Town of Harwich Massachusetts - Minutes

SELECTMEN’S MEETING

GRIFFIN ROOM, TOWN HALL

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2009

SELECTMEN PRESENT: Ballantine, Cole, McManus, Wilkins

SELECTMEN ABSENT: LaMantia

OTHERS PRESENT: Town Administrator James Merriam, Assistant Town Administrator Nan Balmer, Chief Flynn, Anita Doucette, Lincoln Hooper, Eric Diamond, Atty. Shirin Everett, Matt McCaffery, Jack Brown, Barbara Josselyn, Gerry Loftus, Karen Sunnarborg, Valerie Foster, Bruce Nightingale, Paul Erickson, and others.

MEETING CALLED TO ORDER at 7:20 p.m. by Chairman McManus.

Chairman McManus reported that the Board had just come out of Executive Session for the purpose of discussing real estate matters, contract negotiations and a personnel matter. He noted that they concluded discussion of the real estate matters and would be taking the other matters up at the end of the meeting.

Town Clerk, Anita Doucette, provided a briefing on the recent amendments to the Conflict of Interest Law, particularly that all employees must now take an online test on the Conflict of Interest Law and provide her with the completion of test certificate which she will keep on file for 6 years. She added that there will be a State Ethics Seminar on November 4^th.

A. Request to sign Confirmatory Deed and Affordable Housing Restriction for Gomes Way project – vote to sign

Attorney Shirin Everett recommended that the Board approve Habitat for Humanity’s request to sign an Affordable Housing Restriction as well as a Confirmatory Deed, which she noted would now refer to homes rather than units, for the Gomes Way project. Mr. Wilkins moved to sign the Confirmatory Deed and Affordable Housing Restriction for the Gomes Way project. Mr. Ballantine seconded the motion and the motion carried by a unanimous vote.

A. Approve minutes –

1. August 18, 2009 Regular Meeting

2. September 8, 2009 Regular Meeting

B. Vote to sign proclamation for United Nations Day

C. Appoint Town Clerk as liaison to State Ethics Commission

D. Approve Chapter 90 request

E. Approve MTC Grant – Big Belly

Mr. Cole moved to approve the Consent Agenda and take the pertinent actions thereto. Mr. Wilkins seconded the motion and the motion carried by a unanimous vote.

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

A. Public Hearing – Liquor and General License Fees

Mr. Wilkins read the hearing notice into record. Chairman McManus opened the hearing and noted that a survey was done of neighboring towns of liquor and general license fees. He read the recommended fees as follows:

1. No changes to Liquor License fees.

2. Increase Taxi License Vehicle Permit fee from $25 to $60

3. Increase Taxi License Operators Permit fee from $20 to $40

4. Increase Common Victualler license fee from $50 to $100

5. Increase Innholders license fee from $50 to $100

6. Increase Batters Box license fee from $50 flat fee to $25 per cage

7. Increase Go Cart license fee from $50 flat fee to $25 per cart

8. Increase Miniature Golf license fee from $50 to $100

9. Increase Trampoline license fee from $25 to $100

10. Increase Weekday Entertainment license fee from $75 to $100

11. Increase Junk Dealers/Junk Collectors license fee from $35 to $75

Mr. Wilkins moved to close the Public Hearing. Mr. Cole seconded the motion and the motion carried by a unanimous vote.

Mr. Wilkins indicated that he did not want to raise the taxi/limo license fees. Mr. Cole noted that he had a problem with some of the recommended fees that he felt were out of line including miniature golf, trampolines, and junk dealer. He further noted that although the proposal is to not change the liquor license fees, there are some inexplicable internal inconsistencies in the fees. Mr. Wilkins stressed the need for a logical formula for setting fees.

Mr. Cole moved to send it back to the drawing board. Mr. Wilkins seconded the motion and the motion carried by a unanimous vote.

B. Annual Reports to the Board:

Mr. Brown delivered the annual report of the Board of Appeals and took questions and comments from the Board.

2. Architectural Advisory Committee

Ms. Josselyn delivered the annual report of the Architectural Advisory Committee and took questions and comments from the Board.

Mr. McCaffery delivered the annual report of the Planning Board and took questions and comments from the Board.

