Date Time
Location
Tuesday 6:15
PM
Bourne Veterans
Memorial
239 Main Street Buzzards Bay, MA 02532
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.
Budget
7.
Discussion
on Department of Natural Resources Reorganization
8.
Discussion
on Cubellis Plan
9.
Opening
of Little Bay for Shellfishing
10.
National
Incident Management System
11.
Licenses/Permits
a.
Request
to Replace Sign – Tahanto Associates
b.
Lobster
Trap – Change of Ownership – Common Victualer
12.
Town
Administrator’s Report
13.
Selectmen’s
Reports
14. Adjourn
Selectmen Minutes
February 14, 2006
Bourne Veterans’
Memorial Community Center
239 Main
Street
Buzzards Bay, MA
02532
************************************************************************
Attendance:
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 at 6:15 P.M.
Salute the Flag/A Moment of
Silence for Our Troops
Selectman W.T. Barlow MOTIONED to approve the minutes with 2 changes; Chief Ford to Chief Klueber on
page 1 and Local 8 to Local Aid on page 3. Selectman
G. Barlow SECONDED,
UNANIMOUS.
Admiral Rick Guernon, of Mass Maritime Academy, came forward. A year ago the Buzzards Bay Village
Association presented a $1,000 check to the Board of Selectmen in support of
the Reverse 911, a project that everyone in Town realizes the value of,
especially after Hurricane Katrina and other major disasters. This year, as a
direct result of the work by Diane Flynn of the Events Committee, Selectman
Zuern, who worked hard to make the
auction a success and Chairman Cheli, the Chairperson of the Snowflake Ball, as
Vice-President of the organization he presented a check to the Board in the
amount of $7,500 in support of this very worthy cause.
Chairman Cheli thanked Selectman Zuern for all her hard work.
Wayne
Taylor, Vice Chairman of the Mashpee Selectmen and new member of the NPO,
introduced himself. Since his election
to the NPO, there have been two meetings.
One was an organizational come and meet everyone session and the next
was the meeting with Selectman John Cahalon.
He said no specifics were decided upon yet regarding how the money would
be spent through the NPO. He has met
with the Buzzards Bay Village Association and although $1million has been cut
from the bridge portion of the budget, he hopes to keep the Narrows and
Cohasset bridges going forward. He
asked what were the concerns of the Bourne Selectmen? Whatever can be done to facilitate Bourne also helps
Mashpee.
Mr.
Taylor invited the Selectmen to call him at the Mashpee Selectmen’s office or
on his cell phone. He explained that
there are four representatives for the Cape.
He represents the lower Cape consisting of Bourne, Mashpee, Falmouth and
Sandwich. They work with
representatives from the Cape Cod Commission, the Steamship Authority and the
State. One of the questions is how much
of a vote do they have as individual Selectmen and can the State veto them? This week they’re looking at the TIP program
for 2006 – 2010 and the regional transportation plan. He needs to go to all the towns before meeting with individual
Selectmen to assess needs.
Selectman
W.T. Barlow said that last year Lt. Governor Healy was asked if she or the
Administration would be supportive of re-doing the Bourne Bridge that has
tremendous back-ups and bottlenecks that affect not only Bourne, but also
Mashpee, Falmouth, Sandwich and all upper Cape towns. He was told that it wasn’t on the screen until they started
working on the Sagamore Rotary and it would be a priority of the Romney and
Healy administrations. All the
transportation officials throughout the Cape should get behind the State to
upgrade the rotary and improve the transportation for the citizens of the
Cape. Since Lt. Governor Healy is
running for Governor she will be looking for support from the Cape. Bourne should push as hard as possible to
get the funds since the traffic at the rotary in the summer is getting worse
and worse.
Selectman
Zuern said she thought the money was supposed to be in the state budget this
year for the study and other issues regarding the Scenic Highway. Mr. Taylor said these issues have come up
and they are in the forefront.
Mr.
Taylor asked what the Board’s feelings were regarding the study on the railroad
coming into town. The Boston NPO is
looking at it and would it be better for Bourne to have a representative from
the community? Selectman Zuern said
that the Board voted to look at the study.
There’s a difference between passenger rails coming into Bourne and MBTA
trains.
Selectman
LaFarge didn’t feel the Board actually took a position on it since there was no
information on impact on the town of Bourne or Buzzards Bay. The area does not have the available parking
to support a commuter rail. With the
power of eminent domain, the MBTA could take what is left of the business
district of Buzzards Bay and turn it into a parking lot. That would be the end of Buzzards Bay
forever. Nobody is talking about the
Town of Bourne benefiting economically from the train. Boston has it’s own interests and the
commuter rail is not the answer.
