Date of Meeting: Monday, August 25, 2008
Location: Town Hall, 221 Main Street
Time: 6:30 PM – 9:31 PM
Members Present: Chairman James Stanton; Roger Deal;, Ken Sydow
Others Present: Joe Connelly, Interim Town Administrator; Lori Esposito, Administrative Assistant; Stephen Madaus, Town Counsel; others as noted on sign-in sheet.
Financial warrants signed.
Joe Connelly: Spoke with Rich Baker regarding the 43D application; feels personnel is needed for GIS implementation. Need community developer.
Report of the Town Administrator to the Board of Selectmen –
Asian Longhorned Beetle: USDA will notify by street prior to inspecting.
Stockton Street property:
-Nearly cleared; Don Parker will demolish it and remove the shed.
-Auctioneer services: three quotes requested. Can begin in as soon as three weeks.
-Ellen has six additional parcels that the Board of Selectmen might want to auction off along with Stockton Street.
-Jim: We need to be sure that we actually own the parcels and the takings have been perfected.
-Ken: Would like Steve Madaus to have a title company verify the parcels.
-Joe: Mark Bertonassi and he could look at the buildability of the parcels.
-Ken: The first step would be to have title searches done; then maybe they could do that.
43D Grant – Owner signature received today; will be Fed-Ex’d tomorrow to Adam Costa for submission on Wednesday, August 27.
West Boylston Board of Selectmen – Shared Services Discusstion (7:00 PM) –
Present: Allen R. Phillips, Chairman; John DiPietro; Kevin M. McCormick; Christopher A. Rucho
Intermunicipal Agreements (MGLc.40 §4a)
Allen Phillips: We have had previous discussions with him regarding shared services.
Jim spoke with Paul Sushchyk, Selectman in Sterling. He would like to be part of the discussions as well.
Allen Phillips: We are currently sharing our Building Inspector with Sterling (they have a full-time inspector; will do 50%/50% each town). Agreement came about after being approached by Sterling. Started with a 60-day temporary agreement, then permanent. Everything is shared (reviews, benefits, etc.)
Jim Stanton: Explained MMR assisting with Town Administrator search; thinks Planner and economic development would be a help. Also have to address the DPW/Fire building situation…had past discussions with West Boylston regarding shared facility.
Chris Rucho: They currently do not have assistance in economic development; this would be their need, as well.
Allen Phillips: Agrees there are a number of opportunities for shared services.
Jim Stanton: West Boylston Veterans’ Agent Neil Norum was very helpful in the past two months filling in for Boylston’s vacancy. Excellent feedback received. We now have a Town resident willing to serve.
Allen Phillips: The Council on Aging could also be a shared need. Anything specific in mind to focus on right now?
Ken Sydow: Library resources – read a recent article about smaller towns combining.
Allen Phillips: They have a loan and can’t close their library. We could possibly share with West Boylston; keep Boylston open limited hours for reduced costs.
Roger Deal: No question that our size communities will eventually need to share services due to economic times. We need to resolve the “ego” issue on both parts and do what’s needed to survive. He wants to see things done; wants to see change. Let’s put our money where our mouth is and take realistic action. He wants to begin to take action and be proactive versus discussing and nothing happens.
Allen Phillips: Agrees. Also a lot of misinformation out there due to no one wants their department cut. It’s more on that department level versus Board of Selectmen to Board of Selectmen.
Ken Sydow: Even a simple agreement with Sterling took months. It would be easy to try it for a limited time to test it, e.g., DPW: both need building, “let’s go!”
Jim Stanton: We had recent unsuccessful overrides; we need to find a different way to deliver.
Allen Phillips: We are looking at cutting services for next year and would like to not have to.
Jim Stanton: The DPW and Fire Departments seem to be top priorities.
Roer Deal: There’s a point that we will have opposition; the Board of Selectmen will be the “heavies,” and just do what needs to be done.
John DiPietro (also former Veterans’ Agent in West Boylston): If there’s someone in Boylston who is sincere about it, he’ll introduce him to offices/agents.
JimStanton: Vin is President of the Massachusetts Veterans Association.
John DiPietro: Why can’t the cost of the Special Education bus be shared?
Joe Connelly: We do share with Assabet Special Ed Collaborative. We are currently working to consolidate bus routes. A couple of ideas: Two areas are understaffed: facilities technician/custodian and network administrator (e.g., HVAC specs are being put together; we could use someone with expertise in that).
John DiPietro: Is it possible to combine our fuel contracts?
Roger Deal: We can’t look at small things like supplies, etc. We have to look at “big ticket” items; too bad we missed when we were hiring a full-time building inspector. We need to finalize details before affected groups give feedback. (Know cost effectiveness, what the plan is, etc.) Then individuals can’t argue those points. Perhaps a sub-committee.
Jim Stanton: If we want to keep existing services, we need to find a way to fund it.
Kevin McCormack: Also, if either town has an opening, we should consult with one another for possible sharing/cost savings.
Allen Phillips: This should be done in the context of sub-committee versus shared services meetings that involve multiple towns.
Joe Connelly: Went to August 14 shared services meeting; it was only him and West Boylston reps.
Ken Sydow: We need small successes to change the process.
John DiPietro: West Boylston DPW is unionized.
Chris Rucho: Shared services is already happening in the Berkshires and Cape Cod area. It can be done.
