Board of Selectmen Minutes

Board of Selectmen                              Present: Curtis Plante

October 27, 2011                                     David Lindsay

                                                                Stanley Wysocki

                                                               Don Lowe, Town Administrator

                                                               Linda L. Day, Town Secretary

The Board of Selectmen met at the Town Hall at 7:00 p.m.

DISCUSSION WITH THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE – FY13 BUDGET PROCESS

The budget message was reviewed by the Board of Selectmen and Mr. Czekanski, Chairman of the Advisory Committee prior to its being distributed to all departments. A level funded budget was requested for next year, except for salary and wage budgets reflecting an assumption of a 1% cost-of-living increase.   An explanation was requested for any expenses that could not be level funded.  Mr. Lowe held a staff meeting on Tuesday, October 25 to review and answer any questions related to the budget process.   

Mr. Czekanski stated that the Advisory Committee has had some discussion regarding the upcoming budget process, but has not come to any conclusion at this point given the unexpected spending at the last annual town meeting.   The Committee is not sure they can continue to cut town services as they have in the past years to accommodate the school budget.   They hope to come to a consensus with the Board of Selectmen by the time it is necessary for the warrant to go to the printers.  

It was Mr. Lindsay’s opinion that the Advisory Committee should do what it believes is best for the town and should not alter its recommendations because of assumptions about the Town’s willingness to spend.   Although Mr. Lindsay would like to see the school budget be a lower percentage of the Town's overall spending, it is his opinion that more can be cut from the non-schools budget if that is necessary to prevent an override.  Mr. Lindsay would also be willing to consider reductions in Town staff hours and reduced police patrols if these were necessary to avoid an override.

Mr. Wysocki would like to see a shared sacrifice and a town budget that will sufficiently deal with the needs of the town.

Mr. Dinjian stated that it is getting harder to provide a balanced budget, and he is concerned about the town not getting the level of services that they should be.

Mr. Lowe reported free cash is $100,000 more than last year.  Mr. Lowe also reported that the Capital Planning Committee will be taking part in the FY13 budget process, and he has directed all department heads to submit any capital requests and a five year plan for review by the Capital Planning Committee.

  

SPECIAL TOWN MEETING DISCUSSION

Mr. Plante arrived at 7:35 p.m. and recused himself from this discussion regarding the Smith Property.

The Board of Selectmen reviewed the Special Town Meeting warrant.  Mr. Wysocki will give a brief synopsis and be prepared to handle any questions regarding Article 2:  Creation of a Five Member Conservation Commission, Article 3: Amendment to Section 2.5.9 Inclusionary Housing and Article 4:  Fire Chief Reporting Procedures.

Mr. Lindsay felt that the recommendation on Article 5 to purchase the Smith property for Affordable Housing and a town green should be decided at this evening’s meeting.   A motion made by Lindsay to recommend approval of Article 5 was not seconded.

Mr. Czekanski informed the Board of Selectmen that the Advisory Committee voted 4 in favor and 2 opposed to support article 5.  

 

STATUS OF DPW GAS SPILL

The Town appropriated $1,048,000 for the gas leak at the town barn and $1,041,000.76 has been spent to date.  Mr. Brown stated that the site of the spill is clean, but the MTBE has migrated to the public water supply.   Although test results show the level of MTBE is better than safe standards, Mr. Brown stated that it is always best to err on the side of caution.   Therefore, Mr. Brown plans to request $35,000 at the May 7, 2012 Annual Town Meeting to cover the costs for the monitoring and maintenance for five years.  This includes the cost for replacing the carbon filters and providing bottled water to the highway department and adjacent property.

Mr. Dinjian suggested that the stabilization fund be considered for this expense.

The Board of Selectmen requested that Mr. Lowe get an update from the Board of Health on the monitoring that has been done related to this spill.

APPOINTMENT OF FULL TIME POLICE OFFICER

Upon review of 19 employment applications and resumes, followed by interviews of 6 applicants and a successful completion of a background check, Chief Alfano recommended that Eric Koukos be appointed as a full-time police officer.  Mr. Koukos will fill the position vacated by Officer Harrington.  

