Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - BoS - 08/16/2011 Minutes—Board of Selectmen August 16,2011 Selectmen Present: Edwin G. Carr, Chairman Paul Carlson Frederick Koed Leland H.Jenkins Diane Kennedy Others Present: Michael J. Coughlin,Jr.,Town Manager Jennifer Oram, Selectmen's Clerk Chairman Edwin G. Carr called the meeting to order at 7:OOPM Town Manager's Report Town Manager, Michael Coughlin,thanked the Chairman and the rest of the Board for hosting the welcome reception. He stated that he views his role as a Town Manager as a Football Coach and he has begun building his team. He has taken the first steps in team building with a great department head meeting, a Finance Team meeting is scheduled for next week and he attended a very good meeting this morning with the Superintendant of Schools. Mr. Coughlin said that at each Board of Selectmen's meeting he will bring forward a certain team member that has gone above and beyond their role. The first will be the members of the Recreation Department. He reviewed the final day of the playground program that he attended on the previous Friday. Mr. Coughlin reviewed the program and presented a commendation to the entire department for a job well done. Mr. Coughlin then announced that the Town was fortunate enough to have received FEMA mitigation for the Winter Storm in January. The task of securing the funds is arduous and heavy with paperwork. Mr. Coughlin presented a commendation to the team that secured that reimbursement and stated that it could not have been done without them. Mr. Coughlin then stated that where he is getting things up and running in what he refers to as the "pre- season", he said that it is time to make some moves on some changes. Mr. Coughlin announced that the Finance Department will begin to be reorganized beginning with a relocation of the offices. In addition, Mr. Coughlin has spoken to all of the parties involved and will be posting for the position of Treasurer/Collector. He stated that Ms. Linda Litchfield has done a great job in her position, but that they need to get someone in who can help with bonding policies and other tasks required of that position. As for the Finance Director, Mr.John Stanbrook, he is being pulled in too many directions and we need to really protect him so that he can prioritize his work load. Policies will be put in to place for gate keeping to allow that to happen. On that same vein, Mr. Coughlin has been in touch with the Town Auditor,Tony Rosseli and he will be coming in to present to the Board a six month update. Mr. Coughlin has also talked with Mr. Stanbrook about securing additional contracted services to relieve the backlog of work that needs to be done in the Finance Department. Another issue that Mr. Coughlin is addressing under personnel is the joint management of Water and Sewer. This will be a work in progress; ultimately the model will be looked at and he has modified the recommendation that Steve Lombard had given the Board. To Mr. Coughlin, the joint management is both will help address both financial and operational Issues. Mr. Coughlin would like to expand the position held by Mark Brennan to include the review of Water and Sewer operations. He feels this will better suit the needs of the Town. It is a decision that he could make on his own, but he would welcome the Board's input. Chairman Carr stated that he thought it was a great idea. Selectman Leland Jenkins Minutes—8.16.11-JBO 1 Minutes—Board of Selectmen August 16,2011 asked for clarification regarding the implementation of the position. Mr. Coughlin said that the model can be discussed further, but to begin to manage these departments better, we need the full team approach. With the many RFPs and contracts in existence, it makes sense to have Mr. Stanbrook look at them, but also to have an engineer review them on an operational level as well. Selectman Jenkins said that if it were up to him, he would put the Department of Public Works and building maintenance under this management plan as well. Selectman Jenkins stated that he felt it was an excellent benefit to Mr. Coughlin. Selectman Paul Carlson asked if Mr. Coughlin had discussed this with the Water and Sewer Commissioners. Mr. Coughlin stated that he had not, but that he viewed under the Town Meeting vote in 2010 that these departments are to be jointly managed with the Town Manager. Mr. Coughlin added that these changes will be a step by step process. Chairman Carr said that he thought it was a good idea. Mr. Coughlin then addressed the position of Veteran's Agent. He is looking at what services are needed and if they should look at a regional approach as suggested by the State. He feels this may be logical way to run this department, but he is still reviewing the options. At the next Board of Selectmen's Meeting on September 13t",the Board will receive a list of goals and objectives from each department head. Other areas of note are the opening of the Regional Dispatch Center which will be further delayed due to the Verizon work stoppage. In a related issue, Mr. Lombard had come up with a plan to have the Cohasset Police station manned by the police explorers but Mr. Coughlin feels the liability is too high and they will need to look at other options to come up with a plan. Finally, Mr. Coughlin is still trying to get the proposed Health Insurance plan change implemented. They are waiting on the schools and with the summer break,the meetings have been delayed. It is hope to bring something back to the Board by the 13`". Mr. Coughlin stated that he has enjoyed his