Town of Princeton, Mass. – April 5, 2018 – 2:15 PM
Selectboard – Town Hall Annex
Present: Chair Richard Bisk, Edith Morgan & Jon Fudeman w/ TA Nina Nazarian.
Meeting was opened by Richy.
Paving Calamint Hill Road North discussion – Road Adv. Cmte. is looking for best solution to erosion problem on Calamint Hill Road North. An (unidentified) engineering opinion/review reported that the road could remain unpaved with better “country” drainage, which means a road edged with drainage swales of riprap along with a surface grade that promotes proper sheeting of runoff. Hwy. Supt. Glenn Lyons replied that the road was too narrow for that idea to be practical. It’s far short of the 50’ wide layout which is typical for unimpeded swales to line both sides of the travel way. He suggests starting with the worst section, and pave 4,400’ from near the Ball Hill Road corner going north. He identified similar
problems with Sam Cobb Lane, Bigelow, Schoolhouse and Lovers Lane and pointed out that gravel roads are harder to maintain than paved roads—besides regular grading there’s more involved with winter sanding and plowing. A return-on-investment for the cost of paving may take about 10 years, he noted. Bill Holder, from the RAC, said that Calamint Hill has been on their five-year plan but it’s become an emergency now and the town needs to deal with it as a public safety issue. Richy insisted that the S.B. wants an opinion from an engineer about the feasibility of improving the road without paving it.
Action: The board voted all in favor to authorize the T.A. to sign Calamint Hill Road North Design Contract with an engineer who will report in writing on the viability of leaving the road either unpaved or paved. and include reasons.
Fire chief report John Bennett was in to present information supporting his budget requests. Richy asked about response time to a medical emergency when the station has someone on site versus when it does not; since that person must wait for an on-call staff to show up before the ambulance rolls since two persons in the ambulance are required to respond. The chief said he needs to come back with an answer. He outlined the funding requests in his report and noted that a fire truck takes 9 – 14 months to custom-build. The “water on wheels” in the form of a new tanker/fire truck at $525,000 meets ISO standards for delivery of 4,000 gal. in 20 minutes—as a first response. The chief also described moving vehicles and staff
around, using Station 2, while Station 1 is rehabbed. There is not enough storage space for all F.D. vehicles, and the town is currently paying $400/month in winter for storage. He noted that all the free options for storage have been exhausted.
The group went over payment options for a fire truck including leasing, or a special appropriation over two years. EMT or paramedic staff is currently being paid to be on-call overnight, at about $90/shift for weekdays and $50/shift for weekends. Some police staff are EMTs and are often first responders, and police have 24/7 on-duty coverage. The suggestion was made to encourage more police officers to become EMTs, possibly with a stipend.
Executive Session 3:25 PM -- in accordance with M.G.L. c. 30A, §21:-- Jon moved and Edith seconded to go into executive session, and not return to regular session: in accordance with M.G.L. c. 30A, §21: A. Exemption Two – To conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with non-union personnel—fire chief. In roll call Edith voted “Aye,” Jon voted “Aye”, Richy voted “Aye”.
SEE SEPARATE MINUTES
Adjourned Executive Session 4 PM In roll call, board voted to adjourn from Exec. Session and not return to open session.
Respectfully submitted, Marie Auger, Admin. Asst.
BOS Referenced Documents: Fire chief report; Draft FY’19 budget; budget spreadsheets; proposed warrant articles for ATM;
Marie Auger
Administrative Assistant
Planning Department
978-464-2100
| 
