BOS Minutes 07-25-2006

APPROVED

TOWN OF PELHAM<= /st1:place>

BOARD OF S= ELECTMEN MEETING

MINUTES

July 25, 2006

APPROVED – August 8, 2006=

CALL TO ORDER

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

PRESENT:

Mr. Victor Danevich, Mr. Edmund Gleason, Mr. Harold= Lynde, Mr. Jean-Guy Bergeron, Mr. Tom Gaydos – Town Administrator, Ms. Ja= net Gallant – Town Financial Supervisor

Also present:

ABSENT:

Members of the press and general public.

Mr. Tom Domenico

M= INUTES REVIEW

July 11, 2006

MOTION:

(Gleason/Bergeron) To approve the July 11, 2006 meeting minu= tes as amended.

= ;

VOTE:<= /p>

(4-0-0) The motion carried.

<= /o:p>

The amendments to the minutes were as follows: page 2 – Catherine Foy was discussing the Little Island Pond Conservation A= rea, not Gumpas Pond; same paragraph – the sentence ‘He noted that emergency access could likely be gained through the private road.’ w= as added; next paragraph –= ; the words ‘in Muldoon Park’ were added; page 4, 2^nd paragraph – the ‘he’ was replaced with ‘Mr. Currier’; page 4, 5^th paragraph – the word ‘forestry’ was added to ‘…area out of the forestry= plan would..’; the word ‘indicated’ was added to ‘̷= 0;Mr. Cyr indicated the project…’; there were also small grammatical changes made.

John Upham, National Grid: Power Distribution Update=

Mr. John Upham, representative from National Grid, me= t with the Selectmen to communicate with the residents/customers and to discuss w= hat National Grid was doing to improve liability. He said he would be available eit= her by e-mail, or any other night to come back and discuss further. He said there were three substati= on feeders that fed the Town. T= he plan was to terminate the feeder tied into Salem and use as a back up sub-station dedicated to Pelham to serve the increased capacity in Town. Mr. Upham explained the ‘pole-top re-closure’ process which was meant to= limit the amount of outages. He sa= id an issue in Pelham was tree contact with power lines and noted that as of July 13, 2006 = they had begun assessing the Town, trimming low-hanging trees and reviewing base tr= ees that, in the future, could possibly create a problem.

Mr. Gleason said at the previous meeting National Grid indicated the plan w= as in process and a crew would be sent around Town to identify potential problem trees and do extensive cutting around Town and asked if this plan was cons= istent with what was now happening. Mr. Upham said due to the rainy spring, they got behind in the project, but th= ey are now addressing the concern of reviewing the trees. Mr. Gleason asked what the timeli= ne was for getting the trees trimmed and having the substation on-line. Mr. Upham said the re-closure uni= ts on the poles would be done in four weeks (from today); they were in the proce= ss of putting a reconductor line along Route 38; and would be done in mid August. Mr. Gleason question= ed what the yearly maintenance would consist of.&= nbsp; Mr. Upham said they did random feeder patrols (to look for potential problems) and basically on a daily basis employees (while driving around) looked for potential problems.

Mr. Bergeron questioned how National Grid was notifie= d of outages. Mr. Upham said they were in the p= rocess of installing telemetric equipment that would send an alarm back to the co= ntrol center and notify of a problem. He encouraged people to call (800-322-3223) when they had a power outage to h= elp pinpoint the location of a problem. Mr. Bergeron questioned what hours work was done. Mr. Upham said they had four crews (between 8am-4pm)= that worked out of the Salem office and also h= ad the ability to reach out to the North Andover office to obtain crews. He s= aid in an emergency situation they also had a ‘trouble man’ working between 4pm-midnight. ON-call Crews could be brought in= as needed. Mr. Bergeron asked i= f the Town Electrical Inspector had the correct contact information. Mr. Upham said that happened at a= previous meeting. Mr. Gleason said the Electrical Inspector (Tim Zelonis) was present at the previous meeting with National Grid and exchanged telephone numbers at that time. Mr. Zelonis has direct contact wi= th the command center.

