Town of Princeton, Mass. – April 4, 2016 – 4 PM
BOARD OF SELECTMEN – Regular Mtg. Minutes
4:05 PM Meeting was called to order at the Town Hall Annex. Present were Chairman Edith Morgan, Stan Moss with Jon Fudeman absent, also T.A. Nina Nazarian plus Advisory Board members after 5:30 PM with George Handy, John Shipman, Wayne Adams, David Cruise, Bill Lawton and Jim O’Coin in attendance.
4:08 PM Selectmen went into executive session. Selectmen voted to enter into executive session to discuss salaries for non-union personnel, and reconvene into open session. Stan M. made a motion: “I move to enter into Executive Session pursuant to MGL Chapter 30, Section 21, to discuss town employee salaries and not to reconvene into open session” and Edith M. seconded the motion. Edith M. called for a vote and in roll call Edith voted “Aye” and Stan voted “Aye.”
See separate Executive Session minutes
5:35 PM Selectmen returned to regular session after adjourning from executive session. They voted all in favor to appoint Craig Boissoneau as Truck Driver/Heavy Equipment Operator for the DPW effective as of March 28, 2016. They also voted all in favor to appoint Fawne Russell as part-time police officer, who came in with Chief Powers and family members.
5:45 PM Alex Sweeney will be leaving his intern position with the town shortly and returning to school in Germany. Nina reported that he has been as helpful as professional staff would be and Stan read a list of several projects he’s completed during his 2 ½ month stint. Selectmen voted all in favor to appoint him as “special assistant to the town administrator” for the period from Jan. 20 – April 14, 2016.
Alex presented a Town Hall Annex Policy he had drawn up, which selectmen have been reviewing. It called for replacing locks and distributing new keys and defined a list of who may use the annex and who will hold keys. Also, a means of signing out keys and returning them with drop-box capability. Selectmen voted all in favor to adopt the policy as presented with the provision that it may be revised as needed.
5:55 PM Nina reported that the first choice for hiring an accountant declined the job offer, so the 2nd choice will be contacted. Selectmen voted all in favor to expend funds for posting or publishing additional ads if that becomes necessary. They also voted all in favor to authorize use of funds for the Fire Dept. defibrillators and for town administrator to sign the contract for same.
6:05 PM Nina reported that MBI has asked about the town communicating with Comcast and Stan proposed setting up a joint meeting at the MBI office in Westboro. The board voted all in favor to forward a written message to Comcast, to include the following points: the selectmen approached Comcast in January 2014 but never received a response; the make-ready funding was delegated only for town infrastructure upgrades and not, according to bond counsel, to support a private entity; town officials want a fiber network with the ability to service every premise in town and be completed by April of 2018; small (tube) dark fiber should be available for municipal use; and, a letter of intent must be in selectmen’s hands by the end of April.
6:05 PM Selectmen voted all in favor to approve the requested bicycle road race for Saturday, May 7th, contingent upon the requirements listed by both the Fire Chief and Police Chief being met.
6:10 PM Advisory Board started discussion on budget for May ATM with focus on Police Dept. and a request for clarification of the vehicle rotation schedule. Group discussed police vehicles and leveling out purchase/replacements so they could be staggered to one vehicle each year. To change the rotation it had been recommended to put off this year’s proposed purchase. George noted that none of the vehicles are used up enough to need replacement this year. Nina reported that the police chief was willing to put off replacing her SUV and see if maintenance costs increase next year. Group decided to put item on the agenda for next week and get the chief in to discuss.
Returning to the Budget Workbook, group discussed confusion regarding levy limits and levy capacity and Nina agreed to forward a comprehensive explanation of the issue in a publication about Prop. 2 ½ to Advisory Board members and BOS.
6:30 PM Discussion followed about spending money on town buildings, with Jim O. suggesting immediate repair of Bagg Hall chimney and brick re-pointing rather than a complete renovation of 2nd floor with elevator. Nina outlined the many deficiencies of Bagg Hall including fire safety, heat loss in winter with no HVAC and non-functional layout. Group discussed costs for engineering and design on the town building repair project as proposed by the Facilities Study Committee, and how modern code requirements and ADA can make renovations cost-prohibitive. Use of grant funding was noted, and other sources including donations. Stan stated that there is a meeting later this week with Facilities members Chris Conway and Steve Mirick and these issues will be a
focus.
George pointed out his concern with town’s debt service rising by 200 percent in past few years, at $370,000 in FY’17. While Princeton’s is under the suggested 8 percent threshold, towns like Rutland are up to 17 percent.
7:10 PM Group then looked at ATM warrant briefly and discussed requests from WRSD to spend $13,000 to expand WiFi at T.P. School. George requested a line-by-line operational budget from WRSD for FY’16.
7:25 PM Nina asked Advisory Board to go through the warrant and get comments to her before the next meeting, which will be Monday, April 11 at 5 PM. The Adv. Board retreated to the small room.
7:30 PM Selectmen voted all in favor to approve minutes from March 21 with exec. session and March 29 with exec. session.
A waiver from DCR was presented that would hasten acquisition of open space land at Fieldstone Farm. Selectmen voted all in favor to sign the form.
7:50 PM Board voted all in favor to adjourn.
Respectfully submitted, Marie N. Auger, administrative assistant
BOS Referenced Documents: Summary of FY17 Budget Requests/Draft Revenue Projections; FY17 Capital Items List; Draft May 10, 2016 ATM Warrant; Town Hall Annex Facility Use Policy; 2016 DCR Wachusett Mountain Bicycle Hill Climb Road Race fact sheet; waiver form from DCR.
Marie Auger
Administrative Assistant
Planning Department
978-464-2100
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