MONSON BOARD OF SELECTMEN
TUESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2007
The regular meeting of the Monson Board of Selectmen convened at 7:00 p.m. in the conference room at 110 Main Street. In attendance were Richard E. Guertin, Edward S. Harrison and Kathleen C. Norbut. Also in attendance were the Town Administrator and the media.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Acceptance of Meeting Minutes:
Mr. Harrison made a motion to accept the meeting minutes of December 12, 2006 – open session. Ms. Norbut seconded and it was so VOTED.
Presentation of Proposed FY 2007 Community Development Strategy – Jim Mazik, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission:
Jim Mazik approached the Board of Selectmen. Mr. Mazik discussed the potential Community Development projects and described the target area.
Mr. Mazik said the Park Street Infrastructure Improvement Project will consist of replacing approximately 800 linear feet of water lines and drainpipe, the installation of two fire hydrants, the installation of approximately 1,360 linear feet of concrete sidewalk and approximately 1,020 linear feet of granite curbing and a 1 ½ overlay of asphalt. The proposed budget for this project is $368,100.00.
The Housing Rehabilitation Program will involve the rehabilitation of up to eight units of housing for low to moderate income residents by creating safe, sanitary, and affordable housing. This will consist of correcting building code violations, updating antiquated or failed systems such as heating, plumbing, electrical, septic and water; weatherization improvements, such as windows, doors, and insulation; accessibility modification such as ramps, levers and bathrooms; hazardous material abatement such as lead and asbestos; and other housing related rehabilitation such as roofing, structural repairs, masonry repairs and other similar items. The proposed budget for this program is $290,200.00.
Two public service requests were submitted for consideration, however, insufficient information on one of the requests, left only one request for inclusion on the grant application. The Preschool Enrichment Team is requesting $45,000.00 for its Child Care Support Program. The budget stipulates that 65% of the funding request go directly to the childcare subsidies with the remaining funds going to personnel, other non-personnel and indirect costs. The Preschool Enrichment Team will match 16.5% of the total program cost with $8,910.00. This will provide subsidies to income-qualified parents for 50% or more of the costs of childcare, depending on the size of the family. The Preschool Enrichment Team will administer the program by providing training for childcare providers and information and referral assistance to parents
seeking childcare. The program will benefit low to moderate income individuals/ and or families by 100%.
An $87,000.00 request by the Northeast Center for Youth and Families, Inc., designed to provide recreational programming for adolescents, did not include a budget or a description for the use of funds. Therefore Mr. Mazik recommended only the Preschool Enrichment Team, Inc. proposal be included in the funding request. The proposed budget for this program is $49,500.00.
The proposed FY 2007 funding total is $798,800.00.
The Board of Selectmen also reviewed a draft of the town’s Community Development Strategy which identified the most significant Community Development priorities and the means to achieve them over the next three to five years using federal, state and local public funds and private investment. Mr. Mazik said the Community Development Strategy is required for funding applications for the Community Development Funds II (CDF II), which will proceed to the public hearing at the next scheduled Selectmen’s meeting on January 23rd. Mr. Mazik said he expects very little if any changes to the proposed programs for the January 23rd public hearing and added Monson is eligible for up to fifteen competitive bonus points because of the three varied projects. Mr. Harrison noted he was concerned about the
points because insufficient bonus points prevented the town from being awarded grant funding in the past and added Monson was always only one or two points shy. Last year Monson only had ten competitive points.
The deadline for the submission of the grant application to the Commonwealth is February 16, 2007.
FY 2006 Audit Exit Interview – Richard Sullivan, Powers & Sullivan:
Monson’s Financial Director Deborah Mahar and Mr. Sullivan of Powers & Sullivan (the town’s auditor) approached the Board of Selectmen. Ms. Neggers explained Powers & Sullivan have been auditing the books for Monson for a number of years. Mr. Sullivan explained from a financial standpoint, there are a lot of consistencies between FY 05 and FY 06 in the way everything went. Monson maintained a decent percentage of the fund balance. The three enterprise funds, water, sewer and trash are normal with revenue a little higher. The growth ratio was realistic and Mr. Sullivan explained Monson has had a 98% collection rate on every bill going out which is excellent. The revenue increase is staying consistent and free cash was not used last year. Mr. Sullivan said he sees a community doing its best, looking at
reserves very crudely and found nothing out of the ordinary. Mr. Sullivan said he feels the personnel changes are proving to be good and that there is more structural leverage by the newly created position of a Financial Director in town. Mr. Sullivan added Monson needs to know what the risks are and how we are identifying with them, enhancing them and modifying them by having knowledge of the community. One of the risks cities/towns face is with cash coming in for sporting events, which is why they encourage everyone to pay by a check made out to cities or towns. Mr. Guertin added problems don’t just lie with the cash; it is also with material objects as well, such as staplers, computer cartridges etc.
