MINUTES
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
October 13, 2005
Present at the meeting that was held at the Stow Town Building were Chairman Edward Perry 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., reminding the audience that the meeting would be broadcast live on Stow TV Channel 9.
Town Administrator’s Report
Mr. Wrigley said that the Board and he received Town Counsel’s opinion today on Stow filing an amicus brief (friend of the court statement) in support of the Organization for the Assabet River (OAR) litigation on wastewater discharge. He advised the Board to vote this evening whether to have Attorney Witten proceed with the filing.
The Town also received a draft Purchase and Sale Agreement on the Cushing property today, he said. In addition to reviewing the proposed P&S, he advised the Board to rescind two conditions of its September 13 vote pertaining to P&S deadlines this evening.
Ms. Wheeler arrived at 7:10 p.m.
Cushing Property Update
Robert Wilber, chairman of the Open Space and Community Preservation committees, and Kathy Sferra, chairman of the Conservation Commission and member of Open Space and CPC, joined the Board to update members on the Cushing property activities and plans.
Mr. Wilber reviewed the timeline from the Town’s receipt of the Notice of Intent on June 29 through the upcoming Special Town Meeting and the 120-day expiration date on Oct. 26.
Ms. Sferra presented a conceptual plan for the property, created by land-use consultants Beals and Thomas. The plan’s purpose is to identify the 36 acres that owner Alice Cushing will retain and the recommended locations of the ball fields, lots for affordable and market-rate housing, and open space. The school is not part of the plan.
The plan has six units of affordable housing, while the number of market-rate lots will be determined by the financial analysis. Eighty-eight percent of the land will remain open space.
Underlying the plan is the belief that this is an opportunity to meet multiple community needs and that it is an example of what the Community Preservation Act is intended to accomplish.
Mr. Wilber listed the following funding sources for the purchase:
· Community Preservation Committee – agreeable to funding 50 percent of the overall cost of the purchase
· Stow Conservation Trust – up to 10 percent of the open space portion
· Sale of two to three market-rate lots
· Grants, e.g., a self-help grant from the Commonwealth’s Executive Office of Environmental Affairs
The goal is to have no costs to the Town by selling the market-rate lots.
The Board voted to rescind two conditions of its September 13 vote pertaining to P&S deadlines for the Cushing property purchase: the requirements to have a P&S (1) within 21 days of the initial vote and (2) before filing the Town’s notification to purchase with the Registry of Deeds. Mr. Dungan so moved, Mr. Clayton seconded, and all voted in favor.
The Board briefly discussed an upcoming Joint Boards meeting to discuss the Cushing, Corzine, and Minute Man properties, which Ms. Wheeler will chair in Mr. Perry’s absence.
OAR Request for Stow Amicus Brief
The Board discussed Town Counsel Witten’s summary of the brief and recommendation, and his estimate of $2,600, which Mr. Wrigley said could be taken from the annual operating budget for legal expenses.
Following a discussion of the potential positive and negative impact of having Stow take action, Mr. Clayton moved to have Town Counsel prepare and submit the amicus brief, Mr. Dungan seconded, and all voted in favor.
Employee Salary Survey
Mr. Wrigley shared the Salary Survey Committee’s recommendations with the Board and Mr. Perry, a member of the committee, noted his support of the methodology and results. It was agreed that copies of the job descriptions of Town employees would be distributed to the Board.
Appointments of Council on Aging Outreach Coordinator and Outreach Worker
Based on recommendation from the Council on Aging, the Board appointed two new employees.
Mr. Dungan moved to appoint Sharon Funkhouser as the COA Outreach Coordinator, Ms. Wheeler seconded, and all voted in favor.
Mr. Dungan moved to appoint Elizabeth Scesney as the COA Outreach Worker, Ms. Wheeler seconded, and all voted in favor.
Bills/Minutes
A motion to approve the Sep 27 minutes as submitted was withdrawn and the action tabled until Ms. Makary was present. There was a brief review of the procedure for approving minutes, stated in the Board’s policy, to ensure that the Open Meeting law is observed.
Selectmen’s Goals – Quarterly Review
Mr. Dungan reviewed his work toward his FY2006 goals.
· Define Work of Municipal Land Use and Open Space Committees: he created a Town-wide organization chart to see relationships among committees. The next step is to compare missions for overlap.
· Build Mutual Understanding Between Town and NRSD: He set up a working group of Selectmen, Finance, and NRSD School Committee; they have been meeting since this summer. The next step is for the Municipal Relations Team to visit the Board and request formal recognition as a committee.
· Financial LRP and Stored Assets Policy: He completed a property tax analysis to show actual tax growth for the past eight years (report available from the Selectmen’s Office). In progress are a “What If” analysis to show needed changes for a balanced budget and resurrecting guidelines done by Greg Jones on the minimum amount needed in stored assets.
The Board decided to meet in Executive Session on Oct. 19 to discuss the Cushing P&S in preparation for Town Meeting.
At 9:15 p.m., Mr. Dungan moved, Ms. Wheeler, and all voted to adjourn.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Flint Hosier
Administrative Assistant
Board of Selectmen
Approved as amended, November 8, 2005.
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