APPROVED
TOWN OF
BOARD OF SE= LECTMEN MEETING
MINUTES
APPROVED –
CALL TO ORDER
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
|
PRESENT: |
Mr. Victor Danevich, Mr. Edmund Gleason, Mr. Harold = Lynde (arrived after the meeting commenced), Mr. Tom Domenico, Mr. Robert Haver= ty, Town Administrator Tom Gaydos |
|
Also present: ABSENT: |
Members of the press and general public. None. |
MINUTES REVIEW
OPEN FORUM
Mr. Frederick Pultar said he had an ongoing puzzle reg= arding how a position was held regarding his complaint. He believed it was supposed to be = done within 30-days. Mr. Danevich = said that was correct based on a new policy adopted approximately one month ago. Mr. Pultar asked what po= licy the Town was going under and questioned if the rules applied to the one he had. Mr. Danevich answered no= ; there was no policy. He said that i= s why they documented a process, established a consistent return and adopted it approximately 4-5 weeks ago. = Mr. Pultar asked if he could address Mr. Domenico. Mr. Danevich said he could do so t= hrough the Board. Mr. Pultar said he= was confused because Mr. Gaydos said the policy in the letter he was given didn’t exist. He said h= e was ready to accept it and brought it to (Planning Director) Jeff Gowan. He said it was acceptable to him.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> He said in court when he asked for= the records several times from the Town, they wouldn’t give them to him.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> He said he enacted RSA 91:A and th= ey wouldn’t tell him the findings or anything about it. He said he must meet with Mr. Dome= nico, but he had refused to meet with him. He asked if Mr. Domenico would meet with him to explain what the let= ter was about. He said Mr. Gowan suggested writing the Selectmen a letter.&= nbsp; Mr. Pultar said he wrote a letter requesting clarification. Mr. Danevich said he didn’t = want to rehash the situation during open forum which had been resolved in court = (Mr. Pultar lost). He said a reque= st had been made.
Mr. Domenico said unfortunately in light of the events= over the last two years (and prior to him joining the Board) regarding the issue (that had been disposed of not only by the Board of Selectmen, but also by = the Superior Court of New Hampshire) he was leery of meeting with Mr. Pultar because he didn’t believe that any effort on his part (personally) wo= uld move Mr. Pultar closer to his resolution that he was looking for that the Selectmen and the Superior Court had already issued on the matter. He said as he clarified earlier, t= he policy he referenced in the letter (February, 2006) was after Mr. Pultar’s issue was raised and after the issue came up with the Planni= ng or Zoning Board; the Selectmen met and discussed how they dealt with citizen complaints. He said the Selec= tmen directed Town employees to go off and fix the problem. He said the Selectmen made the dec= ision that night to enact a policy, moving forward, to solve those problems. He said the letter in Mr. Pultar&#= 8217;s hand referenced the Board taking positive action to move toward enacting a policy to solve the problem. = He said the Board had come up with a Frequently Asked Questions sheet at the Planning Office and had worked continuously over several months to develop a formal policy which dealt with how complaints were handled, how they are submitted, how they are handled, who reviews them, time of disposition and = how everything would be handled. He said the policy was formally enacted either in late January or early February by the Selectmen. Mr. Domenico said = based upon the events, Mr. Pultar’s issue in terms of the actual complaint = was moot; the policy moving forward had been established and Mr. Pultars’s issues were significant enough to take formal action, which had been done.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>
Mr. Danevich asked Mr. Pultar not to rehash the topic;= it had already been rehashed (at least four times) in this forum and at court = who ruled against him. He felt Mr. Domenico provided a reasonable response.&n= bsp; Mr. Pultar felt Mr. Domenico had a right to defend himself because he was being accused of making a false policy by his own people. He said the only alternative he ha= d was to bring Mr. Domenico back on a re-appeal.= He said he would rather Mr. Domenico explain it to him in private to straighten it out. Mr. Danevi= ch asked Sergeant Gary Fisher to escort Mr. Pultar out. Mr. Pultar asked Mr. Domenico to m= ake an appointment to hash it out. M= r. Domenico said he already answered that question. Mr. Pultar confirmed that the answ= er was no. Mr. Domenico said that was correct. Mr. Pultar then left= the meeting with Sergeant Fisher.
