Board of Selectmen Minutes 10/15/2007
At the meeting of the Randolph Board of Selectmen held Monday, October 15, 2007, the following were present: Vice Chairman Richard Wells, James Burgess, Jr. and Maureen Kenney, Brian P. Howard and Town Counsel Paul DeRensis. Meeting opened by Mr. Wells at 7:06 pm.
Mr. Burgess said the opening prayer and Ms. Kenney lead the Pledge of Allegiance.
(A) Community Speaks
Judith Gangel wanted to remind people that Saturday, October 27, 2007, is the Annual Townwide Clean up Day from 9- Noon, meet at the Town Hall. You can reach her to sign up to help or with questions at recyclingjudy@yahoo.com. She also asked the Board to officially accept donations received from various community leaders. Donations were received from Roche Brothers, the Lombardos Companies and Bank of Canton towards the event t-shirts. Donations were received from Stacy’s Pita Chips, Stop & Shop of Braintree, Staples of Avon, Building 19 Foundation and K-Mart of Braintree towards food and prizes. Motion by Mr. Burgess, second by Ms. Kenney to accept the donations; voted 3-0 of those members present.
Pat Connors- Randolph Fire Department- Wanted to remind people of the Department’s cell phones for charity drive. He wanted to thank the community for their donations and to ask that they continue donating PDA’s, phones, batteries and charges. Money generated through the recycling is used to buy calling cards for soldiers. RFD is about 100 phones shy of their goal. Watertown Dept. started the care package program for all active duty firefighters serving oversees.
Joe Burke said thank you for putting his article in the warrant regarding residency for appointment to committees, boards and commissions.
(B) Correspondence (read by Mr. Burgess)
Letter from Gerry Buckley of Comcast regarding additional HDTV channels being offered. Effective November 1, 2007, these new channels will be available and other channels will be moved to accommodate the new additions.
Letter received from John McVeigh, Director of Public Health, supporting Randolph Community TV and their accomplished staff. He would like to see RCTV continue and expand their coverage and capabilities.
Letter received from Charles Michaud, Director of the Turner Free Public Library also in support of Randolph Community TV and their accomplished staff. He feels they are a valuable asset to the community.
Letter received from the MMA with congratulations on being selected to participate in the MMA’s Statewide 6th Grade Essay Contest. Packets were sent to the schools. The MMA was looking to the Selectmen to help promote the event in the community.
Letter received from Debra Ouellette, Chair of the Board of Recreation, the Board has not received any of the previous records for their department and they would like the Selectmen to look into the matter and advise them. They also provided a list of upcoming events.
Mark Kittredge, Chair of the Board of Health is looking for information on the newly formed Recycling Committee, with regard to its mission, goals, budget and what government body it answers to. He is looking for a letter in response.
Letter received from the US Census Bureau regarding the Boundary and Annexation Survey Advance Response letter and form that was sent out. Respond if there are any changes. Mr. Burgess mentioned that he also received a letter from the State asking for a liaison between the State and the Town. Mr. Howard attended a conference a couple of months ago and the School Committee had expressed an interest in being included, since their funding from the State hinges upon the census information. They are also trying to start early and they are gathering information in pieces instead of trying to do it all at once.
Letter received from Rena Baker, Director of Elder Affairs informing the Board of they did receive the grant for the Bi-lingual Caregiver Support Program. This was accepted when the Board voted to file the application.
Temple Beth Am, requested a one day permit to sell beer on Saturday, October 20th from 7 pm-12 midnight at their Texas Hold‘em event. Motion by Mr. Burgess to grant the permit, second by Ms. Kenney; voted 3-0 of those members present.
Letter received from Sandra Pugsley, regarding the safety of children at the intersection of North Main Street and Pond/Reed Street and the need for a crossing guard there. The Board has already begun looking into this situation.
