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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-06-13 Board of Selectmen Executive Minutes BOARD OF SELECTMEN EXECUTIVE MINUTES JUNE 13,2005 EXECUTIVE SESSION: The Executive Session convened at 7:15 p.m. ATTENDANCE: The following were present: Rosemary Connelly Smedile,Chairman;James Xenakis;Donald Stewart; Mark J.T.Caggiano;Thomas Licciardello, Mark Rees,Town Manager; Ray Santilli,Assistant Town Manager and Town Counsel Thomas Urbelis;Conservation Commission members Scott Masse,Chairman;Albert P.Manzi, Jr.,Vice Chairman;John Mabon,member;Deborah Feltovic, member;and Alison McKay,Conservation Administrator. The Board of Selectmen was individually polled and each voted to move into Executive Session. Vote approved 5- 0. Town Counsel Thomas Urbelis gave an overview and status report of the Plisinski case from January10,2005 up to the present time. The court docket showed that the Plisinskis filed on June 13,2002,therefore,if a court were to determine that the Town was required to file any lawsuit within three years of the fling of this lawsuit against the Town,the last day for fling such a lawsuit by the Town would be June 12,2005. Selectman Xenakis said that after reviewing this case from all aspects he thought it would be in the Town's best interest to settle this case. He was surprised and disappointed that the Conservation Commission did not settle the case after reviewing it on its merits. What was upsetting was that the Conservation Commission said that if the Board of Selectmen agreed to certain items that were not related to the Plisinski Case at all,the Conservation Commission would be willing to settle the case. This should not have any outside influences of settling this case. Even though this was not the fault and cause of the Conservation Commission and it was a Planning Board problem that put the Town in this position,the Conservation Commission still holds the key to the solution. A settlement would avoid a dramatic financial impact to the Town. Scott Masse said that the Planning Board was an equal parry to this case and should be present also. Back in 2002, Clay Mitchell the interim Planning Director was asked to consider putting a berm and said absolutely not.The Planning Board said that they would not amend their decision,therefore,the only party that could amend their decision to resolve this case was the Conservation Commission. The Settlement proposal that was actually drafted was suggested by Scott Masse to Town Counsel,Thomas Urbelis while the case was pending before the case was dismissed. Once the case was dismissed the Conservation Commission said why should they grant a waiver on the 25-foot no disturb zone at that point. The Conservation Board did not want to give in since the court has already ruled in their favor. Selectman Licciardello asked if there was significant ecological damage so that the Town could not write a waiver that is constructed in a fashion that makes sense. Somewhere along the line,this case was not handled in the best manner. What the Town needs to do now is to resolve this in the best possible way. Scott Masse said he asked the Plisinskis if they could submit an alternative plan,which could keep them out of the 25-foot no disturb zone. They had an alternative plan but they did not submit it. Scott Masse asked if the minutes of this meeting were going to be released. Mark Caggiano said that executive session minutes should not be released until the lawsuit is settled. Mark Caggiano made a MOTION,seconded by Donald Stewart,that all minutes of this meeting and all further minutes pertaining to the Plisinski lawsuit be held in executive session and confidential until the lawsuit has been settled and all deals have been exhausted. Vote approved 5-0. ^ Al Manzi said that the blame is not with the Planning Board or the Conservation Commission but with the prior Town Counsel, Kopelman and Paige. The complaint in this suit is based upon conflicting documents that were generated by prior counsel of which one representing the Planning Board and the other representing the Conservation Commission. Al Manzi said for the record when this case was brought before the commission that he originally voted to settle because he thought it was in the best interest of the town subsequently he learned of the exact language in the complaint and reversed his vote and stated the reason for his reversal was because of the new information that he had learned with respect to Kopelman and Paige. Al Manzi said that Plisinski's case is currently in limbo,it doesn't even exist,but if Plisinski gets his case reinstated in superior court,then that's when the Town can settle. Town Counsel Thomas Urbelis said that his gut feeling is that the Plisinski's would be able to reinstate this case to the docket. The terms of the case could change because the Plisinski's would have a better case against the town because of the two conflicting documents. Selectmen Caggiano suggested that if the Town of North Andover settles now,this would give the Plisinski's a buildable lot in Town in the price range