BOARD OF SELECTMEN

MINUTES

DECEMBER 7, 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 accept the minutes of September 24, 2009 as amended, by H. White.

2nd:     T. Creamer

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To accept the minutes of September 30, 2009 as amended, by T. Creamer.

2nd:     S. Garieri

Vote:  Three in favor; H. White abstained.

MOTION:       To accept the minutes of November 2, 2009 as amended, by T. Creamer.

2nd:     H. White

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To accept the minutes of October 9, 2009 as amended, by T. Creamer.

2nd:     H. White

Vote:  All in favor.

420 Main Street – New Liquor License and Common Victualler License

Michael Cantwell of 420 Main Street Group Inc. appeared before the Board.  He described the new restaurant as an all-American steak house with a patio bar in the back.

MOTION:       To close the public hearing, by T. Creamer.

2nd:     S. Garieri

Vote:  Four in favor; T. Goodwin abstained.

MOTION:       To authorize the all alcohol liquor license for 420 Main Street Group Inc. d/b/a 420 Main, commencing January 1, 2010, by T. Creamer.

2nd:     H. White

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To grant a Common Victualer License for 420 Main Street Group Inc. d/b/a 420 Main per their application, effective January 1, 2010, by H. White.

2nd:     T. Creamer

Vote:  All in favor.

Approval of Minutes

MOTION:       To accept the minutes of November 16, 2009 as amended, by T. Creamer.

2nd:     H. White

Vote:  All in favor.

Town Administrator Search Committee

James Ehrhard, Chairman of the Town Administrator Search Committee, addressed the Board.  M. Blanchard thanked the Search Committee for their time and effort.  J. Ehrhard informed the Board of the top three candidates chosen by the Search Committee:  John D’Agostino, former Town Manager of Mansfield for 12 years; Pamela Nolan, Town Administrator in Truro for the past 5 years; and Donald Crawford of Michigan, who had the widest range of experience.  He also noted that the Committee had chosen two alternates.

T. Creamer thanked the Committee, stating that they had done an outstanding job.  S. Garieri commented that it was a pleasure working on the committee, and commended J. Ehrhard and the rest of the committee.

Department Head Monthly Reports

Shane Moody, Veolia Water North America, reviewed his report with the Board.  S. Moody said that wastewater and water flows have been coming down.  M. Blanchard asked about the status of the corrective action plan.  S. Moody said that they had presented a proposal, and all of the measures are being met.  He said that Tighe and Bond had filed for an extension, and he has until December 24th to get the corrective action plan to them.

M. Blanchard noted that the Change Order for Bruschi Brothers indicated that additional work had to be done related to the repair of an “unmarked water service pipe.”  G. Morse said that the pipe had been mismarked.

Greg Morse, DPW Director reviewed his report with the Board.  He noted that the sub-bids for the Wastewater Treatment Plant project will be re-bid on December 11th.

G. Morse said that he had received a letter from residents on Tannery Road regarding the snow plowing issue.  He said that if the Board wanted him to plow the road, he would do it.  S. Garieri said that the Town should not be contracting outside work; the work should be done by a private contractor.  He said that the Town could fill in during an emergency situation.  H. White agreed with S. Garieri in that there are many private contractors who could do the work, and he did not think that the Town should compete with private contractors.  T. Creamer expressed his concerns that ultimately, it would be the residents of Tannery Road who would suffer if the contractor failed to fulfill his obligations, and that the Board was in effect leaving the residents in the lurch.  He stated that since the Town had been reimbursed in total last year, he could see no issue with continuing to provide the service to the Tannery Road residents with the Town continuing to bill the contractor.  He further stated that the residents of Tannery Road are still being assessed at full value on their taxes, yet getting reduced services for it.

MOTION:       To oppose having the Town plow and sand the private roads under discussion at Tall Pines Development, except in the case of public safety, by S. Garieri.

