SELECTMEN’S MEETING MINUTES
MAY 1, 2000
The Board of Selectmen met this evening with Clerk Carla Goodwin, William Hardin, Frederick Clark, Leo Harlow, Patricia Webster and Town Adm. Kevin Paicos in attendance.
Goodwin welcomed Leo Harlow to the Board and acknowledged Jeffrey Tufts for his 9 years of service to the Town of Easton and Board of Selectmen. Goodwin noted Tufts leadership and integrity were outstanding. Clark noted that Patricia Webster was also re-elected and congratulated her.
On Webster’s motion, seconded by Clark, the Board voted unanimously to have a plaque made for Jeffrey Tufts in appreciation of his years of service.
On Clark’s motion, seconded by Hardin, the Board voted 4-0-1 to approve General Minutes dated 4/10/00. Harlow abstained.
On Clark’s motion, seconded by Hardin, the Board voted 4-0-1 to approve Executive Session Minutes dated 4/10/00. Harlow abstained.
Goodwin read the Proclamation. On Clark’s motion, seconded by Hardin, the Board voted unanimously to support and approve the Arbor Day Proclamation.
Goodwin read the Proclamation. On Clark’s motion, seconded by Hardin, the Board voted unanimously to approve the Proclamation for Antonio “Tony” Volpe.
At this point in the meeting Hardin acknowledged Fred Clark, Jr. for the award he recently received.
CHAIR
Webster’s nomination of Frederick Clark as Chair was seconded by Leo Harlow.
Hardin’s nomination of Carla Goodwin as Chair was seconded by Carla Goodwin.
The Board voted by roll call to appoint Frederick Clark as Chairman of the Board of Selectmen by a 3-2 vote.
Hardin – C. Goodwin, Clark – F. Clark, Harlow – F. Clark, Webster – F. Clark, Goodwin – C. Goodwin.
CLERK
Clark’s nomination of Patricia Webster as Clerk was seconded by Hardin.
The Board voted unanimously by roll call, to appoint Patricia Webster as Clerk of the Board of Selectmen.
Clark – P. Webster, Harlow – P. Webster, Webster – P. Webster, Goodwin – P. Webster, Hardin – P. Webster.
At this point in the meeting Frederick Clark took over as Chair, and read from a prepared statement, noting several points.
He wants fair and open government; citizen rights; live cable TV at meetings; all Executive Session Minutes released as soon as resolved; each Selectman has agenda items placed on the next agenda; the press will be able to speak out and ask questions; he wants to reach out to people and hold meetings occasionally at fire stations or churches; meetings will be held every week; wants police incident reports following issues at liquor establishments sent to the Selectmen; wants to build a bridge between the Selectmen and School Committee, and to hold quarterly meetings with them; wants to provide to all citizens municipal services i.e., police fire, water etc.; wants respect shown to each Selectman.
Attorney Widdy Ho, Virginia Lee in attendance.
Ho noted there would be no operational changes, just new owners. She noted that even the hours will remain the same.
Clark read the report from the Board of Health. On Harlow’s motion, seconded by Hardin, the Board voted unanimously to approve the Common Victualler License for Easton Oriental Kitchen subject to resolution of the Board of Health issues.
Clark read the memo from the Planning Board, and noted the actual parcels available. Clark noted these parcels could be given over to ConCom, or put back on the tax rolls. Harlow asked if any of these parcels could be considered for playing fields. He noted he wants to see any land available researched as possible recreation fields. Hardin noted that per Executive Order 418 RE: affordable housing, since these parcels are on the street, the Town could keep any land available for affordable housing. Hardin suggested holding our options open at this time. Paicos noted the Board of Health expressed interest for one of the parcels as a possible compost area. Goodwin suggested tabling this for the Planning Board to be able to do more thorough research. Clark noted the Board could hold a public meeting.
On Harlow’s motion, seconded by Webster, the Board voted unanimously to hold a public hearing on these parcels.
Clark noted the reason that two street petitions didn’t get on the ATM Warrant. On Harlow’s motion, seconded by Webster, the Board voted unanimously to open the STM Warrant.
On Webster’s motion, seconded by Hardin, the Board voted unanimously to include the following: two street petitions for Valley Terrace and Summerfield Lane; a letter of request from Doug Mullen RE: Stonehill House Road; Vineyard Place, Emerson Drive, Peabody Drive, Sweetmeadow Drive, Sadie circle, River Street, Meetinghouse Lane, Carriagehouse Lane, Gilmore Road, submitted by Al Endruinas.
At this point the STM Warrant was closed.
Nick Mirrione, W. Fulcher in attendance.
Clark read a letter from Mirrione. Paicos noted that Ch. 30B requires that if the value is over $25,000 it must go to auction, but this land is only appraised at $4,900. Paicos noted the Board could have an appraisal just to be sure of the value, then the land would need to be declared available for purchase. Paicos doesn’t see the harm in building one home on 7 acres, but it is the Board’s decision to sell Town owned land.
