BOARD OF SELECTMEN

MINUTES

APRIL 17, 2007

Present:          Hal
White, Chairman

Steven
Halterman

Ted
Goodwin

Arnold Wilson

William
Emrich

James
Malloy, Town Administrator

J. Malloy called the meeting
to order at 6:30 p.m. following the Pledge of Allegiance.  He called for a moment of silence for
Rosemary Joseph, former Superintendent of Schools, who passed away last
week.

Reorganization of the Board

MOTION:       To
nominate Hal White as Chairman, by W. Emrich.

2nd:     T. Goodwin

Vote:  Four in favor; H. White abstained.

H. White thanked the Board
for their vote of confidence.

MOTION:       To nominate
Steven Halterman as Vice-Chairman, by W. Emrich.

2nd:     A. Wilson

Vote:  Four in favor; S. Halterman abstained.

MOTION:       To nominate
Ted Goodwin as Clerk of the Board of Selectmen, by W. Emrich.

2nd:     S. Halterman

Vote:  Four in favor; T. Goodwin abstained.

Approval of Minutes

MOTION:       To accept
the minutes of March 12, 2007 as amended, by W. Emrich.

2nd:     S. Halterman

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To
accept the minutes of March 19, 2007, by W. Emrich.

2nd:     S. Halterman

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To accept
the executive session minutes of March 12, 2007, to remain confidential, by W. Emrich.

2nd:     S. Halterman

Vote:  All in favor.

Department Head Monthly Reports

Police Chief Thomas Ford congratulated
the newly restructured Board.  He
read his report to the Board (copy on file).  He said that during the month of
February alcohol compliance checks and tobacco compliance checks were conducted
on local businesses.  Eight officers
participated in the Kids Fair at the Sturbridge Host, where they assisted the
Molly Bish Foundation in fingerprinting children and distributing ID kits.  Sgt. Kevin Mercier and Officers Daniel
Menzone and Pamela Desplaines attended the M.A.D.D. Breakfast, where they were
given a Law Enforcement Award, and Officer Desplaines was recognized for her
efforts in combating underage drinking and drunk driving.  During the month of March, Officer
Joseph Lombardi taught DARE classes at Burgess Elementary School.  The Police Dept. participated in the
State’s Motorcycle Safety Awareness project, and they placed a
“Check Twice” sign in front of the Safety Complex.  The Governor’s Highway Safety
Bureau conducted a statewide Occupant Protection Assessment held at the Omni
Parker Hotel in Boston,
where Sgt. Curboy and Chief Ford made a presentation regarding the Traffic
Safety Programs and Initiatives in Sturbridge.  A RAD Luncheon Graduation exercise was
held at Tantasqua
Regional Sr.
High School that completed
this year’s RAD Program.
Detective Saloio received the Public Safety Award Award from the
Tri-Community Safety Exchange Club.
The Police Dept. received a $33,000 Federal CEDAP Homeland Security
Grant for equipment; the Video Detective CEDAP is a video enhancement system to
stabilize and enhance digitized surveillance images.  H. White congratulated the Police
Department.

Fire Chief Leonard Senecal
read his report to the Board (copy on file).  J. Malloy asked about the status of the
renovation at the Sturbridge Host Hotel.
Chief Senecal said that they are done, and he had decided to shut their
alarm system down in the areas that they were working on to cut down on false
alarm calls, then turned it back on at 5:00 p.m. when they were done
working.

Chief Senecal informed the
Board that David Peterkin, Nicholas DaDalt and MaryLou Volpe received their
Firefighter EMT-I certification from the state.  Captain John Marinelli attended a
three-day class in technical training at the Fire Academy.

Chief Senecal said that the
carbon monoxide inspections have been completed.  He received a letter of thanks from Fire
Chief Leonard Laporte of the Southbridge Fire Dept. for the immediate response
to their call for mutual aid for a fire in a large wood frame dwelling on
February 23, 2007.

Harold Nichols, Building
Inspector, read his report to the Board (copy on file).  He explained that he had tried to break
down the CO2 information, but the way that the software program is set up, if
the information if broken out, he cannot print it.  He has not found the solution yet, but
is working on it.  He noted that
there has been an increase in new construction in Town, having issued eight new
building permits.

H. Nichols informed the
Board that the building at 10 Fiske
Hill Road will be removed soon.  A deck collapsed at a property on Champeaux Road, and
is being repaired.  At Draper Woods
there was a structural issue on a new house, which has been resolved.  He is pursuing an administrative search
warrant regarding a zoning issue at 207
Podunk Road.
He found out that there is more than one family living in that dwelling,
which will be added to the complaint.

