BOARD OF SELECTMEN
JULY 12, 2011
The regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen convened at 7:00 p.m. in the Conference Room at 29 Thompson Street. In attendance were Dr. Richard M. Smith, John F. Goodrich II and Edward A. Maia. Also present were Town Administrator Gretchen E. Neggers and the media.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Acceptance of Meeting Minutes:
Mr. Goodrich made a motion to accept the meeting minutes for June 28, 2011 – open session. Mr. Maia seconded and it was so VOTED.
Town-Wide Tag Sale – Boy Scout Troop #168 and Monson Tourism:
Joan Simmons approached the Board of Selectmen and explained this year Boy Scout Troop #168 will be spearheading the Town Wide Tag Sale with the guidance and assistance from Jean Bailey of the Monson Tourism. The event will be held on Saturday, September 10th rain or shine. Ms. Simmons also said they would like permission to place a banner across Main Street announcing the Town Wide Tag Sale prior to the event from August 23rd to September 10th, and again this year as in the past, they would like to have use of the gazebo on September 10th to hand out maps.
Mr. Goodrich made a motion to grant Boy Scout Troop #168 permission to place a banner across Main Street announcing the Town Wide Tag Sale from August 23rd to September 10, 2011 and the use of the gazebo on that day for their needs. Mr. Maia seconded and it was so VOTED
Monson Summerfest – Request Regarding Alternate Schedule:
Steve Slozak approached the Board of Selectmen and explained the traditional Summerfest activities have been canceled due to the tornado. The Summerfest Committee is seeking approval for a Celebrate Monson on Saturday, September 3, 2011 at Quarry Hill School, with a rain date on September 4, 2011. Mr. Slozak said they will have bands, food, a block dance, a beer garden, rides for the kids and end with fireworks. Mr. Slozak noted Six Flags said they will send all of their characters and Yankee Hometown is also interested in doing something. Mr. Slozak said he will speak with the School, Police Department, Fire Department, Highway Department and the Parks and Recreation Department.
Ms. Neggers said she looked into the law of having alcoholic beverages on public school premises and said under Chapter 272 Section 40A it states, the School Committee of the city, town or district may authorize a public or non-profit organization use of a public school building, with its permission during non school hours to possess and sell alcoholic beverages, therein provided such nonprofit organization is properly licensed under the provisions of Section 14 Chapter 138.
Ms. Neggers noted the Board of Selectmen will need the application for the one day liquor license with the certificate of insurance, a new site plan showing the entrances, exits, and how they will control the crowd. Ms. Neggers suggested Mr. Slozak work the site plan out with the Police Chief prior to submitting it to the Board of Selectmen.
Mr. Goodrich made a motion to approve the request by the Monson Summerfest Committee as presented contingent upon receipt of certificate of insurance, all necessary permits and paperwork, and the approval of all the agencies involved. Mr. Maia seconded and it was so VOTED.
Conservation Commission – Leslie Duthie – Regarding Open Space Acquisition:
Leslie Duthie approached the Board of Selectmen and explained she has been working with Ms. Neggers and Hope Bodwell on some of the tree debris issues and trying to coordinate some help for the community through the state government and agencies as much as possible, to try get some help for public lands and properties in the one to five acre range. People who have five or more acres who have a cutting plan and hired a contractor or a logger are eligible for a matching grant through the UFDA. There will be a program titled “Trees After the Tornado” held on Wednesday, July 20th at 6:30 p.m. in the cafeteria at the Monson High School. The Department of Conservation and Recreation Bureau of Forestry will present information at this program for private landowners on best management practices for the
naturalization areas and the landscape around their homes and businesses that were damaged by the tornado. Topics will include local, state and federal assistance; how remaining trees can be preserved; selecting and sighting replacement trees in your yards to maximize their ecosystem services and avoiding costly maintenance and utility conflicts. They will also discuss how to best manage the impact on the naturalized areas including hazard mitigation, invasive species and forest regeneration and wildlife impacts. This program is open to the public and to all communities.
Ms. Duthie explained a land acquisition project that she has been working on for a number of years regarding land owned by Brian and Penny Quinlan. The project pertains to the Quinlan Memorial Conservation Lands on Reimers Road and noted the Monson Conservation Commission has an opportunity to apply for a Massachusetts Local Acquisition for Natural Diversity Grant to purchase the 150 acres. This land connects with several other protected lands to form a greenway and noted it is a very important piece of land for endangered species and aquatic habitat.
Mr. Goodrich noted the impact to the town is all positive and the land acquisition will not come from any tax dollar funds. Ms. Duthie explained the cost of the 150 acres is approximately $350,000. The grant will reimburse the Conservation Commission for 70% of that cost. The Conservation Commission has some money already in their Land Acquisition Fund and the Community Preservation Committee gave the Conservation Commission funds through a vote last fall, plus fund raisers will be held as well as doing other grant writing to obtain the additional funds. Ms. Duthie noted the closing won’t be until November, so it can go to Town Meeting for a vote.
