(10/5/07)  The Select Board met Monday, October 1st at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall.  Gerry Weiss, Hwei-Ling Greeney, Rob Kusner and Alisa Brewer were present, and Anne Awad was absent.  Town Manager Larry Shaffer was also present, and Gail Weston took the minutes.

Opening Remarks, Agenda Review and Announcements

Mr. Kusner proposed several items for future agendas.  1) He said a letter had been sent to Mr. Weiss from James Gray of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC) regarding a request for proposals (RFP) for brownfield projects, with a due date of October 12th.  He said he had spoken with Conservation Director David Ziomek about the next steps to be taken in the process, and said the PVPC had been enthusiastic that Amherst might pursue such a project.  2) He said the Atkins Reservoir is “precipitously low” right now, and asked people to respect that this is the Town’s drinking water supply.  3) He suggested that with a possible new concentration on brownfield clean-up and redevelopment, that the Town's proposed Economic Development Director position also be focused on environmental remediation.  4) He recommended that the Select Board consider its position on the proposed zoning amendments for Fall Town Meeting.  He said that if the Town isn’t going to pursue contract zoning, then he hoped the focus could be on positive net revenues, not just increased gross revenues. 

Mr. Weiss said that the Select Board was scheduled for its first zoning article discussion on October 15th, which Mr. Kusner pointed out would be the next meeting.  Mr. Weiss said they would see if some discussion was possible later in this meeting, if time allowed. 

Ms. Brewer said that Cowls Land and Lumber Company had received a national conservation award from the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies for "landmark stewardship" of privately-owned land.  Ms. Brewer said it was exciting to have the long-time North Amherst company be recognized in such a way, and said that the award has only gone to farms and ranches in the past, and that this is the first time a timber company has won it.  She said she hoped to see news of the award in the newspaper, and that she had mentioned it because it was a good combination of local business, conservation and economic viability.

Mr. Weiss said that he would like to offer an “Unsung Hero Award.”  He said that Bill Elsasser has been single-handedly watering all the flower pots downtown over the summer, and praised him for doing so.  Mr. Weiss said he would like to make the “Unsung Hero Award” a feature of every meeting, and encouraged people to send along their suggestions.

Ms. Greeney announced the Art Walk Block Party on Thursday, October 4th, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. downtown.  She said it would be family friendly, and would feature street performers and Free Trade snacks.  She said there would be a wrap-up party at 8:00 at the Lord Jeff, where she said there would be dancing and free food, and she said she would be the host.

Mr. Weiss said that artists from Amherst’s sister city of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, would be displaying and selling art work at the Nacul Center during the Art Walk, and encouraged people to check it out. 

Approval of Minutes (6:40)

The minutes of the August 15th meeting with the Hadley Board of Selectmen were approved in a vote of 4 in favor, 1 absent.

There was brief discussion about the minutes of the August 15th joint meeting with the Zoning Subcommittee and Town Commercial Relations Committee (TCRC.)  Mr. Kusner noted that the content of the minutes was “No action was taken.”  Ms. Brewer said that she didn’t think it was legally necessary to abstain from voting on minutes just because one was not present for the meeting, and that one could assume that the minutes were accurately recorded.  The vote to approve the minutes of the joint meeting was 4 in favor, 1 absent.

The minutes of the August 20th meeting, which was a public hearing about the cherry tree removal, were approved as amended in a vote of 3 in favor, 1 abstention and 1 absent, with Mr. Kusner voting to abstain.

Handling of Citizen Complaints (6:45)

Ms. Greeney said that not all issues raised by the public are complaints, and that “citizens” defined residents too narrowly, suggesting only citizens who vote.  She said she wanted to consider how the Select Board handles concerns, suggestions and complaints received from members of the public.  She said she wants people to know that the Select Board takes such input seriously, and said she wants it to be dealt with responsibly, with accountability and in a timely manner.  She noted that such comments can be received by e-mail, by letter or by phone.  She said she was seeking feedback on a draft proposal for how they might proceed.