Mr. Koukos comes to Bolton with an outstanding background, working for the Lowell Police Department and the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Department.  Mr. Koukos put himself through the criminal justice training academy and has experience with a family business managing a restaurant.  

Mr. Lowe confirmed that Mr. Koukos is well qualified and the best fit for the community.  

On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Lindsay, the Board of Selectmen voted to appoint Mr. Koukos to the new patrol officer position.  (Plante – yes, Lindsay – yes, Wysocki – yes)

TOWN ADMINISTRATOR REPORT

Proposal to restore the first Sergeant’s Position:  Chief Alfano requested permission to reinstate the first Sergeant’s position which was vacated by Sergeant Bagdonas. The Police Department has new officers on board and the reinstatement of the Sergeant position will be beneficial.   It is a great management tool for the Police Chief and Lieutenant and the officers who are looking to have this level of supervision.  

 

If approved, there will be a fair, open and competitive process including the forming of a Promotion Board made up of Police Chiefs, Sergeants and the Town Administrator to choose the person to fill the Sergeant position.  Chief Alfano and Mr. Lowe agreed that there is qualified staff in-house to fill the position, and if the position is not filled with a candidate from within the department, the department would continue without a Sergeant.

The cost to fill the Sergeant position is approximately $4,900 which can be covered within the FY12 budget but would need to be increased for the FY13 budget.  

 

Mr. Lindsay was unwilling to take on an annualized cost of $4,900 without its being reviewed by the Advisory Committee as part of the FY13 budget process and therefore recommended that the department finish out the year without the Sergeant position.

  

Mr. Wysocki disagreed, stating that Mr. Lowe indicated that there would be some savings relative to issues with union negotiations.    He also noted that this was not something new, and that the intention, when Andy Bagdonas moved to the reserves, was for the position to be reinstated.  

Mr. Plante felt strongly that the Sergeant position should be reinstated to fill the supervisory role.   

Chief Alfano provided a survey of the number of Sergeants in surrounding towns, and it is clear that Bolton is not up to par with the other communities.

On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Plante, the Board of Selectmen authorized Chief Alfano to move forward with the interview process to reinstate the Sergeant position by hiring from within the Police Department.    (Plante – yes, Wysocki – yes, Lindsay – no)

TOWN ADMINISTRATOR REPORT

Veterans Agent:   Mr. Lowe reported that Michelle Marino, Bolton’s Veterans’ Agent, has taken the Veterans’ Agent position with the City of Fitchburg and has resigned effective October 31, 2011.  Mr. Lowe recommended that the Board of Selectmen vote to appoint Jim Cabral who will be ready to start on November 1, 2011 and be shared with the Town of Berlin.  On a motion made by Lindsay and seconded by Wysocki, the Board voted to appoint James Cabral.  (Plante – yes, Lindsay – yes, Wysocki – yes)

Clarification regarding Lieutenant Farrell’s qualifications:  During the interview process for the Fire Chief there was a comment made that may have raised some doubt about Lieutenant Farrell’s qualifications at the scene of a fire.  Mr. Lowe confirmed that there is no question that Lieutenant Farrell is fully qualified to be in control at the scene of a fire, and that if there is a need for him to leave the scene of the fire, there is protocol for the control to be transferred.

Minuteman Capital Project Funding Formula:  Mr. Lowe recommended that the Board of Selectmen vote to support Option B that was approved by the Minuteman School Committee.   Mr. Lindsay agreed with supporting Option B and opposing Model E, which was proposed by the towns of Sudbury, Lexington, Wayland and Weston.  

On a motion made by Lindsay and seconded by Wysocki, the Board of Selectmen voted to support Option B for the Minuteman capital allocation formula and oppose Model E.  (Plante – yes, Lindsay – yes, Wysocki – yes)  Mr. Lowe stated that 40% of the students come from out-of-district communities, so 60% will be paying for 100% of the project which is unfair.  Mr. Lowe attended a regional conference in Barre and expressed this concern.  Although no one wants to drive out-of-district students away from the school, some of the capital expense needs to be assessed to them as well.  

