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Meeting of 2011-09/29
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
SEPTEMBER 29, 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 and John F. Goodrich II. Edward A. Maia was absent. 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 September 13, 2011 – open session. Dr. Smith seconded and it was so VOTED.

Community Development Block Grant Performance Hearing – Park Avenue Infrastructure Project: (POSTPONED)
Paul Bracciotti of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission approached the Board of Selectmen. Mr. Bracciotti gave a brief description on the performance of the Monson FY 2008 American Recovery & Reinvestment Project - Park Avenue Infrastructure Improvement, as attached.

Mr. Bracciotti explained the activities funded under the FY 2008 grant for the Park Avenue Improvement Project which consisted of water line replacement, installation of expanded storm water drainage facilities, complete road reconstruction including the installation of granite curbing and asphalt sidewalks, and the installation of new fire hydrants.

Dr. Smith noted after it rains, water collects in front of 11 Park Avenue. Dr. Smith added he is concerned with winter coming and the water and ice as an elderly couple resides there. Mr. Bracciotti said he would speak with Monson Highway Surveyor John Morrell regarding this issue.

The Board of Selectmen and Ms. Neggers thanked Mr. Bracciotti.

Liquor License Transfer Hearing – on the Application of JHHM, LLC, d/b/a DeMaio Discount Package Store to Transfer Ownership of License to CHMP, LLC:
Surjit Kaur and her husband Jas Want Singh approached the Board of Selectmen. Ms. Neggers stated this hearing was advertised and all the paperwork had been submitted and the Pledges are in order.

It was explained the license is being transferred over to the name of their business in Amherst to make things easier by having both businesses under just one name.

Mr. Goodrich explained to Ms. Kaur this transfer doesn’t change the agreed upon terms of her violation hearing. Mr. Singh handed Mr. Goodrich the paperwork, letter stating he is registered in the TIPS course for November 15, 2011 and the company policy stating no one under the age of 18 years would be allowed to run/sell alcohol in their establishment, as agreed upon at their violation hearing. Mr. Singh said he would provide a copy of the certificate, once he completes the TIPS course, to the Selectmen’s Office.

Mr. Goodrich made a motion to approve the transfer of the liquor license from JHHM, LLC d/b/a DeMaio’s Discount Package Store to CHMP, LLC. Dr. Smith seconded and it was so VOTED.

Statewide Public Safety Mutual Aid Law (GL C. 40, §4aJ) – Discussion of Acceptance:
Ms. Neggers said correspondence as received at the end of August from the Mass. Emergency Management Agency encouraging the town to accept two formal mutual aid laws; one is the Statewide Public Safety Mutual Aid Law and the other is the Statewide Public Works Municipal Mutual Aid Law.

Ms. Neggers thought the Statewide Public Works Municipal Mutual Aid Law had already been accepted at a Town Meeting.

Ms. Neggers said she received an email from Police Chief Kozloski who stated the current law would still permit the police department to request or provide mutual aid regardless of whether or not the town entered into this agreement, however opting-in to the new law would define the rights, duties and responsibilities of the participants more clearly. Ms. Neggers noted both Fire Chief George Robichaud and Police Chief Stephen Kozloski support adopting this statute.

Mr. Goodrich made a motion to formally accept and implement the Massachusetts Emergency Management Mutual Aid Laws as proposed. Dr. Smith seconded and it was so VOTED.

Status of Town Office Building – Decision on Proceeding with Repairs:
Ms. Neggers explained there are tremendous decisions that need to be made on the Town Office Building and Police Station located at 110 Main Street. Ms. Neggers presented a slideshow of pictures showing what happened to the building from the tornado and where it’s at now.

Ms. Neggers noted the building was built in 1925 as a High School and then converted to an elementary school years later.

In 1992 the Town Offices and the Police Department moved into the building after it was vacated by the School Department when Quarry Hill Elementary School was built and opened.

