Board of Selectmen

Date

Tuesday

January 31, 2006

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. Presentation by Mirant

7. Falmouth EDIC

8. 7:15 p.m. CanalSide Commons

9. Budget Message

10. Licenses/Permits

a. Bourne Baseball Parade

11. Town Administrator’s Report

12. Selectmen’s Reports

13. Adjourn

Selectmen Minutes

January 31, 2006

Bourne Veterans’ Memorial Community Center

239 Main Street

Buzzards Bay, MA 02532

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Attendance:

Town Administrator

Thomas M. Guerino

Board of Selectmen:

Carol A. Cheli, Chairman

Galon “Skip” Barlow, Vice Chairman

Richard E. LaFarge, Clerk

Linda Zuern

W. Thomas Barlow

Call the Meeting to Order

Meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m.

Salute the Flag/A Moment of Silence for our Troops

Approval of Minutes

Selectman LaFarge noted corrections to the minutes: Page 2 “Selectman LaFarge averred that Chairman Cheli was making it a circus” was not said by him; the change from “Coddle” to “Cottle” was made in the amended minutes presented.

Selectman G. Barlow MOTIONED and SECONDED by Selectman Zuern to approve the minutes of January 24, 2006 as amended and with Selectman LaFarge’s changes. UNANIMOUS VOTE

Public Comment – Non Agenda Items

John Harding, BFDC, introduced Harlyn Halvorson from the Falmouth EDIC. Mr. Halvorson presented an update on the Regional Technical Center. They are trying to create a Regional Technology Development Center that can help with job retraining in assisting the formation of new companies not only on a town-by-town basis, but regional as well incorporating Bourne, Falmouth, Mashpee, and Sandwich. Their intent is to create a freestanding organization involving leadership in the 4 communities that will run the regional program. As the organization grows, it is their intention to step back. The Advisory Committee created a nominating committee that will try to select 5 members willing to serve as a Steering Committee that will draft an RFP to recruit and hire a management team to run the organization.

A description of the Nominating Committee was passed out and application forms for membership.

Don Hayward spoke of the January 24 meeting he attended and his attempt to express his dismay in the manner in which the public business was being conducted at the January 14, 2006 Selectmen’s Meeting in which Chairman Cheli entertained a motion out of order and off the published agenda. The topic was clearly stated as procedure of votes on the sign up sheet and he was not allowed to speak. He will criticize any and all action taken by the Board to eliminate, limit or circumvent public comment in a manner appropriate or previously established by the Board in compliance with the Open Meeting Law. He further stated that the Board is under investigation by the Assistant Attorney General.

Chairman Cheli corrected the date of the meeting – January 17.

T. Gray Curtis commented on governments and cited some of the issues of the DNR as examples. He said it appears that Selectmen are dabbling in the administration of the DNR problems and it is a job that should be done by the Town Administrator. He spoke of the lost revenues and pollution issues. He then spoke of the MMA Study and their lack of expertise in the area of pollution. He commented on the $8600 spent for the study and that the Selectmen were not going to heed the advice of the study. He would like the Selectmen to provide an explanation to the public on why they are disregarding the study and have it completed before the meeting on February 21.

He is concerned that this is business as usual by the Selectmen - micromanaging the administration of the Town.

Lucia Fulco, Chairman of Charter Review Committee. The Committee has proposed 12 revisions to the Charter. A public hearing on the amendments will be held on Tuesday, February 7. The Committee was unanimous behind the options and feel very comfortable with their proposals. The proposed revisions are amendable and only in draft form.

Peter Fisher said he was disappointed that he was not allowed to speak last week at the meeting and wanted the Selectmen to revisit a vote taken on January 17^th where SEMASS was invited in to speak. He objected to the vote taken during the Selectmen’s Report. He felt a matter of that importance should have been an agenda item and since he felt it was done improperly, he was asking them to reconsider that vote and put it on the posted agenda.

He wanted the Board to also to reconsider their vote on the dissolution of the Department of Natural Resources since that was not an agenda item. He felt the integrity of the Board is in jeopardy and they have lost confidence in the leadership of the Board.

Selectman W.T. Barlow called for a Point of Order. He said the speaker has every right to direct statements to the Board, but to take personal attacks at the Chair or individuals is not appropriate at a public meeting. The statements are to the Boards actions - (individually they cannot do anything) it has to be a majority vote of the Board.

