Town of Warwick Selectboard November 14, 2011 Minutes Members present: Patricia Lemon, Dawn Magi, Nick Arguimbau Others present: Town Coordinator David Young, Town Secretary Rosa Fratangelo Calcari, Fire Chief Ron gates, Police Chief David Shoemaker, Emergency Management Director Jim Erviti, Buildings and Energy Committee member Jim Toth, Board of Health member Dick Whiting, Police Officer Bruce Kilhart, Women's Guild President Maria Whitney, Women's Guild Treasurer Nancy Kilhart, Gerald Whitney, Jon Calcari I. Call to Order Chair Magi called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm in Town Hall. Public Comment None. III. Minutes Arguimbau MOVED to accept the minutes of October 17, 2011 as printed. Lemon SECONDED. Motion carried by a vote of 3-0-0. IV. Presentations and Discussions 1. Post-Storm Debriefing and Next Steps-- Magi thanked the Highway, Fire and Police Departments for their work during and after the October 29th snowstorm. She asked if anyone had ideas on improvements for future storm response. Fire Chief Ron Gates said that the WCS generator was a problem, but otherwise everything went smoothly. He said that the Fire Department members were sent to each house to check on residents. Lemon asked what FD members did when they knew no one was home and whether they knocked on all doors. She asked if each FD member doing the checking next time could carry a list of houses to be checked with space for notations about whether anyone was home, how much fuel they had for their generators and wood stoves, and how much food and water they had on hand. Magi offered to put a questionnaire in the Newsletter, asking about household resources available in case of a power and/or telephone outage. Young said that he now has the original owners manual and parts book for the WCS generator, which was given by the school to the Town in 1991. Young noted that Deputy Fire Chief Roland Weld and Buildings and Energy Committee member Steve Kurkoski worked on the generator over the weekend. New ignition parts were obtained, and Weld told Young that the generator did start. Young will have Powers Generator Service come in to service and assess the generator with a view to moving it to the Town Hall, as it is not large enough to power the entire school. Emergency Management Director Jim Erviti said that there is a move towards regional shelters with resources concentrated in specific areas rather than individual shelters in each town. He said that there could be a potentially large investment to provide an adequate shelter just for Warwick. He noted that the regional shelter is currently at Turners Falls High School, and Warwick residents were also invited to go to the Fisher Hill School in Orange. Women's Guild President Maria Whitney said that most people would rather come to Town Hall than to WCS, as they are more familiar with Town hall and think of it as a home away from home. She said the Guild is thinking about ways to provide shelter at Town Hall for a minimal cost. She said donations of coffee, tea, soups, crackers, peanut butter and other items like these would be needed. Young said the he was concerned about staffing; Whitney said that she would be glad to help out. Young agreed that Town hall would make a good daytime shelter locale. Magi said that we need a daytime shelter in Warwick and strongly recommended that some system be put in place. Buildings and Energy Committee member Jim Toth pointed out that Town hall has no full-time presence to keep the building up and running at all times. He also pointed out that the school has much more room, and therefore has the advantage of adequate space as well as a shower (which is not lighted by the generator). Erviti said that if the Board decides to have a generator at Town Hall and/or WCS, he recommended that a professional come in and set it up to function automatically when needed. Young recommended that the current WCS generator be brought to Town Hall and repaired, and that a new propane powered generator be purchased for WCS. Magi said that the first decision would be how to utilize the generator and determine the size required. Erviti said that a generator at the school must be powerful enough to run the entire school, and he recommended propane as the power source for the generator. Lemon MOVED that we look into getting a propane generator with automatic on/off sufficient to heat the Town Hall dining room and allow for cooking equipment, refrigerator and lights. Arguimbau SECONDED. After further discussion, Arguimbau Called The Question. Motion carried by a vote of 3-0-0. Magi said that we need to devise a plan besides the generator to make Town Hall a shelter location. A survey will be developed by Magi and Young. Erviti said that the first question would be how long one could last with no additional resources. Young reminded the Board that some members were not current on their ICS training requirements. The test can be taken online at a FEMA website, and Young will work with them on the training, testing and certification. Young suggested the formation of a committee to bring cell service to Warwick much as the Broadband Committee was charged to bring broadband to Town. Gerald Whitney said that a few years ago he had spoken with Verizon regarding cell