BOS Minutes 02-14-2006

APPROVED

TOWN OF PELHAM

BOARD OF SE= LECTMEN MEETING

MINUTES

February 14, 2006

APPROVED – February 21, 2006

CALL TO ORDER

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

PRESENT:

Mr. Victor Danevich, Mr. Harold Lynde (left the meet= ing early), Mr. Jean-Guy Bergeron, Mr. Edmund Gleason, Mr. Tom Domenico, Mr. = Tom Gaydos – Town Administrator

Also present:

ABSENT:

Members of the press and general public.

None

MI= NUTES REVIEW

November 29, 2005

MOTION:=

(Gleason/Lynde) To approve the November 29, 2005 meeting= minutes as amended.

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The motion carried.

Amendments to the minutes were as follows: pag= e 3 – Article P – the sentence reading ‘Mr. Domenico believed the article had been ‘tabled’ at = the last meeting was to review if a larger Highway Department amount would be s= ubmitted,..’ was amended to read ‘Mr. Domenico believed the rational for ‘tabling’ the article at the last meeting was if a larger Highw= ay Department amount was submitted,…’; in the next sentence the word ‘was’ was repl= aced with ‘would be’; fu= rther down the words ‘set asideR= 17; were inserted to the following ‘…had enough money (set aside) to cover…’; page 6 – 1^st paragraph – the wo= rd ‘not’ was replaced = with the word ‘now’ in t= he following ‘..$14,166,156 to now read $15,275,000…’; page = 7 - the ending time and name of person making the motion were added.

January 24, 2006

MOTION:=

(Gleason/Bergeron) To approve the January 24, 2006 meeting = minutes as amended.

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The motion carried.

Amendments to the minutes were as follows: page 1 R= 11; under Darren Martin - the word ‘proposed’ was deleted and replaced = with ‘… approach being prese= nted tonight.’; page 2 – second paragraph – the word ̵= 6;the’ was deleted from the fi= fth sentence; under Tim Zelonis – the words ‘communication problem by’ & ‘that’ were inserted into ‘…rectify the communication problem by a meeting = that should…’; the word ‘issues’ was replaced by the word ‘instances’; the word ‘said’ was replaced by the word ‘recomme= nded’; page 3 – 1^st paragraph – the sentence reading ‘Mr. Danevich noted that the request of $39,000 had been accounted for the public hearing process to spend such would need to be scheduled.’ was replace= d with ‘Mr. Danevich noted that the request for $39,000 fell under the public hearing process and to spend such would require a meeting to be scheduled.’; page 4 – 2^nd paragraph – the word ‘applicable’ was replaced with the word ‘acceptable’.

OPEN FORUM=

No input.

APPOINTMEN= TS

PUBLIC HEA= RING – PTV

Mr. Danevich explained to propose an expenditure of the grant from the PTV Fund, a public hearing process had to take place.

Mr. Jim Greenwood discussed what items would be purcha= sed with the funds. He explained = that the items would make improvements to the department. The request was to not exceed $40,= 000; after the Town vote in March, the remaining funds would be reviewed.

The Selectmen were given an equipment request; a final= quote would be later provided. Mr. Gleason asked if there would be a bid process, or if the equipment was specialized and come from one source. Mr. Greenwood said it was specialized equipment; most of the compani= es had the same price. He said he would work with the same salesperson that he had for the past several years; the costs were lower than listed on the company website. Mr. Gleason asked that the quotes = were put on record for reference in the future.= Mr. Danevich said the prices had to be submitted as part of the back= up for payment.

Mr. Danevich noted that the requested equipment was de= cided upon after reviewing others. = Mr. Greenwood discussed the current system compared to the proposed and what changes would occur with PTV.

There was no public input.

MOTION:=

(Gleason/Lynde) To approve the procurement, not to e= xceed $40,000, of capital equipment for PTV.&n= bsp;

=

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The motion carried.

Planning D= irector Jeff Gowan:

Code Enforcem= ent Update – Mr. Gowan said he wanted to move forward with a 24-hour position budgeted for during the budget process. He said he could provide a job description to the Selectmen for review.&n= bsp; With approval the position could be posted and advertised. With the position there would be improved results of code enforcement response. The position would have an hourly = rate of pay with no benefits attached. After doing comparative analysis of surrounding towns, Mr. Gowan believed the hourly wage would be attractive to certain qualified individuals. The public would= have better access to code personal if the position was approved. Mr. Gaydos said he had been workin= g with Mr. Gowan on the project and recommended that the Board support a motion to advertise and post the code enforcement position for set office hours.

