Town of Princeton, Mass. – Feb. 22, 2016 – 5 PM
BOARD OF SELECTMEN – Mtg. Minutes
5 PM Meeting was called to order at the Town Hall Annex. Present were Chairman Edith Morgan, Jon Fudeman, Stan Moss with T.A. Nina Nazarian
Considered appointments:\ and voted all in favor to appoint: Dix Davis on Princeton Center Mgmt. Cmte. for one-year term to June 30, 2016; Bill Andrysick on Council on Aging for a three-year term to June 30, 2018 (to stagger)
Noted and accepted retirement announcement of Principal Assessor James Smith effective Dec. 31, 2016. Discussed how this leaves openings for both a chief assessor and an IT person.
Residents of Merriam Road (and nearby) forwarded a letter expressing their concerns about increasing incidents of excessive speed and extra traffic—possibly increased owing to GPS units in cars. Nina N. will forward letter to highway superintendent and police chief for their recommendations as to solutions.
5:10 PM Discussed using CodeRed for none-emergency notifications such as town meetings/elections or other municipal announcements. Wheeler Road resident Don Steadman spoke out against using CodeRed for anything besides emergencies. No action was taken.
5:25 PM Board of Health members were in: Greg Dowdy, Bob Mason and Jim Hillis. Discussion began with TP School issues including the water heater and flooring which involves (non-friable) asbestos. Nina described problems with the lease and maintenance protocols. Jim H. reported that the school staff have not been forthcoming when they had equipment failures, such as the water heater which failed, and this is a public health concern. Jim also outlined typical tasks of the BOH, mainly septic systems design approvals. The group noted that BOH is in a perennial logjam with Conservation Commission over septic installations. The Wetlands Protection Act rules sometimes trump septic design plans which have been approved by BOH. Ideally the two boards would work together on submitted plans. Selectmen offered to look into
it.
Stan M. acknowledged the efforts of BOH members and staff
5:45 PM – All seven members of the Advisory Board were in attendance to share info on Warrant Articles/Capital Requests/Budget Requests. Nina and Jim D. distributed department budgets and spreadsheets and Jim went over line items. Police Chief Michele Powers was in to discuss her FY17 Operating Budget/Capital and explained how the vehicles are in rotation for on-duty use, backup use and new acquisition (lease). Department has five vehicles. George Handy from Adv. Bd. Wanted some salary detail forwarded to him. Group discussed remaining debt service on several projects and noted that the broadband initiative may double the debt service in one year. Question from Adv. Board about PMLD debt, but town has no authority over the commission’s budget.
6:15 PM Group discussed employee retirement, town liability insurance and health insurance. Jon F. requested numbers regarding the “burden” as a percentage of employee costs—Jim D. will forward figures to both boards.
6:30 PM Michele P. reported level-funding for her department except for 2 percent raises for union personnel. George Handy wants to see police contracts with step increases. Group discussed cost savings from regional police dispatch that is not as great as initially estimated. Question arose about inter-municipal agreement for dispatch center and if it offers Princeton any control over costs.
6:45 PM Fire Chief John Bennett came in for his Fire Department FY17 Operating Budget/Capital. He oversees four separate budgets, all level-funded except Ambulance Expense budget because supplies have risen in price—Epi-Pen @ $700/each, for an example. George H. wants wage rates of FD part-time staff and wants to see ambulance receipts and payables.
John B. reported that roof at Station 2 is original to 1983 and water infiltrates, soaking rear interior wall-- he wants to replace it with a long-life metal roof. An assessment was done in 2006 but no follow-up.
7 PM – Facilities Planning Committee was in for an update and distributed an interim report. Phil Mighdoll and Chris Conway reported on brick and mortar problems at Bagg Hall, and chimney ready to crumble above roof line, because of incorrect venting of heat system--as furnace exhaust dumps into chimney directly, and it’s single layer of brick. This causes condensation problems with mortar deteriorating. High priority issues, besides the chimney, are Princeton Center fire alarms—town buildings are not wired to public safety. The FPC report suggests various locations for town office space, such as upstairs in Bagg Hall or in the TH Annex.
The report states a new public safety building is needed. The FPC members note they must pair practical needs with retaining culture and history. See need to keep Princeton Center from deteriorating. Senior Center could be in other locations. First three projects recommended, by priority, are Bagg Hall; public safety building and Princeton Center. Advisory Board noted that there’s a cost to decommissioning or demolishing any building and also a cost for doing nothing. Edith stated next step is hiring an architect to develop schematics. FPC said there are still a few hours of work pending from HKT, the facilities consultant.
Consensus was that Bagg Hall must get started first, and may be all the town can afford for a few years. The FPC is meeting at Princeton Center on March 1 at 7 PM.
8:20 PM Selectmen then moved onto Berube Food Trailer at Mechanics Hall, with Bob and Deb Berube in attendance. The lot is 13,500 sq.ft. and Jon F. noted possible issues with zoning and multiple uses per lot, on a non-conforming lot. Board considered granting approval of the operation parking at that site, conditional upon the applicant meeting all other regulations and permits.
Selectmen voted all in favor to take no action pending advice from town counsel regarding conditional approval.
8:40 PM Larry Pistrang was in for Friends of Mechanic’s Hall. He said studies over the years have deemed the building structurally sound, but don’t have a structural engineer’s stamp. They would like to get permitted for potential construction and need an architect or engineer. Fundraising is ongoing and will be used for initial engineering, with no intention of asking the town for funding. They envision reuse as a community center with possible rental of office space as revenue source. Selectmen noted that parking, water and Title V are major constraints.
9 PM Selectmen voted all in favor to appoint all election officers as listed with terms to end 7/27/16: Stacey A. Belculfini- 16 Gleason Rd.; Priscilla Hatch - 338 Mirick Rd.; Jennifer A. Hilton - 92 Mountain Rd. and Alex Sweeney – 136 E. Princeton Rd.
Selectmen voted to approve minutes for Feb. 1 & 8 (both with Exec. Sess. not to release), and Feb. 9th and they signed Warrants FY’16 – 17
9:10 PM BOS voted all in favor to adjourn.
Respectfully submitted, Marie N. Auger, administrative assistant
BOS Referenced Documents: Department budgets and spreadsheets; Facilities Planning Committee Interim Report; letters from Assessor James Smith and Merriam Road residents
Marie Auger
Administrative Assistant
Planning Department
978-464-2100
| 