Selectman
G. Barlow said that maintaining the Cohasset Narrows railroad bridge is a big
issue and it’s in a state of disrepair.
Mr. Taylor said it’s on for TIP for 2008. Selectman G. Barlow asked that wooden bulkheads be added to the
railroad bridge when it’s repaired since they currently don’t exist.
Selectman
Zuern thanked Mr. Taylor for coming in.
Mr. Taylor said he’d like to make his reports to the Board of Selectman
quarterly, and he would keep in touch with the Selectmen’s office.
Chairman
Cheli said it was a pleasant surprise to see him at the meeting and thanked
him.
Mr.
Agrillo approached regarding the recall.
Recall is a very serious thing, but if the two sides could come together
and avoid the recall it would save the Town a lot of money. The recall is only
for a very short period of time; after the process is done and the money spent,
is it worth the cost for these 6 or 7 months to have these people out of the
office? If the Selectmen are willing to
back off and the other people back off, maybe two sides could get
together. Further, the five Selectmen
report to the Administrator. No
Selectman should be talking to Department Heads; only the TA can speak to the
Department Heads. Mind your business
and if you have anything to say to anyone, let the TA do the dirty work. He said he would talk about DNR later in the
meeting.
Chairman
Cheli agreed that the Charter clearly says the Selectmen can’t be talking to
the Department Heads. But all five
Selectmen can’t be held responsible for the actions of one Selectman.
Selectman LaFarge read the correspondence.
Superintendent
LaFleur reviewed how the schools were able to come up with level funding for
the budget. He brought Mr. Hans
Baumhauer, Director of School Finances, to assist. The ultimate goal was to meet the guideline of a level funded
budget by the TA while still providing a basic level of education and
services. One of the priorities is
teacher retention. A budget is goals
and objectives in dollars and cents. There is a strategic plan listing the
goals and objectives. There are four
goals that do not change; curriculum, community support and involvement,
facilities and personnel. Action plans
are developed to reach those goals. For
instance, under Curriculum and Instruction the goal is preparing students for
MCAS and increasing graduation rate.
Last year all students taking the MCAS passed. This year there are shared costs; salaries, wages and
contractual obligations make up 52.7% of the budget, special needs department
takes up 14%, transportation makes up 4.5%, athletics make up 1.6%, utilities
4.1%, instructional supplies 1.8%, maintenance 2.2%, miscellaneous 1.7% and shared
costs account for 17.8% of the budget.
Shared costs consist of group health and dental insurance, unemployment,
Medicaid, county retirement, retired insurance costs and general liability.
The
School Administration was able to come in level funded by making some
changes. The Bourne Middle School
after-school program will be continued next year but it will be
self-funded. Next, the funds for a
development program to increase teacher’s skills were reduced. It was a difficult decision since
professional development is required, but it was more important to have
teachers in the classroom. Textbooks
were another area that was reduced. The
late bus was eliminated in 2004 and it will not be brought back next year. The building supply budget was reduced by
50%. All out of state travel has been
eliminated for next year. Teacher
supplies were not hit as hard as other areas.
Library books and supplies were cut by 10%.
Curriculum
development was reduced by 40%.
Implementation of activity fees for sports and drama was done
reluctantly in 2004 and they will be increased. A bus fee was implemented as well but it will not be
increased. There is a maximum cap of
$200 for any activities and funds from Booster Clubs are sought when a student
can’t afford the fees. The floater
custodian was eliminated for next year.
Four district aides will be eliminated; library, in-school suspension,
PE and SPED.
Under
miscellaneous upkeep; burners had to replaced, a boiler was replaced and roofs
repaired. $44,197 will be eliminated
from next year’s repair budget.
Hopefully many repairs can be made this year to get ahead of the
game. Currently there are no leaky
roofs he thanked both the maintenance department and the Finance and
Selectmen’s offices for their support over the past seven years.
There
are laws that require special-ed transportation for students out of
district. Under the Homeless Act,
students who live in shelters out of district can request transportation to the
school they were going to. Out of
District Tuition is for children with special needs who are placed in programs
out of the district. Programs in this
area are being created in order to bring some of these children back into the
district and decrease the funding. This
budget is always at risk depending on who moves in and needs it.
Utilities
were reduced by 20%.
There
are seven teachers who are retiring at step 11. Teachers at entry-level steps 1 and 2 will replace them, which
represents a savings of $188,220.
Teaching-quality is a concern when hiring at steps 1 and 2 but there is
a very successful mentoring program in place to guide the new teachers.