MOTION:=

(Gleason/Bergeron) To authorize Planning Director Je= ff Gowan to proceed with the necessary advertisements for a part-time code enforcement officer.

=

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The motion carried.

Mr. Danevich said the Selectmen would want periodic up= dates of code enforcement.

Regional Deve= lopment Impact on Castle Hill Bridge – Mr. Danevich = said the Town had received some complaints/feedback from the residents in the Castle Hill Bridge area regardi= ng increased traffic. Mr. Gowan = began by saying the Castle Hill Bridge was ‘red listed’ by the state and did not meet today’s standards. He said there was a significant project occurring in Windham (Green Mountain View Estates) that could conceivably be approved February 15, 2006. He said he would be attending the Windham Planning Board meeting with Mr. Gaydos to encourage that Windham hold off f= inal approval and address the issues and properly mitigate such. Mr. Danevich said with the project, there had been a lot of commercial traffic traveling the bridge. He said in the past, the Pelham vo= ters had chosen not to invest in the bridge by doing any improvements/upgrades.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>

Mr. Lynde asked if the issue should be considered a re= gional impact. Mr. Gowan answered ye= s, he believed it met the threshold. He believed there was additional development in that area that could occur. Mr. Gowan said he was going to try= and have Windham take into account and consider Pelham’s options as well as the traffi= c on the bridge. Mr. Lynde asked i= f the state should be concerned. He= was concerned with the traffic coming out on Mammoth Road. Windham indicated that they had sent a package to Pelham in June, 2005. Mr. Gaydos said complaints had been received and it was confirmed that there were planned subdivisions ‘in the works’. He noted th= at the Town had gone out to bid for the Tallant Road = Bridge and finalized the plans; part of which was to close the Castle Hill Bridge during construction of such. He said= he (and Mr. Gowan) just received notification that the = Windham project was up for final approv= al on February 15. He intended to indicate to the state that there is a regional impact.

Mr. Bergeron questioned if the bridge was posted for a= load limit. Mr. Gaydos said it was posted for 3 tons. While at t= he location, Mr. Gaydos and the Police Chief witnessed a number of large deliv= ery trucks backing up the hill in = Windham when they saw the Chief. Mr. Bergeron suggested posting signs on the Mammoth Road side as well as a publ= ic announcement. Mr. Gaydos did = not believe that there was an education problem with the trucks. Mr. Bergeron asked if Pelham had t= he authority to go to the Windham= meeting and bring up concerns. Mr. Gowan said if he were a planning board chairman and = Windham came in with concerns, he would= give that credence and ask the board to postpone final approval. He said Pelham could make the request. Mr. Bergeron questio= ned the legal aspects. Mr. Gaydos= said the Town had a number of options, the best being a coordinated approach bet= ween the two towns (based on the potential for the additional development in the area).

There was no objection by the Selectmen to have Mr. Go= wan represent the Town. The Selec= tmen asked that feedback be provided.

Mr. Gaydos noted that the bids for the Tallant Road Bridge would be ope= ned around the first of March. Mr. Lynde questioned if residents should be pre-warned of the project so they c= ould consider alternate routes. Mr. Gaydos said part of the bid was to place signage; residents would have at l= east one month notice of the project.

OTHER BUSI= NESS

Discussion= of Town Center Traffic Grant

Mr. Gaydos explained that this was a program with Fede= ral funds ‘ear marked’ for the project; none of the money was going= to the Town. The state receives funding – 20% for five years. In order for the state to release the funds, the project had to be on the state’s 10-year plan. By July the Town will know if the project is on the plan. Mr. Gaydos said once the project w= as placed on the plan, the Town would have to review the options of either managing the process itself, or asking the state to. He said (if the project was on the= list) the process would begin in the fall, 2006, there would then be a set of pub= lic hearings and by fall, 2008 there would be closure and resolution of what the Town wanted to complete. He s= aid the state 10-year plan does not discuss construction money being available until 2009 (at the earliest).  &= nbsp;

