MINUTES OF THE SELECTMEN’S MEETING
NOVEMBER 16, 2009
PRESENT: Arthur P. Boyle, Jr. (Chairman), Donal P. Anderson (Vice-Chairman), Willard J. Boulter, Jr. (Clerk), Lewis W. Stone (Selectman), John Mattison (Cable), Becca Manning (Pembroke Express), Steve Annear (Mariner/Reporter), and others. Selectman Trabucco was not present this evening.
The Chairman called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. in the Veterans Hall. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
The Pembroke Food Pantry is in need of the following items: all types of cleaning supplies; health and beauty aids such as bar shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpaste and deodorant; paper products such as toilet tissue, paper towels, napkins and Kleenex.
The Town Clerk’s Office will be open on late on Wednesday, Nov. 18th until 8:00 p.m. for voter registration only. This is the last day to register to vote in the Primary Election on December 8, 2009.
CALLAHAN AUTO SALES: Mr. Callahan was not able to attend this meeting to explain the violations on his business property, so the hearing was continued until next week, after the Building Inspector has inspected again for compliance.
MINUTES: The Selectmen accepted the minutes of Nov. 9, 2009 as printed.
RESIGNATION: Letters were received in the Selectmen’s Office from Joseph Mulkern advising of his resignation from the Pembroke Planning Board and the Pembroke Housing Authority. Mr. Boulter acknowledged Mr. Mulkern’s service and moved to accept his resignation from the Planning Board. Seconded by Mr. Stone and so voted.
Mr. Anderson moved, seconded by Mr. Boulter, to accept the resignation of Joseph Mulkern from the Pembroke Housing Authority. So voted. Mr. Stone commented that he served with Mr. Mulkern on the Council on Aging and the Affordable Housing Committee and feels that Mr. Mulkern has devoted lots of time and energy to the town and extended a personal thank you.
SIDEWALK AGREEMENT WITH D.O.T.: Mr. Anderson moved, seconded by Mr. Boulter, to sign a contract with Mass Dept. of Transportation to agree that the Town of Pembroke will be responsible for maintenance, sweeping and snow removal on the completed sidewalks along Rte 139 in Pembroke, beginning at Washington St. and ending at the Marshfield Town Line, and that no assessments will be made on abutters for work done in conjunction with this project. Voted unanimously in favor.
SUNSET WAY BACKYARD PARTY: Michael. Mollica was granted permission to hold his annual anniversary party in his backyard at 102 Sunset Way on Saturday, July 12, 2010 from 4 to 10 p.m. He will have a live band and will make arrangements for a police detail.
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HOBOMOCK SCHOOL: There was a report of meat being served in the Hobomock cafeteria that was undercooked or raw. The Health Agent was not made aware of the incident until he received a call from a news channel reporter. The Agent investigated immediately and reported that no “raw” meat had been served. Apparently, three hamburger patties were cooked to “rare” because of a defective meat thermometer. All thermometers were recalibrated and the one in question was taken out of use. The three undercooked burgers were confiscated and all extra burgers not served were disposed of.
OLD BUSINESS:
PELHAM STREET: Mr. Anderson moved to put up for bid the one-acre lot on Pelham Street. Mr. Boulter seconded for discussion. Mr. Anderson reported that 23% of land in Pembroke is owned by the Town. The Town still owes $274,250 for the Andruk property. He feels selling one acre would be a fair trade. Mr. Boulter moved to table this discussion until Mr. Trabucco can be present.
SCHOOL STREET: Mr. Anderson moved to put up for bid the parcel on School Street, between the two New England Village property lots, with a minimum bid. The motion was tabled until next week so that Mr. Thorne could get the value from the Assessors.
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: Kathleen Keegan and Kyle Harney are heading up the Tree Lighting Committee this year and would like to step it up a notch by decorating more of the center. They would like to put up banners or other holiday decorations on the phone poles. Ms. Keegan talked to people at National Grid and they seemed okay with it. She also talked to the Planning Board about it being the Center Protection District but because it would be temporary, they don’t need approvals. She left a message with Ms. Bates to inquire about any necessary approvals from the Historic District Commission. She is aware that sign permits will have to be approved by the Building Inspector. Ms. Keegan presented a cost estimate to purchase banners and hardware. She is working on the idea of eventually buying decorative light poles for the center of town and is trying to get cost estimates on that. She is trying to arrange for the electrical inspector to check out the service at the bandstand and an estimate for any additional outlets. Ms. Keegan noted that the Chamber would be grateful for any financial assistance available from the town. The Selectmen’s Office will provide contact information for Verizon and National Grid.
