Source: http://www.douglasma.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=856&p=880
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 12:44:31+00:00

Document:
Mike Guzinski will be at this meeting.
Madame Chairman Shirley Mosczynski called the meeting to order at 7:02 pm. In attendance: Paula Brouillette, Rich Preston, Ron Forget, Edward Therrien, and Administrative Assistant Suzanne Kane.
Other staff and citizens: Town Engineer Bill Cundiff, Town Clerk Christine Furno, Town Moderator Jerome Jussaume, Finance Committee Chair Pamela Holmes, Finance Committee member William Krauss and Jerome Kocur, William Pybas, Ray Whitehead, Deborah Dansreau, and Tribune reporter Tom Mattson.
Shirley Mosczynski had no announcements.
In the agenda is a memo to the Board of Selectmen, from Ida Ouillette, Assistant Assessor, dated December 11, 2003, re: Vacancy on Board of Assessors; and an Application for Boards and Commissions, from Ray Bellenoit, 28 Franklin Street, dated December 1, 2003, for Board of Assessors. This item it to be held over until the next meeting because the Assessors could not make this meeting.
In the agenda is an Application for Class II License from Allen and Gloria Linnell d/b/a A-1 Auto Sales & Repair, $25,000 Bond for Gloria Linnell d/b/a A -1 Auto Sales & Repair; Workers’ Compensation Insurance Affidavit for Allen Linnell; REAP form for Allen Linnell; a letter to Allen Linnell, from Suzanne Kane, dated October 24, 2003; a letter to Allen Linnell, from Suzanne Kane, dated November 28, 2003; a letter to the Board of Selectmen, from Police Chief Foley, dated November 25, 2003, re: Class II License; an article from the Regional Digest of the Worcester Telegram, dated August 16, 2003; a check from A1 Auto; and 2004 License and Conditions. There was discussion about the individual named in the memo from the Police Chief and whether he would have involvement in the business. Suzanne Kane explained that Mr. Linnell assured her he would not be involved and his name would not be on the License. She stated the Auction houses will call our Office if they have any questions about the person using the License. Ron Forget made a motion to approve the application for Class II License for Allen and Gloria Linnell d/b/a A-1 Auto as presented. Rich Preston seconded the motion. All – aye.
In the agenda is a letter to Robert and Magdelyn Crabbe, from Suzanne Kane, dated October 6, 2003; a letter to the Board of Selectmen, from Robert and Magdelyn Crabbe, dated October 2, 2003; a Purchase and Sales Agreement, from the Office of Harold D. Gould, Jr., Esq. dated August 25, 2003, between Robert and Magdelyn Crabbe and Louis Tusino; a letter to the Board of Selectmen, from Executive Administrator Ken Mahony, dated October 3, 2003, re: MGL 61A & 61B withdrawals; a memo to the Planning Board, Conservation Commission, and Open Space, from Suzanne Kane, dated October 3, 2003, re: Chapter 61 B Land – Crabbe; a memo to the Board of Assessors, from Suzanne Kane, dated October 3, 2003, Chapter 61 B Land – Crabbe; a memo to the Tax Collector, from Suzanne Kane, dated October 3, 2003, re: Chapter 61 B Land – Crabbe; an email to Suzanne Kane, from Open Space Chair Lisa Mosczynski, dated October 6, 2003, re: Chapter 61 B; a letter to the Board of Selectmen, from the Planning Board, dated October 29, 2003, re: Robert & Magdelyn Crabbe, Winter Street, Chestnut Street, & Wallum Lake Road: Chapter 61 B; a letter to the Board of Selectmen, from the Conservation Commission; dated November 21, 2003, re: Robert & Magdelyn Crabbe, Winter Street, Chestnut Street, & Wallum Lake Road: Chapter 61 B; and MGL Chapter 61, §9 Notice of intent to sell for or convert to other use. Taken out of order due to time. Ron Forget asked why there is not a reason from the different Boards / Committees as to why they made their recommendations to the Board not to exercise their right of first refusal. Suzanne Kane explained that they have always presented their recommendations in this manner. Rich Preston agreed with Ron Forget, stating that if they base their decision on the recommendations from the different Boards / Committees if would be helpful to have more information. Consensus of the Board to have Suzanne Kane send a memo to the Boards / Committees asking for more information. Ron Forget made a motion not to exercise their option under Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 61A, to a right of first refusal to acquire land totaling 321.65 acres as recorded in the Douglas Assessors Map 285-2, page 3946-472; Map 286-1, page 4802-387; Map 286-2, page 4802-387; Map 297-1, page 4802-387; Map 236-3, page 4802-387; Map 273-12, page 3957-64; Map 273-13, page 4802-387; and Map 273-18, page 3946-179. Paula Brouillette seconded the motion. All –aye.
