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08/18/2015 BOS Meeting Minutes
                                                         Meeting Minutes
  
                                           Minutes Accepted and filed with the Town Clerk on  09/1/15 by a vote of     5-0  
                                                                                                          
7:00 p.m. – August 18, 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   

Chairman Hall calls the meeting to order at 7:00pm followed by the Pledge of Allegiance
Public Forum: No comments

Selectman Limanek motions to accept minutes from the 8/4/2015 BOS meeting; Vice-Chair Hebert 2nds passes 4-0-1
(Maynard abstains, absent from 8/4 meeting)
Selectman Limanek motions to approve the Executive Session minutes from the 8/4/2015 meeting; Vice-Chair Hebert 2nds passes
4-0-1 (Maynard abstains, absent from the 8/4 meeting  

Hillside Drive order of taking: Present is Town Planner Jen Hager. TA Smith says this was voted and accepted at the May Town Meeting. Now the BOS need to vote to accept the order of taking. Jen states that once signed, this will be placed on file with the Registry of Deeds. Abutters were notified and have signed to the  “waive of appraisal and damages”.  Vice-Chair Hebert states that the residents on Hillside Drive are happy that the town has taken over this road and it is now a public way.  Selectman Maynard asks if there is a street sign on the road, Jen Hager replies “yes”. Selectmen Limanek & Kenny have no concerns. Chairman Hall acknowledges this is the final step to this process. TA Smith states the town has maintained this road for 20 years. Selectman Limanek motions to adopt the order of taking presented to the Board on this date to acquire the fee in Hillside Drive in the location previously laid out by the Board and accepted by the Town as a public way, together with an appurtenant sewer easement, for the purpose of establishing Hillside Drive as a public way in the Town, and to award no damages for such taking.~Selectman Maynard 2nds passes 5-0

Transfer Station FY15: TA Smith presents annual PowerPoint of the Transfer Station. The sticker fee remained at $40.00 for the year, the cost of bags also remained the same at $1.25 for the small and $2.50 for large. The cost to the average family is $235.00 per year; Waste Management is $526.00 a year for a 64 gallon tote, picked up weekly. The Transfer Station is run by an Enterprise Fund (MGL Ch44 sec 53F ½) Revenues must equal expenses. Over the past 2 years we have started to see a profit, we thank Dave Arsenault for this. The special permit fees have increased since we hired Dave. The Transfer Station started the “Pay as you Throw” in 2006. The first several years showed losses but over time we have reduced the operating expenses. We are showing a reduction in trash and an increase in our recycling rate which we get money for. Vice-Chair Hebert says Dave Arsenault is a good fit, he is a police dog for that area, and it is meticulous. Selectman Maynard often sees Dave assisting the elderly or those with young children to dump their trash. Selectman Limanek says it is like night and day from when it first began. It is phenomenal; Dave even gives advice as to how to recycle certain items. Selectman Kenney sees that the membership is going up but the trash tonnage is going down. The recycling is working, great job. Chairman Hall says he is happy seeing the retained earnings figure increasing, this will help fund equipment when replacements are needed.
 

  
TA Update:
  • Electricity Aggregation: an article was approved at May Town Meeting to start the process to aggregate electrical loads. Doreen DeFazio, Jen Hager and Jim interviewed the top 5 choices in surrounding communities. They were Colonial Power, Veridian, Hampshire Council of Govt., Peregrine and Good Energy. A unanimous decision showed Peregrine their top pick. Jim would like to invite Peregrine to an upcoming BOS meeting as the BOS has to vote for the electricity aggregator.
  • Chairman Hall would like to invite Peregrine in to meet with the BOS
  • LED Lighting for Town Buildings: Larry Morris installed some LED lights in the town hall; we are using a rebate program with a cost of $45.00 per light. Town meeting approved $10,000. in a capital plan to accomplish this. We would like to put these in the Sr. Center as well but may need additional funding.
  • Selectman Kenney says great job with this, he would like to see the sr. center done as well.
  • Chairman Hall says we still can hear Mike Chizys goals with these electricity saving projects.
  • Exploratory Committee: Jim as put together a committee to look at the feasibility of bringing sewer from the Villas to the school. Members are Don Obuchowski, Ken Smith, Bob Recore, Bob Largess and Roger Raymond.  This would take the school off the sewer treatment plant and save them approx. $170,000. A year.
  • Selectman Maynard is happy to see Ken Smiths name, he is very knowledgeable about this.
  • Selectman Limanek says the idea of sewer to the school is phenomenal. This would be a win for the school, a win for residents a win for the town as a whole.
  • Selectman Kenney asks about the possibility of running to Shaw Farm as well.
  • Chairman Hall is interested to see if this is feasible. It has been on the BOS goals for years.
  • Price Chopper update: the grand opening has changed from Labor Day to a date in October.
  • Vice-Chair Hebert is pleased with the later opening. Mass DOT will be able to complete the roads.
  • Selectman Limanek is happy with the delay; he is definitely seeing progress on 146.
  • Atlas Box Tour: held on August 11th. Selectmen Maynard & Limanek along with TA Smith and Jen Hager attended.   
Entrance way to Early Learning Center: Bid opening held on August 12 @ 11AM. Tasco was the only company to bid at $247,000. which was way over the estimated cost. We are looking at our options and may wait until early spring to rebid the job.
  • Vice-Chair Hebert feels we should go out to bid again at a later date.
  • Selectman Limanek agrees that holding off and rebidding would be best.
  • Selectman Kenney feels the bid was high.
  • Sale of Surplus property was a success. We had some items bid using sealed bid process as well as the larger items bid on Municibid. The sealed bids brought in $588. And Municibid brought in $23,844.
  • The Ribbon cutting for the Middle/High School will be held Sept. 2nd @ 5pm.
  • Selectman Limanek says great job with Municibid.
  • Chairman Hall says this was a creative revenue source. It was a win win.
Announcements:    
  • Selectman Maynard attended the recent Jr. Police Academy run by Officer Sullivan, Officer Bohanan and Chief Towle. This is great for kids.
  • Atlas Box Tour, Paul saw the design in print and liked seeing the finished project.
  • Food Pantry in need of supplies (Paul reads list)
  • Selectman Limanek was very impressed with the Atlas Box Tour. This is the home base facility for a global operation. Very impressive.
  • Some schools are back in session so please be mindful of buses and kids on the street.
  • Chairman Hall expresses condolences in the passing of Tim Elsessor
Round Table:
  • Vice-Chair Hebert says there was photos opt at Marion’s Camp with Senator Fattman, Rep McKenna, Jen Hager, Jim Smith, John Hebert, Jesse Limanek and Dave Hall for the donation from the state of $100,000. For Goddard Lodge.
  • Selectman Kenney again reminds all to be mindful of buses and students on the sides of roads.
 


7:50 pm Selectman Maynard motions to adjourn, Vice-Chair Hebert 2nds passes 5-0