Town of Princeton, Mass.
BOARD OF SELECTMEN --- March 25, 2013
Open Meeting
6:00 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 Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School District representatives came in to explain their 2014 Educational Plan & Budget and their request for Annual Town Meeting warrant article to establish a stabilization fund. They included Supt.-Dir. Steve Sharek, Bus. Mgr. Tammy Lajoie, the Princeton School Committee member John Mollica and school committee VP Barbara Reynolds. Ms. Lajoie summarized the 2014 plan and pointed out recent accomplishments at the school—Monty Tech place 2nd in the nation out of 400 competing at the national finals in Maryland for the Jr. ROTC Cyber Patriots Team, which investigates cyber crime. She also noted that Princeton’s contribution to the school budget will go down by about $20,000 this year since an “equity component” of the formula that the state uses
has been fully phased in.
Mr. Sharek explained why the school wants to start a stabilization account. It would be for capital expenditures only, and require a 2/3 vote of the school committee to add or withdraw funds from it. The goal would be to avoid extra assessments to member communities for maintenance or emergency capital needs. Stan M. noted that it seemed to be the same thing as the existing E&D (excess & deficiency) account and Starek agreed, but noted that the E&D has a 5 percent (of revenue) cap and a stabilization fund would not. The selectmen said they would take the request for a warrant article under advisement.
6:45 PM Planning Board members Ann Neuburg, Tom Daly and John Mirick came in to explain the PB’s budget request for town meeting warrant. Tom submitted a breakdown of costs for a consultant from CMRPC to provide technical help in crafting a zoning bylaw for the Worcester Road village district, if necessary. The board is using reports from 2012 that were done by a CMRPC planner to conduct a series of public meetings during the next several months. The total request is for $3,000—the maximum that could be spent, although the results of the project could find that no zoning changes are
called for and the funding may return to the general fund. John M. reported that a final decision should be reached by mid-October. Edith M. said the selectmen would take the request under advisement.
6:52 PM Friends of Mechanics Hall came in to explain a grant they want to pursue and submit a Mass. Historic Commission Emergency Fund Application. Attending were Phil and Sheila Mighdoll with Alex and Marc Fiandaca. To receive grant funds, , a “preservation restriction agreement” would need to be recorded on Mechanics Hall. To start, they need a letter of intent from the selectmen that states that should the grant be awarded an article will go on the town meeting warrant for the preservation restriction, which requires town vote. John L. read the text of the preservation restriction from Mass. Historic that stated that the town would be obligated to maintain the building, going forward. The Friends insisted that only upgrades purchased with the grant money (such as new windows) would be mandated for town maintenance, not
the whole building. John L. could not find any verbiage to that effect in the document and asked that Alex get that caveat in writing from Mass. Historic. It had already been determined that the text in the restriction document could not be customized or altered in any way.
There was some discussion about the history of the Friends and the Underused Assets Committee and John L. pointed out that the record shows that the selectmen never wanted to take on any financial responsibility for Mechanics Hall. Phil said that the town owns this building and town officials have been negligent and asked what can be done to keep Mechanics Hall from disintegrating. Edie pointed out that the town can neglect anything it wants and had neglected the roads for years until it decided to aggressively improve them. Selectmen stated several times that other functioning properties such as Town Hall, public safety buildings and the library must have priority for maintenance and spending town funds. Phil reported that his group has received some professional assessments for contractors’ work that came up with a figure of $350,000. Alex noted that a $50,000 grant would replace windows and sills that are rotting. The Friends would like to rehab the building and give it
back to the town. Edith said the town wants to give the building to the Friends.
Neil S. noted that selectmen just finished a $500,000 window replacement at Thomas Prince School which cost much more than anticipated because of PCB issues. He insisted that the lack of immediate action by the Board on Mechanics Hall was not a roadblock for the Friends but an opportunity for discussion and to consider options. He said the group has done a ton of work and it is appreciated. John L. repeated that the Friends have to find out the liability or risk to the town if it adopts a preservation restriction on Mechanics Hall.
7:50 PM Acting Chief John Bennett came in to explain the Fire Department FY 14 Budget and Special Article requests for fire ponds, continued funding toward purchase of a replacement pump for Engine 5 and improvement to the roof at Station 2. He distributed several reports and charts and there was lengthy discussion of the ambulance budget. Mr. Bennett had a “Fire Dept. Assessment” chart comparing the cost per-population of public safety services in surrounding communities and the state average, and it showed Princeton at relatively low levels.
New Business
8:20 PM The selectmen voted all in favor to appoint Greg Dowdy and Louis Massa as the town animal inspectors for the period from May 1, 2013 to April 30, 2014. It was reported that the Board of Health was taking over rabies control duties at no extra expense.
The selectmen voted all in favor to accept and sign a Special State Primary Warrant to be held on Tuesday, April 30 then voted all in favor to approve and sign the Annual Town Election Warrant to be on the same date.
8:25 PM John L. reviewed 30 articles in the initial draft of the Annual Town Meeting Warrant. He reported that he is concerned that the current budget numbers from WRSD and Monty Tech will not hold because they’re keyed to the Governor’s tax proposals that haven’t been through the legislative process.
8:40 PM The Board re-appointed by unanimous vote Claire M. Golding, 86 Hubbardston Rd. to the Board of Registrars. Term to run 04/01/13 - 03/31/16
Old Business
8:42 PM Selectmen voted all in favor to continue the Fire Chief Selection process by appointing the following individuals to a term that expires June 30, 2013: Jon Fudeman, Worcester Road; John Shipman, Mirick Road; Jim Bushway, Ball Hill Road; Bob Sauer, Allen Hill Road; Anne Littlefield, Worcester Road; Police Chief Michele Powers and Town Administrator John Lebeaux.
Stan M. distributed a press release announcing informational meetings by the Broadband Committee.
Warrants and Minutes
8:45 PM The board voted all in favor to approve meeting minutes of March 11, 2013.
The board reviewed and approved FY13 Vendor and Payroll Warrant # 19.
8:50 PM The Board unanimously voted to adjourn.
Respectfully submitted, Marie Auger, administrative assistant
Referenced Documents: Monty Tech 2014 Educational Plan & Budget and sample warrant article; Planning Board consultant cost breakdown; Mass. Historic Commission Emergency Fund Application and preservation restriction; Fire Department budget materials and proposed warrant articles with descriptions, Special State Primary Warrant; Annual Town Election Warrant; draft of the Annual Town Meeting Warrant; Broadband Committee press release.
Marie Auger
Administrative Assistant
Planning Department
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