SEL20081021

APPROVED

TOWN OF PELHAM

BOARD OF SE= LECTMEN MEETING

MINUTES

October 21, 2008

APPROVED &#= 8211; November 18, 2008

CALL TO ORDER – 6:32pm

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

PRESENT:

Mr. Douglas Viger, Mr. = Robert Haverty, Mr. Harold Lynde (arrived at 6:47pm),

Mr. William McDevitt, T= own Administrator Tom Gaydos

Also present:

ABSENT:

Members of the press and general public.

Mr. Victor Danevich

MINUTES REVIEW

October 7= , 2008 – reviewed later in the meeting. (see below)

OPEN FORUM

Mr. Pultar came forward t= o state his case regarding an ongoing issue. He said there had been an ongoing dispute and a chain of continuity = had continued the case through conclusion that was recently made. He said the Town had addressed his allegations and made a policy that addressed what he alleged and ensures wh= at he alleged would not happen in the future.= He said he would accept that as closure. He provided a summary of his alleg= ations and read aloud a letter from his attorney regarding such allegations. He said his main goal was to have = the Town make a policy so what he alleged would not happen to another citizen.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> He wanted to ensure that there was= a paper trail showing the correspondence that had been sent back and forth was kept on file.

Mr. Viger assured Mr. Pul= tar that along with the policy, every letter sent to the Town was transcribed and put into the Town’s system. There was a large file maintained with originals and preserved electronically. Mr. Viger welcomed Mr. Pultar to c= ome down to Town Hall to view the file.

Mr. Paul MacDonough came = forward to tell the Selectmen that he appreciated them for revisiting the curfews at t= he parks. He mentioned there wer= e some homes that were bank owned and vacant that should be maintained not only to deter vandals. Mr. Viger than= ked Mr. MacDonough for coming forward with comments.

APPOINTMENTS

Mr. Lynde arrived.

6:47pm

New Employee Introductions – Firefighter David Johnstone a= nd Firefighter Jeremy Ryan

Fire Chief Michael Walker= came forward to introduce Firefighter David Johnstone and Firefighter Jeremy Ryan who were new hire employees. He said both gentlemen had been call firefighters and went out on th= eir own to get the fire service and EMS trai= ning to do the job.

The Selectmen welcomed th= e new Firefighters.

6:49pm

Miscellaneous Discussion

Mr. Viger informed that t= he Pelham High School Building Committee was interested in having a Selectman representative attend their meetings two to three times per month. They would review high school options. Mr. Lynde volunteere= d. Mr. Haverty volunteered to be the alternate.

6:52pm

MINUTES REVIEW

October 7= , 2008

MOTION:

(McDevitt/Lynd= e) To approve the Oc= tober 7, 2008 meeting minutes as written.

VOTE:

(3-0-1) The mo= tion carried. Mr. Haverty abstained.

6:53pm

Impact Fees – Fire Station

Mr. Gaydos said if the Bo= ard wanted to pursue having a warrant article for a new fire station he would h= ave to do some work to prepare. T= o have new drawings and make potential changes he would have to request an additio= nal appropriation out of the Fire Impact Fees.= He asked if the Board was interested.

Mr. Viger believed the Se= lectmen had unofficially discussed revamping/updating the fire station numbers and presenting them again. Mr. Ha= verty believed the Selectmen had left it as they wouldn’t rule it out as lo= ng as they knew what the updated costs would be. He felt they should invest a littl= e of the impact fees to find out what the project looked like. He was in favor of Mr. Gaydos̵= 7; suggestion.

Mr. Lynde said the Select= men didn’t have a feel for the impact if they had to revert to alternativ= e B. He wanted to see updated numbers o= n the fire station. He reiterated t= hat they should know the impact of alternative B. Mr. Gaydos said that could be a se= parate issue, he couldn’t use the impact fees for it. He said if the Board agreed, he wo= uld put together a schedule of projected expenses and post a public hearing for= the next meeting.

Mr. McDevitt said he wouldn’t object, but was hesitant to put a large warrant in front of = the voters given the present economy. He felt it was reasonable for the Selectmen to make a fair determina= tion to have a fair and correct number being reviewed. He worried about plan B. His concern, given the present dat= e, was that the Selectmen didn’t know the cost of making changes to the fire station or building behind the fire station.

Mr. Viger asked Mr. Gaydo= s to draft a timeline and get rough costs so a public hearing could be posted. With regard to plan B, Mr. Gaydos = said he was currently listing out the items that would have to be changed and getting the prices for those items.

Mr. Viger asked if the Se= lectmen had any reports at this time since it wasn’t time for the public hear= ing.

