Meeting Minutes
Minutes Accepted and filed with the Town Clerk on 7/21/2015 by a vote of 4-0
Vice Chair Hebert absent
7:00 p.m. – July 07, 2015
Sutton Town Hall, Selectmen’s Meeting Room
Members in Attendance:
Chairman David Hall, Vice-Chair John Hebert, Selectmen Paul Maynard, Jesse Limanek & Michael Kenney
Town Administrator James Smith & Debbie Jacques, secretary
Vice-Chair Hall calls the meeting to order at 7:00pm followed by the Pledge of Allegiance
Public Forum: No comments
Selectman Limanek motions to accept as presented minutes from the 6/15/2015 BOS meeting; Vice-Chair Hebert seconds passes 5-0
Present are 3 members of the School Committee for a joint agenda item: Liisa Locurto, Paul Brennan and Mary Green. Liisa Locurto calls the meeting to order,
Appointment to the School Committee: TA Smith says that a seat became available due to Jesse Limanek winning a seat on the Board of Selectmen. Per Town Charter, the BOS along with the remaining School Committee fill the vacancy by joint roll call vote. The 3 applicants are here tonight, they are Bruce Edwards, Kristen Feifert Clark and Geoffrey Cushner. Each candidate introduces themselves with the reason they chose to run. Kristen Clark held a seat on the School Committee; she became involved due to some policies at the school. Geoffrey Cushner, parent of 2 school age children has a desire to see the educational needs of children met as well as the fiscal responsibility of the town. Bruce Edwards, currently on the Finance Committee has 2 children in the school and would like to bring fresh ideas and business ideas to the
committee. Chairman Hall opens up to questions from the 2 member boards. Selectman Limanek asks how each candidate would handle the schools budget issues. Bruce replies he would look for grants; there are educational based funds available. Jeff echo’s Bruce’s thoughts and says we need to look at the effectiveness of our education to see if children are ready to be members of the community. Kristin says the budget is not a 1 year problem, we need to have a 5 or 10 year plan. Everything including the salaries should be looked at with the budget. Selectman Kenney asks Bruce what motivated him to want to be on School Committee. Bruce replies he has seen innovative ways Jim Smith has brought in revenue to the town, we need to carry this over to the school. Selectman Kenney asks Kristin what would change if she is appointed, Kristin responds we need to balance out our kids’ education, they need a quality education. Selec. Kenney asks Jeff if he has experience at State
level with school programs. Jeff replies that he works directly with families and providers to families. School Committee member Paul Brennan says there have been substantial cuts made at the school, how would you choose between fees or cuts to the extracurricular classes; Jeff replies he wishes the school had more revenue but would look at all areas as well as salaries & class size, he would not want to compromise education. Kristin says she is concerned with the education of the whole child, there has to be a balance of fees. I would need as much information as possible. Bruce would like to offer a well-rounded education. Look at the times and see if we are meeting what is popular in the job field, we need to look ahead and not focus on the past. We teach languages, are they the right languages. Are we offering an economics class to teach students about their own finances. Selectman Maynard motions to appoint Bruce Edwards to the Sutton School Committee until the next Town
Election, Selectman Hebert seconds, and motion passes 6-0-2 (Selectman Kenney and Sch. Committee Mary Green vote against). Both boards thank the 3 candidates for being here tonight.
