Board of Selectmen

March 9, 2009

A meeting of the Board of Selectmen was called to order by Chairman Joseph Montecalvo at 7:00 PM, Northbridge Town Hall, 7 Main Street, Whitinsville, MA. Present: Messrs. Ampagoomian, Nolan, Marzec and Melia. Also Present: Theodore D. Kozak, Town Manager.

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by those present.

Harry Berkowitz – Chairman, Cable Advisory Committee/Presentation on Cable Equipment Upgrades in Selectmen’s Meeting Room. Mr. Berkowitz informed the residents about the upgrade of cable equipment in the Board of Selectmen’s room including state of the art cameras, new audio equipment, panels and a digital flat screen TV. He mentioned the total bill was less than $30,000 and the cable grant covered it.

Approval of Minutes.

February 9, 2009 - A motion/Mr. Ampagoomian, seconded/Mr. Nolan to approve the February 9, 2009 minutes as presented with the readings omitted. Vote yes/Unanimous.

Appointments/By the Board of Selectmen:

1) Building, Planning and Construction Committee. Present: Thomas Pilibosian, 16 Dudley Ave., Whitinsville, MA. Mr. Pilibosian provided the Board of Selectmen with some background information about himself and how he could assist the committee. A motion/Mr. Melia, seconded/Mr. Marzec to appoint Thomas Pilibosian to the Building, Planning and Construction Committee. Vote yes/Unanimous.

Resignation/Blackstone River and Canal Commission-Burnham Miller. Chairman Montecalvo read aloud Mr. Miller’s resignation letter and Selectman Ampagoomian suggested sending a letter of appreciation to Mr. Miller for his years of serving on the Blackstone River and Canal Commission. A motion/Mr. Ampagoomian, seconded/Mr. Marzec to accept the resignation of Burnham Miller from the Blackstone River and Canal Commission. Vote yes/ Unanimous.

Citizens’ Comments/Input. Mr. Thomas Bellacqua and Holly Gallerani, Co-Chairmen of the Blackstone Valley Tourism and Association are requesting to use the Whitinsville Town Common in April. Chairman Montecalvo suggested that they put something in writing and submit it to the Town Manager’s Office. That said, once the information is received, it would be placed on the Board of Selectmen’s agenda for action.

Armenian Apostolic Church/Request to hang a banner over Church Street from April 12^th to April 25^th in honor of “Martyr’s Day”. A motion/Mr. Ampagoomian, seconded/Mr. Melia to grant permission to the Armenian Apostolic Church to hang a banner over Church Street from April 12, 2009 to April 25, 2009 in honor of Martyr’s Day. Vote yes/Unanimous.

Sunday Entertainment Licenses/Vote to approve. The Board was informed via a memo that there were no outstanding monies due the Town and therefore, a motion/Mr. Ampagoomian, seconded/Mr. Nolan to approve the Sunday Entertainment License renewals subject to the payment of all outstanding taxes. Vote yes/Unanimous.

Safety Committee Minutes [February 18, 2009]/Vote to accept recommendations. A motion/Mr. Marzec, seconded/Mr. Ampagoomian to accept the recommendations of the Safety Committee as outlined in the minutes of February 18, 2009. Vote yes/Unanimous.

Trinity Episcopal Church [Rev. Charles Sutton, Jr.]/Request permission to use the Whitinsville Town Common for a concert “Scarlet Fade” to be held the evening of Sunday, April 26, 2009, from 5 P.M. to 9 P.M. A motion/Mr. Melia, seconded/Mr. Nolan to grant permission to the Trinity Episcopal Church to use the Whitinsville Town Common for a concert “Scarlet Fade” to be held the evening of Sunday, April 26, 2009 from 5 P.M. to 9 P.M. subject to the safety requirements of the Northbridge Police Department. Vote yes/Unanimous.

Playground & Recreation Commission/Vote to approve revisions to the Playground & Recreation Commission's Policy Manual. Present: Chairman Bruce Frieswick and Members: Frank Puda, Louis Bernard, Dwayne Fitzgerald and Alicia Cannon. Selectman Melia asked if the language in the first paragraph on page 9, third line, could be changed from “will have their field use suspended” to “may have their field use suspended” and Chairman Frieswick responded that they are going to keep the word “will”. Town Manager Kozak mentioned that upon review of the policy manual, on page 5 there were some references to Massachusetts General Law that need to be deleted. Town Manager Kozak advised the Playground and Recreation Commission that he discussed this with Town Counsel and was advised to remove the references to M.G.L.'s because of frequently changing laws. Town Manager Kozak also pointed out that the second paragraph on page 9 regarding fines [letter d] should be incorporated with the paragraph below it: “If the Organization so chooses, they may appeal fines and rulings for first, second and third offenses to the Board of Selectmen”. A motion/Mr. Melia, seconded/Mr. Ampagoomian to approve the corrections and revisions to the Playground & Recreation Policy Manual as recommended by the Town Manager and Board of Selectmen. Vote yes/ Unanimous.

