Town of Princeton, Mass., Selectboard Meeting Minutes
– September 4, 2018 – 7:00 PM – Senior Center at P.O. Place
Present: Chair Richard Bisk, Karen Cruise & Edith Morgan w/ TA Nina Nazarian.
Minutes – 7:00 PM Richy opened the joint meeting with members of Facilities Steering Committee Phase II (FSC II) present.
FSC II Committee appointments – Nina explained that Mr. Dennis Moore was the only applicant for the vacant seat and recommended his appointment.
ACTION – The board voted all in favor to appoint to Dennis Moore to the FSC Phase II for a term through December 31st, contingent upon being sworn in, and the completion of the Open Meeting law and Municipal Ethics requirements as well as the return of a signed copy of receipt of the Town of Princeton’s Sexual Harassment Policy.
Based on a recommendation by Nina, Mr. Moore had all required paperwork ready, and Town Clerk Lynne Grettum was on hand to swear Mr. Moore in, so he could participate in the meeting. This creates a five-member board, all present, along with Fire Chief John Bennett and Dep. Chief Tim Kelly also attending in an advisory capacity.
Discussion on charge/goals of FSC II – Nina began the discussion, outlining the charge and goals of the Selectboard. It was noted that some voters at the ballot election which followed the ATM in May did not seem well-informed about the aspects of the project (e.g. estimated costs, urgent need, etc.). The FSC II is charged with developing and executing a communication and education plan to prepare voters for a fall special town meeting to secure funding for the development of plans & construction documents for a new public safety building to be built at the Princeton center school site and that may or may not incorporate part of the old building. The main goal of the FSC II is to do what is necessary to have a well-attended STM with a
well-informed group of taxpayers, to ask for design and construction documents for a new public safety center--to make sure voters at a Special Town Meeting in the fall are well-informed. The suggested plan for the STM is to re-vote the use of $500,000 from a stabilization fund, for transparency reasons, to craft architectural plans and schematics for a public safety facility at the Princeton Center site. Future construction will require a debt-exclusion vote, but town officials are told that having plans ready will improve chances for the town to receive construction funding from the bond bill.
Rick McCowan and Larry Todd from the FSC II pointed out some residents’ objections. Many voters didn’t see the need for a new facility and said it would cost too much. They stressed bringing the cost down, maybe by sharing resources or regionalizing, although there may not be enough time before November to research those extra options. Chief Bennett explained drawbacks of regionalization, such as ISO standards (distance from a fire facility) impacting homeowners’ insurance premiums. Rick M. suggested a revisit of the architects’ reports relating to cost estimates and reduction of scope for options that have already been considered. The concept of multi-use facilities was also discussed, however there was concern that the Princeton
Center site may be too narrow for multi-use egress and parking.
The Selectboard departed the room to continue their agenda and the FSC II continued their meeting to elect officers.
Minutes – 7:55 PM The board voted all in favor to approve minutes for August 20 & 23.
Public Comment – Mary Jo Wojtusik suggested that S.B. conform to schedule on the agenda, which estimated 30 minutes for the FSC II joint meeting.
Princeton Farmers Market Group request – The farmers market is held 1st and 3rd Sundays--on the common in good weather and seeks to use the Annex in other months. Ms. Susan Priest was in for the group and noted that the market is not held in February. Nina explained that she had investigated costs relating to snow/ice clearing of that area on Sunday’s when the market is being held, as well as other associated costs (electricity, oil, etc.), and recommended that the farmers market pay $75.00 per market, as opposed to the $50.00 per market initially offered The Town will schedule an employee to evaluate any snow/ice removal needs on the morning of each market, during inclement or freezing weather. The Princeton Farmers Market Group may cancel the
market during storm events, and the town has the right to close the building as well.
ACTION – The board voted all in favor to authorize the use of the Town Hall Annex to the Princeton Farmers Market Group from November 4, 2018 through May 19, 2018 on the 1st and 3rd Sunday’s from 9:00 AM to 1:30 PM for a fee of $75.00 per Sunday that the space is used.
