Conference 7.286::maynard

Hi Frank,

Thanks for this opportunity...

1.  Has Mike Gianotis' salary been determined?
2.  Will the salary of his secretary be adjusted to account for the increase of
    duties?
3.  What steps are being taken to collect unpaid taxes?
4.  When will we go to a quarterly tax collection schedule?

					Steve

    Regarding .1:
    
    Steve, thanks for the questions.
    
    1.  Despite what you and I read in today's Beacon, the salary for
    the Town Administrator has not been determined.  We have a list
    of the current salaries for over a hundred Town Administrators/
    Town Managers/Executive Secretaries/ etc. and will be running 
    comparisons based on population, government type and duties 
    in order to come up with a fair value for the services expected.
    This, by the way, is very similar to the way Digital sets the
    value of all our jobs by job code and job family every year.
    
    2.  We have not looked at the Adminstrative support organization 
    in the Town Building yet, so I can't answer your question right now.   
    
    3.  The Selectmen have spent parts of the last two meetings
    discussing priorities.  While we're only at the wish list stage,
    high on the list will be the collection of unpaid taxes. 
    
    4.  The quarterly tax bill system was proposed at this year's
    Town Meeting but it was withdrawn because there was not enough
    time to implement it for the Q1 billing.  The proposal will be
    ready for next year's Town Meeting, to be implemented in Q1 of
    FY93, if approved by the voters. 
    
    Thanks again for asking.
    
    Frank

Frank, 

you and the other selectmen get to decide (very soon, I think) if you want
to delay the teachers' summer salaries into FY93.  The dollar amount
involved is about $270K.  The default answer is YES. 

I think that the deadline is the end of this month or beginning of next 
month but I could be wrong.

Over the weekend I read that it was a one-time opportunity, that is, the
chicken does come home to roost in FY93. Earlier, I was under the impression
that you could keep booting the chicken into the future as long as you
wanted to.  

Are you aware of all this?

The pros and cons as I see them are:

Pros:
     It does help the short-term crunch.

Cons: 
    It may be more catastrophic to delay it than to bite the bullet now.

    It lends itself to certain upstanding citizens saying "You guys
    can't be trusted; you keep discovering money at the last minute." 

I'm glad I don't have to make the decision.

:-)

John

    Reply to .3 concerning Teacher Salary Deferral:
    
    John, three weeks ago, we (the Selectmen) voted to NOT defer the
    Teachers' salaries.  We will pay as we go and not hope for the
    golden egg in FY93.  The message we hear from the State is that
    there will not be any golden eggs in the near future, so we had 
    better cover our expenses as we go.
    
    Based on the fact that the state has ruled that the recent school
    choice impact ($300K plus) on Maynard will be rolled over into
    FY93 and not be absorbed in FY92, we could not further impact 
    next year's budget by rolling over the Teacher salaries as well.
        
    The decision was not that hard to make.
    
    By the way, I should tell you all that I have been very impressed
    with the new town government so far.  There has been a great deal
    of cooperation and some very interesting suggestions from the 
    various departments that were previously autonomous but are now
    part of the central government.  We're making very good progress
    on long range plans and cost saving ideas.  
    
    More later,
    Frank  
    
    

    Frank, can you give us some of those cost savings ideas you are looking at?

    Reply to .5:
    
    Paul, it's too early in the process to reach any conclusions about
    the effects of the suggestions we're heard.  We're just asking 
    questions and the Town Administrator is gathering input from various
    Town Departments.
    
    My only point was that we are getting some creative and positive
    suggestions.  Some may be worth exploring and some not, so I'd
    rather wait until we can review the entire plan and determine a
    priority list.
    
    Frank
    

Frank, I hope I'm not putting you on the spot by asking you this but,
it goes with the job right?!?

On Article 5 of Monday's Town Meeting warrant - where is the money going 
to come from to pay for the increase in salaries to yourself, Bob Gilligan
and Mike Gianotis?

					Steve

    Steve, your question does not put me on the spot.
    
    Before I answer your question, it may be of interest to everyone 
    that on the weekend before each Selectmen's meeting, the Town
    Administrator prepares a package for each Selectman for review
    prior to our meeting.  If you ever see me bop into the Police
    Station on a Saturday or Sunday, it's because I'm picking up
    my reading material for the upcoming meeting.
    
    Now, in this week's envelope will be a detail of the articles 
    for Monday's Town Meeting and the sources of funding for articles
    proposed by the Selectmen.  It is my understanding that the Town
    Administrator's salary will be a combination of the now defunct
    Administrative Assistant's salary with some of the proceeds from
    a Town settlement with a previous trash collector.
    
    The salaries for the two new Selectmen, $850 per year ($2.33 per
    day) will also come from this settlement, pro rated for their
    time in service during the year.
    
    While on the subject of Town Meeting, I think people who attend
    this Special Town Meeting may be in for good news for a change
    as a result of the new Charter, the new Town Administrator and 
    some sound business decisions.
    
    Frank
    
    
    

    Did I read the paper right?  Are they asking that the Administrators
    salary be 55K?
    

    What is Mike's salary now under his old job?

    Regarding .9 and .10,  
    
    I entered a reply to these questions on Friday night, but after
    re-reading my reply over the weekend, I have deleted it because
    we could quickly go down a rathole or a discussion of individuals,
    both of which I agreed to avoid when I entered this note.
    
    The Selectmen are asking to fully fund the position of Town 
    Administrator, but the actual salary of the current Town Administrator
    has not been negotiated.  
    
    Mike Gianotis' salary when he was Administrative Assistant was in
    the mid 30's (I don't know the actual number).  Remember that that
    position has been eliminated by the Charter.
    
    Monday's discussion on this article should prove to be very lively!
    
    Frank 

    What happens if, at the town meeting the town fails to fund the
    money for the Administrators position and does this position have to be
    funded every year?

    RE: .12:  Paul and all:  Article 5 was defeated tonight as was the
    motion to reconsider.
    
    That means that the present Town Administrator can either stay in
    his new position and earn the salary of the now eliminated Admin.
    Assistant position, or he can resign.   
    
    We'll know more on that on Tuesday night at the Selectmen's meeting.
    
    What it also means is that we now have two selectmen earning $850.
    per year and two selectmen unfunded.  In December, we will elect 
    a new selectman to fill Anne Flood's seat, and that person will
    earn the remainder of her funded salary.
     
    On the brighter side, there were some very positive steps taken
    tonight to run the Town of Maynard as a business.  Quarterly
    tax bills was approved which will save about 60K in interest
    charges that we have previously incurred by borrowing in anticipation
    of taxes.  (We previously had to borrow money to cover our expenses
    until the first tax bills were sent out).  We also now will charge
    interest for unpaid water and sewer bills.  The Recreation Department
    can now operate a revolving fund to pay for part-time instructors 
    directly from the fees that they charge.  The Conservation Commission
    can now use fees paid for Wetlands Protection Act filings to offset their
    expenses in processing applications and decisions. 
    
    Frank

    What is happening with the Town Administrator's position?  

    re: .14:  The Town Administrator situation was the subject of
    an executive (closed) session last night.
    
    We'll have another executive session on Monday night.
    
    As for now, Mike Gianotis continues to serve as the Town
    Administrator while receiving Administrative Assistant pay.
    
    There is an editorial in Wednesday's Middlesex News relating 
    to Monday's town meeting actions. 
    
    Another feather in our cap.......
    
    Frank

    
    Frank,
    	Who covers Maynard for the News now? I know they lost a number
    of good reporters in the last layoff and with Ken Hartnett being fired
    the other good ones are sure to be looking. In Holliston we've noticed 
    a decline in our usually good coverage. 
    
    

    The Middlesex News coverage of Maynard has also declined steadily
    in the past year or so, to the point where I cancelled my subscription,
    and only buy the paper after I've been interviewed, to see what they
    said I said.
    
    In the 80's we had excellent coverage by the late Ron Doyle.  When
    Ron got sick, Michael Goldberg filled in and did a great job during
    the early part of the Charter Commission process.  Michael got
    reassigned, the Maynard office closed, and coverage of Maynard dropped
    off.
    
    Last Monday's Town Meeting was covered by Christen Graham, who
    introduced herself as a free lance writer.  In spite of the fact
    that she knew nobody in Town Government, she managed to spell 
    everyone's name right (even mine) in her column on Tuesday.
    
    I don't know what has happened to the News, but they haven't
    provided us with any regular coverage for well over a year.  They
    just show up for the big ticket issues these days.
    
    Frank
    

    As I mentioned in the original note, I believe that the readers
    of this conference represent a very good cross section of the
    people of Maynard and the surrounding communities.
    
    I'd like to get some reaction to the events of last Monday's
    Town Meeting regarding the Town Administrator salary issue,
    and the newspaper articles in the Middlesex News and tomorrow's 
    (Thursday's ) Maynard Beacon.  The feeling and mood of the community 
    will help me decide how to proceed on this issue.
    
    NOW: I don't want to use the Maynard Notes File as a forum
    for debate on this.  So, I would ask that you send me your
    thoughts (SENIOR::IGNACHUCK or Frank Ignachuck @SHR), or
    DTN: 237-6571.
    
    Comments will be for my information only and will not be shared, 
    by name, with anyone.
    
    Thanks in advance,
    Frank

Frank,

I was listening to "Marketplace" (an NPR radio show) and they mentioned that
cities and towns should probably take advantage of a recently passed law that
lets us refinance old bonds at newer rates - once - with U.S. T-bills.

If Maynard issued any bonds in the late '70s or early '80s - when the prime
was up around 20%, it could generate significant savings when refinanced at
the current prime rates - which are at an all time low (and probably can't
drop too much lower).


FYI,

- dave

    RE: .19 regarding re-financing municipal bonds.
    
    Dave, when I became a Selectman I came in with a whole list of 
    questions, as the new kid on the Board.  I was and am particularly
    interested in seeing the Town operate more as a business, so one
    of my first questions was the debt schedule, and the status of our
    municipal bonds.  It appears that Maynard has done some very smart
    borrowing in the past few years, and our highest interest rate is
    8.75% on a 1990 School Bond.  Most of the debt in Maynard is in a 
    1986 Bond Issue which has an interest rate of 6.84%.  Replacing
    this issue with a more favorable current rate of 5.68% would cost
    the Town more in reissuing costs than we could gain by the lower
    rate.  However, our Financial Advisor (Shawmut) is monitoring
    the current interest rate climate and will keep the Town informed.
    
    By the way, for a Town with an image of being near broke, Maynard 
    has a very healthy debt schedule and a very good borrowing margin
    to work with, if the need arises.  In FY93, for example, our debt
    and interest on Bonds is $1.1 million, and drops yearly to about 
    $362,000 in FY2007. 
    
    
    Frank

Hi Frank,

Thanks for the information.  I didn't know if Maynard had bonds issued during
those years, but if we did I thought it worthwhile to mention the option
anyway.   While it would be nice to get a windfall, it is far nicer to hear
that we haven't been overpaying all this time in the first place.

- dave

>     rate.  However, our Financial Advisor (Shawmut) is monitoring
>     the current interest rate climate and will keep the Town informed.

Shouldn't the town be supporting a bank that supports the community?  It 
really ticked me off when Shawmut pulled out of Maynard.  Now, I need to go 
Acton to use a Shawmut bank.  More often than not, I use Bay Bank and pay a 
$.75 usage charge.