Greg Morse, DPW Director,
read his report to the Board (copy on file).  He said that they have been wrapping up
the snow plowing operations and have begun street sweeping and drainage
work.

J. Malloy said that Chief
Ford had provided a matrix indicating who needs to take which course.  He sent out a memo to get everyone up to
where they need to be.  He noted that
ICS training is a three-day on-site course.

G. Morse said that they
interviewed two candidates for wastewater operations:  Veolia Water North America and Earth
Tech.  He expressed concern about
meeting the schedule.

H. White asked whether there
had been any damage due to the recent rain.  G. Morse said that it was not as bad as
October 2005, with a weak area to be addressed on Whittemore Road, and another problem on Hamilton Road which
was related to maintenance work being done by the state; they will be lowering
the water level.  There was some
gravel rip rap that moved around, and the swale needs some work.

Shane Moody, Veolia Water
North America, read his report to the Board (copy on file).  He said that they took Well #3 off line,
removed the motor and pump and had it chemically treated to restore it to its
original capacity.  The state annual
report was completed and submitted to DEP.
They removed a sand filter from the wastewater treatment plant and
rebuilt it.  He said that the
Consumer Confidence Report will be completed soon.

A.Wilson asked whether
beavers have been impacting the wet well at the Rt. 20 pump station.  S. Moody said they had not, and they are
working on testing to see if the well is under the influence of streams and surface
water.

Pre-Town Meeting

J. Malloy informed the Board
that on April 26th at 7:00 p.m. at Burgess Elementary School
the Town Moderator, the Chairman of the Finance Committee and J. Malloy will
host a pre-town meeting.  Residents
are invited to go over the Town Meeting warrant, and it is good for new
residents to hear how Town Meeting works and discuss the issues.  He said that there will be a video
presentation entitled “Town Meeting and You.”

Paramedic Service Upgrade

As per the Board’s
vote on March 19th, J. Malloy created a Committee to research,
analyze and report back to the Board in time for the Selectmen to consider the
alternatives for upgrading the Town’s EMS Service from EMT-Intermediate
to EMT-Paramedic.  The Committee
concluded its review and submitted a report (copy on file) based on the last
meeting on April 12, 2007.  He said
that it is the intent of the Committee to continue meeting after the Town
Meeting and through implementation to review any issues that arise during this
period.  Their highest rated
recommendation to the Selectmen was to terminate the two employees who were
hired as EMT-Is and replace them with EMT-Paramedics (either already trained as
Firefighters or to be trained as Firefighters).  The Committee acknowledged that while
this alternative was the simplest to recommend, it will not be the easiest to
implement, since it results in a change of personnel.  This option will, however, provide the
service demanded in the most cost and time effective manner as possible.  He submitted to the Board the full
report with budgetary impacts (copy on file).

S. Halterman asked how
paramedics would be deployed in terms of shifts.  J. Malloy said that it would require a
modification on how the schedules are set up.  He said that they would need paramedic coverage
8 hours/day, 7 days/week minimum for the first three years, then 24 hours/day,
7 days/week afterward.

A.Wilson stated that he
would not support laying off two employees then hiring new ones.  He said that he could support having one
extra person in the Fire Dept., but it would have to be a paramedic.  He asked how many of the existing
full-time employees would be interested in the training program to become
paramedics.  Chief Senecal said that
two employees would go for the training at the beginning, because of the fact
that their fire training is coming up soon.  He noted that paramedic school training takes
1 ½ years to complete.  He
said that the part-time staff has not been polled.

T. Goodwin asked Chief
Senecal what his preference was, out of the four different options.  Chief Senecal said that option #4 was
his preference, and suggested holding off until June to see where they stand
regarding money, then hold another Special Town Meeting to vote on the
issue.

J. Malloy said that the
Committee had met three times for two to three hours on each occasion, and they
recognize that it is a difficult decision to make regarding laying off two
employees who were recently hired, but it came down to what was the most cost effective
way to provide paramedic service quickly.
H. White thanked J. Malloy and the Committee for all of the hours that
they worked on the matter.  He noted
that the Town has not spoken about additional staffing for the Fire Department,
so he felt that it would be an extravagance to hire three new staff members
without identifying a need for it, to provide for the paramedic service.  He said that he would argue that if it
were possible to accomplish the same objective at the same level of service at
the same cost without terminating two employees, it would be better for the
Fire Dept. and for the two employees.
W. Emrich agreed, and said that he was not in favor of terminating two
employees, and noted that option #2 recommends taking more time to come up with
an idea.  He suggested looking into
it further to seek a perfect solution.
T. Goodwin asked how the Board would want to enact this over the long
term.  J. Malloy said that there is
a 50% failure rate for the paramedic course, and at $50,000 cost per employee,
it is a big risk for the Town to take, as well as being a lengthy process.

