November 20, 2017 minutes

Chairman Barrett called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. He announced that the meeting was being recorded for transmission by cable television. He led those assembled in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Public hearing on tax classification: Allocation of the local property tax levy among the five property classes, as defined in Section 2-A of Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 59, for the fiscal year 2018

The annual public hearing on tax classification was duly posted and advertised in conformity with state law.

MOTION by Selectman Dalton, duly seconded by Selectman Crawford: I move that the Board open the public hearing on tax classification. Vote was unanimous.

Assessing Manager Raymond Boly and the members of the Board of Assessors (Richard O’Neil, Donald Garrity and Bonnie Celi) attended the hearing.

Mr. Boly explained that residential values are up two percent in total, and commercial values are up eight percent. The Board has adopted a split tax rate since FY04. Last year, a shift of 18.4 percent was adopted. He asked if the Board wishes to consider the exemption programs for open space, small commercial properties and the residential exemption affecting non-owner occupied housing. The Board has rejected adoption of these exemptions each year after presentations, and said there is no need for another presentation this year.

Mr. Boly said a shift factor of 20 percent would result in a 1.83 percent tax increase for the average single-family homeowner. Condominium owners will see a tax increase of 11 percent on average due to the higher values realized in that market category in the past year, reflecting a new, more expensive development. Residents in condos outside that development will see an average tax increase of four to six percent.

Board of Assessors members had not comments to add. No members of the public wished to speak.

MOTION by Selectman Dalton, duly seconded by Selectman Crawford: I move that the Board close the public hearing. Vote was unanimous.

MOTION by Selectman Dalton, duly seconded by Selectman Crawford: I move that the Board

vote to adopt the residential shift factor of 0.9670674 for Fiscal Year 2018. Vote was unanimous.

Proposal to change official posting site for public notices to the Town website

Under changes to the state Open Meeting Law, municipalities may now designate their websites as the chief official posting location for agendas of committee meetings and other public notices. Town Clerk Trudy Reid discussed her proposal to do so, and explain the requirements, including the consequences if the website goes offline for an extended period.

Selectman Crawford asked what will occur if the website is down. Ms. Reid said that an outage of length contemplated by the legislation has never occurred with the Town’s vendor. They will send notice on the duration of any outage.

MOTION by Selectman Dalton, duly seconded by Selectman Crawford:  I move that the Board designate the Town website, www.town.lynnfield.ma.us, the official site for posting of public notices, effective January 2, 2018. Vote was unanimous

Request for extended hours from IT’SUGAR, Market Street, year-round Monday-Saturday to 11 p.m.

Market Street is requesting an amendment of the Development Agreement governing hours of operation for a specific store owner.

It’s Sugar is seeking to remain open year-round until 11:00 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Under the existing hours of operation section of the development agreement, retail stores must close at 10:00 p.m. on those days.  The Board heard this request at a previous meeting.

MOTION by Selectman Dalton, duly seconded by Selectman Crawford:  I move that the Board vote to amend the Development Agreement between the Town and National Development to allow confectionary stores to remain open until 11:00 p.m. Monday-Saturday. The vote was unanimous.

Disclosure by Finance Committee member Nancy Piotrowski Alexander of Financial Interest under MGL Chapter 268A, Section 19

As her husband and daughter are both employed by the Fire Department, Ms. Alexander has filed a disclosure and has stated she will not vote on or participate in discussions of recommendations of the Finance Committee related to salaries in the Fire Department budget. Town Counsel Thomas Mullen has stated that this appears to be sufficient.

MOTION by Selectman Dalton, duly seconded by Selectman Crawford:  I move the Board determine that Ms. Alexander’s conflict of interest in matters pertaining to the Fire Department budget regarding firefighter salaries and compensation is sufficient to preclude her from participation in these matters. The vote was unanimous.

Designation of zone for additional liquor licenses under pending legislation

At town meeting in October, voters approved a warrant article authorizing the filing of legislation that would grant the Town five additional on-premises all-alcohol licenses above its quota. In consideration of this legislation, the House has asked the Board to designate locations in which such licenses may be granted.

As the Town has limited business areas in which the licenses may be granted, the Board may wish to designate the General Business district along Route 1 and the Planned Village Development District along Walnut Street as the allowed sites for such additional licenses.

The Board would retain the right to approve any applications for licenses in these areas after a public hearing and full review of the application.

MOTION by Selectman Dalton, duly seconded by Selectman Crawford: I move that the Board vote to designate the Planned Village Development District along Walnut Street and the General Business district along Route 1 (Broadway) as locations for the additional five on-site all-alcohol licenses sought under legislation filed pursuant to Article 10 of the October 16, 2017 town meeting. The vote was unanimous.

Resignation of Town Administrator Screening Committee member and appointment of replacement

David Nelson has submitted a letter of resignation from the Screening Committee due to family obligations. When the committee was appointed, Finance Committee member Gene Covino was appointed as an alternate member in order that any such vacancy could be filled promptly.

MOTION by Selectman Dalton, duly seconded by Selectman Crawford:  I move the Board accept the resignation of David Nelson from the Town Administrator Screening Committee. The vote was unanimous.

MOTION by Selectman Dalton, duly seconded by Selectman Crawford:  I move the Board appoint Gene Covino as a full member of the Town Administrator Screening Committee. The vote was unanimous.

Town Administrator Search Process update

Chairman Barrett reported that he Board of Selectmen last week entered into a contract with Community Paradigm Associates of Plymouth to provide consulting on the town administrator search. The principal, Bernie Lynch, has extensive experience in municipal government and has conducted many such searches.

