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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-09-22 Board of Selectmen Minutes BOARD OF SELECTMEN MINUTES SEPTEMBER 22, 1997 CALL TO ORDER: John Leeman, Chairman, called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM. ATTENDANCE: The following were present: John Leeman, Chairman;William B. Duffy, Jr.; Kevin Foley; David Torrisi; and Robert J. Halpin, Town Manager(Donald Stewart arrived late to this meeting.). APPROVAL OF MINUTES: September 2, 1997 and September 8, 1997 -David Torrisi made a MOTION, seconded by Kevin Foley,to approve the minutes as submitted; vote approved 4-0. PUBLIC COMMENT: Tara Leigh Development Corp. -Pending g LitigLitigation- Selectman Torrisi Conflict of Interest-Mr. Torrisi read a statement regarding the above referenced subject. During this statement, he announced that the above referenced pending litigation potentially would pose a conflict of interest if Mr. Torrisi participated in any of the discussions or decisions. This conflict is a result of the Northeast Builder's Association partially representing the plaintiff in the suit, and Mr. Torrisi's business is associated with the same association. Therefore, Mr. Torrisi will remove himself from any discussions or decisions made by the Town with respect to the potential law suit. WITHDRAWAL OF SUPPORT OF PLANNING BOARD APPOINTMENTS: Kevin Foley announced that he was withdrawing his motion of supporting the recent re-appointments of John Simons and Richard Nardella to the Planning Board. Mr. Foley stated that he made a mistake in making the motion to reappoint the two individuals to the Planning Board. His reasons were that he will no longer vote the Town Manager's appointments as pro forma,that there was not a full board present to vote on the issue, and being that the full board was not present,the legality of the call of the vote has been taken into question. Kevin Foley made a MOTION, seconded by David Torrisi,to reconsider the approval of these appointments; vote approved 2 - 0 -2 (John Leeman and William Duffy abstained). PRESENTATION OF APPRECIATION- COURTNEY VAN ARSDALE: On August 15, 1997, Courtney Van Arsdale assisted the Fire Department by translating the Spanish language to English for emergency personnel attending car accident victims that did not speak English. Diane Huster of the School Committee presented Miss Van Arsdale with a letter of accommodation, and John Leeman of the Board of Selectmen presented her with a certification of appreciation. UPDATE - IMPROVEMENTS TO ANDOVER AND OSGOOD STREETS: J. William Hmurciak, Director, Division of Public Works, provided the Board with a projected schedule of this project. The engineers were authorized to proceed with the project on August 5, 1997 and the design permitting process is expected to take eight to nine months from that date. This schedule proposes the public meeting to take place soon after the Christmas holidays. HALLOWEEN TRICK OR TREAT HOURS: Kevin Foley made a MOTION, seconded by David Torrisi,that the Halloween Trick or Treat Hours are set for October 31, 1997 from 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM; vote approved 4-0. LICENSING COMMISSIONERS: Kevin Foley made a MOTION, seconded by William Duffy,to move into licensing; vote approved 4-0. Board of Selectmen Minutes - September 22, 1997 Page 2 Evy Gillette, Manager, Stevens Estate @ Osgood Hill requests the following one-day licenses. 1. All Alcoholic Beverages - Shurman Bar Mitzvah, 9/27/97 - 5:00 PM - 10:00 PM 2. All Alcoholic Beverages -Bower/Hickey Wedding, 10/4/97 - 3:30 PM - 10:00 PM 3. Wine &Malt Beverages -Pop Warner Fundraiser, 10/11/97 - 7:30 PM - 12:00 AM 4. All Alcoholic Beverages -Victor Reception, 10/18/97 - 5:00 PM - 10:00 PM 5. All Alcoholic Beverages -Melanson Halloween Party, 10/25/97 - 7:30 PM - 1:30 AM 6. All Alcoholic Beverages - Chelmsford High Reunion, 11/28/97 - 8:00 PM - 1:00 AM William Duffy made a MOTION, seconded by Kevin Foley,to grant the licenses; vote approved 4-0. David Torrisi made a MOTION, seconded by Kevin Foley,to move back into regular session; vote approved 4-0. KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS TOLL BOOTH FUND RAISERS: William Duffy made a MOTION, seconded by Kevin Foley,to grant permission to the Knights of Columbus to hold the toll booth fund raisers on October 17, 18, and 19, 1997; vote approved 4-0. The participants will be provided with safety recommendations and requirements of the Police Department. RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL - CHAPTER 61A HART PROPERTY- SALEM AND DALE STREETS AND MARBLERIDGE ROAD: The Town is in receipt of a notice of intent to transfer one acre of land from Mary S. Hart to her daughter. This property is under Chapter 61A. Kevin Foley made a MOTION, seconded by David Torrisi,that the town does not opt to exercise its right of first refusal with respect to the Hart property on Salem and Dale Streets and Marbleridge Road; vote approved 4-0. RIDGEWOOD CEMETERY EXPANSION PLANS: The Town Manager discussed with the Board of Selectmen the request for assistance from the Ridgewood Cemetery Association. The Cemetery needs to expand and is requesting assistance from the town in the manner of financial and/or services provided during the expansion. The Town Manager recommended that the Board of Selectmen express their support for this project and that the FY 99 budget will recommend$ 25,000 appropriated for this effort. Mr. Duffy requested that Town Counsel provide an opinion of the legality of the town's involvement being that the cemetery is privately owned by the Ridgewood Cemetery association. The Town Manager will obtain counsel's opinion in writing. The Board of Selectmen indicated that if there is no legal issue,they are in support of funding for this project. UPDATE - HOST COMMUNITY ISSUES: The Town Manager updated the Board of