Town of Warwick
Selectboard
June 15, 2009
Draft Minutes

Warrant 25 had been approved and signed before the meeting.

Members present: Rick Abbott, Nick Arguimbau; Patricia Lemon arrived
after the call to order.

Others present: Town Coordinator David Young, Town Secretary/Animal
Control Officer Rosa Fratangelo Calcari, Broadband Committee members
Reva Reck and Miryam Williamson, Wendy Wirth,  Jon Calcari, Paula
Robinson (Athol Daily News)

I. Call to Order  
Vice Chairman Abbott called to order at 6:07 p.m. in the Town Hall.

II. Reading of the Minutes of the June 1st Meeting
Because Lemon had not yet arrived, and Arguimbau had been absent from
the June 1st meeting due to illness, reading and approval of the minutes
was postponed until later in the meeting.

III. Presentations and Discussions

1. Joint Meeting with the Broadband Committee - The presence of Reck and
Williamson constituted a quorum of the Broadband Committee. Prior to
Lemon's arrival, a discussion commenced on the various documents and
issues to be discussed:
1) Draft Charge to the committee
2) Service Agreement and Acceptable Use Policy
3) Support Policy
4) Installation Policy
5) Troubleshooting Guide
6) Order and Progress on installations.
7) Reva's Report.
Selectboard approval of the charge and policies were being sought by the
Broadband Committee. At this point, Lemon arrived. After considerable
discussion of the Minutes of June 1 among all parties in attendance at
that meeting, Lemon MOVED to correct the minutes to include all of
Appendix 1 as presented by the Broadband Committee on that date. Abbott
SECONDED. CARRIED. Lemon and Abbott: AYE;  Arguimbau ABSTAIN.

At Williamson's request, Lemon MOVED to strike the sentence "Williamson
inquired to what extent Selectboard expected the Broadband Committee to
act in enterprise fund matters" and change the last sentence to read
"Reck and Williamson agreed".  Abbott SECONDED. CARRIED. Lemon and
Abbott: AYE;  Arguimbau ABSTAIN.

Lemon will print corrected minutes for board approval on June 29.

2. Reorganization of the Board  - Lemon opened the floor for nominations
for Selectboard Chair, Vice Chair, and Clerk.

Abbott nominated Arguimbau for Chair; Lemon seconded. Arguimbau noted
that he felt it is a good policy to rotate by seniority, which would
mean Abbott was in line for Chair. Abbott said he did not have the time
to devote to being Chair. By vote of Lemon and Abbott, Arguimbau was
elected Selectboard Chair.
Lemon nominated Abbott as Vice Chair, and herself as Clerk. Arguimbau
SECONDED. By unanimous vote, Abbott was elected Vice Chair and Lemon
Clerk. Young noted that the Selectboard Clerk has the authority to
certify documents such as those from pole hearings.

3. Continuation of Joint Meeting with the Broadband Committee - Chairman
Arguimbau wanted to approach broadband issues in the order listed above,
along with a review of Town Counsel's recommended changes to the waiver
of liability, and ending with Reck's report on regional and statewide
initiatives from stimulus package money.

1) Draft Charge to the Broadband Committee (Appendix II):  Lemon
reported that Town Counsel had told her that he saw no problems with the
charge proposed by the Broadband Committee and carried unanimously at
their June 5 meeting.

Abbott said he particularly liked the use of "action words".

Reck noted that the $500 upfront installation charge and $50 monthly fee
is not affordable for many, adding that the Broadband Committee may
later propose a sliding scale and making used units available at a lower
cost.

Arguimbau wanted to suggest wording that could make it possible to
expand Warwick Broadband Service to include cell phone service at a
later date.  Reck expressed a preference for adding that to the charge
later on if it were deemed appropriate, as she was uncomfortable adding
this issue to the charge when the Broadband Committee cannot possibly
take it on at present. Williamson, too, asked that it not be added at
this time.

Arguimbau brought up the issue of the Broadband Committee advising the
Selectboard as to when, whether, and how to seek technology updates to
Warwick's Internet service.

Young said that from a revenue standpoint as well as to maintain strong
technology, there is a need to address the tower facilities and the
possibility that we may soon have to share space on the tower. We could
potentially lose a revenue opportunity from unserved towns that could
petition the DCR for tower space.

Reck pointed out that because this involves a revenue stream, and is
therefore a money issue and not a broadband-in-Warwick issue, the
Selectboard needs to participate in any meetings around the county.

Reck also expressed her support for Warwick becoming a locus for
regional broadband.

Williamson asked that the Selectboard designate a single point of
contact for broadband in town; the issue was deferred to later on in the
meeting.

