COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS

Sherwood Forest Road Maintenance District

Prudential Committee Meeting
Saturday, August 2, 2008

Committee Members Present: David Bonney, Chair; Nancy Devane; Gerry Grondin; Howard Lerner; Marty Feit, Clerk-Treasurer; David Devane, Road Superintendent

Committee Members Absent: Bill Brownhill, Co-Chair

Public Present: Al Barvenik, Fran Barvenik, Gilles Beaudoin, Eva Bonney, Ron Boucher, Joyce Brownhill, Mike McEnerney, Bob Ronzio, Kim Van Buren, Ron Van Buren

Dave Bonney calls the meeting to order at 10:30 AM.

Approval of Minutes of June 7th and July 5th, 2008
Motion to approve the 6/7/08 minutes as presented; second; unanimous approval.
Motion to approve the 7/5/08 minutes as presented; second; unanimous approval.

Treasurers Report
Marty reports on the warrant coming before the committee today as well as on current account balances and bills outstanding. Howard asks what line item the moderators’ fee will be coming out of and is told Office Expense.
Motion to approve the warrant; second; unanimous approval.

Road Superintendent’s Report
Dave Devane reports on calls received in July which include the following:

A problematic culvert on King Richard
The ongoing situation on Lady Lucille.
There was an Enforcement Order issued by the Becket Conservation Commission on Prince John Drive and Berkshire Engineering was brought in to assist with this.
He has received a copy of the E/O on Old Carriage from the Conservation Committee.
He has contacted Mass Highway about signs.
He has looked at driveway culverts on Dragon Way and Nottingham Court; these are all the responsibility of the property owners.
There have been complaints of potholes on Mystic Isle Way and White Wolf has been directed to take care of this.
There was a complaint of a washout on Lady of the Lake.
Chuck Andrews has assured Dave that there are no Road District signs on Andrews’ property.
Storm damage on several roads on 7/27. White Wolf began repairs on 7/30.
He spoke with Kathy Stevens at D.O.T. regarding eligibility for Chapter 90 money but the Road District is not eligible.

She also informed him that the Road District is not mandated to put up road signs but it is advised.

Summer grading has begun.

Marty asks if the Road District can apply for Chapter 90 money to the Town of Becket. The answer is no because that money is only for public roads. The same holds true for federal funding.
Dave Bonney asks about size of signs – is it true that the old ones can be kept up? Yes, regulation size is not required and the state considers any signage to be a courtesy. Dave Devane is compiling a list of missing signs before ordering. There is discussion of what size should be ordered. A motion is made to order the bigger signs if the price is within 10% of the smaller ones. The motion is seconded and unanimous carries.
Dave Bonney and Dave Devane explain the enforcement orders on Old Carriage and Prince John.
Berkshire Engineering has asked for a retainer for the work on Prince John. Marty would like an estimate of what it will cost in total.
Work on Lady Lucille should be done this week.
There is extensive discussion of cost and procedure for addressing the current enforcement orders and doing future work on culverts.
A motion is made to “give Dave the flexibility to hire this person for this project but find the hourly rate out and for future projects just compare it with another company’s hourly rate”. The motion is seconded and passed with three yeas and one nay.
Dave Bonney asks about the beach road from King Richard to the beach on Big Robin. Dave Devane will check it out.
There is discussion of damage being done to culverts by heavy equipment coming into the Forest for new homes. Dave is instructed to consult with the Town Building Inspector about what the Road District’s options might be on this. Marty will make up a form letter to send regarding any damage done in this manner.
Dave Devane is concerned about getting timely mailings from Conservation Commission. Marty says if he is going to be away he will give the mailbox key to Dave Devane.
There is a discussion of closed roads. Some “Road Closed” signs should be included in the sign order.
Dave Devane’s written report is given to Marty to be included with the minutes.

Old Business
Bylaw Committee: Nancy reports there was one meeting to date. Bob was unable to attend. They would like to put up a sign at the mailboxes soliciting other members. A meeting schedule has not been set yet but the next meeting is scheduled for August 9th.
Liability Insurance: An $8,000 estimate was received from an insurance company. Howard would like a written opinion from the attorney on this subject. The Road District’s attorney told Dave Bonney that he would be glad to talk with the SFNA’s attorney about it. Howard wants to see that in writing. Nancy has found information on this in the book of municipal law in the law library. There is extensive discussion of the insurance issue. Howard moves to obtain a written opinion from the lawyer as to why the Road District does not need liability insurance and/or underwrite the Road District portion with SFNA. Howard changes his motion to a request that if the lawyer is going to make a statement it should be documented in writing so it’s not open to interpretation.
Land for Storing Winter Sand: Dave Bonney has a list of possibilities and passes them out.

New Business
Appointment of a Road Superintendent: Two applications have been received – one from Dave Devane and one from Gene Pike. There is general agreement that Dave Devane is doing a very good job and there’s no reason to appoint someone else. A motion is made to appoint Dave Devane to the position. The motion is seconded and approved with three ayes and one abstention (Nancy).
Flowers for Bill Brownhill: There is a motion made to send flowers to Bill Brownhill who is in the hospital with an aneurism. The motion is seconded and unanimously approved.
Receiving Land: Dave Bonney wants to know if the Road District can accept land as a gift and then sell it in the same manner in which the town does. The Act addresses receiving land but not selling it. He will look into it further.
Appropriation for the Stabilization Fund for the Budget: Marty has included information on this in each person’s packet. Nancy found some information from the Mass. Municipal Association’s handbook for selectmen; she passes this out. Dave Bonney asks all to keep in this in mind for next year’s budget.
Road Contract: The Attorney General has advised the contract to be re-bid. Nancy has spoken with him and recaps her conversations. Howard obtained a written opinion and reads it. The recommendation is to seek “at least informal competitive quotes”. A motion is made to accept the Attorney General’s recommendation to go out to bid. After some discussion the motion is rescinded. The issue will be tabled to the next meeting and a written opinion will be asked for from the Road District’s attorney specifically addressing our responsibilities regarding the AG email dated 8/1/08.

Public Participation
Joyce says the A.G. is standing on a technicality that there was no signature line on the contract but Willis signed it. Dave Bonney says the bid sheet was altered.
Joyce opines that resumes could be obtained from potential Road Districts early on but the Act dictates when the appointment must be made. There is extensive discussion of procedures surrounding the Annual meeting and appointments.
Bob raises the issue of how an emergency is determined.
Bob speaks to liability insurance and what can happen if negligence can be proven. He doesn’t want to have to pay higher road taxes because insurance was not procured.
Kim says the condition of the roads puts her “property” at risk. She is impressed with the quality of the work done by White Wolf.
Gilles says he would consider that some of the roads in the Forest are in emergency condition. He adds that White Wolf does a very good job and he thinks the work should continue to go to them.
Ron Van Buren says he can supply bills for ball joints and front ends.
Eva says the Road Superintendent needs a cell phone. There is extensive debate of this. No Action Taken.
Bob says he hasn’t seen too many roads that are in atrocious shape and no municipality will pay for ball joints.
A motion is made, seconded, and unanimously approved to adjourn. The meeting is adjourned at 1:10 PM.

Respectfully Submitted

Marty Feit
Clerk-Treasurer

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