Hardin noted this land was under discussion 10-12 years ago and the Board told the neighbors they wouldn’t allow this to be sold. Hardin noted that now we have someone who wants to build one home and needs access to this land. Hardin noted the Board could grant an easement to go with the property, or have the neighbors come to speak to the Board and see if they have concerns. Clark noted a permanent easement would cause no money to be realized by the Town, but to sell the land would bring in money. Paicos noted in 1986 an STM granted Joseph and Felicity Kagan an easement to access this lot and approve it for the purpose of construction of a single family home. (see attached). Paicos noted that Nick Mirrione currently holds the land with the easement that the STM gave permission already for the exact request he has, to construct a single family home. Paicos noted he would recommend selling the land and gaining some revenue. Goodwin questioned if this is related to the Miller Road drainage issue that came to the Board previously. Clark stated no, this is not the same section of Miller Road. Goodwin noted she has no problem with this, and a simple appraisal will cover the Town.
Goodwin’s motion,
seconded by Harlow, to dispose of the property, to sell it to Nick Mirrione
with conditions of construction of a
single family home and to send the neighbors a letter of the proposed sale, was not voted at this time.
MAY 1, 2000
Hardin again expressed concern with letting neighbors know about this before the Board proceeds. Harlow noted that he felt at the time (1986) the neighbors were concerned with building behind them, which has already happened. Harlow noted this is just for a personal home, not to access a subdivision. Mirrione noted he is already building his home there. Paicos suggested the condition be put on the deed that this land be for a single family home only.
Wally Fulcher noted that his office has received a lot of calls about that land and he thinks the neighbors, as a courtesy, should be allowed to discuss this with the Board. Hardin noted the honorable thing to do is to meet with the neighbors. Webster noted the Board could have the neighbors in once the appraisal is completed. It was noted again that the Board agreed to send a letter to the residents RE: the sale of the land on Miller Road.
Attorney D. Marsan, M. Boyle, J., Hurley, M. White, P. Johnson, G. Macinnis in attendance.
Clark read the letter sent to the area residents. Clark noted he went to the site to look at the issue of the radius at the corner. M. Boyle noted he only uses it one way northerly now, from Day to Lincoln and explained the problems with the roadway. Boyle noted that one-way from Day to Lincoln will alleviate these problems. Webster noted she brought up the issue of the northerly one-way vs southerly, and suggested the possibility of a dead end. She noted she is concerned with the elderly citizens, as the site is proposed for an elderly housing complex. She noted she is not sure if the Fire Dept. could get the apparatus there. G. Macinnis noted the problem is where Barrows meets Lincoln and one-way northbound would be OK. Clark noted the Safety Committee hasn’t made any comments yet. M. White noted the DPW Director was present at the last meeting representing the Safety Committee. He noted the Safety Committee voted to approve the one-way northbound the full length and that all three Safety Committee members were consulted. D. Marsan noted that Doug King is in favor of one-way northbound and that the YMCA is also. Macinnis noted that it matters to people from Oakland to Day to have one-way from Oakland to Lincoln vs the entire street. Harlow noted that Day St. is not large enough to accommodate all the traffic and he would keep the one-way from Oakland to Lincoln. J. Hurley noted that he would like to follow up on the dead end suggestion, stating that that would be the best if it was agreeable to the neighbors. Hurley noted RE: the one-way issue, there would be better control by having the entire road one-way vs half the street. P. Johnson noted he would be affected the most and it would be an imposition. Paicos suggested a temporary change in the Traffic Rules and Regs similar to Rolling Pines. Boyle noted that all are in favor of one-way in a northerly direction, and all the people that are affected have no problem with it northerly. P. Johnson noted he felt the entire street being one-way would be an imposition. P. Johnson noted he would be in favor of one-way from Oakland to Lincoln. Harlow noted the temporary change for 6 months was worth a try. Harlow’s motion, seconded by Hardin to try for 6 months by making Barrows Street one-way in the northerly direction from Oakland to Lincoln, was not voted at this time.
Webster noted she can’t support this change due to the safety issues and that she wants to see the Traffic Safety Committee look at dead ending Barrows Street and reporting back to the Board. Clark noted he is not ready to make a six month commitment yet and needs more information. Harlow noted 20MPH signs should be placed and have strict enforcement. Boyle noted the end of Day St. has a stop sign and expressed concern with not having the entire street one-way. Webster noted Day St. is much wider than Barrows, and it doesn’t have a stonewall that blocks site distance. M. White noted that the Safety Committee had already investigated the possibility of the one-way in a southerly direction and don’t recommend it. Macinnis noted making the street a dead end would double traffic in the neighborhood. Goodwin noted we need to ascertain and react to what is safety issue not convenience. She noted safety must come first.
Vote on the motion was 3-2. Goodwin, Webster opposed.
