Town of Harwich Massachusetts - Minutes

SELECTMEN’S MEETING

GRIFFIN ROOM, TOWN HALL

MONDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2007

SELECTMEN PRESENT: Cole, Marsland, McManus, Piekarski, Wilkins

OTHERS PRESENT: Town Administrator James Merriam, Asst. Town Administrator Nan Balmer, Chief Flynn, Chief Mason, Det. Lee Culver, Paula Champagne, Tom Leach, Bill Doherty, Geoffrey Wiegman, Bonnie Karras, Gerry Loftus, and others.

MEETING CALLED TO ORDER at 7:00 p.m. by Chairman Wilkins.

Detective Culver briefed the Board on the recent flu clinic which he noted they ran as a scaled down incident command event for the second year in a row and it went very well. He commended the Town employees for their teamwork in this effort. Paula Champagne reported that the clinic was very successful and that they serviced 560 clients. She commented on the tremendous cooperative effort of 14 departments. Ms. Champagne added that there will be a last chance flu clinic at the Chatham Community Center on December 18^th from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Chief Flynn reported that the Harwich Fire Department has received the Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant through FEMA in the amount of $53,903. He noted that they will use the grant for Hazmat Training as well as Rapid Intervention Team Training.

Chief Mason reported on a series of business and vehicle break-ins predominantly in West Harwich. He noted that they are working the case and asked that the public report any suspicious activity. Chief Mason then introduced two new Harwich Police Department Officers, Peter Petell and Amy Walinsky.

PUBLIC COMMENT/ANNOUNCEMENTS

Geoff Wiegman explained that today he delivered a copy of a report on school spending to the State Inspector General’s Office. He noted that the School Department and School Committee has had the report for some time and has not responded to it. He also noted that the Board of Selectmen received the report recently and has responded to it. Mr. Wiegman briefed the public on the substance of the report.

Bonnie Karras spoke in support of the Flex Bus and read a letter she had written to the Secretary of Transportation on this subject.

1. November 13, 2007 - Regular Session

2. November 19, 2007 – Executive Session

3. November 26, 2007 – Executive Session

B. Approve Irish Pub road race application contingent on approval by Mass Highway

Mr. Cole moved to approve Items A2, A3 and B and hold Item A1. Mr. McManus seconded the motion. Mr. Piekarski requested to hold Item B as well. Mr. Cole amended his motion as such and the motion carried by a unanimous vote.

Mr. Cole pointed out that the second paragraph on page 6 of the November 13, 2007 minutes should reflect that Mr. McManus was recommending consideration of a full-time short-term Housing Advocate position and he moved approval with that change. The motion carried by a unanimous vote.

With regard to Item B, Mr. Piekarski said he can’t support shutting down Route 28 in the middle of August. Mr. McManus moved approval of the application for a road race for the Cape Cod Irish Pub for Sunday, August 2, 2008 at 11:00 a.m. Mr. Marsland seconded the motion and the motion carried by a 4-1-0 vote with Mr. Piekarski in opposition.

PUBLIC HEARINGS/PRESENTATIONS (7:15 P.M.)

C. Annual Meetings with the Board of Selectmen

1. Waterways Committee

Mr. Leach noted that the Waterways Committee Chairman is out of town. Mr. McManus moved to postpone this item until December 17, 2007. Mr. Marsland seconded the motion and the motion carried by a unanimous vote.

2. Herring River Watershed Committee

No one appeared before the Board. Mr. McManus noted that this Committee was formed a number of years ago when Town received a grant to do research work in the Herring River Watershed and they were very active at the time but they haven’t had a meeting in two years. Chairman Wilkins requested that Mr. McManus and Mr. Cole look at this Committee and make a recommendation.

3. Long Pond Advisory Committee

No one appeared before the Board. Chairman Wilkins asked Mr. McManus and Mr. Cole to investigate this Committee as well.

A. Treasure Chest Volunteer Committee Charge and Rules

Mr. Marsland moved to approve the rules for the use of the Harwich Treasure Chest and the Treasure Chest Volunteer Committee charge dated December 3, 2007. Mr. Cole seconded the motion. Mrs. Ashton agreed with additional language indicating the purpose of the Treasure Chest. Mr. Cole stated that the documents should include the effective date of December 3, 2007. The motion carried by a unanimous vote.

