Date Time Location
Tuesday 7:00 PM Bourne Veterans Memorial
1. Call to Order
2. Salute the Flag/A Moment of Silence for our Troops
3. Approval of Minutes
4. Public Comment – Non Agenda Items
5. Correspondence
6. 7:30 p.m. Lobster Trap – Seasonal Common Victualer (Beer & Wine Only)
7. 7:40 p.m. Dr. Harrington- School Strategic Planning Process and Goals
8. Licenses/Permits
a. 22nd Annual Great Mass Getaway MS 150 Bicycle Tour
b. Cape
Cod Canal Regional Chamber of Commerce – Concert in the Park Series
9. Special
Municipal Employees
10. Procedures for Selectmen
11.
Signing of the Special
and Annual Town Meeting Warrant
12. Finalize Joining Water Protection Collaborative
13.
Discussion of
Working with the Finance Committee in Preparation for Town Meeting
14.
Town Administrator’s Report
15.
Selectmen’s Reports
16. Adjourn
3.
Selectmen Minutes
April 18, 2006
Bourne Veterans’
Memorial Community Center
239 Main
Street
Buzzards Bay, MA
02532
************************************************************************
Attendance:
Thomas M. Guerino
Board of Selectmen:
Linda Zuern, Chairman
Galon “Skip” Barlow, Vice Chairman
Jamie Sloniecki, Clerk
Carol A. Cheli
Judith Conron
Call the Meeting to Order at 7:07 P.M.
Salute the Flag/A Moment of Silence for Our
Troops
No minutes were presented.
Joseph Agrillo came forward to address
parking. He said that in the past, he
has had no satisfaction, but summer is here and he takes this matter very
seriously. Selectman Barlow asked Mr.
Agrillo to be specific about location and Mr. Agrillo said the whole Canada Dry
building area. Selectman Barlow said
there are two Canada Dry Buildings, which one was he referring to? Mr. Agrillo responded that it was originally
one that was added onto. Beach Street parking is also an issue. Selectman Conron said the Board of Selectmen
is not in charge of parking and that is why Mr. Agrillo isn’t getting
any satisfaction. The Chief of Police
and Town Administrator are in charge in parking.
Mr. Agrillo said that the Town Administrator is in charge of the Chief of Police. Further, parking on Beech Street is hazardous. Chairman Zuern interrupted to ask TA Guerino about parking status and he replied that he and DPW Superintendent Rickie Tellier have surveyed the area to see where parking and crosswalks could be added. They’re having some difficulties deciding what to do with Beach Street. When they have ascertained what can be done, Mr. Agrillo will be made aware. Mr. Agrillo countered that he is no fool, but no one is asking him. He thinks he should be involved. Selectman Zuern said the Board couldn’t do too much until the TA comes to the Board with suggestions. Mr. Agrillo should address this issue to the TA. Mr. Agrillo reiterated that parking is a serious problem and something has to be done.
His next issue was signs. He said the town was a dumping ground for other people’s signs. Does anyone realize how many people from out of town businesses post their signs here? He wanted to show some proof and asked to step forward. Chairman Zuern asked Mr. Agrillo how much time it would take? Mr. Agrillo asked if he had time or not? She replied he had a few minutes. Selectman Barlow said that to handle parking correctly, he should ask the TA to put it on the agenda. Mr. Agrillo said he was done with parking and onto something else. Selectman Barlow said he was trying to explain the procedure.
Mr. Agrillo protested that he was being brushed off. He accused the Board of not doing their job by not listening to him and restricting his time. Chairman Zuern asked Mr. Agrillo if he would like this on the agenda for next week, but he was too angry to respond and walked out of the meeting.
There was some further discussion about the posting of signs and Selectman Conron stated for the record that she did not believe that the Board had acted disgracefully to the flea market women at last week’s meeting. Chairman Zuern opined that perhaps Public Comment should be limited to five or ten minutes, but TA Guerino reminded the Board that a few months ago they took serious ridicule for limiting people’s time. This is a double-edged sword, he said.
