BOARD OF SELECTMEN
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012
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.
A moment of silence was held in honor of Paul Lovell, a 32 year Cemetery employee who became the Superintendent several years ago. Mr. Lovell passed away on February 12, 2012.
Acceptance of Meeting Minutes:
Mr. Goodrich made a motion to accept the meeting minutes for January 24th and February 8, 2012 – open sessions. Mr. Maia seconded and it was so VOTED.
Peter Lepoer Regarding Main Street Liquors Status:
Peter Lepoer approached the Board of Selectmen. Dr. Smith noted the store has been closed for a while and wondered about the status.
Mr. Lepoer explained a lot of things occurred last year with the weather and the economy, and he got to a point where it was really difficult with some of the things they were trying to accomplish with the store as far as renovations. Mr. Lepoer said he wanted to redo the hardwood floors, add new paint, new shelves for the inventory and a few other things. Mr. Lepoer stated there aren’t any plumbing, electrical or structural issues, just cosmetic work.
Mr. Lepoer said he works at a full time job as well, and when the bad weather hit, his job required extra time away, leaving little time for him and his nephew to work on the renovations.
Mr. Lepoer said the month of May will mark his eighth year as owner of the store. Mr. Lepoer added his intentions are to get all of the renovations done and hopefully get the store back open very soon.
Mr. Goodrich asked if it would be possible to get a very brief outlined schedule of the projects and completion dates, and ultimately what the re-opening date will be, and if anything changes in to let the Board know. Mr. Lepoer replied absolutely, and added that he will have it for the Board this week.
Mr. Maia asked Mr. Lepoer how long he has been closed. Mr. Lepoer responded he officially closed right after Thanksgiving, and there were periods of time since August where they would close for a few days to save on utilities as they would go for days without any customers. Mr. Lepoer noted he didn’t want to put anyone at risk while he was trying to accomplish the renovations so they would close for longer periods of time, and then finally he decided to close the store entirely to try to do all of the renovations in one shot.
Mr. Goodrich made a motion to formally request an outline for the work being done and the anticipated completion date. If that date changes, Mr. Lepoer is to let the Board of Selectmen know just as soon as it comes to his attention. Also, to revisit this with Mr. Lepoer in April to make sure he is still on target. Mr. Maia seconded and it was so VOTED.
Finance Committee Regarding Fiscal 2013 Budget Development:
Jim Pennington, representing the Finance Committee, approached the Board of Selectmen and noted the Finance Committee has several questions for the Board.
Mr. Pennington asked the Board of Selectmen what the School Department is intending to do with the Hillside Building.
Mr. Goodrich responded there hasn’t been any formal correspondence from the School Committee on what their intentions are with the building at 29 Thompson Street, where the Town Offices are currently located. The School is still using the down stairs portion for the School Transportation, but Mr. Goodrich felt it would be in the best interest of the School to not have the building in their inventory as they aren’t really utilizing it.
It was noted the Hillside Building is owned by the town but run by the School Department.
Ms. Neggers said turning the building over to the town would require a vote by the School Committee to turn the building over as surplus property, and then turn it back to the Selectmen.
Mr. Pennington asked what is happening with the 110 Main Street building which has been vacant since the June 1st tornado, as this will affect their budget in some way.
Dr. Smith responded right now they is going back and forth with the insurance Company.
Mr. Goodrich explained the town is waiting for the numbers from the insurance company to present to the community so the community can make an informed decision on what they want to do. The feed back the Selectmen have received from the community is strongly in favor of replacing the building if possible. If this is done, it would have to be through debt exclusion, a Proposition 2½ Override, as done with the school buildings. Mr. Goodrich added, this property cannot just be leveled and left as a park because the way the insurance policy works, we have three options; one we fix the building and they take it over and hire the contractors, they run the project and they return the building to us in the same condition it was in on May 31st, which wasn’t the best. The second option is we repair the
building, we hire a construction manager, we manage the repairing of the building, they pay the bills and we still have a building that is in the condition it was in on May 31st. The third option is to negotiate a payout with the insurance company and we are on our own to do what we want. In this event, if we take a payout, they depreciate the building based on the age of the building; once the construction is done and the money is spent they give us the balance back, so they are actually holding back the depreciated amount. Therefore, if we take the payout, level the building and make a giant park there, we will lose a significant amount of money as we would get the depreciated value and that’s it. Mr. Goodrich explained the insurance company’s contractor has given the town the number of $5.3 million and then we have our own contractor who did a walk through and came up with an estimate of closer to $9 million. Mr. Goodrich said for now, the building has
been made weather tight, the plumbing has been drained and blown out, and it’s virtually a vacant building that has been shut down and with no heat. The main power box is still alive for the back up generator which is running through the building for the Police Department.