Mr. Weiss said that because Ms. Greeney’s draft was a public document, he wanted to comment on a few points.  He said he took exception to the characterization that the Select Board chooses to ignore some concerns.  He said that he doesn’t always copy the Select Board on his e-mail replies to people, because he is concerned that could be construed as a private conversation between the recipient and the Select Board.

Mr. Weiss said that a resident who recently expressed a concern at a Select Board meeting was someone whom he had been in contact with and had invited to that meeting.  He said there was more going on than Ms. Greeney might be aware of, and said that more could still be done because some communications do fall through the cracks.  He said he liked Ms. Greeney’s idea of having a way to track concerns that the Select Board receives.

Ms. Brewer said that in her previous board and committee experience, the Chair has been the one to respond to such issues, and said it seemed to be the same situation on the Select Board.  She said that it would be helpful if the other members could also be copied on replies, for information purposes only, because she said it is helpful to know the status of such issues when encountering the resident who originated the concern. 

Mr. Kusner said he liked a suggestion made in Ms. Greeney’s document regarding the need to triage issues.  He said that all Select Board members are contacted by individuals with different levels of concerns, not all of which he said rise to the level of “public business.”

Ms. Greeney said she appreciated the feedback.  She said she didn’t agree that having the Chair handle everything was a good system, because it could overburden the person in that position and might suggest that the other members don’t do any work.  She said the triaging and tracking procedure should bring the concerns to all the members in order to see who can assist. 

Mr. Weiss said that for e-mails received by all the members, he would respond unless he either referred the issue to one of them individually, or one of them offered to handle it.  He said that that wouldn’t address the tracking issue.

Ms. Brewer agreed that tracking was a good idea.  She said that she wanted to caution the Select Board about their approach to dealing with issues brought to each of them by residents.  She said that they did not have authority as individual Select Board members and could only determine policy as a full Board.  She said the Chair’s role is as designated spokesperson, and that none of them could engage in policy or decision making, and that issues requiring such should be brought to the Select Board meetings. 

Mr. Kusner said that Mr. Weiss’ idea about e-mails sent to all of them would work, but he didn’t know how to apply that to phone calls and letters.  He said that in regards to Ms. Brewer’s point, the difficulty was in distinguishing what is an individual matter and what is a Select Board policy matter. 

Mr. Weiss said he had been doing that sort of thing lately, and gave the examples of the people with parking permit concerns on McClellan Street, and the person who had concerns about the water billing, both of which were issues brought to recent meetings.  He said that there could be issues that others think should have come to a meeting but didn’t, and said they could discuss that.

Ms. Greeney said that she felt the Chair’s role is to create the agenda and run the meetings, not to act on behalf of the Board as spokesperson.  She said that each Select Board member is elected by and responsible to the citizens, and said she agreed that policy making could only be done by the full Select Board.  She said the tracking concept might need more time and consideration, and said that when she was elected, it had been among the topics of her first discussion with the former Town Manager, because she had felt that a concern she had raised previously had not been handled to her satisfaction, and she found that others had had the same experience. 

Mr. Weiss reiterated his earlier suggestion that he will respond to issues that come to all of them unless someone else volunteers to do so.  He said that if there are times he doesn’t copy the other members on a response because he feels it could be a violation, he will send a subsequent e-mail to them saying that he has responded. 

Mr. Kusner said that the issues of triage and tracking weren’t the same as how to respond to different concerns.  He said he is concerned with what issues should come before the full Board at a meeting, and said that if Mr. Weiss were not able to share his response to a particular issue with the Board, then it was probably substantive enough that it should have come before them. 

Mr. Weiss said he doubted that could or would happen much and said that he is extra careful because a member of the community has caused a lot of trouble about such matters.  He said that the scrutiny of their activities takes up a lot of his time, a lot of staff time, and “creates an incredible mess for a lot of people.”  Mr. Kusner said he appreciated Mr. Weiss making that point.

Ms. Greeney requested that the members consider her draft document for further feedback.

Operating Budget Amendments (7:10)

Mr. Kusner congratulated Finance Director John Musante on his recent appointment to the Governor’s Readiness Project Leadership Council subcommittee on long-term funding for education in Massachusetts. 

