HomeMy Public PortalAbout20191119 - Select Board - Meeting Minutes
TOWN OF HOPKINTON
Select Board
Meeting Minutes – November 19, 2019
Town Hall, 18 Main Street, Hopkinton MA 6:00 PM
Select Board Members Present: Brendan Tedstone, Chair, Brian Herr, Irfan Nasrullah, Mary Jo
LaFreniere
Select Board Members Absent: John Coutinho
Officials Present: Town Manager Norman Khumalo, Assistant Town Manager Elaine Lazarus
CALL TO ORDER: Mr. Tedstone called the public meeting to order at 6:00 PM in Room 211
of the Town Hall.
The Chair entertained a motion to discuss strategy with respect to contract negotiations with the
DPW, Fire and Dispatch Communications unions because the Chair declares that discussion in
an open meeting will have a detrimental effect on the bargaining position of the Town; to
consider strategy with regard to contract negotiations with non-union staff - Town Manager; to
allow Norman Khumalo and Elaine Lazarus to participate in the discussion; and to convene in
Open Session after the conclusion of Executive Session.
MOVED by Mr. Tedstone and SECONDED by Ms. LaFreniere. ROLL CALL: Mr.
Tedstone-Yes; Mr. Herr-Yes; Mr. Nasrullah-Yes; Ms. LaFreniere-Yes. Vote to Approve:
Yes-4, No-0.
REOPEN PUBLIC SESSION: Mr. Tedstone reopened the Public Session with the Pledge of
Allegiance at 6:30 PM in Room 215/216.
PUBLIC FORUM: There were no public comments.
TOWN MANAGER APPOINTMENT - NEW TOWN EMPLOYEE: Mr. Khumalo
introduced Christopher Heymanns, Treasurer/Collector, described his background and the
interview process. Board members welcomed Mr. Heymanns. MOVED by Mr. Nasrullah and
SECONDED by Mr. Herr to confirm the Town Manager’s appointment of Mr. Heymanns as
Treasurer/Collector. Vote to Approve: Yes-4, No-0.
CONSENT AGENDA: MOVED by Mr. Herr and SECONDED by Ms. LaFreniere to approve
the Consent Agenda, consisting of: 1) approval of the Minutes of the 11/5/19 Select Board
meeting; and 2) accept a gift of $750 from the Hopkinton Public Library Foundation to the
Hopkinton Public Library to fund a “‘lucky day’ collection”. Vote to Approve: Yes-4, No-0.
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STREET NAME - WHISPER WAY: The Board reviewed the request from 20th Century
Homes to name an extension of Whisper Way as “Whisper Way”. It was noted that the Planning
Board has approved the subdivision plan for the road extension. MOVED by Mr. Herr and
SECONDED by Ms. LaFreniere to approve the street name of “Whisper Way” for the extension
of the existing Whisper Way road layout. Vote to Approve: Yes-4, No-0.
GENERAL BOND OBLIGATION APPROVAL: Tim O’Leary, Chief Financial Officer,
described the bonding process and the projects included in the bond. He stated that he accepted
the low bid from FTN Financial Capital Markets with an effective interest rate of 1.86%. He
stated that the Town’s AAA bond rating saved about $100,000. He reviewed a chart of the
Town’s debt over time, noting that the number will fall off significantly in a few years. Mr. Herr
noted that one of the projects included in the bond is the Main Street Corridor Project, and
expressed concern that the Town is borrowing the funds and the project is at risk from potential
action to stop it at the 12/9/19 special town meeting. Mr. O’Leary stated that the bond
institutionalizes temporary borrowing which already occurred, and the Town has already paid
$166,000 of the amount and has committed (work under contract) $500,000 in additional funds.
He stated at most there could be $350,000 borrowed that wouldn’t be used for the project, but
bond counsel has indicated that it could be used for the related Town Hall parking lots, subject to
Town Meeting approval. Mr. Herr asked if the funding can be removed from the bond issue, and
Mr. O’Leary replied no.
PUBLIC HEARING - TAX CLASSIFICATION HEARING: MOVED by Mr. Herr and
SECONDED by Ms. LaFreniere to open the Tax Classification public hearing and to continue it
to the conclusion of the general bond obligation discussion. Vote to Approve: Yes-4, No-0.
GENERAL BOND OBLIGATION APPROVAL, CONTINUED: Mr. Herr stated he is
concerned that the Town is potentially borrowing more than it needs to, but noted that the
parking lot would need borrowing too. Mr. O’Leary stated that the project and the economic
basis for going forward are sound. Mr. Nasrullah stated the Town is refinancing its debt and
putting it all under one umbrella, and in his opinion, there is a chance that there could be
$350,000 left over that could be applied to something else. He stated that he is not concerned
that it will be an issue. Mr. O’Leary stated that whatever happens, the Town will be compliant.
