By Beth David, Editor
In its second meeting as a five-member board, the Fairhaven Select Board, set down protocols for making the meetings more formal. SB chairperson Stasia Powers said the aim was to “move meetings along” and tighten up parliamentary procedures. One change that affects the public is that agenda items requested by residents must be submitted by Monday, the week before the scheduled meeting. The board will also start meeting on the first and third Mondays of each month starting in July, with extra meetings as needed.
The board is also planning a “retreat” to review goals, roles and responsiblities of the board with Town Administrator Angie Lopes Ellison. That has not been scheduled yet.
The board discussed the financial policies, which include how much the town should spend from free cash each year, how much to keep in the stabilization fund and how the capital stabilization fund should be used, etc.
Finance Director/Treasurer/Collector Wendy Graves said the town was within its policy goals with the proposed budget for FY23.
Ms. Ellison also submitted to the board the top three goals based on the votes board members made at their last meeting: #1 is financial stability; #2 is Human Resources; #3 is inter/intra governmental cooperation. Ms. Ellison said she will incorporate the goals in the day to day operations with staff.
Public works superintendent Vinnie Furtado appeared before the board to discuss a town meeting article about the Tree Warden position that the Board of PW submitted, and the funding for the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) upgrades.
Mr. Furtado said the article submitted is the same as last year’s, which did not pass. He said the BPW felt it did not pass because the Tree Warden Don Collasius spoke against it. The article would change he Tree Warden position from elected to appointed.
Mr. Furtado said he assumed his position would absorb the Tree Warden role.
The change would not take place until Mr. Collasius’s term ended.
This year’s article simply changes the position from elected to appointed, said Mr. Furtado, and involves no funds to be spent.
If it passes, then the next steps would be to hire an arborist and some full time employees for the department; and add a bucket truck. The tree department currently has the part time tree warden and two part time employees.
Mr. Furtado said there is definitely enough work to be done for the additional employees. He said he was not recommending it this year, as his budget has been cut.
The Tree Department has a small budget and not enough employees, said Mr. Furtado, adding Mr. Collasius is “doing the best he can” with the limited resources.
“It needs to get better thatn what it is right now,” said Mr. Furtado, adding it is a “disservice to the town” to leave it the way it is.
The article as written, however, may need some tweaking. First, there was some discussion about who the appointing authority should be. The article has the Select Board as the appointing authority, but it might be changed to the Town Administrator.
“I don’t care who appoints it,” said Mr. Furtado, reiterating that the first step is to change it from elected to appointed, which will better serve the town.
The SB asked Mr. Furtado to have some funding numbers ready for Town Meeting in anticipation of the questions TM members might have.
Also, Marcus Ferro, a member of the BPW, who said he was not speaking on their behalf, said he had a problem with some of the wording that seemed to give the Planning Board authority over the position. Planning Director Paul Foley said he believed Mr. Ferro misunderstood the wording. The two will meet to discuss the wording.
Mr. Furtado also spoke to the board about the upgrades to the WWTP. The project will cost about $50 million. The BPW has gotten approval for a loan at 2% interest rate from the state. He said a portion of that will also be forgiven. He did not know how much would be forgiven, but speculated it would be in the millions.
Mr. Furtado also said ARPA funds could be used for the project, and Mattapoisett owns 15% of the plant, so they would pay that portion of borrowed funds.
The upgrades are mandated by the state and federal government to remove nitrogen from the WWTP discharge, which goes into the harbor.
The board also voted on its recommendations for TM articles, and reviewed the budget, but did not vote on budget items. Some department heads will be at future meetings to discuss their budgets. The board will extra meetings to accommodate those appearances.
In another matter, Ms. Ellison notified the board that HGTV will be filming at two homes in Fairhaven starting this week. The production will be inside private homes and will not require any road closures or other disruptions, so no vote was necessary. She said Fairhaven is becoming a “TV Mecca” for films.
“I’m excited about the opportunity,” she said.
In other business, the board:
• Accepted the health agent’s recommendation that masks be strongly advised, but not mandatory in town buildings.
• Approved use of the town hall auditorium for Dollars for Scholars awards ceremony on 5/25, and waived the building rental fee.
• Appointed Heidi Piva to the Commission on Disabilities, Amy Roderick to the Bikeway Committee, and Laura Barillaro to the Belonging Committee.
• Did not act on the resignation of Francis Cox from the Zoning Board of Appeals. The board directed Ms. Ellison to reach out to Mr. Cox to find out why he was resigning after so many years on the board.
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