BOS Minutes 05-16-2006

APPROVED

TOWN OF PELHAM

BOARD OF SE= LECTMEN MEETING

MINUTES

May 16, 2006

APPROVED – May 30, 2006

CALL TO ORDER

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

PRESENT:

Mr. Victor Danevich, Mr. Harold Lynde, Mr. Jean-Guy Bergeron, Mr. Edmund Gleason, Mr. Tom Domenico, Ms. Janet Gallant – Town Financial Supervisor

Also present:

ABSENT:

Members of the press and general public.

Mr. Tom Gaydos – Town Administrator

EM= ERGENCY MANAGEMENT UPDATE

Fire Chief E. David Fisher provided the Select= men and the residents of Pelham with a summary of what had happened over the pa= st couple days during the rain storm, which had been one of the worse storms t= he area had seen in years (regarding rain and flooding). He discussed what emergency action= s had taken place. All roads crossi= ng Beaver Brook had been closed, with the exception of the Tallant Road Bridge. Along with the road situations the= re were many things happening with homes that were associated with high water; thirty-five homes to date had been effected. Chief Fisher discussed what areas remained closed and what inspections had to occur before they could be open= ed back up. The state inspector = should be in Town on Wednesday to review the Town.

Mr. Gleason asked if residents should have the= ir water tested prior to using it. Chief Fisher said Artesian wells should be all right if capped; he f= elt those with hand dug wells should have them tested. Mr. Gleason asked for a recommenda= tion regarding the Tallant Road Bridge construction project and if it should remain open because of the current la= ck of access. Chief Fisher said = the decision should wait until finding out the status of the other bridges.

Mr. Lynde noted that the Highway Road Agent wo= uld be placing concrete barriers at the Castle Hill Road Bridge to stop traffic. He then informed tha= t the Town of Derry waste water treatment plant was overcome by the flow of water and they were pumping partially treated effluent into Beaver Brook. Chief Fisher said it had already b= een discussed with the state and due to the water flow, it wasn’t felt th= ere would be a large extent to worry about in this area.

Mr. Bergeron questioned if small vans or pickup trucks were also not allowed across the Willow Street Bridge. Chief Fisher said commercial vehic= les/trucks were not allowed.

Mr. Domenico said after meeting with the vario= us emergency response personnel he has a greater appreciation for the work they do.

Mr. Danevich agreed with Mr. Domenico and was present during the water rescue (of two people) and was deeply moved by the people who put themselves into harms way to help others.

Mr. Gleason asked if Chief Fisher had everythi= ng he needed to fulfill his obligations from now until the crisis was over, or= if there was anything else that should be provided. Chief Fisher believed the departme= nt was in good shape. He said the mo= st important thing at this point was to complete paperwork and gain the suppor= t of the Federal Government. He sa= id they would continue helping people by pumping the homes and providing water= to those in need.

Mr. Danevich asked if the Town had an option to have the National Guard come in. Chief Fisher answered yes the Town had the option to have the Nation= al Guard assist with either the Fire or Police Department; however at this time they were not needed.

Fire Chief Fisher ended by thanking all the pe= ople who had assisted during the recent storms and flooding.

AP= POINTMENTS

New Employee Introduction: Police Department Part-time Police Officer – R= yan M. Sambataro

Police Chief Evan Haglund introduced the new P= art-time Police Officer Ryan M. Sambataro to the Selectmen. Officer Sambartaro provided the Selectmen with a summary of his educational background.

New Employee Introduction: Planning Part-time Code Enforcement – Thomas Wakefield

Planning Director Jeff Gowan introduced Mr. Th= omas Wakefield as the Town’s new Planning Part-time Code Enforcement officer. Mr. Wakefield provid= ed the Selectmen with a summary of his credentials.

Mr. Gleason welcomed Mr. Wakefield and wanted = to know if there would be set hours for residents to contact Mr. Wakefield to = set up meetings. Mr. Gowan said i= t had not yet been established, but concurred it would be a good idea.

Mr. Lynde said it may be a good idea to have t= he Code Enforcement officer wear a uniform/badge.&= nbsp; Mr. Gowan said he would work with the Police Chief regarding such. Mr. Danevich said anyone performing official Town business should wear a badge/photo identification that design= ated them as an official Town resource. <= /span>

New Employee Introduction – Selectmen Secretary – Marie Maruca=

Ms. Gallant introduced the new Selectmen Secre= tary Marie Maruca. Ms. Maruca, a P= elham resident introduced herself and was happy to be in her new position.

