APPROVED
TOWN OF
BOARD OF SE= LECTMEN MEETING
MINUTES
CALL TO ORDER
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
|
PRESENT: |
Mr. Victor Danevich, Mr. Harold Lynde, Mr. Jean-Guy Bergeron, Mr. Edmund Gleason, Mr. Tom Domenico |
|
Also present: ABSENT: |
Members of the press and general public. Mr. Tom Gaydos – Town Administrator |
MINUTES RE=
VIEW
|
MOTION:<= o:p> |
(Domenico/Bergeron) To approve the |
|
VOTE: |
(5-0-0) The motion carri= ed. |
The amendments to the minutes were as follows: page 2,=
under
Land Stewardship, 1st paragraph – there was a minor
grammatical change; line 5 – the words ‘to use’ were remo=
ved
from ‘…the parcels to u=
se for
stewardship..’ and the sentence will now read ‘..the parcels
Paragraph 4 had a grammatical change; page 3 – t= he Domenico/Gleason vote count under Insurance was as follows: (4-0-1); page 7 under Mr. Bergeron’s report – Joint Law Safety Committee was amended to read ‘Joint Loss <= /i>Safety Committee’; under Mr. Lynde’s report – the word ‘this’ was added to the end o= f the paragraph.
|
MOTION:<= o:p> |
(Gleason/Lynde) To approve the |
|
VOTE: |
(3-0-2) The motion carri= ed. Mr. Danevich and Mr. Bergeron abstained. |
Mr. Domenico noted the changes to the meeting minutes,= which had not been drafted by Recording Secretary Charity Willis.
OPEN FORUM=
Police Chief Evan Haglund introduced the new Police Department Sergeants; Officer Thomas O’Donnell and Officer Brian McCa= rthy who had been sworn in earlier. Chief Haglund discussed the promotion process.
ANNOUNCEME=
NT
Tax Rate
Mr. Danevich informed that the Town’s tax rate h=
ad
recently been set at $31.25 by the Department of Revenue for the State of <=
st1:place
w:st=3D"on">
APPOINTMEN=
T(S)
Fire Chief=
E.
David Fisher, Discussion/Possible Vote Re:
Fire Chief E. David Fisher and Police Chief Evan Haglu= nd met with the Selectmen, at the Selectmen’s request to discuss the E911 renumbering project. Mr. Dane= vich said the Selectmen had been receiving negative feedback and questions regar= ding the renumbering (every 50-feet)/street name changes. He said they would like to discuss= a possible scope reduction regarding the renumbering.
Chief Fisher said approximately four years ago the Sta= te had an incident of emergency services being directed to a wrong address/street, which he believed to be fatal. This incident lead to the campaign to have all of the streets that sounded the s= ame (or were similarly spelled) to be changed so in the event of an emergency t= he responders would easily be able to determine where to go. He discussed some of the Town̵= 7;s street name conflicts and explained that representatives from 911 met with = the Selectmen and held public hearings to review the street name changes. He believed the naming process was thorough and said that the Selectmen had voted (in the affirmative) to make= the street name changes, but asked that it not be done until the numbering syst= em was reviewed. It was the feel= ing at the time that if changes were to occur, they should all be done at the same time. Chief Fisher discussed = the reasons for changing street numbering such as exceptions being granted to t= he Town’s 200-foot frontage requirements that added residences to one st= reet number (i.e. by adding a,b,c etc. to the number). He said the State had done Pelham = as one of the first communities. He = noted that the project was virtually complete, and one of the final components wa= s to meet with the Postal Service to discuss their plan and come back to the Selectmen regarding the street numbering and implement a date/time to begin. Chief Fisher believed = the plan should be done for the safety of the Town and its residents. He requested that the Selectmen ac= cept the plan (with the numbering) and (if anything else) postpone the implementation of numbering to a later date.
Chief Haglund discussed the 911 dispatch process that
currently went through
There was a discussion regarding the project and it was noted that approximately 90% of the 5000 residences in Town would be affected. It was noted that t= he Post Office had stated they would supply (at their expense) all the necessa= ry information to residents and would work with the Town to ensure that mail w= as directed to the correct location (for one year). Legal documents (i.e. deeds) would= not be affected by these changes because they are referenced by map and lot num= bers. There would be approximately 20-25 street name changes. It was suggested to have the Post Master meet with the Selectmen to discuss what t= hey would do for residents to ease the implementation process.
