Minutes
Stow Board of Selectmen
February 23, 2016
Town Building
Present at the meeting that was held at Town Building were Brian Burke, Donald Hawkes, Charles Kern, Thomas Ryan and James Salvie.
Also present were William Wrigley, Town Administrator and Maureen Trunfio, Administrative Assistant.
Mr. Hawkes called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
Public Input: None
Chairman’s Comments: Mr. Hawkes invited all interested in volunteering to help with SpringFest to contact the Selectmen’s Office. He gave the reminder that the Town was conducting an EDIC (Economic Development and Industrial Commission) survey and that those interested in participating could find it on the Town website.
Public hearing for transfer of Liquor License – Russell’s Convenience Store
At 7:10 Mr. Hawkes read the legal announcement and opened the hearing. Jamie and Sarah Salamone of Russell’s Convenience Store were present. Mr. Salamone, manager of the store, explained that his father, Russell Salamone, is retiring and wishes to transfer operations to him and his wife. This transaction does not represent changes to the premises or other changes to the business.
There was no input from the public.
Mr. Salvie moved to close the public hearing. Mr. Ryan seconded the motion and it was passed unanimously.
Mr. Salvie moved that the Board approve a transfer of liquor license for Russell’s Convenience Store, 390 Great Road, from Russell Salamone, Russell’s Convenience Store, to J. Salamone Enterprises, Inc., and as described in the application received December 21, 2015, and subject to final approval by the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission. Mr. Ryan seconded the motion and it was passed unanimously.
Discussion/Vote/ Presentation by Eversource Energy (formerly NStar) on its proposal for a secondary transmission line from Sudbury to Hudson with access through Stow, with comments from Hudson Light & Power
Community Relations Specialist for Municipalities, JoAnne O’Leary and Project Outreach Specialist, Mark Kimball and Project Manager, Bev Schultz of Eversource were present.
Eversource is proposing a Sudbury-to-Hudson power line project that would put wire overhead on portions of the Mass Central Rail Trail and along the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s (MBTA) right of way for most of its route; 388 feet of which would go through Stow. A 12-foot wide access road would be constructed which could later be converted to a bike path. Overhead wires would require removing a wide swath of trees that run alongside the proposed route.
Ms. Schultz stated that the project is critical to enhance the grid serving Greater Boston and New Hampshire by providing added capacity and redundancy. She explained to the Board that the cost for choosing to install overhead wires would be half of the expense if underground wires were to be considered. Ms. Schultz mentioned that the state’s Energy Facilities Siting Board would decide whether the project is allowed to go above or below ground. She stated that the project would begin in 2018 and end in 2019.
Mr. Burke requested that all abutters be notified when hearing on this topic occur. He suggested that a commission should be formed with affected town to discuss the best way to proceed. Mr. Salvie asked whether the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) had weighed in and Ms. Schultz said that they had and they preferred an underground route. Mr. Ryan commented to say that he favored the idea of redundancy and thought the bike path would be an added bonus. He asked why the cost of underground lines was so much more costly. Ms. Schultz said mainly because of the need to dig trenches and the cost of the cable. Mr. Hawkes confirmed with Ms. Schultz that the cost of construction would be spread out over all New England states.
Many residents were present but did not speak due to the time constraints of a full agenda. Eversource invited all to two Open Houses for residents to gather more information on March 2 in Sudbury’s Town Hall at 5 p.m., as well as a meeting in Hudson on March 15th.
Town Administrator’s Joint Boards meeting on the “FY 2017 Financial State of the Town” with the Assessors, Capital Planning Committee, Finance Committee, Selectmen, and the Minuteman and Nashoba Regional school districts, pursuant to Article 4, section 10 of the General Bylaws
Alice DeLuca representative to the Minuteman School District, Mark Jones, representative to the Nashoba Regional School District, Lorraine Romasco Chair of the Nashoba Regional School Committee, Assessor Kristen Fox and the Chair of the Board of Assessors Dom Pugliese, Steve Jelinek of Capital Planning and Peter McManus Chair of the Finance Committee were present.
Ms. DeLuca reported that with the current 16 district towns included, Minuteman’s overall operating budget is down 1/2 %. She said Stow’s total assessment will go down next year.
Mr. Jones reported that they are in the middle of the budget process, but it appears there will be a 3.4% increase in the overall budget. Total Assessment increase will be approximately 5%. There will be a public hearing regarding the budget on March 3, 2016.
Mr. Jelinek reported that preliminary Capital requests are 20% lower than last year and smaller than what has been seen in the last four years. There were no requests from the School Districts.
Mr. Pugliese noted that there would be $1M in new value of personal property. And $190,000 revenue from new growth, and additionally $8.5M in additional value from real property from six new construction projects and requested building permits. Overall income from the Assessor’s Department is down $100K from last year due to a decrease in new construction.
Mr. Wrigley reported that the Town’s budget is coming in at a 4.24% increase. 76% of funds received flow directly to school costs. He mentioned that not taken into consideration is the Minuteman High School building project and the Nashoba District projects the will certainly present a challenge.
Discussion of Governor Baker’s Municipal Modernization Bill
Mr. Wrigley informed the Board about Governor Baker’s Municipal Modernization Bill that is being filed. It would update obsolete laws and procedures relating to local government.
Town Administrator’s Report
Mr. Wrigley mentioned He mentioned that there was public acknowledgement that Stow would receive funds from Green Communities Grant in the near future.
Mr. Wrigley left meeting at 8:52 p.m.
Liaison Reports
Mr. Kern reported that 13 Towns have approved the Minuteman High School Regional Agreement. He added that three Towns voted to withdraw.
Mr. Burke reported that he had attended a Council on Aging meeting where they discussed their upcoming FY17 budget. He added that it would be wise for anyone who was able to attend School Committee meetings during the budget preparation period.
Mr. Salvie reported that Bolton sent a call for agenda items for the next Tri-Town meeting. He added that the Pompo Building Committee would meet on 2/24/16 and the Capital Planning Committee would be meeting on 2/25 to discuss Capital Planning requests. He said that the Randall Library Building Committee would be evaluating proposals that were received after an RFQ was issued for a restoration project on the old portion of the Library.
Mr. Hawkes mentioned that there was a very large turnout for a public meeting held in Acton addressing the proposed solar incentive commercial caps. He mentioned that proposals were sought for weed mitigation in Lake Boon.
Correspondence
The Selectmen were invited to attend the Boy Scout Troop 1 dinner. Mr. Burke stated that he would attend.
Mr. Ryan moved to adjourn at 9:11 p.m. Mr. Salvie seconded the motion and it was passed unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Maureen Trunfio
Administrative Assistant to the Board of Selectmen
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