MINUTES

BOARD OF SELECTMEN

Tuesday, January 2, 2007, at 6:45 P.M.

Town Hall Hearing Room, 60 Center Square

East Longmeadow, MA 01028

Present: James D. Driscoll, Chairman Board of Selectmen; Joe Townshend, Clerk of the Board.

Chairman of the Board of Selectmen opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance.

PUBLIC FORUM - There were no speakers.

7:00 P.M. APPOINTMENT: RYAN QUIMBY, ACTING IT DIRECTOR:

R. Quimby presented the Selectmen with his revised budget and financial plan. The budget includes one position and would recommend the person who is presently working in the department now and is being paid out of expense money. R. Quimby asked the Selectmen if he could advertise to fill his old position and said that it has already gone to Howard Tabor & Associates. J. Townsend was against starting the procedure. Selectman Townshend said that there is only three weeks left before there is a new Selectman, and wanted to wait to start the process. J. Driscoll said that it is only preliminary and that there would be time once the new Selectman is elected for interviews etc.; there is no need to wait. The Selectmen could not come to an agreement. It was tabled until the election of a new Selectman.

J. Driscoll asked for a follow-up from the last IT Committee Meeting. R. Quimby mentioned that they are waiting to hear back from a vendor regarding a wireless survey for the Town and also that he would like to have the Town building wired with fiber optic as other towns have.

J. Driscoll mentioned that potentially they will be looking into alternatives having our own cable provided and potentially long distance and internet provider as other towns have such as Holyoke. J. Driscoll also asked about Connect Cty (outbound calls). R. Quimby said that the IT Committee is totally for the system and if adopted it should be merged with the schools, however it will put the 3% budget over a little. R. Quimby mentioned that his goal is to improve the Towns web site. There was some discussion from J. Driscoll regarding the Amherst web site and how amazing it was; R. Quimby will look into it. R. Quimby also said the Library as the schools would like to stay separate and that he would like to see all on one web site. J. Driscoll agreed and said to set up a meeting with whoever would be appropriate for the schools and discuss the issue. R. Quimby is also looking into systems back-ups for the Town.

Board of Selectmen Meeting 1/2/07

continued

BOARD OF SELECTMEN

OLD BUSINESS:

The Selectmen discussed the deadline for the 2007 Warrant Articles. Deadline for petitioned articles will be Tuesday, January 16, 2007; Town Departments/Boards will be February 16, 2007. Notification will be sent to Department Heads/Boards, with a news release to be published in the Reminder.

NEW BUSINESS

Regarding the 2006 Massachusetts Turnpike Authority Tourism Grant Program Applications,

J. Driscoll mentioned to give to Sean Kelley, DPW Senior Project Manager. J. Driscoll said that the Town already has a federal grant for a large portion of the bike trail, but there is still a lot of work to be done. J. Driscoll said the ground breaking would be in the spring and after carefully reading through the grant it appears that this project could qualify. There was no further discussion; the application will be forwarded to Sean Kelley.

J. Driscoll mentioned the letter of resignation from Diane Tiago as representative for the Library on the Personnel Policy Committee. It was J. Driscoll's understanding that Ms. Tiago was questioning the open meeting laws and did not want to participate any longer and also that the Library Trustees will no longer participate on the Committee.

In regards to the vacancy on the Personnel Policy Committee and recommendation from the Council on Aging to appoint Doreen Harrison, J. Townshend said that he wanted to table until a new Selectmen was elected before voting. J. Driscoll could not understand Selectman Townshend's reasoning and said that this is an important committee and that every department needs representation. J. Townshend said that he wanted the third Selectman to have the opportunity to vote as well. J. Driscoll mentioned again that this is a very important committee and that J. Townshend is hampering the Towns day-to-day business and that politics are playing a part in his decisions, first by tabling the posting of the IT Department position and now with waiting to vote in a new member on the Personnel Policy Committee. It was tabled until there are three Selectmen.

Regarding the request from Daniel & Samantha Macero to open a little girl's boutique and also offer birthday parties, the executive secretary explained to the Selectmen what the Macero's were contemplating. It was noted that the Health Inspector's report reflected that he approved the Macero's having birthday cakes coming from licensed bakeries only. The executive secretary mentioned that the Macero's met with the Planning Board and were advised to check with the Selectmen to see if there was a need for entertainment or food service licenses. The discussion ended with the decision to schedule a time for the Macero's to meet with the Selectmen to better explain their intentions.

The Board noted the letter of concern from the Library Trustees regarding parking lot safety. The Board tabled the issue until a report was received by the Safety Officer.

