Meeting Notes: Selectmen Approve Internal Budget Transfers, Meeting Minutes, and Mission Statement.

The Medfield Board of Selectmen met Tuesday to discuss the following town business.

The Board of Selectmen's Tuesday night meeting was brief as representatives from First Light Energy, a solar energy consultant, did not appear for a public hearing scheduled for 7 p.m. During the meeting, the board approved the following internal budget transfers for town departments: Selectmen Approved the Following: Other News The full Board of Selectmen attended Tuesday's meeting including Ann Thompson, Osler Peterson, and Mark Fisher.  Also attending was Assistant Town Administrator Kristine Trierweiler.

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Town Officials Urge Increase in Recycling as Hauling Fees Increase

Effective July 1, hauling fees for regular trash will increase to $74.01 per ton, more than twice the cost of single-stream recycling at $35 per ton.

Medfield Town Administrator Michael Sullivan says resident participation in the town’s recycling program is up nearly four percent from 23 to 27 percent but there is still room for improvement, especially with an increase in hauling fees on the horizon. Sullivan told the Board of Selectmen Tuesday night that, effective July 1, the cost for hauling trash to the Millbury incinerator will increase $1.73 per ton – from $72.28 to $74.1 per ton – more than twice the cost of single-stream recycling at $35 a ton. He said that, while recycling efforts are up, there is still room for improvement. “People here are very good … 95 percent of the people in town are very cooperative and very willing to do things but you’ve got some where there’s a sense …

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Selectmen Meeting Notes

Selectmen Appoint State Hospital Redevelopment Committee and Debate Medfield Day Permit

The Medfield Board of Selectmen met Tuesday at Town Hall to discuss the following town business.

Correction (Wednesday, May 2, 2012 at 2:57 p.m.): Medfield's Mediation Committee will be meeting in closed session with the mediator in the coming weeks and not DCAM regarding the mediation of cleanup at the former Medfield State Hospital. The tentative date was Tuesday, May 7 but Assistant Town Administrator Kristine Trierweiler said it will not take place then and is looking to schedule the meeting during the week of May 14. On Tuesday, the Medfield Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to appoint a Medfield State Hospital Redevelopment Committee to review state data in relation to the town’s reuse options for the state hospital property. The decision came two weeks after members of the board voiced different opinions on whether or not …

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Selectmen Stall on Forming a Medfield State Hospital Reuse Committee

Members of the Medfield Board of Selectmen voiced three different opinions on whether or not to establish a Medfield State Hospital Reuse Committee to study potential reuses and town purchase of the property.

Differing opinions from the town’s three members of the Board of Selectmen has led to indecision on whether to move forward in creating a volunteer Medfield State Hospital Reuse Study Committee. At its last meeting, the Board of Selectmen discussed the idea of establishing a volunteer committee to study the possibilities for reuse at the Medfield State Hospital and the potential town purchase of the property. Residents in attendance at the April 17 BOS meeting asked about the current status and potential timeline for establishing such a committee and received three different answers from the three-member board. Medfield selectmen Osler “Pete” Peterson and Mark Fisher both favored reestablishing a committee to study the potential reuse and …

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Meeting Notes: Medfield Selectmen Discuss Town’s Drinking Water; Election Schedule and State Hospital

The Medfield Board of Selectmen met Tuesday at Town Hall to discuss the following town business.

Medfield Superintendent of Public Works, Ken Feeney, discussed Medfield’s drinking water with the Board of Selectmen at the request of selectman Ann Thompson to put to rest rumors that had been circulating regarding the town’s drinking water. “We had detections of coliform bacteria in well six [in July] and when that came up we had to inform people,” Feeney said. “Unfortunately, well six supplies most of the water for the town and we think we got some of the coliform bacteria through the system and we had to chase it for awhile.” Feeney said the wells have been completely clean as of two weeks ago and more testing will be performed on the wells Wednesday. Feeney said the town has also been flushing hydrants as part of the process of …

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Medfield Selectmen to Discuss Storm Cleanup Efforts with NSTAR

The town will meet with NSTAR officials to discuss problems encountered during clean-up efforts in the wake of Tropical Storm, Irene.

