Town of Amherst

Board of Selectmen

June 9, 2008
Meeting Minutes

 

Chairman Bruce Bowler called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m.  Selectmen present:  Thomas Grella, George Infanti, Reed Panasiti and Brad Galinson.  Also present:  Town Administrator Gary MacGuire and Executive Assistant Sharon Frydlo.

 

Citizens’ Forum

 

Neal Foley, 16 Eaton Road, remarked that as they probably know “most of us have gotten together on a regular basis to talk about Town things in general”.  Brad attended one with Rick Crocker and had asked that they bring questions to this table and they had a “bunch of them”.  There were seven topics with questions on each topic.  He didn’t expect them to want to respond to them then – research needed to be done and some questions asked with follow ups.  Mr. Bowler asked if they had any copies.  He handed them out to the Selectmen and asked that they be entered into the minutes.  He indicated “they did not want to catch you in a trap and some questions can go back to a past Board”.  He was there asking the questions from their group and the answers will be for the whole Town.  Mr. Bowler reported they will take this under advisement and get back to them after doing the research.  Mr. Foley remarked that they will just come to the meetings.  Mr. Bowler advised their next meeting wouldn’t be until the 30th. 

 

Appointments

Linda Kaiser

 

Linda Kaiser told the Board that she had brought a guest with her, Carol Andrews. Executive Director of the Conservation Commission Association.  She also told the Board she was there to ask why they didn’t reappoint her to the ACC.  The Chairman turned to Mr. Panasiti, the BOS Liaison – he thought Linda brought some positive information to the ACC, however, much of the information wasn’t what the members were seeking for answers to some problems, or some areas they were pursing.  There were individuals on the Commission, who would remain nameless, thought she brought certain qualities to the ACC, but she didn’t participate as a full member helping the other committees seeking answers, but rather went off raising questions about other things.  The two of them had a conversation about a year ago about her being a spokesperson for the Town and he was irritated about how she approached this as a member of the Commission.  When it came time for reappointment, he felt there was a need for a change and get other people involved in the Commission.

 

Mr. Galinson spoke of his being in the minority, about full members vs. alternate members not being permanent and volunteers.  He felt it was unfortunate that she wasn’t reappointed. 

 

Mr. Grella found it difficult appointing folks who serve on Town Boards and who were breaking regulations, such as the issue of animal control, specifically her geese running free as well as the signs she had put up in the Historic District.  Mrs. Kaiser spoke about paying several hundred of dollars for signs regarding the Master Plan and received a letter from Charlie Tiedemann saying “it was stupid”.  Mr. Grella reminded her that everyone has to comply by the sign ordinance.  They have both State and Town laws and she chose not to comply by them and did what she pleased.  Mrs. Kaiser responded that her geese got out once or twice and she couldn’t understand why she couldn’t have chickens in her yard. 

 

Mr. Infanti’s concern was that on numerous occasions she had been very outspoken.  He spoke about her calling someone in Town indicating that she was “Linda Kaiser from the Amherst Conservation Commission”.  He reminded her that the ACC was only an advisory committee.  She called the owner of Meridian Land Services, representing herself as a Conservation Commission member, accused one of the partners in the group as being “a slippery snake”.  Mrs. Kaiser spoke of her “right to do this”.  She talked about blasting concerns as well as what was told to the Planning Board vs. what was told the ACC  compared to what Meridian Land Services presented to the Selectmen Board in a meeting she observed.  

 

Mr. Panasiti asked where Mrs. Kaiser got her information and noted she should not be accusing people unless she had the proper information.  She spoke briefly about her thoughts of having a Trail Commission.  She then remarked that they had a Planning Board that wasn’t meeting the rules.  Mr. Infanti remarked that the Planning Board was not made up of all builders and developers with Mrs. Kaiser naming members and their background trade.  Mr. Infanti felt this was an insult to the people who had spent many hours of their time for the Town with her accusing them of being biased.  Mrs. Kaiser indicated she “was not accusing them – it was a statement”.  The Planning Board also had the job of representing the citizens.  Mr. Infanti felt she was wrong about the Planning Board and the developers and it was an insult.  She represented herself as a Conservation Commission member and “bad mouthed people”, he said this was the “final straw for me”. 

