MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING

MONDAY - OCTOBER 18, 2004 - 7:00 PM

 

WILLIAM HILTON CENTER

 

PRESENT:     Selectmen Robert Carroll Chairman, Ed Hunt, Anthony Papoulias, Henry Richenburg, Jerry Klima

 

ALSO PRESENT:  Neil Harrington, Town Manager and Janet Flannery, Secretary

 

I.          Call to Order/Salute to the Flag

Chairman Carroll called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM.

 

II.        Acceptance of Minutes

Minutes of Sept. 27, 2004 and October 4, 2004

Motion by Sel. Richenburg, Seconded by Sel. Klima; Unanimously voted to approve the Minutes of Sept. 27, 2004 as printed.

Motion by Sel. Richenburg, Seconded by Sel. Klima; Voted to approve the Minutes of Oct. 4, 2004 as printed.  VOTE: 4 yea’s; Sel. Hunt abstained.

 

III.       Old Business

General Licenses:

Ralph Tatro - Folly Mill Rd.  Motion by Sel. Richenburg, Seconded by Sel. Hunt; Unanimously voted to remove from the table.

Motion by Sel. Richenburg, Seconded by Sel. Hunt; Unanimously voted to approve a General License for a wood cutting operation to Ralph Tatro.  This is in an area of Town where there is a gravel pit and this particular piece of land was grand fathered under the zoning by-laws and had been previously used for this purpose.

 

LandscapeXpress - Rabbit Rd.  Motion by Sel. Richenburg, Seconded by Sel. Hunt; Unanimously voted to remove from the table.

Motion by Sel. Klima, Seconded by Sel. Hunt; Unanimously voted to approve a General License to LandscapeXpress Mon - Sat. From 7AM - 5PM and subject to the following conditions: that there be appropriate screening as required under the current by-law and approved by the Building Inspector and that he be satisfied that the appropriate controls are put in place to control dust and odors, and any dirt left on the roadway be cleaned as necessary.

 

IV.       New Business

License Renewals:

Motion by Sel. Richenburg, Seconded by Sel. Hunt; Unanimously voted to renew a Gravel Permit  to Elmknoll Trust - Locust Street (2 licenses).

 

 

b.  New Licenses:

Motion by Sel. Richenburg, Seconded by Sel. Hunt; Unanimously voted to approve a General license to: Breakwater Boat Sales, Inc. - 161 Bridge Rd. And to Early Wonders Childcare & Preschool Center, Inc. - 167 Elm St. Suite 3.

 

Motion by Sel. Richenburg, Seconded by Sel. Hunt; Unanimously voted to approve a Common Victualer license to: Cristy’s Pizza, Inc. - 5C Broadway and to Performance Nutrition - 50 Elm St.

 

c.  Committee Appointments - none

 

d.  Frank Gorman re: 227 Beach Rd.

This item was cancelled at the request of Mr. Gorman.

 

e.  Lisa Pearson re: Martin Maillet Pit Update

Ms. Pearson said that representatives for Mr. Ron Pearson were present at the last Conservation Commission meeting.  In the interest of getting the work done, and prior to the winter setting in, ConComm approved an order of conditions which is subject to the approval of the DEP at which time they can begin work.  However, ConComm will have an inspector out at the site and it will  depend on the DEP as to when the work will be done.

 

f.  School Committee Representative - Monthly Update

Nobody present to give update.

 

g.  Lisa Pearson re: Discussion of Grant Application for Industrial Sewer Project

Ms. Pearson said she is getting ready to submit the PWED applications which were approved by the Selectmen about a year ago, which would be applied to bringing sewer to the Rabbit Rd. industrial park .  She is also seeking to supplement the project with a total of 3 grants totaling up to $2M and needs the approval of the Selectmen to proceed. 

Motion by Sel. Richenburg, Seconded by Sel. Klima; Unanimously voted to authorize the Town Manager and Town Planner to submit application for the following Grants: PWED Grant, Ready Resource Grant through DHCD, and the EDA Grant through the Federal Government.

Mr. Harrington said if no grants are awarded he will then go back and research it fully and make a decision at that time.  It is not his intention to gouge the residents; he wants to do it right and if we continue along the path we are on it will be done right.

 

h.  Atty. Janos re: Northshore Home Consortium Documents for Signature

Ms. Pearson addressed the Board at the request of Atty. Janos to facilitate the process of getting the documents signed.  The Assisted Living Center is expanding their rooms and these documents will allow the money to be allocated for this purpose.  Motion by Sel. Richenburg, Seconded by Sel. Klima for discussion, to approve and sign the documents. 