Discussion of the draft Broadband Committee charge resulted in
agreements to make three changes:

Separate the two sentences in the first paragraph, making each a
paragraph to add emphasis to the sentence reading, "Because the existing
equipment on Mt. Grace has the capacity to serve other towns, the
committee is encouraged to explore and [make] recommend[ations] to the
Selectboard [about possible] participation in a regional broadband
enterprise,"

Add an "activity," to wit, "Advise the Selectboard when, whether, and
how to seek improvements in the technology used for Internet service,"

Add after "When the enterprise fund shows sufficient profit," a clause
reading, "advise the Selectboard as to priorities including, but not
limited to, delegating management and repaying the $40,000 seed money
borrowed from the town for the purpose."

Lemon MOVED to adopt as edited the charge to the Broadband Committee
(Appendix II). Abbott SECONDED. CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

2) Service Agreement and Acceptable Use Policy (Appendix II)

Young said that Town Counsel's changes to this policy were very minimal.
Apparently contradictory wording was discussed, clarified, and refined.
Young said that the $200.00 early termination fee was too punitive;
Arguimbau suggested lowering the fee to $100.00. Williamson suggested
having a lawyer review all proposed changes. Arguimbau pointed out that
a public entity cannot violate first amendment rights, and suggested
changes that would eliminate amibiguity and the insertion of the phrase,
"legally permissible" in the first paragraph following the "Reselling
and Transferability..." header to eliminate a possible First-Amendment
violation.
Lemon MOVED to adopt the Service Agreement and Acceptable Use Policy as
edited and corrected. Arguimbau SECONDED. CARRIED: Lemon and Arguimbau
AYE; Abbott NAY.

3) Support Policy (Appendix III) Reck passed out an updated version of
the document drafted by the Broadband Committee, but said that she would
like to see a better policy later on, as subscriber numbers grow.
Currently, the installers are staffing the support line.

Lemon MOVED to adopt the Support Policy as written. Abbott SECONDED.
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

4) Installation, Maintenance and Repair Policy (Appendix IV) Town
Counsel had made changes to the copy previously reviewed and CARRIED at
the June 1 meeting. Copies of these revisions were not in the Board's
agenda packets, so Young went to copy Town Counsel's version but was
unable to locate it. Since Selectboard members had received it before
the meeting, Arguimbau MOVED that the board approve Town Counsel's
recommended changes to the waiver referred to on page 1 of the
Installation Policy. Lemon SECONDED. CARRIED: Lemon and Arguimbau AYE;
Abbott ABSTAIN.

5) Troubleshooting Guide (Appendix V):  Williamson said that this was a
purely technical document written by installer and committee member Les
Goodman, and had nothing to do with either policy or money. Lemon wanted
copies to see what is being used. Arguimbau agreed the Board should see
what is being used but said that the Board did not need to approve it.
The Board would need to become involved only in case of a dispute. The
other members of the board agreed.  The same determination was made for
the New- Subscriber Information Sheet.

Troubleshooting Guide (Appendix VI):

6) Orders in Progress

Arguimbau wanted as many installers as can be recruited and
installations performed as fast as possible.

Williamson said that the Broadband Committee had agreed to an
installation policy at its June 12 meeting, and will supply the minutes
to the board as soon as they are approved. Installation requests are
handled on a first-come first-served basis, except that since
installations at sites with direct line-of-sight to either tower are
completed the fastest, they are given first priority.
6) Invoicing procedure: 
Arguimbau suggested that the Broadband Committee and Young decide how to
bill subscribers.

Williamson pointed out that this is a money issue and is therefore the
purview of the Selectboard.

Lemon suggested starting with both paper and electronic invoicing, and
later moving solely to electronic invoices, with subscribers' consent.

Arguimbau suggested billing both ways until September 1st, then
reevaluating the process.

Young wanted to look into the possibility of making it possible for
subscribers to pay invoices by credit card; Reck wanted the board to
take this on as well.

7) Reva's Report - Reck and Williamson had recently attended a Western
Massachusetts Broadband Committees meeting, where establishing a
cooperative Western Massachusetts non-profit ISP was discussed. Reck
said that the control would stay local in our region, and it would be
possible to take advantage of stimulus package funds, which must be
distributed quickly.

8) Enterprise Fund Bookkeeping - Arguimbau wanted to be able to walk
into the Selectboard office at any time and request and receive complete
copies of Broadband Service accounts and understands that is what David
is committing to do by the end of July.  All concerned agreed on a goal
of September 1st for recommendations on getting broadband service
management off of the Town Coordinator's desk and managed outside of
Young's purview.

