BOARD OF SELECTMEN
Wilson Middle School
April 29, 2008
7:00 p.m.
The meeting was called to order at by the Chairman John Ciccariello at 07:00 p.m.
PRESENT: John Ciccariello, Joshua Ostroff, Kristine Van Amsterdam, Carol A. Gloff, John Connolly
ALSO PRESENT: Martha L. White, Town Administrator, Elizabeth Dennis,
COCHITUATE RAIL TRAIL APPRAISAL UPDATE
Mr. Ciccariello reported that one proposal was received in response to the RFP after the filing deadline. It was in excess of $20,000 and included an hourly meeting rate of $175/hour after the initial meeting rate of $400/hour.
Mr. Ciccariello recommended that a new RFP be issued and that the timeframe to get the job completed be extended from 30 to 60 days.
Ms. VanAmsterdam made the motion to reject the one bid that was received; Mr. Ostroff seconded the motion and unanimously voted.
Ms. Gloff asked if there was any reason not to extend the completion deadline to 90 days.
Ms. White stated that the RFP could be issued with no completion timeframe included and that one would be negotiated with the successful vendor.
Ms. White advised that the timeframe should be included in the RFP but not to have the Board stipulate it.
Mr. Ostroff reminded the Board that the cost of this appraisal was mitigation funds which have been allocated by town meeting.
Mr. Connolly requested documentation on this project so that he could bring himself up to speed on the project.
Mr. Ciccariello stated that this project would give the Town an accurate appraisal of the worth of the land in question as it begins negotiations with CSX for the purchase of the land.
Mr. Ostroff also noted that once the appraisal was complete, the Town could begin assessing taxes on it.
On a motion by Mr. Ostroff, seconded by Ms. Van Amsterdam, the Board unanimously voted to reissue an RFP for appraisal services of the CSX-owned land. Ms. Gloff made an amendment to the motion that the timeframe to finish the job be removed from the RFP process.
FIRE CHIEF POSITION
Mr. Ciccariello advised the Board that the Town Administrator, Personnel Director and he met with Deputy Fire Chief Sheridan on several occasions to discuss the personnel board pay plan and proposed compensation for the fire chief position. To date, no agreement relative to compensation has been made.
Ms. White informed the Board that Chief Sabourin agreed this afternoon to postpone his retirement date to May 30, 2008 which will allow for a new chief to be appointed effective May 31, 2008. She also advised that an executive session for the Board has been scheduled and posted for May 1, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. in the same room. (Guidance Office conference room at the placePlaceNameWilson PlaceNameMiddle School)
Mr. Connolly asked if the inability to agree on a salary would be a reason to bypass the top candidate on the list and how long would this negotiation continue.
Mr. Ciccariello stated that those issues would be the subject of Thursday’s executive session. He also indicated that the Town could not provisionally promote a fire chief because there is a viable eligible list in existence. He noted that after Thursday’s meeting, it would be his intent to meet with
the Deputy Fire Chief again with the Board’s offer and it would be the Deputy’s decision to accept or reject the offer.
Mr. Connolly asked how “far apart” are we in the negotiations.
Mr. Ciccariello indicated that it would be inappropriate to discuss the compensation proposals in open session since they are still being negotiated and he didn’t want the numbers appearing in the newspapers. (He then distributed informational packets for the May 1st executive session.)
Deputy Chief James Sheridan was recognized and stated that he was ready to discuss the specifics of his proposal now but understood that it was not going to happen. He noted that since he wouldn’t be at Thursday’s executive session, he wanted to tell the Board how very much he wants this job and that he just was asking them to be fair and to bring him close to what he was making before. He felt that he should be compensated close to what the current chiefs and other 130 public safety personnel in the Town were making now. He indicated that he was not interested in this job for the money but to serve the community.
Mr. Ciccariello thanked Mr. Sheridan for his comments.
The meeting was adjourned at7:12 p.m.
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Kristine Van Amsterdam, Clerk
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