Selectmen's Meeting Minutes 10/22/2019
Board of Selectmen October 22, 2019
Chairman Joseph Pacheco called the open meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. in the meeting room at Veterans’ Memorial Town Hall, 558 South Main Street. In addition to Chairman Pacheco, Selectmen Marie Smith and Patricia Riley were in attendance.
Ms. Riley led the Board in the Pledge of Allegiance and Mr. Pacheco informed everyone that the meeting was not being recorded live by RayCAM due to a technical complication.
Acceptance of the Minutes
Ms. Riley made a motion to accept the minutes of the meeting held on October 15, 2019, as printed. Mrs. Smith seconded and Mr. Pacheco made it unanimous.
Public Hearing - Application for a Class I Dealers License from Advantage Truck, Lot 22, Paramount Drive
Mr. Pacheco said this Pubic Hearing was rescheduled from a previous date. Although it was not on the Agenda due to an unintentional omission, notice was posted in the Taunton Daily Gazette. Mr. Pacheco proposed to the Board that since notice had been provided to the public, the compromise would be to hold the hearing and have it put on the Agenda for a vote next week. The Board was all in agreement. Mr. Pacheco called the Public Hearing to order at 7:05 p.m. Attorney Edmund Brennan of 1 Church Green in Taunton, who was present representing the applicant, said the proposal is for a Class I License for Advantage Truck of Raynham, LLC, to set up operation on a 15 +/- acre parcel of land located at Lot 22 Paramount Drive. The applicant is managed by Advantage Truck Group, LLC, of Shrewsbury. The proposal is to build a new 28,500 sq. ft. building to accommodate sales, parts and warranty work and general truck maintenance. It will be a parts distribution center for Southeastern Mass., and there will be sales of new trucks as well as maintenance and warranty work done on site. The dealership is through Daimler Truck of North America, which is the type of truck brand. Attorney Brennan explained, “We have been before the Planning Board on many occasions to work our way through the site plan approval, and we received a positive site plan approval from them. We then went before the Conservation Commission, and we received an Order of Conditions and that has been recorded at the Registry of Deeds. Just a note to the Board, there has been no public opposition so far. What we request tonight is a Class I License to sell new trucks and 4 or 5 models will be held on site. There will only be 1 or 2 sales staff and it will be by appointment only, for the most part. A lot will start on the Internet. Most vehicles will go upwards of $100,000, so they will not be having people stop on a Sunday afternoon looking to buy a truck. There will be about 35 employees on site and the maintenance and warranty work will be a 24/7 operation. All repairs are done inside the building which is on the backside of the building, so you will see a nice façade on the front with an entrance to the warehouse. They are proposing to close on this next week, and if we get a positive vote next Wednesday, that will be most helpful to get that license asap. This will be a very nice facility for the Town and a very good tax base. They currently do a lot of work in southeastern Mass. and the Town of Raynham is actually a customer.” Mrs. Smith asked. “You’ve been to all the other Boards and there has been no opposition so far?” Atty. Brennan responded, “Since we moved to the other side of the street, we haven’t had any opposition.” Atty. Brennan added that he had submitted the plans at a recent meeting with the other occupants in the Park and the Park owners, and they approved it. Mrs. Smith said, “Since the Park has approved it, I have no opposition to it.” Ms. Riley asked where it would be located in the Park. Atty. Brennan replied, “If you were to go into the Park, it’s on that right-hand corner just before Preferred Freezer.” Ms. Riley asked, “How close is it to residential property?” Atty. Brennan replied, “It’s 1,200 feet through wetlands and trees.” Ms. Riley asked, “Will that be left as a buffer area?” Atty. Brennan replied, “That will stay the way it is.” Mr. Pacheco stated that when the original proposal was presented, there was discussion about addressing noise levels, and he wondered if a plan would be in place to address that. Atty. Brennan replied, “I don’t think we came up with a plan to lessen the noise on the other side and our experts at the State were telling us that we were within the State regulations and you can’t regulate back-up alarms.” Mr. Pacheco asked if the primary entrance and exit will be off Rt. 44 and into Paramount Drive. Atty. Brennan replied that the entrance and exit would be off Rt. 44. Mr. Pacheco replied, “That’s the answer I was hoping for.” Atty. Brennan explained that the applicant has requested that they be allowed to make a break at the median strip to come out at the signalized location. He stated, “The Chief of Police had requested that, so that’s in the plans.” Mr. Pacheco asked if anyone wanted to speak about the proposed project. Yvette of 36 Essex Circle was present and said she received a notice about the Selectmen’s meeting but never had received any other notice about this project. Her concern was how close it would be to the residential area. Mr. Pacheco said, “I can’t speak for other Boards as how their notification process was handled. I would have to defer to Attorney Brennan or the other Boards for their policies for notification. But, as Attorney Brennan said, it’s about 1,400 feet away. I’m also a neighbor and Preferred Freezer is about 8 or 9 lots in, so there is definitely a buffer there. The reason why I asked about the entrance they would be using is so that you wouldn’t have that secondary traffic on Hill Street.” Mr. Pacheco asked, “Does this answer your questions?” Yvette said, “Yes, thank you.” Mr. Peter Bumila of 104 Pine Tree Lane was present and said Preferred Freezer is closer to the condos than this project would be. Ms. Riley made a motion to take a vote on the project next Tuesday, Oct. 29th. Mrs. Smith seconded and Mr. Pacheco made it unanimous. Mr. Pacheco adjourned the Public Hearing at 7:15 p.m.
