Town Council Meeting Minutes – August 2, 2006
Meeting opened at 7:00 PM by Barbara Barry, Council President.
Roll Call – Barbara Barry, present; Robert Haveles, present; John Sasur, Jr., present; Keith Parent, present; Matt Lovell, present; Michael Magiera, present; George Backus, present. Absent were Peter Pappas and John Dinuovo. Also present was Patricia Kennedy, Executive Assistant.
Pledge of Allegiance – All
Consent of the Agenda Order – Moved and seconded to approve. Vote was 7-0.
Visitors Comments (for items not on the agenda) – none
Minutes of Preceding Town Council Meeting – July 5,2006 – Moved and seconded to accept these minutes with amendments. Vote was 5 yes; 2 abstain.
Old Business:
7:10 PM - Public Hearing – Proposed Ordinance 2007-01- Hearing opened at 7:10 PM by Barbara Barry, Council President. No members of the public were present and no objections were voiced.
Council Vote on Proposed Ordinance 2007-01 - Moved and seconded to accept this Ordinance. Vote was 7-0 in favor.
New Business:
Appointment to Historical Commission – The Town Council sub-committee for appointments reviewed the Town Manager’s appointments to the Palmer Historical Commission and recommended to the Council Robert Ring as a member and Helen McDonald as an associate member. Council moved and seconded to approve both appointments. Vote was 7-0 in favor.
Correspondence – Mrs. Barry acknowledged receipt of a letter from George Toppi to the Council with regard to excessive noise and speed on Main St. in Bondsville. Mr. Toppi stated that he wanted the Council to consider a noise ordinance for motor vehicles not to exceed certain decibels. Members of the Council stated that they were sympathetic to his request, but would have to do more investigating and would have to speak with the Town Manager and the Chief of Police as to the method of enforcement of any laws to this effect. Council moved and seconded to have Mr. Fitzgerald contact Representative Smola and Senator Brewer to see if anything is being done at the State level to curtail the noise levels in for motor vehicles. Vote was 7-0 in favor.
Resolution #2007-006 – Sewer Fees – Councillor Matt Lovell is introducing a resolution to bill the Palmer Schools for sewer use beginning in Fiscal Year 2008. Since 1999, the schools have been exempt from sewer billing. Members of the Council were divided on their interpretation of this resolution and its implications with regard to billing municipal buildings. This subject was tabled until the September meeting. Council moved and seconded to ask Town Manager Fitzgerald to provide them with a list of all municipal buildings and exempt buildings as well as all schools. Vote was 7-0 in favor.
Override Discussion – Council President Barry called for a poll of the council members with regard to an override being placed on the ballot. It was originally thought that this meeting would be timely enough to vote to place override questions on the November ballot, however, it was recently learned that the Secretary of State would have had to have the questions and the specific language for such into his office in Boston by 5:00 PM on Wednesday, August 2, the date of this meeting. Therefore, any override questions that the Council would choose to place on the ballot would be too late to put on the November ballot and would require a special election with an approximate cost of upward of $5,000. Councilors Magiera, Lovell, Sasur, were not in favor of an override at this time due to the
fact that a special election would have to held for this. Mrs. Barry and Mr. Backus were not in favor of an override at this time. Mr. Haveles stated he would support an override for certain items, however, he feels that it has not been yet determined what services specifically would suffer due to underfunding and he would need more information before making any decision. Mr. Parent stated that he would not be in support of an override as long as the health insurance issue remained unresolved. No further discussion followed with regard to the override.
Sub-Committee Report – The Council sub-committee for non-tax revenue met recently to look into ways to generate funds. One option that was discussed was to ask businesses to place ads at sporting events, and sports fields. These funds would be used for field repairs and maintenance. More details will be forthcoming in future meetings. The events planning committee is looking into sponsoring a powder puff football game in the fall. Mrs. Barry reminded the sub-committees that they needed to start meeting to discuss their individual goals.
Town Manager’s Report – Mrs. Barry read excerpts from the Town Manager’s report such as new businesses locating in town, activities of various departments, a FEMA update, handicap ramp update, and employee negotiations.
Councilor’s Round Table –
George Backus was concerned with the amount of people at recent board hearings. He stated that the meeting room was at times very packed and he requested from a safety standpoint that the building inspector be requested to determine how many people this room would hold according to the State Building Code and that the maximum capacity for this room be posted on the door. He also wanted to congratulate DPW Director Richard Kaczmarczyk on doing a good job with the roads in town.
John Sasur, Jr. stated that the public should realize that services that were rendered in the past would not be as expeditious as the people might expect as there have been personnel cuts in the Police Department and the Public Works Department, as well as all town departments. The departments will do their best to answer all calls and complaints as soon as possible, but there will be delays and asked that residents exercise patience.
Robert Haveles reported that he received a draft of the new website and was looking forward to having it up and running.
Keith Parent expressed disappointment with the developers pulling out of the proposed hotel on Thorndike Street and hoped that someone else would be able to develop the site.
Michael Magiera echoed Mr. Sasur’s statement that town services may now take a bit longer and asked that residents be patient when requesting these services. He also added that residents could help by clearing storm drains near their homes or by picking up branches that may have fallen in the road. He also thanked the Palmer and Three Rivers Fire Departments for their quick work on extinguishing a fire that occurred in a building behind his home on Temple Street recently. He also congratulated Mrs. Barry on being the lead team in collecting for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.
Mrs. Barry congratulated Mark Avis, Veterans Agent, on being chosen as the aide to the National Commander of the American Legion. He will be taking a leave of absence for one year. Mrs. Barry also acknowledged the receipt of an invitation to the installation of the new Thorndike Post Office Postmaster.
Mrs. Barry read an update on road conditions as provided by the DPW director. Work will begin on Main Street in Thorndike from the High School to the intersection of 181 and Main St. such as lowering structures, reclaiming, sidewalk replacement and final blacktop application. Paving will also be performed on Olney Rd. and Rondeau Rd. as well as Christine St and Carter Street. Also the DPW has been working with Northern Tree Service to trim and remove severely damaged trees around town.
Council moved and seconded to have Town Manager Fitzgerald write to Mass. Highway Department with regard to Main St., Thorndike construction requesting that the construction of the sidewalks be completed in time for school opening on August 26, 2006 in the interest of safety for children walking to and from school in this area. Vote was 7-0.
Adjournment of Formal Session – Moved and seconded to adjourn at 8:05 PM. Vote was 7-0 in favor.
Respectfully submitted,
Patricia A. Kennedy,
Executive Assistant
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