Meeting Notes: Thompson Appointed BOS Chairman; Selectmen Review Police Data on Vehicle Crashes

The first order of business at Tuesday’s Board of Selectmen meeting was to reorganize the board, which has become an annual task for the selectmen following Town Election.

“Keeping with tradition, Ann [Thompson] would step up as chairperson,” Selectman Mark Fisher said following his motion to reorganize the board and appoint Thompson as chairman for the upcoming year.

Fisher was named the board’s clerk for the upcoming year and selectman Osler “Pete” Peterson rotated from chairman to third member.

"We switch the chair every year, but what we do is we just take turns so every third year you get the chair again," said Peterson. "I think it's important."

Said Thompson: "There were some boards before that didn't do it that way. I think rotating is a great idea."

This is Thompson’s 30th year as a member of the Board of Selectmen and 48th year as a Medfield resident.

Police Chief Presents Data on Town’s Motor Vehicle Accidents and Citations Issued

Thompson requested Medfield Police Chief Robert E. Meaney Jr. meet with the selectmen to share data on motor vehicle accidents and traffic citations issued. Here’s a quick look at what Meaney presented:

Number of Motor Vehicle Accidents in Town by Year:

• 276 – 2009
• 288 – 2010
• 189 – 2011

“That’s a big drop,” Meaney said of the accidents reported from 2010 to 2011. “I went back over the year and I came up with a couple of reasons that may explain it.”

Meaney pointed to the heavy snow the town had last winter, which ultimately kept people off the roads or reduced their speeds when travelling. He also added the lack of snow this past November and December likely contributed to 99 fewer accidents from 2010 to 2011.

“This has been a fine winter,” Meaney said. “The tell-tale sign that it has been a fine winter is that you can still see the lines on the road and they are not worn away as badly as they typically are.”

Meaney also speculated, without any “firm data” from the state, that more drivers are abiding by the no texting while driving laws.

“I don’t know if that is true,” Meaney said. “But there was a lot of public relation and media information about [the laws]. Maybe that had an affect.”

Of the 189 crashes in 2011, 41 of them involved personal injury, according to Meaney.

“The rest were property damage crashes,” he said.

Meaney said early data for 2012 shows accidents could continue to decline – at least for another year.

“We’re only up to 40 something crashes [in 2012],” Meaney said.

OUI Arrests in Town:

Meaney said OUI arrests have stayed “pretty steady over the past three years.”

In addition, Meaney said the department will be getting a new breath test machine in the next six to eight months that will be paid for by the state.

Motor Vehicle Citations:

Meaney said while motor vehicle citations went down in 2011, the citations for arrests and criminal complaints went up.

“The people we were stopping were … OUIs, license was revoked, did not have a driver’s license, operating to endanger, etc.,” Meaney said. “There was a shift in the magnitude of the citations were written. They were written for more serious infractions.”

Meaney added the number of motor vehicle stops likely doubles the amount of citations issued because many officers issue verbal warnings to motorists when they feel it is necessary to do so.

“Officers [now] have a conversation with the person and see what’s going on,” Meaney said. “Officers take into account the magnitude of the violation and look at the driver’s history. Is this the first one they’ve had in five years? Or is this the third time they’ve been stopped this month? There’s a difference. So you take that into account when you go through the decision making process on whether or not to issue a citation.”

Accidents by Street in 2011:

• Main Street – 65
• North Street – 34
• North Meadows Road – 14
• South Street – 12

Miscellaneous Statistics:

•  Two to three citations were issued for texting while driving in 2011.
• Town issued “a little over” $13,000 in citation fines last year. Town won’t see $13,000 in revenue.

“A lot of hands go into those fines [throughout the state] and the town doesn’t see a lot of the money,” Meaney said.

Thompson was satisfied with Meaney’s data and presentation.

“Terrific report,” Thompson said.

Medfield State Hospital Update

State Hospital Environmental Review Committee (SHERC) chair John Thompson thanked the community for attending the March 22 PIP meeting with DCAM to voice concern over the type of cleanup proposed at the property.

“It was an excellent turnout,” John Thompson said. “I think there was over 100 people there and it was nice to hear people in town voice their opinion of the state hospital.”

At the seletmen's next meeting on April 17, John Thompson said he "may have requests" for some documents, such as maps or other documents needed from DCAM that will need to be approved and submitted by the selectmen. John Thompson added that at some point, SHERC will recommend the selectmen approve a request to do additional testing on behalf of the town.

