Board of Selectmen Minutes

Board of Selectmen                       Present:  Mark Sprague

September 17, 2015                                     Stanley Wysocki

Town Hall                                                      Don Lowe, Town Administrator

                                                                      Linda L. Day, Town Secretary

Mr. Sprague called the Board of Selectmen’s meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

ASSISTANT TOWN CLERK

Mr. Lowe introduced Jennifer Marquis, Assistant Town Clerk, who was hired to fill the Assistant Town Clerk position vacated by Susan Miles who retired. .  Ms. Marquis has lived in Bolton for 6 years and is happy to have a part time position that allows her to connect with the community.

SIGN REQUEST – 626 MAIN STREET

Mr. Frank Patterson met with the Board of Selectmen to request permission to install a sign approximately 10.6’ X 12.6’ at 626 Main Street. The sign will be centered between the two driveways and will have room for everyone to display an individual panel advertising their business.  

On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Sprague, the Board of Selectmen voted to approve the request for the sign at 626 Main Street.   (Sprague – yes, Wysocki –yes)

ANIMAL CONTAINMENT ISSUES

Animal Control Officer Susan Latham and Police Chief Alfano were present for the animal containment issue appointments.

401 Main Street:  Mr. Benjamin Schlosser met with the Board of Selectmen to discuss the issue regarding the escape of his animals from Earnest Farms on Main Street and Long Hill Road.  

Susan Latham, provided a history of the complaints.  There were three citations issued in June and July.  The first citation ($75) was paid, the second citation ($500) was ignored and the third citation ($750) was contested in court and Mr. Schlosser was ordered to pay the fine.  There are an additional 4 citations that have been written.  Citation 4 & 5 totaling $600 have been filed with the court and citation 6 & 7 totaling $600 have not been filed with the court.  The total amount owed is $2,450.

Mr. Schlosser acknowledged in a letter to the Board of Selectmen that although he committed to having zero future animal escapes at the last meeting with the Board of Selectmen, he has had multiple escapes since then.  

Mr. Schlosser stated that the pigs are now behind new fencing, the goats are in the barn, the sheep have been moved to Stow and the cows are being moved to a backfield with another gate between them and the road.  He has also received permission from David Wilson, the landowner of property on Long Hill Road to install a semi-permanent metal fence by the road to completely contain the animals.

Mr. Schlosser asked the Board of Selectmen for an extension on paying his fines and would like to explore the possibility of doing some community service in place of the fines.  

Mr. Schlosser agreed to install the new fence in a timely manner and Animal Control Officer Susan Latham and Animal Inspector Phyllis Tower will inspect the fence and report back to the Board of Selectmen at their meeting on October 1, 2015.  The Board of Selectmen granted an extension to paying the fines although they didn’t feel they had the option to grant any extension for the citations that had already been submitted to the court.  They also agreed to hold off on submitting citations 6 & 7 to the court.

Although the Board of Selectmen appreciated Mr. Schlosser’s efforts in establishing a business in Bolton, they reiterated their concern about the animal escapes and the public safety concerns.

23 Harvard Road:  Ms. Nan Norseen met with the Board of Selectmen regarding the escape of her rare breed Gotland stallion.  Ms. Norseen stated that the problem has been the fencing and she is now in the process of installing a 48 inch no climb fence.    Again, the Board of Selectmen reiterated their concern about the safety of the horse and the public.  After some hesitation Ms. Norseen agreed to move the horse until the fencing is done as recommended by the Board of Selectmen.  The Board of Selectmen informed Ms. Norseen that after the fencing is completed if the horse escapes again she will be asked to move the horse out of Bolton.

PROGRAM COORDINATOR

Ms. Erika Dow provided an update on her role as the part-time (8 hours/week) Activities Coordinator for the Council on Aging.  Ms. Dow has worked to form relationships with area agencies to offer free or low-cost services to seniors on a regular basis.  (i.e. free hearing screens, luncheons, ice cream socials)  She has created programs, planned activities and scheduled trips for the seniors and plans to begin engaging with other communities and their services.

Ms. Abdalian, Co-President of the Friends of the Seniors complimented both Erika and Lisa D’Eon, Outreach Coordinator for their efforts and is pleased with the increase in programs and services for the seniors.   

TOWN ADMINISTRRATOR REPORT

Update on Minuteman:  Mr. Lowe has reported that progress is being on the schematic design for the new school.  The School Committee will need to vote to accept the design when finalized.

Mr. Lowe reported that according to the polls voters in the Minuteman High School District support the school, its programs, and a proposal to replace the school with a new building.