Peter Fisher spoke on an opinion rendered from Town Counsel that was not issued. He further asked the Board to vote to reconsider or to consider reorganization of the Board and also asked that Selectmen Cheli and G. Barlow resign as members of the Board of Selectmen.

Selectman G. Barlow clarified that the Charter was followed specifically in regards to the reorganization of the Department. A public hearing will be held and the public will have the opportunity to comment.

Chairman Cheli said if he would feel better, they could go back to Town Counsel and see if they voted in error and if they did, they can revisit that subject.

Peter Fisher asked the Town Administrator if there was a written opinion from Counsel? TA Guerino said there had been a request for an opinion from Town Counsel, but that it had not been forwarded to Counsel in writing. The Chair was under the impression that there was a written opinion rendered.

Selectman Zuern said in speaking with Town Counsel, he had given the Chairman an oral opinion and it was same opinion that Chairman Cheli gave that night.

Selectman G. Barlow said this was not the first time this has happened and referenced an issue that surfaced last year.

Correspondence

Selectman LaFarge read the correspondence.

Selectman Zuern suggested that the Board should sit down and tighten up their procedures so there are no conflicts. She said she looked up the open meeting law and the Chairman does have the right to limit a speaker. If they want it different, then in needs to be put in writing so that it is clear to everyone.

Selectman W.T. Barlow MOTIONED and SECONDED by Selectman LaFarge to send a letter to Lewis Schlotterbeck thanking him for his service on the Bourne Community Preservation Committee. UNANIMOUS VOTE

Selectman W.T. Barlow MOTIONED and SECONDED by Selectman LaFarge to send a letter of support to remove the cap on lottery distribution in order for the towns to receive more funding. UNANIMOUS VOTE

Presentation By Mirant

Peter Layton, Plant Manager and Vice President Jeff Perry have been working with the LEPC Committee and today a wire transfer of $20,000 was sent as a donation towards the emergency notification system in Town.

Jake Gould, Chairman of the LEPC said that Cindy Coffin filed a grant with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts through one of the Departments of Public Health and Home Land Security. She was notified the Town was to receive $52,400 towards the purchase and implementation of the Reverse 911 program. The Town now has enough to fund this program without any town funds for a long time.

Jake Gould asked that Cindy Coffin be recognized for all her work.

Selectman Zuern made a MOTION, and SECONDED by Selectman W.T. Barlow that the Selectmen send a letter commending her and by placing a copy of the letter in her personnel file. UNANIMOUS VOTE

Selectman Zuern announced that they also have money coming from the Buzzards Bay Village Association as well as the $3,500.00 they had raised for the emergency notification system.

All those who helped make this a reality were thanked.

Selectman G. Barlow MOTIONED, and SECONDED by Selectman Zuern, to move Mr. Cubellis up on the agenda and move the others down. UNANIMOUS VOTE

CanalSide Commons Attorney Peter Freeman represented Mr. Cubellis and CanalSide LLC on the proposal to develop CanalSide Commons. Attorney Freeman gave a brief overview of the project and spoke of the project eligibility that was filed with Mass Housing under the Affordable Housing, Comprehensive Permit Laws, Chapter 40B on 140 acres and the retail/commercial business adjacent to the property on a 12-acre site.

The 300 housing units will consist of 1 and 2 bedroom units with over 92 acres for open space. The residential units will consist of 256 2-bedroom units and 44 1- bedroom units. The cost will range from $125,000.00 for 1-bedroom affordable units and $135,000.00 for 2-bedroom affordable units. Of the proposed 300 units, 25% will be affordable.

Mr. Cubellis has been working on the site for 8 years. His proposal consists of mixed use with both residential and commercial units based on “new urbanism”. Traditional neighborhoods were created with garages in the back and with homes that could easily access the downtown business area by walking.

He is proposing a bypass road from Route 28 north bound to Sandwich Road. The bypass road is going through their site and through the Technical School. The Vocational School Committee has endorsed the concept of the roadway going through their site. They have endorsed it because of the major safety concern where the existing driveway goes into Sandwich Road.

Selectman Zuern asked if Mr. Cubellis had been in touch with Mass Highway regarding the elimination or redesigning of the Bourne Rotary.

Mr. Cubellis has allowed space for the State to do the roadway and tie into their bypass road.

Selectman Zuern said she would rather see a convention center or hotel rather than the 300 units proposed.