Mr. Gleason asked if the Town had any idea what was in= the plan (for the Town Center) provided by= the state to the Federal Government. Mr. Gaydos said the plan entailed two intersections (four-way at Nashua Road/Windham Road= and Marsh Road) as well as the area leading up to such.&nb= sp; The funding was specific to the main area of traffic and not for oth= er areas in Town. Mr. Gleason wa= nted to know what the million dollars represented. Mr. Gaydos said it represented mon= ey to come up with a solution for the downtown traffic problem. He said what was presented to the Federal Government and the NH Department of Transportation was the option of having signalization they also represented that there was a problem that was only getting worse; there were a number of options considered. He said the extent of the project = would be greatly influenced by the hearing process and what the Selectmen decided. Mr. Gleason asked wh= en the Town had to make a decision relative to whether the Town or the state would take responsibility or allocate to the state. Mr. Gaydos said the Town could take several years and drag the decision out.&n= bsp; The money was earmarked from the Federal Government; the state had t= he funding in its budget and was responsible to see that it was done.

There was further discussion about the project funding, items contained therein as well as the process that would be followed for such. Mr. Bergeron believed Commissioner Carol Murray would be glad to discuss the project with the Selectmen and answer any questions. He believed the question facing the Town was whether the state or the Town would oversee the project. He said the state would vote on their 10-year plan (which was currently in dra= ft form) in July, 2006; the project was tentatively scheduled for the year 2010.

Mr. Danevich suggested contacting Commissioner Murray = to set a meeting for the end of March to discuss the process. There was no objection by the Sele= ctmen to have Mr. Danevich work with Mr. Gaydos to set a meeting with the Commiss= ioner.

Discussion= of Process to Hire Fire Chief

Mr. Danevich said the Fire Chief had indicated that he intended to retire sometime in June, 2006.= He said the Selectmen should decide what process the Selectmen wante= d to use to hire a Fire Chief. Mr.= Gaydos said the process of hiring a Fire Chief was different than hiring an officer. He went on to discus= s the phases that would be used: 1) screening by the Association of Fire Chief (a= nd who ever else the Selectmen wanted); 2) oral boards (peers, citizens, Highw= ay Safety Committee); and finally 3) Selectmen interviewing finalists.

Mr. Bergeron asked if a Deputy Chief (from within the department) could be in place so the Chief could work with them in the interim. Mr. Danevich said the Selectmen could entertain such.

Mr. Domenico wanted the management responsibilities highlighted in the job description.

Mr. Lynde left the meeting.

Mr. Gaydos was asked to work with the Fire Chief to dr= aft a solid job description to be reviewed by the Selectmen at the next meeting.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> The Selectmen would further discus= s the hiring process at that time. =

Town Repor= t Status

Mr. Gaydos believed that a copy of the report would be= ready for review/proofing by the first week in March.

The Selectmen discussed the possible distribution meth= ods for the Town Report. The book itself had to be mailed by the Town, but the voter guide (being non-partisa= n) could be sent out using a non-profit permit. The overall costs to do the mailin= gs would be within the set budget of $18,000.=

Mr. Danevich asked the Selectmen to review the voter g= uide and submit any amendments prior to the next meeting. He said he had been working with t= he School District to possible combine resources to in= clude their voter guide and sample ballot in the same mailing, which would be the most cost effective process. =

Mr. Gaydos said he would like to speak with the Boy Sc= outs regarding stuffing the envelopes since they had done so in the past. There was no objection.

It was decided to mail the Town Reports using the Town’s permit; the Boy Scouts would have first opportunity of refusal= to stuff the envelopes. Mr. Gayd= os was asked to continue his work with the School District<= /st1:place> to coordinate the package.

Deliberati= ve Session Wrap Up

Mr. Danevich said the Deliberative Session was held; he provided a summary of such and outlined the four amendments made at that time. Mr. Gaydos indicated th= at the official Warrant has been re-signed and updated. Mr. Gleason noted that the Budget Committee had approved the modifications by e-mailed confirmation. He confirmed that there would be a notation on the Operating Budget indicating Budget Committee approval. Mr. Gaydos answered yes. Mr. Gleason said the Budget Commit= tee took no action on the Highway Grant because it was under the MS3. Mr. Gaydos said based on the fact = that the Budget Committee didn’t vote on the Highway Grant (after the chan= ge on the floor at the Deliberative Session) their recommendation would not ch= ange (and remained as recommended).

