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04/12/2011 BOS Meeting Minutes
Town Of Sutton
Board Of Selectman
   
  Meeting Minutes

Minutes Accepted and filed with the Town Clerk on4/19/11 by a vote  3-0-1_
                                                        (Selectmen Hersom abstains as he was not present at the 4/12 meeting)           
                                                 7:00 p.m. – April 12, 2011
                                                      Sutton Town Hall, Selectmen’s Meeting Room

Members in Attendance:                           
             Acting Chairman Kevin Geraghty, Clerk Michael Chizy, and Members John Hebert & Ryan Fattman
                                                                  
 
Also in Attendance:     Tim Harrison, Acting Town Administrator & Debbie Jacques, Administrative Secretary

Chairman Geraghty calls the meeting to order at 7:00 followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

Public Forum: Mr. James Dwyer 142 Ariel Circle Sutton, a 3 year resident is here to discuss the Bylaw & Charter Review Committee. Mr. Dwyer has found discrepancies between the hard copy and on line version of these Town Documents. He was told that the committee is inactive but is showing an interest to be appointed to this board if it is a functioning board. Mr. Dwyer has submitted his personal information to the Town Administrator. Selectman Geraghty thanks Mr. Dwyer and comments that we will have the Town Clerk check on these issues.

Approval of Minutes: Selectman Hebert motions to approve as presented March 15, 2011 minutes, Selectman Geraghty seconds passes 2-0-2 (Selectman Fattman and Chizy were not present at the 3/15/11 meeting)

Tax Collector Cheryl Ouillette requests approval of Bond Award: Tim Harrison begins by saying he had the disappointing news that Cheryl has taken a job in Douglas, it was with sincere regret that he accepted her resignation and goes on to say that Suttons loss is Douglas’s gain. Tim also states that the conference call with Standard & Poor’s, held on Monday, April 4th, came back with a AA Stable rating. This is a favorable rating for the Town of Sutton. (Attachment A)
Cheryl Ouillette informed the BOS of the Bond Sale Results: The general obligation bonds in the amount of $25,366,500.00 went to market earlier today, there was a total of 8 bids. Morgan Stanley & Co., with the Boards approval, will be awarded the bid. In addition to the lowest bid it provided us with a bond premium of $291,898.91 which will help defray the issuance costs. The BOS all share their sentiments in offering Cheryl best of luck in her new position, Selectmen Chizy thanks Cheryl and Timmy for doing a good job, Selectman Hebert says Morgan Stanley is a very reputable company, Selectman Fattman says it looks good, hearing no further comment, Clerk of the Selectman Chizy reads the Vote of the Board of Selectmen (Attachment B). Selectman Fattman motions to approve the sales of the bonds to Morgan Stanley & CO. Selectman Hebert 2nds, passes 4-0

Leiran Biton presents the Green Communities Action Plan: Leiran presents a power point with an overview of the action plan for the Town of Sutton; He informs the BOS that there are already 3 areas of the criteria met; they are Zoning, Permitting and a Vehicle Policy. The 2 remaining are Energy Use and Building Energy Code. Once completed, Sutton can be eligible to apply for grants in a $10 million dollar grant pool. There are currently 53 Green Communities in Massachusetts. This plan must be adopted by the BOS as well as the School Committee. The Stretch Code is part of the Building Energy Code and is to improve building energy efficiency. There is a Warrant article for the Town to adopt the Stretch Code at the May Town Meeting. There was a meeting held in January 2011 to inform builders in Sutton as well as interested residents about the Stretch Code. Our Building Inspection John Couture has shown interest of becoming HERS certified (Home Energy Rating System). This is a 0 to 100 score with 100 being code compliant. Selectman Geraghty thanks Leiran for the informative presentation. Selectman Chizy asks for Building Inspector John Couture’s thoughts on the Stretch Code. John states that it will be a State Code and the Builders in Town currently just about meet the compliancy so it should not be an issue. There is a slight cost increase to this but there are long term benefits. Selectman Fattman questions the cost, Couture states that the windows out on the market now all meet or exceed the rating, Selectman Hebert states that there are benefits to go energy efficient such as rebates on windows and pellet stoves, Selectman Geraghty states that the whole world is moving in this direction, it is prudent for us to get in front of this and move forward. Kevin goes on to say that benefits to the consumer kicks in quickly.
This will be on next week’s agenda for the adoption of the Green Communities Action Plan.  

 Review of May Town Warrant and May Town Election Warrant: Hearing no questions or comments the BOS move on.

