SEL20080207

APPROVED

TOWN OF PELHAM

BOARD OF SE= LECTMEN MEETING

MINUTES

February 7, 20= 08

APPROVED – February 19, 2= 008

CALL = TO ORDER

PLEDG= E OF ALLEGIANCE

PRESENT:

Mr. Victor Danevich, Mr= . Harold Lynde, Mr. William McDevitt, Mr. Robert Haverty,

Mr. Douglas Viger, Town Administrator Tom Gaydos

Also present:

ABSENT:

Members of the press and general public.

None.

MINUTES REVIEW<= /p>

January 22, 2008

MOTION:<= o:p>

(McDevitt/Viger) To approve the January 22, 2008 meeting = minutes as written.

VOTE:

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

OPEN FORUM

Dr. Srilatha Kodali invit= ed the Board and the public to attend the Pelham Healthcare Associates Open House which will be held February 12, 2008 between 2pm – 6pm.

Mr. Paul MacDonough, 7 Mammoth Road came forward to say he enjoyed attending the Deliberative Session and appreciated how the Board was handling the issues.&nbs= p; He said he also wanted to meet the new Park & Recreation Director Brian Johnson. He then discus= sed the cameras that were installed at the park. He discussed some of the actions t= hat had occurred at the park prior to the cameras being installed. He said he would miss the former P= ark & Recreation Director Darren McCarthy, but felt Brian Johnson would do a good job. Mr. MacDonough then discussed the fire station and felt a new station was needed. He said it would be a plus for the firemen to have what they needed.

State Representative Lynn= e Ober informed that the draft of the state’s 10-year highway plan had been released. She said the Town Center project was still included and fully funded. She said the plan had been reduced because as it was previously written, it would have taken approximately thi= rty-five to forty years to implement. = She left the copy of the plan for the Selectmen to review. The draft format was public, but w= ould not be posted on-line until it was approved.

APPOINTMENTS

Abatement Application and Vote:= Walter Sikut

Mr. Lynde said the Selectmen (at their previous meetin= g) said they would look into the uniqueness of Mr. Sikut’s situation. He said Assessing Assistant Sue Sn= ide provided a spread sheet of similar properties. He said there were seventy properties in Town that were not dissimil= ar to Mr. Sikut’s property. He discussed the properties and their total assessment. Mr. Lynde said he saw nothing in t= he spread sheet to indicate that the assessment of Mr. Sikut’s property = was unique among the other sixty-nine properties. The average assessment was $5800 a= nd Mr. Sikut’s assessment was $4500.

The Selectmen had no fur= ther comment.

Mr. Sikut wanted to know why his assessment had increa= sed eleven times in value when the main piece of property increased four times. Mr. Lynde explained the methodology he believed was used; which was to value the property at 100% a= nd depreciate the property 95%. = Mr. Lynde said the assessing compan= y used a standard to assess the properties and a standard depreciation. He said he didn’t know how to argue against that.

Mr. Lynde made a motion to deny the request. He said if they did it for one, th= ey would have to do it for the other sixty-nine; they were all based on the sa= me depreciation factor. Mr. McDe= vitt seconded the motion.

MOTION<= /p>

(Lynde/McDevitt) To deny the request based upon the = fact that there was nothing unique.

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The motion carried.

Mr. Danevich said the application was denied. He asked Mr. Gaydos if the vote ch= anged the process Mr. Sikut would have to take with the state. Mr. Gaydos said Mr. Sikut had alre= ady filed with the state. He said= the state urged Mr. Sikut to come back before the Board to see if there was any other decision.

Mr. Viger excused himself from the Board to be able to= make a vote (as the Selectmen’s representative) on the Town wide budget (t= he Budget Committee was conducting a meeting).

Vote and Introduction of Park and Recreation Director – Br= ian Johnson

Mr. Danevich said the vote occurred in non-public; the= offer was extended and was accepted. He said the vote needed to be formalized.&nbs= p; He discussed the application process.

MOTION<= /p>

(Lynde/Haverty) To extend the offer and hire Mr. Bri= an Johnson as the new Park and Recreation Director.

VOTE:

(4-0-0) The motion carried. (Mr. Viger had left to a= ttend a Budget Committee vote)

Mr. Gaydos introduced Mr. Brian Johnson to the Selectm= en. Mr. Johnson came forward and thank= ed Mr. Gaydos and the Selectmen for the opportunity to serve the Town. He discussed his experiences with = the Town. The Selectmen welcomed = Mr. Johnson.

DISCUSSION

Selectmen Specific Priorities

Mr. Danevich asked that = the Selectmen review the Priority List (available to the public on the web).

Mr. Lynde discussed the Town Center project, the preferred design and the associated cost (through state funding). He said the state w= as now ready for the public hearing to make the final decision on the final design= and move forward. They were hopin= g to hold the public hearing in April, but were now talking that they would dela= y it if the new station was not approved. Mr. Lynde said the concern was if the Town left the money and didn’t start using it, it might be used up. He said the money was currently committed and should be used. He commented that the only viable solution for the Town Center was Alternative A – round-about which meant the current station would= have to go. Mr. Haverty said the s= tate was originally planning a meeting for April/May, 2008 but elected to push t= hat meeting back to next year. He= said they would like a letter from the Selectmen stating which direction they intended to take. He discusse= d the funding and the fact that people were more interested in pursuing Alternati= ve A, versus putting more money into an already dilapidated building as propos= ed in Alternative B. He said bas= ed on construction schedules, the state felt the Town had one more opportunity to have a central station pass next year and be able to still fit it into the schedule. Mr. Lynde said ther= e was still approximately $660,000 for land acquisition and the indication was the balance could be used to offset the cost of moving the current station. He noted that construction costs w= ould increase if there was a year delay.