The
budget was reduced by $821,375 so it now comes in level-funded. This budget, which was presented to the
school committee and TA Guerino, does not include anything for negotiations and
they are entering into negotiations with three unions next year. Depending on how the negotiations go,
teacher retention may be an area that is hit.
One of the goals of the Strategic Plan is class size.
Selectman
W.T. Barlow asked about state average per pupil costs. Superintendent LaFleur said it includes
shared costs. In 2004 the state average
was $8,591 per child. Bourne spent $8,060.
The only district spending less money per child than Bourne is Sandwich.
Selectman
W.T. Barlow said Superintendent LaFleur is doing a fantastic job. Although funding was cut for this year he
hoped that more funds than .05% will be available for the schools. He’s glad that the Board of Selectmen are
going to the Town Meeting with the School and Finance Committee to access free
cash or stabilization fund money, which would be a big benefit for the
town. It’s praiseworthy, and on behalf
of the Board thanked Superintendent LaFleur.
Superintendent LaFleur expressed hopes that they wouldn’t lose ground
and appreciated the support from the Board of Selectmen. Selectman
Zuern also thanked Superintendent LaFleur for continuing the work that was on
the schedule since 1996 and for paying attention to the custodial work and
keeping up the buildings.
TA
Guerino said he would have some recommendations for the Board of Selectmen on
ways to bring them to 2% without impacting the current budget.
Mr.
Agrillo wondered what would happen if a big development with 300 or more units
were added. Superintendent LaFleur said
that two modular classes containing two classes were already added to handle
the increased enrollment at Peebles School.
However, the base number of students is down. Student enrollment from
Otis has decreased and the town has increased.
The figures have offset each other.
Superintendent LaFleur recognized his teaching staff and maintenance
staff and thanked them.
TA
Guerino responded to questions asked by the Board last week. Regarding delinquent tax; as of today the
outstanding balance is $139,642.72.
That is in comparison to a 2006 real estate levy of $28,991,000, which
is less than one half of one percent.
There are approximately 30 properties in tax title. There is a mixture of small and
non-developable, land, open space pieces of subdivisions that builders stopped
paying on once development was complete, and a vacant property at 11 Main
Street that currently accounts for about 25%.
All of the properties are in various stages of collection and/or
foreclosure. All of the properties that
were voted upon; 4 properties were transferred to taxable closure and will need
to be voted on at a future date.
Another
question was a question by Selectman W.T Barlow regarding retirement. There are two individuals in that fund. One is a spousal benefit and they are
checking to see if there is a spouse in the other case. A third question was the waste oil burner,
which has been out of service for over two years. They were not getting enough waste oil to run efficiently. The
repair cost is more than the worth to run it.
Research relative to the status of the committee that was granting money
out for the Chamber points to a need for reconstitution. That committee was previously disbanded due
to lack of funds. It is up to the Board
if they want the committee reformed.
A new revenue and physical impact was distributed to the Board of
Selectmen tonight. The only changes
made were those the Board of Selectmen indicated last week they wanted to see
on the revenue side. This brought the
motor vehicle excise to a level funded area.
The marina revenue was also level-funded. In attending last week’s regional school district meeting, in
that preliminary budget the rate of increase was $219,030. Based on their estimates they received in
their Chapter 78, that has been reduced to $174,000 and some change reflecting
a reduction of about $45,000.
TA
Guerino reiterated that articles for Town Meeting are due in his office by
Friday so that there is enough time to meet Charter and By-law requirements.
Referring
back to the budget from last week, the Sewer Department rates were based on
annual rates plus a penny per gallon after 60,000. Service Consultants were increased but this will not increase the
rates beyond what was planned for this year.
Diesel fuel was increased, protective clothing was contractual and is
level-funded at $189,928. Total budget
for debt is down about $4,000.
TA
Guerino spoke next about ISWM and a reduction in a labor line. ISWM has some administrative changes that
will reduce administrative salaries from approximately $400,000 to
approximately $264,000. ISWM costs,
purchase and services budgets were augmented.
Although the budget as requested is approximately $600,000 less than the
requested budget it still maintains personnel, recycling, residential area, and
maintains all the services available up there.
All capital outlay recommendations requested by ISWM were approved and
will be in a different part of the budget.
Selectman
W.T. Barlow made a point of order. The
Capital Outlay makes a recommendation to the Board of Selectmen and the Finance
Committee and the Board of Selectmen have to take a vote on the capital outlay
items prior to the budget. TA Guerino
said Capital Outlay would have one more meeting before making recommendations
to the Board of Selectmen.
