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News/Events - Meeting Minutes

1. MEMBERS PRESENT: Wendy Ballinger, Chairman; Joe Armstrong; David Grace; Kathy Donahue; Dave Friedman; Scott Roberts; Constantine Constantinides; Tony Vegnani. MEMBERS NOT PRESENT: Al Bangert.

2. ACCEPTANCE OF AGENDA. A MOTION was made by Mr. Grace to accept the agenda; this was SECONDED by Mr. Friedman, the motion passed unanimously, 8-0.

3. REVIEW OF ENTERPRISE FUND BUDGETS FOR 2005 ANNUAL TOWN MEETING.
Dept. 66 WATERWAYS ENTERPRISE FUND. Ms. Ballinger turned the floor over to Ms. Donahue who said she had been at the lease meeting in December, and that there are still some loose ends. She said that the Cole Parkway marina seems well under control; there have been some staff changes in the Harbormaster’s office; and that some issues need to be addressed, as the Town is now operating a sophisticated marina system, with two large marinas generating a lot of billing. She observed that there are good marina software programs around and that it would behoove the Harbormaster’s office to use one of these as it would be useful for tracking billing. She also said that it appears that the website is being developed. Regarding Scituate Marine Park (SMP), Ms. Donahue said that short term plans were promised in July, but that nothing has happened yet. She said that the tenant, Wally Foster, is way behind on rent; although he paid $8000 last Friday he is still way behind. She said that there are items on the lease (which is a standard lease) that should be met; the Town expects $100,000 in rent this year; the debt should be retired in 10 years. She said that the tenant has boats there and a substantial amount of damage has been done, this must be dealt with by the Town. Ms. Donahue also observed that the Town has increasing involvement in the South River, and that mooring fees need to be collected and the pumpout boat situation needs to be worked on. Regarding user fees, Ms. Donahue said that some people have not paid, and that there are a certain number of scofflaws and that they should be dealt with; the Harbormaster plans to get together with the marina owners to see what can be done, as the Town is down about $28,000. Ms. Ballinger asked for Mr. Agnew’s comments. He said that the Town will be taking people to court for not paying user fees. He said that regarding the tenant, the Town is trying to renegotiate the lease, as it is difficult to navigate. Ms. Donahue said that Mr. Foster is obligated to pay the bill and the Town shouldn’t renegotiate midlease; the anniversary date would be a better time to renegotiate. She said that Mr. Foster is 16 months into the lease; Mr. Agnew said we have only owned the marina for three months. Ms. Donahue said that the main hauling was done in October and November and Mr. Foster owes the Town nearly $50,000 in the month after the activity. Mr. Regan said that Mr. Foster will owe a penalty amount at the end of the year. Ms. Donahue said that we are $42,000 shy of rent this month. She said a letter was written by the Waterways Commission to the Selectmen requesting the creation of an oversight committee for the new marina; Mr. Pollard said that he believed that the committee had not been assembled yet. Ms. Donahue said that experts should be assembled in such a committee. Regarding the management system previously mentioned, Mr. Regan said that one is now in use; aerial photos have been taken and all moorings have been located. He said we are only one step away from being able to use the photo to identify who owes fees. He said that the second increment of marina floats are being obtained, so two thirds are now done. Ms. Donahue asked about damage to floats at SMP; Mr. Patterson said that the floats could be repaired in house; most damage is to hardware and these are easy fixes. Ms. Donahue asked about ground tackle; Mr. Patterson said that the way boats were tied up also was responsible for some of the damage. Mr. Regan said that one of the Assistant Harbormasters is now qualified in SCUBA, and another will be this year, so we can inspect moorings and so forth without hiring a subcontractor. Mr. Armstrong said that he is impressed by the SCUBA training and software being used, for a more scientific management of the operation. He said that he is concerned with the situation with Mr. Foster, and that we must be sure he doesn’t stay behind in his payments. He also said that we shouldn’t change the terms and conditions we inherited with the lease; if we reassess in October at the year anniversary we will have more time to see how he is performing on it, and we don’t want to open up to legal liabilities. He said that accounting is traditional to marina operations and he can hire his own person for this. Mr. Friedman asked about Waterways Enterprise Fund retained earnings, and Mr. Agnew said that funding will come from fees and anything else necessary will come from retained earnings. Mr. Roberts asked about the lease; Mr. Regan said that he will calculate what Mr. Foster owes for what is in the yard. There was a discussion about how the amounts are calculated. Mr. Agnew said that this will be sorted out shortly and the monies owed us will be collected, and that we can break the lease if Mr. Foster does not meet the terms. Mr. Agnew said that the SMP is under the control of the Harbormaster, just as the Town marina is. Mr. Roberts asked about the Waterways Commission; Mr. Agnew said that they are a subcommittee of the Board of Selectmen and that they are advisory. Mr. Roberts asked about the capital plan for the Waterways Enterprise Fund; Mr. Agnew said the plan from October is the one that is in use, it was among articles that were passed in October and was voted at the Special Town Meeting in September 2000. Ms. Donahue said that some of the numbers have changed since then. Mr. Constantinides asked about the organization of the proposed SMP committee; Mr. Agnew said that the Selectmen will appoint a committee but that this has not been done yet. Mr. Constantinides asked about moorings; he asked about half a dozen moorings in Minot and if they are exempt from fees. Mr. Regan said that if they are in our waterways they are not exempt from fees, but that they are dangerous and we don’t want them out there. Mr. Patterson said that if they are 100 feet out they are anchored in the ocean and are outside of the Town’s purview. Mr. Agnew said that this should be checked out. Mr. Roberts made a MOTION to approve the budget, the motion was SECONDED by Mr. Constantinides. Ms. Ballinger said that she did not see any reason to hold any further budgets. The motion passed unanimously 8-0. Ms. Donahue asked if any action should be taken about the formation of the SMP committee, should the Advisory Committee voice its concerns. Mr. Constantinides said that this should be left to the Selectmen. Ms. Ballinger said that she hoped Mr. Pollard would advise the Selectmen of the discussion on this subject.

