Category Archives: Town Meeting

ATM warrant articles

Posted on February 22, 2017 | Comments Off on ATM warrant articles

town meeting

At our selectmen meeting last night, Mike Sullivan shared his latest draft of the current forty-four annual town meeting (ATM) warrant articles.  I scanned and attached it –  20170221-warrant-articles

The town administration, the Warrant Committee, and the Board of Selectmen are still working through the warrant articles to refine what gets presented to the ATM.  Mike reported that the school budget is now down to a 4.9% increase, which will require an override vote, which would be held after the ATM.  Currently additional articles that will require overrides are implementing advanced life support (ALS) and funding of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund with the suggested $1m.

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Posted in Budgets, Elections, Town Meeting

ATM warrant articles

Posted on February 1, 2017 | Comments Off on ATM warrant articles

These are the current drafts of the annual town meeting (ATM) warrant articles that have been proposed so far.  The warrant for the ATM closes at the next the Board of Selectmen meeting, so be sure to get any warrant articles in right away.

town meeting

 

 

DRAFT

 

TOWN OF MEDFIELD

WARRANT FOR THE ANNUAL TOWN MEETING

2017

 

On Monday, the twentieth-fourth day of April, A.D., 2017 commencing at 7:30 P.M. the following Articles will be acted on in the Amos Clark Kingsbury High School gymnasium, located at 88R South Street in said Medfield, viz

 

Article 2.  To see if the Town will vote to accept the reports of the several Town Officers for the past year.

 

The reports are contained in the Annual Report, which is available at Town Meeting

 

WARRANT COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS PASSAGE

 

Article 3.  To see if the Town will vote to accept the following named sums as Perpetual Trust Funds for the care of lots in the Vine Lake Cemetery, the interest thereof as may be necessary for said care, viz.

 

PERPETUAL CARE 2016

NAME                                           AMOUNT

Sullivan, Robert E.                             $   600.

Wilhelm, Nancy                                  $   750.

McNulty, James                                  $3,000.

Kennally, Paul                                    $3,000.

Baacke, Eric                                        $1,500.

Baker, Fredrick P.                               $3,000.

Nagle, James F.                                   $3,000.

Cote, Norman J.                                  $   750.

O’Donovan, Margaret M.                   $3,000.

Snipas, Norma R.                                $3,000.

Bratsos, Peter C.                                  $  750.

Tempel, Barbara S.                              $3,000.

Palladino, Peter                                   $   750.

Priest, Lisa M.                                     $3,000.

Anselme, J.P.                                      $   750.

Anselme, J.P.                                      $1,500.

Perrone, Roberta                                 $1,500.

Scecina, Margaret                               $3,000.

O’Rourke, JoAnn                                $   600.

Thompson, Diana                                $   600.

Thompson, Diana                                $   600.

MacLean, Mary                                  $1,500.

Godin, Elizabeth M.                           $3,000.

Orvedahl, Donna S.                            $1,500.

 

Total    $43,650.

 

Article 4.  To see if the Town will vote to amend the Code of the Town of Medfield, (M Cerel will write up article for revolving funds) (add authorization of a State Hospital Revolving Fund instead of Hospital Stabilization Fund per Joy and Kris)

 

Article 5.   To see if the Town will adopt the provisions of Mass G.L., Chapter 80, Section 13B,  Sewer Betterment Deferral and Recovery Agreements for Seniors and of Mass G.L.,  Chapter 83, Section 16G, Deferral of Sewer User Charges for Seniors, or do or act anything in relation thereto.

(Board of Assessors)

 

Article 6.   To see if the Town will vote to supplement each prior vote of the Town that authorizes the borrowing of money to pay costs of capital projects to provide that, in accordance with Mass G.L., Chapter 44, Section 20, the premium received by the Town upon the sale of any bonds or notes thereunder, less any such premium applied to the payment of the costs of issuance of such bonds or nots, may be applied to pay project costs and the amound authorized to be borrowed for each such project shall be reduce d by the amount of any such premium so applied, or do or act anything in relation thereto.

 

(Treasurer/Collector)

 

(majority vote)

 

Article 7.   To see if the Town will vote to appropriate a sum of money and determine in what manner said sum shall be raised for the purpose of paying a fy17 unpaid medical bill of the Police Department in the amount of $1,495, or do or act anything in relation thereto.

 

(Chief of Police)

 

(four-fifths vote required)

 

Article 8.   To see if the Town will vote to appropriate an additional sum of money to the fy17 Reserve Fund, 01-997-2, or do or act anything in relation thereto.

 

(Warrant Committee)

 

Article 9.  To see if the Town will vote to appropriate $70,000 from the Ambulance Revolving Fund, said funds to reimburse the General Fund Stabilization Fund for a temporary loan from said Stabilization Fund in fy17, to cover the purchase of a replacement ambulance for the Medfield Fire Department, or do or act anything in relation thereto.

(Town Administrator)

 

(Two-thirds vote required)

 

Article 10.  To see if the Town will vote to fix the salary and compensation of the following elected officers: Moderator, Town Clerk, Selectmen, Assessors, School Committee, Trustees of the Public Library, Park and Recreation Commissioners, Planning Board, Housing Authority and Trust Fund Commissioners, or do or act anything in relation thereto.

