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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-11-26 Board of Selectmen Minutes BOARD OF SELECTMEN MINUTES NOVEMBER 26, 2012 CALL TO ORDER: ChairmanWilliam Gordon called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM at Town Hall Meeting Room. ATTENDANCE: The following were present: William F. Gordon Chairman; Richard Vaillancourt, Clerk; Rosemary Smedile, Licensing Chairman; Donald Stewart, Tracy M. Watson, and Andrew Maylor, Town Manager and Ray Santilli, Assistant Town Manager. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE COMMUNICATIONS, ANNOUNCEMENTS, AND PUBLIC COMMENT: Selectmen Meeting Schedule for First-Half of 2013 The Town Manager’s office provided various dates for the Board of Selectmen to meet for calendar year 2013 from January through June for the Selectmen to review. Jan. 7 & 28, Feb. 11 & 25, Mar. 11 & 25, Apr. 8 & 22, May 6, May 21, Town Meeting, June 3 & 24, 2013. Meeting dates may be added, deleted, and/or changed as needed or as circumstances dictate. Selectmen praised the work of all the members of the Festival Committee and E.J. Foulds of the Police Department for a very successful Holiday Parade and kudos to all involved. LICENSING COMMISSIONERS: Richard Vaillancourt made a MOTION, seconded by Tracy Watson, to open a meeting of the North Andover Licensing Commission. Vote approved 5-0. Zinga Frozen Yogurt, 560 Turnpike Street – Common Victualler and Entertainment License The Licensing Chairman Rosemary Smedile said that she heard that this establishment was already opened before the licenses were approved and this could be a problem and set a bad precedent. The Licensing Commissioners would have to decide how to handle this situation since the applicant was not present at the meeting. After a discussion the Board decided to approve on a contingency. Donald Stewart made a MOTION, seconded by William Gordon, the Board of Selectmen acting as Licensing Commissioners approve the licenses contingent on the Town Manager contacting the applicant and getting a reasonable explanation as to why he opened the establishment before receiving license approval and to attend the Board’s next meeting in December. Vote approved 4-0-1. Tracy Watson abstained. Pazzo Gelato Company, 99 Turnpike Street – Common Victualler and Entertainment License Donald Stewart made a MOTION, seconded by Tracy Watson, that the Board of Selectmen acting as Licensing Commissioners approves the common victualler license and entertainment license for Pazzo Gelato Company, 99 Turnpike Street. Vote approved 5-0. Tracy Watson made a MOTION, seconded by Richard Vaillancourt, to close a meeting of the North Andover Licensing Commission. Vote approved 5-0. PUBLIC HEARING: Property Tax Classification Hearing Richard Vaillancourt made a MOTION, seconded by Rosemary Smedile, to enter a Public Hearing for the purpose of Property Tax Classification Hearing. Note: At approximately 7:20 p.m. Proprietor Sal Dell Isola of Zinga Yogurt joined the meeting. Selectmen moved back into Licensing to discuss Common Victualler and Entertainment License. LICENSING COMMISSIONERS: Rosemary Smedile made a MOTION, seconded by Tracy Watson, to reopen a meeting of the North Andover Licensing Commission. Vote approved 5-0. Board of Selectmen Minutes November 26, 2012 2 Zinga Frozen Yogurt, 560 Turnpike Street – Common Victualler and Entertainment License Selectmen questioned Mr. Dell Isola as to why he opened his food establishment without acquiring the proper licenses. Mr. Dell Isola said that he had attended a technical review committee meeting back in August and received all his occupancy permits from the various departments and thought he was approved for opening. He stated that he did not receive a letter saying that he had to apply for a common victualler th license. After he opened on November 9, he received a call from the Town Clerk’s office informing him that he needed to apply for the common victualler and entertainment licenses and he thought he was all set to go. He did not know that he had to appear before the License Commissioners at their meeting. He apologized and takes full blame for not fully understanding the process. The License Commissioners said that this is the first time that anything like this has happened and then decided to take another vote on this establishment. Donald Stewart made a MOTION, seconded by William Gordon, that the Board of Selectmen, acting as Licensing Commissioners, approves a common victualler license and an entertainment license for Zinga Frozen Yogurt, 560 Turnpike Street. Vote approved 5-0. PUBLIC HEARING: Property Tax Classification Hearing Richard Vaillancourt made a MOTION, seconded by Rosemary Smedile, to enter a Public Hearing for the purpose of Property Tax Classification Hearing. Roll Call vote: William Gordon yes, Donald Stewart yes, Rosemary Smedile yes, Richard Vaillancourt, and Tracy Watson yes. Vote approved 5-0. Chief Assessor Garrett Boles informed the Board that he sent all of his reports to the MA Department of Revenue and received a verbal approval but the DOR has a backlog of paperwork and did not approved North Andover’s preliminary certifications. After the written approval there is a statutory notice that has to be advertized for public disclosure for five business days before officially filing the evaluation report. As a result this will delay the official vote of the Selectmen on setting the Tax Rate at tonight’s meeting. Assessor Boles provided the Board with spreadsheets calculating preliminary information regarding tax values, tax levy and estimated FY2013 tax rate for residential and commercial properties. If the Selectmen choose to keep the same shift percentage as last year, at a shift of 1.31%, it would create a slight change in property taxes. On behalf of the Merrimack Valley Chamber of Commerce Vice President Will Carpenter requested that the Board consider not raising the tax rate of local businesses. Richard Vaillancourt made a MOTION, seconded by Tracy Watson, to close the Public Hearing regarding the Tax Classification Hearing. Roll Call vote: William Gordon yes, Donald Stewart yes, Rosemary Smedile yes, Richard Vaillancourt, and Tracy Watson yes. Vote approved 5-0. TOWN MANAGER’S REPORT: Town Manager Andrew Maylor announced that the Town is exploring ways to service calls from the public whether it be a complaint or an issue. The town has applied for a grant for software that would be no cost to the town to deal with public communication. He will update the Board in the future. ADJOURNMENT: Tracy Watson made a MOTION, seconded by Richard Vaillancourt, to adjourn the meeting at 8:20 p.m. Vote approved 5-0. Adele J. Johnson Administrative Secretary _______________________________ Richard Vaillancourt, Clerk of the Board