Town of Warwick Selectboard April 4, 2011 Minutes Members present: Patricia Lemon, Dawn Magi, Nick Arguimbau (arrived at 6:20 pm) Others present: Town Coordinator David Young, Town Secretary Rosa Fratangelo Calcari, Police Officer Bruce Kilhart, Nancy Kilhart, Jon Calcari, Jared Robinson (Athol Daily News) I. Call to Order Vice Chair Lemon called the meeting to order at 6:01 pm in Town Hall. Public Comment Bruce Kilhart said that his contractor had been trying to contact the Building Inspector for three weeks, and that the contractor has yet to actually speak or meet with Phil Delorey. Lemon suggested calling the Athol Town Hall to reach Delorey. Young will work on trying to facilitate contact between the Building Inspector and the Kilharts' contractor. At 6:03 pm, Lemon declared a short recess until Arguimbau arrives. At 6:10 pm, discussions resumed. III. Minutes Action on the minutes of March 7, 2011 and March 21, 2011 was postponed pending Arguimbau's arrival. He had called earlier to say that he would be a few minutes late. IV. Presentations and Discussions 1. Vote to Remain One Election Precinct -- Young had put the Single Precinct Authorization Form in the Board's meeting packets. The 2010 census had Warwick's population at 780. After each Federal census, the number of election precincts can change based on population, and we are required to decide whether or not to remain one voting precinct. The form, which would be signed by the Selectboard members, declared that Warwick wished to remain one precinct and requested that the Secretary of the Commonwealth prepare a single precinct map on our behalf. Lemon MOVED that, given the fact the Census Bureau has assured us that we are eligible to remain one precinct, we remain so. Magi SECONDED. Motion carried by a vote of 2-0-0. 2. Vote to Close Annual Town Meeting Warrant -- Per the vote from the March 21, 2011 meeting, the ATM warrant would be closed to petition articles today. Lemon MOVED to close the Annual Town Meeting warrant to petition articles. Magi SECONDED. Motion carried by a vote of 2-0-0. 3. FY 12 Transfer Station Enterprise Fund Budget -- Young said that he made up a budget, which was reviewed by Board of Health member Dick Whiting. This budget is $46,300.00, and requires a $12,000.00 subsidy from the Town. Last year's budget required a $20,000.00 subsidy. Young noted that the Finance Committee has reviewed this budget. Young went to print an FY 12 budget document, and gave the Board the form to approve and sign for Chapter 90 reimbursement for the used backhoe. 4. Chapter 90 Reimbursement Request -- The Board must vote to accept the Chapter 90 reimbursement request and sign the form. Magi MOVED to accept the Chapter 90 reimbursement request for $5,000.00 for the used backhoe. Lemon SECONDED. Motion carried by a vote of 2-0-0. 5. New and Other Business -- Lemon asked if there was any new business; there was none. 6. FY 12 Transfer Station Enterprise Fund Budget Vote -- Lemon MOVED to accept as presented the FY 12 Transfer Station Enterprise Fund budget. Magi SECONDED. Motion carried by a vote of 2-0-0. 7. Miscellaneous Items -- Young said that he had met with the worker's compensation risk control agent for a review. He said that we will receive a discount for agreeing to report losses within two (2) days. Warwick chose to reward for working safe as opposed to penalizing for unsafe work. Young reported that he received notification from the Department of revenue that available free cash in the General Fund has been certified at $117,028.00. Arguimbau arrived at 6:20 pm. 8. Review FY 12 Budget -- Young said that he had met with the Finance Committee to review the proposed FY 12 budget. He noted that we have more excess capacity than in any of the last four years. He said that the tax rate is projected to be slightly lower than last year. He said that we will be able to purchase outright a new 4-wheel drive Police cruiser. 9. Action on Minutes -- As Arguimbau was now present, action on the minutes of the two previous minutes was taken. Lemon MOVED to remove the words "for the purpose of discussion" and that the sentence "The vote specified that the changes made during the discussion were approved as part of this motion" be deleted from IV.3 of the March 21, 2011 minutes. Magi SECONDED. Motion carried by a vote of 2-0-1: Lemon and Magi - AYE; Arguimbau Abstained, as he was absent from the meeting. Lemon MOVED to accept the minutes of March 21, 2011 as corrected. Magi SECONDED. Motion carried by a vote of 2-0-1: Lemon and Magi - AYE; Arguimbau Abstained, as he was absent from the meeting. Lemon MOVED to accept the minutes of March 7, 2011 with the corrected spelling of "Arguimbau" in the second paragraph of item I. Arguimbau SECONDED. Motion carried by a vote of 2-0-1: Lemon and Arguimbau - AYE; Magi Abstained, as she was absent from the meeting 10. Adoption of Roadside Wood Policy --Young recommended adopting