A. Housing Production Plan – vote to approve

Karen Sunnarborg explained that the Planning Board has approved the Housing Production Plan and requested the Board’s approval of the plan so it can be submitted to the State for approval by the end of the year. Ms. Sunnarborg and Ms. Foster took questions from the Board after which Mr. Wilkins moved to approve the Housing Production Plan. Mr. Cole seconded the motion and the motion carried by a unanimous vote.

B. Recommendation from Highway Director regarding Long Pond project

Mr. Hooper provided his recommendation as follows:

At the Board of Selectmen’s request, I have developed a cost estimate to construct two, four foot multimodal lanes on Long Pond Drive from Route 137 to Route 124. This estimate was developed jointly with Steve Farr, VHB Project Engineer on the Route 137 TIP endeavor, Chris Nickerson, Highway Road manager and myself. The estimate was developed as a book job using MassHighway’s Weighted Average Bid Prices, then redefined by substituting Barnstable County bid prices on items where current bids exist. The price was further reduced by assuming that the Harwich DPW would perform excavation, fine grading and compacting activities as required. This estimate represents our best approximation with the information available, without performing a detailed field survey and having the job engineered.

My original proposal for this project was to widen Long Pond Drive from Route 137 to Mashpa Road in conjunction with an approved resurfacing project as much as possible within the physical constraints of the road and within our limited budget. That strategy would have left the actual width of the shoulder as the variable. The current estimate assumes a consistent four foot multimodal lane on both sides of the entire road.

Given that the Route 137 project includes four foot multimodal lanes from the Brewster Town line to the Chatham Town line, I believe this proposed project will be an important link between East Harwich, the Cape Cod Rail Trail and the Town’s premier fresh water access on Long Pond. Therefore, I would like to request the Board of Selectmen’s consideration in approving the use of the mitigation funds to conduct a field survey and the engineering for the project. This recommendation would keep the project moving while we seek other funding sources including debt exclusion article, CPC article and grants such as Green Communities, Scenic Bikeways, Transportation Enhancement Activities and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program.

Mr. Hooper took questions from the Board. Mr. Nightingale spoke in favor of the project and asked the Board to reconsider their previous vote and put this project back on track.

Mr. Ballantine moved to approve the use of mitigation funds to begin the field survey as the Director of Highways has recommended. Mr. Wilkins seconded the motion. The Board heard comments from Mr. Erickson who suggested that it be referred back to the Planning Board and from Mr. Drummond who questioned if this is the best use of the mitigation funds. The motion carried by a unanimous vote.

C. Purchase and Sale Agreement for Marceline property – vote to sign

Mr. Wilkins moved to sign the Purchase and Sale Agreement for the Marceline property. Mr. Ballantine seconded the motion. Mr. Ballantine pointed out that the agreement differs from the town meeting warrant article in both the acreage and the price. Mr. Merriam confirmed that it is the same parcel. The motion carried by a unanimous vote.

A. American Dream Land Development and Regulatory Agreements – vote to sign

The Board agreed to bring this item back as the agreements need to be revised due to changes in the developer’s financing arrangements.

B. Request by Fire Chief to sponsor Firefighter/Paramedic Eric Diamond on the FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force – vote to approve

Chief Flynn explained that Firefighter/Paramedic Eric Diamond has requested to join the FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force. He stated that if activation is requested by FEMA, Mr. Diamond is covered under the Federal Liability Torte and Workman’s Compensation and FEMA will reimburse the Town for his salary if he is federally deployed. Chief Flynn further stated that if Mr. Diamond is injured during training or deployment, the Urban Search and Rescue Task Force has a limited VFIS policy and the Town would be responsible for him essentially the same as a mutual aid response.

At the recommendation of Chief Flynn, Mr. Wilkins moved to sponsor Firefigher/Paramedic Eric Diamond on the FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force. Mr. Ballantine seconded the motion and the motion carried by a unanimous vote.

C. Refer to Real Estate and Open Space Committee request by Cape Cod Hospital to gift unknown location parcels – vote to refer

Mr. Wilkins moved to refer to the Real Estate and Open Space Committee the request by Cape Cod Hospital to gift unknown location parcels to the Town. Mr. Merriam said that research has found that the Town accepted the 5 parcels at the May 7, 2007 Town Meeting under Article 74. He reported that a letter was sent to Mr. Ford in August 2008 in which we asked him to work with Cape Cod Hospital in preparing the deeds. He explained that Mr. Ford sent a letter to the Town in January 2007 indicating that the difficulty with these parcels is that there is no known location and as a result the Town, rather than pursuing tax takings and incurring the associated expenses, authorized the acceptance of a deed in lieu of foreclosure. Mr. Merriam further stated that some reference to location still will be necessary in the release deed in order to get it on record. He stated that Mr. Ford will work with Attorney Cox and Mr. Scannell to draft a deed which will be acceptable for recording. Mr. Wilkins withdrew his motion.

