MINUTES

BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

The Regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held at 7:30 p.m. in the Sharon Town Offices with Chair William A. Heitin, Selectman Walter Joe Roach, Selectman Richard A. Powell and Town Administrator Benjamin E. Puritz.

The meeting was called to order at 7:32 p.m.

Interview Valerie White Candidate for

Horizons for Youth Property Reuse Committee

Ms. White holds an undergraduate degree in zoology from the University of Vermont.  She is trained as a lawyer and practiced law in Vermont for 14 years before moving to Sharon in 1996.  Since then she served on the Board of the Council on Aging, as a fill-in Animal Control Officer and as a substitute Moderator for the Special Town Meeting of March 12, 2007. 

She lives on the east side of Lake Massapoag near Saphire Inn so she has walked along trail towards Camp Gannett. She canoes in the area as well and is interested in seeing that the property is well used.  She believes it is a good idea to receive income from the property in the short-term while the Town is evaluating long-term use of the property. 

She gathers that once the Community Center is complete that the space utilized on the Horizons for Use property won’t be needed for the offices of the Recreation Department and the Council on Aging.  She thought it might be possible that other town offices will be able to use the location. 

Interview Ed Welch Candidate for

Horizons for Youth Property Reuse Committee

Mr. Welch has lived in Town all of his life and attended the Wilber School from the 6^th grade through the 12^th grade.  He has been an Engineer and a land surveyor for 40 years and currently works several days a week. He has served on many committees in Town including the Conservation Commission, Planning Board, the Warrant Committee which is now the Finance Committee, the Landfill Committee and one of the former Wilber School reuse committees.  He is very familiar with the Town’s committee process.

He used to hunt on the property and knows the property well.  The property includes the lakefront, a few dams as well as many trails that would be a huge asset to the Town.  He said even though Massapoag Yacht Club exists on the lakefront –there might be additional people who don’t belong to the Yacht Club but who would like to moor their boat in the summer for a fee.   He believes the entire area is perfect for passive recreation, including such uses as ball fields, which are in existence already, nature trails, summer camps for out of Town groups and in Town groups.  Ed believes it is important that we maintain the buildings so the situation that exists with the Wilber School does not occur.

Interview Jay Bronstein Candidate for

Horizons for Youth Property Reuse Committee

Jay and his wife grew up in Sharon and they moved back to the Town about sixteen or seventeen years ago living on Borderland Road which backs up to Borderland State Park. He attended Tulane University and Boston College Law School.  Jay has coached various youth sports teams and served as vice-president of the Soccer Association and for two terms as a member of the Recreation Advisory Committee. He represents the Recreation Advisory Committee on the Standing Building Committee and serves as an alternate on the Standing Building Committee for the Community Center project.  He believes in a short-term and long-term approach for use of the Horizons for Youth parcel.  The short –term approach would allow the town to receive revenue from camps while not restricting long-term use.  He mentioned that it would be nice to be able to move the Theater group to one of the buildings on the site as they were displaced from Community Center.  He thinks theater has a big place in Sharon and believes that this is something to keep in mind that down the road might work for the Theater group. He stated that the conservation of lakefront area, wetlands and feeder stream is essential.  He sees no major development in the short-term and in the long-term a full assessment of the needs of all Town departments including the Schools. 

GENERAL BUSINESS

VOTED: (Roach/Powell) Voted unanimously to approve the Regular Session Minutes of March 6, 2007.

Approval of Banner Request

VOTED: (Roach/Powell) Voted unanimously to approve the Banner Request of Veteran’s Agent Paul Bergeron for

                        Memorial Day:  May 18, 2007 - May 29, 2007

                        Flag Day:                      June 4, 2007  - June 15, 2007

Signing of Letter of Intent for ground lease for Wilber School

This evening, the Board is going to be signing the Letter of Intent for a ground lease for the Wilber School   The provisions of the 75 year ground lease include:

• $110,000 annual rent with a consumer price index inflator for the ground lease alone and does include the tax revenue from property above
• one acre for potential future municipal use including a library.
• 79 units which will be all be added to the Town’s affordable housing numbers because they are rental units

The developers are Wilber Development LLC and Beacon Communities.  The Town will begin to receive lease payments on June 30, 2007.  Selectmen Powell recommended that the Board ask Hart Development to prepare a financial analysis of the property at full build-out similar to one that that was prepared for the South Main Street project.  .   In the interim the developer will be meeting with the various Boards as the developer works through the permitting process.

