Part 1 Templeton BOS Meeting March 11,
2013
Part 2 Templeton BOS Meeting March 11,
2013
Part 3 Templeton BOS Meeting March 11,
2013
Mr. Dembek-
The
BOS meeting on March 11, 2013 was very busy. Discussion about the drainage
issue at Mr. Dembek’s house generated much discussion. Years ago, drainage was
put in place to try to address the situation (it did not). Then the water mains
were replaced and the road repair stopped prior to Mr. Dembek’s house. The
project was going to be completed but is another orphan project in Templeton
due to lack of funding.
The
water department paid for engineering plans to correct this drainage issue. The
plans went out to bid and came back very high (projected $225,000 actual
$335,000) This project was never initiated. Efforts will be made to locate the
plans, which were drawn up by Tata & Howard. This is a project that may be
eligible for a MassWorks grant. On a cautionary note, most of Templeton’s
Chapter 90 money is committed to the next phase in Back Bay and any potential
cost overruns for the reconstruction of Baldwinville Rd.
In
order to request an override for money to address this drainage issue, we need
the plans from Tata & Howard to see if these plans meet current
regulations, then the plans would need to be bid out. It will not happen in
time for the ATM in May.
We
skipped over the Dispatch agenda item until the Chiefs could arrive.
Under
the agenda item for the Town treasurer, Dan Keeney, the BOS voted for short
term borrowing of 1.5 million, which is necessary to help the cash flow of the
Town. Once the tax rate is set and bills are mailed our cash flow will improve.
(The sooner, the better) The BOS also voted to outsource the payroll to
Harper’s. Outsourcing the payroll will allow the treasurer to devote more time
to tax titles and financial planning for the town.
Next
agenda item was the proposed regionalization of Dispatch with Gardner. The
report was taken under advisement and will be voted on March 18th.
PILOT Payment – The manager of TMLWP
proposed the sum of $150,000 PILOT payment to the town for FY 14. Thank you!
There was discussion of the calculation of the PILOT payment and the DOR
recommendation (page 16):
Adopt Formal
PILOT Agreement with Municipal Light & Water Plant
We recommend
that selectmen negotiate a multi-year, formula based payment-in-lieu-of-taxes
(PILOT) agreement with the Templeton Municipal Light & Water Plant. A PILOT
is an agreement between a municipality and an entity not subject to taxation in
which a voluntary payment is made to the municipality. Templeton’s light &
water plant has made regular payments with incremental increases over the past
five years following a somewhat prescribed formula, as demonstrated in the
table below. However, the decision by the light & water plant on how much
to actually contribute occurs annually and on a more or less ad hoc basis.
Moving forward, we advise selectmen and light & water commissioners to
reach agreement on a multi-year formula that will serve as the basis for determining
the annual payment to the town. The formula should have long-term applicability
in a way that produces a fair, consistent and predictable annual payment to the
town.
Hopefully,
the BOS will be able to begin negotiations with TMLWP to formalize the PILOT
payment.
Snow & Ice – Last May, on that fateful
Friday night budget meeting prior to ATM, the BOS and the Advisory Board voted
to cuts to many departments and line items. One of those cuts was to the Snow
& Ice account. Snow & Ice is one of the few accounts that can be
deficit spent only if the appropriation is not cut. Our Snow & Ice account
is running at a current deficit because we cut the appropriation. We will need
to cover the shortfall.
North County Sustainability
Center –
Audrie Labrie presented information about the North County Sustainability Center.
Draft letter to Division of
Local Mandates – BOS discussed sending a draft letter to the Division of Local mandates
to try to seek road repair for Royalston Rd. It’s a long shot, but a letter
doesn’t cost much.
The
BOH will hold a Bulky Waste Day on
April 20th from 9-11 a.m. Please contact the BOH @ 978-939-2377 for
more information.
Special Legislation- Two pieces of Special
Legislation now have Bill numbers and can be tracked through the legislative
process.
S81 – the full
Liquor license for Cote’s Market
S623 –
Investigation into 252 Baldwinville Rd; The Casella Settlement; Chapter 93 Acts
of 2000 and the WWTP issue. If you are interested in information about this
special legislation, please review the information on the C4T website
.
My
opinions…supported by FACTS ! ! !
Julie
Farrell
Thank you Julie for this excellent summary of the meeting and accompaning details.
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