Board of Selectmen Minutes

Board of Selectmen                              Present:        David Lindsay

August 30, 2012                                         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.

MINUTES

On a motion made by Delaney and seconded by Lindsay, the Board of Selectmen voted to approve the regular session minutes of August 16, 2012.   (Lindsay – yes, Delaney – yes, Wysocki - abstained)  Mr. Wysocki abstained because he was not present for the meeting of August 16, 2012.

VERIZON – EASEMENTS

663 Main Street, adjacent to Town Hall:  The Board of Selectmen discussed the proposal from Verizon New England, Inc. for an easement to construct, reconstruct, repair and maintain one (1) stub pole on the northeasterly sideline of Main Street.  The location of the stub pole will be positioned to provide support for utility pole #14 on Main Street.  On a motion made by Delaney and seconded by Wyoscki, the Board of Selectmen voted to approve the form of the proposed easement provided by Verizon New England.  (Lindsay – yes, Wysocki – yes, Delaney – yes)

697 Main Street, in front of Houghton Building:  The Board of Selectmen discussed the proposal from Verizon New England, Inc. for an easement to construct, reconstruct, repair and maintain two (2) push brace poles on the northeasterly sideline of Main Street.  The location of the push braces will be positioned to provide support for utility pole #4 and utility pole #5 on Main Street.  Abutter Hank Amabile was in favor of Verizon’s proposal.  On a motion made by Delaney and seconded by Wysocki, the Board of Selectmen voted to approve the form of the easement provided by Verizon New England for two push poles. (Lindsay – yes, Wysocki – yes, Delaney – yes)  

Both of these easements must be presented to the voters at the Special Town Meeting on Tuesday, October 2, 2012 for final approval.

SPECIAL TOWN MEETING – OCTOBER 2, 2012

The Board of Selectmen reviewed the warrant for the Special Town Meeting on Tuesday, October 2, 2012 and made their recommendations on the following articles.  Mr. Delaney expressed reservation about the recent practice of the Board of Selectmen providing their recommendation to the voters on each article and felt it was unnecessary, while Mr. Lindsay and Mr. Wysocki both felt it was helpful information for the voters.

Article 1:  Unpaid Bill for Fiscal Year 2012:  On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Delaney, the Board of Selectmen approved this article.   (Lindsay – yes, Wysocki – yes, Delaney – yes)  

Article 2:  Rescind Previously Authorized Debt ($250,000 for the Moen Property):  On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Delaney, the Board of Selectmen approved this article.   (Lindsay – yes, Wysocki – yes, Delaney – yes)  

Article 3:  Rescind Previously Authorized Debt ($166,000 for the Stephenson Land):  On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Delaney, the Board of Selectmen approved this article.   (Lindsay – yes, Wysocki – yes, Delaney – yes)  

Article 4:  Rescind Previously Authorized Debt ($10,000 for the Regional Household Hazardous Waste Facility):  Recommendation made to revise the language in the article; deferred to next meeting.

Article 5:  Establishment of an Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) Liability Trust Fund:  Recommendation made to defer to next meeting to allow more time for review of the topic.

Article 6:  Town Easement (697 Main Street):  On a motion made by Delaney and seconded by Wysocki, the Board of Selectmen approved this article.   (Lindsay – yes, Wysocki – yes, Delaney – yes)  

Article 7:  Town Easement (663 Main Street):    On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Delaney, the Board of Selectmen approved this article.   (Lindsay – yes, Wysocki – yes, Delaney – yes)  

TOWN ADMINISTRATOR REPORT

Acceptance of Gift for Chairlift at the Town Hall:   Mr. Lowe asked that the Board of Selectmen accept as a gift the funds received from Town resident Mary Boyd for the chairlift to be installed at the town hall. Mr. Lowe stated that while the Town deeply appreciates Ms. Boyd’s generosity, it is important for the townspeople to know that the town was committed to funding the chairlift, and it was not contingent on anyone’s generosity.  The chairlift at the Town Hall is scheduled to be installed on Friday, September 7, 2012 and at the Houghton Building on Monday, September 10, 2012.  On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Delaney, the Board of Selectmen voted to accept the gift from Ms. Mary Boyd.  (Lindsay – yes, Wysocki – yes, Delaney – yes)  Ms. Boyd was thanked for her extremely generous donation to the Town.  