Approval of Debt Management Policy: Tim Harrison and Jim Smith worked on this Financial Policy and it has to be formally adopted. This policy along with others already approved, is a key component to have in place when we get rated by bond agencies. Tim states that all this is doing is putting in writing what we already do and it provides a road map for future administration. All are in agreement that this is a good policy to have in place.  Selectman Chizy motions to adopt the Debt Management Policy as presented, Selectman Hebert 2nds passes 4-0

Budget Update: Tim Harrison provides the BOS with a Gap Analysis for FY12. The preliminary budget gap was $178,933.00, with a $100,000.00 increase in health insurance, the gap became $278,933.00. Tim provides a breakdown of reductions to balance the budget. Tim goes on to say he has worked close with TA Smith and TA Smith is aware of all the reductions. There may be an additional few items to be fine tuned such as the gasoline budget. The House is scheduled to release their budget figures tomorrow so there may be additional changes. Selectman Chizy congratulates Timmy on a job well done, Selectman Fattman cannot say enough how lucky we are to have Jim and Tim in Sutton. Selectman Hebert says kudos to Jim and Tim, Selectman Geraghty says there are 4 positions on the Municipal side being reduced; Kevin said he appreciates Tim and Jims ability to make these tough decisions. At this time, Tim Harrison informs the BOS that annually at this time, the BOS are asked to increase the Capital Stabilization Fund by 2.5%, hearing no comments Selectman Fattman motions to authorize the Assessors to increase the Capital Stabilization Fund by an additional 2.5% increase to the FY11 override figure of $511,523.00 for a FY12 Capital Stabilization balance of $524,311.00 Selectman Hebert seconds passes 4-0

Town Administrators Office Update:
  • Conference call with Standard & Poor’s held Monday, April 4th
  • The RFP for Ambulance services were due March 31st, 4 submittals received. Chief Maynard is asking for a Selectman to attend a meeting in Grafton on April 20th along with him and Chief Towle, John Hebert is happy to attend.
  • Modular Classroom bid was awarded to VanGuard Modular @$1,898,107.00
  • RFP for Construction Quality Control Inspection & Testing for school project was due on April 4th. They are under review
  • Bids for Moving Services for the school project are due on Monday April 18th
Tim announces Temporary Appointment of Cathy VanDyne to the Treasurer Collector position. This was a decision made between Jim and Tim. This will be a temporary appointment until a replacement is named. Cathy is in attendance. Selectman Chizy says that if Cathy does half the job she does now she will be fine, Selectman Hebert says her professionalism and loyalty are that to be commended, and Selectman Geraghty adds that her willingness to step up is another example of how our offices are run. Tim goes on to say they would then hire a payroll clerk with Human Resources and accounting assistance. This clerk would work in the Treasurer/Collectors office and help with the work load.
  • Tuesday May 17th 9:30-10:30 the Solar Photo Voltaic Ceremony is scheduled to take place at the ELC
  • Chief Towle has hired 2 full time police dispatchers to fill vacancies. David Stebbins of Sutton and Thomas Quinn of Hudson.
  • Reminder of new Transfer Station Hours.
  • Update on Health Insurance meeting with MIIA, Cathy VanDyne, Pat Morris (Fin Com) and Tim Harrison. There is a 14.7% increase this year, we are currently checking with other brokers interested in providing insurance to Sutton.
Selectmen’s Round Table:
        Selectman Fattman informs the Board that he attended a meeting with Town Planner Jen Hager in Boston regarding NEDT earlier today. Ryan went on to say what a great partnership NEDT is with the Town.
        Selectman Fattman went on to ask Tim Harrison if he would ever be in favor of a plan design for Health Insurance. Tim says yes but we would always keep the employees best interest at mind. Selectman Chizy agrees, he would be 100% for it,   towns cannot keep paying the increases, it is not sustainable. Selectman Hebert says it does not make sense, we do not give raises to our employees but our insurance premiums are going up 14%. Selectman Geraghty responds that the MMA is a  big supporter of Plan Design Insurance. Currently the Town of Sutton pays 70/30 which is better for the town. Everything has to be on the table.

Announcements:
        Selectman Hebert offers his congratulations to the Sutton Police Dept for an arrest made last week regarding a Breaking         and Entering. The person was arrested and may be responsible for other breaks in town. John says it is so rewarding to
get     the nitwits off the streets.

        
 
Selectman Chizy motions to adjourn Selectman Fattman 2nds passes 4-0