BOARD OF SELECTMEN

MINUTES

MARCH 2, 2009

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.

Approval of Minutes

MOTION:       To accept the minutes of February 9, 2009 as amended, by H. White.

2nd:     M. Blanchard

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To accept the executive session minutes of February 9, 2009 as amended, to remain confidential, by M. Blanchard.

2nd:     S. Garieri

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To accept the minutes of February 17, 2009 as amended, by M. Blanchard.

2nd:     H. White

Vote:  All in favor.

The Board agreed to hold action on the executive session minutes of February 17, 2009, to be corrected in executive session.

Pioneer Brewing Company

Todd Sullivan, co-owner of Pioneer Brewing Company, appeared before the Board.  He explained that they proposed to have “acoustic Sunday” during the winter months with live acoustic music, but no drums.

MOTION:       To grant a Live Entertainment License to Pioneer Brewing Company LLC, 195 Arnold Road, to be conducted within the building, daily from noon to 8:00 p.m., by H. White.

2nd:     M. Blanchard

Vote:  All in favor.

Sturbridge Nursery School

Lisa Noonan and Mark Hemingway of the Sturbridge Nursery School appeared before the Board to request support on Article 23.  They had requested $12,800, but the article indicates $12,125; L. Noonan noted that the Finance Committee had stated that they could only vote on the number stated in the article.  J. Malloy said that the number in the text box adds up to $12,800.  L. Noonan said that the repairs to the slate roof would cost $2,300; the extermination of carpenter ants will cost $750; and to have the front entry rebuilt will cost $9,750.

J. Malloy asked whether the estimates for the repairs were at the prevailing wage rates.  M. Hemingway said that they were quotes from contractors, and the front entry cost estimate was his estimate based on materials and labor rates.  J. Malloy said that when it goes out to bid, it will be necessary to get prevailing wage rates from the state because it is a town-owned building.  M. Hemingway said that they have some resources to handle any overruns of up to 20% more.

J. Malloy suggested that they talk to Tim Prouty at Tantasqua High School regarding the possibility of having the tech students do the work as a class project, which would just cost them the cost of the supplies.

MOTION:       To support Article 23 for the Sturbridge Nursery School improvements, by M. Blanchard.

2nd:     T. Goodwin

Vote:  All in favor.

Yankee Spirits – Change of Directors on Liquor License

Jenny Casey and Michael Cimini of Yankee Spirits appeared before the Board.

MOTION:       To approve the Change of Directors application for Yankee Spirits as per their application, by H. White.

2nd:     M. Blanchard

Vote:  All in favor.

Personnel Policies

J. Malloy reviewed changes to the Personnel Policies with the Board.

MOTION:       To approve the Personnel Policies as amended, by M. Blanchard.

2nd:     T. Goodwin

Vote:  All in favor.

Fee Schedule

J. Malloy submitted to the Board the results of the fee survey that was conducted including the towns of Charlton, Grafton, Southbridge and Oxford.  He had asked town departments to check the current fees to ensure that they were accurate and to review the proposed fees that he recommended.  The only department that he did not receive a response from was the Board of Health in regard to the Plumbing Inspector Fees and Board of Health Fees, so he had not adjusted these from what was shown on the original Fee Schedule; therefore, he cannot state whether the figures inserted were accurate or not.  He said that based on interim adjustments, many of the Town’s fees are appropriate, based on four area towns.  For the most part, Building Dept Permits, Electrical Permits, ZBA Fees, some Fire and Police Department Fees, Water Department Fees, some Board of Selectmen Fees and the Board of Assessors Fees are those that have been adjusted.

J. Malloy also reviewed the suggestion to create a “Pay-As-You-Throw” (PAYT) program and have discussed this with the MADEP PAYT staff at the MMA Conference.  They sent him some follow-up material, and he reviewed statistics on the MADEP website, and concluded that there is no correlation between charging a per bag fee and recycling rates.  He also submitted to the Board two spreadsheets: the first compares recycling rates in communities that charge a flat fee, PAYT fee, both and are free.  The second spreadsheet was a long-term view of recycling rates for Sturbridge, which showed that for the most part, Sturbridge has been one of the top recycling communities in the Commonwealth over the past decade.  Therefore, if a fee was to be set for using the Recycling Center, he recommended that it be based on the issuance of stickers, and instead of the stickers being free, that a fee of $10 per year be established, and that it is clear that this is simply for revenue generation.  He said that there is a question whether this falls under the Town Administrator (in which case the Board of Selectmen would set this fee) or Board of Health.  Until this is resolved, he recommended holding off on any further action on this matter.  To offset the operating cost and closure cost would require a permit fee of approximately $85 per year.

