Town of Warwick
Selectboard
May 27, 2014
                                                                Minutes
Members present: Dawn Magi, Nick Arguimbau, Patricia Lemon (arrived
6:04pm)

Others present: Town Coordinator David Young, Town Secretary Rosa
Fratangelo Calcari, Police Chief David Shoemaker, Ed Hawes and Moderator
and ZBA Chair Miryam Williamson ( arrived 6:29pm), Planning Board Chair
Ted Cady (arrived 6:32pm), Jim Erviti (arrived 6:37pm), Buildings and
Energy Committee member Steve Kurkoski (arrived 6:51pm), Firefighter
Bill Lyman, 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
Bill Lyman made an audio recording of this meeting.
Magi noted with sadness the passing of lifelong resident John Shaw on
Sunday, May 25, 2014.
III.    Minutes
Arguimbau MOVED to approve the minutes of the May 12, 2014 meeting as
printed. Magi SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 2-0-0. 

IV. Presentations and Discussions
1.	Dog License Fees--Magi said that newly elected Town Clerk Rosa
Fratangelo Calcari had requested this agenda item because she wanted to
delay the enforcement of late fees for dog licenses this year only.
Fratangelo Calcari explained that a new slate of dog related fees was
voted on by the Board in August of 2013 and went to effect September 1,
2013. She said that while the new fee schedule was publicized at the
time, most people were probably not aware or would not remember that as
of June 1st each year a late fee of $10 per dog license would be
charged. Fratangelo Calcari pointed out that this is the first time in
recent memory that late fees had been put in place, and as the new clerk
she did not want to start off with the late fees without first reminding
people and giving them a bit of extra time to license their dogs in
2014.
Lemon MOVED to make the date for the enforcement of late fees for dog
licenses be July 1st for 2014 only. Arguimbau SECONDED. Motion CARRIED
3-0-0.
2.   Reorganization --Magi said that she was willing to remain Chair,
while Arguimbau said that he thought it could be his turn to be Chair.
Lemon noted that the Board had not been rotating positions for the past
few years, and asked if the other Board members wanted to begin the
rotations once again. Arguimbau said that he thought it was a good idea
to rotate, but that he did not want to push it.
Lemon MOVED that the Nick Arguimbau be Chair, Dawn Magi be Clerk and
Patricia Lemon be Vice Chair. Magi SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 3-0-0.
	Magi turned the meeting over to new Chair Arguimbau.
3.	Proposed Meeting Time Change--Lemon had proposed a change in the
Board's meeting time, as she preferred the meetings begin at 7pm. Magi
said that she liked the 6pm start time because the meetings would also
end earlier. Lemon agreed but said that she would prefer to have dinner
and arrive on time. Arguimbau said that it was "up to folks", and Lemon
responded that many people on the "L" seemed to prefer 7pm. Arguimbau
suggested trying the later time for the Summer to see if people really
prefer the later time.	 
Lemon MOVED that from the next meeting through Labor Day, Selectboard
meetings will be held at 7pm. Arguimbau SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 3-0-0.
4.   Pioneer Budget Update --Young said that Bernardston had voted down
the 9.6% increase in the PVRSD budget, that Leyden and Warwick had
approved it, and Northfield had approved it contingent upon a
Proposition 2 1/2 override. He noted that the override must succeed in
order to uphold the 9.6% increase, as three of the four towns must
approve for it to take effect and that as of now, Northfield has yet to
vote on the override.
5.   Pioneer Technology Update-- Young said that a consultant other than
their in-house consultant was reviewing the plan. He said that he and
John Bradford went to a meeting and had the sense that while their ideas
were honored, there was no commitment to act on them. Young said that
the District was good with the inventory of outdated equipment but not
too clear on the next step. He said that he came away with the sense
that the Superintendent's pressing question was that if they spend less
do we borrow less and leave funds on the table. Young said he
recommended borrowing all of the money and getting the most out of the
funds by making the money go as far as possible in upgrading the
network. He noted that there are time constraints, as they have only
until the new school year begins. Young also mentioned that Leyden and
Bernardston have been very appreciative of Warwick's efforts in this
matter.
6.   Pothole Grant Report--Young said that today he received the Notice
to Proceed with work funded by a $34,000.00 grant. The funds will be
used to repair potholes and to paving a portion of Northfield Road
funds, as well as to pay wages for the Highway crew.
	Young said that the pad had been poured for the steel building at
the Highway barn. The shed will hold signs, posts and other
miscellaneous Highway Department items. Young said that they can now
move forward with insulation before winter.
