BOARD OF SELECTMEN
TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2010
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 John F. Goodrich II. Also present were the Town Administrator and the media.
Acceptance of Meeting Minutes:
Mr. Harrison made a motion to accept the meeting minutes of January 12, 2010 – open and executive sessions. Mr. Goodrich seconded and it was so VOTED.
Pledge of Allegiance and Celebration – One Hundred Years of Boy Scouts of America:
Cub Scout Pack and Boy Scout Troop 776 and Cub Scout Pack, Boy Scout Troop and Venture Crew 168 carried the American flag in and led the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance.
Scout Master Peter Matrow explained the history of Boy Scouting and noted over the course of Scouting, Monson has had 120 Eagle Scouts, which is the highest award achieved.
Mr. Goodrich read the Proclamation, being presented tonight from the Board of Selectmen in honor of the 100th Anniversary of Boy Scouts of America into the record.
Sherman & Frydryk – Discussion Re: Parking Regulation for 201 Main Street:
Don Frydryk of Sherman & Frydryk, and Larry Tuttle of Architectural Insights, approached the Board of Selectmen regarding a request for a parking regulation at the old fire house located at 201 Main Street. Mr. Frydryk explained they have been working with a client, Stone Bear LLC, to obtain site plan approval with the Monson Planning Board on this property where they wish to renovate the structure to establish the “Fire House Learning Center”, a tutorial instructional service.
Mr. Frydryk explained they are here tonight to propose 15 minute parking on two existing parking spaces in front of the building. The building has a small parking lot that can accommodate three vehicles; two of these parking spaces are handicapped parking. The 15 minutes of parking will be limited between the hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and will allow drop-off and pickup of clients for the learning center.
Mr. Frydryk noted they have spoken with the Fire Chief and the Police Chief who both expressed no objection with the request. They also spoke with the Highway Surveyor John Morrell who supported the request for the 15 minute parking on Main Street as long as the applicant purchases and supplies the signs and posts and the installation is completed by the Monson Highway Department.
Mr. Guertin said he is pleased to see the building used in this manner and feels it will be a great addition to the town.
Mr. Harrison made a motion to approve the request as presented. Mr. Goodrich seconded and it was so VOTED.
Appointment of Senior Center Director:
Mary Ann Brazas and Lori Stacy approached the Board of Selectmen. Ms. Brazas explained the Search Committee did an excellent job with the process to hire a new 35 hour per week director, devoting a lot of time and effort into the search.
Mr. Goodrich recapped the process the Search Committee took, stating the Council On Aging assembled a group of ten independent people with various backgrounds, such as community business leaders, a member of the Home for the Aged, etc. Approximately fourteen to sixteen applications were received and nine interviews were conducted taking approximately an hour each, which resulted in three finalists. The three finalists were then narrowed down by an open interview process with the Council On Aging directly to the one candidate being recommended tonight, who is Lori Stacy. Mr. Goodrich noted he feels the process used was very thorough and lengthy.
Ms. Brazas stated Ms. Stacy has been working at the Senior Center for the past three years and has worked closely with the former Director Ms. White, and she is liked by everyone. Ms. Stacy said she has had experience in grant writing with the assistance of a committee.
Ms. Stacy noted she has already made the decision not to fill the Senior Center’s clerical position she previously held, and will instead use some creative thinking and juggling to get that job done.
Mr. Guertin thanked Ms. Stacy for applying and advised her she is stepping into a tough situation, as everyone’s going to have to be creative.
Mr. Harrison made a motion to appoint Lori Stacy as the Director of the Senior Center effective immediately through June 30, 2010. Mr. Goodrich seconded and it was so VOTED.
Appointment of Two EMT’s:
Fire Chief George Robichaud approached the Board of Selectmen and noted both of the candidates he is recommending for appointment are firefighters as well as EMT’s, which is a plus for his department. The candidates were chosen for the two vacant positions by an internal interview committee. One position was vacated from an employee who moved on to other employment and the other position is through grant funding. Ms. Neggers noted the positions were advertised. The grant funding is for twelve months, beginning on February 15th.
Chief Robichaud stated this will allow him to put the second shift back into operation. The night shift is from 5 p.m. to 3 a.m. and the day shift is from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. the only time without coverage is from 3 a.m. to 7 a.m. which is handled by the on-call employees or by full-time employees if they desire to full-fill it.
Mr. Harrison made a motion to appoint Michael Francis Nothe and John William Fitzgerald as firefighter/EMT’s to the Fire Department effective immediately through June 30, 2010. Mr. Goodrich seconded and it was so VOTED.
