# select-board — 9 documents, concatenated for reading and search # # This is a CONVENIENCE BUNDLE, not a source. Every document below is # published separately and byte-identically; cite the individual file, # whose path is given in each header, rather than this bundle. # Index of all boards: https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/minutes/INDEX.txt # The town's own scanned original is linked per document. ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2012-06-12-minutes-4810.txt BOARD : select-board DATE : 2012-06-12 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/select-board/2012-06-12-minutes-4810.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_06122012-4810 ======================================================================================== ===OCR macOS Vision=== ===PAGE 1=== felon BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING MINUTES 6/12/12 The Board of Selectmen met in the Joseph F. Bilotta Meeting Room, Town Hall as scheduled with David Matthews, Steven M. deBettencourt, Paula Bertram, Tom Alonzo, Carl "Ernie" Sund and Town Manager Kerry Speidel present. Regular Meeting opened at 7:00 PM with the Pledge of Allegiance. PUBLIC COMMENT Mr. Matthews began the meeting by congratulating the 2012 graduating classes from Lunenburg High School and Monty Tech Regional Vocational School. Mr. Matthews thanked the Police and Fire Chiefs or inviting the BOS to the Memorial Service at the Public Safety Building on Sunday. ANNOUNCEMENTS APPOINTMENTS CURRENT BUSINESS 1. Ratification of Town Manager's Appointment of Fire Chief - Fire Chief Scott Glenny introduced Deputy Chiet Patrick Sullivan to the BOS. He stated that Mr. Sullivan has been a member of the department for 28 years and will make a great Fire Chief. The BOS welcomed Mr. Sullivan to the position. Ms. Speidel read the notification of the appointment of Mr. Sullivan to the position of Fire Chief for the Town of Lunenburg into record and requested that the BOS ratify this appointment at this meeting. The appointment is ellective as of August 1, 2012 and is being issued so there will be a smooth transition for Fire Chief Scott Glenny. Mr. Sullivan will become a full time employee effective July 15, 2012. Mr. Alonzo motioned to vote to approve the appointment of Patrick Sullivan to the post of Fire Chief effective August 1, 2012. Mr. deBettencourt seconded. On vote, motion carried, 5 in favor, 0 opposed. APPOINTMENTS/RE-APPOINTMENTS/RESIGNATIONS - Taken out of Order 1. Rescind appointment of Laura Caron-Gustus as Acting Treasurer and/or Acting Collector in Accordance with MGL Chapter 41, Section 40 - Ms. Speidel reminded the BOS that at last week's meeting, she made mention that the acting Treasurer/Collector would not be the Signer on the 2012 bond issue due to the fact that she was not qualified to do so because she did not providebond to the town within the time period that is required by MGL Chapter 41, Section 40. MGL requires that an acting Treasurer/Collector file a bond within 10 days of appointment. She said that Laura Caron-Gustus was appointed at the 12/20/11 BOS meeting and has not provided the bond in a timely manner. Ms. Speidel has followed up on this matter with the Town Labor Counsel and their opinion, which was circulated to the BOS, was that particular section of MGL states that if the bond is not provided that the board shall rescind the appointment. Mr. deBettencourt asked the Chair whether or not this was a personnel issue and if the individual in question has been properly served and invited to do this case. Mr. Matthews replied that this was not a personnel issue and that the BOS are working within Massachusetts State Law which states that "you shall rescind the appointment". ===PAGE 2=== Mr. deBettencourt stated that under the law you have to work with "due process" and hear both sides of the story. He said that the emails were going back and forth between the BOS this day and that there is a lot to this matter that people are not seeing. He believes that this is a personnel issue and that Ms. Gustus should be served and have the chance to be heard. Ms. Speidel said that Ms. Gustus was notified yesterday that the item would be included on the agenda. Mr. deBettencourt said that he did not have a copy of that notice and asked if he could have that read into the minutes. Mr. Alonzo said that the agenda was duly posted and that he did not think that any appointment or re-appointment requires an invitation because this is not a disciplinary action. He also mentioned that he believes that Mr. deBettencourt may have a conflict of interest regarding this matter due to the fact that he works for the individual's husband in the Town of Lynnfield and believes that Mr. deBettencourt should recuse himself from this discussion Mr. deBettencourt responded that he did contact the State Ethics Commission and they said it was not a conflict of interest. He stated that he also filed a disclosure with the Town Clerk's Office. Marc Terry, Labor Counsel from Mirick O'Connell, was present and stated that to be sure there was not a conflict of interest concerning Mr. deBettencourt's employment, he had suggested to Ms. Speidel that she contact Mr. deBettencourt and advise him to contact the State thics Commission and obtain some binding advise from them on this matter. He said that he respectfully disagrees with Mr. deBettencourts opinion about "due process" concerning this matter saying that the statute says there is an appointment that was made and the person who was given that appointment has 10 days to take a certain action and if that action doesn't occur then this Board, as the appointing authority, shall vacate or rescind it. He said that it is specific, it is a "shall" not a "may", a "will", or a "you should." Attorney Terry said that the only place that due process rights apply is under the Town Charter, which talks about a different set of appointments that are for a permanent person and do not apply to this type of scenario which talks about operation of statute. He explained that this situation does not call for going into Executive Session for discussion. Mr. deBettencourt vehemently feels that they should wait another week to give the individual, who is a 28 year employee, a chance to address this matter and thinks that this should not be a problem and remained concerned that this has gone on for 6 months. His thoughts were that this discussion should take place in public and not through emails. Ms. Bertram questioned the Chair about Mi. deBettencourt getting a written statement from the Ethics Commission concerning his participation in this matter. Mr. Matthews stated that Mr. deBettencourt had assured the BOS that he got a positive response and he is more than willing to work off of that but would still like to see a letter. Ms. Bertram asked Mr. deBettencourt what his actual recommendation was and he stated that he would like to table this for a week. Mr. deBettencourt asked Ms. Speidel if the individual was notified to have this bond within 10 days. Ms. Speidel responded that she did not specifically notify her that she was required to have a bond but has written confirmation from her that she was aware at the beginning of January of the requirement to have a bond. She also stated that the BOS has seen that communication and that the individual has acknowledged that she was aware of her responsibility. Mr. deBettencourt asked Ms. Speidel what the individual's response was for not having the bond. Ms. Speidel replied that her response was that it was Ms. Speidel's fault that she did not have the bond and that Ms. Speidel had told her that she was not required to have a bond ===PAGE 3=== Ms. Speidel went on to say that she herself has a long history of being a Treasurer/Collector and that it is inconceivable that she would tell her that she is not required to have a bond. She also stated that the individual had filled out an application for the bond last week but it was done incorrectly. Mr. Matthews asked Mr. deBettencourt if he knew who was in charge of these bonds for the last 28 years to which Mr. deBettencourt replied the Selectmen's office (Ms. Speidel & Ms. Gustus). Ms. Speidel spoke and said that she would like to respectfully add that it was Laura Caron Gustus who has managed that process for the entire time that Ms. Speidel has been employed by the town. Mr. Alonzo moved to rescind the appointment of Laura Caron Gustus as acting Treasurer/Collector in accordance with MGL Chapter 41, Section 40. Ms. Bertram seconded. Mr. Sund spoke in saying that he was troubled by this matter and needed more information on the matter. Mr. Sund abstained from the vote. On vote, motion carried, 3 in favor, 0 opposed, 1 abstention (Sund) Mr. deBettencourt recused himself from participating in the vote. Discussion: Mr. Matthews said that if we had a bond issue prior to June, we would have known about this situation sooner. He feels that in general this town should expect more from its department heads then to have the expectation that the Town Manager will follow up on each and every requirement of employment for the Town of Lunenburg, especially when we are dealing with the amount of experience that we do have in town. Ms. Speidel stated that she wanted to be perfectly clear for the record and the public that this issue was brought to the attention of the BOS as soon as it was brought to her attention. This is not a situation where she was aware of this in January and decided to bring it to the BOS attention just last week. Ms. Speidel said that she was made aware if it as a result of a request for documentation through the General Obligation Bond issue and she was not aware of it before. She said that she had no reason to believe that someone who managed this process, did not follow through on obtaining a bond and if we didn't have this bond issue it would have come to her attention either this week or next week because they are getting ready for the new fiscal year. Ms. Bertram stated that based on Counsel's opinion and MGL this is a required action by the Board. She feels that this is a difficult situation and feels that before action is taken on appointing another Treasurer/Collector the BOS should afford the individual the opportunity to speak before the board, if she so chooses and would like to open this up for discussion with the BOS. Mr. Alonzo agreed with Ms. Bertram. Mr. Matthews stated that this has gone on long enough and would like to move forward. Ms. Bertram said that she has concerns to why the individual did not follow through with obtaining the bond. Attorney Terry was asked whether or not this could be done in public session to which he responded if this is an appointment issue, it needs to be discussed in open session and that it would not justify being in Executive Session. Attorney Terry suggested appointing a temporary/acting Treasurer/Collector until they can re-visit this issue next week. Mr. Matthews suggested that the BOS appoint Ms. Speidel as acting/temporary Treasurer/Collector. Mr. Alonzo raised concerns about Ms. Speidel's contractual obligations. Attorney Terry said that a conflict of issue situation could arise if this was done. He said that it would be subject to negotiation with Ms. Speidel's contract to incorporate the duties and could be done. Ms. Speidel stated if it was the intent of the BOS to push this out for just a week to see if the individual wants to come to speak before the BOS, it didn't make sense to appoint her as temporary Treasurer/Collector where she will need to go through the process of obtaining a bond. She said she would be happy to serve in the capacity on a ===PAGE 4=== temporary basis for no additional compensation. She feels that the Assistant Treasurer/Collector, who is already bonded, should be appointed. Ms. Bertram motioned to appoint the Assistant Treasurer/Collector on a temporary basis for a period of one week from today. Discussion: Mr. deBettencourt questioned why this appointment could not be made for a longer period of time, to a period of 1 month, in order to find a new Treasurer/Collector. Ms. Bertram stated that she feels the Town Manager has more experience in the role of Treasurer/Collector but would like to appoint the Assistant Treasurer/Collector for one week to allow the individual involved to come to speak before the BOS. If the individual decides not to come before the BOS then they need to appoint an acting Treasurer/Collector and she prefers to appoint the Town Manager subject to changes in her contract and then begin the process of going out to find a new Treasurer/Collector. Ms. Bertram motioned to appoint the Assistant Treasurer/Collector for a period of 1 week. Mr. Alonzo seconded. On vote, motion carried, 5 in favor, 0 opposed. 2. Review proposed Electrical Permit Fee for Solar Arrays - Continued to a future meeting. 3. Execute Deed & Land Development Agreement, Jones House - Ms. Speidel stated that the next item on the agenda is to execute the deed & land development for the Jones House. She said that there is an easement which is not on the agenda and that there is no final wording on the easement yet. Ms. Speidel explained the 4 parts to the sale of the Jones House which were the Purchase and Sales agreement, Restrictive Covenance (Historical Committee has approved), the Deed and the Land Development agreement. She than presented the Quick Claim Deed and Land Development agreement for the boards approval. Mr. deBettencourt questioned why the easement was not ready and how this can be signed without it. Ms. Speidel responded that the easement is separate, was approved at Town Meeting, she is waiting for proof of insurance to be provided by the buyer, and she plans on holding the easement papers until proof of insurance is provided. The easement is strictly for the right to pass and re-pass. Ms. Bertram motioned to execute the deed & land development agreement for the Jones House. Mr. Sund seconded; On vote, motion passed, 5 in favor, 0 opposed. 