Dedication of the Conference Room at the Houghton Building:  The dedication scheduled for September 22, 2012 has been postponed and a new date will be announced.

Paragon – Ribbon Cutting and Grand Opening:  The ribbon cutting ceremony will be held on Friday, September 14, 2012 at 11:30 a.m.  The Board of Selectmen and public are invited to attend.   

No Littering Sign – Sugar Road:   At the last Selectmen’s meeting the request for a “No Littering” sign on the West side of Sugar Road was deferred to this meeting because of Mr. Wysocki’s absence.  

While Mr. Lindsay was more apt to consider the “No Littering” sign, Mr. Delaney and Mr. Wysocki both agreed with Chief Alfano that posting the sign would not stop people from littering.  Therefore, the sign request will not be pursued.

Lease Agreement renewal for Conservation Trust:   Mr. Delaney reported that he is a member of the Conservation Trust and filed a disclosure with the Town Clerk.

The Selectmen reviewed the request from the Conservation Trust for the renewal of the lease agreement for FY13 for the use of the Houghton Building.   Approval of the lease was deferred to next meeting to allow Ms. Day to review and make further revisions, including adding the amount of the annual payment, to the lease document.   

Forum of Elder Abuse and Neglect: There will be a forum of “Elder Abuse and Neglect” on Saturday, September 15, 2012 from 10 to noon at the Bolton Country Manor, 600 Main Street.  The forum is being sponsored by Bolton Domestic Violence Educational Programs and the Bolton Police Department.  Everyone is invited to attend.   

Present:  Advisory Committee Chairman Randy Dinjian and members Robert Czekanski and Naveen Rohatgi; Town Clerk Pamela Powell

The Board of Selectmen and Advisory Committee attended a special School Committee meeting on Tuesday, August 28, 2012 where the science lab project was presented and the financing reviewed.

Mr. Wysocki was not pleased that the towns were being forced to review and make a decision on this project in a very compressed timeframe.  Mr. Delaney agreed but it was his opinion that it was the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) that had fast-tracked the project and not the School Committee.  

Mr. Delaney recommended that the Selectmen consider excluding the debt for this project and giving the voters the option to do so.  Mr. Wysocki agreed.  Mr. Lindsay felt very strongly that the debt should not be excluded and said he would be opposed to the project if it were going to be excluded because he did not want to raise the taxes.   Mr. Lindsay stated that this project would cost Bolton $1.4 million, or $920 per single family house, for an average of $44 per year for 21 years for every house in town.  

Mr. Lowe noted that there has been no discussion or commitment from the School District regarding the possibility of overruns on the project and how the overruns would be handled.

After a lengthy discussion, between the Board of Selectmen and Advisory Committee, the Board of Selectmen recommended that the article be written in a manner to include language that the project approval be contingent on final agreement by the Massachusetts School Building Authority to approve the grant, and that it be excluded from Proposition 2-1/2.  

The Selectmen deferred their recommendation on the article until their next meeting on September 5, 2012.  

The Board of Selectmen deferred signing the MSBA form for Capital Budget Statement until their next meeting on September 5, 2012.

Ms. Powell, Town Clerk stated that the only way the special election can be canceled is if the Board of Selectmen vote to cancel the special election prior to the special election warrant being posted.  Mr. Lowe will confirm this with town counsel and determine if the special election needs to be included as an article in the special town meeting warrant as well as the special election warrant.

On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Delaney, the Board of Selectmen voted to adjourn at 8:35 p.m.  (Lindsay – yes, Wysocki – yes, Delaney – yes)

Respectfully submitted by Linda L. Day