Mr. Musante talked about three items for the Fall Town Meeting agenda: two FY08 budget amendments and one Senior Trust fund transfer.  The first budget amendment dealt with the Health Claims Trust Fund.  Mr. Musante said that the Town is on a multi-year schedule to create a reserve that meets the State’s Department of Revenues' (DOR’s) auditing guidelines for claims that have been incurred but not reported.  He said the target is to have $1.1 million in that reserve over three years, and that this year, two-thirds of that amount is required.  To meet that, he said that an appropriation of $562,147 from the Town’s reserve fund to the Health Claims Trust Fund was needed.  He explained that this was an advance that would be paid back by a temporary surcharge to employee health claims over the next 12 to 15 months, and said that a similar advance and repayment had occurred in the first year of the reserve funding requirement.  He said that the Health Claims Trust Fund’s reserve is on pace to be at the level it needs to be at by the end of the year, but that due to DOR requirements, the reserve must be at that level before the Town sets its tax rate, or else that rate won’t be approved by the State.

The next FY08 amendment was for the Town’s share of funding the Hampshire County lock-up facility.  Mr. Musante said that its funding had been covered by the State for the first couple of years, but that that was not the long-term plan.  He said that the State would now fund 50% of the costs, and that the member communities using the facility would fund the other 50%, based on a per-capita formula that amounts to just under one dollar per resident.  He said Amherst’s share is $31,323, which he said would need to come from Free Cash for FY08, and would be part of the overall budget for subsequent years, and handled similarly to the annual assessment to the County retirement system. 

Mr. Musante said that the specific amount needed for the Health Claims Trust Fund would be finalized before the Fall Town Meeting warrant is signed, but that the assessment for the lock-up would not change.

The vote to recommend the FY08 budget amendment to pay the $31,323 assessment for the Hampshire County lock-up was approved by a vote of 4 in favor, 1 absent.

Nancy Pagano, Director of the Senior Center, said that the Council on Aging had established the Senior Trust as a 501C3 organization in 1977 to accept donations for its programs, rather than having them go in to the Town’s general fund.  She said that four years ago, that model had been found to be flawed because Council on Aging members were the holders of the trust, and she said that as quasi Town employees, that was not in compliance.  She said that after much discussion with Mr. Musante, lawyers, and others, it was decided that a new 501C3 should be formed, and that the Senior Trust be dissolved.  She said that the new group – Friends of the Amherst Senior Center – had been formed and approved by the Secretary of State’s office.  She said that in order to dissolve the original trust, its funds must be turned over to the Town, and that Town Meeting’s assistance is now needed to accept that money and then turn it over to the new Friends group. 

In response to a question, Ms. Pagano explained that the Friends group would be independent of the Senior Center and Council on Aging, which would serve in an advisory role as the group gets started.  She said it would become increasingly independent and will be raising money on its own to assist with Senior Center programming and capital needs.  She said that staff might help with advertising the Friends group and holding fundraising events at Bangs Center. 

Mr. Musante said that this model is successful in other communities, and that Town Meeting’s assistance is needed to get things started by accepting the money which had originally been raised for senior programming, and transferring it to the new Friends group. 

Mr. Shaffer concurred that the recommended model of an independent organization with separate fundraising capabilities was a good one.  He noted that the transfer of funds by Town Meeting would allow the fulfillment of the donors’ intent that the money fund senior program needs.

There was some discussion about how the motion will seek to turn over the Trust money to the Town and have the Town turn it over to the Friends group in a contingent action, and that Town Counsel and others would be reviewing it. 

The vote to recommend the Senior Trust article was 4 in favor, 1 absent.

Environmental Certification Officer (7:30)

Due to a typographical error in the previous meeting’s vote to approve designating Mr. Shaffer as the Town’s Environmental Certification Officer for the purpose of a Community Development Block Grant application, a new vote was needed.  The vote to approve the designation was 4 in favor, 1 absent.

Crosswalk Proposal for East Pleasant Street and Orchard Hill Drive

Jason Venditti, a Project Manager for UMass for design and construction projects, presented a detailed proposal seeking approval for UMass to construct a crosswalk on East Pleasant Street, which is Town property.  He said it is part of a sidewalk construction project on Orchard Hill Drive, which is UMass property, and will increase the safety of students crossing in that area to head toward Olympia Drive.  He said he worked extensively with Town Engineer Jason Skeels on the proposal.