Personnel Policy Manual/Vote to approve proposed revisions. Present: Chairman William Lavallee and Committee Members: Phyllis DiPalma, Peter Mimmo and Peter Lachapelle. Mr. Lachapelle introduced his committee and mentioned they are once again before the Selectmen for their approval of the proposed revisions to the Personnel Policy Manual. Mr. Lachapelle informed the Board of Selectmen that his committee recommended holding off on the longevity clause until the next fiscal year beginning July 1, 2009. Town Manager Kozak thanked the Personnel Board for all their hard work and effort in updating the Personnel Policy Manual. Selectman Melia thanked the Committee and then proceeded to explain why he felt the longevity clause should be dealt with this year. He explained that if the town follows the same longevity pay schedule as the Fire Department, the cost would total around $4750.00 (12 employees). He is looking for parity amongst the Unions and the town employees. Town Manager Kozak is opposed to this clause being added to the Personnel Policy this year because of the economy, not because he doesn’t feel the employee’s are deserving of this. As the longevity begins to grow, funding will be an issue. Selectman Ampagoomian asked 1) If there was a designated smoking area. Town Manager Kozak responded that he was not aware of one. DPW Director Richard Sasseville mentioned that the law prohibits smoking on public property so the Town cannot have a designated smoking area. 2) What the current mileage rate was and Town Manager Kozak replied 48 ½ cents per mile. 3) Under Vacation Leave, define why the Town Manager shall determine whether newly hired full time employees will be allowed additional vacation time. Town Manager Kozak replied that when hiring an experienced employee, this could be the deciding factor for the candidate to accept the position. Selectman Nolan commended the Personnel Board in doing a great job with the manual. He mentioned it was easy to follow along especially with the changes being noted on the side. Mr. Lachapelle mentioned that the Assistant to the Town Manager, Sharon Susienka be commended for the format of the manual. A motion/Mr. Melia, seconded/Mr. Ampagoomian to approve the proposed revisions to the Personnel Policy as recommended by the Personnel Board and by adding Section 6.70 establishing the proposed longevity clause effective July 1, 2009. Vote yes/Messrs. Melia and Ampagoomian. Vote no/Messrs. Montecalvo, Marzec and Nolan. Motion failed. The Personnel Board would like to review this at a later date. After further discussion amongst the members of the Board of Selectmen, they agreed to discuss the longevity clause at their next meeting. A motion/Mr. Marzec, seconded/Mr. Melia to look at the proposed language for the longevity pay that Selectman Melia has put forth at the next meeting. Vote yes/Unanimous. A motion/Mr. Melia, seconded/Mr. Ampagoomian to accept the Town of Northbridge Personnel Policy Manual as presented. Vote yes/Unanimous.

Chairman Berkowitz briefly mentioned that there is a problem with an old piece of equipment [a mixer], which is causing some problems with the sound.

Spring Annual Town Meeting (May 5, 2009)/Vote to place articles on Warrant. Town Manager Kozak read aloud each article and proposed his recommendations to the Board of Selectmen. Selectman Melia felt the article on additional compensation for Town Clerks and Treasurers/Collectors should not go to Town Meeting. Town Manager Kozak agreed and asked the Board of Selectmen to withdraw that article. The Board of Selectmen agreed. Veterans Services Director Kenneth Trajanowski came before the Board to discuss Chapter 137 of the Acts of 2003 Article. He mentioned that he wants the Town to vote on accepting Chapter 137, which provides that an employee who has been granted a military leave of absence shall be paid his regular base salary as a public employee for each pay period of such leave of absence after September 11, 2001, reduced by any amount received from the United States as base pay for military service performed during the same pay period, base pay being described so as not to include any allowances, overtime pay, shift differential pay, hazardous duty pay or any other additional compensation received for military service. A motion/Mr. Ampagoomian, seconded/Mr. Marzec to place all Board of Selectmen articles [except the article regarding additional compensation for Town Clerks, Treasurers/ Collectors article] on the warrant for the Spring Annual Town Meeting [May 5, 2009]. Vote yes/Unanimous.

Table 106 Inspection Fee Schedule/Present: James Sheehan, Building Inspector. Mr. Sheehan provided a proposed fee schedule for the Board of Selectmen to review. He mentioned the fee schedule for table 106, which includes inspections for Assembly, Educational, Day Cares and Multi-family uses has been removed from the 7^th edition of the Massachusetts State Building Code and that it is up to each town to adopt a fee schedule for the 106 inspections. The Board of Selectmen agreed to place this item on their next agenda [March 23, 2009] so they can vote to adopt the fee schedule.

