Chilmark Board of Selectmen Minutes October 18th 2005
People in attendance: Jonathan Revere, Frank M. Fenner Jr., J. B. Riggs Parker, Warren Doty, Tim Carroll, Brian Helund, Stanley Larsen, Martina Mastromonaco, Chief Tim Rich, Dennis Jason, Betsy Larsen, Scott McDowell, Jane Slater, Andy Goldman, Frank Yeomans, T.J. Hagerty, Chief David Norton, James Lengyel, Rafe Teller,
7:08 p.m. meeting called to order by Chairman Frank Fenner.
Annual Menemsha Meeting
Mr. Fenner welcomed the public to the annual meeting to discuss how things went at the harbor this summer and asked for general reports from town departments.
Harbor Master Dennis Jason reported that revenues were possibly down overall, but that August was equal to last year. He said the harbor had been a safe place this year, that various maintenance projects were under way (including the electrical upgrade of the transient yacht dock, replacement of 10 pilings and permitting for the West Dock resheathing) and that Ken Tripp was in the harbor now replacing planks in the carway to the filled dock. He said it was a good year for the Harbor Dept.
Mr. Fenner explained that each Selectman took an area of responsibility. He said that Mr. Parker had taken up the harbor as his responsibility and then he asked Mr. Parker for his report.
Mr. Parker said that Mr. Jason was doing very well and that Mr. Carroll was working on the permits for the West Dock repair and the bidding documents. He said that the he and Mr. Jason and Mr. Preston were working on new waterways rules and regulations. He said that it was a safe season that was also productive and profitable.
Mr. Doty told the group the Selectmen had received a letter from the Board of Health noting that the Comfort Station was not as well cleaned this season as it had been in the past. He asked the group what they thought about the Comfort Station cleaning this season. Scott McDowell and Dennis Jason agreed with the Board of Health’s letter. Mr. Jason said that the trash pickup was good. Betsy Larsen said that it was dirty sometimes, but thought it might have been due to a bus load of people having just used the facility. Jane Slater said that this year she had customers complain to her about the state of the Comfort Station for the first time.
Mr. Doty asked the group how good a job was done by the town keeping the commercial fish loading zone open this summer. Betsy Larsen said that sometimes fishing boats couldn’t get to the dock because the “buy-boat” was in the loading zone, but that the Harbor Master worked it out. Mr. Parker said that a buy boat is important to have in Menemsha. Ms. Larsen said she had purchased 57,000 pounds of fish from boats in the harbor this year.
Mr. Doty asked how the Charter Dock worked this season. Scott McDowell said that it couldn’t be better, that it was perfect.
Mr. Doty asked how parking and sunset management went this season. Chief Rich reported that many murky evenings kept attendance at sunset down this season, but that on the few nights with great sunsets it was “bedlam” with cars parking all the way up Menemsha Hill. He said that he was working to create a handicap parking space in a section of the turn-around area on North Road across from the Galley Restaurant. Chief Rich reported that less parking tickets were issued again this year than the season before. However, he cautioned that this was not a busy summer with three or four weeks being grey and overcast.
Mr. Doty asked about problems with BBQs or fires on the beach. Chief Rich said that his department had no such problems this summer. Chief Rich did say that his officers were working with the Harbor and Beach departments to do a better job controlling stray and unleashed dogs in Menemsha.
Beach Superintendent Martina Mastromonaco told the Selectmen that is was difficult for her staff to keep the painted lines for the handicapped parking space in the Northeast corner clear everyday so that the police could ticket illegal parking. Mr. Parker suggested asking the Superintendent of Streets to help with this. Mr. Doty suggested having the contractor that sweeps the town to come back on August first each summer. Chief Rich reported that Mr. Emin had in fact used his tractor a number of times during the summer in the early morning to clear the parking lot of sand. He said that it was the pedestrian traffic climbing up the dune to the right of the parking lot that was bringing most of the sand into the handicapped area. Mr. Carroll
suggested putting down the wood roll-up path mat like they have at Lucy Vincent Beach. Mrs. Mastromonaco said that would be $350 to purchase.