There was further discussion regarding residents cont= acting National Grid during an incident; people should contact National Grid dire= ctly at 800-322-3223. Mr. Danevich suggested tracking the number of calls during the next power outage to ass= ess resident feedback. He clarif= ied that residents should contact National Grid directly in the event of a pow= er outage. It was noted that a = tripping of a reclosure unit would require visual inspection before being opened up. It was noted that if any resident received a busy signal when calling National Grid, National Grid should be notified.

OPEN FORUM

Police Chief Evan Haglund, addressed the Sele= ctmen as part of a group of citizens interested in the Town obtaining a cannon (Revolutionary or Civil War) to be located on the Village Green. Various surrounding towns have ca= nnons and the group thought it would be nice for Pelham to have something that c= onnected the Town to its history and pay more attention to it veterans. Chief Haglund said he had been in contact with Congressman Bass’ office who had been instrumental in helping. To proceed, there i= s a checklist; the first item of which is to receive authorization to start the process of obtaining a cannon and see if one is available.

Mr. Lynde didn’t object but wanted a discussion in the future regarding where a cannon would be located. Chief Haglund discussed a possible location which was in a shaded, quiet area of the Village Green.

Mr. Gleason (who was a member of the citizen’s group) was in favor of the request. He felt authorization should be g= iven to submit a request to find out what was available; then have the citizen gro= up review appropriate locations. He felt this was an excellent civic endeavor. He volunteered to serve on the committee with the Selectmen’s concurrence.

Mr. Bergeron supported the request and said he would be willing to help in any way.

Mr. Danevich felt it was a great idea. He said one question would be loc= ation given the spirit and intent of the Village Green being for the townspeople. He said the Tow= n had several military memorials (i.e. PVMP Town Center, Cemetery, VFW) and noted with the Naming Policy it started a broader conversation about location and appropriateness of naming rights within the Town and how to keep control. Chief Haglund believed it was up to the Selectmen as leaders of the community to choose a location. Mr. Danev= ich didn’t object to starting the process but wanted further discussion regarding location.

Mr. Gleason felt if the citizen’s commi= ttee came up with a location it would be the prerogative of the Selectmen, but ultimately the decision of the voters.&nb= sp; He believed it was a worthwhile endeavor to see what could be acqui= red; once that was done, a process could be done to evaluate the proper location. He said Pelham was= one of the many towns founded during the Revolutionary period and most towns had embraced securing some relic from that era. He said this would be done with t= he cognizance and approval of the taxpayer= s.

There was no objection by t= he Selectmen to begin the process, with the location to be determined. Mr. Gaydos was delegated as the Selectmen Representative for the process.=

VFW Commander Charlie Mooskian asked that a d= ate be determined for VFW awards to be awarded. The Selectmen will add an agenda = item for August 8, 20= 06.

Commander Mooskian then discussed the Town Celebration Budget and informed the Selectmen that the Town had received t= he receipts for: Avenue of Flags ($1000); cemetery flags ($800); wreathes ($2= 50). He said the Town didn’t hav= e the $500 for the picnic after the Memorial Day Parade; he will provide. Mr. Danevich said the budget only= had $1500 designated and the mentioned amounts went over. Commander Mooskian said the only = money requested was for the Avenue of Flags; they had never requested the other = money because it had always been in the budget.= Ms. Gallant informed that $1000 had been expended for the flags and= $500 for the cemetery flags. She = had been told that the Town had received an invoice for the wreaths ($250). Mr. Danevich noted that the reque= st was for $2650 and the budget only had $1500.&= nbsp; Ms. Gallant said the budget didn’t have the additional money.=

There was further discussion regarding the receipts. There was no recol= lection by the Selectmen that all the expenses had been paid by the Town; Mr. Moos= kian said the only funds that were requested were for the flags; all other expe= nses (as noted) had always been paid by the Town. In order to move the conversation= along, Mr. Danevich said a total of $2650 could be added to the budget. He said because the budget for th= is year only had $1500 additional expenses wouldn’t be able to be reimbursed.

