Town of Hudson - Board of Selectmen
Minutes –April 24, 2006
1. Call to Order:
Present were Messieurs Durant, Parente, Loura, Leeber, Lucy, Blazar, and Cipriano. Also present were Mesdames Santos and Ciccolo.
2. Minutes to be Approved:
Public Session: April 10, 2006
On a motion by Mr. Loura, seconded by Mr. Leeber, the Board voted by a margin of 5-0 in favor of approving the minutes.
Executive Session: April 10, 2006
On a motion by Mr. Loura, seconded by Mr. Parente, the Board voted by a margin of 5-0 in favor of approving the minutes.
3. Citizen’s Issues:
Mr. Arthur Gordon was present to make mention of his candidacy for Selectmen and to promote a private fund-raising effort for the Fire Department.
Firefighter Bryan Johannes was present to ask the Board what it thought the impact of its decision on the adoption of FMLA and SNLA written regulations (see 8 d) would have on the IAFF labor agreement. The Board concluded that it would prefer to continue its practice of discussing its collective bargaining strategy, as well as conducting its collective bargaining in executive session as permitted by law. Firefighter Johannes agreed that the union would prefer to have its bargaining take place in executive session.
Firefighter Douglas Schaefer was present to inquire about the status of completion and acceptance of the High School, expressing displeasure that it wasn’t yet entirely finished. Mr. Blazar replied on behalf of the Building Committee that the building had received occupancy permits and been occupied for the past two years, though there is work that remains to be completed and that there is no agreement with the general contractor and one or more subcontractors as to how the project will be ultimately closed out. As the Building Committee is no longer in existence, the School department will utilize the remaining funds to complete the project.
Andy Massa was present to ask about the intended plans for disposition of trees cut down in order to provide access for a test bedrock well at Gates Pond. Mr. Blazar replied that it the usual practice for DPW to use such wood to provide supplementary heat to several of its buildings.
Dean Fisher was present to request that the Board review the incidents surrounding a motor vehicle stop and search that took place at McDonalds, where he is the manager, as well as a subsequent stop of his own motor vehicle for operating with a revoked registration. With regard to the initial stop Mr. Fisher expressed concerns about several different aspects of the incident including the fact that the Officers responded with drawn guns, and the fact that only one officer was present when suspects were searched in the men’s room at McDonalds.
As the latter stop took place after he had complained about the former incident, he expressed the belief that the two were in some way related, perhaps as retribution for his having complained. He also noted that on the day preceding his own stop a Hudson Police Officer had come to McDonalds to let him know that his registration was revoked.
Police Chief Braga, who was present at the meeting, responded that the stop was part of an ongoing drug investigation of crack cocaine sales, which had been linked directly to at least one occupant of the car in question. Chief Braga noted that the Officers drew their weapons when the operator of the car emerged from his vehicle after being pulled over, and he noted that no other people would have been allowed in the men’s room when suspects were being searched. He stated that he had told Mr. Fisher previously that he was welcome to review the profiling reports filed by officers of the town for each of their stops, and he also agreed that a Hudson Officer had notified Mr. Fisher as a courtesy that his insurance had lapsed and his registration had been revoked. Chief Braga noted
that this information had come from a Berlin Officer, who had run the plate while waiting in the drive-through line at the restaurant. Chief Braga indicated that this information had also been made available to Mr. Fisher. Finally, Chief Braga noted that the Officer who stopped Mr. Fisher for driving with a lapsed registration had been entirely unaware of Mr. Fisher’s previous complaint, and had been running plates continuously during his shift, both before and after Mr. Fisher was stopped.
The Board asked Mr. Blazar to look into the matter further with respect to the claim of racial profiling and with respect to the specific circumstances surrounding the two stops.
4. Personnel:
Selectmen to note retirement of Fred Dusseault as Fire Chief.
On a motion by Mr. Loura, seconded by Mr. Parente, the Board voted by a margin of 5-0 in favor of noting the retirement, with great regret.
Selectmen to consider approval of provisional appointment of John Blood as Interim Fire Chief.
On a motion by Mr. Lucy, seconded by Mr. Parente, the Board voted by a margin of 5-0 in favor of approving the appointment.
Selectmen to consider approval of appointment of John Fantasia as full-time Police Officer.
On a motion by the Chair, the Board voted by a margin of 5-0 in favor of approving the appointment.
Selectmen to consider approval of appointments of : Christopher Boudreau, Justin Bush, Jesse Hayden, Misty Wisuri, Zachary Attaway, Caitlin Budrewicz, and Shamas Veo as Reserve Police Officers.
On a motion by Mr. Lucy, seconded by Mr. Parente’, the Board voted by a margin of 5-0 in favor of approving the appointments.
Selectmen to consider approval of appointment of James Ramey as W-2 Laborer for the Public Works Department.
