BOARD OF SELECTMEN

MINUTES

MARCH 15, 2010

Present:          Mary Blanchard, Chairman

Scott Garieri

Hal White

Thomas Creamer

Michael Racicot, Town Administrator

Ted Goodwin was absent.

The Chairman called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. following the Pledge of Allegiance.  T. Creamer announced that he was audio taping the meeting, and that the Town was making an audio/visual tape of the meeting.

Approval of Minutes

MOTION:       To accept the minutes of March 1, 2010 as amended, by T. Creamer.

2nd:     H. White

Vote:  All in favor.

Finance Committee – Budget Review

Kevin Smith, Chairman of the Finance Committee, appeared before the Board, and several members of the Finance Committee were also present.  K. Smith said that the Finance Committee would be finalizing their votes by Thursday, March 18th and the Finance Committee’s Report will be submitted to the printer the following week.

MOTION:       To adjust line 118 for the Board of Health from $1,800 to $2,050, by H. White.

2nd:     T. Creamer

Vote:  All in favor.

Town Meeting Warrant

MOTION:       To reopen the warrant, by T. Creamer.

2nd:     H. White

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To insert the Ambulance Stabilization Fund:  “To see if the Town will raise and appropriate $20,000 for the future purchase of an ambulance,” by T. Creamer.

2nd:     H. White

Vote:  All in favor.

K. Smith said that he would add the text boxes and format the layout of the warrant.

M. Racicot informed the Board that he had received a new zoning petition article for the Annual Town Meeting warrant.  H. White was not in favor of it because the Town Clerk has not received an approved petition.

MOTION:       To pass the petition seeking to extend the commercial district zoning to the factory building located at the corner of Route 20 and Holland Road to the Planning Board for their review and action, and to place it on the warrant, pending certification from the Town Clerk, by S. Garieri.

2nd:     T. Creamer

Vote:  Three in favor; H. White opposed.

K. Smith said that the Finance Committee voted to approve the Sturbridge Tourist Association article as written.  Kevin MacConnell of the STA appeared before the Board.  He said that the committee has broken out the funds into a budget of five categories; what is before the Board for consideration is to consider the lump sum.  He suggested keeping the article with the numbers broken out.  T. Creamer said that since the STA is a new committee, it would be preferable to keep it flexible so that they could administer the funds as needed.

MOTION:       To place and support Article 14, by T. Creamer.

2nd:     H. White

Vote:  All in favor.

K. Smith suggested putting money back into road repair and maintenance items, and to leave the rest of the increase in the Finance Committee’s reserve fund to replenish unallocated fund balances.  Barbara Barry, Finance Director, noted that the Town is $482,750 in the black.  She said that she did not speak to any departments regarding anything for their budgets, and suggested that the Board discuss it with Shaun Suhoski, the new Town Administrator, when he starts working.  She noted that the free cash balance was below $500,000.  K. Smith suggested that $92,000 be split between lines 101 and 103.  T. Creamer said that $300,000 would go back to the reserve fund.  B. Barry said that the reserve fund will be up to $350,000.

MOTION:       To put $226,100 into line 101; and $196,000 into line 103, by T. Creamer.

2nd:     H. White

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To establish a consent agenda on the articles as currently placed on the warrant; 1, 2, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14 and the yet to be determined stabilization fund article, by T. Creamer.

2nd:     H. White

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To add $65,000 to line 161, by H. White.

2nd:     T. Creamer

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To use the figure $25,000 for the tax title account line 179, by T. Creamer.

2nd:     H. White

Vote:  All in favor.

MOTION:       To accept the Town Administrator’s recommendation of $1,455,144 as on line 66A, by T. Creamer.

2nd:     H. White

Vote:  Three in favor; M. Blanchard abstained.

Regarding the Finance Director’s salary, H. White said the Barbara Barry had pointed out to the Board that all of the department head salaries were set as a result of a salary survey, except for hers.  T. Creamer said that the ten town survey is used as a guideline.  He said that the manner in which the salary was set for the Finance Director was not consistent with what was done for other positions.  Mike Serio said that in some towns the Finance Director is a de facto Town Administrator.  M. Racicot said that he wanted to see additional information, as there are other circumstances and differences to consider, as M. Serio had stated.

