Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-01-27 Board of Selectmen Minutes BOARD OF SELECTMEN MINUTES JANUARY 27, 2003 CALL TO ORDER: Rosemary Smedile called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM at the Steven's Memorial Library. ATTENDANCE: The following were present: Rosemary Smedile, Chairman; James Xenakis; Donald B. Stewart; Susan Haltmaier;Wendy Wakeman; Mark Rees, Town Manager; Ray Santilli, Assistant Town Manager. Note: Certificates of Appreciation & Blue Star Service Banner would be taken out of order at this meeting. Certificates of Appreciation & Blue Star Service Banner. Edward Mitchell, Director of Veterans Services and James Cassidy, Commander of American Legion Post 219, presented recognition certificates and the Blue Star Service Banner to the families of active duty service personnel. North Andover is the first town in the New England area to present the Blue Star Service Banner to families of Service personnel, which was started back in World War I and continued in World War 11. The families of the following were present to accept the certificates and banner. Ptv. Christopher Bullis, US Army S/Sgt. Steven Swiniarski, US Army Capt. Christopher Caredo, US Army S/Sgt. Christopher Tierney, USMC MG/Sgt. Steven Taylor, USMC MG/Sgt. John Sakowicz, USMC First Lt. Aron Fenn, USMC S/Sgt. Stephen Webster, USMC APPROVAL OF MINUTES: James Xenakis made a MOTION, seconded by Wendy Wakeman, to approve the minutes of December 2, 2002, Open and Executive Session as written; December 5, 2002, Open Session as written; and December 16, 2002, Open Session as written. Vote approved 5-0. COMMUNICATIONS,ANNOUNCEMENTS, AND PUBLIC COMMENT: Certificate of Commendation. Fire Chief Dolan and the Board of Selectmen presented Sean J. Fountain, Jr. a certificate of commendation and thanks for his actions while off duty at a local restaurant on December 12, 2002, which resulted in saving the life of an individual in severe distress. Sean's immediate response to this situation is a reflection of dedication to assisting others and commitment as a North Andover Firefighter. Certificate of Appreciation. The Board of Selectmen presented Robert Mansour a certificate of appreciation for his 17 years of dedicated service to the Town of North Andover as a member of the Conservation Commission. Public Comment. Cindy Jalbert, 175 Webster Woods Lane, commented on a letter written by Selectman Xenakis that was published in the Eagle Tribune regarding remarks about the School Committee. Selectman Xenakis addressed his interpretation of his letter and clarified any misunderstanding. Wendy Wakeman supported James Xenakis in his statement. Dr. Bruce Baker, School Committee member said that he also read the letter and was upset by it. He stated that it was never the School Committee's intent to mislead the public and to present a budget that was disingenuous. Selectman Stewart stated that because of previous accusations in the newspaper by residents, Selectman Xenakis felt he should write a rebuttal. He continued that all of these accusations and letters have to stop. This Board of Selectmen Minutes January 27, 2003 2 Town is facing enormous budget cuts and a year of crucial decisions for its future. Everyone needs to stop dwelling on the past problems and work together to face the future. Susan Haltmaier said that the Board of Selectmen might have made mistakes in the past but is diligently working to avoid any problems for next year. LICENSING COMMISSIONERS: James Xenakis made a MOTION, seconded by Wendy Wakeman, to move into Licensing. Vote approved 5-0. Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by Rosemary Smedile, to approve the following one-day liquor license. Vote approved 5-0. 1. Merrimack College, 315 Turnpike Street, PKT Alumni Pre-Game Reception at Cascia Hall on Friday, February 7, 2003 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM, Beer and Wine only. Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by Rosemary Smedile, to approve the following one-day liquor license. Vote approved 5-0. 2. Julia Stitson, The Stevens Estate, 723 Osgood Street, requests the following one-day liquor license. David Goldstein, Comedy Theatre, February 1, 2003 from 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM All Alcohol. Wendy Wakeman asked that future requests for liquor licenses be submitted with complete information and in a timely manner from the Stevens Estate. Donald Stewart Chairman commented on the recent death in Newburyport of a teenager because of a drunken driver. He suggested forming a coalition with neighboring cities and towns to crack down on illegal possession of alcohol by minors. Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by Rosemary Smedile, to authorize the chairman to investigate what neighboring cities and towns are doing to crack down on illegal possession of alcohol by minors. James Xenakis added that there is an undercover"cops and shop operation" used by other cities and towns. North Andover should work with the police to bring this operation to North Andover. Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by Rosemary Smedile, to move out of licensing. Vote approved 5-0. CONSENT ITEMS: Request to use Town Commons, Sunday, May 18, 20030 Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by Susan Haltmaier, to approve the request by the Festival Committee to hold the 32nd annual Sheep Shearing Festival and 25th annual Arts & Crafts Fair at Town Common on Sunday, May 18, 2003, from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Vote approved 5-0. OLD BUSINESS: Rotary Club Signs. Mr. Frank Cordima, Treasurer of the North Andover Rotary Club resubmitted a formal request to install new Rotary Club signs at four various locations coming into town. These locations include Sutton Street, Route 125 South, and the replacement of two existing signs on Route 114. Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by Donald Stewart, to accept the request to install four signs of the North Andover Rotary Club. Vote approved 5-0. Revisions to Chapter 40B. In Heidi Griffin's absence, the Town Manager gave a synopsis of a written summary of changes to Chapter 40B by the State Department Of Housing &Community Development. He also gave a summary of a letter from the Town of Norton asking other communities to endorse actual statutory language on changes to the affordable housing law. After a discussion on various changes, the Town Manager recommended endorsing the Town of Norton in its proposal pursuing statutory language revisions on the Chapter 40B legislation. Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by James Xenakis, to endorse the Town of Norton's proposal for changes in statutory language revisions on the Chapter 40B legislation. Vote 5-0. Board of Selectmen Minutes January 27, 2003 3 Parking Issues at High School. The Town Manager reported the details of his meeting with members of the School Superintendent's Office, Police, Fire and DPW Departments. This meeting addressed the lack of parking at the high school, an inadequate parking policy in effect and the parking problem on nearby streets. Although this meeting did not result in a solution to the problem, many ideas were brought to the table as a temporary fix. The school administrators do not want to change the existing policy at this time. As an alternative, school officials suggested sending notices to parents and students suggesting carpooling, increase the use of bussing and to allow students to swap permits for allotted parking spaces at the high school with other students. Lt. Carney of the Police Department said that with the help of the DPW moving the snow back, the streets are wider. The Police suggested installing "No Parking" signs on East Water Street, Davis Street and Harkaway Road. Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by Donald Stewart, to approve installing "No Parking" signs on the south side of East Water Street only. Vote approved 5-0. FY04-08 Capital Budget. The Town Manager asked the Board of Selectmen to comply with the Town Charter and to act on the Town Manager's recommended Capital Budget Plan. The CIP will then be submitted to the Finance Committee, which shall issue its recommendations as part of the annual Finance Committee report. The Board needs to vote to accept, reject or modify the capital budget recommendations at tonight's meeting. Wendy Wakeman said, bearing in mind that things might change significantly; she is very reluctant to approve the CIP. The budget assumptions are good and if the Town receives about level funding, then this is a great CIP. She commends the Town Manager Mark Rees and Director of Finance Chuck Benevento for an outstanding job. Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by Susan Haltmaier, to endorse the preliminary CIP as presented by the Town Manager but reserve the right to revisit it in light of the state cuts in local aid. Vote approved 5-0. NEW BUSINESS: Budget Communications. The Town Manager suggested that the Board of Selectmen select two members to join the School Committee and the Finance Committee in participating in a reconstituted budget communications group. Another variation of that same theme is having the Chairs of the respective committees, along with staff, meet on a regular basis to discuss budget matters. There was a lengthy discussion from the Board on several problem issues regarding the Budget Communications meetings including: conflicting schedules, effective use of time, no specific goals, no clear agenda or direction, no chairman and too many contentious negotiations being made instead of effective communication. The Town Manager said that the expectation of this group is not to build a consensus on the budget. The expectation is to provide straightforward information from the different boards and bring back some concrete issues to the committees. James Xenakis made a MOTION, seconded by Susan Haltmaier, to appoint Rosemary Smedile and Wendy Wakeman to participate in the Budget Communications Group. Vote approved 3-2. Donald Stewart and James Xenakis opposed. The Town Manager informed the Board of another communication matter. The School Superintendent informed him that the School Committee would be conducting a public forum on the FY04 Budget on February 13, 2003. Dr. Allen invited the Board of Selectmen to jointly sponsor this forum with the School Committee. As an alternative, the Board of Selectmen could sponsor a separate forum in March with the Finance Committee sponsoring a forum in April. After a brief discussion, the Board decided not to join the School Committee forum but to conduct a separate forum. Board of Selectmen Minutes January 27, 2003 4 Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by Susan Haltmaier, to hold a separate public forum in either March or April. Vote approved 5-0. TOWN MANAGER'S REPORT: • The Town recently received correspondence from Senator Bruce Tarr requesting suggestions for the state to reduce costs and/or increase revenues. The Town Manager will distribute this request to division directors to solicit their input and at the same time, should the Board have any specific suggestions he would be glad to forward them on to Senator Tarr. • On Monday, February 3, 2003, the Merrimack Valley Chamber of Commerce will be sponsoring a breakfast meeting where Congressmen Martin Meehan and John Tierney will be the guest speakers. • A survey was recently sent to all Massachusetts cities and towns requesting information on any payment in lieu of taxes arrangements they may have with private colleges and secondary schools in their communities. • On Thursday, January 23, 2003, Chuck Benevento, Ray Santilli and the Town Manager met with representatives of the Massachusetts Inter-local Insurance Association (MIIA)to discuss health insurance, property and liability insurance programs. The Town is in the process of sending them the necessary information so that they can provide a proposal for their products. • On Wednesday, January 29, 2003, the Lawrence Airport Enterprise Commission will be conducting a meeting to discuss moving forward with the proposed industrial park. EXECUTIVE SESSION: Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by Susan Haltmaier, to move into Executive Session to discuss Collective Bargaining and to consider the interest in, and value of, real property with regard to easements related to television cable licensing and use of town ways for that purpose and the contract for the use of town property for such licensing because such discussions, if held in open session, would have a detrimental effect on the negotiating position of the Town. The Board would not return to Open Session. 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; James Xenakis yes; Susan Haltmaier yes; Rosemary Smedile yes. ADJOURNMENT: Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by Susan Haltmaier, to adjourn at 10:15 PM. Vote approved 5-0. Adele J. Johnson Administrative Secretary James M. Xenakis, Clerk of the Board