Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes
September 10, 2018
6:00 p.m.
Rutland Public Library
Present: Skip Clark, Wayne Walker, Sheila Dibb, Jeff Stillings, Leah Whiteman
Others: Robert Reed, Town Administrator and Abby Benoit, Administrative Secretary
Ms. Dibb opened the meeting at 6:00 p.m. also being taped to broadcast on cable channel 191 and on u tube. The u tube link can be accessed through the town website.
The pledge of allegiance was recited.
Mr. Clark moved to sign treasury warrant 6 and payrolls. Mr. Walker 2nd. Vote unanimous.
Mr. Clark moved to approve minutes from August 27, 2018 as presented. Mr. Stillings 2nd. Vote unanimous.
Pole Hearing Wachusett Street, National Grid
Ms. Dibb opened the hearing at 6:01 p.m. for one solely owned pole on Wachusett Street.
Mr. Kellaher has viewed and approved the pole placement location.
Jay Lussier from National Grid presented the petition for placement of the new pole one Wachusett Street, the pole is for underground service to a home. There was no public comment regarding the location of the pole.
Ms. Dibb closed the hearing at 6:03 p.m.
Ms. Whiteman moved for the Board to approve National Grid to install 1 SO Pole on Wachusett St beginning at a point approximately 650 feet Northeast of the centerline of the intersection of East County Road and Wachusett St and continuing approximately 20’ in a Northwest direction. National Grid to install pole 39-1. National Grid to run approximately 45’ of secondary conductor from P39 (existing) to P39-1 (proposed) and connect customer underground to overhead. Mr. Clark 2nd. Vote unanimous.
Anita Carlson, Primary Election Update
The Clerks’ office is finalizing the primary election, they have received an email from Edison Research for the November election scheduled for Tuesday November 6th. There will be a two week early voting period during office hours. 1102 people cast ballots in the primary which represents 17.5 percent of eligible voters.
A few people had expressed concerns with school being in session during the primary election. Right now the only elections that the school will be open are the primary, unless a special election is scheduled. Currently there will not be another for another 2 years. November is an in service day. Ms. Clark discussed adding a second police officer to the Naquag lobby if school is open during elections.
Ms. Whiteman discussed that there had been past discussion about changing town meeting and town election, this needs to be considered if the dates are changed.
The deadline to register to vote is October 17th, the Clerk’s office will be open until 8 p.m.
David George, Introduction, Town Planner and Community Development Coordinator
Mr. George introduced himself, he is a Holden resident, the opportunity of this position was too good to pass up and he is looking forward to working with the town. Mr. George was previously employed by the Town of Lexington, he has learned a lot from his prior experience and is hoping to use his knowledge and experience for the Town’s planning agenda.
Mr. Anderson said he has met with Mr. George on Fridays during the past month, he is diving in and reviewing plans.
Public Comment
Dick Williams, Overlook Road wants to make sure the town follows up with property owners on Philips and Fairview and that the contractor has received permission to run a line down a private street.
Mr. Reed will follow up.
Mr. Williams asked about the parking lot at the library, Mr. Kellaher stated that he has been discussing another possible shared use.
Department Updates
Gary Kellaher, DPW
Mr. Kellaher discussed a grant for Rutland Heights, the State House thought that the town could not do work on the road until the land was developed. This should not impact the funds, Mr. Kellaher has contacted Kim Ferguson and Senator Gobi who agree. There needs to be a set of plans, Mr. Kellaher will reach out to Quinn for plans and apply for the grant. This was from a transportation bill from 2014. The project will need to be shovel ready, which it currently is, it is just missing the plans.
Charnock Road is complete with the exception of backfill and driveway repair, the contractor is fixing the problems. Mr. Kellaher stated that the road exceeds its preexisting conditions, he is happy with the results and has received many calls complimenting the paver and the way the work was done. The width of the road and length is fine and the ditches have millings with pipe for drainage.
Ms. Dibb stated that the one goal was that it did not interfere with school starting. What should we do in the future to avoid this type of construction impacting school? Mr. Kellaher stated scheduling with a contractor is very difficult, more so when it is last minute and urgent. Ms. Dibb asked if it is reasonable for a contractor to start later in the day.
The fence at the playground was removed today by DPW staff, per the insurance company it is ok to not have a fence, Mr. Kellaher feels a fence should be there for safety from road.
Mr. Kellaher said it was approximately $13,000 to replace the fence with a bottom runner and it would be a heavier gage post and fencing. Ms. Dibb asked for pricing to be finalized for Fall Special Town Meeting.
There was discussion about a temporary option.
Ms. Dibb stated that there is a playground at the Heifer property that was donated in recognition of a women that passed away. It was then donated to the town once the Heifer property closed, it was agreed that the town would accept the donation and relocate the playset to the community center at the end of the tree line in the back of the field. The resident is looking for donations or pricing for the mulch to meet ADA requirements. Some funds have been raised, the resident is also contacting the manufacturer of the set to see if there is an ADA compliant piece that can be added to the existing set. There is approval for the site, but will not start work until they have mulch. The set will be taken apart by volunteers and the site will be prepped by volunteers.
There was discussion about the collective bargaining needing to happen in executive session.
Town Administrator Report, Robert Reed
Ambulance Purchase
Chief Knipe discussed the purchase of the ambulance approved at Town meeting. There was a committee formed to make a recommendation of the purchase. After the trade of the existing 2008 ambulance, the cost will be $204,276. The Town Administrator needs authorization to sign the purchase order and letter of intent, the ambulance will be available in the spring. Town meeting approved $265,000, there are additional costs for a stretcher. It is the same size as the current ambulance and 4 wheel drive.