of$300,000 to$400,000. The Town should receive a monetary settlement of anywhere from$25,000 to$50,000. Al Manzi asked Selectmen Xenakis what motivated them to release the executive session minutes of a pending Plisinski Case to the public? Selectmen Xenakis asked the Conservation Commission why they were ready to settle the case on a different set of circumstances and demands from the Board of Selectmen that had nothing to do with the case. Selectmen Licciardello said that everyone in the room wants this case to be settled. Lets forget about the past and what both boards did and said and find a way to work this out to settle the case. He urged the Conservation Commission to find a way to settle this case. Mark Caggiano made a MOTION,seconded by Thomas Licciardello,to ask Counsel to review the issue regarding a malpractice suit against Kopelman and Paige and get an answer on the statute of limitations. Vote approved 5-0. Mark Caggiano said the Conservation Commission should review the settlement options. Thomas Licciardello made a MOTION,seconded by Donald Stewart,to move out of Executive Session at 8:00 PM and reconvene after Open Session. Vote approved 5-0. Note: The Board reconvened into Executive Session at 9:25 PM. Collective Bargaining AFSCME Public Works group Assistant Town Manager Ray Santilli reported that the Town has reached a tentative settlement with the AFSCME Public Works group,which is for a three-year period covering July 1,2004 through June 30,2007. The agreement reinforces an established wage Increase of 2.5%,2.5%&2.5%in the next three years. In exchange for agreement to certain town proposals,each step and level will also be increased by.20 cents of 7/1/05 and.15 cents on 7/1/06.This union has also agreed to the new health insurance language. ^ A formal Memorandum of Agreement on the terms of the settlement was drafted and signed by the negotiation team of the AFSCME Public Works group. The Board is being asked to approve and sign the MOI and to ratify the agreement as the union has already done so. Thomas Licciardello made a MOTION,seconded by James Xenakis,to approve and sign the M01 for the AFSCME Public Works group. Vote approved 4-0-1. Rosemary Smedile abstained. Thomas Licciardello made a MOTION,seconded by James Xenakis,to ratify and sign the contract. Vote approved 4-0-1. Rosemary Smedile abstained. Sick Bank Selectman Caggiano requested a preliminary discussion on the viability of creating a sick bank for town employees that have life threatening illnesses. Assistant Town Manager Ray Santilli said that the majority of the employees are in the unions. Firefighters and Clerical Unions have sick leave banks,Patrol Officers contract allows the town manager to mandate sick leave. All employees are offered disability insurance through payroll deduction. Mark Caggiano made a MOTION,seconded by Donald Stewart,to have the town manager and the assistant town manager explore the options of creating a sick bank for all union and by-law town employees and report back their findings to the board. Vote approved 5-0. Health Savings Account(HAS)for town employees Selectman Licciardello requested the passibility of creating a Health Savings Account(HSA)for town employees. This is an opportunity for the town to save quite a lot of money. This is a new concept and many people in the ^ insurance industry do not know enough about(HSA). The basic concept is that the plan has a high deductible and shrinks insurance premiums and puts up to$1,000,individual and$2,000 for family tax deferred. The Town puts up$1,000 or$2,000 in a health savings account for the employees the first year. The employee can use it towards medical visits or if it is not used,the employee may save it. The savings comes in when employees decide not to go to non-essential doctors'visits for a cold or other minor illnesses and decide to save that money in their account for emergencies or surgeries. This reduces the claims for the town. The money the town contributed into the employees account begins to earn interest and when Blue Cross increases premiums the next year,the town has the money to pay for it without changing the deductible and saves about 20%. Employees can fund this every year and save this toward major medical expenses,such as plastic surgery,braces or any major operation. This is a new concept to Blue Cross/Blue Shield and they need to learn about it and have their underwriters design a plan for the town. This is a win-win situation for the town and employees. It may take time to educate the employees about the plan and it may take time to have it catch on just like 401K plans, but in three years this could be a reality and the town would be saving money on health claims. James Xenakis made a MOTION,seconded by Mark Caggiano,to request assistance from Insurance Carrier in designing a health saving account plan for the town of North Andover. Vote approved 5-0. ADJOURNMENT: James Xenakis made a MOTION,seconded by Donald Stewart,to move out of Executive Session and adjourn the meeting at 10:15PM. Vote approved 5-0. Respectfully submitted, Adele J.Johnson,Administrative Secretary