Board of Selectmen Minutes
Meeting date:
Thursday, August 4, 2005
Board of Selectmen Present: Stanley M. Wysocki
August 4, 2005 Kenneth F. Troup
Panny Gerken
The Board of Selectmen met at the Town Hall at 7:00 p.m. Minutes of July 20, 2005 were read and approved.
WARRANT
06-03 $ 92,012.20
06-3A $192,105.78
NASHOBA VALLEY WINERY HEARING
Present: Rich Pelletier, David Lindsay, Advisory Committee member
The Board of Selectmen held a public hearing at 7:00 p.m. on the petition of Nashoba Valley Winery (NVW, Ltd.) for the property located at 92-100 Wattaquadock Hill Road, Bolton, Ma 01740.
As required by the Board of Selectmen in Paragraph 13 of the Third Amendment dated May 8, 2003 to the Town of Bolton, Richard Pelletier, President of Nashoba Valley Winery, Ltd. petitioned the Town of Bolton (Board of Selectmen) to hold a public hearing to discuss any proposed changes or modifications to these terms and conditions as they relate to outdoor private functions.
Mr. Pelletier also requested a modification to Paragraph 2.5d Garden Shelter to allow the petitioner to construct soffits and facias around the perimeter of the structure to lower the open sides of the structure to no less than 8 feet from their current height of 11’4” to 25 feet high. Mr. Pelletier stated that he has found over the past two years that the present tent sides of 11 and 25 feet are not manageable, and pose a safety issue in high winds acting more like dangerous sails than protection against the elements. The entire perimeter of the building would remain completely open from ground level to a height of no less than 8 feet and does not change the structure or the use of the building.
Mr. Pelletier stated that the audio reader/meter has provided a good sense of the level of noise from music and they have not heard from the neighbors. Mr. Pelletier contacted one abutter who stated there were a couple of days that they did hear noise but they did not find it to be offensive or too loud.
There were no abutters present. There was no negative feedback received. Town Secretary Linda Day reported Mark Slade picked up copy of application; Town Administrator Jodi Ross stated she had not heard from anyone regarding this hearing.
On a motion made by Troup and seconded by Gerken, the Board of Selectmen agreed that Mr. Pelletier had complied with Paragraph 13 of the Third Amendment dated May 8, 2003 and voted to approve the modification as requested.
TOWN ADMINISTRATOR REPORT
Smith Property: Ms. Ross reported that Loitherstein has submitted all required data to Mr. William St. Hillaire. Ms. Ross spoke with Mr. St. Hillaire and he will need approximately 5 days to put together his views and cost estimates. If the Board of Selectmen decides on an article for the special town meeting warrant, the Board should enter into an executive session to discuss negotiations. Mr. St. Hillaire and Attorney Burke will be invited to meet with the Board of Selectmen at their next meeting on August 18, 2005.
Treatment Plant: Ms. Ross provided the Selectmen with a rough schedule of the treatment plant project with the completion date of the project being in January of 2009. The dates are based on review periods allowed by DEP for review of the project and is the worst case scenario. Ms. Ross will finalize the schedule and review with Mr. Kimball of DEP when he returns from vacation next week.
Retiree Health Care Plan: Joanne Jenkins, Treasurer was present.
Town Administrator Jodi Ross and Town Treasurer Joanne Jenkins explained to the Board of Selectmen that Bolton’s retirees are not enrolled in a senior health care plan (which includes Medicare coverage to offset costs).~ They have thesame health care as we offer regular employees who work over 20 hours per
week.~ If we were to force the prior retirees to join a senior plan, there would be costs associated with this but the costs to the town would drop (approximately $13,000). You could have the option of not requiring prior retirees to join
the senior plan, but choose to require all future retirees to join, as there
may be several in the next few years. Ms. Ross noted that she has discussed with the Advisory Committee. Treasurer Joanne Jenkins will retirees individually to determine if they are eligible for Medicare, their retirement date, and if and when they purchased and at what age. Ms. Ross suggested that the Town accept the provisions which require that all retirees, their spouses and dependents insured or eligible to be insured under this chapter. An article will be drafted for review.