While Medfield Selectmen deemed the town’s response to Tropical Storm, Irene, “terrific,” praising the town's Department of Public Works, Medfield Police and other town departments, the board expressed dismay at the breakdown in communication between the town and NSTAR, which occurred during storm clean-up efforts. “In the past, they (NSTAR) worked with Public Works, Tree and Police departments to coordinate the top priorities,” Town Administrator, Michael Sullivan told the board, at the Sept. 6 Selectmen’s meeting. “In this case, there was none of that coordination until well-after the storm.” In a break from past protocol, NSTAR did not have a crew “positioned” to work alongside the town’s Public Works crew during Tropical Storm Irene, …

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Selectmen Report: Housing Authority Vacancy, Tardiness and PMC Challenge

The members of the Medfield Board of Selectmen shared information during their selectmen reports at Tuesday's BOS meeting at the Town Hall.

Medfield selectman Ann Thompson brought up the process for filling the vacancy on the Medfield Housing Authority's board at Tuesday's Board of Selectmen meeting after she said several residents "seem very confused" of the special election required to fill the seat on the board. "Several people have asked when is the special election and is it going to be at a school or back at the Center and I explained it’s a special election and gave them the whole process, saying it is a temporary spot until the next town election," said Thompson. "People didn’t know and I was surprised." Town Administrator Michael Sullivan said the term special election "is confusing" and that it may give residents the wrong idea of how the vacancy on the board is …

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Sullivan Not in Favor of Full-Time Veterans’ Agent Requirement

The Town of Medfield is required by state law to employ a full-time Veterans’ Agent because the town’s population exceeds 12,000 by 24 residents (12,024). Town Administrator Michael Sullivan spoke against it at the Aug. 2 Board of Selectmen meeting.

Town Administrator Michael Sullivan is critical of the demand by the Massachusetts Department of Veterans’ Services to employ a full-time Veterans’ Agent because the town barely meets the requirement. According to the state’s requirement for full-time Veterans’ Agents, any city or town having a population over 12,000 must join a veterans’ service district or appoint a full-time veterans’ agent or director of veterans’ services. Medfield’s population, according to the 2010 Census, was 12,024. “For the state to come in and tell us that we have to have a full-time Veterans’ Agent with office hours consistently of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. because of 24 people [is ridiculous],” Sullivan said. Medfield currently employs a part-time Veterans’ Agent, Ron…

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MEMO Responds to Peterson’s Comments Regarding Medfield Day

MEMO's request to hold Discover Medfield Day on Sept. 17 was approved, 2-1 by the Board of Selectmen at Tuesday's meeting.

The selectmen received a letter from Brandie Morris, the Medfield Employers and Merchants Organization (MEMO) president, responding to comments made by selectmen chair Osler Peterson that the organization's event, Medfield Day, is not “revenue neutral” because, according to Peterson, the organization does not pay for town services from the police and DPW and asked if that is fair to the town and other organizations in the town who do pay for those services. Selectman Mark Fisher read the letter aloud at Tuesday’s selectmen meeting at Peterson’s request. This is what the letter said: Dear Selectmen and Selectwoman: Thank you for reading this letter aloud at the Aug. 2, 2011 Board meeting. I appreciate the opportunity to address the Board …

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Meeting Notes: Citation and Accident Reports, Medfield Day and State Hospital Update

The Medfield Board of Selectmen met Tuesday, Aug. 2 in the Chenery Room of Town Hall. Here's an overview of what was discussed.

Medfield Chief of Police Robert E. Meaney Jr. presented the town’s citation and accident statistics to the Board of Selectmen Tuesday at the request of selectman Ann Thompson. Meaney presented statistics for citations, motor vehicle crashes, OUI arrests and regular arrests from January to August over a three-year span, beginning in 2009. Here’s what the chief reported: Meaney said the significant increase in arrests made is likely linked to the data terminals officers now use in their cruisers to check for uninsured or unlicensed operation of vehicles. “As opposed to just being able to look at the inspection sticker or try to grab the color of the small decal on the plate, [officers] can simply run the plate [with data terminals],” Meaney …

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