MINUTES
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
Friday, March 30, 2007, 9:10 a.m.
Town Hall Hearing Room,
PRESENT: James Driscoll, Chairman, Board of Selectmen
(BOS);
* J. Townshend did not attend the portion of the meeting regarding the PVTA. He was present for the executive session portion of the meeting.
J. Driscoll opened the meeting at 9:10 a.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance.
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
NEW BUSINESS:
PVTA & MV Transportation
J. Driscoll thanked the members of the public that were in attendance for the meeting; he introduced
J. Villamaino and G. Hyland; he outlined general concerns and with the current Dial-a-Ride vendor; that the main reason for the meeting was for the incident that resulted in a fatal trauma of a town resident; that the meeting was a fact finding mission, to find out what happened, what changes have occurred, and what may be done in the future to prevent this from happening. J. Driscoll then asked the Clerk to read into the record correspondence to date, copies of which are part of these minutes. In summary, they were letters between J. Driscoll and Mary MacInnes, Director of the PVTA, regarding the day’s meeting.
J. Driscoll recapped that the purpose of this meeting, in reference to the correspondence, was to be informed by the (PVTA) Director before we (the BOS) took action. J. Driscoll asked G. Hyland if he had received any information about this situation. G. Hyland stated that he had received an email on the date that an article appeared in the paper (The Republican, March 27, 2007) with a link in the email to the article.
J. Driscoll brought up concerns shared by he and J. Villamaino; that he could not speak on behalf of his third Board member that was not there; regarding a lack of communication, that the only way they had been informed about this was from an article in the paper; that there is a documented pattern of mismanagement by the current provider; that they were hired to save a few bucks, but that is not the case, either; that these problems did not occur with the previous provider although he had never had any personal interaction with Hulmes; he explained that he has been inundated with calls from people with concerns; but that he has not received any phone calls back from PVTA, nor has the Town’s designee; that he is disappointed that no member or representative of the PVTA or MV did not attend the meeting; that there are seniors not using the service because of fear.
Board of Selectmen
March 30, 2007
Page 2 of 3
J. Driscoll acknowledged Leon Osborn, Chairman of the Council on Aging (COA) in attendance; and then recognized COA member Muriel Andwood. M. Andwood asked if there was some legal way for this (situation with MV) to come under the heading of “senior abuse?” J. Driscoll responded that he assumed that there were no representatives here because of possible legal ramifications, but that he would have been willing to enter into executive session with them to discuss the matter if they stated it was litigious; he then said that it should be about full disclosure, rather than litigation. J. Driscoll commented that the population of the town based on the number of different types of elder housing communities is dependent on this service, and it performance makes it a concern.
J. Villamaino said that they wanted to meet with the agencies involved to see if there was a fault in their policy, or if the policy was sound then to see if there was a deviation from the policy; that at best this was a tragic mistake; at worst it may be the product of negligence or incompetence or both; but to make that determination they would need to meet with the PVTA and MV; that he hoped that they would be willing to do so to find out the facts as they are.
J. Driscoll said there was a list of questions that need answers: What is the current policy? Was the policy deviated from? What is the driving record of the driver? Was the driver tested for substance abuse? Does the driver have a track record of problems? What is the infrastructure of the management with MV? He stated that there was an internal audit done of the company, but that it was done, he believed, by a person that has subsequently hired by the PVTA; that he would be calling for the suggestion of an independent audit by the DOT or the AG.
The meeting was then opened up for public comment.
Raymond Jarrett, Chicopee: R. Jarrett said he was a former driver for Hulmes; that the rules for Dial-a-Ride when he drove were that if a passenger wanted to be dropped off at a place other than what was listed, then the drivers had to call dispatch, dispatch would call a family member for approval, but that if no family member could be reached the rider would be dropped off at their front door and the driver would wait to watch them enter their house; he stated that he knew Mr. Fopiano; he then made comments about the time for a passenger to be on a van (in reference to a conversation he had with another gentleman in attendance that is a rider) stating that the most a rider would be on would be 45 minutes, but that this gentleman had to suffer a 2 ½ hour ride; that they should go back to Hulmes.
Martina Robinson, Belchertown: Ms. Robinson read a prepared statement which is part of these minutes. In summary, she expressed condolences and related her negative personal experiences with MV.
Sally Dodge, Belchertown: She asked what it would take between all the communities to get rid of MV? She said that she knows women that have been sexually harassed by van drivers from MV; that there is no radio communication between Belchertown and Amherst; that that no way excuses what happened with the gentleman from East Longmeadow; that this is in violation of their civil rights; that she was at the meeting in Northampton on Tuesday night; that a newly appointed marketing representative and a trouble-shooting representative of PVTA, that all they said was that they were looking into it, but that it will be six months of looking into in come April 8; that if they are violating civil rights she is going to look into that.
Board of Selectmen
March 30, 2007
Page 3 of 3
John Connor,
Al Bartholemew,
J. Driscoll then entertained a motion on behalf of the Board
to take a vote of no confidence in MV Transportation and no confidence in the
management of the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority based on the fact that this
is a clear problem, it’s not being solved, we’re trying to find out and we
can’t even get a return phone call. J.
Villamaino so moved the motion as stated.
J. Driscoll seconded the motion out of necessity. Discussion:
J. Villamaino addressed the residents of
J. Driscoll recognized Police Chief Doug Mellis, and the representative in attendance from Senator Candaras’ office, thanking them for being there, and also announced that he had been in contact with Representative Wagner, that he was involved in the fact-finding part of this too. Motion carried 2-0.
J. Driscoll entertained a motion that the Board of Selectmen
of the town of
J. Driscoll thanked all for coming to the meeting; that he would be contacting the Attorney General and the DOT to do everything it can.
The BOS took a brief recess.
J. Driscoll entertained a motion to enter into executive session to discuss personnel issues pursuant to the purposes of complying with Chapter 39 section 23 B and Chapter 214 section 1B. J. Villamaino so moved the motion. J. Driscoll seconded out of necessity. Discussion: J. Driscoll amended the motion to include the BOS would return to open session only for purposes of adjournment. A roll-call vote was taken, (Villamaino, “Yes”; Driscoll, “Yes.”) Motion carried 2-0.
Notes: J. Townshend was present for the executive session. The executive session minutes for this meeting and the audio cassette tape are kept by Town Counsel, per the order of the Board of Selectmen.
J. Driscoll entertained a motion for the meeting to be adjourned. J. Villamaino so moved the motion.
J. Driscoll seconded out of necessity. Motion carried 2-0. Meeting adjourned at 11:15 a.m.
Minutes respectfully submitted by Nick Breault, Executive Secretary.
APPROVED: BOARD OF SELECTMEN’S MEETING, TUESDAY, JULY
31, 2007.