Letter received from Richard Golob of the United Nations of Greater Boston asking the Town to get involved with celebrations to mark the 62nd Anniversary of the UN on October 24th. Motion by Mr. Wells to accept the United Nations Day proclamation making October 24th as United Nations Day in the Town of Randolph, Second by Ms. Kenney; voted 2-1 of those members present with Mr. Burgess in opposition.
(C) Public Hearing- Underground Utilities- 7:15
Mr. Burgess read letter sent to abutters (Business Owners and Home Owners of the Main Street Area regarding Underground Utilities.) opening the public hearing.
Process began in the fall of 2005 at Town Meeting, when they voted to put utilities underground in West Corners and Crawford Square areas of Town. Project put into pieces due to its size. Right now the town is looking at the Crawford Square Area to be done first. They have been working with Verizon, Comcast and National Grid. Have plans from all the three groups.
Michael Cooney-Comcast
Comcast currently rents space on the telephone poles. So whenever a pole goes away they have to follow suit. He has worked on putting utilities underground in Quincy. He suggests doing all of the work at once with one contractor doing all the work. It makes it easier for everyone.
Joe Cardinal- National Grid
Memorial Parkway currently has underground street lighting right now, but that is the only location in Town right now. The time frame for the project has not been determined at this time, they need to know who the company will be doing the digging; he suggests having one person dig the hole and have everyone go underground at the same time. Mr. Burgess also mentioned they are trying to tie the project into the PWED grant, which would allow them to put in sidewalks as well. The sidewalks would have to go in after the lines go underground. Mr. Burgess noted that different studies have already been done (traffic, etc...) This project is in the very early stages. The Utilities will need to see property lines when tying customers into the new lines. The first phase of the project will
include Crawford Square, South and North Main, Short and North Streets.
Ms. Kenney asked how many other communities have already gone underground; Quincy has done some, Holbrook has looked into it, Cohasset had looked into it, but never went through with it. Not many communities have done this. Canton is the closest town. Goal is to beautify the downtown area. It is a long process; you need to dig the hole, put the duct work in, and change all the connections; you can only do some much each year because of the budget and the disruption. Each resident that receives a bill will receive a surcharge. The road won’t necessarily be dug up the whole time. Some repaving will be covered through the PWED grant.
Ms. Kenney questioned who will be in charge of the project from the Town, the Town Planner? Mr. Burgess informed the Board that they would have a Clerk of the Works and their only job would be this job. Planner would play more of a role in the PWED grant part of the project. Ms. Kenney asked if the project will it take 5 years? No one thought it would take that long.
Mr. Burgess stated that they may have to bring wires to the back of buildings instead of going underground, depends on what works better.
Public Questions:
Ted Smith, VFW Commander asked who will pay for those affected to hook up to the new line. None of this is in the bylaw yet, the Town can decide. Usually the utilities are responsible. Currently it is up to the owners, so they will need to look at the bylaw and make needed changes so if they want it will be up to the utilities and paid for through surcharges. He also asked if the project will be coming down Highland Ave. and Diauto Drive, yes they will be affected.
Chase & Sons suggested that they may have to hire a separate contractor to supply the tie in to the street. Town Counsel, Paul DeRensis said there is already a joint agreement between the utilities to hire a single contractor. He has done this type of project in other towns. He wanted to know who will pay for the connection. Payment of connections currently is not included in the bylaw. The source of funding is currently up to the owner of the property instead of the utilities.
Lou Bellofatto, Randolph Package Store, he thought this meeting was to show what the plans are going to be for each business, time factors, location of the cutting, etc…
Mr. Burgess clarified that the law states the town has to have a public hearing and each utility has to show plans, then agree on an individual contractor, then work out all details and finally go back to the owners at another hearing for the specifics and construction schedule for individual owner issues. Mr. Burgess feels that the Board and the utilities all agree that one clerk, one contractor, and one engineer will be hired. The BOS has to decide where underground the lines will be run; first they have to check with the Department of Public Works and the Bay State Gas Company to see where the various pipes are. Then they can look at the utilities’ plans and decide where they need to run the actual lines.
