TOWN OF KINGSTON Memorandum Office of the Board of Selectmen and Town Administrator TO: The Honorable Board of Selectmen FR: Robert Fennessy, Town Administrator DT: April 19, 2016 RE: Report to the Board UPDATES WELCOME Welcome to Art Mehta, Finance Director, who has been working throughout the past several weeks becoming indoctrinated into the financial world of Kingston. She has been working closely with my office, as well as the Finance Committee; and welcome to Abigail Abby Keane, a Kingston resident, who has assumed the position of Secretary to the Board of Selectmen and Town Administrator. Abby replaces long time employee Lynn Cook in our office, who retired last month; and finally, welcome to Janna Morrissey, who is the new Admin Assistant in the Town Clerk's Office. She filled a vacancy when Elise Keane left earlier this spring. COMMUNITY COMPACT As a member of the Governor s Community Compact, we applied for a grant for potential funding of tele-communications system for the town, including telephones, Wi-Fi service, etc. We are awaiting a decision on that grant application entitles New Information Technology Grant Program for Compact Communities. ASSESSORS At the request of the Town Administrator and the Finance Committee, the Board of Assessors voted to release $50,000 from the 2012 Overlay surplus to assist in the funding of Capital expenditures at their April 14, 2016 Board of Assessors meeting. BUILDING The Town House will receive a long overdue bath next week. Brad Norman, Facilities Manager, set up the power wash of the building to remove dirt, grime, and green algae and outdoor mold that has built up over the past dozen years. 1
OLD SHED ON EVERGREEN ST. The broken down shed on the corner of the town house property and Evergreen St. has been removed, after receiving notice from the historical commission that it was voted at their meeting held on March 15, 2016, that the Shed located near the Town House is of no historic significance and can be demolished or removed. The shed posed a risk to children and animals, and was a blight on the property. PROCUREMENT A contract was awarded to Williamson New England Pump and Motor for the purchase and installation of two Berkeley multi-stage pumps and flowmatic wafer check valves for the Wastewater Department; Entered into a contract with New England Recreation Group, and ordered Capt. Bailey playground equipment for installation; the KES duct cleaning project began today, which will be followed by installation of the HVAC units.. DEPARTMENT HEAD REPORTS Streets, Trees and Parks: Paul Basler Feb. 2016 In early February we took possession of a new 8 x 14 wooden shed for the recycling of mercury products disposed by the residents. The shed was paid for by a $ 3000 grant from Semass. We had 2 snow events that required us to call in all plow contractors in early Feb., and with those two storms, we exhausted our Snow & Ice budget. One of the Transfer Station Operators transferred to the Waste Water Treatment facility. Spent numerous days picking up roadside trash. Repaired countless potholes within the roadways. Assisted the Facilities Manager with many Town property clean-up projects. Respectfully submitted: Paul Basler Human Resources Update: Robert Joy April 2016 Training: 22 employees from various departments took part in a CPR/AED training class conducted by Captain David Currier of the Kingston Fire Department. Dave did an excellent job of conducting two classes, a morning and afternoon session. Positions: The following positions have been filled in the past two months; 1. Administrative Assistant - Town Administrator s Department 2. Administrative Assistant - Town Clerk s Department 3. Cook - Council on Aging 4. Part-time Custodian Facilities Department 2
5. Part-time Van Driver Council on Aging 6. Two Police Officers started academy on April 11, 2016 7. Casual Worker Recreation Department Policy/Forms: 1. Updated CORI Form 2. Created Employment Reference Check Form 3. Created Personnel Information Spreadsheet, input information from the Employee Information Form other info to be added positions/salaries/benefits information. This will be helpful when converting to updated software Human Resources Information System. 4. Completed and moving to unions for their input the FMLA Policy, Small Necessities Leave Act and the Domestic Violence Leave Act. 5. Developed HIPPA managers fact sheet. 6. Completed the Time Usage Request Form this will record all benefit time approved and used. Other HR Matters: Finishing job descriptions for the professional positions in the Library and Animal Inspector. (To be presented at the Wage and Personnel Board on April 28, 2016). Completed and managing FMLA requests in three departments. Assisted and counseled employees and managers in various human resource related issues. IT Department: Marie Grossmann ONGOING PROJECTS FOR 2016: 1. Library - a. Server needs to be upgraded which involves the following items: new server, rack, software and the firewall. b. Ordered software from TechSoup. c. Order rack. May 16, 2016 d. Ordered firewall and server from CPU. Firewall\Server shipped 2. Assessor s Office a. Contacted Vision upgrading existing in-house server. b. Replace 2 desktop computers (XP) 3. Kingston Town House a. New phone system for the Town of Kingston (waiting on grant) b. Get quotes for the additional server (domain controller/fileserver). Purchased server and rack. c. Work with departments on folder / file structure. Moved 8 Department to new server. d. Replace all Windows XP computers (a total of 7) Replaced 2 Ordered 3 new computers. 4. Highway Department a. Install Sonicwall firewall. 3
