Board of Selectmen
Minutes
October 7, 2008
Leo F. Blair
Timothy A. Clark
Peter E. Warren
Lucy B. Wallac
(Not in attendance)
Ronald V. Ricci
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 P.M. by Chair, Leo Blair Mass Development conference room located at 33 Andrews Parkway.
FINANCE COMMITTEE CANDIDATES – Moderator Robert Eubank was in attendance to present the five candidates.
- Collyn Bradley of110 Littleton Road
- Ed Murphy of 15 Harris Lane
- Lori Granville of 13 Bolton Road
- Paul von Loesecke of 82 Warren Avenue
- Marie Fagan of 21 Still River Road
- Bob Thurston of 149 Bolton Road
- Deborah Ricci of 19 East Bare Hill Road
Robert Eubank informed the Board his next step would be to have an interview/conversation with each candidate over the next few days. Mr. Eubank explained he expects to have appointments made no later than the end of next week.
MINUTES – On a Ricci/Warren motion, the Board voted unanimously to approve the 9/16 minutes, as presented.
On a Ricci/Warren motion, the Board voted unanimously to approve the 9/23 executive session minutes, as presented.
HISTORICAL SOCIETY TO USE HAPGOOD LIBRARY FOR THEIR HOLIDAY ART FESTIVAL AND SALE – Leo Blair read a letter submitted by Carlene Phillips, Historical Society President, requesting use of the Hapgood Library on December 5th 6pm-9pm and December 6th 10am-4pm. This would be to relocate their holiday Arts Festival and Sale.
On a Ricci/Warren motion, the Board voted unanimously to approve their request.
GIRL SCOUTS REQUEST USE OF THE HAPGOOD LIBRARY FOR MEETINGS – Leo Blair read a letter allowed from Cyndy Karon, Unit Co- Manager, explaining the girl scouts are looking for alternative meeting space to accommodate 6-20 girls, 60-90 minutes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 3:30pm – 5:00pm and possibly early release days (Wednesdays) from 1:30pm – 3:00pm.
On a Clark/Ricci motion, the Board voted unanimously to approve the request for the Harvard Girl Scouts to utilize the Hapgood room for meetings through the 2008-2009 school year with permission through the Town Administrators office.
Board of Selectmen – Minutes
October 7, 2008 page 2
APPOINTMENTS – On a Clark/Ricci motion, the Board voted unanimously to appoint Lisa Daigle, 62 Still River Road, to the Harvard Cultural Council with a term expiring on June 30, 2010.
On a Ricci/Clark motion, the Board voted unanimously to appoint Sue Tokay, 16 Withington Lane, as Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical High School Representative for the town of Harvard term expiring on June 30, 2009.
SPECIAL TOWN MEETING – On a Warren/Ricci motion, the Board voted unanimously to hold the Special Town Meeting on Tuesday, October 28, 2008.
The Board agreed to schedule a meeting on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 at 9:00am
to sign the warrant.
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING – Leo Blair explained the dates being moved out to May instead of the last weekend in March would allow time for more accurate financial data. Peter Warren expressed concern for attendance this time of year due to school age children activities. On a Ricci/Clark motion, the Board voted unanimously to set the dates of Saturday, May 2, 2009 for the Annual Town Meeting and Tuesday, May 5, 2009 for the Town Election.
FISCAL IMPACT ANAYLSIS TEAM - FIAT– Bill Johnson was in attendance to make the presentation for the FIAT. He explained the committee was established about four months prior and felt now was the time to present an interim report to the Board of Selectmen, School Committee and Finance Committee. The report is on the committee’s progress to date and they are also looking to obtain some feedback from the tri-boards. Bruce Leicher spoke regarding the school review process. Elaine Lazarus spoke regarding the planning/zoning/land use review including the commercial district. Steve Rowse spoke regarding the demographic details.
Mr. Johnson stated the next steps for the committee will be to conduct school review and review residential demographic trends. He explained the committee would like to come back for a second report in November and a third report in December after exploring structural issues/opportunities for planning, zoning, and land use. The committee expects to have a final report in January. The FIAT fielded some questions for the public.
FIAT MEMBERS
Richard Maiore, Chair Bill Johnson, Vice Chair
Bruce Leicher, Clerk Bonnie Heudorfer
Elaine Lazarus Victor Normand
Steve Rowse
Tim Bragan
PUBLIC COMMUNICATION –
Lou Russo, 116 Oak Hill Road, was in attendance representing LD Russo Inc. and Wheeler Realty Trust. Mr. Russo explained they own land on 196, 198 and 200 Ayer Road (parcel next to Dunkin Donuts) in the commercial district and will be filing with the planning board for the Ayer Road Village district special permit.
Board of Selectmen – Minutes
October 7, 2008 page 3
The proposal is to construct 42 affordable rental units which will be senior housing. Mr. Russo explained they will be making an application to the DHCD at the end of October and would like to have a letter of support from the Board of Selectmen to accompany the application. The Board requested more detailed information and suggested having Mr. Russo come back at the October 21st meeting. This will also allow more time for public comment.
ENERGY ADVISORY COMMITTEE – Chairman Brian Smith was in attendance to provide an update on their progress and activities. He explained the two top priorities are to complete the baseline data for overall town energy use and working on getting audits performed on all the town buildings. The overall plan is to create baseline data, perform building audits and review high energy users. This would then allow the committee to recommend and prioritize projects to reduce energy usage and find alternate funding sources. Mr. Smith informed the Board that the committee was able to provide assistance on the replacement of the Bromfield boiler and the DPW garage roof. The committee has not yet established energy use policies and long term strategy but they do expect to accomplish this.
Alternative and Renewable Energy
- The committee is working on a proposal regarding solar panels under a Power Purchase Agreement where a third party would own and operate solar panels at no cost to Harvard except for a commitment to buy the power at competitive rates for 20 years.
- Geothermal – The committee is arranging an education presentation for the town. They have already toured the geothermal system at the Hastings School in Westboro.
- Biomass – The committee investigated Biomass and decided against further review.
School
- Helen Kilian is assisting the Environmental Club to raise awareness about energy usage and costs.
- Marc Force, Facilities Manager, is currently working on installing T5 light bulbs in the gym, replacing incandescent with florescent and planning rewiring to remove unnecessary lighting.
Once audits are complete and projects are established the committee plans to research external funding sources. The committee has already started discussing the possible use of the Clean Energy Choice funds that result from the National Grid Greenup program.
TOWN ADMISTRATOR REPORT –
Tim Bragan explained the chairman requested estimated revenue numbers be presented as soon as possible considering the problematic budget cycle the town will be going through. Tim Bragan presented a Fiscal Year 2010 Estimated Revenue draft.
Board of Selectmen – Minutes
October 7, 2008 page 4
FY2010
Estimated Net Revenue
Total increase to FY10Tax Revenue - $510,572
Net decrease Cherry Sheet Receipts – ($170,000)
Net decrease in Local Receipts – ($105,742)
Total net Increase = $234,830
FY2010
Step & Column
Estimated Increases
Town - $35,594
School - $137,271
Total = $172,865
On a Ricci/Warren motion, the Board voted unanimously to authorize Tim Bragan and Lorraine Leonard to institute a spending and a hiring freeze.
Tim Bragan informed the Board the town has received $5,000.00 in donations to the Harvard Energy Assistance Team and a generous donation was received from William Thurston in the amount of $1,000.00 to the Ginny Thurston Scholarship Fund.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:05 P.M.
| 