J. Malloy said that he would get back to the Board with information regarding 106 Inspections done by the Building Inspector.

MOTION:       To approve the fee schedule as per the proposed fees on the Fee Schedule dated 2/27/09, to be effective April 1, 2009, by H. White.

2nd:     M. Blanchard.

Vote:  All in favor.

Town Hall Project

J. Malloy submitted to the Board a bid summary for construction on the Town Hall.  The Town Hall Building Committee voted on 2-18-09 to recommend the base bid plus all five alternates as described on the bid summary.  This makes Forish Construction the low bidder at $3,865,604.

Additionally, J. Malloy opened bids for leasing temporary office space and received two bids.  He will review the bids to ensure that they are complete and will plan on making a recommendation at the 3-2-09 meeting.  The two bidders were Old Sturbridge Village for space available at the closed Old Sturbridge Village Lodges on Main Street (next to Friendly’s) at $60,000 for 12 months and $5,000 per month thereafter; and Four Iron Realty at $192,000 per year.

MOTION:       To award the bid for Town Hall and Center Office renovations to Forish Construction as per the bid for the base bid and alternates 1 through 5 in the total amount of $3,865,604, and to authorize the Town Administrator to execute the contract, by M. Blanchard.

2nd:     S. Garieri

Vote:  All in favor.

Water/Sewer Abatement

J. Malloy submitted to the Board a Water/Sewer Abatement application for account #542.  He said that this abatement is appropriate, as the original reading was an estimated reading (for the closed American Motor Lodge) and the town was later able to get an actual reading.  As discussed at the last meeting, the Finance Director was going to propose a change to the policy of the Board of Selectmen in regard to water and sewer abatements.  J. Malloy said that this specific application underscores that you can’t include every instance where there is no dispute (misread, clerical error, or in this case, where the meter reader could not access the meter).  He suggested amending the policy, but differently than the Finance Director as stated below.

MOTION:       To approve the Water/Sewer Abatement application for Account #542 in the total amount of $1,010.02, by M. Blanchard.

2nd:     H. White

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To amend the Selectmen’s policy on Water and Sewer Abatements as follows:

That the Board of Selectmen authorize the Town Administrator, Finance Director and DPW Director to review all requests for water and sewer abatements and to grant or deny these requests based on a majority vote for all requests in which there is no dispute and to report any abatements to the Board of Selectmen through the Town Administrator’s regular reports. Any abatement applications where there is an actual dispute or any appeals of decisions made by the Town Administrator, Finance Director and DPW Director shall be made to the Board of Selectmen, by T. Goodwin.

2nd:     M. Blanchard

Vote:  All in favor.

5 K Charity Run

J. Malloy submitted to the Board the 4th annual request for a 5K Charity Run for the JLT Foundation from Steve and Peg Hall for May 30, 2009.  This event has been held in the past without issues.

MOTION:       To approve the 5K Charity Run for the JLT Foundation on May 30, 2009 subject to any requirements of the Chief of Police, by M. Blanchard.

2nd:     T. Goodwin

Vote:  All in favor.

FY10 Budget

J. Malloy submitted to the Board an update to the “Budget Analysis of Revenue vs. Expenditures” spreadsheet in which he highlighted the two items that have changed.

(1) Local Receipts (based on the revised fee schedule above); and

(2) FY10 Budget based upon the revised recommendations included in the copy of the Finance Committee Handbook.

J. Malloy also submitted to the Board a spreadsheet (Spreadsheet A) that follows the “Detailed Budget” section of the budget so that the Board could identify the specific items within each departmental line item that he recommended to restore.

Regarding the updated FinCom Handbook, J. Malloy did not change the column labeled “Town Administrator’s Recommendation” so that the Board could easily identify where he recommended restoring previous cuts made in the initial budget that he had presented.  In the two columns labeled “Board of Selectmen’s Recommendations” and “Finance Committee’s Recommendations” J. Malloy inserted his revised recommendation based upon current financial information. This was done so that the $ and % variance formulas would work.

