Board of Selectmen, November 2, 2015
HOLDEN BOARD OF SELECTMEN
MEETING MINUTES
NOVEMBER 2, 2015
6:30PM Memorial Hall
Present: Chairman Jeremy Kurtz, Anthony Renzoni, Tim Ethier, Kenneth O’Brien (6:34PM), Robert Lavigne
Others Present: Jacquelyn Kelly, Town Manager
Peter Lukes, Assistant Town Manager
Liz Fotos, Town Recorder
Chairman Kurtz called the meeting to order at 6:30PM. The Board stood to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
- Appointments, Licenses, Permits
There were no appointments, licenses, or permits to review.
- Discussion of Finance Committee Liaison
Chairman Kurtz told the Board that a few weeks prior to the Selectmen’s meeting, the Finance Committee had met and appointed Mr. White as Chairman. Chairman Kurtz told the Board that one of the things that Mr. White was looking forward to was pulling the two Boards (Board of Selectmen and Fin Com) back together again. Chairman Kurtz stated that one of the ways that he wanted to do that was to ask the Selectmen to designate an ex-officio representative which would allow that member to participate in the discussion but not vote. Chairman Kurtz stated that the other option given was to not appoint anyone to this position and to allow the Selectmen to be posted on their agenda and take part in the discussions. Chairman Kurtz asked the Board their thoughts.
Sel. O’Brien entered the meeting at 6:34PM.
Sel. Lavigne stated that he believed Chairman White was going to be positive to work with and that he is very active and the Selectmen had worked with him in the past. Sel. Lavigne stated that he is not sure that the Selectmen needed a liaison as he believed that Chairman White would be fair to any Selectmen who attended a Fin Com meeting (as the Selectmen would be to any Fin Com member attending a BOS meeting). Sel. Lavigne stated that he does not know if any one person needed to be appointed and it is a big time commitment to have one person as the liaison.
Sel. Renzoni stated that he didn’t like the idea of a Selectman sitting at the table with Fin Com. He stated that the relationship works so that the Selectmen have discussion on the budget and present it to the Town Manager. The Town Manager then presents the budget to Fin Com and they ultimately set the budget that goes to Town Meeting. Sel. Renzoni stated that sitting at the table could possibly blur some of the lines that should be there between the two Boards. Sel. Renzoni stated that Chairman White reaching out was a step in the right direction but that he is not sure it is necessary.
Sel. Renzoni stated that if there was an ex-officio member there, they would be able to present the Selectmen’s points but it is also possible that it would do more damage to the relationship by crossing a line.
Sel. Lavigne stated that he understood this was an olive branch and that by Chairman White extending this to the Selectmen part of him in turn wants to say that it is not really necessary. He stated that he didn’t know if this really needed to be done or to just have a good working relationship as the two Boards have had in the past.
Sel. Ethier asked if Fin Com requested that the Board appoint an ex-officio member.
Chairman Kurtz replied that he sat down with Chairman White and discussed it but that it is ultimately up to the Board of Selectmen. He stated that the Selectmen are posted for every Fin Com Meeting and if present are allowed to be part of the discussion prior to any motions.
Sel. Ethier asked what nights Fin Com met.
Ms. Kelly replied that they met on Wednesdays; and once in budget season, it is every Wednesday from the middle of February through April.
Sel. Ethier stated that he thinks it may be important to have someone from the Selectmen present at every meeting.
Sel. Renzoni replied that Sel. Ethier’s idea was a great one; to try to have at least one Selectman at each Fin Com meeting. He stated that the Selectmen were posted for all Fin Com budget meetings. He stated that the only benefit to having an ex-officio member would be if the Selectmen needed to have someone at the table in the event of a debate. He stated this would be not only for budget meetings but for school budgets, hearings, etc. He stated that he could go either way regarding having an ex-officio member.