Charlie Miller spoke about the beach cleanup this coming Saturday. If the weather is poor, it will be postponed until the following Saturday. Plastic bags will be provided. He commented that tomorrow is the Monument Beach Civic Association’s Board of Directors meeting and the parking issue will be addressed. Chairman Zuern asked what time the clean up at the beach on Saturday was and Mr. Miller replied 9:00 a.m. He encouraged people to come and help clean the beach.
Rosalie Cole said that since the Finance Committee is a very important committee, and occasionally there are articles in the paper about it, could it be televised? Chairman Zuern said it could be looked into. Selectman Conron said that a few years ago, it was televised. Now it’s a manpower issue, but it’s an excellent idea.
Mr. Jim Mulvey asked in light of the previous discussion, what is the status of the part time Code Enforcement Officer? TA Guerino said it depends on an article at the Special Town Meeting that would amend the Zoning Bylaws to allow for Assistant Zoning Officers. If it passes at Town Meeting, additional duties and job descriptions can be worked up but it will not be a weekend-working position. Other enforcement mechanisms will be in place.
Mr. Mulvey said that it should help alleviate some of the parking issues Mr. Agrillo brought up. TA Guerino reiterated assuming the voters pass the article.
Selectman Barlow referred back to Mr. Miller’s comment and said that at 8
a.m. on Saturday there will be boats at Barlow’s Landing to take people to the
beach for the clean up. It’s not
unusual to get a dump-truck load of trash out of the conservation area on
Bassett’s Island so he encouraged the public to help with the clean up.
Selectman Sloniecki read the correspondence.
J. Ford
O’Connor represented the Lobster Trap Fish market and Restaurant. Selectman Cheli asked where the service bar
would be and she was shown. She
inquired about the hours and the type of beer.
Mr. David DeLancey, the manager said it would be just bottles for this
summer. Chairman Zuern said the Board
is very strict about liquor rules and regulations.
Selectman Cheli MOTIONED to approve the Lobster Trap’s request for a Seasonal Common Vicutaler’s
License, Wine and Malt, with the stipulation that all the servers become TIPS
certified. Selectman Sloniecki SECONDED, (4-0, 1 abstained).
Selectman Barlow abstained from
the voting.
Dr.
Harrington began by explaining how they use the Strategic Plan. The plan began five years ago as a living
document that is used every day in the school department. The strategic plan has four major goals: one
is to enhance and increase student achievement through curriculum; the second
is community participation in the educational process; the third is a high
level of maintenance of the school facilities; and fourth is a learning community
that is likely to draw educators to come and teach the children of Bourne
because of the quality of the educational process. These four goals are used as the goals of the School Committee. They’re embedded in the goals and objectives
of the superintendent and are used every year to assess his performance. They’re also embedded in the goals and
objectives of the principals. They’re
embedded in the goals and objectives of each school’s Improvement Plan. Every school by state law has to have an
Improvement Plan. They are similar to what can be used in the Town; there are
lots of good things that can be done.
Budgetary decisions and use of time center around these four goals. It’s a living document. It has brought accountability to the system
and to be able to have some sort of objective benchmark has been very
beneficial. These goals and objectives
find their way into teacher evaluations as well.
It
began in September of 2001 when the School Committee appointed a Steering
Committee to begin the strategic plan process.
The Committee was comprised of Selectmen, several members of the School
Committee, parents, members of the community, folks across town, and that
Steering Committee decided how things went forward. The School and Steering Committees decided to employ a consultant
who was helpful in chairing focus groups and making sure the data analysis was
done in a timely way. They discontinued
the consultant once the plan was complete.
The Steering Committee then set up focus groups made up of parents,
business people, clergy and various groups who came and offered their insight
into what they would like the School Superintendent Board to look like. Questionnaires were sent to one out of every
ten voters who voted in the last election and were also placed all over
town. They received a lot of feedback
and it was made available to parents.