7.   Set Date for Gale Road Pole Hearing --Young said that National Grid
had petitioned for a pole hearing for two poles on Gale Road. He
suggested scheduling the hearing on Monday, June 23rd to allow for the
requisite legal postings.
Lemon MOVED to schedule the Pole Hearing for Gale Road on Monday, June
23 at 7:30pm. Magi SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 3-0-0.
8.	Fiber to Orange Road Cell Tower Report--Young said that the work
order had been processed and that he had signed off on it. He said that
the Mt. Grace tower had been provisioned, and that he was uncertain as
to the exact timeline for the Orange Road cell tower. He noted that once
the work is completed, those who connect to WBS on the cell tower will
enjoy improved service.
9.	Soltas Solar Contract Report--Young said that he was in continued
negotiations over the contract, which specifies 8.5 cents per kwh. The
new offer is for net metering credits at a 25% discount, but Young said
that he wanted to try to negotiate for an increased discount. He noted
that attorney Russell Dupere is reviewing the situation. Young said that
he will try to settle, and that he has given Soltas written notification
of his intent to enforce the contract. 
10.	Roadside Cleanup Report--Young said that this year's Roadside
Cleanup efforts yielded 13 mattresses, 10 televisions, 9 tires and many
bags of rubbish as well as bottles and cans. He said that he will
prepare a bill for the person charged with illegal dumping on Hastings
Heights Road for the removal of the illegally dumped items. Police Chief
Shoemaker said that charges against the person had been filed and that
it is up to the court whether the charges go through. He noted that the
Town should not clean up private property, which is where the majority
of the dumping was done. 
11.	Fuel Bids Update--Young said that no action has been taken on
fuel bids, as Warwick received only one diesel bid and no fuel oil bids.
He noted that FRCOG will try the bid process again. Young said that the
72-hour time frame may have been too long considering the volatility of
the fuel market, and that if no bids are accepted we will have to
purchase from the open market with no fixed price in place.
12.	Zoning Enforcement--Young explained that the Building Inspector's
Cease-and- Desist order to Wagon Wheel Campground for unpermitted use as
a mobile home park has been appealed to the ZBA with a claim of
grandfathered use. Young said that he will try to gather evidence on
behalf of the town with the assistance of Planning Board Chair Ted Cady
and the Town Clerk as to when the ban on mobile home parks was
instituted. The ZBA hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, June 25, at 7pm.
	ZBA Chair Miryam Williamson explained that by law the ZBA may rule
only on information that is presented to them at the hearing, and may
not gather or solicit evidence or information.
13.	Telephone, Telegraph, Electric Distribution and Transmission
Property Tax Basis--Young said that some people have asked what tax
revenue the gas pipeline might generate in Warwick. He said that his
research indicated that unlike property values, the tax basis would
depreciate over time that he estimated the upper range of local revenue
to be about $30,000.00 per mile initially, with depreciation lowering
the figures over time.
14.	CDBG Housing Rehab--Young said that in order to strengthen our
application, we need some outreach to get more people to seek housing
rehabilitation loans through this program. There was a consensus of the
Board to move forward with this. 
15.	Chief Shoemaker WPD Report--The Chief said that his report was
basically covered in the illegal dumping discussion.
16.	ZBA Appointment--Young said that at its most recent meeting the
ZBA voted unanimously to request that the Selectboard appoint Jim Erviti
as their fifth member and second alternate, which filled the remaining
vacancy.
Lemon MOVED to appoint Jim Erviti as the fifth member and second
alternate to the ZBA. Magi SECONDED.  Motion CARRIED 3-0-0.
17.	FRCOG Mass In Motion Grant--Young said that FRCOG was looking for
the Board's support for its Board of Health-related Mass in Motion
grant. Young read aloud several things that grant funds could help
promote, including increased access to farmers markets, increased
proportion of healthy foods in food pantries and community meals,
promotion of healthy design standards and development of a healthy
community design checklist for proposed developments, and the providing
guidance to towns on implementing projects from their local plans to
increase physical activity.
Lemon MOVED to support the FRCOG application. Magi SECONDED.  Motion
CARRIED 3-0-0.
18.	Review FY 15 Reappointment List--Young said that the first draft
of the reappointment list was for the Board members to review and
consider before taking action at the next meeting. There was a consensus
of the Board to put this off to the next agenda. He asked Selectboard
Secretary Fratangelo Calcari to send each Board member a copy of the
current appointment list to check against the proposed reappointment
list to eliminate any errors or duplication.