 

  Officer

Present Salary

W.C. Recommends
  Town Clerk $68,000 $     ,000
  Selectmen, Chairman        900         900
  Selectmen, Clerk        900         900
  Selectmen, Third Member        900         900
  Assessors, Chairman        900         900
  Assessors, Clerk        900         900
  Assessors, Third Member        900         900
  Moderator            0          0
  Housing Authority            0          0
  School Committee            0          0
  Library Trustees            0          0
  Planning Board            0          0
  Park & Recreation Commissioner            0          0
  Trust Fund Commissioner            0          0

 

(Board of Selectmen)

 

Section 9.3 of the Town Charter reads as follows: “Elected officers shall be compensated in an amount authorized by Town Meeting and provided for by a Town Meeting Appropriation”.

 

Article 11. To see if the Town will vote to amend the PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION PLAN and CLASSIFICATION OF POSITIONS AND PAY SCHEDULE, effective July 1, 2017, as set out in the warrant, or do or act anything in relation thereto.

                                                                                                (Personnel Board)

 

Article 12.  To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate and/or transfer from available funds sums of money requested by the Selectmen or any other Town Officer, Board, Commission or Committee to defray operating expenses of the Town for the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2017, or such other sums as the Town may determine, as required by General Laws, Chapter 41, Section 108, or do or act anything in relation thereto.

(Board of Selectmen)

 

Article 13.   To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate from the Fiscal 2018 Tax Levy and or transfer from available funds and/or borrow for Capital Expenditures, including the following:

 

FY18 CAPITAL BUDGET
RECOMMENDATIONS
     
DEPARTMENT PROJECT REQUEST
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

 

(Capital Budget Committee)

 

 

 

       Article 14.   To see if the Town will vote to Amend the Code of Medfield Regulation by adding a new section establishing the Medfield Affordable Housing Trust and authorize the Trust to accept funds from the Medfield Community Development Corporation, or do or act anything in relation thereto. (Kris will forward wording of article)

(Board of Selectmen)

 

 Article 15.  To see if the Town will vote to appropriate a sum of money and determine in what manner said sum shall be raised for the purpose of providing ongoing maintenance and security at the site of the former state hospital, or do or take any action in relation thereto.

(Board of Selectmen)

 

 

Article 16.  To see if the Town will vote to appropriate a sum of money and determine in what manner said sum shall be raised for the purpose of hiring consultants, engineers and/or attorneys to assist the Town with ongoing preparation of a master plan for reuse of the former hospital and surrounding areas and to advise the Town on matters concerning the site’s disposition, reuse and environmental remediation, said funds to be expended under the direction of the Board of Selectmen, with the understanding that the Board of Selectmen may authorize any other Town board, commission, committee or department to expend a portion of said funds for such purposes, or do or act anything in relation thereto.

                                                                                          (Board of Selectmen)

 

Article 17.  To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Board of Selectmen to lease space on the Hospital Water Tower for the location of cellular antennae, or do or act anything  in relation thereto.

 

(Board of Selectmen)

 

 

Article  18.  To see if the Town will vote to appropriate a sum of money and determine in what manner said sum shall be raised for the purpose of making improvements to the downtown, or do or act anything in relation thereto.

 

(Board of Selectmen)

 

Article 19. To see if the Town will vote to transfer $163.549 from sewer betterments paid-in-advance to the Sewer Stabilization Fund, established under Article 31 of the 2004 ATM in accordance with the provisions of G.L., Chapter 40, Section 5B    as amended by Chapter 46 of the Acts of 2003, or do or act anything in relation thereto.

 

(Town Accountant)

 

Article 20. To see of the Town will vote to transfer $41,299 from the fy17 County Retirement Contribution Budget, account 01-911-2, to the Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) Trust, and appropriate to said Trust from the fy18 tax levy, free cash or other sources, such other sum(s), as the Town deems appropriate for the purpose of setting aside monies to cover the unfunded retiree health insurance costs in accordance with the provisions of G.L., Chapter 40 Section 5B, or do or act anything in relation thereto.  ????  Is this the correct chapter now that we have a Trust instead of a Stabilization Fund?                                                                              

                                                                                           (Town Administrator)

 

Article 21.    To see if the Town will vote to increase the maximum annual payment under the senior tax work-off program from $500 to $1,000 or do or act anything in relation thereto.

(Council on Aging)

 

 

Article 22.    To hear the report of the Senior Housing Study Committee, appointed under Article 38 of the 21016 Annual Town Meeting, and to see if the Town will appropriate a sum of money and determine how said sum shall be raised for the purposes of implementing the recommendations of its reports, and to see if the Town will transfer the care custody and control of a 9.1 acre parcel of land identified on the Board of Assessors’ maps as Lot 1, Map 64 to provide for the construction of appropriate moderate priced housing for Medfield Seniors, who would like to remain in the Town, or do or act anything in relation thereto.