H. White suggested a
variation to go forward with option #3, to go with spending $22,500 for
registration, books and salaries, but seek to hire additional call people to
help to fill that shift.  Chief
Senecal said that the problem is that sending people to training at District 7
takes time and money, and the paramedic service must get up to speed within
three years.

Matthew Roderick,
representing the Firefighters Union, recommended option #2 and noted that the
Town had made a commitment to its employees, and the employees have made a
commitment to the Town.

Kevin Smith, Chairman of the
Finance Committee, said that the Fire Dept. has not stated a need for
additional staff over the past five or six years.  He said that they have not stated how
that will work and have not provided projected costs over the next five
years.  He stressed the need for
additional study of the paramedic issue.
He said that the Town should not try to put this into place so quickly
that there is no chance to examine all of the options.  Chief Senecal said that he has stated
the need for additional staff in his capital plan each year for the past couple
of years.

Barbara Barry, Finance Director,
felt that option #2 is the viable option, and noted that the rating system was
skewed.  She said that there are
still a lot on unanswered questions, and said that more discussion is
necessary.  J. Malloy commented that
only he and B. Barry had ranked continuing study as their #1 option.

Chief Senecal said that
Nicholas Dadalt and MaryLou Volpe were hired as EMT-I’s, and he did not
see why they should be fired because they are not paramedics, since they were
not hired to be paramedics.  H.
White said that under the union contract, they can be released for any reason
during the six month probationary period.

T. Goodwin said that he was
not going to vote for option #1, and did not understand what the risk was in
going with #3.  Chief Senecal said
that the issue is that if more time is taken to review the matter, they still
have to go out and get people to come in and get them trained properly to work
a shift for the Fire Department, which takes time.  He noted that District 7 is only running
one class per year.

MOTION:       That the
Board continues to refine the study and provide updated information no later
than July 16, 2007, by A.Wilson.

2nd:     S. Halterman

H. White said that the Study
Committee had indicated its willingness to meet, and additional study goes
without saying.  He said that the
money requested under option #3 is a reasonable amount and there is no reason
why the $53,404 could not be funded and then move forward with it.  He noted that if the Town votes to fund
it, there is no obligation to spend that money, but it would be available so it
would be possible to advertise to see if there are resources in the community
that would respond.

Brian Towns said that people are very passionate about the
paramedic issue, and whatever the Board votes, the results are going to be a
variation on what they already have.
He requested that they expand the committee so that they can get more
brainstorming done, since they need more viewpoints.

Tom Creamer congratulated H.
White on his Chairmanship, and said that he was taken aback by the comments
made by Brian Towns.  He said that the object of the committee
was to determine whether there was a justified need to go forward with
paramedic service, and if so, whether it was financially feasible to do that at
this particular time.  He had
requested morbidity and mortality rates to demonstrate whether Sturbridge
really was failing the people in this town by not having paramedic service
available.  He said that this is not
an issue in the Town of Sturbridge;
if it was, the Board would have known about it a long time ago.  He felt that bringing in a brainstorming
group would do the town a disservice.
They had taken a vote and all agreed that despite their differences,
they would support what the committee brought forward.  He had voted to recommend option
#2.  He noted that on two occasions
the Board of Selectmen had raised the issue of EMS.  He recommended spending more time to
review it.

J. Malloy said that they had
discussed things openly and freely and made a lot of progress, educating
everyone who served on the committee on the issues.  He said that the Finance Committee wants
to review the five-year cost analysis.

A.Wilson said that the Board
could address option #3 in July, and noted that it is still a budget
issue.  He said that the
state’s budget will change between now and then, so until they issue a
cherry sheet, the town should not spend any of the state’s money.  T. Goodwin said that this allows the
town to vote on it, then apply for the waiver.

Ann Marie Argitis commended
J. Malloy, Brian Towns and the committee for their
efforts.  She noted that many people
have thanked her for bringing the matter forward.

Vote:  A.Wilson and W. Emrich in favor; T.
Goodwin, H. White and S. Halterman opposed.

The motion was defeated.

