BOARD OF SELECTMEN
TUESDAY, JUNE 21, 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 of May 24, 2011 – open session. Mr. Maia seconded and it was so VOTED.
Nancy Morrell, Town Clerk – Redistricting Proposal – Approval:
Ms. Morrell approached the Board of Selectmen and explained redistricting takes place every ten years. Each precinct cannot exceed 4,000 residents. Ms. Morrell noted Monson has a total of 8,560 residents. Precinct A will consist of 2,858 residents; Precinct B 2,818 residents and Precinct C 2,884 residents. Ms. Morrell stated the Selectmen’s Office will have to send out notices to the residents prior to the election in March, and said she would help with this.
Mr. Goodrich made a motion to accept the redistricting proposal as just described by Ms. Morrell. Mr. Maia seconded and it was so VOTED.
Complete Necessary Reappointments Effective July 1, 2011:
Mr. Maia read the list of appointments recommended by Finance Director Deborah Mahar into the record and made a motion to appoint them, as attached. Mr. Goodrich seconded and it was so VOTED.
Dr. Smith read page one of the appointments into the record. It was noted Harold Leaming would no longer be the Flood Plain Administrator due to his resignation and Emergency Management Director Kathleen Norbut was not reappointed. Mr. Goodrich made a motion to appoint them as amended and as attached. Mr. Maia seconded and it was so VOTED.
Mr. Goodrich read page two of the appointments into the record and made a motion to appoint them, as attached. The Chief Procurement Officer was changed from Deborah Mahar to Gretchen Neggers. Mr. Maia seconded and it was so VOTED.
Mr. Maia read page three of the appointments into the record and made a motion to appoint them, as attached. Ms. Neggers noted Retired Member Nancy Kida is the only person the Board of Selectmen needs to appoint to the Insurance Advisory Committee. Mr. Goodrich seconded and it was so VOTED.
Dr. Smith read page four of the appointments into the record. Mr. Goodrich made a motion to appoint them as attached. Mr. Maia seconded and it was so VOTED.
Mr. Goodrich read page five into the record and made a motion to appoint them as attached. Mr. Maia seconded and it was so VOTED.
Mr. Maia read page six into the record. Ms. Neggers noted the Finance Committee members are not appointed by the Board of Selectmen. Mr. Maia made a motion to appoint the people listed on page six as amended and as attached. Mr. Goodrich seconded and it was so VOTED.
Dr. Smith read page seven into the record. Mr. Goodrich made a motion to appoint them as attached. Mr. Maia seconded and it was so VOTED.
Mr. Goodrich read page eight into the record and made a motion to appoint them as attached. Ms. Neggers noted the Police Chief has stated Michael Barone will not be reappointed as a part-time dispatcher and Matthew Carroll will move from an Auxiliary Police Officer to a Special Reserve Police Officer. Mr. Maia seconded as amended. And it was so VOTED.
Mr. Maia read page nine into the record and made a motion to appoint them as attached. Mr. Goodrich noted Madeline Goodrich is of no relation to him and seconded the motion and it was so VOTED.
Mr. Maia thanked all the EMT’s/Firefighters for their assistance in the past three weeks.
Dr. Smith read page ten into the record. Mr. Goodrich made a motion to appoint them as attached. Mr. Maia seconded and it was so VOTED.
Building Inspector Vacancy – Discussion Regarding Filling of Position:
Ms. Neggers said the Building Inspector’s position has been a part-time for about two years, and few weeks ago, Monson’s Building Inspector Harold Leaming, offered his resignation effective June 12, 2011. During the State of Emergency, the Board of Selectmen petitioned the Commission of Public Safety to assign the State Building Inspector to the town, as we haven’t had the time to fill the vacancy. The State very graciously assigned our former Building Inspector who is now a State Building Inspector to work with us for 30 days. Ms. Neggers said based on observations, it’s clear the town isn’t going to make it with a part-time Building Inspector and noted it was fairly dicey before as things were picking up, and now with the current situation, it’s strongly recommended to hire a
full-time Building Inspector, and she discussed this with the Finance Committee last night at their meeting. The Board of Selectmen are asked to consider hiring a full-time Building Inspector/Zoning Enforcement Officer; the position is graded as an M4 (Management 4) on our salary schedule, with a starting salary of $50,385. Applications may be sent to the Selectmen’s Office, 110 Main Street. This will be advertised in the Springfield newspaper as well as on the MMA website and the Association website.
