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Home My Public Portal Aboutmin 02-10-2015_201502201037572175ELECTED OFFICIALS: Mark S. Sideris, Council President Stephen P. Corbett, Vice President Aaron Dushku, Councilor At Large Susan G. Falkoff, Councilor At Large Anthony Palomba, Councilor At Large Angeline B. Kounelis, District A Councilor Cecilia Lenk, District B Councilor Vincent J. Piccirilli, Jr., District C Councilor Kenneth M. Woodland District D Councilor Watertown Town Council Administration Building 149 Main Street Watertown, MA 02472 Phone: 617-972-6470 TOWN COUNCIL MEETING TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2015 @ 6:00 PM RICHARD E. MASTRANGELO COUNCIL CHAMBER ADMINISTRATION BUILDING DRAFT MINUTES 1. ROLL CALL: A regular meeting of the Town Council was called to order at 6:00 pm, in the Richard E. Mastrangelo Council Chamber. Present for the meeting were Councilors Aaron Dushku, Anthony Palomba, Cecilia Lenk, Vincent J. Piccirilli, Jr., Kenneth M. Woodland, Vice President Stephen P. Corbett, and Council President Mark S. Sideris. Councilors Falkoff and Kounelis arrived shortly after the call of the roll. Also present were Town Manager Michael J. Driscoll, Town Attorney Mark Reich and Council Clerk Valerie Papas. 2. EXECUTIVE SESSION — 6:00 PM: Vice President Corbett moved to go into executive session as stated below, seconded by Councilor Dushku and adopted by unanimous roll call vote with Councilors Aaron Dushku, Anthony Palomba, Cecilia Lenk, Vincent J. Piccirilli, Jr., Kenneth M. Woodland, Vice President Stephen P. Corbett, and Council President Mark S. Sideris voting in the affirmative. a. To discuss strategy with respect to litigation — Workers' Compensation Claim b. To discuss strategy with respect to Collective Bargaining with the DPW Union, Town Hall Associates Union, Library Union, Fire Union, Police Patrol Union, Police Supervisors Union, as an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the Town's bargaining position. 3. RETURN TO OPEN SESSION: 7:15 PM 4. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 5. EXAMINATION OF THE MINUTES: January 13, 2015. Councilor Piccirilli moved to approve the minutes, seconded by Councilor Woodland and adopted by unanimous voice vote with Councilors Aaron Dushku, Susan G. Falkoff, Angeline B. Kounelis, Anthony Palomba, Cecilia Lenk, Vincent J. Piccirilli, Jr., Kenneth M. Woodland, Vice President Stephen P. Corbett, and Council President Mark S. Sideris voting in the affirmative. 6. PUBLIC FORUM: The Chair recognized the following: 1. Firefighter John Russo — stated that the local government is against what the people want and that he is ashamed and embarrassed to say he is from Watertown. He asked that councilors police themselves and look at their policies and their conduct and adjust the way they are doing business. 2. Jessica Locke — stated that she is disappointed to see the signs around town and noted that firefighters played by the rules and that she is upset and horrified by what has happened to their contract. 3. Alan Morash, firefighter and bargaining team member — noted the year to year town reserves and stated that the firefighter's contract represents less than 1% of the reserves. He asked that the administration tell him how much negotiations have cost the town so far. 4. Thomas Thibaut firefighter — stated that all four of the town's issues were awarded by arbitration in comparison to the fire department that brought five issues and only two were awarded by arbitration. He stated that firefighters are united on their contract and the arbitration award and that they will take it all the way through the courts if they have to. 5. Duke Arone, retired firefighter — stated that he is very disappointed in the council. 6. Joe Levendusky, Templeton Parkway — read a statement with respect to a recent 5-0 decision by the ZBA to approve a CVS project at the east end of Watertown. 7. PRESIDENT'S REPORT: The Chair thanked the Public Works Department for all their efforts with respect to the recent snow storms. The asked that three items be referred to subcommittees as follows: To Rules and Ordinance — look at current snow ordinances with respect to commercial properties owners and see if changes need to be made to bring more people into compliance. To Budget Fiscal Oversight — working with the Manager; to develop a funding source for the enforcement of current ordinance as well as any future changes that may be made. To Public Works — to discuss the potential for a residential snow ordinance and also to address private contractors that plow snow onto sidewalks as well as addressing the issue of community sidewalks. So moved by Councilor Lenk, seconded by Councilor Piccirilli and adopted by unanimous voice vote with Councilors Aaron Dushku, Susan G. Falkoff, Angeline B. Kounelis, Anthony Palomba, Cecilia Lenk, Vincent J. Piccirilli, Jr., Kenneth M. Woodland, Vice President Stephen P. Corbett, and Council President Mark S. Sideris voting in the affirmative. 