Kevin Smith said that
regarding putting it on the Town Meeting floor, the Board has already taken
away the ability of the Town to debate those topics.  He said that if they don’t vote
for option #2 or option #1, how would they explain to the taxpayers that there
has not been any critical demand or need to expand the Fire Dept. staff.  He said that the decision of the Board
of Selectmen to implement this policy rather willy-nilly will have an impact on
the town budget if they decide to add to the staff now without consideration of
any need for more staff.  He said
that if they only need six firefighters, the intermediates will have to be let
go, and it will have to be done now.

Brian Towns said that Brimfield pays their firefighters to be on
call; they get $5 and hour, and have pagers.  He said that Sturbridge firefighters are
not paid to be on call.

MOTION:       That the
Board support option #3 as revised:
To meet the minimum staffing requirements for a staffing waiver to
provide paramedic level service 8 hours/day, 7days/week using existing staff
and supplementing this with additional part-time paramedics to cover weekends;
and that we budget the total labor cost associated with this option at $31,000,
by H. White.

2nd:     A.Wilson

H. White said that
regardless of what the Board votes, the committee will continue to work on it,
and that will be a prerequisite to going forward on this.  He recommended avoiding option #4.  S. Halterman suggested that the study
committee look at how Brimfield is handling it.

Brian Towns said that to apply for a waiver, it is necessary to
have a staffing plan, a financing plan, and to tell them that you are working
toward 24/7 paramedic service.  He
said that these plans must be in place, and there is about a 30 – 60 day
turnaround with the state.

Tom Creamer said that
whatever the Board’s determination, the committee will make it a
reality.  He said that he would like
to see more consistency on matters to be put before the floor.  T. Goodwin said that there is a huge
difference between the cost of the expansion of the wastewater treatment plant
($15 million) and the paramedic issue ($31,000).  He said that the Board is still going to
continue with the study committee.

A.Wilson asked J. Malloy to
provide how it breaks down into budget numbers.  J. Malloy agreed to do it before the
Town Meeting.  He noted that the
Town pays call firefighters overtime very infrequently.

H. White said that regarding
consistency, the Town had voted last year to spend $350,000 for a study of the
wastewater treatment plant, and expects the results of that study in
September.  He noted that regarding
the 19 hours issue, there is a practice of going through the Personnel Committee
when hours are revised or changed.
He said that consistency is good, but there are always reasons for doing
things a different way under different circumstances.

Ann Marie Argitis said that
she had full confidence in the Board, that they will go ahead with option #3.

Vote:  All
in favor.

H. White announced that
there is a meeting of the Finance Committee on Wednesday, April 25th
at 7:00 p.m. at the Senior
Center, at which time the
Paramedic Study Committee will meet with the Finance Committee.

Budget Issues

J. Malloy noted that only a small
portion ($1,667) is estimated to be from the paramedic service; the remaining
increase is due to the actual quote from MIIA.  He said that the only difference between
the Finance Committee’s recommendation and the Board of Selectmen’s
recommendation is in the Emergency Management Supplies account:  the Finance Committee voted to reduce
the supplies to $1,000 (the current and Board of Selectmen recommendation =
$3,000).  The Finance Committee had
also voted the updated Insurance Blanket amount of $291,459.

J. Malloy submitted to the
Board an updated analysis (copy on file) of where the Town stands in relation
to the Proposition 2 ½ Levy Limit using the current House budget numbers
for State Aid.  These figures
include the impact of the Paramedic Study Committee recommendation.  The Town is under the Proposition 2
½ Levy Limit by $162,020.

MOTION:       To change
the figure of account #19102-57410 Unclassified – Insurance Blanket to
$291,459, by H. White.

2nd:     W. Emrich

Vote:  All in favor.

Water and Sewer Operations

After conducting interviews
of the top two contractors (Veolia and EarthTech), and considering all of the
issues involved, Greg Morse, DPW Director and J. Malloy recommended that the
contract be awarded to Veolia Water North America per their bid, for a
five-year period.  They believe that
Veolia will continue to meet the needs of the Town at the lowest cost and will
bring the years of experience that they have with the Town’s system to
ensure that there are no disruptions.
J. Malloy submitted to the Board the final financial analysis (copy on
file) as well as the rating of each of the bidders, which incorporates a value
in the analysis for the overall technical bid and cost.

MOTION:       To award
the contract for the operation of the Town of Sturbridge Water and Sewer System
to Veolia Water North America, as per their bid dated March 8, 2007 and to
further authorize the Town Administrator to execute the contract documents in
relation to this contract, by A. Wilson.