Phil

    RE:.22:  
    
    Phil, I certainly agree that we should make every attempt to support
    local businesses.  In the case of Shawmut, the bulk of our bond
    financing was done in 1986, through Shawmut, so the Town Treasurer 
    went to them for re-financing advice.   
    
    I don't know why we have Shawmut as our primary bond holder.  I would
    hope it is because they gave us the best deal at the time.
    
    Another point to consider is that local support is not always in the
    best financial interests.  I'm not ashamed to admit that I send my
    mortgage payments every month to a bank in North Carolina because
    I got the best deal from them.  Business is business.
    
    I know some people who drive Dodge Caravans that were not purchased
    at Great Road Dodge.  Sometimes local loyalty is outweighed by a 
    better deal...
    
    Frank

You  may  also  find  that  many  banks  do  not provide "financial advising"
services for municipalities. For  example  back  in  86-87  when  our  school
district  went  to  bond  for a new addition, they used Bank of Boston, but a
year or two later when another Town in the  District  begun  the  process  to
build  a  new  elementary  school, B of B was no longer in the muni field. We
have used Shawmut and have been very  satisfied.  Not  to  rain  on  Maynards
parade,  but  our  new bond issue (Oct 91) was about 6.58% (not bad) Our Town
just received a BAA rating,  we  were  hoping  for  an  A  but  the  lack  of
industrial base coupled with double digit unemployment did us in!

Mike Buckley
Millville 

Frank,

I was wondering about the DPW water & sewer enterprise system.

About a year and a half ago, we voted at town meeting to put the water
and sewer on an enterprise basis.  Actually, I think the vote was to set
up a system, to be approved at a later meeting. The idea was that in the
past, the town water and sewer was run at a deficit: the bills did not
cover the costs, and the difference was subsidized by taxes.  (There
were a couple of problems with that.  For one, I believe that state law
says that water and sewer must be self-supporting; the other is that you
can argue it really wasn't fair.)  The enterprise system would remove
all the water and sewer income and outgo from the town budget, and out
of the prop. 2 1/2 limit, and force the water & sewer budget to balance.
Responsibility for water and sewer was not affected - (no, this isn't
like the MWRA...) - the charter says that the DPW is the Selectmen's
show. 

I heard guestimates that the amount of the subsidy was something like
$200,000.  The difficulty in setting up the system is likely that of
looking at all the DPW functions, and separating out the water and sewer
costs from what is related to highway and other DPW work. 

Originally, the system was going to be set up and ready for approval at
last Spring's town meeting.  It didn't happen then.

So, Frank, how is the progress on the enterprise system?  When will it
come up for town meeting approval?  Is there any idea of how much
money (the subsidy) will be removed from the DPW budget?

thanks,

-Steve

    RE: .25:  Water and Sewer Enterprise System.
    
    Steve, let me say up front that I am totally in favor of a self
    supporting water and sewer system in Maynard.  We should not use
    tax dollars for this utility, and it should be funded by user
    fees.
    
    Now, where are we in reaching this goal?  I'm not sure, and it really 
    bothers me.  It seems to me that we are both increasing user fees
    AND transferring funds from highway and other Public Works accounts 
    to what I thought was a self supporting utility.  It appears that
    we are somewhere in between a tax supported utility and a self 
    supporting utility and I need to find out when and where we (Maynard)
    will be making the break from tax money to user fees to fund this
    utility.  At some point, the budget of the DPW should go down as the
    user fees used to support the water and sewer departments goes up,
    but it isn't clear to me right now when this will occur.
    
    I will ask the Town Administrator to get me some specifics on this
    project and I will enter a reply when I get some numbers.  We have
    scheduled a meeting with the Superintendent of Public Works to
    review his goals and objectives statements and I should know more 
    about the entire enterprise system shortly.
    
    In conclusion, I can offer you this:  In a prior life, I was involved
    in a water and sewer enterprise conversion when I worked for the 
    Town of Concord.  I know how it should work and if we do it right,
    we may be able to return money to the Town in lieu of taxes for the
    property the water and sewer departments occupy, as part of the 
    operations expenses.
    
    Frank

    Frand only the water and sewer are user fees. Everything else is from
    tax dollars. The enterprise system was not set up to many problems
    what we have is a water and sewer account that reflects all the cost
    to runthese 2 systems. (refre to May town meeting warrent) The water 
    and sewer bills you receive reflect the total cost of the system (
    or close to it) That is why the bills are high this year.
    
    The rest streent,cementry high way are tax dollars (some state and
    users fees(cemmetray fund))
    
    art

Thanks for bringing up water and sewer issues. One thing that I don't 
understand is why there's a minimum payment for water and sewer. In
other words, why don't we ask people to pay for the water that they
actually use rather than some minimum amount that we expect them to
use? 

On the few W&S bills I've received, I've always used less (sometimes
far less) than the minumum. This means that I'm subsidizing people who
use more water than I do. 

In addition, we live in an era where we consider it good to conserve. 
But with a minimal billing system, I feel encouraged to use more water 
than I might ordinarily so that I actually end up paying for what I get. 

Frank, I'd be interested in your comments on this.


Thanks,
Liz

    There is a min. anount that needs to be sent every year just to
    maintain the system. In other word if no use water the town still
    has to main the water and sewer facities. Therefore a min amount
    has to be charge to people who do not use a lot of water, sounds
    crazy but if the min. is not charged then the users of water will
    have to pay more to main the system. 
    
    	Everyone pays the min.  plus useage.
    
    art

Art,

It makes sense to ask people to pay a certain amount for maintenance of
the system. But it still sounds to me that the people who strive for 
conservation are subsidizing those who use more water. Frank?


Liz

    I agree an you beinga selectmam why don't you do something about it.
    If we all conserve water we all then would have to pay the min.
    
    art

    How does the water minimum work?
    (I'm a Maynard renter, so I never see the water bill.)

    Is it:   COST = FIXED_RATE + RATE * USAGE

    or is it:  COST = MINIMUM_RATE  or  RATE * USAGE  whichever is greater


    The first case seems more equitable to me.

    -Jeff Bell


    PS: Is it time for a new basenote?

    Before we get out of control on the Water and Sewer Charge Philosophy,
    give me a chance to review the Town's rate structure, where we are
    in our efforts to get these utilities on a self-supporting basis,
    and what is left to be done.
    
    As you all know, the Charter eliminated the DPW Commission, and 
    transferred those duties to the Selectmen.  I need to do some
    serious homework on the enterprise system.
    
    Frank

    On another subject, why do we operate our Town on a fiscal year
    basis (July to June) and continue to issue our annual report on
    a calendar year basis (January to December)?
    
    It's virtually impossible to compare what we did to what it cost
    using two different time periods.    
    
    I will be proposing to the Board of Selectmen that we issue one
    18 month Town Report in August, 1992 to get us in sync with our
    financial year.  We would then be able to review our performance
    against our financials in a much clearer perspective.
    
    Frank 

    Good question Frank check with the Town clerk. A lot of the info
    is based on a fical year. But printer in the beginning of the year to 
    correspond with the town warrent.

    I had a chance this week to get some background on the enterprise
    system for the water and sewer utilities.  Some of the information
    was obtained from Annual Reports and some from a conversation with
    the Town Administrator.
    
    Article 7 of the Special Town Meeting of October 15, 1990 approved
    the establishment of the enterprise system.  As Steve noted in 
    328.25, this means that the water and sewer division can operate
    on it's own revenues without tax dollars.  However, capital 
    improvements, like major water main replacements and sewer plant
    renovations and improvements, must still be approved by Town
    Meeting.  In order to qualify for enterprise status, the law
    requires that the utility have a surplus in operating revenue
    to start out.
    
    Just before the DPW Commission went out of existance, a new rate
    for each utility was developed that would put them on a self-
    supporting basis, and the bills you and I received reflect that
    reality.  The rates you see on your bill cover both the operational
    expenses and the bond payments.  The bonds total $1,095,000, payments
    for which are spread out in yearly payments of about 130,000 per year 
    currently and declining each year for the next 20 years or so.   
    
    The enterprise system, like most state regulations, has some 
    strange provisions.  For one thing, if the utility finds itself
    in the red at the end of a fiscal year, it must be automatically
    balanced by tax dollars.  One the other hand, surpluses can be
    transferred back to the town, to lower the tax burden.
    
    As you may know, the responsibility for these utilities now rest
    with the Selectmen.  I know that the FY93 DPW budget has been
    created in two sections, one for the water and sewer and one for
    the rest of DPW.  That budget has not been presented to the 
    Town Administrator yet, so I don't know the split yet.  
    
    However, I don't know how the former DPW Commission planned their
    budget  for the current year, and I did not ask that question.  It
    seems to me that this year's current DPW budget may have carried the 
    funds to cover water and sewer while the enterprise system is gathering
    up money to cover some of the same expenses.  I didn't ask that
    question, so I may be wrong, but it may be that the current DPW
    budget may be fat.  I'll certainly find this out when we meet with
    Walter Sokolowski (DPW Superintendent).
    
    The minimum charge question raises another issue.  Since 1989, the
    minimum charge for water has gone from $12. to 23, and the sewer
    minimum has gone from 28 to 44.  All are semi-annual.  While I
    support a minimum charge, the current numbers seem to be high,
    and, as Liz has noted, seem to punish conservation.  I do know
    that the numbers have some justification, and I'll take an action
    item to get an answer, Liz.
    
    There is an interesting twist to the enterprise system.  Mike
    Gianotis mentioned that we may be wise to shift from an enterprise
    system to a "Surplus System", which is another general law that
    we could adopt.  The difference is that in an enterprise system,
    as I noted above, we would be obligated to fund a deficit in the
    system through taxes, automatically, while in a surplus system,
    we could raise the rates to cover the deficit.  The surplus
    system would protect our precious tax dollars for education, 
    safety, etc.
    
    Frank

Thanks for the information, Frank.  Since the subsidy paid to underwrite 
disappeared in fiscal 1991, it appears that some money was freed up for
other uses at that time, compared to past years.

Liz's point is quite valid: If the minimum W & S charge is too high,
it makes the conservative water subsidize other people.  The other side
is that if there is a high minimum, why should anyone conserve?
Certainly, it is more responsible from an environmental point of view
to conserve water, but it would be smart if the billing pushed people 
in the right direction, too. 

This is a great topic, Frank.  I wish I could get some other town board 
members in a notesfile.  Then again, it might not result in such an
even-tempered discussion as this.

-Steve

    If everyone was to conserve and us less then the minimum. Who then pays
    to run the water and sewer system?
    
    art
    

    Why doesn't the town clean up by the bridge on acton st by the store
    24. When you look over the bridge you can see trees and junk piling
    up aginst the bridge. GET THE DPW TO CLEAN IT UP FRANK
    
    art

    RE: 328.39:
    
    Art, I suggest that you are confusing "Ask Frank" which is a 
    note in the Maynard Notes Conference, with "Tell Walter", which
    is another method, unique to the Town of Maynard, wherein 
    citizens can call the DPW Superintendent (Walter Sokolowski),
    to point out suggestions or concerns about potential public
    works issues.
    
    Walter's phone number is 897-1017.
    
