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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001-06-18 Board of Selectmen Minutes BOARD OF SELECTMEN MINUTES June 18, 2001 CALL TO ORDER: James Xenakis called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM at the North Andover Senior Center. ATTENDANCE: The following were present: James M. Xenakis, Chairman; Rosemary Smedile; Donald B. Stewart;William Duffy; Mark Rees, Town Manager. EXECUTIVE SESSION: William Duffy made a MOTION, seconded by Rosemary Smedile,to move into Executive Session to discuss continued litigation with Mesiti Development Corporation, litigation with Maritimes Pipeline and pending litigation as regards to the Environmental Protection Agency; vote approved 4-0. The Board of Selectmen was individually polled and each voted to move into Executive Session. Chairman Xenakis stated the Board would be returning to Open Session after the Executive Session. COMMUNICATIONS,ANNOUNCEMENTS,AND PUBLIC COMMENT Firefighter Safety Equipment Grant Program. Chief William Dolan updated the Board that the State of Massachusetts had a one hundred million dollar grant of which North Andover was awarded$30,899 to purchase safety equipment that the Fire Department would not normally be able to purchase. When the Town was awarded the grant the Union members worked together with the Chief and Deputy Chief in choosing items that would be best for the firefighters. Senator Bruce Tarr stated that after the tragedy the fire in Worcester, MA, it was discovered many departments needed thermal imaging cameras and other equipment. Senator Tarr said it was very satisfying to be able to put good equipment in the hands of good people. North Andover has outstanding firefighters, which he witnessed at a recent fire at the incinerator. Deputy Morgan and several firefighters showed some of their new safety equipment, new rechargeable flashlights, automatic strobes, rescue ropes, hose line indicators, multi-purpose gas monitor, a Hydra Ram II, goggles for SCBA masks and large spotlights. Leonard White, President of the Firefighters Union, on behalf of the Chief, Deputy and all members of the North Andover Fire Department presented Senator Bruce Tarr with a plaque thanking him for his support of the fire fighter safety equipment program that will enhance the personal safety of the North Andover Firefighters along with a department issued cap. Community Preservation Program: Department of Environmental Affairs. William Dunn from the Department of Environmental Affairs and Jerrard J.Whitten, a senior environmental planner at the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission presented"build-out" studies, commissioned by the state. The town could have 36 more miles of roads when it is "built-out". The study says the Town could experience a 25%population increase, with the number climbing from 27,202 to 34,033, educate 1,447 more students, a 43%increase from the current level and see the number of households rise by 35%from 8,729 to 11,774. The study will help town boards take a closer look at issues when making decisions, such as changing the minimum lot size or acquiring land for open space preservation. According to the analysis,the remaining developable lane stands at 2,583 acres. At build-out residents and businesses would use an additional 1.1 million gallons of water per day, and put out 2,664 more tons of trash per year. Mr.Whitten can be reached at 978-374-0519 or jjwhittenAmYP.org. After viewing this presentation the Town is eligible to apply for$30,000 in vouchers for consultants and engineering fees. CONSENT ITEMS: Circus Permit: Lion's Club, August 14-15, 2001. Richard Trepanier addressed the Board on behalf of the Lions Club to update the Board on what the Lion's Club is,their objectives, and how they work to support the community of North Andover and the visually impaired. The Lions Club has donated$10,000 to eye research;they have the Lions Eye Mobile Screening and give scholarships. The Lion's Club is asking to Board of Selectmen Minutes June 18,2001 Page 2 hold a circus on August 14 & 15, 2001. Members from the Lions Club also present: Neil Hamel, President; Art Laro, Secretary, Joyce Bradshaw, Jack Graham and Ben Perrone. William Duffy made a MOTION, seconded by Rosemary Smedile,to approve the circus permit for the Lion's Club; vote approved 4— 0. Rosemary Smedile wanted to thank the Lions Club for all their effort on behalf of the town's people of North Andover and is very grateful for what the Lion's Club does, and stated they are a great organization. North Andover Fire Department, Permission for Fund Raising. Lt. Bill McCarthy addressed the Board and stated the fire fighters wanted to improve athletic equipment at both stations. They are looking for cardio vascular equipment like tread mills and stair masters. The cost is approximately$10,000 to $12,000. The firefighters would like to ask area businesses as part of their fundraising. Donald Stewart made a MOTION, seconded by Rosemary Smedile,to permit the fund raising for athletic equipment for both fire stations; vote approved 4— 0. LICENSING COMMISSIONERS: Donald Stewart made a MOTION, seconded by William Duffy to move into Licensing; vote approved 4-0. Public Hearing-Rohm and Haas Company. James Xenakis made a MOTION, seconded by William Duffy,to approve a Fuel Storage Licenses for Rohm and Haas Company of 60 Willow Street,North Andover, MA; vote approved 4-0 James Xenakis made a MOTION, seconded by Rosemary Smedile,to move out of Licensing; vote approved 4— 0. OLD BUSINESS: Bond Approval: $3,709,000 in general obligation bonds. Town issued a general obligation bond for $3,709,000. On advise of the financial advisor Fleet Securities,the Town bought bond insurance which allowed the Town to get the interest rate associated with AAA Bond at