Board of Selectmen Minutes
Meeting date:
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Board of Selectmen Present: David Lindsay
February 7, 2013 Lawrence Delaney
Don Lowe, Town Administrator
Linda L. Day, Town Secretary
The Board of Selectmen met at the Town Hall at 7:00 p.m.
Present: Randy Dinjian and Bob Czekanski, members of the Advisory Committee and Police Chief Alfano
OTHER POST EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS (OPEB)
Present: Julie Costello, Town Accountant
Ms. Costello proposed that an article be placed on the Annual Town Meeting warrant for May, 2013 to establish an Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) trust fund for non-pension benefits provided to retirees. Ms. Costello stated the Government Accounting Standards (GASB) has issued new reporting standards for identifying and reporting the OPEB in financial statements. Currently Bolton contributes approximately $55,000 a year on a pay-as-you-go basis, but the actuarially determined contribution would be approximately $183,000. The trust fund would be managed by the Town Treasurer. The Selectmen were in favor of establishing the trust fund, but would like to discuss again before we begin to contribute money to the trust fund.
TOWN WIDE YARD SALE
Ms. Mary Boyd requested permission to hold the 4th annual Town-wide yard sale sponsored by Bolton Local on Saturday, May 4, 2013 from 9 to 1 p.m. Residents can have a yard sale in their own yard or set up at Bolton Orchards, Slater’s or Firewater and Wine. Chief Alfano is in support of the event. On a motion made by Delaney and seconded by Lindsay, the Board of Selectmen voted to approve the request. (Lindsay – yes, Delaney – yes)
PRELIMINARY FY14 BUDGET DISCUSSION WITH SCHOOL REPRESENTATIVES
Present Michael Wood, Superintendent, and Nancy Federspiel and Reta Rupich, School Committee members
Mr. Lindsay summarized the discussion that took place at the Tri-Town Meeting on February 6, 2013, at which Superintendent Wood indicated the overall budget would be up 3.88%.
The increase represents the addition of a Math and English teacher at Florence Sawyer School and a Fine Arts teacher at the High School, and replacing some aides with full-time teachers.
There was an error in the kindergarten student enrollment calculations submitted to the State which led to an error in calculating Bolton’s assessment. Based on the district’s internal calculation of the formula, Bolton’s assessment increase relative to last year is expected to be approximately 4.25%.
Superintendent Wood is working with the state to confirm the calculations, but it is not certain this information will be available for the Annual Town meeting in May. Therefore, the budget amount requested at the Annual Town Meeting may not be accurate, and it may be necessary to call a Special Town Meeting to make an adjustment.
The administration continues to monitor the kindergarten enrollment, which is down, and school choice, which has impacted the athletic programs and classroom sizes.
Ms. Federspiel stated that a workshop was held for the public to attend to give input on the district’s five-year goals. Safety, communication, fine arts and a teacher evaluation system were key goals discussed.
Capital projects for FY14 include the replacement of floors, $60,000; installation of A/C, $375,000; hot water boiler, $18,000; interior painting $12,500 at Florence Sawyer School; and heating system upgrade, $30,000; classroom intercom, $15,000 and boiler, $75,000 at Emerson School. Superintendent Wood considers the boilers and the classroom intercom to be high priority. The replacement of the hardware on the exterior doors has also been added to the capital projects list for FY14 as a high priority.
Ms. Federspiel stated that the school representatives are very much in support of the efforts of a parents' goup to replace the playground at Florence Sawyer School.
SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER
Chief Alfano met with the Board of Selectmen to discuss a proposal that he and Dr. Parry Graham had formulated to place a part-time (20 hours per week) resource officer at the Nashoba Regional High School. Chief Alfano stated that school safety is very important these days, and the presence of a resource officer allows such an officer to develop relationships with the students and solve problems from a proactive stand point. The cost to Bolton to fund 10 hours per week would be an estimated $11,822. Superintendent Wood agreed that a resource officer would be beneficial, and the funding for 10 hours per week could be fit into the present size of the proposed Nashoba budget.