Mr. Lynde arrived.
APPOINTMENTS
Election of Officers
|
MOTION:<= o:p> |
(Domenico/Lynde) To nominate Mr. Edmund Gleason for
Chairman of the Board of Selectmen. |
|
VOTE: |
(5-0-0) The motion carri=
ed. |
|
MOTION:<= o:p> |
(Domenico/Gleason) To nominate Mr. Victor Danevich f=
or
Vice Chairman of the Board of Selectmen. |
|
VOTE: |
(5-0-0) The motion carri=
ed. |
The Chair was turned over to Selectman Gleason. Mr. Gleason thanked the Selectmen = for appointing him as Chairman. H= e then discussed his objectives for the upcoming year and specifically mentioned t= he following items: 1) improvements to voter guide; 2) communications; 3) bett= er warrant article selection/organization/coordination; 4) solicit Selectmen priorities and clearly define objectives; 5) continue with every other week meetings; 6) reconvene/empower the Town priorities sub-committee soliciting support/participation from the Selectmen, School Board, CIP, Budget Committee and finalize their efforts w= ith a priorities position paper; 7) have CIP be a working document on infrastructure needs – no Town warrant would be endorsed unless appro= ved by CIP planning; 8) expand/improve communications program; 9) committee appointments, hire Chief of Police, Town accountant, award contracts for certain items; 10) revisit departmental 1-3 year planning and revisit departmental organizational structuring; 11) address junkyard licensing; 12) explore opportunities to supplement revenues versus budget cutting; 13) imp= rove industrial/commercial growth to offset tax burden; 14) shift Park & Recreation emphasis from Raymond Park to PVMP; 15) investigate utilizing Raymond Park as a site for a potential high school; 16) define infrastructu= re priorities and set up capital reserve funds for major Town equipment; and 17) continue existing oversight communication programs.= Mr. Gleason then summarized pending actions that he would like the Selectmen to address.
Mr. Lynde addressed the public. He thanked the people of Pelham for electing him to his 20th year as a Selectman. He said he would continue to serve= with integrity and intelligence. <= /p>
Greater
Members of the Greater Salem Chamber of Commerce met w=
ith
the Selectmen. Chairman George
Fredette, Executive Director Donna Morris, and member Alrick Hammar (of Pel=
ham)
introduced themselves. Mr. Fr=
edette
explained that the Greater Salem Chamber of Commerce was trying to make it =
less
centered in
Mr. Danevich questioned when the Chamber met, how freq=
uent
and what was required of the liaison.
Ms. Morris said the Chamber offered a variety of committees to
participate in. She said the =
Chamber
met on the third Wednesday of the month from
Mr. Hammar discussed his experience being a member of = the Chamber and felt it was important that the Town become more active.
Mr. Danevich said a link= to the Chamber would be added to the Pelham webpage.
Mr. Gleason said the Selectmen would take the request = under advisement. He thanked the Ch= amber members for meeting with the Board.
Lawn Maintenance RFP Bid Award
Mr. Gaydos said there was a committee of people they w= ere working with and four bids that were considered to be responsive. He said there had been a lot of questions and the committee requested that they postpone their recommendati= on until a later date. He said o= ne of the recent issues was different terms and conditions that the school wanted= and were not communicated previously. He said the school would finalize their list Wednesday and was sched= uled to meet with the Town and the bidders on Thursday to discuss questions that= the committee may have and any new input from the school. Mr. Gleason asked if there was a ‘fall back’ plan in the event the school’s decisions impa= cted the RFP so it would have to be reissued or reconsidered. Mr. Gaydos said there were a numbe= r of alternatives.
