MONSON BOARD OF SELECTMEN
TUESDAY, JULY 29, 2003
The regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen convened at 7:00 p.m. in the Conference Room at 110 Main Street. In attendance were Richard E. Guertin, James R. Manning and Kathleen C. Norbut. Also present were the Town Administrator and the Media. Town Counsel did not attend this meeting.
Mr. Guertin noted pages two and three of the Open session meeting minutes for July 8, 2003 were the same. Ms. Norbut made a motion to accept the meeting minutes of July 8, 2003 Open session as amended as well as the Executive session meeting minutes. Mr. Manning seconded and it was so VOTED.
Jose Ometeotl and Paul Bracciotti both employees of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission who have been assisting the town in the administration of our Community Development Block Grant programs, approached the Board of Selectmen to give an update on the status of the Community Development Block Grand funded activities. Ms. Neggers stated Mr. Ometeotl is in the transition mode right now, as he will be leaving the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission for a greater pursuit elsewhere. Mr. Bracciotti has been hired to fill Mr. Ometeotl’s position.
Mr. Bracciotti said there was an extension for three activities for the 2002 program through at least December of this year. The three programs are the Youth Enrichment Program (summer employment), the Child Care Subsidies and the First Time Home Buyers Program. Mr. Bracciotti said both, the people at the savings bank that have helped with qualifying, and the people at Landmark Reality, have been a very big help with the First Time Home Buyers Program.
The Teen Advisory Board, at the Library, have been interviewing candidates for the coordinators position and this should be finished within the next two or three days.
The Green Street infrastructure with the water pipes and related public works is expected to go out to bid on August 1st, with construction starting in late August or early September. Ms. Norbut asked if the money had been released on the Federal level. Mr. Ometeotl said yes, Mr. Bracciotti added the money conditions on which the grant was subject to have also been removed.
Ms. Neggers asked if there were any available funds for local residents who may currently need housing rehabilitation. Mr. Bracciotti said it is limited in some compacity. Ms. Norbut asked where people could reach him if they were interested. Mr. Bracciotti said his telephone number downstairs is 267-3510 or Laurel Foley is here one day a week and she can be reached at this number also, or at 781-6045. Mr. Guertin added that anyone interested may call the Selectmen’s office and any information will be passed along.
Ms. Norbut asked if there are any special provisions for the elderly who may need handicap access, maybe they are not necessarily in wheelchairs, but just finding that negotiating stairs are dangerous. Mr. Bracciotti said he couldn’t really say, but there are people in the office to ask. Ms. Neggers said there are rehab specialists that will go to the individuals home to look and determine what can be done.
Mr. Bracciotti stated it is time to start thinking about next year’s application for the program and just what the town would like to do with it. The deadline for the application is late November or early December. Ms. Neggers said the only discussion they have had internally was with the Water/Sewer Department, which is looking at one potential project. Mr. Bracciotti said he met with Craig Jalbert of the Water/Sewer Department last week. Mr. Bracciotti has also spoken with the Library just yesterday regarding the extension of the Teen Advisory Board and with Ms. Neggers about the Youth Enrichment Program. Ms. Neggers also said the Child Care Subsidy is something the town has been carrying for probably ten years now and has been a very successful program in town.
Mr. Bracciotti said another 2002 program that he didn’t know if the town would like to continue on with was the Child Abuse Prevention Planning Project.
Mr. Bracciotti said he has enjoyed working with the town so far and hopes he can satisfy us the way Mr. Ometeotl has with the operation.
The Board of Selectmen thanked Mr. Ometeotl for all of his help and the great job he has done for Monson. Mr. Ometeotl said the Board of Selectmen have also been a big help. Ms. Norbut said as the Teen Coordinator, she had the opportunity of working with Mr. Ometeotl and that his visions for our community as well as for that program specifically, was tremendously helpful and that it was a lot of fun. Mr. Ometeotl will definitely be missed. Ms. Norbut added his knowledge and caring has been greatly appreciated.
Amy West approached the Board of Selectmen in regards to her concerns about speeding vehicles on Bridge Street. Ms. West stated the Police Department had the radar machine on Bridge Street posting the speeds of vehicles. Ms. West said she saw the vehicles caught on the machine traveling at 50 to 55 mph on Bridge Street, which is narrow and can barely fit one car. What is worse Ms. West added, is the residents have small children out playing in their front yards approximately two feet away from the road. Ms. West said there are no posted speed limit signs. She and her neighbors (she had signed petitions with her) would like to see an established speed limit. Ms. West stated the current speed limit is 30 mph, but feels even this is too fast. Once a safe speed is established the residents would like to see speed limit signs
posting this installed there. They would like to have some speed limit enforcement done once the signs are installed as well. Ms. West has reported this to the Police Department. Mr. Guertin said the Selectmen could ask Chief McKenzie to have his officers pay a little more attention to that street and to take any action necessary. To actually post speed limit signs, the state would have to be involved and the Police Department would need to do a study. Mr. Guertin said the town has been waiting almost a year for results on a study done on two or three streets.