At the
Laborer’s line, the request was $1,090,000 and some change. He originally recommended $1,369,000, which
seemed out of whack based on negotiated contracts, cost of living and step
raises. He worked with Finance Director
Lynn Burchill and they were able to reduce it and still maintain all of the
employees. The bottom line on ISWM: The request was $10,299,305 and the actual
recommendation will be less, $9,560,000.
That
finished the first pass of the budget.
The Finance Committee, Clerk and Fire Department reviewed it and it is
subject to amendment by the Board of Selectmen.
Selectman
LaFarge said he was confused about the DNR budget. Is the DNR Director’s salary still in the budget? TA Guerino said no. Based on the request of the Board of
Selectmen it was pulled because there was no reflection of the plan voted by
the Board. If the plan as presented by
the Board doesn’t move forward, adjustments will be made to accommodate
whatever the Board’s final determination is on the DNR.
A
lengthy discussion followed regarding the DNR Director’s salary as it pertained
to the budget.
TA
Guerino went on to say that the DPW had been tagged extremely hard, as well as
the Department of Recreation. In
reviewing the budget, he put together some recommendations that would
reinvigorate some of those budgets. It
was important that recreation be raised from $15,000 to $25,000 and other
adjustments were made and reflected to cover backfill for recycling at the
current pace. The DPW’s supply budget
was raised and police detail was increased.
He
spoke about schools utilizing Chapter 70 money to augment the school’s
budget. It will need to be budgeted and
appropriated and he recommends that if the “pothole” money comes forward, keep
the Chapter 70 and move $375,000 out of what was this year $525,000 to the
school. That would provide with the
$100,000 recommended in the original budget the school department a 2.56%
overall budget increase and would allow them to enter into negotiations without
having to initially cut staff. If the
pothole money doesn’t come forward, they would have to make some adjustments at
a special Town Meeting in November or May.
Selectman
Zuern asked where pothole money comes from. TA Guerino said thanks to Senator
Murray there is money to assist towns in educating children on the base. Further, the budget is very tight, supplies
are at a premium and paper clips will be bartered. But it’s a workable budget that saved personnel. The Budget total
is $56,400,000 +/-.
Selectman W.T. Barlow MOTIONED to approve the budget subject to the Board of Selectmen reviewing
capital requests, subject to State Aid and further amendments and the outcome
of next week’s public meeting and with the changes as recommended. Selectman Zuern SECONDED, UNANIMOUS.
Point
of Order, Selectman LaFarge spoke about the Agenda not being the same one that
went out on Friday and said the Town didn’t get the normal, usual notice of the
meeting. Chairman Cheli said that after
the agenda was done on Thursday, two items were accidentally deleted, but the
error was corrected on Saturday.
Selectman LaFarge said he got the new agenda but the Town didn’t get the
usual notice of what would be discussed at the meeting.
Selectman
G. Barlow tried to explain the situation saying he had seen the penciled-in
agenda and some items were deleted accidentally. Selectman W.T. Barlow asked if there had been 48 hours notice of
the meeting. TA Guerino clarified that
the meeting was posted on Friday afternoon.
Generally speaking, the agenda of the meeting is posted Fridays or
Mondays. The agenda does not need to be
posted until Monday when it goes on the website. Apparently his handwriting wasn’t clear as to what he and the
Chairman had discussed on Thursday.
After he received word of the error, he asked Nancy Sundman to go into
the office and adjust the agenda. This
was done by 5PM.
Selectman
LaFarge was concerned that the public was left out of the loop. TA Guerino replied that the public wouldn’t
have seen the agenda until Monday anyway.
Selectman LaFarge countered that it’s usually posted on Friday and he
wasn’t comfortable with the agenda being posted in a closed Town Hall on
Saturday. TA Guerino said Selectman LaFarge was making it sound sinister and
it’s not. Selectman LaFarge asked the
audience not to clap for him and he wasn’t making it sound sinister, he was
reciting the facts. There’s a great
deal of concern about the open meeting law and the openness in town government,
how ISWM got on the agenda the first time it came up and then it shows up at
5:06 on a Saturday and posted in a Town hall that very few people have a key to
go and see it. People look at the
agenda and decide whether or not to attend the meeting and the Selectmen have
an obligation to give them the fact. We
can’t deprive them on notice because of our errors in poor handwriting.
Selectman
Zuern said that when she saw her agenda there were some things missing. It was a clerical error and doesn’t see the
problem. It was posted within 48 hours
and noted that Selectman LaFarge did not complain about the budget being put on
the agenda. We just went through the
whole budget and there were no complaints then so she moved that the Board go
forward.
Selectman
G. Barlow asked if article 7 should be struck since it wasn’t posted properly
and institute another public comment period?
The audience vehemently said no.
