FINANCE COMMITTEE
MINUTES – NOVEMBER 17, 2003
TOWN HALL – 7:30 P.M.
Members present: Pietal, Heitin, Goodman, Miller, Rose, Sydney, Hearn, Tuck, Feldman
1. Received notice of Bergeron’s resignation effective November 7th 2003 due to conflicts with other Town positions
2. Pietal reviewed with all members several emails received over the past two weeks
3. Committee reviewed the Zoning Article Reviews from Joel Tran (Planning Board)
· Cobbs Corner
o Tuck raised concern around building size, lot location as well as parking – would like to ensure that same issues that have arisen with the current Professional Building do not get repeated
o Heitin clarified that the article is strictly asking for rezoning. Any future development would require both the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Planning Board approvals.
o Tuck questioned whether affordable housing would be lost if houses in the proposed rezoning district were sold
o Hearne asked whether the houses in question meet the “Affordable Housing” criteria
o Heitin replied that according to Ben Puritz these houses do not meet the defined state criteria
· South Main Street
o Items to notice based on the analysis
· Tax revenue increase
· Town Services cost savings
o Traffic studies continue to raise concerns – Confirmed that traffic studies do not normally happen until a developer shows interest in the property
o Pietal asked Joel Tran to be prepared with a sequence of development events for Town Meeting
o Sidney added that he likes the idea of lowering the tax burden to the residents
o Goodman asked the philosophical question – What is an acceptable tax increase?
o Tuck questioned the proposed entrance way and the safety concerns to the neighborhood
o Goodman asked how many total homes are there in the surrounding neighborhood?
o South Walpole Street is classified as a scenic road and if required and approved can be widened
o Feldman questioned the Finance Committee’s responsibility – are we spending to much time debating over logistics and what may be built rather that just focusing on our fiscal responsibility to the town
o Tuck replied that the Finance Committee needs full disclosure of all information in order to make informed recommendations
o Goodman used the analogy of the Finance Committee acting as Gatekeeper
o Feldman agreed
4. Voted Recommendation on remaining Warrant Articles
· Article II – (8-0-1)
· Article III – (9-0-0)
· Article IV – (7-1-1)
· Article VII – (9-0-0)
5. Rattlesnake Hill Conservation Commission Article
· Pietal stated the goal is to have Financial Impact Analysis for Town Meeting based on the combination of Hitter’s and Goodman’s work
o Assessment to be at 90%
· Tuck questioned the number of students currently 250 in the analysis
o Recommended using the Sharon Census across all structures because of displacement
· Heitin question the $7500 cost/student due to state reimbursements
· Pietal stated that for this analysis we should be conservative at Town Meeting
· Town Treasurer analysis for borrowing $6m at December Town Meeting
o If approved a Town Election needs to happened within 90 days
o Additional borrowing of $1.5m from the Water Department would be brought to Town Meeting in May
· Heitin will look for clarification on the $1.5m surplus in the Water Department Balance Sheet
6. Communication Plan
· Sharon Advocate Articles
o Tuck – Rattlesnake Hill – November 28th Edition
o Rose – Rezoning Articles – December 5th Edition
7. Voted – November 3rd Meeting Minutes – (7-0-2)
Key Dates
Open Warrant Meeting – December 1st 2003 – Selectmen’s Room
Town Meeting – December 8th & 9th 2003
Finance Committee Meeting – December 15th 2003 – Budget Reviews
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