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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - BoS - 12/06/2010 Minutes—Board of Selectmen December 6, 2010 Selectmen Present: Karen Quigley, Chairman Edwin G. Carr Frederick Koed Paul Carlson Leland H.Jenkins Others Present: Stephen J. Lombard, Interim Town Manager Jennifer Brennan Oram, Selectmen's Clerk Chairman Karen Quigley called the meeting to order at 7:OOPM Town Manager's Report—Interim Town Manager, Steve Lombard, announced that the Town is going out to bid for the repairs with CPC funds for the Center for Student Coastal Research (CSCR). Selectmen Comment Period Selectman Leland Jenkins requested that the School Business Manager come in quarterly to review the budget. He then asked Selectman Paul Carlson when the new cable studio would be up and running. Selectman Carlson stated that the process has been frustrating with bidding laws, but that he projects it to be up and running by January 2011. Selectman Edwin Carr stated that there was a nice article in the Cohasset Mariner about Captain Stephen Bowen,the local Astronaut who took the Town's flag to space and will be bringing it back to Town. Selectman Carr also said that he had watched the School Committee Meeting and that they seem to be getting closer to starting the process where they will pick the new Superintendant. He stated that it sounds like they will want the Selectmen to have some input. Selectman Carr also announced that the Village Stroll will be taking place the coming weekend and encouraged the residents to visit both the businesses in the village and up on 3A. Chairman Quigley announced that the Water Commission will be holding a Forum at the Deer Hill School to discuss the Bear Hill Tank Easement. She stated that the announcement of the Forum was in the Mariner for two weeks but that it was not posted. Licenses& Permits—Selectman Carr moved to approve all annual licenses that were up for renewal per the memo dated December, 6, 2010. Selectman Jenkins seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous(5-0). Minutes—Selectman Carlson moved to approve the minutes of September 20, 2010 as amended. Selectman Koed seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous(5-0). Town Manager Search Discussion Chairman Quigley suggests to the Board that they delay the search for the new Town Manager until they get some stabilization and wait until the Water/Sewer audit is complete. She said that Mr. Lombard has already started working on the budget for FY12. Selectman Carr stated he would support that to give the Town some time get back on its very stable feet. Selectman Carlson asked how long they should plan on delaying the search. Chairman Quigley stated that she felt that this should be the next discussion the Board holds on this topic. They should discuss if they wish to bring in a consultant to Selectmen—12.6.10-JBO 1 Minutes—Board of Selectmen December 6, 2010 handle the search. Mr. Lombard included a suggested profile for the Town Manager for the Board to review. There was a brief discussion on how the Board would hire a consultant. Selectman Carlson asked that the discussion regarding hiring the consultant be held at the next meeting to begin the process. The Board agreed. Proposed Harbor Plan Discussion—Chairman Quigley reviewed the meeting that had been held by the Planning Board. She asked if the Board would like to have the appropriate parties in for a discussion. Selectman Carlson said that he felt such a plan would give the Town more control over the harbor. Chairman Quigley stated they would need to have someone in from the Planning Board and the Conservation Commission for the discussion. Selectman Carr stated that such a discussion should be well publicized. Chairman Quigley suggested a public forum as well. Selectman Koed moved to invite in those the Chairman has suggested for the Harbor Discussion. Selectman Carr seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous(5-0). Cat Dam NOI Discussion Chairman Quigley asked if everyone had a chance to review the materials that had been submitted by both sides of the discussion. Mr. George Chamillard of 400 Atlantic Avenue stated that his group (going forth will now be referred to as the Environmental 20 Group) had not had a chance to give everyone a copy of their documents. Chairman Quigley stated that now that is has been given to the Board of Selectmen and is being discussed, it is a public document. Chairman Quigley asked if the two sides had met. Mr. Richard O'Connell of 249 Jerusalem Road stated that they had a four hour meeting where most of the time was spent talking about alternatives. Selectman Koed stated that he felt that the Environmental 20 document was more of a submissive document and felt that they would have to put some sort of combination of the two together for the Conservation Commission. Selectman Carlson suggested that both (the CLE NOI and the Environmental 20 document) be submitted with an NO1 to the Conservation Commission and that they alternate each approach for four years. He stated at the end of the four years the Board could then submit a new NOI with the new data that is gathered during that four year period. Chairman Quigley stated that the Conservation Commission has asked that the Board file the NOI by the end of this year. There was then a brief discussion about this suggestion. Selectman Carr asked if the groups had come to any sort of consensus together. Mr. Stephen Brown of 275 Jerusalem Road stated that they did have a very good conversation but that the groups could not agree on an opening schedule for the dam. Chairman Quigley stated that although she maintains that the Board is not qualified to review these submissions Science and Engineering, she did review everything to see if any concerns that had been raised had already been addressed in the original CLE NOI. She stated that the Environmental 20 Group had raised concerns that compliance standards were not met, and that other alternatives were not considered [in the CLE NO1]. Chairman Quigley stated that she does feel these concerns were addressed by Mr. Oaks in a letter dated October 14, 2010. Chairman Quigley stated she knows there are dueling engineers and opened up the discussion to the audience. Mr. Sal Lanuto of 45 Little Harbor Road and the Environmental 20 Group stated that they had hired an engineer and a scientist to review the report. He stated that the proposed NO1 is a radical