Date of Meeting: Monday, January 14, 2008
Location: Town Hall, 221 Main Street
Time: 6:30 PM – 9:50 PM
Members Present: Chairman James Stanton, Ken Sydow, Roger Deal
Others Present: Suzanne Olsen, Town Administrator; Steven Madaus, Town Counsel; Lori Esposito, Administrative Assistant; others as listed on sign-in sheet
Financial warrants were signed in approval prior to the meeting.
Meeting was called to order at 6:30 PM.
Police Chief Tony Sahagian: Monthly report to the Board.
· Traffic stops were lower for the month and the year overall. Speeding is more under control, which is a positive thing
· Requested that copies of approved speed limit signs be given to DPW for Linden Street.
· The court date for the Tahanto student who allegedly made a bomb threat is upcoming. Will be looking for restitution, possibly community service. The Police Department and school were in agreement; all went well with the processing event.
· An assault took place at The Other Place pub last weekend. The victim is still in critical care. The perpetrator had previous assault charges.
· Mary Jasper announced last week that she is ending her services as a Service Aide for the Police Department.
· There were no New Year’s Eve incidents; all was very quiet.
· On January 9 the Chief attended the Central Massachusetts Police Chiefs meeting at Boylston.
· January 21 – January 24: The Chief will be on a training trip in New Jersey.
· February 4: Police training academy begins.
· Patrolman Phil Bazydlo is still out, per doctor’s orders. FMLA ends February 28, 2008.
· Chief presented the 2007 Police Department’s Annual Report for the Board’s review.
· Ken Sydow inquired as to the process of getting firearms licenses. The Chief responded that everything is done right at the police department. Sergeant Donahue will provide all information.
· The Police Department’s proposed 2009 budget was reviewed; less than a 1% increase overall.
o Jim Stanton: The additional patrolman budgeted for this year was to reduce overtime costs. How is that working? Chief reported that 11, 16, and 23 shifts (of a possible 24 shifts to date) have been completed by the three reserve officers.
o Jim asked the Chief what his recommendation was regarding keeping the reserves program. Chief Sahagian noted 8-9 shifts a month need to be filled on average, once Phil Bazydlo returns. The Chief believes that if we eliminate the reserve program, the overtime of 8-10 shifts per month would be funded without excess expenditure.
o Overtime includes court time and overtime. Year to date costs are just over one half of the budgeted amount (including coverage for Bazydlo’s absence).
o If all of the $17,000 reserve money and $20,000 of overtime money were taken to hire a new patrolman, would shifts be covered? Chief: Yes. Even with the absent officer, all shifts would have been filled at straight time if an extra officer were on staff.
o Ken Sydow asked if the reserve program work out as well as the “farm” program for the Police Department? Chief Sahagian said it did in the ‘old days’ because reserves wanted to be full time officers. Today, many reserves have full time jobs and other overtime, so they don’t take as many shifts as expected. For example, all three current reserves received a warning letter for missing one month of taking a shift, in violation of what the contract requires.
o Jim asked Tony to think about whether he would want to keep the reserve program versus hiring a new officer. Chief noted a junior officer could be “plugged in” to holes in shifts but we couldn’t keep moving the officer around to day and night shifts; we would want some consistency.
o Ken Sydow said from a public relations standpoint, the townspeople could ask “why add another officer?” Also, with the potential for the mall development, how would increased calls/demand be best handled? Jim said maybe it’s best to just leave it as it is for now and reevaluate it in July.
Building Inspector, Mark Bertonassi: Monthly Report to the Board.
· Reviewed his proposed budget for FY 2009.
· $1800 requested for vehicle use and maintenance. Jim questioned this; stated you can’t do that plus receive a mileage reimbursement. The $.505 per mile includes wear and tear on a vehicle. Mark said the travel adds depreciation and taxes to his vehicle; feels he should be paid for it. Jim said he can’t have both. It’s either the mileage reimbursement rate or $1800 for use/maintenance. Roger Deal asked Mark his average weekly mileage; Mark replied 125 per week, on average.
· Sue asked the Board about increasing Mark’s salary to compensate him for his passing the Building Commissioner test for the state. Jim noted that the Personnel Board asked for additional information re: this rate increase request. Did we supply it? Sue said not yet.
· Ken Sydow asked rather than reimburse per month for personal cell phone use, would it make sense to have town-issued phones to save money? Sue said the Fire Department has Nextel accounts through a grant. Jim said perhaps we should evaluate contract(s) to be sure we are getting the best price. Sue will look into this.
Maple Tree Tapping: Request received to tap Maple trees at Elm Street. Motion made and seconded; voted All in Favor.
Vote re: Pleasant Hill and Woodland Heights. Attorney Madaus drafted wording for the Board to vote its intention for road layouts.
· Regarding Madera Court and Sylvan Lane (Woodland): street lights remain to be installed; not on the subdivision plan. Board is not prepared to act.
· Regarding Pleasant Hill: The Engineer’s report confirmed that legally everything was completed by Pulte.
· Steve: Votes prepared for tonight are the first part of the process; a subsequent vote will be required after the Planning Board reviews and reports. Votes are for intention, pending the Planning Board report to the Board of Selectmen.
