MINUTES
BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
The Regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held at 7:30 pm in the Sharon Town Offices with Chair Walter Joe Roach, Selectmen William A. Heitin, Selectman Richard A. Powell and Town Administrator Ben Puritz.
The meeting was called to order at 7:40 p.m.
SACRED HEART – ALAN WACHMAN
Alan Wachman is a nine year Sharon resident. He said that he is interested in serving the Town and that though he has seen steady improvement in many areas the one area that has been lacking is the Sacred Heart property. He is offering his enthusiasm and energy to improve the property adding that he has no preconceived notion of future uses for the property. He would prefer that the property be kept heavily forested with light usage. He suggested considering moving the Town Hall to the Sacred Heart property and utilizing the proceeds from Town Hall to finance the building project. He felt that the Town Hall site was better suited for commercial use than the Sacred Heart site.
Chairman Roach explained that the current Sacred Heart structure is not usable and that the only reason the structure is standing is because the Town does not have the funds to tear it down. He also said that the Selectmen had considered creating a committee similar to that of the Wilber School Redevelopment Committee for the Sacred Heart Property. Mr. Wachman said if asked he would be proud to serve on the Committee. Town Administrator Puritz provided a history of the property which included two condominium conversion proposals that failed at earlier Town Meetings. He also explained that all hazardous waste has been removed and the building has been certified as “clean”.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
VOTED: (Powell/Heitin) Voted unanimously to approve the Regular Session and Executive Session Minutes of September 4, 2007.
CANDIDATE FOR FINANCE DIRECTOR: WILLIAM FOWLER
Mr. Fowler sated that he worked for the City of Somerville in various capacities for 30 years. He left his employment there last week. He said that he is interested in working in Sharon in part because he is a Sharon resident. He reviewed with the Board his various positions in Somerville culminating with his appointment to the city’s Treasurer/Tax Collector in January 2004. He said he had created budgets and made both public and in-house presentations including to the Board of Aldermen.
Mr. Fowler said that though he doesn’t work with MUNIS he has a decent familiarity with the program because Somerville is going to change to MUNIS. He reviewed his experience with production and disbursement of tax bills. Currently the process is outsourced in Somerville because it was more efficient. In response to questions about health insurance he explained that Somerville is similar to Sharon in that both are self-insured.
He said that he enjoys working in municipal finance because of its broad range of topics. He also found it very rewarding to work in Somerville as he lived there during a portion of his tenure as a Town employee.
Mr. Fowler said that he has learned that if you keep “nickeling and diming” the budget that eventually it will pay off as you will see substantial savings. He also said though it was a difficult process, he felt the change from semi-annual tax bills to quarterly tax bills was very beneficial to the community as it provided the City additional funds for investment and improved cash flow. He said his communication skills are excellent and in addition to working with the 11 staff members who reported to him he has had to work with non-finance management team members and assisted them
Mr. Fowler also said that though he had never gone through a financial management review with the Department of Revenue but has gone through a similar process with the Kennedy School of Government. He said that the aspect of municipal finance he enjoys the most is the challenge of attacking a problem, developing a solution and then implementing a plan. He enjoys seeing tangible results. He said the most difficult part of the job is personnel issues.
Mr. Fowler said that he has had extensive dealings with the Mass. Department of Revenue as he was the key liaison for his community.
CANDIDATE FOR ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
The Board had interviewed Seth Ruskin at the meeting of Sept. 4, 2007 and the Board felt that he would have an open mind and would listen to those who come before the Zoning Board of Appeals.
VOTED: (Powell/Heitin) Voted unanimously to appoint Seth Ruskin as an alternate to the Zoning Board of Appeals for a three year term.
CANDIDATE FOR WATER MANAGEMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE (WMAC)
The Board commented that Mr. Weeks has a strong background and though not on the WMAC he has been attending meetings and contributing.
VOTED: (Powell/Heitin) Voted unanimously to appoint Robert Weeks as a member of the Water Management Advisory Committee for a three year term.
CANDIDATE FOR LOGAN AIRPORT COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE
The Board felt that since there was a new position that would like to make this a one year appointment.
VOTED: (Powell/Heitin) Voted unanimously to appoint Glenn Flierl as Sharon’s representative to the Logan Airport Citizens Advisory Committee for a one year term.
ACCEPT COMMUNITY PRESERVATION AWARD
VOTED: (Heitin/Powell) Voted unanimously to accept the FY 2007 Community Preservation Act project as voted at the May 2007 Town Meeting for funding to acquire 54A Billings Street and 9 Glenview Road and to accept the foregoing grant and agree to be bound by conditions in the award letter. Also, to authorize the Chair to sign on behalf of the Board.
