Board of Selectmen

September 28, 2009

A meeting of the Board of Selectmen was called to order by Chairman Joseph Montecalvo at 6:00 PM, Northbridge Town Hall, 7 Main Street, Whitinsville, MA. Present: Messrs. Ampagoomian, Marzec, Nolan, Melia. 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 (Litigation) and to reconvene in open session. Roll Call Vote: Mr. Marzec/Yes, Mr. Montecalvo/Yes, Mr. Melia/Yes, Mr. Ampagoomian/Yes, Mr. Nolan/Yes.

Open Session Adjourned: 6:01 P.M.

Executive Session Convened: 6:03 P.M.

Executive Session Adjourned: 6:41 P.M.

Open Session Reconvened: 7:00 P.M.

Approval of Minutes.

August 10, 2009 - A motion/Mr. Amapagoomian, seconded/Mr. Melia to approve the August 10, 2009 minutes as presented with the readings omitted. Vote yes/Unanimous.

August 24, 2009 - A motion/Mr. Marzec, seconded/Mr. Ampagoomian to approve the August 24, 2009 minutes as presented with the readings omitted. Vote yes/Messrs. Marzec, Melia, Ampagoomian and Montecalvo. Abstain/Mr. Nolan.

September 8, 2009 [Executive Session] - A motion/Mr. Marzec, seconded/Mr. Ampagoomian to approve the September 8, 2009 Executive Session minutes as presented with the readings omitted. Vote yes/Unanimous.

Chairman Montecalvo announced that he is moving Agenda Item G, (Under Decisions), Northbridge Community Television Inc. Revised Bylaws to the beginning of the agenda to accommodate Town Counsel, David Doneski.

Northbridge Community Television Inc. Revised Bylaws/Present: Harry Berkowitz & David Doneski, Town counsel/Vote to approve. *At a previous Selectmen’s Meeting, Selectman Nolan Chairman Montecalvo requested Board members to submit any questions regarding the revisions recommended by Mr. Berkowitz to Town Counsel for review. Selectman Melia asked Mr. Berkowitz why he wanted to revise the current bylaws and Mr. Berkowitz responded that a member of his Board [Ronald Guilluame], who handles the finances, proposed the current changes. Mr. Berkowitz mentioned that in order for their nonprofit organization to receive tax free status from the IRS, this form (501(c) (3) charitable status) would need to be completed. Mr. Guilluame feels he is not authorized to complete this form because of the way the current bylaws read. Mr. Berkowitz also mentioned that it is very difficult for nonprofit organizations to receive a tax exempt status because of all the criterion that must be met. Selectman Melia suggested contacting the Town of Hopkinton to assist in completing the form since their bylaws are similar. After a brief review of Article 3, Section 7 [Meetings Open to the Public], there was a short question and answer period. Selectman Marzec read aloud a letter from a concerned citizen stating that the requirements of Article 6.4 [Amendments] in the bylaws have not been complied with. The NCTV Board met and voted on September 17, 2009 with respect to proposed bylaw changes. However, written notification of the substance of the proposed bylaw changes were not mailed to the Board of Directors 10 days in advance of such meeting. Selectman Ampagoomian noted for the record that the concerned citizen was Shelley Buma. Town Counsel David Doneski advised that because proper notice was not given, it would not be appropriate to move forward. A motion/Mr. Marzec, seconded/Mr. Nolan not to support the revised bylaws changes to Northbridge Community Television Inc. Vote yes/Messrs. Nolan, Marzec and Melia. Vote no/Messrs. Montecalvo and Ampagoomian.

Appointments. Safety Committee: Nancy Spitulnik, Assistant Superintendent [School Committee Designee]/Vote to appoint. A motion/Mr. Marzec, seconded/Mr. Melia to appoint Nancy Spitulnik as the School Committee’s designee to the Safety Committee. Vote yes/Unanimous.

Citizens’ Comments/Input. None.

Street Acceptances/Vote intent to lay out the following roads as public ways: 1) Olivia Drive (Mariano Estates) and 2) Prairie Street (Rocky Hill Farm Estates). Present: Town Planner Gary Bechtholdt. Mr. Bechtholdt announced that the Board of Selectmen needed to vote their intent to layout two roads in town; Olivia Drive and Prairie Street. A motion/Mr. Melia, seconded/Mr. Marzec to vote their intent to layout Olivia Drive (Mariano Estates) and Prairie Street (Rocky Hill Farm Estates) as public ways and refer this matter to the Planning Board for a recommendation. Vote yes/Unanimous.

