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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - BoS - 01/22/2019 Selectmen Minutes January 22, 2019 Selectmen Meeting Willcutt Commons-Chart Room 91 Sohier Street Cohasset, MA Selectmen Present: Diane Kennedy, Chairman Kevin McCarthy Steve Gaumer Paul Schubert Jack Keniley Others Present: Christopher Senior,Town Manager Chairman Kennedy called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m. and asked for a Roll Call Vote: Steve Gaumer-Present,Jack Keniley-Present, Diane Kennedy-Present, Paul Schubert-Present, Kevin McCarthy-Present. Pledge-Recited. Public Comment-Paul Kierce-39 Old Coach Road and member of Affordable Housing Steering Committee submitted some maps to the Selectmen of land behind town hall that the property owner is proposing a land swap with the town. He asked the Board to review and consider. New Employees-Introduction-Library Director and Director of Human Resources-Cohasset's new Library Director Meaghan James was present and gave the Board an overview of her background. Director of Human Resources Miriam Johnson gave an overview of her background. The Board congratulated both and welcomed them to Cohasset. Licenses/Permits/Events-One Day Liquor License-South Shore Arts Center-Chairman Kennedy advised the Board the applicant is requesting a one-day liquor license for their"Art off the Wall" fundraiser on February 7, 2019. Motion by Selectman Gaumer to approve the one-day liquor license for SSAC for February 27, 2019 from 7-10 p.m., seconded by Selectman Keniley and the vote was unanimous (5-0). Public Hearing-Change of Manager-Cohasset Harbor Inn-Chairman Kennedy read aloud the public hearing notice. She stated the application is complete and the background check uncovered no derogatory information. Chris Day gave an overview of his experience. Selectman Schubert asked if Mr. Day was familiar with the Cohasset Liquor Regulations. Mr. Day responded that he is. Motion by Selectman Gaumer to approve the change of manager application for Christopher Day and the Cohasset Harbor Inn, seconded by Selectman Keniley and the vote was unanimous (5-0). Committee Updates-Affordable Housing Trust-Interview with Candidates-Applicant Rob Henry-40 Aaron River Road gave the Board an overview of his experience and background in construction, building and home technology and innovation. The Board had a brief discussion about the charge. Selectman Gaumer stated they need to move forward with the Trust. Mr. Senior advised the Board there is a state agency that helps members get started and explain their role and do training. Town Hall Building Committee Charge-Chairman Kennedy distributed a draft charge to the Board. She reviewed the goals of the Board. After a brief discussion, the Board agreed the charge is what they wanted. Motion by Selectman Schubert to adopt the charge as presented, seconded by Selectman Keniley and the vote was unanimous(5-0). 1 Selectmen Minutes January 22, 2019 Referral of Proposed Cohasset Harbor Zoning Amendment-Director of Planning Peter Matchak explained the proposed Harbor Zoning Amendment. The amendment is for a zoning change to the Waterfront Business District, which would set up a special permit process to allow for a mixed-use residential development within the district. This could potentially allow a view corridor from the village and better public access to the harbor. Mr. Senior added that tonight the Board is being asked to vote to start the public hearing process. They proposed article would then have to come back to the Board of Selectmen for approval to put on the ATM Warrant. The Board discussed the properties that the amendment would affect. Mr. Matchak clarified that this is a change of use not an overlay. Clark Brewer-Chairman of Planning Board advised the Board that the Zoning Advisory Committee will also be reviewing the proposed changes. The purpose of this proposal is to figure out a way to balance public and private access to the Harbor. The Harbor can be a vital resource for everyone with enough parking. There needs to be housing created like they did in the village. Housing subsidizes commercial property. Motion by Selectman Schubert to refer the proposed zoning amendment to the Planning Board for a public hearing process,seconded by Selectman Gaumer and the vote was unanimous(5-0). Mr. Matchak advised the Board the Planning Board will advertise for a February 6, 2019 public hearing. Motion by Selectman Schubert to move the SPED policy update up next on the agenda, seconded by Selectman Keniley and the vote was unanimous(5-0). Special Education Reserve Fund Policy Update-School Committee Members Ellen Maher and Barbara Stefan advised the Board the SC recently voted on an amended version of the Town of Cohasset Special Education Reserve Fund Policy. There was a minor change to the transfers in and transfers out. The Board discussed the edits. Motion by Selectman Schubert to approve the updated Special Education Reserve Fund Policy as presented,seconded by Selectman Keniley and the vote was unanimous(5-0). FY20 Budget Presentation-Joint Meeting with Advisory Committee-Members of the Advisory Committee-Tanya Bodell, Michael Dick,Thomas Baker and Paul Carlson were present however they did not make a quorum to participate in