Student Involvement/Attendance at Selectboard meetings, list of questions – The board received four applications for the student S.B. position (deliberating but non-voting member). All four student interviews have been scheduled for before the next S.B. meeting on September 17th beginning at 6:35 PM. From a list of suggested questions, Richy will ask #1, Edith chose #2 and Karen picked #8.
Mechanics Hall Committee Appointments – The board received a total of five applications, one which came in very late in the afternoon on Tuesday and decided on three to fill the committee, for the time being.
ACTION – The board voted all in favor to appoint Mr. Larry Pistrang, Ms. Jennifer Shenk and Ms. Karen Rossow to the
Mechanics Hall Committee for a term through December 31, 2018, contingent upon being sworn in, and the completion of the Open Meeting law and Municipal Ethics requirements as well as the return of a signed copy of receipt of the Town of Princeton’s Sexual Harassment Policy.
Community Compact Best Practice Areas, Discuss/Vote – Nina had sent the Director of Special Initiatives a request from the Selectboard to feature EMT training as a best practice area. Group discussed choosing an additional three Best Practice Areas (on top of the EMT idea), ranking them in order of preference. Financial management/planning can be done independently of this grant program, working with the Advisory Committee.
S.B. agreed on the following potential Community Compact Best Practice grant options, with Nina to investigate what can be expected from each program, prior to a final decision by the S.B. at a future meeting.
- Perform a cyber security assessment or implement a cyber security training program for staff.
(2) Develop a document and/or records management strategy with IT filing that results in operational efficiencies and improved responsiveness to the public.
(3) Hold In-service training programs for municipal police to better prepare local police officers and first responders for incidents involving domestic violence, mental health disorders, and substance abuse.
Open Meeting Law Complaint, Review Draft response/vote – The S.B. reviewed a draft response to a citizen’s complaint regarding violations of Open Meeting Law. Group discussed meeting protocols and issues around adhering to the agenda. Group also agreed to include the open meeting law response in the S.B.’s publication of the 9/4/18 meeting minutes for transparency.
ACTION: S.B. voted all in favor to approve the Open Meeting Law complaint response letter as written.
Joint Regional Meeting regarding WRSD FY20 Budget on 9/11 at 6:30 PM in Holden – The Town of Holden will hold a joint regional meeting to collaborate on a presentation to the Wachusett Regional School District. This will allow the member towns to give some direction as to the member towns expectations, desires, and needs as they relate to the FY20 budget. It is requested that at least one Selectboard member attend. After discussion on past inequities regarding Princeton’s contributions and the state’s Foundation formula, Richy agreed to attend representing the S.B.
Heavy Equipment Operator, post position – This position has been vacant since Mr. Bob Mason resigned. For a period of time Ms. Jami Deloge took it as a temporary position, however the position is vacant again.
ACTION – The board voted all in favor to authorize the T.A. to post the Heavy Equipment Operator position.
Executive Session 8:57 PM – Richy 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 – police chief. In roll call Edith voted “Aye,” Karen voted “Aye” and Richy voted “Aye.”
SEE SEPARATE MINUTES
Meeting Adjourned 9:29 PM
Respectfully submitted, Marie Auger, Admin. Asst.
S.B. Referenced Documents: Application from Dennis Moore; memo regarding charge/goals of the FSC II; request from Princeton Farmers Market Group; list of questions for student applicants; applications from Mr. Larry Pistrang, Ms. Jennifer Shenk and Ms. Karen Rossow for Mechanics Hall Cmte.; request concerning Community Compact Best Practice Areas; draft response to a citizen’s complaint; invitation to Joint Regional Meeting on WRSD budget. Documents contained in correspondence included Sustainable Materials Recovery Program Grant, Westminster Landfill email from Mr. Ed Carlson, Financial Analysis and Plan letter from Mr. Jon Fudeman, Montachusett Home Care 2018 Annual Meeting and Central MA Climate Summit.
