MINUTES
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
May 1, 2007
Present at the meeting that was held at the Town Hall were Chairman Stephen Dungan and Selectmen Carole Makary, Jason Robart, Thomas Ruggiero, and Janet Wheeler.
Also present were Town Administrator William Wrigley and Administrative Assistant Susan McLaughlin.
Chairman Dungan called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m.
The Board held this special meeting in order to vote its position on major Town Meeting articles.
It was noted that Article 47, Acceptance of Kingland Road Land for Recreational Use, had been withdrawn, so that no discussion by the Board at this meeting was needed.
Article 38, Land Purchase – Snow Property
Mr. Dungan reported that he and Community Preservation chairman Bob Wilber had met with Mr. Snow on the asking price of the property and there was no resolution at present.
The Board discussed several aspects of the proposed purchase:
· Would the Selectmen’s support of Article 38 at the current price affect the Town’s ability to negotiate a lower price with the landowner? Answer: No.
· How does the Community Preservation’s requirement in Article 40 that the recreational funding be tied to the Snow land affect Article 38? Answer: The use of the Snow property must remain as described in the article and ballot question, for municipal use, not narrowed to recreational use, per both Bond Counsel and Town Counsel.
· What is the process for deciding on Snow land use, should both Article 38 and Article 40 pass at Town Meeting? Answer: The Municipal Land Use study would be used as the basis of deciding the use.
The Board subsequently took comments and questions from the audience. Speakers included abutters of the Snow property and of Pine Bluffs and other residents, Capital Planning, Recreation for Stow members,
Following discussion, Ms. Makary moved that the Board recommend support of Article 38; Ms. Wheeler seconded. Four voted in favor (Dungan, Makary, Ruggiero, and Wheeler) and one voted opposed (Robart). The motion carried.
Article 39, Development of Town Recreational Facilities
Mr. Ruggiero reviewed the town’s efforts to improve recreational fields, stating that the only work since 1996 had been creating the Pine Bluffs fields and grading fields at Pompo. He said recreational improvements should be considered a community issue, not just a children’s issue, and it should be a community effort to improve them.
The Board again took comments and questions from the audience, with speakers from the same groups as before. The focus was mainly on specifics of the Recreational Master Plan and field availability.
RFS said the decisions needed to be made at this Town Meeting, not later, because the annual deadline for self-help grant applications is August 1.
Board members said they were generally in favor of the recreation proposal by the Recreation Commission and RFS, in concept. They decided to wait until their pre-Town Meeting meeting on May 7 to vote on Article 39 (Borrowing $400.0k) and Article 40 (Community Preservation funding of $600.0k).
Articles 36 and 37, School Building One Site and Two Site Solutions
Ms. Makary moved to recommend approval of Article 36, School Building – One Site Solution: Addition/Renovations to Center School; Ms. Wheeler seconded; all voted in favor.
Mr. Robart moved to support Article 37, School Building – Two Site Solution, in the event that Article 36 fails at Town Meeting; Ms. Makary seconded; and all voted in favor.
Meeting Minutes
February 27, 2007: Ms. Makary moved to approve the minutes as amended; Ms. Wheeler seconded, and all voted in favor, except Mr. Ruggiero, who abstained as he did not attend.
March 13, 2007: Ms. Makary moved to approve the minutes as submitted, Ms. Wheeler seconded, and all voted in favor
April 10, 2007: Ms. Makary moved to approve the minutes as amended; Ms. Wheeler seconded, and all voted in favor.
April 24, 2007: Ms. Makary moved to approve the minutes as amended; Ms. Wheeler seconded, and all voted in favor
At 8:43 p.m., Ms. Wheeler moved to adjourn; Mr. Ruggiero seconded; and all voted in favor.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan McLaughlin
Administrative Assistant, Board of Selectmen
Approved as written, June 12, 2007
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