BOARD OF SELECTMEN

MINUTES

NOVEMBER 2, 2009

Present:          Mary Blanchard, Chairman

Scott Garieri

Ted Goodwin

Hal White

Thomas Creamer

Michael Racicot, Town Administrator

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

Approval of Minutes

MOTION:       To approve the minutes of October 5, 2009 as amended, by T. Creamer.

2nd:     S. Garieri

Vote:  Four in favor; H. White abstained.

MOTION:       To approve the minutes of October 13, 2009 as amended, by T. Creamer.

2nd:     S. Garieri

Vote:  Four in favor; T. Goodwin abstained.

MOTION:       To approve the minutes of October 19, 2009 as amended, by T. Creamer.

2nd:     H. White

Vote:  All in favor.

Pole Hearing – Haynes Street

Scott Burns, Verizon and Sue Payne, National Grid appeared before the Board.  The application was to place one new jointly owned pole to be numbered T2-S/E2-84 on the northwesterly side of Haynes Street at a point approximately 222 feet southwesterly from the center line of Main Street (Route 131) at its intersection with Haynes Street.

MOTION:       To approve the application from Verizon and National Grid for a new jointly owned pole on Haynes Street, by T. Creamer.

2nd:     S. Garieri

Vote:  All in favor.

Pole Hearing – Old Farm Road

Scott Burns, Verizon and Sue Payne, National Grid appeared before the Board.  The application was to place one new jointly owned pole to be numbered T22/E23 on the easterly side of Old Farm Road at a point approximately 245 feet westerly and northerly from the center line of Fiske Hill Road at its intersection with Old Farm Road.

MOTION:       To approve the application from Verizon and National Grid for a new jointly owned pole on Old Farm Road, by T. Creamer.

2nd:     H. White

Vote:  All in favor.

Town Administrator’s Update

Financial:

M. Racicot received paperwork for the Massachusetts Water Pollution Abatement Trust Project Loan Program as part of the Wastewater Treatment Facility upgrade.  He said that the Town needed to sign the Loan Commitment for the $18,913,000 aggregate commitment at an interest rate of 2%.

MOTION:       To accept the Loan Commitment for the WWTF Upgrade, DEP Project #CWSRF 3198, and have the Town Administrator sign the necessary documentation, by T. Goodwin.

2nd:     T. Creamer

Vote:  All in favor.

M. Racicot informed the Board that he had met with the Town Hall/Center Office Building Committee and discussed various proposed change orders, the color for trim and progress of the project.  The biggest item was for the slate roof on the Town Hall, as approved by Town Meeting.

MOTION:       To approve Change Order #6 for a sum of $95,178.00 as approved by the Town Hall/Center Office Building Committee, and have the Town Administrator execute the necessary documents to move forward, by T. Goodwin.

2nd:     H. White

Vote:  All in favor.

Personnel:

MOTION:       To approve the appointment by the Town Administrator of Danny Minchoff to a position on the Sturbridge Cultural Council, by T. Goodwin.

2nd:     T. Creamer

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To approve the appointment by the Town Administrator of Brian McSweeney to a three-year term on the Planning Board, by S. Garieri.

2nd:     T. Creamer

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To approve the IOD claim of Thomas Edwards, Jr. for his injury sustained on October 20, 2009, by T. Goodwin.

2nd:     S. Garieri

Vote:  All in favor.

M. Racicot had discussions with the Board of Health and the Building Inspector’s office about transferring reporting and administrative duties related to the Plumbing Inspector.  He said that it made sense to have the reporting and record keeping be centralized within the Building Inspector’s office, and better for consolidation of various permits, billing records and for relieving administrative pressures on the Board of Health.  He submitted minutes which indicated that the Board of Health had voted unanimously on September 21, 2009 to support a transfer.  M. Racicot recommended that the Board of Selectmen approve a transfer to the Building Inspector for a six-month trial period, and if a review at the end of the trial period warrants, to have the Plumbing Inspector report through the Building Inspector permanently.

MOTION:       To approve the Town Administrator’s recommendation that the Plumbing Inspector report through the Building Inspector’s office, rather than the Board of Health, initially for a six-month trial; and upon a positive review at that time, for good, by H. White.

2nd:     T. Creamer

Vote:  All in favor.

General Government:

M. Racicot informed the Board that after the affirmative vote at Town Meeting to provide the final funding component for the Well #4 project, the engineering consultants went back to the companies who had bid on the project in January 2009.  After careful review, both Tighe & Bond and the USRDA are in agreement to recommend that the Town accept the bid of the low bidder, Waterline Industries.

MOTION:       To award the contract for New Water Supply Source – Well #4 Project to Waterline Industries Corp., Seabrook, NH, for a base bid of $3,287,287.00; and have the Town Administrator execute and sign the necessary documents, by T. Goodwin.

2nd:     H. White

Vote:  All in favor.

Ansar Energy LLC

Caryn DeCarteret and Junaid Yasin, PE, of Ansar Energy and Jeffrey Plante, PE of Environmental Resources Management appeared before the Board.  Peter Grudzien, 297 Clark Road Extension was also present.

