TOWN OF MILLBURY
Board of Selectmen Minutes
Municipal Office Building - Selectmen's Meeting Room
Date: February 12, 2008 Time: 7:00 pm
Present: Board of Selectmen: E. Bernard Plante, Chairman; Joseph J. Coggans, Jr., Michael O. Moore, Kenneth I. Schold, Francis B. King
Bob Spain, Town Manager; Laurie Connors, Town Planner; Tim Hansen, Associate Planner, CMRPC; Robert Murray, Working Supervisor DPW; Philip Genovese, Director DPW; Gary Nelson, Sewer Commission Chairman, Tom Reilly Millbury-Sutton Chronicle; and Concerned Citizens
Chairman Plante opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance.
GUEST PRESENTATIONS
Library Celebrity Reader - Selectman Michael Moore
Mrs. Rita Sullivan, representing the Library Board of Trustees, presented a thank you certificate to Selectman Moore for being a Celebrity Reader at the Library along with a DVD copy of the show. Mrs. Sullivan also commended Selectman Moore for his participation on Monday February 11, 2008 as the guest host representing Celebrity Readers at Elmwood Street School's CHEER presentation featuring the Ambassador of the Harlem Globetrotters.
Eagle Scout Award - Christopher Desmond Troop 106
Chairman Plante welcomed Christopher Desmond of Troop 106 and his guests. Selectman Schold read the proclamation presented to Mr. Desmond by the Board of Selectmen recognizing his achievement of the rank of Eagle Scout and proclaiming February 29, 2008 as "Christopher Desmond Day". A photograph was taken for the Millbury-Sutton Chronicle.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
Laurie Connors, Town Planner, reminded everyone that she and Tim Hansen were here in December regarding the Block Grant for the Town of Millbury for low and moderate housing rehabilitation and that tonight is the public hearing.
Tim Hansen, Associate Planner for CMRPC, stated that West Boylston will be the lead community on the joint application. The grant structure is written for 22 rehabilitation housing units with the split being for 11 in each community; however the split will most likely be a 12/10 split. The question he gets a lot is "Why a joint application?" The reason is a joint application scores higher in the points - this is a competitive process. Mr. Hansen passed out a map of the Millbury target area and said that next year the target area can be expanded.
Selectmen's Meeting - 2/12/08 Page 2
Selectman Moore asked why Mr. Hansen picked West Boylston. Mr. Hansen said that he just arrived at the planning agency last May and both communities contacted him over the
summer and were interested in the grant. The community needs score is similar and in a joint
application they take a weighted average. When a citizen asked from the audience "Where is
target area?" Mr. Hansen said Bramanville and showed the map to her. Chairman Plante asked Ms. Connors if she was comfortable with this, to which Ms. Connors replied that she is; Mr. Spain recommended the Grant as well.
Motion made by Selectman King, seconded by Selectman Schold to proceed with the application. Motion carried unanimously. Mr. Hanlon added that a motion should be made for the Chairman to sign the joint application authorization form. Motion made by Selectman Coggans, seconded by Selectman Moore for the Chairman to sign the Authorization form. Motion carried unanimously.
GUEST PRESENTATIONS (CONTINUED)
McCracken Road Update
Laurie Connors, Town Planner, has spoken with the Roadway Advisory Committee, the DPW Director and WS Development for technical assistance with engineering for a project proposal seeking a $5.9 million grant for upgrades to McCracken Road and Greenwood Street. One upgrade to be funded is to expand the bridge at the McCracken Road and Route 146 interchange with one additional lane to help alleviate congestion, along with some widening of McCracken Road to improve horizontal and vertical alignment because sight distance is a problem. There needs to be major reconstruction of McCracken Rd with installation of stormwater drainage (currently there is none), curbs and sidewalks. For the intersection of McCracken Road and Greenwood Street the major idea is to move the intersection away from the hill; the Greenwood southerly
approach is quite dangerous. For Greenwood Street the intent is to bring the sidewalk all the way through. The bridge over the flood control channel needs work and is classified as substandard. Ms. Connors would like to apply for this grant under the original Route 146 interchange project. The original transportation engineers underestimated the volume of traffic that would use Greenwood St and McCracken Road. The first step in the process is to submit the Project Need Form. One of the benefits of including this in the original project it would likely occur much faster as opposed to going on the TIP (Transportation Improvement Program). The goal is to alleviate the problems for the citizens as soon as possible.
