BOARD OF SELECTMEN

MINUTES

FEBRUARY 4, 2008

Present:          Hal White, Chairman

Steven Halterman

Ted Goodwin

Arnold Wilson

William Emrich

James Malloy, 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 January 22, 2008 as amended, by W. Emrich.

2nd:     S. Halterman

Vote:  All in favor.

Christian Kruger – Logging Permit for New Boston Road

MOTION:       To open the public hearing, by W. Emrich.

2nd:     T. Goodwin

Vote:  All in favor.

J. Malloy read the legal ad into the record.  Christian Kruger appeared before the Board.

C. Kruger requested a logging permit for property located at 404 New Boston Road, owned by Eric Ohop.  J. Malloy had received comments from the Conservation Commission and the DPW Director.  There is a $5,000 bond already in place.

MOTION:       To approve the forestry application of Christian Kruger for land owned by Eric Ohop on New Boston Road, subject to any conditions of the Conservation Commission and DPW Director and that a $5,000 bond for town roads be maintained throughout the forestry operation, by A. Wilson.

2nd:     W. Emrich

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To close the public hearing, by A.Wilson.

2nd:     S. Halterman

Vote:  All in favor.

Wetland Protection Act Funds

J. Malloy submitted to the Board a request from the Conservation Agent to use $1,000 of the Wetland Protection Act funds, which are generated from filing fees; there is approximately $80,000 in the account.  She is seeking to use the funds for a half-day training seminar on low-impact development techniques.  J. Malloy felt that this would be an appropriate use of the funds and is consistent with the goals of the Town’s strategic plan.

MOTION:       To approve the use of $1,000 from the Wetlands Protection Act funds to provide a half-day training seminar on low-impact development techniques, by A.Wilson.

2nd:     S. Halterman

Vote:  All in favor.

Miscellaneous

J. Malloy informed the Board that the off-site worksession with Jeff Nutting has been arranged for 2/16 from 8:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. at the Publick House.  W. Emrich said that he would be unavailable on that date.  It was the consensus of the Board to reschedule the off-site worksession to March 1st or 8th.

J. Malloy informed the Board that the Finance Committee will meet on March 4th to review the wastewater treatment plant articles.  They have asked Tighe & Bond to attend as well as Greg Morse and J. Malloy, and they asked the Board of Selectmen to either attend or send a representative to present the Board’s position.  The meeting will be at 7:00 p.m. at the Senior Center.  H. White suggested that it be posted as a Board of Selectmen meeting.

J. Malloy said that on February 1st he conducted a site walk with Bryan Busch from CME Engineering and Erin Jacque, Sturbridge Conservation Agent on the Camp Robinson Crusoe property.  He said that at this time the Town can allow people unrestricted access to the property.  He will draft a press release to this effect.

Harry Wandeloski – Logging Permit for Breakneck Road

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

2nd:     T. Goodwin

Vote:  All in favor.

J. Malloy read the legal ad into the record.  Harry Wandeloski appeared before the Board.  He requested a logging permit for land on Breakneck Road, owned by the Town of Southbridge.  J. Malloy had received comments from the Conservation Commission and the DPW Director.

MOTION:       To approve the forestry application of Harry Wandeloski for land owned by the Town of Southbridge on Breakneck Road, subject to any conditions of the Conservation Commission and DPW Director and that a $5,000 bond for town roads be maintained throughout the forestry operation, by A.Wilson.

2nd:     S. Halterman

Vote:  All in favor.

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

2nd:     T. Goodwin

Vote:  All in favor.

Burgess School Building Committee

Angela Cheng-Cimini, Sandy Gibson-Quigley, Dan Carlson, Bill Chamberland and Carl Franceschi of Drummey, Rosane, Anderson Architects appeared before the Board.  A. Cheng-Cimini said that the Burgess School Building Committee has been holding a series of community meetings and has provided the public with information, making it as interactive as possible.  She submitted to the Board the final recommendations of the Sturbridge Building Committee, which addressed physical facilities issues, future space needs and educational programs.  Critical factors include enrollment projections, condition of the building infrastructure, programmatic needs, full-day kindergarten, storage, community use and cost/affordability.  The findings on the current situation include the fact that classrooms are crowded or insufficient, the open space classroom layout is obsolete, most of the infrastructure is beyond practical life, it is not ADA compliant, and Sturbridge has been categorized by SBA for regionalization assessment.  The findings for the future include overcrowding, physically smaller classrooms within open space, costly equipment replacements and eligibility for SBA funding is unknown.  She said that there are two options to consider:  Option D - $40.6 million includes a combination of demolition, renovation and new construction, with all new or “like new” and it addresses all infrastructure, space and programmatic needs.  Option H - $17.9 million includes full and partial renovation with some new, it fixes only what is broken, and repairs/upgrades systems to extend the life of the building by 10 – 15 years.  She noted that Option D would take approximately 18-24 months to completion, would produce a significantly enhanced educational environment, would accommodate projected enrollment, would improve the overall site plan, would broaden community use and would be more efficient to operate.  Option H would be the first phase of a larger building project, would preserve more useable portions, but would cause greater educational disruption and does not address future enrollment or programmatic needs.