4. BOS Policies & Procedures - Not Discussed 5. Minutes/Warrants/Action File Issues - Minutes: None Warrants - W71-12 $305,065.80 Action File Issues - None 7. Committee Report - Mr. Matthews reported that the School Committee met last Wednesday and began exploring the possibility of consolidating into 3 buildings down from 4. There will be another meeting tomorrow night at the High School Auditorium which will be televised. He suggested that if the public has questions to either attend or watch on the T.V. Planning Board will be meeting tomorrow night at the Ritter Building. 8. Department Reports - None 9. Town Manager Reports - Ms. Speidel read a notification from the Lake Shirley Improvement Corp. regarding aquatic treatment at Lake Shirley on Tuesday June 19t* ===PAGE 5=== OLD BUSINESS - None EXECUTIVE SESSION - None Being no further business, Mr. deBettencourt motioned to adjourn the meeting. Ms. Bertram seconded. On vote, motion carried, 5 in favor, 0 opposed. Meeting ended at 7:47 p.m. UPCOMING MEETING SCHEDULE June 19, 2012 July 3, 2012 July 10, 2012 July 17, 2012 July 24, 2012 Respectfully submitted, Susan Doherty, Recording Secretary Board of Selectmen ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2012-06-19-agenda-4811.txt BOARD : select-board DATE : 2012-06-19 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/select-board/2012-06-19-agenda-4811.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_06192012-4811 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== BOARD OF SELECTMEN June 19, 2012 7:00 PM – 2 ND FLOOR TOWN HALL JOSEPH F. BILOTTA MEETING ROOM AGENDA PUBLIC COMMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS APPOINTMENTS 7:00 p.m. Laura Caron-Gustus 8:00 p.m. Fitchburg Redevelopment Authority, Dan Curley, Executiv e Director & Tom Szocik, Facilities Manager CURRENT BUSINESS 1. Execute Easement, Jones House 2. Review proposed Electrical Permit Fee for Solar Arrays 3. Presentation of Town Manager’s Annual Evaluation 4. BOS Policies & Procedures 5. Minutes/ Warrants/ Action File Issues 6. Committee Report 7. Department Reports 8. Town Manager Reports OLD BUSINESS APPOINTMENTS/ RE-APPOINTMENTS/ RESIGNATIONS 1. Appointment of Acting Treasurer-Collector 2. FY2013 Annual Appointments EXECUTIVE SESSION UPCOMING MEETING SCHEDULE July 3, 2012 – No Meeting July 10, 2012 July 17, 2012 July 24, 2012 ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2012-06-19-minutes-4811.txt BOARD : select-board DATE : 2012-06-19 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/select-board/2012-06-19-minutes-4811.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_06192012-4811 ======================================================================================== ===OCR macOS Vision=== ===PAGE 1=== KJa3. .Sm BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING MINUTES 6/19/12 The Board of Selectmen met in the Joseph F. Bilotta Meeting Room, Town Hall as scheduled with David Matthews, Steven M. deBettencourt, Paula Bertram, Tom Alonzo, Carl "Ernie" Sund and Town Manager Kerry Speidel presen Regular Meeting opened at 7:00 PM with the Pledge of Allegiance PUBLIC COMMENT Mr. Sund stated that during the past week he had the pleasure of joining the 3 grade students on a historical tour of Lunenburg. He mentioned that although there were monuments at Veteran's Memorial Park recognizing various wars, he could not show the Revolutionary War hero tablets that hang in Town Hall. He hopes that the students that could not see them that day can see them via this televised BOS meeting. ANNOUNCEMENTS APPOINTMENTS 7:00 p.m. Laura Caron Gustus: The Chair began by stating that this is not an employment hearing and that the BOS wanted to give Ms. Gustus an opportunity to speak. Ms. Gustus distributed copies of a prepared statement to the BOS. Mr. Matthews then asked Ms. Gustus if she had chosen to be here in a public discussion to which Ms. Gustus responded absolutely. Mr. Matthews reminded Mr. deBetttencourt that he had recused himself from the vote at the last meeting and asked if he had the written opinion from the State Ethics Commission. Mr. deBettencourt responded that he did not get the chance to call them back, he did what the Board asked him to do, and as far as he was concerned that was all he was going to do. Ms. Gustus thanked the BOS for the opportunity to address them this evening and then read her statement to the BOS, which is attached. Ms. Gustus feels that she was not properly invited to last weeks BOS meeting and was put on paid administrative leave. Upon further communication with the Town Manager she has found that not only has her position as acting Treasurer/Collector had been rescinded but she has also been terminated completely from her employment with the Town of Lunenburg. She indicated that the issue of her not procuring the insurance bond, which is required by a Treasurer/Collector, was the responsibility of the Town Manager because Ms. Speidel told her that it could wait until she decided to except he permanent position of Treasurer/Collector. Ms. Gustus stated that she correctly completed and returned the bond application on June 1"' to the BOS Administrative Assistant, but that it was not processed expeditiously. Ms. Gustus found it stressful performing multiple jobs which included learning the Treasurer/Collector's job, continuing the daties of Chief Administrative Assistant at the BOS office and being the Benefits Administrator. She considers herself a team player stepping into multiple positions at different times during her 28 year employment including the Treasurer/Collector and Interim CAFO. According to Ms. Gustus, she does not agree with the BOS interpretation of MGL, Chapter 41, Section 40. She feels that she was not duly appointed temporary Treasurer/Collector and therefore was not required to get the bond. She still remains interested in the position of Treasurer/Collector. ===PAGE 2=== Ms. Gustus spoke and said that she had brought that to the Board's attention a couple of weeks ago and that the Town Manager said specifically that it is the responsibility of the BOS. She also said that for clarification, that's not how she interprets the Charter and her interpretation is that the Town Manager is responsible for making the appointment. Mr. Matthews replied yes, upon the Town Manager's recommendation to which Ms. Gustus said "she did not say that" and that she was just trying to clarify what was said two weeks ago. Mr. Matthews read the section of the Charter being discussed which states "to recommend to the BOS candidates to be appointed by the BOS to the offices of Town Treasurer and Town Collector" and stated again that the Town Manager needs to recommend any Treasurer/Collector for the BOS to act on it. After reviewing the section of the Charter which was being discussed, Mr. deBettencourt stated that the last line under section (C) could help and states that "however that the provision of this section shall apply to the appointment of any person under any other title who will perform as a result of re-organization of the administrative structure of the Town substantially similar duties as officers named in this section". Mr. deBettencourt feels that the BOS was re-organizing Ms. Gustus's position. Mr. Matthews stated that this was not a re-organization but rather a re-assigning. Ms. Bertram said that the section being talked about is Section 4-2 C and clearly says that one of the powers and duties of the Town Manager is to recommend to the BOS candidates to be appointed by the BOS to the offices of Treasurer/Collector. She said that given that is the section which is being discussed she would like to have a recommendation from the Town Manager. Ms. Speidel stated that her recommendation would be to continue the appointment of Myleen Mallari, who you appointed last week as acting Treasurer/Collector, to continue this appointment from this evening until August 21". During the term of this appointment she proposes to advertise for this position of Treasurer/Collector, interview candidates, and make a recommendation to the BOS for appointment on or before August 7, 2012. Mr. Alonzo moved to appoint Myleen Mallari acting Treasurer/Collector and Assistant Treasurer during the term as noted by the Town Manager from June 19, 2012 to August 21, 2012. Mr. deBettencourt spoke in saying point of order, there has been a motion made and seconded. Mr. Matthews said that it was an invalid motion. Mr. deBettencourt spoke passionately in opposition to the decision to rescind Ms. Gustus's position as Treasurer/Collector. Mr. Matthews defended the decision and then stated that there is a motion on the floor and asked for a second. Ms. Bertram seconded. On vote, motion carried, 3 in favor, 2 opposed (deBettencourt & Sund). Mr. Matthews said that the last thing that this Town needs is to politicize every job in town and he believes that politics get in the way of good government which he doesn't think they need here. Chris Comeau, 819 West Street, said that he was thoroughly disgusted with three of the Selectmen. He said that he feels it is the Town Manager's job is to oversee the function and operation of this town. He feels that the bond not getting procured and the appointment not being confirmed falls on the Town Manager's shoulders. He said that the divisions are clear and if you want to talk about good government this is not good government and he calls on all the tax payers that when its election time to let it be known. Jackie Ramondelli, Reservoir Road, said that she thought this was a lot of small town politics and said that she was ashamed of all of them. She felt it was not fair and that they should all be ashamed of themselves, especially the Town Manager. Bill Gustus, 19 Burke Street, said that with respect to Laura's position as Chief Administrative Assistant he wanted to point out based upon what Laura has told him is that she was never terminated from that position and that she continued to be paid out of that Line Item up until Wednesday of last week when she was told that she did not hold a position with the ===PAGE 3=== Town of Lunenburg. He said that she was not moved into the Treasurer's office as payrolled and he was told that a raise was granted to her in the position of CAA two months after she was appointed acting Treasurer/Collector. Mr. Gustus would like to know how she lost her permanent position as CAA without a hearing or any charges of wrong doing. He stated that the BOS says the contract is void but he was told that it has been approved by at least two prior Town Counsel as being a legitimate contract. He said that there are provisions in the Salary Admin. Plan and the Charter that deal with terminations, hearings and opportunity to be heard, to which she has been afforded none of those rights. 8:00 p.m. Fitchburg Redevelopment Authority, Dan Curley, Executive Director & Tom Szocik, Facilities Manager: Mr. Curley, Executive Director, & Mr. Szocik, Facilities Manager, from the Fitchburg Redevelopment Authority introduced themselves to the BOS and distributed information packets to the Board. Mr. Curley spoke and gave a brief history of the land in question, which lies in both Fitchburg and Lunenburg. The Fitchburg Redevelopment Authority would like to develop an industrial park in that area but in order to do so, MGL C 40 Section 15 states that they need the representatives from the Town of Lunenburg to waive their rights of ownership. Mr. Szocik said that there is a large manufacturer who wants to buy this land and due to the fact that the manufacturer has contracts in hand, time is of the essence for this purchase. Mr. Szocik thinks this is a "win-win" situation because Lunenburg will be able to collect tax revenue for this project, and Fitchburg will be responsible for services such as Police & Fire. Ms. Bertram requested clarification that the property is not being leased, but is being sold, therefore makes it eligible for tax revenue. Mr. Szocik confirmed that for her. Mr. Sund questioned where the buildings will be located. Mr. Szocik said that the about five of the buildings will be on a cul de sac in Lunenburg. Mr. Curley stated that he will propose that all of the buildings on the Lunenburg side will receive in city utility rates also. Toby Bakaysa from the Lunenburg Planning Board spoke and said that he could not speak for his board but he feels that the Planning Board would support this project. Ms. Speidel said that the official requirement for this action is for the Board to waive its first right of refusal on behalf of the Town. This matter is not noticed this evening as a first right refusal and the BOS will properly notice this action at the July 10, 2012 BOS meeting. The BOS thanked Mr. Curley and Mr. Szocik for coming forward this evening. CURRENT BUSINESS 1. Execute Easement, Jones House - Ms. Speidel informed the BOS that the buyer has supplied the proof of the required insurance on the date of the close which is scheduled for this Friday. She said that the buyer is requestin permission to re-grade the driveway and would like to address this with the BOS because it is not specificall! identified in the easement. Larry Marshall, 984 Mass Avenue, explained the reasoning for the re-grading was because the existing driveway is sunken down and collects water. He asked the BOS that in addition to the driveway easement approval he be given permission to re-grade in order to bring the level of that portion up to the existing driveway. Mr. Alonzo requested that Mr. Marshall work with the DPW Director with the re-grading so as not interfere with the Teen Center building which has had problems with basement flooding. Mr. Marshall agreed to this request. Mr. Sund asked if Mr. Marshall had any plans to remove any trees in the driveway section. Mr. Marshall replied not in the driveway but some of the trees on the other side of the house will be removed. Mr. Marshall also stated that there is one tree in the driveway that is dying and if he cannot bring it back, it will be removed. He also made mention of an old well in the driveway which has been capped off and that is the reason why the driveway circles around up in that area. ===PAGE 4=== Mr. Alonzo move to approve the easement agreement and allow for the re-grading of the driveway area within the easement contingent upon the DPW's approval. Ms. Betram seconded. On vote, motion carried, 5 in favor, o opposed. 