 

 

 

Discussion: Sel. Klima had several questions and didn’t feel the Board should sign until he had a chance to review them further.  Motion and Second withdrawn until a clarification is received from Sel. Klima.

Motion by Sel. Richenburg, Seconded by Sel. Hunt; Unanimously voted to table until the next meeting in order to get more information.

 

V.        Comments by Visitors

Kendall Eaton of Ferry Rd. Addressed the Board re: several very large pot holes at the corner of Roberts Rd. And Ferry Rd.  Manager said he will have the DPW Director care of them.  Sel. Hunt said the Town should make an effort to get out and check all roads in Town; Mr. Harrington said this has been started and there is an on-going list that is quite large.

 

Gil Bonk announced the “hairy scarey” hay ride scheduled to take place this coming week-end from 6:30 - 8:30 at the Pettengill Farm; this is to benefit “Santa’s Helper”.

 

VI.       Sewer/Water

 

VII.     Correspondence

·                      Invitation to Whittier Tech’s annual Open House on Nov. 7, 2004 from 2 - 4 PM.

·                      Notice of Public Hearings Oct. 18th and 19th re: Proposed Regulatory Changes to 322CMR as they pertain to Marine Fisheries.

·                      Notice of the Chamber of Commerce Monthly Meeting scheduled for Oct. 28th at 6:30 PM at Connie’s Stagecoach.

·                      Letter from Pat Rogers informing the Board of her resignation from the Water Advisory Board.  Motion by Sel. Hunt, Seconded by Sel. Richenburg; Unanimously voted to accept her resignation, to send her a letter of appreciation for her services and to post the opening.

 

VIII.    Hearings

7:30 PM - Continuation of Hearing re: Access Fee Appeal

Sel. Carroll stated this is a continuation of the hearing from the last meeting.  This is due to an appeal made and submitted to the Board of Selectmen by Mr. & Mrs. Torissi of 10 Joy Rd.  Sel. Richenburg recused himself at this time.

Sel. Carroll outlined the 3reasons for the appeal: 1) a building permit was obtained well before the effective date of the regulation; 2) she was a customer before the regulation went into effect, and 3) she was not notified of the fee.  Ms. Torissi then read another statement outlining and reiterating her reasons for requesting an appeal.

Sel. Carroll said of the 3 points he found the point where she was a customer at the time the regulation took effect would be reason enough for granting a rebate.  However, he said Town Counsel said that water access fees may be charged to customers who obtain an occupancy permit because no grand fathering clause is in the regulations.  As far as not being notified he felt there was plenty of notice given as several hearings were held and advertised prior to the dates of the hearings and notices were in the newspapers.  Sel. Hunt was absent for the Hearing but said he viewed the tape several times and feels Ms. Torissi has a valid case and he is in favor of the appeal.

Motion by Sel. Papoulias, Seconded by Sel. Hunt; Unanimously voted that the Water Commissioners of the Town of Salisbury approve the appeal brought by Mr. & Mrs. Torissi to abate $3,630 in water access fees paid on their property at 10 Joy Rd., Salisbury, MA.

Motion by Sel. Richenburg, Seconded by Sel. Hunt; Unanimously voted to close the Hearing at 7:42 PM.

 

8:00 PM - Hearing to Continue Discussion on the Proposal for Revising the Water & Sewer Regulations

Motion by Sel. Richenburg, Seconded by Sel. Hunt; Unanimously voted to open the Hearing at 8:00 PM.

Sel. Carroll stated that the issue is a modification to the water and sewer access fee regulations which would essentially change the formula for calculating the fees for restaurants and lounges.  When the Board set the fees they followed the EQR schedule which had been used for several years; however when this was applied to restaurants they came up with very large fees so they looked into actual usage to see where the restaurants and lounges stacked up and found there was a lot less consumption so based on that they came up with a new schedule which is substantially lower.  Sel. Carroll further said that commercial non-residential customers, who think that the schedule is not  appropriate can apply for an adjustment for their establishment.  Comments were then taken from the public.

H. Baxter - Seabrook Rd. - Stated that the hearing tonight is for the commercial and he requested the Board consider the residents and the situation they are in and asked where the projected figures are now that will be needed for the infrastructure eleven years from now.  He asked “how the Board is going to address people like himself who have lived for 30 years not requiring an occupancy permit; there are flows on the residential section.” 

