Town of Monson, MA - Meeting of 2008-03/25

Meeting of 2008-03/25

MONSON BOARD OF SELECTMEN

TUESDAY, MARCH 25, 2008

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 Kathleen C. Norbut. Also present were the Town Administrator and the media.

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Acceptance of Meeting Minutes:

Mr. Guertin made a motion to accept the meeting minutes of March 11, 2008 – open session. Ms. Norbut seconded and it was so VOTED.

Kaitlyn Santos – Regarding Requesting Speed Zone – Hovey Road:

Kaitlyn Santos approached the Board of Selectmen and read her petition into the record stating she is a six year old who would like to ride her bike and take walks on her road (Hovey Road) however she feels the speed limit is unsafe as it is 40 miles per hour. Ms. Santos is requesting a speed study to be done and presented a petition signed by sixteen of her neighbors to the Board of Selectmen. Mr. Guertin explained to Ms. Santos the request would now go to the Police Chief who would conduct a study and report back to the Board of Selectmen. The Selectmen would then forward the study to the State to a man in Boston who will come and assess the road himself and prepare a report prior to passing this on to John Morrell, if a speed limit sign is warranted. This process could take until the fall to complete.

Mr. Guertin made a motion to request the Chief of Police to have his staff assess Hovey Road and to make a recommendation for the Board of Selectmen on a speed limit posting. Ms. Norbut seconded and it was so VOTED.

The Board of Selectmen thanked Ms. Santos for coming in and said they were happy to see someone of her age getting involved.

Respond to Citizen’s Inquiry Re: Flat Fee instead of Override:

It was reiterated that resident Stephen Roy, attended the last Board of Selectmen’s meeting suggesting a flat student assessment fee or a school assessment fee, as a means to possibly stopping a Proposition 2½ Override and to come up with the needed funds to assist with the School’s budget. At that time it was agreed to table this discussion until the current meeting to allow time to investigate this option. Ms. Neggers said Ms. Mahar consulted with the Department of Revenue on essentially charging a flat fee or an assessment approved by a Town Meeting and at the local level relative to “if you had children in the schools per family and/or by house” and Ms. Mahar found it is not legal in the Commonwealth to initiate such a fee, therefore it could not be done at the local level. Ms. Neggers added a home rule clause in the State Constitution really restricts what the State’s cities and towns can do; therefore this is not a mechanism that we have as an option to pursue.

Mr. Harrison questioned the possibility of approaching this from another angle and having a citizens group set up a 501C3 organization similar to what the Friends of the Monson Free Library or Boosters have. Ms. Neggers replied many communities have non-profit foundations to benefit established education, such as the Town of Longmeadow, which is very active. Ms. Neggers noted some of this information is currently being circulated in this community among concerned parents, but this would be voluntary instead of compulsory for all households with children.

A letter will be drafted to inform Mr. Roy of this finding. Mr. Harrison stated he appreciates Mr. Roy’s efforts in trying to be creative in thinking of ways to raise funds for education.

Fiscal 2009 Budget Discussion – Departmental Impacts: 1. John Morrell, Highway Surveyor; 2. Hope Bodwell, Library Director – Monson Free Library; 3. Timothy Pascale, Director – Parks and Recreation; 4. Paul Lovell, Superintendent – Cemetery Department:

Ms. Neggers said several department heads were here tonight to describe the impacts of the budget recommendations the Board of Selectmen have previously put forward and passed on to the Finance Committee who is currently in the process of reviewing them. The departments had all been provided with the opportunity to contact Ms. Neggers with requests to come forward to describe the impacts. Mr. Guertin reiterated to the listening audience these budget cuts are what allowed the Board of Selectmen to make the recommendation to the Finance Committee to consider provide the schools with $180,000.00 above the Net School Spending amount.

