MONSON BOARD OF SELECTMEN
TUESDAY, MARCH 11, 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 Edward S. Harrison, Richard E. Guertin and James R. Manning. Also present were Town Counsel, the Town Administrator and the Media.
Mr. Guertin made a motion to accept the meeting minutes of February 25, 2003. Mr. Manning seconded and it was so VOTED.
Kathleen Norbut, the Teen Coordinator for the Teen Advisory Board and Eliza Squires, a member of the Teen Advisory Board approached the Board of Selectmen regarding a Girl Scout Gold Award that Miss Squires is hoping to achieve. Ms. Norbut stated the Gold Award in the Girl Scouts is equal to the Eagle Scout Award for the Boy Scouts and that it is the highest award. Ms. Norbut stated Miss Squires’ many accomplishments which include being on the National Honor Society, she has been a member of the Dolphin Swim Team and the Varsity Swim Team, a Girl Scout for twelve years, a member of the Debate Club, an alter girl at St. Patrick’s Church, she attends the Chess Club at the library when she has a little bit of time and has been accepted to college to major in Bio-Mechanical Engineering. Ms. Norbut stated
Miss Squires is an exceptional young lady in our community.
Miss Squires said to earn her Gold Award, she is planning to raise money from local businesses and local individuals by sending letters to them in order to build upon the young adult literature collection at the library. It is a new program at the library to get young adults involved with the library. The library right now doesn’t have a very broad collection for young adults. Miss Squires said she is hoping to raise $500.00 to get the books that they are going to select using a survey from the schools in town, it would give them an idea of what the teens would like to read. They will purchase the books to give to the library. The people who donate funds for this cause will get their names or organizations put into the front cover of the book to give them recognition for their donation. Miss Squires will complete
the survey for the students and distribute that as well as do the fund raising, purchase the books and make sure they are all engraved appropriately. The Board of Selectmen thought this was a great project.
Mr. Albano asked when the fund raising might start. Ms. Norbut stated essentially Miss Squires is ready to start her project tonight.
Mr. Harrison asked Miss Squires about a target date to finish this by? Miss Squires stated she must finish this in May. She wasn’t sure of the exact date, but stated it would be within the first two weeks in May. Ms. Norbut stated they might try to have it coincide with the Teen Festival, which is planned for May 3rd. Anyone interested in contributing may send their donation to Eliza’s attention in care of the Monson Free Library.
After a brief discussion amongst the Board of Selectmen, Mr. Manning made a motion to approve to match the dollar amount raised by Miss Squires, with a $500.00 limit, with funds from the Gifts to the Town Account. Mr. Guertin seconded and it was so VOTED.
Ms. Norbut said she has spoken with Hillary Price who is the youngest syndicated female cartoonist from the Northampton area. As part of this project, they would like to highlight opportunities in literacy and writing, and do this in a fun way. Ms. Price stated she is very interested in attending. Ms. Norbut also stated the Teen Advisory Board is working with the Schools, specifically with Ruth D. Christopher who is the Public Schools Family and Community Involvement Program Coordinator. They are offering a parenting of Teens Workshop Series, free of charge. Beginning on March 19th, a different workshop will be held at the library on the next four consecutive Wednesdays. These sessions are free and open to anyone who wishes to attend. People interested may attend one workshop or all four. They have different
experts coming in to speak on such topics as nutrition, substance abuse, how to deal with issues of divorce, mediation, reforming families, images, body images, media images and all of it surrounding the parenting of teen issues. The Teen Advisory Board will provide childcare for anyone interested in attending the workshops that might have younger children.
Representative Mary Rogeness approached the Board of Selectmen regarding her gift to the town. Ms. Rogeness read a letter, which read, in accordance with a recent state constitutional amendment, all state legislatures were granted a raise in salary effective in January. In recognition of the states’ budget crises and the resulting reductions to local aid that have impacted all of the communities Ms. Rogeness represents, she has decided to donate her added income to the communities she serves. She was here tonight to present a personal check in the amount of $600.00 to the town of Monson. Mr. Lapointe took pictures of Mr. Guertin, Mr. Manning and Ms. Rogeness as she presented the check to Mr. Harrison.