Audit Advisory Committee: Ms. Ross reported that David Wylie attended the Audit Advisory Committee and is looking to the Board of Selectmen for any concerns that the Selectmen may have, and if there is anything the Selectmen would like him to pass on to the Audit Advisory Committee. The Selectmen deferred comment to give them an opportunity to think about it and will inform Ms. Ross at a later date.
BatCo: The Board of Selectmen received a copy of BatCo’s planned schedule for introduction of services. The Selectmen will review and provide Ms. Ross with comments to be forwarded to BatCo. Mr. Wysocki questioned their suggestion of the purchase of an Apple G5 versus another type.
Disposition of Police Car: Chief Hyde asked for permission to sell a 2001 Ford Crown Victoria Cruiser. Ms. Ross confirmed that other departments (Ambulance, DPW, Assessors) are not interested in the vehicle. Town Secretary Linda Day will prepare notice seeking sealed quotes for the purchase of a surplus police cruiser.
LEGAL RFP
Present: Law Committee members Ken Nicewicz and Gigi Bonazzoli along with the Board of Selectmen; Advisory Committee members David Lindsay, Scott Powell, Wendy Rogers; Town Clerk Betsy Cussen
Town Administrator Ross reported that she received 3 responses to her Legal RFP which included: Kopelman and Paige, P.C.; Mirrick O’Connor and Brackett and Lucas. Copies had been previously distributed to the Law Committee for their review.
Ms. Ross reported that Kopelman and Paige came in at $145/hr; Mirrick O’Connor came in at $150/hr and Brackett and Lucas came in at $125/hr which is an increase of $15.00/hr over their previous rate. Upon review and considering the amount of time that Brackett and Lucas has served Bolton, Ms. Ross felt that contracting with a new firm would not be beneficial and therefore recommended that the town of Bolton continue to contract with Brackett and Lucas. Ms. Ross stated that she would like the opportunity, if she felt it was necessary, to seek labor counsel through Mirrick O’Connor for guidance.
On a motion made by Gerken and seconded by Troup, the Law Committee voted to contract with Brackett and Lucas for Town Counsel for three years and authorize Ms. Ross to seek labor counsel with another firm if necessary. (Wysocki – yes, Troup – yes, Gerken – yes).
Ms. Ross stated that Brackett and Lucas have been cooperative in the town’s objectives of lowering our counsel expenses. The department heads have also been helping by better managing their legal counsel requests. Legal expenses for FY05 came in at $70,528 which is a savings of $29,776 over last year's expenses of $100,304.~ Ms. Ross stated that her recollection is that she told Advisory in the spring to plan on a surplus of
approximately $20,000 from FY05 funds, and it came in at $30,000. ~ For FY06 $70,000 was budgeted although she would like to aim for expenses even lower.
BANNER REQUEST
The Board of Selectmen received a request to hang a banner across Route 117 to recognize Florence Sawyer School Teacher Suzanne Wintle, Massachusetts Teacher of the Year for August 15 through September 5, 2005. The Board of Selectmen discussed the banner policy that limited the hanging of banners to municipal events. Mr. Troup felt that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity and he did consider it as a municipal occasion. Ms. Gerken felt that although the school district was not a local group, education was part of town government and therefore was not sure about approving the banner for hanging across Route 117. After much discussion, on a motion made by Gerken and seconded by Troup, the Board of Selectmen approved the hanging of the banner across Route 117 for one week. (Gerken – yes, Troup – yes, Wysocki – no)
Town Secretary Linda Day will coordinator with the district and fire department.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Gerken, the Board of Selectmen voted to go into executive session under 23B(3) at 8:48 p.m. to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining or litigation where an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the government’s bargaining or litigation position, and to conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with non-union personnel. The Board will not reconvene to open session. (Roll Call: Wysocki – yes, Troup – yes, Gerken – yes)
Meeting adjourned.