There was lengthy discussion about visibility and signage issues, whether the University or the Town would bear responsibility for fixing or maintaining various elements at various stages, and general philosophy on how pedestrians and vehicles interact at crosswalks.

Before a motion was ultimately made, Mr. Kusner pointed out that he is a professor at UMass, and Ms. Brewer is a married to a member of the UMass faculty.  He then moved to authorize the crosswalk proposal.  The vote to support it was 4 in favor, 1 absent.

COLAs for Non-Union Employees (8:05)

Mr. Shaffer proposed a 1% cost of living adjustment (COLA) for 68 non-union Town employees for FY08.  He said that the total cost of the increase would be $50,600, and said that $38,000 would come from the general fund; $5,400 from the Library fund; and $7,200 from enterprise funds (water, sewer, solid waste and parking.)  He said that it is an extremely modest increase and is consistent with the COLA settlement for the Amherst Regional School District and the teachers’ union, and said it is “within the framework approved by Spring Town Meeting.”  He referenced discussions in the spring when the Select Board sought to redirect $100,000 from the Town Manager’s recommendation for the administrative budget to use in other budget areas, and how he had said that that reduction could be absorbed.  He said some of it had been expected to come from reductions in legal expenses, and said that while he couldn’t talk about it then, the rest was expected to come from the COLAs, which had originally been budgeted for 2%.  He said that there is a codicil in the Town Manager’s contract that says that he receives the same increase as the non-union employees, and said that would increase his salary from $125,000 to $126,250. 

Mr. Weiss said that the Select Board had recognized the signals Mr. Shaffer was sending about the COLA expectations during the budget discussions, and said they were able to “read between the lines.”  He said that was why the Select Board was able to recommend the $100,000 cut to Town Meeting, and said he appreciated Mr. Shaffer sending those signals.   

Mr. Weiss talked about the Personnel Board having met with employees a couple of years ago about how to implement COLAs.  He said that one option had been an across-the-board percentage increase, as was being proposed now; and the other had been an across-the-board dollar increase, where all the employees received the same dollar amount.  He said there had been some dissatisfaction with the dollar amount idea.

Mr. Shaffer said the Personnel Board recommends the percentage increase of 1%.

Ms. Brewer asked about a legal opinion on the matter and about an update on the status of union negotiations.

Mr. Shaffer said that Town Counsel had considered whether or not Select Board approval was needed for the COLA increase and it was decided that that approval was needed, and he said a copy of the opinion from Kopelman and Paige was available.  He said that there was no settlement yet with the four union contracts under negotiation, representing firefighters, police, DPW and clerical and administrative workers.   

The vote to approve the 1% COLA for non-union employees was 4 in favor, 1 absent.

Plan for Select Board Policy Statement on FY09 Budget (8:13)

Mr. Weiss said that the Town Manager’s schematic that the Select Board had approved regarding changes to the budget process called for approval of a budget policy statement at an early fall meeting.  He said he wanted to schedule that meeting, and also wanted to add a third step to the new budget process:  the opportunity for the Select Board to review the Town Manager’s budget in late January or early February and make recommendations.  There was brief discussion about that new step, and the Select Board agreed with the suggestion.

Regarding setting a meeting specifically to discuss Select Board priorities and policies, there was discussion but not decision about what level of detail to address.  It was decided that members would create their own lists of priorities to be made available to the public and each other to consider in advance of the meeting.  Those lists will be available at the regular October 15th Select Board meeting, and it was emphasized that members could still add new ideas at the budget policy meeting. 

The budget priority meeting was scheduled for Friday, October 19th, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at a location to be determined. 

Town Manager’s Report (8:30)

Mr. Shaffer noted that this would be a fruit report, as it would address an apple tree, the Plum Brook soccer fields, and Cherry Hill Golf Course. 