K. Smith suggested taking a reserve fund transfer and putting it into the merit fund, and giving B. Barry a merit based bonus to reward her for going above and beyond her job description.  H. White noted that other department heads have also stepped up to the plate over the last few months.  It was the consensus of the Board that the best solution was to consider moving money out of the reserve fund to put into B. Barry’s line item; and that M. Racicot have a recommendation for the Board by the April 5th meeting regarding a salary adjustment for B. Barry.

MOTION:       To approve line item 25 as written, by S. Garieri.

2nd:     H. White

Vote:  All in favor.

Michael Caplette, Moderator – Town Meeting Warrant

Michael Caplette, Moderator, reviewed the Town Meeting warrant articles with the Board.

Mary Dowling, Finance Committee member, asked about the alternatives being discussed regarding the Special Town Meeting article on the engineering study for Route 15.  She asked for a breakdown of costs for the study, and what part of the study would be allocated for the different options.  M. Blanchard said that it is a lump sum of $25,000.  M. Dowling suggested including a breakdown of costs in the warrant article so that people would understand the alternatives that they are voting on.  She said that the four options needed clarification.

M. Racicot said that Tighe & Bond could devote 120 hours to come up with a comprehensive study, which would provide four options at the end of it.  M. Caplette said that Article 5 states that the funding would come from present sewer funds, which come from the users of the sewer system.  He noted that any taxpayers’ contributions to the system would be very small.  He did not think that the Finance Committee would have a conflict in acting on it, as it would not affect the rates.  He thought it was clear that the Board of Selectmen will instruct Tighe & Bond to focus on the four alternatives, and that the text box under the article will spell out the alternatives.  T. Creamer said that the purpose of the article is not to decide on the option, it is to just ask permission to discuss the alternatives.

M. Caplette expressed his willingness to conduct a Pre-Town Meeting Town Meeting along with M. Racicot, Town Administrator, and Kevin Smith, Chairman of the Finance Committee.  He would review Town Meeting procedures and provide handouts to the participants, and discuss the pros and cons of the articles.  K. Smith would provide the financial impact of each article.  It was the consensus of the Board to hold the Pre-Town Meeting Town Meeting on March 29th at the Sturbridge Senior Center.

MOTION:       To close the Town Meeting warrant, by H. White.

2nd:     T. Creamer

Vote:  All in favor.

Attorney Mark Donahue and Mike Loin – Sewer Connection for 173 Main Street

Attorney Mark Donahue and Mike Loin appeared before the Board.  M. Donahue indicated that he had received a copy of the memo from Greg Morse, DPW Director, dated May 12, 2009 that dealt with 173 Main Street.  He noted that those comments were made during the site plan approval process, which resulted in approval by the Planning Board of a modified site plan.  He said that their request is for a minor increase of 607 gallons of allocation.

M. Racicot said that Joel Bard of Kopelman & Paige had reviewed the information pertaining to the site, and said that 173 Main Street was a lot in 1992.  His opinion was that the Board would have a hard time defending a claim that their action was not arbitrary and capricious regarding denial of the request; the proponent has a strong case for the increase.  H. White pointed out that the Board has the right to grant or not grant permits, and if the Board does not have such discretion, it should be in writing.  M. Racicot suggested that the Town set some regulations.

T. Creamer indicated that his position was unchanged, and he supported the request for sewer based upon zoning and available reallocation.  He felt that to withhold sewer in this case was almost a means of trumping zoning.  He further stated that zoning is approved by a 2/3 majority at Town Meeting and felt that refusing this request based upon similar requests approved could be viewed as arbitrary and capricious.  H. White said that the Board did not have the requested opinion in writing from Town Counsel, and preferred to hold action.

MOTION:       To support the proposed request for 607 additional gallons for 173 Main Street, by T. Creamer.

2nd:     S. Garieri.

Vote:  Two in favor; H. White abstained; S. Garieri opposed.

The motion carried.  M. Racicot noted that it would be necessary for them to obtain a vote from the Board of Health as well.

Cable Advisory Committee

Al Jones, Don Fairbrother, Steve Tieri and Mary Afable appeared before the Board.  M. Afable noted that the Cable Advisory Committee was late in starting negotiations with Charter Communications.  She said that Don Fairbrother had put together a PEG Option Comparison plan with four options for cable access for the community.  A discussion followed regarding the benefits of each option.