    One of the most important features of the Town Charter is that
    the Selectmen should refrain from the day to day operation of
    the Town's functions, which are best left to our paid professionals.
    However, if any citizen is aggrieved by the actions of any town
    employee, their recourse is to contact the appointing authority,
    to seek a remedy. 
    
    To bring this into perspective, if the DPW fails to act on your 
    complaint, or does not act to your satisfaction, you should contact 
    their appointing authority.  In the case of the DPW Superintendent, 
    until such time as another organizational structure is proposed and 
    accepted by the voters, (see Section 8 of the Town Charter) he 
    reports to the Selectmen. 
    
    By the way, I think that the bridge you are talking about is on
    Waltham Street, not Acton Street.
    
    Frank

    RE: .31:  Aside to Art:  328.30 was written by Liz and not 
    by me.  I have asked for an explanation of the minimum rate
    and will have that answer for you all (and me) shortly.
    
    In the meantime, consider this:
    
    The irony of the minimum rate is that if we all used very
    strict conservation measures and all hit below the minimum,
    the minimum rate would actually go up, since the operation
    of the system relies on a vast majority of users to exceed
    the minimum to balance out the expenses.
    
    Life is fair, right? 
    
    Frank

    A question you might be asking:
    
    Frank:  Who won the election for the Board of Selectmen?
    
    Answer:  Dick Downey won the election yesterday.  Dick will 
    fill the unexpired term of Anne Flood.
    
    For the record, here are the terms of the current Selectmen:
    
    	George Shaw is Chair, and his current term expires in May,
    	1992.  There is no word yet on if he will seek re-election.
    
    	Ken DeMars' and Bob Gilligan's terms expire in May of 1993.
    
    	Dick Downey's and my terms expire in May of 1994.
    
    Selectman terms continue 1-2-2 thereafter, all three year terms,
    in accordance with the Charter.
    
    Frank
                                                            

    I am sorry Frank but being a selectmen I feel all problems should
    be addressed to them. Its there job. They are the ones to make sure
    things get done. Do past thebuck like they do here at DEC. Have
    Mike tell Walter that you received info on the trees by the bridge.
    Don't wait till the bridge is damaged. Stand up and be counted.
    
    
    Your supporter
    an Fin Com member you determines your salary
    
    art

    RE: .43:  Art, I asked Mike Gianotis to have Walter Sokolowski to 
    look at the problem at the Bridge.
    
    However, as I said in my previous reply to you, ALL problems 
    should not be reported to the Selectmen.  Problems should go to 
    the department chartered with the responsibility to address those 
    problems.  If resolution of a problem is not to your satisfaction,
    you should escalate to the appointing authority. 
    
    Using the Selectmen as the first point of contact is a throw-back to 
    the pre-charter days of Town Government and is not the way to run 
    a $14,000,000. business.
    
    When you accepted the Charter, you asked that the Selectmen
    take a leadership role in the Town, and to stay out of the
    day to day management.  To quote Article 3, section 3-2 (b)
    of the Charter:
    
    	"The Board of Selectmen shall serve as the chief policy
    	 making agency of the Town.  It shall be responsible for
    	 the issuance of policy directives and guidelines designed
    	 to be followed by all town agencies serving under it and,
    	 in conjunction with the other elected town offices, to
    	 develop and to promulgate policy guidelines designed to
    	 bring all agencies of the town into harmony; provided,
    	 however, that nothing in this section shall be construed 
    	 to authorize any member of the Board of Selectmen, or
    	 a majority of such Board, to become involved in the day-to-
    	 day administration of any town agency."
    
    As far as my salary, thanks for bringing that up.  Due to a 
    tremendous lack of foresight by our town leaders last year,
    the position of Town Administrator and the two new selectmen
    slots were left unfunded in this year's town budget.  It
    would have a simple matter to budget the positions in case
    the Charter passed, and withdraw the funding if the Charter
    failed, since the Charter was voted on before the Town Meeting.  
    
    I was not a town official when all this happened (The Charter
    Commission went out of business at the May election and I was
    not elected Selectman until September) but I'm now right in
    the middle of trying to clean up this mess, so we can get on
    with the business of re-structuring the Town government as 
    called for in the Charter.
    
    Frank 

    Don't quote articles. The selectmen are still the "FATHERS OF THE TOWN"
    and therefore should be 1st contact. If this was a $14 million business
    control could be in the hands of one. 
    
    Anyway thanks I keep looking for other thinks in the town that I
    feel the selectmen should be aware of.
    
    remember I evaluate you on your performance.
    
    art

>    Don't quote articles. The selectmen are still the "FATHERS OF THE TOWN"
>    and therefore should be 1st contact.

I don't see why.

That would be like expecting George Bush to process all federal tax returns.
Or expecting K.O. to check each disk for error blocks.

The selectmen are supposed to be the backup for when things fail.

You can send letters to George and Ted K. if the I.R.S. does something
really wrong, or a letter to K.O. if your order gets terribly botched.

-Jeff Bell

    I got a call at work today from the Town Administrator.  Mike
    Gianotis called all the Selectmen to tell them about a problem
    with the Town's water system.  As you may know, we have been
    experiencing a taste and odor problem in some parts of Town 
    which has been narrowed down to the main reservoir on Summer
    Hill.  A few days ago, the DPW began draining that reservoir
    to clean it.  The risk here is that we would be draining 4
    million gallons of water from our system and would be left
    with a 1 million gallon reserve in the other reservior.
    
    As Murphy's law would have it, this morning the water main
    from White's Pond (our chief source of water, in Hudson) 
    broke and had to be shut down.  Maynard was, and still may
    be as I write this, at some risk in terms of fire protection,
    as well as meeting the peak demand for water supply.
    
    Mike called to tell me that he and Walter Sokolowski had 
    contacted Boxboro, Concord, and Carlisle to alert them that
    we may need their tankers in case of fire, and Acton, in case
    we needed to open the connection on Brown Street that connects
    our water system to theirs (this connection was made some years
    ago to help Acton out during their well problem).  The 
    cooperation of all these towns was immediate and positive, and
    at the present time we are in good shape.  A few of the higher
    areas of Town (Assabet Heights and upper Howard Road) are 
    experiencing some pressure loss or lack of water, but for the
    most part, we are OK.  Digital was also contacted as the major
    user of water in Town to put them on alert in case of an
    emergency.
    
    The break, by the way, is in the 2 and a half mile supply line
    from White's Pond to the Winter Street Pumping station, but
    fortunately was very near the Highway Garage, so it's within
    easy access from the Thanksgiving Pond Bridge.
    
    The reason that I'm entering this note is to let you know that
    I'm very pleased that the Town Administrator is in place to
    coordinate the efforts of the Fire Department and the DPW
    during what could be a major crisis for the Town.  It also
    makes me feel good that the Town Administrator called all the
    Selectmen to let them know what was going on and what was 
    being done.  All the above contacts and requests were made before
    I was contacted at 10:00 this morning.
    
    This is EXACTLY the type of coordination that I expected from
    the Town Administrator position when we wrote it into the 
    Charter.
    
    Thought you'd like to know.
    
    Happy Holidays,
    Frank
         

    Frank - I am not sure if this is the proper place to ask but I thought
    I would give it a try.  I have also called Town Hall/Public Works about
    this several times but am still having a problem.
    
    I am one of the Maynard residents who is having a problem with the odor
    and taste of the water we get.  I am aware of the problem, have been
    kept up to date with what has been reported in the paper, but still the
    problem persists.  It has gotten so bad that we are now forced to buy
    bottled water to drink.
    
    The last time I checked with the Public Works Department I was told
    that the problem should be resolved by Thursday (yesterday).  But, the
    problem still exists.
    
    Can you get/give any sort of progress report on the problem and when it
    will be resolved.
    
    Thanks
    

    an update to my entry in .48
    
    As of today, the odor and taste appear to be gone from the water.  Only
    time will tell for how long as they have gone away and come back in the
    past...

    Sorry for the delay in replying to the taste and odor problem note
    from Bob.  Actually, I've typed in replies three times but keep
    getting disconnected from the Maynard Notes node.
    
    Let me try one more time.
    
    The last time I talked to Walter Sokolowski (DPW Supt.) was on Friday
    afternoon.  At that time the main reservoir had been drained,
    chlorinated, refilled, and was going through a 48 hour test period 
    before going back on line.  I assume that this reservoir is now fully
    operable.  The next step will be to bring the smaller reservoir down
    and do the came cleaning, chlorinating and testing.
    
    The taste and odor problem should be corrected now, and if anyone
    is still experiencing problems, they should call the DPW office.
    
    I should add a followup to the water main break that happened as the
    main reservior was being drained.  As I mentioned in a previous reply,
    the Town was at risk during this period because our supply line was 
    shut down and our main storage tank was empty.  However, Maynard called
    in a couple of markers from Acton and Sudbury and both towns opened 
    their links to our system and were feeding Maynard for about 48 hours.
    This kept our small reservior full and helped meet the one million
    gallon per day demand of the Town.
    
    To answer an obvious question:
    The inter-town links were put in several years ago when our 
    neighbors had water problems and asked for help from Maynard. 
    
    Regards,
    Frank

    Frank,
    
    Why is it that the town no longer floods the ice skating 
    rink at the Alumni Field???  Is it lack of someone to 
    take care of it, or an insurance issue????
    
    Brigit                                  

    Re: the Rink (.51):
    
    Brigit:  I don't have an "official" town answer regarding the rink,
    but here's my best shot:
    
    The rink is on School Department land and the last time I can remember
    skating on it was in the early 70's.  At that time, Phil Buscemi used
    to flood the rink on winter nights.  In my opinion, the reasons the 
    rink was closed down were the maintenance of the boards around the rink 
    and the concern about liability.  
    
    "IF" there was an interest in re-establishing the rink, we would need
    to rebuild the boards, and paint the surface white to help reflect
    light, to reduce melting.  
    
    Frank

    I think the last time I had skates on was at the high school rink. Boy
    did my friends and I have a ball skating there!! It would be WONDERFUL
    to have this back in action. I have a little boy that would be ready to
    try it out next season.

    How would you go about finding out if there is enough interest to
    pursue opening the rink again?

    Memories come drifting back, but then again, I remember when downtown
    Maynard had Christmas lights strung up all along Main and Nason
    Streets!! The Park looks "nice" but it's not the same. 
    
    Norma

    Last March I entered a DELTA suggestion that Digital should offer
    some of it's excess office equipment to the municipal agencies in
    their local towns.
    
    It has taken a lot of effort, but you should know that the Maynard
    Town Building now has a great deal of *new* office furniture, including
    desks, chairs, file cabinets, and tables resulting from the recent 
    downsizing of Digital facilities. 
    
    In addition to the Digital people involved in this effort, a great 
    deal of credit should go to Ken DeMars who offered the Grubers 
    truck, and his personal time to haul this stuff from Marlboro to 
    the Town Hall.
    
    As I write this, the tally is four truck loads, with more to come.
    
    Frank 

    FYI, the quarterly tax bill procedure that the voters of Maynard 
    accepted at the October Town Meeting will take effect in FY93,
    so you (and I) will be seeing our first quarter bill in July or
    August, 1992.
    
    Frank

    Can you tell me if there is still a cable TV committee in Maynard or
    who I can contact concerning our cable service?
    
    thanks
    
    Paul 

    RE: .56 (Cable Question):
    
    Paul, the Cable Committee is inactive at this point so you should 
    first address your concerns to Cablevision, and then to the Town
    Administrator.
    