B. Town Counsel opinion regarding Affordable Housing Trust Fund; health insurance for elected officials

Mr. Merriam outlined Town Counsel’s opinion regarding the Affordable Housing Trust Fund (see attached) and noted that the Brewster model most closely aligns with the will of Town Meeting in 2004. The Board discussed the options with Mr. Merriam and took comments from Mr. Doherty. Mr. McManus moved to direct staff to prepare a draft of an article for the next available Town Meeting, special or otherwise, that the article calls for special legislation creating a Special Revenue Fund using the Brewster legislation as a model, that it specifically authorizes the Town Accountant to credit to the Special Revenue Fund the proceeds from the sale of the Great Western Road land and to provide that the cell tower revenue be dedicated to the Special Revenue Fund and that the legislation also broaden the purposes for which funds may be expended from the Special Revenue Fund in order to have clear statutory authority for a full range of affordable housing activities. Mr. Marsland seconded the motion and the motion carried by a unanimous vote.

C. Request by Harwich Housing Committee for paid Town Housing Advocate/ Housing Needs Analysis

Chairman Wilkins commented that currently the Affordable Housing Trust Fund cannot be used for a paid Town Housing Advocate, Low Income Rental Assistance Program or Needs Analysis and questioned if the article would be broad enough to include those items. Mr. McManus noted that even if the article passes it is unclear how long it would take for the special legislation to pass. He suggested that the Needs Analysis could be a CPA article but questioned the use of CPA fund for the other uses. Mr. Marsland requested that the Town Administrator get an opinion on CPA fund uses from the Department of Revenue. Mr. McManus moved to hold over the request by the Housing Committee for the Housing Advocate and Needs Analysis. He stressed the need for the Board to get better clarity on funding sources. Mr. Marsland seconded the motion and the motion carried by a unanimous vote.

D. Adopt policy for health insurance for elected officials

Mr. Piekarski commented on the difference of opinion between our Town Counsel and the Ethics Commission on the subject of health insurance for elected officials. Mr. Merriam outlined Town Counsel’s opinion (attached) and noted that the Ethics Commission isn’t accepting the Rule of Necessity. He noted that Town Counsel is saying that if we want a formal ethics opinion we are going to have to allow 30 additional days to form that opinion. Mr. Merriam explained that the second option is to take a vote to file an article at Town Meeting and have Town Meeting submit legislation. Craig Wiegand stated that our elected officials do receive payment and are therefore considered Town employees. He asked if they work over 20 hours a week would they be entitled to benefits and Mr. Merriam responded that they would. The Board discussed the options with Mr. Merriam and took comments from Mr. Doherty. The Board agreed to seek the ruling of the State Ethics Commission. Mr. McManus noted that the 30 day timeframe is triggered by our Town Counsel giving us an opinion which they then have to file with the Ethics Commission which has 30 days to respond. Mr. McManus moved to seek the position of Town Counsel. Mr. Piekarski seconded the motion and the motion carried by a unanimous vote.

E. Flex Bus update/Sarah Peake memo/Town Administrator request/response from Executive Director

Mr. Merriam explained that he received a call from Ron Bergstrom, Chair of the Regional Transit Authority, who asked that he give the Board assurances that either the State will reimburse the RTA for the expenses already incurred from the prior fiscal year or the RTA would incur the deficit but would not forward the deficit to the 7 communities, at least not in the short term. He noted that Mr. Bergstrom indicated that they would try to bond that deficit or absorb the deficit themselves. Mr. Merriam noted that he wrote a letter to Mr. Potzka, RTA Executive Director, who has responded to a number of questions with regard to the opt out issue. Mr. Merriam explained that there are two options, one is opt out of service and one is to opt out of the RTA all together. Mr. Merriam noted that Representative Peake’s aide has conveyed to him that the Secretary of the Executive Office of Transportation has made a commitment that the administration does want to file a supplemental appropriation to try to fund RTA’s statewide and that we are being asked to be patient and not make any rash move to opt out in order to give legislators a chance to try to fund the RTA state share.

F. Vote to approve Human Services Grant application and contracting process

Tony Pagliaro said the Committee has reviewed the application and process and is fully supportive of using it in their proceedings to award grants to human services agencies. Mr. McManus moved to approve the proposed human services grant applications and contract process. Mr. Cole seconded the motion and the motion carried by a unanimous vote.