Town Counsel, Mr. DeRensis reiterated that the purpose of tonight’s meeting is to get input to help design the project. These are preliminary plans tonight. The Town needs to know what those affected want to see, what advice they have on how to proceed; there will be more votes and hearings to come.
Mr. Burgess stated that if the VFW has just made changes, they need to make the Selectmen aware of them so they can give the information to the engineer. The Town also needs to have awareness of needs for the future, not just for now. What do you see your needs will be in the future. Mr. Howard is the current contact person. He asked to put comments, question or concerns in writing in order to have records. He also reiterated that this is the preliminary stages of the process and they want everyone involved now to prevent problems later.
Joe Burke asked about surcharges, currently the surcharge is 7% of the distribution portion, 2% on both Comcast and Verizon.
Jim Campbell brought up that Crawford Square is not shown on the map, so the VFW doesn’t know where they stand. Mr. Burgess let people know that maps will be made available; the VFW is on another map. Mr. Campbell also asked when they would break ground. Mr. Burgess hopes that it will be next year, he would like to have decisions made by end of December. State mandates have caused the VFW to expend a lot of money, therefore, Mr. Campbell wanted to know if the Board will motion to amend the bylaws, to have funding paid for by utilities instead of individuals. Mr. Burgess responded that the Board of Selectmen will have to vote on this issue.
Judy Gangel agreed with the Master Plan Implementation Committee’s presentations about the modernization of the downtown area. She is in favor, because businesses will want to come here and thus will expand the tax base. She asked Mr. Burgess to touch on a few things. With the burying of the lines, she asked the utilities to take into consideration green and environmentally friendly solutions when going underground.
Mr. Burgess mentioned that South Braintree Square and other communities will give an example of what this project will look like when finish. Joe Sullivan of Braintree is the contact since he has already done this. One short fall other communities warn Randolph against was not keeping the abutters informed.
Bob Chapman asked about 73 North Main Street, Computer Escapes, currently the lines come in through the back, he wanted to know how they will be affected. National Grid is not sure if their lines will still be above ground and connected in the back, they will have to discuss this with the engineer hired. They are hoping to know individual plans by Christmas.
Gloria Steinman of 21 Isabelle Circle wanted to know what kind of lighting will be used when the poles come down. National Grid stated that it is up to the town to design the lighting and usually they use something ornamental. Mr. Burgess spoke for the town stating that safety is a concern. They need to make sure the illuminates are correct for the area and different areas will need different types of lighting. Cartwright’s put in decorative lighting in their parking area; this type of lighting has been considered. Lumens need to be checked to make sure the light is being directed in the correct path; a lot of lights use mirrors to help reflect the light down. She also wanted to know what the surcharge will be. It will be your bill times 2%.
Jay Maclou- stated that the PWED grant applied for is for $2.3 Million, is this all decorative. Can this Crawford Square project be divided into smaller segments? Town Counsel spoke to having a contract with one contractor to get all the duct work and trenching done. Changeovers can be done at a later time. However, the poles can’t come down until all the wires have been removed and placed underground. Change over time depends on if and when all the businesses decide to change over. Also construction time will affect the change over time. Duct work needs to be done all at once, for cost purposes. He asked if the PWED covers all the Town wants to have done. Mr. Burgess responded no, but there are other grants that can be applied for and they can break the town
down and do fewer areas at one time.
Larry Hennessey of Trinity Church asked if this is a done deal. Town Meeting voted for this, so the project is set to go; unless Town Meeting changed their mind. He suggested having only one engineer for the project. Mr. Burgess said this is a comment from Canton as well. The person hired needs to be open-minded and strong-willed to ensure that this project will go smoothly and as the Town wants it to. Mr. Burgess and Town Counsel both reiterated that the utilities have cooperated.
