Meeting Minutes
Minutes Accepted and filed with the Town Clerk on 10/07/2014 by a vote of 5-0
7:00 p.m. – September 23, 2014
Sutton Town Hall, Selectmen’s Meeting Room
Members in Attendance:
Chairman Kenneth Stuart, Vice Chair David Hall, Selectmen Mike Chizy, John Hebert and Paul Maynard
Town Administrator James Smith & Debbie Jacques, secretary
Chairman Stuart calls the meeting to order at 7:00pm followed by the Pledge of Allegiance
Selectman Hall motions to accept as submitted BOS minutes from September 2, 2014 Selectman Chizy seconds passes 5-0
Selectman Hall motions to accept as submitted BOS minutes from September 16, 2014 Selectman Hebert seconds passes 5-0
Public Forum: no comments
Library Trustee update: present Liz Fritz Keyes Trustee Chairman and Lisa Kane, newly elected. They begin by thanking Rachel Tufts for serving 6 years as a Library Trustee. The library is now open 6 days a week, they were closed on Mondays. With some schedule juggling by Betsy, the library can now be open an extra day with no increase to the budget. Also mentioned was the fantastic summer reading program in which 508 participated ranging in age from young children to seniors. They offer thanks to the community for supporting this. Other programs (to list a few) include a book club at the Sr. Center, assisting scouts for merit badges, the Sutton Garden Club and Food for fines to benefit the Food Pantry. Liz Keyes said they were one of 19 communities awarded the Plan & Design grant ($50,000.) They need to match with
$25,000. ($14,000. will come from interest on a trust fund and $11,000. from Library State aid). This will help fund the study of building needs for a library (projected growth) and if there is a building in town that may be utilized. Lisa Kane says this is a step on the road, it is a long path. The grant application to build an actual library will be in 2018. The BOS all thank the Trustees for the great update; Selectman Hall thanks them for the enthusiasm they bring to the library and the various community outreach programs. Chairman Stuart says great job presenting the latest and greatest in the library, fantastic job.
Lion’s Club Haunted Halloween event: Chairman Stuart and Selectman Hall step down as they are members of the Lions Club. Present to discuss is John & Diane Greenlaw and Bill Jacobson. Diane Greenlaw explains this is a 3 day event and is asking permission to hold at Marions Camp. They feel this is a perfect place to hold this fund raising event. They will list the Town of Sutton on the Insurance policy; have a police detail and parking detail. Their main concerns are safety, security and a good time. Selectman Hebert is glad to see Marions Camp being used but does stress that there should be no parking on Tuttle Road in the event emergency vehicles need to respond. Selectman Chizy says the Lions Club does an awful lot for the town such as fuel assistance and the food pantry. Selectman Maynard thanked the Lions
Club. Hearing no more comments, Selectman Hebert motions to authorize use of Marions Camp to the Sutton Lions Club to hold The Haunted Hallows Hayride on October 24th, 25th and 26th 2014 providing all the necessary liability information is filed with the Town of Sutton prior to the event Selectman Maynard seconds passes 3-0-2 (Stuart & Hall abstain).
Brait Builders 6 month review: Present Jon Winikur, Tim Alix & Phil Palumbo from SBS, Wendy Meade, School Building Com. and Bob & Mike Brait (Brait Builders), Building Commissioner John Couture is also in attendance. Wendy begins by saying this has been an enormous project but the public is happy to see the progress being made, it is very exciting to be where we are. Residents that have been in the new auditorium are in awe of the modern facility. We are getting a lot of bang for our buck. Jon Winikur thanks the BOS for a recent tour of the auditorium, the progress is vastly different from 6 months ago (TLT to Brait) the progress is reflective. Occupancy of the new high school is targeted for April 2015. With the Brait team we see rapid progress. They are anticipating fall of 2015 the project will be
complete (modular’s down, dirt piles gone). The punch list has seen significant progress. Bob Brait states the subs are working well together, every day is better and better, they are over the hump of TLT days. Selectman Chizy says the project looks beautiful, quite a change from TLT but asks about a recent issue reported by Superintendent Friend regarding roof leaks. Bob Brait responds that they did have a leak when they attached the middle school to the core building but it has been addressed and there is no further infiltration (any damaged material was replaced). There were other leaks as a result of TLT’s work but they were also repaired. Selectman Hebert says we have always had confidence in SBS; the progress is quite a relief to the Board and the people in town. Thank you to Brait Builders, nothing but compliments to you, your reputation shows. Selectman Hall says you can tell things are a lot better now just by Wendy and Jon Winikurs update. Dave asks at
who’s expense are the punch list items and change orders. Bob Brait responds that when they took over that included the punch list, one of the issues was many leaks but they chased them down one by one (these were due to incomplete work); in regards to change orders, Jon Winikur says they are reviewed on a regular basis, some of the items were known and some are new. But they are all within budget. Selectman Hall says this conversation is uplifting which we did not have with TLT. Selectman Maynard says thank you to Brait Builders, you are phenomenal. Chairman Stuart says we have gone through a lot and we have asked a lot of questions but you have delivered and we are extremely happy. The auditorium is world class. When asked about occupancy, John Couture responded this is a phase project so as phases are complete they are signed off on but there will be a completion certificate for the entire project. John goes on to say we have gone from the absolute worst contractor to the
absolutely best contractor. Selectman Maynard takes this time to thank John Couture for the extensive hours he has put in to this project. Chairman Stuart offers a special thank you to Wendy for her diligence in this project. (School Building minutes attached)
Approve & Sign Fall Town Meeting Warrant: after brief review Selectman Hall motions to approve and sign the Fall Town Meeting Warrant as presented Selectman Hebert seconds passes 5-0
TA Evaluation: Selectman Chizy states this is done yearly and proceeds to read the results of the evaluation (copy attached). Selectman Hebert says all comments were well explained, Selectman Maynard says the comments hit the nail on the head, Chairman Stuart says he understands more (sitting as Chairman) regarding the sometimes difficulty sitting in Jims position and the sensitivity related to some issues. Ken goes on to say it is excellent working with TA Smith and hopes it continues, Jim does a great job. TA Smith thanks the BOS and appreciates the comments; he goes on to say it is the coworkers that make his job a pleasure.
Town Administrator Update:
- RFQ Police Station/Highway Dept. feasibility study: The committee chose Tecton; an award letter is being issued. The price is $38,000. ($50,000. was budgeted).
- Manchaug Library lease: bids due Oct. 30th. Looking for a 20 year lease.
- Tax Title Lien sale: this is an effort to clean up tax title accounts. This is a 1 time sale the winning bidder would pay the town 100% what is owed; this would remove the liability from our books. (TA Smith says that the new Treasurer/collector Lisa Troast is doing a wonderful job). In addition, they have changed from Atty Laura Mann to K&P to handle tax lien issues.
- Vice Chair Hall asks for clarification in process.
- Chairman Stuart says he is in agreement of the 1 time sale and has full comfort in TA Smith doing what is right for the town.
- Multi group meeting: the School Committee has requested this meeting to discuss issues with funding special needs education. It is tentatively scheduled for Wed. Nov. 12th @ 7pm.
- Annual Golf Tournament October 3rd 9-noon @ Clearview to benefit the Food Pantry
Announcements: Selectman Chizy reads the 2 upcoming Flu Shot Clinic dates and locations.
Round Table: N/A
Hearing no further comments Selectman Chizy motions to adjourn Selectman Hall seconds passes 5-0
Adjourned 8:25 pm
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