Board of Selectmen’s Meeting
February 27, 2006
A meeting of the Board of Selectmen was called to order by
Chairman Russell Collins at 7:00 PM, Northbridge Town Hall, 7 Main Street,
Whitinsville, MA. Selectman Montecalvo
was absent and it is duly recorded. Present:
Messrs. Ampagoomian, Davis, & Audette.
Also present: Michael J. Coughlin, Jr., Town Manager.
The Pledge of
Allegiance was recited by those present.
Approval of
Minutes.
January 9, 2006
A motion/Mr. Audette,
seconded/Mr. Ampagoomian to approve the January 9, 2006 minutes as presented with
the readings omitted. Vote yes/Messrs. Ampagoomian, Davis, Audette &
Collins.
Selectman Davis requested that the
January 25, 2006 minutes be amended as follows:
Under the section entitled Presentation, Line 6, strike the word “last”
and insert the word “next.” A motion/Mr.
Davis, seconded/Mr. Audette to approve the January 25, 2006 minutes as
amended. Vote yes/ Messrs. Ampagoomian,
Davis, Audette & Collins.
A motion/Mr. Ampagoomian,
seconded/Mr. Audette, to approve but not to release the January 25, 2006 Executive
Session Minutes as presented with the readings omitted. Vote yes/Messrs. Ampagoomian, Davis, Audette
& Collins.
Selectman Davis requested that the
February 6, 2006 minutes be amended as follows:
Under the section entitled “Representative,” Paragraph 2, Line 2, strike
the word “are” and insert the word “at.”
Also, under the section entitled “Special Town Meeting,” Line 8, strike
the word “design” and insert the word “site.”
A motion/Mr. Davis, seconded/Mr. Audette to approve the February 6, 2006
minutes as amended. Vote yes/ Messrs.
Ampagoomian, Davis, Audette & Collins.
Selectman Davis requested that the
February 6, 2006 minutes be amended as follows:
To insert the following verbiage at the end of the paragraph: “The Board
agreed to refer this matter to the Building, Planning, & Construction
Committee. The Building, Planning & Construction Committee is to provide
the Board of Selectmen with a report within 30 days”. A motion/Mr. Davis, seconded/ Mr. Audette, to
approve but not to release the February 6, 2006 Executive Session Minutes as
amended. Messrs. Ampagoomian, Davis, Audette
& Collins.
Selectman Davis requested the
February 14, 2006 minutes be amended as follows: By deleting the following language: “meeting
adjourned.” A motion/Mr. Audette,
seconded/Mr. Ampagoomian to approve the February 14, 2006 Minutes as
amended. Vote yes/Messrs. Ampagoomian,
Davis, Audette & Collins.
Public Hearing. 7:05 p.m. Continued …FY 2006 Community
Development Block Grant Application (Proposed Activities). Present: Ms. Jennifer Dulmaine, Program
Director & Mr. Wayne Darragh, Community Opportunities Group.
Chairman Collins read the public hearing notice aloud. A motion/Mr. Audette, seconded/Mr. Ampagoomian
to re-open the Public Hearing. Vote yes/
Messrs. Ampagoomian, Davis, Audette & Collins.
Mrs. Dulmaine provided informational packets to the Board of
Selectmen, which included the following topics: 1) Community Development Strategy, 2) Target Area, and 3)
Preliminary Budgets. Mrs. Dulmaine
presented the Board with a brief summary on what the Community Development
Strategy was about and then opened the floor to the Board with any questions
they may have with respect to the six strategies listed in the document. Chairman Collins inquired about Strategy #2 –
The Upgrade of Public Facilities, and whether funding was available for the
Town Hall Building including new windows, and updating the heating system of
the building. Mr. Darragh advised
Chairman Collins that the funds being discussed tonight [Community Development
Block Grant Funds] could not be used for this type of work, however, he informed
the Board that the town could go through the Massachusetts Preservation
Partnership Fund to obtain funding for new windows. The Selectmen informed Mr. Darragh that they
submitted an application for that purpose in the past but the Town was denied
funding. At the conclusion of this
portion of the public hearing, Mr. Darragh asked for a motion to approve the
Community Development Strategy provided by Mrs. Dulmaine including the two
additional priorities for Town Hall: windows and an updated heating system. A motion/Mr. Davis, seconded/Mr. Ampagoomian
to approve the amended list of priorities within the Community Development
Strategy as submitted by the Office of Community Development. Vote yes/Messrs.
Ampagoomian, Davis, Audette & Collins.
Next, Mrs. Dulmaine advised that a Public Workshop was held
on Wednesday, February 22, 2006, for the residents and citizens of the Targeted
Area: Approximately seventeen people
were in attendance. She discussed with
them the projects that were being recommended.
In addition, the plans and studies were available for the public’s
viewing.
Mr. Darragh informed the Board of Selectmen that since 1995,
the Town of Northbridge has had a Housing Rehabilitation Program that’s been
run on a town-wide basis. He noted that
this program provides funding in the form of deferred payment loans to income
eligible property owners to rehabilitate both single and multi-family unit
dwellings. Mr. Darragh also informed the
Board that several changes have occurred at the state level with respect to the
application process, that being, any application demonstrating activities in a
targeted geographic area could potentially earn bonus points on the application.
