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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - BoS - 09/10/2019 Selectmen's Minutes September 10, 2019 Selectmen's Meeting Town Hall-Selectmen Office 41 Highland Avenue Cohasset, MA Selectmen Present: Kevin McCarthy Paul Schubert Diane Kennedy Keri Thompson Jack Creighton Others Present: Christopher Senior,Town Manager Chairman McCarthy called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Roll Call Vote: Diane Kennedy-Present, Paul Schubert-Present, Kevin McCarthy-Present, Keri Thompson-Present,Jack Creighton-Present. Pledge-Recited. Public Comment-None. Presentation of the FY2018 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report(CAFR)-Chris Senior acknowledged Treasurer/Collector Paula Linhares and Finance Director Don Piatt and thanked them for their continued hard work. Mr. Piatt stated the recognition for completing a CAFR is important. The report gives residents more detail and overview of the Town and the financial management. Ms. Linhares added that the CAFR is a great exercise to go through and provides a lot of information. Mr. Senior advised the Board the CAFR document is on the town website. Boa rds/Committees-BoS Liaisons to Water and Sewer-Chairman McCarthy stated the Board needs to appoint liaisons to the Water & Sewer Commissions. These Commissions have a lot of important decisions coming up. Selectman Kennedy reminded the Board their role as a liaison is to report back to the Board and not to get too involved with the Commissions. Motion by Chairman McCarthy to nominate Selectman Thompson as the liaison to the Sewer Commission, seconded by Selectman Schubert and the vote was unanimous(5-0). Motion by Chairman McCarthy to nominate Selectman Creighton as the liaison to the Water Commission, seconded by Selectman Thompson and the vote was unanimous (5-0). Community Preservation Committee-Motion by Selectman Kennedy to appoint Paul Schubert to CPC as the Board of Selectmen representative for a three-year term, seconded by Selectman Thompson and the vote was unanimous (5-0). Chairman McCarthy recognized Chairman of CPC Russ Bonetti. He asked if he had any issues with the recommendations for the CPC nominations being presented. Mr. Bonetti responded he is fine with all of them. Motion by Selectman Kennedy to appoint Eric Potter to Community Preservation Committee as the Planning Board Representative, Susan Sardina as Housing Authority Representative and Suzanne Wadsworth as the Historical Commission Representative for two years to fill an unexpired term and Richard Karoff as the Open Space & Recreation Representative, Eric Eisenhauer as Conservation 1 Selectmen's Minutes September 10, 2019 Commission Representative for three-year terms,seconded by Selectman Schubert and the vote was unanimous(5-0). Cable Advisory Committee-Motion by Selectman Kennedy to appoint Peter Richardson to the Cable Advisory Committee for a one-year term,seconded by Selectman Schubert and the vote was unanimous(5-0). Cohasset 143TV Board of Directors-Motion by Selectman Kennedy to appoint Peter Richardson to the Cohasset 143TV Board of Directors for a one-year term,seconded by Selectman Schubert and the vote was unanimous(5-0). Cohasset Harbor Plan-Review and Discussion of status, issues,and process-Chairman McCarthy stated he asked Town Counsel Paul DeRensis to review the draft Harbor Plan and give his opinion on the Chapter 91 substitutions.Town Counsel stated he cannot give his opinion at this point because the Harbor Plan is still in draft form and many of the Chapter 91 proposed changes haven't been settled. Another reason is that the Zoning Bylaw voted on by the town at the 2019 Annual Town Meeting is not in effect due to the Attorney General finding a posting error by the Planning Board. He added that various comments and requests have been submitted by a developer's attorney and are proposing a redevelopment to change the use of the site for residential use and the request have been incorporated into the Plan. Attorney DeRensis also expressed concerns that the public involvement and process was not enough. He reviewed the process for Municipal Harbor Plans. Selectman Creighton stated he was unable to find minutes from Harbor Committee meetings. Chairman McCarthy stated this is a big deal and the Board should not be pushed into a direction that they may not want. He has concerns that this has gone to the State without the Board knowing about it. Attorney DeRensis added that the Attorney General's office has not even started to review the bylaw for substance. Attorney DeRensis added that if the procedural issue with the posting is not approved by the AG the Town would have to go back to Town Meeting. Selectman Thompson added she has concerns that there are multiple versions and the public has seen a lot of changes that have crept into the plan without public discussion. There are very good things in the plan but, she has concerns. Selectman Kennedy stated the Committee has worked hard on the plan and had many public forums. She expressed that the Board should be presented with final proposed Ch 91 modifications before having substantive conversations. Director of Planning Lauren Lind explained that Chapter 91 is a Massachusetts law titled the "Public Waterfront Act"that gives a legally enforceable right to the public to access and use land along the waterfront. A Municipal Harbor Plan is a voluntary process initiated by the Town to create a vision for open space& development across multiple, connected waterfront uses. It initiates a dialogue between different stakeholders and the public. The Plan is submitted to the State for approval after adoption by the Board of Selectmen. Regardless of whether modifications to Chapter 91 are included in a State approved plan or not, properties within the Chapter 91 jurisdiction still fall under regulations. The same is true if the municipality has no such kind of Harbor Plan in place at all. Ms. Lind reviewed the timeline of the process and the number of public forums to date. Final Review of Master Plan Implementation Committee Charge-Director of Planning Lauren Lind reviewed comments from the Board which are incorporated into the final document. Motion by Selectman Schubert to approve the Master Plan Implementation Committee charge as amended tonight,seconded by Selectman Kennedy and the vote was unanimous(5-0). 