MINUTES
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
April 12, 2005
Present at the meeting that was held at the Town Building were Chairman John Clayton and Selectmen Kathleen K. Farrell, Carole A. Makary, Edward R. Perry Jr., and Janet Wheeler.
Also present were Town Administrator William Wrigley and Administrative Assistant Susan Flint Hosier.
Chairman Clayton called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
Town Administrator’s Activity Report
Mr. Wrigley reported that a draft of the Police Chief’s contract was ready for review at the Executive Session later in the meeting.
Mr. Wrigley also updated the Board on the status of capital requests to be considered at annual Town Meeting in May. Prior to the evening’s meeting, he received new information from the Capital Planning Committee, which indicated a request from the Nashoba School District for $150,000.
The alternatives he proposed for funding the district’s capital requests were to raise and appropriate the sum, take it from Free Cash, or pay for the eligible items (four of the six) from the School Building Committee’s account for Center and Pompo renovations. As the information had just been received, he had more research to do before making a recommendation.
Vote of Override and Debt Exclusion
The Board voted to accept the Annual Town Meeting warrant, dated April 12, 2005, and to approve ballot questions for an override and debt exclusion, per MGL Chapter 59, section 21c, as follows.
Ms. Makary moved, Mr. Perry seconded, and all voted to approve the ballot questions, as written in the warrant and included here:
Question 1: “Shall the Town of Stow be allowed to assess an additional Three Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($350,000) in real estate and personal property taxes for the purpose of funding the Town’s operating budget and the Town’s two Regional School District assessments for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2005?”
Question 2:“Shall the Town of Stow be allowed to exempt from the provisions of proposition two and one-half, so-called, the amounts required to pay for the bond issued in order to finance the purchase of two new fire trucks? “
Ms. Makary moved, Mr. Perry seconded, and all voted to approve the 2004 Annual Town Meeting Warrant, dated April 12, 2005.
Approval of Anticipation Note for Modular Classrooms
Treasurer Carol Vogel joined the meeting for the Board to approve borrowing to enable Stow to pay for modular classrooms. The amount of $230,000 was approved by the 2003 Town Meeting. Board members signed the note and the tax exemption certification.
Joint Appointment to the Board of Health
The Boards of Health and Selectmen jointly appointed Mary Cormier to fill a vacancy on the Board of Health, following Gordon Landis’ resignation. The appointment runs until Town Election in May, with Ms. Cormier running for the position unopposed.
Board of Health Chairman Marcia Rising said that she and the other board member, Sylvia Daley, were in favor of appointing Ms. Cormier. Ms. Makary moved to appoint Ms. Cormier, Ms. Wheeler seconded, and all voted in favor.
Appointment to the Master Plan Committee
Based on a recommendation and request from the Master Plan Committee, the Board appointed Roy Miller to fill the open Member-at-Large position. Mr. Perry moved, Ms. Wheeler seconded, and all voted in favor of Mr. Miller’s appointment.
Bolton Cable Access Agreement
Ms. Makary moved to approve the cable access agreement with Bolton, dated Feb. 17, 2005, Mr. Perry seconded and all voted in favor. The signed agreement will be returned to the Bolton Board of Selectmen.
Municipal Grant Application for State Funding
Ms. Makary moved to approve the Town’s submission of the Municipal Grant Application for the Kettell Farm APR, dated March 29, 2005, Mr. Perry seconded, and all voted in favor. The signed application will be returned to the Commonwealth’s Department of Agricultural Resources, in preparation for the upcoming APR acceptance.
Special Beer and Wine Licenses for the Air Field Café
The Board approved two special (one-day) beer and wine licenses for the Air Field Café, for use on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day of 2005. Ms. Makary moved to approve, Ms. Wheeler seconded, and all voted in favor.
PEG Committee Update
Mr. Perry, the Board’s liaison to the Town’s Public Education & Government (PEG) Advisory Committee, updated the Board on PEG’s activities.
Mr. Perry began with PEG’s progress toward recording and broadcasting Town board meetings from the Town Building. The Warren Room will be equipped for recording with a turnkey solution to produce high-quality cablecasts. The purchase price of $20,213, to be funded from the PEG account, covers equipment and a one-time setup charge. Ten percent of the purchase price should be budgeted annually for maintenance costs. The question of funds for a new conference table, allowing a better seating arrangement for cablecasts, will be brought back to the PEG Committee for comments.
Mr. Wrigley then explained the future governance of the Town’s cable TV operation. PEG was formed as an advisory committee to initiate the introduction of public cable access to Stow. Having achieved its purpose, PEG, as presently established, will dissolve and the Town’s cable TV operation might be governed directly by the Board of Selectmen. These discussions will continue and various options will be considered.
The videotaping of Town Meeting was briefly discussed, including the volunteers’ contributions over the years and continuing lack of necessary equipment. At present, the only commitment from PEG is to set up replicating video in the overflow room.
Town Website Update
Town Clerk Linda Hathaway updated the Board on Town employees’ work to support the website, including the successful public launch and several trouble spots to be remedied.
One immediate concern is that the Town departments are not yet prepared to manage residents’ e-mails for all types of requests and questions, which needs planning to be successful. It was also noted that e-mail communications are part of the public record and must be managed according to Town and State regulations. The Board agreed to limit public e-mail to the site to site-specific comments, for the time being. The vendor will be requested to implement the change as soon as possible.
A second need is to better distribute the work to support all the Town committees and departments listed on the website. It was agreed that Board members and employees involved would bring a list of “Can Dos” to the next meeting. It was recommended that Ms. Wheeler work with the Town Clerk and the Selectmen’s Administrative Assistant on policy issues to bring back to the Board.
Eagle Scout Recognition Process
Ms. Makary requested that the recently used process for acknowledging Eagle Scouts be modified, such that letters from the Board of Selectmen are mailed to the scouts before their ceremony and the proclamations are delivered in person at the ceremony by the Board’s representative for the individual scout.
Impromptu Capital Planning Committee Visit
Several members of the Capital Planning Committee joined the Board briefly to inquire about the capital requests included in the Town Meeting warrant.
At 8:55 p.m., the Board voted by roll-call vote to enter Executive Session, as provided by MGL Chapter 39, Section 23B (2), for the purpose of employee contract negotiations.
At 9:10 p.m., the Board voted by roll-call vote to adjourn from Executive Session and re-enter Open Session.
Minutes
Prior to reviewing the meeting minutes, Chairman Clayton requested that the Board adopt a policy that documents issued from the Selectmen’s Office electronically should be uneditable, as a protection against possible changes. Selectmen Makary and Wheeler replied that they wanted to be able to edit draft copies of minutes. The Board agreed, in a compromise, that final approved documents issued electronically would be protected from editing.
The Board reviewed the draft minutes of March 22, 2005. Mr. Perry moved, Ms. Farrell seconded and all voted to approve the minutes as written.
The Board voted to adjourn at 9:25 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Flint Hosier
Administrative Assistant
Board of Selectmen
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