HomeMy Public PortalAbout20211116 - Select Board - Meeting MinutesTOWN OF HOPKINTON
Select Board
Meeting Minutes – November 16, 2021
18 Main Street, Hopkinton MA - Room 215/216 6:00 PM
Select Board Members Present: Irfan Nasrullah, Chair, Amy Ritterbusch, Vice Chair, Brendan
Tedstone, Mary Jo LaFreniere, Muriel Kramer
Officials Present: Town Manager Norman Khumalo, Assistant Town Manager Elaine Lazarus
CALL TO ORDER : Irfan Nasrullah, Chair, called the public meeting to order at 6:00 PM in
Room 215/216 of the Town Hall with the Pledge of Allegiance. He stated that the public has the
option of attending the meeting in person or via Zoom, and the meeting is being recorded.
PUBLIC FORUM: Darlene Hayes, 1 Third Road, stated she would like to follow up on her
request for the Town to prohibit no left turns out of the Cumberland Farms driveways on West
Main Street, stating there have been more accidents and she would like to know where this
stands. The Board stated that an update could be provided at its next meeting.
CONSENT AGENDA :MOVED by Amy Ritterbusch and SECONDED by Muriel Kramer to
approve the Consent Agenda, consisting of accepting the resignation of Chelsea Rockhold from
the Youth Commission, confirming the Town Manager ’s appointment of John Sheridan as a
Traffic Constable to a term expiring 6/30/2024, and approving a funding request from the
Marathon Fund Committee for $2,000 to fund exercise classes at the Senior Center.Vote to
Approve:Yes-5, No-0.
NET ZERO RESOLUTION/CLIMATE ACTION PLAN:Andrew Hayes,Chair, and Geoff
Rowland, member, of the Sustainable Green Committee, appeared before the Board. Mr. Hayes
provided an update on the recent activities of the Committee, including a pre-Marathon trash
pickup day and an Art on the Trail display. They referred to a position paper provided to the
Board for a Climate Action Plan, and reviewed what climate change means to Hopkinton. It was
stated that it may mean temperature increases from two to 11 more weeks of 90-plus
temperatures each year, and 3.5 to 9 fewer weeks below freezing - which is equivalent to the
climate currently about 500 miles to the south. Mr. Rowland stated it also may mean up to 17%
more precipitation. He stated they have been doing a greenhouse gas inventory, which calculates
CO2 emissions by subsector and by fuel source, noting that one third is from transportation, one
third from residential buildings, and one third from commercial and industrial buildings; with
one third electricity (mixed fuels), one third gasoline, one fifth natural gas and one eighth heating
oil. They reviewed the composition of a Climate workgroup, noting that it is working on the
framework for a climate action plan with the goal to achieve net zero. Mr. Rowland stated that
they would like to do some calculations before a deadline is set.
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Board members stated they are pleased with the work of the Committee, noting that the public
will be eager to hear more about it. Board members questioned the baseline/timeline used in the
calculations and issues surrounding the recycling of electronics. Mr. Khumalo noted that the
intent is for a net zero resolution to be presented to Town Meeting.
COVID-19 UPDATE:Shaun McAuliffe, Public Health Director,stated he expects that up to
60% of children aged 5 to 11 years old will be vaccinated at the end of this week, and the Health
Dept. is also working to host a regional clinic. He stated that the schools are doing well and
stated that the Town is averaging 2.54 cases per day right now, which has been generally
constant. He stated that it would be best to get the positivity rate below 1.
POTENTIAL 2022 ANNUAL TOWN MEETING ARTICLES:The Board reviewed a draft
General Bylaw amendment to make the bylaws gender-neutral, and expressed support for the
article. Elaine Lazarus referred to a proposed article to accept an easement at the corner of West
Main St. and Oakhurst Rd. for a school bus stop. She stated it was the outcome of an application
before the Board of Appeals, where residents expressed the need for a safe place for kids to wait
for the school bus, and the applicant has agreed to make the donation. Mr. Khumalo asked Board
members to identify any new proposed articles or bylaw changes they would like to consider for
the annual town meeting so that staff can be working on them.
TOWN MANAGER REPORT: Norman Khumalo referred to his memo to the Board detailing
the work recently undertaken for the Main Street Corridor Project. He noted that with respect to
the FY23 budget process, discussions with Department Heads have begun. He noted that the
level of detail provided has been good, and efforts have been made to link budgets to strategic
objectives. He stated that meetings with School Dept. staff has continued, and Budget Advisory
Group meetings have been adjusted due to holidays.
Mr. Khumalo provided an update on the PFAS/municipal water supply issue, stating that the
Town is now officially in violation of the standards and there are specific steps to take, with a
timeline. John Westerling, DPW Director, stated that the notice of noncompliance was received
on November 9, and Hopkinton is one of 60 communities notified. He described the specific
actions that are triggered by the notice. He stated that the first decision to be made is the short
term/interim plan, all facets of which will affect the water rate structure. He stated that options
being considered are: 1) a credit off the water bill for people in sensitive subgroups so that they
can purchase bottled water; 2) install a water distribution kiosk for people to fill water jugs; 3)
install a temporary filtration system at well #6. He stated that all have pros and cons, and
associated costs. He stated the long term corrective action will be either constructing a filtration
system or connecting to the MWRA in Southborough. He noted that the DPW website has been
updated with additional information for the public.
