Upcoming Agenda
   
Minutes

 

SELECTMEN’S MEETING

October 11, 2016


1. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA: Moved by Bill Shields, seconded by Elise Miller, to accept the agenda as presented. The motion passed 3-0.

 

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF LAST MEETING: Moved by Bill Shields, seconded by Elise Miller to approve the minutes of the meeting of October 4, 2016 as written. The motion passed 3-0.

 

3. DEPARTMENT HEAD / COMMITTEE CHAIR UPDATES:


  1. Fire Department Open House: The Fire Chief thanked everyone that participated in the open house on Saturday. He remarked that the weather was excellent and there was an impressive turn out considering all the other events that were scheduled in Town. He stated that he is especially appreciative of all the efforts of the Acton Fire Rescue members who worked so hard to make the event a success. He also stated that it was an excellent opportunity to have a good time, meet lots of people and answer questions.


4. OLD BUSINESS:

A. Fire Station Roof Repair: Jennifer Roux reported that the contractor was unable to get all of the roofing needed so the project has been delayed. However, she has not paid the deposit on the project and requested that the company communicate the status in a more timely manner.


B. Library Walkway: Mrs. Roux noted that the hardscaping portion of the project is finished. She hopes to have a quote for the installation of the railings within the week. David Winchell and his crew have been working on repaving the area of the parking lot in front of the Library entrance and that should be finished on Wednesday. There were some problems originally with the measurements of the new door but a custom door has been ordered.


C. Old Sand / Salt Building Demolition Bid: Mrs. Roux stated that she has finished with the draft of the bid proposal which she has reviewed with one of the Road Commissioners. She will bring it to the next meeting after reviewing the draft with the other Road Commissioner.

 

5. NEW BUSINESS:

A. Sanford / Springvale Veterans Services: Matthew Haley, representing the Sanford / Springvale Veteran’s Center:


“In essence the Vet Centers provide readjustment counseling for combat veterans, military sexual trauma veterans and those who suffer bereavement from the loss of a loved in service through combat or training purposes. But that’s not just what we do; we provide much more than that. In addition to one-on-one counseling and group counseling, we’re also a resource center to provide resources as well: Veterans who run into financial problems, legal issues, housing as well, maybe they’re having a hard time finding a job and they just don’t feel comfortable going into a local career center. We provide a lot of those resources to them so that they can make that transition from service to civilian life because there is a huge gap between those two entities.


A little background in regards to the Vet Center: it was originally created by Viet Nam Veterans. They quickly found that they did not want to go to the VA because they got a negative vibe and they weren’t feeling that they were treated correctly. So they started getting together in small groups and talking and they realized that this is a very valuable resource, let’s make something out of this. Well in the years since the late seventies, when the Viet Nam Veterans started this Vet Center, it has expanded to encompass all generations of veterans, World War II Veterans, Korean War Veterans, and even now, the Persian Gulf Veterans. If it were not for those Viet Nam Veterans creating this, we would not have it today.


At this point, I would also like to let everyone know to stretch out the community and enroll any Veteran who’s enrolled in VA Healthcare can go to any Walgreens, anywhere in the nation, now through the thirty-first of March of next year to receive a no-cost flu shot. So if they’re not able to make it to a clinic or if local places happen to run out of vaccinations, they can always go to Walgreens, show a VA ID and receive a no-cost flu shot.


We are located at 628 Main Street right behind the Raspberry Diner. If that doesn’t trigger any bells, which it may not, we are right down the street from the strip where the Middle School is, Aubuchon Hardware, it’s about a block north of them. You can reach us at 490-1513. I left some information and some pamphlets.


We take care of combat Veterans, but women Veterans as well, which is the fastest growing group of Veterans that the VA has seen to date.


Please, by all means, should you run into any Veterans who have questions about any services that they may need, please refer them to me. I also left some business cards that you can hand out as well.


Thank you very much”


B. Board of Selectmen Meeting, November 8th: Mrs. Roux requested that the regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen be cancelled on Tuesday, November 8th because it is Election Day. Consensus of Board Members was agreement.