1. John Morrell approached the Board of Selectmen and stated he is not objecting to the Select Boards decision, but just wanted to make everyone aware of what the cuts would mean to the Highway Department. Mr. Morrell stated his department will be effected in two main areas. One is the General Highways and Bridges Account, which he said will end up being just about level funded from last year with approximately a $40,000.00 to $45,000.00 cut in services occurring due to the significant increase in prices of materials. Subsequently, the Highway Department will be limited to doing a lot less bituminous and gravel work. The second proposed budget cut for his department is the loss of a driver/laborer. Mr. Morrell stated prior to Proposition 2½ the Highway Department had ten working crew members and explained the rule of thumb for maintaining roadways is one man for every ten miles of road. There are 106 miles of road in the Town of Monson, placing the Highway Department a little under staffed prior to Proposition 2½. The Highway Department currently has seven crew members and the proposal is to not replace an individual who is retiring, placing the Highway Department at six crew members. Mr. Morrell said he feels the Highway Department is not normally categorized as a public safety department, such as the Fire and Police Departments, until they are needed to respond to weather event emergencies, such as wind storms, floods or snow and ice situations, making them a vital department to serve the residents, as it is vital to the entire town for roads to be maintained as passable due to the road network being the backbone of our community. Mr. Morrell said with the proposed cuts, he will not be able to do as much as he has and the roads will not be in the same condition as people are accustomed to, but he will do the best he can. Mr. Morrell added due to the cut in manpower, it will be hard scheduling work around vacation and sick time as some projects require two crews instead of just one crew. However, the good news is his equipment and vehicles have been up-dated recently increasing the response time to emergency situations, and he has a good work force that makes good use of their time. Mr. Morrell added the Water Department and the Parks and Recreation Commission assisted the Highway Department this past winter with snow removal during the winter storms which really helped his department, and he thanked them for this. Mr. Morrell said he hopes in the future this position will be returned to his department. Mr. Morrell added he feels there was a good job done on the budget proposal with saving the police, EMT’s and dispatchers and he understands the need for the recommendations.

Mr. Harrison clarified the Selectmen do realize the Highway Department is part of the safety department structure for the town, and thanked the Water Department and the Parks and Recreation Commission for pitching in and assisting the Highway Department during the winter storms, as this is the teamwork the Board of Selectmen are looking for amongst departments, and noted it is appreciated.

Mr. Guertin thanked Mr. Morrell for looking at the proposed budget cuts the way he did, for his understanding of why and for his support, as the Town is going through tough times and the Board of Selectmen don’t like making these recommendations, but had no choice.

Ms. Norbut explained to the listening audience it is not the Highway Departments fault if the roads aren’t as good as residents might like them to be or as good as they have been in the past. The budget is tough and the costs are high and the Highway Department is doing the best they can. Ms. Norbut added everyone has been struggling with tough budgets for some years and she too appreciates Mr. Morrell’s attitude and understanding.

2. Hope Bodwell approached the Board of Selectmen. Ms. Bodwell said she too understands the fiscal hardship the town and all of the departments are facing and is grateful and thankful for all of the support the town has given the Library over the years as she feels the Library is just as important as the other departments. Ms. Bodwell said the Library is prepared to work with the town and to be a part of any fair and valid solution. A $26,000.00 cut has been recommended to the Library budget. Ms. Bodwell explained if any cut in funding is received the Library will not receive the MAR funds, on top of the $26,000.00 proposed cut. There is a lengthy waiver process that could be applied for if she could prove the Library was cut proportionally to the other departments, otherwise they would not qualify. The waiver would be good for one year. Without this waiver the Library would lose $15,000.00 in state aid grant opportunities, along with the loss of the ability to share with other libraries. This is a critical item as many of Monson’s residents utilize the Palmer library in addition to Monson’s Library. This would also affect the ability for the Library to receive and/or share books, magazines, and other materials amongst other libraries. Currently the Library is open 52 hours a week to the entire population with over 6,212 registered Monson library users. Volunteers have worked over 750 hours for the Library this year to date. Twenty-seven local organizations have used or are using the Community Room in the Library year to date and over 5,500 people have logged on their public access computers. Ms. Bodwell stated her expenses have been consistent over the past years as she runs a very tight budget. The Town picks up 74% of the budget with the Library contributing the remaining 26%, which comes from State aid, grants, donations, miscellaneous income and interest and gains. Ms. Bodwell stated not every home has a computer and there are students who rely on the computers at the Library to assist them with homework and projects, as well as residents using the computers for job applications, résumés, filing taxes, etc. Ms. Bodwell further stated students will rely more on the Library as they are not going to have the School libraries and she really wants to support the students any way she can, yet at the same time she does know and understand the tough decisions being made regarding the proposed budget cuts to all the departments.