2. Review proposed Electrical permit Fee for Solar Arrays - Not discussed. 3. Presentation of Town Manager's Annual Review - Mr. Matthews explained to the public the process of how the BOS makes their Annual Town Manager's Review. He stated that all board members have completed the format and have met with the Town Manager to review the results. Mr. Matthews reviewed the Town Manager's Evaluation Board Composite and explained the composite score for the years work done by the Town Manager which was 160 points, which is considered commendable. (See attached) Mr. Matthews summarized in saying that the Town Manager continues to do a commendable, productive and efficient well done job for the Town and we are lucky to have her on the payroll. There are some areas for improvement and we need to work with the Town Manager to achieve those. Ms. Speidel spoke and said that she appreciates the board's attention to conducting a regular evaluation and that it was particularly helpful this year because she had lengthy conversations with each board member and became aware of some issues that she did not know existed or were as bothersome as was communicated to her, specifically the budget working group and how it works. She would like to discuss the budget working group further with the board when they discuss the goals. Ms. Speidel will finish the self-evaluation this week and distribute it to the board. She will also make the individual evaluations available to the board if they wish, but they are not available to the public. Ms. Bertram suggested removing the individual scoring of members from the composite because she believes that is not public. The review and setting of BOS goals will be discussed at a future meeting. 4. BOS Policies & Procedures - The board received copies of the revised BOS Policies & Procedures and Ms. Bertram gave a brief explanation of how she had done the revisions. (See attached) A BOS workshop was scheduled for July 17" at 6 p.m. to review the proposed changes. The BOS thanked Ms. Bertram for the work she did on the policies & procedures. 5. Minutes/Warrants/Action File Issues Minutes: None Warrants - 6/19/12 W73-12, $2,297,329.36 6/20/12 W73-12, $149,809.61 6/21/12 W26P-12, $716,960.70 Action File Issues - None 6. Committee Reports - Mr. Matthews reported that the School Committee met last Thursday evening to finish discussion on consolidating four school buildings down to three. They also voted to eliminate the use of T.C. Passios as a school building. Mr. deBettencourt reported that the Sewer Commission submitted their final draft to Fitchburg for their consideration and it is moving along. Ms. Bertram reported that she had attended the last MPO meeting where the TIP was voted on. Also discussed at that meeting was a program that funds a multitude of activities and she will send out a link to the draft of a document that is available to the board. MPO will be looking for public comment on that document. Included in ===PAGE 5=== that program is a Pavement Outreach Program, Trails Development Program and a push to increase crash data in all of the MRPC communities. 7. Department Reports - None 8. Town Manager Reports - Ms. Speidel said that she had an additional appointment that she would like the BOS to consider this evening. She said that the Police Chief is actually leaving on July 3" and that the timetable for selecting the new Chief is scheduled to come up at the July 10" BOS meeting which will leave a period of July 4"' to July 10" without a Chief. Ms. Speidel put before the board a notice of appointment of Lt. James Marino to serve as the acting Police Chief for the term of July 4, 2012 through July 10, 2012. It is Ms. Speidel's expectation that she will be bringing forth a candidate to fill the position of Police Chief at the July 10, 2012 BOS meeting. She asked the board to ratify this appointment this evening in accordance with Section 4-2C of the Town Charter so that the appointment will stand with July 4". Mr. Alonzo reminded the board that this is not on the agenda and does not require ratification. Although he is for this appointment he does not think it can be done this evening. Ms. Speidel stated that through conversations with Town Counsel she assumes that if there is a standing list of Appointments/Re-Appointments or Executive Session on the agenda that there would be no problem of making appointments. Ms. Bertram supports this appointment but believes that due to the communication from Town Counsel regarding the Open Meeting Law, she does not believe the BOS can take action on this appointment this evening. Ms. Bertram would like Town Counsel to participate in a workshop with the BOS concerning the changes in the Open Meeting Law. OLD BUSINESS - None APPOINTMENTS/RE-APPOINTMENTS/RESIGNATIONS - 1. Appointment of Acting Treasurer/Collector- addressed in a previous agenda item. 2. FY2013 Annual Appointments - Ms. Speidel read into record the appointments that need to be ratified by the BOS at this meeting as follows: Position of Licensing Authority Agents for FY2013: Police Chief Daniel F. Bourgeois Lt. James P. Marino Sgt. Thomas L. Gammel Sgt. Michael F. Luth Officer Sean J. Connery Det./Ptl. Charles P Deming Officer Jack A. Hebert Officer Jason P. Poitras Sgt. Stanley W. Barney Officer Patrick M. Barney Officer Robert D. DiConza Officer Jeffrey M. Thiodeau Officer Joshua B. Tocci Officer Sean Zrate Mr. Alonzo moved to ratify the appointments as just read of the Licensing Authority Agents for FY2013. Mr. Sund seconded. On vote, motion carried, 5 in favor, O opposed. Position of Reserve Officer for FY2013: Officer Robert J. Ayles Officer Linda Carrier Officer Walter C. Godfrey Officer Lisa M. Larkin Officer Alphonse J. Baron Officer Michael Connors Officer Daniel Gould Officer Donald A. LeTarte Officer Jonathan J. Broc Officer Robert R.DaCosta Officer Paul G. Grunditz Officer Joshua M. Mathieu ===PAGE 6=== Mr. Alonzo moved to ratify the appointments of the Town Manager for the position of Reserve Officer for FY2013 as just read. Mr. Sund seconded. On vote, motion carried, 5 in favor 0 opposed. Position of Special Police Officer for FY2013: Shirley Police Dept. Chief J. Gregory Massack Sgt. Samuel Santiago Officer Gregory Gushlaw Reserve Officer Edward Walkonen Reserve Officer Steven Plante Reserve Officer Lesley Hampson Sgt. Peter Violette Sgt. Alfreda Cromwell Officer Craig K. LaPrade Officer Everett W. Moody Jr. Officer Brandon Bruin Officer Jason Strniste Reserve Officer Robert Pacetti Reserve Officer Merkendrick Jackson Townsend Police Dept. Chief Erving M. Marshall Jr. Lt. David A. Profit Sgt. Cheryl M. Mattson Sgt. Mark Giancotti Sgt. John W. Johnson Officer James P. Marchand Officer Thaddeus G. Rochette Officer Randy S. Girard Officer Kimberly J. Mattson Officer George Reidy Officer Mark Francis Officer David Phillips Officer Cassandra Ella Officer James Landi Reserve Officer Tony Brennan Reserve Officer Christopher VanVoorhis Reserve Officer Austin Cote Reserve Officer Joseph Quinn Reserve Officer Michael Marchand Mr. Alonzo moved to ratify the appointments to position of Special Police Officer for FY2013 as read by the Town Manager. Mr. Sund seconded. On vote, motion carried, 5 in favor, O opposed. EXECUTIVE SESSION - None Being no further business, Mr. deBettencourt motioned to adjourn the meeting. Ms. Bertram seconded. On vote, motion carried, 5 in favor, 0 opposed. Meeting ended at 8:47 p.m. UPCOMING MEETING SCHEDULE July 3, 2012 - No Meeting July 10, 2012 July 17, 2012 July 24, 2012 Respectfully submitted, Susan Doherty, Recording Secretary Board of Selectmen ===PAGE 7=== Writter Statement of laura Caron-Güshes 06/19/12 Thank you for providing me the opportunity to address you this evening. I am very anxious to put this whole .. matter to rest and I have come this evening to provide you with information that may aid you as you try to decide how to resolve my fate. First of all, I'd like to address the question of why I didn't attend last week's meeting. At last week's meeting at least one Selectmen asked if I had been invited to attend the meeting. The Town Manager responded by stating that I had been informed of the discussion. Her response was true as far as it went but did not answer the question as to whether I was invited. The fact of the matter is this, on Monday morning of last week; I was told that I was being placed on Paid Administrative Leave due to the uncertainty of my continued employment with the town and I was asked to leave the building. I was given a letter, which stated that I was to remain available to answer any questions that may arise and that I would be contacted "sometime" after the meeting to "provide further direction". I have provided you with a copy of this letter for your review. Does this sound like an invitation to attend to you? I was told to leave, I was told to remain available to answer questions and I was told that I would be contacted following the board's discussion on the matter. The clear implication of the letter was that I should go home and wait until I was to hear from the Town Manager, In short, I did as I was told and that did not include attending your meeting last week. When you are placed on administrative leave, you do as you are told. On Wednesday I emailed the Town Manager questioning my employment status and sought clarification. I said that "I was aware that I have been placed on administrative leave and your recent correspondence does not address my current status. Am I still am employee of the Town of Lunenburg or not? You have not indicated that I have been taken off of Administrative Leave status so I am assuming that I will continue to receive my regular salary. If this is not the case, please let me know at your earliest opportunity." The response received was, "at this point, you do not presently hold an appointment with the Town. Given the circumstances, however, I will place you on paid vacation leave to preserve your pay and benefit status until next week's Board meeting. If you would prefer to move to unpaid status, please let me know." . I sent no response, as it seems that not only has the appointment as Acting Treasurer/Tax Collector been rescinded but, for some reason unbeknownst to me, I have been terminated completely from my employment with the Town of Lunenburg. What happened to my position as Chief Administrative Assistant that I held prior to the "Temporary/Acting Treasurex/Tax Collector" appointment, which I've held, and in the absence of any notice that I have been removed from that position, continue to hold, since the inception of the Town Charter and the first CAFO Appointment over 12 years ago? I would like to start by addressing the issue of why I did not have a bond. I have worked for the Town of Lunenburg for almost 28 years and during that time, I have held many administrative and executive positions for the town. I was, in fact, aware that the Treasurer needed to be bonded. I specifically recall asking the Manager about this after the Board had appointed me as Temporary or Acting Treasurer/Collector at its meeting on December 20, 2011. In a conversation with the Manager on this point, she told me she does not remember this conversation. I do remember it. I honestly didn't give the issue of a bond a second thought as I was confident that the Town Manager who has noted on many occasions that she is a prior Treasurer; knew the requirements of the law with regards to an insurance bond. This did not become an issue until the bond refinancing, when I was asked by bond counsel to produce a copy of my insurance bond as Acting Treasurer. I continued to work in the Selectmen's office until January 4" when I received a memo via email from the Town Manager, which stated, "As you know, on December 20, 2011 you were appointed by the BOS to serve as the Temporary Treasurer-Collector. This appointment was made effective until another appointment is made. I was reminded yesterday that Elaine will be on vacation for a two-week period beginning on Saturday, January 7, 2012. As such, it makes most sense to have you work out of the Treasurer-Collector's office full-time in order to make sure that office continues to function while Elaine is out. Therefore, effective Monday, January 9, 2012, I would like you to work out of that office full-time, at least until Elaine returns on Monday, January 23, ===PAGE 8=== 2012. During this time, you will be relieved of all of your duties in the BOS office, except for Benefits Administration, so that you can focus on the operations of the Treasurer-Collector's Office without a number of other distractions. " These duties of the Chief Administrative Assistant were to be done in addition to all of the duties of the Treasurer/Collector. I was put in an impossible position by the Manager. I was asked to do a job that an experienced Treasurer had left, without any experience. I was also told that in addition to doing that job, I had to continue to do benefits administration in the Selectmen's office for a fixed period of time which, as stated in the Manager's communication to me on this point, extended at least until Blaine returned from vacation. It is apparent from the context of this correspondence that this was truly a temporary appointment, that I would have to continue with at least some of my duties as Chief Administrative Assistant and that I still held my full time permanent position. I would like