Fall Annual Town Meeting [10/27/09] – Vote to remove Article 1 from the warrant. Town Manager Kozak explained why there were two warrants located in the Selectmen’s packet. He mentioned that one warrant had eleven articles and the other warrant only had ten articles. Town Manager Kozak mentioned that Article 1, in the warrant that has eleven articles, is to pay for previous year bills and because there are none Town Manager Kozak recommended this article be taken off. A motion/Mr. Ampagoomian, seconded/Mr. Nolan to remove Article 1 (prior year bills) from the Fall Annual Town Meeting Warrant [October 27, 2009]. Vote yes/Unanimous.

Fall Annual Town Meeting [10/27/09]/Vote to sign the warrant. A motion/Mr. Ampagoomian, seconded/Mr. Nolan to sign the revised Fall Annual Town Meeting Warrant [October 27, 2009]. Vote yes/Unanimous.

Board of Health/Mutual Aid Agreement for public health emergencies/Vote to approve. Present: Chairman of the Board of Health Paul Mckeon and Board of Health administrator Jeanne Gniadek. Mr. Mckeon advised the Selectmen that the Mutual Aid Agreement was voted and approved at the May 2, 2006 Spring Annual Town Meeting. By approving this agreement, it allows the Northbridge Board of Health to enter into an inter-municipal agreement with one or more other governmental units to provide public health services which the Board of Health is authorized to perform. A motion/Mr. Ampagoomian, seconded/Mr. Nolan to approve the Board of Health Mutual Aid Agreement for public health emergencies. Vote yes/Unanimous.

Northbridge Association of Churches/Request to hold the annual Blackstone Valley Cropwalk, Saturday, October 17, 2009 at 9:00 A.M. A motion/Mr. Ampagoomian, seconded/Mr. Nolan to approve the annual Blackstone Valley Cropwalk to be held Saturday, October 17, 2009 at 9 A.M. subject to the safety requirements of the Police Department. Vote yes/Unanimous.

Policy regarding the granting of permission to use the Town Commons/Vote to approve. A motion/Mr. Ampagoomian, seconded/Mr. Marzec to allow the Chairman of the Board of Selectmen and the Town Manager to grant permission to Veterans’ Groups to hold Honor Guard Ceremonies on a Town Common when there is no scheduled Board of Selectmen’s meeting to handle such requests. Vote yes/Unanimous.

Northbridge Education Foundation [Sheri Reilly]/Request permission to hang a banner over Church Street from October 4, 2009 through October 11, 2009 to advertise a Wine Tasting event.

A motion/Mr. Melia, seconded/Mr. Nolan to grant permission to the Northbridge Education Foundation to hang a banner across Church Street from October 4, 2009 through October 11, 2009 to advertise their Wine Tasting fundraising event. Vote yes/Unanimous.

Safety Committee Minutes [September 16, 2009]/Vote to accept recommendations. Chairman Montecalvo announced that on Page 3, Carpenter Road, Safety of Road over Causeway, the Town Manager and Town Counsel suggested that the Safety Committee hold off and take no action until further information is received. A motion/Mr. Ampagoomian, seconded/Mr. Melia to accept the recommendations of the Safety Committee as outlined in the minutes of September 16, 2009, with the exception of the Carpenter Road Causeway Issue. Vote yes/Unanimous.

Central Mass. Regional Planning Commission/Pavement Management Study. Present: DPW Director Richard Sasseville, Central Mass. Regional Planning Commission Representatives Sujatha Mohanakrishnan and Eric L’Esperance. Ms. Mohanakrishnan and Mr. L’Esperance of the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission presented a report on the Pavement Management Study that they have completed for the Town.  They discussed the methodology used in the study and the results.   The study looks at pavement condition, rideability and drainage and assigns an Overall Condition Index (OCI) to each segment of roadway.  The OCI can range from 0 to 100 with zero being the worst and 100 being excellent.  Their study gave the town’s roadway network an OCI of 61.47 which equates to a “Fair” rating.

They also discussed the methodology used to estimate the cost to maintain the condition of our roadways.  They use a computer program which estimates the current condition and the average rate of roadway deterioration and cost information obtained from the Mass Highway Department.  Using this program, they estimate that the town needs to spend more than $59 million to elevate the condition of all roadways to “Excellent”.  In order to maintain the current OCI of 61.47 the Town needs to spend an average of approximately $5 million per year on roadway maintenance and repair.