    The timing of this question is great, since the present lease with
    Cablevision (previously known as Adams Russell) expires on May 17,
    1992.  Maynard is in a unique position with Cablevision in that
    we will be negotiating both a contract for services within the
    Town of Maynard, as well as the option on the lease of the Tower 
    land on Summer Hill, which is used by Cablevision to serve Maynard, 
    Hudson, Stow, Sudbury and Acton.  Town meeting approval will be 
    required for the extension of these agreements.  
    
    Needless to say, we will need to re-activate the Cable Committee
    shortly to begin negotiations with Cablevision.  
    
    I would suggest that anyone wishing to be a member of the Cable 
    Committee submit names to the Selectmen.  The Charter calls for the
    Cable Commission to consist of five members.  
    
    Frank
      

    
    Frank, if this is in the wrong place, please feel free to move it.
    
    
    I would like to know who I should talk to regarding the ld Maynard
    Landfill. Specifically regarding possible access to the site for a once
    a month model airplane activity. I realize there are many issues about
    this that would need to be discussed, so I'm looking for a starting
    place.
    
    Thanks,
    Dan Snow
    DTN 227-3202

    RE:. 58:
    
    You're right, there are a lot of issues regarding use of the former
    landfill, including, but not limited to safety, liability, noise,
    the environmental/health status of using a capped landfill for
    recreational purposes, etc.
    
    I wasn't involved in town government when the landfill was capped,
    and I don't know the legal requirements or restrictions that were
    imposed at that time, or what conditions now apply to the use of
    the site.  
    
    My suggestion is that you write a letter to the Board of Selectmen,
    which now serves as the DPW Commission, and the Board of Health.
    Those two Boards have responsibility for the site.  
    
    Regards,
    Frank

    
    I'll do that Frank, Thanks for the info.
    
    
    
    

    Where is this "capped land fill"?
    

.61>    Where is this "capped land fill"?
    
    It's on Waltham Street, almost in Sudbury.  On the left, just past the
    Rod and Gun club, enclosed by a tall chain link fence.
    
    You might recall a Town Meeting vote regarding the landfill, a year or
    two ago.  The town took the land by eminent domain; the owner didn't
    like the price and sued; when it looked like the former owner would win
    the suit, the Town Meeting vote authorized payment to settle it.
    
    -Steve

    Just curious.... who owned the land and how much was the offer and
    amount of the settlement?
    
    Norma

    
    ref .63
    
         See note 128.0

    thank you for the pointer.

    Frank, I've a problem,the trash pick up people won't take a bunch of 
    old magazines we have. They say they are susposed to go to the recycle
    center. the last time I brought mags to the recycle center they said
    we are susposed to take newspaper only.
    
    WHAT DO I DO NOW
    
    Garry
    

    Reply to .66:
    
    Garry, I agree with you.  In the many weekends that I have spent at
    the recycling center, magazines are not acceptable since they cannot
    be reused as paper material.  Magazines are then considered as trash
    and should be picked up by the trash collector. 
    
    I will take this as an action item and will get a reply from the 
    Board of Health.
    
    Frank

    Answer to .66:
    
    Garry, I spoke to Gerry Collins (Board of Health Agent) this evening.
    
    His answer was that the Trash Collector SHOULD pick up magazines.  His
    only concern was the size/weight of the magazine bundle, which might
    be a reason for refusal.
    
    He suggests that you call him (897-1002) and he'll get it straightened
    out.
    
    Frank

>    His answer was that the Trash Collector SHOULD pick up magazines.  His
>    only concern was the size/weight of the magazine bundle, which might
>    be a reason for refusal.
    
Yeah, you gotta stop using that fork lift to move your stacks of magazines
from the garage to the curb.  ;^)

    How did you find out about the fork lift? ;-}
    
    garry

I am curious as to if and when Maynard will clean up the built-up dirt from the
sanding of roads over the winter along with the garbage that has accumulated
as well from the street gutters and sidewalks.  The reason I ask is that I saw
a street cleaning machine in Hudson a couple of weeks ago cleaning there.  This
effects me because I run at night down Great Road and 117, and without sidewalks
in some parts of those roads, it gets a little hairy with the commuting traffic.

Thanks,
Keith

    Keith,
    
    I saw a posting in the Legal Notices of the Beacon by the D.P.W. a 
    couple of weeks ago looking for bids.  I didn't catch the date they 
    are looking at for doing the job.
    
    					Steve

    RE: Street Sweeping:
    
    As Steve as noted, the bids are out for Town-wide street sweeping and
    although I don't know the dates, I would suspect that late April into
    May would be a safe bet for the Town-wide cleanup of sand.  
    
    There has been periodic sweeping of the downtown area throughout the
    winter.  I suspect that Hudson does the same thing, or else they
    are busy today cleaning up what they put down in the last week....
    
    Frank 

Frank and Steve,

Thanks for the information.  I realize it makes more sense to do it later in the
spring, late April or so, when the chance of there being a snow storm (and
thus additional salt and sand being used) is a minimum.  I am glad to hear that
it will be happening.  It sure makes it easier on my ankles when running!

Thanks again,
Keith

    Before anyone "Asks Frank", let me tell you a story that will soon
    become news.
    
    On page 21A in the this week's Beacon you will see an Auction Block
    column, listing a house on 55 Concord Street that will be sold at
    auction on April 11, 1992, at 11:00 per order of the Town of Maynard.
    
    Well, here's the story:
    
    Back in the early 80's, it seems that the Town of Maynard took tax
    title to a house for deliquent taxes.  At the same time, Maynard was
    changing Town Treasurers, and the filing and taking fell between
    the proverbial cracks.  For about 10 years, the Town did not know 
    that it owned the house....  It was not until this year that the Town 
    realized that it owned the property, and we are now putting the 
    property up for sale by auction to recover unpaid taxes and any 
    other additional value that the property and house may hold.  What
    we get will go into the general fund of the Town.   
    
    From what I know, there may be three or four more such parcels that
    we will be offering for sale on the next few months due to the same 
    kind of snafu.
    
    On the downside, it's embarrasing to learn that the Town owns property
    that it doesn't know it owns.  On the upside, it's encouraging to know
    that the new Charter is working to uncover these pockets.  I suggest 
    that the Town of Maynard is getting it's act together.  
    
    Frank

    
    
    
    The saga of the House auction (see 328.75) was hopefully concluded 
    this past Saturday, when 55 Concord Street was sold at auction for 
    $60,000., plus 11,614.03 in back taxes.  The purchase and sale 
    agreement will be signed this week with a closing hopefully within 
    30 days.
    
    Frank

    Which house is 55 Concord Street?  (which end? or whose was it?)
    
    Just curious.
    -sandy
    

    RE: .77:  55 Concord Street.  This house is located between Lewis 
    Street and the entrance to Concord Street Circle.
    
    I won't name the former owner, since the family has been through a
    lot during the past ten years and they don't need or deserve the
    added publicity.  Let it be said that there was a great deal of
    cooperation and understanding between the daughter of the former owner 
    and the town.  She would like to see the house that she grew in
    restored to a livable condition so she can retain her fond memories
    of her old homestead.
    
    Frank
    
    Frank

    Follow up to .71 and .73 regarding street sweeping.
    
    The contractors are out in full force as of last week and the cleanup
    should be completed by the end of April. 
    
    You will note that the Maynard DPW works ahead of the street crews and
    sweeps the sidewalks with a machine driven broom, and a front end 
    loader takes off the heavy stuff.  This makes the job of the street
    sweepers easier and faster.
    
    After the streets are cleaned, the street line painting will begin.
    We hope to get a favorable price on painting the interior of the
    crosswalks either green or yellow to make them more visible, due
    the large number of school "walkers".  In past years, the Town has
    only done selected crosswalks, but this year we hope to do more.
    
    You may also notice that there has been some random "touch up" to
    some of the lanes and arrows in the downtown area.  This is for
    safety reasons, since the original arrows have worn out, and is not
    part of the overall street painting contract.
    
    Frank

    re 55 Concord
    
    Oh, for some reason I thought it was at the other end.  I'm from Maple
    street and never noticed which direction the numbers went.
    
    Thanks
    

Forgive me for asking this, but where is the Maynard Public Library located?  I
have been wanting to go there and I have no idea where the building is.

Thanks,

A-still-new Maynardian,
Keith

    Keith, the Library is on the left hand side of the Town Building,
    on the west end of Main Street.  
    
    Frank

Re .last_two:

The library's to the left of the Town Hall _as you face it_; from the building's
standpoint, it's on the right (not that it matters that much; they're the only
two buildings on that plot).

_However_:

On the street, there's only 15 minutes' parking; in back, there's a parking area.
There's an entrance at the back.  Facing the complex from that side, the library's
on the right, and ...

Oh, what's the use?  :-D

(Actually, the checkout desk is on the "ground" floor, accessable from the 
rear entrance, so that's the better way to go, anyway.

Steve Kallis, Jr.

    and just in case you don't know where the town hall is - 
    
    On Main Street down past the Mill toward Stow just past the Cumberland
    Farms store - to access parking in rear take the right just after the
    store and then your immediate left to the lot.
    
    -sandy
    

    AND, as long as we're busy confusing each other, when you look for
    the Cumberland Farms store, it's now Russell's Convenience Store....
    
    Would it help if I said that the Town Hall and Library are on the 
    site of the former Woodrow Wilson Elementary School?
    
    I didn't think so........
    
    Frank

How about:

It's on Main Street between the sheep (and baker's house) and the Mill,
but on the opposite side of the street from the Mill.

<grin>

Actually, on that night, let's hope it's where all the people are. 

Liz

    Oh, guess I don't get down there much anymore.
    
    Suffice it to say it is across from my grandmother's old apartment and
    if you are still having trouble, don't worry - the book is still out
    anyway!!  8^)
    
    Who the heck is Russell???  
    
    -sandy
    

    Hi Sandy,
    
    Russell is the son of Pete & Tina Salamone, one of the brothers that
    owned Salamone's Market on Main Street next to McDonald's.
    
    Refer to notes 302.35, 302.38 & 302.48.
    
    Regards,
    Virginia
    
    
    
    

    Somehow that seems natural!
    
    Thanks
    -sandy
    

    And sadly enough, Peter just passed away this weekend.

Frank,

Could you tell me who the race director of the Maynard in May 5Mile road race is
and how I can get in touch with him or her?

Thank you,
Keith

    The Race director is Pat McMahon at 897-5055 his home #, if you want an
    application just stop at the Elks and pick one up, go to the door to
    the left of the Main Door and ring the bell.
    
    Roy

Thanks for the info to contact Pat McMahon.  I will give him a call at home.

Regards,
Keith

    The 1991 Town Report is out and can be picked up at the Town Clerk's
    office.
    
    The cover was designed by a Maynard High School student.  Because
    of a printer's error, credit was not shown on the inside cover, as
    specified.  I have asked the Town Administrator to send a letter
    to the student (name escapes me right now) offering apologies and
    thanks.
    
    Frank

    Frank,
    
    I would think that the student deserves more than an apology. S/he
    deserves recognition in the Beacon or some other "Public" announcement.
    
    my 2 cents
    Norma 

    For those interested, Town Meeting starts on Monday, May 18th at 
    7:30 in the High School Auditorium.  
    