(Senior Housing Study Committee)

 

Article 23.    To see if the Town will vote to accept as a public way a portion of the following street:

 

Vinald Road from Station            to Station

 

As laid out by the Board of Selectmen and as shown on a plan referred to in the Order of Layout on file with the Town Clerk’s office and to authorize the Board of Selectmen to acquire by eminent domain or otherwise, such rights, titles and easements, including drainage easements, as may be necessary to accomplish such purposes, or do or act anything in relation thereto.

 

(Planning Board)

 

Article 24.   To see if the Town will vote to name the bridge crossing Mill Brook at Elm Street the “Colonel Douglas C. MacKeachie Bridge, and to appropriate a sum of money to fund a sign designating this bridge as such and to fund appropriate ceremonies in recognition of the occasion, or do or act anything in relation thereto.

(Committee to Study Memorials)

 

Article 25.   To see if the Town will vote to appropriate a sum of money and determine in what manner said sum shall be raised for the purpose of hiring, training and equipping Advanced Life Support employees and/or contracting with a private firm to provide such services, provided that all appropriations authorized under this article be contingent upon approval of a so-called Proposition 2½ operating override in accordance with Chapter 59, Section 21C of the General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, or do or act anything in relation thereto.

 

(Fire Chief Board of Selectmen or Citizen petition???)

 

(Citizen Petition)

 

Article 26   To see if the Town will vote to appropriate $1 million and determine in what manner said sum shall be raised for the purpose of acquiring land and/or property, designing and/or constructing a group home within the Town, said sum to be expended under the jurisdiction of the Medfield Affordable Housing Trust; and to authorize the Treasurer/Collector, with the approval of the Board of Selectmen, to borrow in accordance with the provisions of Mass G.L., Chapter 44, Section7, Paragraph 3 or such other authorizing statute as may be appropriate, and to authorize the Medfield Affordable Housing Trust to expend said funds, to enter into contracts with federal, state and/or private parties, and to apply for and accept federal, state and/or private grants to accomplish said purposes, provided that all appropriations authorized under this article be contingent upon approval of a so-called Proposition 2 ½ debt exclusion, in accordance with chapter 59, Section 21C of the General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, or do or act anything in relation thereto.

 

(Citizen Petition)

 

 

Article 27.  To see if the Town will vote to appropriate $10,000 for the purpose of making repairs and improvements to the Dwight-Derby House, said sum to be expended under the direction of the Facilities Manager, in consultation with the Friends of the Dwight-Derby House, Inc., or do or take anything in relation thereto.

(Citizen Petition)

 

Article 28.   To see if the Town will vote to appropriate a sum money for the purpose of purchasing environmental liability insurance and/or constructing a rail trail on an unused rail bed leased to the                        Rail Trail, running from Ice House Road to the Dover town line, or do or take anything in relation thereto.

(Medfield Rail Trail Committee)

 

Article 29.   To see if the Town will vote to purchase the existing the street lights, brackets and other associated fixtures and equipment located in the public ways of the Town from Boston Edison, Co. and to appropriate a sum of money for said purchase and for the purchase and installation of LED streetlights, said lights, brackets and other associated fixtures and equipment, to be owned and maintained by the Town of Medfield, and further, to authorize the Board of Selectmen to enter into a contract/contracts with Boston Edison, Eversource, or their successor entities; and to enter into contracts and to accept grants, loans or gifts from private contractors, state, federal and or private parties  to accomplish said purposes and to effectuate the transfer of ownership, or do or take anything in relation thereto.

 

(Medfield Energy Committee)

 

Article 30.   To see if the Town will vote to appropriate a sum of money and determine in what manner said sum shall be raised for the design and construction of a Park & Recreation Facility, including the hiring of a project manager and architect(s), preparation of construction plans and bid documents, site work, landscaping and utilities, and to authorize the Treasurer/Collector, with the approval of the Board of Selectmen, to borrow in accordance with the provisions of Mass G.L., Chapter 44, Section7, Paragraph 3 or such other authorizing statute as may be appropriate, and to authorize the Permanent Planning and Building Committee to expend said funds, to enter into contracts with federal, state and/or private parties, and to apply for and accept federal, state and/or private grants to accomplish said purposes, provided that all appropriations authorized under this article be contingent upon approval of a so-called Proposition 2 ½ debt exclusion, in accordance with chapter 59, Section 21C of the General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, or do or act anything in relation thereto.

 

(Park & Recreation Commission)

 

Article 31.  To see if the Town will vote to amend the Code of the Town of Medfield Division 2: Regulations, 270 Water, by adding a new section                         ,        , which would authorize the Medfield Water and Sewerage Commissioners and/or their designees to enter upon private property for the purpose of inspecting, installing, repairing, replacing or upgrading water meters and to establish procedures, timelines and or penalties to inform and assist property owners in accomplishing these tasks, said bylaw to read as follows:

 

(Mark Cerel will prepare. Will Check with Water & Sewerage                           Commission to see if it wants to put on warrant).

 

, or do or act anything in relation thereto.