Po= lice Chief Evan Haglund – OHRV Grant Authorization

Police Chief Evan Haglund met with the Selectm= en and asked the Selectmen to accept the State’s OHRV Grant in the amoun= t of $3375. This will be the forth= year the Town participated. The gr= ant covered Officer detail time (for patrols), equipment, service, labor and maintenance. Mr. Domenico ask= ed the Chief to consider patrol costs in the upcoming budget given that the state = had decreased funds. Chief Haglun= d said it had been considered and they would submit something in the upcoming budg= et process. Mr. Lynde asked if t= here was money funded (in addition to the grant) for this. Chief Haglund answered no. He said fines are used to offset t= he maintenance of the vehicle. <= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>

MOTION:=

(Gleason/Lynde) To authorize Police Chief Evan Haglu= nd to enter into an agreement with the State of New Hampshire Fish and Game Department to assist the Town with enforcement of Off Highway Recreational Vehicles (OHRV) in the sum of $3375.

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The motion carried.

Ch= arlene Takesian – Concerts on the Common

Chairman of Sherburne Hall Committee Charlene Takesian and Mr. Bill McDevitt met with the Selectmen to discuss concerts on the common. Ms. Takesian said= she and Mr. McDevitt has been working with the Police Department to bring the T= own concerts on the common (in front of the Library). She said an arrangement had been ma= de with the Police Explorers to help trash removal. A small covering may be erected fo= r the band. Light refreshments woul= d be sold. Ms. Takesian said they = would be looking to the business community for sponsorship and wanted a table set= up for those businesses. There a= re 150 parking spaces available. The= dates for the concerts would be: 1) June 21 - Memorial School Jazz Band; 2) July = 16 - Two Fiddles; 3) August 13 - Irish Band; 4) September 10 – Soundabouts= ; 5) September 24 – Van Gogh Cart. Proceeds would be donated to Sherburne Hall renovations.

MOTION:<= o:p>

(Gleason/Domenico) To approve the Sherburne Hall Committee’s fundraisers for concerts on the Village Green as follow= s: 1) June 21 - Memorial School Jazz Band; 2) July 16 - Two Fiddles; 3) Augu= st 13 - Irish Band; 4) September 10 – Soundabouts; 5) September 24 = 211; Van Gogh Cart.=

VOTE:

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

MI= NUTES REVIEW

April 25, 2006

MOTION:=

(Lynde/Gleason) To approve the April 25, 2006 meeting minu= tes as amended

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The motion carried.

The amendments to the minutes were as follows: page 3, paragraph 5, the word ‘golf’ was added to the following ‘…and by the golf course…’; paragraph 6 – the following was added ‘…about Selectmen entering into any Town of= Pelham Consent Decrees..’; the word ‘there’ was replaced with ‘Town’ in the following ‘..came into Town was..’; paragraph 7 – the word ‘Council’ was replaced with ‘Counsel’; the ending motion and time was inserted – Gleason/Bergeron at 9:06pm.

OPEN FORUM=

None.

OTHER BUSI= NESS

Retirement= of Deputy Chief Richard Vinal

Mr. Danevich informed that a memo had been received fr= om Fire Chief E. David Fisher and read such aloud.

MOTION:<= o:p>

(Gleason/Bergeron) To accept, with regret, the retir= ement of Deputy Chief of Richard Vinal from the Pelham Fire Department.

VOTE:

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

Considerat= ion and possible award of Senior<= /st1:PlaceName> Center Bus

Ms. Gallant said three bids had been received for consideration with regard to a Senior Center Bus. It was the decision of her office = to ask the Selectmen to authorize Senior Center Director Sue Hovling to spend up to $65,000 of the $75,000 awarded in the Warrant Article, to Pat C. Girard and= Bus. The money would allow for the cost= of the bus, some stenciling and customizing that may need to be done. Should any additional funds be nee= ded, Ms. Hovling will come before the Selectmen to discuss. There was a brief discussion regar= ding what items were contained in the bid specifications. The Selectmen wanted to review the= bids further and discuss later in the meeting. &nb= sp;

*See below for further discussion in Selectmen Reports= .