Mr. Goodrich made a motion to advertise the Building Inspector vacancy as a full-time position using the means and methods as described and per past practice. Mr. Maia seconded and it was so VOTED.
Zoning Enforcement Officer – Discussion Regarding Temporary Vacancy:
Ms. Neggers said it was also identified the State Building Inspector will not do zoning because it’s a local issue. At this time, Chip Lapointe, our former Building Inspector/Zoning Enforcement Officer who has a long time familiarity with the town and the zoning bylaws, came back last week from retirement on a voluntary basis to try to help out in the office and answer questions. Mr. Lapointe still maintains all of his certifications in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, so it is perfectly legal. Mr. Lapointe has said he would, on a strictly interim basis with no salary and very part-time, serve as the alternate Building Commissioner and Zoning Enforcement Officer.
Mr. Goodrich made a motion to appoint Chip Lapointe as the alternate Building Commissioner and Zoning Enforcement Officer with all authority and powers as due that position, effective immediately through July 31, 2011, and longer if he would like it. Mr. Maia seconded and it was so VOTED.
Mr. Goodrich noted he greatly appreciates Mr. Lapointe’s help and said Mr. Lapointe was an asset to this town when he was here and has no doubt he will be an asset to us at this point in time.
Dr. Smith thanked Mr. LaPointe also. Ms. Neggers added the volume of activity has been overwhelming to a part-time staff, and added there have been a lot of people who used to work for the town that have stepped and involved themselves in this because of pure concern for the town and the well being of the resident. Mr. Maia said sometimes the worse things that can happen, brings out the best in people.
Health Agent – Discussion Regarding Additional Storm Response Stipend:
Ms. Neggers said Lori McCool has been responding since the tornado struck on June 1st, working on various tasks, in the command unit, with sheltering fees, Board of Health fees, attending meetings, as well as helping out in the Board of Health Office in the absence of the full-time employee who has been out since the tornado struck three weeks ago. The Board of Health office is only open on a sporadic basis. Ms. Neggers said Ms. McCool has been instrumental, spending many hours in the office setting it up and getting the files in order and trying to field as many calls as she can. Ms. Neggers said Ms. McCool is only paid a part-time salary for her Health Agent position, and this was all additional work. Ms. Neggers felt it appropriate to give consideration to offer Ms. McCool an additional stipend for her emergency
response services and her assistance to the Board of Health office.
Mr. Goodrich made a motion to develop a stipend of $2,000 for the Health Agent. Dr. Smith seconded and it was so VOTED. Dr. Smith thanked Ms. McCool.
Finance Director FY 2012 Furlough Days – Discussion:
Ms. Neggers said several years ago due budget cuts, the Finance Director reduced her pay by 26 furlough days. Given the emergency and response with FEMA, and the increase in record keeping and accounting, Ms. Neggers suggested restoring the furlough days for the Finance Director.
Mr. Goodrich made a motion to restore the furlough days to the Finance Director position effective FY 2012. Mr. Maia seconded and it was so VOTED.
Mr. Maia noted Ms. Neggers and Ms. Mahar were at the Command Center with them since 6:00 p.m. the night the tornado struck. Beginning the first week, there were several meetings a day, starting at 7:00 a.m. some days and going until 9:00 p.m or 11:00 p.m. and he feels giving back the 26 furlough days is the very least we could do. Mr. Maia gave his heartfelt thanks to them for everything they have done for the community in the last 21 days. Dr. Smith and Mr. Goodrich agreed.
Additional Appointments to Tornado Relief Fund Committee:
Ms. Neggers said some appointments were made to this committee during the emergency session. Dr. Smith reiterated this committee, appointed by the Selectmen, is made up of local residents. The task of the committee is to develop a guideline for the application process and then decide on the fairest way to disperse the money that’s been collected and going to Monson Savings Bank, by helping to ensure the money gets out there as effectively as possible.
Mr. Goodrich noted it was agreed upon, the money would be for uninsured and underinsured losses from the tornado damage.