Mr. Maia added the reason they want to get the most realistic numbers from the insurance company is they don’t want to say okay repair the building only to find out a year from now that down the road it cost us $9 million to repair the building and we still have an 80 or 90 year old building with some old systems, and then find out for another $1 million we could have built a brand new building that could have paid for itself in just a couple of years in energy savings.
Mr. Goodrich added in a perfect world you’re not going to see that building on line for probably another 3 or 4 years.
Mr. Pennington asked if any more thought has been given to combining departments, which was mentioned last year. Mr. Pennington added there are many communities around the country who have done this and they are saving money by combining resources.
Dr. Smith stated at the Selectmen’s last meeting the Board asked the Town Administrator and the Finance Director to come up with some rough numbers on forming a Maintenance Department to see if it was cost effective.
Mr. Goodrich said one of the other things involved would be they have not had any formal meetings with any of the other Commissioners. Mr. Goodrich noted during the tornado aftermath, for the most part their was a lot of team work, but as the emergency phase went into the clean-up phase there was some difficulty in getting full cooperation from employees that worked for separate elected boards and Mr. Goodrich felt this really highlighted the need for a streamline management system, when you are talking about employees who draw paychecks.
Mr. Pennington asked the Board of Selectmen what their thoughts and concerns were with putting forth an Override as Mr. Pennington noted the Town is getting to a point where the amount of money brought in isn’t covering the expenses.
Mr. Maia responded he didn’t think the Town could get an Override to pass, particularly at this juncture with so many balls up in the air with FEMA money, GIC transitions, etc., and didn’t feel there would be any concrete information to even bring to the voters. Mr. Maia suggested not looking at hours and positions, but looking at dollars in each line item and making the cuts that were felt appropriate for the department.
Mr. Goodrich agreed he too didn’t feel as though the town is in a position to support an Override for operational expenses.
Mr. Goodrich felt you have to look at what you have to do to have a town run as a successful town, and make sure those departments can function as they are suppose to function, and you have to prioritize safety and financials, and everything after that, even if it means the department that is 6th or 7th down on the list takes a full hit and has to shut down for a year.
Mr. Goodrich explained you have to take the money in, and send the money out; the citizens need to feel safe by having police, fire and EMT’s, the roads need to be plowed and the students need to get to school and have schools to go to, the seniors need to be protected and serviced, and at some point you do just run out of money. Mr. Goodrich noted by utilizing the Free Cash it gave a false sense that we’re just getting by.
Mr. Pennington said if not this year, than possibly next year, the Board of Selectmen will have to think about an Override as the retirement keeps going up; this is a big thing and their main concern is trying to keep this down as much as possible. Mr. Pennington added the Finance Committee received a request from the Highway Surveyor for a salary increase because he is an elected official. Mr. Pennington wondered what the Board of Selectmen thought about doing a lump sum payment instead of a salary increase every year, as this would not affect his retirement at the end, but would still fulfill Mr. Morrell’s needs on what he is looking for.
Mr. Goodrich said this is a creative way of handling this and added if it is legal he doesn’t have a problem with this.
Ms. Neggers said this will be done at the Town Meeting with a vote by the people, on a recommendation from the Finance Committee.
Mr. Pennington asked about the Building Inspector’s Demolition line item that was taken out this year.
Ms. Neggers said this item hasn’t been funded for 4 or 5 years and was probably omitted in anticipation of being cut. Ms. Neggers said she hasn’t seen the Zoning Department’s individual request.
Mr. Pennington asked about the Snow and Ice Account. Mr. Pennington noted he spoke with John Morrell prior to tonight’s meeting and Mr. Morrell said $80,000 was spent this year on snow and ice. This has been a good and unusual year. Mr. Pennington said at last night’s Finance Committee they talked about bumping up the base amount and wondered what the Board of Selectmen thought about that.
Mr. Goodrich said when he was on the Finance Committee he was strongly in favor of getting that number up, but said it’s a shell game because you’re going to spend whatever it takes to clear the roads and you’re just spending next year’s money to do it once you’ve exhausted that line item.
Finance Director Deborah Mahar was in the audience and said in the average winter about $250,000 is spent on Snow and Ice.
Mr. Goodrich suggested bringing the line item up to $200,000 this year and $225,000 the following year.