New Appointments: Council on Aging has requested Mike Chizy be moved from alternate to voting member to fill vacancy left by Paul Holzworth, COA would like Walter Baker named into the alternate position. Ken Malo has requested to be on the Board of Health, filling vacancy left by Steve Rice and Carl Licopoli is requesting appointment to the Sewer Commission for a vacancy left by James Dwyer. Vice Chair John Hebert thanks Phil Rawinski for also requesting appointment to the Sewer commission. Selectman Kenney motions to appoint Michael Chizy from alternate on the Council on Aging to voting member for a 3 year term to fill vacancy left by Paul Holzworth. Motion to appoint Walter Baker to alternate on the Council on Aging to fill vacancy left by Michael Chizy. Motion to appoint Ken Malo to the Board of
Health to fill a vacancy left by Steven Rice for a 2 year term. Motion to appoint Carl Licopoli to the Sewer Commission for a 3 year term to fill the vacancy left by James Dwyer; Selectman Maynard 2nds passes 5-0
***PUBLIC HEARING*** Black Stone’s Country Café, LLC Liquor License request. Selectman Limanek motions to open Public Hearing, Vice-Chair Hebert 2nds passes 5-0 Selectman Maynard reads the public notice as advertised in the May 28, 2015 Mill. Sutton Chronicle. Present is Richard Lacouture, business partner as well as manager and Matt Schold, manager of the restaurant. Mr. Lacouture states they are looking for a liquor license to add growth to the restaurant. They will be opened later now offering lunch and dinner. Mr. Schold says they would like to offer liquor to maximize the revenue and will explore it in a safe way. TA Smith says public safety has all given the okay. Vice-Chair Hebert has no issues but stresses TIP certification. Matt Schold replies he along with 3 servers are TIP certified. Selectman
Maynard says welcome but cannot stress enough TIP certification. Selectman Limanek asks what type of food will be served. Rich Lacouture replies homey foods. Selectman Kenney asks about the hours opened for service as well as the expected projection of liquor sales. Matt Schold replies the alcohol is to compliment the meal, they do not expect to just serve alcohol. Chairman Hall says they are in a sensitive area on the highway; we have had a history of some inspections that did not go well. Please follow all rules very careful. Hearing no public comments, Selectman Maynard motions to close the public hearing, Vice-Chair Hebert 2nds passes 5-0. Vice-Chair Hebert motions to approve the request by Black Stone’s Country Café for an All Alcohol Restaurant Liquor License for premises located at 4 Worcester-Providence Turnpike (route 146), Sutton MA with Matthew Schold as Manager of Record, Selectman Maynard 2nds passes 5-0
BOS appointment to OPEB: This seat was left vacant by Ken Stuart. Vice-Chair Hebert motions to appoint Dave Hall to sit on the OPEB Trust as he is quite seasoned with the town’s finances. Chairman Hall thanks John and says he appreciates his confidence. Selectman Limanek says excellent nomination. Selectman Maynard 2nds the vote passes 5-0
Approval of 3 year Police Union contract: TA Smith presents the 3 year Police contract which was negotiated over a 6 month period. Increases are FY16 2% + steps, FY17 2% + steps and FY18 2.5% + steps and a $500.00 increase for education for those who are not grandfathered into the Quinn Bill. The BOS all agree this is a very fair contract with reasonable increases; this is good for both sides. Selectman Maynard motions to approve as presented the 3 year contract agreement with the Sutton Police Union, Selectman Limanek seconds passes 5-0
FY15 yearend transfers: present is Town Accountant Tim Harrison. After brief discussion some of the line items that were overspent are Fire Dept wages due to a large number of 911 calls as well as mutual aid, the Cemetery Commission as there was some confusion over the secretary being paid out of the same account as the summer laborer and the Animal Control due to unexpected number of stray dogs boarding and vet care. The transfer amount totals $57,522. Vice Chair Hebert motions to approve as presented FY15 Year End Transfers, Selectman Maynard 2nds passes 5-0
TA Update:
- Financial policies renewal- will be on the Aug. 4th meeting for discussion, please review.
- Summer Solstice- Friday June 19th. No issues. The beach was left in perfect condition.
- NGrid: TA Smith has authorized them to work on Saturdays & Sundays in July between the hours of 5am-noon. There may be some short delays along route 146.
Announcements & Round Table:
- Selectman Maynard- Whittier’s Farm was in the business T&G regarding their farm. This is what makes Sutton Sutton.
- Selectman Limanek- attended the ice cream event at Whittiers Farm, there were over 100 attendees. They are an excellent establishment.
- Selectman Kenney thanks TA Smith for including the Financial Policies in this packet.
- Chairman Hall announces the paving on Singletary is done, TA Smith says we have John Hebert to thank.
At this time Chairman Hall motions to enter into Executive Session under M.G.L., c30A, Sec. 21 #3 and enter back into regular session for the sole purpose of adjournment, Vice-Chair Hebert seconds, passes 5-0 8:30pm Roll Call Taken
9:56 pm Selectman Limanek motions to adjourn, Selectman Maynard 2nds passes 5-0
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