They also discussed different annual roadway maintenance funding scenarios and the impact on the Town’s OCI.  Under each scenario where roadway maintenance spending was between $50,000 and $300,000 per year the OCI continued to decline with the number of miles of roadway in the “fair, poor and worst” continuing to increase.” Selectman Melia mentioned he has driven through several towns lately and found that other towns are having their roads repaired. The roads in Northbridge are in dire need of some work and asked what should the Town of Northbridge do to receive funding to repair their roads? Ms. Mohanakrishnan stated that Town Manager Kozak has been very proactive about trying to get stimulus money and then apologized for not having the answer to his question. DPW Director, Richard Sasseville mentioned that the Town of Northbridge has submitted a ton of projects to CMRPC, however, they are on a waiting list for their turn. Selectman Marzec mentioned that it is disconcerting to know the town is on a waiting list when the roads are deteriorating so badly. There are a lot of citizens in town who are concerned about the roadways. He suggested prioritizing projects and pushing harder on the powers that be and that are involved in the funding/decision making of the roads.

Town Manager’s Report. 1) Update on Church Street Landfill Project – The landfill is not receiving any more soil. The capping work is completed and the grass has been seeded on the cap. 2) Rep. Peterson Office Hours on 10/19/09 from 7 PM to 8 PM. 3) Update on Skateboard Park – The Department of Public Works has installed sound resistant insulation on the skateboard apparatus to lessen the noise from the skateboard use, however, apparently there is still some noise and this will be looked into further. 4) Update on New Fire Truck – Fire Chief Gary Nestor has informed our office that his new fire truck will be delivered on Friday, October 2, 2009. 5) ICMA Conference – Attended Annual ICMA Conference in Montreal and participated in several workshops including; health insurance, pensions, investment techniques, infrastructure finance techniques, and energy efficient ideas. 6) CDBG Meeting – There will be various public meetings & workshops for the Community Development Block Grant Program; 1) October 6, 2009 @ 6 P.M. at the Planning Board and 2) Strategy Meeting - October 19, 2009 @ 6 P.M. at the Town Hall. On October 2, 2009, the Social Program applications for the next year’s grant program are due at the Town Hall.

Selectmen’s Concerns. Selectman Ampagoomian 1) Thanked the residents in town for attending and viewing the Armenian Library & Museum of America Exhibit. 2) He mentioned a large tree, located near 197 Goldthwaite Road, has a branch sticking out in the road. Chairman Montecalvo mentioned the Safety Committee is handling this issue. 3) He mentioned that Town Manager Kozak attended the ICMA Conference and asked that he provide some feedback on his discussions with other Town Managers at the next Selectmen’s meeting. 4) When will the testing of the monitoring wells be done at the Northbridge Landfill? Town Manager Kozak will look into this and get back to him with an answer. Selectman Melia 1) Letter from the Uxbridge Board of Selectmen – what is the date of the quarterly meeting? Chairman Montecalvo replied, “November 18^th at the Uxbridge Town Hall” and he will get back to them with a time. 2) Selectman Melia provided a photo of a bath tub with heavily discolored water in it. He asked that the Whitinsville Water Company come in so that we can find out; a) Is the water harmful to the children and/or will it be? b) Why is this happening? c) Is the WWC, as a Utility Company liable for the staining of toilets, bathtubs and sinks? Chairman Montecalvo mentioned that he’ll invite Whitinsville Water Company Manager Randy Swigor to their next BOS meeting. Selectman Marzec 1) He thanked the individuals in Town for the wonderful flower displays throughout Northbridge/Whitinsville. 2) He mentioned that the residents in Linwood are concerned about their mail delivery, scheduled to go into effect on October 3^rd, and whether they will have curbside delivery or cluster mailboxs. 3) The Northbridge Planning Board and Master Plan Update Committee are hosting a Public Workshop on Wednesday, October 7^th at 7PM in the Town Hall with Mass Audubon and CMRPC for a discussion on “Shaping the Future of your Community”. He encouraged all interested parties to attend. Selectman Nolan 1) Still looking to obtain the Earth Tech report regarding the DPW site walk of July 27^th. 2) Status on the dilapidated garage on C Street? Town Manager Kozak mentioned that he hasn’t heard from Mass Development.

Town Manager Kozak mentioned that the October 5^th meeting is cancelled unless the Board had business to discuss. The Board of Selectmen agreed not to meet until October 19, 2009.

A motion/Mr. Ampagoomian, seconded/Mr. Nolan to adjourn the meeting. Vote yes/Unanimous.

Meeting Adjourned: 8:40 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,

Charles Ampagoomian, Jr., Clerk

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*At their regularly scheduled meeting of October 19, 2009, the Board voted to amend the September 28, 2009 minutes as requested by Selectman Nolan as follows: Under Northbridge Community Television Ins. Revised Bylaws, In the first sentence, At a previous Selectmen’s Meeting, delete “Selectman Nolan requested Board members” and add “Chairman Montecalvo requested Board members”.