BOARD OF SELECTMEN
MINUTES
March 24, 2004

The Board met in Regular Session at 7:30 p.m. in its meeting room at Abbot Hall.
Present (constituting a quorum):
Jeffrey N. Shribman, Chairman
William L. Woodfin, II
Judith R. Jacobi Harry C. Christensen
Anthony M. Sasso, Town Administrator

MINUTES. Motion made and seconded to approve the minutes of March 10, 2004. All in favor.

DOWNTOWN STREETSCAPE PROJECT. Town Clerk Thomas McNulty spoke about the origin of this project and advised that it was at the final stages of completion. Mr. McNulty commented on the confluence of those involved in seeing the project to fruition and particularly noted Rebecca Curran, Town Planner, Anthony M. Sasso, Town Administrator and residents Diane E. St. Laurent, Robert Jolly, Kip Carlton, Fred Goddard, John Kelley, Edward Lang and Frank Regan. To commemorate the completion of the project Mr. McNulty presented each Selectmen with a piece of the last portion of overhead wiring removed by Verizon over the last few weeks.

HISTORICAL COMMISSION. Preservation of Historic Artifact. Wayne Butler, commission member appeared to report on the failing condition of the original deed to the town from the Naumkeag Indians and of the vital importance for this invaluable historical artifact, that is dated September 16, 1684, to be preserved. Additionally, Mr. Butler requested approval to deliver the deed, escorted by a member of the Police Department, to the Northeast Document Conservation Center in Andover, MA for evaluation purposes. Mr. Butler will report back to the Selectmen with the results of the evaluation i.e. what the cost and time-frame will be for the deed to be properly preserved. Motion made and seconded to approve. All in favor.

PERAMBULATION COMMITTEE. Annual Perambulation. Robert Harrison, President of Marblehead Conservancy and Allison Arneill, committee member appeared to announce the perambulation scheduled for Saturday, May 15, 2004 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and to request permission to use the grounds of Abbot Hall after the event for a chowder fest to be provided by The Landing for a nominal charge. Motion made and seconded to approve. All in favor.

COUNCIL ON AGING. Public Forum. Audrey Connolly and Diane St. Laurent appeared to announce a forum for seniors, their children and/or their parents titled “Time for a Change” on Thursday, April 29, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Community Center.

COUNCIL ON AGING. Disabled and Elderly Tax Credit. Patricia Roberts, Director gave a reminder that the deadline to apply for this benefit is April 1 and that she is available to assist persons with the application therefore.

CONTRACT. Fiber-Optic Cable. Bart Snow, Finance Director, Dr. George Gearhardt, Assistant School Superintendent and Jeffrey Bickford, Technology Director, appeared to request the approval of awarding a contract to Comtract for the sum of $94,221.13. The purpose of the contract is to commence the first phase of replacing the aged and copper underground cable system. The upgraded system connects various municipal buildings and the schools of the town with a fiber optic cable network. Motion made and seconded to approve subject to the Town Administrator’s confirmation that the funds available for the project are specifically designated therefore and may not be used for any other purpose. All in favor.

ANNUAL TOWN ELECTION. Muncipal Ballot. Patricia B. Warnock, 2 Pond Street and Kenneth S. MacAskill, 6 Redstone Lane appeared to request that a non-binding question be placed on the May 10, 2004 municipal ballot in the event that a general proposition 2 _ override is placed on the ballot by Town Meeting. The question to the voters appearing on the ballot shall be presented in the following format:
∑ Option 1: All supplemental budget items shall be presented to the voters in the form of a single question and a single dollar amount.

∑ Option 2. All supplemental budget items shall be presented in a menu style format with their corresponding expenses being voted separately with individual questions.
Motion made and seconded to table for one week. All in favor.

ANNUAL TOWN ELECTION. Municipal Ballot. Bradford N. Freeman, Jr., 34 Willow Road, appeared to request that a non-binding question be placed on the May 10, 2004 municipal ballot as to whether the residents of the town will consider the purchase of vacant land in Marblehead. Motion made and seconded to table for one week. All in favor.

PERMISSION. Use of Abbot Hall. Letter from Bonnie Strong, President-Elect of Rotary Club of Marblehead Harbor requesting permission to use Abbot Hall on December 11 from 7:00 to approximately 10:00 p.m. for the annual Holiday Pops traditional champagne reception and holiday concert hosted by the Rotary Club of Marblehead Harbor and the Marblehead/Swampscott VNA. Motion made and seconded to table for one week with approval to be consistent with new rules for the use of Abbot Hall to be voted at that time. All in favor.

PERMISSION. Use of Abbot Hall. Sandwich Boards. Letter from Maggie Smist, President of Marblehead Festival of Arts to request permission to use Abbot Hall during various times on May 22, 26, June 5, 19, 26, July 1 and 6 in preparation for/ in conjunction with the upcoming Festival scheduled to occur July 2-5 at Abbot Hall and for the Artisan’s Marketplace on the Abbot Hall grounds on July 4. Ms. Smist also requested permission to place sandwich boards to promote a Volunteer Information party, during the week of Monday, April 19 to Monday, April 25 at the following locations: Tedesco and Maple/Humphrey; Atlantic at Seaview; Lafayette and Pleasant/Humphrey; and Chamber of Commerce approved locations. All in favor.

