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HomeMy Public PortalAbout060313packetBrewster Conservation Day 2013 July 13, 2013, 10 am to 2 pm Drummer Boy Park, Brewster Bigger and better! Building on our first BCD, Brewster Conservation Day 2013 will be a festival at Drummer Boy Park, with more interactive exhibits, kid’s activities, food from local vendors, and a raffle with prizes from local businesses. Some of the approximately 30 exhibitors, grouped by theme, will include: Water: water conservation practices (Brewster Water Department), promoting water quality (Comprehensive Water Planning Committee), conservation landscaping, marsh monitoring by the Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC). Land: Brewster Conservation Trust, Garden Club, Master Gardeners, Barnstable County compost demonstration, Orenda Wildlife Land Trust, Recycling Committee Energy: Brewster Chamber of Commerce - Green Inns, Sustainability , Cape Light Compact, My Generation Solar panel demonstration Education: International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), Barnstable County Coastal Explorer, Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies (PCCS), Cape Cod Bird Club •General exhibits and activities will include the Brewster Fire Department ladder truck, the Brewster White Caps baseball throw, oyster rearing, and the Windmill and historic facilities at Drummer Boy. BCD will also include special speakers’ series on topics such as the history of the Stony Brook valley, Brewster’s changing beaches, whale disentanglement, and shell fishing on Cape Cod. Publicity will be expanded from last year to include more and earlier announcements in regional print and broadcast media, signs, posters, and electronic announcements. Sponsored by The Brewster Conservation Trust The Town of Brewster REORGANIZATION BOARD OF SELECTMEN FY2013 FY2014 Chairman, Board of Selectmen D. Rabold J. Dickson Vice-Chairman, Board of Selectmen J. Dickson J. Foley Clerk, Board of Selectmen E. Lewis P. Hughes Chairman, Appointments Committee E. Lewis P. Hughes Chairman, Department of Public Works J. Foley Chairman, Personnel Board E. Lewis Vice Chairman, Personnel Board D. Rabold All Access Citizens Committee J. Dickson Agricultural Committee J. Foley Barnstable County Energy Committee D. Rabold Bikeways Committee J. Foley Board of Appeals J. Foley Board of Health J. Dickson Board of Managers Septage Plant J. Foley Brewster Housing Authority J. Dickson Brewster Housing Partnership J. Foley Building and Needs Assessment Committee E. Lewis Cable Television Advisory Committee J. Foley Chamber of Commerce/Board of Trade Liaison J. Foley Community Preservation Committee P. Norton Comprehensive Water Quality Conservation Commission P. Norton Reorganization BOS Page 1 of 3 FY2013 FY2014 Council on Aging D. Rabold County and State Government (includes County Expend) E. Lewis Crosby Property Committee D. Rabold Emergency Planning Committee P. Norton Energy Committee D. Rabold Finance Committee J. Dickson Fire Department P. Norton Golf Commission J. Foley Housing Partnership D. Rabold Human Services Local Planning Committee (CCC) E. Lewis Open Space Committee P. Norton Pleasant Bay Alliance J. Dickson Planning Board J. Dickson Police Department P. Norton Recreation Commission E. Lewis Recycling Commission D. Rabold Regional Transit Authority, County R. Jones School Committees Nauset Regional School Committee E. Lewis Elementary Schools Committee/C. C. Tech P. Norton Water Commission P. Norton Reorganization BOS Page 2 of 3 Water Quality Review Committee E. Lewis Union Negotiating Team E. Lewis D. Rabold Reorganization BOS Page 3 of 3 Town of Brewster 2198 Main Street Brewster, MA 02631-1898 Phone: (508) 896-3701 Fax: (508) 896-8089 Office of: Board of Selectmen Town Administrator MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SELECTMEN REGULAR SESSION MEETING DATE: May 13, 2013 TIME: 7:00 P.M. PLACE: Brewster Town Office Building, 2198 Main Street PRESENT: Selectman Lewis, Selectman Foley, Selectman Dickson, Selectman Norton, Chairman Rabold, Town Administrator Charles L. Sumner, Assistant Town Administrator Jillian Douglass, Chris Miller, Ben deRuyter, Rich Eldred, Maureen Steinmann, Carol & Tom Edmondson, Jeff O’Dell, Elbert Ulshoeffer and Annie Sherwood Call to Order Chairman Rabold called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. Citizens Forum Elbert Ulshoeffer recognized Selectman Lewis’ many years of service on the Board. Mr. Ulshoeffer is here to talk about the issue with the Boy Scouts again because this is the Board that he brought this up to in its’ entirety from the start. To date, there has been no action by the Board or as individuals on this issue and he believes that something should be said. Sometime during the week of May 21st, the National Association of Boy Scouts will make a declaration as to where they stand on the issue. A lot of agencies are sending letters. Mr. Ulshoeffer believes it is a discriminatory policy and if this were an organization that discriminated based on race, they would not be allowed to use the bottle redemption at the Transfer Station. Mr. Ulshoeffer would like to see the Board