Sel. O’Brien stated that for five or six years he went to most meetings. He stated that if Fin Com is offering to have a Selectman as an ex-officio member then the Board should consider appointing someone to that role. He stated that he could not go to every meeting though.
Sel. Lavigne stated that to Sel. O’Brien’s point, with Chairman White the Board will be provided the opportunity to speak at the Fin Com meetings. He stated that Sel. Ethier’s idea of splitting up the calendar was a good one and each Selectman could have meetings that they would attend; so they would not necessarily have a liaison but would have a presence at the meetings.
Chairman Kurtz stated that he had a little more time to think about this than the rest of the Board and he is on the side of not appointing anyone to be an ex-officio. He stated that he does want to make sure that the two Boards have open communication but at the same time he wants to make sure that there is a separation. Chairman Kurtz stated that the Selectmen can be part of the discussion without sitting at the table and that even though there is no voting power in that role, the appearance of sitting at the table could bring the separation of power into question. He stated that he liked the idea of being part of the discussion if it was appropriate but not necessarily having someone appointed in this role.
Sel. Renzoni stated that he would gladly serve as a liaison if the Chairman requested one. He stated that putting one of the Selectmen there gives them the opportunity in a disciplined way to make sure the Selectmen’s positions are clear to the Finance Committee. He stated that once a debate starts, if there is no input a message could get lost. He stated that he does think there is benefit to having someone there during deliberations; they could state the Selectboard’s opinion.
Sel. Lavigne stated that maybe the best idea would be to get the meeting schedule and divide it evenly among the Selectmen. He stated this would give the Selectmen a presence at the Fin Com meeting without blurring any lines.
Sel. Ethier asked if it would be possible to have a rotating person from the Selectmen present at the table during Fin Com meetings as opposed to having one member.
Chairman Kurtz stated that unless you are at every meeting it is difficult to pick up on the discussions that were had at previous meetings.
Sel. O’Brien suggested assigning a Selectman to each agenda item similar to how Fin Com sets their review. He stated that once Ms. Kelly had the schedule of what was being discussed on each night, a Board member could be assigned; they would then know who would be present for what subject.
Sel. Renzoni stated that it was Fin Com reaching out to the Selectmen and it wouldn’t hurt to assign someone. He stated that unless there is serious objection he could not think of any compelling reason to not do it so he thought they should appoint someone.
Sel. Lavigne stated that he does not oppose it. He asked if any other Selectmen went to a budget meeting would they still have the opportunity to speak if one particular Selectman was appointed as the liaison.
Chairman Kurtz stated that he was going to table this discussion. He stated that he does believe that the Board will move forward with this but that he wants a few days and will come back at the next Selectmen’s meeting for further discussion.
- Town Manager Update
- WRSD Budget Roundtable: The Superintendent of Schools Darryll McCall has invited member Towns’ Selectmen, Finance Committees, and Town administrators to a budget roundtable to begin talking about the FY 17 budget. The meeting is on Tuesday, November 3, 2015 at 6:30PM at the Central District office.
- Final Report of the Collaborative Budget Task Force: The Final Report of the WRSD Collaborative Budget Task Force has been issued and has been forwarded to the Board’s attention.
Chairman Kurtz stated that they looked at the budget from a local and state level for over three years. He stated that what it came down to was how the schools were funded.
Sel. Ethier asked if Stacy Jackson was the person who pulled the report together. He stated that it was well put together and she put a lot of time and effort into it and should be congratulated on her efforts and service.
Sel. Renzoni asked if the Board had decided what they were going to study for education options; he asked the Chair if they had a plan or expected a plan in the near future. Sel. Renzoni stated that as a Board they stated they wanted to set up a committee to discuss the option that the Town had. He stated that the Board had said that they wanted to do a capital infusion and establish a committee to do this; he asked what the status of this was.
Chairman Kurtz stated that the committee had not been formed yet but that Sel. Lavigne was working on it. Sel. Lavigne stated that he would work on it.
