Town of Princeton, Mass.
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
November 19, 2012
The meeting was called to order at 5:15 PM in the Town Hall Annex. Present were Chairman Edith Morgan, Stan Moss, Neil Sulmasy and Town Administrator John Lebeaux.
FY13 Warrant #10 The Board reviewed and signed the FY’13 #10 payroll and vendor warrants from the Treasurer and Accountant.
Minutes Selectmen voted all in favor to approve regular meeting minutes from Nov. 5; all in favor to approve minutes of two executive sessions from Nov. 5 and all in favor to accept minutes from a joint meeting at the Princeton Land Trust Annual Meeting on Nov. 13.
Dissolve Capital Improvement Planning Committee The board discussed the Capital Improvement Planning Committee and whether it needed to continue. Members have dropped off; it was noted that the Advisory Board can handle that function, and Stan said that was true historically. Edith said there are so few capital projects, that keeping it a separate duty may not be helpful. The board voted all in favor to dissolve the committee and task the Advisory Committee with the capital improvement planning process.
Town Administrator Performance Review With a performance review of town administrator due, each member was to submit any evaluation templates or tools to Edie, who will consolidate or create a summary of the evaluations and forward to the Admin. Assist. who will distribute the summary to the whole board.
TP School Green Project John reported all work at Thomas Prince School is done, but there will be future air and surface testing. The skylight replacement project at the library is still underway.
Central Mass. Regional Stormwater Coalition John described the coalition, which started with 13 area communities and expanded to 23 with 10 more joining recently. The goal is to study surface and ground water status and devise solutions and look at regional stormwater management. The group had secured a grant for $310,000 for consulting and is applying for a second grant. All towns within the region are invited to join the coalition—more participation will strengthen the grant application. Larry Pistrang who works for DCR said there is no cost to the town advised the town administrator that Princeton should join. Since this is a growing effort on both federal and state levels, more community involvement is inevitable, noted Edith. John added that stormwater management is becoming a utility in some towns, charged to
residents as a fee. The board voted all in favor to join the coalition and support cooperative efforts to manage stormwater.
Robert Johnson Stan announced that Robert Johnson died recently at age 84, and that he had been in numerous town positions and committees, including animal control officer, Cemetery Committee, Board of Health and others. Stan and Edith reported having attended the Friends of Mechanics Hall reception on Nov. 15 and stated it was a successful event.
Broadband Committee Stan reported that the newly-formed Broadband Committee will meet sometime in the week after Thanksgiving.
6 PM Scheduled Meetings & Hearings – Agricultural Commission Walter Gowey and John Mirick were in to report for the commission. They described some successful events and activities, including a workshop on (livestock) parasite control, participating in HeyDay at Wachusett meadows and the first “Farm Day” the group organized in 2011, where kids and families had close-up, hands-on opportunities such as wool shearing and egg-gathering. The next Farm Day will be May 4, 2013, as the group is planning the event for alternating years.
John Mirick discussed four years of farmers markets in the past and their struggle to continue—one issue may be lack of produce grown in town. Suggestions were made for better attendance, such as siting it at busier locale such as Post Office Place on Saturdays. Some towns have “Right To Farm Community” sign on the town line, but signage is not consistent. John also gave an update on the American Chestnut blight project.
6:30 PM Executive Session -- Personnel matters – Fire Chief. Stan made motion to enter into Executive Session pursuant to MGL Chapter 30A, Section 21(2), to conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with non-union personnel and not to reconvene into open session. Edith seconded the motion. Stan voted yes, Neil voted yes and Edith voted yes in a roll call vote.
Respectfully Submitted,
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Marie Auger, Administrative Assistant
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