Selectmen Meeting Minutes — April 13,
2009—7:00
p.m. — Memorial Hall.
Call to Order: Chairman, Manners called the meeting to order at 7:00
p.m. Other members present: Joseph Judd. Member, John Payne is away on
vacation.
Acceptance of Minutes: A motion was made by Joe to accept the minutes
of March 30, 2009 as presented. Bob seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Noteworthy News:
- Street Sweeping will take place in the village on April
22, 2009 beginning at 1:00 a.m. Residents are asked to remove their
vehicles from the streets and town-owned parking lots.
- 5th Annual Sustainable
Energy Summit, May 1-2, 2009 @ UMass Campus Center.
Department Liaison Reports:
Police Department - Joe reported that there was question as to whether
or not the town would be receiving "Police Career Incentive" monies
for FY'2008 after having reviewed a state generated report. Chief Walker
contacted the funding agency and the town will indeed be receiving
reimbursement monies for both FY'08 and FY'09.
Highway Department - Bob reported that the crew is busy performing routine
spring maintenance. He anticipates that Brook Road will be opened within
the next ten days.
OLD BUSINESS:
F.C. Solid Waste Management District RE: Spring
Bulky Waste Collection - after a great deal of discussion
and an in-depth review of the costs associated with the town's annual
spring collection in May; a motion was made by Bob to forgo the town's
May collection and participate in the Solid Waste District's "Anything
Goes" collection
scheduled for Saturday, May 16th from 9:00 a.m. until noon at the Buckland
Recreation Center. Although the Solid Waste District charges a fee
to dispose of the various items, it will save the town between $1,500
- $2,000 in container fees, disposal fees and employee overtime. Joe
seconded the motion. Motion carried.
F.R.C.O.G. RE: Proposal for FY'10
Accounting Services & Software - the Board had two separate
contract agreements presented to the town by Linda Dunlavy of the Franklin
Regional Council of Governments. The municipal accounting services agreement
is based on an average weekly service of 6 hours of week for an annual
amount of $13,428 and the second agreement encompasses the purchase of
the F.R.C.O.G.'s Town Accounting Program and data conversion for a total
cost of $3,000; and an additional $1,000 for the maintenance of software
and general ledger modules. Following review of the two agreements, a
motion was made by Joe to accept and sign said agreements with the understanding
that the Board must also receive town meeting's approval. Bob seconded
the motion. Motion carried.
Arms Library Roof RE: Estimate for Continued
Repair - Joe has asked roofing contractor, Douglas J. Wooliver & Sons,
Inc. to provide a second estimate for continued repair of the Arms Library
roof so to prevent water infiltration. The estimate in the amount of
$3,985 includes: cleaning and repairing all remaining copper joints in
gutter and cornice area; installation of new shingles where tiles are
missing on slopes; caulk masonry joints where needed; and patch copper
dome solder joints with gutter rubber. Joe is hopeful that these repairs
will stabilize the roof for 2-3 years so to allow the town to come up
with a means of paying for a full roof replacement. In order to fund
the repair, Joe recommended reducing the proposed "special purpose
stabilization account" warrant
article for the repair and replacement of town roofs by $5,000; creating
a separate warrant article specifically for the repair of the Arms library
roof. Finance Committee members Laura Sandvik, John Wheeler and Charlie
Cohn were present for the discussion and did not voice any opposition.
Final Review of Proposed FY'10 Budget & Town Meeting Warrant - Bob
briefly presented an overview the changes to the annual town meeting
warrant since the last review with the Finance Committee members. The
Board is still waiting to receive information from Arms Library trustees
relative to the final wording of their warrant article. The warrant closes
on April 16th.
NEW BUSINESS:
Annual Town Meeting RE: Town Counsel Presence - being that Donna
MacNicol has already reviewed the annual town meeting warrant and has
found it to be "legal and generally acceptable" the Board has
decided that it is not necessary to have counsel in attendance this year
as a cost saving measure. Bob will contact Donna in advance of town meeting
to discuss the Arms Library article.
LexisNexis Law Book Subscription - the town has been
a subscriber to the LexisNexis Law Book services for over 20 years so
to keep the town's collection of law books up-to-date. The town spends
approximately $2,000 annually to keep the books current. Given that the
information can be readily obtained on the internet, the Police Chief
sees no reason to keep the subscription. Following a brief discussion,
a motion was made by Joe to cancel the subscription with LexisNexis pending
a favorable discussion with the Chief. Bob seconded the motion. Motion
carried.
FY'07 CDBG Project Extension (Main Street, Phase
1) - two motions
were presented to the Selectmen by Breezeway Farm Consulting Services
for the extension of Main Street reconstruction (phase 1) as follows:
Motion #1 To extend the contract for the grant administrator until
July 31, 2009.
