HOLDEN BOARD OF SELECTMEN
MEETING MINUTES
MARCH 16, 2009
6:30PM Memorial Hall
Present: Chairman David White, Kimberly Ferguson, James Jumonville, Joseph Sullivan, Kenneth O’Brien
Others Present: Brian Bullock, Town Manager, Jacquie Kelly, Assistant Town Manager, Elizabeth Helder, Recording Secretary
Chairman White opened the meeting at 6:30PM. The Board participated in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Chairman White said that the Selectmen attended a Celebration of Life Ceremony on March 15, 2009 for Dennis Rindone, the Administrator for the Town of Princeton who recently died.
Board Committees and Vacancies
The Manager announced the following vacancies on Town Boards and Committees: 250th Bandstand (2), Affordable Housing Partnership Committee (1), Board of Assessors (1), Cable Advisory Committee (2), Conservation Commission (1), Council on Aging (4), Cultural Council (2), Economic Development Commission (1), Historic District Commission (1 + 2 alternates), Infrastructure Investment Fund (1), Municipal Electric Power Advisory Board (1), Water Sewer Advisory Board (1), Holden Tomorrow Monitoring Committee (2+).
Selectmen Subcommittees
Sel. Ferguson: AHC: Has not met
Starbard Scholarship: Sel. Jumonville and one other Selectmen will serve on this Committee. The Town is currently advertising the availability of the scholarship, which will be awarded in May.
Sel. O’Brien: EDC: Will meet March 24th at 8AM at the Starbard Building.
Water/Sewer: Nothing currently scheduled.
Sel. O’Brien said he would need to leave the meeting early and asked to announce his Sel. Misc.
1. The Democratic Committee will present its Good Neighbor Award on March 19th.
2. YAHOO Kick-Off was held on March 14th.
3. Attended the Mountview musical.
4. Will attend the Stimulus disbursement ceremony on March 20th
Sel. Jumonville: Memorial Day Committee: Next meeting: March 24 at the Starbard Building.
Sel. Sullivan: Not currently serving on any Committees.
Sel. White: PSBC: Sub-contractor bids will be opened on March 18th and General Contractor bids will be opened on April 1st. A new Communication Tower has been installed and tree clearing of the site is ongoing. A new boiler was installed in the current Fire Station. A new Communications Room is currently being built in the basement of the current Fire Station.
Town Manager’s Miscellaneous
The Manager announced that the Fire Department has received a grant of approximately $260,000 for the purchase of a new pumper/tanker truck. The Town was among only eleven (11) successful communities awarded grant funds by the Department of Homeland Security, Assistance to Firefighters. The Manager commented that the cost for a new pumper truck is 460K. The Manager said that the Town has not yet undetermined whether it will supplement the purchase to buy a new truck or buy a used truck with the grant. The Board congratulated Chief Chandler and his staff on the award of the grant.
The Manager reported that according to Jane Dutton, Library Director, the Library Board of Trustees recently approved a plan that will change two departments within the Library. The Local History Room, currently located behind the circulation desk, will be moved downstairs to the lower level to a space currently used to store supplies. A wall will be built to completely enclose the Local History area. This move will expand and provide much needed space to the Circulation Department. The work will begin this month.
The Manager announced that the Town had received a letter of commitment for Stimulus Financing through the State Revolving Fund (SRF) relative to water system improvements for the Town.
The Manager said that a copy of the Warrant for the Special Town Meeting on March 31, 2009 had been included in the Selectmen’s packet.
The Manager discussed the ongoing brush debris cleanup efforts. He said the Town originally intended to hire a contractor to conduct non-ALB brush cleanup and file for FEMA reimbursement. The Department of Conservation and Recreation was going to provide cleanup in the ALB affected areas. However, at the Manager’s request the DCR has agreed to provide all the debris clean up to the Town. This will mean that the Town will not have to borrow the 1.5M to pay a contractor up front. However, the Town is at the mercy of the DCR as to when cleanup efforts will begin. All clean up must be done by June 30, 2009.