Mr. Lynde suggested contacting the Cemetery Trustees to see if they had money in their budget. Ms. Gallant said she had contacte= d the Trustees; they indicated the money they had for Memorial Day was for flowe= rs that they put out. She said = she researched, but couldn’t find any vendor payments from last year. Mr. Mooskian said because it was a default budget, there probably wasn’t anything filed.

Mr. Danevich asked that line items totaling $= 2650 were included in the budget going forward.

Commander Mooskian ended by asking citizens f= or donations for the flags. Don= ations could be made either to the VFW or American Legion.

Ms. Gallant said the invoice for the cemetery flags had been paid; what haven’t been paid were the cemetery wreath= s and the picnic.

Mr. Gleason said it was important for the Town to have one contact. Commander Mooskian said he could = be the point of contact. Ms. Gallan= t said she received a message from Mr. Herman Hanson to speak to Commander Mooski= an for all future expenditures

Planning Director Jeff Gowan provided the Selectmen with an update regarding the Pelham Center Context Sensitive Solutions Program. A memoran= dum outlining the initial steps and proposed schedule was circulated.

P= UBLIC HEARING – Junkyard License Application: Norman Coombs & Sons dba Coombs = Used Auto Parts

Mr. Bergeron recused himself.

Mr. Gaydos said the application was made in a timely manner. He reviewed t= he comments made by the Town Inspectors, Fire Department John Hodge, Building Inspector Roland Soucy and Health Officer Paul Zarnowski. He said the only remaining questi= ons were the ones brought up by Inspector Hodge; and also to have a final inspection= by Inspector Hodge. Mr. Gaydos = asked if all the tires had been removed.

Ms. Paula Morse (Coombs’ oldest daughte= r) and her brother Mr. Norman Coombs discussed their application with the Selectmen. Mr. Coombs said n= ot all the tires had not been removed; he was still working on it. Mr. Gaydos asked where the tires = were going. Ms. Morse said they w= ere going to Portsmouth (to a tire recycler). Mr. Ga= ydos asked if they were aware of the fire extinguishers. Ms. Morse said they got new extinguishers. Mr. Gaydos as= ked how refrigerant recovery was being addressed.= Mr. Coombs said he didn’t drain the cars that came into the y= ard; he got rid of them as is and doesn’t deal with Freon. He said if a car came in that had= air conditioning that he had to take a motor out, he contacted his brother-in-= law (who works at a garage in Tyngsboro) to bring a Freon machine to remove it. This is all documented.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>

Mr. Gaydos believed the only thing left to do= was to have a follow up inspection by Inspector Hodge and report back to the Selectmen.

Mr. Gleason wanted an update regarding the ti= re removal. Mr. Coombs said the= tires would be removed by October. They have to pay to have the tires removed.&nb= sp; A majority of the tires would be removed within 30-days. Mr. Gleason said the permit numbe= r for the National Pollution Discharge Eliminating System (‘NPDES’) needed to be added to the application.&nb= sp; Ms. Morse couldn’t find the number at the time the applicatio= n was submitted. Mr. Gaydos said i= t should be on the old application. <= /p>

Mr. Danevich said the two remaining items wer= e to obtain the NPDES number and to have Inspector Hodge re-review the site.

There was no public input.

The public hearing was continued for one week= to give the inspector the opportunity to review the site for compliance and s= ubmit a final report to the Selectmen.

Mr. Gleason asked if the applicant was involv= ed with Green Yards. Ms. Morse = said she had attended the seminar and was hopeful to attend others.

Mr. Bergeron returned to the Board.

Fire Chief Michael Walker: Engine= 3 Update

Fire Chief Michael Walker and Lieutenant Ray Cashman Jr. met with the Selectmen to discuss the status of Engine 3. Chief Walker said he contacted the contractor that was going to perform the rehabilitation to Engine 3 and was informed (verbally and in writing) that at this time the $70,000 (previous= ly allocated to rehabilitate the engine) was inadequate to do the job; Engine= 3 was past the point where rehabilitation would benefit the community. The contractor recommended pursui= ng the purchase of a new pumper. Ch= ief Walker said the recommendation was to request a new pumper in a Warrant Ar= ticle next year and wanted to answer any questions.