Dept. 63 TRANSFER STATION. Mr. Roberts said that revenues are strong and the levy hit has been reduced over the last couple of years ($400,000 to $100,000). Cash on hand is $777,000, with $6464,000 in retained earnings, or “free cash”. The budget is up $132,000, $122,000 of which is pension and health care costs. There was a discussion about bulky waste and the scale used to measure it. Mr. Roberts said that the foreman was upgraded this year and this was offset by the deletion of seasonal salaries. Mr. Constantinides asked if the foreman’s increase is a step increase, and Mr. Agnew said that it is a grade increase. Mr. Constantinides asked about the contract with haulers; Mr. Agnew said that Seamass said they agreed to provide all hauling after the Town said they would pull out of the three year contract. Mr. Friedman asked about the closed landfill on Stockbridge Road; Mr. Roberts said that $75,000 a year is spent maintaining this, Mr. Friedman said that he would like to see this greatly reduced. Mr. Roberts said that some expenses for setup of the transfer station were included in the D&I figure, as well as the financing of the $130,000 scale. Mr. Friedman said that the purchase of a new loader hasn’t shown up in the capital plan, at what point will it be budgeted for. Mr. Agnew said that fees would have to be raised and Mr. Friedman said that perhaps that should be considered. Mr. Vegnani agreed; he also asked about the increase in the cost of bags, and Mr. Antoniello said that they bid for them. There was a discussion about the quality of the bags. Ms. Donahue asked about the length of time needed to pay off the scale. Mr. Agnew said that BFI has a hard to handle waste section. Ms. Donahue asked if the gas coming off the closed landfill can be collected and sold; Mr. Agnew said that the DEP requires testing of it and that it will only be useful for a couple of years, although it will continue to burn for 25 years. Ms. Donahue said that the transfer station is very well run; M. Armstrong agreed. Mr. Agnew said that Seamass gave him a price to take over running the facility; he said it would cost more to have them do it, but just a bit, and more than anything people like the way it is run as it is. Mr. Roberts asked if the override doesn’t pass, what would we use the $100,000 commitment from the levy. Mr. Roberts said that the transfer station is very well funded and this could be looked at. Mr. Roberts made a MOTION to accept the budget; Ms. Donahue SECONDED the motion; the budget passed unanimously on a vote of 8-0.

