The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About2022-01-24 Board of Selectmen Minutes (2) SELECT BOARD MINUTES JANUARY 24, 2022 Call To Order: Chairperson Laura Bates called the meeting to order at 7:00PM in the Town Hall Select Board Meeting Room. The open session meeting was recorded. Attendance: Chair Laura Bates, Janice Phillips, Clerk Rosemary Smedile, Chris Nobile, Richard Vaillancourt, Town Manager- Melissa Murphy Rodrigues, and Director of Administrative Services Laurie Burzlaff were present. PUBLIC COMMENT None Update from Commission on Ability Assistance Phyllis Jones, Chair of Commission on Ability Assistance, was present at the meeting via remote. Ms. Jones gave an update of the committee. Ms. Jones stated the following:  At a recent meeting that was attended, it was said that in terms of reasonable accommodations for when a resident requests an ASL interpreter and CART services are provided instead, it must be agreed to by both the resident and the interpreter  When a meeting is in-person like Town Meeting, not all handicapped seating is supposed to be together, rather dispersed throughout the room  Municipal ADA grants to be received when an ADA coordinator finds issues with municipal buildings perhaps can be sought through Massachusetts Office of Disability  When having remote meeting, it should have closed caption and ability to make comments during the remote meetings  There are crosswalk issues along Main Street by the Library. There are no crosswalks at Main/Davis, Main/Greene and Main/Tavern. The committee would like to make a request to put crosswalks in at those locations.  505 Sutton St looking for ordinance from the State for a variance of 6 ½” kitchen sinks nd  New Community Center (also known as new Senior Center) has no exterior fire escapes on the plans for the 2 Floor  Deanna Lima is looking into additional training plans for the First Responders how to deal with residents with ability issues  Requested a letter to be written by the Select Board to be sent to the delegation in support of the blue envelopes, like Connecticut has enacted, to provide support for deaf and hard of hearing residents to communicate with the First Responders  Requested to have the Select Board look through the Charter to make sure outdated terms are replaced  Requested Town to send a letter to support S2484 Act addressing the care for mental health children for onboarding at hospitals  Requested to add a talent segment at the end of each of the Ability Assistance programs Ms. Rodrigues stated she would get back to Phyllis on her requests. Mr. Vaillancourt asked what needs to be in the letter regarding the blue envelopes. Ms. Jones stated a letter to be sent to the State delegates for the assistance for the deaf and hard of hearing drivers. Ms. Bates stated the Select Board will look into helping to send the letter. Master Plan Implementation Committee quarterly report Jon Strauss was present at the meeting via remote. Mr. Strauss gave an update of the past quarter. Mr. Vaillancourt asked if Master Plan Implementation Committee needs any assistance from the Select Board. Mr. Strauss stated not at this time, the committee is in good shape but just to keep a line of communication regarding current projects. Ms. Bates asked when looking at Downtown Improvement Plan was there any consideration whether the undergrounding of the overhead wires are beneficial. Mr. Strauss stated yes, it is a consideration if the funds are available. Ms. Bates asked if signs that state the project has been completed are being put around town. Mr. Strauss stated a website will be providing a visual measuring stick and constantly updated to reflect the completion of projects. 