BOARD OF SELECTMEN MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 10, 2007 MEETING

WILLIAM HILTON CENTER

 

PRESENT:     Selectmen Jerry Klima, Chairman; Don Beaulieu, Ed Hunt, Henry Richenburg, and Fred Knowles

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

 

I.          Call to Order/Salute to the Flag

Chairman Klima called the meeting to order at 7:02 PM.

 

II.        Acceptance of Minutes

            Minutes of August 13, 2007

Motion by Selectman Beaulieu, Second by Selectman Richenburg; unanimously voted to approve the Minutes of August 13, 2007, as written.

 

III.       Old Business - none

 

IV.       New Business

            a.  License Renewals:

Motion by Selectman Richenburg, Second by Selectman Beaulieu; unanimously voted to renew a Common Victualer and a General license for: Cinema 95 – 201 Elm St.

 

            b.  New Licenses

Motion by Selectman Richenburg, Second by Selectman Beaulieu; unanimously voted to approve a General license for Solar Edison LLC – 141 Bridge Rd., Suite 100A

 

            c.  Committee Appointments - none

           

            d.  Update/Presentations: Finance Director and Planning Board

Finance Director Andy Gould reported that the auditors arrived today and will be in Town for the week and the State is coming on Thursday to certify free cash and we should be able to have it certified by October 25th.  The audited financial statements should arrive by the end of October and Schedule A will be submitted at the end of October.  National Grid has been in doing an energy audit and Keyspan will be in next week.  Selectman Beaulieu asked if the Town is now in sync with DOR and Mr. Gould indicated that we are in compliance.

 

Bob Straubel, Planning Board Chairman, provided the Board with an outline of the Planning Board’s activities and gave a brief overview of each item, a copy of which is on file in the Selectmen’s Office.  Included in the outline was a schedule of the upcoming meetings of the Master Plan Committee.

 

            e. Rika Welsh – re: Cable Media Center

Mr. Harrington introduced Ms. Rika Welsh who is the leading expert in the State on how to set up a media access center and he stated that it is his intention to hire her to get the process moving forward.  Ms. Welsh then addressed the Board and summarized her professional experience. 

 

Ms. Welsh stated that she has been working with communities in the field of public access for many years.  She started up and ran an access center for 14 years in Malden.  She said that the most important point is that if the media access center is set up correctly it will run properly.

 

BOARD OF SELECTMEN MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 10, 2007 MEETING

 

She said that the first step in the founding of a center is to bring the community together to participate in the formation of it.  She suggested setting up a non-profit organization, with a policymaking Board of Directors, which needs to be put together quickly so the center can be operating by year end.  She described what types of things the access group will do once the Town actually takes over the two channels.  She then provided a copy of her proposal for a convener process for the founding of a community media center, as well as a copy of her professional summary both of which are on file in the Selectmen’s Office.  Chairman Klima pointed out that this is a great opportunity for the town to create something and to continue providing coverage and he hopes that people will get involved and make it work.

 

Motion by Selectman Beaulieu, Second by Selectman Richenburg; unanimously voted to move forward with the process of creating a media center.

 

Motion by Selectman Beaulieu, Second by Selectman Richenburg; unanimously voted to set a timeframe bring forward names of volunteers and select the members of the convener board by the first meeting in October so that the process can be started promptly.

 

            f.  Larry Quinn, TRIAD Chairman

Mr. Quinn was just elected Chairman to the TRIAD, which was started in Salisbury two years ago to help senior citizens.  He said that the first thing he wants to do is to reach out to the seniors in town.  He announced that the COA is having a TRIAD meeting this Wednesday along with a cook-out; he then gave the Board a handout and outlined the program and encouraged all seniors to be present on Wednesday at the Senior Center from 11AM – 2PM.

 

            g.  Set Meeting Dates for the remainder of 2007

Motion by Selectman Beaulieu, Second by Selectman Richenburg; unanimously voted to schedule the following Selectmen’s meeting dates for the remainder of the year: October 15th, November 5th and the 19th, and December 3rd and 17th.

 

            h.  Vote to Join Municipal Coalition for Affordable Housing

Mr. Klima stated that this coalition is being formed to be a lobbying group for municipalities to help make the state laws on affordable housing more favorable to cities and towns.

Motion by Selectman Beaulieu, Second by Selectman Richenburg; unanimously voted to join the Municipal Coalition for Affordable Housing.

 

            i.  Proposed acceptance of Conservation land off Michelle Drive

Mr. Harrington stated that the developer of the subdivision which includes Michelle Drive and Catherine Way has asked to have the streets accepted by the Town.  There is a parcel of land adjacent to the subdivision that the developer is proposing to give to the town.  The engineer was supposed to be present tonight but is not and no deed has been submitted, therefore Mr. Harrington suggested that the matter be postponed until the next meeting.  The DPW Director said the subdivision is Meadowbrook Estates; there have been issues over the past couple of years which have been addressed by the town via a punch list and the developer is presently taking care of the issues.  The parcel is open space that could possibly be used for a walking trail.

