Board of Selectmen, October 1, 2018
HOLDEN BOARD OF SELECTMEN
MEETING MINUTES
October 1, 2018
6:35PM Memorial Hall
Present: Chairman Geri Herlihy, Jeremy Kurtz, Anthony Renzoni, Tyler Gibbs, Robert Lavigne (6:43PM)
Others Present: Peter Lukes, Town Manager
Stephen Madaus
Liz Fotos, Town Recorder
Chairman Herlihy called the meeting to order at 6:35PM. The Board stood to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
- Appointments, Licenses, and Permits
Motion by Sel. Kurtz, seconded by Sel. Gibbs, it was UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO APPROVE THE WINE AND BEER LICENSE FOR LILAC HEDGE FARM, LLC AS PRESENTED.
Motion by Sel. Renzoni, seconded by Sel. Kurtz, it was UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO APPROVE ANA GREGORY TO THE HOLDEN CULTURAL COUNCIL FOR A 3 YEAR TERM TO EXPIRE 10/1/2021.
The Board thanked Ms. Gregory for volunteering.
- 2018 State Elections
Mr. Lukes stated that the poles would be open from 7AM to 8PM and the poling locations were in the packet. He stated the Board would vote to set the Town Election and then sign it.
Motion by Sel. Renzoni, seconded by Sel. Kurtz, it was UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO SET THE NOVEMBER STATE ELECTION WARRANT AS PRESENTED.
Chairman Herlihy signed the document.
- Town Manager Update
MMA Annual Meeting: The Mass Municipal Associate will be holding its annual meeting and trade show once again at the Hynes Convention Center January 18 and 19, 2019. It is the largest gathering of municipal officials in the state, and Holden has traditionally been well represented. Those members of the Board of Selectmen who would like to attend can register through my office by email or telephone.
Wachusett Regional School District Audit Advisory Board: Holden resident Christopher Hynes has been appointed to the School District Advisory Board. WRSDC Chairman Ken Mills reached out to my office to help fill this position that was last held by Jim Robinson. After speaking with Mr. Hynes, I recommended him to Chairman Mills, who subsequently appointed him to the Board. Mr. Hynes brings a great deal of financial background to the position and we are thankful to him for stepping up and volunteering to serve the Town and the School District in this capacity.
Public Safety Open House: The annual open house for the Holden Fire/ EMS/ Emergency Management Departments will take place on October 13 from noon-3PM at the Holden Public Safety Building, 1370 Main Street. There will be free pizza which is being donated by Papa Gino’s as well as safety demonstrations, equipment on display and other items of interest related to public safety.
Fire Department Trick or Treating: On Tuesday October 30th, the Holden Fire Department will be hosting the first ever Halloween Party open so town residents at the Public Safety Building. The party will run from 5:30PM to 7:00PM. The event includes: costume judging, kids games, an egg drop and ‘trick or treating’ around the building. Pizzas are being donated by Papa Gino’s of Holden. The event is being coordinated and run by members of the Holden Professional Fire Fighters and the Holden Associates of Fire Fighters.
Year-to-Date- Revenue and Expenditure Reports: Attached are the Year-to-Date Revenue and Expenditure reports for the period ending August, 2018 prepared by Lori Rose, Town Accountant.
HMLD General Manager: After an extensive search process conducted by our General Manager Screening Committee in conjunction with the Town Manager’s Office, I conducted final interviews on September 19th. Shortly thereafter I extended an offer to the top scoring candidate, and she has accepted. Jane Parenteau, who brings thirty years of experience in the power utility industry, currently serves as the Director of Integrated Resources for the Reading Municipal Light Department. She will begin work as the General Manager at HMLD on October 29th. We expect to hold a meet and greet type of event for staff some time this month, and Jane will attend a Board of Selectmen meeting gif the Board so desires. Were very excited to have her join our team and I believe she will be a great fit for Holden.
Sel. Kurtz if the Board was going to set Halloween Hours for the Town as they had done in the past.
Mr. Lukes stated that last year they were 5PM-8PM and that they would do it at the next meeting.
