APPROVED
TOWN OF
BOARD OF SE= LECTMEN MEETING
MINUTES
APPROVED –
CALL TO ORDER
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
|
PRESENT: |
Mr. Victor Danevich, Mr. Harold Lynde, Mr. Jean-Guy Bergeron, Mr. Richard Derby, Mr. Tom Gaydos, Town Administrator |
|
Also present: ABSENT: |
Members of the press and general public. Mr. William McDevitt |
&nbs= p;
The Vice Chairman, Victor Danevich, opened the meeting=
at
approximately
MINUTES RE=
VIEW
|
MOTION:<= o:p> |
(Derby/Lynde) To approve the |
|
VOTE: |
(4-0-0) The motion carri= ed. |
The amendments were as follows: page 4, 1st paragraph – the phrase reading ‘would be needed’ is amend= ed to read ‘would need to be followed’; page 4, 2nd paragraph – the word ‘those’ shall be added to ‘the hill and those currently being serviced’; page 4, 3rd paragraph – the word ‘were’ shall be deleted from the following phrase ‘provisions/regulations/stipulations were in place’; page 6, large paragraph – the word = ‘to’ is amended to the= word ‘so’.
OPEN FORUM=
None.
APPOINTMEN=
TS
Bob Sherman
presents Eagle Scouts & Projects
Boy Scout Troop 610 Leader, Mr. Bob Sherman met with t= he Selectmen and said the Scouts would like to discuss their Eagle Scout proje= cts and answer any questions.
Mr. Ken Andrews went before the Selectmen to discuss h= is Eagle Scout Project which involved work to be done at Pelham Veteran’s Memorial Park such as brush removal and building two picnic tables.
|
MOTION:<= o:p> |
(Derby/Bergeron) To approve Mr. Ken Andrews’ E= agle Scout Project as discussed. <= o:p> |
|
VOTE: |
(4-0-0) The motion carri= ed. |
Mr. Corey Young went before the Selectmen to discuss h= is Eagle Scout Project which involved work to be done at Pelham Veteran’s Memorial Park involving replacing six – eight picnic tables that woul= d be secured to the ground.
|
MOTION:<= o:p> |
(Derby/Bergeron) To approve Mr. Corey Young’s =
Eagle
Scout Project as discussed. |
|
VOTE: |
(4-0-0) The motion carri= ed. |
Mr. Andrew LePour went before the Selectmen to discuss=
his
Eagle Scout Project which involved landscaping and beach nourishment and
erosion control for the
It was noted that the Scouts would work under the supe= rvision of Park & Recreation Director Darren McCarthy for work to be done at the Town parks.
|
MOTION:<= o:p> |
(Bergeron/Derby) To approve Mr. Andrew LaPour’s
Eagle Scout Project as discussed. |
|
VOTE: |
(4-0-0) The motion carri= ed. |
Mr. Mike Slattery went before the Selectmen to discuss=
his
Eagle Scout Project which involved the construction of clearing land for an
obstacle course (which could later be built by professionals) at
|
MOTION:<= o:p> |
(Lynde/Derby) To approve Mr. Mike Slattery’s E=
agle
Scout Project at Pelham Veteran’s Memorial Park as discussed; the
benches for the basketball courts are approved by the Selectmen, conditio=
ned
upon Police Department review. |
|
VOTE: |
(4-0-0) The motion carri= ed. |
Mr. Andrew Carter went before the Selectmen to discuss= his Eagle Scout Project which involved repairing a bridge (and adding handrails= ) as well as adding a picnic area with table Elmer G. Raymond Park.
|
MOTION:<= o:p> |
(Bergeron/Lynde) To approve Mr. Andrew Carter’s
Eagle Scout Project as discussed. |
|
VOTE: |
(4-0-0) The motion carri= ed. |
Mr. Robert Sherman went before the Selectmen to discus= s his Eagle Scout Project with involved building a small shelter (with a cabinet, shelf and stool) for employees working at the Recycling Facility at the Transfer Station. He also pla= nned to add picnic tables at Pelham Veteran’s Memorial Park.
|
MOTION:<= o:p> |
(Derby/Bergeron) To approve Mr. Robert Sherman’=
;s
Eagle Scout Project as discussed. |
|
VOTE: |
(4-0-0) The motion carri= ed. |
The Selectmen thanked the Scouts for coming forward wi= th recommendations for improvements to the Town’s parks and Transfer Station.