Revaluation Assessments for those who refuse Assessor access to their property (Selectm= en Gleason to address)

Mr. Gleason provided the Selectmen with a status updat= e of the revaluation. He said the appraisals were going well; letters (requesting appointments) were going out this week from Vision to approximately 2000 residents they were unable to g= ain admittance to. There were 287= instances where people have denied access. Mr. Gleason said it was believed that the letters going out would yi= eld approximately 60% entry; leaving 40% for the Selectmen to address. He said a letter will be sent out indicating per RSA 74-17 any taxpayer that will not allow assessors into the premises, will forfeit their right to appeal any assessment made on their p= roperty.

Mr. Bergeron said some people may have refused entrance because they were not the owner of the property. Mr. Gleason said that was a valid observation. He felt 2000 ins= tances was a high number.

Ms. Gallant noted that the letter should be sent to the address listed on the tax map.

The Selectmen will be provided with an electronic copy= of the letter for review.

Muldoon Park<= /st1:PlaceType> baseball field expansion project = update

There was no specific update. Mr. Danevich said from the last discussion, the fields were mapped out, Dan Cyr was notified, Jim Gove of G= ove Environmental was notified and they were trying to get permits in an expeditious manner. The public hearings have been completed.

Mr. Lynde said one of the things to be done is the for= est management plan encompassing the tree removal of the fields, which should generate income. He said a bo= undary survey should be done and the second egress should be addressed. He asked if the Board was open to = using some of the revenue from the timber sale to do the initial engineering for = the egress. Mr. Domenico asked if= it was permitted. Mr. Gleason sa= id part of the Little League proposal was to put up $38,000 of their money; th= ere would be $40,000 for equipment costs. The intent was to utilize funds available from the sale of gravel to offset those costs. It was no= ted that the Town facilities were being enhanced with services provided by Litt= le League offset by the conversion of assets.= Mr. Danevich said Mr. Currier was willing and cooperative in making = the egress happen. Mr. Domenico s= aid the timber revenue had not been discussed with Little League. There was further discussion regar= ding the materials and the use of the funds from such. Mr. Lynde wanted to know the locat= ion of a second egress and ensure it was part of the plan. Mr. Gleason said that Little Leagu= e was willing to clear a path, to the extent they could (for an egress) until run= ning into wetlands.

Mr. Bergeron said when he walked the site with Mr. Geo= rge Saurman (of Little League) he questioned if the funds from the lumber in th= e area of the proposed fields could be separated.= Mr. Lynde believed any excess funds would go into the Forestry Funds. He discussed what had happened in the past and what the park was initially intended for use as.

Selectmen Communications Project discussion

Mr. Gleason said there was a $5400 line item in the bu= dget for a communications program that spoke about a quarterly letter. He wanted to know if the process h= ad begun. Mr. Domenico believed = it was funded for three mailings (due to the date of the election). His intent was to contact all the = Town boards and have each assign a person to the communications committee. He said a draft letter had been st= arted; he would circulate a copy to the Selectmen for review. An agenda item would be scheduled = in two weeks for further discussion.

Transfer S= tation Annual Sticker Check

Mr. Danevich asked if the Selectmen wanted to perform a sticker check at the Transfer Station.&nbs= p; There was a consensus by the Selectmen that they wanted the program = to continue. The Selectmen asked= that Ms. Gallant request Mr. Gaydos to put together a plan with Transfer Station= Superintendent Bruce Mason for the Board; at which point a date would be chosen.

Park and Recreation Department program registration software

Mr. Danevich said there had been a discussion regarding Rectrac a few weeks ago and asked the Board if they wanted to proceed. Mr. Lynde said the Park & Recr= eation Director Darren McCarthy felt it would be a good thing; however, it would h= ave to wait until they were through the summer season. Mr. Gleason felt the sooner the pr= ogram was implemented, the better. = Mr. Bergeron said if the funds were available he would support it. Mr. Danevich said the funds would = need to be extracted out of the current programs; it could be self-funded. There was further discussion regar= ding tracking the Warrant Article. Ms. Gallant felt the benefit in making the change was extremely valuable. She suggested having someone in to= cover the Park & Recreation Department while the employees received training. The Selectmen were interested in pursuing; it was agreed that it was a high priority project a= nd the next steps should be taken to put together a plan.