Regarding the apple tree discussed at the last meeting:  Mr. Shaffer said that he and DPW Superintendent Guilford Mooring and Tree Warden Alan Snow had visited the tree.  He said that it was on land owned by the Amherst Housing Authority (AHA), and that the sidewalk where the apples of concern were falling was Town-owned, though not part of the public way, and hence, not a Select Board responsibility.  He said that Donna Crabtree of the AHA agreed to have a custodian sweep up the apples, and Alan Root  would sweep them up as well.  Mr. Shaffer said that that approach would be tried for a while and was preferable to removing the tree.

Ms. Greeney expressed concern about similar tree and fruit situations on North Pleasant street, by Souper Bowl and by Brueggers.  Mr. Shaffer said DPW staff would sweep those crab apples on a regular basis.

Regarding the grass at the Plum Brook soccer fields:  Mr. Shaffer said much progress has been made lately with the irrigation system.  He said the cistern and electricity pole were now in place, and the electrical lines were connected to the pump, and that connection to the irrigation system was expected to be completed immediately.  He said that once that was done, reseeding and fertilizing could occur and he said that he was cautiously optimistic that the fields could be ready for play next fall.

Mr. Kusner asked about the source of water for irrigation.  Mr. Shaffer said it was Town water.  Mr. Weiss said that he had seen a well being installed at the site the day after Town Meeting’s vote to fund the project. 

Regarding Cherry Hill Golf Course:  Mr. Shaffer praised LSSE Director Linda Chalfant and Golf Course General Manager Barbara Bilz for their efforts with the course, which he said had an “extraordinary summer.”  He said that course revenues are almost $30,000 ahead of this point last year, and said the season will continue well into October if the weather is good.  He said that they had received good comments from golfers, and that with revenues up and expenses down, he said he was “very optimistic” about the course.

Mr. Weiss asked about the RFP for brownfields.  Mr. Shaffer said he still needed to talk to the Planning Department and Conservation Director David Ziomek about it.  Mr. Shaffer said it is an area he is very interested in and one in which he has much experience.  Mr. Weiss noted the RFP deadline, and Mr. Kusner detailed some of the next steps that need to be taken and whom to contact.  Mr. Weiss said that if such free money is available, it should be pursued.  Mr. Shaffer said that such money is typically only available for land owned by a town or by a non-profit, and not land under private ownership, unless it has “considerable tax indebtedness.” 

Ms. Brewer asked for an update on the status of creating a School Zone at the intersection of Route 116 and Pomeroy Lane.  Mr. Shaffer said that he needed to follow up on that topic, and that creating a School Zone is not an easy process. 

Ms. Greeney asked about the status of arranging a four-towns meeting with the Select Boards and Finance Committees of Shutesbury, Leverett and Pelham.  Mr. Weiss said letters had been sent out, and that it appeared that Saturday, October 20th was the preferred date, and that no time had been set.  Ms. Greeney asked that it be scheduled for 1:30 p.m. or later, if that is possible, and Mr. Weiss said that he would try to accommodate that request.

Pursuing CPAC Funding for Town Hall Project (8:50)

Mr. Weiss said Town Counsel believes that the option of using Community Preservation Act Committee (CPAC) money for the Town Hall repair project needs to be brought to Fall Town Meeting in order to be eligible for such funding.  Because the project has already begun and the goal is to fund its debt service, he said there were technical details of how and when the pre-borrowing payments are being made that need to be considered, and that Town Counsel and Mr. Musante need to discuss this further.

Mr. Kusner said that if details couldn’t be worked out in time for the Fall Town Meeting warrant, holding a Special Town Meeting was another option.  Mr. Weiss agreed, but cautioned about how little time was available and how quickly it passes. 

Ms. Greeney said she thought the issue needed more time for discussion and said that her understanding was that the borrowing wouldn’t happen for 24 months, leaving ample time to address the issue.  She suggested that the Spring Town Meeting might be a better time to bring it forward, when it would be in the context of the full budget. 

There was some discussion abut how Ms. Greeney’s understanding was based on an earlier opinion from Town Counsel, but that subsequent information had changed that opinion.  Mr. Shaffer said that the current opinion is that addressing the issue at Fall Town Meeting would remove the potential for this to be considered an inappropriate use of CPA funds.  He said that it would require a recommendation from the Historical Commission to CPAC, and would require Town Meeting action to modify the budget appropriation for the project to accommodate the new CPAC recommendation.

