Montachusett Regional Planning Commission

FITCHBURG CITY CLERK Apr 27 2023 8:54 am MONTACHUSETT REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION (MRPC) THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2023 7:00 PM REMOTE MEETING MINUTES 7:00 PM 1. Open Meeting, Introductions and Announcements Chairman G. Corbosiero called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Chairman G. Corbosiero stated in accordance with Governor Baker’s Covid-19 Executive Order regarding the Open Meeting Law and remote participation, votes will be taken through Roll Call. Roll Call Taken: A. Reid- present G. Tillotson- present J. DeRoy- present L. Shifrin- present M. Kresge- present M. Bohart- present P. Cunningham- present P. Duffy- present R. Hoyt- present S. Donahue- present 7:05 PM 2. MRPC Minutes – March 9, 2023 – Approval of Commissioners Requested Having no objections, P. Duffy moved to accept the March 9, 2023 minutes as presented. The motion was seconded. Roll call vote followed: A. Reid- yes G. Tillotson- yes G. Corbosiero- yes J. DeRoy- yes L. Shifrin- yes M. Kresge- yes M. Bohart- abstain P. Cunningham- abstain P. Duffy- yes  R. Hoyt- abstain S. Donahue- yes 7:10 PM 3. Cash Schedule – March 2023 – Acceptance of Commissioners Requested L. Quinlivan presented the cash schedule. The opening balance for March was $612,851.57, total receipts and transfers for the month were $420,104.98, total cash on hand before this warrant was $1,032,956.55, less the amount of this warrant of $102,751.23, left a balance after the warrant of $930,205.32. Having no objections to the cash schedule, L. Shifrin moved to accept the cash schedule as presented subject to audit. The motion was seconded. Roll call vote followed: A. Reid- yes G. Tillotson- yes G. Corbosiero- yes J. DeRoy- yes L. Shifrin- yes M. Kresge- yes M. Bohart- yes P. Cunningham- yes P. Duffy- yes R. Hoyt- yes S. Donahue- yes 7:15 PM 4. Guest Announcements and Questions Phil Francisco announced that Groton will be launching an educational seminar series on sustainability beginning May 4,, 2023. They are very receptive to anyone wishing to be a guest speaker for future sessions. 7:20 PM 5. Administrative Matters 5.1 Proposal for the Hiring of Multiple Part – and/or Full–Time Planners for the Departments of Planning and Development and Transportation – Information Only There has been an uptick in new contracts for both departments. This agency has sufficient funds to hire multiple planners to work in the planning disciplines of housing, land use, renewable energy, and transportation. With the addition of these contracts and a corresponding increase in revenue available now and over the next two years, MRPC needs to increase the number of Planners on the payroll to properly complete all contractual requirements. The Executive Director met with several members of the management team, specifically Karen Chapman, Planning and Development Director and Brad Harris, Transportation Projects Director concerning the need for additional staff in both departments to assist  with the delivery of planning services in both areas. Planning and Development needs one full-time person or several part-time planners (at the Principal or Senior Planner level) and Transportation needs a new, full-time person (also at the Principal or Senior Planner level). Commissioners are informed that action will be requested at the May 4th and/or June 8th meeting(s) to hire multiple employees. P. Cunningham questioned where the additional funds were coming from and if they would be reoccurring. B. Harris stated the source of funds include the MassDOT contract which we renew each year, the DLTA contract that is regenerated each year through the state, we were just awarded the DLTA Augmentation funds and we were also just awarded the Safe Streets for all grant which will be a two year grant. We anticipate additional grants to be awarded with the hiring of the new grant writer. M. Bohart asked if there was a plan to hire someone to fill the economic development position that has gone unfilled for a prolonged period. B. Harris stated he was unaware of this being a position we were intentionally advertising however depending on what comes in for applications, maybe there would be an applicant that would be able to designate time to work on the EDA side. The Executive Director is currently working on this and would be the one to reach out to for more information. 