Mr. Lynde asked if the bids had been opened. Mr. Gaydos said the bids were publ=
icly
opened on
Mr. Gleason confirmed that the bids were opened in a p= ublic environment and asked if the bids were satisfactory as presented or if they= had to be interpreted in terms of the Town’s needs and the school’s needs. Mr. Gaydos thought the= re was a certain amount of interpretation. He said that everyone had the opportunity to view the properties; the RFP was not specific in what they were looking for (i.e. fertilization and = grub control). He said they were t= rying to get a full understanding of what each bidder was proposing. He believed the RFP may be deficient.
Mr. Gleason said the Selectmen would have a reevaluati=
on (by
Thursday) of the bid based on the input of the school and the three
bidders. He wanted to know wh=
at the
timeframe would be if there was a re-bid.&=
nbsp;
Mr. Gaydos believed if there was a re-bid the standards would be bet=
ter
refined. He still felt the
OTHER BUSINESS
Rec Track Purchase Order
Mr. Danevich said Park & Recreation was in the nee=
d of a
system. It was critical to ha=
ve
accounting software and better scheduling.=
This is a budgeted item and after review of other towns the Rec Track
system seemed to be best suited for the Town. Mr. Danevich said he had completed=
the
technical survey and the program was scheduled to be implemented by
Mr. Gleason asked if there was adequate funding in the budget. Mr. Gaydos said he sp= oke with the Park & Recreation Director who indicated they had the money in their budget.
Mr. Haverty asked who would admin the system and quest= ioned where it would reside. Mr. Da= nevich reviewed the types of systems currently being run throughout the Town. He said the software would run on = one of the Town servers. He said it = was an entry level server and easy to run on Windows 2003. He said it was an incremental add-= on module. Mr. Gleason noted tha= t the system would satisfy another aspect of Town government because it would minimize the receipt and handling of cash.=
Mr. Lynde asked for clarification of what was included= in the cost. Mr. Danevich review= ed the items that would be included and said additional modules could be added at a later date when there was a need. The cost was $31,796.50. There was a request to have Park & Recreation Director Darren McCarthy identify where the money in excess of the budget would come from o= ut of his budget.
|
MOTION:<= o:p> |
(Danevich/Haverty) To move forward with the project =
and
award the contract to Rec Track for an amount not to exceed $31,796.50. |
|
VOTE: |
(5-0-0) The motion carri=
ed. |
Audit RFP Review (2006)
Financial Director Janet Gallant informed that an audi=
t RFP
went out to five different audit firms.&nb=
sp;
The status is as follows: 1)
Town received one phone call indicating the company would not present a bid=
; 2)
one returned with no forwarding address; 3) no responses were received from=
two
companies; 4) one company (Mason & Rich) presented the Town with an eng=
agement
letter and felt this was the response to the request. In summary the Town had one respon=
se to
the RFP which was from the existing auditor Mason & Rich; the estimated
2006 audit fee would be $20,950 (2% increase from previous year). It was Ms. Gallant’s opinion=
that
there was an opportunity for a decrease cost in the audit this year (due to
implementing MuniSmart) and would be reflected by the actual billing. She said if the Selectmen accepted=
the
bid, the engagement letter would be signed and the schedule would begin
Mr. Lynde asked how the list of bidders was compiled.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Ms. Gallant said they got the list=
from
Mr. Gleason confirmed it was our intentions to have th= e RFP go out earlier for the 2007 audit. Ms. Gallant said they would go out as early as August, 2007. Mr. Lynde asked if contract would = be for two years. Ms. Gallant said t= he Town would sign an engagement letter for one year because that’s what= was presented; it would give the Town the option. Mr. Gleason confirmed that the bud= get contained enough money for the audit. Ms. Gallant answered yes (within $1000).
There was unanimous agreement of the Selectmen to desi=
gnate
Mr. Gaydos as the Selectmen’s agent to execute the letter of agreement
with John Lyford (Mason & Rich).
