Date of Meeting: Monday, May 12, 2008
Location: Town Hall, 221 Main Street
Time: 6:30 PM – 7:45 PM
Members Present: Chairman James Stanton, Ken Sydow, Roger Deal
Others Present: Suzanne Olsen, Town Administrator; Lori Esposito, Administrative Assistant; others as listed on sign-in sheet
Not Present: Stephen Madaus, Town Counsel
Financial warrants were signed in approval prior to the meeting.
Meeting was called to order at 7:10 PM.
TIF Agreement signed, returned to Sue.
- Ken made a motion that the Board of Selectmen serve as the TIF Committee. Roger seconded, voted All in Favor.
Building Inspector -- Ken inquired about changed Monday hours. Sue Okayed him to coach soccer and miss Monday nights. Ken asked if there should be an assistant available on Monday evenings for the public. Sue will talk to him about it. Roger said we need clarification as to when and how many Mondays he will be out.
The Board noted he is signing documents as “Building Commissioner” and asked why. Sue said it is because he took the State test and is now certified as a Commissioner. Jim stated we have a Building Inspector, not a Building Commissioner.
Town Administrator Retirement Date -- The Board wants to clarify the date. Sue said she sent notice to Jim Stanton that she wants full retirement by July 1 and then work part time thereafter until the new Administrator is in place (19½ hours max per week). Roger: Clarify: July 1, retired; beyond July 1 only part time with maximum of 19½ hours a week, on a consulting-type basis, at the Board’s discretion as needed. Ken stated the Board should review this on a monthly basis for Sue’s availability and project need. Roger said this should be project-specific, as needed, as opposed to a blanket number of hours per week. Jim stated he agreed.
Re: Municipal Resources –
- Contract, with counsel’s edits, signed in duplicate. One to be returned to Dan Jutton for re-signing.
- Ken will be contacting him on a weekly basis for updates. Would like to see via email on a regular basis. Need to move along.
- Send email to Don Jutton re: Sue Olsen’s July 1 retirement; will stay on as needed part time.
Re: Michelle Ciccolo (grant writer)-- Jim: pick a date for her to come in between now and the end of June. Put a half hour on the agenda. She should suggest a list of grants appropriate for the Town and why. Then we can direct her based on the list. We need to know prerequisites for grants, as well. Possibly three to five options of grants to pursue. We need DPW, Highway, Library improvements, Senior Center, Renewable Energy, etc. Ken and Roger agreed.
Investment and Management Committee – Sue received notice that an investment with Switzerland company had problems. Ellen is in the process of doing paperwork to correct it. Perhaps it could be an extension of Capital Planning Committee responsibilities. Sue feels a committee should be formed to be in charge of investment decisions. Roger said he is shocked that only one person has the authority/burden to make decisions on Town investments. Jim said the rules probably should have been changed years ago when the Collector/Treasurer was changed from elective office to appointed. Roger said Fuller Foundation has investment committee; perhaps Mark Fuller could offer expertise re structure, protocol, etc. Ken noted that there might be a difference between public and
private. Jim: MMA might have guidelines. Ken said we need to protect the Treasurer. Roger: Do we receive quarterly statements? He stated he has never seen them. The Board of Selectmen should be reviewing them; that responsibility should not be thrown onto one person. Jim said to have Ellen put together a report once a month until we get the committee going. He asked Sue to come up with recommendations.
Green Street Drainage – Counsel to be pursuing with Northborough town counsel.
Scrap Metals – Nel Lazour would like to talk with the Board of Selectmen regarding scrap in the barn. Lori said she would set up for an agenda appointment. Sue said the second floor HVAC project is leaving copper to be removed and scrapped. Paul Aucoin usually does it. Ken Goodwin also asked to remove it to cash it in for scrap and keep the money. Jim stated we need an estimate on what it’s worth.
Meeting adjourned at 7:45 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lori Esposito
Administrative Assistant
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