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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-06-10 Board of Selectmen Minutes BOARD OF SELECTMEN MINUTES June 10, 2002 CALL TO ORDER: Rosemary Smedile called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. ATTENDANCE: The following were present: Rosemary C. Smedile Chairman; James M. Xenakis; Susan Haltmaier; Donald Stewart;Wendy Wakeman; Mark Rees, Town Manager; and Raymond Santilli, Assistant Town Manager. EXECUTIVE SESSION: Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by Donald Stewart,to move into Executive Session to discuss Real Property: Maritimes Pipeline; vote approved 5-0. The Board of Selectmen was individually polled and each voted to move into Executive Session. Vote: Wendy Wakeman yes; Donald Stewart yes; Susan Haltmaier yes; James Xenakis yes; Rosemary Smedile yes. Chairman Smedile stated the Board would be returning to Open Session after the Executive Session. COMMUNICATIONS,ANNOUNCEMENTS,AND PUBLIC COMMENT: Certificate of Accomplishment for Eagle Scout Patrick Matthew Lynch. The Board of Selectmen presented Patrick Matthew Lynch with a Certificate of Accomplishment for achieving the rank of Eagle Scout. Patrick's Eagle Scout project was in the preparation of a town-wide hydrant inventory and Adopt-A- Hydrant program addressing fire safety needs in the Town of North Andover. Patrick Lynch thanked the Town for realizing how important this project has been and also thanked Fire Chief William Dolan for his assistance. Certificate of Accomplishment: Michael Flaherty, National Student Leadership Conference. The Board of Selectmen presented Michael Flaherty with a Certificate of Accomplishment for being chosen to attend the National Student Leadership Conference on Medicine and Healthcare in Washington, D.C. from August 1-11, 2002. LICENSING COMMISSIONERS: Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by Donald Stewart,to move into Licensing; vote approved 5 —0. James Xenakis excused himself before the discussion due to a possible conflict of interest. PUBLIC HEARING: Review of Alleged Liquor Law Violation. Officer Jay Staude of the North Andover Police Department was present to update the Board of Selectmen on what he observed while on duty March 24, 2002 at Richdale Dairy Store at 75 Chickering Road. There are two possible violations that should be addressed by the Licensing Commissioners: 1. 204 CMR 2.05 Preventing Illegalities-sale or delivery to an under aged person 2. Not being TIPS certified(no record of Clerk Rachel A, McKeon as certified) Investigation by Officer Staude revealed that the Richdale clerk, Rachel Mckeon of 89 Emerson Street, Haverhill, MA, did not request identification from the youth, as she has asked to see the identification from the same person in the past. Storeowner, Kevin Sharp,was completely cooperative with the investigation, as he too wanted the truth. Mr. Sharp has since fired his employee and apologized for the incident. It may be noted that Mr. Sharp has always cooperated with the police community policing initiatives and this is his first violation in eighteen years. Rosemary Smedile made a MOTION, seconded by Susan Haltmaier,to send Mr. Kevin Sharp of Richdale Dairy Store, a letter of reprimand; vote approved 4-0. (James Xenakis did not participate in the discussion or the vote). Proposed Taxi & Livery Regulations. Town Clerk Joyce Bradshaw presented a draft of the proposed Taxi and Livery Regulations for review. The proposal was a result of a multi-community project including Police, Licensing Commissioners and staff,the Registry of Motor Vehicles, and a representative from the Insurance and Liability Board. In an effort to provide regulations that would be uniform throughout the Merrimack Valley,the Andover,North Andover, Methuen, and Lawrence Police Departments and Licensing Agents met to produce a comprehensive set of regulations. The intent of the group was to share ideas, look at existing regulations and policies, and bring forward a unified recommendation to bring to their Licensing Commissions for approval. Board of Selectmen Minutes June 10,2002 Page 2 Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by Rosemary Smedile,to accept the Taxi and Livery License Regulations as proposed by the Town Clerk; vote approved 5-0. Change of Location: Livery License for Robert Vargas of Andover Limousine. Mr. Robert Vargas has filed an application to change the location of his limousine business from 85 Main Street to 1593 Osgood Street and increase the number of vehicles from 4 to 5. Favorable recommendations have been received from the Building Inspector, Robert Nicetta, Police Lt. John Carney and Lt. Andrew Melnekis of the North Andover Fire Department. All are in agreement that the change will be for the good, alleviating the current traffic situation on Main Street. Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by Susan Haltmaier,to approve the change of location for Robert Vargas of Andover Limousine; vote approved 5-0. Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by Susan Haltmaier,to move out of Licensing; vote approved 5-0. CONSENT ITEMS: Donald Stewart made a MOTION, seconded by Wendy Wakeman,to approve the following for the North Andover Festival Committee: 1. Permission to use the Old Center Common from July 3, 2002 at 4:00 p.m.-July 4, 2002. 2. A road race and parade permit for July 4, 2002. 3. Permission to close Mass Avenue from Osgood Street to the Old Center starting from 6:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. on July 4, 2002, for the purpose of conducting a road race and bicycle parade. OLD BUSINESS: North Andover Youth Hockey: Proposal for Iee Rink. William Cunningham, President of North Andover Youth Hockey League,thanked the Board of Selectmen for allowing him the opportunity to appear before the Board and present a proposal for an Ice Rink in North Andover. Mr. Cunningham stated the Town of North Andover has acres of town owned land along Sharpners Pond Road. Presently the town has a multitude of soccer fields and baseball fields on this site. This site has a recreational theme to it. After several visits with Director of Community Development Heidi Griffin, 4 acres owned by the town have been identified along Sharpners Pond Road, which appears to be an ideal site for a proposed ice rink. This site is industrialized zoned with a permissible use being that of a hockey rink. The request this evening is for the Town Selectmen to consider the donation of this