City Council

HEARING BEFORE THE CITY COUNCIL, MARCH 9, 2015 Hearing opened at 7:15 P.M. with Councillor Nickel, Chair of the PUBLIC SERVICE COMMITTEE, presiding. Present at the hearing was Ken Dobie for National Grid. All members were present. The following PETITION was the subject of the hearing: 22-15 National Grid and Verizon New England: Lake Street – Install 1 jointly owned pole and anchor. National Grid to install pole, down guy, and anchor with a 6 foot lead. New pole and anchor will be located on city property at the south end of Lake Street. Ken Dobie said they have to remove a tree guy on Lake Street. He said they need to set a stub pole with a guy and anchor with a pole to pole guy wire, which is not energized, to support the line going down the street. If there is no guy wire at the end of that line it starts pulling out towards North Street consequently pulling services off the houses. Councillor Nickel asked Mr. Dobie to explain a stub pole and guy pole with anchor. Mr. Dobie said on pole 6-3 the line ends and there is a guy wire that is attached to the tree down towards the end of the street. The guy wire that is secured to the tree needs to be replaced. He said they don’t do that anymore because the trees break so consequently they have to set a stub pole which is a support pole to replace the support of the tree, we attach a guy wire to that, which is not energized, which is a support wire so the last pole that is currently there will have a pole with a wire attached to it pulling the wire back so it won’t fall back down the other way towards North Street. Basically it is a support wire and pole.  2 HEARING BEFORE THE CITY COUNCIL, MARCH 9, 2015, continued Roxanne Thibeault of 17 Lake Street said this property is very nicely maintained. She said they planted shrubs, flowers and a flag pole and this proposal will downgrade the property. She said it is the focal point when you come down to the end of the street and they would like to keep the appearance and not have to take down the flag pole and pull anything out. Rene Thibeault of 17 Lake Street said there are sprinklers in that area that will have to be removed and the flag pole has been there for 14 years. He said he would hate to see the pole in his front yard. Councillor Feckley asked Mr. Dobie if there was something wrong with the tree that is holding it now. Mr. Dobie said he believes the guy wire has to come off the tree because where it is attached to the tree it is failing. He said this is a pole that is going on city property not private property. Councillor Nickel asked if there were any alternatives. Mr. Dobie said no. Councillor Marchand asked Mr. Dobie if this was a standard size pole or an exceptionally large pole. Mr. Dobie said it is a standard 35 foot pole which now a days the standard is 40-45 feet. He said this goes past the house. They could have put it closer to the house. Councillor Marchand asked why there? You heard the objection from the resident, can it go a different distance in a different direction and not in their face? Mr. Dobie said it has to stay in line with the pole line, it has to be north or south. Councillor Marchand asked if it could go 100 feet either way? Mr. Dobie said he is not sure of the span. If he starts moving it closer to the other pole it will lose the benefit of the support and it’s going to look worse. Councillor Marchand asked, from an engineering point of view, does the location of this pole have the ability to be in a distance that is not going to encroach on the harmony of the neighborhood? Mr. Dobie said he would have to revisit it, and it is not his particular job but feels they would be unhappy if he moved the pole in front of the house. Councillor Marchand asked what would happen if we denied it all together? Mr. Dobie said one of these days when there is bad weather they could lose power to the three or four homes there. Councillor Marchand said he wants to hear that with engineering data. Why not two poles? Mr. Dobie said in this case it would only be one pole, two poles would be a waste of time. Councillor Marchand asked why would it be a waste of time for you? Mr. Dobie said because it is not needed from an engineering standpoint. Councillor Marchand said he is not concerned about National Grids financial investment and what you have to do for your customers. When you use the phrase “waste of time” it may be a waste of time because it is the harder route to go but he has a responsibility, whether he is in Ward 5 or Ward 1. If something comes before him and there is an objection to it we are going to look at every possible alternative that makes sense and if putting an extra pole up seems to be a way you can do it. I want to hear it, and if it costs National Grid more money to do so, you are doing it for your customers. Councillor Freda asked Mr. Dobie if he knew there was an objection to the pole? Mr. Dobie said someone, before the meeting, called my house and led me to believe there was going to be someone here to object to it. He said the two pole thing, we don’t do pole to pole to pole guys, it’s like putting two steering wheels in a car unless you are learning to drive. Councillor Freda said if you are going to do something like that in a residential area wouldn’t it make sense to have a conversation with the people that are there so they know what you are doing? Mr. Dobie said it is normally not done because you would never get any work done. Councillor Freda said when Iris Price use to come down I can count on one hand how many people sat here and objected for a good reason. I agree with the Council President about taking the time. Look around the city, you don’t take the time to take the double poles down either. Mr. Dobie said that is not his job. Councillor Freda says there has to be a little more courtesy to the people who live there whether it’s taking an extra minute so they know what you’re doing it. Mr. Dobie says I understand what you’re saying but that is why there are public notices. If we started knocking on peoples doors for pole placements in every town we represent in the state, it would be unmanageable.  