Mr. Cubellis said the challenge was the Cape Cod Commission with any commercial project going before them first. He said he could not meet the guidelines of the Commission’s traffic requirements.

Selectman LaFarge said that traffic has always been a big problem with him. He spoke of the Vocational School wanting to link up with them because they want more traffic and that will generate a traffic light for them. He read a letter addressed to the editor in the Upper Cape Codder and written by Mr. Cubellis in 1999, which said he would never build a 40B in Bourne because it would not achieve any significant benefit to the Town of Bourne or Cape Cod. If it was the only option the Cape Cod Commission will support, he would sell his interest to a residential development and then asked what has changed.

Mr. Cubellis said the existing traffic does not warrant a traffic light, but his proposal will warrant a traffic light. The intersection at the Vocational School will function better with a traffic light.

Mr. LaFarge said that what he is proposing would place additional costs to the Town of Bourne and add traffic to the surrounding streets. He felt it would cost the Town in traffic and taxes for him to go forward with his plan. Mr. Cubellis knew his proposal was bad for the Town then and now.

Bob Mumford from the Cape Cod Commission spoke on the project.

Selectman G. Barlow said he believed Mr. Cubellis’ bypass plan would relieve the pressure at the rotary and said he liked his proposal. He spoke of similar sites in Maryland, Washington, Florida where people never leave their communities to shop and participate in activities and he was more concerned with the traffic on Perry Avenue with the proposed condominiums being built there.

Selectman W.T. Barlow said traffic has changed dramatically in the last 8 years since his initial proposal. He spoke of the backups in the summer and the traffic regardless of the proposal. It is becoming worse as the population in the area grows and MassHighway has not addressed the problem or the funds. The problem at the rotary will exist in the future even if the development does not go forward.

Selectman W.T. Barlow was a fan of the large retail build, and felt the MassHighway plan dealing with the traffic would have been beneficial to the town and the region. He has been less enthusiastic about the small build. He doesn’t think 85,000 sq. ft. of retail has a significant impact on the town financially. It will be good for the residents of that village. His preference would be a couple of golf courses and open space or open space recreation.

Chairman Cheli asked if there was anyway to convince him to go with his prior development?

Selectman Zuern wanted the Commission to work more with local boards and committees on projects.

Selectman G. Barlow said Bourne is a bordering town and projects in the central part of the Cape are more successful and thought they were held to different standards.

Bob Mumford, Transportation Manager for the Cape Cod Commission, said there are not different standards for each town. The Regional Policy Plan is the same across the board. He further explained their role in projects.

Mr. Cubellis said there were standards for any project. He went on to say what is unique to Bourne is the 2 bridges.

Jim Mulvey asked about the safety analysis and asked what it did; asked if the open space was deeded and for what use; and what was the time-line for the commercial and residential build out.

Don Hayward, Mary Jane Mastrangelo and Helen Bresnahan spoke on traffic and safety concerns.

Massachusetts Maritime Academy President, Rick Gurnon’s presence was acknowledged and he then thanked the Selectmen for their letter of support. He also responded that 1/3 of the potential new employees they offer jobs to cannot afford to live in Bourne.

Budget Message TA Guerino presented his 2007 Budget Message to the Board of Selectmen. TA Guerino said the budget, as proposed, complies with the Board of Selectmen’s policy directive to limit the rate of growth to no greater than 6% over FY2006, or less, depending on anticipated revenues. The tax levy will increase about $1.2 million, which includes estimated new growth of $487,500.00. Current State Aid will increase by $415,000.00 net after anticipated increased assessments, based upon Governor Romney’s proposed House 2 Budget. There will be no use of Free Cash or the Stabilization Fund for General Fund appropriations. For FY07 only an estimated amount of $214,318.00 in Stabilization is recommended to fund Capital Expenditures. As compared to early FY06 estimated budget reductions, the FY07 budget is frugal but not harsh. The generosity of the electorate with the override approved in autumn has tremendously assisted in averting a municipal crisis. He went on to say the Town must remain cautious in its expenditures. He said some reductions are necessary to meet the 6% goal. There are some new spending recommendations as well based upon various accounting requirements.

Selectman W.T. Barlow stated that the budget is from the Board of Selectmen. The Town Administrator’s Budget is not to be passed on to the Finance Committee, because the Board of Selectmen has not accepted that budget. The budget of the Selectmen, as voted, goes to the Finance Committee to review and cited the problem last year.