2nd:     H. White

S. Garieri suggested amending the motion to include a 15-day timeframe.  M. Blanchard and H. White said that they preferred the original motion.  T. Goodwin said that he would like to give residents a two week buffer.

Vote:  Three in favor; T. Creamer and T. Goodwin opposed.

The motion carried.

M. Blanchard asked about the discussions with Tighe & Bond concerning the Route 15 sewer.  G. Morse said that he does not have the budget numbers yet, due in part with all of the work going on.

H. White asked about the status of the Route 131 project.  G. Morse said that the last estimate has been submitted, but he is holding it as the contractor, engineer, Town and Mass. Highway Dept. should review it first.  They have been trying to get someone from Mass. Highway Dept. to come out to meet with them, which is an important step.  He said that he needs assurance that the contractor will maintain it throughout the winter for Mass. Highway to take over in the spring.  H. White suggested that the Town not pay any additional balance until the Board has a discussion with the parties.

M. Blanchard asked about the status of the hydrant on New Boston Road.  G. Morse said that a valve seat has been ordered for it.

Geoffrey Rogers – Hampshire Power

Geoffrey Rogers of Hampshire Power appeared before the Board.  He said that their mission is to work with communities regionally to solve their energy problems.  He said that they offer:  (1) A fixed price; their prices are lower (8.2 through the end of December, and in January the price will be in the same range).  (2) A basic profit sharing plan; the customer pays the utility price, and at the end of the year will get a check for the profit.  (3) The real time plan; the customer pays the wholesale price plus 2.04 cents/KW hour.  On average, the real time price is lower.  The down side to that is if the wholesale price goes up, the customer would be on the hook for that price.

G. Rogers showed the Board a chart of the price comparison with National Grid.  He discussed trends going into the future.  He noted that profit sharing is usually 50% of real time.

T. Creamer suggested that the Energy Committee review the matter.  M. Racicot said that the contract that the Town currently has will expire in December.  He said that Barbara Barry, Finance Director, had mentioned that the Town of Palmer had gone with Hampshire Power, and noted that there is a potential for savings.  B. Barry said that their fixed price is still lower than what Sturbridge currently is paying.

MOTION:       To enter into a one year contract with Hampshire Power for their real time program, by T. Goodwin.

2nd:     H. White

Vote:  All in favor.

Piccadilly Pub – Change of Manager on Liquor License

Thomas Little of Piccadilly Pub appeared before the Board.  The application was in order.

MOTION:       To approve the Change of Manager to Thomas Little for Piccadilly Pub, by H. White.

T. Creamer

Vote:  All in favor.

Town Administrator’s Update

Financial:

M. Racicot informed the Board that he had signed the paperwork for a trails grant.

M. Racicot said that the FY11 budget process has begun with Barbara Barry, Finance Director.  B. Barry suggested scheduling a budget meeting with the Board of Selectmen, Finance Committee and Department Heads for January 30, 2010 beginning at 8:30 a.m.  The Board agreed.  M. Racicot said that he would contact Kevin Smith.

M. Racicot met with James Donahue, Old Sturbridge Village President, to discuss the current lease for the Lodge and the renovations at the Town Hall.  He reviewed the provision in the lease allowing a six month extension for temporary office space, which he recommended the Town execute.  The architect indicated that he expects the renovations to be completed next summer.  Taking advantage of the extension would ensure the Town rental of the temporary offices until the middle of October 2010 for relatively short monies and continue the symbiotic relationship with OSV.  H. White suggested committing to OSV now for a four-month period.  M. Racicot said that he would approach Jim Donahue with that offer.

M. Racicot worked with Tighe & Bond and Greg Morse, DPW Director, on the closeout of the Main Street Water Main Improvement Project and reviewed the final change order.

MOTION:       To approve Change Order #1 as reviewed and recommended by Tighe & Bond and the DPW Director for the Main Street Water Main Improvement Project in the amount of $86,531.71 and have the Town Administrator carry out the necessary tasks to follow through, by H. White.