    See you there.
    
    Frank

    I have heard how some towns are raising money for their Fire
    Departments.  They allow the Fire  Dept. to fill swimming pools for a
    fee.  The fee goes directly to the Fire Dept..  I guess this is some
    sort of revenue producing policy.

    RE: .97
    
    Paul, I suspect that this is done in towns that do not have municipal
    water supplies (hydrants).  Filling pools via private wells takes a 
    long time and depletes the resident's water supply.  Most towns that
    do not have town water have tanker trucks to carry water to fires.
    These tankers can and are used to fill pools.
    
    About 98% of Maynard is served by a municipal water system and we do
    not own a tanker truck. 
    
    Frank

    An observation to pass on.
    
    I was at a soccer game this past weekend and I noticed Crowe park's
    baseball diamond is getting a facelift.  There is new sand on the
    diamond and the weeds are all removed.  The diamond looks better then
    when I played there in the late 60's.

    Last evening, Bob Geldart submitted his resignation as a School
    Committee member to the School Committee, effective immediately.
    The Board of Selectmen received a notice of vacancy from the
    School Committee today (May 29th).
    
    In accordance with Section 3-1 (f) FILLING OF VACANCIES- ELECTED
    OFFICIALS, of the Maynard Charter:
    
    "If there is a vacancy in a Board consisting of two or more members,
    other than the Board of Selectmen, and unless under the terms of a 
    will or other trust some other provision is made, the remaining
    members shall forthwith give written notice of existence of any such
    vacancy to the Board of Selectmen.  After one week's notice, the
    Board of Selectmen with the remaining members or member of such Board
    shall fill such vacancy by a joint vote.  If such notice is not 
    received within thirty days following the date on which such vacancy
    occurs the Board of Selectmen shall, after one week's notice, fill
    such vacancy without participation by the remaining members of the
    multiple member Board."
    
    Citizens interested in filling this position should submit a letter
    of interest to the Board of Selectmen.  Mr. Geldart's term expires
    on July 1, 1993.  Therefore, the appointment of his replacement will
    be for the remainder of that term.
    
    Frank
    

    I am very pleased to announce that the Town of Maynard has received
    a donation of excess terminals, laser printers and additional disk
    capacity for the Town's data center from Digital.  This equipment
    will help to further the Town's automation efforts by placing 
    additional terminals (mostly VT240's) on the desks of Town officials,
    and add LN03 printing capabilities in de-centralized locations,
    such as the Wastewater Treatment Plant and the DPW offices.  In
    addition, we will now have a small inventory of hot spares to
    cover our needs.
    
    We tried to get a small system for the School Department, to allow 
    them to directly input their data into the Town's payroll processing
    system, but this was nixed by Digital as a possible conflict to the 
    automation grant recently awarded to the School Department.  
    Hopefully, the equipment from that grant will provide us the same
    capability.
    
    I would like to thank Charlie Coggins at OGO for finding this equipment 
    and running the paper work through the system.  Special thanks to 
    Arthur DeMars at PKO for providing space to store the "stuff" during 
    the paperwork process, Arthur Filz for figuring out what we needed and 
    how we could plug it all together.  
    
    I expect that early next week all the equipment (six skids) will be 
    delivered to the Town Building, for testing and placement. 
    
    
    Frank

re: Note 328.100

 >    In accordance with Section 3-1 (f) FILLING OF VACANCIES- ELECTED
 >   OFFICIALS, of the Maynard Charter:
    
 >   "If there is a vacancy in a Board consisting of two or more members,
 >   other than the Board of Selectmen, and unless under the terms of a 
 >   will or other trust some other provision is made, the remaining
 >   members shall forthwith give written notice of existence of any such
 >   vacancy to the Board of Selectmen.  After one week's notice, the
 >   Board of Selectmen with the remaining members or member of such Board
 >   shall fill such vacancy by a joint vote.  If such notice is not 
 >   received within thirty days following the date on which such vacancy
 >   occurs the Board of Selectmen shall, after one week's notice, fill
 >   such vacancy without participation by the remaining members of the
 >   multiple member Board."
  

Frank - Being a moderator of this conference I generally try to stay out of 
commenting <personal decision>.

I'm curious about the above reference charter extract.  I believe this states 
that appointing a new school committee member or for that matter any other 
committee member is accomplished via a "joint" board, in Bob Geldhart's case 
the school committee.   Hmmmm!

Structures being as they are, and since we are dealing with a school committee 
position, at this time, this means that you have more people (votes) than 
the school committee.  This could sway the replacement member position to one 
desired more by the selectmen than that of the school committee (WWF vs. small 
committee).  (That is assuming that School Committee Voted opposit a 
candidate preferred by the selectmen.  Hmmmmm! Don't feel right to me!

Enough of the school committee position......This same scenario could happen 
with other committess throughout the town.

Did I not understand this part of the charted?  If I did read this correctly, 
then it is my opinion that this part of the charter should be rewritten to be 
more accommodating to a balanced approach.

Please understand that I do support a joint committee EQUALLY weighted but not 
one that is heavily imbalanced.

Could you please clarify??
    
Julian

	RE: appointment

	I suspect that this procedure is more governed by state law than by
	the charter. This is SOP in most communities. In fact, in Holliston
	we recently had the following scenario occur that had the exact opposite
	effect. One of our Selectman passed away thus necessitating a special
	election. A School Committee member won a seat on the 3 member board
	of Selectmen. Since he resigned his HSC seat we met in joint session to
	interview all candidates for the school committee seat one week and
	again the next week to vote. Holliston has a 7 member school committee.
	In this case it would have been difficult for the BOS to even consider
	a candidate hostile to the school committee. 

    RE:  .102 and .103:
    
    Julian:  The Charter process is not a new one, and has been followed
    for many years.   
    
    Linda Bretz was originally appointed to the School Committee using
    this same process.  Hal Shubin was recently appointed to fill the
    vacancy on the Library Trustees in the same manner.  
    
    The process is quite simple and just as I explained in .101.
    
    The Board of Selectmen and the School Committee will make the 
    appointment based on interviews of all applicants to select the
    person best suited to fill the vacancy.  It is my hope that 
    the School Committee will seek out qualified applicants and 
    encourage them to submit letters of interest to the Board of
    Selectmen.  In the interviews, the School Committee should 
    come with prepared questions to ask all applicants, just as 
    the Library Trustees did, in order for the Selectmen and the 
    School Committee to fairly evaluate all applicants.  This 
    process worked quite well in the Library vacancy.  I have the
    utmost confidence that through proper interviewing of all
    applicants, the Selectmen and School Committee will reach a 
    unified decision on the replacement for Bob Geldart.
    
    As for changing the Charter, I would remind you that there was
    not a single word of concern or objection to Section 3-1 (f) 
    at any time during the preparation of the Charter, which leads
    me to believe that those who may now object to this section
    never took the time to read it.  If a Charter change is sought,
    the process will include creation of a new Charter Commission
    at a Town Election, and the development of new language for 
    submission to the voters at another Town Election.  The Charter,
    as it is written, the Law of the Town.  
    
    For your information, the heirarchy of governing laws in Massachusetts
    is as follows:
    
    	1.  Massachusetts State Constitution
    	2.  Massachusetts General Laws
    	3.  LOCAL HOME RULE CHARTERS
    	4.  Special Legislative Acts
    	5.  Acceptance of State Statutes
    	6.  Town By-Laws
    	7.  Votes of Town Meetings
    
    As you can see, our Charter has a high ranking in order of priority,
    and has been blessed by the Attorney General's office as legal, and
    it does not conflict with either the State Constitution or the Mass.
    General Laws, which out-rank us in order of priority. 
     
    Regards,
    Frank
    
      

	...and the Charter must comply with those items that are of a higher
priority. In this case, Mass. General Laws Chapter 41 Section 11.

Frank - Thank you for your your reply.  Your comments were most enlightening.

Keep up the good work!

Julian

    I noticed the flags are at half mast and the police station is draped.
    Who passed away?
    
    Thanks.
    
    Karen
    

    Louis Fava died yesterday.  He was a police officer for many years,
    and was the meter officer in the 60's and into the 70's.
    
    Frank

    There is a black flag hanging outside the Knights of Columbus Hall 
    window at the corner of Nason and Summer Streets.  In case you were 
    wondering what it's all about, here's the story:
    
    Although the Maynard Council of the Knights of Columbus has seen
    a dramatic increase in its membership in the past three years, over 
    50% of our members are over 60, and many are no longer active in the 
    Council activities.
      
    As a method of alerting members of the passing of a brother Knight,
    we have established a Memorial Flag, which will be flown in memory
    of a fallen Knight.  Members can find wake and funeral information
    on our bulletin board inside the Hall.  This flag will eliminate 
    the need for a phone chain to gather Knights for the wake ceremony.
    
    The Memorial Flag flies today in memory of Joe Cotter, a fourth
    degree Knight who honored our Council as Grand Knight twice during
    his life, once in the 60's and again in the 70's.
    
    
    Frank              
    
    

    Frank - Is the Maynard Cable Television Committee (or whatever it was
    formally called) still in existence?  If so, are they the proper group
    to complain to about problems with Cable Television in Maynard?
    
    I have recently gone through a very frustrating experience (by no means
    my first) in dealing with Cablevision.  I have gone through over 4
    cable boxes in about a year (according to their repairman this is
    normal).  I had a second box installed yesterday and it did not work
    today.  I have not found dealing with Cablevision very satisfactory.
    
    Who can I complain to?

    RE:.110
    
    Bob, the Cable TV Committee is presently inactive but will be
    dusted off within the next few weeks to begin the negotiations
    on the new Cable Contract which expires this year.
    
    Cable TV is a utility and your primary course of action should
    be with Cablevision.  You should copy the Town Administrator,
    Mike Gianotis, on any complaints.  Mike's office will work
    on your behalf to escalate any unresolved problem to the proper
    level of Cablevision management to ensure a resolution.
    
    Frank

    (at the risk of ratholing Frank's note....)
    four boxes in a year?  Somebodies telling fairy tales.  "Mine" is at
    least four years old.  (and yes, i understand about sample size & lot
    size & MTBF.)  four in a year is not normal.
    
    And, while I am in here:
    
    I noticed some poison ivy climbing out of the river along Walnut
    Street.  Is that a DPW responsibility?
    
    (Doesn't bother me, I don't react, but SOME PEOPLE are not so
    fortunate.  If it was not "right downtown" i wouldn't mention it.)
    
    regards
    dwp

No...  4 in a year is true.  In fact, we had a second cable box installed on
Friday morning.  Saturday morning it was not working so we brought it to
Cablevision in Hudson.  They tested it there and did confirm that it had
broken.  We got a new one that so far is still working.

As I previously said, the repairman that came out on Friday morning commented
that the equipment, especially the cable boxes, that Cablevision uses are old
and not very reliable.  He said that 4 in  a year "is about normal".

I certainly hope, however, that my experiences are an exception and not the
norm.

    (further down the rathole..., but mail bounced...)
    Sorry.  Didn't mean to imply fairy stories from anyone except
    CableVision.
    
    regards
    dwp

    At tonight's Selectmen's meeting a joint meeting was held with
    the School Committee to interview and appoint a replacement for
    Bob Geldart, who recently resigned from the School Committee.
    