Sel. Lavigne entered thee meeting at 6:43PM.
- Vote to Layout Street for Acceptance- Paul Revere Road
Mr. Lukes stated that it was the Town’s intent to layout Paul Revere Road.
Motion by Sel. Renzoni, seconded by Sel. Kurtz, it was UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO APPROVE THE INTENDED LAYOUT OF PAUL REVERE ROAD ON NOVEMBER 5, 2018 AS PRESENTED AND TO REFER THIS MATTER TO THE PLANNING BOARD FOR THEIR RECOMMENDATION.
- Selectmen Minutes
Motion by Sel. Renzoni, seconded by Sel. Lavigne, it was UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO APPROVE THE JULY 16, 2018 BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING MINUTES AS CORRECTED.
Motion by Sel. Lavigne, seconded by Sel. Renzoni, it was UNANIMOSULY VOTED TO APPROVE THE AUGUST 13, 2018 BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING MINUTES AS PRESENTED.
- Selectmen Miscellaneous
Sel. Lavigne: none
Sel. Renzoni stated that this past Saturday, the Master Plan Committee held a steering session and it was well attended. He stated that they do a lot of good input which will add value to the ongoing discussion. He stated that the Committee would meet tomorrow October 2, 2018 at 7PM to discuss what the next steps were.
Sel. Renzoni stated that he was lucky to get a call from Chief Armstrong about an award he (Armstrong) had received. He stated that it was for emergency bucket ration items to help stay comfortable in an emergency. He stated that there were a number of officers at the event and it was great to see.
Mr. Lukes stated that the buckets were donated by Home Depot and that they will have more information soon.
Sel. Gibbs: none
Chairman Herlihy: none
Sel. Kurtz asked if there was any word from the railroad company about the train tracks by Quinapoxet.
Mr. Lukes replied that DPW Director Woodsmall has been going back and forth with them.
Sel. Kurtz suggested drafting a letter to Congress. He stated that he was over there the other day and it was getting worse.
- Selectmen Subcommittees
Sel. Renzoni stated that the VA Advisory Committee was set to meet on October 16, 2018 at 6:30PM with the Legion to discuss some pending projects. He stated there was currently an opening on the Committee and invited the public to come to the meeting.
Sel. Lavigne: none
Sel. Gibbs: none
Sel. Kurtz: none
Chairman Herlihy: none
Chairman Herlihy called a short recess to 7:00PM.
Chairman Herlihy called the meeting back to order at 7:03PM.
- Citizens Address
None
Sel. Lavigne left the meeting at 7:03PM.
Sel. Lavigne returned to the meeting at 7:04PM.
- Growth and Population Discussion
Ron Barron, CMRPC, was set to present to the Board was not present. Sel. Kurtz suggested moving Superintendent McCall to the next item of discussion.
Chairman Herlihy called a recess at 7:06PM.
Chairman Herlihy called the meeting back to order at 7:11PM.
P. Harding, Director of Planning stated that CMRPC had previously done a build out analysis for the Town so they contracted with them (CMRPC) to update this one. He stated that Ron Barron and Trish Settles did most of the work and wanted to update the Board on where it currently stood.
Ron Barron, CMRPC was present at the meeting and presented a power point presentation entitled “Holden Buildout and Impact Analysis: Part of the 2018-2019 Master Plan. CMRPC.
After the presentation, Mr. Barron asked if the Board had any questions.
Sel. Lavigne asked if land capacity was taking into consideration places like Jefferson Mills that could be made into condos.
Mr. Barron replied that the members were using the current zoning bylaws; he stated that if they were in a zone that allowed it then it was taken into consideration and if it wasn’t then they didn’t.
Sel. Lavigne left the meeting at 7:28PM.
Mr. Barron stated that in the report they also looked at additional water and sewer and how growth would impact that.
Sel. Lavigne returned to the meeting at 7:30PM.
Mr. Barron stated that they looked at new road miles, schools, and more. He stated that the Town was particularly interested in the data collected regarding the individual school districts by elementary schools and they had data on that as well.
