Date of Meeting: Monday, February 4, 2013
Location: Town Hall, 221 Main Street
Time: 6:30 PM – 7:55 PM
Members Present: Chairman Kenneth Sydow, James Wood, Matthew Mecum; Stephan Madaus, Town Counsel; Others Present: Attorney Brian Falk; Martin McNamara, Town Administrator; Lori Esposito, Administrative Assistant; (Others as listed on attached sheet.)
Financial Warrants were signed in approval.
Vinny C’s Liquor License Transfer was recently approved by the ABCC. A new license was signed.
Weather Policy for weather emergencies/closing/delay was presented.
James Wood made a motion to approve the policy as presented to the Board by the Town Administrator. Matthew Mecum seconded the motion; voted all in favor.
Report of the Town Administrator to the Board:
Charter Communications filed a Petition for Special Relief with the FCC. They are requesting the FCC determine that Charter faces effective competition in Boylston, as well as Leicester, Northbridge, Paxton and Spencer. If the FCC finds in Charter’s favor, their cable rates would no longer be subject to regulation. Charter claims that because of the increased offerings by Direct TV and Dish Network the requirement is satisfied. It would be extremely costly for the Town to oppose this.
Library Project: Sub-bids for the masonry portion of the project have been received; a summary of the results was provided. Bids for the general contract are due on February 28. Also, there is a change order for additional architectural services requiring the Board Chairman’s signature.
- Ken asked if there is money in the budget and the TA said it would be funded by the Library Trustees. The Town Accountant would need to certify that funds are available once the change order is signed.
James Wood made a motion to approve the change order, subject to funds being available and certification by the Town Accountant. Matthew Mecum seconded the motion; voted all in favor.
Finance Committee: David Butler has volunteered to serve on the Finance Committee. Dennis Pojani, Town Moderator, was present to appoint. Dennis asked Dave about his past experience for the audience’s sake. Dave started on the Committee around 1992 and was Chairman for approximately eight or nine years until he ran for the Board of Selectmen in 2003, where he served a full term. He took a break but is willing to help out at least until June 30, 2013. Dennis appointed Dave Butler to fill a vacancy on the Board until June 30, 2013.
Report of the Town Administrator, Cont’d:
Monthly Department Meeting: Will be held on Wednesday, February 6, with sexual harassment training being conducted by Susan Murphy of Mirick O’Connell. She is a certified MCAD trainer.
TM Electronics: The TA and Bill Manter, Chairman of the Planning Board, met with Richard Small, President and CEO of TM, to discuss his plans for expansion of his facility at 45 Main Street. Mr. Small met with the Applicant Advisory Committee several months ago and is now ready to proceed.
Sign By-law: The Planning Board is looking for feedback from the Board of Selectmen on a proposed new by-law. Currently, variances can be granted via the Board of Selectmen; they want to know who the Board would like to do it. The Town Administrator feels the Planning Board should be reviewing sign requests first. Ken Sydow said that, in the past, if the Planning Board didn’t or couldn’t grant a request, the Zoning Board of Appeals was approached. There is no need to place another board in the approval process. All on the Board of Selectmen are in agreement with the Planning Board reviewing sign requests.
Public Health Regionalization: On Thursday, January 31, the TA met with Worcester Assistant City Manager, Kathy Johnson, Director of Public Health, Derek Brindisi and Emergency Communications Director, David Clemons. They discussed their regionalization efforts in Public Health and Dispatching Services. They talked about changes that have occurred since they originally began these programs and asked about our interest. I told them I would look into it and let them know.
- The TA met with Dennis Costello, the Fire Chief and the Police Chief; all are in favor but need questions answered that they have asked in the past.
- Ken brought up the dispatching issues which were resolved – contract issues, etc. He would like something in writing before any further discussion.
Governor’s FY2014 School Budget Proposal: On Friday, February 1, the TA met with Nadine Ekstrom and Rep Harold Naughton regarding School Foundation spending and the Governor’s FY’14 budget proposal. Representative Naughton indicated he would look into the discrepancies in the formulas used by the DESE and he indicated that he expected a joint statement on local aid would be coming out some time in March. The preliminary proposal relies on several additional taxes passing through the Legislature.
Finance Committee Budget Hearings: Budget hearings with Department Heads will begin tonight. The Finance Committee is scheduled to meet with the Building Inspector, the Board of Health, Parks and Recreation and the Conservation Commission.
Reserve Fund Transfer to cover the Fire Chief’s contract for the remainder of FY2013 in the amount of $2,282 presented.
Matthew Mecum made a motion to approve the transfer. James Wood seconded the motion; voted all in favor.
Annual Town Warrant: A reminder that the Town Meeting Warrant opens on Monday, February 11 and closes on Monday, March 11.
CMRPC is offering municipal GIS services. They will be at Town Hall on Thursday, February 7 at 9:30 AM to discuss what they would provide. They have invited all Department Heads and some board chairmen to attend.
Communities of Distinction TV Production is possibly interested in coming to film in Boylston. Terry Bradshaw hosts. They have inquired whether the Chair of the Board of Selectmen would be available at 11:00 AM on Tuesday, February 5.
- Marty McNamara watched some episodes of the program over the weekend and was impressed. Watchcod.com
- Ken said Susan Boucher of the Marketing Committee and the Cultural Council is a professional in that area; if she is available, that would be great as no Board members are available.
Firefighters Academy: Four individuals have graduated from the Sterling Fire Department Firefighters I/II Class: Jeffrey Dempsey-Holmes and Michael O’Sullivan of Boylston and Timothy Ciampaglia of Berlin and Benjamin Lyons of Shrewsbury. The Board would like to send letters of Congratulations to these four and Lori will prepare the letters for the Board’s signature at the next meeting.
