Town of Princeton, Mass., Selectboard Meeting Minutes
– October 17, 2018 – 6 PM – Town Hall Annex
Present: Chair Richard Bisk, Karen Cruise & Edith Morgan w/ student member Kimberly Union and TA Nina Nazarian.
6:00 PM Richy opened the meeting.
Minutes – The board voted all in favor to approve minutes of Oct. 3 & 4 but not release the Executive Session minutes from Oct. 3.
Public Comment – There were no comments from the public.
FY20 Budget Process: Advisory Committee Role & FY20 Budget Guidance – Advisory Committee Chair Wayne Adams was present. He and Nina have been conferring and all agree that S.B. and A.C. must meet jointly. Board suggested next Wednesday, Oct. 24 to start at 6 – 7 PM and will wait to hear back from the Advisory Committee on that date. Richy will not be able to attend but a quorum from each board is sufficient.
Roundtable Meeting in Holden on 9/11 regarding WRSD FY20 Budget, Updates – Board members discussed written information from the Town of Rutland regarding their S.B. and Finance Committee’s position—noting that there was not a consensus on a 3.5% limit on the WRSD operational spending. Neither Rutland nor Paxton supported the letter from Holden which proposed to a 3.5 percent limit on the FY’20 WRSD budget increase over FY’19, partly given their uncertainty of other potential cost increases. Richy will contact Rutland S.B. Chair Sheila Dibb to hear firsthand their concerns with the letter. Group discussed addition of full-day kindergarten district-wide, as currently half-day is covered and those seeking full-day must pay $3,500 for a portion of the
tuition. According to the District, the District-wide cost for increase to full-day is about $1.3 million which gets reimbursed by the state in the following year. Given that the Advisory Committee was meeting next door, the Board agreed to continue discussion on this topic after hearing the Advisory Committee’s conclusions regarding the letter.
Facilities Steering Committee Phase II Charge, if ready – Passed over pending more information.
Code of Conduct for Committees 6:30 PM – The board considered a draft Code of Conduct for Boards, Commissions, and Committees appointed by the Selectboard. It has been re-worked from the code for the S.B. and the group discussed specifics such as avoiding taking a position or expressing an opinion before reviewing all the available facts. Minor edits included “treat with respect all board members and their rights.” The S.B. agreed that the draft should be sent to all appointed boards, commissions, and committees for comment prior to adoption.
Sale of Town Owned Land, Authorize the expenditure of funds for percolation tests, surveying and title search – Nina reported that tax-title parcels may be auctioned off without a vote from town meeting. She explained how the Request For Proposals (RFP) process may include conditions of sale as well as the intended use for the land by the potential buyer. Board members plan to attend the next meeting of the internal staff/volunteer group who is investigating this subject on Monday, Oct. 22 at 5 PM so the meeting will be posted. The May ATM approved spending up to $20,000 on costs associated with preparing land for sale, and initial costs have been determined at close to $8,000.
ACTION – The board voted all in favor to authorize the expenditure of up to $10,000 to cover percolation tests, surveying and title search costs for the sale of town owned land initiative.
Rural Commonwealth’s request for letters of support 6:45 PM – The S.B. received a request from this group, described as representing 35 small towns in all four Western Massachusetts counties. They are asking all communities which incorporate major tracts of state-owned land, to send letters of support recommending changes to legislation and policy relative to land owned by the state and PILOT funds (payments in lieu of taxes) which towns receive to help compensate for lost real estate taxes. Board members discussed getting
local legislators involved and Karen offered to contact state Rep. Kim Ferguson about this.
ACTION – The board voted all in favor to sign a letter of support pending communication with Rep. Ferguson.
Route 140 Project, Traffic Control Agreement and City/Town 110% Municipal Agreements – The board received a Route 140 Traffic Control Agreement; and two City/Town Municipal Agreements (so-called 110% Municipal and Non-Participating Agreements). Nina outlined the 110% Municipal Agreement which says if the project cost exceeds 110% of the estimate, any overage in cost must be borne by the Town, regardless of cause. Also, with the same agreement, town could be responsible for snow removal on the new sidewalks along Route 140. Some towns have sidewalk snow removal bylaws which requires the residents abutting the sidewalk to remove the snow. The cost impact to remove snow or implementation of bylaws will have to be discussed at some point. The Road Advisory Committee (RAC)
will be meeting and reviewing these agreements at their meeting on Tuesday, October 16th.
