Back to Board of Selectmen Meeting Minutes
October 6, 2009
Regular Session 7:05 pm
Ms. Burns, Mr. Rabuffo, Mr. Riley
Questions from the Public
Dick Mason of Crow Point approached the Board regarding the obstacles on the seawall that extends from Parker Driveway to Downer Avenue on Crow Point. The Conservation Commission issued a Cease and Desist Order but the hearing on non compliance to this order has not been requested at this point. Mr. Paicos informed the Board that new information has come to light that the 1947 Town Meeting voted to abandon the footpath. All the relevant information has been sent to Town Counsel and Mr. Paicos will follow up with Town Counsel and keep the neighbors apprised of progress. Michael Mullaley said there is public safety issue since children are walking under electrical wiring in order to pass. Steve McLain noted this is another case of access being blocked to a beach. Mr. Paicos said that he had asked if it was possible to send DPW down to remove the obstacles. Once assured that the Town is on solid ground, Mr. Paicos make take that approach.
Helen Selander advised the Board that her recent Comcast bill indicated that said a 4.97% increase would be charged for PEG Access. Ms. Burns explained that previously the public access channel was provided by the Norwell Studio. Comcast is limited to charge only that amount over and above what the Norwell Studio cost. The Cable Advisory Committee is following this matter.
Selectmen’s Reports
Mr. Rabuffo said he would be discussing the traffic signal at Beal Street and Sgt. Terry Drive that was required in the Special Permit with representatives of the Shipyard Project. There may be some options since the need for the light seems to be some years in the future. He also reported that the Hingham Municipal Light Plant is interested in relocating since this would allow all functions to be centralized in one location. The Fire Chief has prepared a fee proposal on fees for alarms for future discussion. Ms. Burns advised that the Energy Action Committee is preparing a proposal for performance contracting. Mr. Riley noted that the Harbor Task Force will be meeting tomorrow night and the Wastewater Study Committee will also be meeting.
Change of Manager – Boston Golf Club
Malorie Haslett reported that she had worked with the current General Manager, Bob Pescatore, for two years. She has been TIPS trained as is the Dining Room manager. There is not a need for a general manager at this point.
Voted, to approve the request of Maxx LLC, d/b/a Boston Golf Club to change the manager of their Club All Alcoholic Beverages License from Robert Pescatore to Malorie Haslett, subject to the approval of the ABCC.
Change of Manager – Hingham Wine Merchant
Moira Sullivan explained that she had previously been the manager of the business but for the past year Duncan Routh has been the manager. The new structure will have Ms. Sullivan as the manager once again.
Voted, to approve the request of Hingham Wine Merchant, LLC to change the manager of their Retail Package Store Wines and Malt Beverages License from Duncan Routh to Moira Sullivan, subject to the approval of the ABCC.
Country Club Management Committee Report
Mr. Ryan said the Committee has good news. Jay McGrail has worked out quite well in the dual role of Director and Superintendent. Many clubs are predicting and 15-20% decrease in golf rounds this year. The South Shore Country Club is up about 2-3%. The Club recently hosted the Southeastern amateur tournament. The junior golf program is expanding. There are currently 140 girls between 7 and 14 participating in the program. The Pool and locker rooms have been cleaned up and the trim and fencing have been spruced up. There is a new snack shack and picnic area. Elio Ricci of Raffael’s submitted the successful proposal for the restaurant and has promised $150,000 in capital improvements. The lease is currently under negotiations. Mr. Ryan said the Country Club closed out the year at a break even financially and things seem to be running well.
Mr. Rabuffo asked if the club a good thing for the town financially. The use of the club by families for pool membership has been high , the rounds of golf are up slightly. Mr. Ryan saId there are always concerns about the golf, a couple of clubs have closed. As a group the committee has tried to keep a very close watch the financials. So far, things are slightly up in a down market. Mr. Riley thanked the committee for all the hard work and hours in turning things around. Ms. Burns commented that the club is finally moving in the right direction. Over the course of its existence, the club returned a fair amount of money to the town.
