MINUTES
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
July 12, 2005
Present at the meeting that was held at the Stow Town Building were Chairman Edward R. Perry Jr. and Selectmen John Clayton, Stephen Dungan, and Janet Wheeler.
Also present were Town Administrator William Wrigley and Administrative Assistant Susan Flint Hosier. Selectman Carole Makary was absent.
Chairman Perry called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
Town Administrator’s Report
Mr. Wrigley reported that the governance agreement for the Public Education and Government Advisory Committee was progressing and would be available for review soon.
He has a contract offer for the new pumper fire truck and is now waiting for the Board to execute the BAN notes (later on the agenda), so the Treasurer/Collector can borrow the funds. The borrowing will include both the pumper truck and the rescue/brush truck.
The Treasurer/Collector has received 12 applications for the Assistant’s position, which are being reviewed by Ms. Landry and Mr. Wrigley. He expects to have a recommendation for appointment at the next meeting.
Council on Aging Director Linda Graves and outreach worker Chris Corff have resigned their positions. Plans to replace them are in progress.
Regarding the request for dog hearing from Animal Control Officer Susan Latham, Mr. Wrigley advised the Board members to send any questions they have after reviewing the request to Ms. Hosier before the hearing, in order to have all the needed information on hand.
Borrowing for Fire Truck – Pam Landry
The Town’s new Treasurer/Collector, Pam Landry, made her first visit to the Board to request approval to borrow $350,000 for the purchase of two new fire trucks. The borrowing was approved by ballot at Annual Town Meeting in May.
Mr. Dungan moved to sign the Bond Anticipation Note for $350,000, Mr. Clayton seconded, and all voted in favor. The board then signed the BAN, which was witnessed by the Town Clerk.
Walcott Street Property and Chapter 61B Withdrawal
The Board discussed the feedback it received from various committees regarding Pennie Cushing’s Walcott Street property and notification of a Purchase and Sale agreement with Bruce Wheeler.
Ms. Cushing showed the Board a sketched plan of the parcels for sale and the land she planned to keep. She noted that, while the P&S offer for the 70 acres of land is $1.6M, the proposed sale has a value well over $2.0M to her, when free engineering and other benefits are included.
Mr. Wrigley said that, given the Town’s interest in the land, the next step is for Town Counsel to confirm that the P&S is a bona fide agreement and evaluate the conditions of the P&S. He recommended that the Board wait to discuss legalities until after Jon Witten’s review.
Mr. Perry noted the need to view the land and asked Ms. Cushing if she was agreeable to site walks. Open Space members Jean Lynch, Kathy Sferra, and Bill Maxfield expressed their interest in a site walk and said the Stow Conservation Trust would also participate.
Mr. Wrigley advised that the committees take a Joint Boards approach for a collective effort in preparation for a possible Town Meeting vote, citing experience with the O’Grady land as an example.
It was agreed to hold two Joint Boards meetings, on August 3 and August 10, with the site visit held beforehand. Mr. Wrigley said he would ask Town Counsel to advise the Town on the P&S in time for the meetings.
Appointment to Highway Department
Superintendent of Streets Mike Clayton asked the Board to appoint Jim Rogers to the Highway Department’s open position of truck driver/laborer. Mr. Clayton so moved, Ms. Wheeler seconded, and all voted in favor.
Liaison Report
Ms. Wheeler, as liaison to the Master Plan Committee, reported that Master Plan is interested in the Cushing property.
Approve minutes of May 25 and June 28 meetings
Mr. Clayton moved, Mr. Dungan seconded, and all voted to approve the May 25 minutes, as amended. The June 28 minutes were not ready for approval.
At the close of the meeting, several future agenda topics were suggested, including tracking action items, progress of committees, and the selectmen’s own goals; a Lake Boon Commission update on the weed control problem, and the status of the town’s two burned-out buildings. Mr. Wrigley briefly updated the Board on the weed problem and offered to update the Board on the two houses at the next meeting.
Mr. Dungan recommended a report done by Finance Committee member Charlie Kern last July on future needs and concerns from Town departments.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:05 p.m., on a motion from Ms. Wheeler, seconded by Mr. Dungan and all voting in favor.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Flint Hosier
Administrative Assistant
Board of Selectmen
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