Town of Warwick Selectboard September 5, 2013 Minutes Members present: Dawn Magi, Nick Arguimbau, Patricia Lemon (arrived at 6:05 pm) Others present: Town Coordinator David Young, Town Secretary Rosa Fratangelo Calcari, Fire Chief Ron Gates, Firefighters Brian Miner, Adam Holloway and Bill Lyman (arrived at 6:25pm), Police Chief David Shoemaker, Buildings and Energy Committee members Steve and Janice Kurkoski, Jon Calcari, Paula Lundgren Robinson and Jared Robinson (Athol Daily News), David Rainville (Greenfield Recorder) I. Call to Order Chair Magi called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm in Town Hall. Public Comment Buildings and Energy Committee members Steve and Janice Kurkoski wanted to speak about insulating the shed at the Highway. Young explained that it would be much cheaper to insulate the inside of the building rather than the outside. He said that Highway Superintendent Tim Kilhart has agreed that if the Town provides alternate storage space he can give up the space that would be lost by insulating the shed. Young noted that the Town Accountant told him that because the vote from the 2013 Annual Town Meeting cannot be altered, the funds from capital stabilization cannot be used, and therefore a new vote at the next annual town meeting would be required. The Buildings and Energy Committee wanted the Selectboard to agree to put the matter on a future town meeting warrant. Steve Kurkoski said that they had asked Kilhart to check into prices for a steel building, and that the cost for a 12 foot by 21 foot 14 gauge steel building was around $2,700.00 and that the same dimensions in 12 gauge steel would cost about $3,050.00, installed. Arguimbau MOVED to place on a future Town Meeting warrant the purchase of a storage building for the Highway Department. Lemon SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 3-0-0. Magi thanked the Kurkoskis for their work on this matter. Magi noted the passing of Ann Ratte and also of Kenny Hubbard, which she characterized as "a great loss to the Town". Minutes Lemon MOVED to approve the minutes of August 19, 2013 as printed. Arguimbau SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 3-0-0. IV. Presentations and Discussions 1. PVRSD --Young explained that for the third time, the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) turned down the Warwick Community School application for grant funding to replace the roof. He recommended that the Board seek the project review notes and scores to evaluate why the applications continue to fail. Young noted that the reasons for the denial lacked specificity, and that he felt a request from the PVRSD Superintendent's office might yield results. He also mentioned the possibility of asking the state legislators to make the request. Lemon MOVED to ask the PVRSD Superintendent to request the documents from the MSBA. Magi SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 3-0-0. 2. Establish Dust Mitigation Donation Account --Young explained that Board member Arguimbau had proposed having the residents affected by dust on dirt roads contribute towards the cost of dust mitigation. He requested that the Board vote to establish a dust mitigation donation account, vote to accept donations, and to make the provision that the donation be returned if this fails to generate sufficient funds. Lemon MOVED to establish a dust mitigation donation account and authorize donations be accepted into that account, with the proviso that all donations will be returned in the event of failure to generate sufficient funds. Arguimbau SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 3-0-0. 3. Police Chief Report--Chief Shoemaker said that he had just received a draft of a new mutual aid agreement for Franklin County, which would be discussed at the next Police Chiefs meeting. He gave a copy to Coordinator Young. The Chief explained that we currently have mutual aid agreements in place with some neighboring towns, but that this agreement would be for all of Franklin County. The Chief said that he was putting the finishing touches on his three-year capital planning strategy, and hoped to meet with the Finance Committee and Selectboard at some point in the future to discuss his long range budget. Magi inquired of the Chief if there was a sex offender law that would prohibit a sex offender from having a job in Town, and if the fact that an individual is a sex offender can be used as the reason to refuse employment. The Chief said that while he is not a lawyer, he felt it prudent to pursue a policy with the advice of Town Counsel. He explained that there are three levels of sex offenders, based on the likelihood to reoffend. Level 3 requires public notification; Level 2 can be disclosed if someone goes to the police station and signs a form to request information; Level 1 is not disclosed. The Chief pointed out that sex offenses are felonies, so any sex offender is a felon; felons cannot be a police officer and cannot own a gun. Young said that the Recreation Committee coaches and broadband installers are subject to CORI checks because they work with children and go into people's homes, respectively. 4. Warwick Fire Department--Chief Gates said that he had submitted the Franklin County fire services survey, but had not yet heard back any results of the survey. Magi said that she had checked with Town Counsel, who concurred with consultant Ernest Horn's assertion that the fire fighters do not come under the Town's personnel policy. She said that Town Counsel recommended that the Fire Chief develop his own policies to govern those in his department. Arguimbau mentioned a statement previously made by Chief Gates that he would go by the Town's personnel policy until he had developed one for the Fire Department. Gates said that for now he is following the laws, rules and regulations for Massachusetts Strong Chief; he will furnish the Board with a copy. Magi said that according to Town Counsel the Board can determine certain matters for the Fire Department if there was a potential of liability or a violation of state or federal law which could get the Town in trouble. Chief Gates said that he has been in contact with the New Salem Fire Chief in an attempt to schedule the testing of some of our fire fighting equipment at the same time as theirs in order to save money on the tests. He noted that he did not have sufficient funds in his FY 14 budget to cover all the necessary testing. He said that the cost of testing the pumps is about $2,000.00 apiece. Lemon asked the Chief to get together a list of the costs of the various tests; he agreed. Chief Gates said that he intended to take a class on grant writing in preparation to make a grant application for a new fire truck. 