Board of Selectmen Minutes
Meeting date:
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Board of Selectmen Present: Kenneth F. Troup
March 17, 2005 Richard H. Heaton, Jr.
Stanley M. Wysocki
The Board of Selectmen met at the Town Hall at 7:00 p.m. The Advisory Committee was present for this meeting.
WARRANT
#05-19 $94,153.94
#05-19a $146,176.66
FERRANTE, 694 MAIN STREET
The Board of Selectmen approved the request of Mr. Ferrante for a license to sell second hand articles in compliance with Section 1.9.2 and 2.5.2.1 of the Bolton Bylaws. The Board also approved Mr. Ferrante for a sign, with the understanding that he must submit a drawing of his sign to the Board. Mr. Ferrante stated he would only hold two yard sales a year. Mr. Ferrante will be provided with a copy of the yard sale policy.
TOWN ADMINISTRATOR REPORT
Cell Towers: Ms. Ross informed the Board of Selectmen that Mr. Krysa, Building Inspector has indicated that according to the building permit applications, only equipment replacement is involved and it is therefore his opinion that modifications to the existing special permits will not be necessary.
Werner Dogs: Ms. Ross informed the Board of Selectmen of a letter received from Susan Latham, Animal Control Officer stating that the Werners dogs got loose and she was called to pick them up at the police station. On a motion made by Heaton and seconded by Wysocki the Board of Selectmen voted to order the dogs be restrained when outdoors by either a fence or chain link pen which is escape proof.
Murtha, 556 Main Street: The Board of Selectmen is in receipt of a letter dated March 14, 2005 from Mr. Murtha stating he would like to renew his special permit for the purpose of reopening a veterinary business at 556 Main Street and would like to be allowed to provide an overnight facility for staff members caring for ill and injured patients. The Board questioned the overnight facility being allowable in limited business and asked for an opinion from building inspector and town planner, and then considers opinion from town counsel. The Board also suggested that the file on Hebert’s Candies be reviewed.
SELECTMEN BUSINESS
Letter to Batco: The Board of Selectmen signed a copy of the BatCo letter for the file, as this letter was previously sent to the Batco leaders via email.
Letter regarding PEG Access Programming: The Board of Selectmen signed a letter to the Stow Board of Selectmen stating that:
The Bolton Board of Selectmen is amenable to Stow (or its cable operator) cable casting Bolton PEG Access programming, subject to the following:
Bolton Board of Selectmen shall have the right to withdraw this permission at any time, upon fourteen (14) days written notice to Stow.
Bolton Board of Selectmen assumes no responsibility or liability of any kind for PEG Access programming that is cablecast on the Stow cable television system. The Stow Board of Selectmen hereby releases the Bolton Board of Selectmen from any such responsibility or liability.
The Town of Stow shall not have any ownership and/or copyright interests in any PEG Access programming cablecast on the Stow cable television system.
In the event that there is specific PEG Access programming that is to be cablecast on the Bolton cable television system only, a representative of the Town of Bolton will contact the Town of Stow to discuss how any such programming will be limited to the Bolton cable television system only.
Town of Bolton will not charge the Town of Stow for its cable casting of Bolton PEG Access programming.
Emergency Planning: Mr. Wysocki reported he met with Sgt. Bagdonas regarding the Emergency Planning Documents which outlined the responsibilities in the event of various emergencies. On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Heaton the Board of Selectmen voted to approve the Emergency Plan and provide contact information that will be listed on the emergency phone number page (Troup – yes, Heaton – yes, Wysocki – yes)
HISTORICAL COMMISSION
Martha Remington, Historical Commission met with the Board of Selectmen to discuss the article on the annual town meeting for bollards to protect the Pan Cemetery. She stated that Country Cupboard is willing to contribute to part of the expense. The Historical Commission plans to purchase 20 bollards, but if the entire front of the cemetery were to be done approximately 40 would be needed. A suggestion was made to start closest to the Country Cupboard to solve the immediate problem. The current budget has about $500 and therefore they could not start the project with the present budget. The Historical Commission has requested $3,600 for FY06 and could start the project with those funds. As of July 1, 2005 they have requested $3,600 budget. The Selectmen suggested doing in phases and asking the Country Cupboard to contribute.
Mr. Troup explained that this budget is a tight fit and would like to be supportive of this idea but on the other hand this has been disapproved.
Ms. Remington would like to get a copy of the survey of the cemetery that has been completed by Ducharme and Wheeler.
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING WARRANT REVIEW
Present: Advisory Committee members Chris Slade, Wendy Rogers, Panny Gerken David Lindsay and Scott Powell; Town Accountant Julie Costello, Treasurer Joanne Jenkins, Principal Assessor Tony Bryan, Town Clerk Betsy Cussen
Town Administrator Jodi Ross gave an overview of the budget spreadsheet and informed the Board of where the reductions were made within the budget. Ms. Ross stated that all
department heads were very cooperative when asked to tighten up the budget to avoid the override.
