Town of Harwich Massachusetts - Minutes

SELECTMEN’S MEETING

GRIFFIN ROOM, TOWN HALL

MONDAY, JUNE 1, 2009

SELECTMEN PRESENT: Ballantine, Cole, LaMantia, McManus, Wilkins

OTHERS PRESENT: Town Administrator James Merriam, Assistant Town Administrator Nan Balmer, Chief Flynn, Chief Mason, Eric Beebe, Sgt. Considine, David Ryan, Lt. Tom Gagnon, Officer Nolan, Gerry Loftus, Rain Ryder, Vahan Kachadoorian, John Mahan, Paul Erickson, Michael Lach, and others.

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

A. Approve minutes – May 11, 2009 Regular Meeting

B. Approve request by Cape Cod Hospital Auxiliary to hold annual Tag Day event at various locations in Town of Harwich

C. Accept resignation of Timothy Klink from Planning Board

D. Accept resignation of Larry Ballantine from the Conservation Commission, Community Preservation Committee, Harwich Water Quality Task Force, and Pleasant Bay Alliance Steering Committee

Mr. Cole moved to approve the Consent Agenda and take the relevant actions thereto. Mr. McManus seconded the motion. Mr. Ballantine noted that he was not present at the meeting of May 11, 2009 and requested to remove Item A from the Consent Agenda. Mr. Cole amended his motion to include Items B, C and D. The motion carried by a unanimous vote.

Mr. Cole moved Item A in the Consent Agenda. Mr. McManus seconded the motion and the motion carried by a 4-0-1 vote with Mr. Ballantine abstaining from the vote.

A. Vote whether to name new police station now or at some future date

Chairman Wilkins moved to postpone the naming of the new police station to some future date. Mr. Ballantine seconded the motion. Mr. Cole stated that as they have discussed before it should be known to the community there have been two nominations and the Board is considering whether or not to name the building at this time should anyone wish to submit a nomination. The Board agreed that the new Chair should facilitate setting a date to consider nominations. Chief Mason noted that a month’s notice would be required as they are planning on having the dedication ceremony at the end of September or beginning of October.

B. Town Administrator’s plan for custodial services

Mr. Merriam outlined the plan for custodial services as a first step in creating the building maintenance department. He noted that there is an opinion from Town Counsel which indicates to his satisfaction that there is no past practice established as custodians currently report to a department head and not to a foreman within their union. Rain Ryder, HEA Union President, stated that their attorney, who has recently passed away, told them that this is illegal and he has since contacted two other attorneys who have agreed. Mr. Ryder presented the Board with a grievance on this matter.

Mr. Cole moved to approve the Town Administrator’s plan for custodial services. (See attached.) Mr. LaMantia seconded the motion. Mr. Merriam answered questions from the Board. Mr. McManus asked when Mr. Ryder had been notified this item was on the agenda and Ms. Balmer responded that it was Friday morning. Mr. Ryder clarified that it was 1:00 p.m. on Friday. Mr. McManus noted that Town Hall was closed at that time. The motion carried by a 4-1-0 with Mr. McManus in opposition.

C. Draft letter to School Committee regarding shared resources

Mr. Ballantine commented that sharing financial information is probably further along than what might be assumed from the draft letter. Mr. Ryan noted that the financial departments work very closely with the schools and have a very good working relationship but management is still under the central office. Mr. Merriam suggested that he add a sentence to the letter showing the progress we have made working collaboratively. Mr. LaMantia recommended conveying that we would like to continue working together and he does not want to create any ill will. Mr. Cole said he would like the letter amended to say that we are pleased with the progress that has been made but it can also note that the nature of the financial circumstances and these items have been brought up before and this signifies our interest in pursuing these things that have been previously proposed. Mr. Ballantine commented that the letter should be softened a bit. Chairman Wilkins directed Mr. Merriam to amend the letter and bring it back to the Board. Mr. LaMantia stated that they need to know what the Barnstable model is and Mr. Ballantine pointed out that there was an article in the MMA magazine on it.

Mr. McManus stated that he does not want this to read that we are not seriously considering regionalizing with Chatham. Chairman Wilkins commented that our first obligation is to Harwich and at the same time we can carry on conversations with Chatham. Mr. Cole stated that in the meantime we have an obligation to minimize our costs.

The Board agreed to postpone this item until next week.

A. Request by Recreation & Youth Commission to appoint Eric Beebe as Director of Harwich Recreation Department

Mr. Ballantine moved Mr. Merriam’s recommendation to appoint Eric Beebe as the Recreation Director. Mr. Cole seconded the motion. Mr. LaMantia stated that he has a problem with the job description as it doesn’t mention strategic planning or financing. He requested that language be added describing precisely what the job should entail in those two areas. Mr. Merriam agreed to enhance the job description and it was agreed that Mr. Beebe’s performance evaluation would be based on the revised job description. The motion carried by a unanimous vote.

B. Request by Harwich Conservation Trust to sign conservation restriction for 270 Route 28 in West Harwich

Mr. Lach requested the Board’s approval of a Conservation Restriction from the Harwich Conservation Trust to the Conservation Commission. He explained that the restriction will qualify the Harwich Conservation Trust for a $75,000 reimbursement grant from the state to assist the Trust with its purchase of the 6.8 acre Farham property at 270 Route 28 in West Harwich on the map labeled Appendix D (see attached). He noted that the Conservation Commission has approved the restriction. Mr. Cole commented that he has a problem with including the part of the parcel that is depicted in white and below the black line on the map. He pointed out that it is a buildable lot on Route 28 where all private and public infrastructures are available and it is not relevant to any of the habitat or other environmental objectives. He added that it this part of the lot is in West Harwich where we should be encouraging increasing density

Mr. McManus moved to sign the Conservation Restriction for 270 Route 28. Chairman Wilkins seconded the motion and the motion carried by a 4-1-0 vote with Mr. Cole in opposition.