Appointment to the Conservation Commission:
Mr. Guertin explained the Conservation Commission currently consists of four members and they are requesting the appointment of Derek Strahan. Mr. Guertin read part of the letter submitted to the Board of Selectmen by the Conservation Commission which stated Mr. Strahan wrote a letter last fall expressing an interest in serving on the Conservation Commission. He is a graduate from Westfield State College with a major in Planning and has experience in GIS mapping and community planning. Mr. Strahan has also attended meetings since December and accompanied the Conservation Commission on several site visits.
Mr. Harrison made a motion to appoint Mr. Derek Strahan to the Conservation Commission effective immediately through June 30, 2010. Mr. Goodrich seconded and it was so VOTED.
Lakeshore Drive – Postal Service:
Mr. Guertin said he received a telephone call from a resident of Lakeshore Drive regarding the way the current postal service is set up. The postal boxes for the residents on Lakeshore Drive are clustered together with a few near the end of Silver Street and the rest a little way up on the left. The resident is interested in starting a petition for the residents to sign to present to the post office asking them to consider having mailboxes placed in front of each home as opposed to the way it is now. The residents are asking the Board of Selectmen to write a letter on their behalf supporting their endeavor, which they will submit to the Post Office along with the petition for consideration.
Ms. Neggers noted this is a private road and the town only maintains it for emergency repairs, allowing the road to be passable for Police, fire and ambulance vehicles under the emergency repair bylaw.
Mr. Harrison noted the town really has no jurisdiction over this, but from his perspective he would like to see every citizen have postal service to their home.
Mr. Goodrich felt since this is a private way, the Board of Selectmen shouldn’t have a say in it. Mr. Goodrich also noted the Post Office is a federal agency and wasn’t sure just what effect a letter from the Select board would have one way or another and said he would not support a letter at this point in time.
Mr. Guertin wanted it stated in the letter the Board of Selectmen understand they have no authority over this request.
Mr. Harrison made a motion to create a letter as requested for support, adding in the letter the Selectmen understand they have no authority. Mr. Guertin seconded. Mr. Harrison – aye; Mr. Guertin – aye; Mr. Goodrich – nay.
Mr. Goodrich felt the letter should make it clear also, the Selectmen in no way, shape or form are implying Lakeshore Drive is a public way or anything owned by the town. Mr. Harrison noted the trash trucks, UPS, etc. also travel over the road.
Fiscal 2011 Budget Development – Status:
Ms. Neggers explained the town is out of funds in the Snow and Ice Account. The Finance Committee, at their meeting held last night, gave consideration and approved the authorization of $100,000 in Snow and Ice Deficit spending for the balance of the year. The account was started with the appropriation of $125,000.00 and this is the first request for additional funds. Ms. Neggers said this is coming later in the year from the prior fiscal year. Last year the total was just a little over $225,000.00 over the $125,000.00 appropriated.
Mr. Goodrich made a motion to authorize the Snow and Ice Deficit Spending up to $100,000.00. Mr. Harrison seconded and it was so VOTED.
Town Accountant Deborah Mahar approached the Board of Selectmen.
Ms. Neggers said it feels like they never stopped working on the budget, but the times we are living in have proven to be very challenging and right now they are just trying to piece things together. Ms. Neggers and Ms. Mahar agreed everyone needs to be prepared for another difficult budget year. The town’s budgets and departments have already been hammered by staff reductions and cutbacks, and the town could have more financial problems if the Legislative does not follow through on the Governor’s intent to level-fund local aid to cities and towns in the next fiscal year. Ms. Neggers said she is cautiously optimistic the town can get by with fewer cuts if the state aid figure holds.
Health care costs are expected to rise anywhere between 10 and 14 percent, and enrollment at Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School increased 15 percent, meaning the town’s assessment will also rise. Ms. Neggers described the revenue as tight and noted no money has been budgeted for salary increases, even though several contracts need to be settled for the police, Senior Center and municipal employees. Ms. Neggers also added no one should anticipate restoring positions that were cut or add anything new.
Ms. Neggers praised department heads for being careful with their budgets and for abiding by the spending freeze that has been instituted. Ms. Neggers added hopefully the budget won’t get too much worse, but the town has to be prepared that it could happen.
Ms. Neggers said she would continue to update the Board of Selectmen throughout the budget process.
Correspondence was read and completed.
In Other Business to Come Before the Board of Selectmen:
Mr. Guertin reiterated to the listening audience of the up-coming April 5th elections, noting there are three positions no one has taken any nominations papers out for yet. The three positions are: a three year term on the Cemetery Commission, a three year term on the School Committee and a one year term on the Housing Authority. Anyone interested is advised to go to the Town Clerk’s Office prior to February 11th to take out the papers to run for any of these positions.
At 8:13 p.m., Mr. Harrison made a motion to adjourn from open session to go into executive session for the purpose of a collective bargaining strategy discussion, not to return to open session. Mr. Goodrich seconded and it was so VOTED.
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John F. Goodrich II, Clerk
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