Board of Selectmen |
November 21, 2011 |
Regular Meeting |
Selectmen’s Hearing Room, Town Hall |
Present: |
Arthur J. Bourque III, Chairman |
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Robert P. MacKendrick, Selectman |
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Al Merritt, Selectman |
Chairman Bourque called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. He announced that the meeting was being transmitted by cable television and recorded for that purpose.
Commendation – Patrolman Anthony Hnath
Chairman Bourque introduced Police Patrolman Anthony Hnath and Police Chief David Breen, and asked Chief Breen to give an account of the events of November 8, 2011.
Chief Breen told the Board that on November 8, 2011, Patrolman Hnath, while off duty, was operating his personal vehicle in the area of Walnut Street when he spotted a motor vehicle containing two males being operated suspiciously. Patrolman Hnath followed the vehicle, saw one male wearing a backpack exit the vehicle on Walnut Street and approach a house. After calling for backup, Patrolman Hnath went to the front door of the house, where he saw signs of a forced entry. Running to the back door, he found the male fleeing the area. He caught and detained him until an on-duty officer arrived with handcuffs, at which point the man was placed under arrest. Lynn police spotted the vehicle described by Hnath and the second man was arrested as well. Both were charged with felony breaking and entering in the daytime. Items
believed to be stolen from the Walnut Street home and from a Saugus home were recovered.
Chief Breen said he recommended that the Board issue a letter of commendation to Patrolman Hnath.
Selectman Merritt recalled that Patrolman Hnath had taken him on patrol when he joined the Board, and said he was impressed with his courtesy, thought process, and how he treated people well. Selectman MacKendrick said that Patrolman Hnath epitomized the values the Board looks for in a police officer, and is an example of what the Lynnfield Police Department is capable of. Chairman Bourque said that he has been in the situation Patrolman Hnath faced and that he deserves a lot of credit for making a lot of good decisions and doing a lot of good things.
Diane Caruso of Walnut Street is the resident whose house was broken into. She said she is very thankful for the efforts of Patrolman Hnath and the police department, and noted that because this was an early release day for the schools, it is possible her children would have entered the home while intruders were still there had it not been for Patrolman Hnath’s diligence.
On the motion of Selectman MacKendrick, seconded by Selectman Merritt, the Board unanimously approved a letter of commendation for Patrolman Anthony Hnath, the text of which appears below:
Patrolman Anthony Hnath
Lynnfield Police Department
Dear Patrolman Hnath:
The Board of Selectmen wished to commend you for your actions of November 8, 2011, in which you were instrumental in the apprehension of two suspects in a housebreak on Walnut Street.
While off-duty and in your personal vehicle, you were alert to a suspicious vehicle traveling in the area, and followed the vehicle and the two males occupying it to a house on Walnut Street, where their behavior heightened your suspicions, you informed police dispatch of your observations and requested backup. After noting signs of a break-in at the front door of the house, you alertly ran to the back door and, despite being unarmed, chased the fleeing suspect and held him until Sgt. Trapasso arrived on scene, at which point he was arrested for breaking and entering in the daytime and resisting arrest. Several articles stolen from the home were recovered in the suspect’s backpack.
After your description of the vehicle was radioed to area police departments, it was located in Lynn and a second suspect was arrested. Items found in the vehicle may be items stolen during other housebreaks.
These arrests and the recovery of stolen property were made possible by your alertness, fast thinking, bravery and professional competence. Despite being off duty and not equipped with weapons, handcuffs or a police radio, you were able to spot suspicious activity, responsibly call for backup, disrupt a housebreak in progress, subdue a fleeing suspect and hold him until an on-duty officer arrived, and provide information that led to a second arrest
Your actions on November 8 are a credit to you, the department which you serve, and the Town of Lynnfield. On behalf of the residents of Lynnfield, the Board of Selectmen commends you for service.
Interview – Recreation Commission candidate
Matthew Monkiewicz of Yorkshire Drive appeared Before the Board as an applicant for a vacant position on the Recreation Commission. He told the Board that he had been a resident of Lynnfield since about 1999, although he spent a few years during that period living elsewhere. His late wife, Stacee, was the director of the Recreation Commission until her untimely passing last year. He said one of her visions was bringing a recreation center to Lynnfield, and he would like to bring that vision to fruition.
Mr. Monkiewicz said he has 25 years of business experience and has been involved with several non-profit efforts. In Lynnfield, he has been active in youth sports.
All three selectmen thanked Mr. Monkiewicz for volunteering and said he will be a great asset to the Recreation Commission.
On the motion of Selectmen MacKendrick, seconded by Selectman Merritt, the Board voted unanimously to appoint Matthew Monkiewicz to the Recreation Commission, with a term to expire on June 30, 2014.
Common victualler application and parking space lease agreement
The Board took up the application of Ilias and Lenore Kotsaninis for a common victualler license at 472 Broadway. The Board held over the discussion from its November 1, 2011 meeting due to concerns about the lack of parking spaces available at the site.
Matthew Kimball of Kimball & Kimball, offices on Main Street, Lynnfield, represented the petitioner and presented a proposed licensing agreement for the six parking spaces currently leased by the Town to Santo Tomasello of Santo’s Hair Design, previous tenant at 472 Broadway. He also presented to the Board a proposed termination of the lease of the parking spaces with Mr. Tomasello.
Town Administrator William Gustus recommended to the Board that it accept the termination of the lease agreement with Mr. Tomasello, approve the new lease agreement of the parking spaces with Mr. and Mrs. Kotsaninis, and approve the common victualler license.
On the motion of Selectman Merritt, seconded by Selectman MacKendrick, the Board unanimously approved the termination of the parking space lease agreement with Santo Tomasello.
