Board of Selectmen’s Meeting

August 6, 2007

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

Also present: Theodore D. Kozak Town Manager.

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by those present.

Approval of Minutes.

June 18, 2007

A motion/Mr. Davis, seconded/Mr. Ampagoomian to approve the June 18, 2007 minutes as presented with the readings omitted. Vote yes/Unanimous.

Appointments/By the Board of Selectmen: Election Officers (Republican, Democrat, Unenrolled) – A motion/Mr. Ampagoomian, seconded/Mr. Davis to appoint the Republican, Democratic and Unenrolled Election Officers as listed in the Selectmen’s agenda packets. Vote yes/Unanimous.

Conservation Commission: Mark Godfrey. Vice Chairman Marzec announced Mr. Mark Godfrey withdrew his name for consideration.

Citizens’ Comments/Input. None

The Village Congregational Church (Pastor Robert G. Sherwood) 1) Request permission to use the Town Common for the Annual Harvest Festival on Saturday. September 29, 2007 from 9 A.M. to 3 P.M. (Rain date: 9/30/07, from 12 P.M. – 3 P.M.). A motion/Mr. Davis, seconded/Mr. Ampagoomian to approve the above request. Vote yes/Unanimous. 2) Request to block off Church Street from in front of the Church to the intersection of Park Street. A motion/Mr. Ampagoomian, seconded/Mr. Davis to approve the above request subject to the safety requirements of the Police Department and Department of Public Works. Vote yes/Unanimous.

Community Opportunities Group [Wayne Darragh, COG Representative, Jennifer Dulmaine, OCD and Richard Sasseville, DPW Director] 1) FY 08 Grant Award, 2) Proposed Projects for 2008. Town Manager Kozak stated he originally invited Mr. Peter Sanborn in this evening to discuss this topic however due to unavailability Mr. Darragh was present to discuss what happened with the grant application process, why the Town was not accepted, and how they can better prepare for next year. Ms. Jennifer Dulmaine provided the Board of Selectmen with a packet of information with respect to the Village Infrastructure Improvements Project. With that said, the Town of Northbridge’s FY 2007 CDBG application was not funded. However, Ms. Dulmaine provided the Board with the scoring for the towns that submitted applications and mentioned that she is not discouraged because she feels the project is worthy of funding and will apply again in FY 2008. Mr. Darragh explained the process and how the DHCD scored the Town of Northbridge’s projects versus other towns. He mentioned that the application process has changed substantially with submitting on-line applications versus hard copy applications. He suggested that maybe the data/activity did not translate well online. Other potential changes on the horizon, including the requirement to have a separate more comprehensive public outreach effort prior to the application preparation in conjunction with the community development strategy. There is discussion with the reduction of maximum grant awards and changing the bonus points scoring. That said, the Town of Northbridge has been funded since 1995, and Mr. Darragh was very surprised to find out that Northbridge would not be funded this year. Selectman Davis had asked if the New Village Infrastructure Project would be completed, and Ms. Dulmaine replied, that it was a multi-phase project so it would not be considered complete. However, Border Street will be designed and constructed because it had been approved under the 2006 grant. Ms. Dulmaine provided the Board of Selectmen with a PowerPoint presentation on the New Village Infrastructure Project. The presentation included the target area [Border Street, Overlook Street and Crescent Street], funding source [FY 2006 Grant Funding and Chapter 90 Highway Funding], commitment [neighborhood support, Board of Selectmen support, strong public support during concept and design workshops, New Village Target area certified as a Slum and Blight area], project scope [public investment, ADA handicapped accessible sidewalks, roadway repairs/repaving, drainage improvements, tree planting, and aesthetic enhancements] and recommendations [support design of subsequent phases using remaining grant funds, continue submitting CDBG grant applications, and use of Chapter 90 for design and construction of North Main Street (not part of CDBG Target Area). After a brief question an answer session, Vice Chairman Marzec thanked Ms. Dulmaine, Mr. Sasseville and Mr. Darragh for taking time out of their busy schedules to discuss the future projects and funding for the town.

Daily Bread Bakery and Café’ [Christopher Sohigian] / Planning a “BYOB” event. Town Manager Kozak mentioned that the Board of Selectmen could approve the permit; however, Mr. Sohigian was not present to discuss. Vice-Chairman Marzec suggested this be placed on a future agenda for discussion.

Playground and Recreation/Update on Fields and Future Projects. Present: Playground & Recreation Committee Members: Bruce Frieswick, Scott Macintosh, Bridget Curley and John Phelan. The Playground and Recreation Committee provided the Board of Selectmen with a handout to review during their PowerPoint presentation. John Phelan discussed the progress his committee made in the past year with respect to the updates and repairs of the Linwood Field, Vail Field, Balmer Field, Riverdale Field and Rockdale Field. With that said, in order to continue making progress in the fields, the Linwood Fields would be closed from August 17, 2007 through next summer of 2008 in order to have the field in playing condition. The Playground and Recreation Committee thanked the Board of Selectmen for their support. The Board of Selectmen mentioned having the Town Manager contact the Sherriff’s Department to see if the inmates could rake and mow the fields. Town Manager Kozak will contact the Sherriff’s Department this week.

Town Manager Kozak 1) updated the citizens in town on the Meadow Pond Spill. He mentioned that the Whitinsville Water Company and the Fire Department were contacted and notified of 5 gallons of food grade vegetable-based oil that had been released into Meadow Pond due to a pump breaking. From Saturday to Wednesday, TMC Environmental Services and Tinio Corporation removed the oil from the pond. The DEP was notified and aware of the current conditions. Town Manager Kozak mentioned that at no time was there any toxic material released to the environment. 2) MORE Update – attended a meeting and mentioned they are still looking into EPA and State Regulations for water and sewer usage. Town Manager Kozak mentioned attending the MORE Annual meeting in September 21, 2007 but will provide more details at a later date. 3) Recycling – A representative from DEP discussed the towns recycling center and thought our community would be willing to expand our recycling site. Town Manager will be inviting them in to discuss their issues with our recycling committee. 4) Aldrich School Usage – the School Committee will be turning the Aldrich building over to the town. Mr. James Sheehan, Inspector of Buildings conducted a preliminary review of the Aldrich School for possible usage. 5) Town Manager Kozak met with Lou Sakin, Weights & Measures Inspector to discuss Inspection Fees and the possibility of raising the fees. Mr. Sakin will come to a future Board of Selectmen meeting to discuss his ideas and concerns relative to the fee structure. 6) Hiring of Reserve Officers - Training will be paid for by grants, per Police Chief Warchol. The Board of Selectmen and Town Manager were in favor of hiring reserve officers.

Selectmen’s Concerns. Selectman Ampagoomian 1) adopting recycling policy, the planning board does recycle. 2) Inspector Generals Office – have they responded regarding the Veteran’s Office. 3) Budgetary Process – Line Items 4) Goals and Objectives for the Town Manager – discuss after a Selectmen’s meeting. 5) Mass Highway Project [Brian’s Restaurant] – meeting on August 15^th. 6) American Legion - 3^rd Annual Car Show on Sunday, August 12, 2007. Selectman Marzec 1) mentioned he spoke to a woman who is willing to help elderly and citizens in town with their oil cost. Selectman Ampagoomian asked if there would be a conflict with Selectman Montecalvo signing the Armenian Church One Day Beer and Wine License because he abstained when voting. Town Manager Kozak responded no. Vice-Chairman Marzec personally thanked all the individuals in town who contributed their time to the restoration of the fields.

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

Meeting adjourned: 8:30 PM

Respectfully submitted,

Joseph Montecalvo, Clerk

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