Board of Selectmen Minutes

Board of Selectmen                 Present:David Lindsay

April 11, 2013                           Stanley Wysocki

                                                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, Advisory Committee chairman

MINUTES

On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Delaney, the Board of Selectmen voted to approve the minutes of March 14, 2013.  (Lindsay – yes, Wysocki – yes, Delaney – yes)

On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Lindsay, the Board of Selectmen voted to approve the minutes of March 28, 2013.  (Lindsay – yes, Wysocki – yes)

SIGN REQUEST

Pet Source: Ms. Iva Kimmelman requested approval to place a carved wooden sign for Pet Source on the building located at 476 Main Street.  The sign is 20” high by 10’ long and will be located below the existing DogWatch Systems, Inc. Hidden Fences sign.  

On a motion made by Delaney and seconded by Wysocki, the Board of Selectmen voted to approve the sign as requested. (Lindsay – abstained, Wysocki – yes, Delaney – yes)

DogWatch Systems, Inc. Hidden Fences: Mr. Led Smith requested approval for the existing DogWatch Systems, Inc. Hidden Fences sign on the building located at 476 Main Street.  The sign is located above the Pet Source sign that the Selectmen approved earlier this evening.

The Board of Selectmen suggested that Mr. Smith relocate his sign over the entrance to his business which is located on the second floor.  This would make the signage on the building look a little less cluttered and better identify the entrance to his business.  

Although Mr. Smith liked the current location of his sign for visibility reasons he was willing to consider the Board’s suggestion provided his existing sign would fit in the new location.  Mr. Smith stated that his existing sign met the requirements of the DogWatch franchise and could not be altered.  He also stated that he needed to get approval from Jane Houde, property owner to move the sign.  Mr. Smith also stated that he would be changing the lettering on the glass door from green to white to make it more visible.

FUTURE USE OF THE SMITH LAND

Present:  Conservation Trust members Richard Heaton and Robert Roemer; Affordable Housing Partnership Trust members Kevin O’Brien, Doug Storey and the three Selectmen David Lindsay, Stanley Wysocki and Lawrence Delaney who are also members of the Affordable Housing Partnership Trust and Housing Authority members Kevin O’Brien, Eileen Griffin Wright and David Yesue.

Mr. Roemer provided an update on the efforts to determine the future use of the Smith property.  The Conservation Trust has completed their review process with the various departments, neighbors and the public.

The goals for the Smith property are to clean up the center of town, eliminate the Brownfield site with MassDEP, resolve the status of the condemned buildings at 715, 717, 719 and 723 Main Street, and provide public access and connection to other trails and to break even financially.  It is anticipated that they will have to do some fundraising and hope to be the recipient of an EPA grant which will be announced in the next couple of months.  

The estimated cost of purchase and to clean up the property is $950,000.  If the EPA cleanup grant is received, construction is scheduled to start in the fall of this year.   If the EPA cleanup grant isn’t received, the project will be delayed for another year in order to apply for the grant again.  

Other options to pay off the $950,000 include selling all or portions of the property for the construction of single family homes, development of a 40B with mixed use, rezoning for a compact housing overlay district, making the property available for town use or to sell for commercial use.  

Mr. Heaton stated that the 715 Main Street house is a pivotal piece of the decision process because it represents an expense or a potential income opportunity and would give more flexibility to what is done on the site.  One of the suggestions made by the Historical Commission was to move the house at 715 Main Street west of the gas station.

  

Mr. O’Brien agreed to work with the Conservation Trust to review the options but was not prepared to commit to spending the funds in the Affordable Housing Partnership Trust fund on this project.  The working group will report back to the Affordable Housing Partnership Trust with their findings.

TOWN ADMINISTRATOR REPORT

Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) policy:  The Board of Selectmen reviewed the draft CORI policy. Mr. Lowe stated that the adoption of the CORI policy is not in response to any incident.  On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Delaney, the Board of Selectmen voted to approve and adopt the CORI policy with the minor revisions discussed by the selectmen this evening.  (Lindsay – yes, Wysocki –yes, Delaney – yes)

Minuteman:   Mr. Lowe reported that the architect has been hired to work on the feasibility study for a renovated or new Minuteman building.  The grant received in the amount of $724,000 will pay for the feasibility study and project manager leaving a balance of approximately $15,000.  Based on the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) requirements the architect will design plans for a facility of 435 students and for a facility of 800 students.   The smaller enrollment of 435 would require the construction of a new building while the enrollment of 800 would allow for use of a renovated current building.  Another challenge for the architect is the possibility that other communities might join the Minuteman district which could increase the enrollment.  

Mr. Lowe stated that the Regional Agreement Subcommittee is reviewing recommendations on the current Minuteman Regional Agreement that requires all 16 communities to agree on moving forward with the building project.  

The issue of funding the capital project is also being looked at if it goes forward.  A little over 40% of all students at Minuteman are out of district and presently no capital costs can be assessed to out-of-district students.  This would mean the in-district 60% would be responsible for funding the entire project.  There is an effort to change this to allow for a formula to be applied to out-of-district students.

In the absence of a change in the law regarding out-of-district capital assessments, the funding formula proposed by the superintendant is based on 50% for enrollment, 26% based on the Chapter 70 formula and 24% would be a fixed dollar charge that each community would pay.

Mr. Lowe recommended 50% on enrollment and 50% on the Chapter 70 "ability to pay" formula. Mr. Lindsay would like to see a formula that would get the Town of Bolton's share of the project under 3%.

BOARD OF SELECTMEN BUSINESS

Appointment:  On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Delaney, the Board of Selectmen voted to appoint Robert Busch to the Historical Commission, term expiration June 30, 2013.  (Lindsay – yes, Wysocki –yes, Delaney – yes)

Snow and Ice:  Mr. Lowe reported that $180,000 allocated every year for the snow and ice was depleted along with the $100,000 set aside by the Advisory Committee.  On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Delaney, the Board of Selectmen voted to authorize Mr. Brown to overspend the snow and sand account by $92,331.  (Lindsay – yes, Wysocki – yes, Delaney – yes)  This is a total deficit of $92,331 over and above the $280,000

Municipal Roadway Vegetation Management Plan:  On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Delaney, the Board of Selectmen voted to execute the above mentioned plan.  (Lindsay – yes, Wysocki – yes, Delaney – yes)  

Dispatchers Memorandum of Agreement #2:  On a motion made by Delaney and seconded by Wysocki, the Board of Selectmen voted to execute the Dispatchers Memorandum of Agreement #2 between the town of Bolton and the Bolton Dispatchers Union, Local 286A, Massachusetts Coalition of Police, IUPA, AFL-CIO as amended on March 13, 2013.  (Lindsay – yes, Wysocki –yes, Delaney – yes)

Live broadcast of Annual Town Meeting:  Mr. Lindsay recommended that the Annual Town meeting on May 6, 2013 be broadcast live.  Mr. Wysocki and Mr. Delaney were concerned that a live telecast might affect attendance negatively, and noted that the decision was for Town Moderator James Anker to make.  Discussion was deferred until Mr. Anker has the opportunity to participate.  

On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Delaney, the Board of Selectmen voted to adjourn at 8:45 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by Linda L. Day