to note that the statutory mandate requiring the bond within 10 days of appointment expired the day after I was directed to move to the Treasurer/Collectors office. While I was certainly aware that Treasurers needed to be bonded, I did not even think that it had to occur within 10 days of appointment and I thought, maybe incorrectly, that I would need to be actually working as the Treasurer/Collector in a permanent capacity and not just under an "acting or temporary" capacity before a bond would be needed. In addition, when I was first appointed, I had reservations about taking the position at all. I had limited experience with the Treasurer's office and was unfamiliar with many of the day-to-day operations of that office. I expressed my concerns to the Manager and she told me that she had years of experience as a Treasurer and that she would assist me. In response to my question regarding whether I needed a bond, she responded that it could wait until I decided whether I would accept a permanent appointment to the position. Ltold the Manager sometime thereafter that I.. would accept the full time position. I never brought the bond up again because it was unclear to me if I would be appointed as permanent Treasurer/Collector, I was still operating under the assumption that the Manager needed to make the next step, I also bring to the attention of the board, that I don't believe a bond was ever secured when I was appointed as the "acting Treasurer/Tax Collector" on June 23, 2009; as I don't recall any conversations relative to the need of procuring an insurance bond for the interim period until a permanent Treasurer/Collector was hired back then. The Manager has stated that the appointment of Treasurer/Tax Collector is the responsibility of the Board of Selectmen and must start with the Board of Selectmen but that was not my understanding of the process and is still not my understanding of the process. However, I was just waiting for someone to tell me something about my status, the benefits that would be due me under my employment contract with the Town if I were to leave my permanent position and accept the permanent Treasurer/Collector position, and all I got was radio silence. I was still operating on the assumption that a bond should wait until my permanent appointment. The first few weeks in the Treasurers Office were extremely stressful as I tried to familiarize myself with how the department operated and actually assist the two employees in the office process payments and all of the other daily work that must be done in that office as well as all of the administration of benefits attributable to my permanent position of Chief Administrative Assistant. To be honest, at that time, a bond was the furthest thing from my mind. I was just trying to juggle the two jobs and the learning curve in the Treasurer's office. Also, knowing and adding to the stress was that the Assistant Tax Collector intended to retire at the end of May and the hiring process for her replacement was delayed for months, and to my knowledge, the position is still vacant. It was stated at last week's meeting that I was responsible for the bonding of town officials as part of my duties in the Selectmen's office. While I am familiar with these procedures, those functions were always and still are handled by the Administrative Assistant. As I have previously informed the board, department heads have never been responsible for the securing of general insurance or bonds required by their departments. Providing the individuals with the applications for bonds has always been the responsibility of the Selectmen's office. The cost of bonds required by various town officials is paid out of the towns' general liability insurance appropriation, which is controlled by the Selectmen's office. The fact of the matter is, no department has the independent authority to acquire this kind of insurance. If this were simply a matter of a misunderstanding over who should have placed the bond, I would let this go, but I cannot characterize it as such. ===PAGE 9=== • The responsibility of processing bond applications for permanent appointees was not previously my responsibility and was not mine at the time of my appointment as a Temporary Treasurer. I can tell you I asked the Manager about this and she told me it could wait. She may not remember this, but I do. I can tell you that I had no knowledge about the bonding requirements for Temporary Treasurers, and the Manager, with many years of service as a Treasurer was in a far better position to advise me on this and it was not raised with me until the recent bond issue. At this point, it was all laid on me and I was placed on administrative leave. When I learned of the bonding requirement in connection with the recent bond issue, which was noted in an email that I received from the Town Manager on May 30"' that "it shouldn't be diffcult getting the bond, it should be as simple as filling out the application, which needs to be done today". I requested an application for a bond from the Administrative Assistant who has processed these for years. She gave me the application, I filled it out, and returned it to her on June 1. If it had been processed expeditiously, the insurance bond would have been in place before the bond refinancing issue took place.... To date, almost three weeks later, I do not have a bond and my appointment has been rescinded. I would note that the Manager also stated last week that the application was filled out in error, a statement that I don't understand as I located the application submitted by the former Treasurer and copied it nearly verbatim and to my knowledge he was bonded based upon this application. If there was a problem with the application, I would think she would have brought it to my attention long before I heard this as part of your discussion last week. In listening to Labor Counsel last week, it was represented that the Board was mandated by law to rescind my appointment for failure to procure my bond within 10 days of my appointment on December 20, 2011. As I have stated earlier, I was still trying to finish many open projects in the Selectmen's office and was not relieved of those duties and told to go to the Treasurer's Office until January 9, 2012. As I stated before, I had the conversation with the Manager about the bond and she told me it could wait. She has told you she does not remember this conversation. I do remember it, as do a number of employees that could verify my concem following that conversation with the Town Manager and who may do so if you were to take the time to ask them. If these facts and circumstances constitute misfeasance on my part, then shoot me now. The only evidence that you have on this subject is that I was told to hold off on the bond. The failure of the Manager's memory on this point is hardly evidence that the conversation didn't take place. I do not accept the opinion of Labor Counsel that my appointment had to be rescinded by law, since I did not fail to produce the bond, I was told to hold off from doing so. I do not accept responsibility for this oversight and I don't believe that I deserve to lose my employment over this. While the statute, which I have since reviewed, may, or may not, have mandated your action last week, I can find no reason why I may not be appointed permanent Treasurer/Collector if you so choose to do so. I can assure you, I will procure the necessary bond, at my personal expense, if necessary, within the required time frame. If the Board is unwilling to appoint me, I will have to assume it is for some reason other than failing to procure the bond. It would seem to me that a 28 year employee, with a spotless personnel record and absolutely no negative teedback trom this Manager or the three prior CAFO's on the performance of her duties as Chief Administrative Assistant or as the Acting Treasurer/Tax Collector, would be given the benefit of the doubt and, that the lack of this bond should be chalked up to an "administrative oversight" in the same manner as other things that I have heard over the past few weeks. The fact of the matter is, I have struggled to juggle two jobs, one of which I was unfamiliar with when I started. The issue of a bond seems to have gone under the radar screen within the Selectmen's office as well, I would hope the Board would take that into consideration as it decides what to do about this. I have worked for the Town for nearly 28 years. I have worked in administrative positions for my whole career. I believe I have been a team player. I was Executive Secretary to the Board of Selectmen for many years, which gave me day-to-day responsibility for carrying out the directives of the Board of Selectmen. With the passage of ===PAGE 10=== the Charter, I took a reduced, complementary role and assisted the various CAFOs in the performance of their • duties over the years. I stepped up and served as Acting CAFO on several occasions without any complaint or commensurate compensation, albeit I was given a "shared stipend with the Town Accountant" on a couple of those occasions, and assisted four CAFOs during their transitions into their positions. Most recently, I agreed to accept a position that was outside of my comfort zone, the position of Treasurer/Collector but no appointment was ever made. It is a complicated financial position with a steep learning curve and a lot of software training. It has been a difficult transition for me but I did it for the good of the Town and because I am a team player. from the Manager that I would either be appointed to the permanent position or faced with the possibility of position in the Selectmen's office is scheduled to be eliminated effective June 30. I have had lengthy discussions with the Manager about the loss of benefits under my existing employment contract with the Town to no avail. So, in taking one for the team, and agreeing to move to the Treasurers Office on a temporary or acting basis, and having no idea that the Board would be obligated by law to rescind my appointment before I actually moved over to the Treasurers office, I am now placed in a position where I have been told that I am effectively out of a job without any resolution of the issues related to my employment contract with the town This is one hell of a way to treat a very loyal employee of the town. I have one final point to make in connection with my appointment as Temporary Treasurer/Collector. It seems that you have taken a very literal interpretation of the statute regarding the appointment of a Temporary Treasurer/Collector. You have stated that my failure to produce a bond required that the Board rescind my appointment. While I do not necessarily agree with this interpretation, lets, for the sake of argument, say that a literal interpretation of this statute is required. If that is the case, then I would say that my 10 day time period to obtain the bond, commences upon my valid appointment to such position as Temporary Treasurer. This same statute states that "the Selectmen may, in writing signed by them or by a majority of them, which shall be filed in the office of the Town Clerk, appoint a temporary officer to hold such office and exercise the powers and perform the duties thereof...". To my knowledge, this was never done and thus, a literal interpretation would seem to require one to reach the conclusion that I have never been duly appointed Temporary Treasurer/Collector and therefore I could not have been legally required to procure a bond until this appointment had been made in accordance with the statute. . This point is supported by an opinion of the Supreme Judicial Court by none other than the celebrated Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. which held that this writing signed in accordance with the provisions of a statute is mandatory and that a vote of the Board communicated to the clerk in writing signed by one its members is not sufficient to constitute a valid appointment. All of this being said, I remain interested in the Treasurer/Collector position. I have worked very hard over the last six months to get up to speed with my responsibilities. There is a way to straighten this out if you are so inclined, and I respectfully request your support in doing so. I would appreciate having a decision made on this tonight as I am leaving for vacation and need to know my employment status prior to my departure, as I will not be returning until after the start of the fiscal year. Thank you. ===PAGE 11=== 2012 TOWN MANAGER EVALUATION Board Composite ===PAGE 12=== SUMMARY COMPOSITE A. Relationships with the Board 37 out of a possible 50. 40- 50 - Outstanding Commendable 20 - Needs Improvement 30 - Satisfactory 10 - Unacceptable B. Fiscal Management 33 out of a possible 40. 32- 40 - Outstanding Commendable 16 - Needs Improvement 24 - Satisfactory 8 - Unacceptable C. Community and Public Relations 29 out of a possible 40. 32- 40 - Outstanding Commendable 16 - Needs Improvement 24 - Satisfactory 8 - Unacceptable D. Personnel Administration 25 out of a possible 45. 36- 45 - Outstanding Commendable 18 - Needs Improvement 27 - Satisfactory 9 - Unacceptable E. Professional Skill and Abilities 36 out of a possible 50. 