Mr. Barron stated that they also looked at the Power and Light capacity, redevelopment potential, recreational space, and commercial development.
Sel. Renzoni asked if they looked the public safety department as well.
Mr. Barron stated that they have the data from the fire department and were waiting on it from the police. He stated that they looked at call volume as well and once they have that information they will add it to report.
Sel. Renzoni thanked Mr. Barron for the information. He stated that they wanted to talk about the school age children and that he was looking forward to the full report.
Mr. Barron stated that they will add limitations to the report when they speak about student population.
Sel. Renzoni stated that they knew that there was a school problem so it was great to have this information. He stated that water, sewer, and infrastructure was alarming as well so it was good to have this to get ahead of it.
Chairman Herlihy asked how this would be put into action through the Master Plan.
Sel. Renzoni stated that the next step would be a discussion with the Manager.
Sel. Lavigne stated that it was up to them to come up with rationale responses to this data. He stated that if the population doubles then the Town changes who it is and things such as school capacity, water capacity, and sewer capacity will all need to be addressed even before the town runs out of land.
Sel. Renzoni stated that it could be incorporated into goals for the Town Manager for the next fiscal year as well. He thanked CMRPC for coming out.
- Chapter 71 Discussion
Dr. Darryll McCall, WRSD Superintendent and Daniel Deedy, Director of Business and Finance were present at the meeting.
Dr. McCall stated that in June/ July of this year there was an audit of regional transportation. He stated it was found that the numbers were off and that they looked to modify and there will subsequently be a two year impact because of it. He stated that the saving grace was that the Chapter 71 did increase. He stated that long term they are revisiting the methodology around how to calculate regional transportation and to ensure that it is calculated correctly moving forward.
Sel. Lavigne asked what changed and how this happened.
Dr. McCall stated that it goes back to 2010 and a conversation about how to calculate the transportation. He stated that the modification has to do with the 1.5 miles outside of schools and how it conflicted with the 75% of buses being filled.
Sel. Renzoni asked who oversaw this.
Dr. McCall stated that when there were issues the School Committee shared oversight but it has since been modified that Mr. Deedy would report to him (McCall). He stated that the School Committee would also be involved.
Sel. Lavigne stated that in 2012 there was a precedent set and then they has issues. He stated he understood that Dr. McCall wasn’t present when those happened but this was the second time these issues arose and he asked what they could do to prevent it in the future.
Dr. McCall stated that the Schedule 7 report would be completed and reviewed and then shared with central office and the Finance Committee. He stated that they were going to have three layers now and that they could also forward the information to the state prior to it being submitted.
Sel. Lavigne asked if there was any change in the subcommittee.
Dr. McCall stated that their role will be to review.
Sel. Lavigne asked Mr. Deedy how often he reviewed the methodology for this.
Mr. Deedy stated that when he came on board and worked with DESE and he submitted a draft that was then approved by DESE. He stated that would also give them consistency with other colleagues.
Sel. Lavigne asked what they estimated to be the impact.
Dr. McCall stated that he would get back to them for the impact to Holden. He stated that they were getting a reimbursement higher than they thought. He stated that they originally believed it was going to be 71% and it would be closer to 75%. He stated that this was very lucky and that he was not sure that they would be impacted too dramatically because of this but he would share the numbers as soon as he had them.
Sel. Kurtz asked what oversight they could have. He stated that a change was made and he asked what they could have in place so that if anything was changed down the line there was a review or control oversight to avoid getting pinched before changes occurred.
Dr. McCall replied that they were looking at it. He stated that Mr. Deedy has a relationship with DESE and that he is hopeful that this will help.
Sel. Kurtz asked who had final approval for the submission.
Dr. McCall replied that it was done through DESE.
Sel. Kurtz asked who on our end; him (McCall), the business finance group?
Dr. McCall replied it was a little of both.
Mr. Deedy stated that he prepared an internal control checks and balances draft form to ensure that this doesn’t happen again.
Sel. Renzoni thanked them for coming out; he stated that they were not obligated to be at the meeting so he thanked them for their time. He stated that he has a big concern on the impact of the numbers. He stated that Holden is 45% of the cuts and he is concerned that this will be a big chunk for Holden.