5. Firemen's Association--Chief Gates said that he had a meeting last week with contractor Fred Hayes, who was going to give the engineer a couple of ideas for the best and most cost effective way to build the new public safety building. J. Kurkoski said that she had asked for and received a copy of the concept drawing on behalf of the Buildings and Energy Committee back in February. She said that the committee wants to evaluate the plans and assess the amount of energy the building might use. She said that even though Brian Gale told them the building would be built to code, the committee has concerns about energy efficiency. She said she was waiting for an invitation to attend a Firemen's Association meeting, and that the Buildings and Energy committee wants to be able to provide input at this stage of the plans with the engineer. Chief Gates said that he would invite the Buildings and Energy committee to the next Public Safety Building committee meeting as soon as he hears back from Fred Hayes, which would definitely be before anything is finalized. Arguimbau said that he wanted the Selectboard to have some input on what the building will look like, to be sure that its character blends with that of the Town. S. Kurkoski stressed the importance of building a really good envelope to maximize energy efficiency. He said that all of that kind of engineering and energy calculation work needs to be done. He said that he knew that the Firemen's Association had raised all funds for this project, but that he would rather see a smaller building or cut corners on some other things to focus funds on energy efficiency. Chief Gates explained that a smaller building will not meet the needs of the department, as the planned size is based on storage needs for the fire trucks. The Chief said that he welcomed input on boosting energy efficiency. S. Kurkoski pointed out that the Town will take over the Public safety building after it is built, and assume the costs for its energy consumption. Magi said that she hoped we would all take a lesson from the School, which was built inexpensively to code, but has been costly ever since. Chief Gates explained that he hoped to have the funds to put up a shell to house the trucks this year. Police Chief Shoemaker pointed out that because no public funding can be used, there is a finite amount of money to spend, and that the plans have come further faster since Ron Gates became Chief. He noted that every input will change what could be done, and certain things could put the whole thing out of reach. J. Kurkoski said that if the Buildings and Energy committee gets behind the plans, new fundraising opportunities could result to cover the cost of insulation. Magi concurred, and said to gather input from a number of sources to better inform the final decisions. She also said that publicizing the need to fundraise for better energy efficiency could result in additional funds being raised. 6. Continuation/Review of Dog Hearing--Animal Control Officer Rosa Fratangelo Calcari said that there have been no complaints from Mr. Ballou, Ms. McCall, or anyone else regarding Sherry Tatro's dog "Hemi". Lemon wanted to continue the hearing until September 30, but Chief Shoemaker pointed out that this was the meeting that the original hearing had been continued to, and that it seemed as though the matter was now closed. Young said that if new complaints are made, a new hearing can be called. Magi MOVED to adjourn the nuisance dog hearing. Arguimbau SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 3-0-0. 7. Chapter 90 and Highway Truck--Young said that Highway Superintendent Tim Kilhart had the papers for the Chapter 90 project to replace the thirteen-year old truck with a cracked frame. Young said that the cost of $140,000.00 included the necessary hydraulics. Lemon MOVED to authorize the Chapter 90 project request for the Highway truck in the amount of $140,000.00. Arguimbau SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 3-0-0. As Selectboard Chair, Magi signed two documents for reimbursement by the State. Lemon MOVED approval for the Board to sign for reimbursement of $250,000.00 for the paving projects on Hastings Heights and Athol Roads. Arguimbau SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 3-0-0. Each Board member signed four documents for reimbursement from the State. 8. Other Items Not Reasonably Anticipated Prior to Posting Date--Young explained that this was a more appropriate way to identify new and other business. He said that he had written thank you letters to Representative Denise Andrews, Senator Stan Rosenberg, and the Abbott family for their participation in Old Home Days. He presented the letters for each Board member to sign. Arguimbau said that it had just come to his attention that in her assessment of the Town Coordinator's job performance, Chair Magi had given Young a directive of which he wanted the Fire Department to also be made aware. Lemon said that since the Board was not conducting the Coordinator's job performance evaluation at this meeting, this should be taken up at the next meeting. Arguimbau said that this was something that probably should not be put off, that Magi had given Young the directive to not have contact with the Fire Department unless asked by a Board member to do so. He said that Chief Gates should come to the Board and not the Coordinator. Magi said that she will confirm that Chief Gates is aware of the directive; Arguimbau wanted the Chief to be notified in writing. 9. Selectboard Reports--There were no reports given at this meeting. 10. Coordinator Report--The Board had no questions on Young's written report. V. Adjournment At 7:02 pm, Lemon MOVED to adjourn the meeting. Magi SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 3-0-0. Minutes taken by Rosa Fratangelo Calcari