service, and was told that if the owner of the property where the tower sits and American Tower signed off on the proper paperwork, they were willing to put service on the tower. Whitney said he had turned over all the information to the Town Coordinator at the time (John Columbus), and did not keep copies for himself. Young said that he had never seen anything in the files on this. Nancy Kilhart said that cell service needs to be a priority for Warwick. Young concurred, stating that we should form a committee and not stop until we have cell service here. Lemon MOVED to ask for volunteers for a committee to bring cell phone service to Town. Arguimbau SECONDED. Motion carried by a vote of 3-0-0. Young suggested better signage for closed roads. Erviti said that more substantial barriers are needed to better secure roads, as cones are easily moved. People need to be prevented from travelling on dangerous roads. There was a consensus of the Board that they need to speak with Highway Department Superintendent Tim Kilhart about ordering more signs. Young said that a resident had contacted him about establishing a web portal. He noted that broadband is active during a power outage, and those with generators can check in daily at a secure site. Erviti said that he would be willing to do anything to make the townspeople feel safer and more secure. Young said that he had contacted the State to see if there were any surplus generators available. He also spoke about the old surplus diesel generator in the weeds behind the Police Station. The Highway Department can pull it out, but the generator would need to be rewound, because it is a three-phase model, and WCS and the Town Hall are on two-phase systems. It may be possible to convert this generator to propane as well. 2. Personnel--Young said that the Highway crew has been allowed to work through lunch, but Superintendent Kilhart has suspended that practice for the winter due to safety and productivity issues. Young said that he had dismissed the Janitor, and that the 14-day appeal period deadline had passed. The position has been temporarily filled by Ray Lemek, but now the job needs to be legally advertised and posted. Young showed the Board a DOR recommendation and asked that he be made the supervisor of all Department heads until further notice. A Town Meeting vote could establish this as well. Lemon MOVED that the Selectboard make Town Coordinator supervisor for Department Heads until further notice. Shoemaker pointed out that given that the town made the Police Chief and Fire Chiefs "strong chief" positions, that could be problematic. All agreed that more information was needed before the Town Coordinator's job description could be amended. Motion DIED for Lack of a Second. Nuisance Dog Recurring Complaint--Linda Styles had written to renew the nuisance dog complaint against Kyle Whittier's dog "Dozer". Animal Control Officer Rosa Fratangelo Calcari handed out copies of her last two weekly reports and updated the Board on the situation. Calcari said that she had received complaints and reports of at least one other dog in the vicinity that has been seen loose and has bothered residents. As this dog could possibly be mistaken for the Whittier dog, there was a consensus of the Board that further investigation by the ACO is needed to confirm the identity of the dog in question. The ACO will continue to gather information and attempt to photograph the dogs in question. Selectboard Reports-- Lemon said that Transfer Station Attendant George Roaf had told her that Dick Whiting had set up a barrel for the collection of plastic bags for her to transport to Shop 'n' Save for recycling. Lemon had also asked Liz Whipple to discuss the possibility of opening the Transfer Station on Wednesdays. Whiting said that the Board had done so and decided it was dark too early to do so except in the Summer. 5. Coordinator Report-- Young included the FY 12 budget statistics in the Board's meeting packets. He said that the current fiscal year budgets were on track and not showing over expenditures for this point in the fiscal year. Young said that the MBI consultant was in Town recently to assess the Fire and Police Departments, Town Hall, Library, and WCS to determine placement for fiver deployment. MBI 123 will provide internet connectivity to municipal anchor institutions in over 40 Western Massachusetts towns. Young announced that Warwick has received a $500 DEP grant for materials recycling. Correspondence--Young said that Senator Stephen Brewer had sent a letter of regret that redistricting will result in his no longer representing Warwick. Our state senator will now be Stan Rosenberg; Denise Andrews will remain our state representative, although she will lose Greenfield in the redistricting plan. Young said that we will now be in federal Representative Jim McGovern's congressional district, and noted that all changes become effective after the next election in 2012. New and Other Business--Whiting reported that the new shed for the Transfer Station Attendant will be delivered in January. He noted that George Day has donated a desk and chair. VI. Adjournment At 7:37 pm, Lemon MOVED to adjourn the meeting. Arguimbau SECONDED. Motion carried by a vote of 3-0-0. Minutes taken by Rosa Fratangelo Calcari