Date of Meeting: Monday, October 20, 2008
Location: Town Hall, 221 Main Street
Time: 6:30 PM – 9:45 PM
Members Present: Chairman James Stanton; Roger Deal; Ken Sydow
Others Present: Joseph Connelly, Interim Town Administrator; Lori Esposito, Administrative Assistant; others as noted on sign-in sheet. (Counsel not present.)
Metro PCS Co-location Lease:
Motion was made, seconded and agreed to allow Chair to sign contract, pending written confirmation by Town Counsel that he has reviewed it.
Boston Post Cane:
Appointment to be set for Wednesday, October 29 at 3:00 PM with Nancy Hamel. Roger Deal and Joe Connelly will present the cane to Ms. Hamel.
Flu Clinic Signs:
Motion was made, seconded and voted All in Favor to allow signs to be posted at 70/140 informing public of upcoming (November 8) flu clinic, available to all townspeople.
Nancy Colbert:
Ms. Colbert will start as new Town Administrator on December 15. Letter to be sent to her and include, for her information, FY09 budget, draft minutes, audit letter and response.
Appointment of Excavation and Trench Permit Authority: Issue will be continued to October 20, 2008 agenda for discussion.
Interim Town Administrator’s Report to Board of Selectmen:
30 Stockton Street Auction: Auction will be held Friday morning, November 14 by Zekos Auctioneers.
43D Grant: Approval for priority site. Conditional approval for funding $59,700: need to identify parcel on Rte 140. Cathy Phillips agreeing to allow to designate Phillips Precision Engineering as designated site.
Library Waiver: Submitted, in process. Joe Connelly supplied letter providing details and reasons for library FY’09 cuts.
Hillside Restoration HUD Grant: Joe Connelly met with Judy Haynes regarding Special Projects HUD Grant being completed by her for potential $245,000 grant. She is having some difficulty with it and asked for assistance, if possible. Deadline is December 31, 2008.
Joe Connelly suggests perhaps Nancy Colbert can help with it before she starts. Jim will speak with her, but is not sure when she’s finished with her existing job. (She is due to start here December 15.)
Don Parker (Highway Superintendent) Monthly Report to Board:
· Highway Dept. has been trimming trees at Hillside.
· Don is attending an Asian Longhorned Beetle meeting update at Quinsigamond Community College on October 21.
· He shut the water off at the common to purge the sprinkler system.
· His pickup truck is in need of repair before inspection in December, or a replacement truck is needed. Estimated $40,000 replacement cost with a plow. There is a possibility of Pothole Grant money ($25,000). He will be unable to use his present truck for plowing this winter.
· The cost of inspection stickers on large trucks is increasing from $29 to $100, per the DOT inspection now required.
· Don will likely hire someone in the next couple of weeks to replace previous retired employee. The Board of Selectmen would also like Joe Connelly to interview the potential new hire.
· There have been a couple of instances of trash being dumped in the Rocky Pond area.
· Joe Connelly commended Don on the job the Highway Department did of cleaning out the Hillside barn in preparation for repair work (from Grant money received by Hillside Restoration Committee). He saved the town a lot of money.
Nancy Baker – Steve Golas › Bylaw Enforcement:
Issues with enforcing Bylaws/State Statutes. Chapter 140 §151A: Issuance of warrant to officers; duties; confinement of dogs; allowance for care. Nancy previously submitted the information to Sue Olsen. Steve stated that there is no fine for people who have not licensed their dog. They need a set list of fines and a fine book for offenders. The Board of Selectmen would like Joe Connelly to work with Town Counsel to see what portion of the Statute can/should be adapted to the Town Bylaws. Roger would like this resolved ASAP. Steve will report back to the Board of Selectmen next week.
Paul Zekos, Auctioneer
Municipal Auction Strategies has been retained by the Town of Boylston to auction tax-title property (presently, 30 Stockton Street). Municipal Auction Strategies is a division of Zekos Group.
Mr. Zekos stated they are the most experienced auctioneers in the State, having done hundreds of municipal auctions. Joe Connelly explained they were hired because they were the lowest-cost bidder and the most experienced. Their references were checked and then a contract was signed.
An auction date of November 14 at 11:00 AM has been set. He will offer a live auction with competitive bids; this will be an open process, anyone is welcome to attend. This will be an on-site auction with a 10:00 – 11:00 AM viewing time. Details will be available beginning early next week from Mr. Zekos’ office (508-842-9000). A $5,000 deposit check (Treasurer, Cashier or Certified Funds). The closing will be within 30 days following the auction date. Ken Sydow asked where it would be advertised. Mr. Zekos said it would be in local newspapers, the Telegram & Gazette, on his website (zekosgroup.com), with a mailing to licensed local real estate professionals. Once it’s on the website an open house date will be established. Anyone can be qualified
to participate by bringing a check payable to “bidder” or “Town of Boylston” the morning of the auction along with a photo ID.
Revenue Study Committee
Present: Herb Cronin, Marla Lyons, School Superintendent Brian McDermott, John Roy, Joseph Connelly, Roger Deal.
