Town of Princeton, MA
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
Regular Meeting
March 2, 2009
The meeting was called to order at 5:20 PM. Present were Chairman Raymond Dennehy, Joe O’Brien and Alan Sentkowski.
The Board met with department heads and Town Hall employees earlier today and talked about the sudden and unexpected loss of Town Administrator Dennis Rindone. Dennis meant so much to the community and his contributions were immeasurable. Dennis will be deeply missed by everyone. A memorial service will be held in the coming weeks.
FY09 Warrant #18
The Board reviewed and signed the payroll and vendor warrants from the Treasurer & Accountant.
Minutes
February 17, 2009 Regular Meeting – Joe made a motion to accept the minutes. Raymond seconded. All in favor (2-0). Alan was briefly unavailable.
February 17, 2009 Executive Session Minutes – Joe made a motion to accept the minutes to be released at this time. Raymond seconded. All in favor (2-0). Alan was briefly unavailable.
Dog Bylaw Discussion
The Board will discuss the proposed bylaw with Lynne Grettum and Louis Masa at the next meeting.
Montagna vs. Town of Princeton Clarification of Order released
Joe explained that the Board voted to appeal the order of the Court Magistrate to better understand the process and how to proceed going forward. Gary Brackett will provide information from the Court Magistrate to further explain the court’s opinion and will be discuss further at the next meeting.
Joe addressed concerns about tax money being spent by the town and explained that Mr. Montagna is the one who chose to appeal the Decision.
Ambulance Abatement Report
Ray LaPorte was present for the discussion. The Board reviewed the report from Coastal Medical Billing and would like clarification. They will meet with a representative from Coastal Medical Billing.
Joe made a motion to abate $14,038.33 per the request of the Fire Chief. Alan seconded. All in favor (3-0).
Hearts for Heat & Trustee of Trust Funds
Phil Mighdoll was present for the discussion. The Board reviewed the Trust Fund document, which sets guidelines for Hearts for Heat to become a Trust. The document was reviewed by Town Counsel and must be accepted by the Board.
Alan moved to accept the creation of the Trust Fund for the Princeton Chapter of Hearts for Heat as described in the document entitled “Trust Fund for the Princeton Chapter of Hearts for Heat”, and to be administered by the Trustee of Trust Funds. Joe seconded. All in favor (3-0).
250th Celebration Funding Discussion
Phil Mighdoll informed the Board of a cash flow problem with the 250th Celebration Account. Revenue received from the sale of memorabilia is going into the general fund since the 250th account is not set up to receive revenue. All expenses are coming out of the 250th account. There is a concern that some funds will not be available. The Town Accountant will be asked for her opinion. There was discussion about placing an account transfer on a warrant article.
FY08 Ice Storm Update
Joe, Dennis, Jon Fitch and Wendy Graves met with the Emergency Management and Finance Board last week. A request was made to go forward with town meeting action to extend the current note of $4 million for two years and to authorize borrowing of up to 5.2 million. The request was approved and the town has the authority of the DOR to borrow on an emergency basis.
There was discussion about moving forward with a debt exclusion question at the ATM, or seeking special legislation to allow the emergency borrowing which would be exempt from proposition 2 ½. The borrowing is for bills to be paid until the FEMA money is received.
Joe Lee has been hired to do an inventory of damage to town property and roads. He will work with Jon Fitch to prepare information for the March 26th FEMA deadline. A pre-bid conference will be held on March 17th.
March 10, 2009 - Special Town Meeting Articles
Motions for the STM will be divided among the Selectmen.
HPT Waste Reduction Task Force Update
The committee will meet with the two haulers recently selected and make a recommendation. Alan will work with the Terri.
DOR Certification Recommendations for the Board of Assessors
Raymond will work with the Board of Assessors.
VTH- New Town Website
The new launch date is March 11, 2009. Users were trained on Friday, February 27 and everything is now ready to go.
Hayfields Lease
The Board reviewed the RFP with Dave Caporello at the last meeting. Dave will continue to work on it.
Board of Selectmen – Advisory Board – CIP
The Board met with the Advisory Board and the CIP. Building Maintenance funding was discussed. The Select Board strongly supports the upkeep of property and funding of emergencies. They would like to see a line item in the budget at an acceptable level.
Alan moved to form a FY09/FY10 budget committee to consist of Joe O’Brien, Stan Moss, Terry Hart and an interim administrator, to be appointed by the BOS. Raymond seconded. All in favor (3-0).
Budget Steering Committee Appointments
Alan moved to appoint Joe O’Brien, Stan Moss and Terry Hart to serve on the Budget Steering Committee. Raymond seconded. All in favor (3-0).
The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 pm. All were in favor (3-0).
Respectfully Submitted,
__________________
Brenda Savoie
Administrative Secretary
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