Mr. Goodrich made a motion to authorize Ms. Duthie and the Conservation Commission to pursue any and all grant opportunities, to have funding in place when they present this proposal to the Town voters, and to apply for the Local Acquisition for Natural Diversity Grant. Mr. Maia seconded and it was so VOTED.
Tornado Recovery Status:
a. Volunteer Recovery Effort Coordination – Update Hope Bodwell
b. Town Office Building – Report on July 6th Meeting
c. Report on Tornado Losses – Current Estimated Town Losses/Expenses
d. Any Other Updates
a. Volunteer Recovery Effort Coordination – Update Hope Bodwell:
Hope Bodwell approached the Board of Selectmen and said she has been working with Ms. Neggers as a Disaster Recovery Assistant. On Thursday, July 14th, at the First Church at 6:00 p.m. they have organized a meeting of all the non-profits, specific groups, volunteer organizations, etc., to see what the various groups have to offer and what our resources are in town, anyone interested is welcome to attend.
Ms. Bodwell noted the United Way of Pioneer Valley has generously given the town a grant of $4,000. The School wanted to keep their Social Worker for the summer to help all of the students and families. Pioneer Valley said sure as long as it was open to everybody in the community who might need to talk to somebody. The Social Worker/Adjustment Counselor will be at Granite Valley Middle School on Tuesday and Wednesday for the month of July from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and in August on 16th, 17th, 23rd and 24th from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. by request.
Ms. Bodwell noted August 15th is the deadline to register with FEMA. The Recovery Center is at Granite Valley Middle School.
Ms. Bodwell also noted the Recovery site on the town’s website is updated every day to keep it current.
b. Town Office Building – Report on July 6th Meeting
Mr.Goodrich, Chip Lapointe, Larry Tuttle who did the architectural design for the 1998 renovations, our insurance claims adjuster, Kevin Chamberlin a structural engineer with Stefano and Chamberlin, and a person who does building code consulting, and Ms. Neggers attended the meeting regarding the Town Office Building at 110 Main Street on July 6th. Ms. Neggers noted another meeting has been set up for August 3rd. The structural engineer has been doing a much more in-depth analysis, specifically to the structural issues, and will report back. There are also people checking into the International Existing Building Code. Mr. Goodrich explained this code is new this year and it creates two pathways you can go down, whether it’s an alteration or a repair. Mr. Goodrich added at this point there
haven’t been any decisions made on the Main Street Building.
Ms. Neggers said the Police Department is currently operating just dispatch out of a single trailer, and they have two computer stations. This is getting very challenging. The Police Department is hoping to be moving into the rest of the trailers by the end of this week. They are currently doing electrical work and the trailers still need to be strapped down. Mr. Goodrich reiterated, the Police Chief said he wants people to call the Police Department if they feel there is an issue and need the Police, as they want to do their job and they are there to do their job, and they are working through this hiccup. Ms. Neggers added they have done outstanding work under incredibly challenging circumstances.
Ms. Neggers said she spoke with Katie Krol at the Library today and she indicated the repairs there are moving along well. They have cleaned and painted the Children’s Room, the carpeting has been replaced and they will be putting in new windows tomorrow. The insurance company has approved a full roof replacement on the Library for both the slate and the flat roof. Ms. Krol told Ms. Neggers she is very hopeful to have the library open within a week on a modified basis, and being partially open. Tomorrow, July 13th, at 10:30 a.m. the Library will have Story Hour at the Keep Homestead Museum on Ely Road and also tomorrow on the 13th from 11:00 to 12:30 p.m. the Library will be giving away free books to the children of Monson as a lot of people have been donating books.
Ms. Neggers said from June 1st to July 12th, 106 building permits have been issued; this includes repairs and new homes. There were thirty-three demolition permits issued, twenty-nine for dwellings and four for accessory structures; and fourteen temporary housing permits have been issued.
Ms. Neggers said the vegetation removal at the curb was stopped on July 1st. The Paul Bunyan trucks in town are now doing public debris removal. She was told by FEMA, as of Saturday, July 16th, Ashbritt (the firm who has been contracted for the vegetation debris removal) will be all done with any debris going through FEMA. As of Sunday, July 10th, there was a total of 105,056 cubic yards of wood material processed; 201 trees that were hangers and 994 total eligible hazardous trees have been removed; and 24,000 cubic yards of wood chip mulch. In construction and demolition materials, 1,970 cubic yards that were just in the public way because that is where it landed; and 52 tickets have been issued for stump extraction. The total hauling costs to Ashbritt to date for that portion is $3,
952,823. The total for monitoring to O’Brian’s is $237,929. Ms. Neggers noted this is coming to an end.