7:00 PM Hearing: Nouria Energy (Boylston Shell) request for a beer and wine retail license. Present: Robert Langden of Bowditch and Dewey, Tony El-Namir, President/Owner of Nouria Energy, John Kuch, COO/Manager, Tom Healy of Nouria, Mohammed Jafari (store manager), Chris Jane of Nouria.
- Boylston Shell is located at 326-328Shrewsbury Street. This is a converted, abandoned property now containing a Shell gas station with a convenience store of 2,565 square feet for which Nouria is requesting a beer and wine license. The only other retail liquor license is held by Vinny C’s, which is a full package store.
- There are no schools, churchs, parks, etc. in close proximity to the site. There are no structural changes or expansion; just reordering the interior of the building. A floor plan was provided to the Board with proposed beer/wine display areas outlined, as well as a walk-in cooler. They will continue to offer convenience store merchandise as it currently does. No change to traffic, parking or lighting on site. All employees will undergo extensive training to avoid unauthorized sales. The purchaser’s DOB on the driver’s license will need to be entered into the register to check sales; they would not accept sales outside of permitted hours. Proposed hours: 8:00AM – 11:00 PM, Monday through Saturday and 12:00 PM – 11:00 PM Sundays.
- There would be a minimum of two employees in the store at any given time They do not anticipate increased traffic due to these alcohol sales, which will be considered ancillary sales, secondary to other sales.
- Nouria Energy has been in business since 1991 and operates all over New England. They currently sell beer and wine in Winchendon and Uxbridge and have a full package store in Oxford. They also have 29 beer and wine facilities in New Hampshire and 17 in Maine for a total of 49. Before filing, they met with the Police Chief on December 21 and reviewed security measures, employee training, etc. and the Chief has no issued with this application. They have 262 signatures of Boylston residents on a petition in favor of beer and wine sales.
- Jim Wood asked if the proposed hours are allowed by State law. Attorney Langden said they are; the existing package store closes early on Sundays and Monday through Thursday, by their choice. Attorney Brian Falk said those are the maximum hours allowed but the Town may restrict the hours as they choose. Ken said he would be concerned about the hours beyond those allowed to the current package store in Town. Nouria’s attorney said the store is open 24/7 and has at least two employees on at all times; this is based on their experience at other locations. Their peak hours are 4:00 to 8:00 PM on weekdays and 2:00 to 7:00 PM on weekends. Matt asked if the hours at Vinny C’s are restricted by the Town. The answer is yes. Tony said Boylston Shell would be unlike Vinny C’s who doesn’t sell
much else. Matt agreed that a 5:00 PM close on Sunday is strict; the State law allows them to sell until 11:00 PM on Sundays.
Ken Sydow said he would like to review a few things before voting on the matter. Mr. El-Namir said that if the problem with making a decision is with the hours, they would be willing to accept the same hours that Vinny C’s currently has and work at a later time with the Town to increase the hours.
Matthew Mecum made a motion to approve the request based on the following hours: 8:00 AM to 11:00 PM weekdays and 12:00 Noon to 6:00 PM on Sundays. James Wood seconded the motion; voted all in favor.
E-Permitting: Matt Mecum said Shrewsbury has an e-permitting system already in place with permitting kiosks in Town Hall. Marty spoke with the Shrewsbury Town Administrator to ask if we could work with them on their system. They are currently upgrading the system, so it would be best to wait but he will talk with them about hopping onto their systems versus investing here. Another option is to build our own as potential alternative revenue. Marty said the CMRPC grant awards are due to be announced this month; we might receive grant money. Matt Mecum said his concern with that is the maintenance fee, up to $15K for one year.
FY2014 Budget: The proposed budget with some updates was distributed to the Board. Some changes: the Assessors appraisal expense has been increased to $20,400, an increase of $12,450; Municipal Office Building expenses increased to $39,185, up $12,660; police salaries increased to $835,148, up $2,073; dispatchers increased to $213,323, up $4,163 and Building Inspector clerical increased $2,946 to $12,896.
The Unemployment line is up 500% due to Boylston Elementary teacher layoffs. Some might be rehired at Tahanto for the 6th grade.
PILOT: Town Counsel recommends we come up with a general policy for this and then work with him on how to implement it. Brian Falk said the Board should decide if it wants to defer PILOT agreements with existing non-profits or do it going forward with new business. Set a policy on contacting and the percentage the Town is looking to get. Charitable organizations are under no obligation. First, the Board should decide if it is interested in doing this; then, perhaps, send out letters. The Board of Assessors oversees exemptions and approves them. They could inform the Board that it is time for potential action on a PILOT plan.
- Matt Mecum said the Board should have the Assessors attend a meeting. The Town Administrator asked for a list of PILOT contributions we currently receive. We should have a standard request of “X” percent of what the assessed taxes would be to offset the cost of municipal services.
- Jim Wood asked Brian what is typical. Brian said it varies. Some don’t ask; others are very aggressive, e.g., in Boston: hospitals, colleges; Worcester: colleges. An exception might be religious organizations/churches. He doesn’t know of any religious organization PILOT agreements, other than a few religious schools/colleges. Ken agrees that we need to evaluate.
- Schedule the Assessors for the February 11 meeting, is possible.
At 7:55 PM, James Wood made a motion to adjourn. Matthew Mecum seconded the motion; voted all in favor.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:55 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Lori Esposito
Administrative Assistant
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