4. Special Municipal Employee Exemptions - Animal Control Officer/Animal
inspector/Town Secretary R. Calcari had requested a more specific vote
by the Board regarding her exemption under MGL Ch. 268Ap20 (d). An
attorney from the State Ethics Commission had recently advised her to
seek the exemption under the "tiny town" provision.

Lemon MOVED to allow Rosa Fratangelo Calcari to hold the appointed
positions of Animal Control Officer, Animal Inspector, and Town
Secretary at the same time and be paid for all three positions, and to
approve her exemption per MGL Ch. 268Ap20 (d), which says in part "This
section shall not prohibit an employee in a town having a population of
less than three thousand five hundred persons from holding more than one
appointed position in said town, provided that the Board of Selectmen
approves the exemption of his interest from this section." Abbott
SECONDED. CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

5. Recognition of Graduates and Awards - Lemon said that she needed more
information before presenting this item and preferred to postpone it
until the next meeting.

6. Town Coordinator Report (see http://www.warwickma.org/reports.html#david):

Young spoke first about the FEMA ice storm reimbursement and accounts.

He then spoke about the Highway Department's street sweeper, which is 36
years old and requires frequent, costly repairs. There is an opportunity
to purchase a new sweeper that mounts on the front of the new truck and
runs off its hydraulics. Young said that $9,800.00 is available in the
FY '09 Highway budget, plus the $2,500.00 which budgeted for sweeper
repairs in FY '10. Lemon MOVED that the board authorize Highway
Superintendent Tim Kilhart and Town Coordinator David Young to proceed
with the purchase of the new MB model TKH-TR sweeper for $12,290.00,
with $9,800.00 to come from FY '09 Highway budget balance and $2,500.00
from FY 10 maintenance and repairs. Abbott SECONDED. CARRIED
UNANIMOUSLY.

Emergency Management Director Jim Erviti had told Young that the Town
needs to adopt one emergency management system, which must be done by
Selectboard vote. Erviti had recommended adopting the National Incident
Management System (NIMS).
Abbott MOVED that the board adopt NIMS as the Town's all-hazard incident
management system. Lemon SECONDED. CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

Young said that on Tuesday, June 16, at 6 am, the pavement overlay for
an approximately 2-mile stretch of Route 78 will commence. The paving
company has admitted fault and will pay for all aspects of the job
including police details.

Finally, Young gave a brief update on the Renewable Energy Trust and
their Clean Energy Choice (GreenUp) program. The state has ended its
matching contribution, but the Town can submit a grant application later
this year and designate desired eligible products or services with funds
already earned.

FCRDA needed a formal waiver of the limit in the amount of long-term,
low- interest rehabilitation loans they can award on Warwick's behalf to
release $56,000 for a resident to complete court-ordered work on his
house. Lemon MOVED that the board authorize the FCRDA to loan out the
funds on Warwick's behalf for project 09-RLF#1. Arguimbau SECONDED.
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

7. Selectboard Reports:

Lemon reported that in preparation for demolition of the old Center
School building, the Firemen's Association had contracted for a survey
of hazardous materials in the building, which had been completed.  They
then sent out a request for proposals to carry out the abatement work,
and beginning June 29 and 30, the hazardous materials will be removed by
Dec-Tam Corporation of North Reading at Firemen's Association expense.

8.  Appointments for FY '10 - Three new appointments for FY '10 were
needed: an FRCOG Transportation Representative - Arguimbau asked for a
volunteer to replace him on the committee, given his difficulty in
attending meetings in Greenfield, but agreed to accept reappointment
when no one else volunteered;

a ZBA member;

a registered Republican to serve as a Registrar of Voters

Lemon MOVED that the board appoint registered Republican A. George Day,
313 Orange Road, to a four-year term ending June 30, 2013, as a
Registrar of Voters, Joe Paul, 496 Old Winchester Road to a five-year
term ending June 30, 2014 on the Zoning Board of Appeals, and Nick
Arguimbau Selectboard Representative to the FRCOG Transportation
Committee for FY '10. Abbott SECONDED. CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

IV. Public Comment 
Wirth inquired about the status of repairs to the new highway truck and
was assured that they had been completed expeditiously and
inexpensively, since when it was taken apart, the damage proved to be
much less serious than originally feared.

She also asked about the compilation of the Selectboard meeting agendas
and the availability of same to the public prior to the meetings. Young
said that a draft agenda is usually posted on the "L" the Friday
preceding the meeting, and explained that agenda items are included by
request of a board member, another board, committee, or department or
one or more residents.

Wirth then praised the positive attitude reflected in Highway
Superintendent Tim Kilhart's submission in the June Community
Newsletter.

V.  Adjournment
At 9:32 pm., Abbott MOVED that the meeting be adjourned. Lemon SECONDED.
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
Minutes taken by Rosa Fratangelo Calcari