Roger Deal: Suggests two chairs work out a plan to get things moving.
Wachusett Earth Day –
- Need representative to serve on committee. Sue Olsen recommended Dennis Costello or Don Parker.
- Allen: West Boylston has issues with the project and the way its being done. DCR took land on Raymond Huntington Highway (off Rte 140) to “protect” the reservoir and are now creating this facility. It’s being forced on them by DCR. They are asking towns to reconsider being part of it. The bulk of West Boylston residents do not want it. Mr. Scannell from DCR announced that West Boylston was in agreement when, in fact, they were not. DCR approached them last October; told them nothing was being done yet. Then, West Boylston suddenly saw DCR beginning the project. Zoning bylaws not being followed, etc.
- Wachusett Earth Day Committee is non-profit entity that is leasing from DCR.
- Steve Madaus recalls in the agreement that “in kind” services could be used in lieu of payment.
- Jim asked Joe Connelly to look into the status of the Wachusett Earth Day site.
- Jim would like Joe Connelly for interim, before appointment. Dennis Costello.
- Allen said their Town Counsel feels it’s a private entity project; they must abide by towns’ permitting and bylaws.
Sign Request -- Tahanto Booster Club pancake breakfast. Motion made to approve; seconded. Voted All in Favor.
Meeting Schedule -- Add 9/15 workshop meeting; approved with adjustments.
Co-location --
- Metro PCS – put cover letter dated after first adv date
- Verizon -- wants to locate cell tower near Highway Department; not sure if this is our land. Jim asked Joe C. to follow up where Sue left off. Sue said the location is at the top of the ledge behind the DPW. Don Parker believes Town land ends at the bottom of the ledge.
Carryover Warrant Articles/Encumbrance –
- Supplied by Dan Haynes.
- Reviewed by Board of Selectmen and Joe Connelly.
- Some lines identified that could possibly be returned to the General Fund.
- Joe Connelly will report back at the next meeting.
Harold Naughton (8:20 PM) - Update regarding MCJTC being closed.
- Spoke with Chairman DiLeo (House Ways and Means Committee)
- The first time it showed up on the radar screen was last Tuesday. He received a call from Chief Lahey (Northborough), MPTC President. He said a $600K deficit was to be voted by group (all Chiefs of Police).
- Appropriated by legislature, they (MPTC) administer training funds, run programs. Question is, why and how did it get to this.
- They were level-funded ($3.3M) from last year; had been asking for designated revenue stream, similar to what the fire department receives through homeowner’s insurance program.
(1) How to resolve to keep the public safety intact;
(2) Keep revenue stream going;
(3) Add to long-term revenue they (MPTC) are looking for.
- Governor gave additional funding, but requested backup that was never provided; therefore, the deficit is due to funds being cut. Currently, some resolution is trying to be met.
- The Governor’s supplementary budget is to be filed in the next few weeks. The Ways and Means Committee will be prepared to do what they need to do.
- Mr. Stanton inquired as to a projected closure date. Mr. Naughton said either October 31 (lease-end) or January 31 (per possible 90-day notice in lease). The Legislature is caught in the middle since it came about so quickly and that it was handled as it was. He feels this is their way to resolve their long-term funding issues. Everyone has “woken up” and is trying to resolve issues in the short-term, as soon as possible.
- Joe Connelly said he tried to contact the MCJTC director but hasn’t received a return call.
- Mr. Naughton said Boylston has also had recent management issues in the process of being resolved. This is also the highest rent of all the MPTC training facilities. No one wants to undermine public safety.
- Joe asked if this is a FY’09 cut. Harold said he doesn’t have the answer to that.
- Jim said we need to know if, in FY’09, the Town could lose $60 to $70K in budgeted revenue.
- Mr. Naughton said he is not sure why this was voted by the MPTC, before anyone in the legislature was approached. The media was notified before the Ways and Means Committee of the vote. He has a pretty high level of confidence that the issue will be resolved.
- Jim asked what we need to do next. Harold said to draft a letter to him explaining how catastrophic it would be for the Town. Also outline how in-depth the conversations went with renovated space (without breaching confidence).
- Stephen said he reviewed the lease; there is no notification clause prior to termination. The lease would end on October 31, 2008. The rider says the tenant can terminate the lease without cause with a 60-day notice.
- Mr. Naughton will stay in touch with Joe Connelly and will come to the September 8 meeting if he has additional updates.
Line Item Transfers – Joe Connelly reviewed these with Dan Haynes.
Assessor’s Admin. Assistant Salary: over by $2,800+ -- recurring overage yearly. Going over available funding. Joe to follow up with the Assessor’s office to be sure managed properly next year to avoid going over funding again.
Memorial Day Parade: Over by $2,680. Jim said to send a letter explaining that he cannot exceed the budget.
Mileage Reimbursement: A motion was made to adjust, effective September 1, to the federal mileage allowance of .585¢/mile. Motion seconded; voted All in Favor.
- Ken asked why the Board of Assessors’ Salaries are also over by $750.
- Invite Dan Haynes to a review of the Assessors’ office financial budget at the 9/15 meeting. Joe will research and discuss.
Boards and Committees Vacancies -- Continued to the next meeting.
Motion made to adjourn meeting; seconded, voted All in Favor.
Meeting adjourned at 9:31 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lori Esposito
Administrative Assistant
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