G. Consider street name change to Gomes Way

The Board commented on the length of the street name they had previously voted. Mr. McManus remarked that it is much more practical that it be shortened to Gomes Way and he moved to amend their action of last week as such. Mr. Marsland seconded the motion and the motion carried by a unanimous vote.

A. Request by Carl A. Schoote for “D” Permit

Mr. Schoote, owner of Captain Kidd’s Fishing, explained that the Waterways Committee unanimously approved his plan as presented. He stated that he has a passenger for hire slip at Saquatucket Harbor and he requested the Board grant him a D permit to conduct two to three two and one-half hour trips daily geared toward children on his 30 passenger U.S. Coast Guard inspected vessel. Mr. Schoote added that he has requested from the Waterways Committee and is now requesting from the Town, that his parking plan be approved which allows the first five cars to park at Saquatucket Harbor and the overflow at the Snow Inn per an agreement with Dr. Fennell. Mr. Schoote noted that he has been a licensed Coast Guard Captain for 17 years. Mr. Leach noted that the Harbor Management Plan requires that the Board act on this and it also requires that Mr. Schoote submit a parking plan. Mr. Leach stated that he believes Mr. Schoote’s plan is a good one and a great opportunity for the Town. Mr. Marsland moved that the Board grant a D Permit to Carl Schoote. Mr. McManus seconded the motion. The motion carried by a unanimous vote.

B. Town Administrator’s accomplishments

Chairman Wilkins commented that the Town Administrator must complete the evaluations for the Town Accountant and Police Chief before the Board can address his evaluation.

The Board discussed the lack of funding source to respond to the request for assistance from NOAH. Mr. McManus recommended that there should be a line for emergency human service needs as part of Human Services budget. Mr. McManus agreed to participate in the NOAH telethon and the Board agreed that it is up to the individual members whether they want to respond to the request. Chairman Wilkins instructed Mr. Merriam to look at including a line item for this type of request in the budget.

TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT

Mr. Merriam delivered the following report:

CCMHG vs. Harwich stand alone

Attached is a memo dated November 25^th in which I compare the option of joining the CCMHG vs. retaining Harwich as a self funded stand alone community with approximately 600 subscribers. This memo was debated with Cook and Co. President Peter Kenny, Dolly Parkhurst, Dave Ryan and Tom Gould. Peter then amended his current year projections to compare to which are also attached.

Public Safety Towers

Nor’easter Noel destroyed the Police Station tower and bent the 80 foot Fire Tower. We’ve filed insurance claims and are proposing to replace both towers with a shared one at about 120 +/- feet. It would be located behind the connector building between new police and existing Fire Station. We’ve just asked our architect to incorporate one new tower into plans. Sue Leven believes the tower would have to meet the same setbacks as the building or we’d have to seek a variance. She does not believe the CCC would be involved. We’d like to seek funding in a STM if scheduled for Jan /Feb. rather than delay appropriation and the installation by adding it to the Police station article. We’re also seeking NSTAR support for a temporary 60 foot pole to hold us over until a new tower can be erected.

Met with Gerry Loftus, Joe Borgesi and Paul Sweetser regarding Willow St. and followed up with a legal question regarding title to Mike Ford. Gerry and I discussed the Mass Highway parcel off Rt.28 in which John Chatham recommended a soils test, a Housing Needs Analysis and staffing request from the Affordable Housing fund (we’re awaiting John Giorgio’s second opinion on uses of the Affordable Housing Fund), as well as updates from Sue Leven on the Comprehensive Plan, a Housing Lottery, and updated info for our DHCD list regarding Pine Oaks and Sisson Road. I am awaiting a further legal opinion on the uses of cell tower revenue and proceeds from the sale of land as well as the Brewster Affordable Housing Fund.

I asked for a legal opinion on the process of appointing a Finance Director given Harwich’s Charter provision for a Division of Finance (Chapter 5 section 2) and MGL Ch.43C section11 which calls for local acceptance.