MOVED by Mr. Herr and SECONDED by Ms. LaFreniere to adopt the following motion:
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Vote to Approve: Yes-4, No-0.
PUBLIC HEARING - TAX CLASSIFICATION HEARING: John Neas, Chief Assessor,
Tim O’Leary, and Lya Batlle-Rafferty, Chair, Board of Assessors, appeared before the Board.
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Ms. Batlle-Rafferty reviewed the decisions to be made by the Select Board relative to a single or
split tax rate, and whether to grant an open space discount, a residential exemption or a small
commercial exemption. She described the tax rate impact of the discounts and exemptions. She
noted that this year there was significant growth in the residential condominium class in
particular. Mr. Neas noted that the estimated tax rate is $16.83 for residential and $16.81 for
commercial/industrial, noting that the residential number is a little higher because the residential
class absorbs the means tested senior citizen tax exemption recently voted. He stated it is not a
split tax rate, even though the numbers are slightly different. He noted that the other exemptions
granted (blind, veteran, etc.) are funded through the overlay account. He noted that residents can
see their estimated tax bills in the materials that will be available at Town Hall and the Library.
In response to a question, Mr. Neas noted that the open space discount pertains to property that is
permanent open space, and total tax revenue from this class is presently under $2,500.00.
Tom Terry, Maple Street, asked if there is a way to make sure that new residents register their
vehicles in Town to make sure that the revenue is captured. He asked if a list of new residents
can be compared with vehicle lists. Mr. Neas stated that with the State’s new RMV computer
system that may be possible, and he will look into it.
MOVED by Mr. Herr and SECONDED by Mr. Nasrullah to close the public hearing. Vote to
Approve: Yes-4, No-0.
The Board discussed the options. It was noted that the open space, residential and commercial
exemptions have never been granted by the Town. Mr. Herr stated some businesses have
expressed concern about the income approach to commercial property valuation. Mr. O’Leary
stated it was new last year and there were no new impacts this year. Mr. Neas described the
process for valuation of income producing property. He noted that they request information
from the businesses each year and the businesses may supply the information or not. He stated
there are about 160 such properties and they usually get back 50% to 60% of the information
requested, and the ones with no information are modeled on the ones that are received. Leslie
Ficcari, member, Board of Assessors, stated that staff has done a good job of reaching out to get
the information from commercial property owners, and the feedback that members are receiving
might be the result of their dogged approach.
MOVED by Mr. Tedstone and SECONDED by Mr. Herr to grant an open space discount. Vote
to Approve: Yes-0, No-4. MOVED by Mr. Tedstone and SECONDED by Mr. Herr to grant a
residential exemption. Vote to Approve: Yes-0, No-4. MOVED by Mr. Tedstone and
SECONDED by Mr. Herr to grant a small commercial exemption. Vote to Approve: Yes-0,
No-4. MOVED by Mr. Tedstone and SECONDED by Mr. Herr to set a single tax rate for FY21
and to sign the LA-5 Form. Vote to Approve: Yes-4, No-0.
STREET ACCEPTANCE PUBLIC HEARING - LEGACY FARMS NORTH: MOVED by
Mr. Herr and SECONDED by Ms. LaFreniere to open the public hearing. Vote to Approve:
Yes-4, No-0. Mr. Tedstone noted that a citizens petition has been submitted to accept Legacy
Farms North as a public way. He described the street acceptance process, noting that the Select
Board is required to hold a public hearing and must file its vote to lay out the way not less than 7
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days before the special town meeting, with the Town Clerk. Ravi Gorti, 15 Spruce St., stated
there are many new residents in Legacy Farms north, including school children, and referred to a
problem where the school buses will not travel on Legacy Farms North because it is a private
way, so everyone has to go to Frankland Road or Wilson St. to get the bus. He showed photos of
the Frankland Rd. area, noting that at that bus stop, there can be 70 to 95 kids at one time. He
suggested that to address concerns that the Town would become responsible for finishing the
road, the developer could sign a MOU that requires him to complete the work. In response to a
question, he stated that 95% of the parents drive to the bus stop because of the distance.
Nikhil Kapupara, 27 Walnut St., stated that more houses are being built and the problem will get
worse. Radhika Sangireddy, 15 Spruce St., stated that kids carry a lot back and forth to school,
and often it is heavy. She stated it is hard to walk the one mile home with that, especially in the
winter, and this is tough for kids if both parents work and they can’t pick them up at the bus. A
student, 44 Spruce St., expressed concern for the current situation and asked for help getting to
school. Jebakala Arputharaj, 1 Juniper Trail, stated that people do carpool to the bus stop, and
noted that drivers pass the bus and they drive fast on the road. Srinivasan Vijaragavan noted that
other options have been pursued, including hiring a private vendor to provide bus transportation
and using coach busses, both of which were too expensive. He stated this is a last resort and
asked for help in improving the situation. Daniel Arputharaj, 1 Juniper Trail, stated this has a
problem that residents have been advocating for a few years, and it will take a long time to finish
the road with the normal pace of construction.