Mr. McDevitt said he atte= nded a lunch at the Senior Center that the dir= ector put together for those people in Town who were ninety years old and above.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> He believed there were approximate= ly thirty-two people invited and they had a really nice time.

7:00pm

Continuation of September 23, 2008 Bayberry Woods Highway Layout Petition Hearing to extend Stonepost across Town property into the proposed Bayberry Woods Subdivision

Planning Director Jeff Go= wan came forward to discuss the highway layout at Bayberry Woods. He said a site walk and public hea= ring had been done. During the discussions there were recommendations made to possibly introduce additional traffic calming measures into the Town portion of land that was between Stonepost and the proposed Bayberry Woods project. He said Mr. Peter Zohdi of Herbert Associates (who was also present) was charged with drafting alternatives. Letters from the Highway Safety Committee, Planning Board and Conservation Commission regarding the options were provided to the Selectmen.

Mr. Peter Zohdi of Herbert Associates understood from the last meeting that the (abutters and the) Boa= rd wanted to review alternate traffic calming measures for the road. He reviewed two proposals, the fir= st proposal was for a second cul-de-sac, the second proposal was a half moon s= hape cul-de-sac/island that would be landscaped in the center. The plan also showed the parking s= paces for those wanting to access the Town land.=

Mr. Gowan said the Planni= ng Board reviewed the two options and had the opinion that the traffic calming measu= res that were already involved in the project (curvature of the road and the round-about) were sufficient; they recommended if the Selectmen considered adding additional measures, they preferred the half moon proposal rather th= an the second cul-de-sac. Mr. Go= wan then reviewed the Conservation Commission’s letter that indicated they would prefer the half moon shape because it contained less impervious surfa= ce. They recommended a change to the t= rail parking to make it more like the area on Sherburne Road which was more than = just a gravel pull-off. Mr. Zohdi sa= id the change would be an easy reconfiguration of the area. The parking area would also be use= d as a staging area for logging operations. Mr. Gowan said the third recommendation was from the Highway Safety Committee who also felt the traffic measures in the original plan were sufficient. They took the sam= e recommendation of having the smaller footprint (island) if the Selectmen decided to add it= . Mr. Gowan felt it was an excellent recommendation that the Selectmen review the parking. He said the one thing not clearly = shown in the detail was at both approaches to the round-about, there would be a s= ign indicating Trail Head Parking Slow.=

Mr. Haverty said there we= re three observations that he made during the Planning Board’s discussion of t= he plan. He stated when the Sele= ctmen first discussed the plan, the initial thought of a dual round-abouts (for additional traffic calming) seemed worth looking at. He said in looking at the plan, it= was really complicated at a short distance.&nb= sp; He questioned at what point a road became so complicated that it bec= ame a safety issue to navigate. He noted as traffic approached from the north, there was a severe curve to navigate past a driveway which entered the first traffic calming implement,= a round-about; very shortly after that there would be trail head parking foll= owed by an additional round-about and two driveways at a short distance. He believed it was too complex an = area to ask anybody to navigate. M= r. Haverty said the second thing he noticed was that the additional traffic calming measures were requested by the residents of Stonepost. He submitted that any additional t= raffic calming to the north of the round-about wasn’t doing anything more. By the time a vehicle got to the s= econd round-about, they would have already slowed down. He questioned if any traffic calmi= ng to the north would provide any real traffic calming. Finally, in regard to the half-moon shape, unless it was treed, Mr. Haverty felt in the winter it would be hit = with a plow. Mr. Haverty sai= d he was inclined to support the Highway Safety Committee’s initial recomm= endation of a single round-about.

PUBLIC INPUT

Mr. Dean Colarusso, Stonepost Road said the project had been going on for about three years and the residents understood that the road would happen.&nbs= p; Their biggest concern was safety.&n= bsp; Mr. Colarusso said if the street was going to happen, the traffic sh= ould be dampened as much as possible. He didn’t understand how they could have a conversation about having too much traffic calming within the 350 foot area. Mr. Zohdi noted there would be approximately 200ft. between the round-about and the half moon island and t= he length between the two round-abouts was 150ft. Mr. Colarusso questioned what the negative affect was to having a smaller section in between the two calming measures. Mr. Haverty believe= d if only the island or the round-about were looked at, it appeared to be a good idea, however, the whole picture, the number of controls within the short distance were looked at, it bordered on making something unnecessarily comp= lex to navigate. He didn’t = see that someone would slow down for one traffic calming measure and then head = into the next round-about going faster. <= /span>

Mr. Viger said understood= the point, he said he would want something to slow traffic down. He used children on bikes coming o= ut of driveways as an example of a reason to slow traffic.