    By a vote of seven to two, Mark Wesley was appointed to fill
    the remainder of the term, which expires on June 30, 1993.
    
    The three applicants, Betsy Griffin, Phil Loomis and Mark Wesley,
    all did very well under the heavy pressure of the interview
    process, and the decision was extremely difficult given the 
    talent and knowledge of the candidates.  
    
    Regards,
    Frank

I'd like to thank the selectpeople for whatever they did to facilitate 
the boston edison energy conservation program.    We had an energy 
audit and I found it to be an educational experience and a thorough 
process.   

To be up front, I want to know if the town will do anything to fix a water
in my driveway problem created during the repaving of Parker Street (Rt 27)
because I a: can't afford to repair it myself, b: don't belive I should have
to. Or, has time expired for me to press a claim, or should I be asking the
state this?

The driveway to my home, purchased in 1983 had a gravel, but perfectly 
drained driveway. I enjoyed it for years. The only real problem being the
noise from the trucks as they crashed over the bumps in Parker Street in
front of my house. So I was happy when they repaved Parker Street.

Although I quickly noted a problem, the connection (just call me stupid)
wasn't made in my mind until all the rain we got recently, when our driveway
was filled with water from Parker Street, or our own that couldn't drain in-
to Parker Street. I made a comment to Kathy about it and she said, "Sure ever
since they repaved the road out there the water had backed up into our drive-
way making that terrible puddle so we have hole now to catch water and our
cars get all muddy." Yeah, now why didn't I think of that?

Then it all came to me, the water in the winter, the puddles that can't drain
because when they repaved Parker Street they raised the level of the road, 
quite a bit as compared to the curbs and as a result the water that used to 
drain down Parker Steet now makes it into my drive. 

Is there anything that the town will do? Or can governments affect my property
through some exlusion rights and it is up to me to rectify the problem? I just
don't know.

john

    John, your note brings back a lot of old memories of my days in
    the Concord DPW.  We used to run into your type of problem every
    so often and our first comment was usually " gee, we didn't complain
    when your driveway drained into our street, did we?  
    
    There are always built in conflicts with streets and driveways and
    one always seems to drain into the other, and until we can solve
    the question of who owns the rain, homeowners and municipalities
    will have to work out each situation on a case by case basis.  
    
    All that aside, and although you have given me a pretty good
    description of the problem, the ideal solution would be for you
    to call the DPW office and ask Walter Sokolowski to take a look
    at the problem.  No one can make any kind of evaluation without
    an on-site inspection.  
    
    If the street drainage system is running into your driveway, there 
    are a number of inexpensive solutions, such as a "cape cod" berm 
    that looks like a wedge that can be run along the edge of the road 
    will keep the water from running into your driveway.  They might be 
    able to make a cut in the corner of your driveway to make a release 
    point for the water ponding in your driveway to go into the street.
    
    Give Walter a call and I'll bet he'll figure out a solution.
    
    Frank

Thanks, I hate to really embarrass myself the nature of my note was to really
ask whether I should even venture the contact or not. I really didn't expect
a binding yes/no, more of "Well, it is possible." or "Forget it, no one gets
that kind of thing covered by the town."

While I understand the half-serious, tongue-in-cheek manner of 'our first 
comment was usually " gee, we didn't complain when your driveway drained into 
our street, did we?"' reveals the attitude and misplaced sense of ownership 
that makes me reluctant to call any government body.

john

    re .117
    
    I got home yesterday and my driveway had a new asphalt ridge at the
    top...as well as my neighbor's driveway (136 and 138 Parker Street). 
    John, were you responsible?  I related to your note regarding the water
    flow caused by Rt27 repaving.  It appears that most or all of the
    downward-graded driveways had that problem.  Here's hoping that mine is
    now solved.  We'll find out during the next storm.
    
    Jim

No, I had nothing to do with it. Haven't had the time to call or the courage,
more likely the latter is more the case. And as such nothing has been done here
so we are still sinking in the mud. Yeah, but great news on your part I hope.

john

    I was at the Corner Store and the man responsible approached me and
    said my neighbor complained about water from the street, so they did my
    driveway while they were there, because we also have a pitch.  I can't
    remember his name, although I should be able to.  Is it Sokoloski?  The
    tall-ish guy..blond-ish?
    
    Anyway, you might give the DPW a call.  They have always been very
    responsive when I've talked to them.
    
    Also, I noticed they're repaving some streets in the area, so they
    might be geared up to do you.
    
    Jim

    I have been reminded by the Maynard Elks that they are more than
    willing to post civic and community events on their electronic
    message board.  If your group is planning a car wash, bottle
    drive, or other fund raising event and can use some free ad space, 
    give the Elks a call and they will try to get your announcement on
    their electronic marvel. 
    
    Frank

    Frank,
    
    Is there a street sweeper that goes through downtown in the early
    morning?  I noticed this morning that there were damp tracks near
    what appeared to be a very clean curb.
    
    					Steve

    Steve, the downtown area is usually swept twice a week as the weather
    permits, in the wee hours.
    
    Frank

    The second and final town-wide leaf pickup will be held this Saturday,
    November 21st.  You should have your leaves at the curb in those
    large paper bags by 7:00 AM to ensure that they are collected.
    
    Frank

    FYI:
    
    There is a great deal of confusion over last week's sale of Salamone's
    Market (next to McDonald's), so the Selectmen voted on Monday to
    suspend the beer and wine license until all the transfer paperwork
    can be processed and approved.
    
    As a point of information, all liquor license transfers must be
    approved by the Board of Selectmen as the licensing authority. 
    Background checks on all principals are conducted by the Police
    Department before a transfer can be considered.  The sale of 
    Salamone's was rather rapid and there was not enough time for
    the transfer paperwork to be processed, so the Selectmen called
    a "time-out" and took back the license until all the paperwork
    was properly submitted and verified.
    
    This was not a revocation of the license and was not due to any
    violation of law.  It is simply that the present license holder
    of record no longer holds any interest in the licensed property.
    When he presents a request for transfer of the license to the 
    new owner, the Selectmen will hold a hearing to entertain the
    request for change of owner.
    
    Until all the paperwork is correctly submitted and approval is
    obtained, there will be no beer or wine sales at this location.
    
    NOTE:  Russell's (Salamone) Convenience Store on upper Main
    Street is not associated in any way with the above action.
    
    Frank

    Frank,
    
    Is there any special procedure for disposing of furniture, old bikes,
    etc. at the Maynard dump?  I have just moved into a duplex and
    inherited all the previous tenants junk.  I would like to clean out
    basement, but want to make sure that I know the rules for getting rid
    of this stuff before I get started.
    
    Thanks,
    Keith

What Maynard dump?

    RE: .128 -  First off, see .129.  We don't have a Town Dump or a
    Transfer Station.   We have curb-side pickup for household trash
    only.
    
    My first recommendation would be to call the Board of Health at
    897-1002, and explain your situation.
    
    Here is my take:
    
    1.  Some of the items you mentioned could be recyclable and the 
    Town has a metal area at the Highway Garage.
    
    2.  Some of the larger items could be taken by the trash contractor
    but will require a fee that gets you a sticker that you place on the
    article when you leave it at the curb.
    
    3.  Most of the other stuff will probably require you to contract a
    trash hauler on your own.  They could leave you a dumpster in your 
    driveway and you would fill it up and pay to have it hauled away.
    
    4.  It's getting late in the year, but you could have a yard sale....
    
    Again, call the Board of Health and ask Gerry Collins (the Health 
    Agent) for his advice.
    
    Regards,
    Frank

    I'd like to take this opportunity to wish whoever is left out there
    a very Happy Holiday season.
    
    In response to a number of inquiries, I am still an employee although
    like everyone else, I'm felling a tad battered after the last round of 
    TFSO.     
    
    Best regards!
    Frank

    Frank,
    
    I spoke to Gerry Collins yesterday and he gave me all the information
    that I need to get rid of most of the junk in my basement.  Thanks for
    the lead.  Gerry was very helpful and I appreciate that it is not going
    to cost me a fortune to clean out my basement.  Also, most of the stuff
    can be recycled.
    
    Thanks again for the information.
    
    Keith

    Frank - I remember reading an article in the Beacon quite some time ago
    about a cellular phone company (I believe Cellular One) that was going
    to donate some equipment to the town and also install a transmitter on
    the Cable Television tower.
    
    What ever came of this?

    Bob, it happened.  I don't remember the final details but Cellular One
    provided about eight or nine cellular phones for the Police and Fire
    Departments, and also pays rent on the space they occupy on the Tower.
    In addition, they built a small blockhouse next to the tower (the Town
    gets a rental fee for this also), and provided space for some Town
    owned transmitting equipment.
    
    Frank

Frank,
       at what cost ot the town is this and who pays for the law
    enforcement acadamy for these security people or does maynard
    have a way to by pass some of the state requirements for law
    enforcement officers. The reason I am asking this is I was under
    the empression that all law officers had to attend the acadamy.
    
    jk
    
    
    	3.  Annual appointment of Digital Security Personnel as Special
    	Police Offices for Traffic Control

    RE:  328.135:  "Special" Police officers are not required to 
    attend any formal training.  
    
    Frank

    
    ok, that is what I thought , they have no real police powers then.
    
    thanks
    
    jk

    Dear Frank:
    
    In the agendas for many Selectmen's meetings there are executive
    sessions to discuss sale of real estate.  What's it all about?
    
    Frank
    
    ANSWER: 
    
    Occasionally the Town of Maynard, like most municipalities, has 
    to foreclose on property for back taxes.  This is not a pleasant
    exercise, but in fairness to those who pay their taxes, it is
    necessary.  The foreclosure process takes many years, and there
    are many legal steps required before the Town finally has to take
    the property. In most cases the properties are either abandoned or 
    the owners have no interest in paying the back taxes.
    
    When the property is taken, the Town can either choose to retain
    the property for it's own use, or sell the property to get it back
    on the tax base.
    
    When tax-taken property is put up for sale, the Selectmen sell the
    property at public auction.  The buyer must pay all the back taxes
    in addition to the sale price. 
    
    The purpose of executive session is to discuss the value of the
    land and determine a minimum acceptable sale price.  This discussion
    cannot take place in a public meeting since it would compromise the
    bid process and tip the Town's hand.  
    
    When the property is sold and after all the bidding bills and the
    taxes are paid, the balance goes into the Selectmen's Sale of Real
    Estate Account.  Funds in this account can be spent only by vote
    of Town Meeting and for specific purposes.  The Selectmen have 
    historically favored using these funds to develop town owned open
    space land for recreational purposes.  For what it's worth, I fully
    support this philosophy.  
    
    
    Frank

.138>    The foreclosure process takes many years, and there
.138>    are many legal steps required before the Town finally has to take
.138>    the property. 

    There is another case which I'd like to bring up.  Suppose the owner
    decides to sell the property, with years of taxes outstanding. 

    I've heard that this is a good opportunity for the town to collect the
    taxes.  Since there is going to be money passed around, it seems easier
    for the town to get their share than to force the sale of property for
    taxes.  Also, since the owner has already decided to sell the property,
    there is no question of the town being the 'bad guy'. 