Open Meeting Law Complaint Response (per reference above)
September 5, 2018
Dear Ms. Conway,
The Board of Selectmen met and reviewed your complaint of alleged Open Meeting Law violation(s) which you gave to the Chairman of the Board on August 20, 2018. Your complaint outlines the following alleged violations:
- Discussion of items not on the agenda;
- The time of day when meetings are held; and
- Use of a disclaimer on the agenda.
Your complaint requests the following actions be taken:
- Limiting discussion to only items listed in the published agenda;
- In the event of a new item, limit the subject to only discussion with votes only to be taken at a future date, when the item is identified on a published agenda;
- Conduct meetings of topics of high interest to citizens at times after 6:30 PM; and
- Discontinuance of the disclaimer listed on the agendas.
Whereas the law requires a complaint to be filed with the public body within 30 days of the date of the alleged violation, and considering limited resources, we are respectfully addressing meetings that occurred between July 21, 2018 and the delivery of your complaint to the Board on August 20, 2018.
For meetings held on 7/23/18, 8/2/18, 8/6/18, and 8/9/18, the Board of Selectmen has determined that no violation of the Open Meeting Law occurred and therefore no cure is necessary. The Board of Selectmen has determined that no violation took place because any item for which action was taken was listed on the agenda. For items where the topic was not reasonably anticipated by the chair, discussion was limited, strictly informational and/or deferred to a future meeting.
For the meeting of 7/25/18, the Board of Selectmen has determined that there was an inadvertent violation of the Open Meeting Law. The Board of Selectmen intends to cure the violation by endeavoring to list all items to be discussed on the agenda to the maximum extent possible. Specifically, in the case of the items identified in the minutes which were not on the agenda, the Town Administrator had become aware of the matter after the agenda had been posted, but had not communicated the matter to the chair, nor revised the agenda. Moving forward, the Town Administrator will either communicate the subject to the chair and/or revise the agenda accordingly.
Regarding your request for meetings with “topics of high interest to citizens” being conducted at times after 6:30 PM, the Board of Selectmen is not aware of any time restrictions for meetings and has determined that no violation of the Open Meeting Law has occurred and therefore no cure is necessary.
Regarding your request that the disclaimer listed on the agendas be discontinued, the disclaimer is in accordance with 940 CMR 29.03(1)(b) and guidance from the Office of the Attorney General, and therefore the Board of Selectmen has determined that no violation of the Open Meeting Law has occurred, and no cure is necessary. More specifically, I note that the Board is committed to following the advice set forth in the Attorney General’s “Frequently Asked Questions” website, which includes the following with respect to matters not specifically mentioned in the agenda:
“Although a public body may consider a topic that was not listed in the meeting notice if unanticipated, the Attorney General strongly encourages public bodies to postpone discussion and action on topics that are controversial or may be of particular interest to the public if those topics were not listed in the meeting notice.”
Also, the Board adheres to the following advice from the Attorney General, offered on the said website with respect to whether local public bodies may include generic topics such as “New Business” on their agendas with respect to matters that come up for the first time at a meeting:
“Yes, this category may be used for topics that the Chair did not reasonably anticipate for discussion when filing the meeting notice to be posted. Some public bodies use this category for their public comment or open forum periods. The best practice would be to explicitly state in the notice that the time is being reserved for topics that the chair did not reasonably anticipate would be discussed.”
The Board of Selectmen believes that the disclaimer used on its agendas is consistent with the guidance quoted above, as is the Board’s cautious practice of generally deferring new matters that first arise at a meeting to a future meeting so they can be discussed in depth and voted on under a specific agenda item.
As required by law, a copy of this letter, together with a copy of your complaint, is being filed with the Office of the Attorney General.
Sincerely,
Nina Nazarian
Town Administrator
Enclosure (complaint to Attorney General)
Cc: Attorney General’s Division of Open Government, One Ashburton Place, 18th Floor, Boston, MA 02108
Ms. Lynne Grettum, Town Clerk
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