Town of Princeton, Mass. – July 25, 2016 – 5 PM
BOARD OF SELECTMEN – Regular Mtg. Minutes
Chairman Stan Moss, Jon Fudeman and Edith Morgan present along with T.A. Nina Nazarian. In the following actions, all BOS votes were preceded by a motion from Edith M. and second by Stan M. unless noted otherwise.
5:02 PM Stan opened meeting and selectmen signed warrants. Voted all in favor to set Sept. 13 at 7 PM for Special Town Meeting at Heritage Bible Chapel on Brooks Station Road. This STM will present articles from Connecting Princeton and PBMLP for the broadband initiative. They then voted all in favor to set a subsequent Special Town Election for Sept. 22. They reviewed a STM Calendar as well. With Phil O’Brien and Marty Dell’Erba in attendance, selectmen heard that Aug. 30 and Sept. 8th are being considered for public information sessions on broadband and can be finalized the following evening at the PBMLP meeting.
Selectmen discussed issues around broadband vendors such as Matrix, including hurdles associated with state law. One drawback with Matrix is their refusal to install fiber line underground, and that represents 17 percent of home installations, Stan noted. A cable TV provider such as Comcast must deal with BOS while an internet-only provider deals with a MLP, but the fine points of this system need clarification and Nina will look into it. Nina distributed draft minutes of a 2-hour meeting on July 22 with Comcast representatives Alicia Matthews, Tim Kelly and Tim Murnane. Comcast has been working with MBI in other small (underserved) towns recently. Staff has been surveying the town’s utility infrastructure and will have a report from its
engineers in about 30 days, as to whether it’s feasible to install cable in Princeton. The next meeting with Comcast is Aug. 11.
5:20 PM Selectmen considered a request from the PTA at TP School for signs purchased by sponsor businesses (as a fund-raiser) to be installed at sides of the school entrance. They anticipate 20 – 30 signs and placing them on the fence is an option. Selectmen asked Nina to let the PTA know that a fence installation is preferred and that anything along the road or driveway would need OK from police for traffic visibility.
Selectmen voted all in favor to sell four cemetery lots at Woodlawn for a total $2,400, to David and Shirley Asmus of 153 Worcester Road, and they signed the deed. They also voted all in favor to appoint a list of 21 individuals as election officers for terms to July 25, 2017, and voted AIF to sign the warrant for the state primary election.
5;30 PM Nina announced a job posting both internally and externally for a part-time position as Parks & Rec director and a part-time position for director of Council On Aging and manager of Princeton Center. She also presented a letter from WRSD announcing that Shiela Dibb of Rutland was elected as the district’s municipal representative for negotiations.
John Shipman and George Handy were in for the Advisory Committee, which is meeting Aug. 16. They want broadband information prior to the public info meetings on Aug. 30 and Sept. 8. Selectmen or PBMLP agreed to meet with them and the websites were recommended as good starting point for info.
In the T.A. report, Nina noted that Police Dept. Sec. Maureen Lynch was eligible for a $300 longevity payment. The town is waiting for the $450,000 reimbursement from the LAND grant to offset the $600,000 which was borrowed for Fieldstone Farm in December. Nina noted that neighboring towns are asking about sharing some staff and regionalizing duties, to save money. Hubbardston asked about using Princeton’s DPW director and Rutland asked about sharing a Parks & Rec person. No immediate action seems likely.
Phil Mighdoll asked for a meeting on the facilities report but selectmen said that reading it is sufficient. They also discussed the process of capital planning and Jon F. stated that it should be referred to a “debt planning” rather than capital planning—more accurate. Discussion was around who should be responsible, an existing committee, individual or a new committee. John S. offered the services of the Advisory Committee as they will start meeting in October to consider a number of capital items.
5:07: PM Selectmen voted all in favor to accept minutes from July 11 and 14.
6:04 PM Selectmen went into executive session. Stan moved and Jon seconded to go into executive session: in accordance with M.G.L. c. 30A, §21: Exemption Two--Contract negotiation with non-union personnel (fire chief) and Exemption Three—to discuss strategy with respect to litigation, the appeal by Mr. Grettum of the ZBA decision regarding Hubbard Farm. Further, not to reconvene into open session. Edith M. called for a vote and in roll call Edith voted “Aye,” Jon voted “Aye” and Stan voted “Aye.”
See separate Executive Session minutes
7:50 PM Adjourned from Executive Session.
Respectfully submitted, Marie Auger, Admin. Assistant
BOS Referenced Documents: STM calendar, Comcast brochure, PTA request, cemetery deed, list of election officers, state primary warrant, correspondence from Hubbardston on DPW.
Marie Auger
Administrative Assistant
Planning Department
978-464-2100
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