June 15, 2004
The regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held at 7:30 P.M. in the Sharon Town Offices with Chair Walter Joe Roach, Selectmen David I. Grasfield and William A. Heitin and Town Administrator Benjamin E. Puritz.
The meeting was called to order at 7:30 P.M.
Minutes
VOTED: (Grasfield/Heitin) Voted unanimous to approve the minutes of June 8, as printed and to hold the Executive Session Minutes of that date.
Discussion of Reappointments\New Appointments
The Board reviewed the list of its appointments to be placed on Cable TV. The Board would like to hear from anyone interested in serving. Per the Selectmen’s policy, all expired terms will be considered as vacancies and incumbents will be encouraged to reapply and to be interviewed. Selectman Grasfield read the list and Letters of Interest will be solicited per advertisement on Cable TV. The list includes:
Volunteer Positions:
Cable TV Advisory Board
Conservation Commission
Council on Aging
Commission on Disability
Board of Health
Development & Industrial Commission
Government Study Committee
Housing Partnership
Recreation Advisory Committee
Registrar of Voters
Recycling Advisory Committee
Sharon Cultural Council
Sign Committee
Transportation Advisory Board
Veterans Advisory Committee
Water Management Advisory Committee
Zoning Board of Appeals
Director, Civil Defense
Norfolk County Advisory Board Representative
Canoe River Aquifer Advisory Committee
Fence Viewer
Measurer of Lumber
Measurer of Wood & Bark
Representative to the MBTA
Representative to the Metropolitan Area Planning Council
Member of the Long-Range Planning Task Force
Designer Selection Review Board
Other Selectmen Appointments
Dog Officer - Salaried
Animal Inspector - Stipend
Sealer of Weights & Measures - Stipend
Veteran’s Agent - Salaried
Town Counsel - fee - per matter
Proclamation - Norman Katz Day
Selectman Heitin read a Proclamation, proclaiming June 24, 2005 as Norman Katz Day, and the Selectmen urge all residents to take a moment to express their appreciation for his long commitment and love for the Town of Sharon, and to wish him much success in all his future endeavors.
Maskwonicut Street MBTA Property - Purchase and Sale Agreement
The Board reviewed the Memo from Eric R. Hooper, Superintendent of Public Works, dated June 7, 2005, re the Maskwonicut Street MBTA property, that was approved for acquisition by vote of Annual Town Meeting. Mr. Hooper recommends that the Town of Sharon accept the property is an “as is” condition and with “all faults” as of the closing date (no indication of any hazardous materials). Town Administrator Ben Puritz discussed the 28-acre parcel located near Well #4 to be used by the Town as a back-up site for the well. Selectman Grasfield stated he would like to see the appraisal before he signs the Purchase and Sale Agreement. Selectman Heitin stated he is prepared to sign the Purchase & Sale Agreement for the acquisition as was reviewed and approved by
the finance and capital outlay committees and voted at Town meeting. It was stated that Mr. Hooper would be coming later this evening and he will be asked for the appraisal.
Selectmen’s Appointments to Capital Outlay Committee & Priorities Committee
VOTED: (Heitin/Grasfield) Voted unanimously to appoint David Grasfield and Joe Roach as members of the Priorities Committee.
VOTED: (Grasfield/Roach) Voted unanimously to appoint Bill Heitin and Joe Roach as members of the Capital Outlay Committee.
Capital Projects Voted at Annual Town Meeting
The Board reviewed the Memo from R. Uyttebroek, Town Treasurer, dated June 1, 2004 requesting that the Board vote to certify the maximum useful life of departmental equipment approved for borrowing at the May Annual Town Meeting. This list does not include fixed asset items as flooring. Selectman Grasfield requested that this item be held for substantiation by bond counsel.
