Town of Rutland, MA - August 17, 2015

August 17, 2015


	TOWN OF RUTLAND BOARD OF SELECTMEN MINUTES August 17, 2015 Rutland Public Library 6:00pm PRESENT: Leroy C. Clark - Chairman, Stephanie Bacon - Clerk, Sheila Dibb. Also present: Margaret Nartowicz - Town Administrator and Diane M. Cook - Administrative Secretary. Absent: Michael S. Pantos and Wayne Walker. OPEN SESSION: Mr. Clark opened the meeting at 6:00pm and stated that the meeting is being filmed for cable to be viewed at a later date. Ms. Bacon made a motion to sign Treasury and Warrant #4 and Payroll. Ms. Dibb 2^nd the motion. Vote unanimous. Acceptance of meeting minutes: Ms. Dibb made a motion to accept the minutes of the August 3, 2015 meeting. Ms. Bacon 2^nd the motion. Vote unanimous. Ms. Bacon made a motion to approve the minutes of the August 6, 2015 meeting. Ms. Dibb 2^nd the motion. Vote Unanimous. 6:00pm Unibank Financial Advisor & Rebecca Tuttle, Treasurer: Mr. Clark Rowell and his assistant Ms. Brianne Susel were in attendance from Unibank Advisors. Mr. Rowell presented an outline of the debt that is being considered for refinancing and provided the benefits of doing so. The rural development piece is different and they are looking to shorten the term. Mr. Rowell stated that if the market holds, the intent would be to shorten the 20 years remaining, and there would be no increased debt service. By eliminating the last five years, it will provide a great savings. If the market does not hold for the rural development piece, there would still be a great benefit for moving forward. Another interesting part of this financing is to obtain a Standard & Poors rating. We may be able to obtain a better result with Standard & Poors and get an AA- but may be an A+. Ultimately we would go up with the ratings faster by going with Standard & Poors and drop Moody’s altogether. Ms. Dibb asked what the credit perception would be by changing to S&P – does it appear that it’s an easy “A”? Mr. Rowell feels that even a Moody’s review would bring the rating up, but Standard & Poors is considered better. In response to Ms. Bacon’s question, Mr. Rowell indicated that the cost of the refunding is budgeted at $75k which is a comfortably conservative number. There is about $1.5mm in savings after paying the cost. There should be the possibility of doing the same thing with some other RDA loans in the future. We expect to hear from Standard & Poors on August 18^th or 19^th. Assuming there is the anticipated result, the notification will be out on Thursday, August 20^th and the bid will be out on the following Thursday. There is also a State aid anticipation note due on the 9/10/2015. We will need to submit all the numbers for the refinancing of this debt and have them available to sign at the next Board meeting on 8/31/15. The Note is for the Regional Dispatch Center for the State 911 grant money that has been requested but has not yet been received. Ms. Dibb remarked that the savings on shortening the 40 year library loan to 20 years is good and asked if there was an opportunity to shorten the loan even more? The calculation has to do with levy limits. (Pages 6 and 7; Page 6 is inside the levy limits, Page 7 is outside the levy limits. Page 5 is an aggregate.) Discussion ensued. Mr. Rowell let the Board know that the language for the motion to authorize the sale and accepting the bids, and awarding the bonds will be prepared by bond counsel. This process is usually done during a regular board meeting. It is generally suggested to make that Board meeting 15 minutes earlier for signing. Then the vote is taken during the meeting. Mr. Rowell stated that Standard & Poors is very big on policies. They like reserve and debt services policies. The new draft policies which the Town Administrator is working on will be of great benefit in their review. With these policies in place, it will play an important role in the next review. Reserve policy is the first one they typically start with. Town Administrator let the board know that they are being provided these policies early for their review as there are 19 pages. The policies will be brought up for approval in approximately a month. POLICE: Chief Haapakoski stated that the Police website has been updated. They plan on incorporating some of their forms, which should help with a lot of the traffic in the lobby area. Three officer liaisons have been assigned to the schools for the start of the new school year. On Day One, the 11-7 shift will be held over for a couple of hours. Chief expressed concern over the new pavement because of the subsequent speeding so that will be a focus. The Code Red matter, where it took too long for the calls to reach the residents, was resolved. It was found that it was a coding problem on the company side. Ms. Dibb stated that some households may have received more than one phone call. She suggested that it be helpful to post a notice in the paper, or in some other way, to thank the residents for their patience and let them know what is going on. Mr. Kellaher agreed. Chief Haapakoski indicated that it is Chief Weber’s call as to when the Code Red notifications should be generated for tornados or other imminent acts; when the warning comes out, or when the watch comes out. This is when MEMA announces so we should as well. New car #2 is on the road and is assigned to Sergeants. An insurance binder will be need for the Ford Motor Company. The old car was traded in. The Police Department has had 9,465 calls in six months. Dispatch is at 33,864 calls across all four communities. Both figures are up from last year. Ms. Bacon requested a report breakdown to identify calls regarding opiates or substance abuse. This information will be used for obtaining grant in these areas. Sgt. Chauvin notified the Chief that he is in tech school for the Air force October 16^th through December 4^th. His 3-11 shift is backfilled and money is in the budget to provide for this. Sgt. Monaco’s shift is being changed in order to straddle two shifts. The Chief is there at night. Negotiations with the patrolmen are scheduled for Wednesday at 3:00pm. DPW: Mr. Kellaher. There was a meeting on emergency planning for the tornado. They are putting together an emergency planning guide that can be used as a handout at the next town meeting and can be placed on our website. Mr. Kellaher is on the school call list. The Town Administrator said there is a way to get non-resident department heads and employees on the list. Correspondence from Mr. Dick Schultz re: Drury Lane: Mr. Schultz, Mr. Redfield and Mr. Kellaher agreed on a handshake to pave Drury Lane during a daytime meeting some time ago. A few meetings ago it was discussed to pave with millings. 