Town Of Sutton Board of Selectmen |
Meeting Minutes
Minutes Accepted and filed with the Town Clerk on 12/20/2016_by a vote of _5-0
7:00p.m. – December 06, 2016
Sutton Town Hall, Selectmen’s Meeting Room
Members in Attendance:
Chairman John L. Hebert, Vice Chair Paul Maynard, Clerk Jesse Limanek and Selectmen David Hall & Michael Kenney
Town Administrator James Smith & Deb Jacques, secretary
Chairman Hebert calls the meeting to order at 7:00pm followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
Forum: no comments
Selectman Hall motions to accept as presented minutes from November 15, 2016 Selectmen’s meeting, Selectman Limanek seconds passes 4-1-0 Vice Chair Maynard abstains, absent from 11/15/16 meeting
CMRPC – Hazmat Mitigation Plan: present is Andrew Loew from CMRPC. TA Smith states this is a follow up to the presentation held back in June with a draft resolution. Andrew Loew states the resolution before the BOS tonight is good for 5 years. It is basically a plan to reduce the impact during a natural disaster. The Town of Suttons plan is specifically for this town and was put together with the help of local officials, CMRPC then forwarded to MEMA and then on to FEMA for approval. Having this plan in place will allow the Town of Sutton to seek federal aid for disasters. There is a full plan for viewers interested on the CMRPC website. Selectman Hall reads the local names that participated in this plan, Police, Fire, Highway, BOH, Sewer, the Sr. Center, the Building Commissioner, Emergency mgmt. and TA Smith. Dave
states it is a pretty high powered list of names. All very knowledgeable. Dave goes on to say he thought dams would be the highest risk in town but it is actually storms. Vice Chair Maynard thanks CMRPC for their help as well as the local Emergency Management crew that helped out. Selectman Limanek asked if there were any modifications needed prior to MEMA and FEMA approving. Mr. Loew states no, just a few sentences needed to be changed. Jesse also asked if there were any type of educational awareness that could be put on our cable channel. Mr. Loew states the town can ask other towns how they have shared the information. He states the more aware we are the better off we will all be. Selectman Kenney is also interested in getting more information out to the community. Mike says it is great that the local officials teamed together, tremendous job. Chairman Hebert says this is a great program for the town, John is impressed with the local officials and their experience, this shows in
depth the knowledge we have in town- we are ahead of the curve. Vice Chair Maynard motions to approve the Hazard Mitigation plan as presented by Central Mass Regional Planning Commission for the Town of Sutton, Selectman Limanek 2nds passes 5-0 (copy attached)
2017 License renewals: TA Smith states before the BOS tonight are all the 2017 license renewals through the Selectmen’s office. We have 2 businesses that have not yet returned renewal paperwork. Selectman Limanek reads the list (attached) hearing no issues, Selectman Limanek motions to approve as read the 2017 License Renewals in the Town of Sutton, and Selectman Kenney 2nds passes 5-0. Selectman Kenney asks about the transfer of Sutton Wine & Liquors and Mkt 32 as the current licenses have not yet changed. TA Smith replies the approval has not yet come down from the ABCC therefore we have to renew with what they currently have.
OPEB Draft Policy- TA Smith says this has been a work in progress for the past 6 months and thanks Tim Harrison for his assistance. In the policy it states the town will annually appropriate a minimum of $100,000. Into the OPEB trust fund. In addition,
rental from the cell tower, to be located on Town Farm Rd will be appropriated to OPEB. This policy is to serve as a guide, these are recommendations not binding terms. The Town of Sutton is in the top third of the communities in Massachusetts for funding OPEB. Selectman Hall sits on the OPEB Committee as a representative from the BOS. Dave states he was a skeptic about this but having an OPEB fund is an important piece to bond rating. Dave thanks Tim and Jim for presenting this tonight. Vice Chair Maynard thanks TA Smith and Tim for presenting this tonight. Selectman Limanek states he became aware of this unfunded liability over the past few years. Jesse goes on to say the fact is decades ago benefits were given to town employees yet never was funded. We have to pay for the benefits that were promised even though
they were never funded. Selectman Kenney says it is good to see we are in the top third, this is a situation that must be dealt with. Mike goes on to say it is good to see we are being proactive. Chairman Hebert states 5 years ago we did not know what OPEB was, thank you to Dave Hall for aggressively working with Jim Smith and Tim Harrison. We are ahead of the curve, it is also a plus as we received a AA bond rating. John Hebert asked if it would be a good idea to borrow and pay off the OPEB liability and then pay down the loan. Tim Harrison stated POB’s (Pension Obligation Bonds) would require a 10-20 year payoff with a large payment due annually. TA Smith states it is worth a discussion but the town is not in the fiscal position to borrow for it. Selec. Kenney motions to approve the OPEB (Other Post-Employment Benefits) funding policy, Vice-Chair Maynard 2nds passes 5-0
TA Update:
- DOR’s TAP program: the Town of Sutton participated for the 2nd year, the Town of Sutton is 1 of 7 out of 32 communities that participated. Thanks to Tim Harrison, the Assessor’s office and the Treasurer’s office.
OPM services for the Police Station- Construction Monitoring Services was chosen by the committee. They will charge the town $31,000. For the design phase and $190,000. For the construction phase.
- Vice Chair Maynard says a new police station is a long time coming.
- Selectman Limanek says what sold the committee on CMS is that they were all tradesmen themselves-good company.
- Purple Heart community designation: Friday, November 18th the town was presented with the Purple Heart designation. Special thanks to Selectman Limanek for speaking on behalf of the BOS and the town.
- Selectman Hall compliments Jesse for his presentation on the Purple Heart presentation, it made Dave proud to be a selectman.
- Vice Chair Maynard thanks Jesse for his presentation, it was a tremendous thing for those that do not want to be recognized.
- Selectman Kenney thanks Jesse Limanek for his research into this. Mike says it was only fitting for Jesse to represent the BOS as he had been the person that brought this before the town.
- Chairman Hebert says there was no one better to give the presentation as Jesse is a history buff.
- Thanksgiving baskets: 36 baskets were provided for families in town for Thanksgiving, thank you to the Sr. Center
- Vice Chair Maynard says the Food Pantry at this time is full, thank you to all that donate.
- Selectman Limanek thanks St. Marks and the whole community for always being so generous.
- Christmas luncheons: Waters Farm is scheduled for Wed. December 14th from 11:30-1:30 and the Town Hall luncheon is scheduled for Tuesday, December 20th.
Announcements/Round Table/ Correspondence/Business Topics:
Selectman Hall thanks Sam Whittier and the whole Whittier family for participation in the Chain of Lights, it was heavily attended.
Selectman Limanek requests Matt Stencel come before the BOS to discuss plowing etc.
Selectman Kenney received a few complaints in regards to the road conditions with the first snow a few days ago.
Chairman Hebert has received a letter from Mass Dot in regards to the singing dam and the work to take place. It will be on file in the BOS office.
Vice-Chair Maynard motions to adjourn, Selectman Kenney seconds passes 5-0 8:05 p.m.
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