MINUTES
BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
7:00 p.m.
The meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held at 7:00 pm in the Sharon Town Hall with Chairman Richard A. Powell, Selectman William Heitin and Selectman Walter Joe Roach,
APPROVAL OF ONE-DAY LIQUOR LICENSE FOR MARVIN NOLLER
Roni Thaler stated that Mr. Noller needs to provide his insurance information as well as contact the Police Chief regarding a detail.
VOTED: (Heitin/Roach) Voted unanimously to grant a one-day liquor license to Marvin Noller at the Sharon Community
on August 6, 2011 contingent upon obtaining a Certificate of Insurance as well as a determination if a police detail is needed for the event.
APPROVAL OF MOVIE NIGHT AT CRESCENT RIDGE DAIRY
Mark Parrish of Crescent Ridge Dairy said that Crescent Ridge would like to host a free movie night on July 22, 2011. The movie is Finding Nemo. Crescent Ridge provide complimentary free lemonade and popcorn. He said he has hired a police detail.
VOTED: (Heitin/Roach) Voted unanimously to grant a Public Entertainment License to Crescent Ridge Dairy for Movie Night on Friday July 22, 2011 at 9pm.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
VOTED: (Heitin/Roach) Voted unanimously to approve the Regular Session Minutes and Executive Session Minutes of June 28, 2011 as written.
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INITIATION OF FORMAL LICENSING PROCESS FOR COMCAST
Town Administrator Puritz explained that the Cable Oversight Committee met most recently on July 13, 2011. He said the committee has recommended following a formal licensing process for Comcast as advised by Cable Counsel Peter Epstein. He said that the entire process will take approximately seven months ending on February 17, 2012.
VOTED: (Heitin/Roach) Voted unanimously to approve the recommendation of the Cable Oversight Committee to initiate a formal licensing process with Comcast
approval of out of state travel for recreation director brett mcgowan
town Administrator Puritz explained that each year the Recreation Director attends the National Recreation and Parks Association Exhibition from the end of October through November 3, 2011. He said that the money is in the budget.
VOTED: (Heitin/Roach) Voted unanimously to approve out of state travel for Recreation Director Brett McGowan to attend the National Recreation and Parks Association Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia as requested.
SUPPORT FOR AWARDING THE 2011 CITIZEN OF THE YEAR HONOR TO IRIS AND JAY ROTHBERG
VOTED: (Heitin/Roach) Voted unanimously to approve the recommendation of the Recreation Advisory Committee to award the 2011 Citizen of the Year award to Iris and Jay Rothberg
APPROVAL OF BANNER REQUEST
VOTED: (Heitin/Roach) Voted unanimously to approve the banner request for the Sharon Girl Scouts from September ` - September 19, 2011 (2nd position)
APPOINTMENT OF CHAIRMAN POWELL TO THE SCHOOL STREET BUILDING REUSE COMMITTEE
Chairman Powell said that this Committee was set up to look at use of the current School Street Building once the School Administration is moved to the Middle School.
VOTED: (Heitin/Roach) Voted to appoint Chairman Powell to the School Street Building Reuse Committee
APPROVAL OF BANNER REQUEST
VOTED: (Heitin/Roach) Voted unanimously to approve the banner request for the Sharon Adult Center August 29 – September 5, 2011 (1st position) and to waive the fee.
approval of employment agreement amendment for police dispatchers
Town Administrator Puritz said this is a three year contract for FY ’12 – 2%, FY ’13 – wage reopened, FY ’14 reopened with one day off per year for perfect and attendance.
Chairman Powell asked to hold this item.
SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA
Jonathan Hall the Manager of Sharon Market LLC had been approved by the Board of Selectmen for a transfer of license from Helambu LLC. The bank that is providing him with a loan asked that the license be pledged to them as well. Town Counsel Gelerman provided the language.
VOTED: (Heitin/Roach) Voted unanimously that the Board of Selectmen, acting as the local liquor licensing authority pursuant to M.G.L. ch. 138, § 23, hereby authorizes Jonathan Hall, as Manager of the Sharon Market LLC, to pledge the license issued to the Sharon Market LLC, to the South Coastal Bank, 279 Union Street, Rockland, MA 02370, for purposes of obtaining a loan, and pursuant to such statute approves said pledge and loan. This approval is conditioned on the Sharon Market LLC also obtaining approval of such loan and pledge from the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission. Such pledge shall not be construed so as to affect the right of the Board, as the local licensing authority to suspend, revoke, or otherwise regulate such license, as provided in M.G.L. ch. 138.
Ten Minute Recess
Town Administrator Puritz explained that the third finalist Lance Benjamino will be interviewed on July 26, 2011.
JEFFREY LYNCH: FIRE CHIEF FINALIST
Mr. Lynch is currently the Fire Chief in Portsmouth, RI. He said he is 50 years old and married with two adult children and three grandchildren. He said he has been a firefighter for over 30 years. He said he has worked his way up through the Portsmouth, RI Fire Department. He reviewed his qualifications including his degree from Providence College magna cum laude. He discussed the transition of moving from a line officer to the Chief. He said that the major changes were the relationship with the other firefighters and the budgetary responsibility. He believes the Sharon and Portsmouth, RI have much in common in terms of population, square miles, and staffing. He said there is a separate entity called the Portsmouth Volunteer Fire Department that raises money for the ambulances. He said he works with the Prudence Island volunteer Fire Department. He said he believes the call force should be the feeder group for the force – to give people incentive to join.