3” of millings is roughly $1k. The Town has only spent about $3k on Drury Lane so far. There is no record of any Board action or anything explicit in the minutes, just reference to discussion. Mr. Kellaher stated that Chapter 90 projects are always brought to the board. Ms. Dibb asked how often in the course of various years has Chapter 90 money plans changed because of costs or other changes? Mr. Kellaher said that it doesn’t happen often, but this is one time that it could have because of the overage on costs for the Pommugusset culverts. Mr. Kellaher believes that this matter was addressed in 2013. The Town Administrator spoke with Mr. Schulz before he sent the letter. He indicated that his preference would be to leave the road gravel rather than put millings. There is a current problem with dust. Ms. Dibb asked to remove the personal feelings in this matter, and asked what the Board would be doing? Mr. Kellaher said that calcium chloride is relatively inexpensive, but must be done as a preventative maintenance a couple times a year. Mr. Clark will abstain on any vote in this matter, so there is no quorum tonight. This matter will be placed on the agenda for a vote at the 8/31/2015 meeting. Community Hall Renovation: Mr. Kellaher reviewed a schematic to renovate the basement in the town hall for more office space. He is requesting approximately $50k for this job. Town Administrator confirmed that the previous exterior project money budget was closed out. The primary building has outstanding debt so it is not probable that the remainder of the initial build out and demo funds can be used for this project. The Town Administrator will check further with the Town Accountant and report back to the Board. Christmas Tree Lane – The engineering firm requested a temporary easement during construction. To save money, Mr. Kellaher moved forward with a request for the permanent easement instead. A meeting with the residents’ representative and the Town Administrator will need to be held. Town Counsel has asked for an MOU from the residents instead of a betterment. The Town Administrator stated that there is a new statute pertaining to residents who would benefit from a project so this matter needs further discussion. Ms. Dibb requested a check with town counsel on this to provide the residents with a definitive answer. Pool cover – We received approximately $6,300 from insurance. The kiddie pool cover is the same age as the damaged pool cover, and we should get both at the same time. Both will cost approximately $10,000. The Town Administrator and Mr. Kellaher will need to look at sources for available funding. DEP – water problem. Main concern It will take us a long time to get where we should be for water. Some of that will be attributed to Devereux. Suggested through DCR Wesson and Sampson that we do a complete water audit. These grants should be applied for quickly. Meters and shutoffs are being installed. Do not intend to bill the cemetery for water but is just concerned with identifying and stopping the leaks. Must get town water use down. Visited Muschcopauge today. The state removed the plank. The level of the water does not get there anymore as the water level is 14” to 16” below. It was removed in case of a severe winter storm which could break the plank. There is a pump house, but Rutland does not receive any water from it. Discussion was held as to the historical figures of unaccounted for water. Since the inflow equipment was put in at Devereux, that inflow there was almost instantly dropped. We are finding now that they are using a lot of water for things other than flushing. They are paying for all their work and are being very cooperative. Mr. Kellaher called DCR today and he feels that we have a good relationship with them and they are being very helpful. Mr. Kellaher is waiting for the grant request to be approved for the leak survey. Recommending a leak survey and MRWA has offered to supply technical assistance. Any money that needs to be paid to them will be applied to the grant and they may assist with the grant application. Ms. Dibb stated that this issue is so much bigger than just the cemetery or Devereux. Is dealing with the leaks going to get our withdrawal numbers in line? Or are there other matters involved. We can expand the water ban. Mr. Kellaher will provide updates on this matter as time goes on. Mr. Kellaher would like to modify the posting for Chief Water Operator. He feels that it may be because of some of the licensing requirements that don’t really apply to the position. One of the water operators passed his 3T Grade Treatment License and the Union requires a raise. Town Administrator will work with Mr. Kellaher on this. Complaints have been received of a lack of crosswalk by the old Devereux house. Met with engineers to possibly move it as it is not currently in a safe place. Looking for suggestions for Fisherman’s Road. The state is looking at closing off the road at Route 122 on the north side and making it just a recreational Road, a T-intersection close it off completely or make it into one way. FEMA – Mr. Kellaher met with a representative last week and we will be given some money for our application from the February blizzard. MIIA – We applied for two risk management and loss grants. One is for loss control and another message board in the amount of $5k. The 2^nd one is for the GIS $10k for infrastructure. Sewer Extension – These rules and