Ian Atkinson- One Love Caribbean Restaurant wanted to know if the change over will happen during the day. Mr. Burgess and Joe Cardinal stated that it will depend on the business but will need to coordinate with those involved to find a convenient time for everyone.
Jim Campbell asked about the manholes, he doesn’t want there to be digging all around the property looking for the tie in either.
Chase & Sons also brought up the question of who is paying for the affected businesses to tie into the underground lines and the breaking of the ground.
Ted Smith wanted to know if the town is going to start the work without knowing what the state is going to give the Town through the PWED. Mr. Burgess said yes, because we can go to Town Meeting in the spring to make any necessary changes. Have been doing the right things to improve the town’s scores, which determine what the town will get for funding of various projects. Town Counsel added that there is plenty of time; this is only step 1 of who knows how many steps. The payment of things doesn’t need to be decided at this time. Mr. Smith ended stating that it’s the last step that will kill you; you need to think about the last step all along the way.
Lou Bellofatto wanted to know if the Town can assure that they won’t run out of money. Mr. Burgess said yes, he can assure that the Town won’t run out of money, because the taxpayers are paying for it and they will continue to be assessed surcharges until the project is paid for.
Judy Gangel inquired to what happens if someone refuses to connect? Town Counsel stated that there are legal statues in place to prevent this from happening. The business won’t get electricity; the poles are coming down, whether they connect or not; so they’ll have to tie in.
Mr. Howard will be making a link on the town website to provide updates and opportunities for questions. People can also email him at randolphclerk@aol.com. No PWED money will be spent until after the underground utilities project is complete; this includes sidewalks.
Marybeth Nearen wanted to know if there are any grants that would help businesses connect that can’t afford it. Mr. Burgess explained not at this time, but they are working to find these types of grants.
Joe Burke asked what happens if a water or gas pipe is broken, who pays for it to be repaired. Bond should be attached to the project to cover this type of thing. The contractor must have liability insurance.
Lou Bellofatto informed the Board that the abutters are nervous that there will be more than one hole and that the utilities are not going to work together to complete the project.
Joe Cardinal from National Grid let everyone know that all the utilities agree that it will be one duct bank, separate places inside the bank for each company, but the ground will only be opened once. Town Counsel said there are informal preliminary agreements already in place.
Mr. Burgess is confident that there will be one hole in the ground that will accommodate everyone.
Hearing will be continued to work on melding the different plans of the three groups involved with what the Town is looking for. The hearing is continued until Nov. 7th at 7:30 pm.
Executive Secretary’s report-
Nov. 8th is the continuance of the South Village 40B proposal before the Zoning Board of Appeals at the Senior Center on Fencourt Avenue at 7pm.
Randolph Community TV is in negotiations and the process has been successful so far.
This coming Wednesday, the State Legislature will be hearing Randolph’s request for bylaw changes regarding write-ins and absences for the Town Meeting members. Mr. Howard has been in contact with Senator Joyce’s office.
Liaisons-
Mr. Burgess wanted to say he is fine and thank you to all the well wishes for their concerns and cards following his car accident on Columbus Day.
Mr. Wells asked Mr. Howard to contact the Police Chief tomorrow regarding Maple Street and the parking on northerly side of the street. People are parking on the sidewalks during the day and the children unable to walk on the sidewalks and are forced onto the streets.
Ian Atkinson- One Love Caribbean Market wanted to get permission to open a market next to LazerTag on Condlin Drive. It turned out that he needed the Board of Health, not the Selectmen; he was in the wrong building. Mr. Howard will talk to John McVeigh tomorrow and see how Mr. Atkinson can proceed from here. Mr. Howard gave his contact information and asked Mr. Atkinson to call him in the morning.
At 8:46 pm, Mr. Burgess motioned to adjourn, second by Ms. Kenney; voted 3-0 of those members present.
______________________________- Clerk of the Board
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