MINUTES
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
July 25, 2006
Present at the meeting that was held at the Town Building were Chairman Janet Wheeler and Selectmen Stephen Dungan, Carole Makary, Jason Robart, and Thomas Ruggiero.
Town Administrator William Wrigley was also present.
Administrative Assistant, Susan McLaughlin, was absent.
Chairman Wheeler called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.
Public Comments
Mr. Byron of Gleasondale Road informed the Board that he had sent an email to Ms. McLaughlin earlier in the day. He gave a copy to Mr. Wrigley. Mr. Byron stated that the email contained a summary of the remarks he made at the July 11 Board meeting regarding trucks using the triangle at Rt. 62 and Sudbury Rd. as a turnaround. Mr. Wrigley said he forwarded Mr. Byron’s email to the Chief of Police, the Superintendent of the Highway Department, and other town officials who are developing a plan to address the problems at this intersection.
Mr. Ruggiero reported that a site visit has occurred and the Town Engineer, Bruce Fletcher will submit a recommendation shortly.
Minutes of July 11
Chairman Wheeler proposed a change in the way votes are recorded in order to highlight and streamline the information. She gave several examples using votes from the July 11 minutes. [The Clerk has used the new format in this set of minutes.] Chairman Wheeler and Ms. Makary made several other edits to the minutes, most of which appear in the approved version. Ms. Makary requested that clarifying text be added at the end of the first paragraph under “Proposal for Improving Municipal Relations”.
It was on motion by Ms. Makary, seconded by Chairman Wheeler, unanimously
VOTED: To approve the minutes as amended.
Town Administrator’s Report
Mr. Wrigley called the Board’s attention to an email regarding opposition to Verizon’s proposal to reduce the review and approval time for the local cable TV licensing process to 90 days. He gave the Board an update on the status of the MCAD appeals involving Mr. Egan and his sexual harassment complaint. He recommended that the Board vote to approve the $100,000 expenditure of recaptured Kettle Plain Road performance bond money to finish the monetized punch list as scoped by the Planning Board, and to allow the Planning Board to approve payment for the remaining invoices on the project. Mr. Wrigley noted that he would seek Board approval in Executive Session for a COLA increase as negotiated in the contracts for the Dispatchers and Firefighters.
Ms. Makary asked for assurance that the Kettle Plain settlement amount will cover the punch list items, and Mr. Wrigley confirmed that it would.
It was on motion by Mr. Robart, seconded by Ms. Makary, unanimously
VOTED: To approve the expenditure and to allow the Planning Board to approve payment of the invoices.
Election Worker Appointments
It was on motion by Ms. Makary, seconded by Chairman Wheeler, unanimously
VOTED: To approve the appointment of the individuals listed on the document titled “Election Workers to be appointed for September 1, 2006 – August 31, 2007”.
Goals and Liaisons
Chairman Wheeler began the discussion by thanking Mr. Dungan for preparing an organization chart of the town’s various departments, boards, and committees. She said she would like it to appear on the town website. Mr. Dungan offered five objectives related to the chart:
1. Identify overlapping/duplicate activities based upon a review of written charters and statements of purpose. Confirm with the appropriate chairmen. If necessary, recommend corrective action to appointing authority.
2. Look for opportunities to reduce the number of committees.
3. Identify committees that should have “sunset” dates, or at least dates by which certain actions should be completed.
4. Look for opportunities to change from annual to multi-year appointment of committee members.
5. Use the chart as a guide to help appointing authorities follow up with their respective committees (as the Board does now with the School Building Task Force).
Mr. Dungan made one correction to the chart. The bullet for Librarian at the bottom of the “Other” box should be deleted.
Both Ms. Makary and Mr. Ruggiero noted the importance of staying in touch with the other boards and committees in town. Mr. Ruggiero finds it very helpful to visit in person; e.g., stopping by the Fire Department. He also noted that some annual appointments are required by statute. Mr. Dungan acknowledged this fact, but said that statutes can be changed.
Chairman Wheeler sees the liaison role as one of active outreach.
Chairman Wheeler said that she had discussed the goal related to human resources (HR) with Mr. Robart. She would like to look at the procedure for performance reviews and consider possible updates to the employee handbook. Mr. Robart agreed to take responsibility for this goal. Mr. Wrigley noted that the existing personnel bylaws already include the HR procedures.
Chairman Wheeler asked about the need for a liaison to the Zoning Board of Appeals. Ms. Makary suggested that the Board use the organization chart as a guide to make sure all areas are covered by liaisons. Mr. Robart suggested that we assign liaisons based upon the “buckets” indicated by the boxes on the chart instead of assigning them to individual committees. He said this approach will give liaisons a better sense of opportunities for streamlining and improving efficiency. Chairman Wheeler noted that some groups on the chart are very large and will require more effort. Mr. Robart said that these larger groups could be divided among multiple liaisons as needed. He wants to be sure that liaisons go beyond serving only as “communication conduits”. They need
to “add value”. He suggested that Mr. Dungan develop a modified version of the organization chart to show groups by function rather than by appointing relationships. Mr. Dungan agreed to do this. Ms. Makary stressed the importance of inviting boards and committees to meet with the Selectmen.
Chairman Wheeler returned to the draft list of Selectmen goals for 2007 and stepped through them one by one:
· General Bylaw Review and Master Plan: both are near completion
· Assabet River Rail Trail: Ross Perry will retain this goal
· Municipal Land Use Needs: this goal was eliminated because the work of the Municipal Land Use and Open Space committees has been defined, and the Municipal Land Use Committee has been established with the assumption that it will develop a “municipal land management plan”.