Ms. Neggers said on the revenue sheet, $129,000 is paying for the Snow and Ice Deficit, and normally you would have a comparable deficit. By shifting revenue into the Snow and Ice Expenditure Account, you would hopefully avoid going from zero to $225,000 and having to absorb that huge revenue spike out of your revenue base or elsewhere.
Mr. Pennington said the School debt exclusion ends for the High School this year, or they are refinancing it. Mr. Pennington wondered what the Board of Selectmen’s thoughts were on putting out an override for some things that were very specific such as capital items and some other items that might be needed. Mr. Pennington said it is an opportunity to use this in a creative way without having to spend a lot of money.
Ms. Neggers explained Quarry Hill was paid off last year and about half of that was returned to the taxpayers. The taxpayers, very fortunately for the Town and the quality of life, approved an override for the EMT’s and the purchase of an ambulance. This year they refinanced the last ten years of the High School debt through a program offered by the Commonwealth with a significant savings of a little over $2 million to the local taxpayer; about $217,000 a year directly to the taxpayer as this is a debt exclusion.
Ms. Neggers said if there is a debt exclusion override, she felt this board would be looking at the Town Office Building. Ms. Neggers said capital is a critical need and there isn’t any funding in the operating budget for this. Ms. Neggers noted the Department Heads have been asked to submit a list for capital requests, as in the future they would like to use some Free Cash for capital items.
Mr. Pennington said the Free Cash issue came up with the Finance Committee because of Moody’s Investor Services’ statement that too much Free Cash is being used, and Mr. Pennington wondered what the Boards thoughts were on using Free Cash.
Mr. Goodrich said his personal priority would be to minimize the use of Free Cash for the operational budget. Mr. Goodrich added he would prioritize the departments, stabilize the financials, safety, public safety, mandates (schools and transportation), and take a hard look toward the bottom of the list when the money is gone, at what’s left and how much is really a priority that is essential.
Mr. Pennington asked about the pool, noting Parks and Recreation and the people who use the pool have been absorbing an exuberant amount of the funding for the pool. Mr. Pennington said the pool is part of the town and felt if the town doesn’t make a commitment to the funding we are going to lose it and the kids won’t be able to participate in swimming programs, it won’t be available for recreation and it won’t be available to the schools. Mr. Pennington added right now a small group of people are trying to raise funds to keep the pool going for the community and he felt it was unfair that the town didn’t take an interest in this a little bit more to keep it open.
Mr. Maia disagreed and said there are a large number of people who have done a lot of work to keep the pool open these last few years and part of the problem is the schools are at Net School Spending and priorities have to be set.
Mr. Goodrich added if it is a community pool, it should be funded with community funds and it’s a priority item at this point.
Mr. Pennington stated we can’t maintain what we have until we see wholesale cuts across the board and people not only feel the knife stuck in, but twisted and he wants to do something to help or ease the burden along the way.
Mr. Maia said you are still going to have to go through a priority process and fund things appropriately until you get to the bottom of the list and if there is no money to fund it, then bring it to the taxpayers.
Leslie Duthie – Discussion Regarding Land Acquisitions:
Leslie Duthie approached the Board of Selectmen and explained there is a piece of land located on the Monson/Wilbraham line; 18 acres in Monson and 40 acres in Wilbraham. It was originally one continuous parcel belonging to the Wilbraham Conservation Trust, a non-profit land Trust organization. There is one person left on the Wilbraham Trust and he would like to disperse the property. This is already a tax exempt parcel.
Ms. Duthie said the Conservation Commission looked at the property and discussed it a while back and felt it was a good idea to acquire the parcel on the Monson side being offered. Ms. Duthie noted this is one entire parcel with only one deed and no survey. The Conservation Commission met last week and thought of asking the Wilbraham Conservation to take the whole piece as the bulk of the land is in Wilbraham and it seemed like an easier way to settle the problem. Ms. Duthie noted it is mostly wetland.
Mr. Goodrich said the Town of Monson isn’t losing any revenue by giving it to the Wilbraham Conservation as it is a tax exempt property. It’s currently being held by a Wilbraham based Land Trust and has been for years and felt the least amount of impact to the taxpayers is to let Wilbraham have it.
Mr. Maia suggested taking the property as long as the Trust has said they would provide us with a deed, and not have the survey done since we won’t be building on it. Mr. Goodrich and Dr. Smith agreed. The cost of the land is $1.00 and the Land Trust will forgive the dollar.