3 HEARING BEFORE THE CITY COUNCIL, MARCH 9, 2015, continued Councillor Nickel asked how he would feel if they gave the hearing two weeks time and look into alternatives and come back to us in two weeks. Mr. Dobie said he will study it himself. He said this is not my job and he said he was curious at some point whether they had to go that far in. He said he understands why the engineer did this. If I start pushing it the other way the pole will be directly in front of their house, this is not directly in front of their house. They might be happy with the alternative. Councillor Bodanza asked if there is ever a reason to use a double pole for this purpose? Mr. Dobie said no. Councillor Feckley asked how many houses would be affected if the line went down. Mr. Dobie said he thinks there are 3 or 4 homes on that street. Councillor Dombrowski asked Mr. Dobie if he would meet with the homeowners for five minutes. They have photographs and they might get a better idea of exactly what you are doing and it may be you don’t have an issue. I get the feeling that they don’t know exactly where the pole is going. Mr. Dobie said okay. HEARING ADJOURNED AT 7:30 P.M. AND CONTINUED TO MARCH 23, 2015 AT 7:05 P.M. ________________________________ Lynn A. Bouchard, City Clerk and Clerk of the City Council HEARING BEFORE THE CITY COUNCIL, MARCH 9, 2015 Hearing opened at 7:32 P.M. with Councillor Dombrowski , Chair of the LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, presiding. All members were present. The following ORDINANCE was the subject of the hearing: Relative to amending Chapter 13 of the Revised Ordinances entitled “Stop Signs” by inserting Wildflower Road, against southbound drivers at Bernice Avenue and Bernice Avenue against northeast bound drivers at Wildflower Road. No one in the audience spoke in favor or in opposition or in opposition to the ordinance. No Councillors spoke. HEARING ADJOURNED AT 7:33 P.M. ________________________________ Lynn A. Bouchard, City Clerk and Clerk of the City Council REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL, MARCH 9, 2015 Meeting was called to order at 7:30 P.M. Attendance was taken by a roll call vote; all members were present. Motion was made to recess at 7:31 P.M. to continue the public hearing and to hold a public forum. Meeting reconvened at 7:35 P.M. The following COMMUNICATION was received, referred to the WAYS & MEANS AND VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE and given REGULAR COURSE. C-34 Dean J. Mazzarella, Mayor: Approve the CDBG Budget/Action Plan for Year 41.  4 REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL, MARCH 9, 2015, continued The following COMMUNICATIONS were received with an EMERGENCY PREAMBLE and referred to the FINANCE COMMITTEE. Vt. 9/0 Upon recommendation of the FINANCE COMMITTEE, the following COMMUNICATIONS were GRANTED and ORDERED. Vt. 9 “yeas”. C-35 Relative to the appropriation of $75,000.00 to the Snow & Ice Overtime Account; same to be transferred from the Stabilization Fund. ORDERED: - that the sum of Seventy Five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00) be appropriated to the Snow & Ice Overtime Account; same to be transferred from the Stabilization Fund. C-36 Relative to the appropriation of $225,000.00 to the Snow & Ice Expense Account; same to be transferred from the Stabilization Fund. ORDERED: - that the sum of Two Hundred Twenty Five Thousand Dollars ($225,000.00) be appropriated to the Snow & Ice Expense Account; same to be transferred from the Stabilization Fund. The following PETITION was received, referred to the LEGAL AFFAIRS AND PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE, given REGULAR COURSE and referred to the Police Department – Traffic Division and Department of Public Works. 23-15 Wayne Nickel on behalf of a Derwin Street resident: Place a truck exclusion on Derwin Street. The following PETITION was received, referred to the CITY PROPERTY AND PROPERTY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE, given REGULAR COURSE and referred to the Police Department, the Fire Department and the License Commission. 24-15 Annmarie Sargent and Greg Chapdelaine for the Leominster Recreation Department: Request the use of West Street (from Main Street to Church Street), the Downtown Common and the section of parking lot directly bordering West Street between the Baptist and Unitarian churches on Saturday, August 1, 2015 from 7:00 A.M. to 10:00 P.M. for the purpose of holding the first annual “Johnny Appleseed Craft Beer Festival” to be open from 4:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. Upon request of the PUBLIC SERVICE COMMITTEE, the following PETITION was given FURTHER TIME. Hearing continued to March 23, 2015 at 7:05 P.M. Vt. 8/0, Councillor Cormier abstained due to a possible conflict of interest. 