In 1998 the town invested approximately $1.1 million into the building in renovations; primarily in windows, doors, heating and air conditioning systems, elevator and ADA compliant bathrooms in the basement. About three years ago a new membrane roof was put on the building.
When the tornado struck on June 1st, it is estimated 75% of the roof blew off as well as losing the windows on the south end of the building.

Mr. Goodrich said one of the interior pictures is on the second floor looking toward the south end of the building at the window on the landing. Mr. Goodrich explained the plaster is directly applied to the masonry so when you see the cracks they are actual cracks in the masonry structure itself coming through the plaster.

Ms. Neggers noted ten commercial dehumidifiers are currently running in the police department portion of the building. Ms. Neggers showed pictures of the boiler room which is very, very damp and everything getting rusty. Ms. Neggers showed pictures of mold everywhere, including the railings going upstairs and the doorknobs. There were pictures showing pools of standing water on the first floor in offices and the wood floors buckling and heaving. All the wood floors are in pretty bad shape including the gymnasium floor. The slideshow showed pictures of ceilings stained from water pouring in and the masonry walls showing signs of water running in and down them. Pictures showed the front doors are miscued and Ms. Neggers noted the doors weren’t like that prior to the tornado hitting the building, indicating just how much the building twisted and turned in the tornado. Ms. Neggers added every office has been damaged from the water. The radiators have been leaking since the tornado and pictures showed mold and rust is evident. There was a picture showing the door blew off the attic exposing it to the outside and letting a lot of water in. Ms. Neggers explained all the ceilings on the second floor are pretty much saturated as well as the ceilings on the first floor.

Mr. Goodrich noted the insurance company wasn’t planning on any major remediation work on the exterior walls; however Ms. Neggers pictures show a large amount of water damage to the exterior walls as well as to the interior walls.

Ms. Neggers stated being inside the building is not safe nor is it pleasant. The community has been proud of this building and some big decisions have to be made. Ms. Neggers felt it was important for the people in the community to see the magnitude of damage inside the building.

Ms. Neggers noted four or five years ago the building was re-pointed at an expense of about $15,000.00. Ms. Neggers said there are new cracks in the exterior solid concrete support above the window in the Building Inspectors office.

Mr. Goodrich stated he believes this would not have been re-pointed and added if there is fracture failure to this extent; it’s a sign of the wall bowing out of plane and a sign of severe structural failure. Mr. Goodrich said in his first year serving on the Select Board, there was a concern in the Finance Director’s Office and the northern corner of the building. Mr. Goodrich said he went in looking for some settling in that corner and couldn’t find any. Mr. Goodrich said they definitely didn’t see this crack in the solid concrete support and felt they certainly would have if it were there at that time.

Ms. Neggers said given the age of the building she has been compulsive about monitoring the building making sure it didn’t get any worse, and never saw that crack prior to the tornado.

Dr. Smith thanked Ms. Neggers for her presentation and for providing a way for the residents to see the inside of the building.

Mr. Goodrich said a lot of people are wondering why the town has allowed this to happen to the building and explained the building is no longer in the towns’ possession. It’s in the possession of the insurance company. The insurance company hired a company to weather tight the building and they have taken responsibility of securing the building. Everything that is going on is within the control of our insurance company and Mr. Goodrich said we have gotten no indications of anything being any different.

Ms. Neggers added she has on at least three separate occasions had conversations with the insurance company informing them water is coming into the building.

Mr. Goodrich agreed the water coming into the building was brought up at both formal meetings with the insurance company, himself, the contractor, engineers, Ms. Neggers and other people involved in the process present.

Ms. Neggers noted this is why the ten commercial dehumidifiers were brought in, because clearly the insurance company knows there is a problem with water.

Dr. Smith noted there are three options. Option one is to repair the building. Option two is to tear down the building and rebuild it. Option three is to utilize the Hillside building we are currently in, but we would still need a police station.