Dispositio=
n of
Mr. Gaydos said on August 19, 2003 Mr. Hanlon met with=
the
Selectmen (minutes are available); on
Mr. Lynde said the Selectmen had a request in 2003 fro= m a resident to do some maintenance for the cul-de-sac (such as plantings) he understood that Mr. & Mrs. Auger would like to maintain that portion wh= ich fronts their property. He fel= t it would be nice to have a coordinating plan for the appearance, but felt if people wanted to maintain grassed areas in the Town’s right-of-way (t= hat were not offensive to other residents, and that didn’t interfere with= the maintenance of the roads) he had no problem allowing people to do so. He felt it was appropriate for res= idents to maintain property in front of their homes.
Mr. Bergeron said if the area was in front of the prop= erty and didn’t interfere with the road (and the Highway Agent was aware of it) they should be able to speak to the Town about it. He felt it made sense to let a res= ident maintain the property in front of their home, as long as it didn’t interfere with the roadway.
Mr. Derby said the area looked good the way it was and suggested that Mr. Hanlon had notice to move some of the shrubs that were currently on the property.
Mr. Danevich believed there were four options: 1) let = the decision made in 2003 stand allowing the property to be maintained by the abutter; 2) suspend the maintenance and allow the homeowner to maintain the area in front of their home – giving Mr. Hanlon a transition plan time period; 3) have the Town take the area back and not allow anyone to maintain except for the Town; 4) sell area to homeowner, which would require a Town vote. Mr. Danevich preferred = to allow the homeowner to maintain that portion of land in front of their residence.
Mr. Dave Auger and Ms. Debbie Auger,
There was a general consensus of the Selectmen to allo=
w the
homeowner to take care of the property in front of their parcel. There was further discussion regar=
ding
the improvements that had been made in the past. Mr. Gaydos suggested that the Sele=
ctmen,
if they approve the Auger’s request, remain consistent with the
conditions that they placed on Mr. Hanlon (such as review/approval by the
Highway Road Agent); as Mr. Gaydos stated during the August 19, 2003 meeting
‘…with the understandin=
g that
the Town would not be liable in any way, for the plantings should damage be
caused from snow removal or any other Town activity.’ and as the motion read:
‘…the Selectmen are awa=
re of
the voluntary efforts to
Mr. Danevich suggested two motions: 1) that the Select=
men
reconsider their motion of
|
MOTION:<= o:p> |
(Derby/Lynde) To reconsider the Selectmen’s mo=
tion
of |
|
VOTE: |
(4-0-0) The motion carri= ed. |
|
MOTION:<= o:p> |
(Lynde/Bergeron) To grant approval to Mr. & Mrs.=
Auger
to maintain the road frontage directly in front of their property conditi=
oned
upon review/approval by the Highway Road Agent so road operation was not
affected and to allow Mr. Hanlon thirty (30) days to move shrubbery and
transition maintenance. |
|
VOTE: |
(4-0-0) The motion carri= ed. |
Mr. Lynde said it would be nice if the Selectmen draft= ed a policy which encouraged property owners to maintain the non-paved Town-owned portion of land in front of properties in a manner consistent with providin= g an attractive neighborhood with the overall plan being presented to the Highway Road Agent; and the understanding that the changes would not be considered permanent and the Town had the right to modify. Mr. Danevich said he would pass th= e task to Mr. McDevitt to add it to the list of priorities.
Planning D=
irector,
Will D’Andrea:
Planning Director Will D’Andrea went before the Selectmen to provide an update on the following issues:
Zoning Code E=
nforcement
Process – Mr. D’Andrea said during his last meeting with the
Selectmen, certain comments/concerns were raised which had been incorporate=
d in
an attempt to address the concerns.
He discussed the enforcement actions that had taken place since the =
system
was set up. Reports had been
generated and circulated. He =
said a
copy would be given to Mr. Gaydos so the Selectmen could track the issues.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> He discussed the manners in which a
person could inform the Town of a complaint and how it would be tracked.
Mr. Bergeron asked who a resident could contact regard=
ing
the status of an issue. Mr.
D’Andrea said people could contact either himself, John Hodge (at the
Fire Department), or Roland Soucy (Building Inspector/Code Enforcement).
