HOLDEN BOARD OF SELECTMEN
MEETING MINUTES
SEPTEMBER 7, 2011
7PM Selectmen’s Meeting Room
Present: Chairman Robert Lavigne, Kenneth O’Brien, Kenneth Lipka, Anthony Renzoni
Absent: James Jumonville
Others Present: Nancy Galkowski, Town Manager
Jacquie Kelly, Assistant Town Manager
Elizabeth Helder, Recording Secretary
Chairman Lavigne opened the meeting at 7PM. The Selectboard participated in pledging allegiance to the flag.
Selectmen Appointments
The Board interviewed Ms. Pam Stevens for appointment to the Cultural Council.
Ms. Stevens is currently an attorney and said she looked forward to volunteering for the Town.
Motion by Sel. O’Brien, seconded by Sel. Lipka, it was VOTED 4-0 TO APPOINT MS. PAM STEVENS TO THE CULTURAL COUNCIL TO A TERM EXPIRING 6/30/14.
Town Manager Goals Discussion
The Board began by reviewing goals for the Town budget. The Board stressed its desire to have the Manager bring the budget under the levy limit of Prop. 2 ½. Sel. Renzoni said his goal was to provide some tax rate relief to the taxpayers. Town Manager Galkowski presented a rough draft of the Town’s five-year plan to give the Board a feel for future planning purposes. She said the five-year plan anticipates decreases in local receipts and in state aid, and rising costs for gas, insurance, and cost of living. Ms. Galkowski said that even though she plans a very conservative, level funded budget, a plan with a 2% increase in tax levy would begin to run a deficit in the budget in FY 2013 and increase substantially in future years. A budget with a 2½% tax levy increase will begin to run a budget
deficit in FY 2014 and increase in subsequent years. Sel. Lipka said this was a goals discussion, and the Board was asking the Manager to set a target which was unattainable. He said he felt that the discussion was getting off track. After considerable discussion regarding budgetary funding and formulas, the Board directed the Manager to rerun the five-year plan to calculate a budget with a 2 ¼ % tax levy increase and include an explanation of how this tax levy increase would affect the average household and the tax rate. The Manager said the direction the Board was pursuing could mean program, material, and staff cuts to the budget in order to make it balance. Chairman Lavigne said that whether the budget passed through the Finance Committee and Town Meeting was not of consequence. The Manager had met the budget goal as set by the Board.
The Board discussed Water/Sewer goals. Sel. Lipka said he wanted to see an audit for the water/sewer account to insure that all customers are connected and being billed and charged the appropriate rate and that they are paying their bills. The Manager said several years ago the Town changed all the meters over so she is fairly confident that no one is illegally connected to the HMLD. However, she said she would look into it through the HMLD. Sel. O’Brien said he was interested in working with the state to address potential contamination of the Spring Street well site on ECC property. The Manager replied that the ECC property was privately owned and it would take millions of dollars to clean up the site.
If the Town were to “take” the property in order to recoup back taxes owed to the Town, the Town would then own the land and be responsible for cleaning it. She reminded Sel. O’Brien that an action by the Town directed by a previous Board to take possession of the ECC land ultimately failed at Town Meeting. He said he was not advocating for taking the site, but rather negotiating with the State to get the site cleaned up. The Manager said that research on behalf of the Town would be required before she could contact the state to begin to initiate some type of clean up conversation.
Sel. Renzoni said one if his priorities was to continue to seek water independence from the City of Worcester via the Newell Road well fields or other options. The Manager said her goal would be to review the possibilities of having other well sites/water options in Town. Chairman Lavigne asked any Board member to email Ms. Galkowski with other site options/contacts to help with her review.
Additionally, Ms. Galkowski said she would research and write a report regarding the history of the Worcester trunk line and the Town’s agreement with the DCR to help the Board understand where the discussion regarding sewer capacity and the transportation charges need to go.
The Board agreed to ask the Manager to continue to fund the Memorial Day Parade.
Sel. O’Brien said he would like to set a goal for the Manager to target a short list for sidewalk construction with the goal of constructing at least one new section of sidewalk annually. Ms. Galkowski suggested she fund a sidewalk appropriation as part of the capital budget. Sel. O’Brien disagreed with funding it through the capital budget.
Chairman Lavigne said he did not care how the Manager got there as long as the goal crossed the finish line. The Manager said the TCC continues to develop a list of critical sidewalk construction/ repair projects. The Manager said her ultimate goal was to make sure there is an appropriation for sidewalks. Her job is to find sufficient funds to accomplish the job.
Chairman Lavigne said one of his goals was to charge the Manager to analyze or plan to make the Public Safety Building into a regional dispatch center. The Manager said she was already working on a plan to accomplish this goal.
