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Home My WebLink About2004-12-06 Board of Selectmen Minutes BOARD OF SELECTMEN MINUTES DECEMBER 6, 2004 CALL TO ORDER: Rosemary Connelly Smedile called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM at the Stevens Memorial Library. ATTENDANCE: The following were present: Rosemary Smedile, Chairman; Wendy Wakeman; James Xenakis; Donald B. Stewart; Mark J.T. Caggiano; Mark Rees, Town Manager; Ray Santilli, Assistant Town Manager. EXECUTIVE SESSION: Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by James Xenakis, to move into Executive Session to discuss Real Estate Matters. Vote approved 5-0. The Board of Selectmen was individually polled and each voted to move into Executive Session. Donald Stewart yes; James Xenakis yes; Mark Caggiano yes; Wendy Wakeman yes, and Rosemary Smedile yes. Vote approved 5-0. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by Mark Caggiano, to approve the Minutes of November 8, 2004, Executive Session as written and Open Session as written. Vote approved 5-0. COMMUNICATIONS,ANNOUNCEMENTS, AND PUBLIC COMMENT: The Board of Selectmen presented plaques to John J. Coco, who served as Director of the North Andover Emergency Management Agency and Evelyn J. Coco, who served as Secretary of the North Andover Emergency Management Agency for 35 years. Kevin Tully of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency presented a state citation recognizing John J. Coco's dedicated service to the state. Rosemary Smedile thanked the Festival Committee for their work from all who enjoyed the Santa Parade. Wendy Wakeman thanked Bill McEvoy of the Recreation Department for arranging "Ice Skating at Brooks School" on Sunday evenings from 6:30 PM —8:30 PM for the bargain price of$2 per person. Appointments Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by Donald Stewart, to approve the following appointments: John J. Coco, Deputy Director of North Andover Emergency Management; Keli Bannister, member of Recreational Council; Kai Foley, member of Recreational Council; Gerald A. Sanford, member of Youth Services Board of Directors. Vote approved 5-0. LICENSING COMMISSIONERS: Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by Mark Caggiano, to move into Licensing. Vote approved 5-0. Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by Rosemary Smedile, to approve a one-day beer and wine license for the Friends of Merrimack College Christmas Social on Thursday, December 9, 2004 from 6:00 PM —9:00 PM. Vote approved 5-0. Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by Rosemary Smedile, to approve the following one-day licenses for the Stevens Estate, 723 Osgood Street. Vote approved 5-0. 1. Stevens Estate Small Business Holiday Party, Friday, December 10, 2004, 6:30 PM — 11:00 PM, full liquor bar license. 2. MA Crane & Hoist Holiday Party, Saturday, December 11, 2004, 6:30 PM — 11:00 PM, full liquor bar license. 3. Jeff Foulds, Foulds Family Christmas Party, Sunday, December 12, 2004, 12:30 PM —5:00 PM, beer and wine license. 4. Analog Devices Holiday Party, Friday, December 17, 2004, 7:00 PM — 11:30 PM, full liquor bar license. Board of Selectmen Minutes December 6, 2005 2 5. JBM Holiday Party, Saturday, December 18, 2004, 6:30 PM — 11:00 PM, full liquor bar license. Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by Rosemary Smedile, to move out of Licensing. Vote approved 5-0. PUBLIC HEARINGS: Jason Dwyre of Massachusetts Electric and Steven Murphy of Verizon pulled the pole petitions from the agenda. They will resubmit plans for a future meeting OLD BUSINESS: Police Building Committee Report On behalf of the Police Building Committee, Tom Coppa presented the Board with a proposal, which would put the final cost of the 27,200 square foot building at about $9.8 million. Coppa stressed the growing demands of police work and said ongoing training was a critical part of equipping the police force. The new station, planned for Route 125 next to the Atkinson School, would feature many upgrades that the current 7,000 square foot station lacks. The committee separated possible features of the building into three categories: essential, important, and desirable. The selectmen all agreed there was a need for work on a new police station to begin, but said they were wary of the project's price tag. There were specific questions on the cost of features such as the firing range, conference rooms and a physical training room. With so many high-priced projects coming before the town over the next decade, including a new fire station, the Foster Farm School, and the continued renovation of Town Hall, the