40- 50- Outstanding Commendable 20 - Needs Improvement 30- Satisfactory 10 - Unacceptable 225-181 180-136 135 - 91 90-46 45 - 0 Outstanding Commendable 160 Board Composite Satisfactory Needs improvement Unacceptable Total 185 163 147 124 179 Average 798 160 2 ===PAGE 13=== Board of Selectmen Narration Sheet 1. What has the Town Manager done well? While putting together one budget is a large task, preparing and presenting two is monumental. Yet both were done with the skill and clarity that we have come to expect from the Town Manager whose greatest strength remains her financial capabilities. Ms. Speidel is extremely knowledgeable of the issues to be discussed at Town Meeting and provides a clear, concise overview of the articles being addressed so that voters are able to make informed decisions. The completion of the DPW building and renovation project was brought in under budget in large part due to her involvement and oversight (along with the DPW Building Committee). The Town Manager has leveraged insurance credits to obtain software and other services Ms. Speidel continues to maintain a good communication with the Board and she has striven to ensure that the Board has the proper information and background data for all the decisions we are asked to make. With a shrinking workforce, the output level, as a whole, has been maintained, although I do wonder how long that trend can continue as the Town continues to strain all available resources. 2. What could the Town Manager do better? Personnel management, specifically communicating goals and objectives, job requirements, identifying areas of success for implementation elsewhere or where improvement is required and noting corrective action steps with follow up and identified repercussions must be implemented. Personnel issues consume a great deal of the Town Manager's time, due in large part to the fact that personnel management was lacking prior to the Town Manager's arrival. In this financially challenging time, it is imperative that we leverage existing personnel and maximize efficiencies. Over the next several years it is likely that due to budget constraints, the number of employees will fall below optimum levels, job performance of any employee that is less than adequate cannot be tolerated and each employee must be given feedback to change. The Town Manager has created a preliminary organizational chart. Improving upon that and creating corresponding job descriptions will go far in defining, and providing useful information on improving, the organization as a whole. Regular department head meetings should be resurrected to foster a more cohesive operation. Additionally, periodic staff meetings of similar departments (1.e. land use, public satety, administration) should be implemented. Increasing communication amongst departments about the issues that they are facing or creative solutions they have implemented is vital in this difficult economy and may result in improved processes. Investing in staff development is crucial to maximizing productivity. 3 ===PAGE 14=== 3. What could the Board do to help the Town Manager / What could the Town Manager do to help the Board? More consistent preparation and analysis of details by all board members would allow town manager better direction for action The Board needs to complete the policies and procedures manual; clear guidance and procedures on a multitude of issues would assist both the Town Manager and the Board. The Board should ensure that seminars are held by Town Counsel annually in accordance with the contract to ensure that employees are aware of changes in law and staff has a regular opportunity to interface with counsel free of charge. Workshops should be scheduled periodically to tackle some of the lingering items such as Policies and Procedures. In order to handle day to day operations and "put out fires", the Town Manager has often sacrificed attendance at seminars or training sessions; personal development and education should become a priority. 4. Suggestions for future goals Dave A) Develop or source employee review forms formatted for specific levels within the organization i.e. front line, supervisory and management consistent across all departments with a section of measures specific to the department. B) Develop format to include board or committee input to review employees who interact or report to elected boards i.e. Planning board + Planning Director, Sewer Commission + Business Manager, etc C) Departmental Metrics and operations review The defeat of the the override while a set back is also a great opportunity to force change where resistance would have been greater in the past. New department heads being hired this year, creating an opportunity to set new standards and expectations for all department head performance. The Town Manager needs to be able to oversee rather than operate, now more than ever. Departments not performing need change, top down. Tom: Org. Chart and Job Descriptions Personnel Policies Departmental Metrics Paula: 1. Personnel matters a. Institute Annual Performance Evaluations b. Implement Periodic Department Head & Staff Meetings c. Formulate a system to document performance issues d. Require periodic attendance by all staff at educational or training seminars 2. Financial Plan/Budget e. Performance Based budgeting f. Quarterly budget updates w/Executive Summary g. Conduct a budget retrospective that evaluates staff levels and tasks previously completed in-house that are now outsourced, or eliminated. 3. Departmental Operations h. Operational Review and Analysis i. Develop and Institute Project Planning for all ongoing projects to identify projected tasks, goals and 4 ===PAGE 15=== 4. timelines. Provide periodie reports. j. Establish method of metrics upon which to measure Department performance Review IT Policies and make necessary changes Steve and Ernie, none submitted ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2012-07-10-agenda-4812.txt BOARD : select-board DATE : 2012-07-10 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/select-board/2012-07-10-agenda-4812.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_07102012-4812 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== BOARD OF SELECTMEN July 10, 2012 6:00 PM – 2 ND FLOOR TOWN HALL JOSEPH F. BILOTTA MEETING ROOM AGENDA 6:00 PM Workshop to review Policies & Procedures 7:00 PM PUBLIC COMMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS APPOINTMENTS CURRENT BUSINESS 1. Waiver of First Right of Refusal, 43D Site, off Summer Street 2. Revise Devens HHW IMA to include admission of To wn of Shirley 3. Review proposed Electrical Permit Fee for Solar Arrays 4. Minutes/ Warrants/ Action File Issues 5. Committee Report 6. Department Reports 7. Town Manager Reports OLD BUSINESS APPOINTMENTS/ RE-APPOINTMENTS/ RESIGNATIONS 1. Ratify appointment of Police Chief 2. FY2013 Annual Appointments EXECUTIVE SESSION 1. M.G.L. Chapter 39, Section 23B [3], to discuss s trategy with respect to collective bargaining or litigation if an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the government’s bargaining or litigating position. Also, to conduct strategy session in preparation for negotiations with non-union personnel; to actually conduct collective bargaining and contract negotiations with non-union personnel. UPCOMING MEETING SCHEDULE July 17, 2012 July 24, 2012 ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2012-07-10-minutes-4812.txt BOARD : select-board DATE : 2012-07-10 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/select-board/2012-07-10-minutes-4812.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_07102012-4812 ======================================================================================== ===OCR macOS Vision=== ===PAGE 1=== BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING MINUTES 7/10/12 The Board of Selectmen met in the Joseph F. Bilotta Meeting Room, Town Hall as scheduled with David Matthews, Steven M. deBettencourt, Paula Bertram, Tom Alonzo, Carl "Ernie" Sund and Town Manager Kerry Speidel present. Regular Meeting opened at 7:02 PM with the Pledge of Allegiance. 7:00 PM PUBLIC COMMENT RECEIVED & FILED ANNOUNCEMENTS AUG 27 2012 APPOINTMENTS LUNENBURG TOWN CLERK OFFICE CURRENT BUSINESS federlopment Althorily spoke to the as and old su hate have bec it, redo in it or Frickburs along with the attorney representing the company looking at this property, that the Title Company will not accept the waiver of first right of refusal and they must adhere to the 6 month statutory deciding period for the Town of Lunenburg. Mr. Curley stated that they will begin again, notify the Town of Lunenburg formerly, and the 6 month period will begin again from there. Ms. Bertram requested that a written opinion from Mr. Curley's Counsel be forwarded to the Town Manager on this matter. 2. Revise Devens HHW IMA to include admission of Town of Shirley - Ms. Speidel explained the history of the Devens Household Hazardous Waste Inter-municipal Agreement to the board. By participating in this program the communities involved can have a Household Hazardous Waste day twice a month for 10 months out of the year at a reasonable fee. She explained that since the Town of Shirley was not an original signer to the inter-municipal agreement, the Oversight Committee which oversees this program, are asking all of the member communities to agree Ms. Speidel recommended that the BOS approve the first amendment of this inter-municipal agreement to allow the Town of Shirley to join the program. Mr. Alonzo questioned what the impact will be on Lunenburg and the surrounding towns whether it be a reduced assessment or is it just an inclusion to include their hazardous household waste. Ms. Speidel will get clarification from the Oversight Committee concerning that question. Mr. Alonzo moved to include the Town of Shirley in the Devens HHW IMA. Ms. Bertram seconded. On vote, motion carried, 5 in favor, 0 opposed 3. Review proposed Electrical Permit Fee for Solar Arrays - Not discussed; continued to next meeting. 4. Minutes/Warrants/Action File Issues Minutes: 6/1/2010 12/7/2010 6/5/2012 6/12/2012 6/19/2012 Mr. Alonzo spoke to clarify a technicality on a set of minutes which showed a recusal of a vote and requested that it be changed to an abstention. Warrants - M4-12 6/26/12 - $244,184.72 ===PAGE 2=== WIP13 6/28/12 - $498,895.76 FY12LS 6/29/12 - $344,394.97 75-12 6/27/12 - $88,123.78 W-1-13 7/3/12 - $693,110.14 26P12M 6/29/12 - $46,134.26 Deduction W - $296,864.75 Accts. Payable - $124,399.78 Action File Issues - Mr. deBettencourt mentioned that a cornerstone at the 43D site off of Summer St. had been eliminated by a piece of equipment. He contacted DPW so they could return it to the proper spot. 5. Committee Reports - Mr. Alonzo reported that the Finance Committee will be meeting this Thursday. Ms. Bertram reported that she attended last night's Planning Board meeting where they discussed the EPG Solar Findings & Directives, Emerald Place & Tri Town Landing. There will be a Public Hearing concerning EPG Solar on July 16" and she encouraged all BOS members to attend. Mr. Matthews reported that the School Building Committee had met and finalized interview questions for the property manager and that RFP's will be going out as soon as MSBA approves. Mr. Matthews attended the Finance Committee to thank Barbara Reynolds for serving on the board. He mentioned that the FC discussed looking at any buildings, assets, or land that they Town may want to sell to get them back on to the tax rolls. Mr. Sund reported that the Cable Committee met last evening and are looking at updating programming and perhaps doing a partnership with the Drawbridge Theater. Discussion among the Board members ensued about the number of properties in the town that are in tax title and if they are being looked at. Ms. Speidel explained the process of what happens when a property owner does not pay their taxes. If a property owner is delinquent at the end of the year and they don't have a signed payment plan with the Treasurer, then a lien will be placed on that property. Once a lien is placed on a property the Town is 100% guaranteed that they will be paid, in time, by the mortgage holder at an interest rate of 16%. In order to foreclose on a lien it must be done through Land Court. It is at the discretion of the Treasurer/Collector on how aggressive they want to be in pursuing the tax titles. Ms. Bertram suggested that the liens be reviewed and categorized to see which properties are high priorities in order to get them back on the tax role. Ms. Speidel will generate a list of prioritized properties which will be circulated to various departments for review by August 31% and will have the finalized list for the BOS to review at the first meeting in September. A second list of properties that are in great disrepair, but are not in tax title, will be also generated for the BOS to review. Ms. Bertram asked what the status was of the gas station located at 925 Mass Ave. Ms. Speidel said that Town Counsel and DEP originally indicated that the Town should not take ownership of this property because of the potential for contamination. Although the tanks have been pumped, the Phase 1 Environmental report indicated that clean up would be required. Ms. Speidel will clarify this with Town Counsel & DEP. Ms. Bertram reported that she had attended the Regional Trails Coalition meeting and will be forwarding information to Conservation concerning grant funding for technical assistance for trails & open space. 