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07/24/2018 BOS Meeting Minutes
Town Of Sutton
Board of Selectmen
                                                        Meeting Minutes
  
                                           Minutes Accepted and filed with the Town Clerk on 8/07/2018 by a vote of   4-0   
                                                                                                        
7:00p.m. – July 24, 2018
                                       Sutton Town Hall, Selectmen’s Meeting Room
Members in Attendance:                           
      Chairman John L. Hebert, Vice Chair David Hall, Clerk Wendy Mead & Selectman Jesse Limanek    
      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 7/24/2018 meeting minutes, Vice Chair Hall 2nds passes 4-0
 
Senior Center update: Present before the BOS is COA Director Michelle Edelstein and COA board member Walter Baker. Michelle informs the Board of two programs: COA’s partnership with the Sutton Library to deliver books to homebound residents of any age and a Back to School brigade that delivers a new backpack filled with supplies to any child with a parent in the military or a child of a veteran. Walter Baker states the number of seniors in Sutton (60 years old) are outgrowing the younger folks which is creating an impact on the community. Wally worked with Town Clerk Laura Caruso and used standard aging measurements to gather this information. Handouts and power point (information attached to minutes) show Sutton has a higher senior population of 41.7 %. In assessing the age friendliness of Sutton several areas are looked at: social services & organizations, affordable housing, walkability or transportation activities geared for older residents and healthcare. Michelle states affordable housing is an issue, some seniors are moving in with family or family is moving back in with seniors.  The Sutton Senior Center is available to help relieve stress but the numbers are going to continue to grow. Vice Chair Hall says these are interesting trends, Dave states he does not see a lot of Sr. affordable housing on the horizon and is grateful for the services the Sr. Center does provide and that they remain focused on the growing needs. Selectman Limanek says it is good to put the numbers in perspective, the common denominator when in budget discussions is always about the needs of children. The needs of seniors also must be addressed. The US has an aging population and it is good to have discussion about it. There are a lot of activities available for the seniors but Sutton with its landscape is not walkable. Along with the cost of living and escalating costs Jesse states as a board we are empathetic. Selectman Mead says these numbers are eye opening, she states while on the school building committee she remembers looking at the number of students moving in to town, the seniors are part of a population not calculated for. Wendy encourages any seniors in the community to check out the Sr. Center, it is a very well run system. Chairman Hebert thanks Michelle for all she does for the town, the positive outlook and motivation she brings to everything including the food pantry. Selectman Limanek reminds all of the cooling station available at the sr. center in the hot humid weather, Michelle states they had 12 people take advantage of it recently.       

Approval of 3 year Teamsters Union Contract: TA Smith states the final contract is before the BOS tonight for signatures. This contract was agreed on in March. It includes a 2 ½ % raise each year, eyeglass reimbursement, when highway has to call someone in,  2 highway workers are called, new hires pay 50% of healthcare upon retirement and a reopener to discuss contribution to OPEB. The BOS all agree this is a good contract, Chairman Hebert states there are concessions and everything is cost effective. Selectman Limanek motions to approve as presented the 3 year contract agreement between the Town of Sutton and the Sutton Teamsters Union from July 1, 2018 – June 30, 2021, Selectman Mead 2nds passes 4-0
 
Dual Representation for nursing services between Sutton and Millville: TA Smith states Kopelman & Paige represent both towns so both towns must consent to dual representation from K&P.  Millville Town Manager Jen Callahan called TA Smith asking if this was possible, currently Millville uses the VNA which costs $2500.00 a year. Sutton town nurse Cheryl Rawinski looked into the needs and feels the workload would be low. They hold only 1 flu clinic and Sutton would get the insurance reimbursement for providing the service. The Board all voice concerns to not overtax Cheryl with the IMAs but agree we can certainly help out Millville. Selectman Mead motions to approve the Dual Representation disclosure allowing Kopelman & Paige to represent the Towns of Sutton and Millville regarding Nursing Services / Inter Municipal Agreement Selectman Limanek 2nds passes 4-0

Approval of changes to the Veterans Abatement article #12 from the Spring Town Meeting: TA Smith states this is a housekeeping language change suggested while it was before the Senate for review. Selectman Limanek states they are minor changes in the language, he sees no issues, Selectman Limanek motions to approve as presented the proposed wording redraft for the property tax abatement for active military personnel (Article 12 of the May 2018 Town Meeting) as recommended by the General Court, Vice Chair Hall 2nds passes 4-0   

At this time, TA Smith addresses the Board regarding the need for a special election due to Michael Kenney’s recent resignation from the BOS. As it states in the Town Charter, a special election is not an option if the seat is vacated prior to January. The earliest an election can take place is October 2. The choices are to have the election by itself or have a dual election in November. Per the information in front of the Board, Town Clerk Laura Caruso showed the choices as well as the costs associated with them. Laura does not think it should be a dual election as she would have to have double the election workers and it would be very confusing to the voters, she feels a separate election would be best. Vice Chair Hall accepts Laura’s recommendation, October 2nd makes sense, the other board members agree with the October 2nd date. Vice Chair Hall motions to have the Town of Sutton hold a special town Election for the vacated seat on the Board of Selectmen on October 2, 2018 Selectman Limanek 2nds passes 4-0.

TA Update:
  • Transfer Station Hauling- the three year bid was awarded to Pellegrino Trucking
  • Green Community Grant- TA Smith and Selectman Limanek went to the award ceremony on Friday, July 20, the town received $243,482. We thank Doreen DeFazio for her work in this.
  • Boiler bid- the bid opening for the ELC boilers was Thursday July 19th, two bids were received. The bid was awarded to MPC at $81,008.
  • Digester visit in Deerfield took place on July 17th, Chairman Hebert drove the van with various dept. heads and Wayne Whittier to the site. The Whittier’s are interested in putting this at the farm. It would produce 1 megawatt of electricity as well as other benefits.
  • Sutton Fire promotions: Jeff Briggs was promoted to lieutenant of Station 1 and Neil Ford was promoted to lieutenant of Station 3. Congratulations to both of them.
  • Pickle Ball- we were working with a few residents to get a pickle ball court at the school tennis court area. It did not happen as comments back from the school showed some concern with confusion for school related tennis matches
Announcements/Round Table:

  • Vice Chair Hall offers thanks to Mike Kenney for his service to the town for his time served on the Board of Selectmen. Dave also mentions the concerts on the common that were held this past Saturday and Sunday.
  • Selectman Limanek states although Mikes resignation has been well documented in the T&G the troubling allegations of violence against officers is disturbing. Jesse goes on to say the fact that the resignation letter did not include an apology to the community is troubling.
Jesse and his son did community service hours at Waters Farm this past weekend, individuals that are looking for community hours should check with Waters Farm as it is run by volunteers.
The Food Pantry needs were read.
  • Selectman Mead says there is a Police Station Building Committee meeting on August 1st, tune in see updates.


Selectman Limanek motions to adjourn, Selectman Mead seconds passes 4-0 meeting adjourned 8:30 pm