(6/13/07)  The Select Board met Monday, June 11th at 6:00 p.m. in the music room at the Middle School, prior to Town Meeting.  Gerry Weiss, Hwei-Ling Greeney, Anne Awad, Rob Kusner and Alisa Brewer were present, as was Town Manager Larry Shaffer.

Public Comment

Bill Elsasser handed out a reprint of an article and suggested that the Town establish a school for the children of celebrities at Amherst College.  The Select Board thanked him for the suggestion.

Mr. Kusner said that the Director of Planning and Conservation requested that the Select Board Chair seek to move Articles 27 and 28 to the final night of Town Meeting. 

Special Municipal Employee Status – Public Works Committee

Charles Moran said that he and the Chair of the Public Works Committee had consulted with the State Ethics Commission as to whether that committee should seek SME status.  He said that the lawyer said the status allows for flexibility and that there would be no downside to having it.  Mr. Moran said that he works with the Western Mass Writers Project which sometimes contracts with the public schools.  Mr. Crowner said that he does occasional work for the Town as an election warden.  Both said that even with SME, they needed to file letters with the Town Clerk's office regarding that work.  Vince O'Connor, a member of the Public Works Committee, said that he supported seeking the SME status because of the specific members having cause to need it, but that he opposes it when it is sought as a general protection. 

Ms. Awad moved to grant SME to the Public Works Committee, and it was seconded.  Mr. Kusner said he thought this request set a good precedent for what should and shouldn't qualify for SME, and that he appreciated the specificity of the request and the committee's due diligence.  Ms. Brewer said that while this case involves specific individuals needing the status, she didn't think that was a necessary component of a request, and that it could be sought proactively based on the committee's work,  She said that she appreciated the mention about needing to file disclosures with the Town Clerk. 

The vote to approve SME for the Public Works Committee was unanimous.

Committee Appointments

Mr. Kusner recommended that Mr. Crowner and Mr. O'Connor be re-appointed to the Public Works Committee for a second term.  The vote to approve their reappointments was unanimous.

Ms. Brewer asked for clarification of the SME policy and whether the status expires or remains in perpetuity.  Mr. Weiss said he thought it was an annual designation, but said that could be discussed.  Ms. Awad said that she thought the policy was amended to say that the status would remain unless there was reason to revisit it.  Ms. Brewer asked if there is a State requirement to renew the status annually and Mr. Weiss said he had looked at the Massachusetts General Laws and didn't think so.  Ms. Greeney said that the original vote on the new policy had a “sunset clause” stating that the policy itself would be revisited in two years.  Mr. Weiss noted that the current issue of the Massachusetts Municipal Association magazine has an article about SME.

Special Municipal Employee Status – Public Shade Tree Committee

Alan Snow, Chair of the Public Shade Tree Committee, said that that committee had determined that there would be no drawbacks to having the status and that it could help some members to maintain their ability to do non-profit consulting on technical subjects.  Mr. Weiss noted that SME does not allow a person to represent himself or a client before his own committee. 

Ms. Greeney moved to grant SME to the Public Shade Tree Committee and the vote in favor was unanimous.

Mr. Elsasser asked about the status of three trees in front of Jones Library that were supposed to have a public hearing regarding their removal.  Mr. Shaffer said that the public hearing had not occurred on the original date, and would be rescheduled.  He said the hearing would take place before the Tree Warden, and that if anyone opposed that hearing's outcome, a petition could be filed to have a hearing before the Select Board. Mr. Snow, the Tree Warden, said a new date had not yet been set.

Special Municipal Employee Status – Planning Board

Aaron Hayden, Chair of the Planning Board, referenced the letter he had sent the Select Board as part of the Planning Board's application and said that the status was needed in order to maintain the balance between people with professional skills relevant to planning and those who are socially sensible about the Town.  He said that half of the Planning Board was recently made up of professionals who would have been unable to serve without SME. 

Mr. Kusner said that the status doesn't provide the protections for those who do professional planning work in Amherst.  Mr. Hayden spoke to the ambiguities of the law and how the Attorney General's office had told him that the designation was an afterthought, after it was realized that lawmakers hadn't allowed for the concept of volunteers in town government.  He spoke to the protections that the law does not provide, and how several of the members are very aware of the risks and have attended several training sessions on the issue.  Mr. Weiss mentioned the cases of the two Public Works Committee members whose other town work was completely unrelated to their committee work.  Mr. Hayden said that SME is a modicum of protection, and one that has been sufficient for members in the past.  He said that there is no status that would prevent a successful lawsuit against a committee member who did something unethical.  Ms. Awad moved to grant SME status to the Planning Board. 