Chief Fisher asked if the Selectmen were going to make=
a
decision that they consider allowing 911 to finish printing the numbers (on=
the
maps and put things in place) but only implement the changes to the street
names (along with their numbers).
This way, the rest of the numbering would be done pending a decision=
of
the Selectmen when/how to implement.
Mr. Danevich suggested that the Selectmen hold-off making a decision
until a later date to obtain opinions of the public and possibly come to a
decision by majority. There w=
as a
consensus (no objection) by the Selectmen that the sound-alike street names
needed to be fixed. Chief Fis=
her
said he would be meeting with 911 on Friday (
Mr. Danevich encouraged the Selectmen to speak with constituents/residents to solicit input.&n= bsp; He asked that residents contact the Selectmen at BOS@pelhamweb.com with any feedback.
Fish and G=
ame
Presentation Re: Hunting Restrictions
Mr. Danevich said Fish and Game Conservation Officer M= ike Madsen had requested to meet with the Selectmen to consider the Town’s current No Hunting Ordinance in the three parks.
New Hampshire Fish and Game Conservation Officer Mike = Madsen and Sergeant David Escallen (District 5) met with the Selectmen. Mr. Danevich welcomed the officers= and noted that any proposed change (to the No Hunting Ordinance) would not be immediately enacted and would have to follow the normal state required posting/public hearing process.
Officer Madsen addressed the Town’s No Hunting/No Trapping Ordinance and the associated meeting minutes that lead to the enactment of such. He asked t= hat the citizens of Pelham consider the positive effects of hunting/trapping wh= ich was the state’s main provision for controlling the population of wild animals such as coyotes, fisher cat, skunk, fox, squirrels, bear and deer.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Without hunting/trapping one or mo= re of these animals may become overpopulated and become a nuisance or even dangerous. Officer Madsen understood that the Town’s residents wanted to keep themselves and their children safe fr= om hunters and wildlife. Therefo= re, he asked that consideration be given to amend the Town’s current No Hunt= ing Ordinance and instead open the current Town Parks to bow/arrow hunting and possibly muzzle loading hunting. This would satisfy both the resident concerned with being shot as we= ll as the resident concerned with properly maintaining the balance between wildlife and people. Officer = Madsen discussed the courses and exams required for bow hunting and trapping. He consulted with the members of t= he New Hampshire Fish and Game Law Enforcement Division, Wildlife Division and Hun= ter Education Division, none of which had ever witnessed, or could ever recall,= an instance where a bow hunter had ever shot another person in the history of = bow hunting. Officer Madsen said = rather than the No Hunting signs currently posted around the parks, he would recom= mend signs that stated bow hunting and/or muzzle loading hunting only. He would also surround the ballpar= ks with a 300-foot perimeter of signs stating Keep Out Safety Zone. He said in his experience, the Saf= ety Zone signs deterred hunters from going beyond them.
The Selectmen discussed the status of the Town Parks (Muldoon, Raymond and Pelham Veteran’s Memorial Park) and some of the expansion plans that are either in the process or being discussed.
Officer Madsen discussed enforcement. He said the Pelham Police Officers= were also able to enforce all the laws enforced by Fish and Game. He said he patrolled the parks, an= d had not yet had an incident/problem with a Pelham hunter in the parks.
Mr. Bergeron said possibly the Fish and Game Officers = could visit the parks (review the layouts) and see if the Town should consider reviewing the ban. He said at= the time of the original vote he was in favor of the ban based on safety. Officer Madsen said he would appre= ciate the opportunity to review the parks further.