A. Cheng-Cimini noted that a new building would cost about $54 million, and there were some things that were sacrificed to get Option D down to $40.6 million.  They recommended Option D, as it addresses all of the present and future needs at Burgess.  Sandy Gibson-Quigley added that they like the design of Option D better than a new building because it utilizes the present site, while the design of a new building would be more spread out.

W. Emrich said that next year Burgess will have 38 classes for grades 1-6 for 36 classrooms.  He expressed concern about future growth.  Daniel Carlson noted that the drawings are conceptual, and there would be additional space available by readjusting some of the classes.  He said that there is a question as to whether two full computer labs are needed.  He said that there is some flexibility to add new classrooms if needed.  Carl Franceschi said that storage will be handled differently.  He said that presently children’s coats are stored in the classrooms; in the future building there will be lockers in the halls.  T. Goodwin mentioned the Mass. Technical Collaborative and asked about the possibility of using solar panels.  C. Franceschi said that he was familiar with them, and said that it would be expensive to install panels on the roof of the building to generate electricity.

W. Emrich asked whether the enrollment figures would change if the Town gets a higher wastewater treatment plant capacity.  C. Franceschi said that he did not have direct experience in wastewater issues, but that a fair amount depends on the economy.  S. Gibson-Quigley said that the enrollment projections were based on building projections that were norms, and the wastewater treatment plant capacity was not taken into consideration.  W. Emrich said that in the updated long range enrollment projections, it mentions that the town has a sewer moratorium.  S. Halterman asked whether they had taken into consideration the buildout that the Planning Board has proposed.  C. Franceschi said that they did get the information on buildout, and it was taken into account.  He said that if the population were to grow significantly, the town could consider building another school at another site.  W. Emrich commended the Burgess School Building Committee on doing a good job.

Spaho Corp. – Request to Extend Sewer

Len Jalbert, P.E. appeared before the Board on behalf of Walter Regep to request that sewer be extended to the five-lot subdivision on Farquhar Road off Route 131.  He said that the five-lot subdivision has been approved, and the infrastructure going into the subdivision.  The roadway and turnaround are in place and a public water system servicing the five lots, along with a sewer pressure system servicing the five lots has been installed.  He noted that the DPW Director has checked all of the installations.  The dilemma is that there is a sewer system serving a five-lot subdivision that presently allows one connection.  He said that the Sturbridge Board of Health mandated that the septic systems that were approved for the four lots be connected immediately upon approval of the sewer system availability onto the site, therefore rendering the systems inadequate, then they had to be taken out.  He said that in the process of doing this, putting in four additional systems, there is 40,000 square feet of tree removal that will take place on the property.  He said that it is contrary to the Conservation Commission because it is immediately adjacent to a watershed, with a lot of protected area there.  By enhancing tree removal because of the septic systems, it is contrary to the intent of the subdivision itself.  He said that there was installation of five laterals on the property, and there is a system that will service one house.  He said that it creates an unwarranted position, where there is a lateral that will be servicing one house that would normally be servicing a five-lot subdivision.  He said that this would not allow for the proper flow of the effluent out of that one house going into that line, which means that anything down gradient from the pressure line, which is off of Farquhar Road onto Route 131 will cause a strong sewage odor, and the water will become brackish in the pipe because there would be insufficient flow.  He asked the Board to consider reinstating the four laterals to be connected on the four lots, so that there would be no septic systems and no tree removal, which would help the project as it stands now.

A.Wilson noted that there was a sizeable chunk of land to remain as open space.  L. Jalbert said that the open space is designated on the plan.  T. Goodwin said that he would like to get comments from Greg Morse, DPW Director, the Conservation Commission and the Board of Health.  W. Emrich said that the information would help the Board to make a sound decision.

Annual Town Meeting Warrant

H. White suggested scheduling an additional Board meeting for February 25th to cover the Annual Town Meeting warrant.

J. Malloy submitted the 2008 Annual Town Meeting warrant to the Board.  In addition to the text boxes, he provided the following information to help explain and provide clarification on various articles:

Article 3 – As proposed in the budget document, J. Malloy recommended using $250,000 of free cash in this article.  This along with the Capital budget outlay draws free cash down to $397,375 at the conclusion of Town Meeting, or 1.7% of the annual operating budget.  He originally was going to include an article for updating the Master Plan this year, but believed it would be imprudent to draw free cash any further, and therefore did not recommend this for FY09.