first few weeks here and things are really beginning to pull in the right direction and the foundation was laid Mr. Lombard and Ms.Jennifer Oram, as well as the guidance and vision of the Board. Selectmen's Comment Period Selectman Frederick Koed stated that he had recently been approached about doing a proclamation for Boat Safety and asked if they could make it an annual proclamation. Selectman Koed will have the information emailed to the office. Selectman Diane Kennedy welcomed Mr. Coughlin and said that he had certainly hit the ground running. Selectman Paul Carlson stated that he had been asked by the people who represent the proposed Senior Center if the Board could write a letter of support for the project to the Cohasset Mariner. The Board agreed and Mr. Carlson will draft a letter for discussion at the next meeting. Selectman Carlson said that the Capital Budget Committee had asked for a recap from the Police Department in regard to the K-9 Unit. Mr. Coughlin stated that he would look in to where the recap is, but said that after his initial review of the proposal, he would recommend the Town acquire the K-9. Selectman Carlson said that it was his understanding that Hull would be getting a dog and perhaps they could regionalize with them. Mr. Coughlin said that it was his experience that regionalization with a K-9 does not work well. The Chief has provided documents showing there would be little or no cost, but of course there is always a cost. He said that this unit would expand the concept of community policing. He will be meeting with the other four Towns involved in the regional dispatch center and see what their Minutes—8.16.11-JBO 2 Minutes—Board of Selectmen August 16,2011 K-9 plans are. However, he is letting the Board know that it feels it is best to go with the Police Chief's recommendation for a K-9 unit. Selectman Carlson thanked Mr. Coughlin and welcomed him to the community. Chairman Carr stated that the Cat Dam NOI has been appealed and a walk through has been scheduled for September V. He has a conflict with that date and where he is the person of record on the application, he would like to see about re-scheduling it. Mr. Coughlin said he would get a new date. Public Comment Period—Ronnie McMorris of 89 Doane Street addressed the Board. Ms. McMorris stated that the members of the Board should be in receipt of their updated petition that was emailed to them on Sunday evening. The petition represents a diverse group of citizens who are disappointed in the Board not reappointing Conservation Commissioners Deborah Cook, Sarah Charron and Richard Karoff. It asks the Board to reconsider and rescind their appointments and to reappoint the former Commissioners back to the Conservation Commission. In addition they would like to have the Troika review the actions of the Board. Ms. Karen Quigley of 27 Clay Spring Road asked if this will be addressed at another meeting. Chairman Carr stated that he would get back to them. Ms.Agnes McCann of 104 Doane Street stated that she was in support of Mrs. McMorris's statements. Ms. McCann said she has been a volunteer for the Town for many years and that the Town has always respected the process of reappointments. Suddenly and without warning the Board replaced these members and they should have never done so. She stated it was shameful and shame on the Board for doing it. Minutes—Selectman Carlson moved the minutes of January 4, 2011 as amended. Selectman Jenkins seconded the motion and the vote was 3-0, Selectmen Koed and Kennedy not present. Fore River Bridge Discussion—Gary Peters and Victor Pap addressed the Board and reviewed the bridges that are being proposed to replace the temporary bridge that is presently there. They cited the many reasons they are in favor of the low-impact bascule bridge as opposed to the proposed vertical-lift bridge. They said their reasons include the view,the environment and the cost. The discussion was then continued so the Board could appoint a new Sewer Commissioner. Joint Meeting of the Board of Selectmen and Sewer Commission to appoint a Commissioner until the next election—Sewer Commissioners John Beck and Wayne Sawchuck addressed the Board. Chairman Carr stated that the position was advertised and asked who the Board would be recommending. The Commission received one letter of interest from Mr. Bryan Baldwin of 65 Pond Street. Mr. Baldwin reviewed his background and interest to the Board. Mr. Baldwin stated that he has been attending meetings of the Commission for a long time. After a brief discussion, Chairman Carr moved to appoint Bryan Baldwin to the Sewer Commission to fill an unexpired term. Selectman Koed seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous 7-0,All members of the Board of Selectmen and Sewer Commissioners John Beck and Wayne Sawchuck. Fore River Bridge Discussion continued—Mr. Peters and Mr. Pap reviewed, in great detail the two types of bridges and the pros and cons of each. They also discussed why the Coast Guard is in support of the larger, more expensive bridge as well as the expansion of the canal. They are looking for a vote of support of the Board endorsing the smaller, less expensive bridge. The Board asked if they could review the information submitted and take the vote at their next meeting. They thanked Mr. Peters and Mr. Pap for their time. Minutes—8.16.11-JBO 3 Minutes—Board of Selectmen August 16,2011 Appointments to the Senior Center Building Committee—The Board received applications to be on this committee from the following: Joan S. Brown, 546 Beechwood Street, Ms. Christine