MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING

MONDAY - SEPTEMBER 26, 2005 - 7:00 PM

 

WILLIAM HILTON CENTER

 

PRESENT:     Selectmen Henry Richenburg, Chairman, Robert Carroll, Ed Hunt, Jerry Klima, and Fred Knowles

 

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

 

I.          Call to Order/Salute to the Flag

 

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

 

II.        Acceptance of Minutes - none

 

III.       Old Business

Decision on Alison Dembowski’s Water Access Appeal

Motion by Selectman Carroll, Second by Selectmen Klima; Voted that Alison Dembowski’s request for a refund of her water access fee paid on April 1, 2005 be denied.  VOTE: 3 yea’s; Selectman Knowles opposed; Selectman Hunt abstained.  Motion carried.

 

At this time, Chairman Richenburg mentioned that with the holiday in October, he requested that the Board meet on October 3rd and 17th and if pleased the Board he would entertain a motion.

Motion by Selectman Carroll, Second by Selectman Knowles; Unanimously voted that the Board of Selectman meet on Oct. 3rd and 17th instead of the normally scheduled weeks in October.

 

He then said there was a question regarding Town Meeting scheduled for Oct. 24th.  Since free cash will not be available until after that date and since up to this past Thursday only 2 articles have been submitted he asked the Board to think about postponing Town Meeting until free cash is certified and have it late in December or early in January.

Motion by Selectman Carroll, Second by Selectman Klima; Unanimously voted that the Board of Selectman postpone the Fall Town Meeting indefinitely from the current date of Oct. 24, 2005.

 

IV.       New Business

a.  License Renewals - no applications received

 

b.  New Licenses - no applications received.

 

c.  Committee Appointments:

License Commission - 2 vacancies - 2 applicants: Joseph Carroll - 14 Lewis Ave. And James “Pete” McDonnell - 578 No. End Blvd.

Motion by Selectman Knowles, Second by Selectman Klima; Unanimously voted to appoint


MINUTES OF BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING OF SEPT. 26, 2005

 

James McDonnell to serve on the License Commission for a three year term expiring on 6-30-07.

 

Selectman Hunt mentioned that he spoke with Joseph Carroll who said he wasn’t aware that his position as a bartender would affect him serving on t he license commission but thanked the Board for their consideration and hoped that one day in the future he will be able to serve the Town.

 

Cable Advisory Board - Confirm appointment of 3 new members: Don Beaulieu, Bobbi Klima, and Larry Cuddire            

Motion by Selectman Knowles, Second by Selectman Klima; Unanimously voted to confirm the appointment of Don Beaulieu, Larry Cuddire and Bobbi Klima

 

Rte. One Sewer Study Committee - 2 vacancies - 1 applicant: Glenn Giampa

Motion by Selectman Carroll, Second by Selectman Hunt; Unanimously voted to appoint Glenn Giampa to serve on the Route 1 Sewer Study Committee.  The remaining position will be re-posted.

 

d.  Update/Presentation: Town Clerk/School Committee

Town Clerk:  Ms. Wilma Mahoney explained that at the May 2005 Town Meeting money was appropriated to codify the by-laws which are currently in 2 loose leaf binders.  She explained the process and showed an example of what the finished product would look like and will be available for purchase in book form for about $50.  Also, when completed the entire town code will be available on the Town’s web site: www.salisburyma.gov. 

As a result of fees collected and licenses sold she has received $19,000 which has been put in the General Fund.

An ad has been placed in the newspaper for an Assistant Clerk and to date 40 resumes have been received.  The deadline is Sept. 30th and once the deadline has past she and the Town Manager will review the resumes and narrow the search to begin interviews.

 

School Committee:  School Committee Member Jim Poulin reported that all programs are up and running as well as sports and band.  Regarding the status of the Regional Agreement, as it stands now currently all three districts are participating and all three are up to date in payments.  The status of Newbury’s $146,000 payment shortfall from last year, they are contesting the change in the formula; hopefully the legal fees will be kept to a minimum.  The School Committee is awaiting a court decision in a similar case that should be decided soon.

