Town of Princeton, Mass. – November 14, 2016 – 5:15 PM
BOARD OF SELECTMEN – Regular Meeting Minutes
Chairman Stan Moss, Edith Morgan and Jon Fudeman present and TA Nina Nazarian.
5:37 PM Stan opened meeting in the Town Hall Annex. Mark Ayotte was in with his local technician Chris Roberts. He distributed a map of the WiFi poles in town that indicated certain upgrades that are planned. The poles are being consolidated as some only service 2 or 3 households and 10 is the baseline; Mark noted that locations had not been planned well, originally. He reported that there is more capacity now with larger antenna on the mountain. Edith asked about prices for hi-speed business internet and Mark stated $99 - $299 depending on volume. He said he welcomed competition and added that wire delivery is becoming obsolete as all internet will likely be over the air (cellular) in 5-10 years.
5:55 PM Linda Farineau was in with her husband Henry. She is the applicant chosen for the COA director/Princeton Center Manager position. She discussed her career path and love for working with elderly clients. She has worked for past seven years at Corcoran House (assisted living) in Clinton. She was impressed with the COA board members.
6:07 PM Michael Crowley was in to speak about his qualifications for the Parks & Rec Commission seat. He has been a caretaker at Audubon for six years and works seasonally for DCR at the state park. He is active in all outdoor sports and wants to promote after-school activities.
6:14 PM Group discussed assessors software and agreed on the iasWORLD that Assessors and Nina recommend. The Board of Assessors will be signing a Memorandum of Understanding to move forward.
6:20 PM Mark Fiandaca was in for Friends of Mechanics Hall. He said that the group spent their entire budget on a professional architect’s report and is requesting that any inspection—now being planned—by the building inspector and fire inspector be held after release of their report. Jon F. noted that the building holds no value for the town; Edith pointed out the lack of a septic system and a well that’s shared with Townline Garage. It has been declared uninhabitable and cannot be used. Mark insisted his group wants the town to own the building and use it.
Group went over correspondence. Nina is meeting with a vendor for a fire protection system at Princeton Center. She is waiting for proposals from HR consulting firms for a classification & compensation study—town has set aside $5,000. Nina provided Financial Team updates, including the schedule for the Audit, which is earlier than last year, the completed Balance Sheet, Tax Rate Recap, and Schedule A, indicating that significant effort has been put forth to get these documents completed sooner than later. Stan praised efforts of financial team in dealing with DOR. Tax rate is now set at $17.78.
6:30 PM Nina reported on her meeting with MBI and what they’d require for the $920,000 grant. She has drafted a letter that explains work the town has already done and steps planned for progress of broadband construction and potential exemption from: MBI requirements that could delay the project. Stan pointed out that he’s seen nothing in writing about a requirement by MBI for an RFP from 41 underserved towns. Selectmen are considering asking the state for a waiver from this. Jon suggested adding the wording “without prejudice” be added to the waiver request.
Cable franchises are depending on the grant providing ‘construction allocation funds” in order to enable servicing small towns which lack density (profit margin). Some cable providers have received MBI funding to extend their service into several western Mass. towns at $3-4,000 per household. She is meeting with MBI director Peter Larkin this week. There are three letters that will be forwarded to MBI at Nina’s discretion—if needed. Besides the waiver draft another notes pole upgrade work the town completed valued at $60,000 with volunteer efforts and another describing “over-lash” and the funds the town could have saved if this had been avoided. All agreed it was essential to get every communication from MBI.
7:15 PM Group discussed budget sheets and Nina noted the seemingly-low figure of $17,000 allocated for IT. This may be because IT costs are spread around almost all departments she pointed out. Nina will pull a list of the most pressing needs for building maintenance. Nina presented capital spending items for building repair that need review by BOS. Figures were loose estimates from department heads.
Selectmen signed warrants and will vote on Tuesday on pending actions and minutes.
7:30 PM Voted all in favor to adjourn.
Respectfully submitted, Marie Auger, administrative assistant
BOS Referenced Documents: Draft budget and capital sheets; estimates on capital spending; application materials from Linda Farineau; proposed letters to MBI; maps of the WiFi poles.
Marie Auger
Administrative Assistant
Planning Department
978-464-2100
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