March 20, 2003
The regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held at 7:30 P.M. in the Sharon Town Offices with Chair Allen M. Garf, and Selectmen Norman Katz and Walter Joe Roach and Town Administrator Benjamin E. Puritz.
The meeting was called to order at 7:32 P.M.
Minutes
VOTED: (Roach/Garf) Voted 2-0 (Katz abstained) to approve the Minutes of March 11, 2003 including Executive Session.
Moratorium on 40B Projects and Affordable Housing Plan
Leslie Koval was present to request the Selectmen’s support for her two petition articles. Chair Garf stated that he sought advice of Town Counsel and that Town Counsel advised him that he did not need to recuse himself from this discussion as the articles would not affect Rattlesnake Hill. Ms. Koval read her articles as follows:
ARTICLE
To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Board of Selectmen to petition the Massachusetts General Court to enact special legislation to establish in the Town of Sharon a three year moratorium on new projects under Chapter 40B of the General Laws for the purpose of allowing the Town of Sharon to develop and adopt an affordable housing plan, provided that the Legislature may reasonably vary the form and substance of the requested legislation within the scope of the general public objectives of this petition and with the approval of the Sharon Board of Selectmen, or to take any other action relative thereto.
ARTICLE
To see if the Town will vote to direct the appropriate Town boards to create and implement an affordable housing plan that is consistent with the needs of the Town and will meet state affordable housing obligations, or to take any other action relative thereto.
She stated that the articles do not have the “force of law,” but would create a message with other Towns for being solidly together in its quest for reform of 40B. She stated that they would be asking the Planning Board, Housing Partnership and other Committees to move forward with an Affordable Housing Plan for the Town and to include such plan within a long-range plan for the Town.
Ben Puritz stated that the Planning Board has engaged a consultant to put together an affordable housing strategy as part of Executive Order 418 with the State.
VOTED: (Katz/Roach) Voted unanimously to support the two petition articles as sponsored by Leslie Koval.
Ambulance Budget Shortfall
Chief Mann was present to discuss a shortfall in the Ambulance Budget He stated that the shortfall was the result in the increase in transports, the loss of two firefighters, and the training of replacements. He further stated that this shortfall was unforeseen and unanticipated and is requesting a reserve fund transfer of $58,596.00.
VOTED: (Katz/Roach) Voted unanimously to transfer the request for a Reserve Fund Transfer for the Ambulance Budget in the amount of $58,596.00 to the Finance Committee.
Request for Permission for Limousine to Pass Through Sharon - Aleksander Yelskiy
This item is on hold as the applicant has an appointment with the Building Inspector.
Approve One-Day Liquor License
The Board reviewed a request for a One-Day Liquor License for a Surprise Party to take place on April 26, 2003 at the Community Center. Insurance and Police Detail requirements have been met.
VOTED: (Katz/Roach) Voted unanimously to approve the One-Day Liquor License for Beer and Wine at the Sharon Community Center on April 26, 2003.
Approve List of Summer Employees
The Board reviewed a Memo from David I. Clifton, Recreation Director, dated March 17, 2003 with the list of recommended summer employees and rates.
VOTED: (Katz/Roach) Voted unanimously to approve the list of summer employees as contained in the Memo of March 17, 2003 from David I. Clifton.
Cliff Towner
Mr. Cliff Towner was present to explain certain accusations of lies and fraud that were contained in a letter to the Sharon Advocate on February 28, 2003 regarding the proposed High-Pressure Service Water District. Town Counsel Richard A. Gelerman was also present as an observer.
Chair Garf opened the discussion with the fact that his daughter lives on Mountain Street with a portion of her property touching Rattlesnake Hill. He stated that he had been advised by Town Counsel to recuse himself on matters relating to the paving of Mountain Street, but that he had also been advised by Town Counsel that if the High Pressure Service Water District to be located within Rattlesnake Hill would benefit more than 10% of the Town, he could participate in discussions of this subject.
Chair Garf further stated that he believed Mr. Towner reached different conclusions on certain matters than the Board and that the Board respects his right to have a difference of opinion. However, Chair Garf stated that he takes Mr. Towner’s accusations of “$5 to $6 million-dollar fraud,” and accusations that a Town employee was not being sincere very seriously.
Selectman Katz directed that discussions would not be open to anyone who wants to speak and that this would not be an Open Forum. He further stated that it is the responsibility of the Board to investigate all allegations of fraud, that this investigation may allow use of the police and District Attorney’s Office, and that this evening the Board would try to determine facts per se according to the laws of Massachusetts.
Selectmen Katz referred to an earlier Letter to the Advocate, printed October 25, 2002 by Mr. Towner, wherein he accused Superintendent of Public Works Eric Hooper of “working with a faulty calculator....” Also included therein were the words: “In a perfect world Eric could have told the audience he inherited this project and he is being paid to push it through..” Selectman Katz asked Mr. Towner what facts he had to support such serious allegations.