“I was just throwing it out there.” Selectman G. Barlow said.
Chairman
Cheli stated that when the agenda was received on Friday night, the budget and
the DNR were missing. Steps were taken
to correct the problem and corrected agendas were received Saturday afternoon. Judging by the size of the audience enough
people knew what was on the agenda. The
Budget was reviewed so the DNR will be reviewed.
Selectman
Zuern said that as we get ready for the Public Hearing, the TA was put in a
tight spot. He was asked that in
preparing for the public meeting, he should come back to them with
recommendations or changes that he thought should be considered. He’s in a bind since they made a specific
motion. She motioned that as the TA
reviews the reorganization, he doesn’t need to strictly adhere to the motion
that was made.
Selectman
G. Barlow moved that the plan as submitted be flexible to anything less. It was submitted because the Charter said
there had to be a plan, then there could be a public hearing. The public hearing should have come first
but that’s not how the Charter reads.
The crowd protested that they were not following the Charter but
Selectman G. Barlow reiterated that they are.
Selectman
W.T. Barlow said the DNR issue has drawn a lot of attention. The suggestions he gave the group that
reviewed the DNR were not reflected in their report. One of the things he suggested was to move the shellfish
department out of DNR. They’d never had
a shellfish warden that was familiar with shellfish; a person was hired to be
an administrator of the department instead. The marina operations were not
established with the DNR in 1972 and the Board never voted to have the Marina
operations in the DNR on a permanent basis.
Marina customer-relations are extremely important so the Town needs to be
competitive with outside marinas.
Further,
the Director and the remaining DNR officers should continue on. The Shore and Harbor Committee has had a
good relationship with the current Director.
Why not wait until Mr. Weinert retired?
It was a way to make changes without disrupting the Director while still
receiving the services and use the personnel in the best manner. He feels if that plan were put forward, the
majority of people would be satisfied, instead of doing what is proposed
now.
Selectman
Zuern suggested we listen to the public next week before making any changes,
and to allow the TA to be flexible in bringing something forward. Selectman W.T. Barlow said he hears a lot of
anger and concern in the community. He
thinks a better discussion and a more fruitful meeting could be had. Selectman G. Barlow said he’d second
Selectman Zuern’s motion.
Selectman
LaFarge said they had a motion and it passed 4 –1. It is what it is. Now
there is another motion and that says it is what it is but it’s not what it is
so when we have a public meeting. There
are two conflicting motions now; one has already passed and the other one is
just sitting beside it looking ugly.
Selectman
Zuern said that the TA needs to be able to use his own judgment in certain areas. For the Selectmen to say it has to be a DNR
officer who does a particular thing is not something she wants him to be locked
into. Selectman LaFarge says that puts
the TA in an awkward position.
Selectman G. Barlow agreed with Selectman LaFarge, but the Charter says
there has to be a plan first, which has to be voted on, and then hold public
meetings. The Charter has to be
followed.
Mr.
Agrillo questioned the Charter. If
there was a vote and it passed, how can the Board undo the vote?
Selectman
G. Barlow said the process doesn’t start until the Public Hearing. The only thing that has happened is the
$60,000 salary has been eliminated from the budget, and that the Charter has to
be followed.
Mary
Jane Mastrangelo said that some people say that the Board has not followed the
Charter. She cited sections 5.3 and 3.3
of the Charter to back up her statement.
The problem here is that it’s all backward. Have a public hearing to
figure out what’s important to community.
She’s happy with the marina operation and is concerned over what would
happen if the ownership of the marina changed.
Dave
Foynes came forward and spoke about a petition for a warrant article asking the
town to vote to direct the Moderator to establish a study committee in thirty
days to develop the needs, goals and priorities for the DNR. The group would seek input from other town
departments. A series of public
meetings would be held to review findings and discuss proposed recommendations
in compliance with the Bourne Charter.
The study would be presented to the Board of Selectmen for further
discussion and expert input. There
would be a public meeting in 90 days.
Do that and the citizens of Bourne very, very happy and all this would
go away.
Chairman
Cheli said she looked over the list that was given her. He put a lot of thought into it and she
hoped that he would be there next week at the public hearing to go over the
items on his list, as well as the people who signed his list.
Peter
Fisher asked if the vote could be reconsidered. He said that it would be in the best interest of the town to
reconsider the vote.
Selectman
Zuern said she didn’t see anything wrong with the Charter and that it is being
followed. A lot of different scenarios
could be voted on, and she can’t consider asking for reconsideration. There is a need to go forward with next
week’s public hearing. Chairman Cheli said that next week’s input would have a
lot of impact on everyone.