Ronald Garvan d/b/a Garv’s Garden Mart and Chip Lapointe, the Zoning Enforcement Officer approached the Board of Selectmen regarding an appeal by Mr. Garvan of a decision made by Mr. Lapointe regarding the removal of Mr. Garvan’s sign. Mr. Harrison stated his understanding is this is one of the few zoning bylaws, which calls for an appeal to a Board other than the Zoning Board of Appeals, namely the Board of Selectmen.
Mr. Harrison read the letter from Mr. Lapointe to Mr. Garvan into the record. The letter stated that a few weeks ago, Mr. Lapointe removed a sign tied to a guardrail on Palmer Road near the intersection of Toby Road. The sign was in violation of the bylaw and erected without a permit. Recently Mr. Lapointe asked a number of businesses to remove unpermitted and illegal signs. All of the businesses he contacted complied with his request except Mr. Garvan. He replaced the first sign advertising for part time help with one advertising the sale of 50 lb. bags of potatoes. Mr. Lapointe stated the sign bylaw allows him to remove any sign erected without a permit. He took the sign down and notified Mr. Garvan that the only way he could erect an off premise sign was through a petition to the Zoning Board of Appeals. Mr. Lapointe
also informed Mr. Garvan that the bylaws allow an appeal of his decision to the Board of Selectmen. This is the only section of the bylaws that defer to the Selectmen on an appeal, instead of the Zoning Board of Appeals. This requirement may be a vestige of an older town bylaw, however if appears to Mr. Lapointe in this case, that the proper venue for relief would be through a permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals, as provided for in the bylaws. The pertinent section of the bylaws state, “A directional or identification sign may be erected and maintained in any district where the Board of Appeals finds that such sign will serve the public safety, and will be of such size, location and design as will not be detrimental to the neighborhood.”
Mr. Lapointe stated regulating signs is never a popular activity with any businessmen. However, it is only fair to the individuals who follow the regulations, that we enforce them uniformly and with a concern for the aesthetic quality for the residence of Monson.
Mr. Garvan said he has been a resident of Monson for 30 years. He started his own business 25 years ago. Mr. Garvan stated he paid the fee of $50.00 to Mr. Garvey for all the blanket permits, for all the green houses he wants and for all the signs that he needs. When Mr. Garvey left and Earl Coleman took over, Mr. Coleman thought Mr. Garvan had one green house that was splitting one type of zoning to another type. They found out that wasn’t true and that the green house was legal. As far as signs go, Mr. Coleman said the sign Mr. Garvan had at the end of Chestnut Street was a little close to the road and asked Mr. Garvan to move it back a little bit, which he did. That was 25 years ago. Mr. Garvan stated that sign gives him $500.00 a day in sales as many people travel past it. Mr. Garvan handed each Selectmen a copy
of the removal of sign regulation that he copied out of a book. It stated Mr. Garvan should have been sent a certified notice stating what is wrong with his sign. Mr. Garvan claims he received a telephone call at 3:30 p.m. and was told by Mr. Lapointe that he had taken down his sign and notified the Police Department. Mr. Garvan stated he was never notified by certified mail as stated in the bylaw. The law also states he has twenty days to correct any problems. Mr. Garvan stated he feels his sign was removed illegally.
Mr. Lapointe stated he spoke with Mr. Garvan in March of 2000 when Mr. Garvan was moving his business back into Monson about the removal of his sign. Mr. Lapointe said he sent a letter to Mr. Garvan at that time (three years ago) explaining to him what he was allowed to do by the way of signs. Mr.
