February 14, 2012 7:00 p.m.
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Present: Board of Selectmen: E. Bernard Plante, Francis King, Kenneth I. Schold, Brian Stowell, Brian M. Ashmankas; Town Manager Bob Spain, Finance Director Brian Turbitt, Chief Mark Moore, Fire Chief Matt Belsito, Edd Cote, Steve Baliestieri, Susan Spencer and other concerned citizens.
RBP Chemical Technology Name Change & Tank Size
Pamela Beaton Graves owner of 9 Railroad Ave. appeared and she is looking for a change of name to Batchellor LLC and change of 275 to 250 gallons of storage.
Motion to accept the changes made by Selectman King, seconded by Selectman Stowell.
Motion carried unanimously.
Presidential Primary Warrant
Motion to approve the 2012 Presidential Primary Warrant made by Selectman Schold, seconded by Selectman Ashmankas.
Motion carried unanimously.
Barday License Agreement: Rob McNeil updated regarding the phenol chemical spill in September and they were notified at the end of January that some of the phenol had gotten into the ground and migrated toward the DPW garage. They are looking to put in a couple of monitoring wells in the DPW garage parking lot. They have been working closely with Barday, Board of Health, Fire Chief and Town Manager. The Town Council has drafted a license agreement that allows them to move forward to drill a couple of monitoring wells to sample for phenol to make sure it has not migrated that far. It has moved 175 feet in four months. Chairman Plantes’ concern is that the town of Millbury is not on the hook for any cleanup. Selectman King wanted to clarify that they are only
looking for phenol and nothing else.
Mike Buck and Cathy Campbell spoke on behalf of Barday regarding their remediation efforts. They want to make sure it has not gotten across the street. It is a light acid and is dangerous. The material of phenol is soluble in water and it was a heavy rain on the day of the storm. Selectman Schold wanted to know what would happen if it was not cleaned up. It would not be good for the environment and aquatic wildlife. Selectman Stowell wanted to make sure that they would be continuing to monitor the levels and would like them back in three months for an update. They wanted to stress that the public is not in danger. Mr. Spain wanted to clarify that Barday is responsible for cost of cleanup and he asked if Barday would pay for the cost of drafting the license agreement.
Mr. McNeil told the Board he would keep them updated.
Motion to have the town manager sign the license agreement made by Selectman Stowell, seconded by Selectman Ashmankas.
Motion carried unanimously.
Rob McNeil: DPW Update: Moving forward with the roof design changes at the DPW Garage. There were structural issues with the garage as well. In MA you have to follow specific designer guidelines when you are repairing a municipal building.
Our senior volunteers are helping computerize our cemeteries and getting our records into an electronic system.
We count 43 double poles remaining here in town. Mr. McNeil continues to work with the utility companies to get this addressed.
He is working on celebrating DPW week with the schools.
He attended a textile recycling summit with the DEP. He is looking into developing an ordinance regarding pickup boxes.
They are progressing with the McCracken Road survey to begin the conceptual design of the road improvements.
They are working on the fixes for the Round Pond issues.
Ongoing drainage improvements for Auburn Road and Stowe Road.
He has been in contact with the ponds and lakes associations. Because of no snowpack this year, they will begin to refill the ponds and lakes.
They just finished the second surplus sale and netted approximately $8800.
The design is almost complete for the little common revisions to make them ADA accessible.
The RAC is meeting again this week to set the stage for the upcoming paving season and at the next meeting he should have a list of streets.
Chairman Plante mentioned that the state legislature was trying to help out with the double pole issues.
Selectman King mentioned the outlet leak at Round Pond last week. The gate was replaced a year or two ago but the wooden gate does not seal properly and the panel failed. They worked with sandbags and a tarp to keep it sealed.
Selectman Schold asked about inspections of the parks. We are looking into some grants for the parks.
Selectman king asked about parking at lower common. Rob said that they are adding handicap parking and making it easier to park and plow.
Selectman Schold asked if the Christmas lights could be taking down.
One-Day Liquor License-Assumption School
Motion made by Selectman Stowell to approve the one-day license at Asa Waters Mansion on March 10, 2012, seconded by Selectman King.
Motion carried unanimously.
2012 Drainlayer Renewals
Motion made by Selectman Schold to approve the 2012 renewals of William F. Tully, Holden, and Michael Bernard, Millbury, seconded by Selectman Stowell.
Motion carried unanimously.
Draft Policy-Information Sharing & Transparency from Selectman Ashmankas: He would like more transparency for the towns’ people as far as websites, policies and sharing information of the operations of the Town.