the cost of the insurance premium associated with that. Donald Stewart left the meeting at 9:00 PM to go home. William Duffy had a couple of questions as to why the Town is bonding small amounts under$50,000 and realizes there have been a lot of changeover in the Finance Department but would like to request the Finance Director to come to the Board prior to putting together the plan for bonding and tell the Board what kind of program you have and what you are bonding so the Board will know what is happening in a timely matter. William Duffy made a MOTION, seconded by Rosemary Smedile,to approve and authorize the general obligation bond for$3,709,000 and sign the authorization; vote approved 3 — 0. These bonds are callable after 2012. The insurance is $10,900. The interest rate on the bonds is 4.09% Boxford Street Traffic Issues. Sgt. Soucy addressed the Board and reported after several meetings with residents and completing traffic studies Sgt. Soucy stated the residents should be commended for their efforts. MA Highway sent back a response requesting North Andover to complete the speed survey and it should be at the request of the Board of Selectmen and not Sgt. Soucy. The data has been collected and returned to MA Highway. Board of Selectmen Minutes June 18,2001 Page 3 William Duffy made a MOTION, seconded by Rosemary Smedile,to authorize the placement of stop signs at the corner of Forest Street and Boxford Street and Candlestick&Boxford Street; vote approved 3 — 0. Rosemary Smedile made a MOTION, seconded by William Duffy,to petition the State to reduce the speed limit on Boxford Street in the zones posted 40 mph to 35 mph and in the zones posted 35 mph to 30 mph; vote approved 3 — 0. Foster Farm Fields. James Rand, Director of Engineering for the Town of North Andover addressed the Board and updated them on the proposed soccer fields at Foster Farm. Instead of three fields and 100 parking spaces there will be two fields and approximately 90 parking spaces because of wetlands, vernal pools and conservation. Ben Gary of Moriece &Gary presented maps and updated the Board on the proposed soccer fields. Rosemary Smedile asked to James Rand to work with the school department and have them sign off on plans to be sure the high school has a field during the construction of the new high school. Virginia Campagna of 114 Boxford Street stated the culvert has to be replaced near her property as she has so much runoff that she never had before. Developing the playing fields and parking lot will add to the runoff making the road dangerous with water and ice. Ms. Campagna asked if there were not enough parking spaces would people be parking on Boxford Street. Sgt Soucy stated there would be no parking on either side of Boxford Street. James Rand stated there would be drainage calculations will be incorporated in the designs. There will be no runoff from the site,the fields are grass now and they will be grass afterwards. The gravel area is gravel with leaching basins. The leaching basins would pick up the runoff from gravel area. Mr. Gary and James Rand stated they would maximize the number of parking spaces. The architect and engineers still have to meet with the Conservation Commission. Telecommunications Subcommittee Recommendations regarding Steven's Estate. The Board has previously requested a recommendation from the Telecommunications Committee regarding whether or not one or two poles located on Osgood Hill would be better for the town. The Telecommunications Committee recommended having a single pole utilized by both carriers. William Duffy made a MOTION, seconded by Rosemary Smedile,to accept the recommendations of the Telecommunications subcommittee; vote approved 3 —0. Sewer Connection for Genesis Healthcare d/b/a Sutton Hill Rest Home. At the last Board of Selectmen meeting the board tabled a decision on allowing the connection of this rest home to the Rt. 114 sewer line, which Mesiti Development Corp has stated is agreeable to them and that the connection fees would go to North Andover. The issue was possible problems with the disposal of pills in the sewer system. There are rules and regulations governing the use of the town's sewer system that prohibits the disposal of anything into the sewer system that may cause problems. It also provides for the DPW to inspect locations where it suspects unauthorized disposal is taking place. Under the Town of North Andover's Sewer Use Ordinances, Article III-Use of Public Sewers controls what can be discharged into the public sewers. GLSD also has more stringent ordinances, which control the discharge into all sewers, which are tributary to their treatment facility. William Duffy stated that in executive session three weeks ago the Board did vote to allow the nursing home to tie into the sewer. There has been internal discussion as to how the Board is going to handle votes taken in executive session and there will be a practice when the Board reaches final action in executive session to release the vote hereafter. It is confusing to say the Board is taking action when it was already voted in executive session. Action was taken three weeks ago in executive session to authorize the charge or$1,557 per unit for connection to the sewer at Sutton Hill Rest Home. NEW BUSINESS: Appointments to Town Boards and Committees. With the agenda packets the Board was issued information that provided a number of potential vacancies as of July 1, 2001, on town boards and Board of Selectmen Minutes June 18,2001 Page 4 committees. Many incumbents have called the Town Manager's office requesting to be reappointed as well as residents who have come forward as a result of advertisements in local newspapers. For the Town Manager's appointments the Town Manager is going to interview the various people who have expressed interest in serving and will make