19.	Planning Board Chair Ted Cady--Cady said that five boards -
Selectboard, Planning Board, Conservation Commission, Open Space
Committee and Town Forest Committee - have all voted unanimously, which
is almost unheard of,  to classify the south portion of the state forest
should be classified as Forest Reserves due to the unique habitats they
comprise. He expressed concern that the proposed gas pipeline could cut
across a corner of the black gum swamp. Cady had authored a letter
urging the protection of the Town's natural resources to be sent to the
Secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs to
be signed by the Chairs of the five boards. He asked that the Board
authorize the Chair to sign the joint letter.
Lemon MOVED that the Board authorize the Chair to sign the document as
presented. Magi SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 3-0-0.

	Young said that he would change the name of the Selectboard Chair
and the Secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental
Affairs, as the current draft is addressed to the man who resigned to
become Governor Deval Patrick's Chief of Staff.
	Cady then spoke about the Planning Board's work on as-of-right solar
development zoning as required for the Town to receive Green Community
designation. The Selectboard had previously asked the Planning Board to
draft zoning for just a five acre portion, the Green Community minimum,
of the Allen lot which includes the Transfer Station, which is managed
by the Town Forest Committee. He noted that a specific five acres had
not been designated, and that the Town Forest Committee thought that the
entire 60-acre lot could be authorized as solar by right, with set backs
to establish clear boundaries. Cady said that this constitutes an
expansion of the original directive of five acres, but the Town could
generate income for as of right solar on its land while retaining
control over the development. Young noted that if the Stretch Code is
adopted and a minimum of five acres is designated as of right solar, the
Town can become a green community and be eligible for grant funding. He
said that while zoning allows for the as of right solar, the Selectboard
or Annual Town Meeting must vote to permit a contract. The Board can
bind the Town for no more than three years, so if a contract is to run
longer than three years, a Town Meeting vote would be required to allow
the Board to sign such a contract. Arguimbau engaged in a lengthy
discussion, expressing concerns over using the whole 60 acres versus
just five acres. Lemon asked that Arguimbau and Cady discuss the matter
further outside of the meeting. 
Lemon MOVED that the minutes reflect the sense of the Board to accept
and agree with the report of the Town Forest Committee and the Planning
Board. Magi SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 2-0-1. Magi and Lemon: AYE;
Arguimbau ABSTAINED.
	Cady said that a draft by-law may be ready by December 2014. He also
noted that he and the Planning Board had high praise for Dawn Magi and
how she conducted the recent meeting with Kinder Morgan. He said that
this meeting produced far more information than meetings in other towns
and that our meeting was highly interesting and very informational.
20.	Steve Kurkoski and Performance Contract Model--Arguimbau said
that he had discussed the performance contract model at some length with
Steve Kurkoski and that Kurkoski had addressed his concerns and made the
appropriate changes. Kurkoski said that he had had written "DRAFT
proposal" on each page to make clear that this is not now a legal
document, but rather a letter of intent to support the draft proposal.
 Lemon MOVED that the Board sign off on Version 7 of the Draft Proposal
Agreement Between Town of Bernardston, Town of Leyden, Town of
Northfield, Town of Warwick and the Pioneer Valley Regional School
District. Magi SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 3-0-0.
	Each Board member signed the document, and Kurkoski agreed to send
an electronic copy for posting on the Town website for voters'
convenience.
21.	Selectboard Reports--Arguimbau said that now he had been
reelected he wanted to go forward, as there was a lot of work to be
done, particularly on the pipeline. He asked that everyone put past
issues to rest. Arguimbau said that Lemon had been critical of the way
he has been doing things and that she was right and he apologized.
Arguimbau said that the Board needed to come together as a group with an
apology to the Fire Department. Lemon said that she was sorry that they
were so upset but could not apologize for something she had not done.
Magi concurred. Arguimbau said that he would not bring up the subject
again as neither Lemon nor Magi were willing to offer an apology.
22.	Coordinator Report--Young said that the USDA grant will pay for
part of the new Highway truck. He said that Friday, June 6th they are
scheduled to come to Town and inspect the new truck. He noted that this
involves $20,000.00 of potential funding.
23.	New and Other Business Not Reasonably Anticipated Prior to
Posting Notice--There was no new business.
 
V.  Adjournment
At 7:18 pm, Magi MOVED to adjourn. Lemon SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 3-0-0.
Minutes taken by Rosa Fratangelo Calcari