McCarron of 22 Mohawk Way, Mr. Robert Ernst of 60 Elm Street, Mr. S. Woodworth Chittick of 98 South Main Street, and Ms. Lynda Mooney of 124 Lamberts Lane. All applicants reviewed their backgrounds and their reason of interest with the exception of Ms. McCarron and Mr. Chittick who could not be in attendance. After some deliberation, the Board agreed to have four citizens at large on the committee instead of the originally proposed three. Selectman Carlson moved to nominate Ms. Brown, Mr. Chittick and Ms. Karcher. After a brief discussion,Selectman Carlson amended the motion to include the addition of one more member,to raise the Citizen's at large to four and nominated Ms. Brown, Mr. Chittick, Ms. Karcher and Ms. Mooney to the now named Senior Center Planning Committee. Selectman Kennedy seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous (5-0). Public Hearing—Revitalization Project Grant Presentation—Mr. Mark Brennan and Mr.Tom Gruber addressed the Board. Mr. Gruber reviewed the history of these applications, explaining that the state has now rolled many types of grants into one type of PWED grant. They now have to apply for this grant that will address a few projects. Mr. Gruber reviewed the proposed projects to the Board, showing plans to the Board. The following projects would be completed if the Town receives the grant: A Massworks application will be filed to continue their prior work under the prior TOD program to connect Cohasset's sidewalk network to the Greenbush Commuter Rail. The other project would be a revitalization of several areas in the village, including adding additional parking in the Town Parking Lot, improving pedestrian access and appearance along the parking lot, to South Main Street, a redesign of the intersection of Ripley Road/Pleasant Street/Depot Court to improve pedestrian and vehicular safety and to redesign the drainage, roadways and sidewalk from the aforementioned Ripley Road intersection down to the Paul Pratt Memorial Library. Mr. Gruber and Mr. Brennan reviewed these proposals extensively and after much discussion, Chairman Carr moved to support the submission of the grants. Selectman Jenkins seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous(5-0). Selectman Jenkins then asked about the Meeting House Pond and the fact that it was still leaking water. Mr. Brennan stated that this was still an active construction project and the engineers are researching it looking at every single angle. Mr. Brennan added that they are looking at all of the possibilities of where the water could be leaking from, but what people need to remember is that the pond always had leaked and until this project commenced,the pond had never been metered for water usage. Cohasset Day—Chairman of the Economic Development Committee, Mr.Tim Chamberlain addressed the Board. Mr. Chamberlain first stated that the EDC thinks the plans for the revitalization of the village are excellent and they will be writing a letter of support for the grants. In regard to Cohasset Day,they will begin heavily promoting the event which will be taking place Sunday, September 18t"from 1-6PM. He is here before the Board this evening requesting the use of the North and South Side of the Common for the event. Chairman Carr moved to grant the permission to use the Town Common for Cohasset Day. Selectman Koed seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous (5-0). Woodside Cemetery Deliberation—Assistant to the Town Manager and Selectmen's Clerk,Jennifer Brennan Oram, reviewed for the Board the two on-site meetings that were held on August 81"and 111" at Woodside Cemetery. All members of the Board, as well as representatives of the DPW and the families involved were present. Ms. Oram reviewed the suggested changes that were discussed on the 111"with the Rose family. Ms. Oram will draft a letter outlining these changes and she requested that there be one contact for each family. Once the letter is drafted and the Board has approved it, the families will be asked to review and hopefully sign the agreement. Ms. Oram stated she will keep in Minutes—8.16.11-JBO 4 Minutes—Board of Selectmen August 16,2011 touch with the families and keep the Board updated on the status with it culminating in a meeting and vote of the Board in the Fall. Aquarion Water Discussion—The Board and Mr. Coughlin discussed whether or not the Town would like to participate in this action and pay for 1/3 of the costs of the special consultant. The Board discussed where they would get the funds. Mr. Coughlin stated that he could draw up a transfer request and bring it to the Advisory Committee. Chairman of the Advisory Committee, Peter Pescatore, said that the Finance Director did not feel this type of action would be able to come from the reserve fund. The Board agreed to wait and discuss at a future meeting and Mr. Coughlin will look in to the funding and what the actual costs for the Town's involvement would be. Mr. Pescatore then stated that the Advisory Committee had approved the proposed recommendations to put some structure on spending, a full business plan etc. He stated that he would be emailing it to the Board for their review with the hopes to have it on an upcoming agenda. Selectman Carlson moved to adjourn the meeting. Selectman Jenkins seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous(5-0). Meeting adjourned at 9:51PM. Respectfully submitted, Edwin G. Carr Chairman Documents: Fore River Bridge—memos and plans from Victor Pap and Gary Peters. PWED Grant information filed by Mark Brennan and Tom Gruber Minutes—8.16.11-JBO 5