a decision after those discussions. William Duffy made a MOTION, seconded by Rosemary Smedile,to appoint Donald Stewart and Rosemary Smedile to a sub committee to resolve the making of recommendations for the individuals being appointed to the various committees in town; vote approved 3-0. Financial Task Force Appointment. James Xenakis and Rosemary Smedile interviewed the candidates and while all were excellent candidates Mr. James Messeder had the most comprehensive background and is the subcommittees recommended candidate for the Task Force. Rosemary Smedile made a MOTION, seconded by William Duffy,to appoint James Messeder as a member of the Financial Task Force; vote approved 3 — 0. Rosemary Smedile would like the Town Manager to send the other two candidates letters thanking them for their interest in serving the town. The other candidates were Judith Goodwin and John Pallone. GLSD Monitoring Procedures. At a previous meeting the Board requested that staff develop a procedure for reporting and compiling complaints received from the public regarding the operations of the GLSD plant; primarily odor complaints. Sandy Starr from the Health Department drafted protocol for the Boards review. The Board of Health is to be called during the day and in the evening the non-emergency number of the Police Department would be called. The Police would then notify the Board of Health. Joan Kulash stated she has concerns with not just the odors but also the root cause of the problem, what the people were exposed to and what steps are being taken so it does not happen again. Also, how will the community be made aware of what they were exposed to? Joan Kulash thinks it is wonderful that steps are being taken to do something about this but a corrective action plan is needed. Joan Kulash is looking for a tighter plan with controls and feedback. William Duffy made a MOTION, seconded by Rosemary Smedile,to instruct the Town Manager to work with the Board of Health, GLSD and various environmental groups to formulate a response mechanism with the emphasis on response and feedback; vote approved 3 — 0. Board Reorganization. It has been the practice of the Board to reorganize at the last scheduled meeting in June of each year. Chairman of the Board of Selectmen. James Xenakis stated the past year was a pleasure serving the Board as Chairman and working together with Town Manager Mark Rees. Mr. Xenakis also stated he has worked with a couple different Town Manager's and a couple different Finance Directors and he is up for reelection this year it is important to have someone truly committed time wise and whose heart is in it and can think of no better person than Rosemary Smedile. William Duffy made a MOTION, James Xenakis passed the gavel to the clerk, James Xenakis seconded the MOTION,to elect Rosemary Smedile as Chairman of the Board of Selectmen at the end of the fiscal year; vote approved 3 — 0. Rosemary Smedile passed the gavel back to James Xenakis and thanked him and William Duffy for their kind words. Chairman of Licensing Commission. Rosemary Smedile made a MOTION, seconded by William Duffy,to reappoint Donald Stewart as Chairman of Licensing; vote approved 3 — 0. Board of Selectmen Minutes June 18,2001 Page 5 Clerk of the Board of Selectmen. William Duffy made a MOTION, seconded by Rosemary Smedile,to appoint James Xenakis as Clerk of the Board; vote approved 3 — 0. Rosemary Smedile thanked James Xenakis for being Chairman of the Board, stated Mr. Xenakis has kept the Board on task and moved the meetings along, did a great job. William Duffy wanted to second those comments and looks forward to working with James Xenakis in the future. William Duffy also stated he agreed with James Xenakis's comment with a policy to having somebody other than a selectman up for reelection serve as the Chair, both time wise and issue wise it could be a problem. James Xenakis also said he thought Chair should only be for one year because of time constraints. TOWN MANAGER'S REPORT: Mark Rees also stated it was a pleasure working with James Xenakis and looks forward to working with Rosemary Smedile as the new Chairman of the Board of Selectmen. Mark Rees updated the Board on his last weeks activities attending a Fire Fighters Memorial Service and on Tuesday evening attended a school committee meeting where he voted against the proposed teacher's contract citing his concerns for the cost of the contract in years 2 and 3. Thrift Shop Board of Directors Meeting, On Wednesday evening Mark Rees attended the Thrift Shop Board of Directors meeting. At the meeting the Board asked the Town Manager to commence negotiations with Center Realty Trust for the purpose of acquiring the property at the corner of Sutton Street and Main Street using the insurance proceeds from the fire. Lawrence Airport Commission. Late Thursday afternoon the Town Manager attended a meeting where the issue of the Airport Industrial Park was discussed. The issue before the Commission is whether or not to recommend to the FAA that property in the industrial park be leased or sold. It is the position of the Airport Economic Development Commission that maximum benefit to the city and town would come from the sale of land and not leasing it. The Airport Commission has requested additional information before making their recommendation. 3%Community Preservation Tax. At the recommendation of the DOR the 3%Community Preservation Tax will not be put on tax bills until the third and fourth quarter because the DOR is still working out the abatement procedures for low and moderate income. The will be doubled up on the January and April bills. ADJOURNMENT: William Duffy made a MOTION, seconded by Rosemary Smedile,to adjourn the meeting at 10:45 PM; vote approved 4— 0. Kathleen O'Neill Administrative Secretary Rosemary C. Smedile, Clerk of the Board