Mr. Goodrich said he has removed utilizing the Hillside building as a permanent replacement for the Town Offices. Mr. Goodrich said he feels since the Hillside building was built in 1955 and the Town Office Building was built in 1925 he didn’t see the benefit of exchanging one albatross for another at this point in time. Mr. Goodrich felt the proper thing to do is to allow the voters to have their say. Mr. Goodrich explained the voters would have to realize if they decide to accept the insurance company’s decision to repair the building, they would be accepting the building in whatever condition the insurance company returns it to you in, and they would have to know every few years the town is going to be looking for tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars for routine repairs because it’s a 1925 building with un-upgraded mechanicals, and the building would basically be the same as it was on May 30th, prior to the tornado. The upside is the immediate impact to the taxpayers will be zero dollars. The other option is to go all in and negotiate the payout with the insurance company, take the payout and demo the building and build a new building of a more appropriate size, more functionality, more efficient and have longevity to the building.

Dr. Smith agreed the Hillside building is an older building and needs a lot of renovations and this doesn’t solve the police station issues. Dr. Smith added after seeing the damages the building looks un-repairable to him. If the building is rebuilt you have the demo costs and the costs of the building, which is more than the cost of just the repair. Dr. Smith agreed it should go to the taxpayers for their input since the burden will be on them.

Ms. Neggers said the challenge is we don’t know the costs and felt we couldn’t ask for money or input until we know more. Ms. Neggers said she spoke with Town Counsel who advised not making any formal decisions at this point until he can review everything regarding the insurance situation. Ms. Neggers noted the Hillside building needs extensive repair to the level we would have to relocate while those issues were being taken care of as we’re talking about the need for new windows, roof repair and heating system repair and noted it would be expensive.

Ms. Neggers said when the Visioning sessions were held with the community, the consensus was the town offices should remain downtown and contribute to a strong downtown economic center.

Mr. Goodrich said the insurance company admitted they didn’t have enough time to get accurate numbers on the costs.

Mr. Goodrich made a motion to start developing a paper trail with the insurance company and to formally request the insurance company to make some additional temporary inexpensive repairs to finish weather tightening the building, and also to ask the insurance company for a more accurate estimate on repairs. Dr. Smith seconded and it was so VOTED.

Mr. Goodrich said in the letter from Town Counsel to the insurance company regarding the estimates, Mr. Albano may want to reference some of the information contained in the letter from the Historical Commission regarding the historic status of the building and any repairs that need to take place in that building relating to that, as it will have a direct impact on the costs.

Chairman for the Historical Commission Dennis Swierad approached the Board of Selectmen and noted they have been in contact with the Mass. Historical Commission, Preservation Mass. and the National Trust and they all agree the building at 110 Main Street is a historic building. Mr. Swierad noted the building has been on the Monson list of historic properties for twenty-five years. Mr. Swierad said they have located a grant they can apply for to pay to have an independent preservation architect come in and look at the preservation aspects, especially the handicapped ramp the insurance company wants to install in the front of the building. Mr. Swierad said they were also very concerned about the proposed changes of the flooring materials and the doors.

Resident Leland Church approached the Board of Selectmen and noted when he was on the School Committee there were issues with the foundation and wondered if anything was done at the time of the renovation work to correct it, otherwise if the town rebuilds this building it will still be put on a bad foundation.

Mr. Tuttle who was in the audience responded the foundation was stabilized in the vicinity of the elevator work, but that was it.

Tornado Recovery Status
  a. Update on Long Term Recovery Group
  b. Visioning Meeting – Response and Next Steps
  c. Steering Committee – Discussion on How to Proceed
  d. Upcoming Events
  e. Report on Tornado Losses – Current Estimated Town Losses/Expenses
  f. Any Other Updates
  • Ms. Neggers said the Visioning meeting was held with approximately 70 people in attendance. The attendees wanted to kept the center of town strong, there was a lot of concerned with the trees and replanting, traffic management particularly by Dunkin Donuts and Adams Supermarket, better management of vacant properties, rebuilding Veteran’s Field so it won’t flood all the time, and rebuilding the tennis courts and the skate park. They also wanted to see improvement of recreational opportunities for the skate park and bike trails, a spray park at Veteran’s Field or in Cushman Field, a river walk along Chicopee Brook, a senior fitness trail, energy efficient safety complex, underground utilities, a new green Town Administration Building with the old appearance, better parking in the downtown area, the fence and stone walls repaired at the Main Street Cemetery in the center of town, recreation center, planters and old style street lanterns, teen center, historic signs and dates on some of the historic buildings, more use of Memorial Hall as a community space, and to move the Police Department to where the Academy Gym is.
Ms. Neggers said the people from the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission have taken this information and will return on to the High School on October 26th at 6:00 p.m., with drawings, plans, and ideas for feedback on the different proposals.