2nd:     T. Creamer

Vote:  All in favor.

Personnel:

MOTION:       To approve the appointment by the Town Administrator of Arnold Wilson to a position on the Master Plan Steering Committee, by T. Goodwin.

2nd:     H. White

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To approve the appointment by the Town Administrator of Louis A. Berthiaume as an associate member of the Trails Committee, by T. Goodwin.

2nd:     H. White

Vote:  All in favor.

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

2nd:     H. White

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To approve the appointment by the Town Administrator of Steven G. Halterman to a position on the Energy Advisory Committee, by T. Goodwin.

2nd:     H. White

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To approve the Injured on Duty Claim for Earl Dessert for a tick bite, by H. White.

2nd:     T. Goodwin

Vote:  All in favor.

Legal:

M. Racicot continued ongoing coordination with Town Counsel on a response to the District Attorney’s request for records after Open Meeting complaints.  The results came in positive, supporting the actions of the Committee and the Town.

M. Racicot participated in conference calls with Town Counsel and Tighe & Bond engineers to discuss the wastewater improvement contract, liability issues and various options for moving forward.  They reviewed many issues, including indemnification, union queries, addendums, etc.

M. Racicot worked with the Police Chief concerning a threat made against a staff member.

M. Racicot worked with Tighe & Bond’s contract specialist and Town Counsel on the specifics of their Wastewater Service Agreement.  They made some agreed upon changes as suggested by Town Counsel.

General Government:

M. Racicot informed the Board of a request by the Frechette family to have a memorial cross installed at the Cedar Lake Recreation Area instead of a bench.  S. Garieri said that a bench would be appropriate, as it would have use and purpose.  He expressed sympathy for the Frechette’s loss, and the need to memorialize their son.  He felt that a cross would not be appropriate on Town recreation property.  M. Blanchard, T. Creamer, H. White and T. Goodwin agreed.  The consensus of the Board was to place a memorial bench at the recreation area (which was previously approved), not a cross.

M. Racicot said that he and several staff members met with a technician from Charter Communications to get training in the setup and use of the new video camera and recording equipment.  He commented that it is much more involved and equipment intensive.  He is working on the process for storage and setup at the Senior Center.  T. Creamer commended M. Racicot for his work on that.

M. Racicot is continuing to prepare materials for renewal of the Cable TV contract.  He and the Cable Advisory Committee are getting close to a recommendation.

M. Racicot has been reviewing proposals for treatment options for Well #1, which DEP notified the Town was now classified as GWUI (groundwater under the influence of surface water), requiring different treatment parameters.

Correspondence

T. Goodwin noted that J. Bubon, Town Planner, had sent an email expressing her disappointment in the Ansar proposal, and that they had not answered the questions in the application properly.  T. Creamer suggested getting a report from the Town Planner, then the Board would be in a better position to make a decision after considering her input regarding the waiving of fees.

Old Business

It was the consensus of the Board to invite the three candidates for the position of Town Administrator to come in on Monday, December 14th to be interviewed by the Board of Selectmen.  S. Garieri phoned the candidates and set up the interviews: Donald Crawford at 6:30 p.m., Pamela Nolan at 7:30 p.m. and John D’Agostino at 8:30 p.m.  M. Blanchard said that each Selectman should come up with five questions to ask the candidates.  It was the consensus of the Board that Greg Morse, DPW Director, Barbara Barry, Finance Director, Jean Bubon, Town Planner and Police Chief Thomas Ford should also interview each candidate prior to their interviews with the Board.

H. White asked about the status of the contract with Metro PCS.  M. Racicot said that it was under review, but Mr. Nestor’s wife had accidentally run the contract through the washing machine.  There has been no other contact at this time.

New Business

There was no new business

MOTION:       To adjourn, by S. Garieri.

2nd:     T. Goodwin

Vote:  All in favor.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:50 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Judy Knowles

_____________________________

BOS Clerk                             Date