MINUTES
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
December 12, 2006
Present at the meeting that was held at the Town Building were Chairman Janet Wheeler and Selectmen Stephen Dungan, Jason Robart, and Thomas Ruggiero.
Selectman Carole Makary was absent.
Also present were Town Administrator William Wrigley and Administrative Assistant Susan McLaughlin.
Chairman Wheeler called the meeting to order at 7:07 p.m.
Town Administrator’s Report
Mr. Wrigley updated the Board on the Lower Village water and septic issue, stating the role of his proposed working group is that of facilitator: to provide technical assistance to the private property owners in Lower Village in their effort to comply with the State’s Department of Environmental Protection regulations. The working group is neither a financial partner nor a water provider for the property owners. He said others can go further but his working group is limited to fact finding for the property owners to assist them in solving their problems. For example, the study committee will evaluate water sources and water operators.
The group has met three times and the next will be with the property owners.
He is drawing on people with the appropriate expertise, such as Pat Perry from the Conservation Commission.
The goal is a solution with no cost to the town and, right now, he said, there are several viable alternatives.
Public Hearing on Unregistered Motor Vehicles
This public hearing was requested by Len Golder of Bolton Road, as the result of a complaint he was in violation of a Town bylaw by having a second unregistered vehicle on his property. As allowed by the bylaw, Mr. Golder requested a permit from the Board to keep the second car, belonging to his son, on his property. The hearing had been continued from November 14.
Ms. Wheeler opened the hearing at 7:17 pm, reading sections of Mr. Golder’s request for a permit, and a neighbor’s letters of complaint.
Mr. Golder said that his son’s going to college resulted in the second unregistered car, the first being a 1988 Mustang he had owned for the past 16 years. He said there was no violation of the intent of the bylaw, which originated with the Police Department, based on the bylaw criteria. It posed no danger to health and safety and did not adversely affect the neighborhood. He took issue with the neighbor’s complaint that the cars were “abandoned,” noting that his barn did not have enough room to fit a car.
Mr. Dungan said he understood the issue of Mr. Golder’s son being at school but that he wants a short time before one of the cars is gone. Mr. Robart noted that the son’s car had now been moved to the back of the house and was no longer visible from the road, and that the lack of visibility means it does not degrade home values.
Ms. Wheeler suggested that he keep the car registered and drop the insurance to save money, as a way to comply with the bylaw.
Mr. Dungan moved to deny Mr. Golder’s request for a permit for the second vehicle. Mr. Ruggiero seconded. The vote was split: Ms. Wheeler and Mr. Ruggiero in favor and Mr. Dungan and Mr. Robart opposed. The motion failed.
Following additional discussion on a time limit for the permit, Mr. Dungan then moved to grant the request to allow the second car until September 2007, and Mr. Ruggiero seconded. Mr. Dungan, Mr. Robart, and Mr. Ruggiero voted in favor; Ms. Wheeler was opposed. The motion carried.
Public Hearing on Pole Locations
The public hearing was held on a request by Hudson Light & Power and Verizon to install two utility poles. One new pole would be installed on Great Road, slightly to the west of Hiley Brook Road, for additional support to existing cables. The other new pole would be installed on Hudson Road, across from the Villages at Stow access road, for the transition of the development’s underground wiring to above ground.
Mr. David Bianco from Hudson Light and Power explained the request, provided maps on the locations, and answered questions from the Board.
Mr. Robart then moved to permit the installation of the two utility poles as specified in the request, Mr. Robart seconded, and all voted in favor. The motion carried.
Conflict Resolution Mediation
In response to the Board’s request on funding for the conflict-resolution service, Mr. Wrigley said he had estimated a cost based on charges for the service and advised a Reserve Fund Transfer to pay the bill. Ms. McLaughlin had submitted the request to the Finance Committee for consideration at their meeting this evening and a member of the Board of Selectmen needed to attend that part of the Finance Committee. It was agreed that Mr. Robart would attend.