Amy Ritterbusch asked if the documents are being distributed in languages other than English,
and if water kiosks are used, will they be open for several hours to accommodate people’s
schedules. Muriel Kramer asked how the decision on the interim solution will be made. Norman
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Khumalo stated the process will involve an evaluation of each option internally, identification of
key stakeholders to discuss the options, and then townwide discussion of the option selected.
Mary Jo LaFreniere stated that people want detailed instructions on what they should be doing.
John Westerling stated that the mailing that went out to water customers contained the DEP
approved language stating that if someone is pregnant, nursing, under one year old or with a
compromised immune system they should not be drinking the water, and should not use it for
cooking types of food that absorb water. He stated there is no threat identified to people who are
not in these sensitive subgroups.
Brendan Tedstone asked if there will be an opportunity for federal or state reimbursement, and
Mr. Westerling stated there are grant opportunities and DEP is looking for additional funding
sources. In response to a question, he stated that the most recent PFAS testing result was 28.4
parts per trillion (ppt), the federal limit is 70 ppt, and the Massachusetts limit is 20 ppt. Mr.
Tedstone asked if the system will be helped if less water is pumped overall. Mr. Westerling stated
well #6 has pumped at various levels and the number has not decreased.
The Board reviewed the information in the Town Manager ’s memo regarding the process for
filling vacancies in elected office. It was noted that the Select Board is the entity that appoints a
Town Moderator until the next town election.MOVED by Amy Ritterbusch and SECONDED
by Muriel Kramer to authorize staff to seek applicants to fill the vacancies in elected office.Vote
to Approve :Yes-5, No-0.
TAX CLASSIFICATION HEARING: Timothy O’Leary, Chief Financial Officer, recognized
the work of the Board of Assessors in putting together the materials for the public hearing. He
reviewed the decisions the Select Board will make: 1) whether to apply a residential factor to tax
residences at a different rate than commercial, industrial and business personal property; 2) apply
an open space discount; 3) apply a residential exemption; and 4) apply a small commercial
exemption. He noted that the residential exemption would exempt a base amount and only levy
tax above that, resulting in a higher tax rate and a shift of the burden to rental properties and
second homes. Muriel Kramer stated she would like to see an analysis of this option for next
year, to see what the impact would be. Mr. O’Leary noted that for the small commercial
exemption, it shifts the burden to businesses with 11 or more employees, and the State provides
the list of businesses to the Town. He stated that Eversource is now the Town’s top taxpayer, and
most of the increase in new growth this year is due to new construction at the LNG facility. He
stated that the proposed tax rate for FY 2022 is expected to be $17.02, and $17.03 for residential
due to the Circuit Breaker Senior Exemption.
Chair Nasrullah asked for public comment, and there was none.MOVED by Muriel Kramer and
SECONDED by Amy Ritterbusch to close the public hearing.Vote to Approve :Yes-5, No-0.
MOVED by Amy Ritterbusch and SECONDED by Muriel Kramer to implement an Open
Space Discount.Vote to Approve :Yes-0, No-5.MOVED by Amy Ritterbusch and
SECONDED by Muriel Kramer to implement a Residential Exemption.Vote to Approve :
Yes-0, No-5.MOVED by Amy Ritterbusch and SECONDED by Muriel Kramer to implement a
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Small Commercial Exemption.Vote to Approve :Yes-0, No-5.MOVED by Amy Ritterbusch
and SECONDED by Muriel Kramer to implement a Single Tax Rate for FY 2022.Vote to
Approve:Yes-5, No-0.MOVED by Amy Ritterbusch and SECONDED by Muriel Kramer to
approve the form LA5 as presented.Vote to Approve :Yes-5, No-0.
LIAISON REPORTS/BOARD INVITES: Brendan Tedstone stated he attended the Veterans
Day ceremony, which was a wonderful event. Amy Ritterbusch thanked the scouts for the
Scouting for Food event for Project Just Because.
FUTURE BOARD AGENDA ITEMS:No future agenda items were identified by Board
members.
MOVED by Amy Ritterbusch and SECONDED by Muriel Kramer to adjourn the meeting.Vote
to Approve :Yes-5, No-0.
Adjourned: 7:30 PM
Approved: December 7, 2021
Documents used at the meeting:
●Letter dated 11/8/2021 to Select Board from Chelsea Rockhold
●Marathon Fund Request form dated 11/10/2021, Funding requested by Senior Center
●Position Paper for Climate Action Plan and Net Zero Resolution, September 23, 2021
●PowerPoint Presentation entitled “Hopkinton Sustainable Green Committee, A force of nature;
Presentation to Hopkinton Select Board, Autumn 2021”
●Draft General Bylaw Amendment - Housekeeping/Gender-Neutral References, Draft 7-21-2021,
Elaine Lazarus
●Letter dated 8/24/2021 to Norman Khumalo from Eric Buliung, re: 2 Oakhurst Road; Assessors Map
R28, Block 75, Lot 0; Land Court Certificate 0228775
●Tax Classification Hearing Notice
●Memo dated 11/16/2021 to Select Board, Board of Assessors from Timothy O’Leary, Chief Financial
Officer
●PowerPoint Presentation entitled “Classification Hearing, Board of Assessors - Lesley Ficarri, Chair,
Gunajit Medhi, Member, Adam Munroe, Member, November 19, 2021”
●Memo dated 11/11/2021 to Select Board from Norman Khumalo, re: Staff Report - Select Board
November 16, 2021 Meeting
●Script & Motions for Hybrid Meeting, Board in Person, Public in Person & Via Zoom; Select Board
11/16/2021
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