Mr. O'Connor said he objected to the motion and that he didn't think people with technical skills that he called “redundant” with those of professional Town staff and Town Counsel should serve on committees.  He said that in the past, committees have deferred to those members rather than seeking guidance from the relevant staff.  He said he thought the Planning Board should be made up of non-professionals representing Town residents.

Mr. Hayden said the Planning Board requires a balance of members who understand the technical details of planning and those who understand its social implications.  He said that with regard to other boards, it would simply be unfair to not allow a lawyer or archaeologist who does business with the Town to have the opportunity to serve on a unrelated committee such as 250th Celebration or Shade Tree committees, and said that requires the SME status.

Mr. Kusner said he would not engage in a debate about it and was willing to support SME for the Planning Board but wanted to make sure Mr. Hayden understood what is not covered by the status.  Mr. Hayden said that professionals on the Planning Board know they have certain risks by serving, and that SME status helps to reduce some of those risks.  He said that regular training about what is and isn't covered by SME is important. 

Ms. Brewer said that of course all members are still subject to conflict of interest violations, and that SME does not protect against that.  She said that it allows people to represent themselves or their clients before other boards – not their own board – and that she was sure Planning Board members understood that.  She said she disagreed with the concept that only non-professionals should serve on the Planning Board.

The vote to approve SME status for the Planning Board was unanimous.

Special Municipal Employee Status – Board of Health

Sandra Sulsky of the Board of Health said that SME allows members with educational or occupational expertise to serve.  She spoke of one member's work supervising UMass students on a project involving using treated wastewater on athletic fields.  That was not a Board of Health project, but involves a Board of Health member perhaps needing to appear before the Public Works Committee or other Town entities. 

Ms. Greeney moved to grant SME status to the Board of health, and the vote in favor was unanimous. 

Mr. Kusner was concerned that granting SME status implied agreement with the reasons stated in applications.  Ms. Brewer suggested that comments on the applications could be given to the committees to make them aware and to inform future new members.

Public Hearing – Transfer of Liquor License – University Liquors

The attorney and the new proprietor of University Liquors spoke to the Select Board about the transfer of license.  Members asked about the store's practices for weeding out underage buyers.  The proprietor said that two ID scanning machines would be purchased and that manual checks are done as well. He said that every patron under 35 is checked. 

The vote to approve the license transfer was unanimous.

Approval of Minutes of May 16th

With some discussion, the minutes of the May 16th were unanimously approved as amended.  That meeting's minutes needed to be approved so that they could be sent to the State's School Building Authority along with the Schools Committee's letters of intention regarding future building needs, as discussed at that meeting.

Road Closing

The Select Board unanimously approved the closing of Blue Hills Road for a block party on Saturday, July 21st, with a July 22nd rain date.  Ms. Greeney asked if it was customary for the Department of Public Works to deliver and pick up saw horses for such events, and that was confirmed to be the case.

Summer Select Board Meeting Schedule

There was some discussion of summer meeting dates, but it was decided to put that off until they could give the subject more time.  It was however unanimously approved that they would meet on June 25th and would not meet on July 2nd.

Municipal Partnership Act Endorsement

Ms. Brewer said she had attended a training session where she learned that towns were being encouraged to sign on to the Massachusetts Municipal Associations' resolution in support of the Governor's Municipal Partnership Act, a collection of local option proposals including meals tax and an increased occupancy tax, and expanded property tax relief.  The vote to support endorsing the proposal was unanimous, and Mr. Shaffer said he would have a document prepared for them to sign on Wednesday. 

Chapter 40B Suspension

Mr. Weiss asked the Board to read a copy of a letter from the town of Walpole to the Statehouse regarding suspension of Massachusetts General Law Chapter 40B.  He said they would talk about it at the next meeting.  Mr. Kusner said that this is related to Mr. O'Connor's Article 11.  Mr. O'Connor said the Planning Board had held a hearing on the subject and issued a report. 

Ms. Awad noted her concern that that the Board had yet to discuss and take a position on Article 21.  Mr. Weiss said it would be put at the top of the agenda for the next meeting,

The open meeting was adjourned at approximately 7:00 p.m. and the Select Board then went into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing collective bargaining agreements with the Town Manager and the Superintendent of Schools.  The open meeting would not reconvene.

The next Select Board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, June 13th at 6:00 p.m. in the Middle School music room.

-- Stephanie O'Keeffe