PERMISSION. Parade. Letter from Day Gotschall, Chair of the Marblehead Forever Committee requesting permission for a parade (already approved by the Police Department) to be held during the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 5 for the rededication celebration of Fort Sewall. Motion made and seconded to approve. All in favor.

WATER AND SEWER DEPARTMENT. Surplus property. Motion made and seconded to approve the request of Rebecca Curran, Town Planner to advertise for proposals requested by the Water and Sewer Commission for a portion of the property located at Tower Way water tower that was previously declared surplus property and available for lease.

PERMISSION. Parade. Letter from Todd Norman, President of Marblehead Youth Baseball requesting permission for the Youth’s Annual Opening Day parade (to be led by a fire truck) to be held during the hours of 1:00 to 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 25. Motion made and seconded to approve the parade subject to approval by the fire department. All in favor.

PERMISSION. Use of Spirit of ’76. Letter from Ian Brown, Feature Writer of the Globe & Mail, Toronto, Canada to request permission to use an image of the Spirit of ’76 painting in the Focus section of the April 4 edition of the Globe & Mail. Motion made and seconded to approve the use subject to payment of the requisite $100 fee. All in favor.

CONTRACT. Bituminous Concrete. Motion made and seconded to approve the request of Town Rebecca Curran, Town Planner to award the contract for furnishing of bituminous concrete to the lowest and responsible bidder Aggregate Industries Northeast Region Inc. of Saugus, MA for a unit price of $37.00 per ton from April 1 to December 31 and $59.00 per ton from January 1 to March 31 and authorize the chairman to sign on behalf of the Board. All in favor.

PERMISSION. Staging. Letter from Richard P. Rockett, agent for State Street Realty trust requesting permission to place staging, necessary for roof repairs, on the sidewalk of 35 State Street during the week of March 29 through April 5. Motion made and seconded to approve. All in favor.

ANNOUNCEMENT. Eagle Court of Honor. Letter from Sandra Broughton, Troup 11 Eagle Court Committee member concerning an Eagle Court of Honor Ceremony scheduled for Wednesday, April 14, at 7:30 p.m. at Abbot Hall for Matthew Brosnan.

ANNOUNCEMENT. Tree City USA Forum. Letter from Paul Jahnige, Community Action Forester for the Massachusetts DCR Urban and Community Forestry Program, concerning a ceremony on Friday, April 16, 2004, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Memorial Hall in Plymouth. At the ceremony the town will be honored as a Fifth Year Tree City.

LICENSES. Seasonal Club All-Alcoholic Beverage. Dolphin Yacht Club,
17 Allerton Place. Robert Strasnick, Manager. Motion made and seconded to approve the renewal of the Seasonal Club All-Alcoholic Beverage License for this club. On a polled vote, the Board voted as follows: Mr. Christensen, in favor; Mr. Woodfin, in favor; Mrs. Jacobi, in favor and Mr. Shribman, in favor.

LICENSES. Seasonal Club All-Alcoholic Beverage. Eastern Yacht Club.
47 Foster Street, Jeffrey Wargo, Manager. Motion made and seconded to approve the renewal of the Seasonal Club All-Alcoholic Beverage License for this club. On a polled vote, the Board voted as follows: Mr. Christensen, in favor; Mr. Woodfin, in favor; Mrs. Jacobi, in favor and Mr. Shribman, in favor.

LICENSES. Entertainment. Dolphin Yacht Club. Motion made and seconded to approve the renewal of the Entertainment License for this club. On a polled vote, the Board voted as follows: Mr. Christensen, in favor; Mr. Woodfin, in favor; Mrs. Jacobi, in favor and Mr. Shribman, in favor.
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LICENSES. Entertainment. Eastern Yacht Club. Motion made and seconded to approve the renewal of the Entertainment License for this club. On a polled vote, the Board voted as follows: Mr. Christensen, in favor; Mr. Woodfin, in favor; Mrs. Jacobi, in favor and Mr. Shribman, in favor.

ANNOUNCEMENT. Dinner Dance. Mr. Christensen announced that the VFW Post #2005, 321 West Shore Drive, will sponsor a dinner dance in memory of former Fire Chief Edward Creighton and Firefighter Stanley Atkins on Saturday, April 10, at 7 p.m.
ANNOUNCEMENT. Lecture. Mr. Christensen announced that the VFW Post #2005, 321 West Shore Drive will host part three of a five part lecture series on the Beryl Atherton murder in May. The cost per person is $10.00 with proceeds to be donated to the Marblehead Web Site Development Fund.

PENSION HOLIDAY LEGISLATION. A motion was made and seconded to not adopt Section 128 of Chapter 46 of the Acts of 2003, the so called “Pension Holiday Legislation” previously under review by the board members. All in favor.
Motion made and seconded to go into executive session to discuss contract negotiations. Votes may be taken, and if they are, votes will be released at a time deemed appropriate by Counsel, not to resume in open session. On a polled vote, the Board voted as follows: Mr. Woodfin: in favor; Mrs. Jacobi: in favor; Mr. Christensen: in favor; and Mr. Shribman, in favor.

Motion made and seconded to adjourn at 9:25 p.m. All in favor.


Ursula M. Kretschman


Administrative Aide