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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-01-26 Select Board Minutes NORTH ANDOVER SELECT BOARD MINUTES JANUARY 26, 2026 Pursuant to Chapter 2 of the Acts of 2025, this meeting of the Select Board will be conducted via remote participation. There will be no in person attendance. Every effort will be made to ensure that the public can adequately access the proceedings in real time, via technological means. Members of the public who wish to watch the meeting may do so by tuning in to Comcast Channel 8 or Verizon Channel 26 or online at northandovercam.org. Call To Order: Chair Janice Phillips called the remote meeting to order at 7:01 PM. Select Board in Attendance: Chair Janice Phillips, Rosemary Connelly Smedile, Clerk Brian Roache, Laura Bates, and David Kres were present Non-Board Members in Attendance: Town Manager Melissa Murphy-Rodrigues, Assistant Town Manager Laurie Burzlaff, and Assistant Town Manager Andrew Shapiro were present PUBLIC COMMENT None. NEW BUSINESS PUBLIC HEARING- Request of Massachusetts Electric Company d/b/a National Grid to locate poles, wires, and fixtures, including the necessary sustaining and protecting fixtures, along and across Parker Street TABLED. Vote on request of Massachusetts Electric Company d/b/a National Grid to locate poles, wires, and fixtures, including the necessary sustaining and protecting fixtures, along and across Parker Street TABLED. PUBLIC HEARING- Request of Massachusetts Electric Company d/b/a National Grid to construct a line of underground conduits, including the necessary sustaining and protecting fixtures, along, and across Greene Street and Linden Avenue TABLED. Vote on request of Massachusetts Electric Company d/b/a National Grid to construct a line of underground conduits, including the necessary sustaining and protecting fixtures, along and across Greene Street and Linden Avenue TABLED. Request of Eversource to excavate Massachusetts Avenue and Linden Street for the purpose of replacing a regulator station TABLED. NORTH ANDOVER SELECT BOARD MINUTES JANUARY 26, 2026 Request to set fees for Stevens Pond Rich Gorman and Joe Agosto were present. Mr. Gorman discussed the water testing last summer at the pond. Mr. Gorman stated that they are suggesting a second year without charging fees for the residents. Mr. Gorman stated they had the most residents ever sign up for a permit last summer. Mr. Gorman thanked the town departments that have worked collaboratively. Mr. Gorman stated his recommendation is that they again have no fees and that the Town Manager's Office and Joe Agosto continue having discussions to get back to where they were before. Ms. Phillips asked if they knew the percentage of people who signed up for a permit actually used it. Mr. Gorman stated 30% of the people who signed up for a permit did not pick it up. Mr. Gorman stated in the first five weeks, they were seeing a lot of new faces. Ms. Bates asked how this impacts the budget or was it not enough that they were collecting in fees to make an impact. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues stated they were always running in the red. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues stated the last couple of years they ran anywhere between a $10,000 to$25,000 deficit. Mr. Gorman stated last year was about $50,000 in salaries for the lifeguards with no money coming in. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues stated they had absorbed all of that after already absorbing the initial deficit amount over the years. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues stated there is not an impact on the budget this year, but it is being covered through the general fund. Ms. Bates asked if it was a line item that was added to the budget. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues stated yes. Mr. Roache asked if they anticipate that if they continue this process people may get used to it and then all of a sudden the notion of trying to add fees back may be hard to swallow for residents. Mr. Gorman stated they have been advising residents that this was only going to be a one maybe two year situation. Ms. Phillips asked if there was a swimming lesson plan. Mr. Gorman stated they were trying to get out of the swimming lesson business as it was costing them more money. Mr. Gorman stated they tried to negotiate with the YMCA, but it never came to fruition. Mr. Gorman stated swimming lessons is a discussion that the Town Manager's Office and the Youth department should continue to have for the future. Request to use the Town Common for Children's Shows and concerts Mr. Gorman discussed the annual request of having 8 children's shows and 9 Sunday night concerts on the common. Mr. Gorman stated the children's shows will be between the week after July 4th until the end of July. Mr. Gorman stated they are in the process of scheduling the concerts. Mr. Gorman stated they received the cultural grant again this year. Mr. Gorman stated the rain site for the children's shows will be at the Middle School. Mr. Gorman stated they do not have a rain site for Sunday nights. Mr. Roache asked if the expanded stage has helped open up any other avenues for programming. Mr. Gorman stated it has worked out for their larger bands, and they do have an exercise program that uses the stage. Mr. Gorman stated a drama group used it last year. MOTION: Mr. Kres motioned to approve the request of Youth Services to use the Town Common for the summer children's shows and concerts. Ms. Smedile seconded. Motion approved by roll call vote Smedile-yes, Bates-yes, Roache-yes, Kres-yes, Phillips-yes. Election working group report Pat Grimm and Heather McNeil were present. Ms. Grimm stated the group was responsible for looking at the impact of changing the date for the annual town election. Ms. Grimm discussed a number of factors that they considered. Ms. Grimm stated there were 10 people appointed to the working group. Ms. Grimm discussed the flash vote surveys that were conducted