Selectman Schold asked if it is possible to include sewerage for this area in the project; Chairman Plante stated that MassHighway cannot fund utilities. Selectman Moore asked how does the process work; Ms. Connors said that if the Board agrees the application is ready to be submitted to District 3 MassHighway; if MassHighway deems it acceptable it will get pushed to the next stage, then go before their committee meeting in June.
Selectmen's Meeting - 2/12/08 Page 3
Chairman Plante, a MassHighway employee, recused himself and turned the meeting over to Vice-Chairman Coggans. Motion made by Selectman King, seconded by Selectman Schold to approve submission of a Project Need Form to MassHighway. Motion carried 4-0-1.
Motion made by Selectman King, seconded by Selectman Schold to authorize Selectmen Coggans to sign on behalf of the Board. Motion carried 4-0-1.
Anna Lewandowski asked if it was a partial grant and what would the cost be to the town. Ms. Connors said it is not a partial grant, she is requesting a full grant. MassHighway will explain anything that will be expected of the town at a later date.
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT REPORT
Chairman Plante welcomed Bob Murray, working Supervisor for the Highway Department who gave a detailed breakdown of what happens in a normal snow event, noting that every snow event is different.
The day before an expected snow all trucks are inspected and prepared. If an event occurs in off hours the Millbury Police Department will call Mr. Murray at home and he in turn calls the employees to work. After 3 or 4 inches of snow, private contractors are called in. They always make sure there is proper coverage and that the roads always remain open. Mr. Murray asked for the citizen's help. The town has a by-law that it is illegal to put snow in the street or on the sidewalks. He said it is better to wait to clear the end of your driveway until the second pass by the plows.
Snow removal from the downtown business district is done more efficiently at night as employee resources are limited during the day. The banks have snow removed by their own private contracts. In closing, Mr. Murray thanked the employees that work at the DPW especially in the wintertime and said they take pride in their department. Mr. Spain praised the department and said doing it at night is the way to go even if it is at time and a half.
Selectman Moore asked if forecasting snow for Saturday when do you prepare, to which Mr. Murray replied Sunday or Monday we will pre-load and get the plows on if we know something is going to happen. Selectman King said there are alot of questions from citizens of why salt vs. sand, to which Mr. Murray said sand does nothing - traction only and Mr. Spain said we use a mix of salt and sand - the sand if for traction, the salt is to melt. Selectman King said we have a lot of private wells in town and there is a concern with the amount of salt being used. Mr. Murray said we haven't increased the salt that much from before. Selectman King asked if our count was 10 CDL drivers and 3 without CDLs not including the school department, to which Mr. Murray said that sounds right. Selectman King's biggest
question was why do you have to drop the plows before you sand; reply was for safety especially on the back roads and the narrow roads in the west end of town, with Selectman Schold adding that it is a weight factor too.
Selectmen's Meeting - 2/12/08 Page 4
Chairman Plante asked about Millbury Avenue and the gas company, noting that it is worse now than in the beginning. Mr. Murray has 2 calls in and is waiting to hear back. Mr. Genovese recommends a curb-to-curb overlay. Selectman Moore asked is we are billing for the plowing on private roads; Mr. Genovese replied no, but that he did look into old
Selectmen correspondence regarding the issue. Selectman Coggans said a policy was passed about 2 or 3 years ago and he hopes to see bills going out to the subdivisions.
Selectman King inquired about how the transfer station is working out and if we are still looking to put it (recycling) out to bid; Mr. Spain said it is getting better, but is not perfect. Looking at the cost of the transportation, at $150 a pull it is higher than we were led to believe and we are looking at alternatives before we commit to the year and a half with Blackstone; the lowest other towns get is $135 a pull. First time proposal came before the Board it was taken under advisement; at the next meeting Board voted to sign 1.5 year agreement. Mr. Genovese said in the interim re: recycling they may have members of the National Honor Society do some work as part of their service requirement and that another group had approached Mr. Spain.
