BOARD OF SELECTMEN

MINUTES

JULY 2, 2007

Present:          Hal White, Chairman

Steven Halterman

Ted Goodwin

Arnold Wilson

William Emrich

Gregory Morse, Acting Town Administrator

The Chairman called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. following the Pledge of Allegiance.

Approval of Minutes

MOTION:       To accept the minutes of June 18, 2007 as amended, by W. Emrich.

2nd:     S. Halterman

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To accept the executive session minutes of June 18, 2007 as submitted, to remain confidential, by S. Halterman.

2nd:     W. Emrich

Vote:  All in favor.

Traffic Rules and Regulations Amendment

G. Morse read the hearing notice into the record.

Sherman Blair asked about the dates on this matter.  G. Morse said that the parking ban is voted on by the Board of Selectmen every year, and is in effect from November 1st to the end of March.

MOTION:       To amend the Sturbridge Traffic Rules and Regulations to amend Article IV – Parking, Section 2 – Prohibited on Certain Streets, by adding the following:  Chamberlain Street – both sides from Morse Street to Charlton Street “No Overnight Parking” by W. Emrich.

2nd:     T. Goodwin

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To close the public hearing, by S. Halterman.

2nd:     W. Emrich

Vote:  All in favor.

Fire Department Staffing

G. Morse read J. Malloy’s comments from his update into the record (copy on file).  J. Malloy had reviewed the current staffing vacancies and the questions that were posed, and discussed them with the Fire Chief and the Finance Director.  He provided several spreadsheets reviewing the possible options (copies on file).  He noted that currently the Town had two openings in the Fire Department:  the first opening is for a 25 hour per week Fire Inspector and the second is for a 45 hour per week Firefighter/EMT-P.

H. White noted that the Fire Inspector would be available three weekdays per week; the two weekend days that person would be scheduled to work would replace the need to schedule some of the call firefighters on weekends.  A.Wilson agreed that it is a good approach for solving the problem.  W. Emrich expressed the hope that they can find someone who would be willing to work every weekend.

H. White said that he was opposed to hiring someone at a Lieutenant’s level, when that person has not demonstrated the ability to work at a Lieutenant’s level.  He said that if it should be graded at the Lieutenant’s level, the applicant should be told what he/she is expected to do to earn that level, and when that ability has been demonstrated, he/she will be promoted.  He said that there is a difference between paying someone higher on the pay scale and hiring someone as a Lieutenant.

The consensus of the Board was to concur with J. Malloy’s comments, including H. White’s comments relative to the pay scale.

Town Administrator’s Goals

MOTION:       To approve the goals for 2007 for the Town Administrator, by W. Emrich.

2nd:     T. Goodwin

Vote:  All in favor.

H. White suggested that the Board date the list of goals.

Town Hall/Center School Building Construction Committee

MOTION:       To disband the Town Hall/Center School Building Study Committee, with appreciation to the members for developing the initial plans and seeing the proposal through to approval, by T. Goodwin.

2nd:     W. Emrich

Vote:  All in favor.

H. White suggested sending a letter of appreciation to each member.

MOTION:       To create the Town Hall/Center School Construction Committee to assist the Town Administrator in overseeing the Town Hall/Center School renovation/construction projects, to consist of:  the Town Administrator, the DPW Director, the Chairman of the Historic Commission, the Chairman of the Finance Committee, two member of the Board of Selectmen (to be appointed by the Chairman), and three to five members of the community with expertise in construction activities, if possible, by A.Wilson.

2nd:     T. Goodwin

Vote:  All in favor.

Resignation

MOTION:       To accept the resignation of David Aho from the Regional Trail Committee, with regret, by W. Emrich.

2nd:     S. Halterman

Vote:  All in favor.

H. White suggested sending David Aho a letter thanking him for all of his help.

Miscellaneous

A reminder that the public hearing for the Route 131 Reconstruction Project will be held at the Sturbridge Town Hall on July 19, 2007 at 6:30 p.m.

J. Malloy is still seeking members to serve on the Housing Partnership Committee, now that the Charter has been fully approved and the Housing Authority has been abolished.  There are currently three volunteers interested in serving, but five are needed to fill the Committee.  With the cooperative project between the Town and Habitat for Humanity that is planned on Fairview Park Road, using CPA funds and town-owned land having been approved, as well as the Housing Needs Study funded at Town Meeting, this Committee will have a lot of valuable work to undertake in the next year.

J. Malloy submitted to the Board the breakdown of wages by the different departments for Tom Chamberland, Brian Towns and Mary Lou Volpe (copy on file).

Old Business

A.Wilson requested confirmation that the trail funds were actually received.

A.Wilson asked about the status of rescheduling a meeting with Rep. Bosley.  H. White said that it has not been rescheduled yet.

A.Wilson asked whether Tighe & Bond would be on the time schedule for September.  G Morse said that Tighe & Bond had indicated that they would be earlier than that.  He said that J. Malloy will set up a meeting with Tighe & Bond to go over some issues.

W. Emrich said that the proofs were received of the Tantasqua Warriors State Championship signs, they looked great, and two signs were ordered.  He gave special thanks to Jim Damian, Howard Boyd and Mike Splaine.

H. White said that the July work session would cover tourism and the Economic Development Committee.

H. White noted that last week there was a successful vote on the renovation of Town Hall and the Center School Building.  He thanked the Board of Selectmen for its leadership in promoting a “yes” vote and thanked them as individuals for printing and distributing leaflets and for reaching out to residents by phone calls; he thanked those residents who had purchased and/or displayed signs on their properties; he thanked the editor of the Southbridge Evening News for the favorable editorials; he thanked Craig Semon of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette and Sean Reid of the Southbridge Evening News for their coverage of the matter; he thanked Jim Malloy, Town Administrator, for his hard work and analysis of the costs of the project; and he thanked the 800+ residents of the Town who had taken the time to vote.  S. Halterman asked about the timeline for the project.  G. Morse estimated that it would take about three to five years for completion.  He said that the Center School building would most likely be renovated first, then personnel would be moved into their new offices there.  Following that, the remaining Town Hall personnel will move into temporary quarters while the Town Hall is renovated.

New Business

H. White said that the Board had received an invitation from the Board of Directors of Harrington Hospital to attend the retirement party for Richard Mangion on July 27th at the Sturbridge Host.

S. Halterman said that he had participated in the interview process for the Sergeant position at the Police Department, and was very impressed with the professionalism, detail and intricacy of the process.

Mary Blanchard requested that the Town Administrator’s list of goals be read to the audience.  H. White said that it was too long to read, and suggested that she obtain a copy from J. Malloy.  He suggested asking J. Malloy if he would be willing to post it on the Town’s website.

Ask the Selectmen

A.Wilson received one call from a person who wished to recognize the efforts of  Hal White, and his contribution to the success of the Town Hall/Center School building campaign.  H. White noted that it had been a team effort.  He thanked Greg Morse for covering the meeting in Jim Malloy’s absence.

MOTION:       To adjourn, by S. Halterman.

2nd:     W. Emrich

Vote:  All in favor.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Judy Knowles

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BOS Clerk                             Date