Ms. Gallant believed when the auditor left on
Discussion: Committee Assignments
The Selectmen will review the list of committees and g= ive Mr. Gleason their preference. The committee assignments will be announced at the next meeting.
Discussion: 2007 Plans & Agendas
The Selectmen deferred discussion to the next meeting.
Discussion: Raymond Park Status
Mr. Gleason said there was a reluctance of the voters =
to
support any endeavors at Raymond Park.&nbs=
p;
He said he spoke with the Park & Recreation Director and there w=
as
interest in doing some additional work at Pelham Veteran’s Memorial P=
ark
(‘PVMP’). He aske=
d the
Board to consider possibly changing their focus from Raymond Park into
PVMP. He said someone was kind
enough to drop off a complete plan (layout) for PVMP (formerly
Mr. Lynde took issue with the statement that the Town didn’t support Raymond Park. He said they voted for everything asked, except the fields this year. He said there were two = fields at grade and felt it would be a shame to turn our backs on it. He agreed that the possibilities a= t PVMP should be explored but believed there was a need for both facilities to han= dle what was happening. Mr. Lynde= said not getting the fields done at Raymond would impact other things and hoped = that it wasn’t written off quickly. He said the potential at both parks should be reviewed.
There was a discussion about the ‘No means No= 217; law and how it would impact the recent ballot decisions, specifically erosi= on control at Raymond Park. Mr. Danevich said the Selectmen should explore other opportunities (i.e. volunt= eers, Planning Board). He was intri= gued by exploring the potential of using the land (at Raymond) for a high school. He said he had multip= le people asked it would be possible. He said if it was a viable option, it should be explored with the Sc= hool Board.
Mr. Gaydos said he would be setting up a meeting with = the Department of Environmental Services and explain the ‘No means NoR= 17; situation. He said he would l= et them speak with the Department of Revenue Administration and let the two of them work out the best solution regarding public funding.
Mr. Gleason provided a summary of things that could be= done at PVMP and said the Selectmen would have to discus further.
Dispatcher Adrianne Davenport Resignation
A copy of Dispatcher Adrianne Davenport’s resign=
ation
letter (dated
|
MOTION:<= o:p> |
(Danevich/Lynde) To accept, with regret, the resigna=
tion
of Police Department Dispatcher Adrianne Davenport. |
|
VOTE: |
(5-0-0) The motion carri=
ed. |
Warrant Article Review
The Selectmen reviewed the Warrant Articles from the 2= 006 Town Meeting. Mr. Gleason not= ed that the Selectmen should reconcile all the outstanding warrant articles to ascertain their status.
TOWN ADMINISTRATOR/SELECTMEN REPORTS
Mr. Gaydos said he would be meeting with the Department Heads to discuss how the warrant approvals affected them. He said he would also discuss their capital plans. He said he wou= ld like the CIP submissions to come to the Selectmen (for comments) prior to g= oing to the CIP. He said the Depar= tment Heads would also be updating their 1-3 year plans and submitting them to the Selectmen within a month. Mr. Domenico agreed with Mr. Gaydos in principal, but believed statutorily that= the submissions went directly to the CIP because they are a sub-committee of the Planning Board. Mr. Gaydos sa= id they were trying to get more information to CIP.
Mr. Domenico said he attended the first meeting of the
elected Planning Board and informed that they elected their officers and
changed the meeting time to begin at
Mr. Haverty, Mr. Danevic= h and Mr. Lynde had no reports.
ADJOURNMENT
|
MOTION:<= o:p> |
(Danevich/Lynde) To adjourn the meeting. |
|
VOTE: |
(5-0-0) The motion carri=
ed. |
The meeting was adjourne=
d at
approximately
&nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; Respectfully submitted,
&nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; Charity A. L. Willis
&nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; Recording Secretary
BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING/March 20, 2007