BOARD OF SELECTMEN
TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2007
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, Edward S. Harrison and Kathleen C. Norbut. Also present were the Town Administrator and the media.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Reorganization of the Board of Selectmen:
Ms. Norbut made a motion to reorganize the board as follows:
Edward S. Harrison – Chair
Kathleen C. Norbut – Vice Chair
Richard E. Guertin – Clerk
Mr. Harrison seconded and it was so VOTED.
Acceptance of Meeting Minutes:
Mr. Guertin made a motion to accept the meeting minutes of March 27, 2007 – open and executive sessions. Ms. Norbut seconded and it was so VOTED.
Finalize Special Town Meeting Warrant:
The Finance Director, Deborah Mahar, approached the Board of Selectmen.
Ms. Neggers read the requested Special Town Meeting warrant articles for the Fire Department into the record as follows:
· Transfer a sum of money from Forest Fire Operating Account to Truck Operating Account.
· Transfer a sum of money from House Operating Account to Truck Operating Account.
· Transfer a sum of money from Special Services to Truck Operating Account.
· Transfer a sum of money from available funds to the Forest Fire Salary Account.
Ms. Norbut made a motion to approve the articles as read. Mr. Guertin seconded and it was so VOTED.
Ms. Neggers read the requested Special Town Meeting warrant articles into the record as follows:
· Transfer a sum of money from Highway Salaries and Wages Account to the Road Machinery Account.
· Transfer a sum of money from the Highway Salary and Wages Account to the General Highway and Bridges Account.
· Transfer a sum of money ($11,000.00) from available funds to the Lower Hampden Road Design Account.
John Morrell approached the Board of Selectmen to explain the article regarding the Lower Hampden Road Design Account transfer.
Ms. Norbut made a motion to dispense with the reading and to accept the Highway Department articles for the Special Town meeting warrant. Mr. Guertin seconded and it was so VOTED.
Ms. Neggers read the request into the record for the School Department as follows:
· Transfer a sum of money from available funds to the School Department for modifications and upgrade of intrusion alarm systems.
Ms. Norbut made a motion to dispense with reading of the article and to approve the article as written. Mr. Guertin seconded and it was so VOTED.
Ms. Norbut made a motion to approve the Police Department article, to transfer a sum of money from Selectmen’s Salary Account to Town Accountant Salary Account. Mr. Guertin seconded and it was so VOTED.
Ms. Neggers explained and read the requested article from the Police Department for the Special Town meeting warrant into the record.
Ms. Norbut made a motion to approve the article, to fund arbitration ruling from JLMC for IBPO, for placement on the Special Town meeting warrant, as explained by the Town Administrator. Mr. Guertin seconded and it was so VOTED.
Ms. Norbut made a motion to place an article for the Police Department, to transfer a sum of money from available funds to the Emergency Dispatch Salary Account, on the warrant for the Special Town meeting. Mr. Guertin seconded and it was so VOTED.
Ms. Norbut made a motion to place on the Special Town meeting warrant, an article to transfer a sum of money from available funds for the Town share for the health and life insurance. Mr. Guertin seconded and it was so VOTED.
Ms. Norbut made a motion to place an article on the Special Town meeting warrant, to transfer a sum of money from available funds for an override election. Mr. Guertin seconded and it was so VOTED.
Craig Jalbert approached the Board of Selectmen to explain the requested articles for the Water Department.
Ms. Norbut made a motion to approve an article for the Water Department on the Special Town meeting warrant, to approve the land acquisition by the Town from 1) Beauregard and 2) land acquisition from Garman and 3) borrowing authorization for SRF as described. Mr. Guertin seconded and it was so VOTED.
Ms. Norbut made a motion to place an article on the Special Town meeting warrant for the Board of Health to transfer a sum of money from the solid waste enterprise fund expenses to solid waste enterprise fund salaries. Mr. Guertin seconded and it was so VOTED.
Ms. Mahar explained the next request.
Ms. Norbut made a motion to place an article on the Special Town meeting warrant for the Board of Assessors, for account transfers from Assessors Expense and Assessors Encumbered Accounts to Assessors Revaluation Account. Mr. Guertin seconded and it was so VOTED.
Ms. Norbut made a motion to place an article on the Special Town meeting warrant to transfer and appropriate a sum of money to the Reserve Fund (assuming a Reserve Fund transfer is made to Highway for costs relative to Bunyan Road Bridge repairs). Mr. Guertin seconded and it was so VOTED.
Ms. Norbut made a motion to close the Special Town meeting warrant. Mr. Guertin seconded and it was so VOTED.