Mrs. Mastromonaco said that this had been a good season for the Beach Department in Menemsha. However, she said that the reduction in life guard staffing had not worked out well. She asked the Selectmen to consider restoring the two guards for the entire day instead of only having them from 11 to 1pm.
Chief Rich said that every year his department builds on what worked the year before. Mr Jason said that he was working on a plan to close off the Northeast corner in the winter to prevent as much wind blown sand from shoaling the harbor. He talked about putting the access for the beach around behind the dunes. Mr. Doty said that the reality is that the snow fence is a temporary fix and that as soon as it is taken down the sand blows across the parking lot into the harbor. Mrs. Mastromonaco said that people have created a number of new trails through the dunes that should be closed off to protect the dunes.
Rafe Teller asked what the capacity of Menemsha was and if there was a reason for the town to limit the number of people to access the area. Chief Rich said that on a few occasions when the traffic was grid-locked in Menemsha, his officers had closed off access to Basin Road and turned cars away. Other times, he said his officers had told people there was no parking available and advised them to drop people off and come back for them. Mr. Fenner said that on at least two occasions, people who had ordered their dinners by phone at the Galley Restaurant were unable to find parking to pickup their food. Betsy Larsen said that her customers get asked to move their illegally parked cars a number of times and some have left without buying fish.
Scott McDowell said that this needs to be addressed regionally and that he hoped that the Vineyard Transit Authority would continue to increase its ridership to Menemsha. Chief Rich said that the VTA did well bringing so many of Menemsha’s visitors by bus.
Steve Gallas asked what the rule was on tour buses coming into Menemsha. Mr. Carroll said that they were prohibited in July and August. Mr, DOty said that there was an informal agreement to stay out until after Labor Day. Chief Rich said that the Selectmen issue the street licenses to the local private buses, but that the only way to limit a class of vehicle from using Menemsha was through the bridge weight limit and their ability to make the tight turns without crossing the center lines.
The annual Menemsha meeting ended at 7:38 PM.
Waterways Rules & Regulations
Mr. Fenner said that Mr. Parker was working hard on these new regulations and asked him to summarize them. Mr. Parker said that Alex Preston, Dennis Jason and himself went through the existing regulations and made these changes to them to make them clear. He said he had circulated the draft to the Harbor Advisory Committee for their comments and that a public hearing would be held on Monday, November 7th at 7:00 PM in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room. He said that some of the changes were to allow the Harbor Master to process all of the paperwork associated with moorings and slips during November instead of in the spring when he could be better occupied doing maintenance projects and otherwise getting ready for the season. He said
that the fees for slips had been increased. Mr. Doty asked which ones were raised. Mr. Parker said that the highest increase was 20%, but that was on a small base.
Mr. Fenner said that new moorings need to be physically placed by the Harbor Master to avoid conflict with other moorings. Mr. Jason said that he was working on developing a database of GPS coordinates of all moorings and to assign from that. Mr. Fenner said that the Harbor Master needs to have the authority under the regulations to control the final placement of all moorings. Mr. Parker said he thought that was covered on the mooring permit application, but that he would make sure it was there.
Harbor Advisory Committee member Scott McDowell, said that people will not be expecting this new date change and asked if the town would be using certified mail or otherwise how the town will be notifying everyone. Mr. Parker said the town needs to make an extra effort this time. He said that this year he and Mr. Jason kept track of what mooring permits were not actually used this summer and that those people are in peril of losing their permits next year if they are not utilized in 2006. Mr. Parker asked Mr. McDowell what he suggested be done. Mr. McDowell said that people that don’t respond by the new deadlines should be called and given a chance to get the paperwork in. Mr. Parker said that there will be advertising and
postings as well as a notice on the town’s web page. Mr. Doty said that a telephone call to those who do not reply is a reasonable effort for the town to make.
Chief Rich asked about identifying a caretaker for all boats so that there was someone to contact in an emergency. Mr. Parker said that the Harbor Master was already tracking that information.
