Town of Princeton, Mass., Selectboard Meeting Minutes
April 3, 2019 – 6:00 pm – Town Hall Annex
Present: Chair Richard Bisk, Karen Cruise, Edith Morgan and TA Nina Nazarian
6:01 PM Richy opened the meeting.
Minutes – The board voted unanimously to approve the minutes from March 20, March 21 at 4 PM & 5:30 PM, March 28 and April 2 and approve but not release March 20 Exec. Session minutes.
Public Comment – None
Town Administrator letter of resignation – The board considered a resignation letter from Nina, indicating that her last day was May 15, after ATM, as she has accepted a T.A. position for the Town of Littleton.
ACTION: The Selectboard voted all in favor to accept the resignation letter by Nina Nazarian.
Applications from candidates for the interim T.A. position – The board had reviewed the qualifications of 17 applicants for the interim T.A. position. Names were withheld at this early stage of screening, and the group came to a consensus on five candidates. Some applicants may be applying for the T.A. position, and others are “professional” interims. The board discussed calling the references for each candidate, and Nina offered to supply some standard, sample questions, such as “would you hire this person again?” Richy favored narrowing the field down to three candidates to interview.
Funding a recruitment consultant – The Collins Center will be conducting initial recruitment efforts to find qualified candidates for the T.A. position.
ACTION: The Selectboard voted all in favor to seek a Reserve Fund Transfer for $9,400 and once obtained, to enter into the Professional Services Agreement for the Town Administrator Recruitment with the Collins Center.
Screening Committee Appointments – Individuals selected by the S.B. have agreed to serve on the ad hoc T.A. Screening Committee.
ACTION: Board voted all in favor to appoint Judy Dino, Claire Golding, Anne Littlefield, Joe O’Brien and Kathy Stanley for a through Aug. 31, 2019.
Screen Committee charge 6:30 PM – The board considered a charge for the Screening Cmte. They also discussed holding a joint meeting.
ACTION: The Selectboard voted all in favor to approve the Screening Cmte. charge removing references to the committee being a “search committee”.
Letter to residents about recruiting a T.A. – The board reviewed a communication to town residents explaining the hiring process for a new T.A., and noted a few edits.
ACTION: The Selectboard voted all in favor to accept the amended letter to residents about hiring a T.A.
FY20 Budget: Medical Response / EMS Coverage Budget for Fire Department – A separate warrant article for increased coverage of the Fire Dept. (extending to daytime coverage of Saturdays and Sundays) will be crafted. The separate warrant article would provide for transparency on the subject and would ultimately propose expending coverage from the daytime shift, Monday through Friday to the daytime shift Monday through Sunday. This would be step 1 to increase medical response coverage, consistent with the December 13, 2018 Selectboard meeting. The board likely will discuss EMS weekend coverage at their April 10 meeting with the Advisory Committee.
ACTION: The Selectboard voted all in favor to add a warrant article for the cost of weekend daytime EMS coverage totaling up to $15,600 for salaries and $35,000 in the health insurance line item.
Citizen of the Year – Group discussed options and will soon make a public announcement.
ACTION: The Selectboard voted all in favor to the agreed-upon Citizen of the Year.
Bond Bill Efforts – Richy shared notes and explained some detail of a conversation he and Nina had on March 27 with Mr. Matthew Cocciardi from the Mass. Dept. of Capital Asset Management & Maintenance (DCAMM). Possible funding for our public safety building is in the~DCAMM portion of the Bond Bill, which was passed and signed by the governor. ~Mr. Cocciardi~indicated~that DCAMM has never “built” a public safety building. Nina questioned whether “built” meant “funded.” He meant “funded.” He suggested we speak with Maya Jonas-Silver whom he referred to as the budget director in the Executive Office of Administration and Finance.
New COA/Community Center, Construction Update – Nina reported that a Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting is scheduled for the new COA at Post Office Place as renovations are essentially complete.
