Board of Selectmen
October 15, 2012
Community Hall Annex
6:00 pm
Present: Leroy C. Clark, Chairman; Peter Letsky, Vice Chairman; Michael Pantos, Clerk; Joseph R. Becker, Sheila H. Dibb and Nancy M. Macaruso, Secretary.
Mr. Letsky moved to sign Treasury warrant #8 and payroll. Mr. Becker seconded. Vote unanimous.
Mr. Becker moved to accept the minutes from October 1, 2012 as presented. Mr. Letsky seconded. Vote unanimous.
Mr. Becker moved to accept the executive session minutes from October 1, 2012 as presented. Mr. Letsky seconded. Vote unanimous.
DPW:
Superintendent Kellaher updated the Board on the work at the Primary Building (dismantling HVAC units, building is being stripped and a hole has been cut in to remove the contents to the DPW yard – storage unit was delivered today). Chain saw safety completion certificates presented to four employees: John Jankowski, Daniel French, Scott Mackay and Erik Helle. Paving is done; working on filling shoulders, aprons and line striping. Live driver training is coming in first or second week of November. The elevator inspector went to the wrong school through no fault of the town, so the inspection has not been done yet. Mr. Kellaher will follow up. Dick Williams questioned the superintendent on the sidewalks on Central Tree Road – sidewalks were layed out, but work was never
completed; he will look into.
POLICE:
Chief Haapakoski stated that the recent cell block inspection showed that the hot water was not hot enough – will be fixed. Halloween trick-or-treat hours are October 31st from 5 – 8 pm. Some explanation on the part-timers’ payroll re: detail shifts. Discussion on rates for cruiser usage on details. Mr. Pantos moved to adopt $15/shift for cruiser usage on details. Mr. Letsky seconded. Vote unanimous.
FIRE:
Deputy Jeff Lowe was present in the Acting Chief’s absence. Handed in back up information for articles for the special town meeting. Fire Department will begin a training exercise in the primary building tomorrow night for the next four weeks. Mr. Becker stated that the open house at the fire department this past weekend went extremely well.
OPEN SESSION:
Addison Redfield, representing the RBA, invited the Board to a wine tasting event at Colonial Wine & Spirits on November 5th with proceeds benefiting the Be Like Brit Foundation.
CORRESPONDENCE:
Mr. Pantos read a letter from Mr. LaFleche, Bay Path Superintendent, thanking the Town of Rutland for the support of the renovation project at the school.
NEW BUSINESS:
Per the Dispatch Manager’s recommendation, Mr. Pantos moved to appoint Lisa Chaffee from a part-time to a full-time dispatcher. Mr. Letsky seconded. Vote unanimous. Rate will be the same. Mr. Kenney will meet with his liaisons on October 22nd at 4:45 pm to discuss the lead dispatcher position.
Application and license for video arcade machines at “The Candy Dish” located at 249 Main Street owned by Alison Towns. Mr. Letsky moved to sign the application and license. Mr. Becker seconded. Vote unanimous.
Review of the submitted special town meeting articles. Mr. Becker explained that the Board at this point is in no better position than it was two weeks ago regarding setting the warrant. He further stated that all capital items should go through the CIPC. Mr. Becker suggested having one article for all budget items listed on the draft warrant. That one article will include one total amount for the following, but listed separately in the motion: $77 for WRSD, $2,266 for Elections, $13,084 for liability insurance, 19,584 for police part-time wages, $36,360 for ambulance wages, $775 for landfill monitoring, $3,600 for library sills, $3,000 for fire chief vehicle, $12,000 for police part-time wages reduction for Devereux gift and $5,649 for the MMA phase III wage adjustments.
* Ms. Dibb moved the previous listed articles to be combined as one total figure in the article, but listed separately in the motion. Mr. Pantos seconded. Vote unanimous.
* Ms. Dibb moved to include the installation and calibration of six continuous flow meters on the warrant ($82,500). Mr. Becker seconded. Vote unanimous. The CIPC will try to hold a meeting regarding this article prior to the STM.