    Questions: 
    1. How easy or difficult is it for the town to get back taxes when
       property is sold, especially compared to the difficulty of 
       foreclosure?
    2. Does the town watch carefully for such opportunities; do we have a
       good track record for taking back taxes when property changes hands?
    3. If a property is sold with taxes owed, and the town does not take 
       any money, do the back taxes just disappear?  In particular, I'm
       thinking about an estate sale, where the previous owner has passed
       away, and the house is sold and any profit distributed to the heirs.
       My guess is that even if the estate or the heirs are liable for the
       old taxes, it's going to be much more difficult to extract the money
       after the house is sold.

   -Steve

in order to get a mortgage, the lawyer contacts the town for a 
Certificate of Municipal Lien - which states any outstanding tax, 
water, sewer, etc.    

This is paid off at the closing, monies go to the lawyer who pays the 
town.  

So assuming the buyer is taking out a mortgage, you basically can't 
get one without clearing the bill with the town.  As such, the town is 
"on top of" all sales, through the certificate process, and gets paid 
off as the property passes hands.   

If the taxes are late enough, and the town has 'taken tax title' 
(although not taken the property) that would be recorded at the 
registry so it would be found in title search, which would impede a 
mortgage, PMI, and/or title insurance until is it cleared (or cleared 
at closing).  


If the buyer is paying cash, then I guess they could (not prudently) 
not check with the Town and not check for a title search.   But the 
taxes stay as an obligation of the property owner, since taking the 
property is the town's sole recourse.   Thus, the new owner gets stuck 
paying the taxes - I guess they could sue the former owner, but that 
costs time and money.   


That's they way I understand it, anyway.  

    Beat me to it, Karen.
    
    .140 is exactly right.  When a property owner is deliquent in tax
    payments, the Town makes every attempt to contact the owner and come
    to some agreement for a payment schedule.
    
    If that fails, a lien is placed on the property and this is filed with
    the Registry of Deeds.  That lien stays in place until either the taxes
    are paid or the property is sold.  This lien pops up in the title
    search, and the taxes have to be paid before the title "clears".
    
    If the liens continue to pile up, the Town has the right to start the
    foreclosure process to sieze the property for back taxes.  As mentioned
    previously, if this process reaches the point of foreclosure, and if
    the Town puts the property up for auction, the successful bidder must
    pay the back taxes in addition to the bid price.  Taxes are calculated
    right up to the sale date. 
    
    Liens are also placed on property for overdue water and sewer bills.
    
    Frank       

>    As mentioned
>    previously, if this process reaches the point of foreclosure, and if
>    the Town puts the property up for auction, the successful bidder must
>    pay the back taxes in addition to the bid price.  

I'm not saying this isn't so, but how is it that the town gets to take 
the property in lieu of tax payments, then sell the property, presumably
keeping the money from the sale, and THEN still get to collect the 
back taxes too?
When a bank forcloses on a mortgage and sells a property, they only get
to keep what they are owed, and anything received for the property
above the balance of the mortage plus costs still belongs to the defaulting
property owner.  If the property goes for less than the balance, the
owner still owes the difference, bankruptcy proceedings perhaps protecting
him from the further hit.
Is "taking for taxes" substantially different?

- tom]

    You're not that far off, but we are talking apples and oranges here,
    and I hope to make the differences a tad clearer:
    
    First off, when you buy a property, you are legally the owner.  If
    you choose to sign a deal with a mortgage company, bank, or your
    Uncle Joe to help you pay for your purchase, so be it.  You give them 
    some portion of your property in exchange for some money to help you 
    pay for the property.  If you don't make your mortgage payments, your 
    lender can foreclose on you to recover his/her financing.  Pretty
    clear.  In the foreclosure process, the lender is really only concerned
    with recovering his/her money, so at auction it may be that the lender
    will get more than he/she needs to cover expenses and outstanding
    balance, but I would not count on it.  It would be very nice to think
    that a lender would try to get a ton of money for property that it
    just foreclosed on and send you a check for the amount over and above
    what it needs to break even, but the reality of the situation is that
    you just defaulted on your loan the lender wants only to recoup it's 
    investment, and nothing more.  
    
    That's the financing part of the discussion.  Taxes are another issue. 
    It is important to remember that even if you have your mortgage company 
    take your tax payments out of your monthly payment, YOU are still 
    responsible for paying your property taxes.        
    
    If you continually fail to pay your taxes, there are two ways that 
    you can lose your property:
    
    1.  You are the owner of record and you have a mortgage:
    
    The town will put a lien on your property, and in the course
    of a title search to see who has a claim on the property, the holder
    of the mortgage will be notified.  They will go nuts and will probably
    foreclose on your property because you also signed a paper agreeing
    to pay the taxes.  They will also make the tax payments while they
    are foreclosing to avoid a tax taking, and to protect their rights as 
    a holder of a portion of the property.  What this really means is that
    the note holder is trying to protect his/her interest in the property,
    and will make the town happy by paying the taxes while they foreclose
    on you.  By the way, this is why lenders try real hard to have you
    make tax payments to them rather than directly to the municipality.
    They are protecting their rights to the property to avoid tax taking
    and they are also making some easy money by paying you very little
    interest on the money they hold in escrow.  HINT:  Try real hard to
    damand that you pay your own taxes.  
    
    I suppose that the note holder could say, "what the heck" and
    let the property go because they could never get their money back by
    foreclosing.  In this case they would write off the loan and we've 
    lost a number of banks in the past years because of bad loans.  
    
    If that happens, go to #2 below (tax taking).  
    
    Result: you lose.
    
    2.  You are the owner of record and have a clear title, or if your
    lender decides to not pay your taxes:
    
    If the taxes are continually in default, the law says that the 
    municipality can seize the property outright.  In this case, you lose 
    ALL rights to the property, and the title to the property is taken away 
    from you.  As the new owner of the property, the municipality can either 
    keep or sell the property.  When property is sold by a municipality, 
    the first action is to pay itself the back taxes.  After that, the 
    balance of the sale price belongs to the seller- the Town.      
    
    Result:  You still lose.  
    
    As you can see from the above, the tax-taking law is very powerful,
    and final.  That's why I mentioned in a previous note that the Town 
    makes every effort to avoid tax-taking.  However, there are situations 
    where we have to go the full route.  At the present time in Maynard, we 
    have about two dozen parcels of land that are so far delinquent in tax 
    payments that we have exhausted every option until the final taking.
    We're at the point now that prudent fiscal management requires us to
    go the final step and seize the properties.
    
    Frank 

    Frank,
    
    I'm not sure what role Town Government plays in bringing new business 
    to town (other than mug up to the cameras ala Ray Flynn), but the latest 
    rumor is that DEC is planning to sell the Mill within 2-3 years.  I've
    heard this from several different sources.  While observing what has gone 
    on in this company over the past 6-12 months, it wouldn't surprise me in 
    the least.
    
    I'm well aware of the fact that the Mill is one of, if not the, least
    costly facilities to operate.  I'd be willing to bet my firstborn that
    the headquarters of this company will no longer reside in Maynard,
    sooner than 3 years down the road.
    
    
    					Steve

>           <<< Note 328.143 by ICS::IGNACHUCK "Native Maynardian" >>>
>                         -< Mortgages vs. Tax takings >-

Frank, thanks for your answer, but I think you explained the long way round
the barn, so to speak.

The point of my question was:  How can a municipality seize a property
for non-payment of taxes, sell the property (presumably to recover
the monies not paid in taxes before they seized it), and then demand
back tax payments beyond the purchase price from the person who buys it?

Isn't this a double payment of some sort?

Granted, someone who knows the rules will offer (at auction or otherwise)
a sum that takes into account the fact that he will have to pay out extra
beyond his bid after the sale, so it's not a hidden cost.

Does the town effectively get paid twice?

- tom]

>               <<< Note 328.144 by KALI::MORGAN "Low-End NaC" >>>
>                 -< And we thought a near empty mall was bad? >-
>....
>    the latest 
>    rumor is that DEC is planning to sell the Mill within 2-3 years.  I've
>    heard this from several different sources.  

I've heard the rumors too, and I find them kind of hard to believe.

Practical questions, for which I expect an answer can be provided:

   What is the assessed valuation of the Mill for tax purposes?
   What was the purchase price of the complex when DEC bought it 
     in the early '70s?

Rhetorical question, for which only opinions or guesses can be expressed:

   What is the conceivable market value of a 1.2 million square foot
   complex miles from the nearest major highway or active rail line?

- tom]

    Guess you can all but kiss Maynard goodbye!  Too bad, too!  I kind of
    liked that place.  Since the reason for selling ot rumored to be that
    the facility will not meet new building codes for 1995, guess either
    they will have to spend mucho bucks or move.
    
    -sandy
    

    Regarding .144, .146 and .147:
    
    I would caution you all to be careful and very wary of "rumors".
    
    The dictionary defines a rumor as:  "a report of uncertain origin
    and truthfulness".
    
    The facts are that:
    
    1.  Digital currently has more space than it needs.
    
    2.  Digital has more space than it will need in the future.
    
    3.  Every Digital facility in our space portfolio is being examined
    and evaluated as we realign our lines of business.     
    
    Starting or sharing "rumors" about potential facility closings in 
    this or any other conference will not influence any decisions and
    are a waste of both time and emotion.  
    
    I strongly urge you to not use this forum for "rumors".  
    
    Thank you,
    Frank
                                                        

    Tom, let me try this again, in a shorter form:
    
    When the Town takes a property for non-payment of taxes, and then
    puts the property on the auction block, we set a minimum sale price
    for the auctioneer to work with.  This price is usually the total of the 
    fair market value of the property and the amount of taxes due on the 
    property.   
    
    The amount of taxes due is public record.     
    
    The total bid is then the sum of the fair market value and the unpaid
    taxes.  In Maynard, the winning bidder's check is split two ways:
    
    	1.  The unpaid taxes are put into one bucket.
    
    	2.  The remaining balance is put into the Sale of Real Estate 
    	    Account.
    
    The successful bidder then owns the property outright and the taxes
    are up to date.  The successful bidder has a clear title.  
    
    There is no double tax payment to the Town.  
    
    Let's use an example:
    
    Property X has been taken for non payment of taxes.  This property
    has a fair market value of $100,000. and unpaid taxes of $20,000.
    
    The Town would tell the auctioneer to use $120,000 as the minimum
    acceptable bid.
    
    The highest bid comes in at $130,000.
    
    The money is split by the Town in it's accounting system by crediting
    the tax account in the amount of $20,000, and the balance goes into
    the sale of real estate account.  The new owner now has a clear
    title and joins the rest of us as tax payers.
    
    Frank 

    Sorry Frank, but I have to respectfully disagree.  Unfortunately,
    rumors are the only source of information available in some areas of
    the company.  They are effectively used by industry and government as
    trial balloons to guage the reaction of the masses.  The Clinton
    administration has learned that they are sometimes required after the
    heat they received regarding the gay/military issue.
    
    I suspect that Digital uses this very method knowing that the rumor 
    will find its way into various notes conferences.  Said notes conference 
    can even be monitored (and is from what I've heard).
    
    The mill closing rumor just happens to be one of the hot ones right now
    and I threw it out here because of the affect it would have to the Town
    of Maynard.  If you choose not to comment on it, because it is in fact
    a rumor, that's certainly your right.
    
