Town of Mansfield 2007 Annual Town Report www.mansfieldma.com

Cover photo of the mural in Town Hall provided by Nathan Bradbury, MIS Department Canvas Mural of Mansfield circa 1900 painted by Melvin Victor Chevers in 1960 Photographic Acknowledgements: Charlene McNeil, Freelance Photographer for the Mansfield News Louis Andrews, Webmaster and Member of the Airport Commission Lorilee Fish, Park & Recreation Director Kathy Codella, Assistant to the Parks & Recreation Director

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Mansfield at a Glance ............................................. 1

Town Officials......................................................... 2

Administrative Staff................................................ 2

Boards and Committees Membership..................... 3

General Government ............................................ 5 Board of Selectmen........................................... 5 Town Manager .................................................. 6 Management Information Systems ................... 8 Geographic Information Systems ..................... 9 Southeastern Regional Services Group............. 9

Public Safety........................................................ 10 Police Department........................................... 10 Public Safety Dispatch.................................... 12 Fire Department .............................................. 13 Emergency Management Agency ................... 15 Building Department....................................... 17

Department of Public Works ............................. 19 DPWAdministration....................................... 19 Highway Division ........................................... 21 Public Buildings/Special Projects ................... 22 Water Division ................................................ 23 Water Pollution Control Division ................... 26 Engineering Department ................................. 27

Mansfield Electric Department ......................... 30

Community Development...................................31 Planning Department ......................................31 Planning Board................................................32 Housing Rehabilitation Program.....................34 Conservation Commission..............................34 Zoning Board of Appeals................................35

Human Resources ...............................................36 Health Department..........................................36 Park & Recreation...........................................37 Council on Aging............................................41 Social Services................................................44 Public Library.................................................45 Veterans’ Services ...........................................47

Education.............................................................48 Superintendent of Schools ..............................48 Southeastern Regional School District ...........51 Board and Committees....................................53 Town Clerk......................................................62 Election ...........................................................63 Town Meetings................................................63 Vital Statistics .................................................84 Financial Reports ............................................85 Municipal Salaries ........................................110 School Salaries..............................................120 Telephone Directory.........................Back Cover

MANSFIELD AT A GLANCE

    Incorporated: 1775
    Population: 22,558
    Registered Voters: 12,512
    Number of Taxable Parcels: 7,996
    Area: Approximately 20.72 sq. miles
    Elevation: 150 feet above sea level
  • Location: 28 miles south of Boston, 14 miles west of Brockton, 19 miles north of Providence, Rhode Island on Route I-95 and I-495
  • Tax Rate: Residential: $11.32 Commercial and Industrial: $12.21 Personal Property: $12.21
  • Taxable Properties, Real Estate and Personal Property: $3,575,848,830
  • Motor Vehicles Registered: 22,568
  • Parks: Memorial Park, Plymouth Street Recreation Facility
  • Schools: Five (3 Elementary, 1 Middle, 1 High)
  • Form of Government: Open Town Meeting; Five Member Board of Selectmen, Town Manager
  • Transportation: Train service to Boston and Providence, Rhode Island
  • Public Safety: Permanent and Volunteer Fire Department, Police, and Ambulance Service to many area hospitals
  • Municipally Owned Water, Sewer, and Electric Departments
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

John O. D’Agostino, Town Manager Robert S. Mangiaratti, Town Counsel Brenda J. Hodges, Superintendent of Schools Edward J. Vozzella, Director of Finance and Operations Roxanne L. Donovan, Treasurer/Collector Beatrice Kearney, Town Accountant Sandra LaRosee, Assistant Treasurer Helen Christian, Town Clerk Nancy Hinote, Assistant Assessor Michael Forbes, Director, Housing Authority Gary Babin, Director, M.M.E.D. Arthur O’Neill, Chief of Police Robert Bellavance, Fire Chief Robert Button, Director, MEMA Lee Azinheira, DPW Director Kurt Gaffney, Water Operations Manager Kenneth Hackett, WPCF Operations Manager Mark Cook, Highway Operations Manager Michael Ahern, Public Buildings Manager John Sullivan, Town Engineer Betty Amicone, DPW Office Manager Lorilee Fish, Park & Recreation Director Janet Campbell, Library Director Gale Farrugia, Council on Aging Director John Hogan, Veterans’ Agent Scott Leite, Health Agent Shaun Burke, Director, Planning & Development Michele Grenier, Conservation/Environmental Planner Nicholas Riccio, Inspector of Buildings David Conley, Inspector of Wires

