MINUTES
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
November 22, 2005
Present at the meeting that was held at the Stow Town Building were Chairman Edward Perry and Selectmen Stephen Dungan, Carole Makary, and Janet Wheeler. Selectman John Clayton did not attend.
Also present were Town Administrator William Wrigley and Administrative Assistant Susan Flint Hosier.
Chairman Perry called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
Town Administrator’s Report
Mr. Wrigley reported that the Hale School Building Project audit was ready for the selectmen’s acceptance and submission to the state’s School Building Assistance Board for reimbursement of the project costs. Mr. Wrigley, who served as project manager for the 10-year effort, said the audit results were good and that only $27,000 of the $9.0M project expenses were not reimbursable. That amount represents 0.29 percent of the costs submitted for payment and the Department of Education said that the payment approval of 99.7 percent is an extremely high percentage.
Mr. Dungan moved to accept~the Hale~School audit and have Chairman Perry sign for the Board, Ms. Makary seconded, and all~voted in favor.
Right-to-Farm and Agricultural Commission – Dwight Sipler
Dwight Sipler, resident and owner of Small Farm, presented overviews of two warrant articles for the Dec. 12 Special Town Meeting: the addition of a Right-to-Farm provision for the Town of Stow general bylaws and the creation of an agricultural commission.
Mr. Sipler said both articles are intended to support agriculture as a part of Stow’s rural look and character. He emphasized that the Right-to-Farm bylaw is a restatement of state law, based on the Attorney General’s model, and not new legislation. He confirmed that the bylaw does not exempt farmers from local zoning bylaws. The agricultural commission is a non-regulatory body to provide a needed interface between Stow’s farmers and the Town boards. Both the bylaw and commission are being adopted by an increasing number of towns.
LACAC (PEG) annual report to Comcast
Stow TV Coordinator Anne VanTine, representing the PEG Committee, requested the Board’s approval of PEG’s annual report to Comcast. Mr. Dungan so moved, Ms. Makary seconded, and all voted in favor of submitting the report to Comcast.
Appointment of Call Firefighters
Following Fire Chief Soar’s request for appointment of two call firefighters, Ms. Makary moved to appoint those recommended by the Chief – David Farley and Sheila Crowley-Beck, Mr. Dungan seconded, and all voted in favor.
Approval of Meeting Minutes
Nov 8: Mr. Dungan moved to approve the minutes, as amended, Ms. Wheeler seconded, and all voted in favor.
Oct 24: Ms. Makary asked that the Board approve an attachment she wished to make to the Oct 24, 2005 minutes, per the selectmen’s policy on meeting minutes. Ms. Wheeler so moved, Mr. Dungan seconded, and all voted in favor.
School Building Committee Member’s Financial Disclosure Statement
Edmund Green, as a voting member of the School Building Committee, submitted a financial disclosure statement to the Board. His property abuts the Minute Man Chapter 61 land on Boxboro Road, which the School Building Committee is recommending the Town purchase for new school construction.
As a special municipal employee, Mr. Green disclosures a potential financial interest to the appointing authority of the SBC – jointly, the Board of Selectmen and the Stow members of the Nashoba Regional School Committee. The appointing authority then determines whether a substantial interest exists that would affect the integrity of the employee’s service.
Mr. Dungan moved to sign the determination, finding that this would not affect Mr. Green’s service to the Town; Ms. Wheeler seconded. Mr. Dungan, Mr. Perry, and Ms. Wheeler voted in favor. Ms. Makary abstained. Mr. Perry signed the determination, to be filed with the Town Clerk.
Cushing Property Update and Next Steps
Bob Wilber, chair of the Open Space and Community Preservation committees, and Kathy Sferra, chair of the Conservation Commission, presented an update on planning activities for the Town’s development of the Cushing Walcott Street property. The present focus is on the due diligence activities for the purchase, which are expected to be complete by the Jan. 23 deadline.
Several project components need management: for example, Affordable Housing needs an RFP to developers; Market-rate Housing needs a building plan; and Recreation needs playing field plans.
A project manager is needed, too, the role to include permitting and construction management.
The discussion ended with agreement to appoint a design team for the project, the members being Kathy Sferra, Bob Wilber, Jon Witten, Bill Wrigley and Carole Makary. Mr. Dungan moved to appoint this project team, Ms. Wheeler, seconded, and all voted in favor.
Property owner Pennie Cushing, from the audience, commented on the status of purchase negotiations; Mr. Wrigley advised the Board not to discuss these matters until the Executive Session scheduled to follow.
Executive Session
At 7:59 p.m., Ms. Wheeler moved, Mr., Dungan seconded and all voted to enter Executive Session, for the purpose of discussing the Cushing Chapter 61 land purchase, per MGL C. 39, s. 23B.
At 8:35 p.m., the Board returned to Open Session from Executive Session and immediately adjourned on a motion from Ms. Makary, seconded by Ms. Wheeler, and with all voting in favor.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Flint Hosier
Administrative Assistant
Board of Selectmen
Approved as written, December 6, 2005
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