BOS Minutes 01-25-2005

APPROVED

TOWN OF PELHAM

BOARD OF SE= LECTMEN MEETING

MINUTES

January 25, 2005

APPROVED – February 15, 2005

CALL TO ORDER

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

PRESENT:

Mr. William McDevitt, Mr. Victor Danevich, Mr. Harold Lynde, Mr. Richard Derby,

Mr. Jean-Guy Bergeron, Mr. Tom Gaydos, Town Administ= rator

Also present:

ABSENT:

Members of the press and general public.

None.

&nbs= p;

The Chairman, William McDevitt, opened the meeting at approximately 6:30 pm.

MINUTES RE= VIEW

January 11, 2005

MOTION:<= o:p>

(Derby/Bergeron) To approve the January 11, 2005 meeting = minutes as written. <= /p>

VOTE:

(4-0-1) The motion carri= ed. Mr. Lynde abstained.

OPEN FORUM=

State Representative Lynn Ober (3 Heritage Circle, Hud= son, NH) came forward to discuss some of the things happening in the House, such= as extension of the low utility payments for low income families; a bill regar= ding MtBE to get it out of gasoline by January 1, 2007 and an amendment to Spywa= re bill. She said her main reaso= n for attending the meeting was to inform that she would support the decision mad= e by the Board regarding the T= own Center. She would also work with Pelham= 217;s other representatives to make sure they also supported the Town’s decision. She said she would = be available to offer any help needed.

APPOINTMEN= T(S):

Scott Weden – Property & Liability Trust Re: Scout Lodge

Mr. Scott Weden, Risk and Health Manager for Property = Liability Trust (carrier for the property/casualty insurance for the Town) met with the Selectmen to discuss t= he lodge at Elmer G. Raymond Park. He said he had reviewed the site and concurred with the reports composed by the Town’s inspectors. He h= ad a discussion with Mr. Gaydos regarding bringing the building up to code and it was his understanding that the local Boy Scouts of America troops would be working with Mr. Gaydos on a revitalization plan to put the building back into operation.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> He also reviewed a report submitte= d by Mr. Hayes dated January 21, 2005 that outlined the activities of what the B= oy Scouts would like to do as a collaborative effort with the Town to put the building back into use (and making it code compliant); he agreed with Mr. Hayes’ report as well as the report by Mr. Gaydos. Mr. Weden recommended that the Tow= n obtain a certificate of insurance from the Boy Scouts. He also recommended that policy guidelines and hours of operation be set so there would be a clear understanding of who could use the building and when it could be used. He said if other groups were to us= e the facility, the Town should obtain a certificate of insurance from them as we= ll, especially if there would be a charge for using the facility.

Mr. Gaydos said it was possible to have some open issu= es as they moved forward, but they believe the issues had been addressed. There was a plan to make sure noth= ing ‘slipped through the cracks’.&= nbsp; The goal was to have an arrangement with the Boy and Girl Scouts sim= ilar to that with the Razorbacks. = He felt the Town should apply the idea of insurance ‘across the board’.

Mr. McDevitt asked what the next steps would be to bri= ng the lodge into compliance. Mr. Ga= ydos said a detailed list of items to be addressed was being composed. Once the list was done, there woul= d be another meeting with the Boy & Girl Scouts to make a decision of who wo= uld do what and to set a timeline. He noted that of the $11,000 in the warrant article, only approximately $4000-$5000 would be used to bring the building into compliance. He said the Boy & Girl Scouts = would be finding licensed volunteers to do the work so taxpayer dollars would not= be used. The items contained on = the list didn’t appear to be large items. Mr. Weden said there were approxim= ately 91-95 items that needed to be taken care of in regard to the facility; 70 of which were minor. He felt the= funds could appropriately take care of the facility.

Mr. Danevich asked if there was a time line imposed for completion. Mr. Gaydos asked = Mr. Weden’s opinion regarding closing the building until it was code compliant. Mr. Weden said the recommendation was that the building not be open to the public until the ma= jor issue of code compliance was taken care of. He said they would insure the buil= ding regardless of what state it was in; once the building was brought into compliance they would re-appraise the building. Mr. Danevich was concerned with the wording of the warrant article because there was no start time, it just said ‘to 2009’. Mr. Ga= ydos said it had been a concern of his and the Park & Recreation Director, u= ntil meeting with the Boy Scout representative.= He noted that it was a Town building and if it failed the Town would have the responsibility to make it a code compliant building; however, he f= elt the process would work. He sa= id a time schedule would be worked out once the list of items was reviewed again= with the Boy & Girl Scouts. He= noted some of the items wouldn’t be addressed until the snow was off the ground. He said the people he= had spoken with were enthusiastic about completing the work as soon as possible. He questioned if th= ere would be a problem having the Boy Scouts continue meeting in the building.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Mr. Weden said there wouldn’= t be a problem with the Boy Scouts meeting in the building, as long as the Town ha= d a certificate of insurance.