Mr. Danevich provided a summary for the resid= ents. Engine 3 is a 1985 truck that hol= ds water, but has a lot of rusting; it was known that the vehicle was coming out of service but delayed with preventative maintenance. It’s got to the point it was believed that $70,000 would cover the potential refurbish, and voters pass= ed a warrant article for such. Mr. Danevich read aloud a memo (dated July 11, 2006) from the New England Fire & Equi= pment Fire Apparatus that indicated $70,000 would not cover the refurbish. A new pumper was estimated at $250,000-$270,000. Chief Wal= ker told the Selectmen that his philosophy when buying fire apparatus was one = that reflected getting what was needed; something of quality that would last.

Mr. Danevich questioned how important Engine 3 was. Chief Walker discussed = the importance of Engine 3 because of the scarcity of hydrants and that it stretched fire= hose (and adequately pumped water) from a water source to one engine to another. He said the problem= with Engine 3 was that it didn’t meet certain safety standards and even a= fter rehab the truck would be 2500 pounds over its gross vehicle weight (‘gvw’).

Mr. Danevich said because $70,000 had already= been raised in a Warrant Article, the options were as follows: 1) continue with= the Warrant Article and refurbish the equipment; 2) create a warrant article to potentially shift it into a capital reserve fund and raise money over a lo= nger period of time; or 3) create a warrant article to raise the additional fun= ds this coming year, acquire a new truck and sell the old one.

Mr. Gleason reviewed the contractor’s l= etter and questioned if it would be worth spending the money for eighteen fires.= Chief Walker felt (based on safet= y) it was worth spending the money for one fire. He recommended a new pumper versus refurbishing the existing. He said realistically the price f= or a new pumper was $325,000; however they would look for the best price. Lieutenant Cashman discussed the = types of warranties that would come with a new vehicle. He discussed the difficulties of = finding a company to refurbish Engine 3 because companies don’t want to touc= h the vehicle, unless all the items were brought up to NFPA standards.

Mr. Bergeron asked what the GVW was for Engine 3. Chief Walker said the max= imum was 36,500; however, the truck weighs 39,480. Mr. Bergeron said with the concer= ns regarding the brakes, turning radius and GVW, wanted to know if a single-a= xle, or a tandem axle would be reviewed. Chief Walker said they would be looking at a single-axle. He said they currently had five o= r six information packets they were preliminarily reviewing. Mr. Bergeron asked if there was anything wrong with Engine 3 (right= now) that made the Chief afraid to take it to a fire. Chief Walker said it was not a ce= rtified pumper right now, but it was still being used. He feared it failing at a fire an= d noted because it was not certified, it affected the insurance ratings. Mr. Bergeron asked if the Fire Department would keep the truck if a new pumper was acquired. Chief Walker said the market for = used fire apparatus was thin; the Town wouldn’t get a lot of money for the truck. Mr. Bergeron asked if= it was worth keeping. Chief Walker answered no.

Mr. Lynde said the Town keeps up with mainten= ance and wanted to know what happened in this case. Lieutenant Cashman believed when = the numbers were put together they were done without knowing what was mandated= by NFPA. He noted that Engine 3= was the back up truck; it was not only about the structure, it was protection = for the emergency responders. Mr= . Lynde asked if any other truck could be used as a pumper. Chief Walker said the tanker had a pumper, but it was not designated for that function. Mr. Lynde questioned what the Fire Department would do if they didn’t have the truck from today on. Chief Walker said the Town would have to rel= y on its neighbors, which was a ‘shot in the dark’ as to if they wo= uld be available. Mr. Lynde ques= tioned how long it would take to get a truck.&nb= sp; Chief Walker said the timing would depend if a truck was custom bui= lt, or bought off the line; the timeframe could be 120 days to 6 months.

