Busy
night …
April
8, 2013 BOS Meeting
Action
packed agenda at last night’s well-attended BOS meeting.
Annual Town Meeting warrant
– The
warrant for the ATM was opened and closed. A number of new articles were added
as well as 3 new citizen petitions. My guess is a 3 night ATM in May. A Capital Planning meeting will be held to
discuss capital warrant articles.
A
majority of the BOS did not feel the 60+ year-old water mains along
Baldwinville Rd. should not be addressed during the road reconstruction project.
The BOS office received information on the water
system on April 5, 2013 from the manager of the TMLWP.
Final
approval of the warrant will take place at the April 22, 2013 BOS meeting.
Conservation Commission- The BOS voted to reduce the
membership of the Conservation Commission from 7 members to 5 members upon
review of legal counsel. The BOS has reduced the membership of other
boards/commissions due to a lack of a quorum.
Baldwinville Rd Tree removal – The 55 trees that are
scheduled for removal due to this project will be replaced by a mixture of
trees. The sub-contractor will be getting the wood.
Sewer reconciliation issues – An update was given on the
status of sewer reconciliations. Everything is up-to-date and will be sent
along to the accountant.
Gilman- Waite Playground
equipment-
After some discussion, the BOS decided to do an RFP for the playground
equipment for Gilman-Waite. We had been waiting for the state to provide a
vendor on the state bid list for playground equipment. The BOS decided to do an
RFP as well as watch the state so the equipment can be installed as soon as
possible. The RFP process will take about 6 weeks.
Police Chief – The BOS voted two
appointments to dispatch until June 30th. The BOS will need to begin
union negotiations with dispatch and police unions.
Fire Chief – After discussion, the BOS
voted to increase the ambulance rates to Medicare +100%. This action will align
Templeton’s EMS rates to those of surrounding communities of a similar size.
The Chief also stressed the need for full-time FF to cover the ambulance calls
during the day.
Public Safety Meeting – John Butts discussed his
desire to have a hearing on the MacLean hospital facility on the proposed
Baldwinville Rd. property. Sen. Brewer and Rep. Andrews have been contacted.
The BOS will draft a letter for signatures outlining the concerns of the
community.
Old Business (BOS)- An RFP for leased building
space for Town offices will go out. Plans will be made to begin the process of
vacating 4 Elm St.
After
much discussion, the BOS decided to begin contract negotiations with the
clerical workers. BOS is still undecided how to handle department heads,
whether these employees should be considered as clerical workers. This
discussion raised many valid issues and will be dealt with.
The
appraisal of 252 Baldwinville has been completed, so now the process can begin
to dispose of the property. The commercial value of the property has been
determined to be between $330,000-$350,000. The minimum bid has been set at
$330,000.
Old Business (Audience) – Mr. Mitchell discussed an
OML determination that was filed against the BOS in Feb 2012. Mr. Mitchell is
in support of the Town website as the official posting place for meeting
agendas and notices.
New Business (BOS) – The BOS took action on
appointing poll workers (thank you!); a request for Chapter 90 money to pay for
legal fees associated with easements and ROWs for the Baldwinville Rd project
($11,500);Common Victualler’s licenses for the Ice
Cream Barn and All
Steamed Up.
The
BOS voted to allow the treasurer to make certain payroll reduction payments,
subject to legal review. The BOS voted to enter an agreement for a 3-year lease
of a RICOH copy machine for the Town Clerk’s office. Wil Spring, chairman of
the Advisory Board(and special municipal employee), presented the BOS with a
few options on the contents of ET. The BOS chose to have the town departments
have first shot at the items and then discuss how to dispose the remaining
items. A detailed inventory is available at the BOS office.
New Business (audience)- Mr. Mitchell asked the BOS
if they would make a FOIA request to TMLWP for the document referred to in the $10,000
invoice for a legal opinion on a citizen petition “Complete memorandum on
governance of Templeton without a charter; incorporate legal research on
rescinding special acts”. The BOS refused to act on this issue.
Mr.
David Smart asked the BOS to contact Braver regarding progress on the cost
certification of the wind turbine. The BOS refused to act on this issue.
My
opinions…supported by FACTS ! ! !
Julie
Farrell
So again, we, the town, paid for a lawyer to give an opinion on how the town of Templeton is run, and again, the majority of the BOS doesn’t want to see it? WE PAID FOR IT! Why on earth would you not want to read it Ginny or let anyone besides the TMLWP read it? What is CS so afraid of by letting this document out to the people? Do you think GS or BC has read it yet? I would not be surprised if they have copies. But heaven forbid we upset the TMLWP (GS’ other baby). This town is so screwed up with its priorities. Spend our money, but don’t ask to see the results because it might show that people have not been playing by the rules or even know the rules (OML violations abound at the TMLWP lately). Just shove it under the rug. That is the way this town has been run for FAR too long.
ReplyDeleteNew Blood Now!
I'm so tired of certain selectmen letting their personal agenda get in the way of objective decision making. I wish we were electing three new members instead of only two. Lets hope that the two selectmen that win the election will be more professional than the two outgoing selectmen. Tell me something, were all four candidates at the meeting?
ReplyDeletesaw 3 candidates but no Jerry. However his "fools" were there.
ReplyDeleteYou should have filtered that comment and wrote "Jerry's people were there"
ReplyDeleteOr at least "Jerry's kids"
Deletelove will always overpower hate
DeleteSo lets see, 252 Baldwinville road is appraised way under what the town paid for it so thank you again to the selectmen who signed the email to purchase it and to the municipal building committee who pushed it forward and then proceeded to tell all who would listen that it would cost less to have 252 than what is spent for all the buildinges currently used for town office space except that the town treasurer produced a chart showing a five year average of $145,000.00 vs. the $196,000.00 per year 252 would cost....oops seems like someone did not do the homework again and who was chairman of the municipal building committee....Gerald Skelton and he wants to be your selectmen again. Yeah, enough is enough.
ReplyDeleteI will be dammed if I will let, all the work that has been done to improve working conditions at the town office building, get flushed down the toilet. There is no longer, anyone abusing the people who work there. The the work our Advisory Board, along with the other improvements that have been made, these changes need to stay intact. These were hard earned changes that the people who work for the town, need to have. No one should work in fear. It is up to us to stand up for every person who works for the town. It is bad enough they have worked long enough with short hours and pay, the very least we can do is support them, and make their working conditions safe. This is my opinion, Bev.
DeleteOne thing that caught my eye after watching this meeting was the interaction between Julie and Bumpsy. There seems to be a bit of tension (at least on Bumpsy’s part) and I am wondering if this stems from Deb Denis losing her position as Treasurer. Has this turned into yet another personal fight being dragged into town business? I do not understand what Bumpsy has to be upset with Julie about. The “BOS that was” hired Deb, Deb was unable to do the job to the satisfaction of the entire BOS and therefore was let go, much like what happened to our former town coordinator CS. That is right; the entire BOS was dissatisfied with her performance, including VW. So why express such the venom towards Julie and not the others as well? I understand that no one wants their children or their spouse to lose a job. But I always thought that Bumpsy was a man of thought, not of reaction. I must say that he has dropped down a few notches in respect based on his actions. I truly have appreciated his perspective on so many things. He has been right about some of the smallest details that the “BOS that was” neglected or refused to understand. But the reactions I viewed were not of a thinking man, but a man irrationally angry. Just my opinion.
ReplyDelete