the policy as written by the nine member ad hoc committee that spent more than four hours deliberating and creating the document. Lemon said that she felt the Board had asked the committee for advice, not orders, and that the Selectboard had a responsibility to look at it. Young said that the committee had voted unanimously to accept the policy. Young pointed out that he and all Highway Department workers have agreed not to take any roadside wood. Magi said that she voted in favor of the policy, but she wanted the underlined portion added to the policy and voted on by the Selectboard. The underlined additional language read as follows: All highway workers and their immediate families are prohibited from picking up any wood cut by the highway department. "Immediate family" shall be defined as: employee, spouse, children, parents, or siblings. Young said that Town Counsel's opinion was that roadside wood is Town property, and reiterated that the additional language was unnecessary, as he and the Highway employees have agreed not to take wood. Arguimbau said that he agreed with Young and favored the policy as drafted by the committee. The version of the policy before the Board in its entirety reads as follows: All wood cut within the public way under the jurisdiction of the Selectboard will be left on the sides of the road where the cutting occurs. The wood will be cut into manageable lengths to encourage removal. The property owner will have first option to take all wood cut on or abutting their property and are encouraged to put a sign stating their claim to the wood. The wood is then on a first come, first served basis available to the public if no sign is present. All town departments affected by this policy will make a posting on the Warwick-L and on the highway department office door each day that cutting occurs. The posting will give the location(s) of cutting that day. Emergency circumstances will nullify all notification requirements. All highway workers and their immediate families are prohibited from picking up any wood cut by the highway department. "Immediate family" shall be defined as: employee, spouse, children, parents, or siblings. Massachusetts Ethics Regulations apply. Lemon MOVED to accept the Roadside Wood Policy as amended by Dawn Magi. Magi SECONDED. Motion carried by a vote of 2-1-0: Lemon and Magi - AYE; Arguimbau - NAY. 11. FY 12 Budget Review Continued -- Young said that the PVRSD budget has increased by $9,500.00, which represents about a 1% increase in Warwick's assessment. He noted that the bond debt has decreased by $5,500.00. Young said that the Finance Committee has reviewed the budget and that the committee wanted all the free cash voted to reduce the tax rate, which is predicted to be $16.64 for FY 12, as opposed to the FY 11 rate of $16.77. The Fin Comm also recommended buying the new police cruiser and increasing the Capital Stabilization to $40,000.00. There was some discussion on future capital expenditures for the Warwick Community School to improve heating efficiency. Young asked the Selectboard about the Stretch Code; there was a consensus of the Board members that they do want to place the matter on the ATM warrant. 12. Selectboard Reports -- Lemon spoke about the 40B initiative, and said that the Coalition for the Homeless is fighting any amendments. She said that there is not enough support to go forward. Suggestions for the Fire Department building once a new Public safety Building is built included elder housing or a possible teen and/or senior center. Both Lemon and Arguimbau said that they favored dropping the 40B issue at this point. Young praised Arguimbau for an impressive job of drafting legislation on the 40B initiative. He also said that he had spoken with Planning Board Chair Ted Cady, who suggested that Warwick attempt to purchase deed restrictions to keep affordable housing and income limits as a way to come into compliance with current 40B requirements. Young recommended sending the issue back to the Planning Board for further cost analysis. 13. Coordinator Report -- Young said that in January a car had hit the fence by the Historical Society, and that the insurance company has mailed a check. A local contractor will repair the damage in the next couple of weeks. Young said that the FRCOG fuel oil and diesel bid process has started, and that he planned to bid the same number of gallons as last year. Once the fixed prices are announced, the Town will have 48 hours to make a decision, which could be achieved by an emergency Selectboard meeting or a vote to allow Young to act on the Board's behalf. Lemon MOVED that David Young be authorized to make the decision at his discretion and sign on behalf of the Selectboard. Magi SECONDED. Motion carried by a vote of 3-0-0. V. Adjournment At 7:21 pm, Lemon MOVED to adjourn the meeting. Magi SECONDED. Motion carried by a vote of 3-0-0. Minutes taken by Rosa Fratangelo Calcari