Mr. Genovese thanked Bob Murray for coming before the Board - they (DPW workers) take great pride in their work and they go above and beyond and he wants it on the record.
SEWER UPGRADE REPORT
Gary Nelson, Sewer Commission Chairman, gave an update on the major sewer project being worked on now - it s a $21million project in 3 sections of town - Greenwood Street (considered complete), Lake Singletary /Laurel Heights (approximately 80% complete; slated to be completed by Sept 2008), and East Millbury/Park Hill Avenue (will be worked on in the spring; 18 months to 2 years to finish). Project is running below budget. Selectman King asked about Brierly Pond; Mr. Nelson said it is just in discussion now and there is nothing to report. Selectman Coggans assumed that the Sutton situation is a dead issue; Mr. Nelson said they have chosen not to participate. Mr. Nelson has received feedback from homeowners that the construction companies - mainly Polito - have been good and are reacting positively to the needs of the
homeowners.
MEETING MINUTES
Motion made by Selectman Coggans, seconded by Selectman Schold to approve the minutes of the Tuesday January 8, 2008 meeting. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion made by Selectman Moore, seconded by Selectman Coggans to approve the minutes of the January 8, 2008 Executive Session. Motion carried unanimously.
Selectmen's Meeting - 2/12/08 Page 5
Motion made by Selectman King, seconded by Selectman Schold to approve the minutes of the Tuesday January 22, 2008 Executive Session. Motion carried unanimously.
TOWN MANAGERS REPORT
Wheelabrator Contract
Mr. Spain updated the Board and the citizens on the Wheelabrator contract, which started on January 1, 2008 and runs for 20 years, ending December 31, 2027. This contract replaced the original 20 year agreement between the town and Wheelabrator Inc. There are differences between the new contract and the old contract.
In the previous contract we received a host fee under statute; under new contract get the same fee, about $1.4 million in the new contract by statue in lieu of taxes.
The old contract gave the town 11,315 tons with no tipping which was allocated out to haulers who were not charged a tipping fee; the new contract only gives 3000 tons free tipping which covers the town's waste at the Transfer Station. The new contract has an additional payment annually starts at $500,000 a year and will increase every year along with inflation. We didn't lose the 11,315 in tipping, we gained a bigger benefit - old tipping total worth approx $300,000 a year. The value of the old contract was $1.7-$1.75 million, the value of the new contract is $2.1 million and over the length of the total contract the value of the new is at least $42 million. The value of the free tonnage is $3.7 million. Chairman Plante has heard that 3000 tons is not a good deal, but the negotiation team said we were lucky to get that as
Wheelabrator was adamant at first in not giving any free tonnage. It is a very good deal for town.
Liquor License Update
Mr. Spain commented on a newspaper article regarding liquor licenses and a "found" license. Mr. Spain looked at the report, looked at the licenses that were out there, studied the law, studied the legislation and came to the conclusion that we did have an available license. Mr. Spain spoke to Bill Kelly at ABCC and he agreed. It is not a case of a hidden license or a found license. The former secretary's report, and she was led to believe, that we did not have an available license.
DPW Winter Storm Report
Report submitted detailing DPW costs of recent storms and the total keeps going up.
Police Department - Hiring of part-time dispatcher
Motion made by Selectman Schold, seconded by Selectman Moore to approve the hiring of Lisa M. LaSala as a part-time dispatcher as recommended by Chief Handfield. Motion carried unanimously.
Selectmen's Meeting - 2/12/08 Page 6
Budget Meeting
The Board of Selectmen will meet with the Finance Committee, the Town Manager, the Finance Director and the School Committee on March 5 at 7 p.m. (backup date March 4) per the request of the Finance Committee.