William
Grant said he was mystified by the Board’s interpretation of the Charter. The section of the charter that is being
referred to is pre-implementation. What
Mr. Foynes pointed out is that there should be fact-finding. This section of the Charter authorized the
Board to do this. Next Tuesday the
question will be what is the cost implication, other than eliminating $60,000
from the budget. There is ripple effect
with a project of this magnitude and the public is entitled to know all the
implications before the meeting. There
was no public hearing on the issue.
Selectman
W.T. Barlow said that he was part of the committee who put together the
Charter. This issued was discussed and
it was unpopular. The wording of the
Charter could be interpreted as meaning pre-implementation, but as a Charter
Member, that is incorrect and this is a vast improvement over how things were
done in the past.
TA
Guerino said his perception of the motion is clear. His concern is that a public hearing would result in many
different sides being voiced and that may change the way the Board wants to move
forward with any proposed reorganization.
It would seem that the Board might want to consider looking at a
conceptual piece on cost savings. The
Board has voted for him to do something and he will do what the Board wants him
to do. Based on what’s come before the
Board, it might make sense to keep the plan operational but come to a Public
Hearing, listen to the concerns and then implement a plan based on those
concerns.
Selectman Zuern MOTIONED to go forward with the Public Hearing next week and allow the TA to be
flexible. Selectman G. Barlow SECONDED.
Selectman
G. Barlow said he understood what TA Guerino was asking, but ask questions.
Nobody expects to leave next week’s meeting with all the answers. Selectman
Zuern asked TA Guerino if all he wanted was a public hearing and to wait until
afterwards to give a plan.
TA
Guerino replied that in respect to public policy, it makes sense to keep the
plan operational and come to the public hearing, listen to the concerns, and
then make a plan. He’ll spend the next
3 or 4 days doing what the Board wants, but it might be a wheel-spin. But he will do what the Board asks him to
do. It makes sense to listen to both
sides before coming up with a specific plan.
Jim
Mulvey wasn’t sure what the motion was, but if a meeting to discuss a topic has
a petition with 450 people on, it’s a waste of time to hold a public
meeting. Vote to reconsider and clear
the decks. Take the public opinion and
go forward from there. Go back to day
one. It’s time to say a mistake was
made and go back to zero.
Selectman
Zuern said that there are just as many people who haven’t asked for a
reconsideration but she hasn’t called any of them. She withdrew her MOTION and Selectman G. Barlow withdrew his SECOND.
Carol
Tinkham from the Cape Cod Commission came forward and Selectman LaFarge asked
for a Point of Order. Ms. Tinkham has
taken an oath as a member of the commission and sits on a quasi-judicial
sub-committee who will take input at a public hearing called for the
purpose. She is not to carry the
Board’s message, but to make an independent determination. For the Board to presume what she should say
or how she vote is highly improper, he stated.
Chairman Cheli said the Board is telling Ms. Tinkham their opinion and
that he didn’t object when it was John Johnson.
Selectman
LaFarge continued his Point of Order.
Mr. Johnson was removed because he refused to do what the Board was
asking Ms. Tinkham to do. He exercised
his judgment and oath not to accept ex-partae communications. Highly improper, and he knew Ms. Tinkham
feels very uncomfortable about her position here.
She
disagreed but was interrupted by Selectman G. Barlow clarifying that Mr.
Johnson was not removed, his term ran out.
He was treated fairly and did his job well.
Ms.
Tinkham said she was nervous that her position might be prejudiced this and
afraid that someone might say she was swayed.
Selectman G. Barlow moved that Ms. Tinkham be excused based on the fact
that the Board appeared to be causing some intimidation on her future plan to
participate in future hearings.
Ms.
Tinkham said she was there to listen to everyone so that the sub-committee
could determine whether Canalside Commons complies with the 1996 regional
policy plan, and to weigh the detriments against the benefits. There will be a meeting at the High School
on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. and she encouraged the Selectmen to attend.
Chairman
Cheli apologized for Selectman LaFarge’s intimidation and he asked for no
personal attacks.
Selectman
Zuern said that as long as Ms. Tinkham documents what someone said to her she
could come before the Board, but didn’t want to jeopardize her vote.
Selectman
W.T. Barlow said the first thing to do on a sub-committee is to take a position
which may or may not be adopted by the whole committee. He thanked Ms. Tinkham for coming in, and
encouraged people to attend the Thursday meeting.
TA
Guerino asked if Ms. Tinkham were not on the sub-committee reviewing the plan,
would she then be able to come before the Board? Selectman LaFarge said no.
Paul
Gately asked if there is a final date for a decision on Canalside Commons? Yes.
The final hearing is April 20th and May 15th for
the final decision.