O. Conrad Lajoie, Plumbing/Gas Inspector *

* Deceased July 2007

ELECTED OFFICIALS

BOARD OF SELECTMEN

Louis P. Amoruso, Chairman Sandra M. Levine, Vice Chairman Ann Baldwin, Clerk David W. McCarter George R. Dentino

SCHOOL COMMITTEE

Jean Miller, Chairman Michael Trowbridge, Vice Chairman Steven Greenberg Frank DelVecchio Lisa Losiewicz

HOUSING AUTHORITY

Olivier Kozlowski, Chairman Beth Oberlander, Vice Chairman Edward Carl, Treasurer Douglas Murphy, Asst. Treasurer Danielle W. Fish, Member

TOWN MODERATOR

Robert H. H. Saquet

SOUTHEASTERN REGIONAL

VOCATIONAL TECHNICAL SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBER

William Flannery 2009 2008 2010 2010 2008 2009

2010 2008 2009 2008 2010

2008 2010 2011 2009 2011

2008

BOARDS AND COMMITTEES

Airport Commission

Louis Andrews, Chairman 2009 Robert Andrews 2008 Howard Fiske 2009 Philip Finer 2010 Carl Lambrecht 2008

Animal Welfare Committee

Stacy Howard, Chair* 2008 Ana Molina-Villella, Vice-Chair 2010 Mary Andrews 2008 William H. Gerber, Jr. 2009 Sharon Baker 2008 Vanessa Garufi 2008 Sally Holm, Alternate 2010

Board of Assessors

Gregory Matoian, Chair 2009 Dorine Boyd 2010 Glenn Nirenberg 2008

Cable Access Corporation

Richard Devine, President 2008 David Minori, VP/Treasurer, Elected Bruce Fallows, Selectmen’s appt. 2009 Russell Shurtleff, Selectmen’s appt. 2010 Rick Mahoney, Selectmen’s appt 2008

Conservation Commission

Colin Cauldwell, Chair 2008 Paul Boyden, Vice-Chair 2009 Carolyn Matthew 2011 Cindy Ostrowski 2009 John P. Smith 2010 Ben Monachino 2010 Joseph Mulkern 2011

Council on Aging

Sonia Walgreen, President 2009 Frank G. Nilson, Vice President 2008 Mary E. Butler, Treasurer 2008 Donna Harrington, Secretary 2008 Norma Smith 2009 Ed Sliney, Sr. 2010 Benjamin Boynton 2010

Fair Housing Committee/ Local Housing Partnership

Judith Martone 2010 Jay Barrows 2008 Marilyn Lewis* 2008 Shelly Roberts 2008 William Dowd 2009 Glenn Nirenberg 2009 Beth Dahlstrom 2010

Finance Committee

Andres Gazzolo, Chairman 2008 Greg Arnold 2008 Jack B. Goldberg 2009 Charlene Lavin 2009 Jon Oppenheim 2010 Jess Aptowitz 2010 James P. Lazzara 2010

Board of Health

Dr. Raymond Martin, Chairman 2007 Joseph DeGirolamo 2009 Nancy Wall 2008 Linda Sivieri* 2008 Michael Healey 2009 Catherine Memory 2008

Historical Commission

David Martin 2008 Robert Servais 2010 Jennifer Crotty-Davis 2010 Annette Shaw 2009 David Baldini 2009 Michael McCue 2008 Bernard O’Malley 2009

Industrial & Development Commission

Jeff Garr 2009

F. Jay Barrows 2007 Richard F. George 2007 John McKenna 2007 Alan Clapp 2007

Board of Library Trustees

Joe Flynn, Chairman 2010 Christine Cormier-Hayes 2010 Leonard Epstein 2008 Nancy Breef-Pilz 2009 John Walgreen 2009