D. Preliminary review of Special Town Meeting warrant articles

The Board discussed the warrant and made minor editorial changes on Articles 1 through 5.

Chairman McManus objected to part 3 of Article 6, Amend Personnel By-Law, which proposed changes in position titles. He noted that the Animal Control Officer and some of the assistants in the Golf Department are not seasonal positions. He pointed out that seasonal refers to employees hired during a limited period of time during the summer. He noted that the proposal also creates a Substitute Custodian which we do not currently have. Chairman McManus further noted that the proposal eliminates the title of Board Secretary specifically for the Board of Selectmen and he does not want to share this position with another Board. He stressed that this position needs to be differentiated and he also noted that each of the Board Clerks and Secretaries has specific requirements they need to adhere to and to pass somebody around would be problematic.

Chairman McManus stated that there are a lot of implications to the material and it bears more study. Mr. Wilkins commented that this is one area where they cannot have discomfort from the Chairman. The Board agreed to salvage parts 1 and 2 of the article which referred to sick bonus and personal days.

The Board agreed to remove Article 7, Approve Funding for a Licensed Site Professional, as well as Article 8, Amend Home Rule Charter – Golf Committee.

The Board agreed to keep Article 9 and 10 regarding Golf funds, in the warrant for discussion at Town Meeting.

With regard to Article 11, Petition the Legislature to Increase the Quota of Liquor Licenses in Harwich, the Board agreed to seek 3 liquor licenses targeted for each one of the economic development areas, specifically Harwich Port, Harwich Center and East Harwich.

Chairman McManus recommended deleting the explanation from Article 12, Purchase Large Excavator and Trailer for the Water Department. Mr. Wilkins commented that it would be more appropriate to present this article at the May Town Meeting and Chairman McManus agreed but pointed out that the article is at the request of another elected board in Town. Mr. Merriam agreed to explain the issues to the Water Superintendent.

TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT

Mr. Merriam delivered the following report to the Board:

Saquatucket Boat Ramp award~

Today I issued a "Notice to Proceed" to C. White Marine, Inc. regarding the reconstruction of the Saquatucket Harbor boat ramp.~ Once I get a copy of C. White's schedule of operations I will forward a copy to you. -Douglas H. Cameron, Assistant Director, Deputy Chief Engineer

Cape Cod Hospital gift of land

5 parcels, location unknown, bill not paid since 2005.Want to give to the Town. - Dave S.

Dan Gilmore from Southeast Region of DEP came for site visit. Also in attendance were Chief Mason, Craig Wiegand, Mark Bolanger (sp. Wetlands specialist) and me. Dan was mostly concerned whether wetlands were impacted and we assured him there were no wetlands involved. He will talk to his superiors about rescinding the Notice of Responsibility and providing the Town with conditions for best management practices, such as containing the target area to concrete boxes with sifted sand, removing lead every 5 years and spreading lime behind the target area. We will not submit an article for the 11/12 STM to hire a Licensed Site Professional. We may need an appropriation next Spring to comply with DEP’s conditions.

Attached are the budget amendments with a more understandable format. We have included changes to the Highway, Police and Community Center budgets to reflect the transfer of custodial supervision to the Highway Department. The custodial transfers are revenue neutral.

I’ve asked Town Counsel to assist with preparing the 99 year lease with HECH for the Center School and West Harwich properties.

Elementary School Solar Panels

A site meeting was conducted with CVEC, Con Edison, School staff, Building Commissioner and Barry Worth. I’ve informed everyone that this project must receive TM approval on 11/12 prior to start of installation. I’ve asked that the lease agreement be ready to sign. It is anticipated that installation will take 8 weeks.

Robin Wilkins, Linda Cebula and I met with Chatham officials on Wednesday and continued the conversation. Attached is a copy of Valerie Foster’s contract and an agreement between the two housing authorities which was modeled after Barnstable/Dennis and approved by the DHCD.

Chairman McManus moved to go into Executive Session at 10:35 p.m. Mr. Wilkins seconded the motion and the motion carried by a unanimous vote.

Respectfully submitted,