Mr. Lynde pointed out that the Town had purchased 150-= acre parcel of land and there were several other parcels that had not been posted. He asked when bow/arr= ow and muzzle loading seasons were. Officer Madsen discussed the different hunting/trapping seasons and = the guidelines the hunters had to follow for each. =
Mr. Domenico asked where firearms could/could not be u=
sed in
the state. Officer Madsen dis=
cussed
the restrictions that Rockingham and
Mr. Danevich said unlike the Town parks, a majority of= Town parcels were not posted as a No Hunting zone. He said it was a difficult job to balance public safety with landowner rights and the public’s right to hunt. He asked if Officer Mad= sen found anything within the legal proceedings (for posting the parks) that was out of the ordinary. Officer = Madsen answered no. He said the only= thing he was hung up on was the Town’s definition of fire arms, but it had = been addressed and changed to suit the Town’s needs, which he was fine with. In his point of view, i= t was unfortunate that there was no representation by the Fish and Game Departmen= t to make their case. He wanted the opportunity to provide more information so a better vote could be made. Mr. Danevich said there had been m= any discussions which focused around public safety and Town Counsel at the time said most towns simply had no hunting ordinance which was the direction the Town went in. He was interest= ed in finding out about signage as well as entertaining Officer Madsen’s proposal, which would require due process per the state’s requirements.
The Selectmen thanked Officer Madsen for meeting with = them and looked forward to future discussions.&= nbsp;
Michael Ca=
stagna,
Pre-Design Infrastructure Survey for
Mr. Michael Castagna of Castagna Consulting Group, LLC=
met with
the Selectmen to discuss the pre-design infrastructure survey for the
Mr. Gleason asked if the expansion of the building was=
fully
Mr. Domenico asked if the proposed windows would match= the size and style of those on the other side of the building. Mr. Castagna said it was the inten= t to match size and style. Mr. Dom= enico asked about the status of the boilers and their efficiency. Mr. Castagna said he spoke with the plumbing company that maintained the building and questioned them about the boilers. The response he rece= ived was the boilers were well maintained and if continued would have quite a bi= t of life left. With zoning/segreg= ating the new areas, it will help with efficiency of the system.
Mr. Bergeron wanted to know when a discussion would oc= cur as to if there would be a bid process/bonding (for a general contractor or des= ign build) if the proposed expansion were to move forward (and be a warrant article). Mr. Castagna said it would be a procurement process and explained that he would act as the owner’s professional liaison in making sure that the budget set was sellable to the taxpayers and the project was designed to be functional/efficient and would last as long as the building would. He said they would work with the T= own to determine a clear understanding of the project and the costs.
Mr. Lynde asked for a clarification of the dimensions = for the public meeting room as well as the PTV Broadcast room. Mr. Castagna said there was a dime= nsion missing from the PTV space. T= here was a discussion regarding the ‘bonus rooms’. It was suggested that the (15x22) = bonus room beside the (22x22) public meeting room be consolidated; and that the (15x22) bonus room beside the (22x22) Park & Recreation room be consolidated.
Mr. Danevich understood construction costs were increa=
sing
but felt a realistic number for the proposed expansion would be half the
estimated cost being discussed. He
pointed out that last year a warrant article for a complete building ($130,=
000)
failed; and the proposed costs for the expansion were $100,000 per room.
Mr. Lynde asked for comments regarding carpeting. Mr. Castagna said there were ways = of mitigating outside debris from coming into the building. The floor finishes had been review= ed and mirrored the design of the renovated portion of the building in the propose= d plan. The costs were broken out in more = detail in the design specifications. During the design phase numbers would be better determined. Mr. Lynde asked how many square fe= et were considered in the storage area. Mr. Castagna said the storage area was approximately 6200SF.
Mr. Bergeron asked if Mr. Castagna’s fees were included in design services and if there were other (similar) fees included= in other areas. Mr. Castagna sai= d his fees ($30,000) were included in design services and no other place. Mr. Bergeron asked if the proposed= was design / build. Mr. Castagna answered no; and suggested that the design phase be completed (with solid design documents) and sent out to bid to a general contractor. He said certain elements (i.e. mechanical / electrical) could be sent out design / build to save some money. Mr. Bergeron questione= d if guarantees / warranties would be included as part of the bidding. Mr. Castagna said as the Town̵= 7;s consultant the RFP would be put out based on the Town’s criteria of procurement = and would write the RFP out to bid based on the documents and the Town’s input to hire the lowest responsible bidder for the project.
