Board of Selectmen’s Meeting

May 7, 2007

A meeting of the Board of Selectmen was called to order by Chairman Charles Ampagoomian at 6:15 PM, Northbridge Town Hall, 7 Main Street, Whitinsville, MA. Present: Messrs. Audette, Davis and Marzec.

Also Present: Theodore D. Kozak, Town Manager.

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by those present.

Executive Session. A motion was made and seconded to go into Executive Session under M.G.L. Chapter 39, S. 23B #3 (Negotiations) to reconvene in open session. Roll Call Vote: Mr. Audette/Yes, Mr. Marzec/Yes, Mr. Davis/Yes, and Mr. Ampagoomian/Yes.

Open Session Adjourned: 6:15 P.M.

Executive Session Convened: 6:16 P.M.

Executive Session Adjourned: 6:45 P.M.

Open Session Reconvened: 7:00 P.M.

Approval of Minutes.

March 8, 2007. A motion/Mr. Davis, seconded/Mr. Marzec to approve the March 8, 2007 minutes as presented with the readings omitted. Vote yes/Unanimous.

April 9, 2007. A motion/Mr. Audette, seconded/Mr. Davis to approve the April 9, 2007 minutes as presented with the readings omitted. Vote yes/Unanimous.

April 23, 2007 [Executive Session]. A motion/Mr. Davis, seconded/Mr. Audette to approve the April 23, 2007 Executive Session minutes as presented with the readings omitted. Vote yes/Unanimous. Selectman Davis mentioned that several Executive Session minutes have accumulated during the past few months and recommended that they be reviewed and released.

April 30, 2007. A motion/Mr. Davis, seconded/Mr. Marzec to approve the April 30, 2007 minutes as presented with the readings omitted. Vote yes/Messrs. Davis, Marzec and Ampagoomian. Abstain/Mr. Audette.

Appointments/By the Board of Selectmen: Board of Registrars. 1) Sandra Ovian. Chairman Ampagoomian advised the Board that Ms. Ovian was unable to attend tonight’s meeting but wished to be reappointed. A motion/Mr. Davis, seconded/Mr. Audete to reappoint Sandra Ovian as a Democratic Representative to the Board of Registrars. Vote yes/Unanimous.

Citizens’ Comments/Input. None.

Spring Annual Town Meeting Warrant [June 12, 2007]/Vote to sign. A motion/Mr. Marzec, seconded/Mr. Audette to sign the June 12, 2007 Spring Annual Town Meeting Warrant. Vote yes/ Unanimous. Selectman Davis had some concerns with placing Articles 8, 9 & 15 on the warrant. Richard Sasseville, DPW Director, explained in detail the reasoning for Articles 8, 9 & 15 [Sewer Articles].

Veterans’ Services/Vote to accept monetary gift to defray the cost of the new Veterans’ Services Office to be located at 875 Hill Street. Present: Kenneth Trajanowski. A motion/Mr. Audette, seconded/Mr. Davis to accept monetary gift of $100 to defray the cost of the new Veterans’ Services Office to be located at 875 Hill Street. Vote yes/Unanimous.

Northbridge Veterans’ Council/1) Request to hold Memorial Day Parade in Rockdale and 2) Request to use the Rockdale Town Common for Services. Present: Andy Williamson, Commander, Oliver Ashton Post #343, and Harry Berkowitz, Commander, Veterans’ Post #318. Selectman William Audette recused himself from the Board to be the adjutant for the Veterans’ Council. Mr. Audette advised that he sent a letter to the Board of Selectmen asking for permission to parade on Memorial Day, May 28, 2007 @ 10 A.M. and to use the Town Common. Mr. Williamson mentioned that the Oliver Ashton Post [American Legion] took a vote to hold their parade on the same day as the Veterans’ Council. That said, a motion/Mr. Davis, seconded/Mr. Ampagoomian to grant permission to hold the Memorial Day Parade in Rockdale on Monday, May 28, 2007, at 10:00 A.M. Vote yes/Messrs. Davis, Marzec and Ampagoomian. Abstain/Mr. Audette.

2) Request to hold Memorial Day Parade in Whitinsville and 2) Request to use the Whitinsville Town Common for Services. A motion/Mr. Davis, seconded/Mr. Ampagoomian to grant permission to hold the Memorial Day Parade in Whitinsville on Monday, May 28, 2007, at 10:00 A.M.. Vote yes/Messrs. Davis, Marzec and Ampagoomian. Abstain/Mr. Audette.

American Legion Post #343/1) Request for Sunday State License [Carnival – June 17, 2007]/Vote to approve. Present: Andy Williamson. A motion/Mr. Davis, seconded/Mr. Marzec to approve the American Legion Post #343 request for a Sunday State License for June 17, 2007 – Carnival. Vote yes/Unanimous.

Alternatives’ [22^nd annual “Valley Friendship Tour, Saturday, June 2, 2007”]/Request to briefly close Hill Street at the start of each race beginning at 8:00 A.M., 9:00 A.M., 10:00 A.M., and 11:00 A.M. A motion/Mr. Davis, seconded/Mr. Marzec to approve the above request subject to safety requirements of the Police, Fire, and Public Works Department. Vote yes/Unanimous.