Annex & Public Safety Improvements “Stabilization”, Project Update – The Annex & Public Safety “stabilization” project will proceed but not include the truss and police garage floor repairs on the Public Safety side and the Annex portion is on hold, pending further research on alternatives.
Bagg Hall Improvements “Stabilization”, Project Update – The Bagg Hall stabilization project received five proposals prior to the submission deadline.
Mechanics Hall Survey / Request for Proposals, Project Update – For sale of Mechanics Hall, Principal Assessor Kathy Stanley will have the property surveyed, at a reasonable cost, as some preliminary surveying work has taken place on this parcel in the past.
Review preliminary Annual Town Meeting Warrant 7:05 PM – The board received a copy of the preliminary warrant which does not yet include capital requests or the citizens petitions.
Sale of town-owned land – The town owns a 9.5 acre parcel that is land-locked and surrounded by DCR-owned parcels and one owned by Jim Hillis. This parcel was on the list of parcels to sell from the 2017 Annual Town Meeting warrant. Edith noted that if Jim Hillis purchased it then it would be taxed in the future or create a larger, usable lot with the Hillis frontage on Hobbs Road. Correspondence indicated that Jim Hillis was not interested at this time.
ACTION: The Selectboard voted all in favor vote to declare a parcel containing approximately 9.5 acres owned by the town off Redemption Rock Trail in Princeton (Deed Book 3438/470) as surplus and to sell it to the Department of Conservation & Recreation for the sum of $15,000 in accordance with the appraisal conducted by the state.
WRSD Excess and Deficiency Use Notice – The Selectboard received a notice from the WRSD on the planned use of Excess and Deficiency (which is essentially a regional school districts version of Free Cash) for partially funding the installation of a new turf field. The project cost is about $440k, of which the balance of $190k coming out of FY19 funds.
Authorize to sign Hazard Mitigation Grant – Through the assistance of CMRPC, the work of Chief John Bennett and Phil Connors, Nina initiated the application of a Hazard Mitigation Grant through the Federal Emergency Management Agency to replace the “military” generator currently at Fire Station #2. This grant program has a 25% match provision. The cost of the project is estimated at around $64k so the town would pay about $16k of the amount. The grant application is due on April 4th.
ACTION: The Selectboard voted all in favor to authorize the T.A. to sign the application for a Hazard Mitigation Grant through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Post Asst. Town Clerk/Administrative Assistant (Building & other departments) – With Ginger Toll moving into the town clerk position, her job is now open. This is a 32 hour a week position and it will need to be posted internally for a period of 5 days first with the job description dated July 2018.
Post Administrative Assistant (Council on Aging) – The board considered a new job description for the Admin Assistant to the Council on Aging Director. This position is proposed to be classified at the same level as the Administrative Assistant to the Planning, Zoning, Conservation, Selectboard and Highway Departments, in accordance with the job description dated March 2019.
Accept resignation from Ms. Amy Drumm and post Executive Assistant and Assistant Treasurer/Collector – She will be on board until May 2, and the position she has as executive assistant and assistant treasurer-collector will be open.
ACTION: The Selectboard voted all in favor to authorize posting positions for the assistant town clerk/administrative assistant for the Building Dept. & other departments; the admin. asst. for COA and the exec. asst. and asst. treasurer-collector and to accept Ms. Amy Drumm’s resignation.
Accept Resignation of Nannette Fitzgerald & Post Parks & Recreation Commission Opening – The board received a letter of resignation from Nannette Fitzgerald on April 1. The group discussed issues around the commission and how increasingly the Krashes Fields facilities are unable to generate enough revenue to be self-supporting. The commission is asking for Capital Improvements funding and has met with the Advisory Committee. In the coming year the groups will need to devise recommendations as to the future of the fields. After some discussion, it was suggested the S.B. craft a charge for Parks & Rec before filling any empty seats. The P&R Commission will be invited to the April 17 meeting of the S.B.
ACTION: The Selectboard voted all in favor to authorize the posting position for the Parks & Rec Commission.
