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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-01-13 Board of Selectmen Minutes BOARD OF SELECTMEN MINUTES January 13, 2003 CALL TO ORDER: Rosemary Smedile called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM at the Steven's Memorial Library. ATTENDANCE: The following were present: Rosemary Smedile, Chairman; James Xenakis; Donald B. Stewart; Susan Haltmaier;Wendy Wakeman; Mark Rees, Town Manager; Ray Santilli, Assistant Town Manager. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: James Xenakis made a MOTION, seconded by Wendy Wakeman, to approve the minutes of November 4, 2002, Open Session as amended and Executive Session as written; November 18, 2002, Open Session and Executive Session as written. Vote approved 5-0. COMMUNICATIONS,ANNOUNCEMENTS, AND PUBLIC COMMENT: Certificate of Appreciation. The Board of Selectmen presented Richard Rowan a Certificate of Appreciation for over 10 years of dedicated service on the Planning Board. Certificate of Accomplishment. The Board of Selectmen presented Daniel W.Wilkinson a Certificate of Accomplishment for achieving the rank of Eagle Scout and commended Daniel for his leadership and work in honoring the North Andover veterans by assisting members of the local VFW to locate, map out, and creating a data base of all veterans buried in Ridgewood Cemetery in order for flags to be placed at all veteran grave sites. Chief Dolan requested that the Board of Selectmen remind residents to shovel out hydrants located near their property as a public safety issue. Town Manager asked the Board to add an item to the agenda under New Business—State Aid. Selectman Smedile mentioned a special fundraiser event held by the North Andover Youth Hockey League. Mark Rees and Jim Smedile along with their team the Rusty Knights played a hockey game against the Boston Bruins Alumni Team. Selectman Wakeman announced that Tina Klein of the Solid Waste Advisory Committee won an award for her efforts to produce the best outreach program given by the Officers Of Environmental Affairs; her participation in receiving a grant for the Town for$9,000 from EP; and helping North Andover qualify for applying for funds from the Municipal Recycling Incentive Program. Kudos to Tina for her outstanding performance and congratulations for her work. Selectman Wakeman said that recycling is very important to the Town and everyone could help save money for the Town by recycling more. APPOINTMENTS: Town Planner— Mr. J. Justin Woods. The Town Manager has appointed J. Justin Woods to the position of Town Planner. Heidi Griffin, Director of Community Development and Services as well as John Simons, Chair of the Planning Board has recommended Mr. Wood. Susan Haltmaier made a MOTION, seconded by Wendy Wakeman, to accept the appointment. Vote approved 5-0. LICENSING COMMISSIONERS: Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by James Xenakis, to move into Licensing. Vote approved 5-0. Stevens Estate, 723 Osgood Street—One-Day Liquor License. Board of Selectmen Minutes January 13, 2003 2 Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by Susan Haltmaier, to approve the following one-day liquor license. Vote approved 5-0. 1. Brian Schoenherr, Lucent Alumni Party Jan. 13, 2003 7:00-11:00 PM All Alcohol Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by Susan Haltmaier, to move out of licensing. Vote approved 5-0. CONSENT ITEMS: Request for St. Michael School Walkathon —Saturday, March 29, 2003. Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by Donald Stewart, to approve the request to hold 4th Walkathon fundraiser for St. Michael School. Vote approved 5-0. Request for Use of Town Common for Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Walkathon —Saturday, May 17, 2003. Susan Haltmaier made a MOTION, seconded by Wendy Wakeman, to approve the request to use Town Common for Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Walkathon. Vote approved 5-0. OLD BUSINESS: Rea Street "Chapter 61" Property. The Town Manager said that he received responses from the Planning Board, Conservation Commission, the Assessors and the Community Preservation Committee indicating that acquisition of this land is not in the Town's best interest at this time. Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by Donald Stewart, to authorize the Town Manager to send a letter to Mr. Rea stating that the Town will not exercise its right to buy the property at this time. Vote 5-0. Water Use Restriction. Bill Hmurciak DPW Director stated that the water level at Lake Cochichewick has risen to a level where, under the Town's Water Use Restriction By-law, the current mandatory odd-even day watering restrictions can be lifted and be replaced with voluntary conservation measures. After a lengthy discussion, Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by Donald Stewart, to lift the water ban completely due to the excessive amounts of snow and precipitation as of this date. Conservation would be on a voluntary measure. Vote approved 4-1. Susan Haltmaier opposed. The Board of Selectmen made a recommendation that the Town Manager and Bill Hmurciak review the policy of the Town's Water Use Restriction By-Law. The Meadows 40-B Decision. The Town Manager asked the Board of Selectmen to approve and accept a request from the Zoning Board of Appeals regarding the Meadows 40-B Housing Development. The first condition, relating to the construction of an 8" sewer line, is moot since the DPW does not believe this is the best arrangement to provide sewer service to Town owned land at Sharpener's Pond. The second condition would provide for the developer, in lieu of paying water and sewer connection fees for the affordable housing component of the project, to pay the same amount of money (approximately$150,000) into a special fund to be used for water system improvements. Bill Hmurciak, Director of Department of Public Works and Bob Nicetta, Building Inspector, made recommendations regarding paragraph 29, and 30 on page 17 of the document. Paragraph 29 states: The applicant shall install an 8"dry sewer line from a point on the property line in the vicinity of Sharpener's Pond Road owned, as of this date, by the Town of North Andover. Any future cost of connection to this line and/or to the sewer pumping station or any required increase in the capacity of either as well as any ancillary costs shall not be the responsibility of the Applicant, the unit owners of the project, or the organization of unit owners. No parcels or lots, other than what are expressly described herein as owned by the Town, shall be tied to this line without the permission of the Applicant or the owner's association. In addition, any increase in the size of the line or the size of the pumping station that may be required as a result of the development of the Town owned parcel(s) herein described, shall be borne by the Town of North Andover. Board of Selectmen Minutes January 13, 2003 3 Paragraph 30 states: Upon receipt of building permits associated with the 75 affordable units, the Applicant shall contribute an amount equal to the water and sewer connection fees for the 75 affordable units, which is to be placed in the North Andover Department of Public Works "Water Supply Improvement"fund [first choice] or the "Water and Sewer Enterprise Fund) [second choice]. This amount is to be equal to the water and sewer connection fees for the affordable units, which are waived by the North Andover Zoning Board of Appeals as part of this decision. Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by James Xenakis, to decline paragraph 29 and to accept paragraph 30 as a donation to the Town of North Andover in a separate fund designated as Water Supply Improvement. Vote approved 5-0. NEW BUSINESS: Resolution on State Aid. The Town Manager informed the Board of Selectmen of Governor Romney's proposed 10% cut of local aid to cities and towns. Mark Rees requested that the Board send a Resolution requesting the state legislators to vote against the governor's proposal. Whereas, The Governor has recently filed legislation with the State Legislature to expand the Governor's authority to reduce state budgetary line items during the fiscal year to include local aid distributed to cities and towns in Massachusetts, Whereas, The Governor did not provide specific amounts that would be reduced but said that up to ten percent of local aid could be eliminated in FY03 Whereas, A ten percent reduction in state aid line items, exclusive of lottery aid and School Building Assistance funds would equate to $550,000 in lost revenue to the Town of North Andover, Whereas, The Town is already in a precarious financial situation facing possible deficits in special education, employee health insurance and snow and ice removal accounts, Whereas, Absorbing a $550,000 mid year reduction would result in either reduction in critical municipal services including laying off town and school employees or the depletion of town reserves that will be essential to mitigate anticipated FY04 budget shortfalls, Now Therefore, Be It Resolved by the North Andover Board of Selectmen that we respectfully request that our State Representatives and Senators vote against the Governor's proposed legislation to expand his budget authority to reduce state aid to cities and towns. Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by James Xenakis, to approve the Resolution and to include the following: Whereas, The Town of North Andover has made financial commitments to its citizens based on the premise that the state's obligations to the town would be fulfilled. Donald Stewart made a MOTION, seconded by Susan Haltmaier to approve the Resolution as AMENDED. Vote approved 5-0. Non-binding Ballot Question on Fees. The Town Manager presented the Board with a list of possible question formats for consideration to place on the next town ballot regarding trash fees. James Xenakis made a MOTION, seconded by Wendy Wakeman, to consider putting a referendum question on the ballot asking voters, "Should the town charge a fee for residential curbside trash collection?" Board of Selectmen Minutes January 13, 2003 4 Selectman Smedile said the question was too vague and misleading. The question should be specific enough that the voters can make an educated decision. The question should be out there, but said that the language did not do it justice and must be very clear. Selectman Smedile said she did not support trash fees and saw trash fees as an effort to undermine voter opposition to the tax override proposed at Town Meeting last May. Selectman Haltmaier felt that this language does not paint an accurate picture of what trash fees are really all about. She stated, It is out of context, it makes no sense, if the voters knew about the details of the proposed "pay as you throw" system they might be more likely to support it. If you are responsible with your trash and you recycle, you avoid the fee, the fee would act as an incentive to help save the town a substantial amount of money that is currently going up in smoke due to negligent practices by residents. Selectman Xenakis says that voters are well enough informed about the issue that has been around town for years, and want the question answered once and for all. This is a way for at least 30 percent of the town to vote for the question on the ballot, significantly more than the number that will attend Town Meeting in May. Selectman Wakeman said that this is the most democratic form to gauge the public sentiment. The goal is to get this debate into the houses, living rooms and Star Market. Tina Klein, chairwoman of the North Andover Solid Waste Advisory Committee stated that there is too short of a time window for residents to even know what trash fees are. This is a complex issue with many aspects to make decisions on. She said that the question as it appears would generate an emotional reaction, and not an intelligent reaction. Resident Cindy Jalbert in favor of trash fees said if the town provided a basic service of two barrels of trash per week and imposed a fee for anything over in order to save police, fire and ambulance services, citizens might feel different about it. James Xenakis restated the MOTION, seconded by Wendy Wakeman, to consider putting a referendum question on the ballot asking voters, "Should the town of North Andover charge a fee forresidential curbside trash collection?" Vote approved 3-2. Susan Haltmaier and Rosemary Smedile opposed. Ambulance User Fees. The Town Manager asked the Board of Selectmen to set ambulance user fees. Chief Dolan has suggested setting the fees 30% above the Medicare Rate. The effect of the higher rate is that the Town could receive additional revenue from insurance companies that customarily pay more than Medicare pays for those covered by private insurance. Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by James Xenakis, to accept the Chief's recommended fee schedule. Vote approved 5-0. Winter Snow Removal Operations. Bill Hmurciak DPW Director gave a report on snow and ice removal operations. The DPW has responded to 22 separate snow/ice incidents since November 5, 2002 and are close to exceeding the snow and ice budget. Mr. Hmurciak said that of the $300,000 set aside for snow and ice removal, $285,000, or about 95 percent, has already been used up by a very early onset of winter. As for salt, Mr. Hmurciak said the town is OK for now, but he gets nervous especially when there were 10 straight days of snow. A big snowstorm could put a burden on the shipments and trucks bringing sand into town, but for now, the stockpile is being replenished daily. Selectmen Xenakis said that many residents complained that, compared to other communities, North Andover roads were not as well cleaned, especially after the Christmas Day storm. Bill Hmurciak said that due to breakdowns of major equipment, the operation of snow removal was hampered. He also said that he would increase the rate of salting of the roads earlier in a storm while trying to keep the roads in passable condition. The Town Manager said that he and Bill Hmurciak traveled the town roads after the second major snow storm to evaluate the condition of the roads and there was a significant improvement in the plowing operation. The Town Board of Selectmen Minutes January 13, 2003 5 Manager said he would go to the Finance Committee this week to see if it would approve deficit spending for the rest of the season. A more realistic estimate for an average winter is about $791,000, which would equate to 36 percent used up at this point. Parking Issues— Perry Street. Lt. John Carney addressed the request from resident Nathan Bibeau, on limited parking on Perry Street due to the winter parking ban. Because there is limited off street parking on Perry Street, the Police Department suggested making an exception to allow cars to park on the even side of the street on a trial basis for this season only. Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by Donald Stewart, to approve the exemption of the winter parking ban on Perry Street on a trial basis for this season only. Vote approved 5-0. Parking Issues— Harkaway Road. Harkaway Road presently has a problem with traffic congestion stemming from lack of adequate parking at the High School for students. Many residents of Harkaway Road said that this has become a dangerous parking situation in the neighborhoods around the high school. Wayne Garadini, president of Mill Pond, hit hard by student overflow parking, wanted a solution. He said that this has been going on since September; it is a problem created by the high school and it needs to be fixed. Police Lieutenant John Carney said that due to the construction of the new high school, on-campus parking has become a luxury and spillovers into neighboring streets and developments have become a nuisance. The Police Department has been working on this situation since September. Police will monitor this area daily until a solution is found. Fire Chief William Dolan informed the Board that there was difficulty of a fire apparatus entering East Water Street due to the congestion created by students' parked cars. The Board of Selectmen suggested that the Town Manager hold a meeting with the High School Principal, Police Chief and Fire Chief to discuss the parking problem and come up with a solution. As a result of this meeting, the Town Manager will bring back the information to the Board of Selectmen before their next schedule meeting. Acceptance of Donation —Architectural Heritage Foundation. The Architectural Heritage Foundation has offered to donate funds in the amount of$960.00 to the Town to pay for additional work for the contracted bookkeeper in preparing financial data for the Steven's Estate. James Xenakis made a MOTION, seconded by Donald Stewart, to accept the donated funds in the amount of $960.00. Vote approved 5-0. FY04-08 Capital Budget. The Town Manager gave a brief overviewed of the preliminary FY04-08 Capital Budget. It was suggested that the Town Manager hold a CIP Workshop next week including the Board of Selectmen, the Finance Committee and Director of Finance Chuck Benevento. TOWN MANAGER'S REPORT: • The Town was recently awarded a $9,000 recycling grant from the Department of Environmental Protection, of which $3,000 will be in the form of in-kind technical services and $6,000 will be available for recycling equipment. • On January 14th at the Senior Center from 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., the Office of Community Development will be sponsoring a workshop on the future of the downtown area of North Andover. All interested parties are encouraged to attend this important meeting. Board of Selectmen Minutes January 13, 2003 6 • The Fire Department recently contracted with the Massachusetts Fire Fighting Academy for training on Flammable Gas Command and Confined Space Trench Rescue. Both of these training programs will be paid for by funds received from the Maritimes Pipeline settlement. • The Board of Selectmen and Town officials have been invited to attend the Ancient Order of Hibernians' St. Patrick's Day Luncheon in the City of Lawrence on Friday, March 14tH • For informational purposes the Board should be aware that, in addition to the Meadow's 40B project located near the intersection of Rte.114 and Sharpener's Pond Road, there is also a proposal to construct a day care center near the same intersection. Documents relating to this matter are provided. • On Tuesday, January 7tH, Selectmen Smedile, Wakeman, Haltmaier and the Town Manager attended the annual Lawrence Exchange Club event honoring public safety personnel in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover. This year, Sgt. Eric Foulds and Patrol Officer David Patnaude were recognized as North Andover Police Officers of the Year. • During the week of January 13tH, Chuck Benevento, Director of Finance, Ray Santilli, Assistant Town Manager and the Town Manager, Mark Rees will be meeting with Town departments to review their FY04 budget request. The Town Manager has been invited to attend the School Committee meeting on January 14th to hear the School Superintendent's budget presentation to the committee. EXECUTIVE SESSION: Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by Donald Stewart to move into Executive Session to discuss Collective Bargaining and Rocket Entertainment. The Board would not return to Open Session. The Board of Selectmen was individually polled and each voted to move into Executive Session. Vote: Wendy Wakeman yes; Donald Stewart yes; Susan Haltmaier yes; James Xenakis yes; Rosemary Smedile yes. ADJOURNMENT: Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by Donald Stewart to adjourn the meeting at 10:50 PM. Vote approved 5-0. Respectfully submitted Adele J. Johnson Administrative Secretary James M. Xenakis, Clerk of the Board