Cable TV Committee Update
Sandra Peavey introduced the members of committee. She explained that the Public Access channel does get programming from other places but also provides a forum for citizens to exercise their rights to free speech. Public Access is content neutral – it is not limited, except by acceptability. There is a wide variety of programming available on public access. Generally a board will come up with a set of rules and regulations that determine what will be allowed. Ms. Burns commented that having only two channels, Government and Educational, requires the Town to put anything on that people want. The third Public Access Channel will allow the Town to distance itself from the content on the public access portion.
Channel 10, the Government Channel, should be installed next week and then the feed will go out on both Comcast and Verizon. Mr. Rabuffo asked about the content issue quoting Judge Stewart –“.. I know it when I see it.” Ms. Peavey said that this is a very important reason that the cable committee recommended a non-profit corporation to run the public access. Under the federal law citizens are allowed to sue public entities for denial of their constitutional rights. There is no parallel that would allow that individual to sue a non-profit corporation. Towns can be sued for refusal to air a program about a particular point of view. A non-profit is not perceived as a deep pocket. Ms. Peavey said she liked the Dedham agreement which required a number of reports to the Selectmen and the Treasurer. The School Channel has a teacher in charge of the content and it is content that has been determined suitable for children. The Board of Selectmen can control what goes on the Government Channel.
Mr. Rabuffo said that Medford elected not to go into the arrangement of a public access channel. He also asked if the fee was discussed when the Comcast contract was being discussed. Eric Gauthier likened Cable TV Public Access to C-Span. The money for filming and showing C-Span is buried somewhere in the bill whether or not it is enumerated. Under federal law the Government, Educational and Public channels have to be on the basic tier.
Eric Gauthier explained that an informal subcommittee formed to discuss what the Committee’s vision is. There is a civic and legal obligation to provide public access for free speech. If you are a citizen of the town and you want to find out what is going on you can go to the website, or the school website, the Journal, but there is no single place to go. PEG access would build infrastructure to provide this hub of information.
Ms. Peavey said the third television channel can be installed in the same place as the Government Channel. It could be broadcast from Town Hall for the time being. The Town has a120 days from August 14 to get the channel up and running or Comcast can take it away. Ms. Peavey said It is not going to cost much to get this going now. The Committee found some wonderful programming that is available through satellite - NASA broadcasts over satellite every day; Classic Arts Showcase broadcasts 24/7 opera, ballet, classical music, musical theater, all of which could be sent out over the public channel.
There have been many questions as to the need for a studio. Viewers perceive more credibility from something that is professionally done. In a classroom one can get medium quality video. In a studio there is a controlled environment with multiple camera angles and the final product is more professional.
Ms. Peavey said the Committee has had conversations with people in Norwell and surrounding towns who are struggling with the same issues – what do we do now. Mr. Riley asked which other towns might be interested in a regional facility. The Committee felt that Norwell, Hanover, Cohasset and Scituate could all be interested.
Ms. Solander said that she had an extra charge on her Comcast bill. This local programming is something she does not want and will never watch. Ms. Peavey said the bills going out are higher than Comcast is allowed to pass through. Mr. August has found that Comcast is over charging between 55 and 63 cents per customer per month. Ms. Peavey also noted that there is a procedure to apply for a senior discount and offered to get the information to Ms. Solander. The estimate is that 4 ½% of the cable bill pays for PEG.
Mr. Rabuffo noted that one third of the library purchases are electronic – it was 0 five years ago. He also asked for answer to the questions posed to Bill August some time ago. Another issue for consideration is who decides the content on public access and how do we manage that content.
Budget Discussion
Mr. Paicos said there are two issues to discuss in relation to the Forecast Meeting Thursday morning. The first is the revenue projections. Revenue is a formula. Growth is pretty firm and Local Aid stays level in FY 11 compared to FY10. Mr. Paicos said there is going to be a 9C cut in next week or so. FY 10 is likely to drop and FY 11 will use that reduced figure as a floor. Local Aid is $8-9 million. The State has said they will not touch Chapter 70 money. Mr. Paicos said forecasting a 10% reduction in Local Aid would be a really prudent step. He asked the Board to give him consensus. Mr. Rabuffo asked Mr. Paicos to quantify what numbers are going to be off. Mr. Paicos said that in practical terms the $2.3 million shortfall is now up to $3.2 million. He said the only areas that can be cut to address this are capital and operating. With a significant capital cut we are deferring infrastructure – we pay now or we pay more later. Mr. Paicos said the reality is simple – we have an operating budget beyond our means. We spent money we did not have.