Ms. Duthie said the Town of Monson wouldn’t have any financial obligations in accepting this parcel of land and it wouldn’t cost us anything to maintain it.
Mr. Goodrich said he still felt if the Wilbraham Conservation wants the parcel and they can legally do it, let them do it. Monson would still reap the benefits without any responsibility, but if for some reason they can’t take the land because of not having it surveyed then Monson would accept it.
Mr. Maia wondered about fifty years in the future if someone built on the land, by not having a restriction placed on the parcel.
Ms. Duthie said she would do a little more investigating on this parcel and get back to the Board of Selectmen.
Ms. Duthie said the other property she wanted to talk about tonight is the Quinlin property. The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs has asked Ms. Duthie if she could bring this forward at a Special Town meeting to get approval on this project before our annual Town meeting. Ms. Duthie said she told the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs the Town meeting will be held in May and wondered if they would wait until then, and was told by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs that if the project is going to be difficult to pass they would rather know sooner than later.
Ms. Duthie noted she feels this is an extremely fine project; this land is in a critical area within our community in terms of preserving the land, it’s a rare species habitat, and allows us access to town lands that we have not had access to in any recent memory.
Ms. Neggers noted it is a very busy time for the Town Clerk with the Presidential primary in March, and the general elections in April.
Mr. Maia said he would be more concerned with reaching a quorum.
Ms. Duthie said all the funding is in place for this.
Ms. Neggers suggested Ms. Duthie meet with the Finance Committee, and Ms. Duthie responded she would set up a meeting with them.
Disaster Recovery Status
a. Lori Stacy – Long Term Recovery Group Update:
Lori Stacy approached the Board of Selectmen and provided an up-date on the Long Term Recovery status. Ms. Stacy noted they have been up and running since September 6th, so it has been five months. In the last six to eight weeks, their clients have doubled to 30 in the Long Term Recovery.
Ms. Stacy said they have been fortunate and having a lot of groups from the eastern part of the State and the State of Connecticut, come in with small donations where they have gone to grocery stores, drug stores, department stores, etc. and purchased gift cards so when clients come in they are able to hand them out to the first time around clients to assist them with the out of pocket expenses that take place by helping to balance things a little bit for them.
Ms. Stacy said recently the Long Term Recovery Group has connected with a group from the eastern part of the state called “Small Can Be Big”. They have guaranteed up to about $24,000 to be dispersed in increments of two or three. Profiles are written up on a family and people out in the public look at the profiles and donate straight to the Long Term Recovery Account to be used for these families.
Ms. Stacy also said the First Church of Monson, who has been very active in the relief effort, announced they will be getting out of the recovery business as they have their own infrastructure and parsonage issues going on.
Ms. Stacy reiterated if anyone has any needs they may contact the Long Term Recovery Group at 267-4143.
Mr. Goodrich thanked Ms. Stacy and everyone she is working with for all of their efforts and added they are doing a great job.
Winter Parking Ban Bylaw – Discussion:
Mr. Goodrich made a motion to allow the parking ban to stand as written and prior to next winter to kick it back to the bylaw subcommittee for review. Mr. Maia seconded and it was so VOTED.
Approve Intermunicipal Agreement Modifying Eastern Hampden County Veterans District:
Mr. Maia made a motion to allow East Longmeadow into the Intermunicipal Agreement. Mr. Goodrich seconded and it was so VOTED.
In Other Business to Come Before the Board:
- Ms. Neggers said with the grant through the State, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission is doing a Visioning and updating the Master Plan and the Recreation Plan. A public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 14th from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Hillside Building. An on-line survey is being done, the web site is www.surveymonkey.com/s/monsoncenter . It gives different types of developments with many pictures, and you rate which ones you would prefer and would like to see in Monson. Ms. Neggers encouraged everyone to take the survey
whether they can or can’t attend the meeting.
- Ms. Neggers said she received an update from Mr. Morrell on the status of the clean-up from the October Snowstorm. There are five streets remaining that need clean-up of the brush debris, and everything else has been completed. The remaining five streets should be done shortly.
- Ms. Neggers said Mr. Morrell has kept track of the equipment used for the clean-up and we will be eligible for reimbursement for these costs estimated at $20,000. Northern Construction/Northern Tree Service has donated equipment for the town’s use.
Correspondence was read and completed.
At 9:05 p.m., Mr. Goodrich made a motion to adjourn from open session to go into executive session to conduct contract negotiations with non-union personnel – MGL c.30A, Sec.21 (2), 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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