Selectman
Zuern said the meeting is very important and encourage people to attend. She thinks 40B is the worst use of that
property possible. She believes a
conference center with shops would be a better use. She presented the Board with a fax that Mr. Cubellis sent her in
hope of their supporting it.
Selectman
LaFarge said the sub-committee is to review building 85,000 square feet of
retail space. If Mr. Cubellis wants to
go back to his original plan, that’s his prerogative. It’s inappropriate for
the Board try to take a political step and he encouraged attendance of the
Thursday meeting. Selectman Zuern
disagreed and said that retail establishments were better for the Town than a
40B establishment. Selectman LaFarge
likened the situation to choosing one cancer over another and that its
premature to make a decision at this point.
Selectman
W.T. Barlow said that in the past he’s been in favor of a big center, but he
was probably too vocal about it. Seeing
everyone protecting their own interests is pretty straightforward. To have a retail establishment of this size
would have a direct impact on Mashpee Commons and the Cape Cod Mall. The developer has the right to develop this
land, and if the Board does not take an interest, it’s their detriment. 300 affordable housing units will help
Bourne meet their quota, but 85,000 square feet of retail space is not going to
make a major shot in the arm to Bourne.
He thinks it will go forward and the size will depend on the traffic
report. If the Selectmen feel strongly,
they should attend the meeting and speak their minds, either way. He’d prefer to see 40B housing implemented
at 40-50 houses at a whack, not 300.
Selectman
G. Barlow clarified that the 40B housing is not affordable housing for larger
families. A big mall would have been
better, but it didn’t happen. We’ll get
what we get. He urged residents to
attend the Thursday night meeting.
Selectman
Zuern said the Cape Cod Commission listens to all ideas and considers all
options. If it’s not brought up, it
won’t be considered. In looking over
the advantages, there’s 120 acres of protected open space. All the permits are in hand, and the only
thing they don’t have is the support from the Cape Cod Commission.
Mr.
Cubellis came forward to answer questions.
The building status that was advanced in May 2001 is still on the table
and he’s been working on it since then.
A lot of information has been provided already, but more information
could be provided. His current plan is
not as good as the previous plan, but it’s not bad.
Chairman
Cheli said that in regard to the School Budget, his housing plan would add
significant burden. A retail
establishment would be a much better addition for the town.
Mr.
Cubellis replied that he didn’t see the Cape Cod Commission approving his
original plan so he advanced another plan.
Since the units aren’t designed for large families he disagreed that the
40B would create an economic burden.
Some investment is better than no investment. 126 jobs, as created by the current plan, aren’t a lot. The original plan would’ve provided 1100
jobs. He needs to move forward on his
40B plan, however. He has 152 acres
that he has a right to develop. He
offered to sell it, but no one listened.
There
was some discussion and disagreement as to whether the property owner, Mr.
Driscoll, had been invited to a meeting.
Selectman Zuern asked about the tax revenue and said she would attend
the meeting at the High School on Thursday.
She thanked him for coming in.
Helen
Bresnahan from the Canalside Task Force spoke about her research into Canalside
Commons. The research showed that if
the plan is considered, Buzzards Bay is being abandoned. Employees would come from off-Cape. Construction won’t be within 5 years but
5-12 years. If portions of the project
prove to be financially infeasible, rental housing may never be constructed and
a mixed-use accomplished. Further,
there are issues with air quality and noise.
An estimated 2-5 truckloads of construction waste is expected to leave
the site every day for the landfill.
Canalside Commons is a commercial sprawl, is this what you want in your
future? There is no smart growth here.
Selectman
Zuern asked if Mr. Cubellis was ever asked to donate land. Ms. Bresnahan said she didn’t know, but
Selectman Zuern said he had been. Was
Mr. Cubellis ever invited to speak with the Committee? Ms. Bresnahan said he was on one
occasion. She cited that the LCP hadn’t
had an opportunity to vote on this.
Don
Hayward asked Mr. Cubellis about the type of ownership where the 40B were
concerned – condominiums. Having been a
victim of mixed-use development, he knows what is missing from mixed-use
development is that when you go to sell, you have to sell at commercial rate
mortgages. Will that happen here? Mr. Cubellis said the 40B units are
individual residential condos. There is nothing being proposed right now for
residential above the retail.
Mr.
Agrillo said he endorses the project.
Chairman
Cheli said she is definitely pro-business.