Mr. Lindsay thanked Mr. Bosselait for his hard work in keeping the budget spreadsheets up to date but suggested that process be the function of the Town Administrator in the future. Mr. Ross stated that our Town Accountant Julie Costello is very competent in keeping the spreadsheets and is very confident that we could handle the process in house.
Review of Articles:
Dog Fund: Town Clerk Betsy Cussen stated she felt the article was not changing the bylaw to make it better but to fix a one time problem. She expressed concern with the money being spent on something other than the dog program and wanted more time to discuss prior to the article being on the warrant. Town Administrator Jodi Ross asked town counsel for opinion and town counsel has sent to attorney general’s office for their comments as to whether this is appropriate or not. There is approximately $40,000+ in the dog fund and the feeling was that the town would rather use the money to avoid an override rather than have it sitting in the fund as the town does not anticipate building a kennel. Ms. Ross stated that she spoke with Animal Control Officer Susan Latham and they estimated that at least 80% of the Animal Control Officer budget is dog related. After discussion the Board agreed to pull the article and transfer funds for both FY04 and FY05 (amount to be determined) to cover the costs of the Animal Control Officer.
Public Library: (Present: Bob Zak and Kelly Collins) Mr. Heaton would like to see a clear explanation in the article explaining the plans, the money, etc. He would also like to see a couple of public meetings prior to the town meeting to allow for any discussion regarding the article. Troup and Wysocki were not favorable to the article being so detailed on the plans and money when the article was only intended to accept the preliminary plan. After discussion it was agreed that the summary would be rewritten to provide detailed information. Mr. Zak agreed to draft the summary and forward to the Board of Selectmen for their review prior to submittal for the warrant.
Board of Selectmen recommendations were voted as follows:
On a motion made by Heaton and seconded by Wysocki the Board of Selectmen voted to approve the Article 1: Unpaid Bill for Fiscal Year 2004. (Troup – yes, Heaton –yes, Wysocki – yes)
On a motion made by Heaton and seconded by Wysocki the Board of Selectmen voted to approve the Article 4: Fiscal Year 2005Budget Transfer to Purchase a New 1-Ton Truck for the Highway Department. (Troup – yes, Heaton –yes, Wysocki – yes)
On a motion made by Heaton and seconded by Troup the Board of Selectmen voted to give their recommendation on Town Meeting Floor for Article 5: Funds to Evaluate the Purchase of Future Electronics (Troup – yes, Heaton –yes, Wysocki – yes)
Selectmen reviewed Revisions to Article 6: Purchase of a Used Highway Truck, and on a motion made by Heaton and seconded by Wysocki voted to approve the article. (Troup – yes, Heaton –yes, Wysocki – yes)
On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Heaton the Board of Selectmen voted to delete Article 7: Drainage Study on Several Town Roads from the ATM warrant. (Troup – yes, Heaton –yes, Wysocki – yes)
The Selectmen were favorable to revisions made to Article 8: Installation of Sidewalks along Main Street.
On a motion made by Heaton and seconded by Wysocki the Board of Selectmen voted to approve Article 11: Fiscal Year 2006 Operating Budgets. (Troup – yes, Heaton –yes, Wysocki – yes)
Article 15: Amendment to the Zoning Bylaws, Section 2.5.5.5 (a): The Vote Required will read 2/3 majority “following report from the Planning Board”. The Selectmen also suggested that Town Planner Nat Tipton be reminded that a hearing prior to the Annual Town Meeting must take place.
The Conservation Commission Article 16: Amendment to Administrative Bylaws, Section 1.1 General Provisions was discussed. Some felt that the fine was very high compared to other fines with Section 1.18. Town Clerk Betsy Cussen also stated that for consistency this should be added to the Conservation Commissions Wetland Bylaw.
On a motion made by Heaton and seconded by Wysocki the Board of Selectmen voted to disapprove Article 20: Construction of Bollards at Pan Cemetery. (Troup – yes, Heaton –yes, Wysocki – yes)
On a motion made by Troup and seconded by Heaton the Board of Selectmen voted to approve Article 25: The Nashoba School District Agreement Amendment –Capital Costs Definition. (Troup – yes, Heaton –yes, Wysocki – yes)
On a motion made by Heaton and seconded by Troup the Board of Selectmen voted not to take a position on the Citizen’s Petitions, Article 27, Article 28 and Article 29. . (Troup – yes, Heaton –yes, Wysocki – yes)
The first question of Article 30: Authorize Town Election to assess an additional amount in real estate and personal property taxes for the purpose of funding actions as voted at the town meeting will be deleted.
On a motion made by Heaton and seconded by Wysocki the Board of Selectmen voted to approve the warrant.
STATE OF THE TOWN MEETING
Mr. Troup suggested putting together a 2-3 hour “State of the Town” meeting to be held on April 11, 2005 at the Florence Sawyer School cafeteria or auditorium. Mr. Troup will ask Moderator James Anker if he would like to discuss town meeting as part of the April 11th meeting, and also suggested that the Master Planning Committee take part.
Meeting adjourned.