have a public discourse on this issue and he wants his government to respond. After the 21st, The National Association will either open up the organization to gay members or leave it up to local councils to decide their own policy. Mr. Ulshoeffer believes the subject should be on a future agenda for discussion and some action should be taken by the Board. Chairman Rabold said that as a Board, they were waiting for the national determination then this Board will take the matter up. Mr. Ulshoeffer thinks the Board should make a public declaration either way. If the National Organization leaves it up to the local councils; the Board really needs to know what they will each do. Selectman Lewis stated that Mr. Ulshoeffer was absolutely correct that the policy is wrong, but the problem is the local councils don’t necessarily endorse the policy and he doesn’t want to penalize and hurt the local kids because of that. Selectman Foley agreed that it is a policy that is wrong and does need to be addressed, but he does not believe the local groups endorse the policy. Selectman Dickson agrees as well. Discuss Appeal of Conservation Commission Decision, re: Captain Dunbar Road Revetment Proposal Chairman Rabold explained that the Conservation Commission denied the revetment proposal. The Edmonsons www.town.brewster.ma. BoS Minutes May 13, 2013 Page 1 of 4 and their neighbors and possibly the Town have 10 days to appeal. The Board did give the Capt. Dunbar group support originally for the revetment proposal. Carol Edmonson thanked the Board for their support. The Conservation Commission denial was a 4 to 1 vote. The Edmonsons and their neighbors will be filing an appeal and hope that the Town will be part of the appeal and she is concerned about what will happen if failure of the landing is not repaired. Mrs. Edmonson is worried about the importance of Ellis Landing as well as wanting to protect their homes. Selectman Foley asked if there is a way to go forward and create protection for the homes and for the public beach. He attended the Conservation Commission hearings and thought it was clear they were going to vote against the proposed revetment. The eastside revetment is what is protecting the homes when the winds change, if it is not re-built, the three houses will disappear, plus the property that Brewster Conservation Trust owns and on the other side is Ocean Edge. Selectman Foley will support the appeal. Selectman Lewis stated that it is difficult to go against another Town commission or committee that believe they are doing the right thing and it is their area of judgement and ruling. He also believes that there is a possibility the same erosion will happen in other beach areas as well. He is willing to support the appeal, but wants to find out what the law stipulates. Selectman Norton asked for comments from Mr. Sumner and Chris Miller. Chris Miller said there is a long history at this property. There was a similar situation at Paines Creek and the Town was not allowed to build a revetment there. The MA DEP stipulates that you cannot build a full revetment except to save a structure that was built before 1972. Mr. Miller does not think it is likely the MA DEP will bend on this. He also believes that whatever the Town decides to do for improvements at the Town ramp will help the neighbors. Mr. Sumner concurs and also explained that the nature of the decision has to do with the difference between a coastal dune and a coastal bank. The Conservation Commission does not think this is a coastal bank. Mr. Sumner was willing to test this based on the fact that the Edmonsons could prove it was a bank, but that did not occur in the course of the hearings. Mr. Sumner believed the Board has to support the Conservation Commission in their decision. Mr. Sumner also explained that if the Board joins in the appeal, The town will have to have an attorney for the Board of Selectman and and an attorney for the Conservation Commission. Mr. Sumner believes that we have gone as far as we can and should go in this case, but the neighbors can file an appeal on their own. Chris Miller and Mr. Sumner explained that the Town has waited to do work at the landing, pending the outcome of this case. The Town has to move on and file permits and create a solution for the landing at Ellis. Selectman Norton said that based on the comments, he cannot support the appeal, but he is empathetic to the homeowners situation. Selectman Dickson stated that he cannot support the appeal, but was hoping for discussion of hard versus soft solutions so they can start with a new approach together. Chairman Rabold said that he read the Conservation Commission decision twice and he couldn’t find an error in their findings. He feels that they are correct in their decision and he cannot support an appeal to the decision. He believes the homeowners should go through with their appeal and the Town will work on a solution for the landing. Mr. Edmonson said he thought the Board was being misled by Mr. Sumner. He explained that if the appeal goes to MA DEP, it goes with a clean slate. MA DEP does their own site visit and does not take into consideration the findings of the