Absent: Jack Wentzell; Dan Haynes
Jim Stanton briefly reviewed the purpose of the committee as outlined in a memorandum of October 6,
2008.
Supt. McDermott stated the need to work with the State regarding Chapter 70 funding; we are not getting what we need. He spoke with Senator Harriette Chandler, who is on board to help in whatever way possible.
The Committee is represented as follows:
Roger Deal – representative for Board of Selectmen
Joe Connelly – will represent the Town Administrator position
Marla Lyons – Citizen, co-chair of Tahanto PTO
Herb Cronin – Finance Committee representative
Absent: Dan Haynes, Town Accountant
Jack Wentzell, Citizen
7:55 PM Recess
Interim Town Administrator’s Report, Continued:
Asian Longhorned Beetle Meeting Update:
Meeting will be held October 21, 2008 at Quinsigamond Community College with the United States Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Bruce Knight. To date, 2,000 trees have been identified as being infested. Eradicating the beetles is a long-term process. Currently, no trees have been identified as infested in Boylston.
Assessors’ Office: An additional computer is needed; would like to use money from the Pothole Grant, if available.
MPTC Lease: Recent legislation filed by Governor might supply future funding so they can
renew their lease.
Boston Post Cane: To be presented to Ms. Hamel on October 29.
School Audit Management Letter Issues:
A response has been received from John Roy that resolves al issues raised. It just needs to be filed away with the report.
Agenda Items for Discussion at October 27 Meeting:
· Drafting a five-year capital plan;
· Update on 30 Stockton Street;
· Applicant Advisory Committee
· Rand Whitney
· 43D Update
· TIF
· Discuss management letter December (6:30 OK, 6:45 OK) or immediately after.
TIF (Phillips Precision Engineering):
Ken Sydow inquired if a vote is needed for Special Counsel (Blatman, Bobrowski, Mead) to review proposed TIF documents for Phillips Precision Engineering.
Jim thinks Stephen Madaus could do it; he spoke with him and agreed he could do same. He thinks it makes sense to have Town Counsel do it.
Ken: If we’ve established a process, as we’ve done with previous TIF (Rand Whitney), why change now, if we can have it done in a timely manner for Ms. Phillips? Perhaps, going forward, we can establish a process for TIFs and use Town Counsel, but for now move forward with Bobrowski’s office to be able to meet Phillips’ timeline. Since the documents are already prepared, it should be mostly review.
Jim: Wasn’t aware this Board authorized any discussion with the Bobrowski firm. He agrees we should proceed with the TIF negotiations through Town Counsel.
Roger: We need to reaffirm the capability of Stephen Madaus and his firm (Mirick O’Connell), and their experience with the TIF process. Another firm might cost more, but if they have more expertise, it might be worth it. He would like to complete the process in a timely manner. Has any counsel done work with Phillips yet?
Ken: To his knowledge, advised Phillips of what needs to be done; no billable hours. The Town is required to retain counsel, not the applicant, so the Board needs to vote. Perhaps we should finish this process with the Bobrowski firm, then in the future have a process in place to use Town Counsel, if applicable. The applicant pays (money put in escrow), not the Town. In this case, due to time constraints, he recommends retaining Special Counsel (Blatman, Bobrowski, Mead) and in the future setting a policy for applicants.
Roger: We wouldn’t want to jeopardize the timing for the Special Town Meeting. Recalls Jim assigned some responsibility to Ken in this area.
Joe Connelly: Normally, we would allow Town Counsel to do the work unless they recommend Special Counsel. In this case, due to the time frame, we would retain Special Counsel to move ahead.
Roger: Made a motion to finalize the TIF Agreement with Phillips Engineering; motion seconded; voted All in Favor.
Ken: Made a motion to retain Special Counsel of Adam Costa of Blatman, Bobrowski & Mead to work with Phillips for the TIF process and write the Warrant article. Roger seconded the motion; voted: Ken – Yes; Roger – Yes; Jim – No (he feels Town Counsel can handle it).
Joe Connelly will be the contact person on behalf of the Board of Selectmen for Adam Costa.
If a meeting is required, meet immediately prior to the quarterly meeting.
Hillside Barn Restoration:
The Hillside Restoration Committee wants the Board of Selectmen to sign for permission to do work on the barn. Jim wants Joe to be sure procurement law is followed to do work; insurance certificates are in place, etc.
Board of Assessors
Appointed versus Elected. Board will ask Counsel to outline the legal process (Special versus Annual Town Meeting, majority versus ballot vote, etc.)
Two Assessors are due to be re-elected in May 2009.
Jim Stanton: The same change was made with the Treasurer’s Office when Donna Erickson retired a few years ago. This was done during a time of normal transition.
Ken Sydow: We should ask Counsel to advise us on the pros and cons and what other communities are doing vis-à-vis elected versus appointed.
Jim: Counsel could advise of the legal process. Joe Connelly could research the pros and cons and what other towns do.
Roger Deal: Said he doesn’t really care what other towns do; just ask Counsel how to do it.
The Board agrees. Do not do any research right now.
Motion made to adjourn; motion seconded; voted All in Favor.
Meeting adjourned at 9:45 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lori Esposito
Administrative Assistant
| 
