BOARD OF SELECTMEN
January 10, 2006
Minutes
The Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, January 10, 2006 in the Town Hall Clark Room.
Selectmen Douglas A.G. Stevenson, Timothy F. Hult, William R. Tice, and John D. Williams were
present for this meeting.
The meeting was called to order at 7:08 p.m. by Mr. Stevenson.
Town Administrator Report
Mrs. McKenzie was not present this evening to present her report so the Board read the contents
and reviewed the materials provided together.
An application from Larry Bearfield for a Wine & Malt License was attached for the Board to review.
A Public Hearing on the application has been scheduled on January 24, 2006. The Board briefly
discussed the application. It was noted that in order to keep within the 30-day time requirement, a
decision would have to be made at the January 24th meeting or another meeting will have to be held
before the end of the month.
An Independent Contractor Agreement between the Town and a (to be decided) Medical Director was
included for the Board to review. In Mrs. McKenzie’s notes it was mentioned that new state
regulations require communities to have some form of medical control. Mrs. McKenzie also noted
that she would soon meet with Fire Chief David Flannery to discuss this matter. Mr. Stevenson
suggested that this topic should come before the Board at the next meeting.
The Board was in receipt of a letter from Insurances Services Office, Inc. in regard to a survey taken
on the Town’s Building Code Effectiveness. It was noted that the Town received a Class 9 rating. Mrs.
McKenzie will be asked to provide further information on this matter at the next meeting.
A Public Hearing on a Site Plan Review of the Banta Davis Fields Phase II has been scheduled on
February 14th. The Recreation Commission has started to meet with some of the Boards on this
matter. Attached were two letters, one from the Board of Health and the other from the Carlisle
Public School Committee, offering their opinion on the Site Plan. There was a discussion over the
RecCom’s plans.
The Town was in receipt of a letter from Assistant Superintendent-Director, Thomas Markham, on
behalf of the Minuteman Regional School District Committee asking for a placeholder for a Warrant
Article for the Spring 2006 Annual Town Meeting. The article is in regard to allowing the Minuteman
Regional School District to establish a stabilization fund. Mr. Stevenson said he would like to set up a
meeting with a representative from Minuteman to discuss this matter and the Capital Plan.
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January 10, 2006
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In response to the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women, Mr. Hult completed a
nomination form, nominating Susan Emmons as Carlisle’s Unsung Heroine. He asked the Board to
support his nomination of Ms. Emmons. On a motion made by Mr. Hult and seconded by Mr.
Williams, it was unanimously VOTED to nominate Susan Emmons for the Unsung Heroine Award
for the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women.
The Board was in receipt of a letter from the Franklin Regional Council of Governments relative to
the new requirement for communities to have one electronic voting machine. It was the Council’s
concern that this could be the beginning of a change by the state to eliminate paper ballots. As it
was pointed out in the letter, this is not a case of being adverse to change, but simply that small
Towns see using the paper ballot as a way of preserving their small Town character. On a motion
made by Mr. Williams and seconded by Mr. Hult, it was unanimously VOTED to support the
petition to Secretary William Galvin indicating support of the paper ballot.
Mr. Hult said that he was very impressed with the letter sent to the Board from Evan Carpenito
relative to cell towers in Town and he would like to respond to same.
Mr. Stevenson spoke briefly about the recent passing of Alfred Peckham. Mr. Peckham was a
former Selectman, who served three terms on the Board of Selectmen in Carlisle and was widely
known for an article he wrote for the Concord Journal called “Along the Carlisle Way”. A letter of
condolence will be sent to his family.
Budget Discussions
Council on Aging chair Ted Read, Treasurer Jim Elgin and Coordinator Jane Coleman Williams
were present to discuss their budget with the Board. Ms. Williams said that they were presenting a
levy limit budget and a level service budget.
Mr. Elgin said that Ms. Williams and the Outreach Coordinator Susan Evans are working more
hours than they are being paid for. It is the COA’s desire to not necessarily give them a raise, but
just pay them for the hours they work. In response to Mr. Hult, Ms. Williams said that if they did
not work as many hours as they do, there would be less programs, and limited newsletters. Mr.
Elgin also complemented Ms. Williams and Ms. Evans on the great job they have been doing, such
as getting involved in many of the activities, which has resulted in many Seniors coming to them for
assistance. They have earned their trust. On another issue, Mr. Hult asked Ted, Jane, and Jim if
they found the Senior Tax inserts helpful, they said yes; but they thought one insert per year was
enough.
Conservation Commission chair Tom Schultz spoke about the extensive amount of work it takes to
complete some of the filings and he said that if it wasn’t for the hard work and dedication of Sylvia
Willard it would not get done. Mr. Schultz said that the ConsCom was requesting permission to
take money out of the Wetlands account to pay for part of the salaries for Ms. Willard and her
administrative assistant Mary Hopkins. He said that next year they are proposing to take about
$2,700 out of Wetlands and about $5,000 from the Intents account to pay for salaries. Other than
that, in regard to the budget, there was a slight increase in MAPC dues.
Mr. Schultz referenced a memo requesting permission to take money out of the Intents account to
pay for this year’s salaries and he asked the Board to vote on same tonight. Mr. Hult said he would
like to wait to vote on this until Mrs. McKenzie is present.
Recreation Commission chair Allen Deary was present with Cindy Nock to discuss their budget with
the Board. Allen spoke about previous years and how their overages had been paid for through
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January 10, 2006
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supplements from their gift account and other program fees. It was noted that they were about
seven thousand dollars over the levy limit. Mr. Deary pointed out some of the things that have
caused increases. Fuel was one. His budget printout included figures for FY08, as he was
projecting additional costs for their plans on Banta Davis. Mr. Deary noted that it may look like
they were budgeting to the limit and funding the rest after the fact. The Board had some questions
about this logic, but Mr. Deary explained how the contracts for field maintenance and fees work
together.