Ms. Norbut said the Selectmen are very sensitive to the situation and she does find the loss of the MAR distressing. Ms. Norbut added the Board of Selectmen have strived for a fair and balanced solution and she appreciated Ms. Bodwell sharing the facts and letting the people know these are serious impacts.

3. Timothy Pascale approached the Board of Selectmen and stated he realizes where the Town is at, but wanted the Town to know what the proposed budget cuts would do to his department. A $5,000.00 cut is proposed for the Parks and Recreation Department as well as the loss of a 30 hour per week union employee. Mr. Pascale explained the $5,000.00 cut would mean substantially higher fees for the programs. Mr. Pascale explained the loss of a 30 hour per week employee would be extremely difficult as he currently has 87 man hours to do 142 man hours of work. Mr. Pascale added he is not part of the 87 hours. His department maintains the schools athletic facilities, and he is currently mowing areas for the Water/Sewer Department. Mr. Pascale said he just doesn’t see how his department is physically going to be able to still maintain the athletic fields with the loss of an employee, as he is behind his desk more and more and out in the field less.

Mr. Pascale stated if the schools shut down during the summer, it would mean the loss of Summer Theater after 38 years and 8 – 10 weeks of the sports camps, which include Cheering Camp, Art Camp, Basketball Camp, and Summer Fun Week. Mr. Pascale noted many parents have come to rely on the summer programs as a safe place for their children during the summer months while they are working.

Mr. Harrison asked about volunteers or fundraisers to assist the department in helping to elevate some of the proposed budget cuts. Mr. Pascale said he will be sitting down with his Commissioners to try to figure everything out and noted each sport has its own association. Mr. Pascale added he is weary everyone is going to be targeting the same businesses and one can only go to the same business so many times asking for donations, as there aren’t too many in town to go to. Mr. Pascale also said they are thinking of possibly setting up a fee for Summer Theater and possibly consolidating all of the activities to just one school during the summer months, to cut down on electricity, air conditioning, etc.

Mr. Pascale explained he has started preparing a budget that won’t include any Net School Spending, as departments are trying very hard to make ends meet with fewer resources. Therefore, the budget he is working on would include eliminating the caring of all school grounds and only support the parks. The budget would also include cutting the clerical hours in the office.

Ms. Norbut asked Mr. Pascale if he would come back to speak to the community when he has a little more information on the cuts and with trying to come up with solutions. Ms. Norbut reiterated the Town has reached the breaking point and just can not continue with the level of services that have been provided.

4. Paul Lovell, and Cemetery Commissioners Shawn Connery and Albert Wilcox approached the Board of Selectmen. Mr. Lovell stated he too knows the Town is going through a difficult financial time; however he feels his clerk, who works fifteen hours a week, is important as she is preparing maps and locations to include on the towns web site as well as digital imaging. The clerk is also working on a back-up burial card system for Hillcrest Cemetery.

Mr. Lovell stated by cutting his seasonal help, it cuts his workforce by 50%, meaning he will be down to just one full time laborer and himself, making if difficult when either he or the laborer is out sick or on vacation. Mr. Lovell stated he is a working superintendent and is working outside in the cemeteries 90% of the time, and noted the Cemetery Department maintains ten cemeteries with a total of 32 acres of land. Mr. Lovell said his department is doing as much as they can, therefore he added they don’t have the manpower or the proper equipment to assist the Parks and Recreation Department as previously discussed in a joint session with the Board of Selectmen and the Parks and Recreation Commissioners. Mr. Lovell added if Mr. Pascale were to get into a bind, he might be able to help him out, and possibly Mr. Pascale could assist the Cemetery if they were to get in a bind as well.