5.2 MRPC and MEC, Inc. Records Preservation: Digitization of Documents – Information Only The Executive Director requested additional quotes for this project. We hope to have these quotes for the next Commissioners’ meeting to be held on May 4th. 5.3 Nashoba Valley Chamber of Commerce Executive Roundtable Program - Information Only The Executive Director was out of commission with COVID for more than a week in March and he was unable to attend the Roundtable meeting in late March. He will be at the meetings in late April, May, and June. 5.4 Status of Grant Writing Consultant – Information Only MRPC staff met with Molly Singer, CEO and President, Dexterity Manager on at least two occasions in March and April. Ms. Singer has provided summaries of many state and federal grants for planning and “brick and mortar” projects. These synopses have been provided as handouts at tonight’s meeting. 5.5 Election of Officers – Action Requested April of Each Year: Nominating Committee- - The Nominating Committee shall be elected by the full Commission in the month of April. Nominations to this ad-hoc committee are to be finalized tonight and their election to the committee is requested. Committee members will meet at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 4th to create a slate of officers for FY24 (commencing July 1, 2023). The office positions are Chairman, Vice Chairman, Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer, Secretary, and two Member-At-Large  positions. These seven officers comprise the Executive Committee that meets only as needed. P. Cunningham moved to accept R. Swartz, K. Munroe and G. Corbosiero as the appointed members of the Nominating Committee. Motion was seconded. Roll call vote followed: A. Reid- yes G. Tillotson- yes G. Corbosiero- yes J. DeRoy- yes K. Nartowicz- yes L. Shifrin- yes M. Kresge- yes M. Bohart- yes P. Cunningham- yes P. Duffy- yes R. Hoyt- yes S. Donahue- yes G. Corbosiero invited anyone interested in the positions of Chairman, Vice-chairman, Treasurer, Secretary or Member at Large to reach out to either staff of MRPC or someone on the nominating committee. The nominating committee will be meeting at 6:30 pm. on May 4, 2023. 5.6 The State of Emergency Accommodations for the Open Meeting Law has been Extended through March 2025 – Information Only Many thanks to our Commissioners (such as Bob Schwartz, Guy Corbosiero, and others) who stayed on top of this issue throughout March. As the Commonwealth has extended the remote meeting provision of the Open Meeting Law through March 2025, MRPC’s administrative staff recommends the continuation of all-remote meetings. We would like to offer some “hybrid” meetings this summer for those of you that would like to meet in person, safely. We will keep all local officials and Commissioners informed if we hold some “hybrid” meetings. 7:30 PM 6. Department Updates- Contract Status Report Review 6.1 Geographic Information Systems (GIS) 6.2 Planning & Development 6.2.1 DLTA Augmentation Planning Services Awards – Action Requested REPORT: In response to a first solicitation, issued February 14, 2023, a total of three (3) proposals were received for use of District Local Technical Assistance Augmentation (DLTA-A) resources for Round 2. The proposals received are as follows:  1. Harvard: Collaborate with the Harvard Climate Initiative Committee to assist with finding grant opportunities to implement the objectives of their Climate Action Plan. 2. Shirley: Research, identify and apply for federal, state, and other grants that would be used to help the Town reach its transportation goals as identified in their request. 3. Groton: Grant writing services to pursue opportunities to address infrastructure, parking, traffic, transportation, historic preservation, community development, and tourism marketing challenges from the new Groton Hill Music Center. RESOLUTION REQUIRING COMMISSION ACTION: BE IT RESOLVED that the Montachusett Regional Planning Commission (MRPC) recommends that #1, 2, and 3 of the above-named project requests for District Local Technical Assistance Augmentation (DLTA-A), if eligible, be conditionally awarded based upon further communication/clarification/negotiation with the applying communities and approval from the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). Moreover, all activities in some applications may not be awardable under the DLTA program: MRPC staff reserves the right to negotiate an awardable detailed scope of services and budget amount. Those requests conditionally awarded (#1, #2, #3) are subject to the conditions listed below. 1. The services to be delivered to the communities will be completed commencing no earlier than a fully executed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the subject (lead) community and the MRPC. 2. Services will be delivered to the subject community(ies) during the implementation of the District Local Technical Assistance Augmentation (DLTA-A) program year January 21, 2023 – June 30, 2024. 