Mr. Danevich asked if all items were contained on the tracking list. Mr. D’An= drea said smaller issues came in that may not make the list if it was connected = with a particular project under construction.&n= bsp; Mr. Danevich thanked Mr. D’Andrea and asked that the Selectmen receive periodic updates.
General Plann= ing Update – Mr. D’Andrea said the department had made good pro= gress and was receiving tremendous help through volunteers as well as the help fr= om high school students with the conversion of information to the filing system. He said staffing need= s was a concern based upon the many aspects of the department. He said for full staffing needs he= could see a second planner/planning-zoning administrator to manage the day-to-day operations for zoning inquiries and working with the Planning Board.
Mr. Lynde believed the Selectmen had in the past recog= nized the need for more staffing; the thought was to fund through the fee system = of the Planning Board. Mr. D’Andrea said the Planning Board had expressed an interest in figuring out a way to manage staff. Mr. Lynde said last year the Planning Board brought the need/desire for a GIS s= ystem in Town and asked if it was still under consideration. Mr. D’Andrea said he was in contact with NRPC. He spoke w= ith John Vogel (NRPC representative) to set up a date to meet with the Planning Board for a demonstration on the range, scope and capabilities of GIS.
Well Ordinance Discussion – Mr. D’Andrea and Health Agent Paul Zarnowski m= et with the Board. Mr. D’A= ndrea said there had been discussion at the Planning Board level due to the fact = that the subdivision regulations had changed (in 2001) regarding well radius and= the placement of a well on a property; a well radius is required to be contained within the boundaries of a particular lot.= Currently if an applicant could not get adequate yield, or there are physical constraints on the property and they could not comply with the well radius requirement the only relief would be to go back to the Planning Board and request a waiver to that provision.&nb= sp; Prior to 2001 a property owner could obtain a waiver that waived the rights of the protection of the radius.&nb= sp; Mr. D’Andrea said if the Planning Board didn’t want to handle the waivers, a provision would need to be built into the subdivision regulations to work through Mr. Zarnowski and the Board of Health to obtain= a waiver for the new location of the well.&n= bsp; He noted that currently there was a conflict between the subdivision regulations and well ordinance provision; the subdivision regulations requi= re that a building permit won’t be issued until a well test shows compli= ance with the well radius requirements; however the well ordinance states that y= ou cannot get a well without a building permit. He said they were seeking to make = an amendment to the well ordinance provision to allow flexibility and change t= he specified setbacks as well as have the Planning Board allow for the provisi= on to allow the Board of Health to take action in granting that relief. The next action to be taken would = be to work with the Planning Board to draft a procedure for relief and then to wo= rk with Mr. Zarnowski to change well ordinance and present those changes at a public hearing.
Mr. Bergeron asked if the Town was issuing waivers for= well tests. Mr. D’Andrea sai= d well tests were required prior to a certificate of occupancy being issued. He said a waiver to the subdivision regulations may be granted through the Planning Board; there is a separate waiver the state allows that in connection with well radiuses. Mr. Bergeron asked if there was a different water test that should be performed. Mr. Zarnowski believed that the wa= ter content test was pretty good, but one issue is the sustained yield. He felt all the primary criteria s= hould be met prior to a certificate of occupancy being issued and also prior to s= ale. He’d like to see a little mo= re protection for the consumer. = Mr. D’Andrea said he would like to see consideration given to changing the process of the tests being made available.=
Mr. Lynde asked if the Town should consider that the w= ell be installed and tested prior to framing.&nbs= p; Mr. Zarnowski said there were discussions and believed it would be a good idea.
OTHER BUSI=
NESS
Review of =
Budgets
Year-to-date
Mr. Gaydos said the Selectmen had been provided with s= ome up-to-date amounts and noted that there were some large invoices from May t= hat would need to be updated. He = gave a brief overview and said the Department of Labor had made the Town aware of = some deficiencies at Pelham Veteran’s Memorial Park that were required to = be repaired. He said prices were= being solicited to do the work and asked that the Selectmen approve the expenditu= re of up to $6000 to do the required work (funds would initially be spent from= the General Fund but wanted it understood that funds may need to be drawn from = the Emergency Fund account later in the year).
|
MOTION:<= o:p> |
(Derby/Lynde) To approve the expenditure of up to $6= 000 to complete the required work at Pelham Veteran’s Memorial Park. |
|
VOTE: |
(4-0-0) The motion carri= ed. |
Mr. Gaydos said the Police Department had been challen= ged not only by fuel costs, but also specials (funding of which was cut by the state) which were drawing from their account. He said there was also a shortage = for overtime costs by $28,157 due to an inaccurate projection of overtime; syst= ems were now in place to address the issue if it ever arises in the future. The deficiency will be mitigated b= y the fact that certain positions were not yet filled. Mr. Gaydos made it clear that no s= afety services would be impaired or compromised.= He said the Fire Department had a lot of injuries, which were causing overtime expenses.