Accordingly, two such activities have
been proposed in the FY 2006 CDBG Application.
Continuing, he advised that the Office of Community Development is
proposing to run a Targeted Housing Rehabilitation Program and a Targeted
Neighborhood Infrastructure Program in the area known as New Village [A Street,
B Street, C Street, D Street, Border Street, a portion of Main Street, a
portion of N. Main Street, and possibly a portion of Crescent Street]. The housing rehabilitation program that will
run in this target area will mirror the program that runs now. As is customary, there are income limits that
define the eligibility of participants in addition to the property having to
have one major code violation in order to be eligible. Mr. Darragh reported that at this time there were
16 requests for applications and guidelines for this targeted housing
rehabilitation program. In addition, he
pointed out that the Office of Community Development utilizes the lottery
system for providing assistance to potential program participants as to which
units will be completed first. The work
will be publicly bid on, all contractors will be licensed and insured, and will
have to provide a Certificate of Liability Insurance. Chairman Collins asked whether prevailing
wages were required for this type of project and Mr. Darragh informed him that
the contract was between a private homeowner and a contractor, therefore, prevailing
wages do not apply in this instance.
Mrs. Dulmaine informed the Board that they hired an
engineering firm to develop a cost estimate for the Neighborhood Infrastructure
Project for the following streets:
Border Street, D Street, C Street, B Street, A Street, portion of Main
Street, a portion of N. Main Street, and potentially a portion of Crescent
Street, due to the number of children walking to school from this
neighborhood. She also explained that this
project would be phased-in over time due to the quantity of funds needed in
order to complete the amount of linear feet of sidewalk, roadway, and
drainage. Mrs. Dulmaine further advised
that as part of the application process, a Building and Infrastructure
Inventory has been completed to determine that the targeted area meets the
Slums and Blight designation for the proposed infrastructure project. At least 25% of the buildings and
infrastructure must achieve a poor or fair grading in order to meet the definition
of Slums and Blight. In closing, Mrs.
Dulmaine asked for a motion to certify that the targeted area meets the state’s
definition for blighted area according to the M.G.L. Chapter 121A. A motion/Mr. Audette, seconded/Mr.
Ampagoomian to certify that Border Street, D Street, C Street, B Street, A
Street, portion of Main Street, portion of N. Main Street and Crescent meets
the state’s definition of a Slums and Blight target area. Vote yes/Messrs. Ampagoomian, Davis, Audette
& Collins.
A motion/Mr. Ampagoomian, seconded/Mr.Audette to authorize
the Chairman of the Board to sign the application certification forms as
required and to allow Wayne Darragh to submit the Town’s FY 2006 CDBG
Application outline. Vote yes/Messrs. Ampagoomian, Davis, Audette &
Collins.
A motion/Mr. Audette, seconded/Mr. Ampagoomian, to approve
the submittal of a multi-activity application for the Housing Rehabilitation
Program and the Neighborhood Infrastructure Project in the designated target
area generally referred to as New Village and as defined in the information
handout. The application request will be
for up to $1 Million. Such application
will be submitted to the Department of Housing and Community Development prior
to the grant deadline of March 29, 2006.
Vote yes/Messrs. Ampagoomian, Davis, Audette & Collins.
A motion/Mr. Davis, seconded/Mr. Ampagoomian, to authorize
the Chairman Russell D. Collins and other elected/appointed officials to sign
application certification forms as required.
Vote yes/Messrs. Ampagoomian, Davis, Audette & Collins. Before voting, Selectman Davis requested
further clarification with respect to who the elected/appointed officials would
be. Mrs. Dulmaine responded they could
include the Treasurer/Collector and Town Accountant. Vote yes/Messrs. Ampagoomian, Davis, Audette
& Collins.
There being no further comments from those present, a
motion/Mr. Davis, seconded/Mr. Audette to close the Public Hearing. Vote yes/Messrs. Ampagoomian, Davis, Audette
& Collins.
Police
Department/Request to post “No Trespassing” sign on the Town property near the
Pleasant Street Church. Chairman Collins requested clarification from
Lieutenant Warchol as to the reasoning for the “No Trespassing” request. Lt. Warchol briefly reported on the numerous
vandalism problems they’ve had near the Pleasant Street Church. Lt. Warchol informed the Board of Selectmen
that the “No Trespassing” hours would be from 9:00 P.M. to 6:00 A.M. A motion/Mr. Audette, seconded/Mr.
Ampagoomian, to approve the “No Trespassing” sign on the Town property located near
the Pleasant Street Church. Vote yes/Messrs.
Ampagoomian, Davis, Audette & Collins.
Safety Committee
Minutes [February 15, 2006/Vote to Accept]. A motion/Mr. Davis, seconded/Mr.
Audette, to approve the February 15, 2006 Safety Committee Minutes as presented
with the readings omitted. Vote yes/Messrs.
Ampagoomian, Davis, Audette & Collins.
Selectmen’s
Concerns. Selectman Davis inquired about the 21E Report from Heritage Design
regarding the Fire Station Land or whether the applications to the USDA [on the
roofs] have been submitted.
Items for Future
Agenda.
Town Manager’s FY 07
Budget Presentation, March 6, 2006
Respectfully
submitted,
John
A. Davis, Clerk
dg/