b. Join computers to the domain (kingston.local) c. Replace XP computer. d. Install domain anti-virus to all computers. 5. Building Office a. New computer for Paul Armstrong. 6. Animal Control a. Install Sonicwall firewall. b. Join computers to the domain (kingston.local) c. Install domain anti-virus to all computers. COMPLETED PROJECTS FOR 2016: 1. Town House a. Purchased 50 licenses from Sonicwall Enforced Client anti-virus McAfee. b. Uninstalled free anti-virus programs from all computers. c. Installed to all computers the McAfee managed anti-virus software. d. Purchased new Server for Town House. e. Purchased rack for Data room. f. Working with Vision on software for new server. g. Configured strong securities on firewall. Purchased and configured reporting software. h. Configured strong security rules on Exchange Server. (email) i. Worked with Highway on database for Sticker sales program. j. Researched best practice for Disaster Recovery Solution. k. And as always daily help with any and all technology issues. Conservation: Maureen Thomas During January and February 2016, the Conservation Commission held three meetings with seven public hearings; five projects were approved and two were continued for further review. The Commission also held an informal meeting with the Off-Leash Dog Area Implementation Committee to discuss their proposed locations for an off-leash dog area in Kingston. In addition to meetings, the Commission conducted one site visit to review site conditions for a project subject to a public hearing. The Commission attended Special Town Meeting in February to present a warrant article and continues to work on finalizing the draft Open Space & Recreation Plan (OSRP), participating in the Master Plan update process, completing the Albertini Land purchase, and other projects. During January and February the Conservation staff was involved with the following activities: Working with the Finance Committee on approving the Conservation Commission FY17 Budget; Finalizing Commission s Special Town Meeting (STM) warrant article for matching funds toward the FY16 Coastal Pollutant Remediation (CPR) grant project and attending STM; Assisting Town Counsel, the Town Administrator, the Board of Selectmen, and the Seller s representative in completing the signing of the Albertini Land Purchase & Sales Agreement; 4
Submitting a draft conservation restriction for the Albertini Land to the MA Division of Conservation Services (DCS) for their review; Administering the CPR grant through finalizing the contract with the consulting engineer, reviewing design plans for mitigating the Shore Drive outfall, filing the Notice of Intent to permit the work, and coordinating a meeting with regional stakeholders on shellfish harvest areas in Kingston Bay; Continuing to work with Wildlands Trust Americorps-MassLIFT on developing a volunteer land stewardship program to help maintain and improve Kingston conservation lands; Attending regional meetings of the Mass Bays South Shore Region, Division of Marine Fisheries meeting on declining eelgrass in the bay, and the South Shore Conservation Commission Network on CZM Coastal Resilience grant opportunity; Working with MA Department of Conservation & Recreation (DCR) Flood Hazard Management Program on the upcoming adoption of new FEMA floodplain maps; Participating in the Jones River Dredge Feasibility Study kickoff meeting with the consulting engineer, Town Administrator, Assistant to the Town Administrator, Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, Harbormaster, and Deputy Shellfish Constable; Finalizing the pedestrian easement and ordering signage for connecting Tree Farm Landing to the 58 acres of open space provided to the Town as part of the residential development encouraging open space (RDEOS); Consulting with the Open Space Committee on various aspects of conservation land management and improvement; Taking a Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association (MIIA) workshop with colleagues on Negotiating Workplace Conflict; Participating in monthly department head meetings held by the Town Administrator; Attending a development review roundtable discussion with the Town Planner and other department heads; Continuing to work on demolition of the barn at Cranberry Watershed Preserve; Working to finalize the Draft Open Space & Recreation Plan; Participating in the Master Plan update process; Collaborating with volunteers including Boy & Girl Scouts on various conservation land projects; Reviewing applications, writing minutes, responding to requests, reviewing correspondence, mailing informational brochures to new homeowners in Commission jurisdiction, advertising public hearings, issuing Orders and Determinations; and Conducting site visits to determine Commission jurisdiction, monitor ongoing construction, evaluate compliance, investigate violations, and maintain conservation lands. 5
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