Update on Hudson Light & Power and New England Energy
HL&P Board Chairman Roland Plante, Board member Weeden Parris, and General Manager Yakov Levin visited the Board to update the town on HL&P operations and the state of energy in New England. Stow liaison to the Hudson Board Ed Brown was ill and unable to attend but sent his presentation, which Mr. Plante delivered.
Of particular interest was that HL&P charges will increase 6.6 percent on January 1, 2007, similar to other electric providers. This translates to an average increase in electric bills of $4.22 per month. This is part of the continuing increase in demand for power. The Independent Systems Operators (ISO) estimates extensive power outages in New England by 2010 unless new power plants are built.
Mr. Plante and Mr. Parris thanked the selectmen for appointing Mr. Brown as the Town’s liaison, saying that he was a valued contributor to their Board.
Annual License Renewals
The Board approved and signed 2007 Class II, Common Victualer, and liquor licenses.
Mr. Dungan moved to approve the 2007 licenses for Class II (used car sales) and Common Victualer, Ms. Wheeler seconded, and all three members present voted in favor. Mr. Robart was at the Finance Committee meeting. The motion carried.
Board Priorities and Productivity Tools
Mr. Dungan introduced a list of high-priority actions for the Board in the form of a management-by-objectives table. Each action was listed with its priority, status, responsible individual or group, and target end date. He said the first step was for the Board to agree on the priorities, perhaps with a Joint Boards meeting, and then set aside time monthly to check in on progress.
He also distributed a new version of his Town organization chart, grouped this time by function. His earlier chart was grouped by appointing authority. He said the purpose of the chart is to 1) identify overlapping activities, 2) possibly reduce the number of committees or retire those whose work is done, and 3) use for follow up by appointing authorities.
As an example, he pointed out 15 groups or individuals all involved in Municipal Planning.
Municipal Land RFP Applications
Mr. Dungan updated the Board of the two properties under consideration: Snow on Old Bolton Road and Sweeney on West Acton Road. He visited them with engineering consultant Sue Sullivan and her report will be available on one to two days.
He said that, via Town Counsel, he requested an extension of the Sweeney’s December 29 deadline for response to their application but had not received a response. The Board discussed whether to meet before the deadline if an extension was not granted.
Conflict Resolution Mediation, continued.
Mr. Robart returned from the Finance Committee to report that the committee had reluctantly approved the Board’s Reserve Fund transfer request and was concerned that the Board had gotten here and what the results would be.
Ms. Wheeler said she had the names of three mediators and reviewed her December 7 memo to the Board on the scope of services (process and goals of the mediation) she sent to the mediators.
The process would have a minimum four-hour time commitment and begin with interviews. The facilitator would determine the Board’s biggest issues and the “heavy lifting” would then be done by the Board, not the facilitator.
Mr. Robart and Ms. Wheeler then described the approaches of the two mediators that had contacted: Jeff Nutting (Town Administrator for Franklin, recommended by Ken Troup) and Tad Mayer (Mediation Works Inc., recommended by Jon Witten). Mr. Robart said he did not connect with Will Brown (MIIA Employee Assistance Program, recommended by Ms. McLaughlin).
The Board discussed how to choose between the two vendors, considering cost, experience, and approach. Mr. Wrigley recommended that whomever the Board hires should use the Town’s governance agreement (Town Charter) and the administrative assistant’s job description as the basis of understanding the issues and making recommendations.
Ms. Wheeler “advocated for Jeff Nutting’s services because of his in-depth municipal administrative experience and his quote of both a very reasonable financial ($600) and time commitment (one, four-hour session).”
Following discussion, Mr. Dungan moved that the Board engage the services of MWI for the issues discussed at the Special Selectmen’s meeting and elsewhere; Mr. Ruggiero seconded, and all voted in favor. The motion carried.
It was agreed that Mr. Robart would contact Mr. Mayer the next day to start negotiations on specific deliverables and cost.
At 9:43 p.m., Mr. Dungan moved to adjourn, Mr. Robart seconded, and all voted in favor.
Respectfully submitted,
Approved as amended, January 23, 2007
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