Lapointe said there is also another sign at the bottom of Beebe Road that is in violation as well. Mr. Garvan did not remove this sign when notified three years ago. Mr. Lapointe stated he recently removed the advertising sign. The directional sign was not removed. He contacted Mr. Garvan by telephone regarding the removal of his sign when Mr. Garvan started advertising for help. The sign has been there for awhile advertising different products, even though it was in violation, Mr. Lapointe said he didn’t follow through with the removal at that time. When Mr. Garvan started going beyond just advertising the local unique products of 50 lbs. of potatoes to advertising for help, this is when the sign was removed. There are some local businesses in the area who have also, at one time or another, put out signs on Route
20 advertising for positions and Mr. Lapointe has, at the time, asked them to remove their signs as well. They all complied right away without any problems. Mr. Lapointe stated he didn’t want to allow one individual to do something that someone else was denied the right to do.
Mr. Harrison asked about the issue of the bylaw, which states that signs in violation need to have a twenty-day notice. Mr. Lapointe reiterated he recently gave Mr. Garvan a verbal notice. When Mr. Garvan goes back to March of 2000, a certified letter was sent out. The signs were up without any permits and Mr. Garvan had been asked before to remove them and never did so. In this case, there was a three year advanced notice rather than a twenty-day advanced notice. Mr. Lapointe stated a notice was sent in January of this year, which was not twenty days prior to the actual sign removal.
Mr. Garvan said he hired two Monson residents from the help wanted sign, which was put up due to surgery Mr. Garvan had, which prevented him from lifting bags. Mr. Garvan said this was the only reason the help wanted sign was erected.
Mr. Harrison asked Mr. Albano if there was anything illegal, that he had found, with the removal of the sign by the Zoning Enforcement Officer. Mr. Albano stated no. Mr. Albano also stated the Board of Selectmen did the right thing by seeking testimony from Mr. Garvan and Mr. Lapointe. Mr. Albano has reviewed this case and his feeling is Mr. Garvan may have equitable arguments as to why he feels the removal of the sign is unfair. However, from a legal standpoint it was an illegal sign, as it did not abide by the Monson bylaws. Mr. Albano stated probably after this particular case, this bylaw should be discussed as to whether or not it makes sense to amend the bylaw to have these appeals referred to the ZBA as Mr. Albano stated he feels this would be the proper forum for this.
Mr. Guertin read part of the bylaw pertaining to the category of sign removal by the Building Inspector/Zoning Enforcement Officer into the record. The law states the Building Inspector/Zoning Enforcement Officer shall cause to be removed any such sign that endangers the public safety such as an abandoned, dangerous or materially electrically, or structurally defective sign, or a sign for which no permit has been issued. Therefore, Mr. Guertin stated this paragraph states Mr. Lapointe is able to remove the sign. Mr. Guertin said his question would be, had Mr. Lapointe given Mr. Garvan the certified letter, his understanding would be Mr. Garvan would have had 20 days to remove the sign or to correct the problem. Mr. Garvan said William Garvey who was the Building Inspector at that time, 25 years ago approved the sign. This
is the same piece of wood and Mr. Garvan has just changed the lettering. Mr. Garvan said he was audited in 1988 and all his records prior to that year were destroyed as he had numerous boxes of paperwork. Along with everything that was destroyed, was his receipt for the $50.00 for the fee he paid for the sign permit. Mr. Manning stated what the issue here is, is whether the Zoning Enforcement Officer acted within the realm of his responsibility, and it appears to him Mr. Lapointe did act accordingly to the bylaw. Mr. Lapointe stated if Mr. Garvan were to get permission from Mass Highway (as they own the property) Mr. Garvan could approach the Zoning Board of Appeals to see if they would allow a directional sign. Mr. Lapointe said if a sign is granted he would recommend that it be a directional sign only and not an advertisement sign for products. Mr. Lapointe stated he would like to keep advertisement signs for products under control as if this one were approved, many more
signs of this type could pop up all over Monson. Mr. Harrison added there was an issue with signs for a tree farm on Bogan and Lower Hampden Roads where signs were plastered all over the place, which is exactly what Mr. Lapointe is trying to avoid as you can’t allow it for one person and not another. Mr. Lapointe said regarding the permit for the sign, once you remove the sign you loose any grandfathered protection you might have had. This sign had been down for a number of years before Mr. Garvan put it back up when the business was started back up in town following the closing of his business in Palmer.