 

There was a brief discussion between Mrs. Kaiser and Mr. Infanti regarding black walnut trees.  Mrs. Kaiser indicated there was no one on the ACC who was taking an extra step.  Mr. Bowler remarked that they have a representative to the Planning Board.  Mr. Infanti noted that there were nights when Mrs. Kaiser did not stop talking and he felt the Planning Board listened to what she said and he did not always disagree with her.  Mrs. Kaiser remarked that she was not going to sit there and not say anything – there was too much going on under the table.  She added that there were rules about density, about trees, etc. when she was on the Planning Board for ten years and it was a very different construction than what it is today.  She talked about what upset her the most on the Lowe’s project.

 

In response to Mr. Bowler’s remark that “she was going on and on” on unrelated to the issue, she asked what was the status of impact fees.  Mr. Galinson reported that the March Town Meeting approved a consultant and on July 1st, or there about, they will put together a RFP that will set the rules and the Planning Board will be involved.  Mrs. Kaiser stepped down and thanked the Selectmen. 

 

Carol Andrews, representing the Association of Conservation Commissions, told the Selectmen she was happy to be a resource to them.  She asked the Selectmen to take an interest in protecting their resources and appreciated the time the ACC put in.  They had designated money to protect land and applauded everything they were doing. 

 

Mr. Foley commented that he didn’t know what happened with Linda, but was seeing a bit of a different trend with volunteers.  He thought it happened with Ways & Means and Dr. Starke.  Mr. Bowler advised he should take this up with Bob Schaumann.

 

Board & Commission Interviews

Susan Towner – Heritage Commission

 

Susan told the Selectmen she lived at 74 Boston Post Road and was present to be considered for the Heritage Commission.  She has a long standing desire to preserve the history of the Town – its land and buildings and the need to pass it down for future generations.  She spoke briefly of her involvement in various activities and doing research for the survey that will be coming up that will be shared with the entire Town and future residents.  Board members spoke of her being a valuable asset with Mr. Bowler adding she came highly recommended by the Chairman.

 

Mary Mahar – Heritage Commission

 

Mary told the Board she lived at 11 Pinetop and had just finished writing a grant for the Heritage Commission to do a survey of properties in Town and will not know the outcome until July or August.  It was important to identify certain areas in Town.  Mr. Grella spoke of her involvement in the survey and her tremendous interest in getting it started.  He mentioned that five of them had toured the Tracking Station and the Air Force explained how they want to detonate ordnances.  They also were shown several homesteads as well things they want to protect.  Mary added that what they want to identify were items of historical value.  Board members spoke of her being a valuable asset and that grant writing was a rare talent and was appreciated.  Again Mr. Bowler added that Will Ludt spoke very highly of her.

 

Sandra Fraser – Heritage Commission

 

Sandy had lived at 89 Boston Post Road, now at 13 Courthouse Road and has been in Amherst since 1972.  She brought up five children and lived in three antique homes in the Village.  She told the Board she was interested in preserving the history of Amherst, in the 150th Anniversary of the Brick School and    in the 250th Celebration of the Town.  She was Vice Chairman of the Questers and had put in all the flowers around t he Library.  Board members spoke of her tremendous job in renovating three homes, that she had deep roots and had done a remarkable job. 

 

Mr. Grella moved that Susan Towner be appointed to the Heritage Commission for one year as an alternate members, second by Mr. Infanti.  Vote: Unanimous.

 

Mr. Grella moved that Sandra Fraser be appointed to the Heritage Commission for a term of two years as an alternate, second by Mr. Infanti.  Vote: Unanimous.

 

Mr. Grella moved that Mary Mahar be appointed to a three year term as an alternate member to the Heritage Commission, second by Mr. Infanti.  Vote: Unanimous.

 

Appointment

Trustees of Trust Funds – Review of New Policies

 

Peter Bergin, Paul Spiess and Andrew Pataky met with the Board.  Mr. Bergin told the Selectmen that in March Andrew was elected as a new Trustee and Paul was appointed to replace a Trustee that resigned.  During their first meeting they talked about setting up policies and procedures and wanted to share them with Sharon and the School Department.  This was delegated to Paul. 