Other items that have been taken into account:

• Only the base State Aid figures have been used in the State Receipts in J. Malloy’s revised Revenue Estimates – He did not include any funds from the Governor’s proposed statewide meals or rooms tax, or from closing the telecommunications loophole.

• J. Malloy included an estimate for additional local revenues based upon the fee schedule (approximately $27,000).  This included the increase in the demand charge as voted at Town Meeting on 2-24-09.

J. Malloy noted that on the “Budget Analysis of Revenue vs. Expenditure” spreadsheet which included his recommendations on restoring the previous budget cuts, there is a surplus remaining of $83,576.  The priorities that he recommended the Board consider for any additional funds were as follows:

Priority 1 – Increase spending for road construction by the $83,576.  J. Malloy asked the Board to review the financial analysis in the Conclusion Section of the Road Management Program which highlights a $170,200 funding gap of available funding vs. necessary funding to maintain our road management plan. Increasing the funding by $83,576 would still leave a funding gap of approximately $85,061.  As explained in the Road Management Program, the Town needs to pave approximately 6.6 miles per year to maintain a 12 year maintenance schedule.  The current amount budgeted would provide funding to maintain approximately 5.0 miles in FY10 leaving the Town falling behind schedule by approximately 1.6 miles.  With the revised recommendation, the Town would be able to maintain approximately 5.8 miles or close the gap to 0.8 miles short of funding on the maintenance schedule that was set as a goal.

Should any of the Governor’s proposals become law prior to the Town Meeting or shortly thereafter, the statewide meals tax, room tax and closing the telecommunications loophole would provide an estimated $174,560.

Priority 2 – That the debt authorized for the Fire Truck at the 2008 Annual Town Meeting ($325,000) is the next priority at an estimated $80,000 per year for the debt service, leaving $94,500.

Priority 3 – That any additional funds be used to continue to close the remaining funding gap for road construction.

After reviewing the budget line items, it was the consensus of the Board to put a hold on the following items:  Page 1:  Lines 1, 2, 5 and 7; Page 2:  Line 19; Page 4:  Lines 35, 39, 44; Page 7:  Line 67; Page 11:  Line 115.

MOTION:       To approve all of the budget line items, except those put on hold, by M. Blanchard.

2nd:     T. Goodwin

Vote:  All in favor.

H. White said that regarding the hold on stipends, the proposed number has been given no debate or justification.  He said that the change represents $12,503.  He said that if the Board decided to vote $0, there could be a study committee with representatives of the boards that have stipends.  J. Malloy said that a stipend survey was done a few years ago, and nothing has really changed.  He said that a survey could be done to find out about area towns’ practices.  H. White said that setting stipends at $0 would be a symbolic gesture.  M. Blanchard said that going to zero would be extreme.

Jeff Bonja, Personnel Committee member, commented that $12,000 is a significant amount of money that could go toward something else.  M. Blanchard said that it is not a lot out of the total budget, and it would almost be an insult to people who have been receiving it, to take it away.  J. Bonja said that things are not getting better, and the Town should be more conservative going forward and should put the money into free cash.  He said that it could pay for a printer, for example, or a portion of a secretary’s salary.

T. Goodwin said that as a gesture to the volunteers, doing the study and asking for input makes sense.  He suggested sending out an email to people who are receiving stipends and get their feedback.  S. Halterman agreed that it would be fair to hear from them.

S. Garieri said that most CEOs are not getting pay raises or incentives, and now would be the best time not to do that.  He said that he would like to see the whole picture regarding the numbers.

Jeff Bonja said that if J. Malloy’s raise is not matched with the raises for other employees, then his contract would be broken.  He suggested looking at the overall dollar figure.  J. Malloy clarified that his contract does not require the same increase as all other employees, just that it prohibits a reduction, except if all employees’ salaries are reduced.  J. Malloy said that the total salary increase is $157,000 for all employees.  He noted that there have also been reductions, such as the Building Inspector’s salary.  He offered to put a spreadsheet together showing management salary increases, non-union salary increases, non-management staff salary increases and union contract salary increases.

Regarding Police Overtime, H. White expressed concern that the increase is in lock step with the Quinn Bill incentive.  He said that the Police Department is fully staffed, and he would like to ask the Police Chief to take a look at how it could be managed differently.  J. Malloy said that he could ask the Chief to explain his overtime budget.

