BOARD OF SELECTMEN

MINUTES

JUNE 16, 2008

Present:          Steven Halterman, Chairman

Ted Goodwin

Scott Garieri

Mary Blanchard

Hal White

James Malloy, Town Administrator

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

Presentation of Plaque and Citation to Theophile Beaudry

S. Halterman presented Theophile Beaudry will a plaque from the Town and a citation from the Massachusetts Senate, honoring him for his many years of service to the Town.  Mr. Beaudry served on the Zoning Board of Appeals from 1972 to 2008.

Approval of Minutes

MOTION:       To accept the minutes of June 2, 2008 as corrected, by H. White.

2nd:     M. Blanchard

Vote:  All in favor.

Annual Paving & Road Materials Bids

J. Malloy submitted to the Board the bids for paving and road materials and a recommendation from the DPW Director on the low bidders.  He also provided information to demonstrate the impact of the effect of petroleum product increases in relation to the highest dollar value portion of the bids (Item 1.3 Bituminous Concrete in place).  As per the information provided in the Annual Road Management Program, in order to maintain the Town roads to the standards that the DPW attempts to maintain, approximately 6.5 miles of road paving per year needs to be undertaken.  During the past five years, the Town has gone from meeting this standard to having available resources to only pave approximately 4.5 miles in FY09.

During the past five years, the overall rating of the Town roads has been:

2004 (FY05)  7.88

2005 (FY06)  8.00

2006 (FY07)  7.85

2007 (FY08)  7.73

2008 (FY09)  7.61

The overall goal on the Road Management Program is to maintain a 7.50 rating on all town roads.  As petroleum costs continue to rise, the Town will need to begin appropriating more local funds to maintain roads in the upcoming years to protect the investment in existing infrastructure.  In order to maintain the miles of roads the Town currently has, at the existing cost per mile the Town would need to appropriate an additional $210,000 per year to maintain 6.5 miles per year.

MOTION:       To approve the paving and road material bids as per the recommendation of the DPW Director, by M. Blanchard.

2nd:     T. Goodwin

Vote:  All in favor.

Affordable Housing Plan

J. Malloy submitted to the Board the proposed agreement between the Town of Sturbridge and Bailey Boyd Associates to conduct an Affordable Housing Plan.  The Town funded an appropriation to conduct this study and the Housing Partnership Committee and the Town Planner advertised for bids, and recommend the bid be awarded to Bailey Boyd Associates.

MOTION:       To award the bid to develop an Affordable Housing Plan to Bailey Boyd Associates as per their quote of $31,500 and further to authorize the Town Administrator to execute the agreement, by M. Blanchard.

2nd:     T. Goodwin

Vote:  All in favor.

Appropriation Transfer Request

MOTION:       To approve the transfer of $5,000 from the Landfill/Recycling Center Purchase of Services Account #14302-52000 to the Landfill/Recycling Center Supplies Account #14302-54000, by H. White.

2nd:     T. Goodwin

Vote:  All in favor.

Police Labor Contract

MOTION:       To approve the collective bargaining agreement between the Town of Sturbridge and the Sturbridge Police Association as presented for the fiscal year period 2009-2011, by H. White.

2nd:     T. Goodwin

Vote:  All in favor.

Miscellaneous

J. Malloy said that the Town had received a letter and a question at the last Selectmen’s meeting regarding flat vs. vertical headstones at the North Cemetery.  He submitted to the Board a copy of the June 2, 2003 minutes when this discussion had taken place in which the Selectmen determined that vertical headstones would be allowed at the expanded section of the North Cemetery.

S. Garieri noted that no raised stones are allowed on the opposite side of the driveway, so that there won’t be any bordering Mary Duff’s house.  He asked that J. Malloy check to see if plots have been sold in that section yet.

J. Malloy said that he would ask G. Morse, DPW Director, to take a plan of the cemetery and divide it into potential areas for horizontal and vertical headstones onto it.  He noted that G. Morse had favored having horizontal headstones, making it easier for the DPW crew to mow the grass around them.

The Board had asked J. Malloy to review the minutes when the Town Hall/Center Office Building Committee had been formed.  He submitted a copy of the July 2, 2007 minutes to the Board for review and pointed out that it is an Ad Hoc Committee created by the Board of Selectmen, and could be changed at any time by the Board.

