TOWN OF RUTLAND
BOARD OF SELECTMEN MINUTES
Monday, March 16, 2015
Rutland Public Library
6:00pm
Present: Michael S. Pantos, Chairman, Joseph Becker, Wayne A. Walker, Leroy C. Clark, Sheila Dibb. Also present: Diane M. Cook, Administrative Secretary
Call to order at 6:00pm by Mr. Pantos.
Mr. Clark made a motion to sign Payroll and Warrant #20. Mr. Walker 2nd the motion. Vote was unanimous.
Mr. Clark made a motion to accept the minutes from March 2, 2015 as presented. Mr. Walker 2nd the motion and Ms. Dibb abstained. Motion passed.
Mr. Clark made a motion to accept the Executive Session Minutes from March 2, 2015 as presented. Mr. Walker 2nd the motion and Ms. Dibb abstained. Motion passed.
OPEN SESSION:
DISPATCH: Nick DaDalt, Director
- Mr. DaDalt made a request to appoint four part time dispatch positions. The candidates were introduced with a brief background as follows:
- Mr. Brian J. Cotoni of Leominster: Brian is currently a full-time Communication Specialist/EMT with UMass-Memorial EMS/LifeFlight, Worcester, and has 24 years of public safety dispatching experience.
- Mr. Christopher D. Wilder, Jr. of Rutland: Chris is currently a full-time Dispatcher with the Sterling Police Department, and has 9 years of public safety dispatching experience.
- Mr. Matthew L. Ryel of Spencer: Matt is currently a full-time Dispatcher with the City of Worcester, and is also a part-time Patrolman with the Barre Police Department
- Mr. Richard J. Vincuilla of Worcester: Rich is currently a Corrections Officer with the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office. This will be his first position as a public safety dispatcher.
As there were no questions from the board, Mr. Walker made a motion for the following appointments:
- Mr. Brian J. Cotoni of Leominster: Part-Time Dispatcher, FY15 Rate of Pay $17.20/hour, effective March 16, 2015, subject to a one-year probationary period.
- Mr. Christopher D. Wilder, Jr. of Rutland: Part-Time Dispatcher, FY15 Rate of Pay $17.20/hour, effective March 17, 2015, subject to a one-year probationary period.
- Mr. Matthew L. Ryel of Spencer: Part-Time Dispatcher, FY15 Rate of Pay $17.20/hour, effective March 18, 2015, subject to a one-year probationary period.
- Mr. Richard J. Vincuilla of Worcester: Part-Time Dispatcher, FY15 Rate of Pay $17.20/hour, effective March 19, 2015, subject to a one-year probationary period.
Mr. Clark 2nd the motion. Vote was unanimous.
COA: Rose Anne Ferrandino, Secretary of the COA Board, presented documentation to the Board to recommend resignations and appointments.
Mr. Clark made a motion to accept the resignations of Carol Brown effective March 4, 2015 and Ann Hudzikiewicz effective March 1, 2015. Ms. Dibb 2nd the motion. Vote unanimous.
Mr. Clark made a motion for Nancy Nichols, to be appointed as Director of Council on Aging at a rate of pay according to the matrix at a rate of MTP3 Step 2 retroactive to January 28, 2015.
Mr. Becker questioned why the rate of pay was starting at Step 2 instead of starting at Step 1, as new positions typically start at Step 1. Ms. Ferrandino stated that Ms. Nichols has been in the position long enough and the COA Board feels that she has proven her work and dedication to justify the Step 2 start. Discussion was held on this matter. There being no objections, Mr. Becker 2nd the motion. Vote unanimous.
Mr. Clark made a motion to appoint Cathy Corcoran as Interim Outreach Coordinator until as such time as the position is officially posted at a rate of OAD2 Step 1 at $14.73 per hour effective immediately. Mr. Walker 2nd the motion. Vote unanimous.
DPW: Gary Kellaher, DPW Superintendent
Solar Array at Treasure Valley - Raymond Griffen, Chris Clark -VP Development for Nexamp
Mohegan Council is seeking to construct a second array. Because of time constraints and another layer created by the re-establishment of the town Solar Committee, they are requesting the Board to approve an agreement with the Town of Rutland and that the PILOT and tax levies be placed on the warrant for the May Town Meeting.