Sel. O’Brien stated that the report the findings were generally positive about being a regional school district but that there is a big disparity in the amount that everyone pays and that it is a big problem. He stated that the Town needs to do more around target shares and that it is no wonder that some of these towns were not supporting a school budget. He stated that there needs to be more pressure at the state level and that they should request that Representative Ferguson, who is sitting on the committee, work with to advocate funding for the district.
Sel. Ethier stated that he agreed and that he thinks it is important to get the committee established as well. He stated that he knew a lot of people who wanted to bring the committee forward and that they wanted to see funds that the Town allocated put toward education. Sel. Ethier echoed Sel. O’Brien’s thought on the funding at the state level; he stated that there is a disproportionate amount of people paying into it and that in the future the state was going to try to bring the numbers closer to each other.
Sel. Kurtz interrupted Town Managers Update to call for Citizens Address.
- Citizens Address
No members of the public stepped forward; Chairman Kurtz closed Citizen’s Address.
Town Manager Update Cont.
Chairman Kurtz stated that he will work with Sel. Lavigne to move forward.
Sel. Lavigne stated that he read the report and he was expecting something else. He stated that he felt as though the recommendations were a level too high and that having these recommendations was not real as the state can not be mandated to do something with the goals. He stated that he would have liked to see how they were going to implement the recommendations. Sel. Lavigne stated that while it’s great to say that we need Rutland to pass the override; they have not done that in five years.
Sel. Lavigne stated that more advocacies at the state level is great and that he would like to see a plan in place and maybe it was now time to speak to Representative Ferguson. He asked how the Town actually achieved the recommendations set and if the task force was dissolving.
Chairman Kurtz stated that it had dissolved.
Sel. Lavigne asked if there was any talk about where to go from here.
Chairman Kurtz replied that he thinks this is where the committee is going to be useful and that once it is established they can ask Representative Ferguson to come in and do a debrief.
Sel. Lavigne stated that he thought the report was a good first step but he didn’t want to lose momentum. Chairman Kurtz agreed.
Sel. Renzoni stated that he wants something that can be done in Holden not in the other Towns. That is where the Board stated they wanted the focus to be and that is where it should be. He stated that the committee that they were speaking about needed to be local and focus on impacting locally.
- WRSD Approved FY16 Budget: As a follow up to the Paxton Town Meeting vote on October 15, 2015, Superintendent McCall forwarded the enclosed notice to the Commissioner of Education Mitchell D. Chester. The District reduced its budget request from what was originally proposed. We have also received a revised assessment letter from the District based on revised approved budget. For your information, the difference between what Holden appropriated at Town Meeting in May 2015 for our School Assessment and the reduced budget is approximately $481,477.
Sel. O’Brien asked how much of last year’s certified free cash was educational and how much was other. Ms. Kelly replied that last year about $500,000.
Sel. O’Brien asked how much was on the municipal side.
Ms. Kelly replied that about she would need to look at it and report back.
Sel. Ethier asked about using the free cash to make a payment to the District in addition to the assessment.
Ms. Kelly replied that Town Meeting would need to appropriate it.
- Fall 2015 Composting and Brush Chipping: The following is scheduled for Town Saturday composting and brush chipping activities:
Saturday, November 7
Saturday, November 14
Saturday, November 21
Saturday, December 5
Hours of operation are 8AM to 2:30PM, weather permitting. Composting takes place at the site of the former landfill at 560 River Street. Brush should be brought to the Adams Road DPW Facility due to limitations of the Asian Longhorn Beetle (ALB) area. Further information is available on the Town’s website and in the local media
Chairman Kurtz interrupted the Town Manager Update in order to proceed with the Annual Tax Classification Hearing.
- Annual Tax Classification Hearing
Motion by Sel. Renzoni, seconded by Sel. Ethier, it was UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO OPEN THE TAX CLASSIFICATION HEARING.
Sel. Lavigne read the public hearing notice into record.