High School Field Litigation Issues [Present: David Morrow, Chairman of the Building, Planning & Construction Committee and Peter Barbadora, 111 Lea Ave. Chairman Morrow spoke briefly and mentioned that Mr. Barbadora would present the Board with a very detailed account of the entire High School Field litigation process [beginning in April, 1999 and ending in May, 2007]. Mr. Barbadora mentioned that the Building, Planning and Construction Committee started the litigation process with the Selection of Counsel: 1) Kopelman & Paige, 2) Gadsby & Hannah, and 3) John Spignesi. After careful consideration, Gadsby & Hannah was chosen to represent the Town of Northbridge in the litigation with Jackson Construction. With that said, in May 2002, Vena, Riley, Deptula Law firm was hired and Gadsby & Hannah were dismissed due to the lack of trust. Mr. Barbadora broke down the lawsuit amounts between Jackson Construction vs Town of Northbridge and Tappe Associates vs the Town of Northbridge. A detailed account of Mr. Barbadora’s presentation is on file in the Town Manager’s Office.

Road Maintenance Program. [Present: Richard Sasseville, Director of Public Works]. Mr. Sasseville mentioned that the Town of Northbridge is extremely dependent on the Chapter 90 program and that the Town itself has never appropriated money for roadway repairs, only on a maintenance level. That said, the Town of Northbridge usually receives $240,000.00 from the State [Chapter 90 Program], however, this year the Town will receive $310,000.00. Mr. Sasseville explained where the Chapter 90 money has gone; Reconstruction of Providence Road, Streetscape in Whitinsville road work [Park Street and Church Street], full depth reconstruction of a portion of Goldthwaite Road [Hill Street, Swift Road, and some of Mason Road], stone seal treatments performed on 17 roads, and the reconstruction of Mendon Road (4,000 feet). Chapter 90 funds have been used for road building equipment and will soon be used towards a new dump truck [which has recently been approved by the State]. Selectman Audette asked about the failing roads in town and if anything could be done to improve them. Mr. Sasseville mentioned that there is no money in the budget to repair these roads and even if they used the Chapter 90 money, that still wouldn’t be enough to cover the cost to repair them [due to their current conditions]. Selectman Davis asked if there was a master list of all the roads in town and their current conditions. Mr. Sasseville stated that he has a study that Central Massachusetts did 10 years ago and would like to get it updated this year.

Modification of Town’s Website. [Present: Robert Thayer, Systems Administrator]. Town Manager Kozak asked Mr. Thayer to discuss the Town’s webpage. Mr. Thayer mentioned that he and the Town Manager visited a company on Church Street called “Hitcatcher”. They met with the President of the company [Jay Johnson] who offered to help the town out (free of charge). With that said, Mr. Johnson will work with Mr. Thayer on the graphic design of the Towns Home Page and having it be more user-friendly. In the upcoming months, there will be more content.

Appraisal Process. [Present: Robert Fitzgerald, Principal Assessor]. Mr. Fitzgerald gave an update of the evaluation process. He mentioned that the inspections have gone well and thanked the residents in Town for allowing them to do their jobs. The full analysis for the Department of Revenue, upcoming for FY 2008, will be completed by the end of August.

Town Manager’s Report. 1) Worcester County Sheriff’s Office/Cemetery clean up - mentioned that the Worcester County Sheriff’s Department will be providing some assistance to the Department of Public Works to help clean-up the cemeteries. 2) Override Presentation – Senior Center, May 10, 2007 @ 1:00 P.M. - Provided a quick override presentation to show the budget requests with and without the override. 3) Teacher Negotiations – read a press release announcing a tentative agreement with the Teacher’s Association and the Town of Northbridge. The parties have agreed to; restructure the existing health insurance contribution rates; over a three-year period of time, existing employees will increase their contributions towards health insurance costs from 10% to 25%; and all new employees will immediately pay 25%. Town Manager Kozak also mentioned that a nominal cost of living increase has been negotiated for each of the three contract years at 2% in year one; 3% in years two and three. 4) Parks and Recreation Summer Program - announced the Summer Camp and Town Beach would be closed this year due to lack of funds.

Selectmen’s Concerns. Selectman Audette (concerning Teacher negotiations) thanked both sides for all the work they have done. Selectman Marzec 1) asked that Town residents educate themselves with respect to the override and encourages everyone to make the right decision. 2) thanked the ambulance and police department for responding to a medical emergency at his house. Selectman Davis 1) asked the Town Manager to inform Playground and Recreation to walk the site at the Northbridge Redevelopment site- possible field; 2) status of the high school audit; 3) are we on track for removing the utility poles along Church Street in June; 4) urges all the citizens in Northbridge to vote yes for the override. Chairman Ampagoomian 1) commended the Northbridge Police Department for responding to a missing child case (Rockdale).

Future Agenda Item. 1) Property owned by the Town – Master List; 2) Representative George Peterson [June 4, 2007 @ 7:00 P.M.]; 3) Northbridge Auto; 4) Town Manager’s Goals; 5) Information from Jim Power’s regarding the Audit; 6) Central Massachusetts Mosquito Control Project Overview [June 4, 2007 @ 7:00 P.M.

A motion/Mr. Marzec, seconded/Mr. Audette to adjourn the meeting. Vote yes/Unanimous.

Meeting Adjourned: 10:20 PM

Respectfully submitted,

James Marzec, Clerk

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