Board of Selectmen Minutes
Meeting date:
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Board of Selectmen Present: Curtis Plante
October 6, 2011 David Lindsay
Stanley Wysocki
Don Lowe, Town Administrator
Linda L. Day, Town Secretary
PUBLIC SAFETY BUILDING
Mr. Plante recused himself from this discussion.
Ms. Mason, Chairman of the Public Safety Building Committee met with the Board of Selectmen to request approval to reduce the number of appointed members on the Public Safety Building Committee from 10 to 9 members to ensure a quorum at their meetings. Mr. DeMers volunteered to resign from the Committee. On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Lindsay, the Board of Selectmen voted to reduce the Public Safety Building Committee from 10 to 9 members. (Lindsay – yes, Wysocki –yes)
PUBLIC WAYS SAFETY COMMITTEE
Present: Peter Ross, Chairman and Leslie Breeze, member, Public Ways Safety Committee.
At the suggestion of Town Planner Jenny Burney, the Public Ways Safety Committee requested the approval from the Board of Selectmen to form a Mobility Subcommittee responsible for creating a plan that would provide safe options (walkways and bike paths) for Bolton’s residents. Mr. Ross proposed that the subcommittee consist of 5 to 7 people including representatives from the Planning Board, Parks and Recreation Commission, Conservation Commission and Conservation Trust, and a member of the public. The charter of the Committee will be to study plans of neighboring towns’, explore funding opportunities, produce a plan as a subset to the master plan, including suggestions on zoning changes to improve the mobility in town.
Mr. Ross noted the Regency Development on Main Street as an example of an area of difficulty for residents to be able to walk anywhere.
Mr. Lindsay stated that he was supportive of the goal to increase pathways if it can be done in an inexpensive way. Mr. Ross noted that Ms. Burney will be applying for grants to hire a consultant.
The Board of Selectmen suggested a 5-member Subcommittee to eliminate difficulties with a quorum. On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Lindsay, the Board of Selectmen voted to approve the formation of a 5-member Mobility Subcommittee. (Plante – yes, Lindsay – yes, Wysocki – yes)
ERIC SCHARTNER, SCHARNTER FARM
Mr. Schartner requested approval from the Board of Selectmen for a one-day liquor license for Sunday, October 30, 2011 to promote a Taste of the Maze. In an effort to promote local farms, the Schartner Farm will be setting up 5 tasting areas within the maze where customers will be able to have a one ounce serving of 5 different Nashoba Valley wines. They may also offer wines by the glass for purchase outside of the maze. Nashoba Valley will be providing trained staff for the event.
On a motion made by Lindsay and seconded by Wysocki, the Board of Selectmen voted to approve a one-day malt and wine license for October 30, 2011 at the Schartner Farm at 211 West Berlin Road. (Plante – yes, Lindsay –yes, Wysocki – yes)
TOWN ADMINSITRATOR REPORT
Proposal to restore the Police Sergeant position: This discussion was deferred to the Board of Selectmen’s meeting on October 27, 2011.
Way Finding Grant: Ms. Burney applied for and received a way finding grant for the design to standardize signs of local businesses in town. Ms. Burney is close to finalizing the design and location of the signs. When the work is completed, a package will be created to solicit quotes for the signage. There are also grants available to implement the proposed signage plan.
Minuteman High School: Mr. Lowe reported that he attended a meeting at Minuteman High School to continue discussions on the proposed modification to the existing formula for the capital improvements and how it will be shared by the 16 towns. The main concern is that 30-40% of the students come from out-of-district communities which cannot, by State law, be assessed for Minuteman capital projects. Some of the town managers are not willing to support anything until the issue of the non-member communities is resolved.
FIRE CHIEF POSITION
Mr. Plante recused himself from this discussion, left the meeting and turned the meeting over to Mr. Lindsay to chair.
The three candidates for the Fire Chief position were invited back for one more question as it relates to Article 5 on the Special Town Meeting warrant that proposes that the town move from the present structure of a “strong chief” which allows the Fire Chief to have control over the Fire Department, to a “weak chief” which gives the Board of Selectmen the authority over appointments within the Fire Department and over all members of the Fire Department, as they have now with the Police Chief and the Police Department.
Mr. Lindsay thought it was appropriate to give the candidates advance notice of the question to be asked and therefore contacted each of them via telephone and read from a script to be sure to give the same message to each candidate. Mr. Wysocki was provided with a copy of Mr. Lindsay’s script for review prior to the meeting with the candidates.
David Farrell, Lieutenant and full time EMT and Firefighter, Wesley Durant, EMT and Firefighter; and John Mentzer, Firefighter, Deputy Fire Chief and senior Fire Department officer were each asked to give their opinion on the proposed article to change the law related to the present structure and the proposed future structure of the Fire Department. Mr. Wysocki also asked each candidate to comment on Mr. Durant’s comment during the first round of interviews related to the neighboring towns being unhappy about Bolton’s personnel during mutual aid calls.
Mr. Lindsay opened the discussion for public comment. Mr. Casello, Mr. Poutenis and Mr. Wilson, members of the Fire Department were present. Mr. Casello and Mr. Poutenis, members of the Firefighters union stated that the union unanimously supported Mr. Mentzer as Fire Chief. They expressed their disappointment that not a single member of the Department or the union was approached for an opinion on the candidate or process. They also questioned how Mr. Farrell could be his own boss and how it would be handled if there was an ambulance call and fire at the same time.
Mr. Lindsay stated that he did give the people who contacted him the opportunity to express their concerns regarding the selection of the Fire Chief. It is Mr. Lindsay’s belief that people should not be involved in choosing their own boss.