6. Department Reports - None ===PAGE 3=== 7. Town Manager Reports - Ms. Speidel reported that she attended the ground breaking ceremony for the Regional 911 building at Devens which was well attended. Renovations have been done and the opening is on target for less than a year from now. A grant award was received from the State for the amount of $1.8M. Another grant from Homeland Security was also applied for and they are still waiting to hear from them. Ms. Speidel believes that Lunenburg will be the first community to cut over because the Regional Dispatch Unit will be using the same software that Lunenburg currently uses. The Executive Committee is currently working on hiring an Executive Director. The grant application which was put forth to M.R.P.C. by the Planning Board for assistance with the Master Plan has been funded through the District Local Technical Assistance Program. This is not a "money" application but rather gives access to M.R.P.C. staff hours. The Legislature has approved and the Governor has signed the 2013 budget. In FY2013 Lunenburg will receive a net increase of $123,673. but there are a number of increases in charges which will reduce that amount. Chapter 70 money received will be in the amount of $5,691,000. and General Government aide will be in the amount of $6,718,000. The Assessments have increased significantly in terms of tuition assessments at $926,658. Tuition assessments are an estimate based upon enrollment and are adjusted during the year based on actual enrollment. It is expected that if the assessment is increased during the year, we should be able to accommodate the increase, which has caused problems in the past. The net increase of $123,673, is spread out across all categories and Ms. Speidel believes that different town departments may be interested in looking for additional appropriations at town meeting. She would like to talk further about that because she feels it is not in anyone's best interest to do that based on the fluctuation that has been seen in the education assessments. Mr. Matthews feels strongly that we stay with the budget that was voted at town meeting because any number of things can happen during the year where the money needs to be spent. Ms. Speidel stated that Monty Tech will receive additional funding in the amount of $87,697. They have two options which would be to reduce the assessments for FY2013 or opt to include the money in their excess & deficiency account. OLD BUSINESS - None APPOINTMENTS/RE-APPOINTMENTS/RESIGNATIONS- 1. Ratify appointment of Police Chief- The Town Manager read the notice of Appointment of James P. Marino, as Police Chief for the Lunenburg Police Dept. into the record. Ms. Speidel requested that the BOS ratify his appointment at this meeting. Mr. Marino was the unanimous selection of the screening committee. Mr. Alonzo moved to ratify the appointment of James P. Marino to the position of Police Chief as recommended by the Town Manager. Mr. Sund seconded. On vote, motion carried, 5 in favor, 0 opposed. Mr. Matthews congratulated Chief Marino and stated that we are lucky as a town to have Chief Marino ready to stand up and take the next step to lead this department. It's the second time we have been able to promote from within which speaks to the depth of the talent and quality of the people we have working in the town. He hopes that people in the town get to know them and thank them for their service. Chief Marino spoke and thanked the Town Manager, BOS, along with family, friends and co-workers. He stated that they will be committed to improving the quality of life for the people in this community. Mr Alonzo spoke and said that the show of support this evening proves that these are the days that show the people out there what a great community we live in. The BOS congratulated Chief Marino. ===PAGE 4=== Chief Marino took the oath of office which was given by the Town Clerk, Kathy Herrick. 2. FY2013 Annual Appointments - Mr. Matthews read the BOS appointment list for FY2013 into record. (See attached). Mr. Alonzo moved to approve the list as read by the Chair. Mr. Sund seconded. On vote, motion carried, 5 in favor, O opposed. Mr. Alonzo moved that the board designate as special municipal employees members of the MART Advisory Board & Montachusett Regional Planning Committee. Ms. Bertrand seconded. On vote, motion carried, 5 in tavor, 0 opposed. Ms. Speidel read the Town Manager Appointments/Re-Appointments into record. (See attached) Ms. Bertram questioned whether or not the Lake Shirley Dam Keepers have been submitting copies to the BOS of the logs that they keep, which the BOS had requested they do in the past. Ms. Speidel replied that the DPW Director has been receiving them. Mr. Alonzo stated that the Band Concerts started yesterday and will run for another 4 weeks every Monday at 7PM. Mi. Sund said that there is a website called "Go Local Worcester" that did rankings on all towns in the Commonwealth. The Town of Lunenburg came in with a ranking of 100 out of 351 towns in Massachusetts. Worcester County was ranked 20 out 78 in Massachusetts. EXECUTIVE SESSION - Mr. Matthews stated that the BOS was going into Executive Session, not to return and read into record M.G.L. Chapter 39, Section 23B (3), to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining or litigation if an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the government's bargaining or litigating position. Also, to conduct strategy session in preparation for negotiations with non-union personnel; to actually conduct collective bargaining and contract negotiations with non-union personnel. Being no further business the board voted unanimously to adjourn regular session at 8:20PM. UPCOMING MEETING SCHEDULE July 17, 2012 July 24, 2012 Respectfully submitted, Susan Doherty, Recording Secretary Board of Selectmen RECEIVED & FILED AUG 27 2012 LUNENBURG TOWN CLERK OFFICE ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2012-07-17-agenda-4813.txt BOARD : select-board DATE : 2012-07-17 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/select-board/2012-07-17-agenda-4813.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_07172012-4813 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== BOARD OF SELECTMEN /g45/g88/g79/g92/g3/g20/g26/g15/g3/g21/g19/g20/g21 7:00 PM – 2 ND FLOOR TOWN HALL JOSEPH F. BILOTTA MEETING ROOM AGENDA 7:00 PM PUBLIC COMMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS APPOINTMENTS 7:00 PM Patrick Sullivan, Oath of Office CURRENT BUSINESS 1. Minutes/ Warrants/ Action File Issues 2. Committee Report 3. Department Reports 4. Town Manager Reports OLD BUSINESS APPOINTMENTS/ RE-APPOINTMENTS/ RESIGNATIONS 1. FY2013 Annual Appointments EXECUTIVE SESSION 1. M.G.L. Chapter 39, Section 23B [3], to discuss s trategy with respect to collective bargaining or litigation if an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the government’s bargaining or litigating position. Also, to conduct strategy session in preparation for negotiations with non-union personnel; to actually conduct collective bargaining and contract negotiations with non-union personnel. UPCOMING MEETING SCHEDULE July 24, 2012 ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2012-07-24-agenda-4814.txt BOARD : select-board DATE : 2012-07-24 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/select-board/2012-07-24-agenda-4814.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_07242012-4814 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== BOARD OF SELECTMEN /g45/g88/g79/g92/g3/g21/g23/g15/g3/g21/g19/g20/g21 6:00 PM – 2 ND FLOOR TOWN HALL JOSEPH F. BILOTTA MEETING ROOM AGENDA 6:00 PM WORKSESSION 1. Town Manager Goals & Objectives 2. BOS Policies & Procedures 7:00 PM PUBLIC COMMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS APPOINTMENTS 7:00 PM Candidates for School Committee Vacancy Todd Blake; Anthony Caiozzo; Robert Meek-LaVeck CURRENT BUSINESS 1. Electrical Permit Fee for Solar Arrays/ Farms 2. Minutes/ Warrants/ Action File Issues 3. Committee Report 4. Department Reports 5. Town Manager Reports OLD BUSINESS APPOINTMENTS/ RE-APPOINTMENTS/ RESIGNATIONS 1. Christina Roberts, Principal Account Clerk, Tre asurer-Collector’s Office EXECUTIVE SESSION 1. M.G.L. Chapter 39, Section 23B [3], to discuss s trategy with respect to collective bargaining or litigation if an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the government’s bargaining or litigating position. Also, to conduct strategy session in preparation for negotiations with non-union personnel; to actually conduct collective bargaining and contract negotiations with non-union personnel. UPCOMING MEETING SCHEDULE August 7, 2012 August 1 4, 2012 August 21, 2012 ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2012-07-24-minutes-4814.txt BOARD : select-board DATE : 2012-07-24 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/select-board/2012-07-24-minutes-4814.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_07242012-4814 ======================================================================================== ===OCR macOS Vision=== ===PAGE 1=== RECEIVED & FILED : BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING MINUTES 7/24/12 AUG 27 2012 LUNENBURG TOWN PB CLERK OFFICE # - Sims The Board of Selectmen met in the Joseph F. Bilotta Meeting Room, Town Hall as scheduled with David Matthews, Steven M. deBettencourt, Tom Alonzo, Carl "Ernie" Sund and Town Manager Kerry Speidel present. Regular Meeting opened at 7:05 PM with the Pledge of Allegiance. Absent was Paula Bertram 7:00PM PUBLIC COMMENT Mr. Alonzo informed the public that the last band concert of the season will be held on July 30". He thanked all who were involved with the band concerts this year. ANNOUNCEMENTS Mr. Matthews read a memo from the Lunenburg Water District concerning a mandatory water use restriction which has become in effect. There will be no, non-essential water use (watering grass, washing cars or driveways etc...) between the hours of 9AM - SPM. Water can still be used during this time for vegetable gardens, farming use, and business purposes. APPOINTMENTS 7:00 PM Candidates for School Committee Vacancy Todd Blake; Anthony Caiozzo; Robert Meek-LaVeck Mr. Matthews explained that the BOS along with the School Committee will be interviewing the candidates separately and that this would be a joint appointment which will be in effect until the next election. Todd Blake, 6 Robbs Terrace spoke to the board and explained his reasons for wanting to become a member of the school committee. Mr. Blake has lived in Massachusetts for approximately 10 years and has two children in the school system. He would like to become more involved with the town and believes he possesses certain qualities that he can bring to the table that will help the school committee. Mr. Matthews had prepared a series of questions for each of the candidates and after they are asked and answered, it was opened up to the board for their questions. Interview questions being asked by Mr. Matthews began with Mr. Blake as follows: Mr. Matthews: What do you see as the mission of the schools and the school committee? Mr. Blake: The mission of the schools & school committee is to provide quality education to all students. Mr. Matthews: What do you see as the greatest challenge to meeting that goal? Mr. Blake: I guess you can say funds. Based on the last Prop. 2 ½ override and how things are going I think that the schools need more money & resources. Mr. Matthews: What's your goal and motivation for joining the school committee? Mr. Blake: I don't exactly have a goal, I don't know all the answers because I don't know all the questions & I don't think it would be right or presumptuous of me to say I have a solution to every problem or any of the problems based on what I know as a member of the public. I do know that I would look forward to learning what the questions are so that I could become part of the solution whatever that might be. Mr. Matthews: What's your experience in public service & community decision making? Mr. Blake: I have no experience in public leadership. I was briefly a member on the building committee here in town but had to step down due to a conflict of interest. Mr. Matthews: How familiar are you with the budget & the budget process? Mr. Blake: Basic familiarity, not very high. Mr. Matthews: Given the override discussion & result where do you see opportunities to reduce expenses and/or close the deficit between the Superintendents recommended budget & the available funds? ===PAGE 2=== Mr. Blake: I think the Town Manager did a great job at finding all the areas that could be reduced. When I looked at the budget I didn't find anything that stood out that said you could take money from here, it seems like it was pretty much bare bones at the time. I don't see any place where you can take from one to give to another because you're just shifting the problem from one committee to another. I think revenue needs to be raised. Mr. Matthews: Do you see specific areas where spending is a concern, too much or too little? Mr. Blake: No, I don't think I can intelligently answer that question without going through the budget line by line and looking at it more in depth. Mr. Matthews: Do you feel Lunenburg is competitive and effective in school spending vs. our neighbors and in the state of Massachusetts? Mr. Blake: No I don't. I think there are plenty of communities that spend more, they have more resources, they raise more money, they put a greater emphasis on education, and you can see it in the quality of education in those communities. I would hope that we could raise the same awareness here to make it one of the top notch education areas in the state. Mr. Matthews: Do you have experience in negotiating contracts? Mr. Blake: Yes. Mr. Matthews: Labor or services? Mr. Blake: Services, I wouldn't say specifically to labor. Mr. Matthews: What would your approach be to prepare to negotiate contracts? Mr. Blake: Take an open mind to see where all parties are coming from, what the issues are, and try to find a reasonable solution, or compromise. I wouldn't want to go into negotiations with an idea of what's going to happen or this is what needs to happen. You need to listen first, see what the issues are, and then make a conclusion based on the information given to you. Mr. Alonzo: In important decision making in your life, how would you describe your decision making process? Mr. Blake: You can make two columns, find out what the positives & the negatives are, find out what the costs associated with doing whatever that is, and see what the long term solution is. Then you weigh it against whatever is happening in your life now and see what the best course of action is, not just for me but for my family. Mr. Alonzo: What would you consider your best skills and qualities are that would be transferable to being on the school committee? Mr. Blake: I'm an engineer and as an engineer I often problem solve. I'm good at breaking things down, finding out what the core problems/issues are in any particular problem, and