Conservation Commission, they make their own decision based on facts they collect. If the MA DEP ruled in their favor, then the Conservation Commission would then have to go to Superior Court to uphold their decision against the DEP. Mrs. Edmonson feels that there were substantive errors in the decision, but they will deal with it in their appeal. The Edmonsons are hoping for a ruling from DEP that tells them what they can do to protect their home. Selectman Foley moved that the Board of Selectman file an appeal with the Captain Dunbar residents and hire counsel to represent the Board and the Captain Dunbar residents, Selectman Lewis second. The Board voted 2- Yes, 3- No. Discuss Proposed Drummer Boy Park Regulations Chairman Rabold explained that back in January when the Board discussed the appeal, the guidance they received was to bring it to town meeting. Chairman Rabold believes that the majority of people at Town Meeting did not want dogs off leash or in a fenced area at Drummer Boy Park. In order to continue the appeal, the Board had to instruct Town Counsel to file which cost $300.00 and now they have 35 days to file a brief and www.town.brewster.ma. BoS Minutes May 13, 2013 Page of 4 they have to pay the lawyers to do that. Chairman Rabold believes that the Board should craft park regulations as Park Superintendents, then drop the appeal. Chairman Rabold has crafted draft regulations for Drummer Boy Park, which are similar to the beach regulations. There is a provision in there to have dogs on leash at Drummer Boy, even though the leash law did not pass. Selectman Norton stated that it was premature to get into a discussion about this while appeal is ongoing and Town Counsel is not here and he believes any regulations have to be carefully crafted and should wait until there is a new board. Selectman Foley agrees with most of the draft regulations, except he still thinks that there are more than a majority of people who do not want dogs at Drummer Boy at all. Selectman Lewis said the Board has to do something; summer is coming and the new Board will not be meeting until June, an appeal will take months and there are no regulations at Drummer Boy and there will be dogs there all summer if nothing is done. He believes that the Board needs to ban dogs from Memorial Day to Columbus Day and bring back the leash law at Fall Town Meeting. He believes that during the appeal, the Board as park wardens can say no dogs there. Selectman Dickson said we do need to consider regulations, but there are complicating factors and other Town properties should be considered as well. He believes the Town Meeting vote was not to have any dogs at Drummer Boy. He believes that the Board needs to do some work before issuing regulations and there should not be a vote tonight. Chairman Rabold feels that Town Meeting made no real decision because they did not vote for anything in regards to dogs. The Board could simply say no dogs at Drummer Boy Park and a judge would have allowed that over Board of Health regulations about health concerns at one park. The Board needs to decide if they want to go forward with appeal or not and spend money on litigation. There does not seem to be consensus on these proposed/draft regulations and the Board will have to continue discussion. Selectman Lewis reiterated that he feels the Board has to make some decision soon before the population doubles. Chairman Rabold said that we are back in the same place they were a year ago and the Board should post rules at least for this season. Maureen Steinmann of Daisy Lane asked that the Board please not undermine the Board of Health appeal. Her impression from Town Meeting was that people do not want dogs at Drummer Boy. Proclamation Chairman Rabold read a proclamation for Selectman Ed Lewis for 16 years of volunteer service for the Town of Brewster. Review & Approve April 22, 2013 Regular Session Meeting Minutes & April 29, 2013 Executive Session Minutes Selectman Lewis moved to approve the regular session meeting minutes of April 22, 2013, Selectman Dickson second. The Board voted 5-Yes, 0-No. Selectman Lewis moved to approve the executive session minutes of April 29, 2013, Selectman Foley second. The Board voted 5-Yes, 0-No. Action Items Selectman Lewis moved to approve Action Items 1-6 as recommended by Administration, Selectman Dickson second. The Board voted 5-Yes, 0-No. FYI Items None Liaison Reports Selectman Lewis went to the Cape Cod Selectmen’s Annual Association meeting in Nantucket. One of the topics for discussion was residential exemptions for residents which they have adopted in Nantucket and Barnstable. Selectman Lewis thinks this option should be put on a future agenda for discussion to see if it is feasible in Brewster. Selectman Foley asked to refer this topic and data to Assessor, Dave Tately and his board to look at before the end of the year. Mr. Sumner said that Mr. Tately is required by law to look at all options www.town.brewster.ma. BoS Minutes May 13, 2013 Page of 4 anyway and present them to the Board once a year. Selectman Dickson thanked the Friends of the Captains golf course who ran a wonderful mother’s day brunch over the weekend. Selectman