Chief McKenzie approached the Board of Selectmen and stated he has received a letter stating this study is now in the final stage. His understanding is there is one engineer for the whole state. Chief McKenzie said the town is growing and the traffic volume is growing as a result. Chief McKenzie handed the Board of Selectmen a list of all the calls for service on Bridge Street for the last year and a half. When he receives complaints of speeding vehicles on residential streets he has the officers call out for service the amount of speed for each vehicle that comes by as an informal study, so they have an idea as to what the average speed is. Chief McKenzie said traffic enforcement is a very important part of what they do. Speeding fines have increased $25.00 making tickets in Massachusetts for speeding extremely high.
Chief McKenzie added Bridge Street is thickly settled and the speed limit in a thickly settled district is 30 mph. A rural district is 40 mph.
Ms. Neggers asked if speed limit signs could be installed for 30 mph or would it have to go through a speed limit study. Chief McKenzie said it is already 30 mph and he believes this could be done. He said to go lower than 30 mph in a thickly settled district you would have to have some extending circumstances such as a blind hill or very sharp curve. In his experience he hasn’t seen the state go lower on a street such as this. Mr. Guertin asked Chief McKenzie if he could get this posted and assuming the speeding is worse during certain hours of the day, have an officer watch this street during the hours when people go to work or return home from work. Chief McKenzie stated on July 22nd, four or five days after Ms. West had telephoned him; he had an officer sit there between 7:00 a.m. and 7:15 a.m. or
7:15 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. He reported one vehicle was traveling at 23 mph at that time.
Ms. West added there are two very old signs, one is turned in and the other is blocked by trees, that say to "watch out for children" that she would like to see replaced. Mr. Manning asked Ms. Neggers if she could speak with Mr. Morrell about repairing these signs.
Mr. Manning made a motion to place two speed limit signs at the discretion of the Police Department and the Highway Surveyor. Ms. Norbut seconded and it was so VOTED.
Chief McKenzie and Lee Williams approached the Board of Selectmen for a discussion regarding the Monson Memorial Classic Road Race Ms. Williams is sponsoring on November 9, 2003. Ms. Williams said she didn’t have anything written up yet, but if this were approved she would get a copy of the application and bring it in. Ms. Williams said this is the 8th annual race and there are only a couple of changes. One change is to eliminate the 5-kilometer race and to focus on the half marathon, which has been the feature race. After a brief discussion, Ms. Williams said the 5-kilometer race might possibly be held. Ms. Williams said she has spoken with Mr. Desrosiers of Monson Savings Bank and they are increasing their donation to a sizeable amount of money to make it possible to give a larger amount of prize money
to attract more runners. Ms. Williams spoke with Chief McKenzie and last year there was a safety issue where she was told she would need to cap the amount of runners down Route 32. Ms. Williams said she wasn’t sure what this needed to be capped at. Chief McKenzie said the problem he saw last year was the different levels of runners and the fact they were strewn out over such a long distance, it was really hard to protect them. Ms. Williams suggested creating a lane for the runners. Chief McKenzie said the issue he has with that is it would be altering a state highway and the enormous amount of liability for the town if there were ever an accident. Chief McKenzie said a road could be shut down for an emergency, but he didn’t feel as though this fell under that category.
Ms. Williams said the other change they would like to make is this year is they would like to use Memorial Hall instead of Dave Grieve Park. Memorial Hall would be used for the registration before the race and food and prizes afterward, as well as the restrooms during the race to go with the port-a-potties if there is a large amount of runners.
Ms. Williams said the four benefactors of this race would be the American Lung Association and the American Cancer Society as chosen by the Waldron family, the Monson Open Pantry and the Teen Center. Now that the Teen Center is closed, the funds will go instead to the Memorial Hall Fund to help defray expenses.
Chief McKenzie said rather than alter lanes of traffic, if possible and if enough orange cones could be acquired, suggested making a small lane off to the side of the road for the runners to stay in. Chief McKenzie added signage would also be a good idea to post along the northbound side of Route 32.
Ms. Norbut made a motion to accept the date of November 9, 2003 for the 8th Annual Monson Memorial Classic Road Race and to approve the use of Memorial Hall. Mr. Manning seconded and it was so VOTED.
Nicholas Giuggio, president of Fat Cat Capital d/b/a Mustang Sally’s, approached the Board of Selectmen for a hearing on an Entertainment license for his establishment. Ms. Neggers stated this item was previously scheduled for June and was delayed at the request of the applicant. Mr. Giuggio said he isn’t open yet as he is waiting for the liquor license, which was held up by the Department of Revenue. Mr. Giuggio said he is being told it is coming.