2nd:     W. Emrich

Vote:  All in favor.

Don Benz, Veolia said that
sludge disposal will be done at the wishes of the Town.  He noted that there is a secondary
option of hauling sludge cake, and liquid sludge disposal will continue for
quite a while.

MOTION:       To approve
submitting substitute motions as the Board of Selectmen’s recommendation
to Town Meeting:

ARTICLE 5

WATER DEPARTMENT

To see if the Town will vote to raise, through the
fixing and collection of just and equitable prices and rate set by the Board of
Selectmen (acting as Water Commissioners) and appropriate the sum of SEVEN
HUNDRED SIXTY ONE THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED SEVENTY FIVE AND 50/100 DOLLARS
($761,675.50) for the expenses of the Water Department as follows:

Contract Operations                                  $394,677.00

Electricity                                                         85,323.00

Chemicals, Testing and Propane                9,200.00

DPW Director                                                    9,548.50

Meter Maintenance                                          5,500.00

Billing Expense                                                4,825.00

Surplus Revenue                                           20,000.00

Debt Service                                                  190,953.00

Miscellaneous Equipment                           26,649.00

Short-Term Interest                                       15,000.00

TOTAL                                                           $761,675.50

Or take any action in relation thereto.

ARTICLE 6

SEWER DEPARTMENT

To see if the Town will vote to raise, through the
fixing and collection of just and equitable prices and rate set by the Board of
Selectmen (Acting as Sewer Commissioners) and appropriate the sum of ONE
MILLION TWO HUNDRED SEVENTY SIX THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED NINETY FOUR AND 50/100
DOLLARS ($1,276,894.50) for the expenses of the Sewer Department as follows:

Contract Operations                                  $328,561.00

Electricity                                                       231,220.00

Chemicals and Testing                                 52,861.00

DPW Director                                                    9,548.50

Billing Expense                                                4,825.00

Surplus Revenue                                           20,000.00

Debt Service                                                  164,679.00

Southbridge Fees                                        227,040.00

Short-Term Interest                                       75,000.00

Liquid Sludge Handling                             156,310.00

Miscellaneous Equipment                             6,850.00

TOTAL
$1,276,894.50

Or take any action in relation thereto, by T.
Goodwin.

2nd:     W. Emrich

Vote:  All in favor.

Town Meeting Issues

Article 9 – Town Hall/Center School

It was the consensus of the
Board that there be no substitute motion.

Edward Goodwin asked whether
it would be possible to use some of the CPC funds toward a portion of the
project, and whether it could be done in a substitute motion.  T. Goodwin said that it might be a way
to save the Center
School building.  J. Malloy said that it would be
necessary to put a list together of projects that need funding.  E. Goodwin said that $900,000 has been
approved, and stressed the importance of repairing the buildings.

STM Article 72
– 8 Brookfield Road Appraisal

J. Malloy obtained a quote
to conduct an appraisal on this building:
$1,950.

MOTION:       To
approve the revised figure, by A.Wilson.

2nd:     S. Halterman

Vote:  All in favor.

Appointments

MOTION:       To confirm
the Town Administrator’s appointment of Lois Kelley and David Aho to the
Public Lands Advisory Committee, by A.Wilson.

2nd:     T. Goodwin

Vote:  All in favor.

Street Name

J. Malloy noted that the
Board of Selectmen has the authority to approve new street names in
subdivisions.  He submitted to the
Board a request from Bertin Engineering to name the new street off Farquhar Road as
“Regep Lane”
(copy on file).  It was the
consensus of the Board to get input from the Police Chief and Fire Chief, and take
it up again at the next meeting.

Bike Race

MOTION:       To approve
the request to hold a bicycle race on April 28, 2007 as requested by Michael
Norton, under the auspices of the U.S. Cycling Federation, subject
to:

1.
The race promoter names the Town of Sturbridge as a co-insured on a $4 million
liability policy.

2.
That police details are provided as directed by the
Chief of Police.

3.
That signage is provided to warn motorists of the
event.

By W. Emrich.

2nd:     T. Goodwin

Vote:  All in favor.

Miscellaneous

J. Malloy informed the Board
that the other property that the Town had taken for non-payment of taxes is 4 Camp Road.  He said that the house in not
inhabitable, and the lot is too small to rebuild upon.

Old Business

S. Halterman said that there
is a report by Coastal Zone Management containing pertinent information
regarding stormwater technology.

