Board of Selectmen’s Meeting

July 23, 2007

 

A meeting of the Board of Selectmen was called to order by Chairman William Audette at 7:00 PM, Northbridge Town Hall, 7 Main Street, Whitinsville, MA.  Present:  Messrs. Davis, Marzec, Montecalvo and Ampagoomian. 

 

Also present:  Theodore D. Kozak Town Manager.

 

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by those present.

 

Approval of Minutes.

 

July 16, 2007 Joint Meeting with Finance Committee

A motion/Mr. Marzec, seconded/Mr. Davis to approve the July 16, 2007 minutes as presented with the readings omitted. Vote yes/Unanimous. 

 

Appointments/By the Board of Selectmen: Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission:

Second Delegate and Alternate.  Chairman Audette mentioned that the above commission needed two individuals to be appointed to their committee.  Selectman Davis mentioned that he spoke to the person [Mr. Lawrence Adams] that ran the program and asked if he could attend, one of the Selectmen’s meetings to explain what they do and how the Selectmen can be of assistance.  Chairman Audette will hold off on the appointments until the Board of Selectmen meet with Mr. Lawrence Adams.

 

Citizens’ Comments/Input.  Sal D’Amato, Finance Committee Member, passed out a seven-page document entitled “School Tuition Expense & Encumbrances” for the Board of Selectmen to review.  He mentioned that the School Department has $500,000.00 of unencumbered funds on hand that could be used to keep full day kindergarten and to restore other programs.  After review of the document, he estimated that there was approximately “an available balance of $501,698.00.”  Kristin DeJong, 35 Fowler Road, President of the Northbridge Teacher’s Association, presented the Board of Selectmen with a letter outlining her concerns regarding remarks that were made by the Town Manger indicating that the Northbridge Teacher’s Association refused to negotiate changes in the health plan design.  She went on to mention this could not be further from the truth.  The proposal for the changes to the health plan design were never formally presented at a bargaining session of the successor agreement and it wasn’t until contract negotiations had been completed, a tentative agreement had been signed, and school had been dismissed, that the issue of health design plan changes were formally brought to the NTA.  Mr. Lou Cornacchioli, Northbridge Teacher’s Association Representative, mentioned that a five- page memorandum from Kopelman & Paige, dated July 19, 2006, was sent to all communities referencing Section 19, Chapter 32B, Coalition Bargaining.  He referred the Board of Selectmen to page 4 of this memorandum and read the top paragraph to see that it is a clear violation on what the Town has done regarding the bargaining of the health plan design changes.  Amanda Donati, 49 Heights of Hill Street, and Kayla Sullivan, 21 First Avenue, representatives of the Social Justice Group, came before the Board of Selectmen to inform them that the Group would like to donate the $25,000.00 that they raised for the Skate Park to the Preservation of the Aldrich School System in memory of Margaret Schofield.  Chairman Audette thanked them for coming in and giving such a wonderful presentation and asked them to come in and speak to the Town Manager regarding how the process works when turning over money.

 

Fall Annual Town Meeting/Vote to set the date.  Fall Annual Town Meeting/Vote to close the warrant.  After a brief discussion about when to hold the Fall Town Meeting, the Town Manager suggested the date of October 30, 2007 but the Board of Selectmen agreed to October 23, 2007.  That said, a motion/Mr. Ampagoomian, seconded/Mr. Davis to set the Fall Annual Town Meeting date for October 23, 2007 in accordance with the town bylaws.  Vote yes/Messrs. Ampagoomian, Marzec, Davis, and Audette.  Vote no/Mr. Montecalvo.   A motion/Mr. Davis, seconded/Mr. Marzec to close the warrant on Friday, September 7, 2007.  Vote yes/Unanimous.

 

Town Manager-Board of Selectmen Goals and Objectives Workshop/Reschedule.  Town Manager Kozak suggested that all Board members be present.  Selectman Ampagoomian suggested that a one-on-one be more appropriate.  The consensus of the Board was to have all members present.  Chairman Audette will contact Sharon Susienka to pinpoint a date.

 

Northbridge Education Foundation/Presentation on the reinstatement of athletics and extra- curricular activities.  Present:  Kathryn Ducey, 32 Ivy Lane, Paula Grabowski, 60 Lea Ave. and Fred Beauregard, 75 Kennedy Circle.  The above group came before the Board of Selectman to advise them of who they are and what they are trying to accomplish.  They are representatives of the Northbridge Education Foundation to discuss the funding of the Northbridge School System.  Mrs. Ducey mentioned that their organization has a multi-talented board that included finance and accounting, education, marketing, technology, fund-raising and law.  The officers on this Board are:  Kathryn Ducey, President; Marty Green, Vice President; Matthew White, Treasurer; Jane Rutana, Secretary and they have over 150 volunteers and is growing weekly. Mrs. Ducey mentioned that they filed their articles of organization with the Secretary of State and are applying for a 501C3 Status so they can function as a non-profit organization. Their website is www.northbridgefoundation.com.  Mr. Beauregard mentioned that he is on the Event Committee, which consists of 8 members, and they gather once a week to evaluate all the different events that people in the town bring to them to try and raise money to fund the organization. 

