Board of Selectmen Minutes

Board of Selectmen      

April 17, 2008

Present:       

Panny Gerken                                            

Curt Plante                                                     

Kenneth F. Troup                                        

Jodi Ross, Town Administrator                                   

Linda Day, Town Secretary

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

Present:  Advisory Committee members David Lindsay, Randy Dinjian, Stan Wysocki, Bob Czekanksi

PUBLIC HEARING – LAYOUT OF PUBLIC WAY FOR OAK TRAIL

Present:  Brian Lynch, General Manager of IGC, Attorney John Altamore and Jenny Atwood Burney, Town Planner

A public hearing was held at 7:00 p.m. on the layout of Oak Trail.  Ms. Atwood Burney stated that the Planning Board does not have any remaining issues regarding the acceptance of Oak Trail.  Ms. Ross reported that the Conservation Commission does not have any remaining issues.   Mr. Lynch stated that Fire Chief John Stephenson had signed off on the fire cistern; Ms. Atwood Burney confirmed that she has a copy of this documentation from Fire Chief.  

Mr. Lynch stated that the mailbox bank was handled between the post office and the homeowners.  Mr. Lynch stated that the maintenance of the conventional drain has been done by the golf course personnel to date.  The drainage has been extremely effective in terms of erosion and they have not had any issues.  Mr. Lynch agreed to provide the maintenance agreement for the conventional drain to Mr. Brown, DPW Director and the Town Planner.

Mr. Lynch confirmed that the name is Oak Trail and not Oak Trail “Road”.  

On a motion made by Troup and seconded by Plante, the Board of Selectmen voted to accept the layout of Oak Trail as a public way and execute the open space deed.  (Gerken – yes, Plante – yes, Troup – yes)

Mr. Lynch questioned the road acceptance fee in the amount of $12,246 and asked if all other subdivisions pay this fee.  Ms. Atwood Burney agreed to look into this and report back to the Board of Selectmen and Mr. Lynch with her findings.

YOUTH BASEBALL – BACKSTOP

Mr. Carl Vinacco met with the Board of Selectmen to request permission to install a 6 foot high by 37 foot long fence extending from both sides of the current backstop.  The fence will extend down the first and third base lines and improve the safety of the players, spectators and children at the nearby playground from line drive foul balls.  Two benches will also be installed.   The Bolton Youth Baseball League is paying for the fence and benches.  Mr. Vinacco stated that both the Conservation Commission and Park and Recreation Commission have approved the request and Mr. Brown, DPW will oversee the installation.  A recommendation was also made that Mr. Vinacco contact our Building Inspector to be sure all necessary paperwork is done.  On a motion made by Plante and seconded by Troup, the Board of Selectmen approved this request.  (Gerken – yes, Plante – yes, Troup – yes)

APPOINTMENT OF ENERGY COMMITTEE

Present:  Laura Kischitz, Co-Chair of the Energy Committee and Herb Cabral

The Energy Committee recommended that Herb Cabral and Beth McGilvray be appointed to the Energy Committee.  These appointments will replace Kevin Lord and Bill Darden who have both resigned because of work and travel conflicts.  Both gentlemen would like to continue to participate as non-voting members.  

On a motion made by Troup and seconded by Plante, the Board of Selectmen voted to appoint Herb Cabral of 583 Sugar Road, term expiration June 30, 2009 and Beth McGilvray of 45 Wheeler Road, term expiration June 30, 2008 to the Energy Committee.  

Ms. Kischitz also informed the Board of Selectmen of the opportunity to explore power purchase agreements with various providers and would like to have a liaison at the Nashoba School District level to work with on viability of school buildings.~ Ms. Kischitz stated that she talked with Bill Spratt who has agreed to serve as the NRSD liaison.

TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT

Landreth property:  Ms. Ross reported that Carol Gumbart, Conservation Administrator walked the Landreth property in the northwest corner of Bolton with the Mr. and Mrs. John Balco and Lancaster resident Mickey Kristiff for signs of environmental concerns.  They did not see any sign of dumping accept for trees and stumps.  The Board of Selectmen was satisfied that this report addresses their concerns.  

Verizon Cell Tower Lease:  The Board of Selectmen raised questions regarding the access road related to the proximity of the landfill and if there were any required setbacks.  Ms. Ross stated that she has a call into Mr. Brown to discuss concerns that DEP has addressed.  Mr. Plante also questioned whether the town had reserved a specific height on the tower for our public safety.  Ms. Ross will follow up with Mr. Klasnick regarding these concerns and invite him to a Board of Selectmen’s meeting.  