selectmen said they are concerned about increasing taxes. Dan Lanen, a North Andover 17-year police officer, described the current police station as a dump. As a taxpayer he still urged the Board to scale back the design and cut the cost to local property owners. Selectmen Xenakis asked the Town Manager to explore a more thorough depiction of cost reduction to lessen impact on taxes. He said he would like to know how much the current station's land could sell for and suggested reducing the amount of an override request by paying for moving expenses and communications equipment using free cash from budget surpluses and money from the capital improvement plan. Selectmen would continue their discussion at their next meeting on December 20, 2005 Consideration of February 7, 2005 Special Town Meeting Mark Rees Town Manager said if the Board wants to move forward with approval of the new police station, his recommendation was for the Board to call for a Special Town Meeting to be held on February 7, 2005. Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, to hold a Special Town Meeting on February 7, 2005 and for the Warrants to open. For discussion purposes Rosemary Smedile passed the gavel to James Xenakis to second the MOTION. Vote failed 2-3. Mark Caggiano, Donald Stewart and James Xenakis opposed. Mark Caggiano made a MOTION, to vote at their next meeting on December 20, 2004. Motion failed for lack of second. Donald Stewart was not in favor of a Special Town Meeting, which costs about $5,000. He said that if voters approved the proposal at the town election on March 29, it could simply be debated and voted on again at the regularly scheduled Town Meeting in May. NEW BUSINESS: 2005 Election Calendar Town Clerk Joyce Bradshaw presented a 2005 North Andover Election Calendar including dates for filing nomination papers and registering with the Town Clerk's office. The Annual Town Election is Tuesday, March 29, 2005. Board of Selectmen Minutes December 6, 2005 3 The Andover/North Andover League of Women Voters is sponsoring a seminar titled "Running for Office" on Wednesday, January 12, 2005 at the Andover Town Offices located at 36 Bartlet Street in Andover beginning at 7:00 PM. Board of Selectmen Meeting Calendar for 1 st Half of 2005 The Town Manager suggested the following schedule for Board of Selectmen meetings for the period of January 1, 2005 through June 30, 2005. January 10, and 24, February 7 and 14, March 7, 14 and 28, April 11 and 25, May 2, 9 and 23, June 13 and 27. At the discretion of the Chair additional meetings may be scheduled. Wendy Wakeman made a MOTION, seconded by Mark Caggiano, to accept the recommended schedule for the Board of Selectmen Meetings. Vote approved 5-0. Traffic Control Agreements for Old Center Roadway Project The Board of Selectmen signed agreements to comply with Federal Highway regulations since the project is being funded with federal dollars. Town Counsel had reviewed and approved the documents for signing. TOWN MANAGER'S REPORT: Access to North Andover High School The Town Manager gave a report from the meeting attended by Town Staff on November 19, 2004 regarding access roads to North Andover High School. This meeting was the result of the traffic problems created on the national election day November 2, 2004. Possible solutions were to expand the number of polling locations from one to two; close school on national and state election days (regardless of one or two polling locations were used); widen and improve the Prescott Street Access to allow for two-way traffic for elections and other large events; and continue to do preplanning for large events including satellite parking and shuttle busses. Wendy Wakeman suggested using alternative sites such as the Youth Center and Senior Center for polling locations. Rosemary Smedile thanked Town Manager Mark Rees and Superintendent Harry Harutunian for their work on this problem and also asked them to address the parking problem at the high school. The Request for Proposals (RFP) for the ice rink at Sharpner's Pond has been released. The deadline for responses is January 28, 2005. The Holiday Breakfast sponsored by the Board of Selectmen with the assistance of town division directors is scheduled for Wednesday, December 15, 2004. The Assistant Town Manager Ray Santilli has scheduled a silent auction for the disposal of surplus equipment on the afternoon of December 17 and the morning of December 18, 2004. ADJOURNMENT: James Xenakis made a MOTION, seconded by Wendy Wakeman, to adjourn the meeting at 9:00 PM. Vote approved 5-0. Adele J. Johnson Administrative Secretary Wendy D. Wakeman, Clerk of the Board