Selectman Knowles asked how much the gym is costing at Triton; Mr. Poulin said he will be glad to obtain that information but it will take some time to get the prices of each department.  Selectman Knowles also indicated his concern that juniors and seniors do not take gym and wanted to know if the school committee will be re-instating it.  Mr. Poulin said he will bring it forward to at the next school committee meeting and will also get the percentage of the school budget spent on maintenance and will find out how much was used last year and where the balance went.

 

 

e.  135 Beach Rd. Unit 217 - Right of First Refusal

Motion by Selectman Carroll, Second by Selectman Klima; Unanimously voted to table until the next meeting and get a recommendation from Town Counsel.

 

f.  Set Hearing Date for a Pole Hearing

Motion by Selectman Klima, Second by Selectman Carroll; Unanimously voted to schedule a public hearing to remove one pole and place one pole on Bridge Road on October 17, 2005 at 7:30 PM in the Hilton Center.

 

g. Discussion of FY06 Goals & Objectives

Updates and comments were made by each Selectman for the items they are responsible for and an updated copy of the Goals & Objectives are attached and made a part of these Minutes.

 

h.  Harbor Commission License from MBTA to Store Floats

Selectman Klima prepared a letter applying for a one-year license to permit the Harbor Commission to store town owned floats on land owned by the MBTA and this required a vote of the Board to authorize the Manager to execute and deliver an application for this process.

Motion by Selectman Klima, Second by Selectman Knowles; Unanimously voted to authorize the Town Manager to execute and deliver an application for entry upon MBTA railroad, transit, or other property on behalf of the Harbor Commission to permit the Harbor Commission to store floats on the MBTA property between Friedenfels Rd. and the Merrimack River and to authorize the Town Manager to negotiate, execute and deliver a license agreement between the Town and the MBTA relating to such float storage.

 

V.        Comments by Visitors

Harbormaster Ray Pike said he has heard people asking about the clam flats opening and he just attended a quarterly meeting and the Dept. Of Wildlife and Fisheries are promising an open date for the end of October.

 

VI.       Sewer/Water

 

VII.     Correspondence

·                      Letter from Jean Koch resigning from the Housing Authority.  Motion by Selectman Hunt, Second by Selectman Carroll; Unanimously voted to send a letter of appreciation and to post the position.

·                      Letter from Dan Ouellette re: the resignation of Ms. Koch and his request to have the position filled as soon as possible.

 

VIII.    Hearings

7:30 PM - CarsPort Taxi 50 cent Surcharge

Motion by Selectman Carroll, Second by Selectman Knowles; Unanimously voted to open the Hearing at 7:30 PM on the surcharge for CarsPort Taxi.

Mr. Congdon explain the reason for the request is because gas has gone up so high and his drivers pay for the gas, he doesn’t.  He indicated that everybody around is putting a surcharge on and he wanted to do the same for his drivers.  If the gas price drops to $2.00 or below the surcharge will be dropped.

Motion by Selectman Knowles, Second by Selectman Klima; Unanimously voted to approve the 50 cent surcharge and that it be in place until April 1, 2006 at which time the Board will review it again.

 

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

Selectman Knowles referred to the $40,000 award for Weston & Sampson to study the sewer to go along Lafayette Rd. and it appears that the Attorney General passed a law in June as it relates to this and he questioned if it had to go out to bid.  Mr. Harrington said he will ask Town Counsel about this.  However, Chairman Richenburg pointed out that he believed that falls under the auspices of the Enterprise Fund and since Weston & Sampson is the ongoing engineer on this project a public bid is not needed.

 

Selectman Hunt has had several people speak to him about sidewalks, over-growth and roadways  and he personally would like to see these kept up and requested the Manager to speak to the DPW Director about this.  Manager said he is aware of the request and will take of it at the end of the construction season.

 

XI.       Executive Session - none

 

XII.     Adjournment

Motion by Selectman Klima, Second by Carroll; Unanimously voted to adjourn at 8:55 PM.

 

 

Respectfully submitted:

Janet E. Flannery, Secretary

 

 

Approved:______________________________

     Fred Knowles, Clerk