In the agenda is a memo to the Board of Selectmen, from Suzanne Kane, dated December 30, 2003, re: Sunday Liquor Sales; a Notice to all Local Licensing Authorities, from Eddie Jenkins, ABCC Chairman, dated December 10, 2003, re: Sunday Sales; Chapter 141 of the Acts of 2003, §31, 32, and 33; Article from Telegram, Sunday Liquor Sales get Ok – Uxbridge Board gives approval, dated December 24, 2003; email to Suzanne Kane, from Uxbridge Administrative Assistant Judith Stocks, dated December 29, 2003, re: Sunday Liquor Sales; List of 2003 Liquor Licenses Holders; Sunday Liquor Sales for §15 Licensee’s Conditions; General License Application for Deborah Dansereau d/b/a Diggers Liquors, for Sunday Liquor Sales; Notice of Approval of Special License for Deborah Dansereau d/b/a Diggers Liquors; ABCC Form – 43 for Deborah Dansereau d/b/a Diggers Liquors for Sunday Sales; General License Application for Ray Whitehead d/b/a Douglas Convenience Center; for Sunday Liquor Sales; ABCC Form – 43 for Ray Whitehead d/b/a Douglas Convenience Center, for Sunday Sales; Notice of Approval of Special License for Ray Whitehead d/b/a Douglas Convenience Center; ABCC Form – 43 for David Wnukowski d/b/a Douglas Package Store, for Sunday Sales; General License Application for David Wnukowski d/b/a Douglas Package Store, for Sunday Sales; Notice of Approval of Special License for David Wnukowski; Article from Telegram – Towns plan action on Sunday liquor sales, dated January 5, 2004; and Permits for Sunday Sales – Year 2004. Suzanne Kane explained that she had spoken to Town Counsel. Chapter 141 of the Acts of 2003 has changed MGL to allow Sunday liquor sales. The Boards only action would be to approve permits submitted by §15 License holders who want to be open on Sundays. The Board must also decide if they will charge an additional fee and how many days they will allow the establishment to be open. Suzanne Kane explained that the Board could also choose to adopt a statute to make the Town ‘dry’. If they did this no one would be allowed to open on Sunday. Suzanne Kane explained that she invited the establishments to come before the Board as some had concerns or requests as far as openings; some would like to choose which Sundays they open. Ray Whitehead came before the Board. He stated he would like to sell alcohol on Sundays. He stated he is open anyway, but would like the Board to allow each establishment to decide for themselves whether to stay open or not. He stated his concern is he will loose business to other Towns, business that may not come back. Deborah Dansereau came before the Board, she stated that, personally she does not want to open on Sundays; she feels she does not gain anything by staying open. She would like to be open on Sundays in the summer though and not the winter. Ray Whitehead stated there is a definite increase in business during the summer. Rich Preston stated he is in favor of Sunday sales. Ron Forget stated the establishments should be allowed to open as they wish, it should be no different then Gregory’s Pizza closing on Mondays. Rich Preston made a motion to approve the permits as presented, in addition allowing all licensees to open 7 days per week at no additional charge, allowing them to set their own schedule. Ron Forget seconded the motion. There was a question to the hours of operation. Suzanne Kane stated the hours are set by the State. She explained that she typed out the conditions as outlined in MGL Chapter 136, §6(52) and Chapter 138, §33(a,b,c). The conditions would be added to the license. On the vote: all – aye.
