Shutesbury Board of Selectmen Meeting Minutes October 30, 2007 Members present: Chairman Rebecca Torres, Debra Pichanick and Ralph Armstrong. Also Present: Town Administrator David C. Dann and Leslie Bracebridge, recording. Meeting opened at 7:00 P.M. Appointments Police Chief Harding: * Received a request from the Planning Board for a tally of traffic accidents on the portion of Wendell Road near the Ames Brook culvert. * Officers will monitor Halloween trick or treating in the town center. * Shifts are being filled for an officer soon going on medical leave. * Nine or 10 people have signed up for an up-coming mother-daughter RAD class. * The Chief’s schedule and the availability of the police log were reviewed. Highway Superintendent Tim Hunting: * Is almost ready to pave Stowell Road next week. No paving date has been set yet. * Has been grading the dirt roads. * Highway Department work at the library is done except for adding gravel. * This year’s Chapter 90 projects complete, except for paving Stowell Road, included guardrails and crack-filling. * Guardrails, expensive and paid for with Chapter 90 funds are usually put in to replace old guardrails. Occasionally the Highway Department receives a request to install a guardrail in a new location. The typical low bidder, Commonwealth Guardrail, knows the codes for installing the “ribbon-rail” as just installed on West Pelham Road. Bartlett Company typically installs replacement guardrails paid for by the insurance of whosever car damages a guardrail. Planning Board members present joined the Selectmen and Highway Superintendent Tim Hunting in a discussion concerning guardrail patina and then all stayed for a visit from: Retired Franklin County Engineer William “Bill” Allen of Greenfield: Becky welcomed Mr. Allen, inviting him to discuss official maps and anything else about Shutesbury Roads that he might like to discuss: * To produce an official map the town would have to go back through all town meeting actions from the beginning of the town records, unless the town has a complete highway record book of all town road actions ever taken. (Former Shutesbury resident William Randall had read the town meeting records three times and had over his years of community service developed a map and an accompanying list of official road names that included a key to the ownership of county and town roads for Shutesbury before he died in 1999.) * There are a few inconsistencies in the map which Mr. Allen agreed to discuss in detail with the Town Clerk. (Recommendations are at end of these minutes.) * Town meeting lay out and discontinue town roads. County government lay out and discontinue county roads. * An alteration is a major change in the road. A relocation (or to locate anew”) is to reset the bounds with perhaps some minor adjustments. * Since the abolition of county government, one can substitute “the Executive Board of the Franklin Regional Council of Governments” (FRCOG) for “Franklin County.” Franklin County Commissioners had the foresight to plan for jurisdiction of county roads when the FRCOG was being developed. Now by statute, successor county governments or adjudicatory authorities in cities and towns where no such successor governments exist have the ability to approve or disapprove alteration, relocation, specific repairs, discontinuance, or discontinuance of maintenance of county roads in Massachusetts. * Massachusetts General Law (MGL) Chapter (Ch) 82 says that for every county road action, the town clerk is to be sent a record of the action, to be recorded within ten days in the town’s highway book. When a town lays out a road that is also to be recorded in the highway book. (The Shutesbury Town Clerk has never received such a record from the county nor from FRCOG. The only highway record book known to exist under the clerk’s care ends with a 19th century entry.) * There are 5 actions that a county entity can take concerning county roads. They can approve or disapprove the following: 1. Alteration, 2. Relocation (or “locate anew”) 3. Specific repairs and 4. Discontinuance. The new legislation now allows 5. Discontinuance of Maintenance of a county highway as well. * FRCOG can’t do anything unless petitioned either by vote of the town or by petition of any 5 residents except to relocate. If the county decides to relocate, the county bears the expense. If petitioned to relocate the petitioner bears the expense. * A county can lay roads across town lines whereas towns can only lay roads within town lines. * Highway Superintendent Tim Hunting states that he works off a map prepared by William Randall that indicates the width of all roads in town. * Relocation means relocation of the layout, not the cart-way. * Review of terms: Alteration = a major divergence from the original road such as straightening out a curve, Specific Repairs = actions such as changing the grade or material of the roads, and Relocation = to “lay out anew;” to put new boundaries out, so the road fits. * For changes to town roads the town has to have a layout hearing and then a town meeting vote. If approved, then Select Board signs off and files with the town clerk. * To discontinue a town road is a vote of town meeting. There is no legal requirement to have a public hearing to discontinue a road. * MGL Ch 41 section 81E-H addresses official maps. * MGL Ch 41 81I addresses the Planning Board’s role if there is no official map: 45 days to make a report. After 45 days the town meeting can vote, or the selectmen can decide. * FRCOG retained the authority to not allow the state to discontinue roads. * The old county commissioners served as a buffer between states and towns. States can discontinue winter maintenance. * Sometimes towns petition counties to relocate roads so that the decisions are based on practical concerns rather than emotional issues. Topics 1. The Memorandum of Understanding regarding Highway Department road alterations: * Planning Board member Jeff Lacy will put the question, “What does your planning board look at without an official map?” out on the Planning Board list serve for more input on the standard practice of how to handle MGL Ch41 S81.I. * The Planning Board will review the Ames culvert on Wendell Road at their next meeting and decide on the content of their report. Someone will then write a summary for the Planning Board. 2. In consideration of Becky doing the Accountant’s annual evaluation and Debra doing the Police Chief’s annual evaluation, Selectmen unanimously voted that Ralph be the Select Board representative to the Fire Chief’s evaluation. 3. Selectmen reviewed the Union 28 Shared employee benefits proposal. The Finance Committee has endorsed the proposal and the School Committee will review this proposal on November 14. David will inquire as to whether all four schools offer the same plans for employees whose major portion of hours might fluctuate from one town to another in different years. 