Town of Princeton, Mass.
BOARD OF SELECTMEN --- March 11, 2013
Open Meeting
6:04 PM The meeting was called to order in the Town Hall Annex. Present were Chairman Edith Morgan, Stan Moss, Neil Sulmasy and Town Administrator John Lebeaux.
Scheduled Meetings and Hearings
6:05 PM Police Chief Powers and Joe Picariello, firearms training officer, were in to explain budget requests for her department. She had submitted a spreadsheet outlining her FY’13 budget that totaled $804,032. A request for firearms training totaled $5,681.12 and she explained the MPTC mandated firearms training for all part-time and full-time officers. She requested a separate line item for training. Another item under Capital Improvement was a request for $4,000 for scheduled replacement of firearms. With many rounds used during training, the current hand gun inventory is 10 – 15 years old and units are starting to fail from stress. Newer 45-caliber models from M&P are lighter and cost less per unit at $500 each. She submitted a list of Smith & Wesson 40-caliber
trade-ins totaling $6,045. Chief Powers also explained that her department uses a three-year cycle to replace vehicles, and a new cruiser is scheduled for purchase in 2014 at $39,000 to replace a 2010 model. Selectmen said they would take the requests under advisement.
6:40 PM Cemetery Commissioners had two warrant article requests, outlined by chairman Lou Trostel. They need to transfer funds from lot sales into the operating account—these funds can only be used too improve existing cemeteries or buy more land, and the transfer requires Town Meeting approval. The second request is for an amount up to $3,000 for vehicle repair. Commissioners described their budget, expenses and salaries and it was reported that there are two vacancies on the commission. Stan M. announced that the selectmen would take the requests under advisement.
6:45 PM Underutilized Assets Committee members Phil Mighdoll, Larry Deblois and Dave Krashes came in and outlined a potential plan for selling three buildable lots which the town owns—two on Mountain Road and one on Hubbardston Road. There are also several isolated slivers of land around town that could be sold to abutters. They discussed the need for funding to 1) get appraisals; 2) survey and stake boundary lines and; 3) do perc. testing. Estimates for all three tasks could be up to $3,000 per lot, and they suggested that the selectmen must decide what to do, and whether to do all three steps or just the first. Edith M. stated that she was not sure it is a good time to sell and Stan M. noted that the cost estimates seemed high.
Dave Cruise from the Advisory Board distributed a chart illustrating housing starts [nationwide] which showed an upswing in activity since the bottom-out in Jan. 2009, but the current level was still essentially below the totals for every year since 1968, when the chart’s data collection began. The group discussed the pros and cons of spending town funds to make lots more marketable as opposed to selling raw land “as is.” John L. announced that after discussing the issue with town counsel, he found that MGL Chapter 30B requires that town-owned assets valued over $25,000 must be disposed of by auction or sealed bid, and not through a realtor. He noted that the committee’s report was very
comprehensive with full descriptions, maps and deeds, and it will be available whenever town officials choose to move forward.
Old Business
7:40 PM The Broadband Committee chair Steve Cullen reported that the group is starting to document utility poles using volunteer labor, to save about $50,000 in consulting costs. They will take GPS readings and photos of each pole in town and input the info into CAD software. The info could become a map layer in the town’s GIS system. Member John Kowaleski has already sampled several roads and estimates the whole town inventory will require 150 – 200 man-hours. This effort could cut down the time frame for the whole project by two-three months. Stan M. reported that the online survey has gotten a 29 percent response—showing an “incredible” amount of interest. Solicitation of residents to take the survey was made with a postcard mailing to every address in town.
New Business
8:00 PM The board voted all in favor to approve and sign a letter to CMRPC supporting East Princeton/Route 140 project. They also voted all in favor to approve and sign a letter to the Open Space Committee supporting the completed Open Space and Recreation Plan Update-December 2012.
Glen Lyons requested approval for deficit spending if the need arises for more road treatment materials and selectmen voted all in favor to allow potential future spending on salt/sand.
The Advisory Board and BOS discussed Chapter 70 funding for education and decided to use the figure from last year for the school district budget warrant article. The selectmen and advisory board also has some discussion about the status of a forensic audit for WRSD.
8:10 PM John L. had an update on a Community Innovation Challenge Grant for Stormwater Management. It was originally presented at no cost to towns, but was only partially funded and the coalition was now asking cities/towns to contribute $2,830 each [equally]. Only large communities were mandated to implement the stormwater requirements—this didn’t include Princeton, and John said he’s received advice that spending the money may not be of value to the town. If the town participates, it’s not a financial commitment until FY’14. Neil S. asked if participation would possibly benefit the Route 140/East Princeton project and John L. said he’d look into it.
Warrants and Minutes
8:20 PM The board review and approved FY13 Vendor and Payroll Warrant # 18.
The board voted all in favor to approve meeting minutes of February 25 and March 4, 2013.
8:36 PM
The Board unanimously voted to adjourn.
Respectfully submitted, Marie Auger, administrative assistant
Referenced Documents: Police Department budget materials and proposed warrant articles with descriptions, Cemetery Commission budget materials and proposed warrant articles with descriptions, Underutilized Town Assets Committee plan and budget estimates with descriptions, letter supporting Route 140 project for CMRPC, letter supporting Open Space and Recreation Plan Update-December 2012, Chart with graph of housing starts since 1968.
Marie Auger
Administrative Assistant
Planning Department
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