School Committee
Voted: (Heitin/Roach) 2-0 (Grasfield abstained) that the maximum useful life of the departmental equipment listed below to be financed with the proceeds of the $985,229 borrowing authorized by the vote of the Town passed May 4, 2004 (Article 9) is hereby determined pursuant to G.L. c.44, §7(9) to be as follows:
Borrowing Maximum
Purpose Amount Useful Life
Classroom Furniture $35,000 5 Years
Kitchen Equipment (MS) 12,000 5 Years
Kitchen Equipment (HS) 18,000 5 Years
Maintenance & Operations: equipment 31,000 5 Years
Maintenance & Operations: MS HVAC 20,000 5 Years
Maintenance & Operations: storage sheds 20,000 5 Years
Maintenance & Operations: vehicle 29,094 5 Years
SPED vans 51,000 5 Years
Modular Classrooms 769,135 10 Years
Department of Public Works
Voted: (Heitin/Roach) 2-0 (Grasfield abstained) that the maximum useful life of the departmental equipment listed below to be financed with the proceeds of the $230,000 borrowing authorized by the vote of the Town passed May 4, 2004 (Article 11) is hereby determined pursuant to G.L. c.44, §7(9) to be as follows:
Borrowing Maximum
Purpose Amount Useful Life
Public Works Department Vehicles $230,000 5 Years
Police Department
Voted: (Heitin/Roach) 2-0 (Grasfield abstained) that the maximum useful life of the departmental equipment listed below to be financed with the proceeds of the $63,000 borrowing authorized by the vote of the Town passed May 4, 2004 (Article 15) is hereby determined pursuant to G.L. c.44, §7(9) to be as follows:
Borrowing Maximum
Purpose Amount Useful Life
Police Department Vehicles $63,000 5 Years
Recreation Department
Voted: (Heitin/Roach) 2-0 (Grasfield abstained) that the maximum useful life of the departmental equipment listed below to be financed with the proceeds of the $15,000 borrowing authorized by the vote of the Town passed May 4, 2004 (Article 12) is hereby determined pursuant to G.L. c.44, §7(9) to be as follows:
Borrowing Maximum
Purpose Amount Useful Life
Recreation Department Equipment $15,000 5 Years
Fire Department
Voted: (Heitin/Roach) 2-0 (Grasfield abstained) that the maximum useful life of the departmental equipment listed below to be financed with the proceeds of the $61,000 borrowing authorized by the vote of the Town passed May 4, 2004 (Article 14) is hereby determined pursuant to G.L. c.44, º7(9) to be as follows:
Borrowing Maximum
Purpose Amount Useful Life
Fire Department Military Tanker $20,000 5 Years
Fire Department Deputy Command Vehicle 41,000 5 Years
Voted: (Heitin/Roach) Voted unanimously that the Clerk of the Board sign the certification of the votes establishing the term of the borrowings to be issued.
Nominations for Mosquito Control Commission
Selectman Grasfield requested that anyone interesting in serving on the State Reclamation and Mosquito Control Board’s Mosquito Control Commission to represent the Town concerning mosquito control please contact the Selectmen’s Office.
Planning Board
Selectman Grasfield noted that the Planning Board will be discussing EO418 at its meeting of June 16, at 8:00 P.M.
FY’04 Law Budget Status Update
Selectman Grasfield noted Memo from Town Administrator Ben Puritz, dated June 10, 2004, re status of Law Budget with notice that a request for transfer from the Reserve Fund will be forthcoming. It states that $58,584.52 of total charges, are attributable to three (3) matters: Sprint litigation; Estates at Borderland litigation; and, the December 2nd Special Town Meeting.
Selectman Grasfield requested a breakdown of the law bills by month and by topic for the year.
Mass Housing - Notice of Funding Availability
Selectman Grasfield noted announcement of the availability of $3 million from the MassHousing Priority Development Fund to assist communities in the early stages of housing development. He expressed the opinion that this program would favor Towns that do not have a professional planner.
Recycling
Selectman Grasfield noted correspondence from the Board of Health, dated June 9, 2004 expressing its goal to increase the overall level of recycling at public areas. Town Administrator Ben Puritz will check on when the Board of Health bid for containerized trash-pick up is due. Selectman Grasfield requested that members of the Conservation Commission be invited in to discuss ways to increase recycling, and Ben Puritz suggested that George Aronson, Recycling Advisory Committee, be asked to coordinate ideas/concerns with the Board of Health and Conservation Commission.
Community Assessment
Selectman Grasfield noted correspondence from the Board of Health, dated June 9, 2004 requesting that the discussion on the Community Assessment Project be tabled for the time being. Selectman Grasfield will keep the invitation open and hope that they will find a date that they can come in.
Wilber School Future Use
Selectmen Heitin recommends that we reconstitute a Wilber Reuse Committee and solicit individuals from the previous Wilber Reuse Committee and the general public to serve on the committee. This will be scheduled as a future agenda item.
Flag Day
Selectman Grasfield expressed his appreciation to Paul Bergeron, Veterans Agent, for the wonderful Flag Day Ceremony and to the Boy Scouts for their participation.
Printing Town Reports
Selectman Grasfield received a quote from a colleague from a printer for a shorter turnaround time at a reasonable price and using a different process. The printer will be contacted for further information re the Special Town Meeting Warrant.
Selectmen’s Calendar
Selectman Grasfield reviewed the yearly schedule and calendar for the Selectmen. He suggested that the Selectmen’s Goals be moved up to the present and Selectman Heitin agreed. Selectman Grasfield requested that the Calendar be placed on the web site. Other suggestions included, changing the date when the Selectmen takes a position on the Warrant Articles to well before Pre-Town Meeting and to begin the process of discussing the revenue forecast as soon as possible.
Revenue History
Selectman Grasfield asked that the Ten-Year Revenue Analysis and History to be discussed at next week’s meeting be posted on the web.
Recess
The Board entered into a 5 minutes recess at 8:10 P.M.
The Board reconvened at 8:15 P.M.