 

Northbridge Education Foundation/1) Request to use the Whitinsville Town Common on Saturday, September 22, 2007; and 2) Hang a banner across Church Street from August 20th through August 25th to advertise a “Concert for Kids” benefit.  Present:  Paula Grabowski.  A motion/Mr. Marzec, seconded/Mr. Ampagoomian to allow the Northbridge Education Foundation to use the Whitinsville Town Common on Saturday, September 22, 2007 for a fund-raising event from 8 AM to 1 PM subject to the safety requirements of the Chief of Police and DPW Department.   Vote yes/Unanimous.  Selectman Marzec asked if they could advertise their fundraising events on the Town Hall sign. Town Manager Kozak informed the organization of the procedure and to send some type of notification to the Town Manager’s office requesting the event be displayed on the bulletin board.  A motion/Mr. Davis, seconded/Mr. Marzec to approve the Northbridge Education Foundation to hang a banner over Church Street from August 20, 2007 to August 25, 2007 to advertise a “Concert for Kids” benefit.  Vote yes/Unanimous.

 

Armenian Apostolic Church/1) Request to hang a banner over Church Street from August 13, 2007 to August 20, 2007 to advertise their Annual Picnic to be held Sunday, August 19, 2007.   A motion/Mr. Davis, seconded/Mr. Marzec to approve the above request as presented.  Vote yes/Messrs. Davis, Marzec and Audette.  Abstain/Messrs. Ampagoomian and Montecalvo.  2) Request for one-day Wines and Malt Liquor License for the Annual Picnic, August 19, 2007.  A motion/Mr. Davis, seconded/Mr. Marzec to approve the one-day license request.  Vote yes/Messrs. Marzec, Davis and Audette.  Abstain/Messrs. Ampagoomian and Montecalvo.

 

Mass DEP/Mass Recycles Paper Campaign/Vote to support the campaign in the form of a resolution.  Present:  Marilyn Baker, Chairman of the Recycling Committee.   Ms. Baker recommends that if the Board of Selectmen adopt this resolution then they need to have someone in charge to follow through with the requirements of the campaign.  Chairman Audette suggested this topic be placed on a different agenda for further discussion.   A motion/Mr. Montecalvo, seconded/Mr. Marzec to adopt and support the MASS. DEP/Mass Recycles Paper Campaign in the form of a resolution.  Selectman Davis suggested more research be done on this before adopting.  Vote yes/Messrs. Ampagoomian, Marzec, Montecalvo and Audette.  Vote no/Mr. Davis.

 

Preservation Massachusetts/Vote to nominate Castle Hill Farm property.  Present:  Barbara Gaudette, Chairman of the Planning Board.  Ms. Gaudette mentioned that Preservation Massachusetts is a non-profit preservation advocacy organization and is currently soliciting nominations for 2007.  The Planning Board met to discuss what valuable historic sites and landscapes were in the Town of Northbridge.  Their board identified and is recommending that Castle Hill Farm be nominated for the most endangered historic resource program.  A motion/Mr. Marzec, seconded/Mr. Davis to nominate Castle Hill farm property for the 10 most endangered historic resource program.  Vote yes/Unanimous.

 

Whitinsville Water Company [Don Bunker, General Manager].  Mr. Bunker provided the Board with an update on where the Water Company stands with the planning and construction of the Water Treatment Facility for the Sutton Well field.  He stated that a consent order was signed last year with Mass DEP to plan, design, and construct the water treatment facility at Sutton Well field.  This was a requirement of DEP because of changes and additions to their business regulations.  He then mentioned they are going through the final design changes and are now in the process of developing the preliminary design report.  All testing was performed at the well have gone accordingly.  Mr. Bunker mentioned that the project is on track and the consent order by DEP has to be operational by September 30, 2009.  The amount of money estimated to build this treatment plant is around 5 million dollars.

