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Home My WebLink About2021-04-26 Special Town Meeting MinutesSPECIAL TOWN MEETING Virtual Town Meeting via Zoom Webinar April 26, 2021 The meeting was called to order by the Moderator, Alan E. Foulds, at 8:01 PM, there being a quorum present. The return of the warrant was read by the Town Clerk. Motion made by Karen Gately Herrick, Select Board to dispense of the reading of warrant. Counted Vote 148 in the affirmative 7 in the negative 189 Town Meeting Members remotely in Attendance ARTICLE 1: Motion made by Karen Gately Herrick, Select Board and Article 1 was tabled Counted Vote 158 in the affirmative 2 in the negative 189 Town Meeting Members remotely in Attendance Motion Carried ARTICLE 2: Motion made by Karen Gately Herrick, Select Board and Article 2 was tabled Counted Vote 146 in the affirmative 8 in the negative 189 Town Meeting Members remotely in Attendance Motion Carried ARTICLE 3: Motion made by the Select Board that Town Meeting vote to authorize the Select Board to execute one or more ground leases of Town -owned property located at 0 Auburn Street, and shown as Assessor's Map Parcel 27-362, for the purpose of constructing, installing, maintaining and operating a temporary structure to house one or more wireless telecommunication facilities thereon for a term of not more than 30 months, on such terms and conditions as the Select Board deem appropriate, and further to authorize the Select Board to relocate the Town's emergency communications equipment from the water tank to the temporary wireless telecommunication facility. Presentation given by: • Bob LeLacheur - See Attached Backaround: Annual Town Meeting under Article 17 in April 2019 voted to authorize $4.5 million in debt to replace the Auburn Street water tank. This followed a couple of years of discussion as to either paint and repair the aging tank every 15 or so years, or replacing it with a composite elevated tank that would not require as much maintenance or any regular painting. 11page SPECIAL TOWN MEETING Virtual Town Meeting April 26, 2021 via Zoom Webinar Either solution requires moving the Town's emergency telecommunications equipment as well as the equipment from several cell carriers from the Water Tank. Building and leasing a cell tower was one of the handful of pre -Override revenue enhancement ideas to come from Financial Forums held in the early 2010s, and Town Meeting approved $100,000 in FY17 for preliminary cell tower design. The 2018 Annual Town Meeting voted to fund $400,000 for the Town to build a permanent cell tower (planned for FY20). However, a few neighbors attended a summer 2018 public meeting and subsequently the Town Manager halted the project, and requested that November 2018 Town Meeting remove the $400,00 funding. A request for $100,000 in order to relocate the Town's emergency equipment was funded instead, and the cell carriers were asked to build a temporary cell tower for both themselves and Town equipment. In the winter 2019-2020, cell carriers were non-responsive to a Request for Proposal (RFP) asking them to build a temporary tower. In the spring 2020 the Select Board was provided an update which reviewed the past exploration of building a temporary or permanent cell tower, and asked about next steps. In late 2020 the Select Board voted to allow the Town to build a temporary structure but only for Its own equipment. The cell carriers made a presentation to the Board in the spring 2021 showing the loss of cell coverage for a large section of town, and they offered to build a temporary structure and allow the Town's emergency equipment on it, and the Board voted to accept this offer. This Article authorizes ground leases, which allows the Town to issue an RFP to again request that a bidder build a temporary structure at the location of the Auburn Water Tank, to be used during the construction project to replace that Tank. Two full construction seasons are forecast, requiring a 30 -month term of the ground leases, although construction might be completed more quickly. The Town will also be issuing an Invitation to Bid (ITB) to buy a new Water Tank, and another RFP to allow the cell carriers back onto the Water Tank after it is built. Both RFPs are expected to be issued at approximately the same time, so that the carriers will have some certainty of coming back onto the Water Tank and therefore more readily pursue their offer to build a temporary structure. The Town expects the cost of the Water Tank project to increase by at least $0.5 million, pending the results of the ITB, and is likely to request that November 2021 Town Meeting allocate additional funds from Water Reserves. Further, recent discussions with the neighborhood have explored additional improvements to the area, including a small park. Any changes to the scope of the Water Tank project should also be shown to and could be funded by November 2021 Town Meeting. In the meanwhile, in the spring 2021 the Town borrowed the $4.5 million of Water Enterprise Fund debt at an attractive rate of 1.25%, and is looking forward to moving ahead with the Water Tank project. Finance Committee Report: No Report Bylaw Committee Report: No report After some discussion a vote was taken: Counted Vote 182 in the affirmative 2 in the negative 189 Town Meeting Members remotely in Attendance 2Ivege SPECIALTOWN MEETING Virtual Town Meeting via Zoom Webinar Motion Carried April 26, 2021 Karen Gately Herrick, Select Board moved to adjourn the 2021 Special Town Meeting adjourn sine die at 8:25 PM with 189 Town Meeting Members remotely in attendance. 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