Minutes
Board of Selectmen
February 25, 2014
Present at the meeting that was held at the Town Building were Gary Bernklow, Donald Hawkes, Charles Kern, Thomas Ryan and James Salvie.~
Also present were Town Administrator, William Wrigley and Recording Secretary, Maureen Trunfio. Mr. Hawkes called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
Public Input
Town Clerk, Linda Hathaway announced that town census forms are due and that over 700 homes in Stow have not returned the census form. Ms. Hathaway announced that nomination papers are available for upcoming elections on May 13, 2014. There are several open seats on various town boards. She will be present at tomorrow night's Town Recruitment Night at Town Hall and will have nomination papers available. Interested parties may also find information on the Town website. She announced a reminder for dog owners to license their dogs by the deadline of April 15, 2014. Information regarding dog licensing can also be found on the Town's website.
Chairman’s Comments
Mr. Hawkes reiterated the fact that the Town will be holding a Volunteer Recruitment Night, tomorrow, February 26, 2014 at Town Hall. He stated that representatives from many of the Town's boards, commissions and committees will be present to answer questions and welcome volunteers.
Mr. Hawkes noted the passing of Stow's oldest citizen at 105 years, Dr. Donald Brown, who is the father of the Town's Council on Aging Executive Director, Alyson Toole. Dr. Brown was an active member of the community and will be missed.
Meeting Minutes
On a motion by Mr. Ryan, seconded by Mr. Bernklow, the Board approved the minutes of
January 28, 2014 as drafted and amended. The motion passed unanimously.
Appointment of Fire Department Call Lieutenant
Stow Fire Chief Joe Landry was present to recommend the appointment of Mike Scimeca as Call Lieutenant for the Stow Fire Department. Scimeca has been with the Fire Department since 2005. The Selectmen and Mr. Wrigley expressed their gratitude toward Mr. Scimeca for accepting this demanding role.
On the recommendation of Fire Chief Joseph Landry, Mr. Salvie moved to appoint Call Firefighter/EMT Michael Scimeca as Call Lieutenant for the Stow Fire Department. Mr. Ryan seconded the motion and it was passed unanimously.
Town Administrator’s Joint Board Meeting on the FY 2015 Financial State of the Town
Mr. Wrigley explained that the Town Administrator is required to host a Joint Board Meeting annually, reporting the financial state of the Town pursuant to Article 4, S. 10 of the Town of Stow General Bylaws. Municipal committees and schools districts must be called together in an effort to inform chief officials on the status of their groups and provide a general overview of their budget information. The Joint Board Meeting is not intended to provide detailed level budget information. At the present meeting each representative from corresponding committees gave an overview of their position. School Principal Ernest Houle began by explaining changes to the Minuteman Regional Agreement and discussed the Minuteman High School budget. Due to a scheduling conflict, there was not a representative from the Nashoba Regional School District
present. Next, Dominic Pugliese, Chairman of the Board of Assessors gave an overview of his Board's standings. Steve Jelinek, Chair of Capital Planning Committee, spoke and offered details regarding projects and projects costs. Peter McManus, Chair of the Finance Committee was present and reported on the Committee's budget. State Representative Kate Hogan was present in the audience for this item. The Selectmen offered their sincere thanks to all who reported for their committees and their extensive dedication of volunteer hours in service to the Town.
Appointment of a Representative to the Nashoba Regional High School Space Task Force
Mr. Salvie explained the possibility that instead of appointing one representative to attend regularly scheduled Wednesday night meetings of the NRSD High School Space Task Force, a schedule of rotating representation may be required to fill the need for consistent representation. Mr. Salvie told the BoS that during weeks that he is not serving as the representative, he will gather the notes from the Stow representative that attends the meeting, review them and report any pertinent information back to the Selectmen. The BoS was in favor of this idea.
Selectmen's Annual Report for 2013
The Board reviewed the Annual Report, drafted by Mr. Hawkes, and voted to approve it as drafted for inclusion in the Town of Stow 2013 Annual Report.
Mr. Salvie made a motion to accept the Board of Selectmen's 2013 Annual Report as written, dated February 25, 2014, for inclusion in the 2013 Town of Stow Report. Mr. Bernklow seconded the motion and it was passed unanimously.
Town Administrator's Activities Report
Mr. Wrigley reported that this evening's Building Oversight Committee meeting was primarily spent listening to the two building committees (the Capital Projects Oversight Committee is the other) discussing critical needs. Formulas for cost will be uniform so that the projects can be compared side by side in a fair manner. The two proposed plans for a new Fire Station will be put forth for public review at an upcoming Board of Selectmen's meeting.
Correspondence
Mr. Hawkes called the Board's attention to a letter from Syncarpha Solar requesting bank debt financing as part of the long-term financing for the solar field project on Delaney Street. To achieve approval, this process requires the signatures of the Selectmen. This issue has been passed to Town Counsel for review.
Mr. Hawkes mentioned a request by Bob Collings of Barton Road for an application for an Earth Removal Permit as required by the Town of Stow Bylaws. Collings is asking the Assessors' Office to define "abutters."
The BoS excused Mr. Wrigley at 8:50 PM.
Liaison Reports
Mr. Bernklow reported that the Local Cable Access Committee will meet tomorrow night and will review several items that will appear on the Warrant at Annual Town Meeting in May.
Mr. Salvie reported that the Town Administrator's Energy Working Group has helped Stow Solar achieve Tier 3 status and is optimistic that they will eventually reach Tier 5 status. He told the BoS that all involved have been working diligently on this effort. Mr. Salvie mentioned that he was unable to attend the most recent SMAHT meeting.
Mr. Ryan reported that the Police Department is well underway with its search for a new Patrolman. The process has narrowed candidates down to three qualified applicants. They will be interviewed again before one is recommended to the BoS for appointment. He also mentioned that the Fire Station Building Committee is in the process of narrowing down the recommendations for a new Fire Station from three options to two options. He told the Board that Paul McLaughlin has been appointed a non-voting associate member of the Committee.
Mr. Kern had nothing to report.
Mr. Hawkes mentioned that the next Municipal Breakfast, which is a make-up from a snow date, will be March 7, 2014 to be held at Minuteman High School. Returning to the topic of Correspondence, Mr. Hawkes mentioned that the BoS had received a letter dated February 13, 2014 from Hector Constantzos, President of the First Parish Church Board of Trustees accepting the Town's choice to opt of negotiations regarding the acquisition of land from the Church. Mr. Wrigley responded with a letter dated February 20, 2014 clarifying that in voting to terminate negotiations with the First Parish Church, the FPC will be considered an "at will" water customer of the Town.
At 9 PM Mr. Salvie made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Ryan seconded the motion and was passed unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Maureen Trunfio
Board of Selectmen Recording Secretary
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