APPROVAL OF SHARON LIONS CLUB WHITE CANE DAY
VOTED: (Powell/Heitin) Voted unanimously to approve the request of the Sharon Lions Club to hold their “White Cane Day” on Saturday November 10, 2007 from 8am – 2pm pending clearance from the Chief of Police.
REQUEST FOR DUAL COMPENSATION
Town Administrator Puritz explained that this item had been on the agenda two weeks ago and has been submitted with an edited memo. The change relates to Ms. Little’s decision to voluntarily not participate in the Town’s health insurance program.
VOTED: (Powell/Heitin) Voted unanimously to recommend dual compensation for Jennifer Little Leavitt based on Police Chief Bernstein’s memorandum of August 20, 2007
ACCEPTANCE OF CITIZEN’S PETITIONS FOR NOVEMBER 5, 2007 TOWN MEETING
Chairman Roach explained that three citizen petition articles had been submitted for the November 5, 2007 Town Meeting with over 100 signatures certified by the Town Clerk. The articles will also be forwarded to the Planning Board as the articles pertain to zoning changes. The articles will appear in the Warrant as submitted as they are citizen petitions.
VOTED: (Heitin/Powell) Voted unanimously to accept three citizen petition articles which were received on Sept, 10, 2007. These articles relate to changing the zoning bylaw that was voted on at the May 2007 Annual Town Meeting and relate to the Brickstone development and at this point place these articles on the Warrant for the November 5, 2007 Town Meeting and forward such articles to the Planning Board.
CANDIDATE FOR FINANCE DIRECTOR: MICHAEL CARROLL
Mr. Carroll explained that he has worked in municipal finance for his entire career. He reviewed with the Selectmen the professional positions he has held. In addition he also served as the Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, Chairman of the Finance Committee and Chairman of the Planning Board in his hometown of Wrentham.
He said he is experienced in managing a team and enjoys developing systems and procedures. He said that the challenge of becoming the Town of Sharon’s first Finance Director and building a team very much interests him. He currently serves as Finance Director in the Town of Randolph and in that capacity holds weekly ½ hour staff meetings in order to get input from staff members as well as to motivate and empower them. He said that though he doesn’t work with MUNIS he is familiar with VADAR which is similar.
In terms of debt and bond offerings Mr. Carroll stated that he developed the Town of Randolph’s presentation to Standard & Poors, and though Randolph has had financial challenges, the bond rating remained the same. In response to questions about his experience as it relates to health insurance he said that Needham, where he worked prior to Randolph, is self-insured and used Cook & Co. as a consultant. Currently he oversees two people but when he worked for Rhode Island Resource Recovery Agency he managed a greater number of people.
Mr. Carroll stated that he enjoys working in government because he wants people to enjoy living in their community. He finds the financial issues very challenging. He said that in Randolph he created a new budgeting system requiring departments to develop budgeting narrative and spending plans. He also developed monthly budgets in order to look at seasonal patterns and one-time purchases. He has found that this helps with cash flow and also creates greater accountability. He believes a Finance Director can provide solutions by providing trend analysis and by creating a more efficient and effective government. He said he is interested in the position in Sharon because of the Town’s strong financial position, the opportunity to build and develop a strong department.
CAPITAL OUTLAY REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE BOARD OF SELECTMEN
The Selectmen discussed their 2007 – 2008 appointments to the Capital Outlay Committee and the Priorities Committee.
VOTED: (Heitin/Powell) Voted unanimously to appoint Chairman Roach to the Capital Outlay Committee
VOTED: (Heitin/Roach) Voted unanimously to appoint Selectman Powell to the Priorities Committee
VOTED: (Powell/Roach) Voted unanimously to appoint Selectman Heitin to the Capital Outlay Committee
VOTED: (Powell/Heitin) Voted unanimously to appoint Chairman Roach to the Priorities Committee
VOTED: (Heitin/Powell) Voted unanimously to appoint Selectmen Powell as an alternate to the Capital Outlay Committee and Selectman Heitin as an alternate to the Priorities Committee
BANNER REQUEST
VOTED: (Heitin/Powell) Voted unanimously to approve the banner request for the
Sharon High School PTSO Auction November 6 – November 12 (first position and when available) and November 19 – November 26 – (second position)
SEQUENCING OF ARTICLES FOR NOVEMBER 5, 2007 TOWN MEETING
The Board will sequence the Articles at the meeting of September 25, 2007
OTHER BUSINESS
Selectman Heitin thanked all those involved in the Harvest Fair which benefited the Heights Elementary Community Playground and netted $8,500.00.
Selectman Powell recommended that Sharon residents visit the Moose Hill Farm.
VOTED: (Powell/Heitin) Voted unanimously to enter into Executive Session to discuss real property acquisition, matters of pending litigation, collective bargaining, personnel matters, and at the conclusion thereof to adjourn for the evening.
The Board of Selectmen adjourned at 9:15pm.
Roach: Aye
Powell:Aye
Heitin: Aye