Town of Warwick Selectboard March 31, 2014 Minutes Members present: Dawn Magi, Nick Arguimbau, Patricia Lemon (arrived at 6:20 pm) Others present: Town Coordinator David Young, Town Secretary Rosa Fratangelo Calcari, Town Clerk Jeannette Fellows, Police Chief David Shoemaker, Building Inspector Phil Delorey, Jon Calcari, Paula Lundgren Robinson (Athol Daily News) I. Call to Order Chair Magi called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm in Town Hall. Public Comment Town Clerk Jeannette Fellows requested that the Board modify the polling hours for the 2014 annual Town election. She said that the current hours are 12 pm - 7pm, and she wished to have the polls close one hour earlier, at 6pm. She explained that State law requires the polls be open a minimum of four hours, that she must have six people working for every hour, and that the state pays only for the first four hours and the Town must pay for all hours worked after that. Fellows noted that there is one candidate running for every office, and that there are no contested races. Young said that there will likely be a debt exclusion article for the WCS roof, and possibly another for PVRSD computer technology. Magi said that there are a lot of people who work and that it might be difficult for them to get to the polls by 6pm. Arguimbau said that he did not like the idea of decreasing the hours under any circumstances. There was a consensus of the Board members present not to change the Town election hours. Minutes Magi said that because she was absent for the last meeting, they would have to wait for Patricia Lemon to arrive in order to have a quorum of Selectboard members who were present at the March 17, 2014 meeting and vote to approve the minutes. IV. Presentations and Discussions 1. One Day Beer and Wine License--Young said that the Moore's Pond Beach Committee was requesting to be granted a one-day beer and wine license for a wedding to be held on the Town common on July 4, 2014. He explained that this will benefit the Town, as it will raise funds for water testing and other expenses at the Town Beach. Young also said that the license must be granted to a person and not just a committee. Matthew Connelly is a member of the Beach Committee. Magi MOVED to grant a one-day beer and wine license to Matthew Connelly on behalf of the Beach Committee for a July 4, 2014 wedding/private party on Town Common and in Town Hall. Arguimbau SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 2-0-0. 2. Nomination of Inspector of Animals --Young recommended the nomination of current Inspector of Animals Rosa Fratangelo Calcari. This position is nominated annually by the Selectboard and approved by the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture. The term of this appointment runs from May 1, 2014 - April 30, 2015. Magi MOVED to nominate Rosa Fratangelo Calcari to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as the Town's Animal Inspector. Arguimbau SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 2-0-0. The Board consulted the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Nomination of Inspector of Animals form before taking this vote. 3. Set Date for Gale Road Use Agenda Item--Young explained that originally the issue of Gale Road usage was to be brought before the Board by the end of March, but Brad and Michelle Hurlbert were out of town at this time. Young suggested that this be placed on the agenda for the next meeting, which is April 14, 2014. Chief Shoemaker noted that permission was given by a previous Board vote that has not yet been rescinded, but that no permit had been issued. Arguimbau MOVED to rescind permission. Motion FAILED for lack of Second. There was a consensus of the Board that the issue of private usage of gale Road be placed on the agenda for the April 14th meeting. 4. Vote to Open Annual Town Meeting Warrant --Young said that the Board needed to vote to open the Annual Town Meeting warrant and choose a day and time to close the warrant. He explained that this window allows for articles by petition to be submitted. Young noted that the Board may add or remove articles up until the meeting is posted. Arguimbau MOVED to open the Annual Town Meeting warrant now and to close it on Monday, April 14, 2014 at 7pm. Magi SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 2-0-0. 5. Proposal to Record and Publish Selectboard Meetings--Resident and firefighter Bill Lyman had written a proposed 2014 ATM warrant article for the Unedited Recording of Meetings. He proposed that all Selectboard and Town meetings be recorded both in video and audio formats. Magi said that she did not know why we would need to do this, since we have good minutes and we do not need to spend extra money or have extra complications. Arguimbau said that we may have. Young noted that any solution would not be without financial cost and would require minimal staffing. He said that he had located a company and that the estimated cost would be a minimum of $70 - $80 per month to subscribe to a package of recording services. Lemon, who arrived as the discussion began, said that until fiber optics comes to town we do not have sufficient bandwidth. Young noted that there would also be costs associated with the organizing and archiving of the recordings. Lemon said that it is too soon for this. Young said that a webcam on a laptop would not do justice to the meetings. Magi said that more research needed to be done and that a discussion at a future meeting should take place when Mr. Lyman can attend. Young said that Lyman and Fire Chief Gates were attending training every Monday night for awhile. 