Board of Selectmen Minutes May 10, 2018

Board of Selectmen                                          Present:        Stanley Wysocki

May 10, 2018                                                                          Jonathan Keep            

Town Hall                                                                                Robert Czekanski

                                                                                                Don Lowe, Town Administrator

                                                                                                 Linda L. Day, town Secretary

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

EAGLE SCOUT PROJECT

James Riseborough, a Life Scout in Boy Scout Troop 1 proposed installing three musical instruments on the Town Common for children to play.   Mr. Riseborough will design and build the instruments out of aluminum framing and integrate them into the scenery so not to interfere with any events on the Town Common.  The cost of the project will be $2,000 - $2,500 and it will take two to three weeks to complete once he starts the project.

On a motion made by Keep and seconded by Czekanski, the Board of Selectmen voted to approve the Eagle Scout project and accept the gift to the Town of Bolton.  (Wysocki – yes, Keep – yes, Czekanski – yes)

Laura Roberts, member of the Parks and Recreation was present for this discussion.  She stated she is uncertain why the Parks and Recreation Commission is continually being passed over in situations like this when the Commission was elected by the townspeople to oversee the parks in Bolton.  Mr. Wysocki stated the Parks and Recreation Commission have a responsible in terms of managing the parks from a scheduling standpoint but their purview is not to decide what happens on the properties such as this.  Time will be scheduled at the next Board of Selectmen’s meeting to discuss the delineation of responsibilities of the Board of Selectmen versus the Parks and Recreation Commission. Mr. Lowe confirmed that by Statute, the Board of Selectmen and only the Board of Selectmen can accept a gift donated to the Town of Bolton. 

Mr. Douglas Storey who was present at the time of this discussion stated that the Bolton Youth Baseball have notified the Parks and Recreation Commission of what he considered improvements at Memorial Field and will be sure to notify both the Board of Selectmen and Parks and Recreation Commission of any improvements going forward.

POST ANNUAL TOWN MEETING REVIEW

Doug Storey, Moderator; Pamela Powell, Town Clerk; Erik Neyland, Chairman of the Planning Board and Joseph Myerson, member of the Advisory Committee discussed the Annual Town Meeting on Monday, May 7, 2018.  Mr. Storey was pleased that the meeting was completed in one night.

The Board of Selectmen thanked Bolton Access Television for the new microphones that worked very well. 

Suggestions for improving town meeting were discussed and included creating a Town Meeting Study Committee to poll the townspeople to see what works best for getting a majority to attend the meeting (i.e. changing the meeting to another day of the week); providing a very clear summary of each article; cutting back on presentations.; using electronic devices to count the votes; improving information posted to the website by adding a “Town Meeting” webpage designated for educating the voters about Town Meeting. 

Mr. Lowe stated that according to the town bylaws the annual town meeting is always the first Monday in May, and would therefore need to be revised if the meeting day were to be changed. 

Mr. Storey stated that some towns schedule their town meeting by topic, with one night being the town budget and the next night being the school budget, etc. and can go for four evenings, but he likes the way our town meeting is done and feels that it works well. 

Mr. Storey had two things he would do differently going forward.  They included not having the proponent of the article stand to answer questions because it creates a back and forth between the sponsor and voter which isn’t supposed to happen.    He also stated that although he thought it would be easier to go “yes” and “no” he has decided to go back to “yay” and “nay”.

SIGN REQUEST – COUNTRY CUPBOARD

Ms. Jane Houde and Tim Houde, owners of Country Cupboard requested approval to place temporary flag-type signs in front of their property at 476 Main Street to advertise the re-opening at the Country Cupboard.  The flags will advertise Country Cupboard convenience, Subway and Dunkin Donuts and will be placed in a location that will not interfere with the line of sight.   Also requested was approval for three metal directional signs to be placed across from the North and South exit ramps of Route 495.   On a motion made by Czekanski and seconded by Keep, the Board of Selectmen voted to approve the temporary flags for 30 days and one sign across from the exit ramps of Route 495, leaving it up to the applicant to decide if the sign will include one, two or three logos.  (Wysocki – yes, Keep –yes, Czekanski – yes)

Everyone was invited to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, June 18, 2018 at 11:00 a.m.

TOWN ADMINISTRATOR REPORT

Update on Minuteman:  No new developments on Minuteman Building Project to report.

Town Hall Portico Project:  Mr. Lowe reported that the Town is receiving a very good response to requests for plans for the town hall portico project. 

Board of Selectmen’s Meeting:  On a motion made by Keep and seconded by Czekanski, the Board of Selectmen voted to meet on Thursday, May 24, 2018. (Wysocki – yes, Keep – yes, Czekanski – yes) Once the re-organization of the Board of Selectmen takes place at the next Board of Selectmen’s meeting the schedule for the remainder of the year will be set.

Sign Request – Ty-Rods Club:  On a motion made by Czekanski and seconded by Keep, the Board of Selectmen voted to approve the request of Mr. Maurer to place temporary signs at the intersections of Route 117 and Route 495, Route 85 and Route 110 advertising the Ty-Rods Annual Old Timers Reunion to be held at the fairgrounds in Lancaster on September 9, 2018.  (Wysocki – yes, Keep – yes, Czekanski – yes)

Right of First Refusal – 76 Bolton Woods Way:  On a motion made by Keep and seconded by Czekanski, the Board of Selectmen voted to decline to exercise its right of first refusal to purchase the property at 76 Bolton Woods Way.  (Wysocki – yes, Keep – yes, Czekanski – yes)

Right of First Refusal – 34 Sunset Ridge Lane:   On a motion made by Czekanski and seconded by Keep, the Board of Selectmen voted to decline to exercise its right of first refusal to purchase the property at 34 Sunset Ridge Lane.  (Wysocki – yes, Keep – yes, Czekanski – yes)

Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the Town of Bolton and the Local 1703, AFSCME Council 93/Bolton DPW:  On a motion made by Czekanski and seconded by Keep, the Board of Selectmen voted to approve and execute the MOA between the Town of Bolton and the Bolton DPW.   (Wysocki – yes, Keep – yes, Czekanski – yes)

Bills and Payroll Warrant:  On a motion made by Keep and seconded by Czekanski, the Board of Selectmen voted to approve the bills/payroll warrant W18-23 and W18-23A.  (Wysocki – yes, Keep – yes, Czekanski – yes)

Minutes:  On a motion made by Keep and seconded by Czekanski, the Board of Selectmen voted to approve the regular session minutes of March 22 and March 29, 2018 and executive session minutes of March 22, 2018.  (Wysocki – yes, Keep – yes, Czekanski – yes)

EXECUTIVE SESSION

On a motion made by Keep and seconded by Czekanski, the Board of Selectmen voted 3-0 by roll call (Wysocki – yes, Keep – yes, Czekanski - yes) to enter into executive session at 8:10 p.m. pursuant to MGL c. 30A, §21 (a) 3 to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining for the Police Union, as the Chair finds that an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the Board’s bargaining position. 

The Board announced it will not reconvene to open session.   (Wysocki – yes, Keep – yes, Czekanski - yes)

Respectfully submitted by Linda L. Day