Mr. Harrison asked Mr. Garvan if he plans to advertise on the sign. Mr. Garvan stated he basically wants to just let the people know what is happening. Mr. Garvan stated he could list this in the newspaper or put it on a truck. Mr. Harrison said the town has directional signs for the campgrounds in the form of campers, Westview Farm has the ice cream cones and the apple orchard has an apple with an arrow on it. Mr. Harrison asked if the ice cream cone signs were illegal. Mr. Lapointe said the ice cream cone signs were suggested a number of years ago when an issue such as this came up. He wasn’t sure a final proposal was put together, but it was recommended by the Zoning Enforcement Officer at that time that they allow these directional signs in the form of symbols. These signs seem to be tastefully done and aren’t obstructing traffic. Based on that passage, the town allows directional signs for the convience of the community as much as for the vendor. Mr. Lapointe stated he doesn’t
know how the ZBA would rule on it. However, if the sign were tastefully done, doesn’t appear to be an obstruction and they have permission from the landowner, he didn’t think there would be a problem. Some of the signs are tied in with some of the street signs, he thought this would require permission from the Highway Surveyor as well as the ZBA. To the best of his knowledge, Mr. Lapointe said they are not advertising products. It is usually a symbol with arrows that are used as a directional. Mr. Garvan said the Zoning Enforcement Office at that time 25 years ago, okayed green thumbs for him to use on his signs as directionals, but he got sick of making them and did away with them. Mr. Harrison asked Mr. Lapointe what the precedence has been in the past. Mr. Lapointe stated he wasn’t sure how the other signs might have been authorized. In his opinion they are grandfathered so to the best of his knowledge he doesn’t have any jurisdiction over them as
they have been there prior to the approval of the Zoning Bylaws.
Mr. Guertin said relative to Mr. Garvan’s claim that he had been given permission twenty-five years ago, he also heard Mr. Lapointe say the grandfathered clause is only valid as long as the sign remains up. To Mr. Lapointes' best recollection when Mr. Garvan was operating out of Palmer as opposed to Monson, that sign was not there for quite a period of time. Mr. Lapointe stated if the sign is removed for an extended period of time the grandfathering is lost even if it is only removed for one day. Under this scenerio, he lost the grandfathered rights to the sign when it was removed to do business in Palmer. Mr. Garvan stated he would like to see where in the Monson bylaws it is written that the grandfathered clause is lost if the sign were removed for even one day. Mr. Lapointe stated he would be happy to share this
information with Mr. Garvan over the next week or so. Mr. Albano stated another part of the Monson bylaw that he feels is pertinent to this case is the provision that states no billboard or sign for which the principal product or service advertised is not regularly produced or available on the premises shall not be erected or maintained, meaning Mr. Lapointe has isolated this as an off premises sign. Where the sign is located, is not the place of business. Mr. Garvan is advertising a regular product available at a different location. Mr. Garvan said this is another case he could use symbols instead on his sign. He could put a flower on the sign as he produces $300,000.00 worth of flowers a year or he could also put a tomato on the sign as he grows 13 tons of tomatoes per year. Mr. Guertin stated a more positive approach would be to find out what kind of sign would be allowed. Mr. Garvan reiterated he has been a resident for thirty years and that he isn’t out to break any laws
or conduct business illegally. Mr. Guertin stated he feels the current Zoning Enforcement Officer takes a lot of unjust criticism. Mr. Guertin added he feels many of the prior Zoning Officers didn’t necessarily enforce some of the portions of their job which should have been enforced. He feels what is happening now is, Monson has a Zoning Enforcement Officer who is doing his job and this officer is getting some criticism because he follows others who didn’t do their job to the fullest. Mr. Harrison said if the Board of Selectmen were to approve a sign, it would be strictly a directional and not one for advertising products. Mr. Manning said he didn’t feel, as though the Board of Selectmen could approve any kind of a sign, as it isn’t the town’s property, it is Mass Highway’s property. Also the issue here is whether the Zoning Enforcement Officer acted right.