Mr. Towner produced certain copies of documents and circulated them during the discussion. These included:
a. A statement allegedly made by Mr. Hooper at a February 3, 2003 Meeting with the Finance Committee:
The size of the High Pressure Service District is going to be determined by engineering constraints, not political constraints.
If the H.P.S.D. gets larger it’s not going to be a political decision that makes the H.P.S.D. get larger.
It’s not going to pull more people into it so a particular selectman can vote on it.
b. A notebook sheet with certain written calculations, titled: High Pressure Service.
c. Certain pages from a 1985 Report regarding storage tanks.
d. Certain pages from a 1991 Report regarding High Service.
e. Certain pages from a 1997 Report regarding a high-service system.
f. A Memo from Metcalf & Eddy, dated November 25, 2002, re Assessment of Booster Pump Station (without a dedicated storage tank).
g. A Chart titled: Booster Pump Station Analysis with No Tank in High Service Zone.
h. A Memo from Metcalf & Eddy, dated November 14, 2002, re: Progress on Hydraulic Model Calibration Project.
i. A Chart titled, “Summary Table Comparing Field Date of Hydrant Flow Tests,” dated 11/14/02.
j. A Chart titled, “Values Used in Running Peak Hour Flow Demand Model,” dated 11/14/2002.
k. A Chart titled, “Values Used in Running Max. Daily Flow Demand Model,” dated 11/14/2002.
l. A Chart titled, “Pressure Differences at Hydraulic Nodes,” dated 11/14/2002.
m. A letter from the State Ethics Commission, dated December 21, 2001 addressed to Richard A. Gelerman, Town Counsel with the following statement:
Therefore, in order to determine whether the §19(b)(3) exemption applies to Mr. Garf, you will need to calculate the number of people directly benefited (sp) by the proposed water tank, divided by the population of Sharon, according to the 2000 federal census, to determine if at least 10% of the population is affected.
Mr. Towner alleged that this statement made at the Finance Committee meeting of February 3, 2003 was taken from a transcript from a tape of that meeting. He stated that this was “a lie” as eight days after the letter from the Ethics Commission, the high pressure service district doubled in size from 296 to 659 so “that Mr. Garf could participate.”
Mr. Towner agreed with the fact that we do not now have a high pressure service district.
It was suggested by the Board that Mr. Towner has taken this statement out of context. It was stated that studies from 1985 have indicated that the Town needs a high pressure service district, and that this was included in the Town’s Water Master Plan. Mr. Towner made statements to the effect that the studies and Water Master Plan only recommended a high pressure service district if “service was extended beyond 340 feet of elevation.” Mr. Towner further stated that service has “never been extended.”
Mr. Hooper defended his calculations as based on engineering and that his statement: If the H.P.S.D. gets larger it’s not going to be a political decision that makes the H.P.S.D. get larger...” would have been better if he had stated “larger or smaller.” He stated that during the past few years the numbers have gone up and down for various engineering reasons and definitions and that there has been no manipulation of data. Mr. Hooper continued to defend the Town’s engineering studies, Water Master Plan and decision based on that plan to move forward toward a High Pressure Service District.
Mr. Towner insisted that Eric Hooper was the individual “that lied, “ when he spoke to Finance Committee. Attorney Gelerman explained that the Ethics Commission did not accept the method of calculation that was originally based on the number of houses and recalculations were done based on the population according to the federal census at the advice of Town Counsel.
Mr. Towner insisted that problems with water pressure could be solved with the use of a booster pump. Mr. Towner found fault with a Metcalf & Eddy Study looking at a booster pump that did not include a dedicated storage tank. He further insisted that the Town did not need to spend $5-$6 Million on a high-pressure service district with a water tower. Mr. Towner made statements to the effect that this is another example of “fraud.” Mr. Hooper disagreed with Mr. Towner’s interpretation of the Metcalf & Eddy Study and that the result of the study was that the booster pump “would not work.”
Town Administrator Puritz stated that an engineering study already looked at the scenario for a booster pump, but that the Town would undertake another study with a booster pump with a dedicated storage tank and requested that Mr. Towner provide a specific proposal.
The Board questioned Mr. Towner’s technical credentials and suggested that he may have misunderstood the engineering studies that have been done. The Board further stated that they do not believe there is any “fraud, “no one has had any financial gain with regard to the proposed high-pressure service district, and that what we have are “divergent opinions.”
The Board praised Mr. Hooper and spoke up for his honesty and integrity that has been challenged by Mr. Towner’s serious allegations. Town Counsel recommended that Mr. Towner apologize to Mr. Hooper. Mr. Towner agreed to apologize if Mr. Hooper would apologize to him for things that “he has called him and referred to him as.” Mr. Hooper apologized to Mr. Towner “for anything I may have said and anything I may say in the future.” Mr. Towner and Mr. Hooper then shook hands.