Rosemary Scully, Principal Assessor, along with Robert Fitzgerald of the Board of Assessors were present at the meeting. Ms. Scully told the Board that Mr. MacPhee was also in attendance at the Selectmen meeting.
Ms. Scully provided the Board with information regarding Holden’s Tax Classification for Fiscal Year 2016. She stated that she had provided the Board with a breakdown of the Town by class: residential, open space, commercial, industrial, and personal property. She told the Board that Holden is mostly residential, 95%, and that it is their recommendation to the Board of Selectmen is to select a residential factor of “1” resulting in a Single Tax Rate.
Ms. Kelly added that on the first page that Ms. Scully passed out she detailed the average family house value and she calculated the rate. Ms. Kelly stated that the tax rate is the levy divided by taxable value so for fiscal year 16 it would be: $34,093,593.45/ 1,976,440,200 = $17.25. She stated this was down from last year ($18.12). The average family homeowner would pay about $20 less this year compared to last because the tax rate is down, but the values are up slightly.
Ms. Kelly thanked Ms. Scully and the Board of Assessors for their work and knowledge.
Sel. Renzoni suggested inviting anyone from the Board of Assessors up to speak prior to having public comment.
Chairman Kurtz invited up any member of the Board of Assessors that wished to comment.
Mr. Robert Fitzgerald stated that they did have a Board meeting and they suggest that the Town keeps the single tax rate. He stated that from working in the community a general rule of thumb is if commercial/ industrial is 25% or more you can think about splitting the tax rate but if you look at the diagram that was provided, Holden is almost 94% residential so the single tax rate is the recommendation.
Chairman Kurtz asked the public if they had any comments.
Gordon MacPhee, 428 Salisbury Street, stated that he had been in the real estate business for a long time and that he had recently had the privilege to sit with some of the top economists in the country, Eisenberg and Newt. He stated that MA has been fortunate that we are recovering from the recession and that residential figures have come up; however much of that has been driven by Boston and most of the state is still feeling some effects. Mr. MacPhee stated that what the economists said if it wasn’t for the residential aspects in MA, the state would still be hurting. He stated that commercial is still down and that they would forecast no interest rate increase. He stated that they said that the future is dependent upon what happens in the election but that as far as real estate is concerned, to be cautious. Mr. MacPhee stated that on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce and small businesses he recommended the single tax rate as well.
Motion by Sel. O’Brien, seconded by Sel. Lavigne, it was UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING FOR THE ANNUAL TAX CLASSIFICATION HEARING.
Sel. O’Brien stated that this was fairly standard and that the Board hears from the Board of Assessors and the Chamber of Commerce and it is generally a very straightforward vote.
Sel. Lavigne agreed and stated that it was great news that the average house will see a reduction in taxes and that a single rate makes the most sense.
Sel. Renzoni stated that he knew that this could get confusing; but that the residents were actually going to see a decrease in their tax bill. He stated that a $20 reduction was better than a $120 increase. Sel. Renzoni thanked Ms. Kelly and stated that her work was behind this decrease.
Sel. Ethier asked how personal property taxes were levied.
Ms. Scully replied that personal property is mostly owned by the businesses and they pay the same tax rate.
Motion by Sel. O’Brien, seconded by Sel. Lavigne, it was UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO ADOPT A SINGLE TAX RATE FOR FISCAL YEAR 2016.
Town Manager Update Cont.
- Best of Friends Harvest Fair: The annual Best of Friends Fair will be held on Saturday, November 7, from 9am to 2pm at the Holden Senior Center. Lunch will include delicious homemade soups and desserts. This year, there will be face painting and cookie decorating. Admission is a donation for the Wachusett Food Pantry. This event is coordinated by the Friends of the Council on Aging and proceeds benefit the Senior Center and its programs
- Veterans Re-dedication Ceremony: On Saturday, November 7th at 10:30AM the Veterans Advisory Committee will hold a re-dedication of the John E. Harkins Memorial located on the Hancock Common.