Board of Selectmen Meeting 1/2/07

New Business continued

The Board discussed the quotations from MIIA regarding additional premiums for flood, earthquake and umbrella/excess coverage. Executive Secretary will forward the quotations to the Town Accountant to review and report back to the Selectmen.

The Selectmen approved and signed the renewals for Entertainment Licenses/Sunday Entertainment for Pasquale's, Fusion Café, The Meadows, Villa Napoletana and The Pizza Shoppe.

Regarding the draft Selectmen budgets it was mentioned that the Chairman of the Board signs the drafts. The executive secretary will schedule appointments with the department heads that are under the Board of Selectmen. The appointments are to take place on January 30, 2007 and will be ten minutes apart. Police and Fire will be scheduled for the meeting of January 16, 2007.

BOARD OF HEALTH

NEW BUSINESS:

J. Townshend made motion, J. Driscoll seconded out of necessity to approve the septage Handlers Permit for Blanchard Septic Tank System, Inc. 14 Dollar Avenue, Wilbraham, Francis L. Claing Jr. Owner. There was no further discussion. Vote passed.

TOWN COUNSEL:

OLD BUSINESS:

Town Counsel said that the statement received from the Town Clerk was to notify the Selectmen that due to the transfer of a staff member to the Selectmen's Office on a temporary basis and the hiring of a temporary person to perform some of the duties that if it continues for the balance of the year he would over spend his appropriation unless something is done to alter the staffing in his office. J. Driscoll will contact the Appropriations Committee.

Town Counsel said that the letter from Attorney Melissa Shea regarding the Civil Service Case (Daniel Atwater) against the Town of East Longmeadow was just notification that the continuance request was approved by the Commissioner of Civil Service.

The Board of Selectmen noted the letter from Nawanda Evans, Compliance Officer, Civil Service Unit, asking for more information regarding the selection of Jeffrey Dalessio to the position of Police Sergeant for the Town of East Longmeadow. The Selectmen mentioned that they would not rescind its statement regarding Officer Dalessio's strong interview. The Board will send a letter in with its decision.

NEW BUSINESS:

Town Counsel said that the letter from the Superintendent of Public Works regarding DPW personnel and the letter from the Meter Reader, same subject, should only be taken under advisement for the time being.

Regarding the correspondence from the ABCC and seasonal licenses for package stores, Town Counsel mentioned that if the Town has no influx in the upcoming year then there is no reason to respond to ABCC. Town Counsel said that the Town never made application in the

Board of Selectmen Meeting 1/2/07

Town Counsel New Business continued

past for seasonal licenses; there was never a need for them, and that there was no need to respond to the ABCC if not interested. Town Counsel explained what may be involved in having such licenses available. The Board had no interest in pursing at this time.

There was some discussion regarding the procedure of a transfer for an existing Class II Used Car Dealer's License which was received in the Selectmen's Office. The procedure according to Town Counsel would basically be to hold a public hearing to have the applicant come before the Board, make sure the character of the applicant is upheld, also that under the statute it needs to be the principal business of the company, location needs to be identified, a bond in the amount of $25,000 (surety or cash bond if permitted), this is a new requirement within the last half dozen years, and finally evidence of a repair facility, either on site or have an agreement with some other repair facility. J. Townshend asked about Cori checks. Town Counsel said that Cori checks are not automatically part of the procedure unless it is part of the rules and regulations of the department, but the Board could adopt that requirement. Town Counsel checked further with the rules & regulations and mentioned that it is not necessarily required to hold a public hearing only that there be a public notice. J. Driscoll mentioned to notify the abutters and also that a public hearing be set up.

CORRESPONDENCE:

The Selectmen noted the correspondence from Massachusetts Municipal Association regarding their annual business meeting and voting procedures to be held on Friday, January 13, 2007. Selectmen were not available to attend.

MEETINGS/INVITATIONS/REMINDERS

J. Driscoll read the meetings/invitations & reminders.

J. Driscoll mentioned that he spoke with Representative Candaras office and was informed that the $400,000 that Senator Lees allocated for the Senior Center Project from the State has been re-instated and that the money is back in the budget.

The Selectmen tabled the meeting with the Personnel Policy Committee that was scheduled for Monday, January 8, 2007 at 7pm. Reason for postponement was that two of the members have resigned and not enough members will be present. J. Driscoll mentioned to try and re-schedule after the special election (for Selectman). Executive Secretary will check with the Union to see if re-scheduling is a problem. Executive Secretary to set up an appointment to have Doreen Harrison come before the Board at their next scheduled meeting.

Meeting adjourned 7:55 P.M.

APPROVED BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING, FEBRUARY 6, 2007

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Joe Townshend, Clerk of the Board of Selectmen