Articles 5 & 6 – These are the water and sewer budgets.  Based on reducing debt in the water budget, the overall budget is down slightly by 0.2%.  The sewer budget is down 5.8% mostly due to a reduction in the estimate for flow going to Southbridge.  This reduction is due to Veolia managing the wastewater system so as to only send additional flows to Southbridge when it becomes absolutely necessary.

Article 8 – This is the CPA debt article.  This year, debt for the Stallion Hill Road/Holland Road purchase has been included as well as an initial debt estimate for the Town Hall/Center Office project.

Article 9 – This is the same article that was presented last year and in 2006 on allocating sewer flow.  The calculations in the text box have been updated to reflect the January – December 2007 flow at the wastewater plant as per Veolia’s January report and the 1.1 MGD plant that the Selectmen voted to move forward with.

Article 10 – This is the article for the 1.1 MGD plant, and as with other debt authorizations, the motion will include the dollar amount that is discussed in the text box.

Articles 11, 12 & 13 – These articles are for a larger wastewater treatment plant and were submitted by petition and must be included verbatim.

Article 14 – This is the proposal for a major renovation and replacement of the older portion of Burgess Elementary School at $40.6 million, to be funded 100% locally.  J. Malloy included financial information that the School Building Committee discussed and a draft report from the School Building Committee for the Board’s review.

Article 15 – This is a lesser renovation project that would include a renovation of the existing structure of Burgess Elementary School and add a small new building addition for administration (6,600 sq. ft.).  This project proposal is also to be funded 100% locally and is estimated to cost $17.9 million.

Article 16 – This is the Tree Committee Bylaw creating a Tree Committee.  J. Malloy edited the language that he was concerned with in the original proposal (Section 1.95) and some other language and changed the appointment to one by the Town Administrator, to be consistent with all other Boards and Committees.

Article 17 – This is a re-write of the Site Plan Review Bylaw.  While there is a text box that explains the changes, J. Malloy submitted to the Board an edited version provided by the Town Planner which shows the changes in comment boxes throughout.

Article 19 – This article would allow commercial recreational facilities in the Special Use District (these are already allowed in the PUBD, which is an allowed use in the Special Use District, but this article would allow a commercial recreation facility as a stand alone project).

Article 21 – This article addresses the issue that came up in 2007 with the Nursery locating on Route 15 and the initial oversight by the Route 15 Study Committee for stand alone commercial projects in the Special Use District.

Article 28 – During the past year J. Malloy attended a workshop on public officials liability and found that many communities, even though they carry indemnity insurance for their staff, have not accepted this section of law, which is necessary in order to indemnify public officials.  Sturbridge has not yet adopted this section.

Articles 29 – 32 – This extends additional fire suppression requirements to a variety of buildings as explained in the articles.  J. Malloy suggested that the Board may wish to forward Article 32 to the Economic Development Committee for comment since it applies to commercial structures.

Articles 34 & 35 are similar and were both submitted by petition.  Article 34 provides a bonus to the Town Clerk for becoming certified and Article 35 provides a bonus to the Town Clerk, Assistant Assessor and Treasurer/Collector for becoming certified.  J. Malloy said that this had come up several years ago, and the Selectmen had opted not to support it, at his recommendation, because there are a number of other Town Officials that obtain and maintain certifications that are not included in this statute, and therefore believe it creates an inequitable situation.

Article 36 – This is a continuation of last year’s initial effort to break out the capital expenditures for water and sewer in separate articles.  This article addresses the concerns with the Stallion Hill Water Tank.

Article 40 – SATA – J. Malloy included their budget from last year and modified the marketing line item to reflect the amount available this year.  SATA will meet next week and provide their recommendation at that time.  J. Malloy submitted to the Board the Special Act that was passed to allow Sturbridge to set up a “SATA” and “Betterment” Committee and fund both through a revolving fund, and that neither was to exceed 50% of the revolving fund.  J. Malloy informed SATA that in order to change the proportion of funding, it would require a petition to the legislature to amend the original Act.  A town meeting vote is necessary to submit a petition.  He noted that this process will go beyond this year’s Town Meeting, therefore both budgets continue to be presented with 50% of the revolving fund (or 16.25% of the overall Hotel/Motel Tax revenues).

