Town of Warwick
Selectboard
February 6, 2012
Minutes 
Members present: Patricia Lemon, Dawn Magi, Nick Arguimbau 
Others present: Town Coordinator David Young, Town Secretary Rosa
Fratangelo Calcari, Highway Superintendent Tim Kilhart, Police Officer
Bruce Kilhart, Mike Mankowsky, Finance Committee member Kevin Alden,
Anita Alden, 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
Lemon MOVED to accept the minutes of January 23, 2012 as printed.
Arguimbau SECONDED. Motion CARRIED by a vote of 3-0-0.

IV. Presentations and Discussions
1.   Housing Rehab/Program Income Error Update --Young said that the
Executive Director of the Housing Authority will be asking each Town to
sign a contract and pledge all program income to the housing authority
itself. Young recommends that the Board not sign such a contract. He
said that there is about $1,000,000.00 in outstanding loans that will
eventually come back to Warwick. Young said that he was seeking
$20,000.00 out of the program income for a rehab loan for a resident who
is willing to accept the old terms.
Lemon MOVED to approve allocating up to $20,000.00 of funds that are
restricted to eligible CDBG uses from Warwick's program income to a
housing rehab loan under the old terms (full repayment upon transfer or
sale of the property). Magi SECONDED. Motion CARRIED by a vote of 3-0-0.
	There was a discussion of alternatives to the proposed Housing
	Authority contract.
2.   Chapter 268A Section 20 D Ethics Exemption--Young explained that
Finance Committee member Kevin Alden had recently been appointed to fill
a vacancy on the School Committee. He noted that the positions of both
School Committee member and Finance Committee member had previously been
designated special municipal employee.
Lemon MOVED to grant a Chapter 268A Section 20 D ethics exemption to
Kevin Alden to allow him to serve on both the Finance and School
Committees. Arguimbau SECONDED. Motion CARRIED by a vote of 3-0-0. 
Highway Department -- Young said that Highway Superintendent Tim Kilhart
had been asked to attend this meeting to participate in a discussion of
tandem plowing. Young said that he has received complaints about tandem
plowing, and that he does not support the practice.
Kilhart had written an eight-point explanation of why tandem plowing
works. He fielded questions from the Board.
The Highway Superintendent detailed the factors he considers when making
his decisions on how and when to plow and sand. These factors included
the time of day a storm occurs; the temperature leading up to the storm;
temperature during the storm; temperature after the storm;  amount of
wind; amount and type of precipitation; whether or not there is
anticipated melting after the storm. He said that freezing rain is the
most dangerous condition with which to deal. Kilhart pointed out that
tandem plowing has reduced the total hours on the road, and that he has
been able to cut costs and remain under budget for snow and ice, even in
2011. He gave examples of cost savings. Kilhart deemed the tandem
plowing to be very efficient and recommended no change in how the
department plows.
Young said that he favored a division of resources during heavy storms
to get more roads passable at the same time. Kilhart said that plowing
and sanding in tandem gets the salt and sand working faster.
Arguimbau asked if there was any discernable pattern to the complaints.
Kilhart responded that he had received no direct complaints, and that
all complaints had come through Town Hall. Young said that people
complain more when they see the tandem plowing rather than when they
merely think about the concept.
Warwick resident and firefighter Mike Mankowsky works in Northfield and
spoke about that town's use of wings on their snow plows. He said that
all routes in Northfield are plowed and sanded at the same time, and
that while he personally likes plowing with the wing, breakage is not
uncommon and can take a long time to repair.
Kilhart said that he does not favor the use of wings on the plows, and
that his crew does not want to plow with wings either. Mankowsky said
that the decision of where trucks are needed is ultimately up to the
person in charge.
Police Officer Bruce Kilhart said that prior to Tim's becoming Highway
Boss there was always an item on the ATM warrant for more money for salt
and sand. He said from the Police Department's perspective, tandem
plowing keeps the traffic on its own side of the road and makes for
safer roads. He said he had spoken to Police Chief Shoemaker about this
issue earlier in the day, and that the Chief concurred.
Lemon MOVED that the Board take this under advisement and return to it
at another time. Magi SECONDED. After some further discussion, Lemon
WITHDREW the Motion.  
Arguimbau said that he was ready to dispose of the issue, as he agreed
with Kilhart. He said that Kilhart is the expert in this matter and the
Board members are not.
Arguimbau MOVED 	to support Tim Kilhart's tandem plowing due to a
lack of compelling reasons to do otherwise. Lemon SECONDED. Motion
CARRIED by a vote of 3-0-0.
Kilhart requested that the Board vote to authorize the seasonal road
closings. This is done annually for dirt roads.
