Back to Board of Selectmen Meeting Minutes
June 8, 2010
Special Session 4:00 pm
Mr. Rabuffo, Mr. Riley, Ms. Burns
Reports
Mr. Rabuffo said that he had attended the Hingham High School Class of 2010 graduation ceremony last Saturday. Listening to the student speakers left him with the impression that the future is in wonderful hands. He also reported that the Historic Commission had contacted him regarding the Town deed. The Commission would like to have the document appraised and preservation methods investigated.
Mr. Riley said the work on North Street is proceeding. The curbs have been reset and the sidewalks are being laid. Ms. Burns the Affordable Housing Trust is about the issue an RFP for the rehab of 80 Beal Street. This will mean some neighborhood meetings. Mr. Paicos said he was pleased to advise the Board that the 911 Commission has agreed to extend the $3.1 million grant is extended to June 30, 2011. He also met with the Personnel Board today to update them on the merit plan and the Deputy Town Administrator job descriptions. Mr. Rabuffo said that he, too, had been in discussion with the Personnel Board. Mr. Rabuffo also mentioned that the Selectmen have made some appointments and there will be more to come but the Board is waiting on the Town Moderator to make his appointments to the Government Study Committee.
Harbor Issues
Harbormaster Corson explained that for the past several years they have been seeding the shellfish in the harbor. The state pays for this entirely. A Boy Scout from Troop 1 will be working in one area and two other areas will be seeded by the state. The nets are 8 x 40 and there will be three to five nets in each area - one in the Inner Harbor, one in Worlds End and the last in the Back River.
Voted - to renew the Shellfish Propagation Permit with the Department of Marine Fisheries to allow seeding of selected areas of the harbor with soft shelled clams.
Mr. Corson said that over the past several years there has been an ongoing process for evaluation of the parking lot and boat ramp. The tolling agreement is a standard agreement with the Army Corps that says that if the boat ramp is found to be on private property we would not hold the Army Corps accountable for allowing the boat ramp to be there.
Voted - to sign the Boat Ramp Tolling Agreement with the Commonwealth Department of Fish and Game.
The Town received some funding from the state for work in the harbor and the excess money was to be returned to the state. Amendment ! to the state agreement funded the mooring optimization of the inner harbor and the Worlds End area both of which have been completed and were quite successful. In Amendment 1 there was reference to siting of moorings with GPS. The new GPS system will be accurate to within 1-3 feet as opposed to the usual 15-20 feet. The benefit to the Town is that it will work better for mooring purchasers and will better manage the waiting list. The Harbormaster explained that the Town has a large waterway with a number of moored boats. This new program is on-lined based and would be on trial to the Town for the season. This is just a trial and there is no expense to the Town. There will also be a hydrographic survey of the Back River, a mooring optimization plan for the Back River and everything will be permitted properly with DCR when it is complete.
Voted - to sign Amendment #2 to the Dredging Agreement with DCR signed in 2009 which includes a free trial use of the Online Moorings web-based mooring management system.
Appointment of Permanent Police Lieutenant
Chief Mills said that Sean Cavanaugh was promoted to sergeant in the Fall of 2007 and he Is now recommending that Sean be promoted to the position of lieutenant. Sgt. Cavanaugh is active in the community as a member of the Sports Partnership and other activities. Mr. Rabuffo noted that he has had reason to talk to Sgt. Cavanaugh on several issues and he had always conveyed a great deal of aplomb. Mr. Riley said that this is one of the finest times to be a member of the Board and to recognize someone who works as hard as Sean – he is bright, outgoing and articulate.
Ms. Burns asked about the lifesaver program. Sgt. Cavanaugh said that It is a search and rescue tool used for autistic children. Autistic children are given watches and each watch has a particular radio frequency. The bracelet emits a frequency and, if a program participant is missing, the antenna on the cruiser is able to initiate a search. Thus far the program has been successful.
June 8, 2010
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Voted - to appoint Sean Cavanaugh a permanent police lieutenant.
Mr. Rabuffo said the Board had interviewed applicants for the openings on the Council of Aging
Voted - to appoint Peter Hanson to the Council on Aging for a three-year term expiring in 2013.
Goals and Objectives
The Board agreed to look at the goals from previous years and write down those not yet concluded. Mr. Rabuffo reviewed the Town’s revenue picture and the challenging business atmosphere.
The Board reviewed past goals and the possible goals for the coming year. Mr. Riley suggested that particular board members assume responsibility for individual goals. The Board will take all the possible goals under consideration and revisit them at a future meeting.
Ward Street Fields
Mr. Tocchio and Mr. McKinnon said the Ward Street Trust is revaluating the proposal for Ward Street playing fields. The revised proposal would not have concessions, restrooms, parking lot lights, etc. It would have the center gravel parking lot and a second grass field. The Conservation Commission had expressed concerns about allowing wildlife to cross the fields, etc. The proposed plan calls for rather minimal retention type walls and maintaining the existing sidewalk. Tthere is a provision for tying in the gravel to some of the existing walkways and handicap parking. The majority of the work will be on the Selectmen’s parcel. The existing curb cuts will be kept and the northerly curb cut would be installed. The existing field will retain the status quo. The outstanding issues are traffic and parking. Jeff Dirk is involved in the traffic review on behalf of the town and that will be discussed on Thursday evening with joint boards. The Conservation Commission will be looking at drainage; the Planning Board will look at parking and traffic issues and the Zoning Board of Appeals will consider the special permit.
Mr. McKinnon explained that the group is trying to address field shortage. Currently Carlson field is hosting two or three games per day on a field. This proposed Ward Street plan calls for one additional grass field, retaining the existing curb cut, retaining the existing parking lot and creating a new curb cut to a new lot (total 200 spaces for the two fields). The new grass field deeper will be in off Ward Street. The cost has not been calculated.
Mr. Rabuffo asked the proponents to quantify the demand and address how this would satisfy future demand. He suggested they return with information on when the crowding occurs and what are the other options could be.
Mr. Tocchio explained that the projected use is considerably less than the turf field proposal since there will be no lights. Mr. Friedman asked if there is a financial reason that artificial turf was eliminated from the project. It was noted that, without lights, the available play time it does not warrant the investment so the town would not be able to pay for replacement.
Ms. McSheffrey said there are many questions to be answered about the new plan and new people. She noted that the field is empty most days now which causes here to wonder if the existing field necessary or if a second field is necessary. Mr. Snape remarked that this was described as a “unique” location but It is not – this is not the only option. Ms. Burns said the options are not that great if the choices are limited to parcels of Town-owned land.
Meeting adjourned 6:50 pm.
Betty Foley, Clerk