Bob Manners moved and Joe Judd seconded that the contract with Breezeway
Farm Consulting be extended until July 31, 2009 so to administer the
FY'07 Community Development Block Grant. Motion carried.
Motion #2 To extend the contract period of the project engineer until
June 30, 2009.
Bob Manners moved and Joe Judd seconded that the contract with Weston & Sampson
Engineering for Phase 1 of Main Street Reconstruction be extended until
June 30, 2009.
Motion carried.
Resignation of Faye Whitney, Planning Board Clerk - the Board received
a letter of resignation from Planning Board Clerk, Faye Whitney effective
April 1. Faye was hired in November on a part-time as-needed basis to
serve both the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Planning Board. In her
letter she states that her employment circumstances have changed therefore
she is no longer able to fit the Planning Board position into her schedule.
Faye does wish to retain her clerical position with the Zoning Board
of Appeals. A motion was made by Joe to accept Faye's resignation with
great regret. The motion was seconded by Bob. Before deciding whether
or not to re-advertise the position, both Bob and Joe agreed that they
would like to meet with the Planning Board to see if the clerical assistance
is really necessary. Motion passed.
7:30 p.m. Larry Jutres, Consultant and Kevin Parsons
RE: Proposed Tax Incentive Agreements for Gitsis Bridge Street Property
and Ashfield Stone, LLC. Those in attendance for the discussion
included: Assessors, James Richardson and Joseph Mattei; Finance Committee
Members, Laura Sandvik, John Wheeler and Charles Cohn.
Attorney Parsons
explained that the town approved the Gitsis parcel; located at 33 Bridge
Street as a designated "TIF" zone last
year. The designation comes with a term of 20 years; making it eligible
to bring forth a "TIF" certified project. Kevin presented a
letter of intent submitted by the Greenfield Cooperative Bank which establishes
the initial criteria for the TIF program. The Gitsis's intend to build
a two-story building which will house the Greenfield Cooperative Bank
on the first floor and residential apartments on the second floor. Construction
is slated to begin in late May with the intention of opening the bank
in December. Larry Jutres explained that the Gitsis Realty, LLC is seeking
a 10 year TIF agreement on a building with estimated construction costs
of over $1 million dollars. He further explained that the proposed tax "forgiveness" does
not apply to the existing tax base therefore there is no loss of tax
revenue to the town. The taxes on the vacant lot at present are $400
annually; when the project is completed and taxed fully; it will be generating
approximately $5,000 to $6,000 in real estate taxes alone. In order to
move this project forward, the Board of Selectmen must approve the certified
project application and bring forth a warrant article at annual town
meeting so that voters can approve a tax incremental financial agreement
between the town and Gitsis Realty, LLC. Everyone present for the discussion
appeared supportive of the Gitsis Realty, LLC proposal. Following a brief
discussion, a motion was made by Joe to accept the certified project
application submitted on behalf of the Greenfield Cooperative Bank and
Gitsis Realty, LLC; and further to bring forth related warrant articles
before town meeting voters so to approve the proposed ten-year tax increment
financing agreement. Bob seconded the motion. Motion carried.
The second proposal brought forth before the Selectmen was on behalf
of Jerry and Johanna Pratt of Ashfield Stone, LLC. The property purchased
by the Pratt's is located on the north end of Main Street next to the
Hillman's. Due to the topography of the land and the limitations set
forth by the River Protection Act and Mass Highway, it has yet to be
determined whether or not they will construct one or two buildings. Kevin
explained that the Zoning Board of Appeals approved a special permit
allowing up to 10,000 square feet of manufacturing space and 2,000 square
feet of office space and retail showroom. Estimated cost of the project
is approximately $2 million dollars. Ashfield Stone, LLC has been in
business for 22 years and can no longer meet the demand for their product
given their limited space in Ashfield. The Pratt's intend to hire 5 full-time
employees, two of them being part-time the first year. They hope to begin
construction in late summer. Everyone in attendance seemed extremely
supportive of the proposal. In order to facilitate the proposal, the
Board had to first designate the location defined as Lot 6 of Assessors
map 25 as an Economic Opportunity Area. Bob read the proposed resolution
aloud. Following the reading, Joe made a motion to authorize the creation
of Ashfield Stone Economic Opportunity Area. Bob seconded the motion.
Motion carried.
Following a brief discussion, Joe made a second motion to accept the
certified project application submitted on behalf of Ashfield Stone,
LLC, and further bring forth related warrant articles before town meeting
voters so to approve the proposed ten-year tax increment financing agreement
Bob seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Public Comment: none
Adjournment: Joe made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:45 p.m. Bob
seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Respectfully submitted,
Terry Mosher
Executive Secretary |