Motion by Selectman Beaulieu, Second by Selectman Richenburg; unanimously voted to table and request that Ms. Pearson get all the necessary information ready for the next meeting.

 

 

BOARD OF SELECTMEN MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 10, 2007 MEETING

 

V.        Comments by Visitors - none

 

VI.       Sewer/Water

            Vote to approve Management Agreement with Pennichuck for the Operation and Maintenance of the Water System

Mr. Harrington said that Pennichuck was the only respondent to bid for the operation and maintenance of the water system.  However, the contract could not be finalized by year end so an interim three month contract was signed.  He said that a final agreement has now been completed for a 5-year contract, including the three months already agreed on, with an option to renew for another 5 years at the end of this contract.

Motion by Selectman Richenburg, Second by Selectman Beaulieu; unanimously voted to approve the contract as presented and to authorize the Town Manager and Water Commissioners to sign and deliver it.

 

VII.     Correspondence

  • Letter from the United Nations Association of Greater Boston requesting Salisbury to proclaim October 24th as UN Day.  No action taken.
  • Comcast letter providing an overview of their progress in the community since acquiring Adelphia.
  • Marine Fisheries bulletin.

 

VIII.    Hearings

            7:30 PM – National Grid – Construction of Underground Conduit on Bartlett St.

Motion by Selectman Beaulieu, Second by Selectman Knowles; unanimously voted to open the hearing at 7:35 PM.

David Boucher of National Grid stated they are requesting permission to install conduit on Bartlett St. to increase electricity at 98 Elm Street.           SPS installed the conduit on their property in order to pave the parking lot and after permission is granted tonight they will complete the installation in the street.  National Grid will be replacing poles 1, 2, and 3 basically transferring from the old pole to the new and adding a riser.  Chairman Klima asked if pole #38 could be removed since it is so close to the road and Mr. Boucher said he will have NationalGrid take a look at it to see what can be done.  DPW Director Don Levesque said he has looked at the site and doesn’t have a problem with it.

Motion by Selectman Beaulieu, Second by Selectman Knowles; unanimously voted to close the hearing at 7:50 PM.

Motion by Selectman Beaulieu, Second by Selectman Richenburg; unanimously voted to approve the request and allow the installation of the conduit as presented.

 

IX.       Town Manager’s Report

Mr. Harrington gave a brief overview of his written report, a copy of which is available in the Town Manager’s office.

 

X.        Selectmen’s Report

            a.  Ratification of Signing of Weekly Warrants:

Motion by Selectman Beaulieu, Second by Selectman Knowles; unanimously voted to ratify the signing of the following weekly warrants:

         

            BOARD OF SELECTMEN MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 10, 2007 MEETING

           

            W08-25           Gen., Sewer, Water                              W08-26           CDBG

            W08-27           Town Payroll                                        W08-28           Police Payroll

            W08-29           Sewer Payroll                                       W08-30           CDBG Payroll

            W08-31           Gen., Sewer, Water                              W08-32           Town Payroll

            W08-33           Police Payroll                                       W08-34           Sewer Payroll

            W08-35           CDBG Payroll

 

Selectman Hunt said he has received several calls from businesses along Ferry Rd. about cutting the phragmites down for it appears to have a serious potential for a fire and he was wondering if the ConComm could rule on whether or not the people can remove them.  Selectman Beaulieu said his recollection when this was brought up last year ConComm said if someone is going to cut them down it must be done by hand.  Mr. Harrington offered to send a letter to ConComm asking for guidance as to what the procedure would be.

 

Selectman Hunt also asked if a letter had been sent to LandscapeXpress.  He has the order of conditions on that property from 2004 and after reading them, some of the conditions have not been met and he thinks that ConComm has to go and monitor the situation.  Selectman Beaulieu pointed out that DEP went out there and found no violations on the premises.  The Board then requested a copy of what Selectman Hunt has and he said he will provide copies to each member.

 

Selectman Knowles said that the Fire Dept. was involved with the Great American Chile Cook-off contest in Amesbury and came in 3rd place this year.  He also commended the DPW for the great job they did in getting the crosswalks painted; however people don’t seem to be stopping for the people in the crosswalks when church gets out.

 

XI.       Executive Session

Motion by Selectman Beaulieu, Second by Selectman Richenburg; unanimously voted to move into Executive Session at 9:10 PM to consider the purchase, exchange, lease or value of real property and to adjourn without returning to open session.  Present will be the full Board of Selectmen, Town Manager Neil Harrington and Secretary Janet Flannery.  Roll vote: Selectman Knowles – yes; Selectman Hunt – yes; Selectman Beaulieu – yes; Selectman Richenburg – yes; Chairman Klima - yes

 

XII.     Adjournment

Meeting adjourned after Executive Session at 9:35 PM

 

Respectfully submitted:

Janet E. Flannery, Secretary

 

                                                            Approved: ___________________________

                                                                              Fred Knowles, Clerk