Ms. Neggers said she provided the Board of Selectmen with copies of the financial spreadsheet and went over this with them. The total cost of the emergency response and clean-up to date is $4.9 million. The Town of Monson taxpayers will be responsible for, after the 75% reimbursed by FEMA, is $ 1,221,817 and this is expected to go up. The total to Ashbritt and O’Brien to date is $4,189,000. Ms. Neggers added tonight the Board of Selectmen are being asked to approve an additional $600,000 in contracts for removal of trees from brooks and streams, bringing the total costs up to $5,483,000 and the town’s obligation of that will be $1,370, 817.00.
Ms. Neggers said on the insurance side, the town has received $47,604 for vehicles that were damaged. Not all the vehicles have been repaired or replaced. The town was advanced $100,000 to assist in relocation costs. The total costs incurred so far is approximately $97,000 expended in insurance money. This will be much higher, as Memorial Hall has been approved for approximately $350,000 in repairs on the roof, windows, plaster repair, cap on the north tower, brick walkway, and the stage. Mr. Goodrich noted this is a fully insured project excluding deductibles. Ms. Neggers thanked the Historical Commission for their attention to the building and working with the contractor and the insurance company. The Town Office Building at 110 Main Street will be another large project covered by insurance, along with the Police
communications tower.
Ms. Neggers said she spoke with Lori Stacy who said the Senior Center is operating right now. There is a probability there will be more extensive work done particular on the roof of the building, and there may be some issues on the south side wall. Ms. Stacy is working closely with the Home for the Aged People, Inc. in case the building has to be closed down for a period of time.
John Morrell has been working with FEMA to identify the brooks and streams that need to be cleaned of debris. There are three separate contracts that would need approval and are recommended by Mr. Morrell. The debris in the brooks and streams pose a significant flood hazard to the bridges. This would be reimbursed by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, this is a subsidiary of the United States Department of Agriculture, because it goes onto private property. The first contract is for an estimated cost of $94,000 to clean unnamed tributaries to the Chicopee Brook. The second contract is for an estimated cost of $160,000 for Ely Brook along Ely Road. The third is for an estimated cost of $342,000 to clear trees from the Chicopee Brook. Ashbritt will work for the NRCS to clear the trees from these brooks and streams
and O’Brien will continue to do the monitoring. The town will be responsible for 25% of the costs.
Mr. Maia made a motion to approve the contracts with Ashbritt and O’Brien to clean out the Ely Brook, the Chicopee Brook and unnamed tributaries of the Chicopee Brook. Mr. Goodrich seconded and it was so VOTED.
In Other Business to Come Before the Board of Selectmen:
- Dr. Smith noted if anyone is having problems with insurance they may speak with the State Department of Insurance. If they have any issues and they aren’t being addressed they may call the Selectmen’s Office at 267-4100.
- Mr. Goodrich said he feels one thing we need to start thinking about a little bit is, with the loss of revenue from the decline in real estate values, bringing back to the voters how we are going to proceed with this. Mr. Goodrich wondered if the FY 12 budget will need to be revisited to change the numbers or shift the burden on property taxes to the remaining fully intact properties. Ms. Neggers said by law, Proposition 2½ allows the taxes to be shifted, and noted it will be approximately $50 to the average homeowner. On paying for the town’s portion of the tornado expenses, Ms. Neggers said we will have to wait for the final numbers on the reimbursement from FEMA. Ms. Neggers said she has been in touch with the State and the Finance Director Deborah Mahar has been in contact with the Department of Revenue.
Building Inspector Hiring Process – Update:
Ms. Neggers said the position for the Building Inspector was advertised in the newspaper and on the MMA website. Eighteen applications were received and of those seven held the minimum qualifications required by law. All seven applicants were contacted for preliminary interviews and one has been withdrawn. Ms. Neggers and Mr. Lapointe will be conducting six interviews over the next two days to bring back three finalists for the Board of Selectmen at their meeting next Tuesday for interviews.
Approve Tornado Fund Application:
Richard Guertin and Jeff Lord approached the Board of Selectmen on behalf of the Tornado Relief Fund Committee. Mr. Lord explained the committee established an application and process to distribute the funds that were donated to help the victims of the tornado in town.
Mr. Lord explained Application A resembles an easy tax form that verifies you did suffer a financial loss and that you are a resident of Monson. The Committee will determine the amount to be dispersed once they see the number of people who apply and the amount of money they have. Application B is optional and requires more detailed personal information to establish who is really in need and who requires a greater need of money collected.
Mr. Lord explained a resident could qualify for both parts, but Schedule A is to be completed by everyone. The applications will be accepted until September 15, 2011; however Mr. Lord said this date may change at a later date.