Roy MacDowell, developer, stated he understands the frustration and doesn’t disagree with it.
He stated that a lot of options have been explored. He stated he has arranged for the landscaping
and paving to be done this spring, with the goal of completing the work before the annual town
meeting. He stated there is a bond with the town to cover all of the remaining work, and he is
committed to doing all finishing the subdivision work. He stated he has no problem with signing
a letter and taking responsibility for all the work, even if the road is accepted.
Muriel Kramer, Chair, Planning Board, noted that this is something outside the norm. She stated
the road takes a lot of traffic and cars don’t stop at the intersection because Legacy Farms North
is the through road and the bus is on Frankland Road. She stated the Board realizes that
acceptance might not be possible at this time, and she appreciates the residents coming forward
and the developer who is willing to do the work. She stated the Board supports finding a way
that is legal, practical and pragmatic that addresses the safety issue.
Tom Terry, 17 Maple St., stated he would like the developer to increase the bond to $1.5 or $2M
to take care of contingencies. He stated that the developer should get more involved in this
because there are other things he hasn’t done that he promised.
MOVED by Mr. Herr and SECONDED by Ms. LaFreniere to close the public hearing. Vote to
Approve: Yes-4, No-0.
Mr. MacDowell stated he can provide as-built plans that were done right after the construction
through base course of pavement. John Westerling, DPW Director, stated he doesn’t know if
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that is a layout plan. It was noted that a street acceptance plan is needed that shows the metes
and bounds of the layout so the Town can follow up with the taking that is required in the statute.
Police Chief Ed Lee stated that the speed limit on Legacy Farms North is 30 mph, and they can’t
enforce it because it is a private way, but they can use the temporary speed signs that warn
drivers. He stated they patrol the bus stop area, especially if it is bad weather.
Mr. Herr noted that the Town made a decision not to buy the land and to let the developer move
ahead with this, but this issue wasn’t anticipated. He stated that there is a process for street
acceptance, and accepting it unfinished will create other problems, and he doesn't know what the
solution is. He stated he isn’t sure there is enough time to get this done at the Dec. 9 special
town meeting. Mr. Nasrullah noted if the road can’t be accepted now, then there has to be an
interim solution. Mr. Herr noted there doesn’t seem to be enough information to make a decision
tonight. Mr. Tedstone stated that everyone puts the safety of children first. He referred to
another option that wasn’t mentioned, the construction of a large temporary parking lot at the
corner of Legacy Farms North and East Main St., where everyone could park and wait out of the
road in a safer location. He noted that the School Dept. polled residents and a significant
majority were opposed, so it didn’t go forward. Mr. MacDowell stated he offered to pay for an
insurance rider for the bus company so they could travel on private ways, but they said no.
It was noted that without a street acceptance/layout plan, the Board cannot vote to lay out the
road and file that vote with the Town Clerk. The board continued its deliberations to a future
date.
SPECIAL TOWN MEETING: Mr. Khumalo listed the articles on the Dec. 9 special town
meeting warrant to date, noting that the warrant is still open. It was noted that the School
Committee requests are for about $10M.
EVERSOURCE NIGHT WORK: Jack Lopes and Sean Mosher, Eversource Energy, appeared
before the Board. Mr. Khumalo referred to the documents in the packet with respect to the
process that led to the request for night work, which is the recommended way to proceed with
this project given the construction related problems that have occurred. Mr. Lopes stated they
have worked with the Town toward this correction, this work would proceed in the short term,
and then they would resume work in the spring. He stated that a 13,800 volt distribution line is
being installed. It was noted that the metal plates in the road were moving and causing safety
problems.
Representatives of United Civil, the construction company, stated they redesigned the plates in
response to the problems. Mr. Nasrullah asked Mr. Westerling if he is satisfied with the plan to
move forward. Mr. Westerling stated the challenge was for them to come forward with a design
that didn’t use the plates, and they proposed two alternatives. He stated one involved using
jersey barriers, which was rejected, and this proposal which doesn’t involve the use of plates in
the road. He stated it would also reduce the work from 50 weeks to 17 weeks. Mr. Khumalo
started the issues raised were discussed with Eversource and with United Civil and they
responded quickly and satisfactorily. The Board discussed notification to abutters, and it was
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noted that there are few residential abutters in the area, and none directly adjacent. The use of
temporary patch was discussed, and it was noted that there is a very bad section in the West
Main St. area. It was noted that the Town would like the area fixed as soon as possible, and
discussed the options.
