Date of Meeting: Monday, May 21, 2007
Location: Town Hall, 221 Main Street
Time: 6:35PM –10:25PM
Members Present: Chairman James Stanton, Ken Sydow, Roger Deal
Others Present: Suzanne Olsen, Town Administrator; Michael Kane, Banner Reporter; Lori Esposito, Administrative Assistant; others as listed on sign-in sheet
Meeting was called to order at 6:35p.m.
Special Town Meeting: A Special Town Meeting will be required by law, due to Regional School Committee returning the same budget to Selectmen for approval after the override vote failed. All that can be voted on is the FY08 budget.
· Roger Deal wants to set the meeting on a Saturday so it’s easier for seniors to attend.
·Jim Stanton says a special town meeting with the same two questions from the Annual Town Meeting warrant needs to be held. A poll vote will be held two days after the meeting for the ballot questions. Both schools will be on the warrant so the Elementary School has a chance at receiving funding for one year. Tahanto amount will be $303,624 and BES will be $451,010.
· Ken Sydow motioned to schedule a Special Town Meeting on Monday, 6/25/07 and a ballot vote on 6/27/07. Jim Stanton seconded, voted as follows: Roger – no, Jim – yes, Ken – yes.
· Roger Deal motioned to place warrant article requesting $451,010 for the FY08 Elementary School budget on the 5/7/07 Special Town Meeting warrant; Ken seconded, voted all in favor.
· Roger Deal motioned to place warrant article requesting $303,624 for the FY08 Tahanto budget on the 5/7/07 Special Town Meeting warrant; Ken seconded, voted all in favor.
·Roger Deal motioned to place two questions on the Special Town Election ballot, consistent with the Special Town Meeting warrant articles; Ken seconded, voted all in favor.
· Board would like letter drafted to School Committee to offer opportunity to meet with them for discussion prior to the special town meeting.
Relay for Life Group: Two groups of girls from Tahanto Regional School raised a total of $4500 for cancer research by participating in a relay fundraiser. The Board congratulated both groups for their efforts.
Chief Sahagian: Monthly report to the Board.
·Recent scam going on with phone calls stating the caller is from the Police Dept. and requesting donations. A message is being posted on cable warning residents of the scam; a notice was also sent to the Banner newspaper.
· Police Officer’s union contract has been ratified.
·Front foyer at the P.D. recently re-tiled.
·Newspaper article in Banner written by Michael Kane as a result of meeting with Police Chief re: safety tips, etc.
·4/30: attended drug task force meeting
· 5/7: recertified in breathalyzer testing
· 5/14: attended D.A.R.E. graduation at Elementary School
· 6/15: new officer to graduate from academy.
Chief Flanagan: Monthly report to the Board.
· EMS calls increasing over last year’s rate to date.
· Dam maintenance ongoing
· DCR and MWRA are in process of studying the catch basins on Rt. 140; hope to replace
·4/23: Westminster/Fitchburg brush fire sent 2 forestry trucks to assist.
·10/24: full scale mock drill to happen for mutual emergency aid preparedness. Will be a mock explosion and fire in the tunnel under Worcester Medical Center.
· Lt. Bradford is taking emergency vehicle operator’s course.
· Wachusett Muster League to be held 6/18; Rte 70/140 to be closed for 3 hours.
Highway Superintendent Don Parker: Monthly report to the board.
·Busy filling potholes after recent heavy rains
· Mowing in process
· Sprinklers on common are repaired
· Most of the road sweeping is complete
·Water line in front of Municipal Office Building recently repaired
·Red Knights 20th anniversary convention is being held the weekend of August 13th. Don would like to get a letter from the Board congratulating them. Also, would like to dedicate the monument at the Town House that weekend.
Temporary Sign Request: Tahanto Theater Group requesting to place signs at Rtes. 70 and 140 to advertise event for June 9 & 10; motion to approve was seconded and voted all in favor.
Town Administrator’s Report:
186 Stiles Road (Arinella property): Filmmaker is requesting permission to shoot a feature film on the property. Chief Sahagian was contacted a couple of weeks ago re: use of the road, he referred to Town Administrator. No discussion re: closing road, detail officers, etc. Roger Deal motioned to approve request pending Police Chief and property owner’s approval; Ken Sydow seconded, voted all in favor.
Boards/Committees Updates meeting: Jim Stanton explained the Board would like to hold these update meetings on a regular basis (possibly quarterly). The following topics were discussed:
Applicant Advisory Committee: Ken Sydow explained this is the new name of the previously termed Technical Advisory Committee. Its intention is to save time for boards by ensuring that applicants have all necessary information before meeting with a board. A document will soon be circulated requesting input for approval “checklist” from boards. Meetings will be held during the day at the convenience of the advisory committee, and are not mandatory, but optional for the applicant. Sue Therriault asked if it will include a “road map” of the filing process. Yes. Richard Baker (Planning Board) believes the Building Inspector should be the first to see the application. Dennis Costello says it may not be necessary to meet
together as board, but individuals could meet when convenient. Roger Deal believes process must be written out very clearly (eg., Step 1, Step 2, etc.) If possible, it should be consolidated in a booklet format, not various separate forms.