School Committee Vacancy – Discussion:
Mr. Guertin said Kurt Kaiser has resigned from the School Committee leaving a little over a year left on his term. Any registered voter in town who is interested in filling this position is encouraged to submit a letter of interest to the Selectmen’s Office no later than January 19th. If anyone is interested, a joint meeting between the Board of Selectmen and the School Committee will be held at the next Selectmen’s meeting on January 23rd to conduct the interviews and to appoint someone to fill the vacancy. If no one applies, the position will remain open until the April 2nd election where hopefully three candidates will have submitted nomination papers (as there are two current members on the School Committee who are at the end of their three year terms along with Mr. Kaiser’s
position with one year remaining). Anyone interested in these positions is encouraged to take out nomination papers where 31 signatures are required, however 35 to 38 signatures are recommended just in case someone who signed is not a registered voter in town. The deadline for taking out nomination papers is February 8th with a deadline date of February 12th for returning them.
Robert Kaddy – Request for Proposed Bylaw:
Mr. Kaddy approached the Board of Selectmen regarding the placement of a bylaw on the warrant for the Town Meeting in May. Mr. Kaddy provided the Board of Selectmen with documentation. Mr. Kaddy explained he was here tonight due to a November 3, 2005 decision, H.R. 4128, which he feels is of great importance to the property owners of Monson. Over the past year he has been researching information concerning the Kelo vs. New London case where the issue of eminent domain gained a new level of attention last summer when the United States Supreme Court ruled that government could use eminent domain to take away private property and then sell it to a private developer. In the case known as Kelo vs. New London, Mr. Kaddy said the court ruled in a 5 to 4 vote that the City of New London, Connecticut could take the property of 15
homeowners for the purpose of economic development. The city plans to transfer the property to developers who will build office space, a hotel, housing, and a riverfront esplanade. Since this case, thousands of other cases have happened across the country. Mr. Kaddy told about a couple of other cases which recently occurred in New York. Mr. Kaddy said he is proposing a Private Property Rights Protection Act for the Town of Monson as he feels Town Meeting voters often side with the recommendations of the Selectmen and/or other town officials on the articles. Mr. Kaddy added the Town of Scituate Massachusetts recently passed a similar proposal at their annual Town Meeting this year and feels Monson’s warrant article could be a carbon copy since the Town of Scituate was given approval by the Attorney General’s Office. Mr. Kaddy feels Monson’s residents could be victims in the future if we don’t do something on a state, federal and/or local level now.
Mr. Harrison said if this were placed on the warrant he would like to compare the language used by other towns with Scituate’s wording. Mr. Guertin said he feels a situation, such like what happened in New London, isn’t likely to happen here due to Monson topography. He asked Mr. Kaddy if in all his research he found that this was had happened in any towns with a Town meeting form of government. Mr. Kaddy said he did not know. Mr. Guertin said that even if the Selectmen wanted to do such a thing it would require Town meeting approval. Mr. Guertin added maybe somewhere down the road, the voters may see the need to take land, whereas if this were passed it couldn’t happen, and felt it should be left up to the voters at a Town Meeting. Mr. Harrison said he hasn’t had a chance to go over the material
presented and wanted to have a chance to do so prior to making any decisions, but respects Mr. Kaddy’s feelings. Ms. Norbut said she hadn’t formed an opinion at this time and explained to Mr. Kaddy the placement of articles on the Town warrant doesn’t necessarily mean the Board of Selectmen endorse them.
The Board of Selectmen agreed unanimously to table this item until the first meeting in March, allowing them time to review the material.
Automatic Amusement Device License – Monson Bowling Lanes:
Mr. Harrison made a motion to renew license #3 for two pinball devices for Monson Bowling Lanes located at 64 Main Street. Ms. Norbut seconded and it was so VOTED.
Vote to Execute Contract – SEA/Guertin Elkerton – Re-Design of Lower Hampden Road Construction Project:
Ms. Neggers explained this is a request of John Morrell’s and that Town Counsel has reviewed the language.
Ms. Norbut made a motion to accept and execute the contract – SEA/Guertin Elkerton – re-design of Lower Hampden Road construction project for the sum of $140,000.00 plus change. Mr. Harrison seconded and it was so VOTED.
Correspondence was read and completed.
Other Business to Come Before the Board of Selectmen:
Ms. Norbut said a R.A.D. (Rape, Aggression and Defense) class is being offered. The five consecutive classes begin January 26th from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Anyone interested should contact Kristen Marciniec at 267-5136.
At 8:50 p.m., Mr. Harrison made a motion to adjourn from open session to go into executive session for the purpose of discussing collective bargaining (IBPO and AFSCME), not to return to open session. Ms. Norbut seconded and it was so VOTED.
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Kathleen C. Norbut, Clerk
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