(Water & Sewerage Commissioners)

 

Article 32.   To see if the Town will vote to amend the Code of the Town of Medfield, 2: Regulations, 270 Water, by adding a new section                         ,        , which would Regulations by adding a new section               , which would authorize Medfield Water and Sewerage Commissioners to implement water restriction regulations, and to establish measures and/or fines non-compliance, for the purpose of  placing private, semi-private and or public water wells  under the same restrictions as other public water customers of the Town of Medfield Water Department, said bylaw to read as follows:

 

(Mark Cerel will prepare. Will Check with Water & Sewerage                           Commission to see if it wants to put on warrant).

 

, or do or act anything in relation thereto.

(Water & Sewerage Commissioners)

 

Article 33.  To see if the Town will vote to appropriate a sum of money, said sum to be transferred from the Water Enterprise Fund, Unreserved Fund Balance, for the purpose of designing an Iron/Manganese Treatment facility for wells three, four and/or five of the Town’s water supply system and preparing construction plans and bid documents for such, or do or act anything in relation thereto.

(Water & Sewerage Commissioners)

 

Article 34. To see if the Town will  amend the Code of the Town of Medfield  Division 1: Bylaws, Part II General Legislation, Regulations,      by adding the following sections:

Illicit discharge Detection & Elimination (IDDE)

Construction/Erosion and Sediment Control

Post-Construction Stormwater Management

In order to achieve compliance with the 2003 National Polluant Discharge and

Emissions System (NPDES) 2003 General Permit.

 

(Director of Public Works)

 

(Moe will provide wording)

 

 

Article 35.   To see if the Town will appropriate the sum of $5,000 for the purpose of trapping beavers and removing beaver dams throughout the Town, said sum to be expended under the jurisdiction of the Town Administrator, or do or act anything in relation thereto.

(Town Administrator)

 

Article 36.   To see if the Town will amend the Code of the Town of Medfield  Division 1: Bylaws, Part II General Legislation, 300 Zoning to provide for inclusionary Zoning (Mark Cerel & Sarah Raposa working on)

 

Articles 37. through 39. To see if the Town will amend the Code of the Town of Medfield,  Division 1: Bylaws, Part II General Legislation, 300 Zoning to:

  • Mitigate the impact of large single-family structures
  • Mitigate the impact of large two-story structures
  • Mitigate the impact of large multi-story structures

 

 

 

Article 40.   To see if the Town will amend the Code of the Town of Medfield,  Division 1: Bylaws, Part II General Legislation, 300 Zoning to amend the Tale of Area Regulation to provide for retail sales of recreational marijuana (Mark Cerel & Sarah Raposa working on).

 

 

Article41.   To see if the Town will amend the Code of the Town of Medfield,  Division 1: Bylaws, Part II General Legislation, 300 Zoning to add a new section regulating and/or taxing recreational marijuana. (Mark Cerel & Sarah Raposa working on).

 

Article 42.   To see if the Town will vote to amend to Code of the Town of Medfield, Division 1: Bylaws, Part II General Legislation, 300 Zoning to add a new section  Temporary Moratorium on the Sale and Distribution of Recreationl Marijuana, effective from May 1, 2017through June 30, 2018. (What about manufacture or growing?) (Carol Read  Mark Cerel?).

 

Article 43.   To see if the Town will vote to appropriate a sum of money for the purpose of preparing a Phase II Parking Study, said funds to be expended under the direction of the Economic Development Committee, and that said Committee be authorized to apply for and accept grants, loans or gifts from the state and federal government or private agencies and to enter into contracts with such, or do or act anything in relation thereto.

(Economic Development Committee)

 

Article 44.   To see if the Town will vote to appropriate a sum of money and determine in what manner said sum shall be raised for the purpose of making improvements to the traffic flow at the intersections of Spring and South Streets and South and High Streets, said funds to be expended under the direction of the Board of Selectmen and that Selectmen be authorized to apply for and accept grants, loans or gifts from the state and federal government or private agencies and to enter into contracts with such,  or do or act anything in relation thereto.

(Board of Selectmen)

 

Article 45.   To see if the Town will vote to accept as public ways all or a portion of the following streets:

 

Quarry Road from Station 8+88.09 to Station 16+97.87

Erik Road from Station 0+00.00 to Station 9+00.00

 

As laid out by the Board of Selectmen and as shown on a plan referred to in the Order of Layout on file with the Town Clerk’s office and to authorize the Board of Selectmen to acquire by eminent domain or otherwise, such rights, titles and easements, including drainage easements, as may be necessary to accomplish such purposes, or do or act anything in relation thereto.

 

(Board of Selectmen)

 

 

 

Article 46.  To see if the Town will authorize the board of Assessors to use a sum of money from free cash in the Treasury for the reduction of the tax rate for the fiscal year 2018, or do or act anything in relation thereto.

 

(Board of Assessors)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted in Budgets, Town Meeting

ALS

Posted on January 18, 2017 | 4 comments

ambulance

Yesterday afternoon from 6-7 PM before the regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen there was a well attended session that was billed as a working meeting of the Board of Selectmen with Chief Kingsbury and Lieutenant Bennotti of the Medfield Fire Department to discuss the possible solutions for the town to the provision of Advanced Life Support (ALS) services to town residents. The MFD currently only provides intermediate basic life support (EMT) ambulance services to residents, and only one of the current seven full time firefighters is a paramedic.