In the agenda is an email to Suzanne Kane, from Grant Writer Carla Cataldo, dated December 31, 2003, re: Work Summary; a letter to Ken Mahony, from Carla Cataldo, dated September 9, 2003; the Work Authorization for Carla Cataldo, for the Town of Douglas, and an email to Bill Cundiff, from Weston & Sampson Engineers, Inc. Johannes Wagner, dated December 23, 2003, re: Douglas Downtown Improvements / Review & Comments . Town Engineer Bill Cundiff came before the Board to give an update on the Downtown Improvement project. He reminded the Board that Weston & Sampson gave the Town conceptual recommendations for the downtown improvements. He stated the next step is to get a grant to implement the improvements. He stated the Department of Housing Development is undergoing changes and are now requiring final design plans; last year they accepted designs at the conceptual level. Bill Cundiff asked the consultants at Weston & Sampson what it would take to bring what we have to the final design level; last year they accepted designs at the conceptual level. Their proposal is included in the email he received and found in the agenda packet. He stated that when he first saw the totals he had sticker shock; he thought we were further along then what the consultants feel, he stated it may take some talking to the consultant to get the price down. Bill Cundiff stated he is meeting with the Downtown Improvement group, he has suggested they come up with a proposal for putting utilities underground and bringing it to the Board of Selectmen. He has also put a call into Michael Creasey of the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor Commission looking for possible grants; he has not heard back from him yet. Shirley Mosczynski stated she thought the grants were just starting to come out. Shirley Mosczynski asked if there is a proposal ready to go yet. Bill Cundiff stated he is waiting for more information to complete the proposal. They are at the point of defining the scope of work. Rich Preston agrees that he should look at the utility relocation first and asked if the application should be put together now. Bill Cundiff stated he could, but he is not the best person to be writing a grant, he is more of a technical person; grant writing is more of a job for an Administrator. Rich Preston stated that they used Carla Cataldo before, maybe she could do it. Bill Cundiff informed the Board that he has consulting money in his department budget that could be used. Bill Cundiff stated they first need a design grant, then a construction grant. Shirley Mosczynski stated that she, Bill Cundiff and Ken Mahony had spoken to Wayne Daragh from Community Opportunities Group about appraising the buildings downtown and wondered what the status was. Bill Cundiff stated it hasn’t been done, he got preliminary costs for appraisals from other consultants and they came in high, around $200/building. The purpose is to assess the buildings on a scale of good, fair, and poor. If 25% of the Town is designated fair to poor there is a better opportunity to get the Block Grant. Bill Cundiff stated that with Carla Cataldo, the Town submitted a PWED. He called the State to inquire on the status. He reported that they have not made a decision yet. His feeling from the conversation was, “don’t call us, we’ll call you”. He stated there will be notification, one way or the other once the decision is made. Ron Forget asked Bill Cundiff how the Downtown group would present the utility relocation to Town Meeting. Bill Cundiff explained the different possible ways for funding.
Bill Cundiff reminded the Board of Ken Mahony’s presentation on the temporary easements for the Rt. 16 reconstruction project. He stated he and Ken Mahony had put a letter together that was sent out to the people involved. There were a total of 12. Of the 12, 6 have not responded back in providing temporary easements. He stated he has learned that out of 4 people, 2 are the same and one is a son. He would like permission to start the Taking of Temporary Easements process, by securing an appraiser for appraisals. He warned that if they don’t get even one of the easements, the project will not be done. Bill Cundiff stated that if he gets the Right of Entry Forms from the residents; he will not have to use the appraiser. Rich Preston asked what will happen to the easement areas during re-construction. Bill Cundiff stated it’s for improvement purposes; they want to match the driveway to the road grade, there may be some grading and seeding. Bill Cundiff stated the work is relatively minor within the first 10 feet of the road. Bill Cundiff stated that in the taking of temporary easements, the State dictates the amount of time to take the property; it could take about 5 years. Rich Preston asked if the land owners fully understand what a temporary easement is. Bill Cundiff explained that there was a meeting with the landowners explaining the scope of work and a map went out with the letter. Shirley Mosczynski stated that during that time there were a couple of options, there could have been a lot of confusion. She asked if they have been contacted. Bill Cundiff stated he has spoken to one person who seems receptive. Ron Forget asked how the taking of temporary easements would be funded and what the costs are; to which Bill Cundiff stated he was unsure. Ron Forget stated he feels that more effort should be made to contact the landowners. He feels that anyone who is reasonable would go along with this. Bill Cundiff agrees but doesn’t feel it is his roll to call landowners to negotiate easements; this would be a job for an Administrator. Bill Cundiff offered to get a scope of work from the appraiser and bring it to the Board. Rich Preston made a motion to authorize Bill Cundiff to secure an appraiser as requested . Paula Brouillette seconded the motion. Ron Forget – no, Edward Therrien – no, Paula Brouillette – yes, Rich Preston – yes, Shirley Mosczynski – yes. Motion passed.
In the agenda is the Warrant for Special Town Meeting, Wednesday, January 14, 2004; an email to Suzanne Kane, from Town Counsel Deborah Elaison, dated December 31, 2003, re: Chamberlain Motion; Chamberlain Unitrust Motion; and an email to Christine Furno, Jerome Jussaume, and Pamela Holmes, from Suzanne Kane, dated December 30, 2003, re: Special Town Meeting. Jerome Jussaume and Christine Furno came before the Board. Jerome Jussaume stated the article as written seems to cover everything. He stated borrowing requires a 2/3rd vote. He stated he would like the person who moves the motion to be a proponent of the article. Rich Preston stated Bill Cundiff and Conservation Agent Steve Zisk are working with the School’s Technical Director John Ducharme to create a power point presentation for the meeting.