regulations were presented to the Board in order to allow a couple weeks to review and it will be placed on another meeting. Changes are indicated in bold font throughout the document. Some of the questions regarding water and sewer have to do with subdivisions. We do not have enough water for any additional subdivisions. With Brice-Lemon, Mr. Kellaher was told the developer might install separate wells which would mean larger lots. It is the responsibility of the contractor to pay for peer review for these plan changes. Solar PILOT Agreement: Treasure Valley II – Diane Peterson briefed the board on the status. The Solar Committee was tasked with reviewing a solar agreements. Nexamp agreement was the first agreement up for review. If the Board would like to know about the valuing process, another meeting could be set up. Under new Department of Revenue guidelines, the only issue of substance was discussed with counsel. Because of the cap with the legislature, the payment is triggered by the commercial operation date. The committee feels that there should be no lag in payments to the town so language should be in the agreement to prevent this. We are as anxious to get this project underway as is Nexamp. They are looking for a date to start the Golden Hills Project. Nexamp has asked for a timeline moving forward. The draft agreement has now been fully vetted by town counsel and ready to go on our side. Ms. Peterson is requesting the Board to provide the Town Administrator with approval to move forward with Nexamp. Detail will be provided to the Town Administrator next Wednesday. This document is substantially different from the last solar project document. Ms. Dibb made a motion to authorize the Solar Committee to enter into negotiations with Nexamp regarding the agreement for the tax on the property at Treasure Valley II/Pleasantdale Road project and asked that the Town Administrator be involved in the updates. Ms. Bacon 2^nd the motion. Vote Unanimous. Ms. Dibb posed a question to Ms. Peterson regarding the Rutland Heights property asking if the RDIC approached Solar Committee to get the figures. Ms. Peterson said the project is in flux, and that Mr. Sullivan had requested an opinion which was provided to him directly. There are differing opinions from the RDIC that have been provided to Mr. Briggs. There were a lot of questions in how the figures were calculated. There is some work on the reports that need to be submitted to the town. Ms. Peterson recently attended the City of Boston’s PILOT program and will be happy to share information in that regard. The Town Administrator stated that on August 6^th the Board set dates leading up to the vote on the override as follows: Last day to register to vote for September 16^th Special Town Election is Thursday, 8/27/15. The Town Clerk’s office will be open from 8:00am to 8:00pm (MGL c.51, SS 26). The Board will sign the Special Town Election warrant on Monday, 8/31/2015. The deadline to post Special Town Election warrant is 14 days prior to election on Wednesday 9/2/15. The Special Town Election will be held on Wednesday, 9/16/2015. Polls will be open from 7:00am to 8:00pm. IT services – Heather Lemieux, Barre Town Administrator is on vacation this week. She will be presenting the salary range to her board next week and then will be ready to post the position. The Town Administrator met with Senator Gobi and Rep. Ferguson. They discussed several topics including the solar cap and the opiate crisis. Senator Gobi and Rep. Ferguson will be helpful in looking into solar development on municipal land. They noted that there is a group that meets at the Town of Barre Senior Center regarding this topic which may be helpful to Rutland. They stated that there is an intent to provide additional special educational funding at a local level. Senator Gobi and Rep. Ferguson expressed an interest to meet with administrators and finance at the state level to discuss how contracts are entered into and how towns get their E911 funding. Next Tuesday, August 25^th, the Lt. Governor and her contingent will be here for a community compact signing program. The Town Administrator was asked for input and she indicated that regionalization and shared services are extremely relevant to small communities. Town Administrator is requesting approval by the Board for the Chair to sign the agreement. Ms. Bacon made a motion for the Chair to sign the community compact agreement on behalf of the Board. Ms. Dibb 2^nd the motion. Vote unanimous. REC Pool Camera policy – The REC Department approved the pool camera policy at their committee meeting held on August 12, 2015. The Town Administrator read the policy in its entirety. TOWN ADMINISTRATOR UPDATE: Soils importing: The Town Administrator provided a draft notice which was provided to Mr. Kellaher as the notice may be coming from him. Once finalized, the notice should be distributed out to the community. NEW BUSINESS: A draft Financial policy is for review and will come back for adoption in the Fall. OLD BUSINESS: Adoption of Public Comment Guidelines – The guidelines were provided to the Board at last meeting for review and Town Administrator is asking for approval. Ms. Dibb made a motion to approve the Public Comment Guidelines. (Ms. Dibb read the Guidelines.) Ms. Bacon 2^nd the motion. Vote unanimous. Ms. Dibb made a motion to go into Executive Session for Reason # 3: To discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining or litigation if an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining or litigating position of the public body and the chair so declares (Police Patrolmen’s Contract negotiations) and to return to regular session for purposes of adjournment only. Ms. Bacon 2^nd the motion. Ms. Dibb – aye. Ms. Bacon – aye. Mr. Clark – aye. Vote unanimous. Respectfully submitted, Diane M. Cook, Administrative Secretary Board of Selectmen - Town of Rutland Approved: , 2015 Chairman, Board of Selectmen Attachments: REC Department - Pool Camera Policy Correspondence from Mr. Dick Schultz re: Drury Lane Public Comment Guidelines