22-15 National Grid and Verizon New England: Lake Street – Install 1 jointly owned pole and anchor. National Grid to install pole, down guy, and anchor with a 6 foot lead. New pole and anchor will be located on city property at the south end of Lake Street. Councillor David Cormier, Chairman of the Finance Committee, read the Financial Report for the City into the record. Account balances are as follows: Stabilization Account $10,245,907.93 Emergency Reserve $0 Upon recommendation of the FINANCE COMMITTEE, the following COMMUNICATION was RATIFIED. Vt. 7 “yeas”, Councillors Cormier and Nickel abstained due to a possible conflict of interest. C-30 Relative to the appropriation of $100,000.00 to the Fire Department Overtime Account; same to be transferred from the Stabilization Fund. (Granted with an Emergency Preamble on February 23, 2015; another vote was required.) Upon recommendation of the FINANCE COMMITTEE, the following COMMUNICATIONS were RATIFIED. Vt. 9 “yeas” C-31 Relative to the appropriation of $100,000.00 to the Police Department Overtime Account; same to be transferred from the Stabilization Fund. (Granted with an Emergency Preamble on February 23, 2015; another vote was required.) C-32 Relative to the appropriation of $550,000.00 to the Snow & Ice Expense Account; same to be transferred from the Stabilization Fund. (Granted with an Emergency Preamble on February 23, 2015; another vote was required.) C-33 Relative to the appropriation of $100,000.00 to the Snow & Ice Salary & Wages Account; same to be transferred from the Stabilization Fund. (Granted with an Emergency Preamble on February 23, 2015; another vote was required.) Upon recommendation of the WAYS & MEANS AND VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, the following APPOINTMENT was CONFIRMED. Vt. 9 “yeas” Council on Aging – term to expire April 15, 2018 Andriana Fotakis  5 REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL, MARCH 9, 2015, continued The following ORDINANCE was read a second time, ADOPTED as presented and passed to be ordained. Vt. 9 “yeas” CITY OF LEOMINSTER In the year two thousand and fifteen AN ORDINANCE Amending Chapter 13 of the Revised Ordinances entitled “Motor Vehicles and Traffic.” Be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Leominster, as follows: Section 13-77 of the Revised Ordinances entitled “Stop Signs” is hereby amended by inserting the following: Wildflower Road, against southbound drivers at Bernice Avenue. Bernice Avenue, against northeast bound drivers at Wildflower Road. ________________________________ Under Old Business, Councillor Cormier said regarding the question at the last meeting on the reimbursement for snow and ice expenses this winter, he received a letter from State Representative Rosa, which is on file in the City Clerk’s office. Councillor Cormier said he spoke with Representative Rosa and said he has full confidence that he will keep him updated and if there is any money out there Leominster will get its fair shake as Representative Rosa will be watching it closely to get a good return for us if there is anything coming. Councillor Freda said at a meeting with the Governor last Tuesday he talked about snow and ice. They are looking to get a summary of expenses from the communities so they can do their presentation. The Lt. Governor said they are almost positive in their quest that the initial 75% for the first storm will be paid. What they are trying to do is put the two storms together because the second one came before they could address the first one so they can get the money in one lump sum. Councillor Salvatelli said we continuously get legal bills from Kopelman & Paige racking up a considerable amount of money for that solar company on Industrial Road. Does anyone know why we are paying all these bills? I know we are going to receive free coupons but he doesn’t think it will be anywhere near the savings people think it’s going to be. He would guess there is about $3,000 - $4,000 worth of bills. He said that is a question for the Mayor. Under New Business, Councillor Marchand said as a classroom teacher he always admired dedicated people. People that were in education for the right reasons. Coming up very shortly this month is going to be the Leominster Alumni Association honoring Bob Salvatelli for his decades of dedication to the public school system and most importantly to people. People that came from great diversity, people that might have been living in a specific neighborhood but during his tenure saw that neighborhood change into the melting pot of society we live in throughout the entire community. Most importantly, Councillor Salvatelli, that night isn’t him accepting award in a very humbled way for being recognized along with Stephan Perla, former Mayor and School Committee Chair and also being on the stage with Karen DeCisero whose Karens Closet is now a foundation that people donate to help children that need clothes, especially during the winter time. He said she graduated from the Leominster class of 1998 and came back and gave her adult years back to the community working in the school system. A very viable loving person. He said he doesn’t know her personally by he has heard so many wonderful things about her and he knows how close she was to Councillor Salvatelli and to the teachers that were blessed by knowing her. Congratulations to Bob Salvatelli, an award well deserved. The dinner will be March 28, 2015. Councillor Freda said the Leominster Rotary Club announced the 21st annual Community Service Award Dinner will be Wednesday, March 18, 1015. The Social will begin at 6:00 P.M, Dinner at 7:00 P.M. Tickets are $30 per person and are available in the Mayor’s Office. The recipients are: Robin Dantini – City Hall David Comeau – Fire Department Janet Tibert – DPW Scott Wolferseder – Police Department Edward Bergman – Library Karen Boyer – Northwest Elementary School John Fedirko – Samoset Middle School Michael Rannikko – LHS CTEi Ronald Richard – St. Anna School Sandra Penniman – St. Leo School MEETING ADJOURNED AT 8:43 P.M. ____________________________________ Lynn A. Bouchard, City Clerk and Clerk of the City Council