Mr. Lord said half of the money raised by the September 15th deadline date will go to Application A applicants, and the other half of the funds and anything raised after that will go to the more in-depth, determined by need, Application B applicants. It was noted a $1,000 deductable could be considered a loss, but a 100% reimbursement from insurance would not be considered a financial loss. They haven’t determined how the funds will be dispersed yet. It was also explained there are a number of ways to verify if they are residents. Tenants will be asked for a copy of a driver’s license, copy of a lease from the landlord, and/or copy of a utility bill in their name, while landowners can be determined from the Hampden Country of Deeds or the Monson Assessor’s Office.
Mr. Guertin explained they have also formed a pre-screening committee. The applications will be mailed to a post office box in Monson; a couple of people will go to the box to get them, verify them, and do the preliminary review. When the applications are brought to the committee for consideration, the names and address will be blocked out so committee members will not know whose application they are looking at; what they will know are the circumstances and the situation at hand, and then decide what they think is appropriate.
Mr. Lord noted the information on Application B is private information and will only be for verification. This information will not be provided to the whole committee.
Mr. Goodrich said he felt September 15th is a very fair amount of time.
It was also explained Monson Savings Bank has been keeping track of all the donations, and the committee will send out “Thank You” letters to those who have donated funds in the amount of $250.00 or more.
Mr. Lord said the committee members have agreed to donate out of their own pockets the funds to cover postage, the post office box, etc., so there are no administrative costs and every penny collected will go to those in need.
Mr. Guertin noted they have some very good people on the committee and they have had some very interesting discussions.
Mr. Maia made a motion to approve to accept the application contingent upon approval by Town Counsel. Mr. Goodrich seconded and it was so VOTED.
It was also questioned if these would be tax reportable income. Ms. Neggers said she would ask Town Counsel about this as well and noted Mr. Albano is donating all of his services, relative to the Tornado fund.
Approve Short-Term Borrowing:
Ms. Neggers explained due to the out flow of cash and the 30 day delay of the issuance of our tax bills being mailed out (because of the tornado), the town is in a bit of a cash crunch. Ms. Neggers said the legislature approved emergency legislation immediately after the tornado, to authorize cities and towns to enter into temporary short term borrowing for cash flow purposes. Via vote of the Board of Selectmen, she was asking the Board of Selectmen to authorize short term borrowing in the amount of $700,000 pursuant to M.G.L. Chapter 44 § 8, Clause 9.
Mr. Goodrich made a motion to authorize the short term borrowing as just described. Mr. Maia seconded and it was so VOTED.
Email from Karen King:
Dr. Smith read the email as attached into the record.
Dr. Smith explained Ms. King is requesting the use of the gazebo for the Tornado Volunteers from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. seven days a week. Ms. Neggers added this is not endorsed by the town because of liability issues.
Mr. Goodrich said he thinks it is great what the volunteer organizations are doing for the town, but felt something should be incorporated to protect the liability of the town. Ms. Neggers said FEMA has language for this, and it could be posted at the gazebo that Monson does not endorse this as well, as the liability is a huge issue. Ms. Neggers said Ms. Bodwell will be coordinating a meeting on Thursday night on this.
Ms. King was in a meeting across the hall and approached the Board of Selectmen to explain her request.
Mr. Goodrich explained the Board has concerns with the liability going back to the town by using town property for volunteers that have not necessarily been vetted in any way, and said the town would need some sort of clear declaration to the public this is not a town endorsed project. Mr. Maia suggested bringing this up at the meeting on Thursday to see if a church might possibly take this on.
Ms. King explained she would like to keep it on the Main Street corridor as they have a lot of people who want to help and they would like a one physical location and the churches are no longer able to do this.
Mr. Maia said if something were posted, and if people wanted work done, and they signed a waiver stating the town or volunteers wouldn’t be held responsible, everyone would be covered. Ms. King said she attended a FEMA meeting in Brimfield and they already have waivers in place. Ms. King said she received one via email and it can be used in Monson as well, and it requires signatures by both parties.
Ms. King said a pod in the future, would be useful for supplies. Ms. King added they are hopeful someone will donate the use of a building instead so they could store items there.
Mr. Maia made a motion to approve the Monson Tornado Volunteers, utilize the gazebo at Dave Grieve Park seven days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., as long as they are utilizing the FEMA waivers, and posting it is not endorsed by the town or whatever the FEMA language is. Mr. Goodrich seconded and it was so VOTED.
At 8:55 p.m., Mr. Goodrich made a motion to adjourn from open session to go into executive session for a non-union contractual bargaining and discussion, not to return to open session. Mr. Maia seconded and it was so VOTED.
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Edward A. Maia, Clerk
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