S. Halterman asked the Selectmen what they wished to do.  S. Garieri asked whether the Committee has been making any headway.  J. Malloy explained that a stumbling block has arisen regarding the project.  He said that preliminary designs for both buildings have been done.  The architect needed to have a survey done to show the limits of the property for a site plan, and they found that the Town-owned property ends at the back wall of Town Hall.  There was a deed from David Whittemore to the Federated Church in 1865; surveys were done in 1821 and 1883, both of which showed that the Town Common boundary bisects the parking lot.  He noted that one of the plans calls for putting an elevator tower on the back of the building, but until the boundary is determined he will not know about the status of the external elevator.  He said that he found a 1762 vote with a legal description.  Town Counsel is in the process of having a title search completed.

J. Malloy said that after he meets with the Town Hall/Center Office Building Committee on Thursday he will have a better idea of how quickly the project can move forward.  He noted that there are structural issues with both of the buildings, and there is framing work that needs to be done on the buildings that was not originally anticipated.  He said that he will send it out to a cost estimator to determine whether the project can move forward or requires additional funding.

MOTION:       To amend the structure of the Town Hall/Center Office Building Committee to have one member of the Board of Selectmen and 3-6 members of the general public, by T. Goodwin.

2nd:     M. Blanchard.

Vote:  All in favor.

The Board had asked for an update on discussions to address neighborhood issues related to the Skate Park and Cedar Lake Recreation Area.  J. Malloy submitted to the Board a list of items that were discussed at the meeting in April which the Recreation Committee is reviewing.

J. Malloy said that he had driven to the Skate Park earlier that day, and it was very clean, with no trash.

Old Business

H. White asked about the status of drainage on New Boston Road.  J. Malloy said that he would talk to G. Morse about it.

H. White asked about the status of Bio-Mag.  J. Malloy said that Bio-Mag is still being used at the Wastewater Treatment Plant.  He said that Ian Catlow of Tighe & Bond sent a letter to the EPA to request an extension of time for the conceptual design plan.

New Business

S. Garieri said that he had received two calls from property owners complaining about garbage trucks parking on their parking lots early in the morning, and the weight of the trucks is destroying their parking lots.  He noted that the owners should not have to spend any money to put up “no parking” signs.  J. Malloy said that he would contact Chief Ford.

T. Goodwin announced that on Wednesday, June 18th from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. at the Town Hall, the Conservation Commission will host a presentation by David Mitchell about the status of the five great ponds.

S. Halterman said that he and S. Garieri would not be able to attend the July 7th meeting.  H. White said that he would not be able to be there either.  It was the consensus of the Board to not meet on July 7th.  The next regular meeting of the Board will be on July 21st.

J. Malloy said that he had met with Shane Moody, Veolia Water North America and G. Morse, DPW Director regarding the Route 131 sewer line construction.  G. Morse mentioned that on the lower end of Fiske Hill there have been a number of breaks, from Fairview Park to Rt. 131 and the two crossed water mains; the other one crosses Fairview Park Road.  He said that if there is ever a water main break there, it could be a problem.  They will provide J. Malloy with a list of water main breaks.  He said that if there is a delay, the Board could make a decision about getting the water main in the ground now before the paving is done.  G. Morse said that it is an older water main, and in some areas it is up against storm drains; the pipe is rubbing up against it and the vibration in the road is breaking the pipes.  The heavier trash trucks may be causing additional vibration in the storm drains, putting more pressure on the water pipes.

Ask the Selectmen

T. Goodwin received a call from a resident who asked about the status of the “Welcome to Sturbridge” banners.  J. Malloy said that he had contacted Verizon, and they forwarded to him their process for putting up banners.  The short process involves very little expense for seasonal banners; permanent banners require a fee of approximately $3,000, funded as of July 1, 2008.  He suggested using seasonal banners for the time being, then see what transpires in the issue of putting utility lines underground.

MOTION:       To convene in executive session under MGL Ch. 39, §23B, Paragraph #3:  To discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining or litigation; not to reconvene in open session, by S. Garieri.

2nd:     H. White

Roll call vote:  All in favor.

The Board convened in executive session at 7:25 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Judy Knowles

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BOS Clerk                                         Date