Ms. Neggers said Richard Guertin, Gary DePace, EmmaLadd Shepherd, Karen King, Leslie Duthie, Jeffrey Lord, and Daniel Moriarty have all been appointed; and a commitment has been made to appoint David Royce, Michael Tassinari, Sabino Bilotti, and Larry Harris.
Mr. Maia made a motion to appoint the additional four residents to the committee. Mr. Goodrich seconded and it was so VOTED.
Mr. Goodrich noted this committee is comprised of a very diverse group of people as there are bankers, insurance people, legal people, business people, financial people, and builders. It was noted they really tried hard to get a well rounded group for this so all angles would be covered.
Dr. Smith thanked everyone for helping out.
Tornado Recovery Process and Update:
Ms. Neggers said immediately after the tornado struck, the Emergency Management Plan manual was pulled and looked at, as it actually has a section related to tornado response. Ms. Neggers said they did most of the things listed in it, almost in order.
Dr. Smith read the list from the manual into the record which included, broadcasting public warnings and notifications of public safety. Dr. Smith noted unfortunately there wasn’t much time for this; conduct evacuations, reception and sheltering services to victims. Dr. Smith noted a shelter was opened up at the school with the help of the American Red Cross and Gary Allard of the Monson Board of Health.
Mr. Maia added Michelle Loglisci also assisted by getting vans and van drivers to transport victims to the shelter.
The next item in the manual was to dispatch search and rescue teams with the help of all the surrounding communities and even communities that aren’t surrounding. Dr. Smith thanked everyone who assisted; dispatch emergency medical teams, activate mutual aid agreements, take measures to guard against further injury from dangers such as ruptured gas lines, downed trees, debris, utility lines, etc.; acquire needed emergency food, water, fuel and medical supplies; and take measures relating to identification and disposition of remains.
Dr. Smith said the Town then went into the recovery process, which we are still in. The town is continuing with debris clearance. Fortunately, all of the utilities have been restored. Next on the list in the manual was to conduct damage assessment of public and private property, which has happened; provide security to uninhabited structures, provide short and long term food, water and clothing, shelter, medical care and other necessary assistance to victims. This has been done through the local churches, and our own Resource Center; coordinate reentry to evacuees and public health monitoring. This is still going on. Establish disaster recovery center for victims and apply for state and federal disaster relief funds, which just happened. The last item in the manual is the assistance in conducting and/or coordinating
overall long term rehabilitation and reconstruction of the area.
Ms. O’Toole reproached the Board of Selectmen. Ms. O’Toole said she feels the town did a fabulous job considering the circumstances the town was in, and suggested there be more communication in a more effective way. Ms. O’Toole said it was about a week and a half before she had telephone service back, therefore she didn’t have internet service. She has Direct TV so she didn’t have any local television stations with local news that she could watch.
Ms. O’Toole felt it would be helpful if there was more signage throughout town, letting her and others know what is available or where they can go to help.
Mr. Maia said he feels communication continues to be a problem, and in talking with some people feels perhaps we need to go back to basics and look at what was done and done well in the first few days. For example having the handouts and maybe do weekly updated handouts placed at various sites to get the information out to people in need, as many times people don’t know they can go to the website. Also possibly gathering all the information being put out from people at the First Church, and other places with what we have, so all the information can get out to the people still working on Bethany Road, Stewart Avenue, etc. Mr. Maia also suggested having a centralized tornado hot line with a triage like receptionist answering the telephone and directing all the calls.
Ms. Neggers said clearly our structure wasn’t in place to manage the volunteer portion of it. We did try to communicate directly with the people in the effected areas via flyers and the EMT’s were driving around communicating with them as well. Ms. Neggers said Hope Bodwell has come back into town to help her with some of this. Ms. Bodwell is going to try to get all the volunteers and charitable non-profit organizations together to share what they are doing.
Ms. Neggers added in the long run we are going to need more people volunteering and training on the local level so they are prepared when something like this happens.
Mr. Goodrich noted it’s always good to get new people involved and possibly they can point out new ideas or ways of doing things that haven’t been thought of.
A man in the audience approached the Board of Selectmen and noted Wi-Fi is available. He felt the town could have had that installed in perhaps by day two. He noted just about everyone has computers with built in antennas and added if Wi-Fi had been put up at the north end of Bethany Road, it would have reached residents on Stewart and Wayne Avenues and perhaps even in the center of town. This would have gotten the word out immediately. The town would just need Comcast to put up a large antenna.
