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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - BoS - 09/19/2017 Selectmen Minutes September 19, 2017 Selectmen Meeting Town Hall-Selectmen's Office 41 Highland Ave. Cohasset, MA Selectmen Present: Paul Schubert, Chairman Diane Kennedy Kevin McCarthy Jack Keniley Others Present: Christopher Senior,Town Manager Chairman Schubert called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Roll Call Vote: Kevin McCarthy-Present, Diane Kennedy-Present,Jack Keniley-Present, Paul Schubert- Present. Pledge-Recited. Public Comments-None. Special Town Meeting-Mr. Senior advised the Board he has checked with town counsel, moderator, clerk and all involved and confirmed that the date of STM can be changed to December 4th. The Board agreed to open the warrant at the next meeting. Motion by Selectman Keniley to change the date of Special Town Meeting to December 4,2017 @ 7 p.m., seconded by Selectman Kennedy and the vote was unanimous(4-0). Town Manager Review-Chairman Schubert explained the process the Board went through for the Town Manager's review. Chairman Shubert read through the Board's review (combined) which included comments regarding Chris Senior's best achievements and subjects which would benefit most from further attention. Each member of the Board read aloud their personal comments. Mr. Senior thanked the Board for their comments and their support which he couldn't be effective without. He thanked them all for their time and constructive direction. Selectmen Update-Selectman McCarthy asked if the Chairman could resend the draft budget message. He stated the Master Plan Committee has been working hard and were interviewing consultants tonight. He asked if the Town is advertising for a Town Planner. Mr. Senior stated the position has been advertised and posted in several places and hopes to get a good response. Chairman Schubert reminded residents of the stormy weather forecast over the next couple of days; items in yards should be put away or tied down as high winds are expected. Town Manager Update-Mr. Senior added that the hurricane season has been unusual. He hopes that the storms cease for the areas that have already been devastated. The Town is willing to help if needed. Bound Brook Update-Mr. Senior stated the curbs were replaced and done correctly,the sidewalk will be poured (weather permitting)Thursday or Friday. The guardrails were adjusted. Cunningham Bridge Update-Mr. Senior advised the Board he received letter this afternoon from Mass DOT. They came back to the Town with an offer to cap the town's total contribution of$100k. The delay will be the same. Mr. Senior suggested the Board think about it and vote on it at the next 1 Selectmen Minutes September 19, 2017 meeting; at that time he will draft a letter to proceed. Project Consultant Jack Murray gave the Board an update of the project as of today. He relayed the following; Construction Update • As a result of a Safety Directive from MDOT work on Cunningham Bridge has been suspended for at least Tuesday and Wednesday of this week out of concern for the weather and Tropical Storm Jose. • Bridge deck has been removed along with the superstructure. • The southern walls and the concrete supports have been removed. • Northern abutments and wing walls are on schedule to be removed by Friday September 15. • Demolition contractor will begin to demobilize from the site by 9/15. • Beginning the week of 9/18 Contractor MIG will begin cofferdam construction on the North abutment. • Heavy equipment will begin to arrive throughout the week to begin culling rock and overburden • Excavation will also begin on the South abutment. • Community should expect to see delivery of cranes and steel sheet piling. • Cofferdam construction on South side of the bridge will involve installation of heavy sand bags and pile driving activity. • Pre-existing granite stone foundations will be removed and re-cut to for the foundation of the new bridge. • Final pre-construction private property surveys will be completed on 9/15. He stated the town received the letter today from MDOT Interim Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver agreeing to share the costs of the aforementioned proposed design revisions to the Cunningham Bridge.The revisions would include widening the bridge to incorporate an additional safety walkway on the eastern side of the bridge and add a steel pedestrian railing and a curb mounted guardrail. Total cost estimates for these revisions are expected to be in the range of between $550K- $650K. Schedule impacts could be up to six months but MDOT believes that the majority of the delays will be for finish work and that the bridge could functionally reopen for traffic in July or early August. MDOT has agreed to cover the majority of the costs but has asked the Town to agree to cover the cost of funding up to$100,000 for the revisions. In his letter Mr. Gulliver wrote "We understand that the Town has fiscal and time constraints that prevent the Town from fully funding these increased costs. However, we also recognize that this bridge is important to the community and that these proposed changes will have a long-lasting impact to the landscape of the Town for the lifetime of this bridge". MDOT is prepared to move forward with the changes if the Town will: • Concur with the changes as proposed; • Agree to fund a $100,000 portion of the changes; • Acknowledge that this change may come at some overall impact to the schedule. 2 Selectmen Minutes September 19, 2017 The Board had a lengthy discussion and then agreed to discuss at the meeting on 9/26/17. Chairman Schubert asked for a motion to go into Executive Session for Exemption#2-To conduct strategy in preparation for negotiations with non-union personnel or to conduct collective bargaining sessions or contract negotiations with none-union personnel and Exemption#3-To discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining or litigation if an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining or litigating position of the public body and the chair so declares. Selectman Keniley moved the motion, seconded by Selectman McCarthy. Roll Call Vote; Kevin McCarthy-Aye, Diane Kennedy-Aye,Jack Keniley-Aye, Paul Schubert-Aye. The Board went into executive session at 8:25 p.m. The Board came out of executive session at 9:00 p.m. Motion by Selectman McCarthy to adjourn, seconded by Selectman Kennedy and the vote was unanimous (4-0). Respectfully submitted, Paul Schubert, Chairman Documents Town Manager Review Cunningham Bridge Update 3