Revaluatio= n Update

Mr. Gleason provided the Selectmen with a status updat= e of the revaluation project. He s= aid the process was ‘on target’ for completion in October, 2006. For further breakdown see Attachment. Mr. Danevich will= post an electronic copy on the Town’s website.

Department= 3-Year Plans

Mr. Gaydos said as part of the ongoing efforts to have stability and structure the Departments are in the process of drafting 3-ye= ar plans. Mr. Danevich discussed= the purpose for having plans and wanted the Selectmen’s input at the next meeting.

Junkyard O= rdinance Discussion

Mr. Gaydos noted that applications were due April 1st and there was an interest in making the process smoother. Mr. Domenico asked if he could dra= ft amendments to the current ordinance (based on input from past meetings) for review by the Selectmen. Ther= e was no objection.

Priority L= ist Update

Mr. Danevich provided the Selectmen with a copy of the priority list and provided a status update of such. Mr. Gaydos discussed the work at R= aymond Park and recommended that the Selectmen consider Mr. J.R. Gauthier as a Construction Manager of such. He would receive 5% of the awarded bid amounts as compensation. He said he was recommending Mr. Ga= uthier because he had been involved with the project since the beginning. Mr. Gaydos said he would provide t= he Selectmen with documentation at the next meeting for consideration. Mr. Gleason asked if Raymond fields would be running in 2006 if Mr. Gauthier were employed. Mr. Gaydos was unsure if soccer wo= uld be able to be played on them, however the project would be completed; the fiel= ds would be developed, seeded and fenced.&nbs= p; Mr. Gleason asked if the current activity would be completed at Raym= ond. Mr. Gaydos answered yes, as it was defined so far. Mr. Gleason a= sked if parking was included. Mr. = Gaydos answered yes.

Mr. Bergeron asked if Mr. Gauthier would be able to bi= d on any part of the work. Mr. Gay= dos answered yes, with the understanding that he had a 5% advantage. Mr. Bergeron asked if there could = be any conflicts. Mr. Gaydos said he didn’t know where a conflict would be since it would be an open bid situation (to comply with the grant).           =

There was no objection to Mr. Gaydos drafting a contra= ct with Mr. Gauthier and having the Selectmen review at the next meeting. Mr. Gleason confirmed that the Town would award the bids to the lowest qualified bidder. Mr. Gaydos answered yes. It was noted that it was a sealed = bid process where bids were opened on a designated date in a public format (as = done with the Highway Department).

There was further discussion regarding the order of th= e items on the priority list and what additional items may be added.

TOWN ADMIN= ISTRATOR / SELECTMEN REPORTS

Mr. Gaydos informed that the Boy Scout were at the end= ing stage of their project at Raymond Park.&nb= sp; He recommended that the alarms be hooked up and have the Town’s inspectors review the building to double check the work that had been done. He also wanted to put a push-button lock on the door allowing the Recreation Director to have full control over scheduling the building. There was no objection.

Mr. Domenico said he had the opportunity to meet with = the Sherburne Hall Committee. The= y were in support of Article 8 and would also move forward with some public relati= ons of their own.

Mr. Bergeron informed that he and Planning Director Je= ff Gowan, Planning Board Chair Bill Scanzani, and NRPC Commissioner Tom Collins attended an NRPC Legislative meeting. He said on Thursday he and the Planning Director would be attending a CTAC meeting.

Mr. Gleason informed that the Budget Committee activit= y was over until the next budget process.

Mr. Danevich thanked the Seniors for holding their ann= ual Town Employee breakfast. He n= oted that the Selectmen’s next meeting would be held February 21, 2006.

Mr. Gleason asked that the Selectmen discuss the Annex status (being brought up to code), 2005 year-end financial report, status on data collection (Stone Post), National Grid management meeting (to discuss power outages), status of Police contract negotiations, mosquito control (EEE virus) and consolidation of Town Clerk/Tax Collector.=

ADJOURNMEN= T

MOTION:<= o:p>

(Bergeron/Gleason) To adjourn the meeting.

=

VOTE:

(4-0-0) The motion carri= ed.

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 8:25 pm.

   &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