Additionally Ms. Kelly added a few items to update the Board on.
Ms. Kelly stated that regarding the road work on RT 31 Bridge, they will be taking down the traffic signal and the bridge will be open for two-way traffic on the weekends until November 22 when the work is supposed to stop for the season. She stated that there will still be work going on so there will be detours while the work is being completed.
Ms. Kelly stated that Reservoir Street is open. She stated that there still may be a detour sign but it is open through to South Road.
Ms. Kelly told the Board that Shrewsbury Street will have the final paving take place this Wednesday, November 4. She stated the Town is continuing to pave the sidewalks and when the paver comes into town he will finish up in the Putnam Road area as well.
She stated that they will put some advisories out as well.
Sel. Ethier asked about the sidewalks on Shrewsbury Street.
Ms. Kelly replied that the Town is doing the sidewalks and they are working on them.
Sel. Ethier stated that he has one resident that is concerned about the berm; he asked if they will bring the sidewalks down.
Ms. Kelly replied that when they pave the roads, it will raise the surface. When the final paving is done on the sidewalks, the driveways will be brought up to the grade of the street paving.
Sel. O’Brien stated that he had observed the work with the sidewalks through a big rain event. He stated that they needed to redo part of it because it washed away and that he was surprised that they did not start at the bottom and go up as this was more of a common sense approach. He stated that he is hopeful that they will finish as soon as possible.
Sel. Renzoni asked if the work was going to be done behind Memorial Hall.
Ms. Kelly replied that it would be done in the spring.
Sel. Renzoni asked if it was being done by a contractor or by the Town.
Ms. Kelly replied that it would be done as a combination of town and contractor.
Sel. Renzoni asked if the library work was tied to the same project.
Ms. Kelly replied that it was.
Ms. Kelly stated that she had taken the time to reorganize and rename the Department of Growth Management to the Department of Planning and Development and it will consist of Planning, Zoning, Conservation, Board of Health and Building Inspections She stated that she has promoted Pam Harding to fill the department head position and that she is confident in her abilities. Ms. Kelly stated that the Town has a need for a new building commissioner and zoning enforcement officer in addition to day-to-day operations to help complete and expand the online permitting. Ms. Kelly stated that she hoped the Board would join her in welcoming Pam.
Sel. Lavigne stated that Pam Harding is great and will do great. He stated that it sounded like this was a big change for the Town but that it really was just business as usual.
Ms. Kelly replied that the renaming of the department and a change in personnel mostly. She felt there was confusion with calling it Growth Management when there were other components as well.
Sel. O’Brien asked if trash would still be under the umbrella.
Ms. Kelly replied for now.
Sel. Renzoni asked if that was all paid out of fees and was a zero impact position.
Sel. Renzoni asked if they Board will notice a difference over the Growth Management budget.
Ms. Kelly replied that they should not really see much of a difference.
Chairman Kurtz asked about the memo that the Board had received from Rutland regarding the soil transfer.
Ms. Kelly replied that there was an operation where soil is going to be brought and dumped in Rutland. She stated that about a year ago, the Police Chief did contact the contractor and learned that the soil is not coming from one place; it is coming from several different places. She stated that according to Chief Armstrong, the contractor seemed very cooperative and will keep trucks on the main roads.
Sel. Lavigne stated that it seemed like there is a lot of control with the EPA. He asked what type of soil was being dumped and if anyone within the Town would receive the report.
Ms. Kelly replied that Rutland would receive the report.
Sel. Renzoni suggested having open communication with Rutland or DCR for this information.
Chief Kurtz asked if Rutland would notify the Chief of Police when they were going to begin operations.
Ms. Kelly replied that she would request a copy of the report.
Sel. Ethier asked about the work being done on Main Street.