P. Grudzien said that he owns 23 acres of woodland abutting the turnpike, and Ansar Energy proposes to install a solar farm on his property consisting of hundreds of solar panels, which would generate energy for National Grid.  He said that Senator Brewer and Rep. Smola have given their support, and sent letters to the Dept. of Energy in Boston.  He noted that the project would put no burden on the Town or the school system.

C. DeCarteret distributed information on the Green Community Act, and an Environmental and Community Impacts Overview to the Board.  J. Yasin said that only 12% of energy comes from within the state; the rest is purchased from out of state sources and Canada.  He said that renewable energy could be done quickly and on a large scale.  He noted that they have letters of intent for over 12 sites in Massachusetts.

J. Plante encouraged the Board to contact them regarding any questions.  He gave an overview of the project, and described what the panels would look like and how they would be configured.  He said that they would file a Notice of Intent or Request for Determination of Applicability with the Conservation Commission.  They will also meet with the Police Chief and Fire Chief to discuss public safety issues.  He showed the Board a layout of the property.  There would be a 50 foot setback from the wetlands, and all of the surfaces will be gravel or crushed stone.  The majority of the lines will be underground up to the connection point.  The solar panels are five feet tall, and there will be two inverter sheds with low intensity lighting.  He said that they will submit their application to the Planning Board, Conservation Commission and Building Department.  No water will be needed for the project, and it will be an unmanned facility.

S. Garieri asked what would happen if there was a breach of security, and asked if there was any danger of electrocution.  J. Plante said that if someone were to dig underground, voltage would be there.  J. Yasin said that if someone were to touch the wrong place, that person could get hurt.  J. Plante said that the panels are made of nonflammable material, and the frames are metal.

M. Racicot asked whether the project would create any jobs.  J. Yasin said that about 50-80 people would be working on it for about a year or so, and they want to encourage the use of local people for the project.

T. Goodwin asked whether the vocational students could get involved.  J. Plante said that they routinely use solar projects as an educational tool, and site visits by students would be encouraged.

MOTION:       To support the project and to write a letter conveying the Board’s support to those entities named in the packet of information, and anyone else relative to the project, by T. Creamer.

2nd:     T. Goodwin

Vote:  All in favor.

Other

T. Creamer brought up the issue of lighting at Town Hall, as outlined in the letter from Lorraine Murawski, Town Clerk.  M. Racicot said that the bulbs in the lanterns had burned out, and he had replaced them.  He said that the pole lights are left on all night long.  T. Creamer suggested that the Police Dept. be notified when employees are working late at night.  M. Racicot said that he would talk to the Police Chief about protocol.

Old Business

T. Creamer asked about the status of equipment upgrades, as referenced in the letter from Tom Cohan of Charter Communications.  M. Racicot said that he had contacted Andrew Shanley to find out where to purchase the equipment.  A. Shanley provided him with a list and a catalog.  He noted that it will be necessary to open an account to order the equipment.

T. Creamer asked about the status of new members for the Energy Advisory Committee.  T. Goodwin said that he was making some progress in recruiting some people to serve on the committee.

T. Creamer requested that the Board schedule a discussion about the alcohol violation policy.  Judy Knowles will make copies of the current policy for the Board.

S. Garieri asked about the status of the water line on Picker Road, to continue the water line from Fiske Hill.  M. Racicot said that Greg Morse, DPW Director, just opened bids on that project and will provide a recommendation soon.

M. Blanchard submitted a proclamation sent to the Board of Selectmen from the Rotary Club of Stourbridge, England, commemorating the 16th annual Civic Day.

M. Blanchard asked about Mass. Highway’s timeline for the reconstruction of Route 131, and noted that the water line should be completed by the end of this month.  M. Racicot said that he would look into it, and said that Greg Morse, DPW Director, seemed to be happy with what they were planning to do.

M. Blanchard suggested that the Board discuss the sidewalk plowing issue at the work session on November 9th, and to get Greg Morse’s input on it.

M. Blanchard noted that the winter parking ban will go into effect on November 15th.

New Business

H. White asked about the agenda for the 11/9 work session.  M. Blanchard said that the Board would discuss Board of Health issues, including an update on H1N1; the alcohol violation policy; and plowing snow off sidewalks.

M. Blanchard congratulated the Lions Club and Fire Department for their work at the Halloween event on the Town Common.

M. Blanchard informed the Board that Lorraine Murawski, Town Clerk, had declined to serve as liaison to the State Ethics Commission.  M. Racicot had suggested that Lorraine Murawski talk to Town Clerks in other communities about it, as she was concerned about the time commitment involved.  He recommended that the Assistant Town Clerk serve as the liaison.  He will get back to the Board about it.

M. Blanchard announced the fundraiser at Tantasqua High School on November 14th to take a free test drive, and Ford will donate up to $6,000 to the Tantasqua Athletic Booster Club.  The more people who take the test drive, the more THS Athletics will earn.  The event will be held at THS from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

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

2nd:     H. White

Roll call vote:  H. White in favor; T. Creamer in favor; M. Blanchard in favor; S. Garieri in favor; T. Goodwin in favor.

Respectfully submitted,

Judy Knowles

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BOS Clerk                             Date