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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBoard of Selectmen Minutes January 6, 2010_2014020616201934301 BOARD OF SELECTMEN Minutes of the Meeting of January 6, 2010. 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 6:00 PM. ANNOUNCEMENTS Town Manager C. Elizabeth Gibson informed the Board that the Town has received a letter from the Office of Campaign and Political Finance regarding the improper use of public funds to produce a video advocating citizens to vote for the new police station at the 2009 Annual Town Meeting. She noted that remedial action was taken on behalf of the Police Department and the matter has been considered closed by the Office of Campaign and Political Finance. The Town of Nantucket Scholarship Committee has awarded nine scholarships for 2009. A $1,000 Thomas F. Curley Scholarship has been awarded to Benjamin Ferrantella. Eight $800 Town of Nantucket Scholarships were awarded to: Sean Donnan, Kristie Flaherty, Heather Munnelly, Gary Pillion Jr., Aimee Ross, Brittany Watson, Melissa Holdgate, and Haley Cabre. A public hearing will be held Thursday, 7 January 2010, 7:00 PM at 2 Fairgrounds Road regarding FY 2010 Small Cities Community Development Block Grants (CDBG). There will be a special state election Tuesday, 19 January 2010, 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM at Nantucket High School for the United States Senate seat. PUBLIC COMMENT None. APPROVAL OF MINUTES, WARRANTS, PENDING CONTRACTS Approval of Minutes of 4 November 2009 at 6:00 PM; 18 November 2009 at 6:00 PM. The minutes of 4 November 2009 at 6:00 PM and 18 November 2009 at 6:00 PM were approved by the unanimous consent of the meeting. Approval of Payroll Warrant for Week Ending 3 January 2010. The payroll warrant for the week ending 3 January 2010 was approved by the unanimous consent of the meeting. Approval of Treasury Warrant and Pending Contracts for 6 January 2010. Deputy Police Chief Charles Gibson reviewed change order # 2 for the police station. Ms. Gibson reviewed the Sustainable Nantucket pending contract, noting she has suggested the Cape and Islands License Plate Fund as a funding source. A discussion on the Sustainable Nantucket pending contract followed among Board members and it was postponed to the 13 January 2010 meeting to allow the Board to review Sustainable Nantucket’s proposal. The treasury warrant and the police station pending contract for 6 January 2010 were approved by the unanimous consent of the meeting. CITIZEN/DEPARTMENTAL REQUESTS Treasurer: Request for Approval of Assistant Treasurer. Treasurer Deborah Weiner answered questions from the Board regarding the Assistant Treasurer position and said that she is appointing Robin LaPiene, an existing staff member of the Finance Department. She added that this is not an 2 additional employee. Mr. Reinhard moved to approve Ms. LaPiene as Assistant Treasurer; Mr. Atherton seconded. All in favor, so voted. Our Island Home: Request for Acceptance of Gifts to Adult Community Daycare Center (ACDC) and Our Island Home Gift Fund. Mr. Reinhard moved to approve an $800 gift to the Adult Community Daycare Center Gift Fund and a $2,500 gift to Our Island Home’s Gift Fund; Ms. Roggeveen seconded. All in favor, so voted. Roads and Right of Way Committee: Request for Acceptance of Additional Gifts Totaling $3,230 in Connection with Founders Burial Ground Women’s Monument. Mr. Reinhard said this is the final installment regarding fundraising for the Women’s Monument at the Founders Burial Ground. He noted the project is now complete and the fundraising goal of $10,000 has been met. Ms. Roggeveen moved to approve the gifts totaling $3,230 for the Women’s Monument; seconded by Mr. Reinhard. All in favor, so voted. Nantucket Auto Rental, Inc.: Request for Approval of Application for Pledge of 93 Rental Vehicle Medallions. Ms. Gibson reviewed the request, noting that while the request is unusual nothing in the bylaw precludes the Board from approving the pledge. She said Town Counsel’s recommendation is that any approval of the pledge include a regulatory provision. Roger Levesque, manager of Nantucket Auto Rental, said the request is not coming from his company, but from Rockland Trust Company as the bank handling refinancing of Nantucket Auto Rental. After a brief discussion on the request, Mr. Atherton moved to approve Nantucket Auto Rental’s request to pledge 93 rental vehicle medallions to Rockland Trust Company with the following provision provided by Counsel: “Such pledge shall not be construed to affect the obligation of any person, business or corporation engaging in the business of renting, leasing or keeping for rent or lease any motor vehicle to first be licensed annually by the Board of Selectmen to do so or to affect the right of the Board of Selectmen as local licensing authority to suspend, revoke or otherwise regulate such license pursuant to applicable law."; Ms. Roggeveen seconded. All in favor, so voted. TOWN MANAGER’S REPORT Nantucket Police Department: Community Service Officer Presentation. Police Chief William Pittman reviewed a new Community Service Officer program which will replace the Summer Special Officer program starting in 2010. He outlined the differences between the two programs, including duties, responsibilities, uniforms, and equipment. Chief Pittman noted the Police Department really does not have the time or money to appropriately train summer specials and the department looked at various alternatives, finally settling on the Community