Welcome to Burrillville, RI - 10-08-03 Council Regular Meeting

REGULAR MEETING of the Town Council held on Wednesday, October 8, 2003 at 7:10 o'clock p.m. in the Council Chamber, Town Building, Harrisville, for and within the Town of Burrillville.

MEMBERS PRESENT: Councilors Jacqueline Zahn, William A. Andrews, Louis Bleiweis, Edward F. Bonczek, Ronald E. Faford and William E. Gonyea.

2. VOTED to accept the minutes of the regular meeting and the public hearing held September 24, 2003; and dispense with the reading of said minutes.

Motion by Councilor Louis Bleiweis. Seconded by Councilor William E. Gonyea. The vote was unanimous by the six members present. Voting in favor of the motion were Council President Pro Tem Jacqueline Zahn, Councilors William A. Andrews, Louis Bleiweis, Edward F. Bonczek, Ronald E. Faford and William E. Gonyea. Council President Wallace F. Lees was excused.

Michael C. Wood, Town Manager, reminded those present that the Snakes Alive Road Race was scheduled for October 19, 2003 at 11:00 a.m.

A public hearing relative to the Route 107 streetscape project is scheduled for October 9, 2003 at 7:00 p.m. at A.T. Levy school cafeteria.

Motion by Councilor William A. Andrews. Seconded by Councilor Louis Bleiweis. The vote was unanimous by the six members present. Voting in favor of the motion were Council President Pro Tem Jacqueline Zahn, Councilors William A. Andrews, Louis Bleiweis, Edward F. Bonczek, Ronald E. Faford and William E. Gonyea. Council President Wallace F. Lees was excused.

Motion by Councilor Louis Bleiweis. Seconded by Councilor William A. Andrews. The vote was unanimous by the six members present. Voting in favor of the motion were Council President Pro Tem Jacqueline Zahn, Councilors William A. Andrews, Louis Bleiweis, Edward F. Bonczek, Ronald E. Faford and William E. Gonyea. Council President Wallace F. Lees was excused.

03-284 VOTED to grant a Special Event Entertainment License to Thomas J. Kravitz, Director of Planning & Economic Development, for a sidewalk festival to be held on Sunday, October 19, 2003 in and around the Downtown Pascoag area; and his request that the fee for the license be waived.

Motion by Councilor William E. Gonyea. Seconded by Councilor Ronald E. Faford. The vote was unanimous by the six members present. Voting in favor of the motion were Council President Pro Tem Jacqueline Zahn, Councilors William A. Andrews, Louis Bleiweis, Edward F. Bonczek, Ronald E. Faford and William E. Gonyea. Council President Wallace F. Lees was excused.

03-285 VOTED to grant a Sunday & Holiday license to Mary Landry d/b/a The Country Store to apply at 70 Pascoag Main St., Pascoag, RI.

Motion by Councilor William E. Gonyea. Seconded by Councilor Louis Bleiweis. The vote was unanimous by the six members present. Voting in favor of the motion were Council President Pro Tem Jacqueline Zahn, Councilors William A. Andrews, Louis Bleiweis, Edward F. Bonczek, Ronald E. Faford and William E. Gonyea. Council President Wallace F. Lees was excused.

03-275 VOTED to receive and open the correspondence from Jacqueline Zahn, Chair, Screening Subcommittee, regarding her request that the Town Council discuss and take action on membership issues within the Burrillville Extended Care Board of Directors.

Motion by Councilor William E. Gonyea. Seconded by Councilor William A. Andrews. The vote was unanimous by the six members present. Voting in favor of the motion were Council President Pro Tem Jacqueline Zahn, Councilors William A. Andrews, Louis Bleiweis, Edward F. Bonczek, Ronald E. Faford and William E. Gonyea. Council President Wallace F. Lees was excused.

Discussion: Councilor Jacqueline Zahn reviewed earlier discussions about the charter prohibition of elected officials sitting as voting members of other Town boards and commissions. She suggested that the Burrillville Extended Care charter should be revised to comply with the Town Charter. The Burrillville Extended Care program is undergoing charter revisions. It will be recommended that the section relative to the status of the elected officials be amended to require liaison participation by a Town Councilor and a School Committee member.

Motion by Councilor William A. Andrews. Seconded by Councilor Ronald E. Faford. The vote was unanimous by the six members present. Voting in favor of the motion were Council President Pro Tem Jacqueline Zahn, Councilors William A. Andrews, Louis Bleiweis, Edward F. Bonczek, Ronald E. Faford and William E. Gonyea. Council President Wallace F. Lees was excused.

03-286 VOTED to receive and open the correspondence from Mark Murphy d/b/a George’s Pizza, requesting permission to use the Pascoag Main Street municipal parking lot until 1:30 a.m.