Mr. McDowell said that the new time line will make it difficult for some people to pay for their slips at a higher rate and around Christmas time, when the charter fleet is not making any money. He said that the cost of fuel has doubled this past year for his 190 trips. Mr. Parker said that the cost of a similar slip in Falmouth is $3,700 a season.
Frank Yeomans said that Tisbury has a requirement that a boat be on a mooring. Mr. Parker said it is the same here. Mr. Iantosca asked if the Charter boats could pay half of the new fee now and half when they were making money. Mr. Fenner said that was worthy of consideration.
Mr. Iantosca asked what the attrition rate was on the mooring list. Mr. Jason said that it was 10-12 in the past, with a wait of seven years. He said that now it was a three year wait. Mr. Parker said that a lot of people could be taken off the list this next year if they don’t use their moorings. Mr. Fenner said it was a fairness issue.
Mr. McDowell questioned the definitions in the new regulations. He said it was not necessary to require people to own their boats and described how he always leased his boats from someone else. He said lease holder should be equal to an owner. Mr. Parker said he would work on the language. Mr. Fenner said that perhaps that could apply to just the charter dock.
Mr. Parker moved and Mr. Doty seconded a motion to accept this printed version as the draft for the public hearing on November 1st 2005. SO VOTED: Three Ayes. 8:10 PM
Auditors
Jim Powers of Powers and Sullivan appeared before the Selectmen for an exit interview on the Fiscal Year 2004 audit. He said his firm was able to get this audit done in August and that the DOR certified Free Cash by mid-August. He said that Chilmark was well ahead of the other towns in the commonwealth. He said that the town was in excellent condition, in compliance with the Department of Revenue, GASB and general accounting principles. He noted that some towns can not close their books until six months after their fiscal year ends and that Chilmark’s financial condition is in very good shape. He mentioned that collections and actual budgeting was being done well and that the town was maintaining sufficient reserves. He said that
towns of our size should be closer to the top of the GAFO recommendation of 5-15% and that Chilmark was running at 14%.
He said that the audit was unconditional and unqualified. Mr. Powers credited Mr. Carroll, Mr. Wilson and Mrs. Becker with doing a good job with the town’s finances. He mentioned one informational point regarding GASB 45 concerning the documentation of future costs associated with health benefits for retirees. He said that by 2010 the town would have to include the liability on its financial books. He said that as of today, short of special legislation similar to that of the Town of Wellesley’s, there was no method available to towns to address this future liability. He said the legislature would likely be passing new laws on this in the future. Mr. Powers recommended joining in with the other Dukes County retirement units
and having the Dukes County Retirement Board do an actuarial study. The other option open to a small town like Chilmark was to do an in-house plan with the auditors to estimate the cost of health insurance for retirees and project it over a thirty year time period. Regardless, this study will have to be repeated every three years to be in compliance with GASB 45 and not receive a qualified audit.
Mr. Doty asked about the $600,000 in this year’s free cash. Mr. Powers said that it was a good number for the town to have and he would not like to see much less, even though some might say $600,000 was high. A small town has few reserves to fall back on in the event of a disaster or court judgement and it is safer to maintain this higher level of reserves.
Mr. Doty asked Mr. Powers what he thought of putting some of the Free Cash back in the budget to reduce the tax rate. Mr. Powers said that was more of a policy issue than a financial one. He said that rating agencies look at what you do over time, not one year that you spent your reserves to reduce the tax rate, as long as you are following an upwards trend to replenish your reserves,
Mr. Wilson had no comments. Mrs. Becker said that there was one typographical error that had been discovered by FINCOM member Frank Yeomans. The town pays for 75% of retirees’ health insurance and not 50% as printed.
Rodent Control
T. J. Hagerty came before the board to touch base with the Selectmen since he hadn’t been to speak with them in two years. He reported on his program at Menemsha and how he was doing Integrated Pest Management for the island’s schools. He spoke about the residential program and the $45 inspection cost with a $25 followup visit. He said he is expanding his service to ants because of problems in the schools.
Mr. Carroll asked if he would be available to inspect the Home Port for the town in the next week. Mr. Hagerty said yes and he gave the group his office number of 696-4888 (“ate the bait”).
