Norwell Board of Selectmen’s Meeting
February 7, 2001
David Mayers was present at the 7:00 PM portion of the meeting to ask the Board to consider honoring Al Gunderway in some way. He feels Al served the town well as a Water Commissioner, Police Officer and Fire Fighter and the town owes him.
The Board will take the suggestion under advisement, asking for input from other departments. They continued the discussion to the end of February.
Mr. Merritt opened the meeting noting Mr. Truesdell was not present and asking for any changes to the agenda. There being none, a motion was made to accept the agenda as written.
Natalie Sheard from the YMCA was present to request the Town donate the Skate Park to the Y. She feels the Y is the logical place for the program because they have the experience, insurance and space. She had a visual presentation.
Mr. Merritt stated from the comments he’s been hearing around town are in support of this idea. He was wondering if the Norwell youth would benefit from this.
John Mariano asked what considerations the townspeople who were so instrumental in getting this going would receive.
Ms. Sheard said they would come to an amenable agreement for all parties concerned. Her hopes are to break ground on the new addition and have the skate park up and running for the summer. They have a donor who would be willing to move the equipment.
The Board advised her they would discuss it further amongst themselves and get back to her quickly. Barring something they haven’t heard yet, it should be a go.
Jason Pithie was next on the agenda to discuss his application to serve on the Advisory Board. He grew up in Norwell and graduated in 1990. He has a BA from Hamilton College. He attended Suffolk Law and is now an attorney in Hingham. His grandfather was a selectmen in Weymouth for many years. He would like to give back to the town.
John Mariano said serving on the Advisory Board is definitely getting a broad perspective of the town. It takes a lot of time and understanding of all the other boards. Having a long term association with the town would give him a broader perspective and make him a great asset.
Rick Merritt agreed, but would like to have the application reviewed by the Chair, David Truesdell. The vote will be on next week’s agenda.
Jill O’Loughlin, a Recreation Commission applicant was next on the agenda. She has been a resident for three years. She wants to get involved and chose Rec because she has children.
John and Rick were in favor of appointing her, but again, would like input from David. It will be put on the agenda for next week.
Nancy Pitrowski was next, who is the Insurance Advisory Committee applicant. She has been in town since 1971 and is rising three children here. She has always been interested in politics and would like to get involved. She has a degree in Nursing and thinks the Insurance Advisory Committee would be a good fit.
John Mariano thought it would be a good fit for the Advisory Board as well, especially because Ms. Pitrowski has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration.
Again, this vote was put on hold until next week when Mr. Truesdell could be present.
The Board, sticking to the original schedule, closed the Warrant.
MOTION: John Mariano moved the Board close the warrant for the Special and the Annual Town Meeting to be held on May 14, 2001. Second by Mr. Merritt.
Voted.
Jim Boudreau stated there are presently about 30 articles for the Annual Town Meeting and a half dozen or so for the Special Town Meeting. He also stated that if all the articles pass, the town will be approximately $1.4M over their revenues for next year.
John Mariano said the Advisory Board definitely has a lot of work cut out for them. Fiscal prudence is called for, as we don’t want to get into Prop 2½ overrides or layoffs.
Jim Boudreau said he doesn’t see any layoffs this year. The economy is, however, slowing down and state dollars will be impacted. The Advisory Board is pecking away and we’ll get there.
The Board was going to sign a contract with the Scituate Animal Shelter for the purpose of taking care of stray animals. Jim Boudreau states this is a new venture brought forth by our new Animal Control Officer, Paul Murphy, who is doing a fantastic job. The policy we have now with a private shelter is costing a lot of money. Paul is convinced the quality of care in Scituate is exceptional. They keep the Boarding Fees and they remit the Citation Fees back to us.
MOTION: John Mariano moved the Board enter into a contract with Scituate Animal Shelter to provide Boarding Services to the Town of Norwell. Second by Rick Merritt.
Voted.
The request from Bay State Gas for a Road Opening Permit to install gas service into 258 Grove Street (Lot 1B) for Goscon, Inc. (Dig Safe #2001020324.) also had to be tabled until next week due to lack of a quorum. (John Mariano cannot vote on Bay State Gas issues as it is a conflict of interest.)
The Board noted they have an appointment with Standard & Poors and our Financial Advisors next week and are trying to get their Bond Rating upgraded. A quarter of a percent or a half of percent on $54M is pretty significant and Jim Boudreau has worked hard to bring this upgrade to fruition.
MOTION: John Mariano moved the Board go into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing Contract Negotiations not to return to Open Session. Second by Rick Merritt.
Mr. Merritt polled the Board; Mr. Mariano, yes; Mr. Merritt, yes.
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James M. Boudreau, Town Administrator
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