TRACK RECONSTRUCTION AND SYNTHETIC TURF FIELD

Present:  School Committee members Richard Fly and Cathy Giunta; George King, Bill Spratt, Facilities Manager, and Tom O’Brien, Nashoba Athletic Director

A meeting was held to provide background and reasoning for the proposed NRSD track reconstruction and synthetic turf field.  (presentation is attached)  Mr. Fly stated that the track has outlived its life expectancy, the field has gotten worse over time and the athletic program continues to grow.  The facility is overused and has no time to recover.  The reconstruction of the proposed turf track would maximize the use of the field and could be used in all weather conditions.   

Mr. Spratt stated that the field infrastructure needs to be rebuilt and new drainage and conduit need to be installed.

 The turf field was first discussed by the former Athletic Director in 2005 and continued to be discussed in the Spring of 2006.  The decision was then made to study the entire project and consider potential fundraising opportunities.   A comparison provided showed a cost of $822,000 for grass and $1,280,000 million for turf.  These costs include $422,000 for replacing the track.   This synthetic turf field would also allow for practices to take place on the field.  The proposed synthetic turf field was looked at as a community use that could also be used for camps and regional tournaments, etc.   Bid packages were made available in February with a March deadline for responses.  At the March 20, 2008 School Committee meeting bids were reviewed and they voted to approve the project.  At their meeting on April 3, 2008 the School Committee authorized debt to allow member towns – Bolton, Lancaster, and Stow – to consider at the Annual Town Meeting.    Payments of the issuance of a ten year debt by the district utilizing tax exempt bonds would range from payments of $180,500 to $134,000 or financing through the turf manufacturer would result in payments of $159,500 with payments starting in 2010.    The District is committed to offset the debt service cost through budget savings, fee increases, donations and fundraising to lessen the impact.  Mr. Fly stated that the consensus is that there is support and interest from the sports leagues in the community.  

Ms. Gerken expressed her disappointment in finding out about the project at the eleventh hour.  She stated that the administration knew the timing for closing the Annual Town Meeting warrant and they should have been notified weeks earlier to avoid having to call a special town meeting which also costs money.   Mr. Fly stated that the ball was dropped and the towns should have been notified sooner. It was not their intent to cause the scrambling.  

Mr. King stated he was not aware of the timing of the closing of the warrants, and takes responsibility but that it was done with best intentions and did not anticipate an issue at the town level.  The project will be bonded in FY09 and the first payment will be due FY10.   Mr. King stated that all three towns must approve the article or else it fails.  

Mr. Shnitzler shared the same issues that Ms. Gerken expressed regarding the timing of receipt of the article although he feels it would be worthwhile to construct the field.  He questioned how the fundraising was going and suggested that the district be committed to raise a certain amount of money as was done with the library renovation.

Mr. Fly stated that the district hoped to offset the cost by saving $20,000 in maintenance, increasing user fees by $50.00 and collecting $25,000 on rentals.  Ms. Giunta stated that she is a member of the Fundraising Committee and their plan was to be very aggressive on the fundraising by fundraising each year to pay for that year.   Mr. Plante stated that he was in support of the proposed field.

Mr. Lindsay stated that his opinion is that the turf field is a nice to have and the grass field is a must.  He proposed that the article be amended to $822,000 and that the district be required to raise $450,000 which is the difference between the renovating of the grass field versus the installation of the turf field.   Mr. Boots, coach for the varsity lacrosse team was in favor of the turf field.  He stated there is a shortage of fields in the town and although it is a high school project it is a community project as well.  One turf field is the equivalent of 4 conventional fields.  Mr. Dinjian was in support of the field but would like to see a firm commitment with regards to the amount of money raised for the cause.  Mr. Slieker stated that his issue was with the district’s priorities – education versus athletics and questioned spending more money on the basics rather than academics.   Mr. Wood stated that the issue raised by Mr. Slieker is part of their strategic planning and reiterated that they are not ignoring these issues.   

TOWN ADMINISTRATOR REPORT

Onsite Engineering, Inc.:  The Board of Selectmen agreed to do 10 foot borings along Main Street to leave the options open for a gravity or force main.

Conservation Commission:  Ms. Ross reported that the Conservation Commission made an offer to the property owner that was turned down and therefore the Conservation Commission has voted to recommend that the town pass over article 23 to acquire the Bonazzoli land.   

TOWN MEETING WARRANT DEADLINES

Discussion regarding the Town Meeting warrant deadlines was deferred to the next Board of Selectmen’s meeting.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

On a motion made by Plante and seconded by Troup, the Board of Selectmen voted to go into executive session at 8:50 p.m. under the authority of MGL Chapter 39, Section 23B (3) to discuss contract negotiations of a non union employee.  The Board voted not to reconvene to open session.   (Roll Call:  Gerken – yes, Plante – yes, Troup – yes)  

 Meeting adjourned at 8:50 p.m.  

Minutes respectfully submitted, Linda L. Day