· Jim (re Pleasant Hill): Motion to approve vote and request as submitted by Counsel (That the Selectmen of the Town of Boylston intend on February 11, 2008, to lay out Pleasant Lane, having an area of 172,956 square feet, more or less, and to lay out Maple Way, having an area of 18,295 square feet, more or less, both as shown on a plan entitled “Street Acceptance Plan, Pleasant Lane and Maple Way at Pleasant Hill Farms in Boylston, MA,” dated March 16, 2007 and prepared for Pulte Homes of New England, L.L.C by Marchionda & Associates, LP.) Roger Deal seconded the motion, Voted All in Favor with the condition of sending back to the Planning Board to receive a compliance report.
Claire O’Neill, Regional Director, MOBD – Worcester 7:45 PM: Presentation regarding Economic Development Incentives.
· EDIP: (Massachusetts Economic Development Incentive Program) unique to Massachusetts.
· Founded in 1993; 200 municipalities participate. $18B in projected private investment.
· Three-way partnership, locally driven; after approval, then approved by state.
· Company can negotiate abatement on incremental taxes and receive state investment tax credit.
· No projects have been turned down to date.
· EDIP Core Requirements: ETA (Economic Target Area), EOA (Economic Opportunity Area), Certified Project.
· ETA: Requires three or more contiguous tracts.
· EOA: Requires one or more tax parcels that meet at least one of five statutory criteria.
· Roger asked how Boylston would currently qualify. Claire: If Boylston joins an ETA, as long as overall vacancy rate meets the criteria, then Boylston could join.
· Ken asked the advantages/concerns of joining an existing ETA. Claire: It would be an advantage for the Town to offer incentives to new businesses coming to Town. There are no disadvantages. A minimum five percent local tax relief to be approved by the Town before the company would be eligible for the five percent state investment tax credit.
· Jim asked how many years does the TIF have to last? Claire: A minimum of 5 – 20 years; minimum average of five percent over the life of the TIF.
· What other advantages are there to the community besides attracting companies? Claire: It also encourages a company’s commitments to the municipality (time, number of jobs, etc.) A company is required to file paperwork yearly with the state to be sure project guidelines are met.
· Jim asked if a company agrees to make payment in lieu of taxes, does that count. Claire: Five percent needs to be net benefit.
· Ken said if we were to join an existing ETA, does it encompass the whole town? Claire: Yes, but projects are approved by the Board of Selectmen and monthly town meeting vote. Each is negotiated separately, and at the discretion of the town. Several communities establish policies as to how they’re going to use the program. She can provide examples.
· What’s involved to join an existing group? Claire: It requires a vote of the Board of Selectmen to apply; you then submit an amended ETA application; then request a support letter from each existing ETA community. This is all submitted to the Economic Assistance Coordinating Council; they review it and vote. Claire will provide step-by-step instructions.
Dennis Costello re: Earth Day Agreement:
· Draft a memorandum agreement.
· $15,000 for this agreement added to Board of Health budget for this fiscal year (FY2009)
· Dennis: Hazardous Waste days’ cost to Town were $5,000 per collection about 15 years ago.
o Next year it might be about $6,000 annually; based on population (we pay ten percent of the total cost). Currently, Boylston has no incentive to recycle and we currently have no place to dispose of most waste products (computers, batteries, paint, etc.).
o Ken: How often would the Waste Disposal facility be open? Dennis: not sure yet; maybe three to four days a week for recycling, plus two to three hazardous waste collections per year. Residents will pay a drop-off fee per piece.
o Sue: “In-kind” services might require DPW labor assistance to help prepare the site (tree removal, digging, installing fencing, etc.), using Town equipment and labor.
o Jim asked Steve to review this and supply edits and changes he makes directly to Dennis. The Board will then review it and vote on it.
Linden Street: Town Counsel Madaus proposed the the Board of Selectmen vote to discontinue the so-called Linden Street extension, as the statute requires.
· Abutting property owners still, as they always did, own the land. We are not “returning” land, just rescinding the street easement.
· The procedure to discontinue a town way: it must be voted on by the Board of Selectmen, then voted at the Town Meeting.
· Ken: Could the Town be liable for claims by landowners claiming the Town reduced the value of the land (due to land-locking, etc.) Ken wants to be sure we’re not opening ourselves up to being sued.
· Steve: By nature of discontinuing the extension, we could possibly have a claim due to the land-locked situation.
· Jim: The townspeople have voted multiple times not to continue the extension. When Proposition 2½ passed, pressure came not to finish it.
VOTE RE DISCONTINUANCE OF LINDEN STREET (1/14/2008) Motion:
To refer to the Planning Board for a report, in accordance with Section 81I of Chapter 41 the General Laws, a proposal to discontinue as a public way a portion of Linden Street as shown on a plan recorded at Worcester District Registry of Deeds in Plan Book 348, Plan 45, dated May 18, 1971 and entitled “Plan of Linden Street in the Town of Boylston, Worcester County.”
· The Town Clerk will search as far back since county government abolished need for Town Meeting votes regarding Linden Street.
Draft Warrant Articles:
· TIF: Hold until discussed with Bobrowski
· Adult Entertainment By-law: The Planning Board is reluctant to make a decision and referred it back to the Board of Selectmen. Possible Citizens’ Committee.
· Add library.
Chapter 61A: Attorney Ricker requested the Board vote on “first right of refusal” for 210 Shrewsbury Street. Ken made a motion to waive the right for 15 acres cited in Attorney Ricker’s letter of December 3. Roger seconded the motion; voted All in Favor.
Meeting adjourned at 9:50 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lori Esposito
Administrative Assistant
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