C. Town Hall Closing, Friday, November 11th: Mrs. Roux stated that based on the Town of Acton’s Personnel Policy, full time employees are paid for official holidays if the holiday falls on a day that they are scheduled to work. She noted that Veterans Day falls on Friday, November 11th so the Town Hall will be closed on that day. However, because the day after, Saturday, November 12th, the Town Hall is scheduled to be open, she suggested that the Town Hall be closed on Saturday, November 12th as well.


Moved by Elise Miller, seconded by Bill Shields, that the Town Hall will be closed on Saturday, November 12th. The motion passes 3-0.


D. Holiday Closure Schedule: Moved by Elise Miller, seconded by Bill Shields, to close the Town Hall on Friday, November 25th, the day after Thanksgiving. These hours can be taken by regular employees who have time available as Paid Time Off hours or without pay. The motion passed 3-0.


Moved by Elise Miller, seconded by Bill Shields, to close the Town Hall on Friday, December 23rd and close the Transfer Station on Saturday, December 24th in observance of the holiday. The motion passed 3-0. This will be a paid holiday.


E. Land Use Secretary Hours: Mrs. Roux reminded Board Members that the Land Use Secretary is scheduled for 26 – 29 hours per week in the current budget: 9:00 to 4:00 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; 3:00 – 8:00 on Thursdays; and 9:00 – 12:00 noon on the second and third Saturdays. Because of various demands such as increased zoning requirements being developed, the Planning Board is looking at the Zoning Ordinance which also needs to be edited for grammatical and formatting issues, the Department is feeling pressure. The Director of Planning is requesting that the Secretary begin the day at 8:00 a.m. This increase is not budgeted and would overdraw the wage account by $1900, however, the Treasurer reviewed the expenditures and advised that the increased hours expenditure could be drawn from other accounts within the CEO/INSPECTION budget without overdrawing the bottom line. Mrs. Roux felt that the increase should be reviewed in three months to ensure that an overdraw does not occur.


Consensus of the Board Members was to allow the increase in the Land Use Secretary hours with a review of the accounts in three months.


F. AED Training, Wednesday, October 26th, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.: Mrs. Roux reported that she and the Fire Chief met and agreed to postpone the staff AED training until after the November elections. She stated that the training will be on Wednesday, November 16th and a memo will go out to staff informing encouraging them to attend.


G. Mandatory Election Training: Mrs. Roux explained that every two years, it is required to hold a training session for ballot clerks. She has scheduled this training on Wednesday, November 2 at 6:00 p.m. and encouraged the Selectmen to attend as well in order to learn about the process and understand what goes on behind the scenes.


H. Acton / Wakefield Watershed Alliance Annual Meeting: Mrs. Roux distributed the invitation to the AWWA Annual Meeting to be held on Thursday, October 20th. She will post the information on the cable channel and the Town’s website so that any property owners who wish to attend will be informed of the meeting.


7. PUBLIC COMMENT: Paul Poyant noted that the Library walkway looks good but he was expecting that the material used would be wood instead of stone based on information brought to the Warrant and Finance meetings. Mr. Poyant asked if the budget set for that project was enough to cover the stone instead of wood. Mrs. Roux assured him that the walkway, new door and other expenditures have been paid out of the budgeted amount with about $2,000 coming out of the Building Maintenance Account. Some unforeseen issues did come up such as the railings, the parking lot not being level, etc. but everyone has been working hard to make it work. She also noted that Tom Drummey did the wall for just the cost of materials and he donated the mums.


8. ANNOUNCEMENTS:


A. Basketball Signups - Oct 12

B. Sand Bids - Deadline - Oct 12

C. Absentee Ballots


9. MEMBERS PRESENT: Ed Walsh, Bill Shields, Elise Miller


10. OTHERS PRESENT: Jennifer Roux, Paul Poyant, Steven Johnson, Matthew Haley