MOTION:       To accept the recommendation of the Cable Advisory Committee to sign a five year renewal of the contract with Charter Communications, using what is known as Option 2A, and to have the Town Administrator finalize and process the necessary contracts, by S. Garieri.

2nd:     T. Creamer

Vote:  All in favor.

Town Administrator’s Update

Financial:

M. Racicot said that after careful review by the Town Hall/Center Office Building Committee, several change items were identified and approved.

MOTION:       To approve Change Orders 8 and 9 of the Town Hall/Center Office Building project for a total amount of $17,857.86 as recommended by the Building Committee, by S. Garieri.

2nd:     T. Creamer

Vote:  All in favor.

M. Racicot continued work with the Finance Director on the FY10 budget and any anticipated shortfalls to be addressed at the Special Town Meeting on April 26th.  They have almost all of the numbers for the articles, including various department changes, etc.

Personnel:

M. Racicot informed the Board that interviews were conducted with four firefighter/paramedic candidates.

MOTION:       To confirm the appointment by the Town Administrator of Brian D. Towns of Mashapaug Road to a position of full time Firefighter/Paramedic with the Sturbridge Fire Department at a starting salary of $23.17 per hour, by H. White.

2nd:     S. Garieri

Vote:  All in favor.

M. Racicot had reviewed applications for the Building Inspector position and conducted interviews with six qualified candidates.

MOTION:       To confirm the appointment by the Town Administrator of David Lindberg as Building Inspector/Zoning Officer, with a starting date of March 30, 2010, by S. Garieri.

2nd:     T. Creamer

Vote:  All in favor.

M. Racicot said that after notification from the Police Chief that one of the new dispatchers was not working out within her probation period, he decided to rescind the appointment.

MOTION:       To confirm the action of the Town Administrator in rescinding the appointment of Nancy L. Kelleher to the position of Dispatcher within the Sturbridge Police Department, effective March 13, 2010, by S. Garieri.

2nd:     H. White

Vote:  All in favor.

Legal:

After preparing a draft contract for Shaun Suhoski, the new Town Administrator, M. Racicot sent the draft along with a copy of the Charter to a special labor counsel.  Kopelman & Paige could not review the contract, as they are appointed by the Town Administrator and opined that it would be a conflict.

General Government:

T. Creamer and M. Blanchard pointed out that the process regarding location of donation boxes was to go to the Planning Board.  M. Racicot passed along the request from a non-profit organization to locate donation boxes in Sturbridge to the Planning Board for their review and action.

M. Racicot attended the Town Hall Building Committee meeting.  They reviewed various items, including the current financial status.  He worked with various department heads on their inquiries and thoughts relative to the new offices.  The Committee will meet with the Board of Selectmen to discuss the progress of the project at the April workshop.

M. Racicot was notified of a potential purchase of land classified under 61A.  The Town has a 120 day right of first refusal option to meet a bona fide offer to purchase the land located off Ladd Road, under agreement for $300,000.  He noted that the Planning Board and Assessor have copies.  H. White suggested forwarding a copy to the Community Preservation Committee.

Old Business

T. Creamer said that the Board had discussed getting a new estimate fee on the users for the wastewater treatment plant based on the grant.

M. Blanchard announced that the Tantasqua budget hearing will be held at the Jr. High School at 6:30 p.m. on March 16th.

New Business

T. Creamer said that he had received a request in terms of the upcoming election, to put on the Town’s website a sample ballot and an announcement about the April 12th election.  It was the consensus of the Board and the Town Administrator that it would be addressed.

H. White suggested sending a letter to the Registry of Motor Vehicles suggesting that they find a more accessible site than the one on the Mass. Pike, and to send copies to Senator Brewer and Rep. Smola.

M. Blanchard received a request from the Trails Committee.  They are applying for a grant from the Last Green Valley, and there is a deadline for submission.  They need a written document indicating approval of submission of the grant application.  It was the consensus of the Board to support it.  M. Racicot agreed to handle it.

Citizens’ Forum

No one appeared.

MOTION:       To convene in executive session under MGL Chapter 39, §23B, Paragraph 3:  to discuss strategy with respect to contract negotiations; not to reconvene in open session, by S. Garieri.

2nd:     H. White

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

The Board convened in executive session at 9:40 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Judy Knowles

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BOS Clerk                 Date