Ms. Neggers gave an up-date on the vegetation, noting next week will be the last week for the pick-up. Ms. Neggers noted the schedule for the last pick-up will be placed on the town’s web site, sign board and provided to the press.
Ms. Neggers said at last count they have picked up and shredded 67,000 cubic yards of wood chips from the vegetated debris at a cost of approximately $2 million to date, just on vegetation removal. FEMA will reimburse the town 75% of this expense with the balance on the local people. Ms. Neggers said she is hopeful the State will also offer some relief.
Board of Selectmen Meeting Schedule – Discussion:
It was agreed the Board of Selectmen would hold weekly meetings every Tuesday night beginning at 7:00 p.m. for as long as necessary.
Approve Town Administrator Contract Renewal:
Mr. Goodrich made a motion to approve the Town Administrator’s contract, which has been negotiated over a significant amount of time with Gretchen Neggers. Mr. Maia seconded and it was so VOTED.
Dr. Smith thanked Ms. Neggers.
In Other Business to Come Before the Board of Selectmen:
- Dr. Smith explained there were a few members from the public in attendance with
questions regarding the temporary housing issues in town and apologized for the misinformation put out by the press. Dr. Smith added any issues regarding housing are zoning issues. Dr. Smith explained the zoning bylaw in town states if your house was destroyed and it’s being rebuilt, you can place temporary housing on your property only, not on a neighbor’s property or anything like that, and any issues that have arisen so far are due to that and not due to neighbor’s complaints or an eyesore or anything else.
Mr. Goodrich added the reasoning behind that bylaw is if you don’t have a bylaw regarding temporary housing, it defaults to the State laws which are stricter in regards to temporary housing. Mr. Goodrich explained the process for adopting a bylaw, which begins with the Planning Board drafting the bylaw and then proposing it at a Town Meeting where the town’s residents vote on whether or not to accept the bylaw.
Mr. Maia added if you have a situation that is unique, you may file for an appeal with the Zoning Board of Appeals to be addressed case by case, but for the most part it is something that has been voted on at Town Meeting and it isn’t something the Board of Selectmen can reverse.
Mr. Goodrich explained the bylaw states you cannot place a temporary house on property if you are building a new house, it can only be place if you have lost your house due to a disaster of some sort. Also, if you own two building parcels located next side by side, you cannot place a temporary house on the other parcel the way the bylaw is written. Temporary housing can only be placed on the parcel of property that contains your damaged home while you are rebuilding. Mr. Goodrich noted this is a process not for the Board of Selectmen.
Ms. Neggers said the Planning Board is currently holding their meeting on the other side of the building and noted this is not the Selectmen’s domain, but that of the Planning Board and said she had just spoken with them. The Planning Board told her if they were asked to do a bylaw change and sketched it out, it would take a minimum of six weeks, even if it was fast tracked. However, the Planning Board isn’t objecting that and said if anyone in the audience wished to discuss this issue with them and wanted to attend their meeting they are welcome to do so tonight. Ms. Neggers stated this is a bylaw issues and reiterated it can’t arbitrarily be changed; it is a process that involves the people and added we are trying to work with the people as much as we can within the bylaw.
Karen O’Toole of 54 Beebe Road approached the Board of Selectmen. Ms. O’Toole asked if the Planning Board did decide the residents could vote on changing the bylaws, who the request would have to come from to make it official.
Ms. Neggers replied it would require a Special Town Meeting. The Planning Board would first have to hold a Public Meeting on the proposed bylaw change. The Public Meeting would first have to be advertised 7 or 14 days in advance in the newspaper. Following the Public Meeting, the Planning Board would have to ask the Selectmen to schedule a Special Town Meeting, and this would require at least 14 days written notice to the public. Ms. Neggers noted, based on her very brief discussion with the Planning Board, this is the reason for the approximately six weeks it would take.
Judith Newberry of 344 Stafford Road wondered if it had already been determined the house trailer in question had to be removed since it isn’t located on their property.
Dr. Smith replied yes, the Zoning laws state it has to be on their property and not on someone else’s as in this case.
