Back to Board of Selectmen Meeting Minutes
June 1, 2009
Special Session 9:15 am
Ms. Burns, Mr. Rabuffo, Mr. Riley
Audit Committee Update
Mr. Rabuffo explained that the Temporary Audit Committee consists of Kevin Paicos, Jack Manning, Greg MacCune, George Alexakos and himself. The draft RFP is available and responses are due by June 22. Ms. Burns asked if the Temporary Audit Committee would be recommending formation of a permanent committee and Mr. Rabuffo said that most towns do not have such a group but it is the current thinking that this would be another way to demonstrate that the Town is paying attention to its financial business. Ms. Burns asked that the Town Administrator prepare a response to the letter received from O’Connor and Drew.
Naming Policy Development Committee
Mr. Claypoole submitted his recommendations for a naming policy committee. Christine Smith asked if it is the overall goal to bring the manner in which we name things to town meeting. She also asked how this would address private fundraising under this policy, i.e., bricks, benches, etc. The Naming Policy Committee would be the group to make recommendations on this. Linda Hill noted that the School Committee has a policy that deals with items over a particular dollar amount.
Voted - to accept the proposed charge as amended for the NNaming Policy Development Committee.
Ms. Rockoff asked that the Board as senior executives of the Town step things back. She said that she is aware that there is differing opinion as to the selectmen’s role in naming school facilities. She remarked that the community is quite divided over this. She suggested that rather than take this to a special town meeting, it would be a good idea to pretend that there has been no naming for the school and open it up to a new process. It is her understanding that a committee had been put together and those on the naming committee left with the idea that this would be the East School with the library to be named after Dot Galo. She also said that the process was not done openly and the community as a whole should be involved and it would be best to start over at square one.
M r. Paicos said that school committees have the right under the statute to name properties under their control. He noted that once a board, committees or commission entitled to name things has named something no other board can undo that. Ms. Rockoff said she could not believe that any of the townspeople would feel badly if this were to be revisited. Ms. Burns commented that people are often surprised to find out how decentralized our government is. She also noted that Town Counsel opined that the Board of Selectmen could not undo the School Committee’s action, and that any Board of Selectmen that does not take town counsel’s opinion would not be a good Board of Selectmen, because they would be putting town assets at risk. Mr. Rabuffo said that under C. 73 of the Massachusetts General Laws there is a phrase that says “unless the town otherwise directs;” in this case the town would be Town Meeting.
Ms. Hill commented that when a group is put together to make a recommendation, it is just that - a recommendation. She said that she does not think this is as divisive an issue as claimed. She also questioned the process for public input on the recent naming of the fields in Bare Cove Park. Ms. Smith said for someone to imply that the way this happened was backstabbing or personal, is wrong. She also said that there is an email circulating about a special town meeting. She was at a sporting event and a member of the Advisory Committee was collecting signatures for a special town meeting to rename the school. This move to revisit the decision is what is causing the divisiveness. Dr. Eldridge remarked that a lot of people in this town are upset. She said this is a matter of decency. People have worked hard for this school and an open meeting on this needed.
Mr. Riley pointed out that the decision brought to Ms. Smith was a Board of Selectmen opinion. Mr. Rabuffo said that town counsel has opined that the School Committee has acted properly but under the law if the Town wants to change that decision there is a process to do so.
It was suggested to let the committee go forward and see what it comes up with. Ms. Burns suggested that the Board request a report by October 31st. Those interested in serving on this committee should submit a talent bank application to the Board of Selectmen. The Board will try to have some names by next week.
Cable Access Studio Contract
Ms. Burns asked her fellow board members their thoughts on the cable access studio and whether there should be a non-profit set up as most towns do or if there should be a prior step. Ms. Burns said that she had requested a memo from Guy Conrad as to why they made the choice that they did in recommending a non-profit. Mr. Rabuffo said the Advisory Committee would be looking at this issue tomorrow night and that, in his opinion, it is worthy of public discussion and an exploration of alternatives. A lot of the leg work has been done already. There are two Advisory Committee meetings scheduled and the Committee may have a preliminary opinion by the end of June. One possibility is that the Library might be able to do this kind of work. The Library will be discussing this on Wednesday evening. Mr. Rabuffo suggested that the Cable Committee come in after Advisory has reviewed it and the Library has determined whether or not they could be a player.
Ms. Burns suggested that it would be good to find out what the universe of possibilities is. Mr. Paicos said there is a crisis of confidence in the way the process has gone. The contracts are well thought out; the Committee has done a good job; the crisis is that communication has not been as rich as it could have been. At this point the only way to get back to a level of confidence is to meet with the Committee and discuss of the various options, how these were arrived at and what the vetting process was. Mr. Paicos said the dialogue will go a long way to restoring confidence that this has been well thought out. He also made a second suggestion that the Committee obtain special counsel to give a second opinion. He suggested Bill August and Peter Epstein since they have done about 300 cable licenses in the state. Mr. Paicos recommended a list of the questions to answered be compiled and sent them to the special counsel and then they can come in and meet with the Board.
Ms. Lauter said one of the issues is that there appears to be money coming back for capital. She asked how much money is coming in and where is it going. She said no one on Capital Outlay Committee was aware of this.
The Board agreed that the first step would be to get a second opinion of counsel and to determined the universe of possibilities and the pros and cons of each. Mr. Paicos said that the legal costs can be paid from the cable access fees.
Voted - to direct the Town Administration to seek outside counsel to examine cable television opportunities and questions.
Selectmen’ s Code of Conduct
Ms. Burns noted that when she joined the board there was no code of conduct. Ms. Tully then collected other towns’ policies and codified those and the previous Board of Selectmen adopted that code. The Board reviewed the policy as it currently exists and made some revisions. Mr. Paicos explained that members of the Board can only exercise authority as a board, not as individuals. He said this is particularly important in the liaison role. Individuals, staff, and committees may take one selectman’s opinion as being that of the full board. The Board will continue the review of this code at the next meeting.
DPW Superintendent Recruitment
Mr. Paicos asked the Board if there was consensus about the DPW Director recruitment. He said he would like to begin the advertisement process today by drafting the advertisement itself and forwarding it to publications. In order to complete this process
fully it would likely be mid-September before someone is in place. The Board agreed that a degree in civil engineering may not be required but it could be listed as desirable. Ms. Burns said the Board needs to have a discussion about what it is looking for and to
cast the widest possible net for the best pool of candidates. She commented that if you limit it in the advertising, you will limit the pool. The Board agreed on an engineering degree or equivalent experience.
Voted - to authorize the Town Administrator to advertise the DPW Superintendent position and bring a job description to the Board.
Meeting adjourned 12:00 Noon
Betty Foley, Clerk