Town of Warwick Selectboard February 1, 2016 Minutes Members present: Dawn Magi, Lawrence Pruyne, Nick Arguimbau Others present: Town Coordinator David Young, Town Secretary and Town Clerk Rosa Fratangelo, Fire Chief Ron Gates, Broadband Committee Chair Tom Wyatt, Planning Board Chair Ted Cady, Representative to Massachusetts Coalition Against the Pipeline Miryam Williamson, Steve Ruggiero, Jon Calcari, Jared Robinson (Athol Daily News), Rachel Rapkin (Greenfield Recorder) I. Call to Order Chair Magi called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm in the Town Hall. II. Minutes Magi and Arguimbau gave corrections with respect to spelling errors and additional desired content, to which there was a consensus of the Board to include in the approved minutes. Pruyne MOVED to approve the minutes of December 21, 2015 as printed. Arguimbau SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 3-0-0. III. Presentations and Discussions 1. Pipeline--Arguimbau said that he received a letter from Katie Eiseman of No Fracked Gas in Mass requesting that every interested town on or near the proposed path of the NED Pipeline make a donation to the cause. He said that the suggested amount was $25,000.00 to be placed in a fund under the control of the Selectboard to be used as needed in the campaign. Miryam Williamson said that she will discuss this at tomorrow's meeting of the Massachusetts Coalition Against the Pipeline. She said that her preliminary calculations indicated that the per capita donation (dollar amount divided by population) of Conway, Montague, Erving and Northfield equals $4.07. Steve Ruggiero said that more time is needed for a more thorough review; Williamson said that the Board has until it is time to post the ATM warrant to decide the amount for a warrant article. There was a consensus of the Board to take more time before deciding on a specific dollar amount. Young said that he had a conversation with Highway Superintendent Larry Delaney, who had spoken with someone at the DOT regarding signage at the two bridges on Route 78 and the one on Wendell Road. He said that the bridges can hold more weight than the limit of 40 tons for eighteen wheel trucks. DOT does not want unnecessary signs, as these can detract from people paying attention to the necessary ones. 2. Warwick Broadband --Young said that he is using the $5,000.00 planning grant from MBI for the planning portion of the LTE trial. Young said that he per Pruyne's request he is getting his work vetted by Fred Goldstein, who is also working with Royalston and other towns that have not committed to fiber-to-the-home. Tom Wyatt noted that MBI does not have people on staff with experience with wireless. 3. MBI and WiredWest--Wyatt said that MBI received 170 comments to their recent RFP, and reminded the Board that he had sent in his comments and forwarded a copy to the Selectboard members. He said that MBI will respond to all comments received; Young noted that public comment to an RFP is highly unusual. Wyatt said that MBI and WiredWest continue to meet regarding the finance model and ownership issue. He noted that communication between MBI and WiredWest has improved quite a bit. 4. Orange Ambulance--Young said that there will be a meeting on February 2nd at the Erving Senior Center with FRCOG, Orange and the four other towns (Warwick, Wendell, New Salem and half of Erving) served by Orange ambulance. He said that FRCOG had done some quick number crunching. He explained that the assessment can be calculated by population, equalized value, or where calls have come in over the past few years. Young said that the estimated assessment for Warwick is $61,000.00 by population, $50,000.00 by equalized value and $32,000.00 based on ridership over the past three years. He pointed out that we did not sign up to be partners in Orange ambulance and should not have to pay for staffing the Orange Fire Department. Young spoke both to the value of the Orange ambulance service and the potential impact on the taxes, as the assessment could be more than the combined budgets of Warwick Fire and Police. Fire Chief Ron Gates said that Orange has some of the best paramedics he has ever seen and would hate to see Orange not responding to Warwick. The Chief explained that EMT's are trained to employ basic life saving techniques until the paramedics arrive. He pointed out that EMT certification is national, and said that currently firefighter Joey Larson is training to be an EMT and that the overall cost of the training and books is about $1,700.00. Young listed possible options, including Northfield, although the department is younger and not as well staffed as Orange. He said we could zone Warwick so that Athol, Winchester or Northfield would respond based upon the location of the call. Ruggiero asked if Athol had been approached to see if they would be interested in serving Warwick and at what cost. Pruyne noted that Medicare and Medicaid insurance payments may not enough to allow the ambulance service to break even so they could be losing money. Arguimbau said that there may be some merit to accept the bill because it takes a long time to develop a team that does its job so well. He said that the last time he called for an ambulance first responders from Warwick were at his house within less three minutes and they worked very well with the Orange team. Chief Gates said that because a minimum of two people must be aboard the ambulance (2 paramedics or one paramedic and one EMT), Northfield would have to wait for them to arrive at the station, whereas Orange is staffed at all times. He noted that everyone on the Warwick Fire Department must be qualified as a first responder. Magi proposed to meet with Orange ambulance as long as they are receptive to what we have to say, and to look into other solutions if information is not forthcoming or talks break down. Young and Magi will attend the February 2nd meeting in Erving. 