The Board reviewed a copy of the Memorial Day flier that was recently sent home through utility bills.
Citizens’ Address
No one came forward to address the Board.
Storm Response Update – FEMA Application
The Manager introduced the team of “volunteers” comprised of Town employees and local residents who completed and filed the FEMA application for storm reimbursement. Volunteers included Coordinator Jim Robinson, Lori Rose, Jim Shuris, Jean Berg, Louise Charbonneau, Jack Chandler, Jacquie Kelly, Sharon Lowder, Margaret Donaldson, Rich Dewitt, Mike Flagg, Heidi McAlice, and Leah Francese-Wood. Mr. Robinson said that the strength of the Town staff made the application process easier to complete. The application was filed three weeks prior to the deadline, which speaks to the competency of the staff. The group spent approximately 400 man-hours completing the application process. The Board extended its thanks to the team volunteers and asked the Manager to generate a letter of recognition to the team.
MA Call/Volunteer Recruitment Campaign
Fire Chief Jack Chandler introduced recent call/volunteer graduates of the Firefighter Academy.
Chief Chandler introduced Lt. Peter Bergstrom, Holden Fire Department. Lt. Bergstrom is responsible for the department’s recruitment and retention programs. Lt. Bergstrom spoke about the new Massachusetts Call/Volunteer Recruitment Program, which will kick-off on March 23, 2009. Mass Call applied for a program grant in 2008 and received a Federal Grant of 350K to establish and promote a Call/Volunteer recruitment campaign. Success of campaign will hopefully lead toward future grants for equipment and training. Public Service Announcements for the campaign begin on Cable TV March 23rd. The Town of Holden currently has 35 paid on call firefighters on its roster. The ultimate goal is to employ 50 paid on call firefighters. Applications to the program may be obtained at the Town
Manager’s office. Interested parties spend approximately 6-9 months as a volunteer to see if there is interest from both parties in the program. Lt. Bergstrom will forward the list of current call/volunteers and their average age to Chairman White.
Special Town Meeting Presentation
The Manager presented the warrant for the Special Town Meeting on March 31, 2009.
The Manager explained that the SRF preferential loan has a time deadline. By applying for this special loan, the Town will qualify for a 2% or less interest rate in order to complete several, high-priority water/sewer capital improvements in Town. Waiting for the May Town Meeting for approval will leave a very tight engineering schedule, as all SRF loan projects must all begin by August 2009.
Mr. Jim Shuris, DPW Director addressed the SRF water/sewer capital improvement project warrant articles. Sel. Ferguson commented that the Board understands that while these are difficult financial times for residents, the Board feels that this is the best financial support for these projects that are long overdue for improvement. The Chairman commented that these capital improvement projects have been identified by the DPW and targeted by the Board for their high level of importance for a long time. The arrival of the federal stimulus money through the SRF loan arrived quickly and it is the right time to do these improvements.
Motion by Sel. Sullivan, seconded by Sel. Jumonville, it was UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO SUPPORT WARRANT ARTICLES 1-3.
Motion by Sel. Sullivan, seconded by Sel. Jumonville, it was UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO SUPPORT WARRANT ARTICLES 5-8.
A motion was made by Sel. Sullivan and seconded by Sel. Jumonville to support Warrant Article 4 for purposes of discussion.
Sel. Sullivan said that Warrant Article 4 would allow the Manager the authority to borrow in case he needs to pay for some of the storm related expenses prior to receiving the FEMA reimbursement.
Chairman White expressed concern that the setting and support of this $7M Special Town Meeting Warrant happened very quickly. He said he felt that Warrant Article 4 for ice storm borrowing was premature. More information will be made clearer/available in the next six weeks for the Annual Town Meeting. Sel. O’Brien said he concurred with the Chairman’s comments and would not support the motion.
The Manager said that the Finance Committee approved all the Warrant Articles except the sidewalk borrowing. They also questioned the Veteran’s borrowing.