Upper Blackstone Wastewater Treatment Facility
In the past in the town of Millbury and every member community in the Upper Blackstone district, each non-sewer person was allowed 1 free tipping dump at the Upper Blackstone plant. At the beginning of the fiscal year the Upper Blackstone Valley board voted to end free tipping for every town including Millbury, but to keep Millbury whole the town was granted a free 1.25 million gallons of flow; the town is getting compensated in a different way. Selectman Moore asked if the Sewer Commissioners were going to speak to the representatives to see if we can get some of the free septage back; Mr. Spain said he is not familiar with that and will get back to the Board. Selectman King understands what is being said about Millbury not losing, but part of Millbury did lose and no matter what is said the
citizens are not going to be convinced; the other part is how we found out about it; people didn't find out until they started to get their systems pumped. Chairman Plante agreed - people found out when they got their bill from their hauler.
NEW BUSINESS
2008 Drainlayer License Renewals
Motion made by Selectman Schold, seconded by Selectman Coggans to renew the following drainlayer licenses:
Roland E. Barrows - Barrows Construction
Mark R. Prunier - G. N. Prunier & Sons, Inc.
Loring Paquette - Loring Paquette DBA Site Prep
Michael R. Bernard - Michael R. Bernard DBA NHB Construction
Stephen P. Begonis - SPB Contracting, Inc.
Joseph Seaver - Seaver Brothers Construction, Inc.
Motion carried unanimously.
OLD BUSINESS
Free Cash
Selectman Moore asked about a letter from the DOR regarding free cash; per Mr. Spain the letter stating $2.1 million in free cash has been received.
Selectmen's Meeting - 2/12/08 Page 7
New England Carpenter School
Selectman King inquired about the Carpenter School; Mr. Spain will be addressing the issue of the money owed to the town in lieu of taxes with the school.
Cemetery Land
Selectman Schold wanted to keep the issue of cemetery land on the record. With the help of the DPW the town did gain some lots but the town still has to keep looking for land.
Sewer Connection Addendum
Motion made by Selectman Coggans, seconded by Selectman Moore to accept as policy the addendum to the water and sewer line inspections. Motion carried unanimously.
Mr. Genovese noted that the policy has to be posted in the newspaper three times.
MAIL
Correspondence received from the Massachusetts Fallen Firefighters Memorial that a brick on the Memorial Ring of Honor has been bought in the name of the Millbury Fire Department by the residents of the Brierly Pond Condominiums. Motion made by Selectman Moore, seconded by Selectman Coggans to accept the donation from the residents of the Brierly Pond Condominiums on behalf of all members of the Millbury Fire Department. Motion passed unanimously.
Correspondence from the Committee to Re-Elect Francis B. King regarding a "Crock Pot Cook-Off Contest and Wine Tasting Event" on Sunday March 9 from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. at Scales Restaurant. Mr. Spain said he called the ABCC which suggested the committee should send a letter as it is at discretion of local licensing authority, and Mr. Spain's recommendation is that the Board does not require a liquor license. Motion made by Selectman Coggans, seconded by Selectman Schold to not require a one-day liquor license for the event. Motion carried 4-0-1 with Selectman King abstaining.
CITIZEN SPEAK - None
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Motion made by Selectman Coggans, seconded by Selectman Schold to move into Executive Session at 9:30 p.m. under Chapter 39, Section 23B, Paragraphs 1, 3 and 6.
Selectman Coggans, Jr. - Yes
Selectman Moore - Yes
Selectman Schold - Yes
Selectman King - Yes
Chairman Plante - Yes
Selectmen's Meeting - 2/12/08 Page 8
Chairman Plante stated that the Board will leave Executive Session only to adjourn.
The Board returned to open session at 10:40 p.m.
ADJOURNMENT
Motion made by Selectman Coggans, seconded by Selectman Schold to adjourn at 10:41 p.m. Motion carried unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Joyce A. Ostrowski
Secretary, Board of Selectman
E. Bernard Plante
Joseph F. Coggans, Jr.
Michael O. Moore
Kenneth I. Schold
Francis B. King
Its Board of Selectmen
| 