 

Mr. Spiess explained when he took over, he asked for the policies and procedures, found it was by “institutional memory” and Peter had suggested he draft something up.   The first thing he did was to go to the RSA’s to define the various duties and funds.  They wanted to codify the duties in one place and recognize those duties.  It speaks to a more rigorous procedure and request for release of funds and requires appropriate documentation.  This was a positive step forward and nothing “earth shattering”.  There was one more element – they had not actually written an investment policy, but have requested policies from other Towns and would like to submit this at a later date.  By the end of the month, it is on their agenda to submit to them the investment policy. 

 

Mr. Infanti agreed it was good to have this in writing and something that gets handed down. Mr. Spiess indicated that the reality is there is a liability and they needed to protect themselves on what happens when funds are released.  In response to questions raised, Mr. Bergin commented that the market has been very dismal since January.  The Capital Reserve Funds are put in a short term money market with others put in treasury funds with the Bank of America.  The gentleman who they deal with has been there a number of years and it is a good institution.  The Trustees do not actually invest the funds, but it is up to the Trustees and the Institution they work with.  What has recently passed in the legislature is to allow the Trustees to invest in mutual funds rather than bank funds.  Relative to audits, the Trustees have to file annually a MS9 and MS10 to the Charitable Trust [and DRA] and give them information on where they are investing the funds.  The Capital Reserves have approximately $825,000 and the other Trust Funds approximately $2.7 million dollars. 

 

Mr. Spiess explained that historically the Trustees were making stock picks and it was determined that none of them had time or the expertise to do this, they let the firm making the decisions do the investing for them and meet with them several times a year.  The Trustees made the decision on how much would be in stocks and equities and how much would be in bonds, etc.  They see their job as to make more global decisions but not pick where the actual stocks come from.  This is the reason for the policies and procedures.  Mr. Bergin indicated dealing with municipalities was the gentleman they worked was his area of expertise.  They invited three other banks in the State to present what they would do if they handled the Town’s funds, they were all very competitive and they decided to stay with the Bank of America and they will review this every three years. 

 

Mr. Spiess stressed this responsibility is required of them by statute.  Mr. Bergin added that the only money they can spend is the money they earn.  Mr. MacGuire told the Board he had met with Peter and Paul on the initial draft with the final draft in front of them had minor changes.  He also discussed it with Merri and Sharon.  It was a great document they should have had all along. 

 

Recreation Commission – Review of New By Laws

 

Recreation Commission Chairman, Dana Redmond and Recreation Director Nancy McMillan met with the Selectmen to discuss the change in the By Laws.  The other item he wanted to talk to the Board about was that back in 2005, the entire Commission was appointed to a three year term that ends in June.  They have asked the Commissioners if they want to be reappointed to send a request to the Selectmen.  They would like the Selectmen to approve the appointments by July 1.  Mr. Bowler advised that their next meeting wasn’t until June 30. 

 

Mr. Panasiti remarked that a lot of effort and time went into this and when it finally came out Bruce had pointed out some things and those changes that are being made are for the betterment of Recreation.  Mr. Galinson appreciated in the mission statement the mentioning of providing environmental education. He suggested that a comma be put before “and” in the first paragraph under Committees.  He also commented on the last paragraph above “Vice Chairperson” relating to the Chair executing document or documents on behalf of the Amherst Recreation Commission.  While he did not think anyone disagreed about what it says, there are certain documents the Commission signs and always signs, but there are other documents that would have to go before the Town Administrator or the Board of Selectmen.   This paragraph was somewhat vague and he felt it should be more specific.  He gave a brief example of what he was suggesting. 

 

Mr. Grella was glad to see the By Laws, felt a lot went into them, it was a great job and he could understand it.  Mr. Infanti’s only concern was about attendance – if someone was only making 50% of the meetings, why short change the Commission.  He thought 50% was not enough.  If he had someone on his committee, he would want him there more than 50% of the time.  Commissioner Bob Heaton advised that historically they had no provisions.  Commissioner Kim Parrent added that since they had no policy in the past, they thought they may want to start at one level as a starting point.  She felt this was “an evergreen document”.  Mr. Infanti remarked that to protect Recreation, he had no problem if they want to try 50%, but they were cheating the rest of the Commission.  Mr. Heaton commented that this was 50% better than what they had in the past.  Mr. Infanti felt the Commission should give them a document of who has not been attending when they appoint.  Mr. Bowler indicated he sent to Gary his concerns which he shared with him the day before.  He thought they had done a tremendous amount of work and he thanked them for accepting the changes and recommendations.  In response to the Commissions request, Mr. Bowler advised their plan should be accepted by July 1, but they may not have all Board members approved by July 1 since they may not have all their Board member’s requests by that time, - they may have them by the Selectmen’s second meeting in July. 