Ms. Kelly replied that there was some work being done by the gas company and there were some issues with the project that impacted Verizon conduit. She stated it was a state road so they had to go through the state to do the work.
- Selectmen Subcommittee
Sel. O’Brien stated that the Holden Municipal Light Committee will meet sometime in the next week (week of November 2, 2015) to review the budget for the next fiscal year.
Sel. Ethier stated that Ag Com met Tuesday a few weeks ago and that he is very impressed with the level of activity this group has. He stated that there was an issue with poison ivy with the community garden and they found different land that abuts Davis Hill School and they were going to work to get the school and students involved.
Sel. Ethier stated that Jim Dunn was instrumental in recommending a fund for Chapter 61 land and that it is necessary to have when properties in town become available. He stated that there had been some trouble getting responses from other committees and that he is hopeful in the future they will respond quicker so that the Town does not lose out on any potential property.
Sel. Ethier stated that Denise Cummings is putting together a list of the land with a birds eye view with the hopes that the Town will look at preserving some land in the future.
Sel. Lavigne stated that the Winter Festival Committee meets every Friday and that the event will be held on the first Saturday in December, December 5. He stated that local businesses would have a few more weeks to get in touch with the Committee if they wanted to sponsor the event.
Sel. Renzoni stated that the VA Committee is having the rededication ceremony in front of Town Hall on Saturday, November 7, 2015. He stated that there will be some Scouts there and welcomed everyone to come out to the event.
Sel. Renzoni stated that the Community Garden Group meets frequently. He stated that they have a small chunk of land at Davis Hill School and that they were looking to bring back techniques that were lost years ago, such as how to provide for yourself on a small plot of land etc. He stated that Davis Hill is very excited about it and The Landmark ran a story on it as well.
Sel. Renzoni stated that the Water Sewer Advisory Committee sent their update for September.
Chairman Kurtz stated that the 275th Committee has continued to meet and if anyone is interested in planning to come and talk to them. He stated that they will start to have sales to fund some of the activities for next year and are doing appetizers at Val’s and a few actives during the year. He asked anyone with ideas to please come forward or contact the Town Manager so she could pass along the information.
Chairman Kurtz stated that EDC had not met and that they needed to reorganize and revitalize the committee.
- Follow- Up on Citizens Address
No Citizens spoke.
- Selectmen Minutes
Motion by Sel. Ethier, seconded by Sel. Lavigne, it was UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO APPROVE THE OCTOBER 7, 2015 BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING MINUTES AS PRESENTED.
Motion by Sel. Lavigne, seconded by Sel. O’Brien, it was UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO APPROVE THE OCTOBER 19, 2015 BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING MINUTES AS PRESENTED.
- Selectmen Miscellaneous
Sel. O’Brien stated that he had a few things he wanted to hand out to the other Selectmen. He stated that he had been receiving some calls about properties in town that are problematic and a nuisance. He stated that he wanted to collect information and pass it along to the other selectmen in order to start a conversation about adopting a nuisance bylaw in town. Sel. O’Brien stated that Springfield passed one on property maintenance; he passed a copy to the Selectmen. Sel. O’Brien also passed along photos of a property on Mountview Drive. He stated that the property is completely deplorable and overrun. Sel. O’Brien stated that Framingham also had a bylaw on the matter and that one of the things they do is empower the residents.
Sel. O’Brien stated that he was in the backyard and on both sides there were kids playing; he stated there is an old laundry machine and someone could climb into it and get hurt or killed. He stated that the Town has a responsibility to put things in place to allow the Town and its residents to take action. He asked the Town Manager if they have looked into it.
Mr. Lukes replied that he spoke to MA Regional Public Health Alliance on Friday and there is a procedure in place to identify a public health problem and find the actual owners. He stated on one of the properties in question, the home is in foreclosure. He stated there is a seven day mandate and then the homeowner starts to get fined.
