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1991/10/01APPROVED October 1, 1991 9~ OPT [~ p~ ~: c~ ~r ~ Peters call~ ~e ~t~g ~ o~A a~:~~..-~es~t ~ ~ty ~yor ~ ~e, De~ ~r ~%o..~fj ~or Jo~ P. ~Intosh, I~ ~gazzi, Ellen ~ss~, ~c~ Kuz%~"~l~ ~ss~, Elisa Hut~-H~ald re~er, Je~ ~l~c~o~t re~r, ~ J~ice Seraf~S~re~. Approval of Minutes Mayor Peters moved to approve the minutes of September 10, 1991 as written, seconded by Deputy Mayor Tiezzi, passed unanimously. Deputy Mayor McQuade noted that in the minutes of Sept~nber 24th, Approval of Minutes, line 2, "September 24th" should be September 10th. Mayor Peters moved to approve the minutes of September 24th as corrected, seconded by Deputy Mayor McQuade, passed unanimously. Recapitulation of Minutes Discussion, no action taken. Audience of citizens Mayor Peters asked if anyone present wishedto speak to theExecutive Board. Richard Kuziak said he wished to speak to the board as a member of the Inland Wetlands Conmzission, but not as a representative of the Cc~ssion. Mr. Kuziak asked that the Executive Board conduct a formal investigation of the activities of Clyde Selner, Chairman of the Cc,-ti¥,~ssion, on his actions concerning Earl-Wicklund. Mr. Kuziak said that Mr. Selner is now harassing, not only Mr. Wicklund, but individuals purchasing lots fr~n him, and also m~nbers of the Cc~ssion. He said that this situation has beccme all time consuming for the CuL,,.ission and the Town is facing potential litigation if Mr. Selner does not cease his actions. Deputy Mayor Tiezzi asked how the rest of the C~mtission feels. Mr. Kuziak said that he would rather have the others speak for themselves. The Mayor then asked Mr. Kuziak if he knew Mr. Wicklund personally or if he was related to him. Mr. Kuziak responded by stating that he only knew Mr. Wicklund through the Cu~,~,ission and was not related ~o'.'h.im.._ ~,~ Deputy Mayor Tiezzi asked if he had any interests with Mr.,"~l~/'~md!,' t~ which Mr. Kuzlak replied that he d~d not. Mayor Peters thanked Mr. Kuziak for bringing his concerns to, .t~e, Executive Board and said that they would take b_is c~ments advisement. The Mayor said that he would consider appo.inti~[ ~.j~ outside group of three citizens to investigate what is happening.~ Ida Ragazzi asked how the cost of the seismic bracing project at Willard School was reduced from a figure of $250,000 to $10,0007 Mayor Peters explained the work done by the Clerk of the Works and the Public Building Coz~ssion to acccraplish this. A discussion then ensued regarding how the rates paid to architects were set, by estimate or actual project cost. Dr. McIntosh said that he never received anything in writing frcm the Chairman of the Public Building C~'u,{ssion. Mayor Peters said that he would request again that he be sent sc~ething in writing on this matter. Personnel/Purchasing Matters Mayor Peters said that Mr. D'Errico was out ill and Antoinette Pajor would be cc~dng into the meeting at 8:00 p.m. regarding the appointment of the part time Case Worker in the Social Services Department. He asked that this item be held until that time. Corporation Counsel Mayor Peters said that the Corporation Counsel had been excused frcm tonight' s meeting. Old Business Park and Recreation Item (Tabled) Mayor Peters moved to remove this item from the table, seconded by Deputy Mayor Tiezzi, passed unanimously. Mayor Peters moved to approve the request of the Park and Recreation Cc~ssion to allow the 4th Annual Special Olympics Benefit Golf Tournament to dispense beer and soda frcm a roving golf cart, with the understanding that the Executive Board would meet with the Park and Recreation Cu,,L.~ssion to work out a policy on the granting of permission to dispense such items at 'future' tournaments, seconded by Deputy Mayor McQuade, passed unanimously. Tax Refunds (Tabled) Mayor Peters moved to remove the Tax Refunds from the Table, seconded by Deputy Mayor Tiezzi, passed unanimously. Mayor Peters moved to approve a tax refund in the amount of $142.29 to D and K Financial Corp., seconded by Deputy Mayor Tiezzi, passed unanimously. Deputy Mayor Tiezzi moved to approve a tax refund in the amount of $60.70 to Michael Zarensky, seconded by Mayor Peters, passed unanimously. Deputy Mayor McQ~_ade moved to approve a tax refund in the amount of $81.46 to BNE Vehicle Leasing, seconded by Deputy Mayor Tiezzi, passed unanimously. -2- Deputy Mayor McQuade moved to approve a tax refund in the amount of $4.88 to the John F. Ramus Lodge 1137, IAM&AW, seconded by Deputy Mayor Tiezzi, passed unanimously. Deputy