Note: the ordinance requires that the lot not be used after 11:00 p.m.; George’s Pizza liquor license provides for the restaurant to be open until 1:00 a.m. and the staff to vacate the premises no later than 1:30 a.m.

Discussion: Councilor William A. Andrews mentioned that Pascoag business owners have approached him relative to parking at the municipal lots because they are allowed to operate until 1:00 a.m. but parking is prohibited after 11:00 p.m. There was discussion that the purpose of the ordinance is to prohibit overnight parking. It was discussed that the issue could be addressed as an administrative matter, but that the business owners might have a higher comfort level if an amendment to the ordinance was considered.

Motion by Councilor Ronald E. Faford. Seconded by Councilor Louis Bleiweis. The vote was unanimous by the six members present. Voting in favor of the motion were Council President Pro Tem Jacqueline Zahn, Councilors William A. Andrews, Louis Bleiweis, Edward F. Bonczek, Ronald E. Faford and William E. Gonyea. Council President Wallace F. Lees was excused.

VOTED to reopen item 03-27, Correspondence from Jacqueline Zahn, Chair, Screening Subcommittee, regarding her request that the Town Council discuss and take action on membership issues within the Burrillville Extended Care Board of Directors.

Motion by Councilor Jacqueline Zahn. Seconded by Councilor William A. Andrews. The vote was unanimous by the six members present. Voting in favor of the motion were Council President Pro Tem Jacqueline Zahn, Councilors William A. Andrews, Louis Bleiweis, Edward F. Bonczek, Ronald E. Faford and William E. Gonyea. Council President Wallace F. Lees was excused.

Discussion: Councilor Jacqueline Zahn explained that one seat on the Burrillville Extended Care (BEC) Board of Directors is held by a member of the Recreation Commission, as required by the BEC charter. The Town Council, she said, did not appoint the member. She suggested that it would be more appropriate for the Recreation Commission to recommend a member and that the member should be appointed by Council. Walter J. Kane, Town Solicitor, believed that Mrs. Zahn was correct. He suggested that he could further review the matter.

03-287 VOTED to receive and open the correspondence from John P. Mainville, Finance Director, regarding his recommendations on awarding bids for gasoline, diesel fuel and #2 heating oil.

Discussion: John P. Mainville, Finance Director, briefly reviewed the proposals that had been received. He pointed out that one supplier bid a fixed-price alternative. Councilor William A. Andrews explained the proposals, suggesting that the incremental prices should be accepted, since they were good prices and based on the tank car prices in the Port of Providence.

VOTED to award the purchase of gasoline to Reichert & Sons Fuel Oil Inc. at the cost of $.0595 per gallon over the low tank car price – Providence Port.

VOTED to award the purchase of Diesel Fuel oil to Reichert & Sons Fuel Oil Inc. at the cost of $.0595 per gallon over the low tank car price – Providence port.

VOTED to award the purchase of #2 Fuel Oil to Martini’s Oil Inc. at the cost of $.0369 per gallon over the low tank car price – Providence port.

Motion by Councilor William A. Andrews. Seconded by Councilor William E. Gonyea. The vote was unanimous by the six members present. Voting in favor of the motion were Council President Pro Tem Jacqueline Zahn, Councilors William A. Andrews, Louis Bleiweis, Edward F. Bonczek, Ronald E. Faford and William E. Gonyea. Council President Wallace F. Lees was excused.

03-288 VOTED to receive and open the correspondence from Louise R. Phaneuf, Town Clerk, regarding her recommendation on awarding the bid for a land management system.

Discussion: Louise R. Phaneuf, Town Clerk, briefly described the system under consideration and the advantages that would be provided to title researchers and taxpayers.

VOTED that ACS Government Records Management Division, East Syracuse, NY, be awarded a five-year contract for a land management system at a price not to exceed $4.95 per instrument.

03-289 VOTED to receive and open the correspondence from Barbara A. VonVillas, Ph.D., Superintendent of Schools, regarding the W.L. Callahan School feasibility study and her request that the Town Council schedule a walk-through of the school.

Discussion: The Council briefly discussed the W.L. Callahan feasibility study, which clearly indicates that issues at the school need to be addressed. They agreed that a walk-through of the building and a meeting with the School Committee would be useful.

VOTED to scheduling a walk-through of the school and a workshop between the School Committee and Town Council at the call of the President.

03-290 VOTED to receive and open the correspondence from Michael C. Wood, Town Manager, regarding his request that the Town Council review and discuss proposed personnel policies.

Discussion: Michael C. Wood, Town Manager, explained that the Town Charter required certain personnel policies, which have not yet been adopted. He presented a draft to the Town Council for their consideration. The document, Personnel Policies and Employment Terms & Conditions, is on file with the record of the minutes. Michael C. Wood, Town Manager, explained that law requires some of these policies while others are based on agreements already in place. There was discussion that the policies were developed by the Town Manager with input by attorney Jeffrey Kasle and the Personnel Board. He asked the Town Council for input and discussion of the document.

