the payment amount for the fiscal year 2011 salary request of $3,891.00 until the meeting on October 20, 2010 because she is out of town until then. Mark motioned to postpone reviewing the letter from the SGRI&MD requesting a change to the payment amount for the fiscal year 2011 salary request of $3,891.00 until the October 20, 2010 meeting, George seconded. All in favor.
The Selectmen reviewed the letter sent to Lynn Pease regarding her excise tax abatements. Richard advised that after reviewing all of the information, the reason she never received an abatement for her excise taxes is because she never submitted a bill of sale or anything else that stated where the vehicle went. If the vehicle was traded in, the dealer that took the traded vehicle should have supplied her with a form stating that the vehicle was turned over to them. The Board of Assessors is required to have this documentation before they can issue an abatement. Richard researched the vehicles and found that other people owned them now so this should help her to receive the abatements. George suggested that the Board of Assessors hand out information that tells the person what needs to be
done in order to get an abatement.
The Selectmen reviewed the letter from resident with concerns regarding people going through the trash in the dumpsters at the transfer station. He advised that there have been people who go into the dumpsters to retrieve copper piping and other metal that is worth money. There is a liability issue and no one should be going into the dumpsters. Richard also advised that some cars have been spotted parked by the transfer station with no one in them so this indicates that they are inside of the station in the metal bins taking the materials. Richard will check to see if the police department can patrol the transfer station during off hours to see if they can stop people from doing this. Mark White advised that there are signs on the dumpsters that say no one is allowed to climb on or in the
dumpsters. Richard feels that if a person is caught climbing in the dumpsters then the attendant should take their name and give them a letter and if it happens two more times then the person could have their permit revoked by the Selectmen. Colleen advised that there was metal removed from the dam at Buckley Dunton. Richard will write a letter for the attendants to hand out.
The Selectmen reviewed the monthly reports from the Building Inspector, Ambulance Department and Police Department. George motioned to accept the monthly reports, Mark seconded. All in favor.
Any other business: Richard advised that before Tony left he had a company do a survey on our phone systems. This company came up with ways to save money. One way to save money has to do with the emergency lines for the police and fire departments. He will need to check with dispatch to see if this can be done.
Richard advised that the AED’s from the fire department are not on a recall. They need new batteries, new pads and new software upgrades. He is in the process of having these taken care of.
Nina advised that a request came in after the agenda was posted from Susan Deacon. She would like to be appointed to the ZBA. George motioned to appoint Susan Deacon to the Zoning Board of Appeals, Mark seconded. All in favor.
Reviewed correspondence.
8:45 PM George motioned to adjourn, Mark seconded. All in favor.
Reviewed payroll/expense warrants.
Respectfully submitted, _______________________________
Nina Weiler, Secretary George Fuller, Chairman
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