Town of Warwick Selectboard March 2, 2017 Minutes Members present: Dawn Magi, James Erviti, Lawrence Pruyne (arrived at 3:23 p.m.) Others present: Town Coordinator David Young, Town Secretary Rosa Fratangelo, Finance Committee member Steve Ruggiero, Jon Calcari I. Call to Order Chair Magi called the meeting to order at 3:03 p.m. in the Town Hall. This was a joint meeting of the Warwick Selectboard, Broadband Commissioners and Municipal Light Plant Governors. II. Minutes Erviti MOVED to approve the minutes of February 13, 2017 as printed. Magi SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 2-0-0. III.Presentations and Discussions 1. MGL 268:20D Exemptions--Young asked the Board to designate the positions of School Council member and HEART Study Committee member as Special Municipal Employee. He also noted the need to grant MGL Chapter 268 Section 20D exemptions for Dawn Magi and Sue O'Reilly McRae. Erviti MOVED to designate the positions of HEART Study Committee member and School Council member as Special Municipal Employee and to grant MGL Chapter 268 Section 20D exemptions to Dawn Magi as a member of the Selectboard and the HEART Study Committee and Sue O'Reilly McRae of the HEART Study Committee and the School Council. Magi SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 2-0-0. 2. Personnel Policy Revisions--Young said that the first change was on page 11 under Selection and should read "minimum of three (3) days in at least one locally published daily paper". The subject of compensatory time for nonexempt employees (page 16) was discussed. Currently the cap is 60 hours, and Erviti wanted to make sure that if the number of hours were to be increased there would still be a cap. It was noted that Highway employee Brian Hubbard currently has over 120 hours of compensatory time. As the policy states that "the Selectboard may authorize increased compensatory time earning for a limited and defined time period", there was a consensus of the Board to leave the number at 60 and deal with individual issues at a separate time. Young pointed out that on page 31 the word "unlawful" now precedes "possession of firearms or explosives during work hours". It is stated on page 6 that "this policy shall take effect upon adoption of the Warwick Selectboard at a public hearing and shall repeal all previous policies and procedures." 3. Selectboard General Government Budgets FY 17 and FY 18--Young began with the FY 17 budget by saying that the bookkeeping is up to date through March 1st. He said that the one concern in the current budget is the snow and ice account is now in deficit, and noted that in previous years other line items with extra funds can be used to cover some of the snow and ice expenses. Young said that there will be about $28,000.00 in the wage and salary line item due to the resignation of a Highway worker whose position was not filled. He noted that the snow and ice deficit would be added to the FY 18 tax rate and any surplus would not be recognized until FY 19. Young next brought up the Town Accountant, saying that because she has said that wage line item funds cannot be allocated for expenses he is seeking a legal opinion from Town Counsel. He noted that the Reserve Fund will be greatly reduced for previously unanticipated health insurance costs due to an increased number of people taking insurance. Pruyne arrived at 3:23 p.m. and joined the discussion as it turned to the FY 18 budget. Young said that the Tech School assessment will double (from $60,000.00 to $120,000.00) due to an increase in the number of Warwick students attending the school. He said that the proposed PVRSD budget reflects approximately a 5.5% increase and estimated an increase in Warwick's assessment in the range of a $16,000.00 to $18,000.00. Young noted that ten teaching positions and four instructional aide positions will be cut from the District and 4 teaching positions will be added for online learning. He pointed out that health insurance costs for PVRSD staff is also increasing, and said the proposed PVRSD budget is $14,400,000.00. Young said that if there is to be a change in personnel in the Accountant position, it will likely cost about 50% more than the current salary for FRCOG accounting services. He said that he will look further into the FRCOG option to see how much the overall budget would increase. Finance Committee member Steve Ruggiero said that all options should be considered and not just FRCOG, as he felt a qualified individual could be found without increasing the budget. Former Selectman Jon Calcari said that all budgets should be level funded and said that the Accountant always acts professionally and does things by the book. Both Young and Erviti strongly disagreed; Pruyne characterized past Cultural Council's dealings with the Accountant as "a nightmare". 4. Inter-municipal MOA with Westfield Gas & Electric--Young said that he had received verbal legal findings from both the Attorney General and Inspector General that it is permissible to have a no-bid MOA with Westfield Gas & Electric. He said Town Counsel has reviewed the MOA and recommended we enter into the agreement as a Municipal Light Plant and include a blanket liability waiver, a complete waiver of damages. Young pointed out that the pole setting quote from Westfield is $24,593.05, considerably less than the one bid of $46,000.00 received after the bid deadline had passed. At this time Young left the meeting to get supporting documentation of costs and scope of service. 5. Selectboard Report --Pruyne apologized for being late due to a necessary appointment that could only be scheduled earlier today. Magi said that she attended a PVRSD HEART Study Committee meeting with a speaker from the BEST Committee from Mohawk regional School District who gave ideas on how to proceed. She noted that fellow Warwick member Alan Genovese was very helpful as well due to his past experience as a school superintendent. Magi said that the HEART Committee will meet every two weeks for the time being and said that the next meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 15 at 6:30 p.m. in the Center for Aging in Bernardston. She noted that much of the legislation passed benefits schools in the eastern part of the state and our need in this region are very different. Magi stated that we need groups to become active to advocate for local needs. 6. Continuation of Discussion of MOA with Westfield Gas & Electric--The Board reviewed scope of services and costs documents for the Westfield Gas & Electric project. Young pointed out considerable savings over the initial budgeted costs, noting that the total cost for the Westfield project was $38,809.07. Erviti said that he was still reluctant because of what he saw as too many unknowns. Young pointed out that the number of poles could be changed from 13 to 12 and that renegotiations can occur. Because Young had mentioned that this company was part of the Leverett build, Erviti wanted to know how things went in Leverett. Magi said she still wanted a bit more reassurance. Erviti said that trust is one thing but as the Board represents the townspeople they need to know more. Pruyne said that he was inclined to trust this company and the MOA. Magi asked what could go wrong and Erviti wanted a worst case scenario. Young said that if everything is not aligned and agreed upon there could be delays and much higher costs. 7. Coordinator Report -- Young invited everyone to attend the PVRSD budget hearing being held tonight at 7 p.m. at PVRHS. Young also noted the success of the new monitoring software being done by WBS staff member Jason Cook, saying that it has saved considerable time in identifying and fixing problems. 8. Public Comment--None. 9. New and Other Business Unanticipated at Time of Meeting Posting --Young said that he has oftentimes found the manual flapper valve in the dining room open and has the Kurkoskis from the Buildings and Energy Committee working on finding a better way to control the flow of heat, such as a timer. He said that the Board should consider enacting a policy to have events held in the dining room rather than the main hall to conserve energy and decrease unnecessary heat to the upper floors of Town Hall thereby decreasing the heating costs. IV.Adjournment At 4:37 p.m., Pruyne MOVED to adjourn. Erviti SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 3-0-0. Documents consulted at this meeting: *Draft Minutes of Selectboard meeting of February 13, 2017 *Coordinator Report dated March 1, 2017 *Intergovernmental Agreement Fiber Network Design Between City of Westfield Gas & Electric Light Department and Warwick Municipal Lighting Plant *Letter from Westfield Gas & Electric to David Young dated February 22, 2017 Re: Proposal for Pole Setting and Wireless Antenna Construction *Warwick Wireless Broadband Itemized Budget *Town of Warwick FY 2017 General Fund Expenditure Report as of March 2, 2017 *FY 18 Draft Omnibus Budget *Draft Town of Warwick Personnel Policy endorsed by Council July 2016