“DCAM has been open to that idea, they just need to have us write in a request for it,” he said.

Next Medfield State Hospital PIP Meeting is April 12

A PIP meeting will be held on Thursday, April 12 in from 7 to 9 p.m. to discuss the Medfield State Hospital property. Medfield.TV will broadcast the meeting.

“I hope people will show up,” John Thompson said. “[The meeting] is for Phase IV, which will describe how DCAM is planning to do the cleanup.”

Selectmen Approves Comcast’s Request to Solicit Services in Town

Selectmen met with representatives from Comcast Tuesday and approved the cable company’s request to solicit services in town for a four-week period.

“We have filed with the to do door-to-door solicitation in the town,” said Comcast Direct Sales Manager Hank Ferris. “We will be talking about our products and services and we have found that face-to-face presentation is one of the best ways to show people the value of our service.”

The approval grants Comcast permission to go door-to-door in Medfield for four weeks, soliciting cable services. The conditions of Comcast soliciting services in town are six days a week during daylight hours or by appointment.

Comcast originally requested a two-month window for solicitation but Town Administrator Michael Sullivan informed the board it typically restricts solicitation requests to three to four weeks. The selectmen originally motioned for a three-week window of solicitation because that’s the standard timeframe it has given other companies in the past.

“Customary, it has been a shorter period of time [than the two months requested],” Fisher said. “I think it would be my recommendation to cut that [request] back a bit so we are consistent to what we have done in the past for everyone.”

Ferris urged the selectmen to extend the window from three to four weeks because he felt the additional week would be more effective for the company.

“I think four weeks is a realistic time for us to [visit] as many people as possible,” Ferris said. “Realistically, we would [go to] as many homes as possible and that would include people that don’t have our service and people that have maybe some of our products. We [will go to] just about [everybody].”

Selectmen approved Ferris’ request and granted the permit.

Ferris said the two Comcast employees that will be soliciting services in town will check-in with Medfield Police on days they are soliciting and will abide by town restrictions.

It was unknown at Tuesday’s meeting when Comcast would begin its four-week solicitation.

Comcast will be able to come back before the Board of Selectmen with another solicitation request after the four-week period expires if it feels it did not reach the amount of people in town it wanted to.

Selectmen Approve Plans for Kettle Pond and Cole Drive

Selectmen acted as a Board of Survey to approve plans to lay out the streets Kettle Pond and Cole Drive as proposed. Selectmen accepted the plans and signed them after Tuesday’s meeting. Plans will be filed with the Town Clerk and the Planning Board.

Selectmen Set Date for Park and Recreation Commission Special Election

Selectmen are planning to hold a special election for a vacancy on the Park and Recreation Commission at its next meeting – April 17.

Sullivan said there’s been one applicant submitted to the town so far.

“If anyone else is interested in applying for the position, get your application into the town by the end of the week,” Sullivan said.

Action Items:

• Selectmen voted to authorize Thompson to sign Certificate of Election for Town Clerk Carol Mayer.
• Selectmen approved the Permanent Building Committee’s request to appoint Lou Fellini and Michael Quinlan to its committee.
• Selectmen approved the meeting minutes for March 16 and March 20 Board of Selectmen meetings.

Licenses and Permits:

• Selectmen approved Medfield Youth Soccer’s request to post signs advertising registration for the fall soccer season. Signs will be placed from April 15 through May 6.
• Selectmen approved the First Parish Church’s request for a one-day wine and malt beverage license for its spring fundraiser on May 5 from 7 to 11 p.m.
• Selectmen approved Medfield Green’s request to post signs advertising Medfield Green Day on May 5.
• Selectmen approved Medfield Lions request to place signs from April 14-28 promoting the mother/daughter tea to be held April 29 at the Center at Medfield.
• Selectmen approved the Medfield Girl Scouts request to post signs promoting its annual Can & Bottle Drive on May 19 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Transfer Station.
• Selectmen approved the Medfield High School Community Teens’ request to hold a car wash behind Town Hall on May 19 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.

Other News:

• Transfer Station will be closed Sunday for Easter.
• Medfield Zoning Board of Appeals will hold a public hearing with Gatehouse Companies on its proposed affordable housing development on West Street at the Medfield High School auditorium on Wednesday, April 11 at 8 p.m.