Dept. 440 SEWER DEPARTMENT. Mr. Friedman said he met with the supervisor, Bob Rowland, and that increased expenditures on the debt accounts for the budget increase; other increases are relatively small. Referring to line 5309, Technical Services, he said the software is five years old and an increase is requested to have it serviced more regularly. He said that there are 24 miles of sewer pipe and asked how many miles have been relined. Mr Antoniello said that he could get this figure. He said that there are three pumping stations and the plant currently has a permitted capacity of 1.6 million gallons a day, and we are currently using 1.1 million. He said that the Greenbush section is coming on line this spring and the Cliffs phase is expected to come on line in the fall of 2006. Mr. Agnew said this is coming up to bid and he expects construction to start in May. Regarding the ongoing inflow and infiltration of the sewer system, the department has found 24 leaks and letters to homeowners will be written but this is time consuming. Mr. Antoniello said that a viewpipe requirement will be added for new construction to make it easier to spot leaks. Mr. Agnew said the total at the wastewater treatment plant has gone down. He said that it seems there are not as many leaks as we had thought; he explained how drainage system worked so sump pumps don’t go into the sewer, but that only 12 or so out of 60+ they investigated were problematic. Mr. Friedman said he wondered if Mr. Rowland was being aggressive enough, and Mr. Agnew said that the DEP won’t give a permit otherwise. Mr. Armstrong asked about the storm drain connection, and Mr. Agnew said that the alphabet streets are the only ones where the Town will pay for them. Ms. Donahue asked about conversion to low flow toilets; Mr. Antoniello said that this was done a few years ago. Mr. Constantinides asked about capacity and will it increase in the next five years. He asked if there is a plan prioritizing the neighborhoods to be sewered; Mr. Antoniello said that he can provide the most up to date version of this. There was a more extensive discussion of capacity. Mr. Friedman asked about rates, new user’s fees and betterment money, and there was a brief discussion about this. Mr. Freidman made a MOTION to approve the budget; the motion was SECONDED by Mr. Roberts; the motion passed unanimously, 8-0.

DEPARTMENT 65 WATER. Ms. Ballinger read Mr. Bangert’s statement on this Department, in his absence. In the statement, he noted that the operation is well run but expressed a concern about the amount of overtime built into the schedule due to the current staff level; he pointed out that adding one full-time licensed operator would eliminate half of the overtime and fund the cost of the additional employee. Mr. Constantinides asked if any funding from the State could be applied for. Mr. Agnew said that with wastewater we are eligible for the State revolving fund so that we can borrow at two percent. Mr. Roberts asked if revenues are suffering with the recent wet weather. Mr. Agnew deferred to Ms. Gallagher, who said that we were $80,000 below what was budgeted last year. Mr. Roberts asked if the rates could be tied to the budgets. He said that water rates were raised 6 percent and sewer rates about 16 percent last year. He said that the Selectmen have to vote on this. Mr. Agnew said that water rates should go up about four percent a year. Mr. Friedman talked about overtime and said that this is the third year in a row that this situation has been obvious. Mr. Agnew said that of the $90,000 in overtime, $55,000 is clerical, for billing; $32,000 is for weekend and after hours repairs; $17,000 is for the leak detection program; and $7500 is for flushing water mains. Mr. Friedman asked if someone couldn’t be put on from Tuesday to Saturday, for example; Mr. Agnew said that it would have to be a new hire, as the union would not allow it otherwise. On a question from Mr. Vegnani, Mr. Agnew said that overtime is time and a half. Mr. Agnew went over the cuts he made to the department request; the largest cuts were in Line 5242, repair/maintenance, for cranberry bog diversion; and Line 5423, special agency supplies, for outside contractors to deal with water main breaks. Mr. Antoniello talked about remote meter readers; Mr. Agnew said that these are mostly used in cities. Ms. Donahue asked about the state limit; she said that we have 300 connects left before we meet the capacity. Mr. Antoniello said capacity withdrawal limit is often confused with connection limits. He explained how the State figures this out; they figure out the population increase and give a withdrawal permit. Mr. Agnew said that the figures they use are usually incorrect. Ms. Donahue asked about exploring new water sources; Mr. Antoniello said that this is being done, and a yield analysis of the wells is being updated. Ms. Donahue asked about the fact that sewering around Greenbush Pond will be diverting water from the pond and what the result will be; Mr. Antoniello said that septic system pollution is being diverted from the pond. Mr. Constantinides asked about Marshfield water; Mr. Agnew said that they charge us the same that they charge their own people. Mr. Roberts made a MOTION to accept the budget; SECONDED by Mr. Constantinides; the motion passed unanimously, 8-0.