Ms. Greeney said that all the Select Board members needed to have access to the same information in order to make decisions and determine policy.  Mr. Weiss said he had thought he had told her in a brief conversation earlier that day.  He said that some Town staff had advised that there was no rush on this issue, and that he (Mr. Weiss) had contacted the Town Counsel directly to try to keep the issue from falling through the cracks.

Ms. Greeney spoke about having read in the newspaper about a meeting with CPAC members, Historical Commission members, Town staff and two Select Board members.  She said that she had had no knowledge of the meeting, and that there had been no instruction by the Select Board for such discussion to occur, and said that she felt that it undermined the vote that the Select Board had taken on the issue. 

Mr. Kusner took exception to Ms. Greeney’s comments and said he resented them and requested that they be retracted.  He said that he had not been invited to the meeting, but had asked to attend once he learned of it, and insisted that it had not undermined the Select Board’s vote.  He said his position in the Select Board discussion and vote had been that substantial though not full funding be pursued from CPAC through the Historical Commission, and that the Select Board had agreed that he could offer a minority report on that.  He said that his and Mr. Weiss’ positions at the meeting in question were consistent with their respective positions from the Select Board discussion and vote. 

Mr. Weiss said that Mr. Musante, Mr. Shaffer, Planning Director Jonathan Tucker, Historical Commission Vice Chair Jim Wald, CPAC Chair Peter Jessop, Mr. Kusner and Mr. Weiss had attended, and confirmed that Mr. Kusner had not been invited but that he was welcomed.  Mr. Weiss summarized the meeting by saying that the Select Board and the Historical Commission are “quite far apart” on the question of how much of the Town Hall funding should come from CPAC funds.  He said there was no undermining of the Select Board vote, and said there was “great disagreement” with the Historical Commission.  He said they had agreed to seek a report from the project’s architect about how much of the money was attributable to historic preservation, and how much was attributable to maintenance.

Mr. Kusner said it was his participation that led to seeking the architect’s report, and said he believes his efforts are supporting the Select Board’s position in light of the discrepancy between the two bodies, rather than undermining it.  He said he was “taken aback,” by Ms. Greeney’s comments and said “If this happened to me in a dark alley, I don’t know where we would be right now.”

Ms. Greeney said that she took back her remarks about undermining the vote.  She said that she apologized if she had offended Mr. Kusner, but that her remarks had not been directed at him.  She said that her point was that the Select Board had not instructed Mr. Weiss to have a meeting to seek a compromise, and said her impression from the newspaper article was that there were efforts to reach a further conclusion without Select Board participation.  She said her concern was that a discussion had taken place without full Select Board participation.

Mr. Shaffer said that he had called the meeting in order to hear from representatives of the different boards who would be dealing with this issue in order to hear ideas about how it might be resolved.  He said that it was his and the Select Board’s responsibility to reach out to other bodies about matters of the Town Manager’s and Select Board’s concern, and that the intent was to bring more people into the process, and not to cut anyone out.  He said there was no ill intent and that the meeting had been called to seek and receive information from the Historical Commission and CPAC.

Mr. Weiss said that the Select Board’s vote represented the Select Board’s position, and that he was speaking to that position at the meeting, not taking a different one.

Ms. Greeney said she appreciated the efforts to resolve the situation, and the explanations about it.  She requested that if such a meeting were to be called in the future, that all Select Board members be informed so as not to feel excluded.

Ms. Brewer said that the Select Board appeared to not have a shared set of expectations about their roles.  She referred to the earlier discussion and the difference between her assumption of the Chair as a spokesperson versus Ms. Greeney’s assumption of the Chair as one who runs the meetings, and said that confusion results from that lack of a shared understanding of roles.  She said that her own understanding was that the Chair takes part in many informal meetings because that is the nature of such a board.  She said that it was uncomfortable to read about something significant in the paper before hearing about it from within the Select Board, and said she didn’t attribute it to bad intent, but rather to everyone being busy.  She said there also might be some wariness on the part of the Chair to inform other members about that which might create more work for him, perhaps through their desire to also attend such a meeting.  She said that perhaps they could agree to be informed about issues without necessarily considering that to be an invitation to participate. 