Mr. Weden strongly suggested that the Town recognized = any volunteers (other than those in the Boy Scouts of America) in a letter stat= ing such to Property Liability Trust.

MOTION:<= o:p>

(Danevich/Derby) To formally request a Certificate of Insurance from the Boy Scouts of America (for use of the Scout Lodge at E= lmer G. Raymond Park)(the Town would be the additional name).

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The motion carri= ed.

OTHER BUSI= NESS

Vote on Town Center Traffic Solutions

Mr. McDevitt said the Selectmen met with Mr. Steve Wil= liams of NRPC at the last meeting to review some of the recommendations that were hoped to create an interim solution to the traffic in Town Center. The GEOD study was also reviewed.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Mr. McDevitt said in order to ask = for federal money, the Town would have to know what plan was wanted.

Mr. Bergeron said this was the timeframe to request mo= ney and in March monies would be awarded to be received possibly in September.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> He said he had been invited to go = to DOT and had the opportunity to see the Commissioner, who said in her opinion th= e Town Center was dangerous and that she had been contacted by the Congressmen regarding such. He said if the Town was successful there may be an answer in March and possibly in September. He said it also wouldn’t hur= t to have the other representatives of Pelham (District 27 Delegation) to notify= the Town’s congressman (Charlie Bass).&n= bsp; He said unless the Town had a plan, Congressman Bass wouldn’t = be able to do anything.

Mr. Lynde asked if there was a plan. Mr. McDevitt answered yes; the GEOD plan. Mr. Lynde said that the= plan had been reviewed by a member of the community involved with traffic engineering (Robin Bousa) who said the cost estimates for the center were flawed and grossly underestimated. He said Ms. Bousa suggested that a good design firm be hired so the impacts would be known. He po= inted out that the GEOD study was already 4 or 5 years old. He questioned whether the Town had= a plan/traffic design.

Mr. Bergeron said the GEOD study was done in 2002 and = NRPC reviewed 5 or 6 scenarios. He= said currently the Town Center was not safe= and there were delay issues. He s= aid the Highway Safety Committee had also met several times to review the scena= rios with NRPC. He noted that Mr. = Williams at NRPC quoted the Board (in the past week) that the cost would be $255,000. He said the situati= on was not getting any better.

Mr. McDevitt said he was concerned last year about right-of-way issues, which Mr. Williams (NRPC) didn’t see it as a big issue. He went on to discuss = the other scenarios and felt it was the right thing to do to take the next step. Mr. Lynde asked if Mr. Williams was a traffic engineer. Mr. McDevitt believed he was. Mr. Lynde questioned what the Town would be asking for. Mr. Bergeron said the Town would be requesting the GEOD Study – Option #2B. Mr. McDevitt said the Town would be requesting to get the project started, as outlined in the GEOD Study – Option #2B

GEOD Study Opt= ion 2B – “Traffic signal at the intersection of Main Street/Windham Road/Old Bridge Street North= and Nashua Road. Traffic signal at the intersection= of Old Bridge Street North<= /st1:Street>, Marsh Road and Common Street. Coordinate the signals by interconnecting them. Add an exclusive left turn lane from Main Street westbound to Old Bridge Street North. Add an exclusive left turn lane fr= om Old Bridge Street North<= /st1:Street> northbound to Nashua Road<= /st1:address>.”

Mr. Gaydos understood that the request was to have a v= ote of the Board indicating the solution being chosen, and move forward from that. Mr. Bergeron understood= that the funds would be 80/20%, with the Town needing to come up with 20%. In summary, the request is that the Selectmen support a solution, which would then go to Congressman Bass to request funding to help accomplish the solution.

MOTION:<= o:p>

(Bergeron/Derby) The Selectmen agree to put a Traffic signal at the intersection of Main Street/Windham Road/Old Bridge Street North = and Nashua Road. Traffic signal at the intersecti= on of Old Bridge Street North, Marsh Road= and Common Street. Coordinate the signals by interconnecting them. Add an exclusive left turn lane from Main Street westbound to = Old Bridge Street North. Add an exclusive left turn lane = from Old Bridge Street North northbound to Nashua Roa= d.

VOTE:

(4-1-0) The motion carried. Mr. Lynde voted no.

Mr. Lynde agreed that a solution was needed, but felt a round-about would have been better.

Mr. Danevich discussed the possible solutions that had= been reviewed and noted that once the equipment was purchased for the Town, if t= he signalization didn’t work, the equipment could be redeployed to anoth= er area in Town.

Discussion= of Pennichuck Water Extension on Marsh Road

Mr. Bergeron stepped down.