* Mr. Becker moved to include up to four sets of turnout gear instead of the requested five. Ms. Dibb seconded. Vote unanimous.
* Ms. Dibb moved to include the gift acceptance of an ISG Thermal Imaging camera on the warrant. Mr. Becker seconded. Vote unanimous.
* Ms. Dibb moved to include the rescinding of excise tax on farm machinery, equipment and animals. Mr. Letsky seconded. Vote 4 to 1 with Mr. Clark abstaining.
* Ms. Dibb moved including the article pertaining to the Animal Control Bylaw on the warrant. Mr. Letsky seconded. Vote unanimous.
* Ms. Dibb moved to include the article dealing with Criminal Disposition on the warrant. Mr. Letsky seconded. Vote unanimous.
* Ms. Dibb moved placing the article to appropriate from Available Funds a sum of money to the Stabilization Fund. Mr. Letsky seconded. Vote 4 to 1 with Mr. Becker opposed.
* Ms. Dibb moved to place the article to appropriate from Available Funds a sum of money to offset the FY 2013 tax rate. Mr. Pantos seconded. Vote unanimous.
Mr. Pantos moved to sign the special town meeting warrant as presented and amended. Mr. Letsky seconded. Vote unanimous.
OLD BUSINESS:
Discussion on the fire chief candidates and the reference checks done by the Board. Everyone was able to speak to their assigned references except Mr. Pantos. All references were positive for each candidate. Mr. Becker stated that some new information on Mr. Weber was brought to his attention and he followed up with a phone call. Mr. Becker was told of an incident between Mr. Weber and a colleague at a fire scene. Mr. Weber corroborated the story and he informed the rest of the Board by email. Mr. Becker also had additional information on Mr. Knipe regarding his departure from Hubbardston which she shared with the Board; he further stated that he watched several hours of hearings that were conducted in Hubbardston and now has a better understanding of the issue with Mr. Knipe’s former
employer. After weighing the pros and cons, Mr. Becker feels that Mr. Knipe was best suited for the position and will be able to come in & move forward quickly. Ms. Dibb agreed. Mr. Clark disagreed and felt that Mr. Weber would be the better appointment. Mr. Becker stated that he would vote to appoint Brad if the entire Board was leaning that way in order to make it a unanimous vote. Lengthy discussion which included vehicle maintenance, term length and the possibility of starting over with a new search committee. Mr. Pantos moved to begin the process again with a new search committee and re-advertise. Ms. Dibb seconded. Vote 4 to 1 with Mr. Becker in the minority. Mr. Becker stated that he’d like to make a decision tonight and is not in favor of a new search committee. Ms. Dibb was not certain she was ready to make a decision tonight. After more discussion Ms. Dibb moved to rescind the prior vote of starting
a new search committee. Mr. Pantos seconded. Vote unanimous.
Ms. Dibb moved to appoint Seth Knipe as Fire Chief for a one-year term. Mr. Becker seconded. Ms. Dibb aye, Mr. Becker aye, Mr. Letsky nay, Mr. Clark nay and Mr. Pantos nay.
Mr. Letsky moved to appoint Brad Weber as Fire Chief for a one-year term. Mr. Pantos seconded. Mr. Letsky aye, Mr. Pantos aye, Mr. Clark aye, Mr. Becker aye, Ms. Dibb abstained. Mr. Clark will contact both candidates at the conclusion of the meeting.
Mr. Pantos moved to go into Executive Session for Reason #2: To conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with non-union personnel or to conduct collective bargaining sessions or contract negotiations with non-union personnel and to return to open session for adjournment purposes only. Mr. Letsky seconded. Dibb aye, Clark aye, Becker aye, Pantos aye, Becker aye.
ADJOURN:
Mr. Pantos moved to adjourn. Mr. Letsky seconded. Vote unanimous. Meeting adjourned at 8:50 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Nancy M. Macaruso, Secretary
Board of Selectmen
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