George Wienert gave some history as to why Little Bay had been closed to
shellfishing. He explained that last year he’d proposed a plan to dredge
deepwater shellfish rather than bring in contaminated shellfish from other
areas and Chairman Cheli had agreed. Unfortunately, due to limited resources
they were unsuccessful. The Shore and
Harbor Committee met recently and drew up a new plan to dredge under the Toby
Island Bridge since recreational shellfish in that are and the surrounding area
were closed for the contaminated relay.
He and the DNR support the plan brought before the Selectmen tonight to
reopen part of the closed sections so that the shellfish can be removed prior
to dredging. Because he had started the
Contaminated Relay Process due to the unsuccessful deep-water dredge, the
remaining closed area of Little Bay is small and if the area to be dredged is
opened, distribution of contaminated shellfish would be in a very high
density. Any area must remain closed
for a spring season. Instead, he
suggested establishing a different area for the contaminated relay and opening
all of Little Bay.
Selectman
G. Barlow asked if there would be a better area to open up but Mr. Weinert said
he was not prepared to answer that question.
Selectman W.T. Barlow agreed that the whole Bay should be opened up.
Selectman Barlow MOTIONED to reopen the portion of Little Bay from the tip of Ram Island to the
center of the Toby Island Bridge.
Selectman W.T. Barlow SECONDED, UNANIMOUS.
TA
Guerino said he was under the impression that the Board had already voted to
adopt this. It is strongly recommended
to take the training in order to get federal funding. It was proposed as an executive order and Jack Williams, the
Compliance Officer at NIMA provided the wording of the executive order. The Board, other employees and staff of the town
are required to take the Level 200. A
work session needs to be set up to accomplish this.
Selectman G. Barlow MOTIONED to adopt NIMS Executive Order 06-1.
Selectman Zuern SECONDED, UNANIMOUS.
Request
to Replace Sign at Tahanto Beach.
Selectman LaFarge MOTIONED to allow replacement of the sign.
Selectman Zuern SECONDED, UNANIMOUS.
Lobster Trap – Change of
Ownership/Common Victualer
Selectman W.T. Barlow asked if
there was verification of change of ownership.
TA Guerino said there was nothing there tonight to show it so voting was
deferred until the next meeting.
TA Guerino said that as of the end of January the Tax Collector’s office had brought in $6.75 million posted properly and correctly for the last quarter. It was an amazing amount of work and should be recognized by the Board. He asked about the DNR issue; Selectman Zuern’s motion tonight was withdrawn so do we move forward or with what he suggested earlier? Selectman Zuern said they would just go forward with Public input next week and not have the TA do any organizational work. The motion brought forward three weeks ago stays on the floor. Selectman W.T. Barlow said what we have is what we voted on previously. We don’t debate the public. It’s a hearing and all we do is listen. Let them speak and we will listen.
Selectman
Zuern was directed to take letters from Therese Murray back to the LEPC. The committee voted that a letter should be
written in support of Senator Murray’s request that Pilgrim Nuclear Power
Station of Plymouth, MA and Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant of Brattleboro,
VT be evaluated separately. She
attended the UCCRTS dinner and took a two-hour tour of the facility, and
attended the Cape Cod Selectmen’s Meeting.
One of the handouts stated that towns can’t own or bond for renewable
energy facilities unless it is a municipal light plant which includes wind
turbines. A cooperative could be set up
for towns to join. Towns can have wind
turbines as long as they don’t bond for it or own it. She gave a reminder on Spotlight on Bourne this week. The Buzzards Bay Preservation Committee
meets February 15th at 7:30 and Friday at 1:00 p.m. She reminded people about the Relay for Life
and gave contact information. She also
reminded people of the meeting of The Cape Cod Commission on Thursday to
discuss the Cubellis plan.
Selectman
G. Barlow also attended the UCCRT dinner and remarked on what a wonderful
school it is. He attended the
Selectmen’s breakfast in Hyannis and spoke about his cooking show that tells
how to harvest, cook and eat local shellfish.
That is 8 p.m. Fridays on the local cable show.
Selectman
W.T. Barlow said that as a member of the Charter Commission provision for
recall prior to the Charter, people would serve out their term no matter what
happened. Back then, even if they were
convicted of a crime and were sent to jail, they were still on the Board. The recall is not used to be a political
tool to intimidate an elected official.
It’s not a way to tell someone you don’t like the way they vote. The Charter Commission specifies what the
recall is and he hopes recall wouldn’t turn into a political weapon.
Selectman Zuern agreed. A gatherer of signatures told her that if the Board didn’t reconsider, the recall would go in place. There are lots of votes that people don’t like but it shouldn’t be used as a tool. It doesn’t do any useful good and is just a distraction.
Selectman LaFarge MOTIONED to adjourn at 10:05PM. Selectman W.T. Barlow SECONDED, UNANIMOUS.