VOTED: (Roach/Powell) Voted unanimously to sign the letter of intent for ground lease for the Wilber School

Vote to award Bond Anticipation (BAN)  Notes for Horizons for Youth Property

The total amount of the property is $4.85 billion to be paid by Town funds from the general fund and by monies from the Community Preservation Committee. The ultimate use of the property will impact the type of financing.  For instance, if the Town enters into a lease with a non-profit then the Town would have to potentially disclose same and/or fulfill other criteria identified by Bond Counsel.

VOTED; (Roach/Powell) –Voted to approve the sale of a $4,850,000 4.75% Bond Anticipation Note of the Town dated March 27, 3007 and payable August 30, 2007 to Corby Capital Markets, Inc., at par and accrued interest plus the premium of $21,291,50.

Request that Selectmen place Proposition 2 ½ Override on May 15, 2007 Town Election Ballot by School Committee Chair, Don Gilligan

School Committee Chair Donald Gilligan asked that the Selectmen place a Proposition 2.5 override question on the May 15, 2007 Annual Town Election Ballot.  Chairman Gilligan explained that the school committee has voted a budget that is larger than the current allocation than they have been given by the Priorities Committee.  At the moment Don didn’t have the exact number of the override request because of ongoing discussions about anticipated revenue flows.  He would like to wait until the last possible date because the amount is in flux. Town Administrator Puritz explained that the Board of Selectmen cannot take any action because there needs to be a specific amount included in approval of placing the question on the ballot.  Timing was discussed and it was decided that Chairman Gilligan would meet with the Selectmen on April 5, 2007 to provide them with the specific amount for the school override. 

SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA

Letter from Town of Norwood Chief of Police recognizing Firefighter Murphy and Firefighter Simpson

The Selectmen acknowledged a letter received from Norwood’s Chief of Police Hartley E. King, Jr. recognizing Firefighters Richard Murphy and Kurt Simpson for their assistance.

Appointment of Police Department Patrolman Anthony Lucie to Provisional Sergeant

Police Chief Bernstein has asked the Selectmen to appoint Patrolman Anthony Lucie to Provisional Sergeant to replace to replace Sergeant Donald Williams who has been activated effective Sunday, April 1, 2007. 

VOTED; (Roach/Powell) Voted unanimously to appoint Patrolman Anthony Lucie to provisional Sergeant

MISCELLANEOUS CORRESPONDENCE

Selectmen Roach announced that Fire Chief Mann is sending out notices to EMTs across the Commonwealth announcing a vacancy in the Sharon Fire Department.   The benefit of Sharon hiring a person who is currently an EMT is that Sharon would not have to pay for training.   Anyone interested in learning more about the vacancy can pick up the materials at the Fire Station.

Chairman Heitin stated that he wanted to remind the viewers about the open forum that the Board of Selectmen and Economic Development Committee are co-sponsoring on Wednesday, April 4, 2007 at the Sharon High School Library at 7:30pm regarding the

proposed Rattlesnake Hill development for the public and Town Boards and Committees.  The forum will include a brief presentation by the proposed developer, and attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and provide input.  Brickstone is meeting with many of the Town boards individually and there will be additional meetings until Town Meeting to maximize input from the community.

VOTED: (Roach/Powell) Voted unanimously to enter into Executive Session to discuss real property acquisition, matters of pending litigation, collective bargaining, personnel grievance update, and at the conclusion thereof to adjourn for the evening.  The Board of Selectmen adjourned to Executive Session at 8:20pm.