Date of Meeting: Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Location: Town Hall, 221 Main Street
Time: 6:30 PM – 8:15 PM
Members Present: Chairman James Wood; Michael May; Martin McNamara, Town Administrator; Lori Esposito, Administrative Assistant
Absent: Jamie Underwood
Financial Warrants signed in approval.
The meeting was called to order at 6:30 PM.
Mass DOT Funding: According to Governor Baker the Town’s apportionment has gone up from $204,592 to $306,887.
New DPW Building: The TA said $188K was wired today from the State for the new DPW building
Finance Committee: (Present: Dave Butler, Vin Sasso, Steve Dorval and Howard Drobner). Town Administrator Marty McNamara presented a preliminary review of upcoming FY16 budget:
- Town Accountant: Budgeted salary will be increased by $4,500. The accountant currently works 16 hours a week; it is a difficult position to fill and he would like to reduce those hours by having data entry done separately by a support clerk. Clerical support line of $4,500 will be added for a total increase of $9K. Vin Sasso asked if this is a salaried position; the TA said it is not, it is hourly. Howard Drobner asked about personnel changes in the accountant position. The TA explained there have been several recent changes.
- Veterans Expense: This has doubled due to increased need; the 75% reimbursement by the State is received at the end of the year.
- Facilities Maintenance Tech: Would like to increase this hourly position from $45K to $60K. Also would expand duties to cover all Town buildings, not just MOB and Police Department/School building.
- Pension: Up by $29K (eight percent increase)
- Health Insurance: Up by $15K. Howard asked if this is an estimate or an actual figure. Marty McNamara said it is estimated; rates are not final until the MMA meeting this weekend, but this is a reasonable estimate for us. Mike May said if we have excess free cash, a certain amount should be allocated to a Pension Trust (OPEB). Dave Butler agrees.
- Police Dept. Budget: This is up due to contractual salaries and the union contract. It includes the purchase of one cruiser.
- Potential Town Meeting Articles:
- DPW architectural engineer
- Phase II of the Library project
- First year payment on the fire truck lease
- DPW dump truck/sander purchase
- Re: Healthcare, Insurance and Pensions:
- $424K of Elementary School costs are in the Town budget’s expenses, not the school department. If this number is included, the school budget is actually about 65% of the town’s overall budget.
- Dave Butler said we might need to think about altering the health insurance plan for retirees; Mike May said we need to evaluate for future knowledge what would be sustainable going forward, and implement for new hires only
- Vin asked the Board’s mindset for the budget. Jim Wood said the rumor is that the school has an eight to nine percent increase; that can’t happen. Dave Butler said he has attended some “budget task force” meetings with the school; the next meeting is January 27.
- Mike May asked if we are challenging what we need to challenge. Why not reduce the budget, looking hard versus doing the same thing year after year. Can we take an aggressive posture? Residents are expecting no budget increase and possibly a reduction. We need to stick with need-to-haves, not nice-to-haves.
- Dave Butler said the fire truck needs to be funded; this was voted last year at the Annual Town Meeting.
- Mike May said the new housing development (by Chehade), to be built over five to eight years, will produce $1M a year in additional taxes. He met with the developer last week. Their goal is to get the first foundations in over the next 90 days.
Report of the Police Chief to the Board of Selectmen: Statistics and end-of-year totals were provided.
- Arrests were up from 39 to 47 over the past year.
- Criminal complaints are down from 70 to 52 (motor vehicle related) and from 37 to 14 for other complaints.
- 12/19 Assisted with ALICE briefings at Tahanto along with an evacuation drill procedure
- 12/24 The Chief worked a shift to cover for the holiday
- 12/31 The Chief worked the 7:00 to 10:00 shift; quiet with no issues
- 1/4-1/5 Sunday and Monday: Eight total car break-ins in Morningdale; also a motor vehicle theft during the same time frame
- 1/9 Tahanto principal reported the appearance of a shell casing in the cafeteria. It was an older.22 shell casing. Briefings were done at the school. A student later said it was his; he was at the firing range a week earlier. He said the casing probably fell out of his boot; he didn’t know it was there.
- Mike May said, regarding ALICE training, that he heard from a couple of kids who felt the lack of cell phone coverage in the building would be an issue in an emergency. Mike wants the Chief’s opinion as to the importance of boosting that coverage. The Chief said he would like to see better coverage since his radios are also very limited there. Mike asked the TA to inquire from Verizon about adding a cell booster for the purpose of child safety, assuming the school wants it. The Chief said a booster would also be excellent back up for his radios.
- 1/14 Officer Jared Piche used CPR and saved the life of a 43 year old State Trooper at the West Boylston gym. The Board would like to recognize Officer Piche.
- 1/16 One cruiser has a blown transmission; is in for repairs.
- The dispatchers’ contract expires on June 30; negotiations are to begin.
- The Chief briefed the Board on upcoming events for February and March.
Report of the Building Inspector to the Board of Selectmen:
- Statistics were presented:
- December building permit fees: $2,659; demolition permit fees $250; mechanical permit fees: $1,300; plumbing permit fees: $1237 and electrical permit fees: $925.
- Total fees collected for the year: $61,967.
- Tony asked if the police vehicle which was taken off the road this year might be used for his inspections. It would be more cost effective than reimbursing for mileage. The Town Administrator said he would talk with the Chief about his intent for this year.