departure and that too much of a change could have a damaging effect to what is around it. Chairman Quigley stated that this is the opinion that they are putting through but that she felt it was unfair to say that Mr. Oaks did not use compliance. In addition, it was reviewed for an informal peer review by Coastal Zone Management (CZM). Chairman Quigley stated that in Environmental 20's report it states that the CLE NO1 would not meet compliance however the CZM review states that it clearly would. Ms. Adele Janssens of 20 Nichols Road stated that they reviewed the CZM reports that state that the gates Selectmen—12.6.10-JBO 2 Minutes—Board of Selectmen December 6, 2010 being closed causes the water quality to rapidly deteriorate and they cannot find any data that supports that conclusion. Chairman Quigley stated that she has the email from Jason Burtner of CZM that states that the water quality does deteriorate. Chairman Quigley stated that she feels they should send some sort of compromise to the Conservation Commission. Selectman Koed stated that he feels that the Board has to make the decision and cited the West Corner Culvert as an example of different groups working together. Chairman Quigley stated that the Town owns the dam and has the easement in perpetuity and referred to opinions from Town Counsel. Selectman Koed stated that the ownership of the dam was still unclear to him. Chairman Quigley stated that she would get a copy of the easement to the Board. Selectman Koed then referred to the proposed schedules saying that the Environmental 20 schedule was conservative vs. the CLE proposed schedule. Chairman Quigley stated that the two reports are completely opposed and that both reports need to be read so the Board can submit a proposal to Conservation. She added that she would be amenable to submitting both proposals to Conservation for their consideration. Selectman Koed stated that he felt that the Board still needs to say what the Board wants. Selectman Carlson stated that he read all of the reports and feels that there have been two fine groups looking at Cat Dam. He would like to see what happens over four years. Mr. Chamillard addressed the Board again. He distributed a proposed schedule and reviewed how they arrived at the proposal. He stated that more flushing equals more mud and odor and would suggest that the Board pursuing this proposal. He stated that there are so many things wrong with the CLE NOI. He feels that that their proposed schedule addressed many issues brought by both sides. Chairman Quigley stated that she was appreciative that compromises have been made, but that she believes sporadic opening and closing is not as healthy as consistent opening and she therefore is not supportive. Mr. Chamillard stated that he accepted her point, but at the same time he knows there are a lot of issues with that [consistent opening]. Selectman Carr asked Mr. Brown how far apart he was from the Environmental 20 proposal. Mr. Brown stated that he tried to simplify the issues by looking at aesthetics and the environmental issues. He sees the two proposals and feels that it would be worth while to make a compromise. Mr. Brown submitted a chart showing a different schedule for the period of May to November. Selectman Carr stated that it was a good piece of work but asked how it was different. Mr. Brown stated that the dam would not be open fully, but it would be open lower. He stated you would not see low tide. His chart shows a compromise of the two proposed flushing schedules. He stated that testing could be done to see if it is working. Mr. O'Connell addressed the Board once again. He stated that he is one of the only original members of four members of the original Cat Dam group present this evening. He stated that being able to "dial up and down"the amount of flushing made sense and that what really needs to be controlled is the exposure of the mud. Ms. Janssens then distributed her ILH Water Quality Analysis report put together by Environmental 20 analyzing the data by Jason Burtner and Krahforst. Ms. Janssens reviewed the report in great detail for the Board. Mr. Chamillard stated that the point of their analysis is that the data is not conclusive, some of the data is dated that some of it is misleading. Doctor Edward Woods of 231 Jerusalem Road stated that he is speaking on a very general basis. He stated that some of his best friends are on the side he does not agree with. He feels the Bow Street body of water is very comparable to the area of discussion. He said the Bow Street Culvert is an illustration of how the free passage of water going under Bow Street shows nature taking its course. He feels that this issue really needs to be put up to Conservation. Mr.Thomas Killilea of 44 Little Harbor Road stated that his interest lies with the waterway which surrounds his property. He stated that the dam is not on Town property and that they researched the deeds extensively. They want to propose something that is simple and want to file an NOI as soon as Selectmen—12.6.10-JBO 3 Minutes—Board of Selectmen December 6, 2010 possible. He stated that they have the Science and it would be on time for the January 2011 filing date. He said he is begging the Board to consider their proposal and vote on it. Mr. Brown stated that he would respectively ask that they be given the Environmental 20 submission to review and that it is premature for the Board to vote. Chairman Quigley stated that she was not ready to vote and would like to give Mr. Burtner a chance to respond. Selectman Carlson suggested that perhaps the Board hold the vote until after the first of the year. Selectman Jenkins stated that he thought the Board should vote on the 13th and that he does not feel the Town should be involved. He stated there are too many other critical issues that should be being considered by the Board and this is not one of them. The Board agreed to take everything under advisement and vote on the 13th of December. Selectman Carr moved to adjourn. Selectman Jenkins seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous(5-0). Meeting adjourned at 9:20PM. Respectfully submitted, Karen Quigley Chairman Documents: License Renewal Memo for December 6, 2010 CLE Engineering, October 14, 2010 letter from Engineer Jeff Oaks* Comparison of ILH Flushing Alternatives (Env. 20) Different Cat Dam Proposed Schedule for Period May to November(Brown) ILH Water Quality Analysis Report by Env. 20 Selectmen—12.6.10-JBO 4