It wasn’t just the information but the process itself that stirred a lot
of goodwill for the school department.
So many people got together to work for the interest of the
children. The School Committee and
administration believes it has been very helpful.
TA
Guerino asked if the four major goals had already been established when all the
different people were brought in or was it more of a community visit type atmosphere? As the objectives were set up and modified
on an annualized basis, were there any measurement standards where halfway
through the school year progress could be monitored? What external factors have come in to affect the process?
Dr.
Harrington said that eight years ago the school committee began annual retreats
to discuss the hopes and wishes for the following year. Initially it was a wide-open process. The retreats spelled out the curriculum and
facilities attracting staff and fleshing out the goals. In regard to benchmarks to achieving
progress, although it is on every School Committee agenda he didn’t feel they’d
done a very good job. The whole
strategic plan is reviewed at each school committee retreat. The retreat comes up at the first evening of
the fiscal year where they go back over the strategic plan and make adjustments
from there. They have not done
six-month reviews and that is a shortcoming.
The first retreat was a major brainstorming session. It put everyone in the right frame of mind.
He went
on to say that objectifying was a real problem but the MCAS was a major
assessment tool. There are specific
objectives i.e., that all students will be literate at a certain level by third
grade, for instance. The strategic plan
has worked well as an educational tool but not as a measuring tool. Three years ago people asked what was
expected in terms of achievement but that attitude is no longer tolerated. All students achieve at their own highest
level possible. This has been the value
of the four goals.
TA
Guerino asked who else was involved to make this objective successful? Who is involved and who takes what
responsibility? There has to be
somebody at each level. Do they break
it down that finely into sub-areas?
Dr.
Harrington said the teachers are responsible.
The number of goals was reconsidered this past year. There were a couple discussions about
whether the goals were still possible given the budget situation. To have high-fluting expectations without
the funding is not fair. Adding other
goals has been another topic of discussion.
These are some of the things that have come up within the goal
discussions. He wondered if there might be some useful information in Dr.
Sullivan’s LCP committee study.
TA
Guerino said that although the LCP would be a great springboard, the Selectmen
would need to sit down and brainstorm for many hours. A lot could be accomplished in six to nine hours.
Selectman
Sloniecki asked how many people were on the Steering Committee and would that amount
of people provide a wide-range of talent?
Was the consultant released after 6 months and are there any changes to
the program? Did the maintenance level of the buildings change? Dr. Harrington replied that there were 8-10
people on the Steering Committee and that provided a wide enough range. The consultant was let go after six months
when they felt they had what they needed.
He went on to say that 8 or 9 years ago, the schools were not in good
shape. It took a great deal of work;
there was a lot of pushing and prodding but the efforts were worth it.
TA
Guerino asked how a major component happens with the parent checks and balance
within the Strategic Plan? Dr.
Harrington said it was mostly in how the plan was organized within the four
goals. Chairman Zuern said it must make
a difference when there is stability on the School Committee. Dr. Harrington agreed. There has been some turnover, but it’s been
very gradual.
Mr.
Paul Gately asked how the continuation of level-funded budgets each year affect
the strategic goals and program. Dr.
Harrington said that unfortunately the Honors programs are the first to go. The
Superintendent has been magnificent in making what they have stretch. Sometimes he makes it too easy but so far
the children haven’t suffered. The
School Committee feels that too much pressure is put on the backs of the
taxpayers and that the state should pick up more.
Goals
Selectman
Conron asked about the consultant resumes.
TA Guerino said they were still collecting resumes to bring for review
at next week’s meeting. The preferred consultancies would be brought in for
discussion at the May 2nd meeting.
After someone is selected, they will be brought in to work on a schedule
and determine the scope of the engagement.
Selectman Conron suggested using Tuesday mornings as a time for the goal
setting work sessions.
TA
Guerino said he was sure they could find the money for the consultant despite
the fact that it was not a budgeted item.