Mr. Danevich discussed the communication regarding the project and the actions that had been taken to create a fresh plan. He was confident that the Selectme= n, Town Administrator and Fire Chief were clearly aligned that the project was= the number one priority.

The Selectmen continued their review of the priority list. Mr. Viger rejoined the Board. He informed that the adjustment to the Operating Budget had passed with by a vote of 6-2 (Dennis Viger and Larry Hall v= oted no). That was the only = action taken by the Budget Committee= . The Selectmen went back to reviewi= ng the priority list.

Administrator Priorities

Mr. Gaydos said his goal was to start working with the Department Heads. He said the= y had already given him that list and the next thing would be to discuss what the= ir top priorities were for 2008. He said the plan should be a specific objective and how they intended to reach that objective.

Mr. Danevich said the Selectmen’s Priority List = was a work in progress. He said if = the Selectmen saw the need to add/change any item, they should let him or Mr. Gaydos know. Mr. Gaydos will = work with the Department Heads to prepare and work with the Department Heads for review.

Deliberative Session Recap

Mr. Gaydos provided the Selectmen with a recap of the Deliberative Session. Mr. Dan= evich said the Selectmen would need to resign the warrant (with the new Operating Budget number).

Mr. Lynde asked what the status was of the Voter Guide= . Mr. Gaydos said they were still accepting comments; he would make sure Mr. Lynde had a copy before he left = the meeting. He said they had unt= il early next (Febr= uary 12, 2008) week to draft the guide.=

Mr. Haverty asked if all the feedback had been incorpo= rated into the draft. Mr. Gaydos sa= id some of the feedback came in and he would try to finalize the comments by t= he weekend. He said the article regarding the assessment updates (article #8) had the most confusion. Mr. Danevich said the article affe= cted every household. He said article #8 would change the methodology of how assessments were done. He provided a description of the a= ssessment process (adjusted/cyclical process) that would occur over a five-year perio= d.

E-911 Project Update

Mr. Gaydos said he met with the Highway Safety Committ= ee who had identified the (group A) roads that had similar sounding names and had already had the public hearings on. He said they would like to address those as of July 1, 2008. He said they would then focus on t= he roads that they had the most calls on (i.e. Sherburne Road and Mammoth Road).

Mr. Danevich said he was looking for the Board to reaf= firm the process. He explained how the= roads were broken up into three groups and would be dealt with accordingly. He said the process would take approximately 90 days; residents would be re-notified.

Mr. Lynde understood (under Subdivision Regulations) t= hat the all new roads had to comply with the 50-foot grid spacing and with prop= er naming so there wouldn’t be a similar situation in the future. He questioned why road numbers weren’t going to be done at first since there was such a problem with them. Mr. Gaydos said the A l= ist would address house numbering. He said if there were any road number changes, they would be brought to the Selectmen. Mr. Lynde wanted t= o know why the numbering on Sherb= urne Road or Mammoth Road wouldn’t be done at the same time as the A list. Mr. Gaydos said t= here had to be a public hearing process and the Selectmen would have a presentat= ion regarding such.

Mr. Danevich reiterated that Group A was scheduled for= implementation July 1, 2008 and required no further action by the Selectmen. He said Mr. Gaydos was leading tha= t project for implementation with Verizon, NRPC, US Postal Service, Highway Safety Commi= ttee and all other agencies involved.

Mr. Gaydos provided an update regarding the Town Report. He said all the repor= ts were in, there were other items that the Selectmen were responsible for that would need Selectmen input. A= t that time the report would be sent out for the proof. The Voter Guide was due for February 12, 2008. Mr. Gaydos said the project was on time.

TOWN ADMINISTRATOR / SELECTMEN’S RE= PORTS

Mr. Gaydos had no report= .

Mr. Viger said he supported Mr. Brian Johnson with bei= ng the Park & Recreation Director. He hoped he would enjoy his job.

Mr. Haverty informed that the Q&A and the narrativ= e deadline was February 8, 2= 008. He said they both had been complet= ed and submitted to the architect. T= he draft was expected to be back from the printer no later than February 14, 2008 for review. The prints were expec= ted to be delivered to Town Hall by February 22, 2008. Mr. Hav= erty said the next milestone for communication was Community Night March 6, 2008 an= d Fire Department Open House March 8, 2008.

Mr. Lynde and Mr. McDevi= tt had no reports.

Mr. Danevich informed the public that a model of the F= ire Station was on display at the Town Hall.&n= bsp; He said the MAAP project for the Town was now connected to the state; another piece of the project (software installation) would be installed at = the end of the month. He discusse= d the features that the system would bring to the Town in the Town Clerk’s office.

REQUEST FOR NON-PUBLIC S= ESSION

MOTION:=

(Lynde/Viger) Request for a non-public session per R= SA 91-A:3,II,a & e (Personnel; Consideration of negotiation of pending claims or litigation)

ROLL CALL:<= /b>

Mr. Danevich-Yes; Mr. Lynde-Yes; Mr. McDevitt-Yes; M= r. Haverty-Yes; Mr. Viger-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 8:10 pm. Also present = was Mr. Gaydos.

The Board returned to pu= blic session at approximately 9:= 26pm.

MOTION:=

(Haverty/Viger) To seal the minutes of the non-public session indefinitely.

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The motion carried.

ADJOURNMENT

MOTION:<= o:p>

(Haverty/Viger) To adjourn the meeting.

VOTE:

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

The meeting was adjourne= d at approximately 9:26pm.

&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