Mr. Weiss said this was a topic that would require further discussion.

Ms. Greeney said she wanted to “confess” that she would be participating in a meeting on Friday that Mr. Shaffer had called at her urging, with the Town Manager and the Amherst and UMass Police Chiefs, among others, about neighborhood issues.  Mr. Weiss said he was glad because he had been wanting such a meeting to occur.  Mr. Shaffer said that Ms. Greeney had “been pushing (him) very hard” for such a meeting, because similar ones had been productive last spring, but that the Friday meeting would have to be postponed because not all the parties would be available. 

Mr. Kusner reiterated his points about not having been invited to the meeting, and having learned about it through a conversation on a different matter with one of the participants; that the Board had allowed him to offer a minority report; and that he supports substantial but not full CPAC funding for the project. 

Mr. Weiss said he wanted to concentrate on the substance of the matter and not the details.  He said he raised the issue because a Special Town Meeting warrant many be necessary to deal with it, and because he wanted to say publicly what is going on, and to publicly push Mr. Shaffer to resolve the difference of opinion between the Town Counsel and Mr. Musante.  Mr. Weiss called the situation “difficult and upsetting on many levels,” and said they were trying to be “up front” about what is going on, while trying to get something done.  He said Larry Kelley’s actions (filing complaints alleging violations of open meeting and conflict of interest laws) have “had a very chilling effect on the workings of this Select Board,” and compared those actions to playing the very edges of a ping-pong table.

Ms. Greeney said that she objected to the personal nature of Mr. Weiss’ criticism.

Mr. Weiss said that concern about committing violations is why everyone is not informed of all meetings, because if anyone responds to inquire what the meeting is about, then they are at risk.  He called that “chilling,” and said it complicated their work.

Ms. Greeney requested that Mr. Weiss state that he was expressing his personal opinion, and he did so, and she noted that she was uncomfortable with the personal nature of Mr. Weiss’ language and criticism.  Mr. Weiss said that her objections were noted.

Ms. Brewer asked about the timeline for a Special Town Meeting, and noted that the Select Board would be signing the Fall Town Meeting warrant at their October 15th meeting.  Mr. Weiss said that trying to get an article prepared for a Special Town Meeting would require work that won’t be done in public, but needs to be done.  Ms. Greeney asked that the determination by Mr. Shaffer, Mr. Musante and Town Counsel come to the Select Board for discussion before the decision is made to pursue a Special Town Meeting.  Mr. Weiss said that would be on their next agenda.

Mr. Shaffer said that Attorney Joel Bard would need to reach a conclusion in order to provide guidance to the Select Board and Town Meeting.  Mr. Shaffer said that he (Mr. Shaffer) would attend a meeting of the Historical Commission about the matter on Thursday, October 4th at 7:15 p.m., and would present the historic preservation portion of the Town Hall project cost. 

Ms. Greeney said she apologized if she was being “nasty” this evening, but was “taken aback” by the decision to break down the historic preservation versus the maintenance costs, and said she didn’t believe the Select Board had decided to present that to the Historical Commission.

Mr. Shaffer said that the Select Board’s majority position is for full CPAC funding for the project, and that the Historical Commission’s position is for none.  He said that the CPAC Chair was not speaking for CPAC, but had indicated that CPAC would probably follow the Historical Commission’s recommendation.   Mr. Shaffer said that if any portion was to be recommended for CPAC funding, that the best course of action was to convince the Historical Commission that that some if not all of the cost was attributable to historic preservation.  Mr. Shaffer said that it is a “hard sell,” and that the Historical Commission was “not buying it.”  He said that the Select Board can’t just decide that it wants the full-funding, and that it has to go through the Historical Commission’s process and persuade that body that the project is appropriate and fundable.

Select Board Procedures (9:20)

Mr. Weiss suggested that the topic of Select Board procedures not be taken up at this meeting. 