One firefighter recently resigned, and will be replaced with a paramedic, however, until the whole service is staffed with paramedics, the two paramedics will not be able to provide paramedic services.

The ALS session was not covered by Medfield.TV – I do not know why not, as I was not involved in making that decision.  Personally, I would have put it on TV.

Basically the Chief and the Lieutenant

  • expect that the MFD will have increasing problems in the future staffing a call department,
  • expect the current towns providing the ALS intercept services (Westwood, Walpole, and Norfolk) as tiring of doing so if we are not making efforts to solve our situation,
  • see no likely chance of doing a regional ALS with other towns (Dover and Sherborn are the logical ones),
  • generally see no interest in current EMT’s becoming paramedics,
  • see the cost of using a private ALS provider as similar to the cost to expand the MFD (they have been quoted $600,000 per year, plus $250 per run by private providers), and
  • therefore that the best solution is for the town to hire eight new full time firefighter/paramedics at a cost of about $650,000 per year, plus start up costs.

Whether to hire the paramedics will be a decision for residents to make at at the annual town meeting (ATM).

Below are the Chief’s cost projections:

* lIJ) RAIF'f * ALS Paramedic Budget Proposal (Estimated) Based on hiring 8 Firefighter Paramedics (Step 4) 2184 hrs (42per wk x 52) x $25.62 = $55,954 per $55,954 x 8 = $447,632 Additional annual personnel costs: Medic Stipend - $6000 x 8 = $48,000 Vacation - 96hrs x 8 x $38.50 = $29,568 Sick Time- 72hrs x 8 x $38.50 = $22,176 Holidays -11x8 x 10.5 x $26.62 = $23,673 Personal Time-31.5hrs x 8 x $38.50 = $9702 Clothing - $600 x 8 = $4800 Cleaning - $3 00 x 8 = $2400 Town share health care - $50,000 Town share Medicare - $6500 Annual Estimated costs - $644,451 One time startup costs: Protective Clothing- 8 x $3200 = $25,600 Uniforms: - 8 x $600 - $4800 Medical Equip - $60,000 Estimated startup costs - $90,400 Year one estimate - $734,851 Annual Medical Control Fee $10,000 - Revolving Acct (pay $5000 now)

I suggest that these figures do not reflect the true cost to the town of the additional employees, as these estimates do not include the present value of the future retirement benefits the town will ultimately have to pay.  Those retirement benefits (i.e. pension and health care) are called Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB).  To truly tell us the cost, the estimates should include the present value of the actuarial costs we incur each year to pay future retirement benefits to such employees.

The town was only recently required to figure out the value of its OPEB liability. Currently the unfunded actuarial cost for the town’s OPEB is over $40m. OPEB costs currently cost the town about $1.5m. per year, and the town only just recently (a couple of years ago) started to budget $400,000 a year to pay into a trust fund to partially cover the future OPEB as they come due.  Therefore the town is still adding over $1m. a year to its OPEB liability, which is basically pushing off current town costs to be paid by future residents.

OPEB benefits to retired former town employees were until relatively recently not funded at all while those retirees were working, and even now the town is not fully funding its future OPEB liability.  As we add new town employees, we may want to include the OPEB liabilities in our cost estimates.

4 Comments

Posted in Budgets, Financial, Fire Department, Town Meeting, Uncategorized

Warrant articles for ATM (to date)

Posted on January 13, 2017 | Comments Off on Warrant articles for ATM (to date)