where the town is in the host community agreement negotiations. Mr. Halpin requested an indication of support from the Board with regards to this project. The following indicate where the town is today in this effort: • The entire NESWC effort to restate and amend agreements may be dead. If so,North Andover cannot benefit from the 2005 amended contract. • NESWC has yet to accept Host Community Payment of$ 402,000 as a condition of moving forward with amended agreements. If amended agreements are dead,there is no incentive for NESWC communities to do so. • If there are no benefits prior to 2005, we do not have an agreement with WES so, it is unclear where we go from here in the short-term. The following are Mr. Halpin's recommendations: Board of Selectmen Minutes - September 22, 1997 Page 3 • That the Board of Selectmen indicate its approval of the proposed Host Community Agreement in principle subject to the following conditions: 1. That NESWC agree to the $402,000 payment to North Andover 2. That North Andover be given the option of accepting the 2005 amended contract. Mr. Halpin warned that North Andover does not want to appear to have killed this issue. Kevin Foley stated that he was not prepared to move forward with a formal or informal indication of support: • Without the benefit of Counsel discussion(potential litigation is a concern). • Concerned about the "Rainer"letter which has since been received. • Concerned that there is not a full Board present. (Mr. Stewart was not present at this meeting.) Donald Stewart arrived at the meeting. POLICE DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEE MANAGEMENT RELATIONS IMPROVEMENT EFFORT - MANAGEMENT STUDY- PRESENTATION BY CHARLES HALE, MMA CONSULTING GROUP: Charles Hale, MMA Consulting Group, reported his evaluation of the North Andover Police Department. Mr. Hale stated that he found the department sound, providing an acceptable level of service and the employees were very well trained. The management structure needs work, especially in the area of a lack of field supervision. Mr. Hale stated that the draft report was changed to the final report only in the sense of tone but no facts were altered. The Selectmen discussed their concerns pertaining to the background and history section of the report. Mr. Hale explained that since some of the issues discussed in the background and history section are what drove the town to perform this study, he felt that it was important to address those concerns and allegations. Mr. Hale stated that the report does not recommend that the town fire Chief Stanley and members of the Union had in fact stated during their interviews with Mr. Hale that they believed the Chief should be fired. Mr. Hale mentioned some of the interviews which he held with members of the department and the town selectmen. He stated that most employees were interviewed. Mr. Hale stated that some allegations were made during the interviews, however, he was never provided with any documentation to support the allegations. Donald Stewart stated that over the past two years the department has improved. David Torrisi expressed that he disagreed with Mr. Hale's analysis of the history between the Chief and the Union. John Leeman stated that although he has a problem with the beginning comments, he is not adverse to the recommendations of the report. Kevin Foley stated that he believed the Chief and the department has done an excellent job, and that the department is very responsive to the community. Mr. Halpin, Town Manager, offered the following comments as a result of the report: • Chief Stanley can communicate better • Command Staff can supervise better • Officers are now more responsible for their work • Chief Stanley can expect a higher quality of effort and service. Donald Stewart made a MOTION to accept the recommendations of the Police Management Study; motion failed to be seconded. William Duffy made a MOTION, seconded by David Torrisi,to accept the report; vote approved 3 -2 (Donald Stewart and John Leeman opposed). Board of Selectmen Minutes - September 22, 1997 Page 4 Kevin Foley read the following and offered it as a motion, seconded by William Duffy, The Board of Selectmen does not agree or disagree with the portion of the report dealing with the history of and blame for the poor relations between police management and the police patrolmen's union. Based upon the information available to him, it is understandable how the consultant reached those conclusions, however, the Board notes that the findings and conclusions on these issues were not part of the scope of the project. Therefore, they were not weighed in the Board's decision to adopt the report as written and implement its recommendations immediately. Mr. Duffy requested that Kevin Foley allow the change of the word"adopt"to read"accept"in the motion, Mr. Foley allowed the change. The motion with the change was approved 3 - 1 - 1 (David Torrisi opposed; Donald Stewart abstained.) Frank Gennarelli spoke in support of Chief Stanley on behalf of the town's senior citizens as well as the Police Chief's Citizen's Advisory Council. Richard Rothstein spoke in favor of the department's quality of service. Chief Stanley spoke in favor of the recommendations of the report with the indication of moving forward to continue their implementations. EXECUTIVE SESSION: Tara Leigh Development Corp. - Settler's Ridge -Donald Stewart made a MOTION, seconded by Kevin Foley, for the Board of Selectmen to move into Executive Session for the purposes of discussing possible litigation with respect to the above referenced development; David Torrisi excused himself from the remainder of this meeting;the Board was individually polled and voted 4 - 0 -1 to move into Executive Session(David Torrisi abstained from participation of this discussion). Melissa A. Powers, Administrative Secretary David Torrisi, Clerk of the Board.