    
    					Steve

>           <<< Note 328.149 by ICS::IGNACHUCK "Native Maynardian" >>>
>                         -< Another try at tax-taking >-
> ...
>    This price is usually the total of the 
>    fair market value of the property and the amount of taxes due on the 
>    property.   
> ...    
>    There is no double tax payment to the Town.  

Sure there is!  You have attempted to inflate the price of the property
by adding the past due taxes to the acceptable selling price.
The town gets the tax money AND the value of the proerty.
Whether the payment is up-front or after the fact to clear the title
is irrelevant.  The accounting methods of crediting the tax account first
are acceptable to bring the tax revenue accounts into line.
ANYTHING received for the property above this amount (barring seizure
fees, legal fees and the like) is gravy to the town.

Practically speaking, does anybody ever submit a bid that is above
fair market value?  Why would they?  Fair market value is what a willing 
seller accepts from a willing buyer.  The price received at auction
DEFINES fair market value, regardless of how you partition the money
after the transaction.
Why would anyone bid $120,000 for a $100,000 property?
The "rational" bid would be $80,000 for the property plus the $20,000
the town needs to clear its books, for the same "fair market value"
price of $100,000.

- tom]

    A couple of weeks ago, I received a letter from Cablevision saying that
    they are reducing the number of stations included with their "basic"    
    service package.  
    
    Basic service currently costs $9.95 per month and includes all local 
    broadcast stations, plus Headline News, C-Span, family channel, A&E, 
    TBS, WPIX, The Weather Channel, VH1, Local Access, and all those shopping 
    channels. 
    
    Effective this week (I think), the basic service package will include
    just the local broadcast stations, plus public access.  
    
    This is a pretty significant reduction in service -- Basic cable
    subscribers will be getting 1/2 the stations for the same price. In
    effect, this is a 100% rate increase.   
    
    Did Cablevision have to gain approval from the town to make this change? 
    Or is there a loophole that allows changes such as this? 
     
    I know Cablevision's intent is to shift people to the more expensive
    "Family" cable package. That's one way for people to get back the 
    channels they lost.  I'm more inclined to invest in an antenna and drop 
    cable altogether.  
    
    Frank, if you'd like to investigate this further, I can make you a copy
    of the Cablevision letter. 
    
    Joe                                
                     

The changes have been made to conform to federal legislation passed over the
summer.   I'm not sure anyone had any choice over this (except we voters who
asked our representatives to vote one way or the other).


- dave

    
    ref: .153
    
               This is correct about the Federal legislation being passed
    also cablevision is not implementing this at this time; a couple of
    weeks more, they are in court at the moment.
    
       By a disk!!!!!!!!!

    Frank _ I realize that what I have to ask is really a question for the
    School Committee but since it is a question that affects the town I
    thought I would ask it here.
    
    As the parent of a child in Green Meadow Elementary School I am very
    interested in what all of the snow days this year have done to the
    school calendar.  I am wondering if anyone knows how late the school
    year will run due to the school closings that have occured.  I realize
    that any answer is affected by (hopefully not) any more snow days this
    year.
    
    I have started to hear rumors about changes in the school calendar due
    to snow days and am wondering if and when anything official will be
    said.

    Here's another question for you Frank.  While taking out the trash this
    morning, I was wondering when/if the new trash/recycle policy is going
    to go into effect.  If it is going to happen the 1st of July, I think
    it would be wise to start drilling it into the townspeople's heads now.
    I'm sure most people are not even aware of what is about to happen,
    never mind the added costs of this plan.  Any further info?
    
    					Steve

.155> I am wondering if anyone knows how late the school
.155> year will run due to the school closings that have occured.  

The last day was supposed to be June 21.  The policy is that you just
add one school day after that for each full snow day.  We've had four
snow days, yielding Friday, June 25th as the last day of school.

.155> I have started to hear rumors about changes in the school calendar due
.155> to snow days and am wondering if and when anything official will be
.155> said.

The principals at each school send home a newsletter periodically, so they
should print something official, likely in May.

-Steve

There will be a public meeting in the "lower meeting room in town 
hall", on, I think, March 30th, in the evening (forget the time).  

At this meeting the bd of health will discuss the new recycling 
program. 

	re: .153

	Just a recap of an interview of Rep. Markey that I heard on talk
	radio last week.  

	The new cable law requires that a basic service package be provided
	to all customers.  It must include, at a MINIMUM, the broadcast
	stations that are available over-the-air in the area, and local 
	access.  Apparently, this basic service is not now offered to all 
	customers.  The price for this service will be regulated.

	Many cable companies (according to Markey) are downgrading their 
	basic service packages and moving the 'extras' to a higher-priced 
	package to escape price regulation at the low end.  They figure 
	some folks will miss A&E, CNN, or whatever enough to upgrade to
	a higher-priced (and unregulated) package.  Does seem like the 
	net result is a loss for basic subscribers.

	He emphasized that the service downgrade is an attempt to 
	circumvent the new cable bill, and is in no way required by it.

	Apparently the resolution of the "what is local broadcast" issue
	is another area to watch.  Some cable provider (I didn't catch 
	which one) is currently being challenged in court over plans to
	drop ch. 27 from Worcester on the grounds that it is not a local
	Boston station.      

	 

RE: Snow days

	A couple of things to remember. School systems cannot pass the school
year into the next fiscal year. There is also a dilemma once you have used up
all your snow days. Most teachers and parents have scheduled summer activities
such jobs, school, camps, etc. to begin after those snow days have been used up. 

School Committees do have a few options if additional days are required. This 
year they could opt to use the 2 or 3 days in the last week of June but this 
would likely reek havoc on some folks plans. They could request a waiver from
the state to not meet the 180 day minimum. They could use days during April 
vacation. Or they could opt to open school on a Saturday or 2 to make up the
time. 

In my community we have told the Superintendent that we will not opt to go
into the last week of June nor will we allow a request for a waiver. We are
unlikley to take time from April vacation since we are aware that almost our
entire 8th grade will be Washington that week. If we need additional snow days
it is likely we will opt for Saturday classes.

Mike

Any idea when the annual street sweeping will begin this year?  With the winter we
just (hopefully) finished I have a ton (maybe literally!) of sand on my lawn I want
to get rid of.

    This isn't a question Frank, just an opinion (as you know I have plenty
    of those :-)).  It's about recycling again.  There was a good article 
    in the Beacon yesterday about the total lack of education the public is
    receiving on the issue of recycling.  It was an opinion article on the
    Editorial page.  I'm sure this woman spoke for many in saying what she
    did.
    
    I guess I don't understand why this is.  We have a health department that
    is responsible for trash/recycle.  Why aren't they publishing the DO's
    and DON'Ts of recycling in the local papers?  Their only cost is time.
    
    It almost seems that the plan is to NOT educate the public, so we won't 
    know what's going on when it comes time to vote on this article at Town
    Meeting.  This way the article will have a better chance of sliding
    through without the opposition of an educated public.
    
    I know there has been a public meeting on this.  I also know the only
    way I knew about it was from a reply in this notes conference.  It
    wasn't publicized in the Beacon at all.  I would guess that this
    meeting was attended by maybe 2/10ths of 1% of the residents in town.  
    Hardly a vehicle for informing the masses.
    
    I guess I do have a question for you and it is; what can be done about
    this?  Thanks.
    
    					Steve

    RE: .162:  Street sweeping started this morning in the downtown area,
    however, don't plan on any huge activity for a few weeks.  The process
    that the Highway Dept uses is to first sweep the sidewalks, then pick
    up all the gutter sand they can with loaders, then bring in the
    sweepers.  
    
    RE: .163:  Funny you should mention that, Steve.  I had a conversation
    with Gerry Collins (Board of Health Agent) the other night, and I told
    him that the problem with the proposed trash regulations and the
    recycling program in general was a lack of understanding.  I suggested
    that a series of articles in the Beacon, a handout at recycling, etc.,
    might help people to understand what the Board of Health is trying to
    do.  We had the same type of problem with the new Charter and I ended
    up writing several articles in the Beacon to explain the whats and the
    whys.
    
    Frank

Now that spring is finally here to stay, I was wondering if open burning of
leaves, twigs, etc. is permitted in Maynard?  There are sure a lot of people
that seem to be doing it.  I am not asking to get someone "in trouble", I am
asking to see if it is permitted so that I can get rid of some dead branches,
leaves, etc.

If it is permitted, is any sort of permit required? etc.

yes, it's permitted within certain time frames (which are about to 
expire).   Call the fire dept, they can tell you the specifics.  Back 
when we did it a couple of years ago, a call to them to notify them of 
your burninig that day was all that was necessary. 

Massachusetts state law allows burning from January 1 until May 1,
subject to local conditions and the permission of your local fire dept.
Just incidental brush allowed, NO LEAVES.

    permit need to do open buring of brush, no leaves. Call the fire dept a
    call, they are the ones who issue them permits.

Frank, 

I'm confused.   What I believe I heard said at the town meeting last 
night from a board of health official was that the board has the right 
to set user fees (per bag charges) as they see fit.    

How can it be that a town board can set user fees which will impact 
the households to such a degree with NO vote of the taxpayers?    

I just don't understand.  We have this detailed democratic process for 
setting the tax rate, and allocating that money across budget line 
items, and a comprehensive over-ride process,   but then any board can
unilaterally decide to institute fees without voter approval? 

What's the scoop?  

Regards, 

Karen 

.169> I'm confused.   What I believe I heard said at the town meeting last 
.169> night from a board of health official was that the board has the right 
.169> to set user fees (per bag charges) as they see fit.    
.169> 
.169> How can it be that a town board can set user fees which will impact 
.169> the households to such a degree with NO vote of the taxpayers?    
    
    One potential mechanism I heard discussed to defeat the per bag charge
    was that Town Meeting could vote to not accept the money.  However, it
    appears that no one researched the idea sufficiently to write an
    amendment to the budget article.
    
    As for taxpayer input, as the Board of Health said, they did have a
    public hearing, and most people who showed up were very much in favor
    of the new fee structure.
    
    My question is, what happens next?  The Board of Health wanted to pay
    the Health Agent (aka Health Inspector) another $12K for additional
    work, and Town Meeting voted it down last night.  Will the Board of
    Health go ahead and implement the fees without giving the Health Agent
    a raise, or do they go back to the drawing board?  Or will they try
    again with a modified proposal at the Fall Town Meeting?
    
    -Steve

    RE: .169 and .170:
    
    Although the Charter changed the method of selection of members of very
    many boards from elected to appointed, the basic responsibilities of
    those boards remains the same, and are covered by state laws.  Using
    the Board of Health as an example, there is a state law (I don't recall
    the chapter and verse) that gives them the powers and responsibilities
    to set fees, make rules, do investigations, issue fines, etc.  There
    are such laws for virtually all boards and officials.
    
    As for what the Board of Health will do now that the administrative
    funding has been taken from their budget, I don't know.  They will
    certainly have to revisit the whole concept.  
     
    Frank

    When is the official start date for the mandatory recycling and the fee
    for extra trash bags start?
    
    regards
                                                               
    Paul

    Frank,
    
    Do you know what the schedule or program for pick up of yard waste
    (leaves, grass, etc.) is?  I have three bags in the paper leave backs
    sitting out by my garage and I would like to know how I could get them
    picked up or where I could drop them off.
    
    Thanks,
    Keith