Mr. Lovell stated the Cemetery Department recently returned $3,900.00 to the Town, from a difference in pay scale from the previous clerk to the current clerk, plus unspent funds from the part-time help, trying to come up with the funds needed to keep the clerk. Mr. Lovell said the Cemetery has increased the opening fees from $200.00 to $500.00 for full internments (cremations are $150.00) along with increasing foundation fees from $40.00 per square foot to $80.00 per square foot, with deposits going into the Town’s General Fund. Mr. Lovell said his department averages 30 to 35 burials a year, with the amount of money going to the General Fund varying depending on the number of full interments verses the number of cremations, as the cremations bring in less money due to the amount of work involved. Mr. Wilcox noted more and more people are opting to go with cremations. The foundation fees (which are for the cement footings installed under markers and monuments) also vary depending on the size of the markers or monuments. Mr. Lovell added the Cemetery Department turns back approximately $10,000.00 to $15,000.00 per year and noted the Cemetery Department also has a Gifts and Bequest Account in which they can use the interest from. He has repaired the stone wall in Hillside Cemetery with funds from the interest as well as purchased two new riding lawnmowers over the past couple of years. Mr. Lovell explained he is trying to expand the back of Hillcrest Cemetery using funds in the Cemetery Land Account, which can be used for improvements to the cemetery but must go to a Town Meeting for approval first.

Mr. Harrison suggested Mr. Lovell contact Christopher Dietz regarding the documentation of cemetery data as he has previously recorded information on three or four of the town cemeteries and might possibly be willing to assist the Cemetery Department again. Mr. Lovell added the Girl Scouts also are recording information just as Mr. Dietz had done.

Mr. Wilcox added the cemeteries are so perfect now it would be hard to see them go downhill. Mr. Lovell noted he receives a lot of complements from people out of town on how nice the cemeteries look compared to cemeteries in other towns and states.

Maintenance Department Creation – Finance Director Presentation:

Finance Director Deborah Mahar approached the Board of Selectmen. Ms. Neggers explained she and Ms. Mahar have spoken about the creation of a Maintenance Department for some time now. The current structure affords multiple departments to perform maintenance functions and operations within the interior of the buildings as well as the grounds outside of buildings, such as the work performed by both the Park and Recreation Department and the Cemetery Department. Ms. Neggers noted most communities in the Commonwealth have consolidated their maintenance functions in a Maintenance Department. Ms. Neggers said she has spoken with a number of Department of Public Works who have Maintenance Departments and they are very efficient, expanding the structural benefit. Ms. Neggers explained the frustration she and Ms. Mahar are being faced with is they don’t have a good understanding of the operations currently being performed by the departments, plus the fact they currently all work for different elected Boards and Commissions, so in trying to get everyone together, they have had very limited success and the town is now faced with a financial situation that is requiring cuts to be made in these departments. Often times, tonight as well as in the past weeks and months, they are hearing the need for the establishment of priorities. By consolidating and utilizing the work force, even if it is a reduced work force, you would be able to maximize the output and direct those work forces into the established priorities. Ms. Neggers said she spoke with one town, which has more money and people, who has a Maintenance Department and described how the department takes care of all the buildings, with the exception of the inside of the schools, but is taking care of all the grounds and are responsible for twenty-two buildings and a couple hundred acres of land. This town has large cemeteries, some of which are old historic cemeteries and multiple properties. They do use seasonal help in the summers for mowing and trimming. Their cemeteries are getting mowed every two weeks. Ms. Neggers explained Monson’s Cemetery Department reported they were trying to mow every week, and added these are the things you have to give up as the town just can’t do it every week. We can’t afford it and it is not a priority, but you still maintain it properly.

Ms. Mahar and Ms. Neggers are trying to attach some definition to this so people can better understand what they are talking about in an effort to become more efficient in the maintenance operations. In order for Monson to achieve this, Ms. Neggers explained structural changes must be achieved as well. The Town needs to achieve cooperation and recognize the priorities. Ms. Mahar said she reviewed the components of the budgets which she felt pertained to the maintenance of the grounds and buildings, particularly some of the money history from the operations of the Town Office Building, the Parks and Recreation Department and the Cemetery Department, inside the buildings as well as outside the buildings (excluding the inside of the school) and just where money was spent in prior years budgets to come up with a bottom line as a potential. This raised more questions than answers Ms Mahar explained, and therefore is really conceptual at this point. Ms. Neggers added it would be identifying the context of existing accounts and consolidating them as well as staff, into one account, and then having a single maintenance director supervise and oversee the staff and components. Some of the things discussed by Ms. Mahar and Ms. Neggers were in the mowing grass and doing seasonal operations in the summertime and during the winter season when the work slows down, accomplishing some capital projects inside to reduce costs. Ms. Neggers said the most challenging part of this is she and Ms. Mahar don’t have the skills or the background to identify these priorities. Ms. Neggers added this could be moved forward as a stand alone department or it could be moved forward as part of a Department of Public Works, leading to the next agenda item. Ms. Neggers said she understands change is very difficult for people to accept, but sometimes change happens because there are no other choices. The structure within the Town of Monson has been changing gradually over the course of time, and regardless of budget shortfalls, she feels this is something the Town should be looking at and discussing. Ms. Neggers added the town has good employees and great staff and feels there will be a frustration level when they can’t do their jobs the way they know they could if there were more funding in place and feels there are methods here that could really mitigate the impact and potential benefits to the public.