designated parcel of property to the non-profit hockey program upon a validated completed survey. This survey would take approximately one month to complete. Upon the transfer of property to the hockey program,the non-profit would then put forth a Request for Proposal to interested rink owners, developers, hockey team and skills program owners. Some of the benefits to the Town would be: the private sector partner would begin paying real estate taxes immediately on the property. The North Andover High School hockey team would be given exclusive use of the ice at a discounted cost. This could save the high school budget thousands of dollars. The North Andover Youth Hockey League would receive exclusive ice time for all practices and games. All home games would be in North Andover. From a parental convenience perspective, parents would know their child's practice schedule from September through March. Having a consistent practice schedule is one of the most important aspects the proposal. While other sport youth programs in North Andover are expensive to maintain,the proposal set forth by the North Andover Youth Hockey League would actually generate revenues back to the town. Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by Donald Stewart,to authorize the Town Manager to continue to work with William Cunningham, President of the North Andover Youth Hockey League on more formalized or final proposal and come back before the Board of Selectmen; vote approved 5-0. Outside Water Use Ban. J. William Hmurciak, Director of Public Works, informed the Board of Selectmen during the month of May 2002, rainfall was 1.23 inches greater than average, water consumption is projected to be 40 million gallons less than the month of May 2001, a 32%decrease, and the elevation of Lake Cochichewick was 110.4 on May 30'h an increase of 0.9 feet from May 1St The Lake is now 9%below normal, which is in the Drought Watch Stage. The recommended action for the Drought Watch Stage is to reduce the mandatory measures of the Drought Warning Stage and encourage voluntary conservation measures, which limit outside water use as much as possible. It is strongly encouraged that the use of irrigation systems be limited to before 7 AM and after 7 PM. Board of Selectmen Minutes June 10,2002 Page 3 In accordance with Section 177-6 of the Water Use Restriction Bylaw the Mandatory State of Water Supply Emergency should be terminated. Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by Donald Stewart,to adopt the new water use restrictions that encourage voluntary conservation and limited outside water use and eliminate the mandatory measures currently in place; vote approved 5-0. NEW BUSINESS: Health Insurance Review: Group Benefits Strategies. Per the Board's request,the Town's Health Insurance Consultant, Kevin Walsh Vice-President of Group Benefit Strategies has been invited to appear before the Board to discuss the Town's health insurance program. Mr.Walsh stated his company receives $10,000 annually for services from the Town to protect and assist the Town. Mr.Walsh stated this is the third year of double digit rate increases with average rate increases this year of 15%-20 0/0. In order to make a change in the plan whether it is the co-pay or the prescription scale, all changes are subject to collective bargaining and agreement must be reached with all unions including the school department. The Town added 40 new subscribers in the last 12 months. This is double what the Town was seeing in prior years. On funding, Mr.Walsh stated about 80%of cost goes to the provider, 10%goes to administrative charges,the fee that goes to Blue Cross for benefit booklets, ID cards, for the provider network etc. The remaining 10%is truly insurance. It will cost the Town of North Andover approximately$4 Million dollars to insure approximately 750 employees. James Xenakis asked what is generally accepted as a percentage of insurance budgets to have in reserve. Mr.Walsh stated ideally 16%or two months of claims, which is $600,000. However, with enrollment growth and 20%claim trends you need to increase that balance by 20%-25%under current market place conditions. Mr.Walsh stated North Andover's insurance contribution is comparable to other communities. The Town of North Andover's contribution is 50%for Blue Cross Master Health Plus, 65%for Blue Choice, 90%for HMO Blue and 65%for Blue Care 65 Retiree Plans. It averages 83%. One of the areas that make the most immediate dollar impact is to change the employee contribution however; it is the most difficult change to make at the collective bargaining table. There is a seminar in Auburn June 14, 2002 at 9:00 AM. The last time there was a coalition was 1998. In a coalition you get all unions together to discuss insurance. Michele Nadeau asked who could call a coalition. The Town Manager stated he could call a coalition with the help of the Assistant Town Manager. Ms. Nadeau asked the Town Manager if he could do that in the next three months. The Town's increase in March '02 renewal saw an increase of 4%in Blue Choice, 14%on Master Health Plus, 19%on HO Blue, and 21%for Blue Care 65. This averaged a 20%increase but overall an increase of 34%due to the increased enrollment that the Town had not budgeted. 32B states you shall provided retired employees insurance for life. An employee who works 20 or more hours a week regularly is entitled to health insurance. TOWN MANAGER'S REPORT: PERAC. The legislature recently passed an early retirement bill for municipal employees from the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission. This will be discussed in detail at a future meeting. Donations for the purchase of Half-Mile Hill Property. The Town recently received the following donations towards the purchase of the Half-Mile Hill Property. 1. Nathaniel and Elizabeth Stevens Foundation-$10,000. 2. Abbot and Dorothy H. Stevens Foundation-$500. 3. Samuel and Ann Rogers-$500. "Buy-A-Sign" Program-North Andover Trails Committee. The North Andover Trails Committee and Bicycle Advocacy Committee recently embarked upon a"Buy-A-Sign" program to buy and install "Bicycle Share the Road" signs on the recently identified road loops in town. People who are interested in donating to this program can contact the Manager's office. The cost per sign is $60.00. ADJOURNMENT: Susan Haltmaier made a MOTION, seconded by Wendy Wakeman,to adjourn the meeting at 9:45 PM; vote approved 5-0. Kathleen O'Neill Administrative Secretary James M. Xenakis, Clerk of the Board