2 Selectmen's Minutes September 10, 2019 Advisory Committee recommendations for FY21 BoS Budget Message-Chairman of Advisory John Chapman reviewed the recommendations of the Advisory Committee. The Board had a brief discussion and thanked Mr. Chapman for their comments. Chairman McCarthy advised the Board he will start to draft the budget message and asked members to send comments to that they would like in the message. They will discuss at the next meeting on 9/24/19. Chamber of Commerce-Review of the 2019 Family Fun Day Event-President of the Cohasset Chamber of Commerce Larry Corthell stated the Chamber has been working to promote the village and this event was very successful in doing that. They are looking forward to the holiday event. They will be submitting the event application for the date of December 7t''. There are some tweaks that he will make based on the last event. The Board had a brief discussed and advised Mr. Corthell to reach out if they need any help from the town. Elder Affairs Presentation-Cohasset joining the Network of Age& Dementia Friendly Communities- Director of Elder Affairs Nancy Lafauce and Program Assistant Nettie Nuttle stated they are requesting to have the Town of Cohasset join the Network of Age Friendly Communities under the guidelines of the World Health Organization and American Association of Retired Persons. They explained how this works in coordination with the Master Plan to guide Cohasset in the next 10-20 years. The Board had a brief discussion. Motion by Selectman Kennedy to approve the application for Cohasset and the Network of Age and Dementia Friendly Communities and letter presented,seconded by Selectman Thompson and the vote was unanimous(5-0). Town Hall Project-Update-Mr. Senior advised the Board the Space Analysis first assessment came back and they will review it at the next meeting. They are working on document management and will review that as well. Chairman McCarthy encouraged Mr. Senior to promote these meetings to get the public involved and start to push participation. The Owners Project Manager(OPM) bid is out. Twelve companies showed up for the walk through. The painting project is on schedule and within budget. There were some areas of rot that was negotiated and will be completed by the end of September. The company also painted the garage without any extra cost to the Town because they wanted the job to look good. Mr. Senior stated the Town Clerk is taking the lead on the records management project. Mr. Senior advised the Board there is a vacancy on the Town Hall Building Committee since Fran Collins is now on the Advisory Committee.They could use someone with building or trade experience. Special Town Meeting Draft Warrant-Mr. Senior advised the Board there are currently 4 articles on the STM Draft Warrant. He reviewed the Amendments to FY2020 Budget, Stabilization Funds,Allocations for One-Time Costs and Capital Improvement Projects. The Board had a brief discussion. Mr. Senior reviewed the scheduled meetings with Advisory Committee and Capital Budget Committee. Town Manager Update-Mr. Senior advised the Board there has been an interest in commercial shell fishing in Scituate which includes a big part of Cohasset's harbor. This would have a big impact on Cohasset's recreation area in the harbor. Scituate has a Shellfish Advisory Committee and a Waterways Committee. He has reached out to Town Manager Jim Boudreau. Mr. Senior is asking the Board to allow him to work with Scituate and engage Cohasset Town officials and residents in their discussions. Motion by Selectman Schubert to allow the Town Manage to investigate and engage with Scituate on plans with Commercial Shell fishing in Briggs Harbor,seconded by Selectman Kennedy and the vote was unanimous(5-0). 3 Selectmen's Minutes September 10, 2019 Selectmen Comments-Selectman Creighton stated he spoke with the Police Chief recently about the opioid crisis and there is now an anonymous line for people to text for help. He would like to see all town employees and residents have access to it. He also suggested residents have access to the town's HR director. The Town could be more proactive to victims of harassment or sexual abuse. Chairman McCarthy suggested the topic be put on an agenda after the STM warrant is completed. Mr. Creighton stated he attended a Planning Board meeting recently and encouraged residents to stay informed about a development proposed on Pleasant Street. Selectman Kennedy called for a point of order requesting that we not discuss a matter not on the agenda and not under the Selectmen's jurisdiction. Selectman Thompson gave a shout out to the Cohasset Safe Harbor Coalition for the recent candlelight vigil. It was a very moving event and well attended. Selectman Schubert asked the Chairman if they could put a discussion on a future agenda to discuss distillery& brewery licenses. The Town does not currently have them and he thinks they should investigate. Chairman McCarthy stated they will put on an agenda in December or January. Selectmen Kennedy notes that we should also review and update the Liquor Regulations at the same time. Ms. Kennedy stated the new scenic byway street signs are up and look great. She reminded everyone tomorrow there is a 9/11 Memorial Service at 9 a.m. on the town common. Motion by Selectman Kennedy to approve the minutes of 7/23/19,7/24/19 and 8/20/19,seconded by Selectman Schubert and the vote was unanimous (5-0). Motion by Selectman Schubert to adjourn, seconded by Selectman Kennedy and the vote was unanimous(5-0). The meeting adjourned at 10:15 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Kevin McCarthy, Chairman Documents Committee Applications MP Implementation Committee Charge Advisory Recommendations-FY21 Budget Message Elder Affairs Presentation Draft STM Warrant Minutes 4