Finalize Annual Town Meeting Warrant:
Ms. Norbut made a motion to rescind, as requested, an article voted previously to place on the warrant for the Annual Town meeting, to see if the Town will raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds to update the Town of Monson Assessors maps as recommended by the Department of Revenue. Mr. Guertin seconded and it was so VOTED.
Ms. Norbut made a motion to place an article on the Annual Town meeting warrant to see if the Town will vote to accept the provision under MA G.L. Chapter 59 §5 (54) added by Chapter 159 § 114 of the Acts of 2000. The acceptance would establish a personal property account under $5,000.00 value be exempt from taxation. Mr. Guertin seconded and it was so VOTED.
Ms. Norbut made a motion to rescind, as requested, the placement agreed upon at the previous meeting of an article for the Annual Town meeting to appropriate a sum of money for Language/Technology Lab. Mr. Guertin seconded and it was so VOTED.
Ms. Norbut made a motion to place an article on the Annual Town meeting warrant for the Conservation Commission, to acquire land from the Historical Society on Town Farm Road, and to dispense of the reading of the whole article. Mr. Guertin seconded and it was so VOTED.
Ms. Norbut made a motion to place an article on the Annual Town meeting warrant an article from the Conservation Commission, to acquire land from the Historical Society on Main Street, and dispense of the reading of the whole article. Mr. Guertin seconded and it was so VOTED.
Ms. Norbut made a motion to place an article on the Annual Town meeting warrant for the Conservation Commission, to approve the donation of 11.3 acres located on Carpenter Road from McCray Reality, and to dispense of the reading of the whole article. Mr. Guertin seconded and it was so VOTED.
Ms. Neggers explained the next requested article.
Mr. Guertin made a motion to place an article on the Annual Town meeting warrant for the creation of a Community Preservation Committee. Ms. Norbut seconded and it was so VOTED.
Ms. Norbut made a motion to place the standard article on the Annual Town meeting warrant as written, including add, raise and appropriate/transfer and appropriate a sum of money to the Fund Balance Reserve for High School Construction Debt. Mr. Guertin seconded and it was so VOTED.
Mr. Guertin made a motion to close the Annual Town meeting warrant. Ms. Norbut seconded and it was so VOTED.
Proposition 2½ Override – Discussion:
Mr. Harrison reiterated the last meetings discussion regarding the Proposition 2½ Override. At that time is was agreed upon to hold a ballot election on June 18th. The school has requested this date be moved up to June 11th, prior to the end of the school year, in case pink slips need to be handed out. Mr. Guertin said he spoke with Karen Patenaude, Chair of the School Committee, who said they might possibly have two or three different options, the amount of money has not been finalized The School Committee will be holding a public hearing tomorrow night to discuss the budget in detail at 7:00 p.m. at Quarry Hill Community School. On Thursday night the School Committee will meet to finalize the language on the override question. The amount has not yet been finalized. It was agreed the Board of
Selectmen would have the final wording for approval on April 24th for their aye or nay vote for placement on a ballot. Mr. Guertin added the wording used on the ballot is exactly what the funds must be used for.
Mr. Guertin made a motion to instruct Ms. Neggers to pass on the language and the dollar amount from the Chairman of the School Committee to Town Counsel for approval, so ultimately it can be presented to the Board of Selectmen on April 24th for the approval of the Selectmen. Ms. Norbut seconded and it was so VOTED.
Ms. Norbut made a motion to rescind the vote for the June 18th special election for the purpose of an override. Mr. Guertin seconded and it was so VOTED.
Ms. Norbut made a motion to schedule a special election, for the purpose of an override, on June 11, 2007, from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Mr. Guertin seconded and it was so VOTED.
Mr. Guertin made a motion to keep the Highway Department request for $125,000.00 for the purpose of repairing town roads, a separate question on the ballot from the School Department request. Ms. Norbut seconded and it was so VOTED.
Ms. Norbut spoke to the listening audience about the Proposition 2½ Override. Ms. Norbut said two weeks ago, she was reluctant to move forward in the direction of an override. Ms. Norbut added the town departments were working together and the town is trying to be fiscally conservative, trying very slowly to address needs as they come forward. Ms. Norbut said she just wanted to slow the process down to wait and to hear from the Finance Committee and their recommendation as well as the State legislature regarding the Chapter 70 funds, as she was aware there was going to be a joint resolution. In the meantime, the Finance Committee has met and put together a balanced budget. Their recommendation would provide $200,000.00 over the net school spending level, closing the gap of $468,000.00 the School Department felt it
needed to provide level services. There is still another $268,000.00 to level services as well as other steps the School Department would like to take to move the school district forward. Ms. Norbut felt an override is a very large topic for any community to consider and something she feels must be considered very carefully and with as much information provided to the community as possible. Ms. Norbut noted there is less money coming back to the communities from the State government to meet the needs of mandates, increasing costs of fuel, rising health insurance and pension costs, etc. and therefore the amount of funds we have for services is shrinking every year, which is how we got to this point. Ms. Norbut said she has been concerned with how an override would impact each household and the businesses in town if it were passed.