the meeting. Mr. Senior reviewed the document with the Board. There have been many meetings and preparation by Finance Director Don Piatt and department heads for the budget. Selectman McCarthy asked why the Long Range Planning Group was not involved in the budget planning. Chairman Kennedy stated the Board discussed this at a previous meeting and while the Committee did provide a lot of data,they decided to table the Committee for the time being and discuss a potential new charge. Mr. Piatt stated they went through the budget line by line when meeting with different departments. Mr. Senior reported new growth is at$800,000, State aid is stable, there is more money going to Charter School tuitions and the HR Budget is a shared resource with the schools. Some money is being decentralized for(regular annual) training in different departments. Healthcare is continuing to be extremely expensive. Early predictions from MIIA is for an increase up to possibly 5%. He is hopeful that Cohasset will receive a zero increase. Mr. Senior stated they have had discussions with the schools about having a shared budget for facilities and custodians. This will take time, but they are starting to get the departments unified. This starts the discussion of shared services. There are more conservations to be had but,this is just a step in the right direction. The overall budget is $48 million. The town was awarded a Safer Grant which should help with Fire overtime. Mrs. Maher asked about the combined budget for facilities and custodians. The SC was not aware of these conversations. Mr. Senior stated he met with Superintendent Demas and Director of Finance & Operations Michael MacMillan and had discussions about it and figured they would speak with the SC. Michael Dick-Advisory member asked if it was too late to get the LRPG involved at this point. Mr. Senior 2 Selectmen Minutes January 22, 2019 said he is happy to answer any questions. They started the budget process early and invited Capital and Advisory liaisons to the meetings. There are deep in the process at this time. Regional Sewer Update-Mr. Senior stated they have had ongoing conversations for a year and a half with Scituate and Hull. They have had high level meetings and Woodard and Curran have been doing a lot of work on this. The driver of this regionalization is Scituate economic development. The Sewer Commission has been at the table, but this is far beyond their charge. There will be another regional meeting on 1/30/19 and they would like to have two members of the Board of Selectmen at that meeting. He asked that anyone interested reach out to Tracey Connors. The proposal is for sewer for Scituate to Hull through Cohasset. There is still a lot of conversation to be had, but at this point it is time to move the conversation forward. Mr. Senior discussed the advantages for Cohasset and possibilities for Route 3A. The Board had a brief discussion. Warrant Update- Mr. Senior said advised the Board there will be an article on the Warrant for Prudent Investor Home Legislation. He met with Senator O'Connor and Rep. Meschino and they are happy to support it. There will be articles for Regional Sewer, Education &Scholarship voluntary check-off& Elderly voluntary check-off to rescind and Tax Possession disposal. There are some potential citizens petitions that have been talked about; Electrical Aggregation, renewable energy goal and plastic bag ban reversal. Town Counsel will be at Town Hall on Tuesday,January 29th from 5-7 p.m.to help anyone with questions on citizens petitions. Town Manager Update-Fundamental Speed Limit-Mr. Senior distributed a memo from Police Chief Quigley asking for the Board to consider a process where residents could petition the traffic safety officer for speed limit reductions on a street-by-street basis. Mr. Senior asked the Board to review and discuss at a future meeting. Mr. Senior advised the Board there is a Regional Efficiency Grant that has become available for OSHA training for public works, police,fire and possibly schools. Mr. Senior advised everyone that nomination papers for the May 11th annual elections will be available on February 4th in the Town Clerk's office. Mr. Senior attended the Annual MMA Conference last weekend. There was a great representation from Cohasset. Selectmen Update-Selectman McCarthy attended the MLK Breakfast on Monday. It was excellent with a great speaker. Selectman Schubert also attended the breakfast and MMA Conference. Selectman Keniley stated the Harbor Committee will be meeting on Thursday @ 6:30 p.m.for the first draft of the Harbor Plan. He encouraged everyone to go. Chairman Kennedy state Safe Harbor is hosting an event next Tuesday,January 291h at the Senor Center. Minutes-Motion by Selectman Gaumer to approve the minute of 12/18/18 and 1/8/19 as written, seconded by Selectman Schubert and the vote was unanimous (5-0). Motion by Selectman Gaumer to adjourn,seconded by Selectman Schubert and the vote was unanimous(5-0). The meeting adjourned at 10:00 p.m. Documents One Day License-SSAC Change of Manager-CHI Applications-Affordable Housing Trust Town Hall Committee Charge 3 Selectmen Minutes January 22, 2019 Proposed Harbor Zoning Amendment FY20 Budget SPED Reserve Fund Policy Fundamental Speed Limit memo Minutes 12/18/18 & 1/8/19 4