Mr. Maia said he spoke with the representative from American Mobile Home Company, who is working with the family’s insurance company, and was told the mobile home will be moved by the end of this week to their building lot. Ms. Neggers added the Building Inspector met yesterday with the family and the mobile home company at their location and worked with them to configure it to fit on their property while they are rebuilding their home.
Mr. Goodrich noted there were a couple of decisions made which were inaccurate at the beginning of this process and apologized for this. Mr. Goodrich said in the first 48 hours of being in emergency mode, there was such desire to help and put out answers that would be helpful to people only to find out a couple of hours later you shouldn’t have said that, and now it needs to be pulled back. It takes a little time of settling in before you realize people are better off having to wait a couple of hours for an accurate answer rather than receiving an inaccurate answer right away. Mr. Goodrich added this has been a hard lesson to learn and they have been learning throughout this process, and unfortunately it doesn’t help the situations they are dealing, but they do take responsibility for this and they do
apologize and they are trying to find that balance between delaying a response and an inaccurate answer.
Corey Partlow who lost his home on Bethany Road and placed a mobile home on land belonging to his mother-in-law approached the Board of Selectmen. Mr. Partlow said everyone has been trying to be helpful and he knows this mistake was just someone trying to do something nice for him, but he said it cost him a lot of money. He had to hire bulldozers to level the lot at his mother-in-law’s and cut down trees, while trying to rebuild a house for his children. Mr. Partlow said he doesn’t want to live in that zone right now as it reminds him of a war zone. He has a tiny piece of land to put the trailer on, his children are going to be waking up to see the devastation everywhere every morning, there’s debris, glass, oil, etc. Mr. Partlow asked about a variance, and was told it would basically be the same as
filing for an appeal and it would be up to the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals. Ms. Neggers added a variance can only be granted in certain instances and no one here can determine what those instances are and said the Planning Board is meeting right now and that would be the Board to help him.
Mr. Maia stated this is a prime example to make sure everyone attends the Town Meetings, as this is when the bylaws get voted on and when the decisions get made. Unfortunately we only average 130 to 150 people in attendance at Town Meetings.
Karen King of the Planning Board approached the Board of Selectmen. Ms. King said her understanding is it would be the Zoning Board of Appeals that anyone with concerns would want to speak with and not the Planning Board. Ms. Neggers replied the Planning Board might be able to tell Mr. Partlow if he can apply for a variance on this or not.
Ms. Newberry approached the Board of Selectmen again and said she has attended many, many Town Meetings and never thought when passing a bylaw about zoning that a tornado would hit the town. She feels this is a very different situation which is affecting many people.
Mr. Goodrich said she is correct, and unfortunately there are some things you can’t address until they happen. Mr. Goodrich said we are accepting of the fact there is a bylaw which is clear, unfortunately it doesn’t fit the circumstance, and we are going to have to find a way to work though it, so if a situation like this ever arises we don’t go through this again.
- Dick Anable approached the Board of Selectmen to introduced Dr. Shirley
Bradway Laska, who graduated from Monson High School and now lives in New Orleans. Mr. Anable noted Dr. Laska, who is retired from the University of New Orleans, has established a center there to deal with disasters, assessments, rehabilitation, etc. Dr. Laska has extensive experience in this area dealing with FEMA and associated organizations.
Dr. Laska approached the Board of Selectmen and noted she has assisted in Katrina, the oil spill, river flooding, etc. Dr. Laska said what the center she established does, is they help communities support their goals of resiliency, which is a term the town will use over and over again as we are vulnerable but we are resilient, and how we become that is by gaining strength in terms of our own capacity, and added we have to connect what we were to what we need today. Dr. Laska said she can offer connections to people who have answers and the networks which is how the capacity grows.
Ms. Neggers said after meeting Dr. Laska this morning, she did go on her website and was very impressed by some of the work she has done, especially in terms of community collaboration and identifying visions for the future and trying to get the focus on that vision because it’s very healing for the community. Ms. Neggers said at this point we do have the attention of multiple state agencies and they are making as much of a commitment as they can. Ms. Neggers said it is a collaborative effort and she looks forward to speaking further with Dr. Laska.
Dr. Laska said she offers her services and the Board of Selectmen thanked her very much.
Correspondence was read and completed.
At 8:40 p.m., Mr. Goodrich made a motion to adjourn from open session to go into executive session to discuss M.G.L., Chapter 30A, Section 21, #1, 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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