Consider vote to relocate the polling location for Elections starting with the May 13, 2019 Town Election and all Elections thereafter to the Thomas Prince School – Group discussed need to abandon the Annex for elections as the parking is very limited and traffic flow is tight and unsafe.
ACTION: The Selectboard voted in favor, with Richy abstaining, to relocate the town election polling place starting May 13, 2019 and thereafter.
Appoint Election Officer – The board considered Lisa Farnsworth for position of election officer.
ACTION – The Selectboard voted all in favor to appoint Ms. Lisa Farnsworth as an election officer for a term ending August 5, 2019.
Appoint Registrar of Voters – The board considered Phillip O’Brien for position of election officer.
ACTION – The Selectboard voted all in favor to appoint Mr. Phillip O’Brien as a registrar of voters for a term ending March 31, 2022.
Appoint Assistant Inspector of Animals – Ms. Jennifer Ford, Regional Animal Control Officer is willing to serve as the town’s animal inspector, although holding the two positions may need to be brought to the Town of Rutland and reviewed with the State’s conflict of interest law. In the meantime, Ms. Ford suggested to Nina that she be appointed as the assistant animal inspector to be able to address animal inspections on an as needed basis.
ACTION – The Selectboard voted all in favor to appoint Ms. Jennifer Ford to the position of assistant inspector of animals for a term beginning May 1, 2019 through April 30, 2020.
Correspondence/Communications:
1. Letters from Monty Tech – The board received two letters from Monty Tech. The first is
for the FY19 assessment and the 2nd is for the FY20 assessment.
Town Administrator’s Reports:
1. FY2020 Budget Development / Town Meeting Warrant – Upcoming budget meetings:
a. Wednesday, April 10th we will be meeting jointly with the Advisory Committee to review the operating and capital budgets.
b. On each Wednesday following, we will likely have an agenda item to review the warrant.
c. On April 24th at 6PM the AC is planning to meet to review the Draft ATM warrant
d. On May 1st at 6PM the AC will hold its Public Hearing on the ATM warrant.
e. If not finalized beforehand, we will need a special meeting on Monday, May 6th (before 5 PM) to finalize and sign the warrant. The warrant must be posted on May 6th.
2. Proposed Deliverables for new Public Water Supply at Town Hall Drive – The Selectboard received a letter from MassDEP on the subject of the Public Water Supply that is needed to serve the town buildings located along Town Hall Drive. We have requested $14k in FY20 under the Capital Improvements Plan.
3. Thomas Prince School Entry Façade – Phil Connors identified some concerns with the
condition of the entry façade to the TPS which were forwarded to the WRSD.
4. Rental of the Gazebo – After the SB changed the cost for renting the gazebo, Lynne Grettum
proactively asked an interested party some additional details about their plans and it was
realized that their plan was to rent the gazebo AND the Common. Consistent with an email from former Town Administrator Lebeaux, the TA notified the party that rental of the Common was not an option.
7:50 PM Executive Session: The board voted in roll call vote, with Richy saying “Aye,” Karen “Aye” and Edith “Aye” to enter into executive session, in accordance with M.G.L. c. 30A, §21 under exemption 2: to conduct strategy sessions in preparation for contract negotiations with nonunion personnel, Classification & Compensation Plan & Highway Superintendent, only to adjourn.
See separate minutes
Meeting Adjourned: 8:56 PM
Respectfully submitted, Marie Auger, admin. assistant
Referenced Documents: Resignation letter from the T.A.; Applications and responses from candidates for the interim T.A. position; Professional Services Agreement with the Collins Center; Charge for the Screening Cmte.; Letter to residents about recruiting a T.A.; Draft Annual Town Meeting warrant; Notes from phone conversation report with Matthew Cocciardi from DCAMM; Materials associated with sale of town-owned land to DCR; WRSD notice of using Excess and Deficiency funds; Hazard Mitigation Grant application; letter of resignation from Nannette Fitzgerald and Amy Drumm; Letters from Monty Tech; letter from MassDEP on the subject of the Public Water Supply; email written by former Town Administrator Lebeaux.
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