Foley referred to an incident that took place before Town Meeting at the Finance Committee meeting. There were some reports in the press and everyone is aware, but this is a difficult subject to talk about. Selectman Foley thinks the Board of Selectmen should appear in front of the Planning Board for review and rebuke of this behavior. The Board of Selectmen has a code of ethics which is reviewed every year after elections and he believes it needs to be extended to other Boards, Committees and employees of the town. Topics the Chair did not Reasonably Anticipate none Media Questions none Future Meetings May 22, 2013 Re-Organization Meeting Selectman Lewis moved to adjourn at 8:14pm, Selectman Norton second. The Board voted 5-Yes, 0-No. Respectfully submitted, Donna J. Kalinick Administrative Assistant Approved: _______________ Signed: _______________________________________ Date , Clerk of the Board of Selectman Accompanying Documents in Packet: agenda, WPA-Form 5 Order of Conditions, suggested wording for park regulations, April 22, 2013 Regular Session Minutes, April 29, 2013 Executive Session Minutes, action items www.town.brewster.ma. BoS Minutes May 13, 2013 Page of 4 BREWSTER BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING OF JUNE 3, 2013 ACTION ITEMS 1. Request to Buy Back Cemetery Plot – Mrs. I. Marie Sherman wishes to sell back one plot at Brewster Memorial Cemetery, plot B01R4. She purchased the lot in March of 2002 for $550.00. The Town is required to ‘buy back’ any unwanted burial plots. After a meeting with the Cemetery Commission and the Town Administrator it was determined that plots purchased before April 11, 2011 would not be assessed an administration fee, therefore the buyback price will be $550.00. ADMINISTRATIVE RECOMMENDATION We recommend the Board vote to approve this request. 2. Create a Gift Account – Keith Gauley is requesting that a Gift Account be created for the Eddy School Playground. The Eddy School has started a School Store and the proceeds of the sale of items, such as T-Shirts, mugs and sweatshirts will go towards the playground. ADMINISTRATIVE RECOMMENDATION We recommend the Board vote to approve this request. 3. Request for Mulch from Transfer Station – Bob Williams of the Brewster Cemetery Association is requesting 100 cubic yards of mulch from the supply at the Transfer Station for use in the expansion project at the Cemetery on Lower Road. The Association is a non- profit and is run by volunteers. The mulch would be picked up by MCE Dirtworks and loaded into their trucks with assistance from the DPW. ADMINISTRATIVE RECOMMENDATION We recommend the Board vote to approve this request. 4. Request for One Day Liquor License – The Cape Cod Museum of Natural History is requesting a one day liquor license for Tuesday June 18th from 4:30pm – 8:30pm. They are hosting the American Red Cross Annual Membership Meeting. The cost of the license is $35.00. ADMINISTRATIVE RECOMMENDATION We recommend the Board vote to approve this request. 5. Request for One Day Entertainment License – Sharon Morgan is requesting a one day entertainment license for Saturday June 29th from 4:00pm – 10:00pm for her daughter’s wedding reception being held outside at 14 Herring Brook Lane, the home of Charles Sumner. The entertainment is amplified guitars. ASSISTANT TOWN ADMINISTRATORS RECOMMENDATION Recommend’s that the Board vote to approve this request. June 3, 2013 Action Items Page 1 of 2 6. Request for Permission to File Conservation Commission Notices of Intent – Staff seeks permission to file with the Conservation Commission to extricate some portions of the buried boardwalk at Crosby Beach and relocate them to Linnell, Breakwater and Mant’s beaches to provide temporary (seasonal) wheel chair viewing access at those three beaches. ADMINISTRATIVE RECOMMENDATION We recommend that the Board vote to approve this request. 7. Declare Surplus Property – The IT Department has six black & white Brother printers and one color printer that they would like declared surplus. Our intent is to sell the printers on GovDeals. ADMINISTRATIVE RECOMMENDATION We recommend that the Board vote to approve this request June 3, 2013 Action Items Page 2 of 2 FYI ITEMS (MAIL) JUNE 3, 2013 A. Notice of Waiver of Transfer Station Fees for Volunteer Clean up at 528 Slough Road B. Agenda for June 5, 2013 Assembly of Delegates Meeting C. Notice of Gulf of Maine Council Award for Chris Miller D. Memo from Paul Niedzwiecki, Cape Cod Commission, re; Water Quality Management Plan Update E. Letter to Selectmen from Terry Ryder, re; Stepping Down from the Community Preservation Committee F. March 19, 2013 Conservation Commission Meeting Minutes G. Notice of PEG Access Payment from Comcast H. Notice of Appointments to Finance Committee I. Resignation Letter of Ben deRuyter from Finance Committee J. Notice from Division of Marine Fisheries, re; Commercial Permit Conditions on Harvesting of Oysters K. Notice from the Department of Telecommunications & Cable for an October 16, 2013 Public Hearing on rates L. Letter from Jean Stevens, re; Location for a Dog Park M. Letter from MJ Turlington, re; Dog Park FYI – June 3, 2013 Page 1 of 1