to gather data from the public. Ms. Grimm stated they reached out to other Town Clerks and recent candidates for local office. Ms. Grimm discussed some of the findings from the surveys. Ms. Grimm stated at the time of the October survey, they were focusing on the possibility of early June as an election date. Ms. Grimm stated the December survey focused on running for office. Ms. NORTH ANDOVER SELECT BOARD MINUTES JANUARY 26, 2026 Grimm stated they found that Walpole was the only town who had recently changed the date of their local election. Ms. Grimm stated it was only shifted by one week. Ms. Grimm discussed other factors that they were asked to consider. Ms. Grimm stated election work is now a full-time operation for about 6 to 8 weeks prior to each election. Ms. Grimm discussed the three dates the group looked at in detail and provided the challenges they found. Ms. Grimm stated low engagement in local elections is not an issue unique to North Andover. Ms. Grimm discussed what they learned from the local surveys and outside research. Ms. Grimm stated they did not find significant evidence that changing the date would increase engagement. Ms. Phillips thanked the group for their work. Mr. Roache asked if they did any kind of survey of the existing conditions across Massachusetts and does their election cadence typically follow something similar to North Andover or do more Towns do their elections after Town Meeting. Ms. Grimm stated they did look at several comparable towns, but they did not include the offset between elections and Town Meeting in their data gathering. Ms. Burzlaff stated Dawne Warren created a spreadsheet in the beginning with the election dates and town meeting dates for other areas. Ms. Phillips stated what the group found was that residents are saying there is no correlation between their decision to run and any of those factors. Ms. McNeil mentioned the significance in their findings of people wanting more information about elections overall. Ms. McNeil stated going forward they need to look at how they can engage people. Mr. Roache asked if she sees that as something more on the candidates or more on the Town. Ms. McNeil stated it would be helpful for the Town to talk about how local elections work. Ms. Grimm stated they learned from the different research projects the importance of getting information to people where they already are as opposed to expecting them to seek out information. Vote to appoint sufficient number of police details for elections MOTION: Mr. Kres motioned in accordance with Massachusetts General Laws chapter 54, section 72, to appoint the number of police details for the elections that is recommended by the Chief of Police. Ms. Bates seconded. Motion approved by roll call vote Smedile-yes, Bates-yes, Roache-yes, Kres-yes, Phillips-yes. Vote to open the 2026 Town Meeting Warrant at 8:OOAM on January 27, 2026 and close on March 9, 2026 at 4:30PM MOTION: Mr. Roache motioned to open the warrant for the May 12, 2026 Annual Town Meeting at 8:OOAM on January 27, 2026 and close the warrant at 4:30PM on March 9, 2026. Mr. Kres seconded. Motion approved by roll call vote Smedile-yes, Bates-yes, Roache-yes, Kres-yes, Phillips-yes. Request of the Poet Laureate Committee to set a rain date of July 18, 2026 for the Anne Bradstreet Day of Gratitude on the Town Common MOTION: Mr. Kres motioned to approve the request of the Poet Laureate Committee to set the rain date of July 18, 2026 for the Anne Bradstreet Day of Gratitude. Ms. Bates seconded. Motion approved by roll call vote Smedile-yes, Bates-yes, Roache-yes, Kres-yes, Phillips-yes. Waiver of right of first refusal for affordable unit at 119 Cortland Drive MOTION: Mr. Kres motioned to waive the right of first refusal for the affordable unit at 119 Cortland Drive. Mr. Roache seconded. Motion approved by roll call vote Smedile-yes, Bates-yes, Roache-yes, Kres-yes, Phillips-yes. NORTH ANDOVER SELECT BOARD MINUTES JANUARY 26, 2026 Appointment of Eileen Kelly to Board of Registrars Ms. Phillips asked if Eileen was already on the Board of Registrars and was just being reappointed. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues stated yes. MOTION: Ms. Bates motioned to reappoint Eileen Kelly to the Board of Registrars. Mr. Roache seconded. Motion approved by roll call vote Smedile-yes, Bates-yes, Roache-yes, Kres-yes, Phillips-yes. LICENSING MOTION: Mr. Kres motioned to open a meeting of the North Andover Licensing Commission. Mr. Roache seconded. Motion approved by roll call vote Smedile-yes, Bates-yes, Roache-yes, Kres-yes, Phillips-yes. Application from Elbridge Leland of Marble Ridge Farm, LLC for a change of hours and an entertainment license Elbridge Leland was present. Mr. Kres provided Marble Ridge Farm's hours of operation. Mr. Leland discussed the application. Mr. Leland stated they are requesting an extension of their existing hours. Mr. Leland stated they are asking to be open week nights from 11AM to 9PM and weekend nights and holidays from 11 AM to 10PM. Mr. Leland stated they do not anticipate being open at this full schedule all of the time but would like the flexibility. Mr. Leland stated they are also requesting an entertainment license during their open hours in the areas they are approved to sell alcohol. Mr. Leland discussed the entertainment they would like to offer. Ms. Phillips asked if they anticipate any of the entertainment taking place outside. Mr. Leland stated yes. Mr. Kres asked what steps they plan on taking to ensure the noise levels are reasonable given it is a residential area. Mr. Leland stated they have spoken to all of the abutters and are familiar with the state's requirements. Mr. Leland stated they modeled their application after a similar application from another farm down the road. Mr. Kres asked what type of complaints they have received in the past. Mr. Leland stated vehicles were parking in the wrong direction. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues stated the other farm with similar hours does have some additional conditions that the Board may want to consider. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues discussed the conditions. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues asked if there was a tent on their site. Mr. Leland stated no. Mr. Leland discussed where the speakers would be pointed. Ms. Bates asked if the sound barriers on the other property were installed after the license was issued. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues stated there was a noise study conducted after the license was issued and there were a series of complaints. Mr. Leland stated they do not plan to have the same circumstances as the other farm. Ms. Phillips stated as long as they are open to continuing the discussion if there is a problem down the road. Mr. Roache asked how does the uniquely shaped parcel work with the neighbors, the abutters, where the driveway easement is going through, and would they be able to make that a more predictable area as to where entertainment could take place. Mr. Leland explained why they licensed the entire parcel. Mr. Leland stated they are envisioning most of the entertainment inside of their tasting room with some outside during nice weather. Ms. Phillips suggested approving the hours of operation and entertainment license application with a three month check in from now. Ms. Bates suggested extending that to six months. MOTION: Ms. Phillips motioned to approve the request to change the operating hours and the entertainment license application request with the condition of having a check-in by the end of May, Mr. Roache seconded. Ms. Burzlaff stated they have to approve the license through January. Ms. Warren stated it is a 12 month license. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues stated it would be good to have a check in to ensure they were not receiving complaints. Mr. Roache asked if the check in would just be checking the file and Brigg would not have to NORTH ANDOVER SELECT BOARD MINUTES JANUARY 26, 2026 come back unless there was an issue. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues stated they will reach out to Brigg, talk to the different departments, and to talk to 911 to see if there have been any noise complaints. Ms. Bates asked if there were any benefits to having a plan attached to the license. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues stated yes, it would be helpful to know which way the speakers will be facing. Mr. Kres asked if that would be part of the 4 month check in. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues stated yes. Ms. Burzlaff stated at the other location, the sound study determined where the speakers were to go. Mr. Kres asked if there were two sound studies;one to determine the best location and one to test it out. Ms. Burzlaff stated yes. MOTION: Mr. Roache motioned to amend the previous motion to a six month check in instead of four. Ms. Bates seconded. Motion approved by roll call vote Smedile-yes, Bates-yes, Roache-yes, Kres-yes, Phillips-yes. MOTION: Ms. Smedile motioned to close the meeting of the North Andover Licensing Commission. Ms. Bates seconded. Motion approved by roll call vote Smedile-yes, Bates-yes, Roache-yes, Kres-yes, Phillips-yes. CONSENT ITEMS A. Accept donations in the amount of$1,280 to the Festival Committee for Sheep Shearing B. Accept donations in the amount of$300 to the Festival Committee in memory of Beth Davis C. Accept donations to the Festival Committee from NA Booster Club in the amount of$600 for the Santa Parade D. Accept donation in the amount of$3,000 from Lowell Five Bank E. Accept donation to the library from the Friends of the Stevens Memorial Library in the amount of $5,500 to support the library's spring program F. Accept donation to the library from Anne Erickson in the amount of$30 MOTION: Mr. Kres motioned to accept all consent items. Mr. Roache seconded. Motion approved by roll call vote Smedile-yes, Bates-yes, Roache-yes, Kres-yes, Phillips-yes. APPROVAL OF OPEN SESSION MINUTES OF JANUARY 5, 2026 MOTION: Mr. Kres motioned to approve the Open Session minutes of January 5, 2026 as presented. Ms. Smedile seconded. Motion approved by roll call vote Smedile-yes, Bates-yes, Roache-yes, Kres-yes, Phillips-yes. SELECT BOARD UPDATES Ms. Phillips thanked the DPW for their work with the snowstorm. Mr. Roache thanked the contractor for helping shovel out hydrants. TOWN MANAGER'S REPORT Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues thanked the DPW. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues mentioned that school and non-essential buildings will be closed tomorrow. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues mentioned that trash is not delayed. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues mentioned that CPC applications are due on January 30th. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues mentioned the number of job postings as there have been some retirements. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues mentioned that she signed the electrical service for the RecPlex this week. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues mentioned Bonnie in the Community Development department retired this last week. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues mentioned internal budget meetings were starting today. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues mentioned the school's NORTH ANDOVER SELECT BOARD MINUTES JANUARY 26, 2026 monthly update was attached to her report. Ms. Murphy-Rodrigues stated the deadline to request an abatement on taxes is February 1. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Mr. Roache made a MOTION, seconded by Ms. Bates to adjourn the Select Board meeting at 8:06PM. Motion approved by roll call vote Smedile-yes, Bates-yes, Roache-yes, Kres-yes, Phillips-yes. Respectfully submitted, Nicole Civitarese Executive Assistant Brian Roache, Clerk of the Board Documents used at meeting Memorandums Report Appointment License application Donations Minutes from 1/5/26 Town Manager Report