T. Goodwin suggested
broadening the committee for the Town Hall and Center School
Building renovation, and
that more should be done in terms of spreading the word about the condition of
the buildings.  H. White suggested
getting a copy of the minutes of when the Board had voted to appoint that
committee.

H. White suggested that the
Board’s key meeting topics be listed on the Town’s website.  He suggested reminding department heads
that they should submit their monthly reports in advance of the meeting.

New Business

S. Halterman said that he
had received a call from the Police Department regarding NIMS training, and
submitted a fact sheet with a matrix to the Board (copy on file) indicating
available courses.

S. Halterman suggested
getting on the GIC Health Plan for town employees.  J. Malloy said that it is part of the
municipal partnership act that the Governor has put out, which will allow
municipal employees to join the GIC.
He said that if it passes, he will discuss it further with the
Board.  S. Halterman noted that more
and more communities are buying into the GIC Health Plan because it is a
substantial savings.

A.Wilson encouraged
residents to contribute to the Jimmy Fund Rally Against Cancer through the
Town’s website.

A.Wilson announced that
Trail Day will be held on Saturday, April 21st at 9:00 a.m. at
Westville, sponsored by the Army Corps.

A.Wilson announced that
grant applications are ready for the Last
Green Valley,
and projects must relate to the Last
Green Valley
resources.  He suggested that the
Public Lands Advisory Committee look into it.

A.Wilson said that the
Self-Help Grant has been funded through the state capital bond fund; $4 million
is available.

A.Wilson said that the Town
Meeting sign should be put up at the Information
Center.  J. Malloy said that they will go up on
April 27th.  The Chamber
Director had booked the sign space and didn’t realize that the Town
needed space for the Town Meeting sign.

A.Wilson said that at the Citizen Leadership Academy
it was suggested that the Annual Town Meeting be televised so that people could
watch it at home, and to find a way for people to vote from home.  J. Malloy said that they had also talked
about taping the meeting and re-televising it later.

A.Wilson reminded everyone
that the Annual Town Meeting will be held on April 30th at 7:00 p.m.
at Tantasqua High School Auditorium.

H. White announced that
there will be a pre-Town Meeting put on by J. Malloy and the Town Moderator on
Thursday, April 26th to introduce the public to the town meeting
process, and review the warrant articles.

H. White announced that the
Finance Committee will meet on April 25th at 7:00 p.m. at the Senior Center.

H. White announced that the
Board of Selectmen will meet at 6:15 p.m. at Tantasqua on April 30th,
before the Annual Town Meeting.

H. White requested that the
Board review the liaison assignments for the coming year.

A.Wilson offered to contact Rep.
Todd Smola to meet with the Board to discuss casino gambling.  J. Malloy suggested he be invited to
attend the May 14th meeting.

H. White asked about the
status of the public hearing for Route 131.  J. Malloy said that the state had
submitted the design report to the Design Board, and they will take it up at
their next meeting, then the public hearing will be held.

Bill Muir said that the Town
Meeting sign is ready and is in his truck, but the Chamber has no way of
putting it up at the Information
Center right now.  He noted that they have been getting a
lot of request for sign space, and have found it necessary to set a two-week
limit on sign posting.  He suggested
they start charging profit organizations for use of the sign space.  He recommended erecting a sign on Town
property.  He said that the water
and sewer issue precludes businesses from coming into Town.  He stressed the need for more businesses
to increase revenue for the Town.
He asked why four members of the Board of Selectmen had voted not to
increase the capacity of the wastewater treatment plant.  H. White suggested that B. Muir attend
the meeting at 7:00 p.m. on April 18th regarding the wastewater
treatment plant.  He noted that the
Town is in arbitration with Southbridge
regarding what they are charging Sturbridge for flow, and the study results
will not be available until September.
S. Halterman added that the Board had voted to hold off making a
decision on what to do with the wastewater treatment plant until it has seen
the Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan, a $300,000 study that is being
produced.  He said that the Board
wanted to wait until they heard from the EPA regarding expansion of the
wastewater treatment plant.

Ask the Selectmen

A.Wilson said that there
were no calls.

MOTION:       To convene
in executive session under MGL Chapter 39, §23B, Paragraph #3:  To discuss strategy with respect to
collective bargaining or litigation; and Paragraph #6:  To consider the purchase, exchange,
taking, lease or value of real property; not to reconvene in open session, by
T. Goodwin.

2nd:     A.Wilson

Roll
call vote:  All in favor.

Respectfully
submitted,

Judy
Knowles

_______________________________

BOS Clerk                             Date