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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000-01-10 Board of Selectmen Minutes BOARD OF SELECTMEN MINUTES JANUARY 10, 2000 CALL TO ORDER: Keith Mitchell called the meeting to order at 8:07 p.m. ATTENDANCE: The following were present: Keith A. Mitchell, Chairman, William B. Duffy, Jr., John R. Leeman, Jr., Donald B. Stewart, James M. Xenakis, and Robert J. Halpin, Town Manager. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: John Leeman made a MOTION, seconded by Donald Stewart,to approve the Open Session Minutes of December 6, 1999. Vote approved 5 — 0. John Leeman made a MOTION, seconded by Donald Stewart to approve both the Open Session and the Executive Session Minutes of December 13, 1999. Vote approved 5 — 0. COMMUNICATIONS,ANNOUNCEMENTS,AND PUBLIC COMMENT: Due to the holiday on Monday,the next Board meeting will be on Tuesday, January 18, 2000 at 7:30 p.m. at the Stevens Memorial Library. Schneider Electric Donation Acceptance The Town Manager recommended that the Board accept a$1,000 donation from Schneider Electric, which the Fire Dept. intends to use towards the purchase of a rescue airbag system. The total cost of the starter kit is $2,510. John Leeman made a MOTION, seconded by James Xenakis to accept the $1,000 donation from Schneider Electric and to write a letter thanking them for the donation. Vote approved 5 — 0. Chestnut Green Parking Attorney Peter Shaheen discussed the parking situation at Chestnut Green and requested approval to lease some town owned land abutting the property which could be used for additional parking for approximately 25 cars. Keith Mitchell recommended having an informal meeting with the residents, abutters, selectmen and Town Manager to see if they have concerns. Atty. Shaheen offered to set up the meeting in his office, and then get back on the agenda for a formal public hearing. In the interim,the Chairman recommended that tentative negotiations be worked on with the Town Manager. LICENSING: William Duffy made a MOTION, seconded by James Xenakis,to move into Licensing. Vote approved 5 — 0. Approval to Store Gasoline and Diesel Attorney Cliff Elias represented Edgewood Retirement Community and requested approval for a license to store gasoline in the parking garages located under two buildings. A license is required when gasoline and diesel are stored and used in locations where there are more than three vehicles. Fire Chief William Dolan recommended approval. William Duffy made a MOTION, seconded by Keith Mitchell,to approve a license for Edgewood Retirement Community to store and use gasoline and diesel in the parking garages under Buildings 2000 and 3000. Vote approved 5 — 0. Board of Selectmen Minutes January 10,2000 Page 2 James Xenakis made a MOTION, seconded by Keith Mitchell to move out of Licensing. Vote approved 5 - 0. OLD BUSINESS Fire Dept./Police Dept. Partnerships—Automatic Defibrillator Program The Town Manager informed the Board that the operating arrangement between the Fire and Police Depts. will ensure that all emergency medical personnel operate the same equipment with the same training with the same protocols. He added that the Fire Chief has dedicated Fire Dept. personnel to conduct the training of Police personnel on proper use and maintenance of the equipment. The training, which has been approved by the State Office of Emergency Services, will take place from January 18th to January 24th, and the defibrillators will be deployed in the Police cruisers no later than January 24tH Also, a formal letter was sent to IBPO negotiator, Dick Anderson, confirming that he has agreed to the deployment of the equipment on January 24th Status Report— Greater Lawrence Sanitary District Permits and Host Community Issues The Town Manager advised the Board that there is a still an ongoing dispute between the Town and the Greater Lawrence Sanitary District over the permitting process to be used for significant capital improvements by both the district and the New England Fertilizer Company. Although the Dept. of Public Safety reversed their earlier opinion and the district must now apply for a local building permit through the local building commissioner,their attorney filed an opinion with the district urging them to request reconsideration from the Dept. of Public Safety. He added that 98 industrially zoned acres is currently removed from our tax rolls and the Town is losing approximately$275.OK per year in tax revenues. Special Town Meeting—Motions and Recommendations The Town Manager told the Board that the Town Moderator has requested that Bond Counsel clarify the language in Article 1 regarding the site designation of the high school, and that it should specify that the expenditure is carried out under the jurisdiction of the School Building Committee. NEW BUSINESS: Status of FY2001 Operating Budget The Town Manager informed the Board that the department requests are being brought down to the target amounts which are necessary to comply with the Board of Selectmen's Budget Policy Statement limiting the amount of new revenue to just over 3%. There will be a presentation to the Board next week. Capital Improvement Plan - FY2001 through FY2005 The Town Manager presented his yearly 5-year Capital Improvement Plan, which is intended to schedule major projects exceeding $25.OK with a life expectancy in excess of five years. He reviewed the goals and strategic direction for the town with the effort this year in trying to provide some direction for how the Town should deal with that portion of the capital plan which is not excluded from Proposition 2 ''/2. The primary goal is to spend between 2 and 4%($934.OK to $1.868M) of the $46.7M in net taxable revenues and limit its net tax supported principal and interest payments to 4 to 6%($1.8M to $2.8M)of its net taxable revenues. He next reviewed the directly appropriated capital items. These items as well as a$500.OK appropriation to the Stabilization Fund would total spending $1,192.OM of net taxable revenues in the first year of this capital plan. In the following years,there is an attempt to catch up on deferred maintenance and spend $1,117.OM in net taxable revenues. The Town Manager also stated that he has rescheduled the Board of Selectmen Minutes January 10,2000 Page 3 department's capital items by delaying some of the requests to FY2002 and FY2003 in order to even out the cash flow. Raise and appropriated items in FY2001 would be just over$1.OM. The debt excluded portion includes a$58.4M high school, a$12.6M public safety complex(FY2002 —2004), a$2.7M out-country fire station(FY2002-2003), and a$4.OM Town Office expansion(FY2002 —2004). Eventual consideration of an elementary school on Foster Street, and the roadway water and sewer improvements would bring total P &I payments on all debt to about$12M per year. About$5M of which by FY2005 would be reimbursed under the school building assistance program. He emphasized that the Board needs to decide which of two payment plans they wish to deploy. The Equal Principal Payment plan(principal is divided by 20 years) or the Level Annual Payment Plan(both principal and interest are divided by 20 years). Level Annual Payments means over the life of the loan there is more interest and there is more principal on the books for a longer period of time. Other school debts are on the Level Annual Payment Plan. There are some questions about how Fleet calculated the SBAB reimbursement He also reminded the Board that it has 30 days to consider the Capital Budget, and it has the opportunity to consider after the year 2001 how to best take advantage of an approximate $500.OK reduction of principal and interest. Part of this program to take some of this reduction and program it as scheduled replacement of fixed assets to improve our capability to do capital through the operating budget. Plans for Establishing a Conference Center Enterprise Fund The Town Manager explained that an Enterprise Fund is authorized under state law for those operations which the Town undertakes which are in the nature of being a business and which should be accounted for separate from the governmental accounting system of the Town. The Stevens Estate total for FY2000 thus far is $119.OK in expenses and$165.OK in revenues. In FY1999,there was a total of $336.OK in expenditures and$386.OK in revenues. The Department of Revenue feels that we have reached the point where we should establish an Enterprise Fund for the Conference Center at Stevens Estate._ ADJOURNMENT: James Xenakis made a MOTION, seconded by John Leeman,to adjourn the meeting at 9:00 p.m.; vote approved 5 — 0. Carol Ritchie John R. Leeman, Jr., Clerk of the Board Senior Clerk