Mr. Domenico said he had the opportunity to meet with = some of the members of the Sherburne Hall Committee (last Monday) and expressed/= conveyed to them the interest of the Selectmen to bring the hall up to some level of usability. The committee memb= ers were behind the idea, but because of rising costs the goal was being ‘chased up hill’. Mr. Domenico suggested that the committee discuss the idea of having Mr. Castag= na do a report (similar to that of the classrooms) for Sherburne Hall. Prior to Mr. Castagna starting his= work, the Committee would come before the Selectmen and discuss the vision for the hall. Mr. Domenico was hopefu= l that within a month, the Sherburne Hall (completion) bond number would be tighter than it currently was. Mr. Ca= stagna said if the Committee wanted, he was willing to ‘spear head’ a Charette for them.
The Selectmen thanked Mr. Castagna for meeting with the Selectmen.
OTHER BUSI=
NESS
Discussion=
of
Mr. Danevich said a Fire Impact Fee was enacted/adopte=
d and
the first fees were collected
Discussion=
of $20
Million Bond Proposal
Mr. Danevich said a meeting was held (
Mr. Lynde said CERT needed a ‘home’ in the=
event
the Annex was closed. Mr. Dom=
enico
said that would be a policy decision.
Mr. Lynde felt estimates should be obtained of the impact fees that
would be realized from the
projects. He said a priority =
list
should be submitted including backup information for the departments. Danev=
ich
said the Selectmen should agree on the list prior to (
Mr. Bergeron didn’t believe that the plans were finalized on some of the items contained on the spreadsheet. He recalled that warrant articles = were for specific things and not ‘grouping’ items. He felt the items that were well p= lanned and had all the backup possibly deserved either approval/disapproval by the Selectmen so the Town people would have the opportunity to see how the Selectmen felt about such. He= noted the spread sheet listed highway road improvements in a ‘catch allR= 17; section and questioned when a similar warrant article had been put. Mr. Domenico said one reason why t= he CIP came forward with the plan was to review only those projects that had been slated (or had plans submitted by the Department Heads) to be built last year. It was determined that = those projects alone had increased 4.5 million dollars in cost for one year. The graph reviews the needs for fi= fteen years into the future, solves the problems and stabilizes the taxes; paymen= ts over the life of the bond would decrease.&= nbsp; If the projects were all in the pipeline and ready to be built, it w= ould allow the Town to asses the correct impact fees (and decrease the bond payment). Mr. Domenico felt i= t was good fiscal planning. He addr= essed the road improvements and said the costs were directly associated with the = cost of oil. He said roads should = be maintained; the Town can’t afford to pave all the roads with the mone= y in the road grant. He said there= would be something coming from the schools and the spread sheet allowed taxpayers= to know what to expect from the Town in the next fifteen years and make decisi= ons regarding the school in the correct financial concept. He said he would provide the backup information to the Selectmen for review.&n= bsp;
Mr. Bergeron said there were numbers contained in the = spread sheet that were not final. He= said when the Fire Chief met with the Selectmen a couple weeks ago he questioned= the Chief about a plan for the existing main fire station. He said the Building Inspector Rol= and Soucy (who hadn’t seen the meeting, but had heard from a lot of resid= ents about it) contacted him and wanted to show him drawings. The drawings were put together when Peter Flynn was the Town Administrator and were to renovate the existing building at a time when both the Police and Fire Departments occupied the building. Mr. Bergeron said M= r. Soucy (after reviewing the plans) would like to meet with him, the Fire Chi= ef, and any other members that would like to attend, to discuss the plan. He said it was possibly an alterna= tive plan and would like the opportunity to see what came from it and report bac= k to the Selectmen.
Mr. Gleason said it was his understanding that the $2m= illion dollars from the government would have money in it to remove the (existing) fire station. He said it had = never been clarified and wanted to know if the Town had received answers from the state regarding their plans for the Fire Station. Mr. Bergeron didn’t believe = there was any plan about removing or leaving the fire station. He said the next step would be (fo= r the Selectmen) to determine if the state or the Town would move the project for= ward (and follow outlined guidelines). He said he had heard there were funds to remove the fire station, but had not heard that it was part of the intent of the application. He said the application discussed = the two intersections and 1000-feet from every road involved (and other items);= but there was nothing contained therein about removing the station. Mr. Gleason said there was suppose= dly $475,000 within one of the ($1 million dollar) proposals for removal of the fire station. He said he didn’t know what was contained in the $2 million dollar proposal and = the Town had to know what the state’s intention was for the fire station = (so there wouldn’t be conflict later or preclude the Town from taking any action). Mr. Bergeron felt it= was fair of the Town to ask the state. In his view, the Town had more authority over the fire station than = the state. Mr. Gleason asked that= the state be contacted/questioned what the original $1 million dollars consisted of. Mr. Bergeron said the req= uest from Commissioner Carol Murray talked about the two intersections and 1000-= feet from all of the roads at the intersections. He said he had asked if the money = could be spent at other intersections and he was told it could not. He said between the two Senators a= nd the Congressman it came out as a $2 million dollar appropriation; in talking to= the state if the budget went to 2.5 million, the state would pay the half milli= on and the federal portion would be two million (because of the matching funds).