- Mike May said he drove through Compass Pointe recently. In back, with the stumps, is a lot of junk and trash (mattresses, etc.). Tony said people are probably dumping stuff; that’s a Board of Health issue. He said the latest is that Jim Venincasa is no longer involved with the development. Mike Venincasa is trying to start another entity; he still maintains control of the property.
- Mark Coakley and Joe McGrath of the Conservation Commission (in attendance) just closed their meeting early because the Venincasas didn’t show up. Mike Venincasa is in the process of selling to his brother, Steve Venincasa. ConCom has a bond and would like to know the Board’s preference, since they will be meeting soon to discuss and vote on acting on the bond. On January 14 the Planning Board instructed Town Counsel to draft a letter to act on the bond. ConCom permits automatically go to the successor owner, but a new bond would be required.
- Marty McNamara said there was concern over pulling the bond in October because residents would not have had paving done. The bond isn’t much but it might be enough to pave. Bill Manter (present) said it would cover top coats and sidewalk in Phase I. If we begin new, the bond company might choose to finish the work (their option). For Phase II, the Planning Board would look for additional contingencies.
- Mike May requested a note to the Board of Health from the Selectmen to do a drive-through to check for illegal dumping of non-biodegradable materials. It could cost us for cleanup. Also, there are large stumps that need to be chipped, not buried.
- Mileage stipend/reimbursement for Building Inspector:
- This used to be a flat rate; a monthly stipend.
- Tony suggests he use a Town-owned vehicle; he doesn’t want to use his car. Meanwhile, he requests $200/month flat rate reimbursement with no need for a detailed mileage log.
Mike May made a motion to grant the Building Inspector a $200/month flat rate reimbursement (tax reporting being his obligation) for the use of his personal vehicle, detailed mileage log not necessary. The issue will be revisited in July to see if it would be possible to use a Town-owned vehicle. Jim Wood seconded the motion; voted all in favor.
Mike May made a motion to authorize reimbursement to conform to the current IRS rate of $.575/mile for any employee submitting a reimbursement request. Jim Wood seconded the motion; voted all in favor.
Kinder-Morgan Pipeline: Bill Manter appeared before the Board.
Mr. Manter provided a letter asking the Board to be sure Town employees require any information request be in writing and charge accordingly under Massachusetts Public Records Law. Mike May said “Stop the Pipeline” might want to have a conversation with the developer of the Barnard Hill property. It goes through his property and he is unaware of the impact.
Camp Harrington Update:
Mike May said he has no update yet. As of the last meeting we were to do a mailer; he needs to accelerate his efforts but was out of town for the past two weeks. Karen Barber will update the P&R Commission.
Marty McNamara said he spoke with Mike Barakian of the Light Department; he could add a questionnaire to the electric billing next month but cannot include a return envelope.
Compass Pointe Bonds:
Joe McGrath and Mark Coakley asked the Board for direction to report back to their board. The current bond of $40K is short to cover any ConCom work that is halted. Their stop notice doesn’t affect building permits. New soil testing, tree work, etc., is on hold.
Joe said he caught them dumping construction materials last year; they removed them and
Graves Engineering certified it was removed. Mike May said that what he saw was in a different area; to the right under the stumps. Mark said it would be a violation of their order of conditions. If the Planning Board intends to pull the bond, they will be requiring Town Counsel assistance.
Joe said if Steve Venincasa obtains the property, he has a very good reputation and it would be a positive thing. The Board of Selectmen/Town Administrator will contact Town Counsel and get back to ConCom.
Report of the Town Administrator to the Board of Selectmen:
New DPW Building: The Building Committee met again with the engineers and asked that some minor changes be made to the plans. A new set of documents has been received and cost estimates are expected within a few days. The committee asked the engineer to make a presentation to the Board at their February 2 meeting. Following that the committee will probably ask the Board to move forward with a Town Meeting Article.
Regional School District Offices: On January 16 the TA met with Julie Surprenant, Regional School District Finance Director, regarding the District’s effort to relocate their offices. Possible sites in Boylston, as well as the availability of funds to renovate them, were discussed. The TA does not know why they need to move, as their current lease does not expire until 2021. They are being offered space in a brand new building. An 18-month notice is required for breaking of the current lease.
DiPilato Property: The TA, along with Bill Manter, and Town Counsel Madaus, met with Mr. Matthew Doyle of Worcester Building Systems, new owners of the property. They will possibly be tearing down the existing building; set back the drive-through, etc. They might purchase an additional parcel directly behind to add a building.
Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School: The TA is awaiting a response for a time when the Assabet instructors, Bob Bourassa and he might meet to discuss the possibility of the Town getting involved in their Work Extension Program.
National Grid: National Grid will begin vegetation management (pruning and/or removal of trees along the transmission lines) along the right-of-way corridor through March 31.
Kinder-Morgan: Kinder-Morgan has again scheduled a number of open houses around the area affected by the proposed gas pipeline. These are for the purpose of providing information and answering questions concerning the project. Nearby meetings are: Berlin Elementary School Gym on January 28 at 6:00 PM and Fitchburg Memorial Middle School Gym on January 29 at 6:00 PM.
Worcester Regional Retirement System: The TA has been advised that the Town’s assessment for FY2016 will be $442,902.
At 8:15 PM Mike May made a motion, seconded by Jim Wood, to adjourn. Voted all in favor.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:15 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lori Esposito, Administrative Assistant
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