D. Colburn - Seabrook Rd. - Re-itereated Mr. Baxter’s comments and asked why people who have lived in Town for years have to pay to help the new people; if everyone is going to benefit then everyone should have to pay.  Sel. Klima suggested he read some of the background the Board had when looking at the water and sewer access fees.  Part of the cost of improvement is a cost that will benefit everybody; part of it is getting more water and sewer to new users.  He believes it is quite clear.

C. Baxter - Seabrook. - Did an experiment on Friday by going to the DPW with the intention of finding out where it tells everybody about an access fee and couldn’t find it on any of the documents and suggested that something be added to the permits.  Sel. Carroll said that the individual responsible for signing off on the water/sewer portion of the permit will indicate on it that the access fee is required.

Sel. Papoulias stated that he didn’t see why the present users had to pay.

Motion by Sel. Richenburg, Seconded by Sel. Klima; Unanimously voted to close the hearing at 8:55 PM.

Motion by Sel. Richenburg, Seconded by Sel. Klima; Voted that the Water Commissioners of the Town of Salisbury vote to adopt and sign the amendments of the Salisbury Water Dept. Rules & Regulations as presented in the Draft document dated 9/29/04.  VOTE: 4 yea’s; Sel. Papoulias opposed.  Motion carried.

Motion by Sel. Richenburg, Seconded by Sel. Klima; Voted that the Sewer Commissioners of the Town of Salisbury vote to adopt the amendments to the Regulations regarding Access fees for the connection to Public Sewer as presented in the Draft document dated 9/29/04.  VOTE: 4 yea’s, Sel. Papoulias opposed.  Motion carried.

 

IX.       Town Manager’s Report

Mr. Harrington summarized his written report, a copy of which is attached and made a part of these Minutes.

 

X.        Selectmen’s Report

Sel. Hunt:

 Asked where the Town stood on the sandbagging at the beach and Mr. Levesque said he will be in touch with the Sheriff’s Dept.

Indicated that he had a lot of people call him re: the ConComm’s regulation on the new paving at the beach.  He would like to have a meeting regarding this: he feels it is a very serious matter that the ConComm took, but feels the driveways should be kept looking nice.  He would like some input from the people and possibly have members of ConComm present; he doesn’t think it is fair since the State Reservation can hot top but the residents cannot.  Mr. Harrington agreed and said he spoke to ConComm and they are re-visiting the decision they made.  He agrees that the regulation as it is now is too strict.

Asked if there is anything the Town can do about the 40B housing legislation that is tied up in the Senate.  He feels uncomfortable with them going on at the present time and he feels we have our 10% already and he doesn’t think someone is looking out for what is best for Salisbury at the State level.  He thinks the Town should take a stand with the 40B’s that are with the ZBA and we should say no.  He suggested a letter be sent to the legislators and possibly to Town Counsel to get an idea of what it would cost to fight this.  Sel. Klima agrees 100% and hopes our ZBA will take a hard line; as far as getting legislation passed that would be very difficult.

Asked if money was found to get somebody out there to cut brush back; suggested getting volunteers.  He said people like to walk and can’t because of the condition of the sidewalks, roads and over-grown brush; he thinks this should be a priority for the DPW.  Sel. Klima said he supports the DPW getting the equipment and putting time in to get a program in place.

Announced that the Lions Club is having an auction/flea market Saturday, Oct. 23th from 10AM - 1PM at the COA.

 

Gil Bonk asked if the receivables project is continuing.  Mr. Harrington said that the assessor spent most of the summer trying to get the State to revise their assessment of state owned land.  They haven’t lost sight of the project; there are too many unknowns to set a date for completion but he will give an update on where we stand at the next meeting.

Sel. Klima:

Announced that the Betterment Association and Taxpayers Association sponsored their 10th semi-annual trash pick up and clean up day; over 50 people came and tons of trash was picked up.

Urged people to come to Town meeting to hear the report of the Zoning Review Committee and to vote on it.  He stated that the new zoning only affects the beach commercial and not the north end.  He also referred to a flier that was circulated throughout the Town highlighting several issues  that are erroneous.

 

XI.       Executive Session - none.

 

XII.     Adjournment

Motion by Sel. Richenburg, Seconded by Sel. Hunt; Unanimously voted to adjourn at 9:30 PM.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Janet Flannery, Secretary

 

Approved:______________________________

     Ed Hunt, Clerk