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07/10/2018 BOS Meeting Minutes
Town Of Sutton
Board of Selectmen
                                                        Meeting Minutes
  
                                           Minutes Accepted and filed with the Town Clerk on 7/24/2018 by a vote of   4-0  
                                                                                         (Selectman Kenney resigned)            
7:00p.m. – July 10, 2018
                                       Sutton Town Hall, Selectmen’s Meeting Room
Members in Attendance:                           
      Chairman John L. Hebert, Vice Chair David Hall, Clerk Wendy Mead, Selectmen Jesse Limanek & 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  
Public Forum: N/A

Selectman Limanek motions to accept as presented the 6/19/2018 meeting minutes, Selectman Mead 2nds passes 4-0-1
Selectman Limanek motions to accept as presented the 6/26/2018 meeting minutes, Selectman Hall seconds passes 3-0-2                     
**Pole Hearing** Hutchinson Road continued from April 3, 2018. TA Smith informs the BOS that NGrid and MA Fisheries & Wildlife have been in discussion and this project will be changing the direction of the poles. Instead of coming off of West Sutton Road up Hutchinson they will come from the Boston Road side down Hutchinson. A new pole hearing will be forth coming. Hearing no comments, Vice Chair Hall motions to close the public hearing with no finding, Selectman Limanek seconds passes 5-0

Dudley Gendron Post #414 one day outside Beer & Wine for 2 events: present is the Manager of the Dudley Gendron - Dave Karacius. Dave states he is requesting two outdoor events. The first is Sunday July 15th for a Multiple Sclerosis Fund Raiser and the second is the annual Chicken Barbecue on Saturday September 8th.  Vice Chair Hall states we know these events well but there are rules around the serving of alcohol. Dave states the alcohol will be under him as the bar manager. And there will be a Police Detail on site for each function. Selectman Limanek is excited for both events these are really good community events. Selectman Kenney looks forward to these events that he says are always run very well. Mike questions if a Police detail will be at the 1st event, Dave Karacius replies yes. Selectman Mead thanks Dave for the MS fundraiser as she has a loved one that suffers from it. Chairman Hebert says there are never any issues with events at the Dudley Gendron. Selectman Limanek motions to approve the request for two special one day outside Beer & Wine licenses at the Dudley Gendron Post #414 located at 156 Boston Road for Sunday, July 15, 2018 between the hours of 12 noon- 5pm and Saturday September 8, 2018 between the hours of 12 noon – 5pm with a detail Police Officer on site at each event, Selectman Kenney seconds passes 5-0  
 
FY18 Year End Transfers- TA Smith requests a transfer from 2 accounts to cover the shortfall in several accounts. The total amount is $28,493.00. Some of the shortages are wage related, others are Tax Title expenses which goes after properties in tax title and unemployment.  This requires a two-step approval, the BOS and the Finance Committee. Present is Town Accountant Tim Harrison.  Vice Chair Hall says this is a low number, the overall job for the budget was fantastic. Selectman Limanek says this is a fraction of a percent to be off, tremendous effort by Tim and Jim over the year. Jesse states the proposed budget is a prediction, to get to the end and only be off by a small number is extraordinary. Selectman Kenney agrees that to only be off by less than 1%, fantastic job. Mike asks if a house is taken in tax title and auctioned off where the money goes, Tim Harrison states it goes in to free cash. Selectman Mead agrees it is a small percent of the budget to be off, Wendy asks where Medicare money goes when recouped by the town, Tim replies that also goes in to free cash. Chairman Hebert says as far as one of the items over being Animal Control, we do not know how many stray dogs we will have to board, they require vet appts and shots. This is an unknown number every year. Selectman Limanek motions to approve as presented FY18 Year End transfers, Selectman Kenney second’s passes 5-0
Board Reappointments/Town Administrator Reappointments – BOS reappointments read by Clerk of the BOS Wendy Mead, TA reappointments read by TA Smith. (attached to minutes). The Selectmen all agree this is an opportunity to thank all that volunteer their time, we appreciate their willingness to go for reappointments time and time again.  TA Smith offers a thank you to Dave Lavallee who chose not to be reappointed to the Fence Viewer appointment which he had held for 25 years. Selectman Limanek motions to approve as read the reappointments made by the Board of Selectmen and the Town Administrator Selectman Kenney seconds passes 5-0

Draft: Policy & Procedure Manual: present is Town Accountant Tim Harrison. TA Smith states Tim Harrison has worked on this manual and is something the yearly audit management letter has mentioned. Tim Harrison says he has worked on this little by little for over three years. Jim and Tim request the BOS to review and offer any comments or suggestions. Tim says this would have definitely helped last fall when we were dealing with the Bond rating agency. Tim also says this will be an ever changing /evolving document. It can be updated as needed to keep it current. Vice Chair Hall says it is hard to deal with an issue that may arise if there are no policies in place. This will make the job by the BOS easier.  Selectman Limanek says this gives us the ability to hold ourselves accountable, these policies are not set in stone, they can be updated- but they do insure consistency and transparency. Selectman Kenney says it is a platform for the future, Selectman Mead asks how will it impact the employees, how will the employees consent to the contents. TA Smith says these will be handed out at Dept Head meetings and if there are any employees impacted they will receive a copy as well. Tim states this will impact the Collector/Treasurers office more than anyone.  Tim states these policies reflect how we currently work. Chairman Hebert says this was a long time in the making, every year Melanson & Heath do checks and balances. It is nice to have this in place, it will be a feather in our cap.
   
TA Update:
  • Harback Road repair: winning bid was Lynch & Sons, their bid was $325,425.
  • Sidewalk repair at schools- no bids received, we will go out to bid again.
  • BOS goals & objectives meeting to be held July 31 at 6:00 at Blackstone National.
  • Reserve fund Transfer - due to some unforeseen expenses ($11,562.)  to replace the tank monitor at the highway barn the work has been performed as it would have created an issue with DEP.
  • Boiler Replacement @ the Elementary school out to bid. We are awaiting word on a green community grant for this project but there is $140,000. In the capital plan.
  • Town Hall hours have changed, Tuesday will now be 8am to 6pm.
Announcements/Round Table:
Selectman Limanek thanks all that came out (320 people) to enjoy the military band- as a town we were glad to have them here. The town was represented well with thanks from the Garden club, the cemetery commission and the fresh painted gazebo. Jesse has already requested them for next year.
 



 Selectman Limanek motions to adjourn, Selectman Mead seconds passes 5-0 meeting adjourned 8:10 pm