8. MOTIONS, ORDERS AND RESOLUTIONS: a. Motion: That the Town Council President in cooperation with the Chair of the School Committee and the Town Manager create an Ad Hoc Watertown Olympic Committee — Councilor Palomba. Councilor Woodland moved to refer the matter to the Human Services subcommittee in order to get public input, seconded by Councilor Piccirilli and adopted by unanimous voice vote with Councilors Aaron Dushku, Susan G. Falkoff, Angeline B. Kounelis, Anthony Palomba, Cecilia Lenk, Vincent J. Piccirilli, Jr., Kenneth M. Woodland, Vice President Stephen P. Corbett, and Council President Mark S. Sideris voting in the affirmative. b. Consideration and Approval of submitting the Accelerated Repair Program Statement of Interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority. The Chair recognized Dr. Jean Fitzgerald who provided a brief overview of the agenda item as listed above. Councilor Lenk moved: to submit the Accelerated Repair Program Statement of Interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority, seconded by Councilor Dushku. The Chair recognized the Manager who stated that the Accelerated Repair Program (ARP) is primarily for the repair and/or replacement of roofs, windows and/or boilers with a Reimbursement Rate for calendar years 2014 and 2015 for Watertown is 48.47%. He further stated that the SOI closing date for districts submitting for consideration in the ARP is February 13, 2015 and the review process for the Accelerated Repair Program SOIs will begin once the District has submitted a properly completed SOI and all of the required documentation, including votes of the municipal governing body and school committee. He further noted that the Accelerated Repair in question is the replacement of windows at the Middle School and that this project is listed in Fiscal Year 2016 of the Fiscal Year 2016-2020 Capital Improvement Program which was submitted on January 30, 2015. The motion was adopted by unanimous voice vote with Councilors Aaron Dushku, Susan G. Falkoff, Anthony Palomba, Angeline B. Kounelis, Cecilia Lenk, Vincent J. Piccirilli, Jr., Kenneth M. Woodland, Vice President Stephen P. Corbett and Council President Mark S. Sideris voting in the affirmative. 9. NEW BUSINESS: Councilor Dushku moved to reconvene a meeting of the subcommittee of Rules and Ordinances to further discuss how the community get information about new developments, seconded by Councilor Palomba and adopted by unanimous voice vote with Councilors Aaron Dushku, Susan G. Falkoff, Anthony Palomba, Angeline B. Kounelis, Cecilia Lenk, Vincent J. Piccirilli, Jr., Kenneth M. Woodland, Vice President Stephen P. Corbett and Council President Mark S. Sideris voting in the affirmative. Councilor Woodland moved to re -refer to Committee of Public Works the matter of Adopt an Island program, seconded by Councilor Dushku and adopted by unanimous voice vote with Councilors Aaron Dushku, Susan G. Falkoff, Anthony Palomba, Angeline B. Kounelis, Cecilia Lenk, Vincent J. Piccirilli, Jr., Kenneth M. Woodland, Vice President Stephen P. Corbett and Council President Mark S. Sideris voting in the affirmative. 10. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE TOWN MANAGER: a. Fiscal Year 2016 Capital Improvement Program. The Manager provided a brief overview of the 2016 CIP. The Manager brought forward a resolution regarding excess expenditures for snow and ice removal. Councilor Piccirilli moved the resolution, seconded by Councilor Lenk and adopted by unanimous voice vote with Councilors Aaron Dushku, Susan G. Falkoff, Anthony Palomba, Angeline B. Kounelis, Cecilia Lenk, Vincent J. Piccirilli, Jr., Kenneth M. Woodland, Vice President Stephen P. Corbett and Council President Mark S. Sideris voting in the affirmative. The Manager announced the hiring of Ms. Deborah Rosati, as the new Health Director. 11. REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION - none noted. 12. ANNOUNCEMENTS: Councilor Kounelis provided an FYI regarding a public announcement from Everbridge. Mr. Mee indicated that an error was made with that announcement and it has since been corrected. Councilor Palomba announced that the Youth Coalition meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 25th. Dine at Not Your Average's Joes 10% of proceeds will go to Youth Coalition. MBTA transit taskforce will meet on February 23rd at the Arsenal Arts Center. The Chair announced that there may be two special meeting of the Town Council in the near future to address several issues. 13. PUBLIC FORUM — none noted. 14. ADJOURNMENT: there being no further business to come before the Town Council, Councilor Woodland moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:30 pm, seconded by Councilor Palomba and adopted by unanimous voice vote with Councilors Aaron Dushku, Susan G. Falkoff, Anthony Palomba, Angeline B. Kounelis, Cecilia Lenk, Vincent J. Piccirilli, Jr., Kenneth M. Woodland, Vice President Stephen P. Corbett and Council President Mark S. Sideris voting in the affirmative. Addendum