C. Approve FY2010 compensation schedules

Mr. Cole moved to approve the FY10 Compensation Schedules for the By-Law personnel. (See attached.) Mr. Ballantine seconded the motion. The motion carried by a 4-1-0 vote with Mr. McManus in opposition.

TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT

Mr. Merriam delivered the following report to the Board:

The Department of Revenue has calculated the Local Aid for each town based upon the final Senate Budget. This now translates into a deficit of $109,962 as shown on the Sources and Uses sheet. We’ll continue to monitor the budget process through Conference Committee.

Update from Rep. Peake

Hi All, I wanted to pass this information along to you.~ I testified at the hearing held in Boston last week.~ I think that Fall River is as close as the Committee may get to the Cape, so if you or any of your Selectmen are interested in testifying, this presents a good opportunity.~ Of course, if you want to submit written testimony I am happy to hand deliver it to the House and Senate Chairs.

The public hearing on the issue of municipal relief will be held in the Atrium of the Commonwealth College Center (G Building) at Bristol Community College, 777 Elsbree Street in Fall River on Tuesday, June 2nd at 10:30am. The committee will hear testimony on the Report of the Special Commission on Municipal Relief, which was created by the Massachusetts Legislature and designed to help promote fiscal stability to the Commonwealth’s 351 cities and towns, and also on the Municipal Partnership Act II, filed by Governor Deval Patrick to propose new tools for cities and towns to respond to the present fiscal situation.~ You are probably also aware that the Senate, in their budget has proposed allowing municipalities, as a local option, to add 2% to a 5% meals tax.~ Under the Senate proposal, all of the 2% would remain in the community that raises it.~ I haven’t run the numbers, but I think this could be a significant source of revenue for most if not all of the towns on the lower and outer cape. Please feel free to notify all relevant municipal departments about this hearing.~ Please contact my office at 617-722-2210 with any further questions. - Sarah

I spoke to Norm Gill regarding his announced retirement this coming Fall. Norm assured me that Syd Chase will appoint a certified Agent who is familiar with Harwich’s case load and the transition should be smooth.

Assessors Housing Trends

Dave Scannell has provided updated numbers of total winter homes, summer homes and total homes. Harwich has 54% winter and 46% summer homes. Dave also tracks annual sales which indicate that since 2002, Harwich has had a majority of homes sold to out of town owners. This information is provided in the context of the Affordable Housing Production Plan and that our 10% requirement is not growing because the requirement is based upon year round, not total, residences.

I met with COA Chairman Barbara Bliss, Facilities Chairman Lee Culver and staff to discuss the Wheeler Report recommendation regarding the development of a Community Center single plan. Included is a copy of the Facilities Committee’s 2006 Community Center Five Year Plan.

Harwich- Chatham Regional Group

I met on May 27^th with the Harwich- Chatham Regional Group to discuss opportunities to share resources. Included in the discussion was the General Court’s release of the May 2009 report from the Special Commission on Municipal Relief. It has a section entitled: Regionalization and Shared Services. It describes three kinds of Inter-municipal Agreements. They are Formal contracts where there is a determined cost, Service exchange agreements where there is no payment, and Joint Service agreements where municipalities partner to purchase services collectively.

Harwich Port Pizza’s Liquor License application has been returned by the investigator at the ABCC.~ He is asking for a Purchase and Sale Agreement from Mr. Sotiri (as an individual) to Harwich Port Pizza, Inc. as well as a lease agreement with his current landlord.~ Mr. Sotiri is working on getting those documents so we can continue with the process. - Ann

Capital Outlay Committee

The COC met on May 28^th and reviewed the updated debt schedule provided by Chairman Pete Watson and the vehicle fuel usage report for calendar 2008. They will seek the back up detail report of vehicular miles per gallon. They questioned the size and number of vehicles in various departments as well as the opportunity to eliminate private buses from fueling at the Highway garage when the next bus contract is awarded for FY 11.

Spalt Class D request

I advised Mr. and Mrs. Spalt to request an appointment before the Waterways Commission regarding a transfer of a Class D permit. In order to expedite this process, I recommend that your Board schedule a Public Hearing for June 15^th, the meeting after the next Waterways Commission meeting scheduled for June 9^th.

Mr. McManus moved to set a Public Hearing for June 15^th to consider awarding a Class D Permit. Mr. LaMantia seconded the motion and the motion carried by a unanimous vote.

SELECTMEN’S REPORT

A. Nomination and election of the Board members to the following positions:

Interview and Appointments Committee (2 members)

Mr. Cole nominated Mr. McManus to serve as Chair for the coming year. Mr. Ballantine seconded the motion and the motion carried by a 4-1-0 vote with Mr. Wilkins in opposition.

Mr. LaMantia nominated Mr. Cole to be Vice Chair. Mr. Ballantine seconded the motion and the motion carried by a unanimous vote.

Mr. LaMantia nominated Mr. Wilkins for Clerk of the Board. Mr. Cole seconded the motion and the motion carried by a unanimous vote.

Mr. McManus nominated Mr. LaMantia and Mr. Ballantine for the Interview and Appointments Committee. Mr. Cole seconded the motion and the motion carried by a unanimous vote.

Mr. Cole moved to adjourn at 8:34 p.m. Mr. McManus seconded the motion and the motion carried by a unanimous vote.

Respectfully submitted,