TOWN OF HOPKINTON Board of Selectmen July 2, 2013

Transcription

1 TOWN OF HOPKINTON Board of Selectmen July 2, 2013 A meeting of the Hopkinton Board of Selectmen was held on Tuesday, July 2, at Town Hall, 18 Main Street, Hopkinton, Massachusetts. Selectmen present: John Mosher, Todd Cestari, Michelle Gates, Brian Herr. Not Present: Ben Palleiko. Officials present: Town Manager Norman Khumalo, Operations Assistant Jamie Hellen. CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Mosher called the public meeting to order at 5:45 PM in Room 211. The Chair entertained a motion to go into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing strategy with respect to litigation, because an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the litigation position of the Board with respect to the public records requests to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission; discussing strategy with respect to litigation, because an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the litigation position of the Board relative to Town Counsel overview of pending litigation currently before the Town; discussing strategy with respect to litigation, because an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the litigation position of the Board relative to MTBE litigation; considering the purchase, exchange, lease or value of real property, because an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the negotiating position of the Board relative to the municipal parking lot; to allow town staff Norman Khumalo and Jamie Hellen and Town Counsel Ray Miyares to participate; and to reconvene in open session at the conclusion. MOVED by Brian Herr and SECONDED by Michelle Gates. ROLL CALL: Mr. Mosher - Yes, Mr. Herr-Yes, Ms. Gates - Yes. VOTE to Approve: Yes-3, No-0. REOPEN PUBLIC SESSION: Chairman Mosher reopened the Public Session in Room 215 with the Pledge of Allegiance. PUBLIC FORUM: Residents were invited to share ideas, opinions, or ask questions regarding town government. Rownak Hussain, Director of the Library, introduced Jake and Lilly Schwartz and Ellie and Anna Power, who had a lemonade stand and donated the money raised to the Library Building Fund. A resident addressed the Board to discuss the recent survey that was distributed to limited households in Hopkinton. She expressed concern that citizens who did not receive the survey may have wanted to participate. Mr. Khumalo stated the survey was sent to selected addresses on the Town database, however, notice will be distributed to residents with information that the survey will be available online and the feedback received will be incorporated in the results. 1

2 Chairman Mosher advised the concerned resident to schedule an appointment with the Town Manager to address her questions. STAFF APPOINTMENT: The Town Manager introduced Maria Pittman, new Executive Administrative Assistant to the Town Manager & Board of Selectmen. MOTION by Mr. Cestari to approve Maria Pittman as Executive Administrative Assistant to the Town Manager and Board of Selectmen, SECONDED by Mr. Herr. VOTE to Approve: Yes-3, No-0, Abstained-1 (Gates). CONSENT AGENDA: 1. Appointments The Board considered approving the following committee appointments: Sharon Mastrangelo as an At-Large Member of the Youth Commission; Renee Dean as an At-Large Member of the Youth Commission; Cathy MacLeod to the Elementary School Building Committee; Lauren DeBeau to the Elementary School Building Committee. 2. Resignations The Board considered approving the following resignations: Sue Hadley and Linda Katz from the Youth Commission; Ken Driscoll from the Parks and Recreation Commission; Brian Eberlin from the Parks and Recreation Commission; John Barris from the Capital Improvement Committee; Gail Munro Clifford from the Woodville Historic District Commission; Steven Hiersche and Greg Martineau from the Elementary School Building Committee. 3. One Day Liquor License The Board considered approving a one-day liquor license for Project Just Because for their Second Annual Christmas in July Fundraiser to be held Thursday, July 25, Gifts The Board considered accepting the following gifts: $400 to the Ambulance Fund from the Trust of Joan L. Strathern and $ to the Hopkinton Public Library from the Hopkinton Moms Group, Inc. 5. Historic District Commission License Agreement The Board considered approval of a license agreement with John Forester to place a Historic District Commission sign on his personal property located at Main Street. 6. Special Officer Appointments The Board considered appointing special officers as recommended by the Police Chief. Mr. Herr asked that the appointments of Sharon Mastrangelo and Renee Dean be broken out. Mrs. Gates asked that the resignations of Ken Driscoll and Brian Eberlin be broken out. Chairman Mosher asked that Item 3 be broken out. Mr. Herr asked that Item 6 be broken out. MOTION by Mr. Herr to approve the Consent Agenda with Items 1a, 1b, 2b, 2c, 3, and 6 broken out, SECONDED by Mr. Cestari. VOTE to Approve: Yes-4, No-0, Abstained-0. Renee Dean introduced herself and explained why she would like to be a member of the Youth Commission. Mrs. Gates asked if openings on the Parks and Recreation Commission will have to be filled based on the resignations of Ken Driscoll and Brian Eberlin. Mr. Khumalo stated once the resignations are accepted the positions will be advertised and there will be joint appointments by the Board of Selectmen and remaining members of the Parks and Recreation 2