ACTION – The Selectboard voted all in favor to authorize the Town Administrator to sign all three contracts.
Accept Notice of Resignation from Advisory Committee member and Discuss Next Steps – The board received a notice of resignation by Mr. James O’Coin.
ACTION – The board voted all in favor to accept Mr. O’Coin’s resignation and advertise the Advisory Committee opening through November 9th, with the condition on the notice stating that the committee meets on Wednesday evenings.
Select Representative for WRSD FY20 Budget Roundtable – Another roundtable, initiated by the District will be held on Thursday, November 8th at 6:30 PM at the Holden Senior Center and the WRSD has requested S.B. representation from each town. Richy offered to attend on behalf of Princeton.
Electronic Communications and Computer Usage Policy – Given that a firewall was just installed in Town Hall, Nina advised that it would be a good time to couple that with a computer use policy. Attached is a draft provided by our HR Counsel which Nina has adapted to Princeton.
ACTION – The board voted all in favor to revise the Personnel Policy by adopting and inserting into it the Electronic Communications and Computer Usage Policy.
Sale of Cemetery Lot at North Cemetery, approve and sign – The board received a deed to sell cremation Lot 51H at North Cemetery for $400.00 to Mr. Charles M. and Ms. Theresa G. Callahan.
ACTION – The board voted all in favor to sell cremation Lot 51H at North Cemetery for $400.00 to Mr. Charles M. and Ms. Theresa G. Callahan and sign the deed.
Correspondence:
- Massachusetts Office on Disability – Board received a letter and an enclosure recommending the establishment of a Commission on Disability for the Town of Princeton. Board briefly discussed that or an ADA committee.
- Public Safety Person of the Year by the Wachusett Area Chamber of Commerce – S.B. received a letter announcing Princeton Police Officer Matthew Seymour as the Public Safety Person of the Year as well as the report by Police Chief Powers and the Templeton Police Department.
Town Administrator report:
- Bagg Hall Office Moves – Based on the best practice to consolidate Tax Collections into one location, the Treasurer/Collector’s, Town Clerk’s, Building Department, and Town Administrator’s Offices have been relocated to different areas within Bagg Hall with T.A.’s office in the rear of the building and the other offices in the front of the building. Several moves and modifications are ongoing.
- Building inspector challenge – As state certification for Building Inspector/Commissioner has become increasingly onerous, the pool of applicants keeps shrinking, especially for the part-time position Princeton is offering. Nina noted that even Shrewsbury could not find a full-timer for their local inspector and has enlisted a consulting firm. The state allows an inspector to work up to 18 months before certification is mandatory, and Rich Breagy has reached that point and is continuing under an extension which Nina has requested. Options are being sought, including sharing a part-time inspector with a nearby community.
Executive Session 7:30 PM
Richy moved and Edith seconded to go into executive session, and to 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,” Karen voted “Aye” and Richy voted “Aye.”
SEE SEPARATE MINUTES
Returned to regular session 7:49 PM
Discussion began at 8:02 PM, once the Advisory Committee had finished their discussion on the Roundtable Meeting in Holden.
Roundtable Meeting in Holden on 9/11 regarding WRSD FY20 Budget, Updates (continued from above) – Advisory Committee (AC) Chair Wayne Adams met with the S.B. to summarize the discussion by the AC position on the proposed letter to be sent to WRSD regarding the FY’20 budget. Wayne noted that the AC didn’t full support a line item budget because it could be too detailed and referenced that the WRSD Budget Book was quite detailed already. The committee also did not support a 3.5% limit on the WRSD operational spending over the prior year for various reasons (some thought it was too high, some thought it was too early, and some thought it might constrain educational goals, etc.)
Meeting Adjourned 8:12 PM
Respectfully submitted, Marie Auger, Admin. Asst.
S.B. Referenced Documents: Letter from the Town of Rutland; draft Code of Conduct; Rural Commonwealth’s letter and request; Route 140 Traffic Control Agreement; and two City/Town Municipal Agreements; notice of resignation by Mr. Jim O’Coin; WRSD letter requesting S.B. representation; Electronic Communications and Computer Usage Policy; deed to sell cremation lot; Massachusetts Office on Disability letter; reports and letter announcing Princeton Police Officer Matthew Seymour as the Public Safety Person of the Year
Marie Auger
Administrative Assistant
Planning Department
978-464-2100
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