TA Guerino and Finance Director Burchill presented a power point presentation on the FY07 budget.

Selectman W.T. Barlow said this budget was dramatically different from budgets they’ve gotten in the past. He thanked Ed LeFleur, Superintendent of Schools and School Committee. They are different than the other boards and committees in that they have the right to disagree with the Board on finances. Every department head had to go through the budget building process with a level funded scenario and they complied. This is one of the tightest, leanest budgets the town has seen. He thought the Board should thank the Town Administrator, Departments Heads and School Committee for complying with the request.

Selectman W.T. Barlow MOTIONED, SECONDED by Selectman LaFarge to send a letter to every department head, school department and School Committee thanking them for following the request of the Board of Selectmen in complying with the budget request. UNANIMOUS VOTE

Hal Delwaltoff, Finance Committee Chairman, complimented the work done in the budget preparation process. He said the Finance Committee is required to submit a detailed report by the Charter and time is of the essence.

Selectman W.T. Barlow said that in order to meet the request of the Finance Committee Chairman that they have a budget workshop at next week’s meeting. It won’t be open to public discussion, and will be similar to the workshops they’ve had on Saturdays, line by line in public session and try to adopt a budget in order to forward to Finance Committee as quickly as possible.

Selectman W.T. Barlow then made a MOTION, SECONDED by Selectmen Zuern to place the Selectmen’s Workshop Session on next week’s agenda at 6:00 p.m. UNANIMOUS VOTE

Selectman G. Barlow commented on the 25% increase in the Regional School Budget.

Licenses/Permits – Bourne Baseball Parade

Request for Bourne Youth Baseball Parade to hold a parade from the Railroad Station down Main Street to the Bourne Veterans Memorial Community Center on April 22, 2006 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

Selectman LaFarge MOTIONED, and SECONDED, Selectman W.T. Barlow to approve the request. UNANIMOUS VOTE

Town Administrator’s Report

TA Guerino reiterated the Board’s comments earlier in commending Cindy Coffin on the grant she applied for. He said it was an excellent piece of work and she should be commended. It shows what kind of department leaders the town has.

He also said dismissal or disciplinary issues are not taken without first being discussed with Town Counsel.

Selectmen’s Reports

Selectman W.T. Barlow – no report

Selectman G. Barlow, attended the Board of Health meeting and cited a 1977 Board of Health Regulation regarding overnight occupancy of boats at marinas; walked the upper Pocasset River area looking for a reported abandoned drainage; attended Shore & Harbor Committee Meeting, and attended caucus at the Upper Cape Tech School on the different problems associated with developing and funding a regional school system.

Selectman LaFarge raised the issue on George Weinert’s for 3 day suspension without pay. He said the first thing necessary was a rule and you cannot impose a rule after an act. He said the Town of Bourne does not have a rule that prohibits a town employee from speaking to the press or anyone else. He has heard it was done on town time and town telephone, he was not impressed. At most, they should pay for the cost of the telephone bill. He thought the Board should take a position and have the suspension removed and the letter removed from his file.

Selectman W.T. Barlow said years ago, the full time Board of Selectmen did deal with the employees. Since the inception of the Charter, that authority has been delegated to the Town Administrator under Article 4, Town Administrator Powers and Duties Sections 4-6. There have been termination of employees and he has never heard it raised at a board meeting or in a public meeting. It is strictly the Town Administrator’s call. He feels it’s inappropriate for the Bourne Board of Selectmen to advise the Town Administrator on discipline, labor actions or terminations as outlined in the Charter. It doesn’t provide any remedy for the Board of Selectmen to reverse his decision nor to rehire someone he terminated or change the discipline he put forward. The Board has no responsibility or authority given to them in the Charter as Selectman LaFarge suggested.

Selectman Zuern agreed with Selectman W.T. Barlow and said the new Charter proposals give the Town Administrator more power. She does not feel comfortable reversing any decision.

Chairman Cheli it was not that it was unprecedented, it was has happened before and no comment was made at that time. She said they should not be managing the Town Administrator. She disagreed with Selectman LaFarge.

Selectman Zuern attended the Shore & Harbor Committee Meeting and SMB meeting in Sandwich.

Selectman Cheli said she had a heavy demand from the community with emails and telephone calls this week.

Selectman G. Barlow MOTIONED, SECONDED by Selectman Zuern to adjourn at 9:35 p.m. UNANIMOUS VOTE