finding a solution to that problem. Mr. Alonzo: Were you aware that there was an open seat on the school committee for this past election and if you were why didn't you run for it. Mr. Blake: I was aware of it, I wasn't ready to commit because I knew it was a big commitment at that time. I didn't want to come forward and run for it, to find out later that I really wasn't going to be committed to it. I wanted to take that extra time. Being no other questions from the board Mr. Matthews thanked Mr. Blake for coming forward. He mentioned that they had worked briefly together on the school building committee & consolidation committee and that Mr. Blake was a great help then. Anthony Caiozzo, 120 Robbs Hill Rd. spoke to the board and explained his reasons wanting to become a member of the School Committee. Mr. Caiozzo has 4 children, 2 of which are currently in the school system. Mr. Caiozzo stated that he has interacted with the BOS over the last couple of years and has lived in Lunenburg for approximately 8-9 years and has lived in Massachusetts for 20 years. Interview questions for Mr. Caiozzo began as follows: Mr. Matthews: What do you see as the mission of the schools and the School Committee? Mr. Caiozzo: The mission of the school committee is to oversee the doings of the schools from an administrative, or policy setting perspective, where is as the schools are much more involved in setting day to day course following the mandates of the state regarding framework and instruction, ideally promoting our children on to greatness. Mr. Matthews: What do you see as the greatest challenge to meeting that goal? Mr. Caiozzo: Having been on both sides as a non-parent, looking at the school system as you read in the media as a defunct entity and now being on the inside of it, I don't think its as bad as people make it to be. My wife is an ex-educator and I have had exposure to children for a great period of time working as a husband/wife team along with my own children. I see a great deal of opportunity to improve the efficiency in which our organizations operate. I do see a bit of ===PAGE 3=== disparity when you look at how one entity performs vs. another with slightly different policies and some redundancy. I see the school committee, with the assistance of the education management team, to be able to provide a more strict framework to drive those policies and procedures down. Mr. Matthews: What's your goal and motivation for joining the School Committee? Mr. Caiozzo: It's twofold, on one side it's been building for a while. Jumping ahead to the question you will ask me at the end, I've been teetering on the edge for a long time and my thoughts were this is a huge commitment. I'm personal friends with Dave Rief and I've seen the trials and tribulations of what he's been through. Just something finally pushed me over the edge and I said this is my moment. When I was Chair of the Technology Committee here in town I really got an exposure to the inner workings of the beast, seeing what made this place tick, seeing what some of the inabilities are and there was never really an opportunity to take that next step. I saw this as an opportunity to drive these projects forward. Obviously there are many other agenda items that people have and hopefully we can drive some commonality and push forward Mr. Matthews: What's your experience in public service & community decision making? Mr. Caiozzo: I've been involved with Lunenburg Youth Soccer Assoc. in varying different roles over the past 7 years. Most recently, acting in the capacity of the Registrar, which provides organizational framework to the group. They came from a paper based background and I see a lot of commonality here be able to usher in technology and getting away from stacks of paper where everything is online. I've served on the Regionalization Committee and became extremely intimate with school finance, school politics, and all the political factions that go into buildings, grounds, education organizational structure, Chapter 70, and how all those pieces fit together. Mr. Matthews: How familiar are you with the budget & the budget process? Mr. Caiozzo: Too familiar, there is always room for improvement but for an average person who doesn't have to know this on a day to day basis, I probably know too much. Mr. Matthews: Given the override discussion & result where do you see opportunities to reduce expenses and/or close the deficit between the Superintendents recommended budget & the available funds? Mr. Caiozzo: Speaking from the prospective of projects I've been involved with, I've actually started some initiatives here to find some of those dollars that I see potentially disappearing from our budget on a monthly basis that don't need to. Looking at how some of these processes are run, if you're looking for the incentive to innovate, its just not there. So opposed as a private corporation that has to get by on less, you can't just decide to raise revenue because you decide to charge people more, it doesn't work that way in the private world. I, as a privately contracted individual, am always looking for ways to create efficiencies, drive efficiencies through scale, and I see a lot of opportunity here that we're not taking advantage of. To be able to get into a position here where you can articulate those ideas and execute on those plans is something that excites me to do next. Mr. Matthews: Do you see specific areas where spending is a concern, too much or too little? Mr. Caiozzo: Yes, looking at telephony here in town, both on town side and school side, what we are/are not doing to embrace technology. Every month we are spending more money then we need to on basic telephony services for our town and school infrastructure. Another area where I believe we can save money is in-sourcing and with open source software. Mr. Matthews: Do you feel Lunenburg is competitive and effective in school spending vs. our neighbors and in the state of Massachusetts? Mr. Caiozzo: Yes, taking a look at what other towns around us pay per pupil, we are extremely competitive. I think we have an opportunity here to be a model town/school system and to embrace some of these technologies to drive that leadership and help propel Lunenburg forward. Mr. Matthews: Do you have experience in negotiating contracts? Mr. Caiozzo: My day to day job is spent negotiating contracts with multi-national organizations, both as product as well as services. I also run a contracting company on the side where I need to negotiate contracts. Mr. Matthews: What's your process to prepare to negotiate contracts? Mr. Caiozzo: I like to let the other guy go first. I find quite often that people walk into negotiations with a pre-set idea with how they want things to go and if you go up against them with your idea, I think conversations quickly stall and get derailed. You can save weeks if not months taking that tactic. Mr. Matthews: What happens if you don't have another choice? Mr. Caiozzo: There are cases when you don't have a choice and you have to find some common ground. I still think the choice of letting the other person go first is best. I find it's a lot easier to work with a pre-existing model then to try and throw two pieces of play dough together that may be totally incompatible, give me what you got and we can make it work. I can't think of a situation where I couldn't make it work. Mr. Alonzo: While we always look to efficiencies, is it your belief that efficiencies alone will make up the deficit that the Superintendent believes we are facing? ===PAGE 4=== Mr. Caiozzo: No, I think it will help close the gap, but I don't think it will close it. I've spent a lot of time analyzing some real cursory numbers to see if there was anything that could be saved. Mr. Alonzo: What do you think are the biggest changes to putting on your private enterprise hat, to your public one and how do you reconcile those differences? Mr. Caiozzo: I think what you have to do in a public enterprise is similar to what you need to achieve in a private enterprise in terms of day to day function. The mechanics/economics are totally different and there is quite a bit that can be learned by both parties. There is quite a bit that can be learned from both entities and there is some good cross pollination that can happen. Joining the school committee does not mean I want to become the Superintendent or Principal. It's more so that I want to bring my expertise to the school committee to enable the novel solutions that can develop when you put five broadly minded people together as opposed to essentially saying I need to take off my hat. Mr. Alonzo: The fact that you have school children in the system, how do you think that would color your decisions as a. school committee member? Mr. Caiozzo: I would like to think that I would remain impartial and be looking to do something right for everyone and in some cases there is no right/wrong you just have to vote a certain way. The function of the school committee is to look out for the children, by having children to watch out for, not just mine but everyone else's, my voting would be geared towards doing what's best for the children. Mr. Alonzo: What do you think your best skills and qualities are for this position? Mr. Caiozzo: My public experience, my negotiation skills, my technological aptitude, and my problem solving skills. Mr. Sund: If you were on the School Committee how would you become the person that is in between the schools and the tax payers and how would you balance that? Mr. Caiozzo: Putting yourself out there is subjecting yourself to all kinds of public scrutiny. When I worked with the Regionalization Committee, information that we were putting out there was totally misconstrued by the press. I'm not excited by that but it's a necessary evil and I understand that. Mr. deBettencourt spoke and stated that he feels that you are the agent for the tax payers rather than the children. He said that the School Management team is responsible for the children's education. Mr. Caiozzo agreed with Mr. deBettencourt in saying that there is a lot of "hats" to be worn here. Mr. Matthews: Given what you know today, if you are appointed do you intend to run for re-election? Mr. Caiozzo: I'd love to say yes but I need to find out what it's like to be on the other side. If things go as well as I expect, then I will definitely run for re-election. If I am not chosen for this position now, I think that I will definitely run for the position a year from now. Being no other questions from the board Mr. Matthews thanked Mr. Caiozzo for coming forward. Mr. Matthews called Mr. Blake back to the podium to ask "Given what you know today, if you are appointed do you intend to run for re-election?" Mr. Blake responded as of things stand right now, I would be committed to running. Robert Meek-LaVeck, 33 Lancaster Ave, spoke to the board and explained his reasons wanting to become a member of the School Committee. Mr. Meek-LaVeck and family moved here 1 year ago from California. Mr. Meek-LaVeck was involved in the California school system and volunteering with the American Youth Soccer Organization. They picked Lunenburg to relocate to so to be closer to his spouses work and found that the reputation that Lunenburg had in the school system was good and their ratings were higher then those in California. He feels that it is very important as a parent to be involved in the school and community. He was a Foster Parent for 10 years and was involved in different levels with the Foster Parent Association. He feels that Lunenburg has a good school system which can be used as a tool to attract other families to the area. Interview questions being asked by Mr. Matthews began with Mr. Meek-LaVeck as follows: Mr. Matthews: What do you see as the mission of the schools and the School Committee? Mr. Meek-LaVeck: I see the mission of the schools is to provide a safe learning environment for the kids in the areas where the kids are not getting what they need, on the level they need, it's their responsibility to provide it to them at a level they will learn. The levels of the schools in California are like night and day compared to here. When my children came here they were slightly behind. I saw throughout the year how the Lunenburg school system took & evaluated each one of them, attacked it, and brought each one of them up to the level that they needed to be in a very efficient and quick ===PAGE 5=== As a school committee I think it's their responsibility to look at the budget aspects of it, to follow through with the policies, and to find the best way to help grow the school community. We are looking at building a new school facility and right now it is difficult because of the lack of funds but in the long run it's going to be what helps and is the best thing for our community. Mr. Matthews: What do you see as the greatest challenge to meeting that goal? Mr. Meek-LaVeck: The biggest challenge right now is the decision to consolidate the schools. In some aspects it wasn't popular with the parents but looking at what the options were, it was the best decision that could have been made. Funding is always going to be a difficult aspect of it. I think that by keeping our school as a high level educational institution that will attract more people and help bring more tax dollars in to fund the schools. Mr. Matthews: What's your goal and motivation for joining the School Committee? Mr. Meek-LaVeck:_I come as a parent. I bring passion & desire for my kids & others to have a great educational experience and I want to be part of that. I am a stay at home parent and have the time to put into that and have the time to educate myself on events that are going on presently that I'm not completely aware of yet. Mr. Matthews: What's your experience in public service & community decision making to achieve consensus? Mr. Meek-LaVeck: In my experience I've served 10 years as a foster parent. It was a