HomeMy WebLinkAboutBoard of Selectmen Minutes January 28, 2009_2014020616121519931
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
Minutes of the Meeting of 28 January 2009. The meeting took place in the Court Room, Town and
County Building, 16 Broad Street, Nantucket, MA 02554. Members of the Board present were Rick
Atherton, Brian Chadwick, Michael Kopko, Allen Reinhard, and Patricia Roggeveen. Chairman
Kopko called the meeting to order at 7:18 PM.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Department of Public Works Director Jeff Willett gave an update on current downtown sewer
rehabilitation work and reviewed the work schedule for the following week.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Director of Planning Andrew Vorce informed the Board of an author discussion regarding parking
garages, which will be held 29 January at 7:00 PM at the Westmoor Club and 31 January at 1:00
PM at the Atheneum Great Hall.
Thomas Barada inquired about the Quaker Road bike path project and the process which led to
excavation of the site. Ms. Gibson explained the series of steps which are required by the state to
investigate whether burial remains are within the proposed path layout, which includes the
excavation of test pits to see if remains are present. She said evidence of remains has been found
and the project ceased immediately. She acknowledged that while the site looks alarming, it will be
put back to its original condition. Mr. Vorce added that the Town did its due diligence based on the
recommendation of the archeological contractor in the field.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES, WARRANTS AND PENDING CONTRACTS
Approval of Payroll Warrant for Week Ending 25 January 2009. The payroll warrant for the week
ending 25 January 2009 was approved by the unanimous consent of the meeting.
Approval of Treasury Warrant and Pending Contracts for 28 January 2009. The treasury warrant
and pending contracts for 28 January 2009 were approved by the unanimous consent of the
meeting.
CITIZEN/DEPARTMENTAL REQUESTS
Town Administration: Request for Acceptance of Grant from County for Replacement of Roofs of
Police Department Building; Loran Barracks Storage Building. Mr. Reinhard moved to accept the
grant; Ms. Roggeveen seconded. Richard Cooper inquired if bids for the projects have been
awarded yet; Ms. Gibson said no, and reminded the public that Island contractors who are state
certified can bid on municipal projects. All in favor, so voted.
TOWN MANAGER’S REPORT
Overview of Projected FY 2010 Sewer Enterprise Fund Budget. Ms. Gibson noted that some items
in the budget have not yet been resolved, and some assumptions need to have more time spent on
them. These include the sewer rate modeling report, which is not complete but underway by
consultant Mark Abrahams, who will provide the Board with options as to types of sewer rate
structures to help the Board decide on increasing sewer rates to address the projected deficit in FY
2010 due to debt service payments for the Surfside Waste Water Treatment Facility, and is
tentatively scheduled to be presented to the Board on 25 February. Other items include the Sewer
Act implementation, sewer connection permit issuance numbers, and privilege fees. Ms. Gibson
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noted that because of the projected deficit the Board will need to address closing the gap through
rate increases or some other revenue method. Assistant Finance Director Irene Larivee reviewed
the details of the FY 2010 Sewer Enterprise Fund budget as well as background regarding prior
fiscal years. She said that in FY 2006 that there was a deficit at year end, but that started to
change in FY 2007, 2008, and 2009 as sewer rates were increased. Ms. Larivee said that at the
2005 Special Town Meeting within the Annual Town Meeting, it was established that 66% of the
debt expense for the Surfside Waste Water Treatment Facility upgrade would be applied to the
SEF, with the remaining 34% to be applied to the General Fund, which would be raised through the
tax levy. The SEF debt would be offset by a combination of increasing sewer rates for existing
users, and privilege fees for new connections. Ms. Larivee said that during FY 2004 and 2005 new
permits were averaging about 215 per year, and during FY 2006, 2007 and 2008 permits remained
stable at about 145 per year. In FY 2009 the Town began seeing a marked decline for both
Sconset and the Town which is a result of a decline in building on the Island. Ms. Larivee reviewed
expenses including the debt service payment schedule. Ms. Larivee noted that for fiscal year 2010
there is a projected gap of $226,000 and options for closing that gap include increasing sewer
rates, an override to cover the gap, or a General Fund subsidy. She said the last two options are
not being recommended at this time. Ms. Larivee said the Finance Committee is scheduled to
review the proposed budget on 5 February and as more information becomes known the budget
will come back before the Board for further review and adoption. She said further refinements to
the FY 2010 debt projections are needed because of sewer projects coming up for borrowing in the
February timeframe. Ms. Larivee and Mr. Willett answered questions from the Board at the end of
the presentation.
Review of Board of Selectmen Endorsement of Annual Enterprise Fund Indirect Cost
Chargebacks. Continued to a future meeting.
SELECTMEN’S REPORTS/COMMENT
Review of Human Services Contract Review Committee Recommendations for FY 2010. Maryanne
Worth, coordinator of the Council for Human Services, gave a presentation on the Human Services
Contract Review Committee recommendations for FY 2010 funding. Ms. Worth introduced
committee members present and said the committee received 13 requests totaling $494,996, and
could regretfully not accommodate all requests. Ms. Worth reviewed the history and purpose of the
Human Services Contract Review Committee. She then reviewed the agencies who requested
funding, the amount of funding requested, and the amount of the grants recommended, totaling
$297,900. Discussions followed on the amounts of some of the grants recommended. Ms. Worth
noted she would be making a presentation to the Finance Committee with recommendations on 3
February. Chairman Kopko said the Board would vote on the recommendations next week.
Discussion Regarding Implementation of Nantucket Sewer Act. Postponed to 4 February due to the
lateness of the meeting.
Adoption of 2009 Annual Town Meeting Warrant. Ms. Gibson reviewed the draft 2009 Annual Town
Meeting warrant with the Board, going through each article. She covered the update showing
changes made since the previous week. The Board agreed, regarding Article 11, to rename the
Public Safety Facility project, the Police Station per Administration’s recommendation. Mr. Vorce
reviewed changes to planning and zoning articles, as well as real estate conveyance articles. The
Board discussed questions that came up throughout the review and made decisions on which
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articles were to stay as part of the warrant and which would be removed. A discussion followed on
a charter change proposed by Mr. Chadwick requiring Town Counsel to report to the Town
Manager instead of the Board. It was agreed that it would not become part of the warrant. Ms.
Roggeveen recused herself from voting on the adoption of the warrant. Mr. Chadwick moved to
adopt the warrant for the 2009 Annual Town Meeting and Annual Town Election as amended; Mr.
Atherton seconded. All in favor, so voted.
Mr. Chadwick asked the Chair if he could put more effort into managing the length of the meetings
in the future. Chairman Kopko said he would take Mr. Chadwick’s comments under consideration,
and went on to say that he takes issue with the length of the meeting being a problem, as he feels
the Board tackled important issues tonight.
The meeting was unanimously adjourned at 10:49 PM.
Approved the 22nd day of July, 2009.