DEPARTMENT 661 WIDOW’S WALK GOLF COURSE. Mr. Vegnani said that the budget is straightforward, it is currently up 3.5 percent over FY04. He said that the debt was refinanced and it will result in a $500,000 saving over the life of the loan. He said that the lawsuit is still pending, and that the restaurant has not been taken over by the Town. He said that overall the golf course is well run but that revenue is difficult to project due to the fact that it is weather dependent. Mr. Grace asked about junior programs; Mr. Agnew said that the landing areas have been widened. Mr. Grace asked if tournaments could come here and Mr. Agnew said that this was not likely because of the difficulty of the course. Mr. Grace asked about the number of rounds played per year, is it going up or down; Mr. Agnew said he doesn’t know, he only pays attention to the revenue. Mr. Grace pointed out that other courses in the area charge a lot more. Mr. Agnew said that Green Harbor is fairly easy which is why it is popular; he said that South Shore Country Club has a restaurant and a large membership; he said that courses inland have 360 degrees while we have 180 because we are on the shore. Mr. Grace asked if an early bird schedule could be considered; Mr. Agnew said that such a schedule causes a huge problem with maintenance. Mr. Grace said that players are used to playing around that, and that a number of people would come out for that, and that they would come in to pay upon completion of their round; Mr. Agnew said that he would take this up with Mr. Sanderson. Ms. Donahue asked about capital improvements to the building or parking lot; Mr. Agnew said that he might do the drainage work to the parking lot, and landscaping on the front. Ms. Donahue asked about the trucks stored right beside the road and said that it is unattractive, we should make sure the appearance of the property is appealing. She also asked if there is a capital plan for the building; Mr. Agnew said that we don’t have enough parking area and there is no way to extend it. Ms. Donahue asked about marketing, and Mr. Agnew said that we paid $20,000 once for marketing and he thought it didn’t bring in one round of golf. Mr. Friedman asked about capital investments to date; Ms. Gallagher said that $36,500 has been spent. Mr. Agnew said that he would use the rest of the capital budget to pay for as many catch basins in the parking lot as possible. Mr. Friedman agreed with Mr. Grace that we should report number of rounds per year played. Mr. Friedman suggested giving out a sleeve of golf balls for each completed 18 holes as a gesture, as everyone always talks about how many balls they lose there. Mr. Armstrong asked if the balls would be embossed with the Widow’s Walk name, as this would be a good idea. Mr. Roberts asked about free cash; Ms. Ballinger said that there was a deficit of $343,798. Ms. Donahue asked where the legal fees come out of; Mr. Agnew said they come out of the Selectmen’s budget. Ms. Ballinger asked when the lawsuit will be resolved; Mr. Agnew said that it will be settled by June 30. Mr. Grace suggested inviting Golf Digest magazine back to write an article about the course; he said they were interested in the materials used to construct the course. A MOTION was made by Mr. Vegnani to approve the budget; the motion was SECONDED by Mr. Roberts, and by unanimous vote the motion passed 8-0. Mr. Friedman pointed out that the management fee is actually a course maintenance fee.