Mayor Tiezzi moved to approve a tax refund in the amount of $44.07 to William S. Davis, seconded by Deputy Mayor McQuade, passed unanimously. Deputy Mayor Tiezzi moved to approve a tax refund in the amount of $2443.05 for double tax payment to Christopher and Christine Proffitt, seconded by Mayor Peters, passed unanimously. New Business Bond for Deed and Nature Conservancy .E9.. sement: Rmby Estate Mayor Peters moved to accept the conveyance of 7.32 acres of open space from the subdivision of Roby Estate, intersection of Orchard and Toll Gate Roads, approving the Bond for Dccd for same, and to move this to the agenda of the next Special Town Meeting for approval, seconded by Deputy Mayor Tiezzi, passed unanimously. Audrey Bertagna, Finance Board member, joined the meeting at 7:55 p.m.. DOT Lease - Worthington Ridge Mayor Peters said that this area, at the intersection of Worthington Ridge and Mill Street, is one he has been working on since taking office four years ago. He said that the Town was successful in getting the State to take down the old Shell gas station, remove the oil tank and the contaminated soil. The Mayor said that he has negotiated with the Deparh¥~nt of Transportation to allow the Town to lease the parcel, which contains 0.219 acres, for five years at no cost. He said that he would like to see a seasonal information booth manned by volunteers on the property. He said that he hoped 'the'Deputy Mayors ~Duld concur and approve that the Town enter into this lease. Deputy Mayor Tiezzi moved to approve a resolution authorizing the Mayor to sign a five year lease with DOT, with a five year option to renew, for the property located at the intersection of Worthington Ridge Mill Street, at no cost to the Town, seconded by Deputy Mayor McQuade. In the discussion that followed, Deputy Mayor Tiezzi suggested that if an information booth is pursued that the Chamber of Cc~merce get involved, along with Econc~ic Development. He said that he did not feel the Town should run the booth. The voted was passed unanimously. Agreement with State: Allinq Street Reconstruction Deputy Mayor McQuade moved to approve a resolution authorizing the Mayor to sign an agre~m~_nt with the State DOT for the Alling Street Reconstruction project, seconded by Deputy Mayor Tiezzi, passed unanimously. -3- Board and Cc~ssion Matters Mayor Peters moved to accept the resignation of Claire Larson frcm the Planning CuL,~.~ssion, with regret, as she is moving out of state, seconded by Deputy Mayor McQuade, passed unanimously. This resignation is effective October 15th. Mayor Peters moved to elevate alternate Gale Porter to fill Mrs. T~rson's position on the Planning Ccrauission, term to run until 1996, seconded by Deputy Mayor McQuade. In the discussion that followed, Deputy Mayor Tiezzi asked if there was a Democrat in the alternates. Mayor Peters said that Tim Zigmont was, but Gale had more time on the C~L,t~ssion. The vote was passed unanimously. Mayor Peters moved to appoint Margaret Sheridan to serve as an Alternate, fill the vacancy created by elevating Ms. Porter, term to run until 1992, seconded by Deputy Mayor McQuade, passed unanimously. Mayor Peters moved to accept the resignation of Carolyn Newton as secretary to the Police Cc~ssion, seconded by Deputy Mayor McQuade, passed unanimously. Personnel Purchasing Matters Antoinette Pajor, Director of Social Services, joined the Executive Board at 8:00 p.m. to review the top candidates for the part time Case Worker in the that Department. She told the Board that a panel had interviewed the top five candidates. Their first ranking applicant had backed out and they suggested that the second and third candidates be given a second interview, which was done. Mrs. Pajor explained that one of the candidates is from out of Town, works for the State doing the same type of work the Town's position requires. She said that the other applicant is from Town but would require training. Mayor Peters said that the Town wants to look at local candidates whenever possible, when all else is equal then the resident should get the job. After a discussion of both candidates Mayor Peters moved to approve the hiring of Jennifer DeMonte, the out of Town candidate, based on the fact that she has the full experience that the Town is looking for, seconded by Deputy Mayor McQuade, passed unanimously. Addition to Agenda Mayor Peters moved to add a discussion of the recent Water Control Cc~ssion increase, seconded by DeputyMayorMcQuade, passed unanimously. The Mayor said that he was planning