Mansfield Board of Selectmen Highlights: March 7

The Board of Selectmen heard a discussion from the chair of the Mansfield Building Committee regarding the Robinson school window project, specifically the prospect of hiring a project designer for the project.

Selectmen heard a report from Andres Gazzolo of the Mansfield Housing Commission concerning the parking lots near the train station. They voted 5-0 to accept a new plan that would charge Mansfield residents $2 a day to park and out of town commuters $4 a day to park, bringing the residential price down $2, which will be effective on July 1 2012, after the new payment machines are in place. The report also suggested that there be one person responsible for the enterprise account, and that a maximum amount should be designated for the reserve fund based on five year increments. Currently the fund is at $611,000.

 The board read a letter from Mansfield resident Karen Conlin concerning Gov. Deval Patrick’s current iniative to close the Taunton State Hospital, which treats and houses mental patients. The board decided that it needed more information on the issue before supporting to close or keep the facility open.

Town Manager William Ross said that the Southeastern Regional Vocational School will be holding a public hearing on its budget this month.

Ross also related facts concerning Mansfield’s economic and educational statistics. Among them included that Mansfield has the highest percentage of high school graduates and persons with a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Ross also said that the salt stores and snow removal budget are both higher than last year, and exact numbers will be calculated later.

The board and Ross agreed that they should calculate the possible impact of a casino in either Foxborough or Taunton.

Board Chair Jess Aptowitz brought up the issue of streetlights and said that the board should look into funding options to turn them back on.

Vice Chair Olivier Kozlowski gave an update on the Garden Club, which will be moving along shortly due to the start of the growing season.