COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS

Sherwood Forest Road Maintenance District

Prudential Committee Meeting
Saturday, July 5, 2008

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

Also Present:  Steve Rosenthal, Moderator

Public Present:  Gilles Beaudoin, Ron Boucher, Joyce Brownhill, Robert Guevin, Dennis LaChapelle, Mike McEnerney, Bob Ronzio

Mr. Bonney calls the meeting to order.

New Terms and New Members
Mr. Bonney says he has been sworn in by the Town Clerk.
Mr. Ronzio asks Mr. Rosenthal if he has been sworn in. He has not.
New Committee Members, Nancy Devane and Howard Lerner are sworn in by the Moderator, Mr. Rosenthal.
Mr. Bonney says that Steven Grondin and David Devane have both submitted written resignations of the positions of Clerk and Treasurer respectively. Motion made and seconded to accept both resignations; unanimously approved.
Marty Feit is nominated for Clerk and Treasurer; the nomination is seconded and unanimously approved. He will hold this position to the next election. The moderator swears Mr. Feit in.

Approval of Minutes of June 7th, 2008
Ms. Devane asks about wording on page 2 which states, “Mr. Ronzio points out that the special act says that the bylaws will take precedent over the special act once they are enacted.” She says she thought it was in the reverse. She then asks about the next paragraph; she would like more detail of Mr. Rosenthal’s response to Mr. McCarthy. It is decided that the tape must be listened to for both of these.
Motion to table approval of the 6/7/08 minutes to the next meeting; second; unanimous approval.

Transcriber’s note:
Regarding Ms. Devane’s first question, verbatim transcription of this portion of the tape is:
Mr. Ronzio:  . . . you have two documents here. You have one document which is called Special Act and you have a second document which is called the Bylaws of the district. In the Bylaw – correction – in the Special Act it says that the Bylaws shall take precedent over the Special Act once they are enacted.
Regarding Ms. Devane’s second question, verbatim transcription is: 
Unidentified male (to Mr. Rosenthal):  I apologize, I came in late. Can you tell me who you are? Are you a member of the board?
Mr. Rosenthal:  I am Steve Rosenthal. I was elected Moderator at last year’s meeting. I live at 84 Mystic Isle Way. I am a resident. Now it’s your turn, sir.
Mr. McCarthy:  Oh, I’m sorry, I’m Jerry McCarthy, 455 King Richard. I didn’t know if you were an attorney . . .
Mr. Rosenthal:  That’s fine.
Mr. McCarthy:  Can I ask you one more question? Regarding the members that are voting, you said resident and non-resident. Resident and non-resident means a non-resident can be elected to the commission but, to clarify, non-residents can not vote. Is that correct?
Mr. Rosenthal:  Let me ask you to clarify your question. . . . We’re talking about the Road District at this meeting.
Mr. McCarthy:  Correct.
Mr. Rosenthal:  Your question, if I hear you correctly, and let’s make sure that I hear you correctly. You’re asking can a non-resident, if they’re a member of the Prudential Committee, have a vote on the Prudential Committee?
Mr. McCarthy:  No.
Mr. Rosenthal:  Okay, are you asking if a non-resident, in a general meeting such as this, can vote?
Mr. McCarthy:  Correct.
Mr. Rosenthal:  Okay, and the answer is that you must be a – well, I shouldn’t answer that, let’s get one of the board members to answer that.
Mr. Bonney:  Yes you’re supposed to be a registered voter. I understand if you’re a non-resident you don’t understand, but in our bylaw it states that a non-resident can sit on a committee but he cannot vote in the election.
Mr. McCarthy:  Understood. . . . Thank you for clarification.

Election of Chairman and Vice Chairman
Mr. Bonney is nominated and seconded for chair. Mr. Lerner is nominated for chair but this nomination is not seconded. Mr. Bonney is unanimously elected as chair.
Mr. Brownhill is nominated and seconded for vice chair. He is unanimously elected to the position.

Appointment of Road Superintendent
Mr. LaChapelle has said he does not have the time to devote to the job. David Devane has submitted a letter of interest. There is discussion of advertising the position and of making a temporary appointment, as well as of how the position has been appointed in the past. It is moved, seconded, and unanimously voted that Mr. Devane be appointed temporarily to the position and that a sign will be put up at the mail boxes and at Town Hall advertising the position.

Appointment of District Counsel
It is moved, seconded, and unanimously agreed that Kopelman and Paige be reappointed.