Discussion use of land for Solar Array Phase 2 which is radically different than Phase 1:
Phase1 Phase2
36 acres 6 acres
20,000 3,500 panels
6MW 1MW
Mr. Griffen stated a lesson learned is “do not build a solar array during the winter season.” Timeline for Phase 2 is to get the work done during the good weather. In order to do this, they need an article for a pilot agreement this year.
Mr. Griffen suggested taking the existing pilot for Phase 1 and extending, or recognizing to include Phase 2. This parallels a 2nd program here in town. Investors, property purchased – there are no issues, and there is an engineering firm ready to do a formal study. Mr. Kellaher asked if TV is hoping to piggy back this onto the Nexamp agreement or are they looking to revise?
Mr. Clark stated that a piggy back would be great to get it off the ground but ultimately they are looking for an agreement for the 2nd project. Mr. Walker suggested that they couldn’t piggy back because the other project being developed doesn’t have anything to do with Mohegan. Mr. Clark cited other projects where this was done and indicated that he had met with our assessors with this same discussion 6-7 months ago.
Mr. Becker feels that things have changed since the first project was negotiated. The town is creating a solar committee to find a consultants who will negotiate for the town.
Mr. Griffen - Phase One is substantially better than others across the board and should get revenue in here this year. There is nothing in our committee’s charge that would prohibit the Board from voting on this question. Even though solar is a business, they are saving non-profits 20% - 25% off on electric bills including Mohegan Council and would like to promote this as much as possible.
Mr. Becker stated that we need an article on the warrant in order to proceed with a pilot. The Board is currently waiting for town counsel to provide a response as to the proper way to post the articles. Further discussion was held.
Mr. Clark made a motion to put a place holder on the May 9th Town meeting for a solar array at Treasure Valley. Mr. Walker 2nd the motion. Vote unanimous.
Mr. Pantos requested Letter of Intent from both parties to present to Town Counsel. This would expedite the matter. Leasehold for the land is Mohegan. Nexamp owns the facility.
Brice Lemon Sewer Permit: Clea Blair, Jr. - Mr. Pantos read a letter from town counsel in response to the purported application for a permit for the sewer system extension or connection for Brice Lemon. He then directed that this item be placed on the agenda for another Board meeting.
Mr. Becker stated that the new CMR requires a town to grant or not grant a sewer extension. Mr. Kellaher is working with Weston & Sampson in this regard. Mr. Becker asked for a timeline for developing a uniform application.
IDA submission: Mr. Kellaher stated that the amount for storm damage for the 4 storms January through February was $242k+ for DPW, Dispatch, Fire and Police.
Establishment of a Solar Committee: After discussion, Mr. Kellaher was directed to advertise for the two open Solar Committee board positions and to post on cable.
Mr. Clark made a motion to appoint Gary Kellaher, Peter Letsky, and Norm Anderson as board members for the Solar Committee. Mr. Walker 2nd the motion. Vote unanimous.
FIRE: Brad Weber, Chief - Discussion was held regarding Regional IT. Chief Weber requested permission from the Board to continue negotiations with Barre on this matter: Dispatch will take care of the four towns and Barre would take the lead for the split between Barre and Rutland.
The Board directed that Chief Weber should continue with this line of investigation and move forward with the plans for hiring a joint IT person with Barre and Dispatch. Also, to continue with preparation of the RFP in case the joint IT person is not approved by vote at either town.
Discussion was held regarding offering free Wi-Fi in the library and parking lot.
EMS – A discussion was held regarding appointing two representatives to the Central Mass EMS Corp Steering Committee. Mr. Clark asked what will this do for the town. Chief Weber responded that membership to the EMS allows Rutland to be a part of rule changes in all areas including dealing with hospitals. There are many things that this group does which will benefit the Town. They are a contract company which oversees EMS in central Massachusetts. The committee meets once a year for 2 hours. Only one appointee needs to attend. The Board asked who brought the names forward. Chief Weber responded they were recommended by Deputy Chief Knipe. Discussion was held as to appropriateness of the appointees to vote decisions and make policy. No one from Rutland has attended meetings for the
last 5 years.