Mr. Gaydos continued his review of the year-to-date budget. He discussed the item= s that needed to be addressed in the Assessor’s office. The consultant indicated that a key position needed in the office was an assessing clerk, who would handle file= s, data entry and customer service. Mr. Gaydos discussed the issue of a number of properties (550) that needed to be visited and said there was a temporary firm that could do the assessments f= or approximately $30,000-$40,000 (this firm had already done some work in Town= ).
The Selectmen discussed the situation and agreed that = the assessments needed to be done. There was concern about the property owners receiving a tax bill and= it was suggested to let owners know one would be sent out.
Mr. Lynde wanted to understand when the homes were com= plete and if they had missed receiving a tax bill. He also questioned the staff issue= and if the office needed to be a two-person office, or an office with a full-ti= me person and contract out certain responsibilities.
Mr. Bergeron agreed that a temp agency should be conta= cted to address the issue of visiting the 550 properties. At the same time he was in favor of advertising/interviewing candidates for a full-time position.
Mr. Danevich asked that the Selectmen discuss the asse=
ssor
position when Mr. McDevitt was in attendance. He reviewed Mr. Gaydos’ requ=
est
for short-term help and the request for approval to expend up to $40,000 to
hire such certified consulting services who would review the properties and
train the employees how to enter the information into the computer. Currently the money would come out=
of
the Assessing Budget, however part-time people are being paid from that bud=
get
and it may be over expended. =
Mr.
Gaydos said there had been a selection process and the firm that had been
chosen had done work for the Town in the past (prior to his employment).
Mr. Bergeron believed hiring the firm would be a short= -term solution and questioned how soon a full-term person should be advertised for and wanted to know how it would be budgeted. Mr. Gaydos said he wanted to begin= with the short term and then start to gather information about the options and c= ome to a decision on how to proceed which may take a couple months.
Mr. Danevich said he would like the Selectmen to conti= nue with the short-term solution, as well as discuss the next plan of action in= the next few weeks.
|
MOTION:<= o:p> |
(Derby/Bergeron) To allow Mr. Gaydos to expend up to
$40,000 to hire temporary consulting services (Cochran Associates) and
assistance in the Assessing Department. |
|
VOTE: |
(4-0-0) The motion carri=
ed. |
Mr. Lynde discussed the status of the budget and reque= sted an overview of the revenues. =
Mr. Gaydos said last year TFMoran had performed prelim= inary engineering services to complete a betterment project which included inspec= tions and some solutions to construction in drainage. A decision had been made not to pro= gress because authority had not been granted, but now the Town had approval throu= gh Town Meeting. Mr. Gaydos said= the goal was to have another meeting with the residents and decide upon a final design. Once a final design is determined a public hearing would need to be held to determine how the expenditures would be split up. With a final design, the project could go out to bid and complete construction in 2005. Mr. Gaydos discussed the reasons in which TFMoran had been selected and asked if the Selectmen would like to continue with them, or go through another selection process. Mr. Danevich asked if Mr. Gaydos w= as looking to award the engineering contract to TFMoran. Mr. Gaydos answered yes and discus= sed the project process, which was similar to the Spring Street project. Mr. Lynde views the project in two phases: 1) conceptual design of the reconstruction agreeable between reside= nts, Selectmen and Highway Department; and 2) detailed design work. He had no problem having TFM= oran doing the first phase.
|
MOTION:<= o:p> |
(Lynde/Derby) To award the phase one of the engineer=
ing to
TFMoran for the |
|
VOTE: |
(4-0-0) The motion carri=
ed. |
Merrimack =
Valley
Regional Water District – Appointing of Director and Alternate
Mr. Danevich said the candidate that came forward had withdrawn.