The Manager said that Warrant Article 4 was a safety net that he hoped he did not have to use. He hopes that the FEMA/MEMA reimbursements come through prior to June 30th. He said if borrowing were necessary, it would be extremely short term – 1 to 2 months at the most.
Motion by Sel. Sullivan, seconded by Sel. Jumonville, it was VOTED 3-2 WITH 2 OPPOSED TO SUPPORT WA 4. (OPPOSED: WHITE, O’BRIEN.)
Sel. O’Brien left the meeting at 8PM.
Town Manager’s Evaluation
The Board reviewed the results of the Town Manager’s Evaluation.
Motion by Sel. Sullivan, seconded by Sel. Jumonville, it was VOTED 4-0 TO ADOPT AND ENDORSE THE TOWN MANAGER’S EVALUATION AS PRESENTED AND THANK THE TOWN MANAGER FOR ANOTHER YEAR OF HARD WORK AND STRONG PERFORMANCE FOR THE CITIZEN’S OF HOLDEN AND THAT THE BOARD LOOKS FORWARD TO MANY MORE YEARS OF BRIAN BULLOCK’S SERVICE TO THE CITIZEN’S OF HOLDEN.
Comments from Sel. Sullivan and Sel. Jumonville that were attached to the evaluation summary will be removed from the final evaluation that is made available to the public.
Sel. Miscellaneous
Sel. Jumonville: 1. Asked that residents clean up the street in front of their homes of storm debris. The street sweeping process will begin soon.
Sel. Ferguson: 1. Inquired about the status of the renovation work at the Post Office.
2. Requested an update on the meter replacement on Mountain Street.
3. Residents are burning storm debris on their properties. The Manager confirmed that federal air quality regulations require that burning end at 4PM.
Sel. Sullivan: 1. Reconfirmed that all Sel. Miscellaneous should be submitted to the Town Manager’s office on the Thursday prior to the Monday Board meeting.
Sel. White: 1. Attended the Regional Selectboard meeting last week. Holden will host the next Regional Selectboard meeting on April 2. He requested that the Administration send a letter of invitation to the School Superintendent to attend. He reported that a unanimous vote was taken at the meeting last week to send a letter to the District to keep the assessments manageable throughout the District Towns. Several member towns expressed concern regarding one-time budget items included in the proposed District budget this year. What happens when the one-time money goes away – will member towns be responsible for picking up these line items in the future? The Board agreed to invite the Holden School Representatives to the meeting too. The Chairman added that he was also interested in initiating
discussion with the District about some type of green energy/wind power collaborative/partnership with the Town.
2. Discussed potential rate increase in the water/sewer budget and the HMLD surcharge for storm repair. He asked that the Finance Committee and the Administration work the operating budget as low as possible to save tax dollars to offset the rate increases.
Approval of Previous Minutes
Motion by Sel. Sullivan, seconded by Sel. Ferguson, it was VOTED 3-0-1 WITH 1 ABSTENTION TO APPROVE THE MEETING MINUTES OF MARCH 2, 2009 AS PRESENTED. (Abstained: White.)
Motion by Sel. Sullivan, seconded by Sel. Jumonville, it was VOTED 4-0 TO APPROVE THE JOINT MEETING MINUTES OF MARCH 9, 2009 AS PRESENTED.
Motion by Sel. Sullivan, seconded by Sel. Jumonville, it was VOTED 4-0 TO ENTER INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION AT 8:35PM TO DISCUSS NON-UNION CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS AND RETURN TO THE MEETING FOR ADJOURNMENT PURPOSES ONLY. ROLL CALL: Sullivan: yes; Ferguson: yes; Jumonville: yes; White: yes.
Adjournment
Motion by Sel. Sullivan, seconded by Sel. Jumonville, it was VOTED 4-0 TO ADJOURN THE MARCH 16, 2009 MEETING AT 8:44PM.
Approved: April 6, 2009
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