Town of Warwick Selectboard April 24, 2017 Minutes Members present: Dawn Magi, Lawrence Pruyne Member absent: James Erviti Others present: Town Coordinator David Young, Town Secretary Rosa Fratangelo, Tom Scanlon, Jr. (Scanlon & Associates), Treasurer/Assessor Beth Gilgun, Highway Superintendent Larry Delaney, Fire Chief Ron Gates, Finance Committee members Bill Foote and Steve Ruggiero, School Committee member Martha Morse, Moderator David Koester, Tax Collector Jessica Foote I. Call to Order Chair Magi called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. in the Town Hall. II. Minutes III.Presentations and Discussions 1. Audit Management Letter--Tom Scanlon, Jr. of Scanlon & Associates spoke about his firm's recent audit of the Town's books for fiscal year 2015. He said that the audit went well, that there were no disagreements with management, and that for a small town our financial team does well in day to day management. He noted that our tax collection rate is 97% which he said is quite good. Scanlon said that nothing bad was found during the audit and that some recommendations were made to improve efficiency. Scanlon said that Broadband's accounts receivable should be placed on the general ledger. Young said that now Broadband payments go to the Tax Collector who turns over the funds and accompanying paperwork to the Treasurer, copies the paperwork to the Accountant and advises WBS of all payments made. Scanlon said that beginning July 1, 2017 the Accountant should record additions and deletions to the capital assets. He recommended that the Treasurer and Accountant review special accounts to ensure the individual bank balances agree with the general ledger fund balances. Scanlon noted that personnel files must be kept up to date with adequate information including I-9 and W-2 forms. He also recommended that at the end of each fiscal year the Town analyze and record any differences between the recorded value and fair value of investments. Treasurer Beth Gilgun pointed out that regarding departmental receipts, the recommendation of the amount of revenue turned in being broken down into cash receipts and check receipts has been done since August of last year. Scanlon gave the Town a grade "A" as the ledger balanced and financial accountability is solid. 2. Gale Road Bridge Grant Update-- Highway Superintendent Larry Delaney said that he is at the stage now to pick a design firm, get paperwork from that firm and submit it to Mass DOT. He said that he asked the firm that helped with the initial stage at no cost and the engineer sent a fee schedule for superstructure reconstruction only because the cost is less. However, Delaney noted that the south abutment is not suitable for this, and he is waiting to hear back from the engineer. In the meantime Delaney contacted another firm whose structural engineer also thought a complete rebuild cannot be done for the $500,000.00 as a lot of work must be done in water which requires extensive permitting. This engineer suggested combining the Gale Road bridge project with another project and applying for a MassWorks grant so that some funds from that grant could be used to cover the remaining costs for the Gale Road bridge. This second firm offered to do the paperwork for a MassWorks grant at no cost to the town. Delaney said that additional work on Northfield Road could be combined with the Gale Road bridge. He said that the grant application would be submitted in September and that award notifications are usually sent out within a couple of months. 3. Update on Road Salt Use Research --Young said that he identified a reference to road salt use when Tim Kilhart was the Highway Superintendent in the Selectboard Reports of the December 17, 2007 BoS meeting minutes. Magi asked about finding a salt ratio that does not pollute the wells. Delaney said that the salt ratio currently used in town is within the range that the DEP says will not pollute the ground water, but he also noted that the mixture can vary due to mixing conditions. Young pointed out that salt may not be the only problem, and that sand may need to be cut eventually. Delaney mentioned a by-product of making pulp can be put down on the road before the storm and allow for a reduction in the amount of road salt needed during a storm. Young noted that the concentration of complaints about the use of road salt comes from near the center of town. Steve Ruggiero suggested using only sand from the Highway garage to the cemetery on Route 78 and on Athol Road up to the intersection of Old Winchester Road. Delaney said that the DEP considers sand to be more polluting than salt and some towns are eliminating the use of sand altogether. Young said that Leyden uses small stone chips for traction and it stays on the road better than sand because it is less fine. 4. Highway Expense Spending --Young said that all the surplus from the wage line item and about $8,000.00 from the underspent expense budget can be reallocated to reduce the snow and ice deficit. 5. Energy Updates--Young said that there is $53,000.00 left from the Green Communities grant which will be used to install high efficiency air source heat pumps for heating and cooling for the four offices, the main hall, and the dining hall in Town Hall as well as the Highway garage. He noted that Janice Kurkoski has lined up an installer who will only mark up the project 10% due to all the work Ms. Kurkoski has done. Young said that the hosted solar development project in West Brookfield is nearing completion and will eventually yield annual income for the Town. He noted that the Seaboard net meter credit purchase agreement will be online soon and is located on a rooftop in Clinton, MA. We will be able to purchase credits for 78 cents on the dollar and should see the electric bill drop by about 20%. 6. Selectboard Reports--Pruyne said that today he noticed the footings for the office addition on the new fire station. Chief Gates said that the foundation is due to be poured tomorrow. 7. Coordinator Report--Young said that the Barn Owl received notification of approval of its wine and malt license today and that the Board has three days to act on this. 8. Public Comment--Fire Chief Ron Gates said that Brad Matthews will be putting the old vehicles on the lift to check out the condition of the frames. He wanted to be sure that the sum of money will be specified in Article 12 on Town Meeting floor. Young said that when the motion is made, a specific amount of money must be moved. Martha Morse publicly thanked the Fire Department for supplying smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to Warwick residents at no cost. 9. New and Other Business Unanticipated at Time of Meeting Posting --None. IV.Adjournment At 7:12 p.m., Pruyne MOVED to adjourn. Magi SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 2-0-0. Documents consulted at this meeting: *Draft Minutes of Selectboard meetings: April 10, 2017 and April 18, 2017 *Coordinator Report dated April 20, 2017 *FY 18 Omnibus budget *Warrant for May 1, 2017 Annual Town Meeting *Emails between David Young and Larry Delaney dated April 12 and 13, 2017 Re: Highway Budget *Email from David Young to Bill Foote, Steve Ruggiero and Dawn Magi dated April 20, 2017 Re: Finance Committee *Emails between Erica Nangeroni and David Young dated April 20, 2017 Re: West Brookfield Project - Warwick Host *Email from Shawn Brazo to David Young dated April 20, 2017 Re: Timeline on Warwick hosted project and net meter purchase contracts *Selectboard Reports from December 17, 2007 Selectboard meeting minutes Re: salt use on roads *Town of Warwick, MA Management Letter for the Year Ended June 30, 2015 from Scanlon & Associates, LLC dated August 5, 2016