5. DEP Remediation Order for Warwick Transfer Station--Young explained that a recent site visit by the DEP to the Transfer Station for annual inspection resulted in a remediation plan which must be signed by the appropriate Town board. He explained that basically this boils down to the Transfer station is a mess, and the mess must be cleaned up and stop perpetuating it. Because the Transfer Station Commissioners were not all available for a meeting prior to this Selectboard meeting, Young requested that the Board vote to authorize the Chair to sign the DEP order. Pruyne MOVED to authorize the Chair of the Board of Selectmen to sign the DEP compliance order. Arguimbau SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 3-0-0 6. Scenic Roads Non-Criminal By-Law Draft Article--Planning Board Chair Ted Cady said that the Scenic Road Act was voted by Annual Town Meeting in the 80's and that the Planning Board has been holding scenic roads hearings to develop a penalty for cutting a scenic tree. He noted that the proposed fine of $300.00 would be a non-criminal disposition (a written citation) for a violation. Cady said that there is also a $500.00 fine provision under the purview of the Tree Warden, but enforcement is not as clear cut as with the draft of the proposed by-law given to the Selectboard for review and inclusion on the ATM warrant. Pruyne said that he did not want someone fined twice for one violation and asked for assurance that only one fine would be assessed per violation. Magi said that there was a need for clarification to be sure that two fines are not assessed and that the Scenic Roads Penalty by-law would take precedence. Cady said that he would talk with the Tree Warden and report back to the Board. Cady said that the Planning Board is also working on by-laws for overweight trucks and noise and light regulations in anticipation of the industrial activities of the construction phase of the proposed pipeline. Cady said that he would have drafts of these proposed by-laws for the Selectboard's review in the near future. Young mentioned a tower by-law that he has drafted which would make it easier to place mono poles and clarify the Town's rights to place poles in the Town's right of way. There was a consensus of the Board to have Young forward his draft to the Planning Board. 7. ClearGov.com Financial Transparency Project Review --Young used the large screen in the main hall to demonstrate how to navigate through several pages of the Warwick information available on the ClearGov.com website. He pointed out that five years of historic data, from 2011-2015 is available on the site. Young said that the first year subscription of $500.00 is half the full price amount, and that we can use the data as a model for future debt. 8. Selectboard Reports--Magi attended a FRCOG meeting last week and reported on some highlights from that meeting including Franklin County Emergency Communications Services (FCECS), cooperative purchasing for Highway department signage, the proposed Pipeline and an active shooter symposium including emergency planning to be held on March 16, 2016 at the Deerfield Academy. Magi noted that in FY 17 FRCOG staff will receive a 2% wage increase and that Warwick's assessment will increase by 1.7%. 9. Coordinator Report--Young said that the PVRSD Superintendent wanted to meet with the Selectboard and Finance Committee prior to February 11th. There was a consensus of the Board to set the meeting for Tuesday, February 9 at 6 p.m. in Town Hall. Young said that the Regional Housing and Redevelopment Authority is looking for someone to represent Warwick on its advisory committee. 10. Public Comment-- Town Clerk Rosa Fratangelo gave some voter information for the March 1st Presidential Primary. 11. New and Other Business Unanticipated at Time of Meeting Posting -- Pruyne requested that Young seek information on the Solarize Mass project. Young said that with all the work required of him in preparing for the Annual Town Meeting he suggested that citizens who have indicated interest in the project, including Gregory Brodski and Diane Miller, might take on this task. Young noted that a minimum of 1,000 households is required, so Warwick would have to go in with at least one other town; currently there is room for five more communities. IV. Adjournment At 7:40 p.m., Arguimbau MOVED to adjourn. Pruyne SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 3-0-0. Documents consulted at this meeting: *Draft Minutes of January 19, 2016 Selectboard meeting *Town Coordinator Report dated January 28, 2016 * Letter to Kelly Kleanthous of Massachusetts Technology Cooperative from David Young dated January 21, 2016 *Draft of Scenic Roads Penalty By-Law dated January 20, 2016