Ms. Norbut said this dialog is not new and she suspects there might even be some frustration on the part of community members, who like herself, would like to see some structural realignment and see the maximizing of resources, but added the Board of Selectmen are very limited with their authority over the town and its employees, as over time the Town government has evolved to where there are commissioners that are elected and therefore the Board of Selectmen can’t just put forward proposals. She agrees now is the time to discuss this as the Long Range Capital Planning Committee has taken some direction over the past four or five years to look at the capital needs of the whole community, long term, and there is a need also to look at the operations structurally.

Mr. Guertin said he feels somewhat frustrated in dealing with departments which report to elected boards, yet the employees in those departments are Town employees, and at the same time, the Selectmen have no say what goes on relative to those Town employees. He feels if this were structured differently, things could be brought together, allowing for more accountability. Ms. Norbut clarified; the Board of Selectmen have the power to make suggestions, but don’t have the power to implement them.

Mr. Harrison agreed this is certainly worth looking into. It was agreed to carry this discussion over to the next item on the agenda.

DPW Study Committee – Create Structure and Mission Statement:

Ms. Neggers said she has prepared a draft Structure and Mission Statement if the Board of Selectmen are serious about pursuing a DPW Study Committee.

Mr. Harrison read the attached document into the record and agreed this might be a much easier issue to tackle to produce some relatively short term results.

Ms. Norbut suggested forming a DPW feasibility study committee with a sub-committee chaired by Mr. Guertin that would focus specifically on the buildings and maintenance of grounds issues so this could take off and get running, and still have a communication mechanism with the other group, as she sees a crossover. It was agreed unanimously this process is huge and will take approximately a year to complete, if not longer.

Mr. Guertin said there are six steps listed on the document, attached and provided by Ms. Neggers, with the last one being to provide the Selectmen with a document. Mr. Guertin noted the committee members would need to thoroughly understand every one of the six steps and just what each existing department in town is doing and how they are doing it, which is a task by itself. Mr. Guertin further noted the committee would then have to put something together explaining what it is going to look like when it is all together and do some kind of analysis of the effectiveness of the way it is now and a comparison analysis of the effectiveness of a fictitious department which hasn’t been put together yet. Then an analysis would be completed on how to make all of this happen when the town has elected officials in charge of some of the departments that would be involved.

Mr. Harrison said he felt the maintenance issue needed to be addressed quickly as he didn’t feel anyone wanted to wait a year and a half or two years to address. If this could be done then the town could reap the short term benefits, if there are any, while modifications are being made to the maintenance portion as it fits into a DPW, if in fact there is a recommendation to go forward with that. Mr. Guertin agreed if the DPW portion took a year, it could take another year or two to get it up and running, therefore the town could be looking at something that wouldn’t be on the ground for two or three years. Mr. Harrison added a lot of town votes will be required to accomplish the mission. Ms. Neggers added it is possible this could be done within a minimum of one year.

Ms. Norbut made a motion the Board of Selectmen develop a Building and Maintenance Grounds Study Committee and appoint Mr. Guertin as the first committee person and to also request community members, department heads and/or Commissioners to send letters or e-mails to the office if they are interested in participating on the committee. Mr. Guertin seconded and it was so VOTED.

In regards to the DPW, Ms. Norbut said she would imagine they would be looking for organizational skills and some members having business management experience, an understanding of engineering, construction, as a professional background experience.

Ms. Norbut said she would like a little more time to think about this as this was the first time she saw this list and to think about the process and organization of the committee itself. It was agreed unanimously to table this item.