Adoption of Special Speed Regulations for Cedar Swamp Road and Maxwell Road as Recommended by State Traffic Engineer:
Ms. Neggers explained this traffic study was initiated by a citizens’ request and this is the next step in moving forward before passing it to the State for sign off by the Registry of Motor Vehicles and the Traffic Engineer on behalf of Mass. Highway.
Mr. Guertin explained Maxwell Road will be posted at basically 30 mph with the exception of one spot on a curve, which will be 20 mph. Cedar Swamp Road will also be posted at 30 mph with one section being 25 mph.
Mr. Guertin made a motion to accept the recommendation from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts relative to the speed on Maxwell Road, identified as special speed regulation #7882. Ms. Norbut seconded and it was so VOTED.
Mr. Guertin made a motion to approve the speed recommendation from the State on Cedar Swamp Road. Ms. Norbut seconded and it was so VOTED.
Appoint Zoning Enforcement Officer (Zoning Bylaws – 04/01/2007 – 03/31/2008):
Mr. Guertin made a motion to reappoint Chip Lapointe as Zoning Enforcement Officer effective April 1, 2007 through March 31, 2008. Ms. Norbut seconded and it was so VOTED.
Issue Bowling License, Billiards & Pool Licenses and Auctioneer License:
Mr. Guertin made a motion to approve the bowling license for the Monson Bowling Lanes effective May 1, 2007 through April 30, 2008. Ms. Norbut seconded and it was so
VOTED.
Mr. Guertin made a motion to approve the pool table licenses for Fat Cat Capital, Inc. d.b.a. Mustang Sally’s, American Legion Post 241 d.b.a. Tee Jay’s, Inc., and the Polish American Citizens Club, effective May 1, 2007 through April 30, 2008. Ms. Norbut seconded and it was so VOTED.
Mr. Guertin made a motion to approve the auctioneer license for Frank Kapsia d.b.a. Wintergarden Auction Services effective May 1, 2007 through April 30, 2008. Ms. Norbut seconded and it was so VOTED.
Correspondence was read and completed.
In Other Business to Come Before the Board of Selectmen:
Ms. Norbut announced several up-coming events as follows:
· The Monson Arts Council Art Show – opens on April 13th through April 29th at the House of Art.
· The Monson Free Library & the First Church are holding a wonderful performance tonight at the First Church, The Piatigorsky Foundation with Raquela Sheeran and David Shimoni at 6:30 p.m.
· Family Movie Night at the Monson Free Library on Friday, April 20th from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., showing the movie “Charlotte’s Web”.
· The Monson Free Library will present the Boston’s Museum of Science’s “Science Magic” on Friday, April 20th at 1:00 p.m.
· The Monson Free Library will sponsor the Poppin’ Puppets program, “The Spirit of the Rainforest,” to be held on Thursday, April 19th at 1:30 p.m. in Memorial Hall. The cost is $3.00 per child, maximum of $10.00 per family. Adults are welcome to accompany children for free.
· Tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m., the Monson Free Library will present “ADD at Home: How Families Cope”, with Carol Gignoux, M.Ed.
· The Palmer/Monson Family Network is having an event on May 12th, rain date May 19th, from 10:00 – 1:00 at Quarry Hill School called “Touch a Truck”. Admission is $3.00 per child with two adults per family free. Many different types of vehicles will be on display for children to explore.
· On April 26th at 7:00 p.m., the Unitarian Church will host a South African choral ensemble free of charge and open to the public for all ages. This performance will also be taped for people who aren’t able to make it and will be shown on the Public Access Channel. The Council on Aging will hold a wonderful lunch on that same day as well. Reservations for the luncheon may be made by calling the Senior Center.
At 8:30 p.m., Mr. Guertin made a motion to adjourn from open session to go into executive session for the purpose of discussing collective and non-union bargaining, not to return to open session. Ms. Norbut seconded and it was so VOTED.
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Richard E. Guertin, Clerk
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