Mr. McDevitt said the Selectmen had held hearing on Ju= nkyard License renewal last fall (specifically Mr. Bergeron’s license) at wh= ich residents of the Marsh Roa= d area who came and voiced their opinions about the license and expressed concerns about MtBE pollution and its impacts. He said it was suggested at the ti= me that one way the Town could work with them was to have a discussion with Pennichuck Water about an extension of a water main to the area. Mr. McDevitt there had been a disc= ussion with Pennichuck as well as the Department of Environmental Services (‘DES’) regarding the Gasoline Remediation and Elimination of E= thers (‘GREE’) fund (under the authority of RSA 146,G). The GREE fund is specifically avai= lable for MtBE corrective action work including providing an apportion share of t= he cost to extend public water mains. He said DES and Pennichuck held a meeting; DES forwarded a letter to Pennichuck copying the Town which outlined what costs they would contribute from the GREE fund for the cost of extending water mains to the areas. The total cost was expected to be = 1.62 million dollars; the GREE fund would contribute 1.19 million dollars and the local share would be expected to be $427,000. Mr. McDevitt explained what work w= ould be done and what areas would be affected.&= nbsp; He said there were multiple ways to raise the local share, but said = the most likely way would be to ask the affected residents to pay a betterment assessment. He said it was un= known if there was any interest by the residents and didn’t feel it was fai= r to ask taxpayers throughout the community to pay. There was sampling taken at sixty-= eight properties; thirty of which showed contamination of 5 parts per billion, or greater.

Mr. McDevitt suggested that the Selectmen determine the specific area involved so that a hearing could be scheduled and the residen= ts could be sent a letter inviting them to attend. Mr. Lynde noted that the line woul= d pass properties that would not be connecting and questioned if they would be cha= rged a fee. Mr. McDevitt said it w= as not his intention to charge the betterment fee to the houses the water main pas= sed; and also noted those houses would not be required to hook up to the water main. Mr. Danevich said the T= own had a clear definition of what an abutter is; anyone within 200 feet from t= he work being done. He said the = High School (School District) should be infor= med. Mr. Derby noted that any of the ab= utters to the pipe extension would benefit by having hydrants. Mr. Gaydos said when the pipe is exposed, that would be time for residents to hook up. He said the Pennichuck was willing= to waive the hook up fee if a house wants to hook up at the time the pipe was going in.

Mr. Gaydos was asked by the Selectmen to work with the Planning Department to determine who were abutters and who would be sent a letter informing of a public discussion.&n= bsp; Mr. McDevitt suggested that DES attend the meeting to provide reside= nts and update.

Mr. Bergeron returned to the Board.

List of Ro= ads to be accepted by Town

Mr. Danevich read aloud a letter submitted by Planning= Board Chairman Paddy Culbert, on behalf of the Planning Board which listed the ro= ads being recommended for acceptance and placement on the ballot for 2005 Town Meeting. The list had been en= dorsed by TFMoran (former Town Engineer) as well as Dufresene-Henry. The roads are as follows: Golden Brook Drive, Benoit Avenue Extension, H= ancock Lane, Priscilla Way (extension), Gauthier Way, Jonathan Road, Koper Lane, Dodge Road, Herrick Circle, Honey Lane and Robin Road. It was noted that Hancock Lane, Priscilla Way (extens= ion), Koper Lane, Dodge Road, Herrick Circle were recommended with the understand= ing that the developer would enter into a written agreement with the Town to fi= nish outstanding items; if the agreement is not provided by the Deliberative Ses= sion the respective road would be removed.

Mr. Gaydos said the agreements had been entered into v= erbally; the approved wording had not been received from the Town’s attorney.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> He said the Town would prefer to r= eceive cash and most of the contractors were doing so.

Mr. McDevitt wanted to ensure that the Town Ballot read ‘Koper Lane’ not ‘Kopers Lane’. He said it was named after George = and Sophie Koper who had a dairy farm in that location.

MOTION:<= o:p>

(Danevich/Lynde) To ask Mr. Gaydos to prepare a warr= ant article for acceptance of Golden Brook Drive, Benoit Avenue Extension, Hancock Lane, Priscilla Way (extension), Gauthier Way, Jonathan Road, Kop= er Lane, Dodge Road, Herrick Circle, Honey Lane and Robin Road.

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The motion carri= ed.

Apportion = $50,000 Budget Committee Cut by Department

Mr. Gaydos explained that the Budget Committee reduced= the bottom line of the Operating Budget by $50,000. He said on the state forms he had = to apportion the amount out so he therefore has come up with a draft showing w= hich departments would have a reduction, and by how much they would be reduced.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> He said he met with the Department Heads, but they understood it had to be done.