6. WPD proposed FY 15 Budget--Police Chief David Shoemaker came before the Board with his proposed FY 15 Police Department budget. During this discussion the Board consulted copies of the WPD budget draft, the Chief's revised FY 15 budget worksheet, and the FRCOG wage and salary figures. The proposed FY 15 budget total is $63,255.00, up from the FY 14 budget of $40,295.00, which represent an overall increase of $22,960.00 (57%). The Chief began by stating that the requested wage increases accounted for a 55% increase in the budget over FY 14, with the total figure reflecting a 57% increase overall. He explained that the prior to FY 13, the budget had been level funded for many years. He said that this never truly expressed the actual cost of running the department. He cited officer training, retaining good officers and recruitment of new officers as some of the reasons to increase the wages. He also explained that the Warwick Police officers are at the bottom of the FRCOG wage and salary assessment and that an increase in wages would not only bring them closer to the County average but also allow him to retain excellent officers as well as recruit new ones. He said that minimum training requirements are sometimes hard to make, and that training and certifications cannot be allowed to fall by the wayside. The Chief said that the proposed wage increases would be 10% for officers, 16% for sergeants, and 12% for the Chief. This translates to hourly wages of $14.37 for officers, $15.81 for sergeants and $17.39 for the Chief. The Chief explained that currently the budget allows for 20 on-duty hours per week. This includes time for patrols, investigation an administration. He proposed increasing the on-duty hours per week to 43. He gave the example of seven hours being used up on an OUI arrest, from the first report to the paperwork after the arrest and transfer to the Sheriff's Department. This one incident left just 13 hours of on-duty time for the week. He stated that as Chief, he would be remiss not to present a realistic budget to adequately protect the Town, and that as a department head he must present what he feels is necessary to meet the towns needs. Chief Shoemaker said that there is a need to increase patrols because there is a lot more than speeders on the roads and that we have become a microcosm of a big town. Young noted that increased patrols can lead to more citations and therefore more revenues. Lemon said that instead of making a decision that the budget needed to be taken under advisement for further review. The Chief concurred, and said that he had already spoken with the Finance Committee about his proposed budget. Magi said that the WPD budget would be placed on the next agenda for further discussion. 7. April 10 Presentation with KinderMorgan/Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company--The Board discussed who will host and chair a presentation and Q&A session with KinderMorgan/Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company tentatively slated for April 10, 2014. Lemon suggested that Moderator Miryam Williamson be asked to run the meeting. Magi said that this was a Selectboard matter and should be kept as such. Young said that he agreed with Lemon that the Town Moderator would be a good choice to preside, as she is experienced with using the gavel and keeping good order and control at large meetings. Magi said that she had already expressed her willingness to chair the meeting, and that she is perfectly capable of doing so. Arguimbau said that he expected Ted Cady to run the meeting as Planning Board Chair, as the Planning Board had taken an active role in the first meeting (a joint meeting of the Selectboard and Planning Board held on March 26, 2014). Young asked if the questions we have should be shared with the gas pipeline company or be kept until the meeting. Arguimbau said that this should be decided jointly with the Planning Board. Lemon said that she is fine with Magi serving as the meeting chair; Magi said that she was fine with Cady hosting the meeting, as he is the Planning Board chair. Young noted that he has yet to receive final confirmation that representatives of the gas pipeline company will be present on April 10th, but that there will be no meeting without them. Lemon MOVED to authorize Dawn Magi to negotiate with Ted Cady about the format and who will serve as chair a meeting with KinderMorgan for the company to make a presentation and provide information. Magi SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 3-0-0. 8. Selectboard Reports--Magi noted with sadness the recent passing of Beverly Fisher. 9. Coordinator Report--Young said that he had nothing to add to his printed report. 10. Minutes-- Magi MOVED to approve the minutes of March 17, 2014 as printed. Lemon SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 2-0-1. Lemon and Arguimbau: AYE; Magi Abstained because she was not present for the meeting 11. New and Other Business Not Reasonably Anticipated Prior to Posting Notice-- None. 11. Executive Session--Young said that the Board needed to go into executive session to discuss deployment of law enforcement personnel and to discuss pending litigation of a zoning and public health violation. He stated that the Board would not reconvene in regular session following the executive session. V. Adjournment At 7:16 pm, Lemon MOVED to adjourn the regular session of the meeting and go into Executive Session. Arguimbau SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 3-0-0. Minutes taken by Rosa Fratangelo Calcari