Mr. Jim
Mulvey said first things first. The Board has not unanimously dedicated
themselves to setting goals. He
expressed a wish that they would designate someone to lead this process to get
it off the ground. He hasn’t seen a
definite commitment and hopes it will take place. He also commented on the document being a living one. He hoped that the Board would enter into
this process and Chairman Zuern said it would be discussed.
Charlie
Miller said that long-term goals need to be started now. Permitting processes sometimes take years so
they need to start now.
22nd Annual Great
Mass Getaway MS 150 Bicycle Tour
Selectman Barlow MOTIONED to approve the use of town roads for the Multiple Sclerosis 22nd
Annual Great Mass Getaway MS 150 Bike Tour, June 24 – 25, 2006. Selectman Cheli SECONDED, UNANIMOUS.
Cape Cod Canal Regional
Chamber of Commerce – Concert in the Park Series
Selectman Sloniecki MOTIONED to approve the Cape Cod Canal Region Chamber of Commerce’s request for
concerts in the Park Series, running every Thursday evening July 6 – August 31, 2006, 5 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. Selectman Cheli SECONDED, UNANIMOUS.
Special Municipal Employees
There has been substantial
discussion with Town Counsel as to what is a Special Municipal Employee. A Special Municipal Employee is granted special
dispensation to alleviate conflict of interest charges. Someone may work full time at the police
station and may also plow for the community in the winter.
Selectman Barlow said in viewing
the list he couldn’t see why a committee would be excluded. No one from the fire department could plow,
for example? TA Guerino said that the
measure would provide for this.
TA Guerino said the Shellfish
Advisory Committee (not the Shellfish Working Group) should’ve been pulled from
the list. The Mass Military Reservation
should be “boards and committees.” If
designated as a Special Municipal Employee, you are not a mayor, alderman, a
city councilor, or a selectman in a town with a population in excess of 5,0000,
provided you are not paid; or you hold a part-time position, which allows you
to engage in other employment during normal working hours; or you were not paid
by the municipality for more than 800 hours during the preceding 365 days. All employees who hold equivalent offices or
positions in the same municipal agency must have the same classification, which
is why it’s so broad.
Chairman Zuern asked if Police
Department Committee Members could be representatives on other boards? TA Guerino replied in that instance Fire
should be added since there are elected Fire employees on various committees as
well. Selectman Barlow suggested that in
lieu of Police and Fire, Public Safety be used. TA Guerino agreed.
Selectman
Zuern noted that the Town Planner sits on a lot of committees. TA Guerino said
the Town Planner would be exempt from this unless they were doing other
committee work. The TA, by nature of his or her employment,
is a municipal employee but there are certain circumstances where the Board
could instruct the TA to do other things.
Selectman Conron asked how you
could be a Municipal Employee and a Special Municipal Employee? TA Guerino said Town Counsel knew who was on
the list.
Selectman Zuern read the list of
Special Municipal Employees.
Selectman Barlow said that the
list was created when Selectmen were full time employees. Now they’re part-time. Should they be on the list? TA Guerino said that Selectmen may designate
themselves as special employees only in towns of under 5000.
TA Guerino said that Barnstable
County Water Protection Collaborative should be added to the list, as well as
the Phase II Wastewater Management Oversight Committee. Mass Military Reservation should be changed
to Boards and Committees.
Selectman Barlow MOTIONED to approve the list as amended.
Selectman Sloniecki SECONDED,
UNANIMOUS.
Procedures for Selectmen
TA Guerino began by saying that
on the Procedures draft regarding annual appointments, the May 15th
is not a reasonable timetable given the way the Annual Town Meeting is set
up. June 1st or June 15th
would be more realistic.
Selectman Conron said it would be
easier to go through the simple rules that are already in place and approve
those as a starting place. Chairman
Zuern said that TA Guerino took a lot of time to incorporate all the previous
rules into the draft. Selectman Barlow
said he’d be more comfortable if he could see what was changed, perhaps in bold
so he could see the changes.