1 SELECT BOARD MINUTES JANUARY 24, 2022 Facilities Master Plan II update Ms. Rodrigues gave a presentation on Facilities Master Plan II update. Mr. Nobile asked to see the amount of taxes one would pay over the 30-year period. Ms. Rodrigues stated she would make an additional chart to show this. Ms. Smedile asked about debt exclusions and overrides. Ms. Rodrigues continued the presentation and explained both terms. Ms. Rodrigues explained this year the proposed plan does not have any override votes or any exclusion vote until FY28 with MSBA or FY26 without MSBA. Ms. Rodrigues stated the only voting to be done this year is a majority vote for two designs using cash. Donald Stewart of 52 Prospect St gave public comment congratulating the Town on the Facilities Master Plan II. COVID-19 UPDATE Brian LaGrasse was present at the meeting via remote and gave an update on COVID-19: -Omicron is present in Town -Down in numbers after holiday spike -125 active cases -7-day incident rate going down. 95 from 155 last week -Peak was at 100+ cases per day in spike, now teens-30 cases per day -Eliminated full contact casing -School Department changed test and stay procedures -Federal government sending out four home tests per household -Digital vaccination card is now available -Vaccination rate is 74% fully vaccinates and 84% partially vaccinated Ms. Rodrigues stated 2,300 tests were ordered using ARPA funds. 80 tests will be going to Meals on Wheels recipients. 40 will go to Housing Authority family units. Tests were sent home with Veterans meals and 600 given out to the Small Business program. Holding 800 for schools for after February vacation and remaining test will be for Town employees. Ms. Smedile asked Mr. LaGrasse what the difference in the physical vaccination card compared to the digital one. Mr. LaGrasse stated it was just an additional way to show your vaccine information. Mr. Vaillancourt asked Mr. LaGrasse what the questions are that the Health Department has been receiving. Mr. LaGrasse stated questions about exposures and what to do, how to get vaccination cards, calls from parents with sports related exposure. Ms. Smedile asked about any new variants. Mr. LaGrasse stated he had not heard of any new variants and that Omicron is the majority of the strain. LICENSING MOTION: Mr. Nobile motioned to open a meeting of the North Andover Licensing Commission. Ms. Smedile seconded. Motion approved 5-0. Update on license quotas Ms. Rodrigues gave an update on the license quotas and explained that additional licenses are available due to the increase in the town population. MOTION: Ms. Smedile motioned to close a meeting of the North Andover Licensing Commission. Ms. Phillips seconded. Motion approved 5-0. NEW BUSINESS Open Warrant for the May 17, 2022 Town Meeting Ms. Rodrigues stated the warrant will be closing on March 14, 2022 at 4:30PM and that the Town Clerk must stamps anything th submitted before 4:30PM on March 14. 2 SELECT BOARD MINUTES JANUARY 24, 2022 MOTION: Mr. Vaillancourt motioned to open the warrant for the May 17, 2022 Annual Town Meeting and close the warrant on March 14, 2022 at 4:30PM. Ms. Smedile seconded. Motion approved 5-0. Mr. Vaillancourt asked if any citizen’s petitions have been received. Ms. Rodrigues stated no. CONSENT ITEMS A. Accept donation in the amount of $3,000 from Lowell Five MOTION: Mr. Nobile motioned to approve and accept all consent items. Ms. Smedile seconded. Motion approved 5-0. APPROVAL OF OPEN SESSION MINUTES OF JANUARY 10, 2022 MOTION: Mr. Vaillancourt motioned to approve the Open Session minutes of January 10, 2022. Ms. Phillips seconded. Motion approved 4-0-1. Town Manager’s Report Ms. Rodrigues gave the following report: -Update on Stevens Estate: Fireside Catering is doing construction to the Ballroom which they are donating. Ms. Rodrigues went over all planned renovations to Stevens Estate. Ms. Rodrigues stated at Town Meeting a transfer will be requested to transfer the revenue from Stevens Estate account into the revolving fund, it will be the net of revenue less expenses which is currently $223,146.00. Ms. Bates asked about the new tent. Ms. Rodrigues mentioned they will have a seal cloth tent which is more permanent. Select Board’s Report -Ms. Phillips mentioned Greater Lawrence Family Health Center have extended their hours at 147 Pelham St in Methuen. Between 9AM-12PM they have self-swab testing -Ms. Smedile mentioned some of the banners need maintenance with the recent high winds and will try to get to them soon -Mr. Vaillancourt stated the tax abatements must be filed by 2/1 ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Ms. Phillips made a MOTION, seconded by Mr. Nobile to adjourn the Select Board meeting at 8:23 PM. Motion approved 5-0. Respectfully submitted, Jillian A. Brothers Executive Assistant _______________________________ Rosemary Connelly Smedile, Clerk of the Board Documents used at meeting: Memorandum Donation Minutes Presentations 3