· Improve dangerous roadways: This goal was eliminated because our Safety Officer is handling it.
· Communication: Plans for some of the associated activities are under way, and the others are ongoing responsibilities of the Board.
· Operations: Mr. Robart told the other Board members that they need to be careful to differentiate between true goals and tactics. For example, the Operations goal could be to improve operating efficiency of town departments, and the tactic (how we will accomplish that goal) is to review and evaluate the standard operating procedures for all departments.
Mr. Robart said the Board needs to articulate the goals, make assignments, and then ask each person assigned to present tactics. Mr. Dungan suggested that Mr. Robart take the “goal” list and revise it to identify the true goals in each case; Mr. Robart agreed.
· Budget/Multi-year budgeting: Development of a stored assets policy is under way.
Regarding the remaining unassigned liaison slots, Chairman Wheeler said she would remind those boards/committees that she was available in the interim.
Municipal Relations Improvement
Mr. Dungan noted that the follow up from the discussion at the last meeting was to think about ways to implement the plan he presented. Mr. Dungan suggested that we start with a small and informal group that would meet from time to time for conversations on the issues. This group would include Mr. Wrigley and a few interested residents. Mr. Dungan agreed to meet with Mr. Wrigley to identify the participants and get the process going.
Land banking RFP
Mr. Dungan reviewed the changes made to the RFP following a discussion with Mr. Witten, Town Counsel. There was discussion regarding the minimum lot size (5 or 10 acres) and the applicability of the “unique” parcel exception in the state procurement law. Mr. Robart repeated his objections; e.g. the difficulty of choosing one parcel if we receive offers of multiple parcels of different sizes, and the fact that the evaluation criterion related to state and local permits does not apply to all municipal uses.
It was on motion by Ms. Makary, seconded by Chairman Wheeler:
VOTED: To issue the revised RFP as presented by Mr. Dungan.
Mr. Dungan, Ms. Makary, Chairman Wheeler, and Mr. Ruggiero voted in favor;
Mr. Robart opposed.
Mr. Dungan said he would determine the dates to enter on the RFP and that he would then work with Ms. McLaughlin to publish it as required by the procurement law.
Mr. Dungan then raised the possibility of issuing RFPs for specific land needs. He cited comments from Mr. Wrigley at the July 11 meeting and a similar thought he received from a voter. Mr. Dungan also referred to other citizen opinions from the July 11 meeting: We already know what we need; e.g., a community center, a fire station, more play fields, etc. Mr. Dungan asked the other Board members if there was any interest in publishing RFPs for such needs.
Chairman Wheeler asked what process has been used to ascertain the priorities. She said that parcels might be gone by the time we determine what the needs really are. Mr. Wrigley noted that we have not spent any more time on landbanking than we have on defining other needs. He stated that it is possible to get consensus on things like play fields, and he would begin developing RFPs accordingly. Ms. Makary countered that if we ask various groups for their priorities, each one will say their particular need is most pressing. She noted that we have not done any “arm wrestling” or financial analysis. Mr. Robart asked how can we do land banking if we can’t prioritize our land needs. He saw some risk in wasting time and effort acquiring land that may not meet our
needs. Others felt that land might come and go while we try to set our priorities. Mr. Ruggiero said the Board needs to drive the priority-setting process, but Ms. Makary thought the Municipal Land Use Committee was supposed to do this.
In the end, there was no decision to create RFPs for specific needs.
Foundation Budget Seminar
Mr. Dungan stated that a Board member should attend this seminar since a very large portion of our budget is tied to education. Mr. Wrigley confirmed that funds are available to cover the registration cost. Mr. Dungan agreed to send details regarding cost and registration deadlines to the Board members. Ms. Makary expressed interest in attending.
Nashoba Regional School District Lease Agreement
Mr. Wrigley stated that he had reviewed this latest draft and found it acceptable. He recommended that the Board sign it. Ms. Makary noted that Bolton has some issues with their version, but they were specific to Bolton schools.
It was on motion by Ms. Makary, seconded by Chairman Wheeler, unanimously:
VOTED to have the Board sign the lease agreement (as revised May 18, 2006).
During discussion, Mr. Dungan raised several questions regarding the definitions of “non capital repairs” and “capital repairs”. He was also concerned about the absence of any statement specifying who would pay under paragraph J (“Right to Remodel and Install Additions”). Mr. Wrigley stressed that the lease agreement is workable in its present form, and that it can always be modified if necessary.
Chairman Wheeler briefly reviewed the correspondence:
· The letter about fireworks, littering, and walkways, the letter about Town Hall parking, and the letter about the Rt. 62/Sudbury Road intersection have been referred to the appropriate departments.
· The Cultural Council and Conservation Commission appointments will appear on a future agenda as will the Arbor Glen conservation restriction issue.
· A letter from a resident about the problems associated with obtaining water from Maynard.
At 9:30 p.m., Chairman Wheeler moved to adjourn the open session and enter an executive session for the purpose of approving labor union contracts for the Dispatchers and Firefighters, noting that no further business would be conducted in open session. Clerk Dungan conducted a roll call vote, and all Board members present voted in the affirmative.
Respectfully submitted,
Stephen M. Dungan
Clerk, Board of Selectmen
Amendments added by Administrative Assistant Susan McLaughlin
Approved as amended, August 8, 2006
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