Mr. Stillings moved to authorize the Town Administrator to sign the purchase order for the ambulance. Mr. Walker 2nd. Vote unanimous.
Mr. Reed stated that there was a meeting with Mr. Kellaher and Ms. Remington to discuss the three locations of water coming into the library, the rear side door, the equipment room and beside the front door. If the door is fixed it should fix the water into the equipment room. Mr. Kellaher will be putting it on his schedule and has purchased french drains to attach to the perimeter drain. That should take care of the water problem. For the rear door, the slab will be removed and a french drain will be installed with pavers put on top.
Marsh Field, the ad has been put in the central registrar. Finishing touches will be done tomorrow, and an ad will be put in the newspaper for 30 days.
Mr. Williams asked about marsh field and the liability because it was a dump and if liability should be included in the RPF stating that the town cannot be held liable.
Mr. Reed reminded the board about personnel policies, they need to be reviewed and approved.
Mr. Reed has set up a working group with Mr. Kellaher, Ms. Carlson, Ms. Tuttle and the new planner to look at options for the town buildings space needs and possible expansion of RRECC.
Mr. Williams said the standby generator only services the public safety building and is not connected to the Annex. Chief Knipe confirmed the conduit is already under the ground to the Annex.
New Business:
Building Committee: The Board needs to think about the structure for the committee that is going to overlook the town assets and buildings. Ms. Dibb asked if we can get information on a contractor that does this type of work.
RDIC Heights Property Solar Project Roundtable: A meeting is scheduled for September 12th, it will be an update from RDIC on the process, Ms. Dibb confirmed she will be attending.
Wachusett District Budget Discussion: A multi-town discussion is scheduled for September 11th in Holden. Tom Ruchala and Ms. Dibb will be attending.
Old Business:
Town Administrator Search: Ms. Dibb asked the Board for feedback on the interviews. Mr. Stillings stated that the 2nd candidate withdrew, Ms. Dibb stated that she got the impression that this candidate did not have the financial experience for the position.
Mr. Walker stated that the candidate should be someone that can step right in to the position and continue forward, none of the candidates had the whole package that is needed. Mr. Clark stated that none of the candidates had the financial experience needed.
Mr. Stillings discussed the third candidates counsel experience, Ms. Whiteman had concerns with this. Mr. Walker recommended expanding the search.
Ms. Dibb discussed candidate Donaghue and the possibility of mentoring her through the first budget season.
There was further discussion about candidates.
The last search was completed with the Collins Center, they are state funded but there is a cost involved. There are other options for recruitment firms including MRI. Mr. Reed recommended scheduling a special meeting to interview the search firms. There was discussion about Mr. Reed selecting a search company. Mr. Reed would be most comfortable with the selectmen involved. The Board agreed to schedule a special meeting for the following week to interview 3 recruitment firms.
DPW Superintendent Search
The Board voted at the last meeting to contract with MRI, the contract has been executed and the present candidates will also be considered by MRI with any other applicants. Mr. Stillings asked the current applicant resumes can be reviewed, there was discussion about the pool being small, it was decided to keep the existing pool and expand.
Mr. Walker moved to sign the contract for professional services for MRI for the search process of the DPW Superintendent. Mr. Stillings 2nd. Vote unanimous.
Ms. Dibb stated that there were recent resident questions regarding the water quality.
Neil Viner confirmed that the water is 100 percent safe to drink, it is an issue that comes up every year where the pond turns over and the water has a smell or taste. They are trying to do everything they can to eliminate the problem.
The complete 2017 water report is available on the website. The reports are available online with a gap in 2012.
The CCR report violation in 2016 was because there was a deadline date of July 1, it was missed by 2-3 days. The next report will be due before July 1st.
There is soil a distance away from the reservoir that is tested regularly, there has been no change in the testing reports.
The pond level is -7.5, that was taken at the end of August, it is -7.5 below the high water mark. The average since Holden has been out is -34.
Some of the issues causing the taste and odor are the temperature and the turnover. As the water gets warmer it turns and the organic matter comes up. The issue should end soon, typically with the colder days and nights.
There was also a question on security, the department is in the process of obtaining quotes.
Ms. Dibb talked about the well at Rutland Heights and what steps needs to be done for finding it and testing it. There was also discussion about connecting to the Quabbin.
Mr. Viner stated that the source should be secondary and not for expansion. The well at the heights was put in for dust suppression so they didn’t have to use town water. The water quality is good, the pressure was designed for residential use. The gauge wasn’t for the scale of town support. Well water does not have to be treated.
Ms. Whiteman asked if a memo can go in the water sewer bill to notify people about what is happening.
Mr. Stillings moved to enter 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, only to return to open session for the purpose of adjournment. Mr. Walker 2nd. Roll call vote: Mr. Stillings aye, Ms. Whiteman aye, Ms. Dibb aye, Mr. Walker aye, Mr. Clark aye.
The Board moved to executive session at 7:36 p.m.
The Board returned to open session at 7:47 p.m.
Mr. Clark moved to adjourn. Mr. Walker 2nd. Vote unanimous
The Board adjourned at 7:47 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Abby Benoit
Administrative Secretary
Board of Selectmen
Approved ________
| 