The other area of concern is Local Receipts – permit fees, etc. The forecast currently contains a number for a Linden Ponds building permit. There are other things that are going to raise revenue that are not forecast - fee increases, street opening permits, fees for alarms, et c. Mr. Paicos said he is not yet prepared to say let’s take that number down but be wary of it. Mr. Rabuffo said he would suggest another strategy - take local receipts down a quarter million.
The Board agreed with the 10% reduction in local aid and a quarter million reduction in local receipts.
The current timetable calls for the Town Administrator to send out a budget message this month. This year the goals will be to show a given percentage cut. The department heads then return the budget with the required cut and a cover memo outlining the impact of the cuts. The process does not allow time for reaction of the public prior to the budget being written. Mr. Paicos said that is a problem anytime but particularly this year because we are coping with an anticipated revenue shortfall and we are doing good finance things that have not been done in past years. He suggested engaging the public in a discussion as to what is being done and why. The current process does not provide for feedback for getting priorities of what the public would like to see. Ms. Burns said she did not see much to be gained by delaying the budget process. She thought it should be a parallel process. Mr. Rabuffo said he would hope that the department heads have three or four numbers, not one.
Laura Accetella has been working with Mary Power to design a public outreach program. The purpose is to get the word out there. The forecast assumptions include a 2.5% increase. Ms. Burns said the next step is for the other Board members to look over the documents and funnel them to Kevin.
Reports
Mr. Rabuffo said he had received a proposal from Kevin Bulman for the bus depot if Fort Hill Street as a possible home for the Hingham Municipal Light Plant. Mr. Rabuffo reported that Leslie Cohen said the traffic at Sgt. Terry Drive and Beal Street is about 12% below the study predictions. They will put in the traffic light or negotiate an amount to be paid to the Town for the future installation of the light. Mr. Rabuffo reported that he had walked around with the light meter last night and the light spillover from the Beal Street Fields was no more than what is permitted in Ft. Lauderdale Fl.
Mr. Riley said the Wastewater Study Committee met for the first time in over a year. The study was discussed. There was a discussion of the South Hingham Overlay District. The Committee did understand that kept within certain parameters it would be acceptable to sewer that area. Mr. Paicos is hoping to have CDM under contract within a couple of weeks and they could produce a study within a couple of months. The Town could then petition for a new sewer district. There could be one voice in this one area for a sewer study of the South Hingham Overlay District. Mr. Paicos suggested a $25,000 town contribution and $25,000 private contribution saying he would try to find the money. This sewer connection requires a town meeting vote. This would allow development of the area and provide $150,000 – $250,000 annual taxes and an equal amount in permit fees.
Voted - to support the sewer study for the South Hingham Overlay District.
Ms. Burns said that the Energy Action Committee Is planning to hire a consultant to help figure out if it makes sense to have a performance contract. Hopefully this will be funded half by the Light Plant and half by a grant.
Voted. to approve the two requests of the Conservation Commission to consult counsel as submitted.
Voted, to grant a temporary liquor license to Hingham Girls Hockey, c/o Sarah Skillman, for a fundraiser to be held at Hingham Community Center on October 17, 2009.
Voted, to grant a temporary liquor license to Hingham Nursery School, c/o Amy Fox, for a Cocktail Party to be held at Old Derby Academy, on November 14, 2009.
Voted, to approve the revised Building Department fees and inspection fees as recommended by Mr. Grylls and Mr. Nickerson with the exception of the reinspection fee.
Voted, to approve the minutes of May 19, 26, 2009, as amended
Minutes of June, 9, 23, 2009
Minutes of July 14, and 28, 2009
August 11, 18 and 21, 2009
September 1, 2009
Meeting adjourned 11:05 pm.
Betty Foley, Clerk