TA Guerino said that several
months ago he received an opinion from Counsel that some updates needed to be
made to the Procedures and the Board needed to start living by them. Based on that and given that the Board was
working in some tumultuous times back then, he put together what he thought was
a fairly innocuous, fairly benign restructure of what was already in place. It’s more user-friendly, but he’s open to
the Board’s pleasure.
Selectman Conron said that she
was looking for a way to operate but the new draft is definitely overkill. Some of the procedures were over and beyond
what she is willing to do. She does not
intend to end up with 10 pages of things she is supposed to do – not as a
part-time Board member.
TA Guerino said there’s no such
intent here. Much of it comes from the
Selectmen’s Handbook and other normal rules and procedures in line with what Counsel
recommended as a way to get over some of the bumps along the way. It’s a matter of what the Board is
comfortable with. He suggested
highlighting the changes and bringing it back before the Board who can then
amend it as they see fit.
Selectman Sloniecki said that
since the new policy and procedures draft as presented by TA Guerino was a mix
of the Charter, The Roberts Rules of Order and the old policies and procedures,
he is comfortable with the draft as presented.
Selectman Cheli mentioned the possible
twice-monthly meetings and said they weren’t voted on. She also questioned stopping the Selectmen’s
meeting at 9:30 p.m.
TA Guerino said the twice-monthly
meetings were for summer hours.
Stopping the meetings at 9:30 is a goal to strive for. Selectman Cheli said she was comfortable
with the new procedures.
TA Guerino said that the new
policy and procedures were created since the Board wasn’t adhering to the
original set. Town Counsel recommended
that a new set be created and it was provided here tonight for discussion. The current rules weren’t being used. This codifies it better. Selectman Conron said she agreed.
Selectman Barlow, however,
disagreed. The new set as drafted is
completely different and he didn’t see a problem with the old procedures, which
they have been sticking to.
A copy of the draft showing the
changes will be presented to the Board at the next meeting.
Signing of the Special and Annual Town Meeting Warrants
The Board did not sign Article 2
since it had the wrong cover page.
Article 2 should read “To see if the Town will vote to appropriate the
sum of $26,000 from the 2006 Community Preservation Fund Budgeted Reserve for a
grant to the Bourne Braves Baseball Home-field.” A Use Policy should have been attached, and it was not.
Selectman Barlow MOTIONED to approve the Special Town Meeting as amended. Selectman Conron SECONDED, UNANIMOUS.
TA
Guerino said last week the Board appointed a representative and Mr. Zalinski is
aware that the Town is onboard a formal vote needs to be taken.
Selectman
Conron MOTIONED to join the Barnstable County Waste Water Protection Collaborative as of
April 11, 2006. Selectman Cheli SECONDED, UNANIMOUS.
Selectman
Conron suggested that working with the Finance Committee would be a good
idea. Some budget discussion is
necessary before the Town Meeting. If
it’s done at the Selectmen’s Meeting, it’s televised and more people will see
it.
Selectman
Barlow said it would’ve been more interesting if it had been discussed with
them last year. The numbers that went
forward created a lot of friction. This
year, he likes to think they’re getting along better – but he could be
wrong. He has no problem with Fin Com
coming before the Board.
Chairman
Zuern said she wasn’t sure how much more they wanted to discuss. Public discussions were already held.
Selectman
Conron disagreed. A working session was
held but questions weren’t taken. More
public comment and discussion would be a good thing.
Selectman Conron MOTIONED to invite the Fin Com Chairman to come before the Board.
Selectmen
Zuern and Sloniecki said they had no problem with Fin Com coming before the
Board. Chairman Zuern added that she’d
seen the copy of the Fin Com report, but she thought the main purpose was to
have the Budget on the agenda and public questions for the Board of Selectmen.
