Prudential Committee Meeting
APPROVED
Committee
Members Present: Robert Ronzio, Chairman; Jerry Summit, Vice Chairman; Gilles
Beaudoin; Marty Feit, Clerk-Treasurer
Committee
Members Absent: David Bonney; Michael McEnerney
Public
Present: Richard Borsari, Sheila Borsari, Bill Brownhill, Joyce Brownhill,
Patty Clemons, Chuck Clemons, Nancy Devane, Deb Fitzgerald, L. Forster, M.
Forster, Jim Griffin, Girard Grondin, R. Guevin, Al Labombard, Sandra
Labombard, Dennis LaChapelle, Blanche Lennington, Gail McGeer, John McGeer,
Jeanne Pryor, Richard Pryor Harold J. Tranghese, Ann Tuleja, Donald Tuleja
Meeting
called to order at
Mr.
Feit reports that the minutes of the [
Mr. Summit moves to accept the minutes as
presented; Mr. Beaudoin seconds; unanimous approval.
Public
Participation
Joyce
Brownhill asks that in Mr. Bonney
absence that Dennis La Chapelle be sworn in today to sit on the board. Mr. Ronzio says the only way for that is for
Mr. Bonney to resign
Mr.
McGeer asks if this is a special meeting. Mr. Ronzio replies that it is not, it
is an additional meeting of the Prudential Committee. There is general
discussion of scheduled, additional, and special meetings and the criteria for
calling them. Mr. Brownhill inquires when the Prudential Committee was notified
of this meeting. Mr. Ronzio responds that the committee was notified when he
received the information early in the week (Monday or Tuesday); it was posted
on Wednesday and was e-mailed to the Prudential Committee members on Thursday.
Ms. Lennington asks how one goes about getting a
copy of the minutes. Mr. Ronzio responds that they are being posted on the web
site of the Sherwood Forest Neighbors Association. Ms. Lennington says they
have not been posted there since December. Mr. Feit offers to take down e-mail
addresses and e-mail approved minutes to people who would like them. Mr. Ronzio
states that any minutes posted on the SFNA board are unofficial. Once approved
an official copy can be obtained from the SFRMD’s clerk.
Ms. Brownhill says that unapproved minutes can be
sent out; they do not have to be held. Mr. Ronzio agrees that it is correct.
There is discussion of how soon minutes can/should be made available to the
public. Mr. Ronzio says that he checked with the District’s attorney and found
out that anywhere from two to four weeks was an acceptable amount of time. Mr.
Feit asks for clarification form the board if they want unapproved minutes to
be sent out to the public. Mr. Ronzio confirms that un official minutes will be
sent out to the public as soon as they are available.
Mr. McGeer says that the minutes should be done like
the Town of
There is discussion of ongoing items carried forward
on meeting agendas. There is discussion of what may or may not be public
information. Mr. Ronzio says that if he meets with the District’s lawyer or
speaks with him on the telephone under the Open Meeting Law it is not public
information and he does not have to make it a public record. Mr. McGeer states
that the lawyer is working for the people and that they have a right to know
[what is discussed with him]. The Special Act is consulted and discussed; this
leads to discussion of bylaws and changes that have been made to them over the
years.
Ms. Brownhill says that as she understands the act,
the board recommends and then the people vote; she asks if this is wrong and
says, “Somebody had better clarify the act.”
Mr. Ronzio responds, “We will do that.”
Ms. Fitzgerald asks why the minutes can’t be posted
on the web site and discussion follows regarding web sites [which the SFNA and
the Town of
Communications
None
Old Business
Accounting
Mr.
Ronzio verifies with Mr. Feit that accounting issues are “all taken care of”.
Building
Committee
Not
addressed.
Culvert Survey
No
action taken.
Road Signs
Mr.
Ronzio will check with the Road Superintendent to see if he has ordered road
signs.
Stop Signs
Mr.
Ronzio did check into stop signs at the intersections of Whistling Arrow and
Alan-A-Dale and Friar Tuck as mentioned at the last meeting; he talked to the
town Highway Superintendent, Bill Eloverta, who “went into a whole litany of
things” that would be required and “basically said this was not a good idea”.
Mr. Ronzio could get into all the details should people still wish to pursue
this. Briefly, he explains that according to Bill Eloverta the placing of stop
signs has to do with the number of accidents that occur at particular
intersections and neither Town of
Abandoned/Unregistered
Vehicles
Mr.
Ronzio states this item can be taken off the agenda.
Winter Road
Preparation
Mr.
Ronzio states this item can be taken off the agenda.
Road
Resurfacing Projects
No
action taken.
Equipment
Purchase Feasibility Study
No
action taken.
Road
Maintenance Priorities
No
action taken.
Memorandum of
Understanding – SFNA
Mr.
Ronzio states, “The Sherwood Forest Neighbors Association is back so we can
probably work on that”. No action taken.
Deteriorating
Conditions of Spillway and Right of Way at the Southern End of Little Robin
Mr.
Ronzio says this will probably have to be taken care of by someone with an
engineering background. Most likely an engineering consultant will probably
have to be brought in to assess what needs to be done to repair the
deterioration. Mr. Ronzio believes this will cost some money, which presently
is not in the budget therefore, but it will have to be postponed till next
year.
