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FINCOM 20220302 Minutes
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Canton Finance Committee Minutes Voted on: 3/9/22 801 Washington Street Vote: 8-0-0 Canton, MA 02021 Meeting Minutes March 2, 2022 Finance Committee Members Present: Dave Clough, Dan Cole, Tom Emery, Karen Foley, Emilio Mauro, Tim McKenna, Reuki Schutt and Cindy Thomas. Finance Committee Members Absent: All members were present for the virtual meeting. Guests Present: John Cronin, Director of Norfolk County Commissioners Helena Rafferty, Deputy Police Chief Ellen Jones, Finance Committee Recording Secretary John E. Martin, Superintendent -Director Regen Milani, Conservation Agent Randy Scollins, Finance Director Dr. Gabriel Solomon, Sponsor for Article 20 (Auction of 25 Neponset Street) Richard R. Staiti, Trustee, Norfolk County Agricultural High School; Norfolk County Commissioner John R. Wallace, Business Manager, Norfolk County Agricultural School Call Meeting to Order: Chair McKenna called the virtual meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Discussion - Article 27 — Amend General By -Laws by Removing Article XIV Section 48 Alarm System, Registration and Regulations By -Law — Helena Rafferty, Deputy Police Chief Ms. Rafferty stated that Article 27 To Remove Article XIV Section Alarm System, Registration and Regulations is an antiquated By -Law that needs to be removed from the Town's General By -Laws. Years ago alarm systems had to be registered and regulated with the Canton Police Department. Registration is no longer required. Mr. Clough inquired if the Police would respond to alarms at homes that have alarms that are registered with a private alarm company (such as ADT). Ms. Rafferty stated that the Police would receive an alert from the private alarm company and they would still respond to the homeowner's dwelling. Article 27 is a housekeeping article to clean up the by-laws. A motion made by Ms. Schutt recommend to Town Meeting the removal of Article XIV Section 48 Alarm System, Registration and Regulations from the General By -Laws was seconded by Mr. Mauro. Roll Call Vote Ms. Schutt Aye Mr. Cole Aye Mr. Mauro Aye Mr. Clough Aye Ms. Foley Aye Ms. Thomas Aye Mr. Emery Aye Mr. McKenna Aye The motion to approve Article 27 passed 8-0-0 Discussion - Article 29 — Transfer Pleasant Street Land from Select Board to Conservation Commission — Regen Milani, Conservation Agent Ms. Milani presented information regarding Article 29 as follows: If approved at Town Meeting a 15-acre parcel of land would be transferred from the Select Board to the Conservation Commission. This property was donated to the Town by a developer who could not develop the property due to it being an unbuildable lot. The 15-acre parcel donation from the developer was a loss in tax revenue for the Town. The land is located adjacent to a 27-acre parcel the Town already owns and is under the control of the Conservation Commission, abuts property at the end of Angela Street at the cut -de -sac, abuts Pheasant Ridge Road, abuts Wampatuck Golf Club, abuts 225 Dan Road, is inaccessible from any road, is mostly FINCOM 20220302 Minutes IRS EM DC.docx Page 1 of 7 2/26/22
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swamp land, is unusable land and is protected under the Wetlands Protection Act. After Mr. Clough inquired if there was a plot plan for the property, Ms. Milani was able to produce a GIS map on the Zoom screen. If the land is transferred to the Conservation Commission the Commission would adopt it as official Conservation Commission land with conservation restrictions. Any restrictions would apply to abutters of the properly. Most likely there would be no cost to the Town to transfer the land to the Conservation Commission. If there is a cost for the deed transfer, Ms. Milani stated the cost could be covered by the Conservation Commission's expense budget or the Conservation Land Fund used for land purchases. Ms. Milani stated that conservation land is free and open to the public, cannot be filled in, and cannot be used for playing fields or for hunting. Mr. Scollins suggested that it would be prudent to obtain an abutters list to mail letters notifying abutters regarding Article 29. This could avoid any unintended consequences at Annual Town Meeting. Ms. Milani volunteered to send letters to abutters. Mr. Mauro inquired if there would be any zoning and permitting restrictions changes for abutting properties as a result of the change in property designation and he asked if there were any surveys conducted regarding invasive species, site pollution, or other environmental issues since the Town acquired the property. Ms. Milani stated that any liabilities or problems with the property would be the Town's. She further stated that any property management costs such as control of non-invasive or native invasive species could be paid out of the Conservation Commission Land Fund. Dumping enforcement and education to the abutting neighbors could be handled through Conservation Agent's letters to abutters. Discussion — FY23 Budget - Norfolk County Agricultural High School (NCAHS) — Richard Staiti, Norfolk County Commissioner Superintendent Martin introduced John Wallace, the Business Manager for NCAHS. Mr. Scollins shared on the Zoom screen two letters the Town of Canton received (one in December 2021 and another in February 2022) from NCAHS regarding the request to increase the in -county tuition rates starting in FY23. Norfolk County Commissioner Staiti stated that the tuition rates for NCAHS have not been looked at or increased for many years. He deferred to Mr. Martin, the Superintendent -Director of NCAHS to continue the presentation. Mr. Martin deferred to Mr. Wallace, the Business Manager for NCAHS. The following are some of the highlights of the presentation: • NCAHS' structural deficit is an inherited problem by the Superintendent and Business Manager who have been employed with NCAHS from a year to 4 months. • The current tuition rates are not enough to cover the costs of operating the school. • NCAHS engaged a consultant to assess the legality to charge in -county tuition. Tuition was debuted in 2011. • Bristol County Agricultural School is the only other agricultural school in the stale. • Out -of -county students are paying 100% of the out -of -county tuition costs. New in -county tuition costs being proposed for FY23 are being split into two pieces as follows: • $2,500 as the in -county base cost. This is an increase of $300 from the in -county base cost in FY22. • $1,744 as the in -county capital cost. This is a new portion of the tuition rates. • Total in -county tuition rates proposed for FY23 is $4,244 per student or a 93% increase for FY23. Mr. Wallace further explained the following: • NCAHS is allowed to charge a capital charge. Bristol County Agricultural School has been charging a capital charge for many years. • Most of NCAHS' debt borrowing has been on the books for a while. • It is not the intention of NCAHS to make big changes in the future with the in -county tuition rates. • The in -county base rates will increase 3-5% per year. • The in -county capital rates will be based on growth to the extent there are capital projects. • NCAHS' debt service costs will not change for five years. Commissioner Staiti reported that there were a number of individuals vetting the tuition rates. The budget was presented at County Commissioners meetings and NCAHS Trustees meetings. An independent consultant was hired to review the structural deficit in the school's budget. Canton has nine students that currently attend NCAHS and six students that have applied to the school. Ms. Thomas thanked the NCAHS administration for the presentation because it provided the Finance Committee with information on how the school is funded. Some, not all, transportation costs are funded by the state. The school has transportation pick up spots in Canton. In -county special education student's tuition costs are covered by the school. FINCOM 20220302 Minutes RS EM DC.docx Page 2 of 7 2/26/22