The Board and Mr. Lynch agreed upon an ambitious timeline in order to expedite the search process while ensuring sufficient time to make a considered decision.  Advertisements for the position have been placed in professional journals and the current schedule calls for completion of the search process by the end of next month.

Community Paradigm Associates and the seven-member Screening Committee will review resumes and the Screening Committee will interview six to eight semifinalists before forwarding finalists to the Board of Selectmen, which will review finalists and select a candidate. A thorough background check of the finalists will be conducted before the selection is made.

A meeting for town department heads to give input to the search consultant has been scheduled for Tuesday, November 21 at Town Hall. Chairs of elected boards and the Finance Committee chair are being invited to a session for their input at Town Hall that same day.

A community forum will be held on Wednesday, November 29 at the Merritt Center at 7:30 p.m. to allow residents to share their input on what qualities and qualifications the Town should be seeking in its new administrator. All interested residents are encouraged to attend.

Selectman Dalton said he is happy to see that the process will be expedited without compromising the quality of the process. Selectman Crawford agreed. Chairman Barrett said Mr. Lynch already reports receiving resumes form strong candidates.

Resignation from Planning Board and filling of vacancy

The Board announced that a letter of resignation was received from Planning Board member Heather Sievers. A tentative date for a joint meeting was set for November 28, 2017 at 8:30 p.m. at the Merritt Center. Chairman Barrett said three applications have been received to date and additional applications will be accepted.

Selectmen Update:

A Healthy Lynnfield (Selectman Crawford):  The Turkey Trot fundraiser will benefit the Healthy Lynnfield coalition. Steering Committee member Chris Caprio reviewed fundraising efforts and provided updates on several planned activities. Selectman Crawford noted that St. Maria Goretti church held a candlelight vigil for families struggling with the opioid epidemic. He thanked Rev. Paul Ritt and Donna Hegan for their efforts.

Senior Citizen Advisory Council (Chairman Barrett): The committee held its second meeting last week and discussed possible tax relief for seniors, as well as issues surrounding transportation, housing and emergency response. The next meeting is on December 4.

Discussion of Perley Burrill site

Chairman Barrett recused himself from this portion of the meeting as he has an ownership interest in property abutting the site.

Town Counsel Thomas Mullen said that the Town is planning to draft a plan for a subdivision on the portion of the Perley Burrill property it owns as a means to enhance the sales price when it is put up for public bid. The Town is identifying available funds for the required engineering for the drawing up of these subdivision plans.  Considerations include the number of lots and whether to include deed restrictions that would prevent using a portion of the land to be sold to create additional lots. Mr. Mullen said that communities routinely impose such restrictions but noted they may affect the sales price.

Town Administrator James Boudreau said the Town took three parcels through tax title proceedings. Buildings that presented a safety hazard were demolished and asbestos removal was completed. The owner redeemed two of the tax title parcels, a small parcel along Witham Street and another along Fairview. The largest parcel remains in the Town’s possession.

A preliminary discussion with the Planning Board proposed a shared drive for the two lots. The Town parcel is straightforward. The Planning Board will hold a hearing on the proposed subdivision plan.

Selectman Crawford said he has been working for several years on this issue and is happy to see recent progress. He said the Town land will yield two house lots. He is concerned that the development restrictions may prevent the Town from recouping the money it has spent on this issue. He said the most important factor is that the site is cleaned up.

Mr. Boudreau said that if the Town retained control of all three lots, an additional buildable lot could be added. He said without these parcels, and extra buildable lot would require variances.

Resident Kevin Dillon asked about sales prices for lots and how many could be developed by right on the site. Mr. Boudreau said drainage was a limiting factor on the number of lots. Mr. Dillon said he favored the two-lot plan. Selectman Crawford said the buyer will still have to take down structures and perform remediation work.

Planning Board member Brian Charville tanked Town Engineer Charles Richter and Mr., Boudreau for coming to the Planning Board on this matter.

Resident Michael Marullo said he has looked at the site and produced plans including a new roadway and site mediation, and purchased two of the parcels from the owner who redeemed them in tax title. He said the three parcels together could clearly yield four buildable lots. He said remediation expenses will be significant, as will other site work. He said that he can create a buildable lot from the parcels he owns, and said he wants the Town to get the most return on the property.

Selectman Crawford explained that if the Town disturbs the soil, it will be responsible for remediating any prior contamination. He said the subdivision proposal will not likely be ready for public hearing until February.

Resident Jason Smith asked if the restrictions can be amended after the fact if the Town cannot recoup its costs under the two-lot proposal. Mr. Mullen said they could.

After this discussion, Chairman Barrett rejoined the Board.

Town Administrator Update:

M. Boudreau provided a brief update on the department head evaluations, the budget review schedule and the fields project.

Public Comment

There was no public comment.

Use of Town Facilities

MOTION by Selectman Dalton, duly seconded by Selectman Crawford:  I move the Board approve the use of Town roads for the Rotary Turkey Trot road race on November 26. Vote was unanimous.

MOTION by Selectman Dalton, duly seconded by Selectman Crawford:  I move the Board approve the use of the common for a menorah from December 111-21 subject to any restrictions imposed by the Director of Public Works. Vote was unanimous.

MOTION by Selectman Dalton, duly seconded by Selectman Crawford: I move that the Board adjourn. Vote was unanimous.

The Board adjourned at 7:54 p.m.