Mr. Albano said the role of the Board of Selectmen in this discussion is to uphold or overturn the decision of the Zoning Enforcement Officer. To overturn the decision, the law requires a unanimous vote of all three Selectmen. Mr. Guertin said Mr. Garvan should see what kind of sign could be put up here and to move forward on this. Mr. Harrison added he personally has no right to make any kind of decision here, but he thinks he would be looking for a directional sign along the same lines of the signs seen for Koran’s Farm, the Creamery or the campgrounds as being the type of sign that is acceptable. Mr. Lapointe stated Mass Highway has signs already made up that can be picked from a catalog. He has already gone through this and you must apply with them for the sign. Mr. Lapointe also felt this would require a
special permit from the ZBA as well.
Mr. Manning made a motion to uphold the decision of the Zoning Enforcement Officer. Mr. Guertin seconded and it was so VOTED.
Michael Norton approached the Board of Selectmen along with Sargent Shuemaker regarding bike race proposals. Mr. Norton stated this year he would like to propose two bike races. The regular bike race that is normally held on the last weekend on a Sunday in April and a race to be held on Saturday June 14th. The race in April is the same times and routes as has been done in the past. It starts at the new High School, goes out of the parking lot taking a right onto Margaret Street to the center of Palmer taking a right in the center of Palmer following that to Route 32 south coming back to Thompson Street and ending at Hillside. This will be held on Sunday, April 27th starting at 8:00 a.m. and ending around 3:30 p.m.
In June the race will be held on Saturday, June 14th. Six separate packs will race in different parts of the town starting at the Middle School. They will head out onto Route 32 north to Fenton Road to Route 20 to Route 19 all the way down to Route 319 in Stafford, Conn. Back to Route 32 north to Wales Road up to Route 19. The finish line will be at the dam for some. Some of the other racers will do two laps and the pros’ will do three laps. This will start at 8:30 and finish around 12:30 p.m. Mr. Norton said the race wouldn’t interfere with any businesses as this is a moving entity. The only time there would be any big delays would be going down Route 32 on the from Thompson Street to Fenton Road and also north on Route 32 coming from Stafford, Conn. to Wales Road. Other than that they will only be
in a certain place for a short period of time. This is a 23-mile loop.
Mr. Harrison asked Mr. Norton what he had lined up for traffic control. Mr. Norton sated in April he will have two police officers in Monson and one in Palmer. A police officer will be stationed at both ends of Thompson Street. Thompson Street will be made into a one-way Street so vehicles can only go up Thompson Street. Vehicles will not be allowed to go down Thompson Street, but instead will be detoured around.
Mr. Harrison asked if both of these proposals have been reviewed with the Police Department. Mr. Norton stated they have as he has sat down with Chief McKenzie.
The second race to be held on June 14th, as far as detail coverage, will require a police officer at the bottom of Thompson Street, one at the top of Fenton Road where the two meet from the fork in the road, and also at the end of Fenton Road onto Route 20. There will be an officer at the bottom of Wales Road and two at the dam. On Fenton Road, an officer will only be needed for approximately 25 minutes as once this pack of racers pass, that’s it for this section of town.
Mr. Norton said he also has certificates of insurance, which protect the town from liability for each race in the amount of $5 million each.
Mr. Guertin made a motion to give approval to the Sunday April 27th race that would run from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. starting at the High School and finishing at Hillside. Also to approve a race on Saturday June 14th starting at the Middle School running approximately 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Mr. Manning seconded and it was so VOTED subject to the Police Department being satisfied with the amount of Police coverage in order to ensure the safety of the bikers and the public.
The last item on the agenda was a discussion with M-PACT regarding the cable television revenue. This item was tabled, as there wasn’t any representation from M-PACT.
Correspondence was read and completed.
At 8:28 p.m., Mr. Guertin made a motion to adjourn the meeting from open session to go into executive session to discuss litigation and collective bargaining, not to return to open session. Mr. Manning seconded and it was so VOTED.
_____________________________
James R. Manning, Clerk
| 