Mr. Lynde questioned if this could be done as= a lease/purchase and put into the budget.&n= bsp; Mr. Gaydos answered yes.

Mr. Lynde questioned why the truck was over i= ts gvw. Lieutenant Cashman said= it happened when the truck was purchased; items were added to a truck off the lot.

In summary the Chief’s recommendation w= as to not take any action regarding the $70,000 and instead move forward to ask = the taxpayers for a new pumper. = Mr. Danevich felt the potential for a lease option or reserve capital account (transferring the $70,000) should be explored. Mr. Lynde felt getting a new truck should be done now through a lease/purchase approach funded in the Fire De= partment budget.

Mr. Gaydos questioned if people would pay les= s for the house insurance if the equipment was acquired because the Town’s rating would improve. Chief = Walker said if the Town reduced its ISO rating there would be a savings. There was further discussion rega= rding the other apparatus and when it should be reviewed for refurbishing; Chief Walker said it would have to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Mr. Gleason questioned where Engine 3 fell in= the CIP. Lieutenant Cashman beli= eved it was slated for last year. Mr. Gleason felt there was some merit for the lease approach, but recommended defining specifications for an engine on a ‘buy’ basis, as wel= l as the lease buy, so when the Selectmen went forward they could have data to support their decision. Chief Walker said they would supply such.

OTHER BUSINESS=

Land Use Appeals Policy

Mr. Gaydos said the Board had asked the Plann= ing Director to put together a Frequently Asked Questions (‘FAQ’).= It was brought to Mr. Gaydos̵= 7; attention that there was no policy that went along with the FAQ. Mr. Gaydos summarized the proposed policy and asked the Board to approve such. Mr. Danevich asked that a sentenc= e be added to the abutter notification that notified residents there was an app= eal process if a plan was approved.

There was a brief discussion regarding the proposed policy; a couple amendments were suggested. Mr. Gaydos will amend the documen= t and circulate for review and possible adoption at the next Board meeting.

Tallant Brid= ge Change Order 1

Mr. Gaydos said in the process prior to going= out to bid a company conducts test drillings to determine the depth of ledge/b= oulders etc.; however, one of the readings was inaccurate and said that the ledge = was deeper than it actually was. He reviewed a change order that reduced two line items by approximately $7900= , but increased other line items for a net change of $18,800. The contract would be increased by $18,800. Part of the change = order was the extension of time from October 29, 2006 to November 18, 2006. Mr. Ga= ydos informed of the $18,800 the state’s share would be 80%; the TownR= 17;s share would be $3760. Mr. Ly= nde asked if the state had reviewed/approved the modification. Mr. Gaydos said after the Town ap= proved, the state would review.

Mr. Gleason asked that the Town Administrator= contact Con-Tech, the company that did the inaccurate reading to see if there was = any recourse, or at least, make them aware of their error.

= ;

MOTION:

(Gleason/Lynde) To approve Change Order 1 ($18,800)= for the Tallant Road Bridge and authorize Mr. Gaydos to sign the contract as the Selectmen’s Agent.

= ;

VOTE:<= /p>

(4-0-0) The motion carried.

B= udget Reviews:

Budg= et Committee, Treasurer Trustee/Trust Funds, Town Celebrations, Health Office= r, Debt Service Interest / Principal, Legal
Ms. Gallant and the Selectmen began the initi= al review of the above noted budgets. =