Dr. McCall replied that he believes there will be very little impact overall to the budget but he will give the Board more information as he has it.
Chairman Herlihy asked what the 2010 audit findings were.
Dr. McCall replied that it was the 2017 end of the year audit findings that go back to 2010. He stated that information was shared.
Chairman Herlihy stated that in 2010 DESE did not find issue in how it was done; she asked what changed.
Dr. McCall replied that it went to DESE and a modification was made.
Sel. Lavigne asked how often an independent audit was conducted.
Dr. McCall replied 4 years.
Mr. Deedy stated that there were audit findings for FY 17 end of year. He stated that DESE started to crack down on these reports and requiring districts to amend the end of year reports and they identified any issues.
Chairman Herlihy asked if the region bused these kids, if the transportation budget would be the same.
Dr. McCall replied it would. He stated that it comes down to safety. He stated that the have to prove that they have busing for every student in high school. He stated that Fin Com always points out that the buses are not all full but the region is required to provide buses for everyone because we are reimbursed.
Chairman Herlihy suggested having a member from each committee; Fin Com, School Committee, Audit Advisory Committee, etc and have them work with Mr. Deedy and the finance department to review the audit process.
The Board thanked Dr. McCall and Mr. Deedy for their time and coming out to the meeting.
- Vote to Schedule Town Meeting
Sel. Renzoni asked if they needed the location, time, and date in order to move forward with this.
Mr. Madaus replied they did.
Sel. Renzoni asked if we had that information.
Mr. Lukes replied we did not.
Sel. Renzoni stated that he had met with the DPW Building Committee and they had requested a Special Town Meeting for December 3, 2018 and for an election on December 4, 2018. He stated that without objection he would like to ask the Town Manager to secure a location for the meeting.
A motion was made by Sel. Renzoni and seconded by Sel. Kurtz to set a Town Meeting for December 3, 2018 at Wachusett Regional High School at 7PM. The matter was opened up for discussion.
Sel. Lavigne stated that he was very concerned about the timing of this and that he was still without answers on some questions. He stated that he will support the committee but that he still has a lot of questions.
Sel. Renzoni stated that they had discussed it and the Committee feels as though there is plenty of time to get whatever questions are asked answered.
Sel. Lavigne stated that they were spending money and he is not sure if they all agree. He stated it seemed that the majority of the Board agreed. He stated that they could set this but that it was their responsibility along with Fin Com to act as overseers for this project and he fears that they are rushing this and moving forward without knowing the impact. He stated he is not as comfortable with this as he was with Mountview.
Sel. Lavigne stated that he has waited four years for the cost/ benefit analysis and now he has more questions. He stated that he supports setting it but that he does believe this is rushed.
Sel. Renzoni stated that the Board has let the Committee know that they were not quite there yet. He stated that the Board takes their vote and the people take theirs. He stated that they dissolved the IIF to work as a down payment. He stated that the Committee was at just about an $18 million project and they could only get the information and take a position on it and get that information out to the public. He stated that the Committee had indicated that they have a plan for outreach and that the impact on the tax bill would be about $208.
Mr. Lukes stated that if anyone had any questions they could forward them to his office.
Chairman Herlihy pointed out that she had been the liaison to this Committee for 2 years and they were working hard to shrink it down.
Sel. Lavigne noted that $18 million was supposed to be the ceiling not the goal.
Motion by Sel. Renzoni, seconded by Sel. Kurtz, it was UNANIMOSULY VOTED TO SET THE SPECIAL TOWN MEETING FOR 7 PM ON DECEMBER 3, 2018 AT THE WACHUSETT REGIONAL SCHOOL.
Motion by Sel. Renzoni, seconded by Sel. Kurtz, it was UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO SET A SPECIAL TOWN ELECTION FOR DECEMBER 4, 2018.
Motion by Sel. Lavigne, seconded by Sel. Renzoni, it was UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO ADJOURN THE OCTOBER 1, 2018 BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING AT 8:24PM.
APPROVED: __January 7, 2019___________________________