On the motion of Selectman Merritt, seconded by Selectman MacKendrick, the Board unanimously approved the new parking space lease agreement with Ilias and Lenore Kotsaninis.
On the motion of Selectman Merritt, seconded by Selectman MacKendrick, the Board unanimously approved a common victualler license for Loui’s Pizza and Roast Beef at 472 Broadway.
Board members signed the lease termination and the lease agreement.
Public hearing: tax classification
Chairman Bourque declared the annual public hearing on tax classification, advertised in the November 9, 2011 edition of the Lynnfield Villager, open at the prescribed starting time of 7:15 p.m.
Frank Kulik, Interim Director of Assessing, made the presentation on the behalf of the Board of Assessors. Mr. Kulik was the assessor in the City of Salem for 23 years. He explained that the Assessing Department works with the tax levy and valuations of properties to compute an equalized tax rate. The purpose of classification is to shift the burden of taxation from one class to another. Traditionally, this hearing has also encompassed consideration of adoption of the residential exemption and the small business exemption, neither of which the Town of Lynnfield had adopted.
Mr. Kulik said he would defer to the Town Administrator on the issue of classification.
Mr. Gustus said that the numbers under consideration this evening are not cast in stone as the new growth figure submitted by the Board of Assessors has not yet been approved by the state Department of Revenue, although he does not expect those numbers to change. He said based on the numbers submitted, the unified tax rate would be $14.37 per thousand dollars of value. If the single rate were adopted, residential taxpayers would see a 4.2 percent increase in their tax bills, while commercial, industrial and personal property taxpayers would see a tax decrease of 4.5 percent.
In keeping with past practice adopted by the Board, Mr. Gustus explained, he calculated a shift factor that would ensure that the average tax bill in all classes of property would increase by the same percentage, 3.4 percent. This shift factor would be 8.3 percent, which is what he recommends to the Board based on its past practice of the past eight years to equalize the percentage of increase in the average tax bills of all classes regardless of the relative appreciation or depreciation of property values in those classes.
This would result in a residential tax rate of $14.26 and a CIP (commercial, industrial and personal) tax rate of $15.56, Mr. Gustus said.
Selectman Merritt said that the 3.4 percent tax increase is larger than the usual tax increase of 2.0 to 2.5 percent due to the $560,000 override passed by voters. He said he is comfortable with the approach outlined by Mr. Gustus. Selectman MacKendrick agreed.
Chairman Bourque asked if any member of the public wished to be heard on this issue. No one spoke.
On the motion of Selectman Merritt, seconded by Selectman MacKendrick, the Board voted to adopt a residential factor of 0.992662.
Chairman Bourque asked for a brief explanation for the benefit of the public of the residential exemption and the small business exemption.
Mr. Gustus said the residential exemption would exempt from taxation a fixed dollar figure for every residential property occupied by its owner, with the tax rate increasing to keep the overall residential levy the same as it would be without the exemption. This would benefit residents with homes of relatively low value by shifting the residential tax burden to those taxpayers with homes of higher value. This exemption has generally been adopted by communities with a large number of seasonal properties or rental properties.
Mr. Gustus said the small commercial exemption only applies to commercial buildings in which every business has 10 or fewer employees. The tax relief accrues to the property owner, not the small business owner, if the property is rented by the small business. No relief is granted to businesses
There were no motions heard on either the residential exemption or the small business exemption.
On the motion of Selectman MacKendrick, seconded by Selectman Merritt, the Board voted unanimously to close the public hearing.
Conveyance of land on Knoll Road to Lynnfield Center Water District
Mr. Gustus explained that town counsel and the counsel for Lynnfield Center Water District were still working on the language for an agreement that would convey a parcel of land of Knoll Road from the Town to the District. That conveyance was approved in 2009 at town meeting. The Board agreed to hold the matter over until the December 5, 2011 meeting.
Closing of streets for the Tree Lighting Ceremony
The Board received an e-mail communication from Recreation Director Tricia Torosian requesting that South Common Street be closed to traffic for the annual Tree Lighting Ceremony, to be held on Saturday, December 3, from 3-6 p.m.
On the motion of Selectman MacKendrick, seconded by Selectman Merritt, the Board voted unanimously to approve the request.
Approval of minutes
On the motion of Selectman MacKendrick, seconded by Selectman Merritt, the Board voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the meeting of November 1, 2011 as presented.
Notice of vacancy on the Housing Authority
The Board received a letter from Lynnfield Housing Authority Executive Director Eva Foley informing the Board that due to the recent death of longtime Housing Authority member John F. Donegan, a vacancy now exists on the Housing Authority.
On the motion of Selectman MacKendrick, seconded by Selectman Merritt, the Board voted unanimously to hold a joint meeting of the Board of Selectmen and the Housing Authority at 7:15 p.m. on Monday, December 5, 2011 at the Selectmen’s Hearing Room, Town Hall.
Chairman Bourque noted that he succeeded Mr. Donegan on the Board of Selectmen and recalled him as a consummate political campaigner who was always friendly to all regardless of their political beliefs, very knowledgeable about the Town’s history and as a “marvelous human being.”
Selectman MacKendrick said he knew Mr. Donegan a long time and that he always conducted himself fairly and honorably. He said Mr. Donegan had imparted words of wisdom to him that he recalls to this day. He said everybody who knew Mr. Donegan was a friend.
Selectman Merritt said that Mr. Donegan in his 18 years as a member of the Board of Selectmen kept the Board focused and was very wise. He said he was a wonderful man and will be missed.
On the motion of Selectman Merritt, seconded by Selectman MacKendrick, the Board voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 7:35 p.m.
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