 

Mr. Panasiti moved to approve the current By Laws as amended by the Board of Selectmen and as accepted by the Recreation Commission, seconded by Mr. Galinson.  Vote:  Unanimous. 

 

Mr. Bowler asked if the membership was going down to seven members to represent all sports.  Mr. Redmond explained they were going to Commission membership with a broader recreation agenda without a biased one. 

 

National Sclerosis Society – Permission to Use Village Green

 

Mr. Bowler indicated this request had been taken care of – he had contacted Amherst School Board Chairman Dwight Brew and with his help the Society will be able to use Upper Wilkins to do what they had done in the past without a problem.  Mr. Bowler publicly thanked Dwight Brew for his intervention, so that the Sclerosis Society could continue utilizing the School.  Mr. MacGuire added that Heidi, from the Sclerosis Society was very appreciative of both Boards working together. 

 

Update on 2005 Tax Payment Plans

 

Mr. Bowler read the memo from the Tax Collector, as requested by the Town Administrator, pertaining to the status of five 2005 tax deeded properties with one missing the deadline.  Mr. Infanti remarked that the Tax Collector was keeping abreast of what was going on and will watch the deadlines of the second and final deadline.  Mr. Bowler remarked that hopefully by their July meeting they will know more.  Mr. Infanti said he would agree to continue as is, with the Tax Collector monitoring the payments and keeping the Board of Selectmen informed. 

 

Other Business

 

Mr. Panasiti reported there was a Conservation Commission meeting Sunday night and there is a Recreation Commission meeting on Tuesday.  Mr. MacGuire reported the Department Heads have been working on saving energy in the near future.  Mr. Galinson was going to give an update on impact fees, but it had already been done.  Mr. Grella reported there will be a Road Funding Analysis Committee meeting on Thursday. 

 

Mr. Infanti reported there was a Planning Board meeting last week and they were still reviewing some subdivisions.  He reminded the viewing audience of the upcoming Master Plan roundtable meetings on June 12, 18, 24 and 26.  It appears that in the last few weeks more interest is being shown, but the reality is that the meetings are winding down.  He had a sense that there will be a larger turnout on June 18.  If someone has any input, it is imperative they come to these meetings. 

 

Mr. MacGuire reported that the Department Heads are talking about things they will have to do insofar as fuel costs and heating and cooling the buildings.  The Town Hall has programmed thermostats, but doesn’t get enough ventilation and becomes an oven pretty quick.  They have some issues involving the windows and lead paint and opening them.  Most days they will be reducing the temperature.  Mr. Bowler asked when they will see some fuel bids.  Mr. MacGuire was not sure they will get any because of the moving target situation that they have now.  Mr. Bowler reported on the SRLD meeting held last Thursday.  The trailers should be here at the end of July or middle of August.  Mr. MacGuire advised that the footings were in at the Transfer Station.  Mr. Bowler mentioned that the last thing will be the installation of the big cement pad and everything is coming along well.  He will not be able to attend the GSOP meeting on the 12th , but when he receives the minutes he will make sure they are in the “read file”. 

 

Minutes

 

Mr. Infanti moved to accept the minutes of May 27, 2008, second by Mr. Grella amended as follows:  Line 74 – Strike “at least” and replace with “these”; strike “the” before “dues”.  Vote: Unanimous.

 

Mr. Infanti moved to accept the minutes of May 29, 2008, second by Mr. Grella amended as follows:  Line 15 – Insert “Barbara’s” before “husband”.  Vote: 4-0-1, Mr. Galinson abstained.

 

Mr. Infanti moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:40 p.m., second by Mr. Grella.  Vote: Unanimous.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

Sharon L. Frydlo

Executive Assistant