Treasurers Report
Mr. Feit reports on current account balances and bills outstanding. Mr. Lerner asks what time period the bills cover and is told two months. He then asks about a bill from White Wolf and if it’s okay to do ongoing work with no contract. Mr. Bonney says the A.G. told him some work can be done on an ongoing basis while the contract is being held up in their office.
Mr. Bonney reports on washouts that have recently been repaired as well as some problem trees that need to be taken care of.
Motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report; second; unanimous approval.
Mr. Feit reports that tax bills just went out so more money should be coming in from that soon.

Old Business
Land to Store Sand:  Mr. Bonney says once a piece of town-owned land is found that would be suitable then a question can be put to the voters at the next Special Town Meeting as to whether the town would give the land to the Road District. Mr. Bonney asks Mr. Feit to send Prudential Committee members an updated list of Committee Member contacts. Mr. Bonney will obtain information from the town on what parcels are available and forward that to all members.
Bylaws:  Mr. Bonney says confusing parts need to be cleared up and definitions provided. Volunteers are solicited for a Bylaw Committee. Joyce Brownhill, Dennis LaChapelle and Robert Ronzio indicate they would be interested. Ms. Devane says she would be willing to represent the Prudential Committee on the Bylaw Committee.
Insurance:  Mr. Lerner asks if a written opinion on this has been obtained from Atty. Holland. Mr. Bonney says Atty. Holland has said he would be happy to discuss it with SFNA’s attorney. There is discussion of going on a policy with SFNA.
Road Signs:  Mr. Lerner says he’s been approached by three people on his street about this. Mr. Bonney suggests asking Mr. Beaudoin to put up signs. Mr. Feit says signs have not been ordered. Mr. Bonney tells Mr. Devane that he needs to retrieve sign posts that have no signs so they don’t disappear. Ms. Devane moves to replace the signs that are currently missing with regulation size signs and then replace ten percent per year until they are all upgraded. Mr. Lerner seconds. The motion passes unanimously. Mr. Bonney says “Road Closed” signs are needed too.

New Business
Annual Meeting Date:  The Act conflicts with the Bylaws as to when the Annual Meeting should be. It is agreed that June 6th, 2009 is okay.
Committee Meeting Dates:  It is agreed that the first Saturday of the month is fine for these. Mr. Bonney asks Mr. Feit to give these dates to the Town Secretary to be posted on the town’s calendar. Mr. Bonney will take the dates to the Town Clerk.
Pay for Moderator:  Mr. Bonney asks the committee members how they feel about this. There is some discussion of making the payment retroactive for last year. After a brief discussion it is moved, seconded and unanimously approved to pay the moderator $100 per year for his services.

Public Participation
Mr. Ronzio says the two individuals (Clerk and Treasurer) who resigned were never sworn in so they really couldn’t resign. He says an application was accepted for Road Superintendent but the committee never asked if anyone at this meeting was interested in the position. He says any announcement of the position should provide what it entails. He says there are certain personnel matters that can be discussed in an executive session. He says there is a provision in state statutes for complying with the proper size of street signs. He says the budget doesn’t seem to have anything regarding a stabilization fund. He says Free Cash was certified for the last fiscal year, not this one. He wants something in writing regarding how Free Cash must be handled. Mr. Feit says his understanding is that the Free Cash can be used in this fiscal year and that yes, Mr. Ronzio may have it in writing as soon as Jim Podolak provides it. Mr. Ronzio says he doesn’t believe the committee has the authority to pay the moderator retroactively.
Ms. Brownhill questions the continued discussion about getting insurance under the SFNA’s policy. Mr. Lerner says he’d like to see a written statement from the district’s lawyer about this. She asks if the Bylaw Committee could have copies of the current bylaws.
Mr. Boucher says that a hoisting license is required to run mowing equipment in the state of Massachusetts. Mr. Beaudoin says he has one.
Mr. McEnerney says he thought there were street signs in Andrews’ yard. He is told that has already been explored. He then says he doesn’t know if the bylaws that are on line are up to date. Mr. Bonney believes they are.
Mr. Ronzio says the bylaws on the web site are not the official bylaws. Mr. Brownhill asks where the official bylaws can be obtained. Someone says Mr. Feit, as the Clerk, should have them. There is extensive discussion about the bylaws and where they’re stored and how they’re interpreted. Mr. Bonney says he will see that whoever is elected chair of the Bylaw Committee can talk with the district’s lawyer.

A motion is made, seconded, and unanimously approved to adjourn.
Transcriber’s note:  No times are given for opening or closing the meeting but the entire recording was two hours and thirty-three minutes.

Respectfully Submitted

Marty Feit
Clerk-Treasurer

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