Passed out at the meeting; a memo to the Board of Selectmen, from Town Accountant Rich Mathieu, dated January 6, 2004, re: Chapter 61 Lands. Finance Committee Chair Pamela Holmes, Finance Committee members William Krauss and Jerome Kocur came before the Board. Rich Preston stated that it is his hope that the majority of money be made by land sale. William Krauss agreed that it is important to get this land for access to the back land and is hoping to make it a no cost purchase. Shirley Mosczynski stated they need to look at all options. She stated that if the land is sold into lots, how many kids that will bring in; what are the costs to the Town to put those kids through school; what are the costs for Police, Fire, and Highway. She stated they need to look at what is going to give them the most bang for their buck. William Krauss said he wonders why Economic Development was not at the last meeting; he feels they should be interested in this. Shirley Mosczynski stated they were invited. Suzanne Kane was asked to notify the Economic Development Committee and see if they would like to give a presentation at the Town Meeting. There was discussion as to why they decided to pursue buying this Chapter 61 land as apposed to other Chapter 61 land. Bill Krauss asked if the Town would be responsible for maintaining the Beagle Club’s right of way. The Board did not think so, Mr. Chamberlain never did. Pam Holmes stated the Town only has an obligation to maintain the deeded right of way. Pam Holmes stated the Finance Committee will not be able to prepare an information flyer for the residents; they hope to print a one page sheet and pass it out at the meeting. The Finance Committee will be meeting on Monday evening to go over this item. Shirley Mosczynski told the Board that they put this out for the Town to decide; do they want to make a recommendation to the Town. Rich Preston stated he has always supported land banking for future Municipal use. He would be in favor of recommending this at Town Meeting. Rich Preston made a motion to support the Article for the January 14th Special Town Meeting. Paula Brouillette seconded the motion. Ron Forget stated that the Board is misleading the public; purchasing the land will not give them access to the back land; to get access to the industrial land is a long shot at best. Ron Forget stated it’s a misleading conception that there is access to the industrial land. He stated that if 800,000 is borrowed; there is a mortgage and engineering cost, he feels we would be paying more. Ron Forget stated we have a Town Engineer, why do we have to go outside and have other people do this for us. Rich Preston stated that he does not think anyone on the Board said there will be access, just ‘potential’ access. Paula Brouillette stated she wanted to echo what Rich Preston said, there are a number of options to pursue, access is not the sole reason for their recommendation. She stated the costs were base lined by another Town that has done this. They are trying to cover all bases and Bill Cundiff’s estimates were conservative. She would also use Town Engineering, but if they can’t the costs are in there. On the vote: Paula Brouillette – yes, Rich Preston – yes, Ron Forget – no, Edward Therrien – no, Shirley Mosczynski – yes. The motion passed. Shirley Mosczynski asked for a motion on the amount to borrow. Paula Brouillette made a motion to insert ‘no more than $800,000’ into the spaces on the motion indicating the amount to be borrowed. Rich Preston seconded the motion. Ron Forget again stated he feels the amount will run way over 800,000. Paula Brouillette explained where the figure came from and the other options to recoup the entire cost, stating again that Bill Cundiff’s estimates were very conservative. Ron Forget stated he feels that if 15 houses are put in to recoup the costs, it defeats the whole purpose of purchasing the land. On the vote: Paula Brouillette – yes, Rich Preston – yes, Ron Forget – no, Edward Therrien – yes, Shirley Mosczynski – yes. Motion passed. Rich Preston offered to present the article. He will make the motion and introduction then defer to other professionals.
• Healey Roundtable Meeting: Shirley Mosczynski asked the Board if anyone would be accepting the invitation to Lt. Governor Kerry Healey’s roundtable discussion meeting Friday, January 9th at the Grafton Town Hall. Edward Therrien stated he will be going.
• Letter from the Town of Brookline: Rich Preston asked that the letter from the Town of Brookline Board of Selectmen, dated December 29, 2003, asking for support for Senate Bill 2055, be placed on the next agenda. He stated he would like to look at the letter closer and bring a recommendation to the Board.
Rich Preston made a motion to adjourn at 9:15 pm. Paula Brouillette seconded the motion. All – aye.

References: §9
 §31
 §15
 §15
 §6
 §33