Budget Preparation for FY
2008
Mr.
Ronzio distributes copies of information from Mass General Law Chapter 40, §5B
on reserve policies to committee members to read and discuss. Mr. Ronzio says
the Stabilization Fund is designed to pay for extraordinary things or
occurances. He cites as an example the flooding which occurred in October of
2005. Free Cash, he says, is like what the district currently calls General
Reserves. There is discussion of the advisability of taking the Money Market
monies to establishing a formal Stabilization Fund. Mr. Feit points that
General Roads account is already over budget and opines that splitting it up it
would make it worse. Mr. Feit reports that there is $62,000 in the Money Market
account; Mr. Ronzio suggests that all of this money be put into the
Stabilization Fund. He states that he thinks this might have to be voted on by
the public.
There is discussion of possibly increasing the
amount for insurance and of the accuracy of the figure listed for refunds. Mr.
Summit suggests adding an item for engineering expense. There is discussion of maintenance and of
roads, sooner or later, needing to be redone, and of what has been spent on
this sort of thing in recent years. Mr. Ronzio asks Mr. Feit to add in a
request for a public vote on an engineering expense line item.
Ms. Brownhill asks to be recognized, then opines
that she thinks the road people should know how the job needs to be done. Mr.
Ronzio says that an engineer could advise them professionally. Mr. Summit says
that [the roads in the
Mr. Pryor asks to be recognized, saying that he is
the Road Superintendent for the Sherwood Greens Road District in Sherwood
Greens. He explains that in the Greens, they “scour” the sides of the roads so
the water can drain off and doesn’t sit and collect in pot holes. He also
speaks to the expense of hiring an engineer, saying they have had to do this in
a few instances. Mr. Summit says the roads in the Greens are much more level than
those in the
There is now discussion of the widths of the roads
in the
Ms. Tuleja asks about the $5,000 deficit in the
operating budget. She asks if special appropriations are done at the end of the
year. Mr. Ronzio says that prior to the annual meeting there will have to be a
Special Meeting to take money out of the General Reserve to try and balance
that out. She also asks what is the amount of money that will be put in the
budget for Engineering Expense. Mr. Ronzio says they should have $5,000 to
start. Ms. Tuleja asks for clarification of the Contract Services lineitem and is told it is for administrative expense
such as hiring someone to do minutes. She asks what the insurance is for and is
told it is for workman's compensation, liability insurance, bonding insurance,
etc.
Committee members now discuss liability insurance
coverage on the roads. Mr. Beaudoin objects to having this under the SFNA’s
policy. Mr. Feit asks why and Mr. Beaudoin says, “Because you’re going to have
a lot of people very upset because there’s a lot of people in the Forest that
do not agree with SFNA.” He says the choice should be given to the people, whether
to be covered under the SFNA’s policy or to buy a separate policy. Mr. Ronzio
agrees with this but says that the task at hand is to put a dollar amount into
the proposed budget. There is discussion of how much this amount should be.
Mr. Ronzio suggests reducing the General Reserve to
$7,000 to keep the budget in line and there is discussion of this among
committee members. Mr. Ronzio recaps what has been decided about the proposed
budget, saying, “$7,000 on General Reserve, $4,000 on Insurance, Refunds is
going to drop to $5,000, and we’re going to add the Engineering Expense.” He
asks for a motion. Mr. Summit so moves; Mr. Beaudoin seconds; unanimous
approval.
Special
Meeting Date
Committee members all have copies proxy voting which
needs to be added in to the Special Meeting. Mr. Summit so moves; Mr.
Beaudoin seconds; unanimous approval.
April 28th is discussed as the date for
the Special Meeting. Ms. Forster advises that the SFNA is having a meeting
starting at
Work Orders
No
action taken.
Contractors/Bid
Proposals
No
action taken.
Road
Abandonment – Attorney’s reply
Mr.
Ronzio says, “Basically, it’s a complicated procedure since it involves the
SFRMD, SFNA and deeded rights.” No action taken.
Engineering
Study
No
action taken.
Any Other Old
Business
None.
New
Business
None.
Road
Superintendent’s Report
The Road Superintendent is not present. No report
given.
Treasurer’s
Report/Reading of the Warrant
Mr. Ronzio says that at this time there are no bills
to pay and that Mr. Feit has provided all of the information for the budget.
Mr. Feit states that as of
Mr. Brownhill asks to go back to two meetings a
month. The committee will take it under consideration.
Ms. Lennington asks if agendas can be sent to the
public via email. Mr. Ronzio says he couldn’t guarantee that what was sent
would be the final agenda because other things come up but it is decided that
yes, agendas can be emailed.
There being no other business to conduct, Mr. Summit
moves to adjourn; Mr. Beaudoin seconds; unanimous approval.
Meeting adjourned
Respectfully
Submitted
Marty
Feit
Clerk-Treasurer
_____________________________________
Robert
Ronzio, Chair Date
_____________________________________
Jerry
Summit, Vice Chair Date
_____________________________________
Gilles
Beaudoin Date
/bl