The Manager said she was also working on a plan to regionalize the services of the Board of Health. She said she would bring the plan to the Board in October.
The Board agreed to make a goal to charge the Manager to regionalize services to increase services to the Town.
Sel. Renzoni said the Town was in violation of M.G.L. Chap. 115 regarding the services the Town provides to its Veteran’s. He said one of his goals was to direct the Manager to hire a Veteran’s Agent.
The Manager said she disagreed that the Town was not in compliance with M.G.L. Chap. 115. The State has not informed the Town that it is in violation. This law would create a financial hardship to the Town. Currently, the Veteran’s Agent is handling 10 cases or approximately 10 hours per month of service. This small level of service/cases does not justify hiring a full time Agent or creating a regionalized service with the City of Worcester, which would legally require the funding of an entire department to qualify with the M.G.L.
Sel. O’Brien said it was important to have a Veteran’s Agent who was available during the day and not at 6PM at night. Sel. Renzoni said that the current Veteran’s Agent was very willing to drive to any veteran’s home to provide assistance and also varied her office hours during the day. He said his complaint was not with the current Agent or the services she provides. His goal was to meet the M.G.L compliance.
Town Manager will ensure compliance with MGL Ch. 115, and if necessary, request funds for a full time Veteran’s Agent in the FY2013 budget.
Sel. O’Brien said one of his goals was to reduce the budget for collective bargaining discussions. The Manager said it was her goal to have more involvement from Town Administration during collective bargaining and to engage the town more actively. However, this might not translate into reduced collective bargaining legal contracts and legal counsel support. Ms. Kelly added that there are four contracts up for collective bargaining negotiating this year.
The Board directed the Manager to set a goal to reduce the legal budget for collective bargaining.
Chairman Lavigne requested that the Manager increase community outreach programs and initiatives to engage more citizens in town government.
The Manager said she was in the process of developing a Facebook page for the Town to help accomplish this goal.
The Board requested the Manager restart the Economic Development Commission (EDC).
Sel. O’Brien asked that the Town implement a goal to allow grandparents to bring out of town grandchildren to the pool for free. The Manager said this was a policy decision and not a goal.
Chairman Lavigne suggested putting the item on the Board’s agenda for discussion in the Fall.
Sel. O’Brien asked the Manager to consider the development of a marketing plan for the DPW site with an eye toward the redevelopment of the South End of Main Street and to market commercial properties and the town to prospective businesses and customers.
Chairman Lavigne said he would like the Manager to provide ongoing review and analysis of the solid waste program (i.e. sticker program). The Manager said that she would like to schedule this as an agenda item for public discussion.
The Board agreed that Sel. Renzoni’s request to review current job descriptions with employees and present the Board with a management flowchart describing the employee/management relationship of all town positions was not a goal. However, the Manager said it was her intention to conduct this review and present a report to the Board.
Sel. O’Brien said while not a goal, he would like to see restraint in the growth of the public safety budget.
The Board discussed the time line for the disposal of the old police department. The Manager said that it was her goal to eliminate the current recreation facility and rehabilitate the police station for municipal office space. She is currently waiting for an architectural review of the costs to renovate the building for this purpose. Sel. O’Brien said that the voters at Town Meeting voted to sell the old police station to generate income to offset costs associated with the new PSB. He said he would have a hard time supporting any other use or disposition of the building. Chairman Lavigne concurred with Sel. O’Brien but agreed that he would like to see an analysis of the use and condition of both buildings before making a final decision.
Sel. Lipka said that the economy had changed since the vote for the disposition of the old police station. He said all options should be considered. Chairman Lavigne reiterated than any money generated from the sale of either property should reimburse the Public Safety project.
The Board directed the Manager to set a goal to determine the final disposition of the police station and make the goal a priority.
Sel. O’Brien requested the Manager look into using an existing municipal facility to store the trash containers. He requested that the containers be removed from the residential neighborhood. This is not a goal.
Sel. Renzoni requested that records storage options be considered. This is not a goal.
Sel. Renzoni requested that the budget fully fund the vehicles at the police department as a matter of public safety. This is not a goal. Sel. O’Brien requested that the aging vehicles not be recycled and passed along to another department, which would increase the number of cars in the Town’s possession.
Sel. O’Brien inquired when the electronic sign would arrive in town. The Manager said the town is waiting for delivery of the sign. It will be installed later in the Fall.
The Board agreed to direct the Manager to craft a letter to Oriol Health Care to congratulate them on their business expansion plans.
Adjournment
Motion by Sel. Renzoni, seconded by Sel. Lipka, it was VOTED 4-0 TO ADJOURN THE SEPTEMBER 7, 2011 MEETING AT 9:37PM.
APPROVED: September 19, 2011 as amended
| 
