Town of Warwick Selectboard November 10, 2014 Minutes Members present: Nick Arguimbau, Dawn Magi Member Absent: Patricia Lemon Others present: Town Coordinator David Young, Town Secretary Rosa Fratangelo Bill Lyman, Jon Calcari, Paula Robinson (Athol Daily News), David Rainville (Greenfield Recorder) I. Call to Order Chair Arguimbau called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm in Town Hall. Bill Lyman announced that he was recording the meeting. II. Public Comment Bill Lyman said that he had brought a complaint against the Moderator Miryam Williamson to the Board at the October 14, 2014 meeting and was told to take his complaint directly to the Moderator. He said that he sent a certified letter to the Moderator on October 20, 2014 which was picked up on October 27, 2014. Lyman said that he had received no response to date, and that it was now near the deadline for him to file his complaint with the Attorney General's office. He said that he had spoken with former Moderator Al Mexcur, who told him that the town meeting agenda is set by the Selectboard, and that the Moderator mediates the meeting. Lyman said that Mr. Mexcur said that he believed that the Pledge of Allegiance is something that had been done in the past. Lyman said that he wanted local recourse and asked if there was a mechanism for the removal of an elected official. Young said that a recall can be held, and said that the Town Clerk could check the Town's by-laws. Lyman said that he would be taking his complaint to the Attorney General's office, and asked if the Selectboard and Town Clerk had any official or unofficial communication with the Moderator on the subject of the Pledge of Allegiance, along with Selectboard meeting minutes, which could be disclosed to the A.G.'s office. Lyman reiterated that his main complaint was that the Moderator told him "no" when he went to say the Pledge of Allegiance, and that he felt such actions do damage to a society and diminishes the honor and desire to be part of a community and a country. He also said that he felt intimidated in his free speech rights. Jon Calcari said that Alan Genovese started calling for the Pledge to be recited at Town Meetings when he came on the Board. Young said that between 1978 and 1990 he was a member of either the Finance Committee or the Selectboard and that the Pledge was never said at Town meetings during that time. Lyman said that he did not fault the Board on how they handled his petition and the decision not to put it on the September 22, 2014 STM warrant. Arguimbau wanted to direct Young to provide Emails that pertained to this issue. Magi said that the sense of her conversation with the Moderator was included in the Moderator's memo to the Board, which is part of the October 14, 2014 minutes. Lyman withdrew his request from the Board and Town Clerk to disclose information to the Attorney General's office. III. Minutes Magi MOVED to approve the minutes of October 14, 2014 and October 27, 2014 as printed. Arguimbau SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 2-0-0. IV. Presentations and Discussions 1. MGL Chapter 268 Section 20C Exemption--Young said that he had filed a disclosure form with the Town Clerk because he had been elected to the Pioneer Valley Regional School Committee, an uncompensated office. He noted that this needed to be done because he is also the appointed Town Coordinator. He said that on advice from Town Counsel, he would also file with the Ethics Commission. Young pointed out that the position of Regional School committee member had previously been designated special municipal employee. He also said that he will disclose when he acts as Town Coordinator or School Committee member in any dealings involving the school district. 2. Execution of Contracts--Young said that a former employee had been on worker's comp. for a long time, and that the Franklin County Workers Compensation Board had pushed for this individual to become eligible for disability. The Town's worker's comp. insurance carrier wants to enter into negotiations for a lump sum settlement for up to $50,000.00, and Young said that this requires a Selectboard vote authorizing such action. He pointed out that the funds would be paid by the insurance carrier and not the Town. Magi MOVED to authorize settlement negotiations in the workers compensation case. Arguimbau SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 2-0-0. Arguimbau signed documents for a $500.00 DEP grant, and those for an EMPG grant. For the latter, the last paperwork had Dawn Magi's signature as Board Chair, and because Arguimbau is now the Chair, the documents had to be resigned. CDBG Housing Rehab and Public Social Service Application --Magi said that the number one priority is to get cell phone service in Town. She saw no need to spend more money on gathering places. Arguimbau said that the old fire station will be free soon, and we should consider it for a youth center. Young said that there are only 38 children from Warwick currently enrolled at WCS, and that not only have we had a small youth group, but leadership and supervisory roles are hard to fill. Magi said that, like the gathering place, everyone likes the concept, but in reality it does not take