Regarding Fire Department Overtime, S. Halterman said that the same argument could be made, as they also have a full staff.  J. Malloy said that he had sent the Fire Chief a memo with some alternative scheduling options that may bring these numbers down substantially.

S. Garieri asked about Line 87, Tree Warden Purchase of Services account in the amount of $9,100.  J. Malloy said that $1,320 would pay for police details; $5,600 toward tree removal; $2,200 toward tree maintenance and planting.

MOTION:       To approve Line 87 as presented, by M. Blanchard.

2nd:     T. Goodwin

Vote:  All in favor.

S. Garieri noted that there is no account for maintenance of Town buildings, and asked if there was a maintenance program in place.  J. Malloy said that minor maintenance is covered in the individual building budgets, and any major repairs would go to Town Meeting.  There is no Buildings and Grounds Department.

Town Meeting Warrants

The following warrant articles remained to be voted by the Selectmen:

Annual Town Meeting

• Article 3 – Free Cash

MOTION:       To approve Article 3 as written, by M. Blanchard.

2nd:     T. Goodwin

Vote:  All in favor.

• Article 4 – FY10 Budget

MOTION:       To approve Article 4 as recommended, by H. White.

2nd:     T. Goodwin

Vote:  All in favor.

• Article 21 – J. Malloy was working to schedule a Personnel Committee meeting to grade the position as the Board of Assessors and had re-written it (as a Principal Assessor) and inserted a $60,000 figure in the salary line item.  He met with the Board of Assessors last week and discussed the revaluation article. They have requested that it remain at $65,000 for the first revaluation that we have a Principal Assessor, and that if we do not need the additional funding ($24,500 is the amount if the new Principal Assessor does all of the residential, which is the goal) that it will not be used and could be rescinded at a later Town Meeting.  The concern voiced by the Board of Assessors is that if the revaluation is not done in time, it will affect when tax bills go out.  J. Malloy recommended that the $65,000 be voted from free cash, and since it is fairly certain that there will be a Special Town Meeting in September for Burgess, it should be apparent by then whether the remainder can be rescinded at that time.

MOTION:       To support Article 21, by M. Blanchard.

2nd:     H. White

Vote:  All in favor.

J. Malloy said that Town Counsel had recommended moving the two STA articles ahead of this article.  He recommended striking the word “area” and calling it the “Sturbridge Tourist Association” account.  He said that if the other articles pass, a substitute motion will not be necessary on this account.  Town Counsel’s opinion was to take Articles 34 & 35 and make them Articles 29 and 30, which would flow better at Town Meeting.

MOTION:       To strike the word “area” and approve the article as written, by M. Blanchard.

2nd:     T. Goodwin

Vote:  All in favor.

It was the consensus of the Board to move Articles 34 and 35 in front of Article 29, then re-number the other articles.

Regarding Articles 32 – Landfill Cell Closure and 36 – Camp Robinson Crusoe, J. Malloy said that he would have the information for the March 16th meeting.

April 27, 2009 Special Town Meeting

MOTION:       To close the Special Town Meeting warrant for April 27, 2009, by M. Blanchard.

2nd:     T. Goodwin

Vote:  All in favor.

J. Malloy submitted to the Board a revised copy of the Warrant.  As with all other Town Meeting warrants, there were text boxes following each article explaining the article.

Article 69 – FY09 Budget Reductions

MOTION:       That the Town vote to approve Article 69 as written, by M. Blanchard.

2nd:     T. Goodwin

Vote:  All in favor.

Article 70 – Community Preservation Historic Interpretive Signs

MOTION:       That the Town vote to approve Article 70 as written, by M. Blanchard.

2nd:     T. Goodwin

Vote:  All in favor.

Article 71 – Community Preservation – Recreation Field Design (this article matches the Annual Town Meeting article from the General Fund

MOTION:       That the Town vote to approve Article 71 as written, by M. Blanchard.

2nd:     T. Goodwin

Vote:  All in favor.

Article 72 – Community Preservation Committee – Operating and Administrative Expense

MOTION:       That the Town vote to approve Article 72 as written, by T. Goodwin.

2nd:     M. Blanchard

Vote:  All in favor.