Service Officer (CSO) program. He said CSO’s will not be sworn police officers but will enforce the Town bylaws and parking regulations, and will be trained to identify when problems are arising so as to alert full-time police officers. Chief Pittman said as a result the regular full-time officers will be busier but said he feels it will be manageable. He concluded his presentation by stating CSO’s will be more about serving the community than policing the community. Review of FY 2011 Solid Waste Enterprise Fund Budget. Department of Public Works Director Jeff Willett updated the Board on the Solid Waste Enterprise Fund (SWEF) budget, noting that the expense projection for FY 2011 is $7,529,691 which is made up of the solid waste and recycling budgets. He reviewed revenue cost center projections, and said the only cost center that produces revenue which offsets its own expense is commercial construction and demolition (C&D) disposal. 3 Mr. Willett reviewed professional services cost breakdowns, including the C&D facility monthly fee, the C&D tonnage fee, and the mixed solid waste (MSW) fee. He also reviewed revenue projections and C&D and MSW tonnage histories, noting that there is no charge for the disposal of residential C&D. Mr. Willett said commercial C&D tonnage has declined every year since 2008, saying that the increase in landfill fees for disposing commercial C&D waste has likely made other disposal alternatives more attractive. A discussion followed on enforcement of C&D waste disposal. Mr. Willett attributed a decline in MSW tonnage to the population decline, the number of visitors being down, and more recycling. Chairman Kopko said he would like to see the Town go back to Waste Options Nantucket (WON) to discuss the MSW minimum contract tonnage if actual numbers are significantly less than the minimum tonnage the Town is contractually obligated to pay. FY 2011 Budget Update. Ms. Gibson updated the Board on the FY 2011 budget and reviewed items that have changed or could change since the 2 December 2009 budget presentation, noting the projected municipal budget gap has increased somewhat; she also reviewed gap closure adjustments and possible restoration items including mosquito control, the Nantucket Atheneum, and Health and Human Services. Chairman Kopko said Atheneum Executive Director Molly Anderson informed him that 98 out of 349 Massachusetts libraries have applied for state funding waivers. A discussion followed regarding funding the Atheneum at the state mandated amount or more. Ms. Roggeveen suggested funding for a tick-control program as well. Ms. Gibson reviewed outstanding policy decision items and Mr. Atherton noted it would be helpful for the Board to have a summary of professional services contracts. Review of Preliminary Draft 2010 Annual Town Meeting and Election Warrant. The Board agreed that in an effort to reduce waste, it would not request new drafts of the warrant as changes are routinely made; Ms. Gibson will email drafts to the Board highlighting any changes. Ms. Gibson reviewed the preliminary draft of the 2010 Annual Town Meeting and election warrant, bringing certain articles to the Board’s attention for its input. SELECTMEN’S REPORTS/COMMENT FY 2011 Budget Review. Chairman Kopko requested the Board to consider a proposal regarding human services for FY 2011 and beyond. He said for FY 2011, the Human Services Contract Review Committee (CRC) has recommended a total of $317,883 for human services contracts, noting Administration is recommending $283,050, absent increased revenue. Chairman Kopko said in light of the fact that there is a proposal to organize the local human services community into a collaborative and the Board’s appointed Human Services Collaborative Work Group is studying the proposal and preparing to make a recommendation, he proposed that the Town eliminate the Human Services Department which he estimates would save the Town approximately $150,000 including payroll, benefits and other expenses. He proposed to allocate $34,833 to the Human Services contracts for FY 2011 to fund them to the levels recommended by the CRC and allocate $65,000 to the Human Services Collaborative for administrative costs relative to providing services currently offered by the Town’s Council for Human Services department, leaving $50,167 in net savings to the General Fund. Chairman Kopko also proposed the elimination of the CRC and changing the makeup of the Council for Human Services to five members, including one Board member, one Finance Committee member and three at-large members. Ms. Roggeveen said she feels a report is needed from the Human Services Collaborative Work Group on its findings and would like more details as to what this concept will really look like. Ms. Gibson said she supports 4 the concept, noting there are some unanswered questions and a need for more information. Chief Pittman spoke in favor of Chairman Kopko’s proposals. On a different matter, Chairman Kopko said he thought Finance Director Connie Voges made a “good presentation” on enterprise funds recently and he suggested starting an enterprise fund for Our Island Home, noting the action would require a warrant article. The Board consensus is to have Town Counsel draft a warrant article for the 2010 Annual Town Meeting and a memo regarding the legal issues of starting an enterprise fund for Our Island Home. Ms. Gibson said she would consult with the Finance Department to see how involved the process is. The meeting was unanimously adjourned at 8:57 PM. Approved the 3rd day of February, 2010.