TA Blog: 2009-07-27 BOS

Below is the TA's summary of what transpired at the Board of Selectmen's meeting of July 27, 2009. Questions or comments? Contact the Town Administrator. Official meeting minutes will be posted when approved by the Board.

July 27, 2009 Board of Selectmen Meeting Summary 

1. Read Mail/Sign Warrant

• Meals Tax / Room Tax Increases - DOR has issued guidelines on adoption of new local option taxes: a 0.75% meals tax, and an increase from 4% to 6% for the local room occupancy excise tax. Requires adoption by town meeting, to take effect at the beginning of a calendar quarter. Currently, meals tax is estimated by DOR to generate only $22,000 for Littleton.
• DEP - sewer extension permit - schedule future agenda item to look at status of "sewer department" and consider formalizing the relationship between the Town and LELWD for provision of support services through a memorandum of agreement. 
• Nashoba Valley Technical School District - letter seeking projects for the 2009-2010 school year to be undertaken by Nashoba Valley Tech High students in areas including carpentry, culinary, electrical, plumbing, heating. Applications due October 1, 2009.  

2. Public Input

3. Public Hearing: Fire Department Permits - The Selectmen voted pursuant to MGL C.148,§10A and MGL C.40,§22F, to adopt the fee revised structure for the Fire Department as contained in the public hearing notice, with the exception that the fee for residential smoke detectors would remain at $25.00, but with a fee of $25.00 per reinspection. and, further, that the quarry blasting permit fee be established at $150.00 or the maximum amount allowed under state statute, whichever is less; with clarification that the detail rate of $42 is a per hour amount [4-1].

• Update: statutory maximum for quarry permits is $50; so that number is adopted.

4. School Building Committee: Russell Street School Repair Project - vote to accept the July 22, 2009 recommendation of the School Building Committee and authorize execution of a contract amendment in the amount of $43,120 with Drummey Rosane Anderson, Inc (DRA) of Newton Center, Massachusetts, for hazardous material specification design and abatement monitoring services for the Russell Street School repair project.

5. Board of Selectmen FY 2010 Goals. The Littleton Board of Selectmen voted to hold a public hearing on Monday, August 10, 2009 at 7:30 PM in Room 103, Littleton Town Offices, 37 Shattuck Street, Littleton, MA 01460 on the adoption of FY 2010 goals. The Board held preliminary goal-setting exercises on July 13 and July 27, 2009, and developed the following draft list of goals:

Economic Development

• Littleton Common Overlay District Study - three sub-areas (A - existing Common area; B - IBM west to Beaver Brook Road, including Cisco; C - From east of Common to Powers Road). 
• Identify needs and develop plans for infrastructure improvements
• Commuter rail and related issues 
• Encourage and explore economic development that is a net benefit to the Town.

Town Services

• Roadway Improvement Plan implementation
• Revisit the comprehensive facilities plan, including future use of former police station at 20 Foster Street, Whitcomb Avenue Highway Barn
• Implementing Town Government Study Committee recommendations, including Facilities Manager; and to review other organizational structure issues raised by in the past. 
• Consideration of consolidation of services; regionalization  

Environmental

• Transfer Station/Recycling
• Spectacle Pond Aquifer protection
• Green Initiatives
• Aggressively pursue the preservation of farmland and open space 

Information/Communication

• Improve lines of communication with other local boards and committees, state officials, televise more town board meetings, increase volunteer participation
• Improve lines of communication with the business community
• Continue system-wide adoption of the Code of Conduct and Ethics

Regulatory Issues

• Sign By-law
• Review and clarify nuisance by-law, junk and debris 
• Crematory

• Completion of labor negotiations which do not require overrides, significant cuts in services, or layoffs.
• Support alternative funding activities for projects such as the Track
• Exercise budget restraint; develop multi-year fiscal projections to guide strategies for budgeting and collective bargaining; increase the senior citizen property tax work-off program

6. Appointments - vote to appoint the following individuals to the boards so indicated, each for a three-year term expiring June 30, 2012: Personnel Board [3 members] Joseph Gaffney, Selectman Alex McCurdy, and Finance Committee member Allen McRae, and Conservation Commission [1 member] Carl Melberg.

• schedule filling of vacancy on the Agricultural Commission for the Board's next regular meeting on August 10, 2009; ask AgCom alternates whether they wish to be appointed to full membership.

7A.Littleton Common Overlay District Update - The Planning Board and Board of Selectmen met jointly on Thursday, July 23, 2009 to continue the discussion on the Littleton Common Overlay District Study with Mark Racicot of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC). See MAPC notes from July 23, 2009. See Tables and Charts summarizing June 17, 2009 Forum Results

• look at other measures required for successful implementation on the overlay district, including infrastructure

8A. Performance Appraisal  - schedule Town Administrator's performance appraisal in connection with his September 10th anniversary of employment, using the performance appraisal instrument adopted by the Personnel Board.

8B. Minutes Approval - vote to approve the minutes of July 13, 2009.

9. Executive Session: MGL C.39,§23B Cl. 3 Collective bargaining- vote, pursuant to MGL C.39,§23B clause 3 to go into executive session for the purpose of discussing strategy with respect to collective bargaining, and not to convene in open session thereafter [Roll call vote]