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10 11 12 13 14 15 DRAFT 2017 Annual Town Meeting Warrant Articles Town Election of Town Officers (Operating Override ?) Accept Town Reports Reimburse Stabilization Fund for Ambulance Loan ($70,000) Appropriate additional funds to FYl 7 Reserve Fund? (for current year but only if necessary) Adopt by-law to regulate Revolving Funds & Authorize Amount (G.L. Chapter 44, Section 53El/2) Fire Alarm Revolving Fund ($32,000.) Ambulance Revolving Fund ($70,000) (Amount to reimburse Stabilization Fund for loan to purchase ambulance) Advance Life Support Revolving Fund ($75,000.) (may change depending upon resolution of ALS service) Community Gardens Revolving Fund (Town Administrator) ($1,500.) Building Maintenance Income Revolving Fund (Council on Aging $30,000) Library Revolving Fund ($5,000) Respite Care Revolving Fund (Council on Aging) ($125,000) Transfer Station & recycling SW AP Area Fund ($10,000) Authorize deferral of water and/or sewer betterment assessments Adopt dog regulations (Hospital, Cemetery, Wheelock School, other sites???) Bylaw re Water Dept. access to water service and water meter (See Franklin bylaw) Authorize Board of Selectmen to lease space on Hospital water tower for Wireless Communications Facility Fix salary and compensation of Elected Officials Amend Personnel Administration Plan-Classification of Positions & Pay Schedule. Add funds for Beaver trapping and dam removal to Operating Budget?? Where? Operating Budgets (for now see tax levy sheet) $ Capital Budget ($400K from tax levy?) By-law to regulate private wells??? (water ban) DRAFT 16 Street acceptance for portions of Erik Rd & Quarry Rd (fourth time) 17 Appropriate funds for Maintenance of State Hospital Property 18 Create Revolving fund for MSH (was set up as stabilization and should be revolving) 19 Appropriate funds for State Hospital Consultants 20 Appropriate funds for Design (and Construction) of Iron/Manganese Treatment Facility (Water enterprise) (authorize bonding?) 21 Authorize the Board of Selectmen and/or Affordable Housing Trust to lease/dispose of Lot 7 for senior housing. 22 Appropriate funds to the OPEB Trust (should we put in insurance budget?) 23 Appropriate to Sewer Betterment Paid in Advance to Sewer Betterment Stabilization Fund (Town Administrator) 24 Appropriate to Sewer Betterment Paid in Advance to Sewer Betterment Stabilization Fund (Town Administrator) 25 Appropriate Funds for Phase II Parking Study (EDC/Downtown) 26 Appropriate Funds to prepare Master Plan (Master Plan Committee/Board of Selectmen) 27 Appropriate funds for Downtown Improvements (portion of local meals tax receipts) 28 Accept portion ofVinald Road from Cottage Street to Mitchell St as a right-of-way 29 Appropriate funds and authorize bonds for Park & Recreation Facility including project manager & architect 30 Vote to increase amount of tax work-off program to $1,000 (Council on Aging) (increases amount of overlay) 31 Supplement each prior vote Authorizing borrowing to pay costs of capital projects (Treasurer/Collector) 32 Amend Zoning Bylaw (Planning Board) 33 To mitigate impact oflarge single, two and multi-family dwellings (at least 11 amendments) 34 To provide for inclusionary zoning 35 Amend Code of Medfield Regulations by adding a new section establishing the Medfield Affordable Housing Trust DRAFT 36 Amend the Table of Area Regulations for Retail sales of recreational marijuana 37 Amend Code of Medfield Regulations by adding a new section regulating and/or taxing recreational marijuana 38 Vote to name the bridge crossing Mill Brook at Elm Street the "Colonel Douglas C. MacKeachie Bridge 39 Rail Trail Study Committee 40 Authorize Board of Assessors to use Free Cash to reduce tax rate20170113-ms-warrant-articles-for-town-meeting-draft_page_220170113-ms-warrant-articles-for-town-meeting-draft_page_3

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Posted in Town Meeting

Selectmen 12/20

Posted on December 16, 2016 | Comments Off on Selectmen 12/20

TOWN OF MEDFIELD MEETING NOTICE POSTED: 'd.-/fo--/0 0/Q,20161220-agenda_page_2

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Posted in Affordable housing / 40B, Fire Department, Medfield Outreach, Medfield Rail Trail, Medfield State Hospital, Select Board matters, Town Meeting, Uncategorized, Zullo Gallery

Solar PV – X3

Posted on April 22, 2016 | Comments Off on Solar PV – X3

solar PV-2

The town is jumping from having no solar PV arrays at all, to soon having two, and potentially three (if town meeting agrees on Monday).

  • Waste Water Treatment Plant – The 237KW  solar array at the Waste Water Treatment Plant is already constructed and scheduled to  start electricity generation following the ribbon cutting next Thursday at 10AM.
  • Public Safety Building – The new Public Safety Building was designed for a roof mounted solar array, but installing it was not part of the original bids due to concerns over adding to the costs.  That array was previously going forward as a 63KW roof mounted solar array, funded via a change order, spending some of the construction savings, until the state recently allowed the its incentives to run out, at which time that array was put on hold.  When the state legislation recently extended the state incentives, the economies of that array became attractive again, so that array has again been put on track to proceed as a change order to the original contract, spending some of the unexpended contingency monies to do that installation.
  • DPW Garage – The DPW Garage was designed solar ready, and the Energy Committee has been looking at doing a 150KW solar array there too, but that plan was also held in abeyance by the state allowing its incentives to expire, making the return on solar PV arrays less attractive.  There is $240,000 of appropriated monies left over from the solar array at the WWTP, the cost of which came in a lot under budget, and those monies are the  subject of  the ATM article 24 – to allow the transfer of those funds to be used for a solar PV array on the Garage.  However, the estimated cost of the Garage solar array is $383,000, so the project was about $150,000 short.  Mike Sullivan and Martha Festa, the Warrant Committee chair, yesterday crafted a solution, an amendment to the operating budget at the ATM, as the mechanism to obtain those monies at this late date, which can allow the Garage solar array to proceed.

The timing of the Public Safety Building and DPW Garage solar projects is important because the state incentives are going to change at  the end of 2017, making the economics of such solar arrays less advantageous – so because of the recent legislative changes, it became a do it now or not at all proposition.

 

 

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Posted in Budgets, Energy Committee, Financial, Green, Town Meeting, Uncategorized

Stretch code at ATM

Posted on April 22, 2016 | Comments Off on Stretch code at ATM

This from the Energy Committee about the town meeting article looking to adopt the stretch code, thereby become a Green Community, and thereby get the DOER $148,000 grant for doing so –

MEC

Vote YES  on Article #34

 

Help Medfield qualify for a $148,000 Energy Savings grant.