Article 73 – Health Insurance – seeking $17,000 additional

MOTION:       That the Town vote to approve Article 73 as written, by M. Blanchard.

2nd:     T. Goodwin

Vote:  All in favor.

Article 74 – Lakes Advisory Committee

MOTION:       That the Town vote to approve Article 74 as written, by T. Goodwin.

2nd:     M. Blanchard

Vote:  All in favor.

Consent Agenda

J. Malloy put together what he would consider “easy” articles that might be included in a consent agenda for Town Meeting. Those articles would be:

• Article 1 – Town Reports

• Article 2 – Community Preservation Committee Report

• Article 7 – Sewer Project Debt

• Article 8 – Community Preservation Debt Service

• Article 27 – Revolving Funds

• Article 28 – Ambulance Stabilization Fund

• Article 30 – Betterment Committee

• Article 31 – Capital Improvement Plan

J. Malloy included Articles 30 & 31 because he could not recall either article being questioned at Town Meeting in the past decade, and if someone had a question, the article could be removed from the consent agenda.  He said that he would prepare a document to be forwarded to the Finance Committee and Town Moderator.

M. Blanchard said that there have been questions on betterment and capital improvement, and suggested taking them off.  She said that she was not sold on the concept of the Consent Agenda.

Temporary Town Hall Lease

J. Malloy submitted to the Board the proposals and the summary and basis for review that was included in the lease RFP.  The proposed lease from Old Sturbridge Village was $60,000, and the one from 4 Iron Realty was $192,000.  It was the consensus of the Board to vote on it on March 9, 2009.

J. Malloy said that meetings will be held at the Senior Center.  He will discuss the moving plans with the Town Hall staff on March 9th.  He will meet with the Town Hall/Center Office Construction Committee on March 12th to finalize the plans.

Correspondence

S. Halterman said that Steve Mullen of the Board of Health had requested that J. Malloy not direct Board of Health employees and not change Recycling Center practices.  There was also an issue regarding the Plumbing Inspector, and J. Malloy said that he had not taken any action regarding that issue.  He suggested that the Selectmen meet with the Board of Health on March 9th, and recommended that Town Counsel be present to explain the situation in legal terms.  He also suggested inviting Arnold Wilson (who had been a member of the Charter Commission in 1986/87) to explain the intent of the Charter Commission.  S. Halterman suggested that Greg Morse, DPW Director, also be present for his input during the Recycling Center discussion.  H. White suggested inviting George Berry to attend.  H. White checked with the Board of Health, and reported that they would not be available on March 9th, but could wait to meet with the Selectmen on March 16th.

Ask the Selectmen

H. White received a call from Bill Emrich, who said that the Burgess budget was zero funded, and that four programs and four teachers have been cut.  He asked whether the Town had any money to preserve them.  M. Blanchard said that four programs had been cut, but not four teachers; only one teacher will be affected.  J. Malloy said that a lot of previously made cuts have been restored back to level funding; there is not an additional $190,000 in the budget.  He noted that there has been a reduction of road maintenance.  M. Blanchard noted that it is not up to the Board of Selectmen to come up with the school budget, it is the responsibility of the School Committee.  J. Malloy suggested inviting the School Superintendent and the School Committee to meet with the Selectmen.

S. Garieri received a call regarding the Town Hall renovation project.  The caller wanted to know that if renovations should run over budget, where the money would come from to pay for it.  J. Malloy said that it would come from the taxpayers, or a grant or if the CPA funded an additional amount.

S. Garieri said that the second question was regarding the money appropriated at Town Meeting:  $300,000 for the school, $13,000 for dams and other money appropriated at the Special Town Meeting – how those numbers affect the tax rate.  J. Malloy said that most of the appropriations made at Town Meeting come from free cash that is an undesignated reserve balance that is carried at the bank.

Old Business

There was no old business.

New Business

H. White announced that the Burgess Elementary School budget hearing will take place on March 5th at 6:30 p.m. at Burgess; and the Tantasqua budget hearing will take place on March 11th at the Tantasqua Library.

M. Blanchard announced the caucuses:  Republican caucus on March 4th, and the Democratic caucus on March 6th, both at 7:00 p.m. at Town Hall.

MOTION:       To adjourn, by M. Blanchard.

2nd:     H. White

Vote:  All in favor.

Respectfully submitted,

Judy Knowles

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BOS Clerk                             Date