Board of Selectmen Minutes

Board of Selectmen                                                                  Jonathan Keep

December 20, 2018                                                                 Robert Czekanski

Town Hall                                                                                Stanley Wysocki

                                                                                                Don Lowe, Town Administrator

                                                                                                  Linda L. Day, Town Secretary

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

REQUEST TO PROCEED WITH A PROMOTIONAL EXAMINATION TO PREPARE A LIST OF CANDIDATES FOR THE OPEN SERGEANT POSITION

Police Chief Nelson would like to proceed with the promotional examination to prepare a list of qualified in-house candidates to replace Sergeant Warnken who has been offered a job with the Worcester Police Department.  Sergeant Warnken’s anticipated departure date is January 14, 2019.  The examination is a written test of a 100 questions. The candidates will be interviewed by a panel that will consist of officers from other Police Departments.

On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded By Czekanski, the Board of Selectmen voted to authorize Police Chief Nelson to proceed with the examination process.  (Keep – yes, Czekanski – yes, Wysocki – yes)

REQUEST TO ADD THIRD SERGEANT POSITION

Police Chief Nelson requested permission to increase the Sergeant positions to three.  Currently, two Sergeants cover 9 out of the 14 evening/midnight shifts and the remaining 5 evening/midnight shifts are not covered by a first-line supervisor.  There are 28 open shifts that don’t have a supervisor and a third Sergeant would leave only two shifts on Saturday and Sunday unsupervised.  A Sergeant is a command staff and responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the department as well as supervising the officers. According to the Police union contract the most senior officer receives officer in charge pay in the amount of $1.50 per hour but they do not have a supervisory role.  The annual cost of the third Sergeant would be $3,000 and Police Chief Nelson stated that it can be covered by his budget.

On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Czekanski, the Board of Selectmen voted to approve the request from Police Chief Nelson to add a third Sergeant to the Police Department.  (Keep – yes, Czekanski – yes, Wysocki – yes)

SIGN REQUEST – 713 MAIN STREET

Attorney John Costanzo requested approval of a sign advertising his Law Office at 713 Main Street.  The 3’X3’ sign will be black lettering on a white background and be hung on the existing sign post.  On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Czekanski, the Board of Selectmen voted to approve the sign request as proposed.  (Keep – yes, Czekanski – yes, Wysocki – yes)

TOWN ADMINISTRATOR REPORT

Update on Minuteman:  Mr. Lowe reported that the building project continues to progress on schedule with 50.2% of the $145 million budget being spent so far.  Major accomplishments include the building being weather tight, installation of the gym floor and stairway that leads to the cafeteria.  Temporary heat has been planned for the winter months but if the lock out of National Grid is still in place there will be issues to deal with.

Update on the Portico Project:  The portico project is moving slowly until the bat droppings and asbestos has been removed.  There has been a couple of change orders which have been manageable within the budget.

Update on moving the Board of Selectmen’s meetings to the Public Safety Building:  Mr. Lowe reviewed equipment requirements to broadcast meetings from the Public Safety Building that was provided by Mr. Kenneth Troup. 

The equipment in the Board of Selectmen’s meeting room at the Town Hall (4 cameras and related microphones) is 12+ years old.  The switcher used in the Lois J. Alex meeting room at the Houghton Building is more than 8 years old.  The server which drives the broadcasting and stores programs is approximately 6 years old.  As approved by the Bolton Access TV Board meeting on November 27, 2018, the plan is to replace the server, replace the switcher, and upgrade all of the cameras in the Board of Selectmen’s meeting room with Internet Protocol (IP) cameras, which have improved video and do not require modulators and demodulators for each camera. 

Bolton Access Television proposes that new equipment be purchased for the Training Room at the Public Safety Building that will work with the current and new switcher and server in the Houghton Building, when they are acquired.   When the Public Safety Building was constructed a coax cable was run from the building to the Houghton Building.

The following equipment needs to be purchased to broadcast meetings at the Public Safety Building: 

Four Sony SRG-300SE Cameras @ $1938 each - $7,752; Audio Pre-amplifier Nady PRA-8 - $125;

IP to Coax Modem Netsys NH-310C -$160; Four microphones Shure MX202/C @$150 - $600;

TV monitor and bracket Insignia - $131; Cables, connectors, etc. - $200; Four AJA IPR-1G-SDI converters @$400 for Houghton Building - $1,600; for a total equipment cost estimate of $10,568.

Mr. Lowe will submit this project as a capital request. 

Discussion regarding this proposal will be continued at the next Board of Selectmen’s meeting.

BOARD OF SELECTMEN BUSINESS

Public Service Announcements: 

Everyone was wished safe and nice holiday season.

The community was reminded to replace the batteries in all battery-operated smoke detectors each year and to replace the hoses on washing machines and steam dryers every couple of years.

Class II and Common Victualer Licenses:  On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Czekanski, the Board of Selectmen voted to execute a Class II license for Beetle Bug II and Common Victualer licenses for Classic Pizza III, Nashoba Valley Winery, Country Cupboard, Bolton Springs Farm, Slater’s, Colonial Candies, Bolton Orchards, Twin Springs Golf Course, The International, Inc. Golf Course, Fotini’s Restaurant and Bolton Bean.  (Keep – yes, Czekanski – yes, Wysocki –yes)

Liquor Licenses:  The Board of Selectmen executed the 2019 Retail License Renewals for Bolton Bean, Bolton Country Cupboard, Inc., Daigneault’s Liquor Inc., Fotini’s Restaurant & Bar, Great Brook Farms, Inc., Nashoba Valley Spirits, Ltd., The International Golf Course and Twin Springs Holdings, Inc. 

Lease renewal for the Senior Center:  On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Czekanski, the Board of Selectmen voted to approve and execute the lease for the Senior Center at 600 Main Street.  (Keep – yes, Czekanski – yes, Wysocki – yes)  Mr. Lowe stated that the monthly base rent did increase and it is not negotiable during budget review.

Bills/Payroll Warrant:  On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Czekanski, the Board of Selectmen voted to approve the bills/payroll warrant of W19-11 and W19-11A.  (Keep – yes, Czekanski – yes, Wysocki – yes)

Minutes:  On a motion made by Czekanski and seconded by Wysocki, the Board of Selectmen voted to approve regular session minutes for September 13 and 27, October 11 and 25, and November 15, 2018 along with executive session minutes of September 13, October 18 and November 19, 2018.  (Keep – yes, Czekanski – yes, Wysocki – yes)

On a motion made by Wysocki and seconded by Czekanski, the Board of Selectmen voted to adjourn at   7:35 p.m.   (Keep – yes, Czekanski – yes, Wysocki – yes)

Respectfully submitted by Linda L. Day