Advisory Committee Present: Brad Cote
March 22, 2016 Connie Benjamin
Joseph Myerson
Ted Kirchner
Craig Lauer
Kenneth Troup
Chairman Cote called the Advisory Committee meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
HUMAN SERVICES
Pat Bensetler appeared before the Advisory Committee to again plead her case for her committee’s $3750 budget. Advisory members noted that so far in FY16, only $667 of the current budget had been spent. After much discussion and two failed attempts at smaller and larger amounts, the Advisory Committee unanimously approved a budget of $1500 for Account 590 Human Services.
PLANNING BOARD ARTICLES
Erik Neyland represented the Planning Board to review the 6 bylaw articles on the warrant. Erik explained the genesis of the public way access general bylaw Article 24, indicating it originated with the Public Ways Safety Committee and was based on a similar bylaw in Sudbury. Advisory Committee members questioned why the article was needed. Article 25 supports the Green Communities initiative and allows the town to site solar farms on three parcels of municipal land.
The other Green Communities article is the Stretch Energy Code in Article 29. In explaining the proposed inclusion of the Skinner Property in the Village Overlay District (Article 26), Erik noted that various developers and realtors had wanted residential on the business-zoned property including a Cottage Overlay. No abutters had attended the February public hearing. The Planning Board’s opinion was that the provisions of the Village Overlay might make it easier to sell the property, providing both business and residential development opportunities. A question was raised as to whether or not the owner wanted the inclusion and those in attendance believed she did.
NASHOBA SPACE NEEDS.
Robert Czekanski of the Space Needs Task Force, Dr. Curtis Bates acting Superintendent, and Lorraine Romasco, chair of the School Committee provided an update on the space needs project. A report had been completed and copies were provided to Advisory Committee members; it is available to the public on the schools’ website. While the Task Force intentionally did not make recommendations, it described a series of prioritized deficiencies and requirements. The population study is to be completed in April 2016 and the school district intends to submit a Statement of Interest to the state school building authority in January 2017.
Meanwhile they will be having public meetings and information sessions to explain the need to the public.
TRANSFER REQUEST – HORSE RING FIELD REPAIR
DPW Superintendent Harold Brown and Parks and Recreation member Stephen Schneider met with the Advisory Committee to discuss recent vandalism at the fields that require repairs to the fields and additional surveillance to inhibit recurrence. Although both fields were damaged, the discussants decided that a transfer now for the Horse Ring field and a single gate would be the best near term expenditure. Brown and Schneider estimated the cost to be $6285. The Advisory Committee voted unanimously to transfer that amount to Parks and Recreation account 630.
BUDGET AND WARRANT
With Donna Madden and Ninotchka Rogers attending, the Advisory Committee reviewed the budget and approved line items that had not been previously approved including:
200 Public Safety Building
210 Police Department
220 Fire Department
231 Ambulance
303 Post Secondary Voc Ed
The Advisory Committee then went through the warrant and voted on most but not all articles not previously voted upon, including the following:
Article 6 Retroactive Pay Dispatch FY16 $14,447 Unanimously Approved
Article 8 Retroactive Pay Police FY16 $74,976 Unanimously Approved
Article 24 Public Way Access Permit, Unanimously Disapproved
Article 25 Solar Farm Overlay District, Unanimously Approved
Article 26 Knox Box Requirement, Unanimously Approved
Article 29 Stretch Energy Code, Unanimously Approved
Article 31 Transfer Funds from Tree Replacement Program, Unanimously Approved
Two questions were raised on Articles 27 and 28 that will be resolved for a vote at the next meeting on Thursday night. The Advisory Committee is hopeful that Article 22 on the Long Hill Road culvert and Article 17 on the 110/117 Traffic Lights will be withdrawn from the warrant.
Donna Madden and the Advisory Committee discussed the amounts to be included in the revenue portions of Article 2, the budget article. Only $50,000 is available from the cell tower fund, $100,000 will be transferred from the Ambulance Receipts Reserved fund, and $60,000 will be freed up from the Assessors Overlay Account.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:20 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by Kenneth Troup
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