 

Massachusetts regularly updates the State Building Code to improve quality, safety and energy efficiency of construction in the Commonwealth.  The Building Code is the “stick” to encourage improvements in construction. By adopting the Stretch Energy Code, Medfield, like 161 other Massachusetts towns, would be an early adopter of what eventually will become the next State Building Code.  The “carrot” for Medfield to be an early adopter is a grant of $148,000 which will be used to improve Town building energy efficiency.

 

Massachusetts has been recognized as the nations leader in energy efficiency for the past five years.*  As Governor Baker said “Energy efficiency is the most cost effective, accessible way for Massachusetts to meet our clean energy goals and help ratepayers manage their energy costs. “

 

The Green Communities program, run by the Department of Energy Resources (DOER), encourages towns in the state to cut their energy usage and to simplify siting of renewable energy.

Substantial dollar grants are given to towns that meet 5 Green Communities criteria:

#1 Provide siting for renewable energy

#2 Enable permitting within one year for renewable energy

#3 Develop a plan for reducing municipal energy use by 20% over 5 years

#4 Enact an energy efficient vehicle policy

#5 Minimize life-cycle cost for new construction

 

The Medfield Energy Committee has been working for 4 years to qualify Medfield as a Green Community and to earn a $148,000 grant with the potential of $250,000 annual grants thereafter.

Our progress:

  • Criteria #1 & #2 were met by the Solar Photovoltaic By-Law passed at the 2014 Town Meeting.
  • Criteria #4 was achieved when an Energy Efficient Vehicle Policy was adopted by the Select Board and School Committee in 2015.
  • Criteria #3, a plan for 20% reduction in Town energy usage, is being developed by the Town Energy Manager, Andrew Seaman.
  • Criteria #5, will be met by adopting the 9th edition of the Stretch Energy Code : Article #34

 

At the 2014 Town Meeting, a warrant article to adopt a Stretch Energy Code was voted down.

 

Now, in 2016, the situation has changed:

  1. The Massachusetts Building Code went into effect on July 1, 2014 with an updated Base Energy Code. The result is that today all new construction and renovation must meet a code that is basically the same Stretch Energy Code that was rejected at the April 2014 Town Meeting.
  2. The Stretch Energy Code does not include any new requirements for residential renovations or additions. The sole change from the Base Energy Code is the requirement for new residential construction to use a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index.  The HERS Index is the industry standard by which a home’s energy efficiency is measured.
  3. For new commercial buildings, the Stretch Energy Code requires the construction to be 10% more efficient than the Base Energy Code.
  4. 161 Massachusetts towns have adopted the Stretch Energy Code

 

 

In summary:  Building Energy Codes are a “stick” to make sure building life-cycle costs improve.  DOER’s $148,000 grant is a “carrot” rewarding early adopters of Stretch Energy Code.

 

  • Vote yes on Article #34 to get the “carrot” with the “stick”
  • Vote no on Article #34 only get the “stick”

 

Article #34 supported by

  • Board of Selectmen
  • Warrant Committee
  • Energy Committee

 Permanent Building Committee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

* American Council for Energy- Efficient Economy and the US Department of Energy.

 

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Posted in Energy Committee, Green, Town Meeting, Uncategorized

ATM articles status

Posted on April 15, 2016 | Comments Off on ATM articles status

town meeting

These two emails from Mike with his update on money warrant articles –

Information is coming in fast and furious as we approach town meeting. Fortunately, it’s just about all good news. The following are proposed changes to the articles and budgets that you should take into account. Some of them you will need to amend your votes.

  1. Article 29. The Council on Aging has decided to withdraw its article seeking funding plans for an addition to the CENTER at Medfield. This was for $100,000 to come from funds the COA already had on hand so it doesn’t  change the tax levy. This will be added to the Consent Calendar as a dismissal.
  2. Article 28, Park & Rec is changing the wording of Article 28 to make it a “programmatic and financial needs analysis for a Park and Recreation facility instead of for plans for a new facility. They originally were looking for $100,000, which dropped to $40,000 and then went up to $60,000. The monies will come from Park & Rec Revolving Funds so it will not affect the tax levy.
  3. Article 37, which sought $50,000 from the Sewer Enterprise Fund for complying with the federal EPA Stormwater Permit application and implementation will be added to the Consent Calendar as a dismissal. I thought it was for a discharge permit for the Wastewater Treatment Plant, but it’s for a federally mandated Stormwater Permitting process that is townwide and not just for the treatment plant. The funds will be requested next year from the General Fund. The application is due in September of 2017.
  4. We met with our Property and Casualty and Worker’s Compensation insurance carrier this week and will need to make the following changes to the Insurance Budgets

Worker’s Compensation: reduce the requested appropriation by $32,937 to $230,000. A couple of our bad claims, which stay on the books for three years from the date of filing, are coming off, which will reduce out Experience Modification Factor and, consequently, reduce our Worker’s Compensation premiums.

Liability: increase the requested appropriation by $10,000 to $208,000. Next year we will have additional premium payments for the Public Safety Building, which is scheduled to com on line in October and for the new artificial surface at the High School multi-purpose field, which is scheduled to come on line by the opening of school in September.

