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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-01-06 Select Board Minutes NORTH ANDOVER SELECT BOARD MINUTES JANUARY 6, 2025 Call To Order: Chair Brian Roache called the open meeting to order at 7:01 PM in the Select Board Room located at 120 Main Street North Andover. Select Board in Attendance: Chair Brian Roache, Janice Phillips, Laura Bates, Clerk Rosemary Smedile and David Kres were present. Non-Board Members in Attendance: Town Manager Melissa Murphy-Rodrigues, Deputy Town Manager Denise Casey and Assistant Town Manager Laurie Burzlaff were present. PUBLIC COMMENT None. NEW BUSINESS Wayfinding signage plan update Zach Melcher, Staff Planner, was present. Mr. Melcher presented the Wayfinding signage plan. Mr. Melcher stated that it was a system of signs helping residents and visitors navigate the town. Mr. Melcher stated the planning phase is all grant funded, but if they were to move forward they would need to source funds. Mr. Melcher discussed the different strategies that coincide with the Master Plan. Mr. Melcher stated they are working with a consultant, KMA Design, out of Pittsburg. Mr. Melcher stated KMA Design toured, documented, and inventoried all existing signage in the town as well as formulated a list of key destinations and developed preliminary designs for signage. Mr. Melcher stated they surveyed the town's residents. Mr. Kres asked if they were happy with the level of responses. Mr. Melcher stated it was not at the level that they shoot for in a survey. Mr. Melcher discussed the results of the survey. Mr. Melcher stated residents expressed that there was a lack of signage around the town. Mr. Melcher discussed the types of signage. Mr. Melcher discussed the destination list, and the different categories based on distance to the destination. Mr. Melcher stated primary are major destinations that receive directional information from their locations, secondary would appear on directional signage within 5 miles of the location, and tertiary would appear on directional signage within 1 mile of the location. Mr. Melcher discussed the primary, secondary, and tertiary destination lists. Mr. Roache asked if the Historical Society had weighed in on the lists. Mr. Melcher stated they have not had much correspondence with them on this project. Mr. Shapiro stated Mr. Melcher has been doing a lot of planning with this project but also with the Historical Preservation Master Plan. Mr. Shapiro stated a lot of those historical sites are being discussed along with signage for them in that plan. Mr. Shapiro stated the Wayfinding signage plan is more to assist people in finding their destination. Mr. Kres stated the Historical Society is working on a program where historic buildings have signage on the buildings. Mr. Melcher discussed the designs for the Wayfinding signage. Ms. Smedile suggested a theme for different destinations. Mr. Roache stated he believes it is important to have North Andover on every sign. Mr. Melcher discussed the next steps. Mr. Melcher stated they would touch base with the consultant and relay the Select Boards feedback to them. Mr. Melcher stated they still need to develop a location plan and then they will need to get cost estimates. Mr. Roache asked if there were questions in the survey about the feel residents had of the community whether it was historical, urban, etc. Mr. Melcher stated yes. Mr. Roache asked how those results informed the design or location selections. Mr. Melcher stated regarding the design, it gave them a good sense to not go crazy with the signage but to provide more branding of the town. Master Plan Implementation Committee update Jon Strauss was not present but asked Mr. Roache to relay a few things on behalf of the committee. Mr. Roache stated this is bi-annual report to the Select Board that the MPIC submits. Mr. Roache stated the NORTH ANDOVER SELECT BOARD MINUTES JANUARY 6, 2025 chair notes the most impactful project that they have seen since the last report was the Town meeting passage of MBTA communities, which positively impacted 8 different strategies as part of the Master Plan. Mr. Roache stated the website in particular as a way to keep everyone informed. Mr. Roache stated if anyone has questions about the plan, the plan has been broken down neatly into 5 or 6 different categories. Mr. Roache stated they have made progress on a good chunk of them. Mr. Roache stated the ADU bylaw strategy is being addressed at the state level, which is consistent with the Master Plan goals. Mr. Roache stated a lot of the funding can come from the CPA and the CPC. Mr. Roache stated the Select Board goal regarding the potential river front overlay district, the committee expresses their support of that initiative. Vote to adopt FY26-FY30 Capital Improvement Plan Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues stated they submitted this plan to the Select Board at the Tri-Board meeting. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues stated they would like to make one change; to increase the plan by$60,000 for the high school fields. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues stated the funding source would be the capital stabilization account. Ms. Phillips asked if it was for additional work or did they under estimate the cost. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues stated no, it is because they are working through the conservation issues and in good faith, they believe that if they do an additional$60,000, they will be able to get appropriate as bills at the end of this project that encompasses the entire site. Ms. Bates asked what is the end goal for that project. Ms. Burzlaff stated it is all dependent on permits. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues stated they would like to file within the next month or two. Ms. Burzlaff stated they will pull permits, go to bid in the early spring, and start as soon as July 1st. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues stated they do recognize they are tight on time to avoid prohibiting anyone from using those fields. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues stated free cash was certified at$9.7 million. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues discussed the water and sewer rate proposals. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues stated the best thing to do is do a full analysis of what they think the expectation will be for as long as the next decade. Mr. Roache asked when GLC raises their rates do we have to absorb that. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues stated that it gets passed to the sewer budget. Ms. Smedile asked do you think if we have other Capital plans going on that are not water and sewer that it can be timed in such a way that they, not all of a sudden, are hitting the citizens with bills. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues stated yes, that is why they are going to use debt paid by routine earnings to do all of these projects. MOTION: Ms. Bates motioned to adopt the FY26-FY30 Capital Improvement Plan as presented. Ms. Phillips seconded. Motion approved 5-0. Request from Police Department to surplus 2018 Ford Interceptor PPV Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues stated the Interceptor has over 95,000 miles, and it is over 7 years old. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues stated they will put it up for auction on a public municipal auction forum then take the proceeds and put them into a revolving account that was created. MOTION: Ms. Phillips motioned to declare as surplus the Police Department's 2018 Ford Interceptor PPV VIN#1 FM5K8AT9JGA38130. Mr. Kres seconded. Motion approved 5-0. Vote to set Town Clerk Fees for 2025 Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues stated they have cleaned up the bylaws. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues stated this is the first year they are doing this and because it had passed through the Attorney General's Office, they are not recommending any changes at this time. NORTH ANDOVER SELECT BOARD MINUTES JANUARY 6, 2025 MOTION: Mr. Kres motioned to approve the Town Clerk fees for 2025 as presented. Ms. Smedile seconded. Motion approved 5-0. Affordable Unit Resale-1 Harvest Drive, Unit 110 Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues stated they have a right of first refusal on all of these units that have an affordable housing restriction or they have a right to locate a buyer. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues stated historically, they have always asked Chapa to do that for them. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues stated they are making that recommendation again, that they do not exercise the right of first refusal. Mr. Roache asked that by not doing this, it does not waive our right. Ms. Burzlaff stated no, what we have asked them to do is, if they do not find an affordable buyer, to notify us. MOTION: Mr. Kres motioned to waive the right of first refusal for the affordable unit resale of 1 Harvest Drive, Unit 110. Ms. Bates seconded. Motion approved 5-0. Appoint Matt Bohenek to the Conservation Commission Ms. Phillips stated Matt Bohenek came to us having applied to multiple committees with no open positions. Ms. Phillips stated Matt is a lawyer and ready to serve. Ms. Phillips stated he has had his own dealings with the Conservation Commission and understands what it is all about. Mr. Roache mentioned the recent resignation of the former chair of the Conservation Commission, Lou Napoli, who served for 30 years. MOTION: Ms. Phillips motioned to appoint Matt Bohenek to the Conservation Commission for a term ending June 30, 2026. Mr. Kres seconded. Motion approved 5-0. APPROVAL OF OPEN SESSION MINUTES OF DECEMBER 16, 2024 AND DECEMBER 30, 2024 MOTION: Mr. Kres motioned to approve the Open Session minutes of December 16, 2024 and December 30, 2024, as presented. Ms. Phillips seconded. Motion approved 5-0. SELECT BOARD UPDATES Ms. Phillips wished everyone a Happy New Year. Mr. Roache mentioned the menorah lighting on New Year's Day. TOWN MANAGER'S REPORT Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues thanked Lou Napoli for his service. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues congratulated the new Finance Committee member, who was sworn in earlier today. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues reminded everyone that tree pickup started January 6 until January 17. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues mentioned that they start their internal budget hearings this week. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues mentioned they have two new trades people, who have come on board; one is the electrician and the other is the HVAC technician. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues mentioned they attached a quarterly report from aggregation; National Grid has set their rates for February through July, and their rate is going to be .1467. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues stated our rate under the aggregation is .1554 so it is slightly more about under a penny. NORTH ANDOVER SELECT BOARD MINUTES JANUARY 6, 2025 ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Mr. Kres made a MOTION, seconded by Ms. Bates to adjourn the Select Board meeting at 7:49PM. Motion approved 5-0. Respectfully submitted, Nicole Civitarese Executive Assistant Rosemary Connelly Smedile, Clerk of the Board Documents used at meeting: Presentation Progress Report Capital Improvement Plan Request for Declaration 2025 Town Clerk Fees Memorandum Appointment Minutes from 12/16/24 & 12/30/24 Town Manager Report