Mr. Bergeron said he would be willing to be an interim director and since Pennichuck had not been acquired yet, the Town would have the opportunity to advertise/interview for the position in the future. He said he spoke with Fire Chief E= . David Fisher, who was willing to be appointed as an interim alternate, in the eve= nt Mr. Bergeron could not attend a meeting.&n= bsp; He said once the water company was acquired there would be a minimum= of twelve director’s meetings per year as well as subcommittee meetings.= He said the director would sometim= es be voting for the Town and sometimes would be voting for the customers.
|
MOTION:<= o:p> |
(Derby/Lynde) To appoint Mr. Jean-Guy Bergeron as in=
terim
Director for one year effective |
|
VOTE: |
(3-0-1) The motion carri=
ed. Mr. Bergeron abstained. |
Mr. Bergeron said once the water company was acquired,= the search for a Director and Alternate should begin.
|
MOTION:<= o:p> |
(Lynde/Derby) To appoint Fire Chief E. David Fisher =
as the
interim Alternate for one year effective |
|
VOTE: |
(4-0-0) The motion carri=
ed. |
Raymond Pa=
rk
Engineer – Scope of Work
Mr. Gaydos said he met with Recreation Director Darren= McCarthy to come up with a recommendation of how to proceed with Raymond Park. They decided to request the select= ion of an engineering company to review the outstanding permit requirements/questi= ons; a plan could then be developed not only for Raymond, but also the associated Lynch Park; a document would be generated which listed the all the assets; a design would be reviewed by all the constituents who use the park; a final design would then be presented to the Selectmen for approval. Once approved the design would be = filed with the Planning Department.
Mr. Danevich asked about the current status. Mr. Gaydos said currently everythi=
ng was
on hold. An application had b=
een
made and CMA Engineer was working with the state regarding the tire dump.
Highway De=
partment
Backhoe – Alternatives and Recommendations
Mr. Gaydos the Highway Department was faced with the n= eeding a reliable piece of equipment (backhoe) to do a variety of jobs. The options, as discussed at a pre= vious Selectmen meeting are: 1) do nothing (which would leave the Town in a posit= ion it should not be in); 2) leasing (not recommended by Mr. Gaydos); 3) rent f= or $2500 per month (also not recommended); 4) buy outright with an approximate cost of $72,000-$78,000 which could be spent out of the Block Grant account (smaller paving projects would be deferred to subsequent years). Mr. Gaydos said Mr. Foss recommend= ed purchasing the equipment; Mr. Gaydos supported the request. In an effort to be proactive, Mr. = Derby was in favor of option four - purchasing the equipment. Mr. Lynde supported the purchased = and said the Budget Committee should be advised. Mr. Bergeron believed that the Hig= hway Department needed the equipment and supported purchasing the backhoe if the money could be found.
Mr. Gaydos said he would like Mr. Foss to meet with the Selectmen, provide three costs and then make a decision.
Mr. Gaydos said the Town was proceeding with eminent domain.
TOWN
ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT / SELECTMEN’S REPORTS
Mr. Gaydos said Sally Casto had written a thank you le= tter for use of Sherburne Hall for the Pelham Community Theatre. During the upcoming performance, t= he group had arranged for round table seating and will be serving desert and beverages. Mr. Gaydos said Da= nny Daigle (who owns a residential painting company) had offered his time and professional skills to paint Sherburne Hall one color, off-white. Mr. Daigle has secured a donation = of the paint through Sherman Williams. The Selectmen have been asked to approve the donation of painting Sherman Hall.
|
MOTION:<= o:p> |
(Lynde/Bergeron) To approve the donation of painting
Sherburne Hall – Mr. Gaydos will work out the appropriate date. |
|
VOTE: |
(4-0-0) The motion carri=
ed. |
Mr. Bergeron informed that the National N.E. (Wakefield
Engineering) had a 3-alarm fire;
Mr. Derby had no report.
Mr. Lynde had no report.
Mr. Danevich informed that the Planning Board met and = had a lengthy agenda. He said he wo= uld like to have an organizational meeting with the Chairman and Planning Direc= tor to try to lessen the impact on residents.&= nbsp;
ADJOURNMEN=
T
|
MOTION:<= o:p> |
(Lynde/Bergeron) To adjourn the meeting. |
|
VOTE: |
(4-0-0) The motion carri=
ed. |
The meeting was adjourned at approximately
&nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Respe= ctfully submitted,
&nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &= nbsp; Charity A. L. Willis
&nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Recor= ding Secretary
BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING/June 8, 2004