TOWN ADMINISTRATOR / SELECTMEN RE= PORTS

Mr. Gaydos updated the Selectmen regarding the FEMA application for mitigation. He discussed the mitigation procedure. He said the Castl= e Hill Bridge could be a project; 75% of the amount of loss (attributed to the flood) co= uld be paid; FEMA indicated they were interested in the condition of the bridge prior to the flood. He said = there was 80% funding from the state’s bridge repair program. Mr. Gaydos said there were a numb= er of people that would like the state to investigate acquiring their property through the (FEMA) mitigation grant. He said the application had to be made through the Town and noted o= ne question would be if the Selectmen wanted to appropriate any Town funds in= the acquisition of private homes. Mr. Gaydos discussed the revaluation process and said the company was able to = enter all but 428 homes (an entry rate of 91.5%). He said once the values were dete= rmined and letters were sent residents would have a final opportunity to appeal a= nd have the interior of their home inspected. Mr. Gaydos ended by informing that a revised bid for the Senior Center bus had been drafted and circulated to the Selectmen for review. The bids would be due back by August 14, 2006 and could be awarded by A= ugust 22, 2006. There was no objection to the revised bid; Mr. Gaydos was asked to proceed.

Mr. Lynde asked if there were other things in= the Town that would qualify for FEMA funds other than the Castle Hill Road Bridge. Mr. Gaydos said there was an issu= e at Raymond Park; there may be some possibilities at the Willow Street Bridge. He said each item was scored individually.

Mr. Bergeron said he attended the Hazmat Meet= ing with Fire Chief Walker, however, they didn’t have a quorum so the me= eting was rescheduled to Thursday. He noted that he attended the proposed Route 38 water extension meeting which= was very informative. After the = meeting the Senior Engineer for the Department of Environmental Services would get information regarding possible funding.&n= bsp;

Mr. Gleason said Pennichuck was proposing to provide water on Route 38 from Old Bridge Street and terminate at Willow Street costing $800,000; ho= wever this would only guarantee an additional 100,000 gallon capacity. He said if a committee was formul= ated, several things would have to be reviewed.= He also reported that he had met with the Sherburne Hall Committee = and been informed the Girls and Boys Club in Salem was interested in expanding into Pelham and providing a pre-school/after-s= chool program for children. There = would be a potential yield of $36,000-$40,000 that the Sherburne Hall Committee = would put toward refurbishing Sherburne Hall.&n= bsp; Mr. Gleason said nothing could be done until the hall was brought u= p to code. He believed they would= be contacting the Fire Chief to find out what needed to be done.

Mr. Lynde informed that the second concert on= the common went well. The next c= oncert was scheduled for July 30, 2006; the New Liberty Jazz Band from 5pm-7pm. Mr. Lynde said a CIP-subcommittee had been formed and the next meeting would be held on July 31= , 2006.

Mr. Danevich said Mr. Gleason had provided a = list of items to be discussed. The Selectmen will discuss at an upcoming meeting. The Selectmen will meet August 1, 2006 = to discuss budgets.

REQUEST FOR NON-PUBLIC = SESSION

MOTION:

(Lynde/Bergeron) Request for a non-public session p= er RSA 91-A:3,II, a (Personnel).

= ;

ROLL CALL:=

Mr. Danevich-Yes; Mr. Gleason-Yes; Mr. Lynde-Yes; M= r. Bergeron-Yes

Mr. Danevich noted that when the Board returned, afte= r the non-public session, the Board would not take any other action publicly, ex= cept to possibly seal the minutes of the non-public session and to adjourn the meeting. The Board entered i= nto a non-public session at approximately 9:30 pm.

The Board returned to p= ublic session at approximately 10:15 pm<= /st1:time>.

= ;

MOTION:

(Bergeron/Lynde) To seal the minutes of the non-pub= lic session indefinitely.

= ;

VOTE:<= /p>

(4-0-0) The motion carried.

ADJOURNMENT

MOTION:=

(Bergeron/Lynde) To adjourn the meeting.

= ;

VOTE:

(4-0-0) The motion carr= ied.

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 10:15 pm.

   &nb= sp;            = ;            &= nbsp;           &nb= sp;            = ;            &= nbsp;           &nb= sp;            = ;      Respectfully submitted,

           = ;            &= nbsp;           &nb= sp;            = ;            &= nbsp;           &nb= sp;            = ;           Chari= ty A. L. Willis

   &nb= sp;            = ;            &= nbsp;           &nb= sp;            = ;            &= nbsp;           &nb= sp;            = ;      Recording Secretary