Chairman Plante wanted everyone to read it but stated that it may conflict with the Charter and we would need a charter change. Selectman King agreed.
Selectman Ashmankas asked to implement only what the Charter requires.
Richard Valentino-Chairman of the Board of Appeals wanted to update the Selectman on what the Board of appeals has been doing and the comprehensive permit fees. He took a survey of the surrounding towns and got a feel of the base price. We were low. The Board of Appeals voted to raise the comprehensive permit fee to $5000 plus an addition fee of $200 per market value. There is a clause in the application for low income housing where the Board can opt to lower the fee.
Motion made by Selectman King to concur with the fee increase, seconded by Selectman Schold.
Motion carried unanimously.
Selectman Ashmankas updated the Board on the feasibility study for regionalization of dispatching and there was no interest from the other towns.
Previous Minutes
January 24, 2012- Motion made by Selectman Schold to approve the minutes, seconded by Selectman Ashmankas.
Motion carried unanimously.
January 30, 2012- Motion made by Selectman King to approve the minutes, seconded by Selectman Ashmankas.
Motion carried 4-0-1 (Selectman Schold abstained).
Town Manager Report
Appointment of Sanders Genna as Assistant Assessor per the recommendation of Brian Turbitt for a three year term. He has extensive appraisal experience, worked as an assessor in Worcester and on the Board of Assessors. He will be receiving a salary of $50,750. He met with the Board of Assessors last night.
Motion made by Selectman Stowell to concur with the appointment of Sanders Genna, seconded by Selectman King.
Motion carried unanimously.
On the recommendation of the Board of Fire Engineers we have awarded the aerial platform fire truck to Pierce Manufacturing, Inc. for the amount of $1,091,911.
Cable TV contracts: Verizon has to comply with having the town up and running by September 12, 2012 and they expect to be in compliance as of that date.
Cable Advisory Committee will hold a public hearing for cable needs of the town on March 15th. They will be negotiating a new contract with Charter Communications and we have received an initial proposal.
The new boiler has been installed in fire headquarters and it is running well. We converted from oil to gas and it should be some savings there. The total cost was about $34,000 with the asbestos removal. They also put in a separate hot water tank to improve efficiency.
The governor level funded the town, no increase in Ch. 70. We are looking to change carriers to save money on insurance. They met with the insurance advisory committee. The increase with the current carrier would be 8.8% but with the carrier they are looking at is .08%. No GIC and no co-pay change. This is a way to meet the budget without making major changes.
Mr. Spain is in the final changes of the budget and is waiting for final insurance numbers.
Budget presentation is March 1st at 7:00 pm. Finance Committee will meet with the department heads Saturday March 3rd.
On a Good Note
Welcome back Captain Steven Bonavita from Afghanistan. Thank you for your service.
Old/New Business
Selectman King asked about the Capital Committee-ready to go, still need one citizen. Chairman Turbitt has been buried with budgets at this time, but will get it going soon.
Selectman King asked about the Safety Committee-Mr. Spain wants to clear it up with the workers comp insurer and make sure the committee has something to do.
Selectman King asked about the cell tower. No updates today-waiting for them to get carriers.
Mail
Letter from the Fire Department regarding a donation in the amount of $475.00 from Dorothy Hamilton Kopchik with a matching donation from her employer-Pfizer.
Motion to accept the donation made by Selectman Schold, seconded by Selectman Ashmankas.
Motion carried unanimously.
Letter from the Fire Department regarding a donation from Richard Croteau in memory of former firefighter Anthony Army.
Motion to accept the donation made by Selectman Schold, seconded by Selectman Ashmankas.
Motion carried unanimously.
Statement read by Selectman Schold announcing that he will not be seeking re-election in April. He wanted to thank the Chairman, Town Manager, colleagues and new and old friends for their support over the years.
Chairman Plante thanked Mr. Schold for his many years of service; it was an honor and a privilege to serve with him.
Executive Session
Motion made by Selectman King, seconded by Selectman Schold to move into Executive Session at 8:20 p.m. under Chapter 39, Section 23B, Paragraphs 3 and 4.
Selectman King - Yes
Selectman Schold - Yes
Selectman Ashmankas -Yes
Selectman Stowell -Yes
Chairman Plante -Yes
Chairman Plante announced the Board would return only to adjourn.
Adjournment
Motion made by Selectman Ashmankas, seconded by Selectman Schold to adjourn at 10:00 p.m. Motion carried unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Tish Hayes, Secretary
E. Bernard Plante __________________________
Francis B. King __________________________
Kenneth I. Schold __________________________
Brian W. Stowell __________________________
Brian M. Ashmankas __________________________
Board of Selectmen
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