W. Fulcher, M. Rousseau, M. Boyle in attendance.
Clark noted Boyle’s letter on this issue. Boyle noted this request doesn’t meet the criteria. He noted software by itself is not $10,000, it is with all the training that it comes to just $10,000. Boyle also noted
that no software is good for 5 years. Harlow noted his agreement with Boyle that software dies out much sooner than 5 years. Harlow noted that if this is needed for a dept. to be better run, they should have it. Harlow noted he would suggest this be a separate article on the STM. Webster noted she had wanted this to go through the capital process and gave a brief explanation of why. It was agreed that this expense can be split by the two departments, and go into the operating budgets of Planning and Building instead.
Paicos gave the highlights of the FY’01 budget as it now stands. He noted his hope is to get this to the printer by the end of this week. Paicos gave a brief explanation, noting that State aid is better than anticipated and he is assuming the Senate’s budget will pass, and built our budget based on that. He noted the State and County charges have been postponed to next year i.e., MBTA assessment. He noted they re-worked the debt service and the figures allow an additional $300,000. He noted he still has issues with this budget but we are in a lot better place than 6 months ago. He noted that because this is a reval year, overlay is increased by $100,000, and debt is up by $137,000. He noted insurance and pensions are up by $100,000. The School budget that is being proposed is up by $900,000 but is considered a status quo budget. He noted health insurance is up by $300,000. He has eliminated the capital budget from taxation and will have approx. $200,000-300,000 for now. He noted there may be more money available for capital in the fall when free cash certifies. Paicos noted the personnel losses are 1)personnel director; 1 Police officer instead of 2 as originally thought; 2 DPW positions. He noted the receipt of a grant for the police dept. that allows for one of the two positions to be reinstated, and that he has increased the training budget. Fire Dept. budget stays untouched. Paicos noted that the FinCom has begun reviewing budgets, as time is becoming a real issue. He noted he gave them several small budgets but warned that they may change. Paicos noted the FinCom will be reviewing the Water budget this week along with the Building Dept., while Wally is still with us.
Clark noted he doesn’t want to see any Police dept. cuts. Webster noted that if we cut police positions, we may lose grant money. She noted that with any decreases in the force, with all the injuries and problems currently, it may cost more in OT to replace the lack of officers. Webster noted she would rather not lose either officer positions, and it would be more cost effective. Paicos noted he would put back the one position so no officers are lost. Harlow asked if the School is losing any administrators. Harlow noted he doesn’t want to lose teachers but doesn’t want to lose police and keep School administration in tact. Harlow noted he would want to add two officers, in order to have sufficient officers to cut down on the need for OT shifts. Hardin noted the Speakers Office and Senate President are guaranteeing the budget will be out by 7/1/00. Goodwin noted the need for the School Committee to come forward to explain their budget needs. Goodwin expressed concern with suggestions of cutting education by Harlow. Harlow noted he stated he didn’t want teachers cut, only suggested if cuts are necessary they should come from administration not education.
Paicos noted the DARE Graduation is scheduled for 5/8/00, and noted they are expecting a Board representative as well as the Town Adm. Clark noted the Board will now be meeting on the 8th, and that the Assistant Town Adm. could meet with the Board.
Paicos noted Wally Fulcher’s resignation as Building Inspector, and that he has begun the recruitment process.
RE: Nantucket Steamship proposal, Paicos noted the proposal was removed from the State’s capital budget so there is no chance of an alliance now.
RE: Good Samaritan Hospital situation, Paicos gave a brief update. Paicos noted he will be attending a meeting next Thursday, and if any Selectmen are interested they are welcome to attend.
Paicos noted the newly appointed President of Stonehill College is Fr. Mark Cregan, CSC.
Paicos noted the Police Dept. just received a $10,500 grant for the DARE Summer Program.
Hardin noted he represented the Town at the Tree City USA ceremonies, and that the Town won this designation, for the 12th year in a row.
Webster also noted the Good Samaritan crisis situation. She noted there is a rally being held by Patient First Group and suggested the Board send a letter expressing concern for the health/safety of our citizens needing emergency medical care. Webster also noted the impact on ambulance revenue would be substantially impacted.
Webster questioned Paicos on status of parking situation at 101 Main St. Paicos noted the Safety Committee looked into this and also expressed concern with the dangerous situation there. He noted he will receive the Committee’s report soon and that temporary signage is the proposed resolution.
Goodwin noted that she has a conflict of interest with the Caritas Christie situation, and expressed concern that she wasn’t warned of this issue coming up. Goodwin noted she will need to know in advance when this issue is discussed on the Board in the future so she could excuse herself and leave the room.
At this point in the meeting Reporter Dick Murphy asked for time at the end of each meeting to ask questions. Clark agreed this will be a standard item at each meeting.
At 8:40PM, on Hardin’s motion, seconded by Harlow, the Board voted unanimously by roll call, to go into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing land acquisition.
Harlow in favor, Webster in favor, Goodwin in favor, Hardin in favor, Clark in favor.
APPROVED______________________________
DATED______________________________