4. REVIEW OF ARTICLES FOR ANNUAL TOWN MEETING.
Article 1. Compensation for Certain Town Elected Officials. This article is unchanged from last year. Mr. Grace made a MOTION to approve Article 1; the motion was SECONDED by Mr. Armstrong; the motion passed unanimously on a vote of 8-0.

Article 2. Compensation of Elected Town Clerk. Mr. Agnew said that the intent is to increase the Town Clerk’s compensation by 3 percent. A MOTION was made by Mr. Grace to approve Article 2; the motion was SECONDED by Mr. Roberts; the motion passed unanimously on a vote of 8-0.

Article 3. Free Cash. This article is unchanged from last year. On a MOTION by Mr. Grace, SECONDED by Mr. Roberts. In further discussion, Mr. Friedman asked how many years free cash has been the same, and Mr. Agnew said about five years. Mr. Agnew said that this is the amount the schools turn back every year. Mr. Friedman asked about the Stabilization Fund. A vote was then taken, and the article passed unanimously, 8-0.

Article 12. MGL Chapter 91 Liability. Mr. Agnew said that MGL Chapter Liability is mandated by the State. On a MOTION by Mr. Friedman, SECONDED by Ms. Donahue, the motion to approve Article 12 passed with a unanimous vote, 8-0.

Article 13. Conservation Fund. According to Mr. Agnew, this is the same as it has been for a number of years. A MOTION was made by Mr. Grace, SECONDED by Mr. Vegnani, to approve Article 13; the motion passed on a unanimous vote, 8-0.

Article 14. Revolving Fund Council on Aging. Mr. Roberts made a MOTION to approve Article 14; this was SECONDED by Mr. Friedman; the motion passed on a unanimous vote, 8-0.

Ms. Ballinger asked Mr. Agnew about Article 23, Release of Restriction on 15 Torrey’s Lane; this was IPed last year by the Board of Selectmen. Ms. Ballinger asked if the legal question could be resolved before this article comes up again.

There was a discussion with Mr. Agnew about the accuracy of revenue figures. There was also a discussion about South Shore Vocational Technical School, which will be on the agenda for the January 27th meeting. Mr. Agnew said that we are paying $80,000 for three students. Mr. Vegnani said that he is trying to work out how they come up with their figures.

Ms. Ballinger said that the Planning Board has withdrawn their articles from next week’s agenda. She said their deadline is February 3, and the language must be locked down by then. Ms. Ballinger suggested that the budgets that have been held come back in for approval at next week’s meeting, including the school budget. Ms. Donahue asked about state reimbursements for the school construction projects; Ms. Ballinger said that Mr. Lynch expects to receive a portion in March and the rest in the fall. Ms. Donahue asked if this will affect the numbers, Ms. Ballinger said this has been factored into the financial forecast. There was a question about whether the interest will be reimbursed.

There was a discussion about the figures in the Revenues vs. Budgets document dated 1/19/05.

5. OLD BUSINESS. Mr. Roberts asked if the CPA figures will be available next week. Ms. Ballinger said that the CPC meets on Monday night and their figures should be available on Tuesday. Mr. Armstrong said that the Old Oaken Bucket project is now off with the CPA and that he had spoken with the owner of the property. He said they are voting on this on Monday night.

6. NEW BUSINESS. There was no business to discuss at this time.

7. ADJOURNMENT. A MOTION was made by Mr. Armstrong to adjourn the meeting; the motion was SECONDED by Ms. Donahue; all were in favor 8-0 and Ms. Ballinger adjourned the meeting at 9:40 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Jean Martin