It was pointed out that the Budget Committee approved = the budget after hearing presentations by each department; contrary to their approval of each budget, the Budget Committee decided to reduce the overall budget by an additional $50,000, not indicating where the reductions should= be made, thereby leaving it up to the Selectmen to do so.

Mr. Gaydos noted that the final Warrant had to be post= ed by January 31, 2005. The Selectmen were asked to contac= t Mr. Gaydos with any corrections (i.e. typos).

Mr. Lynde suggested that Warrant Article #27 (raise an= d hire a full time Building Inspector/Electrical Inspector/Code Enforcement Office= r in the Planning Department) be removed. It was not recommended by the Budget Committee. Mr. Lynde made the recommendation = to vote to put it in the Operating Budget at Deliberative Session.

MOTION:<= o:p>

(Lynde/Bergeron) To withdraw Warrant Article #27 (ra= ise and hire a full time Building Inspector/Electrical Inspector/Code Enforce= ment Officer in the Planning Department).&nbs= p;

VOTE:

(4-1-0) The motion carried. Mr. Danevich voted no.

Mr. Bergeron reviewed Warrant Article #37 ($30,000 for Architectural Design and Structural Engineering for an addition to the exis= ting Senior Center) and questioned if it were = taken out if it could be applied to the Senior’s budget. Mr. McDevitt said it could, but th= ere was a possibility that there may be a request for an amendment (reduction) = to the number. It was noted that anything could be amended at the Deliberative Session (not exceeding 10% of= the overall Operating Budget) except for Planning Board/Zoning articles. Mr. Bergeron asked for the Selectmen’s opinion regarding which would be better, either to leave = the Warrant Article, or withdraw it to be placed in their budget at the Deliber= ative Session. Mr. Lynde said historically, since Senate Bill 2, when the Budget Committee doesn’t recommend something, it doesn’t pass.

There was further discussion regarding Mr. Bergeron suggestion and the following motion was made.

MOTION:<= o:p>

(Bergeron/Lynde) To withdraw Warrant Article #37 ($3= 0,000 for Architectural Design and Structural Engineering for an addition to the existing Senior Center).

VOTE:

(3-2-0) The motion carried. Mr. Derby and Mr. McDevitt voted no.

TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT / SELECTMEN’S REPORTS=

Mr. Gaydos said he would like to hold a sealed bid auc= tion held for certain furniture items with the deadline being Friday, February 11, 2005.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> There was no objection. Mr. Gaydos said the Fire Department contacted the state regarding the E911 project; the state is in the process= of renumbering the streets. Pelh= am is the state’s top priority. Mr. Gaydos said correspondence had been received from the Boarder Rider Snowmob= ile Club that indicated the organization (recognized non-profit) would be repla= cing certain bridges. He asked permission to write a letter to the organization saying that the Selectmen endorse their activities, but want the opportunity to approve, on a case-by-case basis any major improvements.= Also if they were to apply for grants, the Selectmen should write a letter of approval for each. =

Mr. Bergeron thanked Mr. McDevitt for working toward c= ompletion of the items on the priority list. He also thanked Mr. Leo Thibeault and his work regarding the Town Center project.

Mr. Derby had no report.

Mr. Danevich discussed the Adelphia Cable services and informed there would be a rate increase effective February, 2005. He said Adelphia had lived up to t= here commitment to increase their performance.&= nbsp; He then discussed the priority list compiled at the beginning of 200= 4 and said he felt proud to be part of the group of Selectmen that helped bring s= ome of the long standing issues to closure.

Mr. Lynde reported that the Fire Station Study Committ= ee met and reviewed a package from an architectural firm that contained cost estim= ates for a proposed central and sub-station.&nb= sp;

Mr. McDevitt thanked the Garden Club on behalf of the community for everything they did on the Pelham Common.

REQUEST FOR NON-PUBLIC SESSION

MOTION:=

(Danevich/Bergeron) Request for a non-public session= per RSA 91-A:3,II,a & c (Personnel; Matters which, if discussed publicly, would affect adversely the reputation of any person)

ROLL CALL:<= /b>

Mr. McDevitt-Yes; Mr. Danevich-Yes; Mr. Harold Lynde= -Yes; Mr. Derby-Yes;

Mr. Bergeron-Yes

Mr. McDevitt noted that when the Board returned, after= the non-public session, the Board would not take any other action publicly, exc= ept to seal the minutes of the non-public session and to adjourn the meeting. The Board entered into a non-public session at approximately 8:= 23 pm. Also present was Mr. Gaydos.

The Board returned to public session at approximately<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> pm.

MOTION:=

( ) To seal the minutes of the non-public session indefinitely.

VOTE:

( ) Th= e motion .

ADJOURNMEN= T

MOTION:<= o:p>

( ) To= adjourn the meeting.

VOTE:

( ) The motion .<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>

The meeting was adjourned at approximately pm.

&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