TA
Guerino said he felt that it was important for the Finance Committee and the
Board of Selectmen to meet before Town Meeting. The budget is in agreement this year. It’s tight, but good. He
doesn’t see it as the right forum for Fin Com – or the Board of Selectmen – to
drill each other back and forth. The
budget has already been worked and most of the Fin Com questions have been
answered.
Selectman
Barlow suggested Hal DeWaltoff be invited in to give some insight as to what
direction the policy may take next year.
He might be allotted a half hour or so.
Chairman Zuern agreed, but for 5-10 minutes only.
TA
Guerino said that this year the goal was to stabilize things. The Finance Committee poses some good
questions and it’s been a very respectful budget season, overall.
Selectman
Conron MOTIONED (again) to invite FinCom Chairman to come before the Board for an hour
for public discussion. Selectman Barlow
SECONDED.
Trude Sparks expressed confusion as to what the Board expected to
accomplish with this. Hasn’t the budget
already been nailed down? Selectman
Barlow said the aim was to listen to the Chairman’s thoughts about how the
policy was working now and what direction it might take. Selectman Conron added that it’s
an opportunity for the public to learn more about the budget. Ms. Sparks opined that she didn’t think too
many people would attend.
Charlie
Miller said that although this may not get very many people to show up, it
would at least show the Town that everyone is trying to work together.
Selectman
Conron’s MOTION (yet again) to invite FinCom to come before the Board for public
discussion which Selectman Barlow SECONDED was UNANIMOUS.
TA
Guerino announced that the first meeting of the DNR study group would be held
next Thursday, April 27, 2006 at 7:00 p.m. in the downstairs conference room. They will select the citizen representative
to the group at that meeting.
TA
Guerino and DNR will be attending meetings of the seaport regarding the
Monument Beach Marina on May 6th, 2006. There’s a sub-committee meeting on May 2nd, 2006.
He said
the contracts for the Chapter 90 money have already been signed. Regarding an MMA Legislative Alert, he urged
the Board of Selectmen to call their representatives to urge the House to amend
the current Ways and Means Budget for the Chapter 70 School Funding. The more pressure exerted the better. Between the UTC and the Town it’s a $257,000
difference. The Senate will probably
straighten some of it out in conference but the Board needs to be proactive on
this.
Selectman Barlow went to the Hoxie School for a presentation. It’s an old, tired school. It’s a great school; well maintained, but
it’s old. He noted that on Main Street,
the bump-outs have been marked with yellow arrow-signs. If you hit the bump-out, you’ll hit the sign. The DPW is making a good attempt to point
out the bump-outs that are the most annoying.
On
Wednesday Selectman Conron attended the special meeting of the Bourne Financial
Development Corporation. The
publisher/editor of The Cape Cod Business Magazine did an article on Warren
Financial and spent an hour talking with them at the meeting. It was a great
meeting of people who are working to help further the economic plan. She inquired if a person had been selected
for the Human Rights Commission?
TA
Guerino stated that he didn’t think it was the Board’s intent last week, but he
agreed from a personal standpoint. The
Board asked if citizens of the town would be excluded from bringing cases
before the Human Rights Commission if there wasn’t a representative. Mr. Carrara indicated that certainly
wouldn’t be the case. The Board took no further action or discussion.
Selectman
Conron expressed an idea for a future meeting regarding ISWM’s updated business
plan that they wish to present to Fin Com.
TA Guerino said it’s already on the agenda. There’s a movie on the
original plan moving forward from 2002/2003 for anyone wishing to view the
history.
Chairman Zuern mentioned the BBVA’s 5K Road Race on Sunday May 1st, 2006 at Buzzards Bay Park to benefit the Main Street Project. Anyone interested in participating can call (508) 759-2236. Tickets are still available for the Whaling Captain’s Dinner at the Beachmoor to support the Whale Trail On May 6th. Tickets are $35 and for more information, call (508) 759-2236. It should be a very interesting night.
Selectman Cheli MOTIONED to adjourn at 9:40 PM. Selectman Barlow SECONDED, UNANIMOUS.