H. White said that a correction should be made on Article 12, the Right to Farm Bylaw, as a paragraph had been omitted in the printing.

S. Halterman said that regarding the wastewater treatment plant allocation bylaw, J. Malloy had done a good job of putting together the article.  He said that because the Board had discussed it, he had taken the liberty of putting together a proposed allocation bylaw that takes 64,000 gpd expanded sewer service area for residential and divides it up over 20 years.  He said that at the end of each year, any unused flow will be added to the following year’s flow allocation.  Subsequent years’ flow allocations will include the original 3,200 gpd plus the carryover from previous years.  For commercial/industrial, 65,000 gpd for expanded use spread over 20 years, and subsequent years’ flow allocations will include the original 3,250 gpd plus the carryover from previous years.  For municipal, 14,000 gpd to be used at the discretion of the Sewer Commissioners and the DPW Director as needed over 20 years.

S. Halterman suggested adding the following phrase to the existing bylaw:  “and by a 2/3rd favorable vote at Town Meeting.”  J. Malloy said that he could include that wording, and noted that because it is more restrictive, it will be necessary to have a bylaw with home rule petition.

MOTION:       To close the warrant for the Annual Town Meeting, by S. Halterman.

2nd:     T. Goodwin

Vote:  All in favor.

FY09 Budget

J. Malloy suggested setting another meeting date to work on the budget.  It was the consensus of the Board that they will meet on February 25th and 27th, if necessary.

Revised Committee Handbook

At the Selectmen’s meeting on January 28th, J. Malloy had submitted to the Board revisions to the Committee Handbook, updating various sections and including the Code of Conduct from the Town of Sudbury example.

It was the consensus of the Board to review it further.

Old Business

S. Halterman said that regarding the wastewater treatment plant flows, he has spoken to Ian Catlow of Tighe and Bond, and he will write up some notes and send them to the Board.  H. White noted that he has not seen the electronic copy of his presentation.

A.Wilson noted that Kopelman & Paige is working on a status report on all open litigation, and asked whether MIIA is doing the same thing.  J. Malloy said that MIIA provides a quarterly report.

W. Emrich said that someone had recently asked him how to get a street light installed in his neighborhood.  J. Malloy said that after he receives such a request in writing, he sends it to the Street Light Committee with a cover letter, asking them to meet and review it, after which time he places it on the Town Meeting warrant for approval.

T. Goodwin said that he had contacted Rom’s to let them know that the Board is interested in keeping them in Town; their status is inconclusive.

H. White said that the Board had just received correspondence regarding tree #25, indicating that Tom Chamberland, Tree Warden, is concerned about the money.  He noted that it was turned down at the Special Town Meeting, but there has been an offer for private funding on it.  He suggested waiting for the resolution of the DPW Director and the Tree Warden.  Kirstie Pecci, 122 McGilpin Road, said that the Tree Warden had accepted the donation from the donor.  H. White said that the Board had just received the correspondence at 6:30 on February 4th, and will review it.  A.Wilson asked whether the Board needed to accept the donation, or whether the Town needed to accept it.  J. Malloy said that if it is a cash donation, then the department can accept it; services or goods would take a vote of the Board of Selectmen.  He said that he is waiting to hear back from Town Counsel as to whether or not the donor would share the liability for any future problems.  Linda Cocalis, 110 McGilpin Road, said that they have applied for a grant for pruning and maintenance of five trees, and will add trees to it under the jurisdiction of the Town.  She said that they would not be able to prune or cable the trees without approval of the Tree Warden, as the trees belong to the Town.  H. White noted that there is a $2,000 grant to preserve five trees in that area.  Tim Pecci, 122 McGilpin Road, said that his wife Kirstie had attended the Special Town Meeting, and the next day comments had appeared on a blog regarding her actions at the meeting.  He asked J. Malloy why this is permitted to go on.  Clay Cocalis, 110 McGilpin Road, said that it troubles him that this tree has become a lightning rod in Sturbridge, and he thought it was ridiculous that they had to go through so much just to save a tree.  H. White said that there is a plan to pave McGilpin Road as part of phase 2, and it will go around the tree.  Jim Zavistoski, 127 Mashapaug Road, noted that there was a reference to a restriction of 15 feet.  H. White said that the narrowest point of the road is 18 feet.  J. Malloy said that he would confirm that.  J. Zavistoski said that there was a concern that in the process of repaving the road, the root structure of the tree is so close that half of it would be impacted, which would facilitate its demise.  Chris Derose, 117 McGilpin Road, said that a petition is being circulated that is not circulating the facts.

H. White noted that J. Malloy had reported that the Camp Robinson Crusoe land is now open to the public.  J. Malloy said that Mass. Wildlife will meet with the Board at their March 10th work session to make a presentation regarding the dam.