Mr. Clark suggested changing the name for the first police representative from Officer Downey to Sgt. Monaco. Mr. Becker made a motion to designate Deputy Chief Knipe as Town Representative and Sgt. Monaco as the town’s First Responder Representative to serve as corporate members for Central MA EMS Corp. Mr. Walker 2nd the motion. Mr. Clark abstained. Motion passed.
OPEN SESSION: Town Administrator - Mr. Pantos provided an update on the search for the new town administrator. Copies of five resumes were handed out for review. Mr. Pantos read the five names: Doug Willardson, Carter Terenzini, Ryan Redshaw, Margaret Nartowicz, and Heather Budrewicz.
Mr. Redshaw is out of state. Mr. Walker would like to review the resumes before making a response. Discussion was held to interview all five and possibly interview the out of state person by Skype.
Mr. Walker will review the slate of questions and submit them to the BOS office for editing and to send back out. It was decided to hold a conference call with the out of state applicant.
Walk/Run - Elizabeth Doyle requested approval to coordinate and organize a Walk/Run in memory of Alan Charlonne. The start would be at Memorial Field May 31st, Sunday afternoon. Ms. Dibb brought up the question of a private entity operating a benefit. Ms. Doyle stated that all funds will go directly into the bank account or checks will be written directly to the fund. Ms. Doyle will look into liability insurance. One officer is donating his own time.
Ms. Dibb made a motion to approve the request of Ms. Doyle to allow her to hold a 3.5 mile walk/run in memory of Allen Charlonne on May 31st with the caveat that event day insurance is provided and to allow a single officer from the Rutland police force to donate his time for detail coverage for the event. Mr. Walker 2nd Vote unanimous.
POLICE: Chief Haapakoski - There is a new officer on duty is being trained and will soon be moved to a regular shift. Part-timers are scheduled for medical and physical this week hoping to start next week with their field training. Officer Chauvin is leaving in the morning for boot camp training. Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association appointed the Chief to the Traffic & Highway Safety Sub Committee. Pleasantdale and Route122 have a high occurrence of accidents. Looking into options.
In reviewing the warrant and payroll, Mr. Clark asked for a clarification of some abbreviated terms used in the report. The Chief explained that there are abbreviations because of the program that they use to track all the figures.
CABLE ADVISORY: Update – nothing to report.
CORRESPONDENCE: Responding to an email request from Anne Davis, Mr. Pantos stated that he has spoken to Baypath about the Gold Cane Replicas. The students can make the replicas. The cost would be approx. $50-$60 with the metal cap on top. Mr. Pantos has pictures of the cane and will supply BayPath with measurements, then they will start producing them. The goal is to provide the info this Wednesday. The plan is to purchase ½ dozen to start. Implementation is to be determined.
Nomination of Inspector of Animals – Ms. Dibb made a motion to appoint Mr. Clark and Ms. Pease as inspectors of animals for the Town of Rutland. Mr. Becker 2nd the motion. Mr. Clark abstained. Motion passed.
Mr. Clark made a motion to appoint William Cassenelli to the position of Building Commissioner with the restriction that he obtain the proper license(s) within the time frame allowed. Mr. Becker made the appointment as provisional with the provision to be dropped once the license is obtained. Ms. Dibb questioned whether the town should continue to seek more applicants. Mr. Walker disagreed stating that Mr. Cassanelli is a good solid candidate with everything the Board is seeking except for the commissioner’s license. Mr. Walker is comfortable with the one candidate. Mr. Walker 2nd the motion. Vote unanimous.
Charity Run - Mr. Kellaher stated that DPW employee, Dan Macaruso, participated in a run for charity in full fire gear as a representative of Rutland. Congratulations to Dan. Very well done for a very good cause.
Mr. Walker made a motion to adjourn to 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 – Rutland Police Sergeants Union Contract Negotiations to return to regular session only for purpose of adjournment. Mr. Clark 2nd the motion. Vote unanimous.
ADJOURN at 9:00pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Diane M. Cook, Administrative Secretary
Board of Selectmen - Town of Rutland
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