GIS Mapping System: Water District (WD) is currently using a system implemented by WPI students. Richard Baker says the Planning Board has not taken specific action to pursue a system. CMPRC has strongly encouraged him and Howard Drobner to stress advantages of GIS to the town. GIS is a digitized collection of assessor’s maps and info. An example of use: one could request certain properties within 1000 feet of parcel X; the system could provide list immediately. This work is currently being done manually. A system is costly to implement upfront, and if no way to continuously update data, it’s not useful. Roger Deal
asked how this system would vary from what WD and Light Dept. is developing with WPI. Mr. Baker doesn’t know details of WD mapping, but doubts it’s mapping for entire town. Brian Gaucher (WD Chair) said the mapping data was input by WPI students for cost of $5K “donation”, and is complete. They haven’t yet developed a system/program to make updates. Professor Fabio Carrera at WPI owns a business that implements data management in the system, but the WD does not have a quote yet for the cost. Gary Harrington (Light Dept.) noted all info is on their site, layered with plot plans as well, and they built on what WD already had in place. Roger Deal asked if it would be beneficial for departments to meet to discuss possibility of this system working for the town. Mr. Gaucher agrees, which is why the WD informed the BOS in an attempt to explore the possibility. Dennis Costello (BOH) said since GIS is a
multi-layered, interchangeable system, the assessor’s office would likely be base layer to establish the program, then WD and Light Dept. could add to that. Roger Deal asked Mr. Baker if he could initiate and take the lead to discuss and review possibilities. He feels Howard Drobner (not present) would be best, since he brought if forward. Ken Sydow says it would make sense for CMRPC to come in to present, as well as WPI. BOS is supportive of need, but wants to evaluate best system. Jim Stanton asked Sue Olsen to coordinate a meeting with members to discuss next steps and advise BOS.
Wind Power: Gary Harrington (Light Dept.) presented information obtained re: wind farms. Need 1-year study to evaluate site for wind power. He is currently in discussions with West Boylston about joint ownership. Could reduce energy needs by 20-30% if enough wind at site. Minimum 2-3 years before anything could be realized. Jim Stanton asked West Boylston’s timeframe – within a few months, they are buying a test tower. Several permits and approval from airport is needed.
Library Update: Sue Therriault says the Library Trustees are going forward with the Hillside site, and will be hiring a project manager due to the project costing over $15M. They are in the process of hiring an architect and are meeting tomorrow evening to narrow down for interviews. They’d like to go for funding at Fall town meeting and are currently mapping out costs. The trustees would like to know BOS plans for studying Hillside and its development. Jim Stanton said discussions are ongoing. Ken Linell noted they are also looking for energy efficiency in the new building, possibly solar energy. Roger Deal asked them to let him know
when he should re-activate the Library Re-Use Committee. Sue Therriault anticipates an August timeframe to finalize suggestions for the building re-use.
Water District: The legislation is still pending to combine the WD and Municipal annual meetings and elections. Allison Lane (Water District Attorney) contacted 64 districts in the Commonwealth to ask what efforts are being made to coordinate these. She got 47 responses; only 1 district (Sunderland) coordinates meetings. It was not intentional, it just happened that way. All but 4 districts have separate elections. Atty. Angelini noted it was already agreed that the town and WD would hold annual meetings and ballots together, just wanted to know how. Atty. Lane says it can be done by changing the bylaw. Brian Gaucher (WD Chair) says WD
agreed to 1 meeting and 1 election, but has learned through research it is not common; the WD might want to revisit their decision to coordinate with the town’s annual meeting and election process. The Board and WD agreed to discuss at a future Selectmen’s meeting.
Expense Reports: New format and procedure discussed for processing expenses. Sue Olsen distributed a draft to everyone. Rudy Lambrecht said if a board meets only once/month, it extends payment out too far. Roger asked why wouldn’t Chair just sign off on expenses via email? Mr. Deal strongly recommends chair or dept. head review report then sign off. Board of Selectmen agreed electronic sign-off is acceptable, as long as it’s attached to the expense form. No further comments or questions.
Board Coordination: Rudy Lambrecht wanted this topic discussed and would like boards / committees to meet together to better serve townspeople. Jim Stanton said that is why this meeting was scheduled, and they’d like to try meeting quarterly. Does Rudy think they would need to do more? Rudy responded he would like more of a work session, maybe in a circle so everyone is in discussion and knows what’s going on. Ken Sydow noted the intention of this and future meetings are to share topics with each other. The next meeting will be scheduled in late August or early September, depending on the majority availability. It does not need to be
during a Selectmen’s meeting.
Emergency Preparedness: Dennis Costello spoke about pandemic planning. BOH to be sending letters to residents this summer. They also plan to operate a flu clinic in November.
Mosquito Control: Begins July 1st.
Regional Alternative Study Committee: Committee is in process of being formed. Ken Sydow noted that Roger Deal was appointed as the BOS representative; he feels the BOS may not want to have a rep on the committee and instead have an alternate rep for BOS. Jim Stanton says the committee is going to make decisions that will have large impact on the Town and its future. He feels that someone from the BOS should serve and have input. Roger Deal said Vincent Perrone (School Committee) is strongly opposed to having a selectman on the committee. Jim says it’s not a school committee, it’s a committee formed and appointed by the BOS. The Board agreed to take under advisement and consider.
Retiree Health Insurance Policy: Draft policy presented by Atty. Angelini.
·Roger Deal asked if the Personnel Board communicated that they’d like to be included in the process and approval.
· Ken Sydow asked how this policy relates to what other towns have in place. Atty. Angelini says there’s not much out there now, but a Supreme Court case came up which resulted in towns being able to pass regulations to specify their policy. It covers unusual situations; the intentions of the subcommittee (Sue Olsen, Roger Deal, Atty. Angelini) was to plug the loopholes. Mr. Deal says it needs to be very specific so the town cannot be taken advantage of financially.
At 9:45p.m. on a motion made by Selectman Ken Sydow and seconded by Roger Deal, the following roll call vote was recorded to go into Executive Session under MGL Chapter 39, §23B no.3, for the purpose of discussing strategy with respect to collective bargaining: James Stanton-yes, Roger Deal-yes, Ken Sydow – yes. The Board agreed they would reconvene in open session only to adjourn.
Meeting adjourned at 10:25 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lori Esposito
Administrative Assistant
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