Concerns about Bolton splitting the cost with the school district, without any additional contribution from Lancaster and Stow, were discussed. Mr. Lindsay and Mr. Delaney were in favor of Chief Alfano's proposal, while Mr. Dinjian and Mr. Czekanski were reluctant, but agreed to go along with it, provided the funding was split with the other towns in future years if the program was successful.
Superintendent Wood and Chief Alfano agreed to aggressively pursue grants.
LEASE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE TOWN OF BOLTON AND BOLTON ACCESS TELEVISION – INSURANCE REVISION
On a motion made by Delaney and seconded by Lindsay, the Board of Selectmen voted to amend Section VIII – Insurance of the lease agreement between the Town of Bolton and Bolton Access Television to read as follows. (Lindsay – yes, Delaney – yes)
General Liability: Limits of $2,000,000 for any one occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate. General Liability coverage must also include medical payments of $5,000.
Umbrella: Limits of $1,000,000
BOLTON’S BICENTERQUASQUIGENARY (275TH) ANNIVERSARY
There is a committee that has been meeting on a monthly basis since October, to plan for Bolton’s 275th Anniversary which is June 24, 2013. A variety of events are being scheduled throughout 2013 to celebrate the anniversary. The committee will be meeting with the Selectmen to request a budget for the celebration.
Mr. Delaney stated that historically the Board of Selectmen would meet with the Selectmen of adjoining towns to perambulate the town bounds. Mr. Delaney recommended that the Board of Selectmen consider perambulating the town bounds as part of the 275th Anniversary celebration of Bolton.
TOWN ADMINISTRATOR REPORT
Syncarpha Solar LLC Agreement: On a motion made by Delaney and seconded by Lindsay, the Board of Selectmen voted to sign the “Amended and Restated Property Tax Agreement” between the Town of Bolton and Syncarpha Solar, LLC as amended. (Lindsay – yes, Delaney –yes)
Request to overspend snow and sand: On a motion made by Delaney and seconded by Lindsay, the Board of Selectmen voted to authorize Mr. Brown to overspend the snow and sand account by $60,000. (Lindsay – yes, Delaney – yes)
The Advisory Committee also voted to authorize the overspending of $60,000 at their meeting on Tuesday, February 5, 2013.
Snowstorm: Based on the Governor’s request that all vehicles be off the road by noon time on Friday, February 8, 2013 due to the snow storm, the Bolton Public Library will close early on Friday and will be closed on Saturday. Judgment will be used in determining when the transfer station will close on Friday, and it will be closed on Saturday. The Emergency Operations Center is set up and ready to open if needed. An extra police officer and dispatcher have been scheduled to work during the storm.
BOARD OF SELECTMEN BUSINESS
Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) Contact: On a motion made by Lindsay and seconded by Delaney, the Board of Selectmen voted to appoint Mr. Kenneth Troup to continue to serve as the contact person for the Town of Bolton on the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) matters at the Boston Regional Metropolitan Organization. (Lindsay – yes, Delaney – yes).
Stipends: Mr. Dinjian, Chairman of the Advisory Committee met with the Board of Selectmen to discuss the inconsistencies when applying the cost of living adjustment (COLA) to personnel. Mr. Dinjian stated that a 2% COLA would be applied to all eligible employees in FY14, but it was unclear as to who was eligible, particularly related to stipend employees. Mr. Dinjian provided the Board of Selectmen with a list of personnel and stipends that were in issue. After a lengthy discussion, it was decided that non-union employees receiving an annual salary would receive the COLA, while those receiving a stipend for volunteer and call activity would not.
The stipend positions that would not receive a COLA included Board of Selectmen, Municipal Hearing Officer, Registrar, Fire Chief, Fire Deputy, Fire Captain, Fire Lieutenant, Ambulance Director, Emergency Management Assistant Director, Dispatch Schedule Coordinator and the two Training Officers .
The employees receiving a COLA included the Plumbing Inspector, Wiring Inspector, Animal Control Officer, Assistant Animal Control Officer, Tree Warden, Animal Inspector and Veteran’s Agent. The status of the EMT Coordinator position was unclear. A COLA will be applied to this position for now, and Mr. Lowe will research the history of the EMT Coordinator before making a final determination.
On a motion made by Delaney and seconded by Lindsay, the Board of Selectmen voted to adjourn at 9:05 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by Linda L. Day