Police Department Police Chief John Sullivan was present to discuss his budget with the Board.
The Board had questions about salaries for the Sergeant, Lieutenant, and for Sullivan himself. Mr.
Tice asked a question about longevity.
Chief Sullivan then spoke about his growth budget. He spoke about various items on the sheet
presented. Some of the items were ‘bolded’ as they were items that were previously requested but
not yet received. Some of them included money for the officers to go to court on cases, Cyber
crime training, FBI Academy and Sergeant’s Exam/Assessment. The non-bolded items were
NEMLAC, the restoration of cell watch and the increase of sick time from 9 to 10 days. Chief
Sullivan explained the importance of each item and how they would ultimately be beneficial to the
Town of Carlisle. Because some of Chief Sullivan’s budget figures were confusing, Mr. Stevenson
suggested that he and Chief Sullivan and Mrs. McKenzie go over them together.
The General Expense Budget and Town Hall budget will be discussed at a future meeting.
Bruce Freeman Trail
Emily Teller and Tom Michelman were present to talk to the Board about the Bruce Freeman Rail
Trail (BFRT). Ms. Teller said that the concept began with Bruce Freeman, a former legislator from
Chelmsford. His ideas for the use of the trail included bicycling, jogging, walking, and cross-country
skiing. The trail got started on the rail trail along the old Framingham-Lowell rail line. Ms. Teller
said that Mr. Freeman passed away, but fortunately the project was taken over by another former
legislator, Carol Cleven, who later named the trail after Mr. Freeman.
Ms. Teller spoke about the Friends of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail, who are a group of residents
from all seven Towns that the trail runs through. She then explained the construction of Phases I,
II, and III. Ms. Teller then discussed the cost to the Town and how it could be paid for through the
Town’s Community Preservation Committee. She also noted that they would need the funds by
June of 2006.
The Board discussed the process of applying to the Community Preservation Committee for a
specific amount. They also determined that they needed to send a letter to the Town of Acton to
inform them that Carlisle wishes to be a part of the Rail Trail and would like to be included in the
design specs. There was a brief discussion on appointing a task force to work on this project as
Carlisle’s representatives.
The following motion(s) were made in support of this project. On a motion made by Mr. Hult and
seconded by Mr. Williams, it was unanimously VOTED (in regard to the Bruce Freeman Trail, that
section that will be in Carlisle) 1) to request the Town Administrator, on behalf of the Selectmen, to
draft a letter to the Acton Selectmen indicating (our) intent to support and request to be a part of
design funds for the Rail Trail; 2) the Carlisle Board of Selectmen will sponsor a CPA request for
design funds for a segment of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail for the Spring Town Meeting; and, 3)
establish a task force to prepare required documents.
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On a motion made by Mr. Hult and seconded by Mr. Williams, it was unanimously VOTED to
appoint Debra A. Belanger and Alan Cameron to work on the temporary task for the Bruce
Freeman Trail.
Budgets (continued)
Treasurer /Tax Collector
Mr. Barton presented the Treasurer/Tax Collector’s budget to the Board of Selectmen. He said that
the guideline budget and level service budget are the same.
Mr. Barton spoke about his Growth Budget requests, which were bond expenses, part-time
additional staff person and a forms equipment machine, all totaling $13,500. After the Board
seemed unconvinced about the form-folding machine, Mr. Barton mentioned that he was
considering trying one out for a period of time, perhaps during the motor vehicle tax billing period.
He said that if he did not like the way it performed then he would drop the request.
Mr. Barton also discussed with the Board the McNamara Bill/Chapter 125, which the State has
passed relative to death benefits to (survivors of) on-call personnel. He said that there are three
ways from which communities can choose to deal with accommodating surviving spouses of
accidental deaths of on-call personnel. 1.) They could choose to pay the surviving spouse an
accidental death benefit in the form of an annuity (almost like the Town would be self-insuring
itself); 2.) The Town could acquire a one-time accidental death policy for $500,000; or 3.) The Town
could buy an insurance policy for the annuity payment. Mr. Barton said that Mrs. McKenzie will
look into premiums costs for these policies.
Mr. Barton spoke about Chapter 41A, where senior citizens can defer their tax payments but they
are charged an interest rate. He said that currently the Town is charging an interest rate of 8% per
annum. Mr. Barton said that the Town could establish a lower rate, but it would be for FY07.
There was a discussion on the interest rate and amount that is currently being charged. A decision
on changing the interest rate was not made tonight.
House Bill 2408
Mr. Stevenson spoke about House Bill 2408, which would tax telephone equipment, such as wires.
He said that supporters of this Bill claim that it will save property tax payers money. Mr. Williams
and Mr. Hult were in favor of this Bill, but Mr. Stevenson and Mr. Tice were not. There did not
seem to be a deadline on this issue so the discussion was ended at this point.
Resignations
On a motion made Mr. Tice and seconded by Mr. Williams, it was unanimously VOTED to accept
the resignation of Jane Anderson from the Carlisle Municipal Land Committee effective January 1,
2006.
Minutes
The minutes to the December 13, 2005 Board of Selectmen meeting were approved as presented.
The minutes to the December 20, 2005 Board of Selectmen meeting were not approved and changes
were suggested to same.
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January 10, 2006
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Executive Session
At 10:50 p.m., a motion was made by Mr. Tice to go into executive session for the purpose of
discussing negotiations, and not to return open session. The following roll call vote was taken:
Tice – aye; Williams – aye; Hult – aye; and Stevenson – aye.
The meeting adjourned at 11:05 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by Margaret de Mare
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