Mr. Lowe said that Town Counsel had confirmed that there is nothing illegal about the reporting structure involving Lt. Farrell and that there would not be a conflict of interest.
Mr. Lowe stated that he was most comfortable with Mr. Mentzer’s response to the strong vs. week chief question and said it would be unfair not to make this observation.
Mr. Wysocki stated that all three candidates bring different strengths to the position and while he can appreciate their comments on the “strong” and “weak” Chief it is a mute point because it will be the vote of the town.
Mr. Wysocki stated that there have been personnel issues, including one that he was directly involved in, that should have been handled differently by the management. It is his opinion that there should be change and a fresh perspective for the Department and favored Mr. Farrell as Fire Chief.
Mr. Lindsay stated that he was impressed with all three candidates but was inclined to go with the candidate who had the longer term of service and favored Mr. Mentzer as Fire Chief.
The split in the selection of the Fire Chief meant that the Board of Selectmen could invoke the “rule of necessity” which would allow Mr. Plante to vote on the selection of the Fire Chief. Mr. Plante returned to the Board of Selectmen’s meeting at 8:20 p.m. and was informed of the split vote. Mr. Plante stated that he was not comfortable invoking the rule of necessity without getting written clarification from the State Ethics Commission.
On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Lindsay, the Board of Selectmen voted to defer the decision to the Selectmen’s meeting on October 13 and if Mr. Plante has not received opinion by then it will be deferred to their meeting on October 27th, 2011. (Lindsay – yes, Wysocki – yes)
Mr. Dinjian stated that he was not concerned about the process to hire the Fire Chief until this evening. He stated that a call firefighter union is only as strong as it members and is concerned that if the decision is contrary to the Union’s vote there may be an issue with the membership.
Mr. Plante asked Mr. Wysocki and Mr. Lindsay for their opinion as to how they wanted to proceed. Mr. Wysocki stated that the process was well known in advance and there was ample opportunity to provide input or attend the meetings. Mr. Lindsay and Mr. Wysocki agreed that they were at an impasse and would like to proceed as voted.
STM WARRANT
The Board of Selectmen reviewed the Special Town Meeting warrant for Monday, November 7, 2011.
Article 1: Unpaid Bill for Fiscal Year 2011: On a motion made by Lindsay and seconded by Wysocki, the Board of Selectmen voted recommend approval of this article. (Plante – yes, Lindsay – yes, Wysocki – yes)
Article 2: Senior Tax Rebate Program: Mr. Lowe stated that it would cost approximately $25,000 for 25 participants of the program. The Board deferred the vote on their recommendation to the Board of Selectmen’s meeting on October 13, 2011.
Article 3: Creation of a Five Member Conservation Commission: On a motion made by Lindsay and seconded by Wysocki, the Board of Selectmen voted to recommend approval of this article. (Plante – yes, Lindsay – yes, Wysocki – yes)
Article 4: Amendment to Section 2.5.9 Inclusionary Housing: The Board deferred the vote on their recommendation to the Board of Selectmen’s meeting on October 13, 2011.
Article 5: Board of Selectmen – Strong Chief: The Board deferred the vote on their recommendation until the Board of Selectmen’s meeting on October 13, 2011. Mr. Lindsay would like to make some suggestions for revising the summary for the article.
Article 6: Purchase of the Smith Property for Affordable Housing and Town Green: The Board deferred their recommendation to the Board of Selectmen’s meeting on October 13, 2011.
Special Election: On a motion made by Lindsay and seconded by Wysocki, the Board of Selectmen voted to call a Special Election on Monday, November 21, 2011 at the Nashoba Regional High School Auditorium from 12 noon to 8:00 p.m. (Plante – yes, Lindsay – yes, Wysocki – yes) The ballot question was approved as follows:
Question No. 1: Shall the Town of Bolton be allowed to exempt from the provisions of proposition two and one-half so called, the amounts required to pay for the bond issued in order to acquire the Smith property? Yes ___ No ___
BOARD OF SELECTMEN BUSINESS
Meetings: The Board of Selectmen will meet on Thursday, October 13 at 5:00 p.m.
Town Administrator Don Lowe and Board of Selectmen member David Lindsay will attend the Minuteman Municipal Representative Breakfast Session on November 3, 2011.
Minutes: On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Lindsay, the Board of Selectmen approved the regular session and executive session minutes of September 8, 2011. (Plante – yes, Lindsay – yes, Wysocki – yes)
Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Nomination: The Board of Selectmen agreed to support Hank Manz, Chairman of the Lexington Board of Selectmen, for membership on the MPO.
BatCo Statement: Mr. Lindsay, as the Selectmen’s liaison to Bolton’s Public Access Television Organization (BatCo) read a statement expressing his concern with recent developments relating to BatCo over the past few months.
Mr. Lindsay applauded BatCo for the substantial expansion it has achieved in telecasting town government meetings, but expressed is dissatisfaction with scheduling glitches, including the failure to rerun the Selectmen’s meetings right after the live broadcast and BatCo’s refusal to telecast the Fire Chief interviews.
It is Mr. Lindsay’s opinion that BatCo should not be allowed to expand to a second channel until they have resolved the present issues related to financial, scheduling and quality control issues and adopts a policy regarding the televising of meetings.
Mr. Plante stated, and Mr. Wysocki agreed, that Mr. Lindsay’s commentary was not necessarily the views of the other two Selectmen.
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 8:55 p.m. to discuss collective bargaining. The Board announced it would not reconvene to open session.
Respectfully submitted Linda L. Day