difficult job to do because it was not well respected. You don't go into it expecting to make money but rather to provide for the kids. The Soccer Association was a similar situation. My parents and grandparents were involved in community service and as a citizen I believe it is our responsibility to be part of the process. By me being involved, it sets a good example for my kids. Mr. Matthews: How familiar are you with the budget & the budget process? Mr. Meek-LaVeck: I'm not overly familiar with the complete process but I certainly have the ability to educate myself and learn about it. Mr. Matthews: Given the override discussion & result where do you see opportunities to reduce expenses and/or close the deficit between the Superintendents recommended budget & the available funds? Mr. Meek-LaVeck: I think that given the funds that we have, we are doing the best that we can and down the road it will take the part of the a community to help build that and to fill the spots that we are lacking so we can get back to the point where we were, at one point. Mr. Matthews: Do you see areas of concern where spending is too low or too high? Mr. Meek-LaVeck: I do see some areas where we are running on bare bones whether we like that or not that may be the way it is right now. We have to continue to look and evaluate the funds that we have and make the best decisions possible. I think that's an area where parents can come into play and help fill in some of those roles. I work with the P.T.O and one of the areas we saw lacking was with school supplies and we are doing a drive with the parents to help provide school supplies. Mr. Matthews: Do you feel Lunenburg is competitive and effective in school spending vs. our neighbors and in the state of Massachusetts? Mir. Meek-la Veck: : Yes I do and that's one of the reasons why I'm here. I looked at the areas surrounding and specifically chose this area for its schools, community, and safety in the area. Mr. Matthews: Do you have experience in negotiating contracts? Mr. Meek-LaVeck: No. Mr. Matthews: If you were to negotiate contracts what would your preparation be? Mr. Meek-LaVeck: My preparation would be to listen to both sides and to everything that is being presented. Then I would look at what the resources that are available, and then choose the best option for the best value I need to achieve without necessarily paying big dollars for it, but also not compromising on the quality of what I expect. Mr. Matthews: Should you be appointed would you consider running for re-election in the spring? Mr. Meek-LaVeck: Yes. Mr. Alonzo: What other towns did it come down to besides Lunenburg to move to? Mr. Meek-LaVeck: We looked at Groton, Ayer, Shirley, and outside of Boston. We had to look at what was affordable and it came down to Lunenburg's history in being a top school was important to me. I liked the fact that we had a failing school that was turned around and was successful and getting back to where it needed to be. Mr. Alonzo: The fact that you have school children in the system, how do you think that affects your decisions as a school committee member? Mr. Meek-LaVeck: It puts me into a better prospective of having kids in the school system. As a town's person doing a household budget, knowing that there are limits we have to stay within and knowing there are options available to us to get the quality we need for the kids and providing a safe environment for them to learn in which is critical. Mr. Alonzo: From your experience in California, is there anything that we in Massachusetts could do to learn from their system as far as school structuring or finance? ===PAGE 6=== Mr. Meek-LaVeck: I think that the school system here is much better than in California because of the continuing layoff of teachers and it was difficult to maintain consistency in the school system. Being part of California and seeing what they provide for the school system I see an area that we don't want to get into having to continually cut. You need to look at the whole big picture to make a successful school. Mr. Alonzo: Have you researched back in the past 5 years in Lunenburg's budgets? Mr. Meek-LaVeck: I have not done an extensive research on that but I do know that in the last couple of years there have been significant impacts just from the economy in general and that it is have been a difficult decision for everyone in making the choices that have been made. Mr. Alonzo: Did you know that there was a position open and if you did why didn't you run for a seat then? Mr. Meek-LaVeck: I didn't know there was a position open until just before the election. I was serving in the capacity of a P.T.O member and when I found out there was a vacancy available I thought this was my opportunity to step up and make a difference in the community. I don't bring in pre-conceived ideas, I provide open ears, and new eyes on the situation and having worked as a Paramedic for 12 years I have an extensive problem solving background by making quick decisions. Mr. Alonzo: What do you think your biggest hurdles and obstacles are in joining the School Committee? Mr. Meek-LaVeck: The biggest hurdle in any type of position that is in the public forum is making everybody happy and you won't be able to make everybody happy. The best thing to do is to take the information you have at the time, make those decisions, and communicate those out to each other. I think I can help bridge that gap that might be there. Mr. Sund: As a representative of the children in the school and as a representative of the tax payer, how do you reconcile that? Mr. Meek-LaVeck: To reconcile that you have to be very transparent in explaining your decision, why you're making that decision, and realizing that it may not be the most popular decision all the time but we are dealing with their tax money and its our job to put the best foot forward for them. Mr. Matthews thanked Mr. Meek-LaVeck for coming forward, and said that the BOS will be voting on this with the School Committee on August 7, 2012. CURRENT BUSINESS 1. Electrical Permit Fee for Solar Arrays/Farms - Discussed at 6PM Work Session, where the Board confirmed that the existing fee of $10 per $1,000 of value for Commercial Building Permits apply to Electrical Permits for alternative energy arrays, including solar farms. 2. Minutes/Warrants/Action File Issues Minutes: None Warrants : 7/17 6/30 7/24 7/8 6/29 7/19 7/19 W 3-13 W 2W/P12 ₩ 5-13 W 4-13 3W/P12 W #2P13 W 2P13M $608,180.87 $197,943.30 $102,303.87 $346,446.27 $3714.78 $479,982.45 $1549.72 Action File Issues : Mr. Alonzo brought to the Board's attention a letter from the Sentinel & Enterprise reporter asking about emails concerning the vote pertaining to a vote and the public records law. He pointed out that he had spoken with this reporter at a public function and asked her what prompted her to write this letter. She told him that a fellow board member had suggested to her that there were a "flurry" of emails the day that the vote was taken which is (a) not true and (b) he is concerned and troubled that a member of their own board would be telling a reporter that emails were going back and forth when it wasn't true and also that he was encouraging a public records request, which has now been made. Having been through this before he can say that nothing good ever comes from this and he would hope that people on our own board would not encourage people to make such requests and not cast dispersions on what the board is doing. Ms. Speidel said that she also received a public records request from the same reporter on the same subject a few weeks before the Board had received it and that she responded to it on July 6th. She said that there is a copy of ===PAGE 7=== the response in the action file if the board is interested in reviewing it. Ms. Speidel said that she was happy to respond for the board to this request. The search that she performed included anything that was exchanged on a lunenburgonline email. She cannot search any private email accounts. It is up to the board members to inform her that they have records of response in their personal email. She stated again that if the BOS would like her to respond on their behalf she would be happy to do that and asked board members if they had records that are responsive to this matter. Mr. Matthews said that there are no emails between himself and any other member of this board about this discussion or issue and the only emails he saw were from the employee and the Town Manager's response to them. Any statement, belief, or political grandstand that perhaps there was something else going on is utter nonsense, misleading, misstatement and disturbing to say the least. Mr. Sund stated that he did not have anything except for what was transmitted to him through the Town Manager. Mr. Alonzo said that he had the same thing, which are the two emails from the employee and the Town Manager. Mr. Sund spoke about the Passios building, which is now empty, and he would like to look at the feasibility of moving all town offices into that building, including the offices from Town Hall and the Ritter Building. . He believes the town can divest itself of the Ritter Building at that time. If this happened he would like to swap the Town Hall building with the Historical Society, and then lump the Historical building in with the senior housing development. Mr. Matthews agreed that down the road they may want to do that, but the Passios building is not going to be empty, and is still controlled by the School Committee. They are potentially looking in the near future at a High School project. Should they do a renovation they may need some swing space to operate classrooms during construction and that they do need to be looking ahead at what will be done with that building, but they are a little ways out before they can do that. 3. Committee Reports - Mr. Alonzo reported that the Finance Committee will be meeting on Thursday evening at Town Hall at 7PM. Mr. Matthews stated that the School Building Committee will be meeting tomorrow night and he is hoping that they will have word from the MSBA that they are ready to take the next step with feasibility. 4. Department Reports - None 5. Town Manager Reports - Ms. Speidel distributed copies of her Self Evaluation to the board members and apologized for not giving it to them at the work session earlier this evening. She made available copies of all of the evaluations to board members. Ms. Speidel produced a copy of the Grant agreement for the Chair to sign, which was applied for, and received by the Planning Board to assist with the Master Plan. This has already been reviewed and approved by the Planning Department. Ms. Speidel stated that there is an Executive Session posted concerning the new contract for the Fire Chief and asked if the board would prefer to go into Executive Session to discuss this or approve the contract in open session. Mr. deBettencourt said that he would like to ask questions in Executive Session concerning the contract. OLD BUSINESS - None APPOINTMENTS/RE-APPOINTMENTS/RESIGNATIONS 1. Christina Roberts, Principal Account Clerk, Treasurer-Collector's Office - Ms. Speidel stated that she has made the appointment of Christina Roberts, as Principal Account Clerk, Treasure-Collector's office in accordance with Section 4-2 (c) of the Town Charter which will become effective on the fifteenth day following this notice, or on July 31, 2012. ===PAGE 8=== Ms. Speidel asked the board to ratify the appointment before the fifteenth day so that the individual can begin work. Ms. Roberts is a resident of Lunenburg and was selected from a pool of a dozen applicants. She has six years experience working as a teller and customer service representative in a bank and previously owned her own business. Mr. Alonzo moved that the board ratify the appointment of Christina Roberts as the Principal Account Clerk as presented to the board by the Town Manager. Mr. Sund seconded. On vote, motion carried, 4 in favor, 0 opposed. EXECUTIVE SESSION - 1. Mr. Matthews stated that the BOS was going into Executive Session, not to return and read into record M.G.L. Chapter 39, Section 23B (3), to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining or litigation if an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the government's bargaining or litigating position. Also, to conduct strategy session in preparation for negotiations with non-union personnel; to actually conduct collective bargaining and contract negotiations with non-union personnel, specifically the Fire Chief. Being no further business the board voted unanimously to adjourn regular session at 8:15PM. UPCOMING MEETING SCHEDULE August 7, 2012 August 14, 2012 August 21, 2012 Respectfully submitted, Susan Doherty, Recording Secretary Board of Selectmen RECEIVED & FILED AUG 27 2012 LUNENBURG TOWN CLERK OFFICE ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2012-08-07-agenda-4815.txt BOARD : select-board DATE : 2012-08-07 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/select-board/2012-08-07-agenda-4815.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08072012-4815 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== BOARD OF SELECTMEN August 7, 2012 6:00 PM – 2 ND FLOOR TOWN HALL JOSEPH F. BILOTTA MEETING ROOM AGENDA 6:00 PM WORKSESSION 1. BOS Policies & Procedures 7:00 PM PUBLIC COMMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS 1. Fire Chief’s Employment Contract APPOINTMENTS 7:00 PM Joint Meeting with School Committee to appoint person to School Committee Vacancy CURRENT BUSINESS 1. EPG Solar, Offer to Purchase Net Metering Credit s 2. State Primary Posting, Sign Warrant 3. FY12 Year End Budget Transfers 4. MSBA Contract, Feasibility Study 5. Minutes/ Warrants/ Action File Issues 6. Committee Report 7. Department Reports 8. Town Manager Reports OLD BUSINESS APPOINTMENTS/ RE-APPOINTMENTS/ RESIGNATIONS EXECUTIVE SESSION UPCOMING MEETING SCHEDULE August 14, 2012