Date of Meeting: Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Location: Town Hall, 221 Main Street
Time: 6:30 PM – 7:55 PM
Members Present: Chairman Kenneth Sydow, Members Roger Deal and James Wood
Others Present: Lori Esposito, Interim Town Administrator; others as listed on the attached sheet .
Financial Warrants were signed in approval.
The meeting commenced at 6:30 PM.
Hillside Parking Lot Paving:
A brief discussion was held regarding the $30K additional money requested by Mass. Broken Stone for paving. Roger inquired as to the status. Lori said she spoke with Town Counsel Stephen Madaus today; he is still awaiting an itemized change order. He requested this from the contractor’s attorney approximately two weeks ago. We currently do not have any request to take action on the matter.
Selectmen’s Meeting Minutes:
Motion was made by Roger Deal, seconded by Jim Wood and voted all in favor to approve the meeting minutes of October 3 and 24, 2011.
At 6:38 PM motion was made to go into Executive Session under M.G.L. c. 30A §21, ¶3 to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining. Motion was voted Ken Sydow: Yes; Roger Deal: Yes; Jim Wood: Yes.
At 6:45 PM motion was made to return to Open Session. Motion was voted Ken Sydow: Yes; Roger Deal: Yes; Jim Wood: Yes.
Interim Town Administrator Appointment:
Roger Deal said he has had inquiries concerning who had been appointed as Interim Town Administrator. He requested that Lori draft a memorandum for the Board announcing her appointment as Interim TA.
Report of the Interim Town Administrator to the Board of Selectmen:
1. Health Insurance Estimate -- The complete renewal package has not been finalized but the TA has been informed by our MIIA representative that Boylston’s premium increase will be 1.94%. This line item was originally estimated at a ten percent increase. This will reduce the budget by $83,525; additionally, a savings of $77K will be realized due to increased employee contribution rate (63/37).
2. Fuller Motorhome Sign -- The Building Inspector denied Mr. Fuller’s sign request after consulting with the Planning Board Chair, Bill Manter, and Nancy Puff. It was agreed that the LED portion of the proposed sign qualified as a “flashing” sign, which is prohibited in the zoning bylaw. Sherry Fuller contacted Lori and will attend this evening’s meeting to appeal the decision and explain Fuller’s intended use of the sign which will have only static messages with no flashing or streaming. Attached are Tony and Bill’s opinions on the matter.
3. Building Dept. Additional Funds Request -- Building Inspector Tony Zahariadis has submitted detailed information regarding the additional funds requested for the Plumbing/Gas and Electrical inspectors relating to the Tahanto building project. Tony pointed out that permit fees for Tahanto would cover these amounts:
a. Plumbing/Gas Inspector Eric Johnson requests an additional $2,325 for FY’12. An ordinary commercial permit includes three inspections. He has since conducted 24 inspections at Tahanto and anticipates conducting an additional ten before the close of FY’12 with another 15-20 for FY’13. Mr. Johnson currently received a monthly salary/stipend of $715.28 for plumbing inspections and approximately $220 for gas inspections. He is not paid on a per-inspection basis.
b. Electrical Inspector Tom O’Connor requests an additional $350 for FY’12. Mr. O’Connor has been averaging $69.42/month for mileage reimbursement, which includes the Tahanto inspections and he has exhausted his mileage account for FY’12. An additional five months’ reimbursement is estimated at $347.10.
- Roger said we need to look at sending out a memorandum requesting that expense reports be used properly. They should be done monthly and should be documented. Mr. O’Connor documents everything; others do not. We need to unify mileage forms submitted with expense report forms.
- Ken said that is a separate issue and suggests Lori bring out the 2007 memorandum regarding expense policy.
- The policy should call for expenses to be done on a monthly basis with all forms attached and mileage logged on a separate form. Policy will be reviewed at the next Selectmen’s meeting.
- Roger said, also, that department heads should be submitting reports to TA; they should not be signing off on their own forms.
Motion was made by Roger Deal to approve additional salary of $2,325to the Plumbing/Gas Inspector and an additional $350 for additional mileage to the Electrical Inspector. A Reserve Fund transfer will be made. Motion was seconded by Jim Wood and voted all in favor.
7:00 PM ALB Eradication in an Additional 40 Acres: (Clint McFarland of FEMA appearing before the Board.)
- Stimulus money for the replanting is coming to an end on May 31. They need 1,000 to 1,500 places for trees to be placed. Property owners should call as soon as possible for an appointment. The number to call is 508-852-8043. FEMA will work with the property owner and find the appropriate places for planting.
- Clint provided a map showing an additional 40 acres where the Asian beetles have been found in host trees. It is not clear-cutting; it is host trees only. The line of sight should not change drastically on upper Hillside (near the power lines).
- They are making good progress. Since the onset of the infestation there has been a 90% reduction, based on recent surveys. No additional neighborhoods have been infested outside of the border. Their concern is that beetles can fly over a kilometer, but they do prefer clustered host trees. The adults come out during the summer months of July and August. Overall, this is the last portion of Hillside that needs host-tree removals. Overall, a total of 128 acres have been affected.
Motion was made by Jim Wood, seconded by Roger Deal and voted all in favor to allow the cutting of an additional 40 acres of host trees.
- Clint will attend the March 12 meeting at 6:00 PM to give updates on the ALB program.
- Don Parker said a T&G article eliminated Boylston as being an infested zone. Clint said he was not sure why the article excluded Boylston but it is still within the zone.
Skateboarding Park:
- Ken asked Don Parker to look at the recent tennis court damage to see if it is patchable. Don Parker will report back to the Board.
Fuller Motorhome Sign Request: (Sherry and Bob Fuller of Fuller Motor homes and Kevin Connor of Connor Sign & Graphics appearing before the Board.)
- This would be an electronic LED display sign; a drawing was submitted.
- Kevin Connor said they recently built one the same size for the Town of Holden near the State Police barracks. The display has the ability to be times, etc.
- Bob Fuller said the Building Inspector said he did not have a problem with it and the Planning Board did not have a problem with it but the Board of Selectmen did not approve.
- Roger and Jim both spoke up and said they never discussed it and never voted on it.
- Bob Fuller said he was told it was also a safety concern for drivers.
- Ken said the issue was that the sign itself has the capability to do many things. Is there a lesser sign that would be something similar? Bob said we need to control changes and notices. It will never blink or flash, etc. They just need to be on a level playing field with competitors. It will be set well off the road and have a barrier around it.
- Kevin said electronic displays are everywhere and have not been shown to be an issue regarding safety.
- Ken said if the Building Inspector changes his mind, they are okay with it as long as there is an agreement not to use flashing, bright lights, etc.
- The Board will notify the Building Inspector that they have no issues for the proposed sign with conditions limiting brightness, streaming and flashing.
Annual Town Report:
- With regard to the dedication page, Jim Wood said he would like it to be dedicated to the late George Stowe. The Board agrees.
- Jim will obtain a photo.
At 7:55 PM Jim Wood made a motion, seconded by Roger Deal and voted all in favor, to adjourn.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:55 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lori Esposito, Administrative Assistant
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