to meetwith the manager of that depaiH~nt in the morning. He said that it was unfortunate that the Ccm~isionwaited so long to raise the rates, resulting in such a large increase. Deputy Mayor Tiezzi said that the Worthington District had the same increase and that a large part of it was contributed to the increase in the sewer charge of theMattabassett District. Mayor -4- Peters said that he was going to see if the Town's increase could be spread over two or three years. Finance Budget Transfers and/or A~ropriations Health Director: Mayor Peters moved to remove the increase in hours for the Health Director from the Table, seconded by Deputy Mayor Tiezzi, passed unanimo~ly. The Mayor said that when Mary Jane Engle, Health Director, came to see him she w~s asking to have her weekly hours increased frc~ 18 to 24. He said that he felt that was an unreasonable request at this time as her pay w~uld have to increase about $7000 and benefits given at a cost of approximately $7700, However, he told her that she could present her request to the full Executive Board, which she did on September 10th. The Mayor said that he met with her the following day and they ~orked out an agreement whereby she would increase her hours to twenty four, increase her pay from $22,790 to $26,500, an anount of $3,710, and receive benefits, with the understanding that the Town would do a study through CCM of salaries of Health Directors in surrounding towns prior to the preparation of the next budget. The Mayor said that he felt Ms. Engle was doing an excellent job for the Town and she should be paid well for doing so, stating that the Board should judge the pay by the performance. Deputy Mayor McQuade said that this budget request, so soon after settling this budget, did not sit well with her. She said she was not questioning Mary Jane's ability and felt she was an asset to the Town. Mayor Peters said that when the present Health Director was hired there was no way to get a handle on the number of hours the position would require, so he had suggested eighteen as a reasonable number. He said that after a year on the job, it appears that more hours are needed. Deputy Mayor Tiezzi again questioned what was wrong with hiring scmeone to do just restaurant inspections as was done before. He said that she did not seem to want to delegate this responsibility. Mayor Peters said that he did not want to see a separate restaurant inspector. He said that if the Health Director has to take the responsibility, then she should do the inspections. Deputy Mayor McQuade asked if a study of surrounding Town's Health Director salaries could be done before the next meeting. Mayor Peters said that this was not possible in that time period. Deputy Mayor McQuade moved to table the request until she meets with the Health Director, seconded by Deputy Mayor Tiezzi, passed unanimously. Water Control Commission: -5- The Mayor referred to tw~ budget requests frc~ the Water Control Cc~mission, one in the amottnt of $23,258 fz~,~ the Sewer Fund and the other in the amount of $6562 frcm the Water Fund, both to allocate funds for five years of electrical expenses owed to Ruepp Electric. The Mayor said the forms were signed by him because he was overseeing the Water and Sewer Department at the present time. The Mayor said that he had met with Mr. Ruepp on Monday to see if there was room for ccmprcmise on his bill. He said that Mr. Ruepp would not cc~prc~se on his bill, as he felt is w~uld appear that he had billed the Town illegally and jeopardize his integrity. However, the Mayor said that Mr. Ruepp offered to pay the expenses incurred by the Town for the Auditor and the in-house expenses for employees to review the invoices. He said that they reached a settlement of a $47,000 payment by Mr. Ruepp. Mayor Peters said he felt this was a fair and equit_~ble settl~nent for the Town. Deputy Mayor Tiezzi asked if Mr. Ruepp was able to tell him why this had happened. The Mayor said that Mr. Ruepp had looked upon this bill as a savings account, stating that he knew the Town would be good for the money, and that he could bill when he needed the fuD~s. Mayor Peters said that he explained to him that the Town works on an annual budget and could not operate in this manner. The Mayor said that Mr. Ruepp told him that the last time he billed the Town, in 1985, it was also for more than one year. The Mayor said when asked if anyone ever requested that he suhnit a bill this time, that Mr. Ruepp stated that Messrs. Ross, Seelye and Baldyga had all, at various times, requested