Board of Selectmen, December 3, 2018

HOLDEN BOARD OF SELECTMEN

MEETING MINUTES

December 3, 2018

6:30PM                                                                       Wachusett Regional High School

Present: Chairman Geri Herlihy, Anthony Renzoni, Tyler Gibbs, Robert Lavigne, Jeremy Kurtz  

Others Present:            Peter Lukes, Town Manager

                                    Stephanie Bacon, Assistant Town Manager

                                    Stephen Madaus, Town Counsel

                                    Liz Fotos, Town Recorder

Chairman Herlihy called the meeting to order at 6:30PM.  The Board stood to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

Old Business/ New Business

Sel. Renzoni stated that he thinks that the Board should take position on the proposed DPW building.  He stated that Fin Com has taken a position at this point but the Board has not.

Sel. Lavigne asked what the position was.

Sel. Renzoni replied that Fin Com supported it.  He stated that when this project started he was not fully in favor of it. He stated that the DPW Facility has been a need for a long time and through many Town Managers and was a need 9 years ago.  He stated that in his opinion the Board has been very hard on the Committee because the $18 Million keeps rising.  He stated that the Committee made a case for the $18.5 million and that he feels this project needs the support of a unanimous vote by the Board.  He stated that if they wait two years to move forward on this project it goes to a $22 million project.  He stated that the Committee came to the Board a lot and had heard their concerns with the size and scope.  He stated that this was a compromise and that he thinks this is pretty close to satisfying all parties and believes that it should be supported.

A motion was made by Sel. Renzoni to support Article 2; it was seconded by Sel. Kurtz.

Sel. Lavigne stated that he was the one that was hesitant to support this.  He stated that nothing that was being proposed was making him confident.  He stated that he had asked many questions that were still unanswered and it was because no one bothered to look for the answers out of laziness and sloppiness.  He stated that he thinks this is premature. He stated that he is nervous that this process was going to start and the budget would go higher and higher. He stated that he believe in the architects and Mr. Lukes but that he thinks that this has to be watched.  He stated that $18.5 million needs to be the worst case scenario.  He stated he is uneasy but he will support it.

Chairman Herlihy stated that Weston and Sampson had stated that they had never gone above an appropriation for a project.

Sel. Lavigne stated that was a large reason he supported it.

Sel. Kurtz stated that he had been a supporter from day one.  He stated that this was not the Mountview style committee they had seen in the past.  He stated that some of the Committee members were new to a building committee of this type and it was not fair to compare it to a Committee like Mountview that knew government and had been through the process on multiple occasions.  He stated that this would meet the needs of the Town; he said it may not meet the needs in 20 years as it was scaled down. He stated that it is the right time to do this project and in 5/6 years they will be looking to redo schools.  He stated that $18.5 million is realistic with Mr. Lukes’ guidance.

Sel. Lavigne stated that there is a lot of misinformation out there; he stated that he does support a DPW Building he just wasn’t sure if this was the plan.

Chairman Herlihy stated that since she had been the liaison to this Committee she had gone to two different sites and seen first hand the Committee go over square footage foot by foot and try to make the concessions to get to the $18 million.  She stated that she supports this building.

Sel. Gibbs stated that he votes for it.  He stated that he is at the tail end of this process but he thinks the timing is right with the debt coming off and this is the perfect storm for this.

Sel. Renzoni stated that this was not the perfect storm, this was well calculated by the Board.  One project falls off, one comes on.  He stated they were going to keep doing this because it was good business.

Sel. Lavigne stated that as a Board they had to be mindful that just because something came off doesn’t mean it’s a good reason to have something back on.

Sel. Renzoni agreed and stated that the Board was just aware of it.  He stated the pending inventory was going to help as well.  

Motion by Sel. Renzoni, seconded by Sel. Kurtz, it was UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO SUPPORT ARTICLE 2 AT THE DECEMBER 3, 2018 SPECIAL TOWN MEETING.

Sel. Lavigne asked who would speak to the matter.

Chairman Herlihy replied that she would.

Motion by Sel. Renzoni, seconded by Sel. Kurtz, it was UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO SUPPORT ARTICLE 3 AT THE DECEMBER 3, 2018 SPECIAL TOWN MEETING.

Sel. Lavigne stated that tonight was a 2/3 vote and tomorrow was a simple majority.

Mr. Madaus stated that if it passed tomorrow they can come back if needed as the election was good for 90 days.

Motion by Sel. Lavigne, seconded by Sel. Gibbs, it was UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO ADJORN TO THE SPECIAL TOWN MEETING AT 6:50PM AND RECONVENE IN REGULAR SESSION FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF ADJOURNMENT.

Motion by Sel. Lavigne, seconded by Sel. Gibbs, it was UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO ADJOURN THE DECEMBER 3, 2018 BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING AT 7:45PM.

APPROVED: ___January 7, 2019___________