Flu Clinic e-mail from Paula Champagne and Lee Culver

To each and every person that assisted us with the 2007 Flu Clinic yesterday, please raise your right hand and give yourselves a rousing pat on the back for a tremendous job WELL DONE!!!! Planning and preparation certainly pays off as exhibited by our event yesterday. I can’t tell you how many compliments we had noting all the improvements we’ve made the past two years. We couldn’t have done it without all of YOU!~ Thank-you to all for the hours of preplanning, site set-up and breakdown and time commitment for the event itself. It goes without saying that the success of our program is the new format we’ve adopted utilizing the emergency management system of organization and communication. We very much appreciate the support of our fellow departments in this effort, knowing it has taken employees away from valuable daily tasks, but we know we are working to become better prepared to tackle town wide events requiring us to utilize preparedness skills. We’re especially pleased to note that this year joining the Health Dept in this effort were representatives from 14 different town departments; County Health Dept; CERT team from the Sheriff’s office; and many community volunteers, including many first time attendees. And for those of you wondering about the statistics---we served 560 clients—101 of those in the special populations area. Again- thank-you for all your work, and believe me---we’ll be in touch again next year!!!

Dick Flink- Golf Legal opinion

Dave Ryan and I met with Dick Flink on November 21^st to clarify his criticism of the Legal opinion re: Golf Committee questions. In the fourth paragraph, there was a reference to Charter section 7-13-2, where it should have read 7-13-3. This typographical error does not change the opinion in which Town Counsel John Giorgio stands behind. In further conversation, Dick suggested to us that Cranberry Valley be managed by a private company similar to Ocean Edge in Brewster.

BC representative Suzanne Donahue advised me that Blue Cross did not submit a proposal to join the GIC for the next three years due to philosophical differences related to tier rating of individual physicians. This will make the GIC option less attractive for municipalities to join.

School Budget Hearing

Selectmen McManus, Marsland and I attended the School Committee and Administration’s presentation of the FY 09 budget.

The ZBA approved the variance for lot coverage.

Attached is a letter from Shawn Fernandez to Dennis Hoye dated November 28^th in which Shawn and the USGA representative are recommending that because of the seasonal change, the aeration be postponed until the beginning of next Spring.

RTA Chairman Ron Bergstrom wanted to assure us that Harwich will only see its share of the Flex Bus assessment on the Cherry Sheet and the State’s share will be either forwarded to the RTA as a reimbursement or carried by the RTA as a deficit. Ron indicated that the EOT has requested Supplemental Funding for the FY 07 reimbursement. Ron indicated that the Legislative Delegation is working to address this funding shortfall and there are many co-sponsors from around the State. The RTA is hoping that the Governor also addresses the additional funding in his House 1 budget by increasing the RTA line item for FY 09.

Mr. McManus requested information on what the characteristics of a Finance Director are that we are not doing now and are they sufficiently important to require that extreme of an action.

Mr. Cole questioned what the hold up was on getting the report for West Harwich School House and Old Rec Building from the architect which was due in September or October. He added that there is some dissatisfaction from the Housing Committee as to what has been submitted. Mr. Merriam responded that the first draft has just been received and that they had been waiting for engineering information with regard to septic.

Mr. Loftus commented that he is devastated with the draft RFP submitted by the architectural firm. He noted that he had given his initial comments in writing to the Town Administrator. He indicated that he is very discouraged by how long the process is taking.

Mr. Merriam stated that in fairness to architect this is a first draft that is meant to be an internal document for staff review and we don’t need to get into the details of what is missing until we have a chance to respond as a staff.

Mr. Cole commented that there have been multiple meetings on this issue and there seems to be a disconnection between what the Housing Committee is looking for and what has been drafted and he doesn’t think this is satisfactory explained by saying this just being a first draft.

Mr. Loftus remarked that the Town couldn’t get in touch with the architect on numerous occasions. Mr. Piekarski asked if the office has a timeline as to when they are going to respond to the RFP and Mr. Merriam responded that they will do it in the next week.

SELECTMEN’S REPORT

A. Selectmen’s Goals

Mr. Cole recommended adding Centralizing Turf Management to the list as well as the Conservation Land Management Program. The Board discussed either adding a “Date Done” column or moving the completed items to another section.

Mr. Cole moved to adjourn at 9:50 p.m. Mr. Marsland seconded the motion and the motion carried by a unanimous vote.

Respectfully submitted,