Sel. O’Brien stated that the nice thing about a nuisance bylaw is that the Town can take action. He stated that the Town should not have to jump through hoops if people are creating a public safety hazard. Sel. O’Brien stated that in Springfield if a home goes into foreclosure, the fire inspector goes in so that in the event of a fire the fire department knows the layout of the property. He stated he is not saying to go this route, but that the building should be secure. Sel. O’Brien stated that he did not want to have a long discussion about it; he stated that both towns passed the bylaw recently and other towns are taking action as well and that he believes Holden should do the same thing. Sel. O’Brien recommended engaging the Zoning Board as well and have them come into the discussion to help make things easier for the administration.
Sel. Ethier stated that he was going to bring up the same issues. He stated that he had one resident contact him regarding a home on Shrewsbury Street across from Arizona Ave. He stated it was a mess. Sel. Ethier stated that he understood that the Town needed to follow the rules and find the owners but he asked what stopped the Town from taking action. He asked if the Town could go in and clean up the property and put a lien for the clean up on the property. Sel. Ethier stated he understood that Mr. Lukes was doing what he could officially but asked what else could be done.
Ms. Kelly replied that the Town could not enter private property unless a safety hazard existed.
Sel. Lavigne stated that this is a big discussion and that he thinks they need to have it but not tonight (November 2, 2015). He stated that he thinks it needs to go on the agenda.
Chairman Kurtz agreed. He also stated that he would like to see what the Health Alliance allows from notification and how they could put that in motion. He stated that they were going to table this item for now.
Sel. O’Brien stated that the Annual Meeting of White Oak is November 12, 2015 at the Senior Center and it is about what is happening with bees.
Sel. O’Brien stated that he has received some calls about bus routes especially around RT 31 and Bullard Street. He stated that the buses stop at the opening of these subdivisions and that it would be a simple thing to have the buses stop within the loop instead of on the Main Road in rush hour. He stated this would reduce a lot of congestion in town and he is hopeful that they can have the conversation with the school district.
Chairman Kurtz stated that the bus company lays out the routes; he stated pulling in and out there could be pros and cons and he suggested speaking with the school superintendent about the matter.
Sel. Ethier stated that he had received another complaint about the school buses parked in residential driveways. He stated that the bylaw exempts school buses but that no one should be forced to endure the buses parked next door. He stated it is not appropriate and to change the bylaw there would need to be a change in the zoning law. Sel. Ethier stated that he had a petition to the Town to change the zoning bylaw to no longer exempt buses. He stated that he hopes the Board of Selectmen will support this.
Sel. Renzoni stated that this was a great conversation but that it was higher than Selectmen Miscellaneous and that it would not be able to be changed until Town Meeting. He stated he is not against it but he suggested doing right by the residents, having the procedures, and then having the discussion.
Chairman Kurtz stated that he believed this should be a future agenda item.
Sel. Ethier asked for it to be placed on the agenda soon as the people have been very patient. Ms. Kelly accepted the petition from Sel. Ethier and will report back.
Sel. Lavigne asked Ms. Kelly if the Board could have an update on the sewer capacity.
Ms. Kelly stated that sewer capacity was something they would discuss at a future meeting and that they would also be discussing the sewer transport case at the next Selectmen’s meeting in Executive Session. The FinCom will be invited.
Sel. Lavigne stated that the Holden Road Race would be on Thanksgiving morning and he encouraged everyone to do it.
Sel. Renzoni asked about the sewer capacity and to have Water/Sewer enterprise briefing. He asked if the Board could sit with the Superintendent and Director of the DPW to discuss these items.
Chairman Kurtz stated there was a lot of great activity in Town and that a lot of it goes unpublished. He asked that if anything was going on in Town to pass it along to a Selectboard member so they could help spread the word about an event.
Motion by Sel. Lavigne, seconded by Sel. Renzoni, it was UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO ADJOURN THE NOVMBER 2, 2015 BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING AT 8:17PM.
APPROVED: ___December 7, 2015______________