The Board of Selectmen asked Ms. Neggers if she could contact other Town Administrators to get copies of some of the studies performed by them to give some idea of how this should be approached.

Hampden County Regional Board of Retirement – Resolution Consenting to Transfer of Assets to PRIT (Pension Reserve Investment Trust):

Ms. Neggers explained this and said this would endorse the transfer of the Hampden County Regional assets to the State and added she understands this is going to become mandatory anyway. Ms. Neggers read the resolution, as attached, into the record.

Ms. Norbut made a motion to approve the resolution as read by Ms. Neggers. Mr. Guertin seconded and it was so VOTED.

Appoint Animal Control Officer:

Mr. Guertin made a motion to reappoint Steven Hutchinson as the Animal Control Officer for the Town of Monson effective immediately through April 30, 2009. Ms. Norbut seconded and it was so VOTED.

Long Range Financial Planning Committee – Fiscal 2009 Capital Recommendations:

Mr. Guertin explained the recommendations of the Long Range Planning Committee which are for the following:

· $76,000.00 for a dump truck for the Highway Department.

· $35,000.00 for a 4 X 4 vehicle for the Highway Department.

· $40,000.00 for a 4 X 4 vehicle for the Police Department.

· $50,000.00 for a dehumidifier for the pool at Quarry Hill Elementary School.

· $60,000.00 for replacement of all the smaller vents fan on the roof of Quarry Hill Elementary School.

· $38,500.00 for a new roof on the Fire Station.

· $75,000.00 for roof replacement on the Town Office Building. Mr. Guertin explained $200,000.00 is recommended, with the remaining $125,000.00 being used to look into solar panels to supply electricity to the building with the extra electricity generated being sold to National Grid.

Mr. Guertin reiterated from the last meeting the town is also looking into the possibility of solar panels to generate electricity and maybe selling the excess off to National Grid, as there is a grant to fund the panels.

With current Capital funding, $50,000.00 - $60,000.00 will be used to install fire alarms on both the Fire Department and the Highway Department buildings.

The boilers at Quarry Hill Elementary School (no longer under warranty) and the boiler at the High School (which is still under warranty) placing insurance on them, and allocating approximately $10,000.00 to cover expenses associated with it. $10,000.00 allocated for paint trim. $10,000.00 to be utilized by a Quarry Hill Elementary School pool cover, which would have a great benefit as it would also hold in heat. The Finance Committee has transferred $10,000.00 from Reserve Funds with the funds being replaced following approval at the Town Meeting, for a total of $42,000.00.

The above items would be placed on the Annual Town Meeting warrant for approval at the May 12^th Town Meeting for approval. Ms. Neggers further explained these items will be paid from bonds being paid off that will roll over.

Ms. Norbut made a motion to move this forward to the Finance Committee. Mr. Guertin seconded and it was so VOTED.

April Meeting Schedule – Discussion:

Ms. Neggers explained the normal meeting schedule would be on April 8^th and April 22^nd. It was agreed the Board of Selectmen would meet on April 8^th, April 15^th and April 28^th.

Correspondence was read and completed.

In other business to come before the Board of Selectmen:

· Ms. Norbut announced the Annual Kids Fair will be held on April 12^th at Quarry Hill Elementary School, the same day as the Town Wide Clean-up.

· Mr. Harrison announced Bulky Day will be held on Saturday, May 3^rd, at Quarry Hill Elementary School. For more information, residents may call the Board of Health Office at 267-4107.

· It was announced the Planning Board, Tourism Committee, Local Partnership for Economic Development have been working on getting Bed and Breakfasts to pass in town, and this did pass. Turley Publication has a booklet with an eight or nine page spread titled “Living Spaces” which feature Monson’s Bed & Breakfast at Lord Manor on Green Street. Anyone wishing to receive a copy could call or e-mail Turley Publications. The e-mail address is ebaker@turley.com. The other Bed and Breakfast featured is owned by Peter Picknelly.

At 9:30 p.m., Ms. Norbut made a motion to adjourn from open session to go into executive session for the purpose of discussing collective bargaining, not to return to open session. Mr. Guertin seconded and it was so VOTED.

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Richard E. Guertin, Clerk