The Annual Christmas Tree Lighting will be on Sunday, December 6th from 3 – 5 p.m.
Ms. Keegan also proposed a Holiday Decorating Store Front Contest for retail businesses in Pembroke. She suggested that town business could be promoted by having a Pembroke Holiday Shopping Night.
OCPC TRAFFIC STUDY: A meeting is scheduled for Friday morning between Old Colony Planning Council and Mr. Thorne, the Police Chief, and Selectman Stone. The request was to study the roads in the North Pembroke section of town and discuss how to handle the current truck traffic signs and speeding signs on those roads. A study was done in 2005 but fell below state standards so nothing could be done. Attempts to reach
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NOVEMBER 16, 2009 – PAGE THREE
someone from the state highway dept. have gone unanswered even though it would be desirable to have a state engineer present at this meeting, as suggested by Mr. Boulter. He has also suggested that stop signs might be considered at strategic points on Oak Street to help slow the traffic down.
TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT:
Department Head Meeting: Mr. Thorne has scheduled a Department Head meeting for Friday at 11:00 a.m. to discuss the town’s operating budget, the school’s operating budget and the shared cost budget. All fixed costs will be agreed on and then a dollar figure will be assigned for each department to look at what they may have to cut.
Mr. Anderson asked how the school has shouldered the Chapter 70 cuts and he would like to see the breakdown. Mr. Thorne will ask Superintendent Hackett to bring this information to a meeting on Wednesday. Mr. Stone would also like to see this information.
Mr. Anderson also asked about getting our health insurance out of the Plymouth County program. Mr. Thorne said that he would have to talk to the Health Insurance Advisory Committee and then to the unions about this idea. Mr. Anderson inquired about the possibility of going one union at a time. He was also curious about being self-insured. Mr. Thorne noted that there is a lot of risk in being self-insured and some other town’s are trying to get out of that position. He explained that there are options and will convene a meeting with the Health Insurance Advisory Committee to discuss the matter.
Mattakeesett Ballfields: Mr. Thorne advised that the town did not get the grant for improvements to the ballfields. They were apparently looking for more urban areas to receive the grant money. The money authorized at town meeting will no longer be necessary at this time. The town could reapply for this grant again next year.
Longevity Article: The article on longevity for non-union employees was announced by the moderator has having passed by a vote of 78-69. After looking at the tally sheets while preparing the minutes of that meeting, it was discovered that it was read incorrectly and the correct vote was 59-69 which would mean that the motion actually failed. However, town counsel advised that since the moderator declared it as passed and there was no protest or re-count, and the town meeting was dissolved, then the vote stands. The Selectmen agreed that the vote should stand as declared.
TRASH FEE INCREASE: Mr. Stone noted that a statement was made the Fall Town Meeting that trash pick up fees would be increased. He is reluctant to agree to yet another tax. He feels the recycle system is not really encouraged enough and feels there must be a better way.
Mr. Boyle said that curbside recycling was looked into but was found to be cost prohibitive. He suggested that the Board of Health and Michael Valenti be asked to investigate and review the options for recycling. Mr. Stone would like to know if the Board of Health has already looking into different ways to encourage recycling. Mr.
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Thorne explained that disposal fees are the largest cost. Mr. Stone noted that Pembroke ranks next to last in recycling.
Mr. Anderson talked about adding the trash fee to the tax bill to provide some savings to the people. He also feels that the recycling center needs to be made more user friendly. Mr. Boulter suggested providing more convenient drop sites for recylclables.
Mr. Boyle would like to invite the Board of Health in to a meeting to discuss these issues.
OLD BUSINESS:
300TH Anniversary: Mr. Boulter reminded that the next meeting will be on Tuesday evening at the Pembroke Country Club and more volunteers are needed.
RED LIGHT VIOLATIONS: Mr. Boulter talked about a presentation held at the Library about 1 ½ to 2 years ago by a company who could install and monitor cameras and send photos to the police to catch violators who run red lights. This program was being offered at no cost to the town. But it was not adopted and now the State wants to impose laws to catch violators and this would cause someone to get an increase in their car insurance because it would now be a state law violation. He encouraged that the Selectmen should have the Chief look into this company’s proposal again and he would suggest proposing a town bylaw against red light violators. A violation of a town bylaw would not cause insurance rate increases as it would for a state violation.
This meeting was adjourned at 8:08 p.m.