off. Lyman said that we are a small town with many competing interests. Young recommended setting the public hearing at 5 p.m. on Monday, November 24th, before as opposed to during the Selectboard meeting, as this would allow more time for input from residents. Magi MOVED to hold the CDBG public hearing at 5 p.m. on Monday, November 24, 2014. Arguimbau SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 2-0-0. Set Date for Tax Rate Classification Hearing--Young said that the snow and ice deficit for FY 14 had been reduced from $39,000.00 to $11,000.00. He pointed out the tax classification hearing is held annually to set the tax rate, which historically has been done in a Selectboard meeting. There was a consensus of the Board to hold the tax classification hearing on Monday, November 24th at 7:30 p.m. 5. Broadband Governance--Young said that Board member Patricia Lemon had called for this item to be placed on the agenda, who was absent from this meeting. He explained his billing practices for Warwick Broadband (WBS), in which an Email or hard copy bill is sent and is supposed to be paid by the first of the month. Young said he works with those who fall behind and very rarely shuts off service. He noted that the data base is now able to create a statement of past due accounts, and that he is working on a cleaner history report which will make things better. Young said that since WBS went online five and a half years ago in April of 2009, he has issued 6500 invoices to customers totaling $441,000.00, and issued 822 vendor invoices as well. He said the system currently serves 178 customers, which represents more than half the households in Warwick. Young pointed out that since WBS works off of an enterprise fund, no taxpayer revenue has ever been used to fund broadband in Town. He said that the Selectboard, as WBS Board of Governors, can decide to hire a bookkeeper or charge late fees as it sees fit. Young explained the different types of radios used and their various capabilities. Examples of the equipment were passed around during the discussion. 6. Correspondence--Young handed out copies of the Kinder Morgan Tennessee Pipeline letter to the board members and press. He noted that the Town Boards meeting last week about the pipeline and a letter to FERC was well attended and garnered good input. 7. Selectboard Reports--Magi said that she will attend two meetings this week: the all Selectmen Pioneer Valley School District meeting on November 12th and the Veterans District meeting on November 13th. Arguimbau and Young will also attend the PVRSD meeting. Arguimbau said that he had been working on understanding the Marcellus shale project in Pennsylvania, which is to be the source of natural gas for the proposed Kinder Morgan pipeline. He said that Marcellus has been growing at a slower rate each of the past several years, that it appears it will peak next year and presumably decline after that. Arguimbau said that people in shale oil or shale gas do not break even. He estimated that the minimum investment for Kinder Morgan would be $400,000,000.00 to start the project, based on a payment of $400.00 per foot for one million feet; this figure did not include pipe or surveillance costs. By Arguimbau's calculations, Kinder Morgan would pay out a minimum of $400,000,000.00 for revenue of between six and eight million dollars per year. He noted that Marcellus will likely be shut down by the time the Kinder Morgan pipeline is finished, and that there is no way that Kinder Morgan does not know this. Arguimbau concluded that from all different angles, this project will not work. Young noted that the falling prices of crude oil will factor in as well. He recommended that the Selectboard be signatory on the Town Board's letter to FERC. Magi MOVED that the Selectboard sign the letter to FERC. Arguimbau SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 2-0-0. Lyman said that he had spoken to the Fire Chief, and that public safety concerns are very high. He said that he thought Chief Gates would provide a statement of concurrence to be included in the FERC letter. 8. Coordinator Report--Young said that he and Senator Rosenberg went to a meeting hosted by the Solid Waste District. He explained that currently we receive $23.00 per ton for recycled materials, and at this rate we lose money. A new contract negotiated by the DEP, which would require Town Meeting approval because it has a five-year term, would reduce the amount to $10.00 per ton and over the course of five years, down to just $6.00 per ton. Young said that he wanted to see if other Franklin County member towns wish to explore alternate ways to address the issue. 9. New and Other Business Not Reasonably Anticipated Prior to Posting Notice -- Lyman said that with regards to the illegal dumping of trash, surveillance cameras could be installed at the entrances to Town and could help provide leads and identify suspects when the timeline can be narrowed down. Lyman estimated ten cameras would be sufficient. Magi suggested that Young speak with Police Chief Shoemaker about this idea. V. Adjournment At 7:47 p.m., Magi MOVED to adjourn. Arguimbau SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 2-0-0. Minutes taken by Rosa Fratangelo