New Business

S. Halterman said that he was contacted by Alexandra McNitt of the Chamber of Commerce to discuss the wastewater treatment plant.  She will represent the Economic Development Committee.  A.Wilson said that he met with A. McNitt, as liaison to the EDC.  She said that she would send him the minutes of their meetings.

A.Wilson said that he was contacted by the Western Mass. Coalition on Casinos to see if the Town of Sturbridge would host a meeting of the Coalition, which includes the towns around Palmer.  It was the consensus of the Board to host a meeting in Sturbridge.  A.Wilson said that the best place for the meeting would be the Senior Center, when a date has been established.

H. White suggested having Jim Donohue of Old Sturbridge Village and Alexandra McNitt of the Chamber of Commerce meet with the Board to discuss the results of the studies.

H. White suggested posting work sessions as regular meetings.

H. White suggested that J. Malloy check with CWT to see about inviting DEP and the EPA to the Bio-Mag demonstration.

Ask the Selectmen

S. Halterman received a question from a citizen who wanted to know what the Town Administrator will do about the public official who is criticizing other citizens with whom he disagrees.  The caller said that the public official is acting outside the bounds of a public official.  J. Malloy said that he does not intend to take any action, since the public official has the right to express his opinion, just as Mr. Pecci had the right to express his opinion.  He said that it is an expression of free speech.

A.Wilson received a call from a person who did not wish to be identified, who asked about the status of the proposal for the Master Plan update.  He asked whether the Board would consider trying to fund the total amount over a period of years instead of all at once.  H. White suggested that the Board discuss it when reviewing the budget.

A.Wilson said that the caller had a question regarding the comment made earlier to the proposal for a traffic light at New Boston Road and Rt. 20, as to why the letter was written without discussion by the Board.  J. Malloy said that it was sent without the Board’s discussion at a meeting.

A.Wilson said that the caller requested that the Board include the complete Sunderland code of conduct in the Committee Handbook, especially regarding preventable harassment.

A.Wilson noted that an 8-page summary of the Old Sturbridge Village report is available from Jim Donohue at OSV.  J. Malloy said that he would obtain copies for the Board.

H. White said that a member of the audience raised the issue of one town board suing another town board, which is happening in Auburn, and suggested that the Board consider that as part of town policy.  J. Malloy said that Jim Zavistoski, 127 Mashapaug Road had indicated that there should be a policy for the Board to be able to mediate that kind of issue, to prevent one town board from suing another town board.  J. Malloy said that the way the law is written, it is the only avenue to formally deal with it.

W. Emrich said that recently in the newspaper there was a survey of questions for the people running for Selectman, and the headline and article stated that it was coming from the Chairman of the Planning Board, not from a private citizen.  The caller asked whether the Planning Board had voted to move forward with the surveys, and if not, it should be discussed at a Planning Board meeting.  He said that the media should correct this mistake.

The Board paused for a moment of silence to honor Emile Fortier, who recently passed away.  Mr. Fortier had worked in the sewer department for over 30 years and held various other town positions.

MOTION:       To enter into 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; and to reconvene in open session, by T. Goodwin.

2nd:     S. Halterman

Roll call vote:  All in favor.

The Board convened in executive session at 9:05 p.m.

The Board reconvened in open session at 9:15 p.m.

FY09 Budget

It was the consensus of the Board to place the following line items on hold:  Board of Selectmen Other Charges; Finance Director Department Head Salary; Town Clerk Salaries/Wages; Police Dept. Salaries/Wages Quinn Bill Incentive; Police Dept. Overtime Expense; Fire Dept. Overtime Expense; Electrical Inspector Salaries/Wages; Burgess Elementary School; Tantasqua Town Share; Tantasqua Transportation Assessment; Tantasqua School Committee; Tantasqua Debt Assessment; Town Road Maintenance Repairs & Maintenance; Road Construction; Snow & Ice Control Overtime; Snow & Ice Control Purchase of Services; Snow & Ice Control Supplies; Landfill/Recycling Center Purchase of Services; Veterans’ Services Dept. Head Salary; Veterans’ Services Purchase of Services; Veterans’ Services Supplies; Veterans’ Services Other Charges; Veterans’ Services Veterans’ Benefits; Unclassified Group Insurance; Worcester Retirement System.

MOTION:       To approve all of the line items except those placed on hold, by A.Wilson.

2nd:     S. Halterman

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To adjourn, by A.Wilson.

2nd:     S. Halterman

Vote:  All in favor.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:00 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Judy Knowles

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BOS Clerk                             Date