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Home My Public Portal About20090421 - Appropriations Committee - Meeting MinutesT Town of Hopkinton Appropriation Committee (AC) Minutes of Meeting on Tuesday, April 21, 2009 Town Hall, Room 211, Main St., Hopkinton, MA In attendance: Stuart Cowart Ron Eldridge Mary Lou Haroian Joe Karner Joe Lavin Heidi Kriger Chairman Karner called the meeting to order at 6:35 pm. Ron moved and Joe L. seconded a motion to approve the minutes of the 04/15/09 AC meeting. The vote was unanimous. Ron withdrew a motion he had made at our April 6th meeting to approve the budget as written in the Town Meeting Booklet dated 03/31/2009. This motion had been tabled while the committee discussed various aspects of the Town’s fiscal 2010 budget. The second was also withdrawn. Chairman Karner presented the committee with the April 15, 2009 edition of the Metrowest Daily News in which notice of the AC’s public hearing for tomorrow night was recorded. Joe also informed the Committee of the substance of meetings he attended last week with the Moderator and the financial working group. The Committee welcomed JT Gaucher of the Highway Department. JT and Ms. Leah Pickholz of 1 Spring Street were present to answer any questions that might arise with respect to Article #47, for repairs to Spring Street drainage. Ron moved and Stuart seconded a motion to approve Article # 47 as written in the Annual Town Meeting Warrant for Monday May 4, 2009 (the Warrant) for repairs to Spring Street drainage for an amount not to exceed $55,000. The motion passed by a vote of 5 – 0. Ron moved and Stuart seconded a motion to approve Article # 48 as written in the Warrant for replacement of the Spring Street pumping station for an amount not to exceed $2,320,000. This amount is to be paid for with federal stimulus money administered by a grant from the state SRF program. The motion passed by a vote of 5 – 0. Ron moved and Stuart seconded a motion to approve Article # 49 (DPW Sewer Infiltration and Inspection), Article # 50 (Main Street Water Main Replacement ) and Article # 51 (Maspenock Dam Repairs) as written in the Warrant for amounts not to exceed $2,000,000, $550,000 and $480,000, respectively. These amounts are to be paid for with federal stimulus money administered by grants from the state SRF program. The motion passed by a vote of 5 – 0. Ron moved and Stuart seconded a motion to approve Article # 46 as written in the Warrant for a new DPW Plow and Sander for an amount not to exceed $181,691. The motion passed by a vote of 5 – 0. Ron moved and Stuart seconded a motion to approve Article # 45 as written in the Warrant for painting and rehabilitation of the West Main Street Water Tank for an amount not to exceed $225,000. This amount is to be funded by adding to the debt of the Water Department, and is thus ultimately paid for by the users of the municipal water system. The motion passed by a vote of 5 – 0. Ron moved and Stuart seconded a motion to approve Article # 44 as written in the Warrant for a new F350 truck for the DPW for an amount not to exceed $46,799. The motion passed by a vote of 5 – 0. Ron moved and Stuart seconded a motion to approve Article # 41 as written in the Warrant for installing drainage at the Mount Auburn Cemetery for an amount not to exceed $70,000. This amount is to be funded by a transfer from the Lots and Graves Fund. The motion passed by a vote of 5 – 0. Ron moved and Stuart seconded a motion to approve Article # 4 and Article #’s 6 – 10 as written in the Warrant and as summarized in the Town Meeting Booklet dated 04/21/2009 at 2:17 pm to fund the ongoing operations of the Town of Hopkinton for fiscal year 2010. The motion passed by a vote of 5 – 0. Ron moved and Stuart seconded a motion to approve Article # 5 as written in the Warrant and as summarized in the Town Meeting Booklet dated 04/21/2009 at 2:17 pm to fund the operations of the Hopkinton School Department for fiscal year 2010, for an amount not to exceed $32,249,725.67. The motion passed by a vote of 5 – 0. Ron moved and Stuart seconded a motion to include $462,000 of free cash as revenue for 2010 on the FinGroup Worksheet. The motion passed by a vote of 5 – 0. Ron moved and Stuart seconded a motion to approve Article # 11 as written in the Warrant to authorize or reauthorize the establishment and use of various 53e-1/2 accounts. The motion passed by a vote of 5 – 0. Stuart moved and Ron seconded a motion to support the Board of Health recommendation on Article # 34, Mosquito Control. The motion passed by a vote of 4 – 1 (MLH). Ron moved and Stuart seconded a motion to approve Article # 35 as written in the Warrant, to accept the report and recommendation of the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) on the Fiscal Year 2010 Community Preservation Budget. The motion passed by a vote of 5 – 0. Stuart moved and Ron seconded a motion to approve Article # 36 to support the CPC expenditure of Community Preservation funds to pay for the preservation of historic town records for an amount not to exceed $10,000. The motion passed by a vote of 4 – 1 (JL). Stuart moved and Ron seconded a motion not to support the CPC recommendation on Article # 37 as written in the Warrant, to pay for historic signage. The motion passed by a vote of 5 – 0. Stuart moved and Ron seconded a motion to support the recommendation of the CPC on Article # 38 as written in the Warrant to pay for changes to the Cultural Arts Association (CAA) barn to make it compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), for an amount not to exceed $55,000. The motion passed by a vote of 5 – 0. Stuart moved and Ron seconded a motion to support the recommendation of the Board of Selectmen and the School Department on Article # 40 as written in the Warrant, to pay for energy management improvements to various school and town buildings. Since the source of funds to pay for these improvements wasn’t clear, the motion was tabled. Ron moved and Stuart seconded a motion to approve Article # 42 as written in the Warrant to pay for ADA improvements to various municipal and school buildings and grounds for an amount not to exceed $145,830. The motion passed by a vote of 5 – 0. The Committee discussed the presentation it will give at the public hearing tomorrow night and at the Annual Town Meeting on May 4th. Brian Herr, Chairman of the BOS, was present to give his feedback on the presentation. Ron moved and Stuart seconded a motion to adjourn at 9:55 pm. The motion passed unanimously.