Scheduling the Annual Town Election

Mr. Weiss said that the possibility of holding the Town election on the same day as the Presidential Primary wasn’t a good idea because it was expected to put too much stress on Town staff.  Ms. Brewer said it had seemed like a good idea and had some support, but that she was now preferring the April 1st date.  It was noted that that date had much potential for ridicule, but that the week before was right after Easter.  Mr. Kusner suggested the possibility of holding the Town election in early February instead, as something to consider but not as something he was endorsing.  He said that if there were to be any newly-elected Select Board members, it would involve them in the budget process earlier, which he noted was one of the reasons cited by those who would prefer fall elections.  Residents being away during the UMass winter break and the increased potential for poor weather at that time of year were among the reasons a February date was not popular among the Select Board members.

The vote to hold the annual Town election on April 1st, with polls open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., was 4 in favor, 1 absent.

As it was nearly 9:30, Mr. Weiss moved to extend the meeting for the purpose of considering committee appointments.  The vote was 3 in favor, 1 abstention and 1 absent.  Mr. Kusner abstained, saying he would do so until the Board decides what it is doing regarding the ending time for meetings.

Committee Appointments

With the absence of Ms. Awad who is the current Appointments Clerk, Mr. Kusner recommended approval of Mr. Shaffer’s appointment of Nancy Gilbert to the Board of Health.  The vote to approve the appointment was 4 in favor, 1 absent.

Mr. Kusner recommended the appointment of Merrylees Turner to the Comprehensive Planning Committee (CPC.) 

Ms. Brewer said that she appreciated that this was the chosen representative of the Library Trustees, and that the Select Board tends to support such choices.  She said that Ms. Turner has served previously on the CPC, “and resigned, and then voted against what this committee was trying to do.”   Ms. Brewer said that after a long process and much work by many people, that this was “not time to bring in an alternate viewpoint” or to “second-guess” the process.  Ms. Brewer said that because Ms. Turner had resigned, and requested that her name not appear on any of the CPC’s materials presented to Town Meeting that season, Ms. Brewer said she found the nomination “very unfortunate,” and encouraged the Select Board not to approve it.  Ms. Brewer said that the Library Trustees should be requested to recommend someone who will “commit to attending the meetings and to moving forward with the process as has been developed by the committee.”  She said that if the goal is broader participation, it did not make sense to bring back a previous committee member instead of appointing someone new.  Ms. Brewer said that it has been suggested to her that although there are a couple of vacancies on CPC, because the committee currently has 24 voting members and many non-voting liaisons, that it was not necessary to fill every slot now when the CPC is due to soon turn their materials over to the Planning Board, and then consider whether or not the committee continues in order to play a role in the implementation phase.

Mr. Kusner thanked Ms. Brewer for her perspective as former CPC Chair.  He noted that Ms. Turner is the elected representative from the Library Trustees and that while the Select Board was not bound by that recommendation, they should take that into account.  He said that he respectfully disagreed with Ms. Brewer, and that he had featured three CPC members with diverse views on a radio program the day before.  He said that while the committee is wrapping up its work, it is also reconciling conflicting language in the draft plan, and said that there is a “new spirit on that committee that can probably withstand the voice of someone who might have had different opinions earlier.” 

Mr. Weiss said that both had offered “well-articulated opinions.”

Ms. Brewer said that the Select Board should consider not just this appointment, but a topic she said has been brought before, regarding how much responsibility the Select Board bears for the committees they appoint.  She said there is general agreement that they consider whether a committee meets actively and is fulfilling its charge, but said that the Town Government Act also cites “merit and fitness.” She said there was no recourse for addressing anyone’s behavior or removing people once they are appointed to committees, and suggested that that also be considered in relation to the Select Board’s responsibility for such bodies.

Mr. Kusner said that it has been suggested that the Select Board might adopt a process more akin to Senate hearings, where potential appointees could be questioned in open session about how they would behave if they were to be appointed.  He said they probably didn’t want to go into that much detail, and said that when he has had concerns about appointees, he has either abstained or voted in support.

The vote to support the appointment of Ms. Turner to the CPC was 3 in favor, 1 opposed and 1 absent, with Ms. Brewer voting to oppose. 

The meeting adjourned at about 9:45.  The next regular meeting of the Select Board is scheduled for October 15th at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall.

-- Stephanie O’Keeffe