Arguimbau MOVED to authorize Highway Superintendent Tim Kilhart to
temporarily close roads for mud conditions to vehicles over 10,000
pounds, excluding emergency vehicles, fuel deliveries, and school buses.
Lemon SECONDED. Motion CARRIED by a vote of 3-0-0.
Kilhart gave an update on the October snowstorm. He said that he had
attended a meeting at the MEMA headquarters in Agawam, where he filled
out forms for reimbursement from FEMA. Kilhart said that a FEMA
representative came to the Highway Department office with new forms, and
that he is scheduled to meet with the FEMA employee on Thursday,
February 9th to finalize all paperwork. Kilhart said that he has
coordinated with Fire Chief Gates and Police Chief Shoemaker and has
consulted with Fire Department record keeper Brian Miner to obtain
information on eligible items from those departments. Kilhart listed all
things to be claimed for FEMA reimbursement. He noted that the
reimbursement is 75% of the total claim, and that the State eventually
reimburses up to the remaining 25%. The total claim will be between
$26,000.00 and $31,000.00, depending upon whether or not an emergency
culvert replacement is deemed eligible for reimbursement.
Magi thanked Kilhart for all his hard work on the FEMA paperwork. 
4.   Nuisance Dog Hearing-- Magi said that the hearing scheduled for
tonight at 6:30 pm had been postponed until 6:30 pm during the next
meeting due to Kyle Whittier's inability to appear tonight.
250th Anniversary Planning-- Magi said that there will be a meeting on
Wednesday, February 8th at 6:30 pm. She has invited the heads of all
departments and committees to attend in hopes of forming sub-committees.
WCS/PVRSD Lease Renewal-- Young recommended that the Board vote to
authorize the Chair to sign the proposed WCS/PVRSD lease. He noted that
the Massachusetts School Building Authority is checking into the WCS
roof issues, but for them to cover the expense of repairs, the district
would have to prove it has site control, for which the signed contract
would provide evidence.
Lemon MOVED to authorize the Chair to sign the proposed lease between
Warwick and the Pioneer Valley Regional School District. Magi SECONDED.
Motion CARRIED by a vote of 3-0-0.
PVRSD Debt Restructuring-- Young said that the district is seeking input
from the towns on two proposed options for the restructuring of debt. He
noted that Plan B offers more long-term savings than Plan A, and
recommended Plan B. Lemon MOVED that the Board express a preference for
Plan B but not strongly enough to eliminate Plan A. Arguimbau SECONDED.
Motion CARRIED by a vote of 3-0-0.
Appointment to Board of Assessors--Young said that new resident Erik
Ross had agreed to serve on the Board of Assessors until the next Town
election. Chris Ryan has resigned, leaving a vacancy. Young pointed out
that Ross had met with the Board of Assessors, and they would be pleased
to have him appointed until the election.
Lemon MOVED to appoint Erik Ross of 111 Hastings Heights Road to fill
the position on the Board of Assessors left vacant by Chris Ryan's
retirement/resignation until the next Town Election on May 21, 2012.
Arguimbau SECONDED. Motion CARRIED by a vote of 3-0-0.
Termination of Elevator Contract--Young recommended the termination of
the contract with Bay State Elevator because the five-year term exceeds
the Selectboard's authority, and for past problems with their service.
Magi MOVED to terminate the contract with Bay State Elevator. Lemon
SECONDED. Motion CARRIED by a vote of 3-0-0.
Net-Meter Electricity Contracting Update-- Young said that Town Counsel
reviewed the net metering agreement for solar electricity and deemed it
appropriate to sign the contract when presented.
Selectboard Reports-- Lemon said that the marked trees at 88 Hastings
Heights Road have been removed. She said that the Fire Department will
meet tomorrow and discuss the burning of pallets on the Fellows property
next to that address. Magi said that she attended a FRCOG meeting where
the budget was passed. She also noted that Megan Weld was selected to
represent PVRSD on Project 351, and was among a group of students sent
to Boston for recognition.
Coordinator Report-- Young spoke about the FY 13 budget process and
projected equipment needs and expenses for the Fire Department.
Young gave the Board members primary election warrants for each member
to sign. The election will be held on March 6, 2012.
Correspondence-- Young presented letters to Chris Ryan, George Day and
Robert Day. The letter to Ryan thanked him for his two-plus decades of
service to the Town in various capacities, most recently as an Assessor.
The Day brothers worked on the water system and identified a problem
that was affecting water pressure at the Town Hall and the Library.
Chair Magi signed the letters on the Board's behalf.
Young mentioned that sand and silt in the Town Hall water supply is
causing the toilets to run constantly. The matter will be looked into
further.
New and Other Business-- Lemon inquired about dates for the opening and
closing of the Annual Town Meeting warrant. No dates were set.
V. 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