3 4

Mansfield Cultural Council Zoning Board of Appeals
Christine Dumouchel 2008 Jack Vultaggio, Chairman 2009
Laurie Carlson 2008 Eric Butler 2008
Kerry Lee Vallett McIntyre 2009 Kevin Mackie 2010
Julie Richard 2010 Peter DeTrolio 2009
Scott Brigante 2010 Elisabeth Garber-Miller 2010
Jeff Garr, Associate Member 2008
Municipal Building Committee David Rapoza, Associate Member 2009
William Alan Moore, Chairman 2010
Maureen Doherty, Clerk 2012 Constables
Alan Clapp 2011 Paul Boyden 2010
Kenneth Gay** 2009 Jack Riccio 2010
Robert Barry 2009 D. Marie Smith 2009
Julie Hunter 2008 James Carey 2009
Joseph Pacella 2009
Planning Board Paul V. Morrison 2009
H. Thomas French, Jr., Chairman 2011 George Lombardi III 2008
Frederick S. Armstrong 2008 Carlton Conrad 2009
John DeMassi 2009
Frank Holmes* 2011 Conservation Constables
Kenneth Torman* 2010 Charles Meszoely 2009
Stan Feck 2010 Michael Ahern 2010
Douglas Annino 2008
Michael McClanahan 2012 Town Moderator
Anthony Jodice, Assoc. Member 2009 Robert Saquet 2010
Beth Ashman Collins, Assoc. Member 2010
SRPEDD Representatives
Recreation Commission Leonard Flynn, Planning Board Rep.
Lynne McDonnell, Chair 2008 Lee Azinheira, Selectmen’s Rep.
David Rapoza, Clerk 2010 Christopher McGowan, Commission Rep.
David Leary 2009
Kevin Kemp 2009
Edward Westhaver 2010
Registrar of Voters * Resigned or vacated term
Helen Christian, Chairman Indefinite Term ** Deceased 2007
Louis Andrews 2008
Annette Shaw 2010
Martha Pierce 2009
WWII Scholarship Fund Committee
Mary Ann DeTrolio 2008
William Flannery, Jr. 2008
Phyllis Donovan 2008
Timothy Mills 2010

responsibility while trying to move Mansfield

GENERAL GOVERNMENT

forward into the next fiscal year. Board of Selectmen Some of the highlights of the past year follow:

Louis P. Amoruso, Chairman Sandra Levine, Vice Chairman Ann Baldwin, Clerk George Dentino, Selectman David W. McCarter, Selectman

Karen Doucette, Executive Secretary to the Board of Selectmen

(l to r) George Dentino, Sandra Levine, Louis Amoruso, David McCarter, Ann Baldwin

The Board of Selectmen is a five-member board elected by Mansfield’s voters. We meet at Town Hall on Wednesday evenings and invite residents to attend. The Board of Selectmen also serves as the Water and Sewer Commissioners, Road Commissioners, Electric Commissioners and Parks Commissioners, and are responsible for the public safety of Mansfield’s residents.

Government Activities: Annual Town Meeting was held in the spring and Special Town Meeting in the fall. Selectman Louis Amoruso was elected Chairman. Selectman Ann Baldwin was reelected, while Sandra Levine was elected, after having served several terms in the past.

Sandra Levine, Vice Chairman

A fall recall election failed, leaving Louis Amoruso and David McCarter to complete their terms, which both end in May 2008.

Transit Oriented Development: A collaborative reuse plan for the former Hathaway-Patterson site and other properties around the train station continues to develop, with input from Mansfield’s boards and committees, landowners and the public. The TOD study is a comprehensive planning project to help the citizens of Mansfield decide if, how and to what extent that area should be redeveloped. TOD meetings and workshops were held over the course of the year and will continue as appropriate. We await a full traffic study and recommendations for strategies to ameliorate the road congestion that impacts our roads, particularly during the afternoon commute.

Louis P. Amoruso, Chairman

Despite the continued fiscal pressures of 2007, the Town found itself, while still tight for revenues, reasonably well off when compared to similar communities throughout the Commonwealth. The Board remains committed to fiscal Tax Rate Classification: In November, the Board of Selectmen approved a split tax rate for 2008, shifting six percent of the total tax burden from the residential base to the commercial/industrial base. The opening of “Mansfield Crossing” at the intersection of Rte 140 and School Street brings the potential for additional

real estate tax revenue, along with significant have yet to be fully realized. The Electric De-increases in traffic. partment, which was directly impacted, has had the reserves to cover the expenses so far.

Ann Baldwin, Clerk

Other Business: The Board encourages cooperative relationships with our neighbors through meetings with representatives from Norton, Easton and Foxborough. Such discussions may be mutually beneficial to both Mansfield and the region. The sewerage treatment plant, which is currently undergoing renovation, may become regionally managed and expanded to meet the needs of Mansfield, Norton, and Foxboro.

George Dentino, Selectman

During 2007, Selectmen's routine business included liquor license hearings, where the last available licenses were given out in several categories. The increased number of restaurants and stores suggests that regulations dealing with the awarding of such licenses may require update and revision. The question of whether the town should apply for additional licenses will be decided based upon the trends observed in 2007.

The Board was able to strengthen public safety staffing and support several other budget requests. Legal defense of the Town and its staff was less successful, and the full impact of the verdicts in the two Electric Department suits

David W. McCarter, Selectman

With budget numbers uncertain as of this writ