Meeting Minutes
Minutes Accepted and filed with the Town Clerk on 3/21/2017 by a vote of 5-0
7:00p.m. – March 7, 2017
Sutton Town Hall, Selectmen’s Meeting Room
Members in Attendance:
Chairman John 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.
Chairman Hebert asked for a moment of silence for the recent death of town resident Peter Kintzer
Forum: no comments
Selectman Hall motions to accept as presented minutes from February 21, 2017 Selectmen’s meeting, Vice Chair Maynard seconds passes 5-0
Melanson & Heath FY16 Audit presentation: present from Melanson & Heath is Scott McIntyre and Karen Burke; also present is Town accountant Tim Harrison. Mr. McIntyre begins by saying this will be a quick overview; most importantly the audit went very well, the books and records are in good order and key accounts were reconciled. Scott reviews the addition of the Net Pension liability which is found beneath the Liabilities. This must be included now per audit standards. He gave a brief review of the revenues & expenditures which include the use of some free cash. Scott then goes into the Management letter which discusses recommendations by the Auditing Firm. The recommendations include establishing formal dept. receipt policies & procedures, improve controls over the collectors accounts, improve
controls over journal entries, monitor Police detail billing & collections, improve record keeping for abatements & exemptions and prepare to implement GASB 74 & 75 for OPEB. These items were addressed in the response back to the Auditing firm in which Mr. McIntyre found the responses appropriate and satisfactory. At this time Town Accountant Tim Harrison says it is appropriate to thank the staff for their assistance to the auditors. Selectman Hall says he appreciates the opening statement: good clean books and records. Dave goes on to say the work that goes into an audit is significant. Dave feels it is important to mention the strong and consistent balance sheet, which is what we strive for; Dave feels the responses to recommendations are thorough and appropriate. Vice-Chair Maynard says thank you for a good audit and asks the auditor to rate the town of Sutton 1-10 based on the audit against other towns. Mr. McIntyre states that is a difficult question but with a 12%
figure for a fund balance that is a decent number. Selectman Limanek says there is a lot of complexity reviewing the annual budget, everything has to align and all must be transparent. An audit is even more involved, kudos to the financial team. Selectman Kenney says thankyou to Tim Harrison and the financial team for putting everything together, this team represents the town. Chairman Hebert says we expect this type of review, thank you to Tim, Jim, the financial team and the dept. heads. We have nothing to hide, the town of Sutton likes to be one cut above other towns. Our intention is to do the right thing.
COA Director Michelle Edelstein: Michelle is here to discuss the month of March which is the fundraising season for March for meals. This fundraising helps so that no senior goes hungry. It helps with the meals on wheels. 100% of funds raised stay in the community in which it is raised. Currently there are 50 seniors that are fed daily. Some are at the sr. center and other meals are delivered to shut ins which also allows a wellbeing check by the person delivering the meal. Anyone interested in donating may make a check out to the Tri-River Inc. and under memo write Sutton so the funds will be directly sent to Sutton. Selectman Hall thanks Michelle for he update and says congratulations for always doing a great job. Vice Chair Maynard asks how the Elder bus is doing, Michelle responds that they are becoming busier and for
any senior wishing to utilize they need a 48 hour notice, they are great. Selectman Limanek says when you go to the club house everyone is smiling, they offer other programs if anyone is interested. Jesse states the Sr. center is a warm fun welcoming place. Selectman Kenney says this is not just a place for hot meals it is also for the social aspect. Chairman Hebert says thankyou you always do a great job, it is important for people to donate.
Dual Representation: Nursing services-IMA with Charlton: TA Smith says this is the same as the other 10 IMA’s. Cheryl Rawinski always has done a great job, it is a win win for the town. Vice Chair Maynard motions to approve the Dual Representation disclosure allowing Kopelman & Paige to represent the Towns of Sutton and Charlton regarding Nursing Services / Inter Municipal Agreement, Selectman Limanek seconds passes 5-0
IMA-Nursing services Town of Charlton: TA Smith says this is the same as the other 10 ima’s. The rate is $75.00 per hour. Cheryl Rawinski is doing a great job and in the event she needs additional help she has a list of nurses she can call. Her duties include flu clinics, communicable diseases and reporting issues. Most of the work is done on computers but there is also some interaction with each community. Selectman Hall states she must be getting close to her capacity, we have to look out for her wellbeing. Selectman Limanek echoes Dave’s concerns and says there is only so much time in a day, we do not want her to assume too much and be stretched too thin. If another IMA comes before the BOS Jesse states he may question that one. Selectman Kenney says there is a term in the agreement that with a 30 day
notice this agreement can be terminated and she does have a list of nurses that can help her. As long as she can handle the work take on as many as she can. Chairman Hebert says he is ok with her ability to work and communicates everything through TA Smith. Selectman Limanek motions to approve the IMA between the Town of Sutton and the Town of Charlton for Public Health Nursing Services selectman Kenney seconds passes 5-0
TA Update:
- FY18 Budget Update: Public hearings are due to start March 23rd @ 6:30 with the final meeting either the 29th or 30th of March.
Rufus Putnam Building: replacement of shingles complete, the contractor also replaced some shingles that had blown off of the Town Hall roof. Thanks to John couture for his work as project manager.
IAC meeting: met on 3/1/2017 and decided to go out to bid for healthcare. It will take 2-3 weeks to get the RFP’s back then the IAC will meet and make a recommendation.
Fire Dept. Duty Crew- a new firefighter has been added to the daytime duty crew. Tom Briggs was awarded the position. The Fire Dept. has had only one duty crew person for over a year due to another individual out on disability.
- Green line Velo would like to hold their annual race on June 11th. They will be before the BOS next meeting.
Auction of 530 Central Tpk. 5 acre parcel taken as a result of tax title. It is a retreat lot with a shared driveway. Paul Zekos is the auctioneer and the date is April 4 @ 11am
- Route 146 bridge demolition in Millbury scheduled to begin March 12th at 9pm-5am daily.
MEPA meeting held last week regarding the Merrill Pond dams, these are 5 dams that lead into Lake Singletary. TA Smith and Planning Director Jen Hager are working on a letter to the Secretary of Office of Dam Safety. This is in part to the reduction in state budget to maintain.
- Library Trustees will be before the BOS next meeting to request the approval to take control of the land that the library will be built on. TA Smith is suggesting a 99 year lease. This will be null and void if the library is not voted in at town meeting.
Announcements/Round Table/Correspondence:
- Selectman Hall would like to thank Lt. Robin Dresser for his response to a fire call at Dave’s employer last week. Robin was very professional and informative of the building.
- Selectman Kenney says there was a fire in Oxford on Saturday and the Town of Sutton responded in mutual aid. Thank you to our Fire Dept.
Vice Chair Maynard motions to adjourn, Selectman Limanek seconds passes 5-0 8:25 PM
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