FY2010 Budget Presentation/Town Manager Kozak. Town Manager Kozak presented his FY10 Budget and Revenue Forecast to the Selectmen. He proposed a spending plan of approximately $37.1 million and mentioned that the FY10 budget increased only 0.37 percent more than FY09 budget of $36,940,401. Consistent with the proposed overall town budget, the school department figure for FY10 is exactly level-funded at $19,711,955. The FY10 budget for Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School is also up only slightly, from $744,518 to $800,000. That leaves a total proposed FY10 education budget of $20,565,955, up only 0.27 percent from FY09. The actual tax levy for FY10 is $16,011,004 compared to FY09’s $16,175,467. Estimated receipts are listed at $2.4 million for the coming year, compared with $2.6 million this past year. He then mentioned that the State Aid dropped from $19.3 million to $18.6 million. On the other hand, free cash is projected at $1,250,000, compared with $597,000 in FY09. The total funds available in FY09 were $37,705,624 compared with a projected $37,081,136 in FY10. The budget request last year was $36,940,401 compared to $37,078,780 for FY10. Town Manager Kozak mentioned that he cut some $200,000 from the overall FY10 town budget proposal.

Update on Winter Road Conditions/Present: Richard Sasseville, DPW Director. The DPW Director mentioned the town’s roads are falling apart and that the major roads have deteriorated very badly due to the heavy traffic. Other roads that are in rough condition are Purgatory Road, Mendon Road, Quaker Street, North Main Street, Goldthwaite Road and portions of Hill Street. He stated that the long-term solution would be to rebuild the roads and there is no money to do this. He mentioned that he uses the Chapter 90 funds that come from the state to cover the reconstruction costs of the roads. Back in 1996 & 1997 the town received a total of $750,000. For the Years 2008 and 2009, the town received a total of $640,000. The DPW budget consists of about 1 million dollars and if you deduct all the fixed costs for the town such as utilities, repairs, etc. that leaves around $150,000.00. Mr. Sasseville also mentioned that the present snow deficit is about $300,000.

Town Manager’s Report. 1) MMA Home Energy Savings Seminar – announcement for homeowners in Northbridge to attend a seminar on March 18, 2009 at 6:30 PM in the Town Hall - Board of Selectmen’s Room. 2) MMA Legislative Breakfast – discussed supporting the Mass Municipal Four Initiatives; Closing Telecommunication Tax Loophole, Support Local Option Meals Tax and Motel/Hotel Tax, Revision to the Charter School’s Funding, and Help Municipal Health Insurance Reform to allow municipalities to make plan design changes similar to the State’s plans. 3) Vail Field Concession Stand Update – meeting w/Bruce Frieswick, Chairman of Playground and Recreation and Louis Bernard, Softball Representative, James Sheehan, Building Inspector and Jeanne Gniadek, Board of Health, to discuss work that is still required on the concession stand/storage shed to be used by P&R. 4) Treasurer/Collector Search – update on committee’s review of candidates for the position. 5) Building, Planning and Construction Committee – an update on the various projects the committee is undertaking. Field work at the High School will begin soon; Retention Pond is completed; the BPCC is working with the consultant on a DPW and Fire Station facility. 6) RT 122 Bridge Design Update – received notification of a Public Hearing scheduled for May 6, 2009 at 7:00 PM in the Town Hall. 7) Recycling Center was closed on March 7, 2009 due to it not being cleared out from previous storms.

Selectmen’s Concerns. Selectman Marzec 1) requested an update on the DPW facility at a future Board of Selectmen’s meeting; 2) Residents in Town are asking about the Library certification. Town Manager Kozak mentioned because of the economic times there is no more money that the town can offer to the library. 3) requested status of the new Fire Truck; 4) Any interest in the Green Committee; Town Manager Kozak replied one or two people sent in a talent bank application. 5) Lights in the back of the Baker building; 6) Dentist Building on Church Street (Bump out), individuals were driving on the sidewalk. Chairman Montecalvo mentioned that this is a Safety Committee issue. Selectman Ampagoomian 1) asked if Selectman Marzec spoke to the Library Trustee’s regarding the certification of the library. 2) Update on the Whitinsville Water Company Rate Hearing. DPW Director, Richard Sasseville responded that he hasn’t heard anything. Selectman Melia 1) requested a status on the removal of utility poles; Town Manager Kozak mentioned that he would send a letter to National Grid and Verizon. 2) Any chance of assigning a department to clean up town signs? No response. 3) asked if there should be further explanation on free cash; Town Manager replied “no”. Selectman Nolan 1) requested an update on the water meter survey’s; Town Manager Kozak mentioned that this topic is scheduled for discussion at the next Board of Selectmen’s meeting. 2) Inquired about the mail delivery for Linwood and why it hasn’t begun; Town Manager Kozak will look into this and report back to the Board of Selectmen at a future meeting.

Correspondence. Chairman Montecalvo mentioned a letter that was received from John Baker expressing his appreciation for the Certificate of Service he received from the Board of Selectmen.

Executive Session. A motion/Mr. Ampagoomian, seconded/Mr.Marzec to go into Executive Session under M.G.L. Chapter 39, S. 23B#3 Litigation --not to reconvene in open session. Roll Call Vote: Mr. Marzec/ Yes; Mr. Melia/Yes; Mr. Nolan/Yes; Mr. Ampagoomian/Yes; and Mr. Montecalvo/Yes.

Meeting Adjourned: 9:30 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,

Daniel Nolan, Clerk

/dg