On a motion by Mr. Loura, seconded by Mr. Parente, the Board voted by a margin of 5-0 in favor of approving the appointment.
5. General:
Selectmen to consider approval of and sign a Chapter 90 Project Request for the Reconstruction of Vila do Porto Boulevard.
On a motion by Mr. Loura, seconded by Mr. Leeber, the Board voted by a margin of 5-0 in favor of approving the Project request Form.
Selectmen to consider signing and issuing Bond Anticipation Notes in the amount of $7,635,307 for a period of six months to cover the remaining portion of unreimbursed cost for the Hudson High School Project.
On a motion by Mr. Lucy, seconded by Mr. Leeber, the Board voted by a margin of 5-0 as follows:
That all action taken by the Town Treasurer in advertising for public sale of the $7,635,307 Bond Anticipation Notes (School Bonds), Nos. R-1 and R-2, each dated May 10, 2006, payable October 5, 2006 (together, the “Notes”) of the Town, issued in anticipation of bonds authorized pursuant to Chapter 44, Section 7, of the Massachusetts General Laws, as amended and supplemented, and by a vote of the Town duly adopted under and 27 of the Warrant at the 2000 Annual Town Meeting, as further described in Exhibit A attached hereto which by reference thereto is hereby incorporated in and made a part of this vote, be and hereby are ratified, confirmed, approved and adopted;
That the Notes shall be dated as of May 10, 2006; shall each mature on October 5, 2006, be in such form, of such denomination and contain such other details as the Town Treasurer and a majority of the Board of Selectmen shall determine or approve by their execution of the Notes;
That the Notes shall not be subject to redemption prior to their stated date of maturity;
That the Notes shall originally be issued by means of a book-entry system evidencing ownership and transfer of the Notes; and in the event of failure or termination of the book-entry system, The Bank of New York, N.A., in Boston, Massachusetts, shall issue replacement notes in the form of fully registered certificates and shall act as Transfer Agent and Paying Agent therefor;
That the Notes shall bear interest payable at maturity and are hereby sold and awarded as follows:
Purchaser Note No.
Amount Interest Rate
Premium
Citizens Bank of Massachusetts R-1 $3,000,000.00 3.65% $0.00
Banc of America Securities LLC R-2 4,635,307.00 4.00 6,353.18
That the Town Treasurer be, and hereby is, authorized to execute and deliver a Material Events Disclosure Certificate generally as described in the official statement relating to the Notes and to incorporate by reference thereto in the Notes such Certificate both in such form as the signatories may approve by their execution thereof, and the obligation of the Town contained in such certificate is hereby approved and confirmed;
That the Board of Selectmen, the Treasurer and the Town Clerk be and hereby are, and each of them severally is, authorized to take such action, and to execute and deliver such certificates, receipts, or other documents as may be determined by them, or any of them, to be necessary or convenient to carry into effect the provisions of the foregoing vote; and
That the Town Treasurer is hereby authorized to prepare and deliver the Note to the aforesaid purchaser or order against payment in full of the agreed purchase price.”
Selectmen to consider sending letters to Hudson’s legislative delegation in support of SB 300 and HB 1131.
On a motion by Mr. Loura, seconded by Mr. Parente, the Board voted by a margin of 5-0 in favor of sending the letters.
Selectmen to consider approval of amendment of Personnel Regulations to incorporate written policies on the Federal Family Medical Leave Act and the State Small Necessities Leave Act.
On a motion by Mr. Loura, seconded by Mr. Leeber, the Board voted by a margin of 5-0 in favor of approving the amendments.
6. Town Issues:
Mr. Leeber asked if the Board of Health could be asked if it would be possible to open the transfer station for residents on one or more mornings during the week at 7:00 AM.
Mr. Durant asked that Mr. Richard Cadwgan be invited to the Board’s next meeting to discuss his [Cadwgan’s] previous demands of the Board.
7. Proclamations:
Selectmen to consider issuing a statement of congratulations in recognition of the first anniversary of the new Portuguese Club.
On a motion by Mr. Lucy, seconded by Mr. Parente, the Board voted by a margin of 5-0 in favor of signing and issuing the statement.
Selectmen to consider proclaiming April 30th – May 6th as Sarcoma Awareness Week.
On a motion by Mr. Lucy, seconded by Mr. Leeber, the Board voted by a margin of 5-0 in favor of signing and issuing the proclamation.
8. Correspondence to be Noted by Clerk:
On a motion by Mr. Loura, seconded by Mr. Leeber, the Board voted by a margin of 5-0 in favor of noting correspondence.
9. Executive Session:
On a motion by the Chair, the Board voted by a margin of 5-0, by roll call vote, in favor of adjourning to Executive Session, not to return to public session, to discuss matters pertaining to collective bargaining.
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