Recess
VOTED: (Katz/Roach) Voted unanimously to take a brief recess.
The Board recessed at 9:30 P.M.
The Board reconvened at 9:45 P.M.
Accept Conservation Deed - End of Weyman Lane
The Board reviewed correspondence from the Conservation Commission, dated March 19, 2003, requesting its prompt acceptance of the deed of land located at the end of Weyman Lane, in the Sharon Woods Subdivision.
VOTED: (Katz/Roach) Voted unanimously to accept the deed of land from Ralph DeGirolamo of Clay, NY, and identified as follows:
The land in Sharon, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, off the Westerly Arc of Weyman Lane known as Sharon Assessors’ Map 28, Parcel 2.
Approve Memorandum of Agreement - Sharon Library Employees
Town Administrator Puritz outlined the highlights of the three-year agreement as follows: 3% increase for the current year only, wage reopener for years two and three, reopener for health insurance and language changes that separate the Library Group from the Sharon Municipal Workers. There is also a change in education reimbursement.
VOTED: (Katz/Roach) Voted unanimously to approve the Memorandum of Agreement with the Sharon Library Employees SEIU Local 285 for the period July 1, 2002 - June 30, 2005.
Approve Contract with Firefighters
Town Administrator Puritz outlined the highlights of the one-year contract as follows: change in the anniversary date calculation, provision for detail pay, change in vacation leave to fiscal year calendar, language re eligibility for overtime after sick leave, change in residency requirement to within 15-minute response time, health insurance reopener, 3% wage increase for current year, and incentives for training.
VOTED: (Katz/Roach) Voted unanimously to approve the Labor Agreement for Local 1880 IAFF for the period July 1, 2002 - June 30, 2003.
Water Management Advisory Committee
The Board discussed the appointments to the Water Management Advisory Committee.
VOTED: (Katz/Roach) Voted unanimously to appoint Lealdon Langley as a member of the Water Management Advisory Committee.
VOTED: (Katz/Roach) Voted unanimously to appoint John A. Sulik as a member of the Water Management Advisory Committee.
VOTED: (Katz/Roach) Voted unanimously to appoint Leonard Sekuler as a member of the Water Management Advisory Committee.
Reserve Fund Transfer - Council on Aging
The Board reviewed information from Norma Simons Fitzgerald seeking a Reserve Fund Transfer in the amount of $3321 due to medical leave for the COA bus driver and unanticipated bus and van repairs.
VOTED: (Katz/Roach) Voted unanimously to authorize Benjamin E. Puritz to sign and forward the Reserve Fund Transfer in the amount of $3,321 for the Council on Aging to the Finance Committee.
New Source Analysis Contract Amendment - New Well Feasibility - Sharon Memorial Park
The Board reviewed correspondence from Eric R. Hooper, Superintendent of Public Works, dated March 12, 2003, wherein he recommends that the Selectmen vote to expand the present contract with Woodard & Curran to evaluate the feasibility of placing a production well in the vicinity of the Sharon Memorial Park Cemetery. The Cemetery has expressed certain reservations as to the sufficiency of its water supply. The costs for Task A will be increased from $7,000 to $9,800.
VOTED: (Katz/Roach) Voted unanimously to sign the letter with Woodard & Curran for an Amendment to the Contract to Determine Sharon Memorial Park Water Needs.
Outdoor Watering Restrictions
The Board reviewed correspondence from Eric R. Hooper, Superintendent of Public Works, dated March 19, 2003 with recommendations to implement the same water restrictions as voted last summer.
VOTED: (Katz/Roach) Voted unanimously to adopt the following Outdoor Watering Restriction, to be effective April 1:
Two-hour period from 6 - 8 p.m. - Two days per week - Monday/Wednesday or
Tuesday/Thursday depending on address.) No unattended watering is allowed Friday through Sunday. These restrictions do not apply to handheld watering devices.
Approve Contract for Sharon Municipal Employees Assn
Town Administrator Puritz outlined the highlights of this three-year agreement as follows: increases in vacation time, 3% increase in wages for the first year only with a reopener for wages in years two and three and a reopener for health insurance, and a new article re $100 Fitness benefit.
VOTED: (Katz/Roach) Voted unanimously to approve the Contract for the Sharon Municipal Employees Association for the period July 1, 2002 - June 30, 2005.
Executive Session
VOTED: (Katz/Roach) Voted unanimously to enter into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing matters of Collective Bargaining and Pending Litigation, and at the conclusion thereof, to adjourn for the evening
The Board entered into Executive Session at 10:25 P.M.
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