BOARD OF SELECTMEN BUSINESS

Bolton Woods Way:  On a motion made by Lindsay and seconded by Wysocki, the Board of Selectmen authorized Mr. Plante to sign the consent for the refinancing agreements for 61 and 76 Bolton Woods Way. (Plante – yes, Lindsay –yes, Wysocki – yes)  

Special Town Meeting:  Pamela Powell, Town Clerk was present for this discussion.

Presentations:  On a motion made by Lindsay and seconded by Wysocki, the Board of Selectmen voted to authorize the Partners for Planning to give the presentation on Article 5 to purchase the Smith property for Affordable Housing and a town green.  (Plante – abstained, Lindsay – yes, Wysocki – yes)  The Partners for Planning were reminded to get their presentation to Gary Perwak in preparation for the Town Meeting.  

Broadcasting:  Mr. Plante recommended, and Mr. Wysocki agreed, that the Special Town Meeting not be broadcast live and the Board of Selectmen reconvene at a later date to discuss a policy on whether town meetings should be broadcast live.  Mr. Lindsay disagreed with this recommendation.   

Ms. Powell, Town Clerk, was strongly opposed to broadcasting town meeting live and stated that people should be a part of town government and be encouraged to attend the town meetings.  

On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Plante, the Board of Selectmen voted not to broadcast the Special Town Meeting live.  (Plante –yes, Wysocki – yes, Lindsay – no)

An Act Regulating Election Primaries – Bill H1972:  Ms. Powell provided the Board of Selectmen with a proposed resolution in support of H1972 – “An Act Regulating Election Primaries, which is now pending before the General Court at the State House.  The adoption of this resolution will ensure that the military personnel and Massachusetts residents residing overseas can vote without having to waive their right to a secret ballot; to save the Commonwealth and the communities at least $8,000,000 by consolidating the elections and having the March 2012 Presidential primary and the September 2012 State primaries held together in June of 2012 to simplify the election process.  This would be a savings of approximately $4,500 for the Town of Bolton.  

Mr. Lindsay is opposed to the resolution because it is his opinion that June is too late for the Presidential primary and too early for the State primary, and he prefers to see the Presidential primary as a separate election.

On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Plante, the Board of Selectmen voted to support Bill H1972.   (Plante – yes, Wysocki – yes, Lindsay – no)

Appointments:  Council on Aging appointment was deferred to next meeting.

Capital Planning Committee:  On a motion made by Lindsay and seconded by Wysocki, the Board of Selectmen voted to appoint Barbara Dirsa to the Capital Planning Committee (Plante – abstained, Lindsay – yes, Wysocki – yes)

On a motion made by Lindsay and seconded by Wysocki, the Board of Selectmen voted to appoint Michael Guerin and Michael Gorr to the Capital Planning Committee  (Plante – yes, Lindsay –yes, Wysocki – yes)

Minuteman Health Group:  Mr. Lindsay reported that he attended the Minuteman Nashoba Health Group meeting on October 20, 2011 and that they had approved the concept of a healthcare plan that mirrors that of the state.  They estimated a 12% savings which will keep the cost increases in the single digits for next year.   They will meet again on December 5^th to approve the rates.  

Selectmen’s meeting schedule:  The Selectmen will meet on January 5 & 19, February 9 & 23, March 8, 22 & 29, April 12 & 26, and May 10 & 24, 2012.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Lindsay, the Board of Selectmen voted 3-0 by roll call (Plante – yes, Lindsay – yes, Wysocki - yes) to enter into executive session under the authority of Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 39B, Section 23B (3) at 9:30 p.m. to discuss collective bargaining and contract negotiations.  The Board announced it would not reconvene to open session.

 

Respectfully submitted by Linda L. Day