that he bill the Town. Ida Ragazzi referred to the letter she had sent to the Mayor on this matter. She said that she did not feel the Town should pay this bill until the problems with the employees has been straightened out. Mayor Peters said that the employees will be ha~Ied by the Executive Board and payment of the bill has no bearing on what action is taken against the employees. He said that it will be determined to what degree each employee is responsible and the ramification to each will be in accord with the responsibility. Deputy Mayor Tiezzi said that paying this bill ~ould not be establishing any precedent as there was a similar situation before. told Mrs. Ragazzi to rest assured the matter will be resolved. He Dr. McIntosh questioned what part of the bill was Town Wide Water? He also said that he presumed the money was cc~ng frc~ the Water Control Cc~ssion, not the taxpayers. Audrey Bertagna asked if the Town would continue to do business with Mr. Ruepp. Mayor Peters said that he could not speak for the future use of Ruepp Electric, but when the Town gets the internal problems rectified, he would not hesitate to use this ccmpany. The Mayor said that what we had was a cc~ptete breakdown in our syst~n. -6- Mayor Peters moved to table the two budget requests to have the Finance Director name the account frc~ which the funds are to be taken, seconded by Deputy Mayor Tiezzi, passed unanimously. Additions to Aqenda 1. Mayor Peters moved to add a Tree Removal bid to the agenda, seconded by Deputy Mayor McQuade, passed unanimously. Mayor Peters moved to award the contract to Clem's Tree Service, low bidder, in the amount of $85.00 per hour, seconded by Deputy Mayor Tiezzi, passed unanimously. 2. Mayor Peters moved to add a request of the Historic District Cc~ssion to the Agenda, seconded byDeputyMayor McQuade, passed The Mayor said that Richard Hudson, of the Oa,,~¥,{ssion, came in to see him requesting funds to pay for the balance on the sign they ordered for the Historic District. He said that this has been an on going project for four years and one year the money in the sign account ~ras not used before the end of a fiscal year and was put back into the general fund. The Mayor then made a motion that the sum of $330 be allocated from the T.I.P. account to pay for the balance owed on tb~ sign, seconded by Deputy Mayor McQuade, passed unanimously. 3. Mayor Peters moved to add a discussion of the foreclosure proceedings on the National Automatic property to the agenda, by Deputy Mayor McQuade, passed unanimously. seconded The Mayor said that he, A1 Scapellati, Tax Collector, and Attorney Charles Williams, who represented the Town in this matter, attended the foreclosure on Saturday. He said that the Town was owed $80,000 in back taxes and there were $8,000 in legal fees. He said that no one else bid on the property, so he on the advise of Attorney Williams, bid $88,000 to protect the Town's interests. Before bidding, the Mayor said that he got the referee to agree that the Town has sixty days to get the approval of the necessary., boards and cut,L~ssions and a Town Meeting, and if it does not receive all of the necessary approvals the bid will be void. Mayor Peters said there was an envirornuental study, done by a cc,~pany that had been interested in buying this property several years ago, which stated there were possible contaminants in the soil. The Mayor said that the Assessor has put a market value of $1,355,250 on the property. Therefore, the Town has 60 days to decide if it wants to go through with the bid. The final decision rests with the Judge as to whether the Town's bid is accept_~hle. 3. Mayor Peters moved to add a discussion of the Chairman of the Inland Wetlands Cu,,,~ssion to the agenda, seconded by Deputy Mayor Y~e, passed unanimously. The Mayor moved to establish a three person cuL,L,{ttee to investigate the allegations of the on-goings of Mr. Selner. He said that he felt the cuL.,,~ttee should be cc~posed of disinterested parties, one of whcm -7- should have sc~e knowledge of w~tlands, seconded by Deputy Mayor McQuade. In the discussion that followed, Deputy Mayor Tiezzi suggested that the Corporation Counsel be involved and that the Executive Board should consider temporarily removing him as Chairman, before any action is taken against the Town as a result of what he is doing. The vote was unanimous to establish a c~'~,¥,{ttee to look into this matter. Adjou~,~nt Mayor Peters r~Dved to adjourn the ~=eting at 9:20 p.m., seconded by Deputy Mayor ~uade, passed unanimously.