TOWN ADMIN= ISTRATOR / SELECTMEN REPORTS

Ms. Gallant said a nomination form had been received to appoint Mr. Paul Zarnowski as the Town Health Officer; it would be up to the Selectmen to accept the nomination. She said Mr. Zarnowski had recommended a Deputy Health Officer; howe= ver, the budget at this time didn’t have availability for a stipend for such. She asked if the Select= men wanted to appoint someone (with no pay) and reconsider in the budget next year. The Selectmen discussed= the position and will have a formal discussion on May 30, 2006. Mr. Danevich noted if there were a= ny ramifications of Mr. Zarnowski’s term expiring before May 21, 2006, t= he term would be extended to May 30, 2006.

Mr. Domenico thanked all the emergency response person= nel for their work during the recent rain event.

Mr. Bergeron provided the Selectmen with Legislative updates. He said he had spons= ored HB 1663 (relative to the licensing fee for motor vehicle recycling yards) a= nd reported that the bill passed April 27, 2006; a copy of the bill will be provided to Ms. Gallant. He said HB 1307 (relative to the application requirements for motor vehicle recycling yard licenses) was sig= ned on May 10, 2006<= /st1:date> and will be mandatory on January 1, 2007. He said = HB 2006 (relative to the state 10-year transportation improvement plan) the Ho= use concurred with the Senate that it ought to pass with amendment. Mr. Bergeron thanked the Chief and= the management team for all their work during the past few days.

Mr. Gleason said there was a meeting with Vision Appra= isal they have recovered schedule. He discussed what steps would now be taken.&n= bsp; He then informed that the Budget Committee didn’t meet on Mond= ay, they rescheduled for May 22, 2006 at which time they will review their By Laws. He and Ms. Gallant will attend the Budget Committee meeting.

Mr. Lynde said he attended a Park & Recreation Adv= isory meeting as well as a Forestry Committee meeting. During Park & Recreation the importance of the Advisory committee was discussed. He said the Forestry Committee was trying to put together a mission statement. He said he suggested putting toget= her a warrant article to withdraw from the fund for education purposes. Mr. Danevich asked if the Park &am= p; Rec. board discussed their current charter, or role with regard to their responsibility. Mr. Lynde ans= wered no. He said he told them thei= r role was to bring a warrant article to the Selectmen, make the case why it shoul= d be included and approved. He sai= d they needed to work within their role as an advisory committee. Mr. Danevich said the Selectmen ha= d been waiting to take action on two applications for the Park & Rec. Advisory= Board until after they held their first meeting and determined if they would be disbanding. Mr. Lynde said th= ey were not planning on disbanding; the meetings are well attended. He discussed what options they had= for the future, but they had not yet discussed such. Mr. Gleason said he wanted to know= their charter. Mr. Lynde believed t= he board understood their role was advisory.&= nbsp; Mr. Bergeron questioned how the board communicated to the Park & Recreation Director. Mr. Lynd= e said the Director attended the meetings. Mr. Bergeron asked if there was a written agenda that was followed.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Mr. Lynde answered yes. Mr. Danevich said the Selectmen wo= uld defer interviewing the applicants until they had the opportunity to speak w= ith the Director.

Mr. Danevich asked if the Selectmen had an opportunity= to review Ms. Hovling’s letter regarding the Senior Center Bus. The Selectmen decided to review th= e specifications that were sent out and defer discussion until May 30, 2006.

Mr. Danevich circulated a form to be given to and sign= ed by elected/appointed persons who would be accessing certain information/report= s that would be available on line. T= here were no objections to the form. Ms. Gallant was asked to implement such.

REQUEST FOR NON-PUBLIC SESSION

MOTION:=

(Gleason/Bergeron) Request for a non-public session = per RSA 91-A:3,II, a, b & c (personnel; Hiring of any person as an employ= ee; Matters which, if discussed publicly, would affect adversely the reputati= on of any person ).

ROLL CALL:<= /b>

Mr. Danevich-Yes; Mr. Gleason-Yes; Mr. Lynde-Yes; Mr. Bergeron-Yes; Mr. Domenico

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 8:50 pm.

The Board returned to public session at approximately = 9:40 pm.

MOTION:=

(Gleason/Bergeron) To seal the minutes of the non-pu= blic session indefinitely.

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The motion carried.

ADJOURNMEN= T

MOTION:<= o:p>

(Gleason/Bergeron) To adjourn the meeting.

VOTE:

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

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:40pm.

&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