Mr. Giuggio would like entertainment on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. and on Sunday from 12:00 noon to 11:00 p.m. Entertainment on Thursday, Friday and Saturday would be from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. with live entertainment allowed on these three days from 8:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. Ms. Neggers said when the door is opened and closed with live entertainment, the sound gets projected outside onto the street and feels Mr. Giuggio might want to keep the doors closed as much as possible. This also pertains to the windows on the sides. Mr. Giuggio stated the building is air-conditioned and didn’t see any problems with keeping the doors and windows closed.
Entertainment would consist of a radio, wide-screen television, jukebox, cable television, karaoke and dancing by patrons. The live band would be limited to three instruments and one vocalist. Karaoke is the main attraction, but there might be some acoustic guitars.
Mr. Manning made a motion to approve the entertainment license as discussed. Ms. Norbut seconded and it was so VOTED.
The automatic amusement device portion of the entertainment license is for two machines and one pool table. Mr. Manning made a motion to approve this portion of the entertainment license also. Ms. Norbut seconded and it was so VOTED.
Mr. Giuggio asked about adding some machines geared toward younger children to play while parents wait for pizzas. Ms. Neggers told Mr. Guiggio there is a by-law restricting this to two machine right now and that he would need to speak with Chip LaPointe, the Zoning Enforcement Officer.
The last item on the agenda was in regards to the flagpole at Memorial Hall. Mr. Guertin said he received a memo stating the flag pole at the Memorial Hall is in need of repair. The repair will consist of scraping and repainting the pole. The Monson Tourism Committee solicited a quote seeking an estimate as to the cost to repair the pole. The quote received was approximately $2,000.00. Mr. Guertin said this has been an issue that goes back to 1990 when a discussion took place pertaining to the repair of the pole, which never transpired. Ms. Neggers stated steeplejacks would climb the pole replacing the mechanism at the top and painting the pole on the way down, which is the most cost-effective way of doing it. The alternative would be to hire a crane to lift the pole out and to lay it on the ground to repair it. Mr.
Guertin added the Board of Selectmen, as well as the whole town is very concerned with the Memorial Hall building and this is certainly a part of the Memorial Hall. Therefore, Mr. Guertin stated he would endorse repairing the flagpole.
Mr. Manning made a motion to fund the repairs to the Memorial Hall flagpole from the Gifts to the Town Account in the amount of up to $2,000.00. Ms. Norbut seconded and it was so VOTED. Ms. Norbut added she would like to see a new flag placed there as well. Ms. Neggers said the flags are replaced periodically. Ms. Neggers thanked the Board of Selectmen for this donation on behalf of the veterans in the community as this flag pole is near the wall dedicated to the veterans of town who have passed away.
In other business to come before the Board of Selectmen, Ms. Neggers said she received a telephone call message from Kurt Kaiser asking the Board of Selectmen to rescind the vote appointing Robert Beauchemin and John Rahkonen to the School Building Committee. They are no longer attending meetings or participating on that committee, and haven’t for quite some time. Ms. Neggers said they were re-appointed with the annual appointments.
Ms. Norbut made a motion to rescind the vote appointing Mr. Beauchemin and Mr. Rahkonen to the School Building Committee per request by Kurt Kaiser, who is the Chairman of that committee. Mr. Manning seconded and it was so VOTED. Ms. Neggers stated this committees’ work is just about done as they are just trying up a few loose ends. The town intends to bond by November and therefore the committees work must be completed by then.
Also in other business to come before the Board of Selectmen, Ms. Neggers said the Monson Board of Health has requested she read a press release to the listening audience regarding the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day to be held on Saturday, August 16, 2003 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Highway garage behind the Memorial Hall. This is open to all the residents of town. Ms. Neggers read the list of items to be accepted into the record as well as the list of items not being accepted.
Chief McKenzie said the 2nd Annual National Night Out would be held on August 5th behind the Town Office Building starting at 6:00 p.m. About 5,000 cities and towns across the country participate in this. Last year approximately 125 children were given identification kits. This year there will be the classic car show, Monson Bellmen, a National Guard helicopter, Hamburg’s, hotdogs, refreshments, etc. Everyone is invited to attend. Chief McKenzie stated it is important for parents to have recent color photographs of their children with them in the event the child is lost or misplaced or heaven forbid, abducted. The Police Department is setting up the system downstairs to photograph children. The Rotary Club has given them some nice dark blue backdrops. The Police Department will take the digital
photographs, print them out on a high-resolution printer and laminate the pictures before giving them to the parents. The Police Department has just received a grant from the National Center for Missing Children and with this has purchased a computer, scanner and photo printer. Chief McKenzie said every year; parents should have a new recent picture of what the child looks like to carry with them. This will be free of charge.
Ms. Norbut said prior to the National Night Out, there would be a dedication at 5:00 p.m. for the mural at Adam’s Supermarket.
Correspondence was read and completed.
At 8:05 p.m., Ms. Norbut made a motion to adjourn the meeting from Open session to go into Executive session for the purpose of discussing pending litigation and collective bargaining, not to return to Open session. Mr. Manning seconded and it was so VOTED.
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Kathleen C. Norbut, Clerk
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