  1. The House of Representative budget, which passed this week raised the minimum per student Chapter 70 Education Aid from the $20/student that the Governor included in his budget request, to $55/student. This, if it’s the final figure, would result in an increase of about $87,000. However, the Senate will not pass it’s budget until May and then a conference committee will be appointed to work out the differences. To be conservative, I’m sticking with the Governor’s lower figure for Chapter 70 Education Aid. If the figure comes in higher we can adjust the local aid amounts prior to setting the tax fy17 tax rate.
  2. Joy pointed out that we are raising $7,154 in the Water Enterprise Fund and $33,400 in the Sewer Enterprise Fund or a total of $40,554. to cover the Water and Sewer OPEB liabilities. This allows us to reduce the amount be taken from General Fund free cash to fund the OPEB liability to $121,947 from the original amount of $162,947 and still appropriate $400,000 to the OPEB Trust.
  3. I think it’s pretty safe to assume that we will have no more snow this season, so we can remove the $50,000 we are still carrying for a snow deficit expense.
  4. That’s all for now, but don’t be surprised if there are more changes next week. On Tuesday the bids for the School field will be opened so that may result in some additional changes. I’m attaching an update on the tax levy calculation based on the above. The net result is a decrease of $172,000 in the additional free cash we will need to use to balance the budget.  If the House Chapter 70 Education vote stands, this would reduce this to just over $100,000. Enjoy the weekend weather and let’s hope there’s more good news. Please let me know if you concur with the above recommendations..

Mike

Things are changing faster than I thought. Two minutes after I sent you my email on the budgets, I got an email from our insurance carrier that we would be receiving a participation credit on our Liability Insurance coverages, As a result we can leave that requested appropriation at $198,000 rather than increasing it to $208,000. Mike S.

 

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Posted in Budgets, Financial, Town Meeting, Uncategorized

PB agenda from last night

Posted on March 8, 2016 | Comments Off on PB agenda from last night

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Posted in Downtown, Planning, Town Meeting, Uncategorized

Planning Board on assisted living bylaw change

Posted on March 8, 2016 | 1 comment

planning

At the planning board last night there was a hearing held on the annual town meeting (ATM) warrant article that I suggested and wrote, which had been approved by the full board of selectmen, that effectively undid the 2012 annual town meeting vote that changed our zoning bylaws to permit assisted living facilities in the RS district (residential with 20,000 sq. ft. lots) by special permit. My proposed warrant article was an inelegant, mechanical rollback to the prior dated zoning language.  In an impressive bit of drafting and leadership in front of a room full of 50 intensely interested citizens, Wright Dickinson, skillfully revised the language of the proposed warrant article on the fly in a way that both dramatically improved it as a zoning article, and satisfied those who had come to the hearing.

The zoning article in question was a change at the 2012 annual town meeting that made assisted living facilities permitted in the RS zoning district by a special permit issued by the Zoning Board of Appeals, and which LCB is currently using to site its proposed facility. The procedural problem at the 2012 ATM was that the description of the zoning article that was published in the ATM booklet mailed out to residents prior to the town meeting did not clearly describe that particular change. To actually understand the full import of the zoning change, one had to consult documents only available in the town clerk’s office.

Since I believed that the 2012 ATM process had failed the residents by not being either explained or transparent enough, I suggested and tried to craft a zoning article for the upcoming annual town meeting that would allow the residents to indicate anew whether they are in favor of the 2012 zoning change or not. Town counsel told me that we could not undo, ab initio, the vote from 2012 so I thought the next best thing was to give people the opportunity to vote to change the zoning back to what it had been prior to 2012. However, much of the 2012 zoning change was an attempt to improve and modernize the old fashioned language in the zoning bylaw, and that was where Wright Dickinson was so successful in getting agreement from those gathered to the modernization language and only retaining the proposed warrant article’s reversion to assisted living in a RS the district as a “NO” instead of as a “SP” (special permit).  He also got agreement to assisted living being permitted in the B and IE districts where it had previously been prohibited.

The ultimate result of the hearing was a much improved warrant article for the town meeting, and, equally importantly, a group of residents in attendance who were mostly duly impressed with the forthrightness, diligence, and intelligent response of their volunteer planning board members to their concerns.  there will be follow up on whether to prohibit assisted living in the RU district, and several more details relating to the zoning issues.

Interestingly, after the hearing on the proposed warrant article, the bulk of those in the room went home, leaving just a half dozen of us to listen to the planning board discuss possible solutions to the issue of the excessively dense development in the downtown RU district, where many of the older homes have been turned into much larger 2-family houses or houses behind houses 2-family homes on the deep lots.

The planning board agreed to continue to look into several possible solutions, including:

•    Restricting the district to single-family homes
•    reconsidering anew the floor area ratio in the district
•    having a greater floor area ratio for two-family homes in the district
•    changing setbacks
•    crafting a definition of a 2-family house
•    considering implementation of design review
•    considering creation of a historic district

It was a truly successful evening for the planning board, who got to finally go home at about 10:30 PM.

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Posted in Downtown, Planning, Town Meeting, Uncategorized, Zoning