MOVED by Mr. Herr and SECONDED by Mr. Nasrullah to approve Eversource Electric’s
request to perform night work and working beyond the hours of the Noise Bylaw, with the
following construction schedule: Fridays from 7:00 PM to 5:00 AM on Monday mornings; 24
hour work days, 12 hour shifts, 5 crews through 17 weeks; subject to Eversource completing the
repairs on the MassDOT portion of West Main Street by December 6 to the satisfaction of the
Town and MassDOT. Vote to Approve: Yes-4, No-0.
TOWN MANAGER REPORT: Main Street Corridor Project: Mr. Khumalo stated that a
question has been asked regarding the cost to pave the corridor if the project doesn’t go forward.
He provided an estimate from VHB for paving, sidewalk repair and drainage work for a total of
$4.7M. He stated there would be no bike lanes, no new signals, no new sidewalks. He stated
that parking spaces would be striped to regulation size, so some would be lost. He stated there
would be no changes to the Marathon Way area or to the Doughboy island. He distributed a list
of public meetings on the project held since the 2003 Voices for Vision event, where downtown
corridor improvement was one of the key recommendations. He distributed copies of “Visions
of Hopkinton” (2010) and “Bikeable Hopkinton (2015) prepared by the Conway School, which
laid the foundation for many of the concepts in the project.
Muriel Kramer stated that the Planning Board will vote on whether to support the project at its
meeting on Nov. 25.
Mr. Khumalo stated that FY21 budget requests are being reviewed.
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS: Mr. Herr suggested a joint meeting with the Board of Assessors
to discuss assessment of the commercial/industrial sector.
LIAISON REPORTS: Members reported attending meetings of the School Committee and
Planning Board, and the Veterans Breakfast.
Mr. Tedstone stated yesterday there was an incident in an adjacent town and a DPW employee
saw the suspect’s vehicle, called it in , and the person was apprehended while attempting to
break into a house. He stated that even though the suspect had a weapon, no lethal force was
used. He thanked and applauded all those involved in the effort.
MOVED by Mr. Herr and SECONDED by Mr. Nasrullah to adjourn the meeting. Vote to
Approve: Yes-4, No-0.
Adjourned: 9:30 PM
Approved: December 3, 2019
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Documents used at the meeting:
●Draft Minutes of the 11/5/19 Select Board meeting
●Christopher Heymanns resume
●PowerPoint Presentation “Classification Hearing, Board of Assessors - Lya Batlle-Rafferty, Chair, Lesley
Ficarri, Member, Gunajit Medhi, Member, John Neas, Principal Assessor
●Memo dated 11/19/19 to Select Board and the Citizens of Hopkinton from Board of Assessors
●Memo dated 11/15/19 to Select Board from Timothy O’Leary, re: Approval of Municipal Bonds, with
enclosures
●Chart entitled “Town of Hopkinton General Fund Debt Annual Principal & Interest due after November 26,
2019 borrowing”
●Letter dated 10/31/19 to Select Board from Chris Nation Re: Whisper Way, with attachment
●Whisper Way definitive subdivision plan, excerpts
●Memo dated 11/15/19 to Elaine Lazarus from Don MacAdam, re: Acceptance of Legacy Farms North as a
Public Way
●Email 11/14/19 to Elaine Lazarus from John Westerling, Re: Street Acceptance - Legacy Farms North - Public
Hearing 11-19-19
●Petition for street acceptance, Legacy Farms North
●Email 11/14/19 from Jack Lopes to Norman Khumalo, Maria Glynn, John Westerling, Re: Request to appear at
Board of Selectmen Meeting to request weekend work on South St.
●Eversource work project schedule
●Letter dated 8/27/19 to NStar Electric Co. d/b/a Eversource Energy, Cheryl Blaine, Catherine Keuthen, and
United Civil from Norman Khumalo, Re: Final Decision Pursuant to Notice of Hearing and Order to Show
Cause Issued on August 2, 2019
●Memo dated 11/15/19 to Select Board from Norman Khumalo, Re: Staff Report, Select Board Meeting
11/19/19
●Design Revisions Post 75% Design Submission as a Result of Discussions with Property Owners
●Bikeable Hopkinton, The Upper Charles Trail and Main Street, Conway School, Spring 2015
●Visions of Hopkinton, Steps Toward Downtown Revitalization, Conway School of Landscape Design, Winter
2010
●Main Street Corridor Project History, Draft
●Rehab Estimate, Main Street (Route 135), Hopkinton MA, VHB, November 11, 2019
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