He said his current budget is $4,000,000. He discussed his role in preparation of the budget through the Town Meeting vote. He further discussed his role in union negotiations. He said when determining his budget he believes that any item related to safety he considers a priority. He would like to look at a regional approach for gear and then try to apply for grants. Mr. Lynch has been Chief for over four years. He said his major accomplishments have included: improved training and certification for all of his firefighters, implementation of project life saver which is a tracking device for people who wander who might have cognitive problems, and a fitness program for his department and then lost time to injury by 80%. Mr Lynch said that he lives in Tiverton, RI currently and should he get the job he would move to Sharon. Mr. Lynch asked the Board what they expect from him. Selectman Roach said he is looking for someone to stay at last 6 – 8 years and move to either Sharon or somewhere close to Sharon within 6 months – 1 year. Chairman Powell said someone with a strong vision as well as community involvement. Mr. Lynch discussed his community involvement. Selectman Heitin said a strong leader and manager. He discussed his approach to disciplinary issues and said he believes in training first but does also believe in discipline though it is very unpleasant. .
The Board took a five minute recess.
JAMES WRIGHT: FIRE CHIEF FINALIST
Mr. Wright is the current Fire Chief in Athol, Massachusetts. He is married with two children and he lives in Athol where he has been a life long residence. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from UMASS/Amherst and joined the fire program there and also joined the Air Guard which is part of the Air Force. While he was in the Air Guard they started a full-time Fire Department which he joined. He moved up the ranks until he left in 1997 and took the Chief’s job in Athol. His current department has 18 full-time members and 22 part-time members. All members of the department must have obtained Fire Fighter I Certification. He said the challenge is to make sure that people are well-trained as it is all about safety. He said in terms of call firefighters - because many people work outside of the Town during the day it is difficult to staff. He said the long-term life of a call firefighter is short as they move on after a while. However, if they stay they are a tremendous asset. Mr. Wright said that Athol has about 12,000 people with a fairly high senior and low-income population. The Fire Department annually provides about 1,700 emergency ambulance calls and 900 additional non-emergency calls and an additional 1,000 fire calls. The department averages 2 – 3 working structure fires per year with several chimney fires. He said funding the Fire Department has been an extreme challenge. He said the recession of 2003 reduced his staff from 23 members to 18 members. He said his major accomplishments as Chief include the establishment of the Athol Fire Department as a paramedic department and four full-time staff running two paramedic ambulances were added under his leadership. He also was able to enhance fire fighter safety through the purchase of a type of a signal to help track fire fighters that are in trouble. He obtained a grant to certify almost 90% of the fire fighters in his department and secured a Rapid Response grant for $100,000 to purchase specialized equipment that can be used by the nine surrounding towns. He mentioned a case that involved the budget cut. He said that any of the actions he took were done in consultation with the Town Manager and the Town Counsel. He said he has never been disciplined in his entire career. He reviewed the particulars of the situation. He said he is seeking this position because of the lack fiscal stability in his town. He was very frustrated when a downtown fire station was closed and the voters turned down a debt exclusion. He said the ambulance brings in $949,000 annually. The volume is taking a terrible toll on the members of his department. Mr. Wright said he believes a senior staff member should live in the town and he would move into the town of Sharon. Mr. Wright said he has written the majority of grant writing for the Athol Fire Department. He estimates that he has received approximately $750,000 in grants. He also serves as the Emergency Manager in Athol. Selectman Heitin asked Mr. Wright to speak about his management and leadership style. He said he is big on personal responsibility and believes that it is essential for member of his staff. He expects people to participate on what they need to work on. He said he is a hands on leader and stays on top of some individuals more than others. He tries to obtain input from department members when making a decision. He said he is involved in the Athol community organizations such as the Boy Scouts and he is an Eagle Scout.
He is the leader of the Certified Regional Local Planning Committee for emergencies and helped the smaller surrounding communities to obtain this certification because he believes it is important. He said his staff would say that he fights very hard to obtain the resources necessary to support the department. He is not a person who believes in status quo and is not afraid to try and implement improvements. Mr. Wrights said that in terms of discipline he has tried every type of discipline. He said in his early days he was a more aggressive disciplinarian than he is today. He doesn’t knee jerk react in situations. The most important factor in disciplining an employee is to make sure that the situation doesn’t happen again and try to utilize incidents as a learning tool. He said he is attracted to the Town of Sharon because it is a small community and because of the natural resources available in Sharon. He also said the staffing level is reasonable number to get the job done and leads to more positive management rather than crisis management. He has many things he would like to do but doesn’t have the opportunity to do them with his current resources. Mr. Wright said that he was approached by the Town Manager to be the Compliance Officer and the Procurement Officer for the town. He took the classes and became certified in that area.
VOTED: (Powell/Heitin) Voted unanimously to move into Executive Session to discuss FLSA update, bargaining status of AFSCME unit, SMEA bargaining update, fire negotiations update. Real property issues consisting of the lease amendment HFY Administration Building. Pending litigation with re… R. Uyttebroek case and Glassman case. Chairman Powell declared that the discussion of the aforementioned issues in open session will be detrimental to the interests of the Town.
The meeting adjourned at 9:25 p.m.
Powell: Aye
Roach: Aye
Heitin: Aye