Seventy-eight (78%) voters indicated a positive or very positive feeling about the school, with 2% indicating negative feelings.  Sixty-four percent (64%) indicated they had positive and very positive feelings about the quality of the vocational technical programs at Minuteman with just 2% indicating negative feelings.   Some 68.5% indicated they would vote to build a new school, 23% were undecided and 8.5% indicated they were opposed.  

Key factors influencing voters decisions that would have an impact on students (31%), impact on tax bills (22%) and condition of the existing building (16%).   Voters indicated that they would prefer to see a decision about the project made by voters during a district-wide ballot instead of by individual town meetings in each of the 16 Minuteman towns.  Some 76% of those preferring a district-wide ballot favored building a new school; 63% of those preferring Town Meeting approval favored building a new school.

BOARD OF SELECTMEN BUSINESS

Standards of Conduct Policy Equal Employment Opportunity, Discrimination, Anti-Harassment and Sexual Harassment for the Town of Bolton:  Ms. Madden, Human Resources Director requested that the Board of Selectmen approve the above mentioned policy.  

Ms. Madden has scheduled a sexual harassment training session for the on-call fire and ambulance departments and intends to schedule the same for all other departments.

On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Sprague, the Board of Selectmen voted to approve the Standards of Conduct Policy Equal Employment Opportunity, Discrimination, Anti-Harassment and Sexual Harassment for the Town of Bolton.  (Sprague – yes, Wysocki –yes)

Conservation Restriction for Houghton Farm:  On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Sprague, the Board of Selectmen voted to execute the revised Conservation Restriction for Houghton Farm.  (Sprague – yes, Wysocki –yes)

Gift Accounts:  The Planning Board requests the approval from the Board of Selectmen for the creation of two gift accounts.  Tree Replacement Account:  The Planning Board seeks this account to place money received as voluntary gifts from applications regarding scenic roads.  A recent example is National Grid who agreed to provide $10,000 for replacement trees as part of the Wattaquadock Hill project.  On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Sprague, the Board of Selectmen voted to approve the gift account for tree replacement with the account being overseen by the Tree Warden.   (Sprague – yes, Wysocki – yes)  

Welcome to Bolton Signs:  The Planning Board seeks this account to place money collected from local businesses and farms participating in the “Welcome to Bolton” signs project.  These businesses and farms will be donating funds to purchase the signs.  On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Sprague, the Board of Selectmen voted to approve the gift account for Welcome to Bolton signs with the account being overseen jointly by the Board of Selectmen and the Economic Development Committee.   (Sprague – yes, Wysocki – yes)  

APPOINTMENTS

Agricultural Committee:  On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Sprague, the Board of Selectmen voted to appoint Ada Woolston to the Agricultural Committee.  (Sprague – yes, Wysocki – yes)  The term expiration is June 30, 2017.

Audit Advisory Committee:  The Board of Selectmen interviewed Heather Hughes for the Audit Advisory Committee.  Ms. Hughes loves the town, has great experience and has a financial background.   On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Sprague, the Board of Selectmen voted to appoint Heather Hughes to the Audit Advisory Committee pending the vote of the Advisory Committee if required.  (Sprague – yes, Wysocki – yes)

Route 117 Prioritization Committee:  The Board of Selectmen discussed the formation and appointment to the Route 117 Prioritization Committee.  The Committee’s charge will be to review the three existing studies, prioritize improvement projects and report back to the Board of Selectmen in January, 2016.  The Committee will not be responsible for conducting a new study or providing construction oversight.  The Board of Selectmen recommended that Town Administrator Don Lowe be the liaison between the Committee and Massachusetts Department of Transportation.   On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Sprague, the Board of Selectmen voted to appoint an 11 member Committee to include Mark Ayotte, Donna Beninati, Mary Ciummo, Alice Coggeshall, Al Ferry, Mike Gorr, Cia Ochsenbein, Chris Post, Alice Roemer, Marianne Savage and Burt Shnitzler to the Route 117 Prioritization Committee.   (Sprague – yes, Wysocki – yes) Mr. Shnitzler will be asked to organize the first meeting of the Committee.  

Minutes:  On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Sprague, the Board of Selectmen voted to approve the regular session minutes of February 26, March 12 & 19, April 23, May 6 & 21, 2015 and executive session minutes of April 23 & May 6, 2015.  (Sprague – yes, Wysocki – yes)

On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Sprague, the Board of Selectmen voted to adjourn at 8:40 p.m.  (Sprague – yes, Wysocki – yes)

Respectfully submitted by Linda L. Day