Town of Newbury
Board of Selectmen
MINUTES
Date: October 28, 2014
Present: Selectmen Geoffrey Walker, Chuck Bear, Damon Jespersen, David Mountain and Town Administrator, Tracy Blais
Chairman, Geoffrey Walker, called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.
Citizen’s concerns: No citizen’s concerns
Town Administrator’s Report: No report by Town Administrator, Tracy Blais
New Business:
Planning Board appointment recommendations:
Motion: A motion was made by Chairman Walker, seconded by Selectman Bear and voted unanimously to appoint Elizabeth Mitchell of 257 High Road to fill the vacant Planning Board seat, left by David Powell, until the next Town Election in May 2015.
Motion: A motion was made by Selectman Bear, seconded by Selectman Jespersen and voted unanimously to appoint Richard Moss of 118 Caldwell Farm Road to serve a one-year term as the Planning Board’s Associate Member.
ABCC Forms:
Motion: A motion was made by Selectman Bear, seconded by Selectman Jespersen and voted unanimously, to approve and sign ABCC Form 43 for “Change of Manager” for the Newbury Butchery.
Motion: A motion was made by Selectman Bear, seconded by Selectman Jespersen and voted unanimously, to approve and sign ABCC Form 43 for “Change of Hours” for Plum Crazy.
Chapter 90 Forms:
Motion: A motion was made by Selectman Bear, seconded by Selectman Jespersen and voted unanimously to sign MassDOT Chapter 90 (partial) Reimbursement Request for the crack sealing project.
Motion: A motion was made by Selectman Bear, seconded by Selectman Jespersen and voted unanimously to sign MassDOT Chapter 90 (partial) Reimbursement Request for the Byfield Village Drainage & Construction project.
Motion: A motion was made by Selectman Bear, seconded by Selectman Jespersen and voted unanimously to sign MassDOT Chapter 90 (final) Reimbursement Request for the crack sealing project.
Motion: A motion was made by Selectman Bear, seconded by Selectman Jespersen and voted unanimously to sign MassDOT Chapter 90 (final) Reimbursement Request for Shim and Overlay Church Street Project.
Licenses:
Motion: A motion was made by Selectman Bear, seconded by Selectman Jespersen and mously to approve a One-day Liquor License, November 8, 2014, for Protection Fire Company #2.
Motion: A motion was made by Selectman Bear, seconded by Selectman Jespersen and voted unanimously to table until the November 25, 2014 Board of Selectmen Meeting, the request for a New Business License for John DesOrmeaux/personal training @ 89 Hanover Street. The applicant was not in attendance and therefore unavailable for questions.
Minutes:
Motion: A motion was made by Selectman Bear, seconded by Selectman Jespersen and voted unanimously to accept the minutes of the October 14, 2014 meeting as presented.
Banner Request:
Motion: A motion was made by Selectman Bear, seconded by Selectman Jespersen and voted unanimously to approve the request made by the Newburyport Choral Society for a banner on the back stop at Newbury Upper Green, Friday, November 28th through Sunday, December 14th, 2014.
Communications:
All correspondence was reviewed
Motion: At 7:30 p.m., a motion was made by Selectman Jespersen, seconded by Selectman Bear and voted unanimously to open the Public Hearing for the Boreggo Solar Special Permit Application for 136 Main Street.
Motion: A motion was made by Selectman Jespersen, seconded by Selectman Bear and voted unanimously to continue the Public Hearing for the Boreggo Solar Special Permit Application for 136 Main Street until the November 25, 2014 Board of Selectmen Meeting at 7:30 p.m.
Board and Committee Reports: The Municipal Building Committee submitted the Building Assessment Report for the Town of Newbury’s Police Department and Town Offices to the Board of Selectmen. The Committee also presented to the Town’s Finance Committee and Capital Planning Committee, a presentation of the work that has been completed to date to propose a solution to the facility issues at the Police Station and Town Hall. The goals of the presentation were to come to a joint understanding on each project component; scope, cost, site, and schedule of the project and to come to a consensus on a single option to be studied for presentation to the Town’s residents for preliminary design and engineering by a design professional.
Options in the presentation included:
Option A – New Town Hall & New Police Station on the Existing Town Hall Site
Option B – New Police Station – Somewhere in Town
Option B1 – New Police Station – Governors Academy site Rt-1 with Town Hall Renovation
Option B2 – New Police Station – Boston Road – Town Forest with Town Hall renovation (Note: Massachusetts Title V Certified Soil Evaluator, Alex F. Parker, conducted perc tests at the Town Forest which failed)
Option C – New Police Station @ High Road – Town Hall moves to another location, TBD
Option D – Renovated Town Hall with New Addition and Renovated Police Station with New Addition
Option E – Public Safety Complex, Combined Police & Fire
During the discussion John Weis, Chairman of the Planning Board, confirmed that the Planning Board recommended the historic central location of the Upper Green as the central location for government services.
Following the presentation and discussion, a motion was made by Selectman Walker for a straw vote on the following:
Keeping both Police Department and Town Hall government services together.
The motion passed with a unanimous vote, 19 – 0, of all boards and committee members present.
Renovation of existing Police Department and Town Hall or new construction of a combined facility. The motion passed with a unanimous vote by all boards and committee members present, 19 – 0, for building a new, combined facility.
At the end of the meeting, Eric Svahn summarized the straw votes taken and confirmed the votes for new construction and a combined Police Department and Town Hall facility. He asked those in attendance to indicate support for further evaluation of the current Town Hall and Governor’s Academy sites and further possible sites in the area of Route 1. A follow up meeting for joint boards and committees during the Board of Selectmen Meeting of December 9th was scheduled, at which time further information will be presented regarding sites under consideration and any added sites that are identified.
Meeting adjourned at 9:31 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Ellen Jameson
Administrative Assistant
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