Executive Session
Mr. Parker moved and Mr. Doty seconded a motion to go into Executive Session for the purposes of discussing land acquisition with the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank Executive Director and to return to regular session. SO VOTED: Doty Aye. Fenner Aye. Parker Aye. 8:58 PM.
Returned from Executive Session in the Accountant’s Office at 9:35 PM
Five Minute recess.
Called back into session at 9:40 PM
Middle Line Road
Mr. Doty reported on the status of the draft Request For Proposals. They started out using the Edgartown RFP as a model using an attorney at RR&K. The Plan for Middle Line Road is so different that this approach has not been successful. The committee asks the Selectmen to authorize the hiring of the technical consultants used and recommended by Edgartown, John Stainton & Charleen Regan, at an estimated $3,000. Mr. Parker asked Mr. Carroll about procurement regulations. Mr. Carroll said that he thought this qualified under the exemptions for expert/technical consultants but that he would check with Town Counsel.
Mr. Doty said that the plan had been to pay Legal Counsel to do this work, so he asked the Selectmen to authorize using those legal funds to pay the consultants. Mr. Doty moved and Mr. Parker seconded a motion to endorse the Housing Committee’s proposal to hire John Stainton & Charleen Regan at a cost not to exceed $3,500. SO VOTED: Three Ayes.
Home Port
Mr. Carroll reported on the inspection and appraisal schedule. Mr. Parker said he would call and ask Town Counsel about the status of the appraisal.
The Selectmen agreed to share the reports with the Home Port Committee and that these reports were not confidential.
Mr. Parker reported that there was a “hotline” on the town’s web page for the Home Port Committee.
Ed Sussman
Mr. Carroll reported that he had told Mr. Sussman he could not fulfill his request for minutes and records of the Beach Committee until its chairman returned from out of state. Mr. Carroll asked if he could give the request to Mrs. Weiss for her to respond to Mr. Sussman’s inquiries on her return. The board agreed.
Electrical Inspection Fees
Mr. Carroll reported on his conversation with the Building Inspector that while the requested increases did not actually put Chilmark in line with all the other towns, he supported Lee Welch’s request to raise the permit fee and inspection charge.
Mr. Parker moved and Mr. Doty seconded a motion to set the town’s electrical permit fee to $30 and the per inspection fee to $50. SO VOTED: Three Ayes.
Town Hall Roof
Mr. Carroll presented two quotes for replacing the roof on the 1988 addition to the town hall, Associate Roofing $6, 450 and William F. O’Brien $6,400.
Mr. Carroll said that the bid by Associate Roofing included a full continuous ridge-vent. Mr. Doty said he was annoyed by the payment schedule requiring two thirds of the cost in advance of the project. Mr. Parker said he deferred to Mr. Fenner. Mr. Fenner said that both companies could probably do a fine job, but that he only had experience with O’Brien. Mr. Parker moved and Mr. Doty seconded a motion to award the bid to W. F. O’Brien at $6,400. SO VOTED: Three Ayes.
Engley House
Mr. Carroll presented a bill from the engineers that designed the septic system. He said that the escrow account had been closed out by the attorneys before this bill had arrived and asked for direction. Mr. Parker moved and Mr. Doty seconded a motion to pay this bill and directed Mr. Carroll to do so. SO VOTED: Three Ayes.
EOPS Homeland Security Preparedness Grant
Mr. Fenner signed the contract with the commonwealth for a $12,000 preparedness grant.
MEMA
Assessment of damages during the week of heavy rains and flooding (in western Massachusetts) was requested by the state. Chilmark sustained no known damages to infrastructure.
The Selectmen asked to have the basements of the town buildings inspected for any sign of water intrusion.
FY2007 Budget Schedule
Mr. Carroll distributed the draft schedule for the 2007 fiscal year budget process. The Selectmen approved the schedule and agreed to not have a joint all town boards meeting this year, but to focus on the town planning session November 16th and the special town meeting November 21st.
Minutes
The minutes of October 4th 2005 were approved with corrections.
Meeting adjourned at 10:08 PM
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