 

Funding Full Day Kindergarten.  Selectman Davis suggested a proposal to help save full day kindergarten.  The proposal he suggested was to transfer the funds received from the settlement of the High School field negotiations to reinstitute the Full Day Kindergarten program.  This would mean that the Board of Selectmen need to agree to transfer the funds and School Committee and Superintendent would need to agree to support/fund the full day program.  This was just a proposal and could help the School receive all their Chapter 70 funds the following year.  Mr. Jeffrey Travers, 23 Devon Drive, provided a brief overview on the costs of preserving the full day kindergarten program. With that said, he provided figures to the Board of Selectmen and mentioned the loss of Chapter 70 funds in an amount of $338,148.00 and forfeiting $134,000 in state grants.   Selectman Montecalvo mentioned that he is not in favor of using the settlement money for the fields to fund the kindergarten program.  He advocated that in the past, the municipal side has always given monies to the Schools, and they have never once helped the municipal side.  He then mentioned that the library will be losing their accreditation and the Senior Center will lose state aid/grants.  By giving the School this money to fund the full day kindergarten program, it will only be a temporary fix.  *He also stated that the Town Manager should not have gone before the School Committee about this issue without the full consent of the Selectmen. *Selectman Davis stated that Mr. Kozak appeared before the School Committee at his request.  Selectman Ampagoomian is not in favor of giving up the field settlement funds to support the full day kindergarten program.  He mentioned there are many areas in town that need assistance too, such as, the DPW, Fire Station, etc., and felt since this money was a settlement agreement and should only used for what its intended for.  Selectman Marzec was in favor of preserving the full day kindergarten and feels that if the money is just sitting there why not use it to fund the program.  Chairman Audette mentioned he felt it was a good proposal but whether or not the School Committee supports the idea would be decided upon Thursday, July 26, 2007.  Mr. Peter Mimmo asked the Board of Selectmen if they would be present for the School Committee Meeting on Thursday night and thanked them for their support in preserving the full day kindergarten program.

 

Town Manager Kozak 1) provided the Board of Selectmen with an update from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue on the FY2008 pro forma recap.  DOR mentioned that the Town of Northbridge has met the requirements and that our budget is balanced. 2) commended 5 Police officers for a job well done in their assistance to rescue two victims from a recent house fire on Church Street. The officers names were: Sgt. Stephen Zollin, Detective Donald Roy, Off. Joshua Nadeau, Off. Matthew Leonard and Off. Jeffrey White. 3) Department of Housing Community Development Grant Program – Town Manager Kozak informed the Selectmen that the Town of Northbridge’s FY 2007 Community Development Block Grant would not be funded.  With that said, Ms. Dulmaine CDBG Program Director will re-apply in the next round of funding applications in hopes to regain funding for the next fiscal year.  4) The Town of Douglas is looking for the Town of Northbridge to support the CMRPC {Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Committee} Regional Economic Development initiative.  This initiative would give the much-needed support for all of our economic development planning efforts.  The Town Manager recommended that the Board of Selectmen support this and send a letter of support to the attention of Lawrence Adams, Executive Director at the CMRPC by July 27, 2007.  5)  A list of streetlights to be turned off has been provided to all Board of Selectmen.  This list was published on cable and the town website for citizens to review. 6) Health Insurance plan designs have been instituted and well receptive.  

 

Selectmen’s Concerns.  Selectman Davis 1) Status on all legal issues for the next meeting.  Selectman Ampagoomian 1) update on the fire station and DPW facility, revisit proposal from Mr. Jolles on the West End School Site. 2) plans on joining the MORE organization.  Town Manager Kozak mentioned due to the funding they are limited this year, however MORE is allowing him to attend the meetings even though he is not a member. 3) mentioned that the Town Accountant, Neil Vaidya should also be commended for helping with the Uxbridge fire at Bernat Mills. 4) addressed a comment made by Mr. Sal D’Amato, under citizen’s forum – the money that was set aside for the detention basins on Linwood Ave. wasn’t given out by the former town manager but it was done in Executive Session with the recommendation of the Building, Planning and Construction Committee to offset the legal costs for litigation.  5) passed out a document to each of the Selectmen and Town Manager to review. Selectman Marzec 1) two residents called regarding their concerns with the increase in their water and sewer bill. Chairman Audette  1) commended and thanked the Northbridge firefighter’s for the mutual aid they provided to the Uxbridge firefighter’s during the recent fire at Bernat Mills.  He offered his thoughts and sympathy to all the businesses that were lost.

 

Town Manager Kozak read aloud a statement he prepared to address a personal incident that took place on Friday, July 13, 2007, where he was involved in the operation of a motor vehicle violation in South Hadley and was legally charged.  However, at this time he was advised by legal counsel not to comment on this issue.  He mentioned he would not let this interfere with the performance of his job as Town Manager.  Chairman Audette offered his support. 

 

A motion/Mr. Davis, seconded/Mr. Marzec to adjourn the meeting.

 

Meeting adjourned:   PM

 

                                                            Respectfully submitted,

 

 

                                                            Joseph Montecalvo, Clerk

 

 

dg/

 

*At their meeting of August 20, 2007, at Selectman Ampagoomian’s request, the Board of Selectmen agreed to amend the minutes as follows: Paragraph 12 [Funding Full Day Kindergarten], Line 14, add the following sentence “He also stated that the Town Manager should not have gone before the School Committee about this issue without the full consent of the Selectmen. *Selectman Davis further amended it as follows “Selectman Davis stated that Mr. Kozak appeared before the School Committee at his request”.