There was a brief discussion regarding the plan Mr. So=
ucy
had. To keep the process cons=
istent
any communication should go through the Fire Station Building Committee.
Resignatio=
n of
Conservation Commission Member Ms. Diane Antinerella
Mr. Danevich said Ms. Diane Antinerella had submitted = her resignation from the Conservation Commission based on a scheduling conflict with her employment.
|
MOTION:= |
(Gleason/Lynde) To accept the resignation of Ms. Dia= ne Antinerella from the Conservation Commission effective immediately. |
|
VOTE: |
(5-0-0) The motion carried. |
Ms. Antinerella was thanked for the time that she had served.
Discussion=
of
Selectmen Priorities
Mr. Danevich reviewed a list of items that Town Administrator Tom Gaydos would be focusing on over the next 30-days. The Selectmen reviewed the Selectm= en priority list. Mr. Danevich w= ill update the file, forward to the Selectmen and make the document public.
TOWN ADMIN=
ISTRATOR
/ SELECTMEN REPORTS
Mr. Gleason said that resolution of the agreement with Vision wasn’t happening as fast as expected. He said there were no major obstac= les and was trying to set up a meeting with Vision, Corcoran, Town Counsel (John Rattigan) to come to an agreement. He asked that the Selectmen delegate/authorize him as their representative so if an agreement was reached, it could be signed. He said the Selectmen would have t= he opportunity to review the document. He said he didn’t want to give Vision the opportunity to say t= hat the Town was impacting their schedule.&nbs= p; There was a brief discussion and Mr. Gleason was given the authority= to initial the agreement; the Selectmen would have the opportunity to review t= he agreement. He said once there= was concurrence between the parties the Town would have to move (regarding the agreement) expeditiously. Mr. Gleason said the budget process was complete for the Town. Even though the Budget Committee t= ook $70,981 out of the Town budget, they were recommending that $49,000 be put = into warrant articles. Mr. Domenico briefly discussed the fact that (new) part time employee positions had been included in the budget (and removed by the Budget Committee). He said the Budget Committee leade= rship (or subset) was willing to discuss further; he said a meeting could be scheduled and posted if other Selectmen were interested in attending.
Mr. Lynde had no report. He noted that the contract with the cable company stated 50% of the franchise fees would be used to support the cable department, which he didn’t feel was being met. Mr. Danevich understood it would h= ave to be corrected.
Mr. Bergeron had no report.
Mr. Domenico felt there should be a discussion regardi= ng the other 50% of the revenues (from cable) that was placed in the General Funds.
Mr. Danevich noted that the next Selectmen meeting wou=
ld be
held
REQUEST FOR NON-PUBLIC SESSION
|
MOTION:= |
(Lynde/Bergeron) Request for a non-public session pe= r 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. Danevich-Yes; Mr. Lynde-Yes; Mr. Bergeron-Yes; M= r. Gleason-Yes; Mr. Domenico-Yes |
Mr. Danevich noted that when the Board returned, after=
the
non-public session, the Board would not take any other action publicly, exc=
ept
to possibly seal the minutes of the non-public session and to adjourn the
meeting. The Board entered in=
to a
non-public session at approximately
The Board returned to public session at approximately =
|
MOTION:= |
(Gleason/Bergeron) To seal the minutes of the non-pu= blic session. |
|
VOTE: |
(5-0-0) The motion carried. |
ADJOURNMEN=
T
|
MOTION:<= o:p> |
(Bergeron/Gleason) To adjourn the meeting. |
|
VOTE: |
(5-0-0) 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; &nbs= p; Chari= ty A. L. Willis
&nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Recor= ding Secretary
BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING/November 1, 2005