  • On Saturday, October 15th a pretty significant tree planting event will be held at Veterans and Cushman Fields at 9:00 a.m.
  • The Tornado Volunteer Group and the Long Term Recovery Group are still working together and sharing resources. It was noted they are still looking for volunteers and people who need volunteer services.
  • Ms. Neggers encouraged residents to write to the Legislature on behalf of the town regarding assistance with the 25% funding left for the towns to absorb on the tornado expenses, as the town doesn’t have the funds and our capacity just isn’t there. Ms. Neggers noted some bonding available, as some big debt is coming to an end, within the operating budget. Mr. Goodrich said he thinks the State is waiting for casino licensing money to come in for assistance.
           Ms. Mahar approached the Board of Selectmen and noted the 25%  of the bill the  
           town is responsible for is around $1.2 million. Ms. Mahar said we did receive the
           75% reimbursement in the amount of $476,000 from the NRCS for the clean-up of
           the brooks. Last Thursday she sent the Federal Highway Administration the costs
           for their reimbursements for their portion of the first 70 hours of clean-up.
           AshBritt and O’ Brien charge for the other debris removal. Ely Road, High Street,
           Main Street, Upper Hampden Road and Wilbraham Road were the Federal
           Highway roads impacted, and she is waiting to hear back from them. Ms. Mahar
           noted this came to about five hundred thousand and some odd dollars This was
           submitted separately as they have a different reimbursement rate. Ms. Mahar said
           there is a good chance some of these will have a 100% reimbursement and some
           might be 80%.

          Ms. Neggers thanked the financial team for their work and added they are doing a
           great job under extremely challenging conditions. Dr. Smith agreed.

           Ms. Mahar said FEMA has been very helpful in doing the Project Worksheets
            (PW’s) and they advocated for her to have the O’Brien bill done up on a separate
            PW so we could get this bill out, as this is around $350,000. We are still waiting
            to hear on the AshBritt bill and she has been emailing them as the invoice is about
            $4 million.

  • There is a Legislative breakfast on Friday October 7th from 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 or 10:00 a.m. in the Keep Homestead barn. Ms. Neggers encouraged people to attend and noted this is sponsored by the Mass. Municipal Association at no expense to the town.
Approve Fire Chief Contract (tentative 09/15/2011)
(POSTPONED)

In Other Business to Come Before the Board of Selectmen:
  • Ms. Neggers said a letter has come in from the Monson Arts Council. They have begun the process of installing an alarm system in the House of Art located at 200 Main Street. They are asking for the Board of Selectmen’s blessing as this building is under the control of the Board of Selectmen and their jurisdiction. The Monson Arts Council is incurring all costs for this system. This is to enhance the security of the facility and the art stored there.
Mr. Goodrich felt there should be a stipulation that someone in the Selectmen’s Office, Fire Department and Police Department have access codes to be able to enter the building in case of an emergency or to shut off the alarm if needed. Dr. Smith agreed.

Mr. Goodrich made a motion to approve the request with the stipulation. Dr. Smith seconded and it was so VOTED.

Correspondence was read and completed.

At  8:30 p.m., Mr. Goodrich made a motion to adjourn from open session to go into executive session to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining and litigation – MGL c.30A, Section21 (3), not to return to open session. Dr. Smith seconded and it was so VOTED.


__________________________
Edward A. Maia, Clerk