New Business
Mr. Pacheco said a request was received from Northeast Race Management to hold their 8th Annual 5 Miles Home Road Race to benefit Homes for Our Troops and, as always, approval is contingent upon Police and Fire Department approval. Mrs. Smith made a motion to accept, Ms. Riley seconded, and Mr. Pacheco made it unanimous.
Mr. Pacheco also stated that a request for a Tag Day was received from Spectrum Gymnastics for November 3rd, and the date is available. Mrs. Smith made a motion to allow, Ms. Riley seconded, and Mr. Pacheco made it unanimous.
Town Administrator’s Report
Mr. Graham Waters reviewed his report as Town Administrator.
The Town Meeting was held and was a success for Capital Planning. Thirty-four of the 35 Articles in the Warrant passed at the Town Meeting with the last article being withdrawn from consideration. Many of the articles which passed fund various capital items that will help the Town run more efficiently and provide better services to the residents.
Mr. Waters will be setting up meetings with the Selectmen and Department Heads to become more familiar with the operations of the Town and gain a better understanding of the roles and functions within each area.
The Public Safety Building Committee held a meeting this afternoon, Oct. 22nd, at Town Hall. The committee discussed several parcels of property around the town, and the pros and cons of each site. The committee also decided to view another model station in Plainville. The committee will meet again in two weeks (November 5th at 2:30 p.m.) to make a decision on a piece of property to build on and move forward with a tighter timeline.
Upcoming Meetings
In his report, Mr. Waters also stated that the Town’s I.T. contractor, Tim Grabarz, applied for the Massachusetts Community Compact grant. The town requested funding in the amount of $40,000 for tablets and software to assist the Building Department and Town Clerk’s Office. The Town should hear back regarding the status of the award in 3 – 4 months.
The next scheduled Selectmen’s Meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 29th at 7:00 p.m. at the Town Hall Meeting Room.
Selectmen’s Report
Mrs. Smith said, “Last night the Town spent $3m and no one asked a question, and I’m curious as to how many people outside of the Town employees were at that meeting. All you people who are on social media and are constantly complaining about what the Town isn’t doing or should be doing, come out and attend the Town Meetings.”
Ms. Riley said, “I want to commend the few people who did come to Town Meeting. I think we might need a strategy to encourage people to attend the meetings.” She also reported that R.A.V.E.’s “Salute to Our Veterans” Committee met this morning to plan the “17th Annual Salute to Our Veterans” assemblies in our Raynham Schools, which will be held on Friday, November 8th, beginning at 9:00 a.m. at the Raynham Middle School and continuing later in the day with ceremonies at the Merrill and LaLiberte Elementary Schools. Committee Co-Chairs Sandy Leahy and Chris Buckley want to officially invite the Board to attend the event and would like to have a Board member speak at the event. Mr. Paul Monti of Raynham, who is the director of the awesome Flag Program at the Bourne National Cemetery and the father of the late Sgt. First Class Jared Monti, is going to be the guest speaker. Any Veterans in Town who are interested in attending are asked to RSVP by contacting the R.A.V.E. Coordinator at ravevolunteercoordinator@gmail.com.
Ms. Riley also reported that the first special event of the season for the Park and Recreation Department, a trip to see the Lion King at the Boston Opera House, was a great success. The 19th Annual Halloween Party for ages 5 to 8 will take place this Friday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the LaLiberte Elementary School. Children must be accompanied by an adult and the cost is $5.00 per child. The Raynham Lions Club is holding a craft fair on Saturday at King Philip Hall from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Also, the First Congregational Church will be holding their “Homespun Holidays” fair on Saturday, November 9th from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The Seniors’ Monthly Breakfast will be held this coming Monday at 9:30 a.m. at the Senior Center and tickets are $3.00 per person. Also, there will be an important presentation on Medicare on Thursday at 10:00 a.m. at the Senior Center. And lastly, the Professional Fire Fighters of Raynham are conducting their fundraising drive. The organization supports many worthwhile groups in town including Raynham Youth Sports, which includes baseball, softball, football and soccer, the “Salute to Our Veterans” Memorial Day Parade, scholarship funds and the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The organization also sponsors the Raynham Youth Fishing Derby and the annual holiday toy drive.
Mr. Pacheco announced that the meeting was being televised live by RayCAM beginning about halfway through the public hearing. He assured those watching that the problem was not with their television sets. It was just a technical error.
Mr. Pacheco also announced that he had the opportunity to attend the Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical High School’s Open House on Saturday and there was a great turnout. He extended the wishes of the Board to B-P.
Adjournment
At 7:27 p.m., Mrs. Smith motioned and Ms. Riley seconded to adjourn for the performance of administrative duties, signing of Bills and Warrants, with no business to be conducted afterward. Mr. Pacheco made it unanimous.
Respectfully submitted,
Janet Murphy
Recording Secretary