4. Selectmen unanimously voted to authorize Town Administrator David Dann, Highway Superintendent Tim Hunting, Police Chief Harding and Fire Chief Tibbetts on the application to receive federal surplus property. Select Board Action Items 1. Unanimously voted to approve the minutes of October 16, 2007 as written. 2. Unanimously voted to sign vendor warrants totaling $75,658.04 and payroll warrants totaling $73,785.94. 3. The mutual aid agreement, approved at the fall special town meeting was signed. 4. and 5. Selectmen made additional appointments of: * Mark Pocsik, Rita Farrell and George Arvanitis to the Community Preservation Act Study Committee, * Maryann Antonellis to the Recreation Committee, and * Weezie Houle to the Library Needs Assessment Committee. 6. Selectmen authorized Police Chief Harding, Highway Superintendent Hunting, Fire Chief and Emergency Management Director Tibbetts and Town Administrator Dann to participate in the Federal Surplus Property program. New Topics Selectmen discussed a Fox News report on dam failures that featured Lake Wyola Dam and perhaps for some, implied that it was near failure, based on dam engineer, Laura Wildman’s opinion. Options: * Wait to see if there are negative repercussions and then write a letter to Fox News, * Write an editorial letter to the Gazette. * Give no response. Becky: It is not responsible for the Selectmen to not respond to Laura Wildman’s opinion, made after a one hour analysis, that the dam cannot survive over-topping. The fact is that the town has done a thorough analysis of the dam. * Selectmen want Laura Wildman to review Engineer Root’s reports. William “Bill” Elliott has submitted the two documents that Shutesbury submitted to DEP to engineer Wildman for her review. * Selectmen could wait until the combined Lake Wyola Advisory, and Dam Management Committees and Select Board November 17 meeting to talk it through with the Dam Management Committee, as to the best way to respond. * Ralph will use Becky’s rough draft to write a letter to Laura Wildman stating that we have a dam that we want to take care of and our representative and senator are doing everything they can do to help us secure funding, and leave reference to the Fox News story out. William “Bill” Elliott, who arrived during the Select Board discussion, commented that Laura Wildman is a professional engineer and though she did describe her observations she has not been retained by the town to do so. Becky explained that the reason it goes beyond is because Laura stated her opinion on Fox News, and the Selectmen want to make a simple response statement that hers was a cursory review. Walk-Ins Board of Health Chairman William “Bill” Elliott: 1. The Board of Health adopted an Outdoor Wood-Burning Boiler regulation and has sent it to the regional Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) office for approval before it can be enforced. The regional DEP officials favor Shutesbury’s regulation, because it is the first local regulation to include performance based standards, and will therefore show Shutesbury’s regulation to the new DEP Commissioner. Currently, there are no federal or state-wide wood-burning boiler regulations in place. Bill anticipates that Shutesbury’s regulation will look much like the state regulation being developed by DEP. Selectmen adjourned at 10:15 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Leslie Bracebridge Administrative Secretary * Note from Town Clerk: Mr. Allen offered an impromptu meeting with Town Clerk Leslie Bracebridge at which resident Stephen Puffer attended as a walk-in guest, on Wednesday, November 14. Mr. Allen recommended the following changes to the April 1999 map of Shutesbury that was produced by William Randall: o Change Prescott Road from a county road to a town road. It was laid out through the Metropolitan District Commission watershed area at the time that Quabbin Reservoir was created in order to provide the town with access to Route 202. At that time it was established that if the town ever discontinues Prescott Road it will revert to the Quabbin watershed entity. o Change Briggs Road to a discontinued road, assuming there has been no official town meeting action to the contrary since the 1882 discontinuance which he felt was properly written. (Mr. Allen reiterated his reservations about the 1973 “omnibus vote.” Even though he knows a similar vote in another town has survived a court test, he feels strongly that a vote to discontinue a road should state the beginning and end of the discontinuance, as the 1882 Briggs Road vote did.) o Add to the accompanying list of officially named roads, Middle County Highway from 94 Lakeview Road (at the state park lodge) across the hill behind the lodge, then across Farrar Road at Old Egypt Road and through the woods to the Leverett town line. As is the case with Rockwood Hill Road in the northeast corner of Shutesbury and with East Leverett Road from January Hills Road to the Leverett line in the southwest corner of Shutesbury, and that are noted on the accompanying list of official town road names. No county roads is ever legally deleted until a petition to do so is sent to and acted upon by the county entity - in Shutesbury’s case: the Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG). Not to change the wording on the accompanying list of official roads yet, but Mr. Allen questioned if New Boston Road might still be a town road all the way to the Wendell line rather than to dead end at the gate, as described. It is Mr. Allen understands that within the original wording for the taking of lands for the Quabbin Reservoir, all existing roads within the taking were discontinued. But, Mr. Allen feels that New Boston Road might fall outside of that mass discontinuation, because the lands in the New Boston Road area were taken at later dates than at the time of the original taking. Therefore, New Boston Road might still be a town road despite the locked gate. Mr. Allen is not aware of any action discontinuing New Boston Road as a town road. He wondered if the Massachusetts District Commission (MDC) might at the time the gate was erected have made arrangements with the town to install the gate so as long as the town maintained a key to the gate, if only for fire protection reasons. Without any answers to these questions, Mr. Allen did not recommend making changes to the New Boston Road notation of the list of official road names prepared by William Randall in April of 1999 that accompany the map of Shutesbury. Recorded (and verified with Mr. Allen) by Leslie Bracebridge, Shutesbury Town Clerk ?? ?? ?? ?? 071030 Selectboard 1