There was a brief discussion of jury duty. The Town Council indicated that they would prefer that employees not be required to use available time off for jury duty, but that they receive their regular salary. They also discussed the suitability of the employee submitting any court payment received to the Town.

The section on Military Leave as discussed. The Town Council agreed that they would like the final sentence to read: “… the Town will supplement the employee’s pay for up to three (3) additional months; and that the supplemental pay may be extended by the Town Manager for an additional period of three (3) months”.

The second document under consideration was a draft of the Town’s Family & Medical Leave policy, as required by Federal law. The document was based on those requirements, but there is some apparent conflict between the requirements of the State law and the Federal law. These differences were briefly discussed.

The proposed policies would be amended, as discussed, and presented at a future meeting for further discussion and possible adoption.

03-291 VOTED to receive and file the correspondence from Martin D. Wencek, Permitting Supervisor, D.E.M. regarding insignificant alteration permit – application 03-0009.

03-292 VOTED to receive and open the Notice from RI DEM regarding an application to alter freshwater wetlands from Noel, Aurore & Leo Lapierre. Note: Richard A. Bernardo, Town Engineer, recommended receiving and filing this notice due to the fact that the applicants have not presented the plan to the planning board.

Motion by Councilor Ronald E. Faford. Seconded by Councilor William E. Gonyea. The vote was unanimous by the six members present. Voting in favor of the motion were Council President Pro Tem Jacqueline Zahn, Councilors William A. Andrews, Louis Bleiweis, Edward F. Bonczek, Ronald E. Faford and William E. Gonyea. Council President Wallace F. Lees was excused.

I am writing in response to your request for comments regarding the abovementioned- application. Please be advised that the applicants had originally appeared before the Town of Burrillville Planning Board on August 2, 1999 with a conceptual plan for a 4-lot rural residential compound. To date, the Planning Department has not received any formal application submission for consideration.

Upon review of the plan submitted for your consideration, I find that the proposed roadway differs greatly from the conceptual plan reviewed by the Planning Board in 1999. The applicant should have submitted a revised conceptual plan prior to submitting to your office. I have been in contact with the Town's Engineer, Richard Bernardo, who agrees that he cannot offer comment on such a plan until he has reviewed a submission to the Planning Board, which generally includes drainage calculations along with the proposed plan.

Therefore, I feel that the Town cannot offer any constructive comments to RIDEM at this time until the applicants submit more detail to the Planning Board. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Planning Department at 568-4300, ext. 130.

Walter J. Kane, Town Solicitor, suggested that the Town Council might contact DEM, informing them that the Town Council withholds its approval until the questions from the Town Planner had been addressed. Otherwise, Town Council approval is implied.

VOTED to withhold approval of the referenced application at this time until the questions raised by Thomas J. Kravitz, Burrillville Town Planner, are addressed.

Discussion: Michael C. Wood, Town Manager, briefly explained that, under proposed Federal legislation, manufacturers of MTBE would be provided protection from liability. There was a brief discussion of the potential affect of this legislation.

WHEREAS, Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) is a synthetic chemical used as an octane enhancer, lead substitute and more recently a vehicle emission reduction additive to gasoline in the United States since the late 1970s; and

WHEREAS, the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 required urban areas that are in nonattainment for ozone to begin selling reformulated gasolines (RFG) designed to reduce emissions beginning in 1995. A main component of RFG is oxygen, which is added to gasoline primarily by two oxygenates -- MTBE and ethanol; and

WHEREAS, one cup of MTBE, the amount found in one gallon of gasoline oxygenated with MTBE, can contaminate an entire 5 million gallon well to the point of being undrinkable and MTBE has contaminated large quantities of surface and ground water in many municipalities nationwide, including in the Town of Burrillville, RI; and

WHEREAS, a study by a California environmental engineering firm estimated it would cost $29 billion to clean up the 500 public drinking-water wells and 45,000 private wells across the country contaminated with MTBE in addition to the approximately 140,000 underground storage tanks still leaking gasoline containing the additive; and

WHEREAS, the U. S. House of Representatives adopted the Energy Policy Act of 2003, (H.R. 6) granting liability protection to MTBE manufacturers thereby potentially shifting the burden and cost of clean up to local governments,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that we, the Town Council of the Town of Burrillville, strongly urges the Congress to not provide this liability protection for MTBE manufacturers.

Motion by Councilor William A. Andrews. Seconded by Councilor Ronald E. Faford. The vote was unanimous by the six members in attendance. Voting in favor of the motion were Council President Pro Tem Jacqueline Zahn, Councilors William A. Andrews, Louis Bleiweis, Edward F. Bonczek, Ronald E. Faford and William E. Gonyea. Council President Wallace F. Lees was excused.