3. The award of services from the MRPC is subject to the: a. Funding available to the MRPC during the program year January 21, 2023 – June 30, 2024; b. Successful negotiation of a detailed scope of services, schedule for the completion of the tasks identified in the scope of services, and budget utilizing DLTA-A and/or other funds, if available and eligible for the aforementioned project; c. Execution of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the MRPC and the community(ies); and, d. The MRPC’s receipt of a letter from the Chief Elected Official (CEO) of all of the affected communities indicating agreement to this proposal and willingness to participate in this analysis. [Communities may agree to participate in this analysis after the full execution of the MOU between the subject (lead) community and the MRPC but must agree to participate in order to receive the results of the report.] 4. Where and when possible, the MRPC will deliver the tasks related to “analysis, preparation and presentation … report(s) …” as indicated above. The MRPC and the  community requesting services will “outsource” consulting services only when absolutely deemed to be necessary by both the lead community and the MRPC. 5. This is an award of services from the MRPC to the applicable community(ies). This is not a cash award. 6. If at any time DHCD determines that the project is ineligible, the award of services will be null and void. 7. The municipality and all municipal departments shall provide MRPC with cooperation/access/assistance to public data applicable to the DLTA-A project including the provision of such materials. Related costs associated with this (data collection, photocopying, etc.) will be at the expense of the municipality(s). S. Donahue moved to accept the resolution as presented. The motion was seconded. Roll call vote followed: A. Reid- yes G. Tillotson- yes G. Corbosiero- yes J. DeRoy- yes K. Nartowicz- yes L. Shifrin- yes M. Kresge- yes M. Bohart- yes P. Cunningham- yes P. Duffy- yes R. Hoyt- yes S. Donahue- yes 6.3 Transit & Transportation Next month at the MPO meeting we will be presenting the draft of the Unified Planning Work Program and a draft of the Transportation Improvement Program. 8:00 PM 7. New Business This time is reserved for topics that the chair did not reasonably anticipate would be discussed. 8:15 PM 8. Adjournment There being no further business to discuss, R. Hoyt moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded. Meeting was adjourned at 7:37 pm. Roll call vote followed: A. Reid- yes G. Tillotson- yes G. Corbosiero- yes J. DeRoy- yes K. Nartowicz- yes  L. Shifrin- yes M. Kresge- yes M. Bohart- yes P. Cunningham- yes P. Duffy- yes R. Hoyt- yes S. Donahue- yes This meeting will be recorded by the GoToMeeting app and will be made available for viewing at https://www.youtube.com/user/MontachusettRegion/videos. This notice is subject to change with reasonable notice provided to all. Meeting Registration Link: April 6, 2023 MRPC Meeting Registration QR Code: MRPC Meeting Material: April 6, 2023 MRPC Meeting Material Meeting Attendance Name M/A Representing Appointment Date Present Absent Janssens, Leo A Ashburnham 7.2021 X Hoyt, Roger M Ashburnham 7.2011 X Stacy, Wayne A Ashby 7.2021 X Pease, Alan M Ashby 7.2001 X Bialecki, Rebecca A Athol 7.2020. X Doherty, Jacqueline M Athol 7.2020. X Copeland, Shaun A Ayer 7.2020. X Tillotson, Geoffrey M Ayer 7.2022 X Vacant A Clinton X  Duffy, Phil M Clinton 12.2011 X Lowitt, Peter N/V DREZ 7.2001 X Bohart, Mary Jo A Fitchburg 7.2021 X Butland, Alyne M Fitchburg 7.2020. X DeRoy, Jessica A Gardner 7.2021 X Swartz, Robert M Gardner 7.2019 X Cunningham, Peter M Groton 7.2022 X Burke, Russell A Groton 7.2016 X Minar, Kara A Harvard 7.2021 X Donahue, Stacia M Harvard 7.2018 X Williams, Jeff A Hubbardston 7.2022 X Munroe, Kristofer M Hubbardston 2.2023 X Jackson, Carol A Lancaster 8.2021 X Williston, Russ M Lancaster 11.2018 X Vacant A Leominster X Valliere, Dean M Leominster 7.2019 X Vacant A Lunenburg 7.2020. X Reid, Amanda M Lunenburg 7.2022 X Ermini, Annette A Petersham 7.2022 X Vacant M Petersham X Telepciak, John M Phillipston 10.2001 X Jackson, Melanie A Phillipston 7.2022 X Barclay, James A Royalston 7.2017 X Nartowicz, Kyle M Royalston 7.2015 X Oelfke, Bill A Shirley 7.2020. X Yocum, Barbara M Shirley 8.2017 X Kilcoyne, John A Sterling 7.2014 X  Page, Patty M Sterling 7.2019 X Bennett, Jeff A Templeton 7.2020. X Rich, Dennis M Templeton 7.2017 X Sexton-Diranian, Charles A Townsend 7.2022 X Shifrin, Laura M Townsend 7.2019 X Vacant A Westminster X Buckman, Gregg M Westminster 7.2021 X Ward, Rick A Winchendon 7.2019 X Corbosiero, Guy M Winchendon 7.2011 X Staff: B. Harris, J. Stanton, L. Quinlivan, C. McNamara Guests: George Kahale, MART Representative, P. Francisco DOCUMENTS/EXHIBITS DISTRIBUTED AT THE MEETING: March 9, 2023 Minutes April 6, 2023 Agenda April 6, 2023 Handout Contract Status Report- January through March 2023 Federal Grant Summaries MA State Funding MRPC Chart of Accounts Summary of Fueling Grant