3 Commission. Chairman Mosher stated there will be TIPS trained individuals on site for the oneday liquor license request for Project Just Because. MOTION by Mr. Herr to approve the appointments of Renee Dean and Sharon Mastrangelo to the Youth Commission, accept the resignations of Ken Driscoll and Brain Eberlin from the Parks and Recreation Commission, and allow Project Just Because a one-day liquor license as noted in the agenda, SECONDED by Mr. Cestari. VOTE to Approve: Yes-4, No-0, Abstained-0. Police Chief Wallace addressed the Board. Chairman Mosher asked if former Chief Flannery should be added to the list of special officers. Police Chief Wallace indicated that he should be. Mr. Cestari raised concern that the Chief and Deputy Chief of the Fire Department are included on the list of special officers and this may cause a conflict if there were a fire emergency at the same time they were serving a traffic detail. Chief Wallace indicated he would address these concerns with the Chief and Deputy. MOTION by Mr. Herr to approve the special officer appointments for a term of three years, with the addition of former Chief Flannery, SECONDED by Mrs. Gates. VOTE to Approve: Yes-4, No-0, Abstained-0. PUBLIC HEARING FOR JOINT POLE LOCATION: MOTION by Mr. Cestari to open the public hearing, SECONDED by Mrs. Gates. VOTE to Approve: Yes-4, No-0, Abstained-0. The Board heard a petition from Verizon New England and NSTAR Electric for a joint pole location on Wilson Street. Tom Blicharz from Verizon New England addressed the Board and explained the purpose of this petition. He stated there will be a pole on one side of the street and a stub pole on the other to replace a rotting tree that currently supports the wiring. MOTION by Mr. Herr to close the public hearing, SECONDED by Mr. Cestari. VOTE to Approve: Yes-4, No-0, Abstained-0. MOTION by Mr. Herr to approve the location of the pole as requested in the petition, SECONDED by Mr. Cestari. VOTE to Approve: Yes-4, No-0, Abstained-0. LIAISON ASSIGNMENTS: The Board discussed FY 2014 liaison assignments to boards, committees, and departments. It was decided to continue this discussion until August due to Mr. Palleiko s absence. REMOTE PARTICIPATION REAUTHORIZATION: The Board considered reauthorization of the Town s remote participation policy for meetings. Mrs. Gates expressed concern with this policy as she does not feel there is equal access to technology for the individuals who may be participating remotely or equal access to materials being presented. Chairman Mosher stated these concerns are addressed within the policy. MOTION by Mr. Herr to approve the remote participation policy for FY 2014, SECONDED by Mr. Cestari. VOTE to Approve: Yes-4, No-0, Abstained-0. 3

4 METROWEST ANTI-CASINO COALITION DISCUSSION: The Board discussed correspondence received from the Metrowest Anti-Casino Coalition, as well as comments received from Chairman Crosby of the Mass Gaming Commission. Mr. Herr stated that to date the developer has not reached out to Hopkinton to discuss the proposed casino development and he encouraged Foxwoods Massachusetts to do so. Chairman Mosher agreed to send a letter to the Chairman of the Mass Gaming Commission indicating Hopkinton is willing to listen but has not heard from the developer. POLE & WIRE LOCATION PETITION POLICY: The Board considered approval of a policy and procedures that would require all applicants for pole and wire locations to submit standard information when petitioning the Board of Selectmen. This policy would prohibit installation of double poles in the Town. Mrs. Gates asked that a vote on this policy be postponed until the Board s August meeting so she can better evaluate the policy. LIAISON REPORTS: Mrs. Gates reported the Grateful Dead cover band performed at the Concerts on the Common this past week and there were at least 600 people in attendance. She stated the next concert will be a jazz band on Sunday, July 7. She stated she has received a lot of positive feedback on the Farmer s Market which is held in the afternoon before the concerts and feels this is a big success. Mr. Herr announced the Metrowest Anti-Casino Coalition continues to meet weekly on Thursday evenings. Foxwoods Massachusetts will be presenting their plans to the Town of Milford over the next several weeks. All are invited to attend these presentations but only Milford residents will be allowed to speak. He announced Cathy MacLeod has begun her position as the new School Superintendent for Hopkinton. Mr. Cestari asked if the School Committee had taken a vote on what to do with the excess funds in their FY 2013 budget. Mr. Herr stated he was not at their meeting but heard that the School Committee voted not to turn back the approximately $187,000 surplus to the Town. Mr. Cestari urged the public to consider volunteering to serve on town boards and committees as there are many openings. Chairman Mosher stated he attended a recent Planning Board meeting and there were residents of West Elm Street who were affected quite negatively by recent rainstorms and there is speculation that recent tree clearing may have had an impact on these properties, though this has not been determined. He commended the DPW for assisting these residents with pumping and the Planning Board for advocating for these residents. ADJOURN: MOTION by Mr. Herr to adjourn, SECONDED by Mrs. Gates. VOTE to Approve: Unanimous. Meeting adjourned. 4

5 Summarized Transcription by //Patricia McDonnell// Date: July 25, 2013 Patricia McDonnell Certified Transcriber, OfficeSolutionsPlusLLC.com //Elizabeth Tice// Date: July 25, 2013 Elizabeth Tice, President OfficeSolutionsPlusLLC.com My commission expires August 26,