Household Hazardous Waste Collection Program Review
Eric R. Hooper, Superintendent of Public Works, was present to give an overview of the Household Hazardous Waste Day held on Wednesday June 2. Items discussed included:
the “free gadgets” day resulted in increased participation (513) vehicles;
over 300 TVs and Computer monitors collected;
five DPW employees and two from Waste Company as well as Assistant Engineer and Superintendent of Public Works contributed to keep people moving;
lost $3,000 worth of revenue (fees for disposal) on TV’s/monitors, but the recycling company took away for free due to large volume;
kudos for Alice Cheyer for suggesting Free Gadgets;
need to separate gadgets from hazardous waste/have two days to collect next year;
alternate weekdays/Saturdays to be sensitive to Orthodox Community;
expect less household hazardous waste with move toward newer products/paint;
may have different program for over age 55 group;
complaints re long lines and driveways blocked on Pleasant Park Road;
problems getting Police detail;
suggestions for better ways to handle day can be sent to
a notice for Cable TV and website that TV’s/computers/monitors can be disposed of any day; and,
explore expanding recycling well prior to the next rubbish collection bid.
Water Meter Upgrade Contract
Eric R. Hooper, Superintendent of Public Works, was present to discuss a contract to upgrade meters and radio transmitting heads for all residential and commercial meters. This program was initiated in order to create a mechanism whereby meters could be read more frequently to allow for more frequent billing as is required by the Water Department’s water withdrawal permit. He briefly explained the technology for three types of radio read meters as: (1) handheld/walk-by (2) mobile system/drive-by signal pick-up and (3) fixed based signal - broadcast to repeater. This will allow for redundant ability to read meters without having to enter the customer’s home.
Mr. Hooper stated that a subcommittee of the Water Management Advisory Committee was formed to review the submitted proposals with the Water Department. The Board received an EMail from Rory McGregor, dated June12, 2004, stating that at its meeting of June 10, the WMAC voted to recommend the Ti-Sales proposal for award on the installation of the town-wide radio relay water meter system. The amount of the award is $720,716, and the vote was five in favor and three against. The Board also received an EMail from Paul Lauenstein, dated June 14, 2004 with the minority opinion of the three members of the WMAC who voted to recommend that the current procurement process for a radio read water meter system be terminated at this time.
Mr. Hooper further discussed his recommendation of the contract to the low bidder Ti-Sales, with a drive-by system. Rory McGregor, Chair of the WMAC was present during the discussion as well as Paul Lauenstein. Mr. McGregor stated that after debating this over three meetings, he believes the drive-by system can meet the Town’s needs for the immediate future. Mr. Hooper further outlined the Water Department’s goal to replace 500 meters every year with the brass bodies replaced every 10 years. In answer to the question from Selectman Grasfield, Mr. Hooper stated that the radio read meters would be $60 a piece if purchased now compared to $30.00 under the bid.
There was a discussion of the E-coder addendum to the contract that will assist in leak detection that would add approximately $55,000 to the contract cost.
Paul Lauenstein stated he was speaking as an individual this evening and objected to what could be one million dollars for this system. He spoke briefly about the Town of Walpole’s fixed system that will read meters daily and included 100% replacement of all meters. He discussed the Town’s being offered a free pilot program for a fixed system and his opinion that the million dollars could be better spent on a new well or other water needs of the Town. He asked the Board to accept the free pilot program and to learn from the Town of Walpole.
Mr. Hooper stated that many of our meters do not need replacing and that Ti-Sales has been selling us newer model meters. He noted that the Town of Newton has recently elected drive-by meters and that there were concerns about putting radio signals on water towers in the Town of Sharon as needed for a fixed network system. He discussed other reasons he had for going for the drive-by system, including being less expensive, and having tech people available. He stated that the “free pilot” vendor has no tech people in the US. Mr. McGregor stated that the fixed base system as proposed by the Hexagon Bid would create cell tower issues, and that he expected the technology to continue to change.
In answer to questions by Selectman Grasfield, Mr. Hooper stated that the fixed system is not new and is basically cell technology, and that the contract would commit us to a certain brand of meter. Mr. Hooper recommends that the initial contract for providing updated meters and radio transmitter encoder heads for Phase 1 of the replacement program be awarded to Ti-Sales in the amount of $150,891.20.
Ti-Sales would replace all of the older meters (over 10 years old) and retrofit the remainder with a radio digital encoder head that has the ability to store 30 days of data. The total cost to the Town over the four-year program to either replace or retrofit all 5500 meters in Town will be approximately $775,715.65
MOTION: Heitin/Roach to award initial contract for the upgrading of meters to T-Sales in the amount of $150,891.20.
DISCUSSION: Selectman Grasfield stated that he would rather quickly rebid this contract to answer all the questions with a side by side comparison of systems before making a commitment for over one million dollars for the decade.
Paul Lauenstein suggested that the Town should keep its options open as the recommended system will limit the town to two brands of meters. Mr. Hooper disagreed that we would be locked in.
VOTED: (Heitin/Roach) Voted 2 - 1 Grasfield opposed) to award initial contract for the upgrading of meters to Ti-Sales, Sudbury, MA, the low bidder, in the amount of $150,891.20.
It was the consensus of the Board to wait before approving the total five-year contract and Mr. Hooper stated he could come back within nine months for $150,000 for Phase 2.
Executive Session
VOTED: (Grasfield/Heitin) Voted unanimously to enter into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing matters of pending litigation and collective bargaining and to adjourn at the conclusion thereof.
The Board exited the Open Session at 9:25 P.M.
Grasfield, aye; Heitin, aye; and Roach, aye.
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