Mr. Colarusso felt it was= a good thing if a vehicle had to drive 10mph to navigate the road. Mr. Haverty said they weren’t applying a uniform standard. = He felt the proposal was overly complex.

Mr. Gaydos believed the abutter’s comments about wanting to slow traffic down before entering= the cul-de-sac was what caused the additional proposal to be brought in for review. Mr. Zohdi said there = were cases in Pelham’s sister town (Windham) about whether to have traffic calming.&nbs= p; He provided and example of a project done where they didn’t put the traffic calming and instead posted a bond for it; in two years the Selectmen and abutters would have the opportunity to review the area and ma= ke a decision if the traffic calming was needed. He said by having a bond in place = it ensured that money was available if the traffic calming was needed at a lat= er date.

Mr. Colarusso stated that= the residents didn’t want the road; they spent great time and expense over the past three years because of it. He said it was purely for safety, not property value. He said with the road going in, th= ey wanted to come up with safety measures.&nb= sp; He didn’t believe anyone at the site walk viewed the parking o= ff the road as a safety measure; the residents wanted something on their cul-de-sac and prior to it. M= r. Colarusso wasn’t sure that he understood the negative affect of being ‘too safe’ by having to drive slowly between the two traffic calming measures. Mr. Haverty clarified that he was saying any additional introduction of traffic calming measures presented no net ‘new’ safety to the equation. He noted three other boards had re= viewed the plan and supported the initial plan as the primary.

Mr. Colarusso believed ha= ving two round-abouts would reduce traffic. He didn’t want to see anyone going through the round-about and losing control. He believed t= he extra controls would make it safe and didn’t want to go backwards from there.

Mr. Zohdi said Mr. Harris= was present and would go with whatever was decided. He discussed the traffic calming measures that were built in Wi= ndham and didn’t think it was a bad idea to build it in this case.

Mr. Gowan said given the = current economy, he didn’t believe that all the houses would be built in the development in the next two years. He discussed the proposals being reviewed and felt the small island = was a reasonable compromise and having two round-abouts would be over the top a= nd possibly dangerous. For a deep snow, curb indicators would have to be placed so the plow didn’t hit = it in a deep snow. He noted that= the designed speed for entering a round-about was 20mph.

Mr. Harris asked if consi= deration had been given to installing speed bumps through the Town property. Mr. Gowan said during his past experience on the Planning Board, they had considered installing speed bump= s on roads but the Highway Agent had been the force that convinced them not to d= ue to the maintenance issues. Mr. Viger said the Board had two valid proposals and wouldn’t want to add design specifications. Mr. Ga= ydos discussed an example of where a speed bump would calm traffic; they are designed to be approximately eight feet across and 6 inches in height.

Mr. Haverty discussed tra= ffic pattern speeds and what he observes within his neighborhood. He believed the design was sufficient.

Mr. Lynde believed the is= sue was the wooded area coming off the new development and the concern for increased speed. He asked if the road alignment had changed from the original plan. Mr. Zohdi answered no. Mr. Lynde didn’t like the two large round-abouts which looked to be too close together and looked to be m= ore of a problem than a help. He favored the design with the little island on the rational that vehicles wou= ld slow down before approaching the trail head parking.

Mr. McDevitt said he hate= d to see the neighborhood ruined, but at this point felt it was appropriate to move forward. He said during the s= ite walk the residents seemed reluctantly to accept some kind of additional cal= ming device. He felt that the smal= l island was a reasonable approach.

Mr. Lynde reviewed the pl= an and the issues being dealt with. = He said as a solution, the driveways could be moved or the round about could be mov= ed further into Town land and only have one round-about.

Mr. Haverty asked if a tr= affic study had been done on the initial plan for the single round-about. Mr. Zohdi answered yes. Mr. Haverty questioned if a traffic study had been done when the additional traffic calming measures had been done. Mr. Zohdi answered no.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Mr. Haverty pointed out that there wasn’t any concrete proof that a second round-about would do anything= . He cautioned the Board on making a decision regarding a plan without having engineering,

Mr. Viger said a site wal= k was done with one round-about. Th= ere were residents at the site walk that didn’t think one round-about was enough and after brainstorming the suggestion was made to have two round-abouts. After that time= , Mr. Zohdi came up with alternatives to the round-abouts, which addressed the traffic problem and eased some of the citizen concerns. He didn’t see maintenance as= the major issue. He saw the plans= as people coming together for a common solution and recommended the round-about and the half moon design.

Mr. Gowan discussed the round-about in relation to the driveway placement. He did not advise moving the cul-de-sac.

Mr. McDevitt asked what t= he next appropriate steps were to follow. Mr. Gowan said the Board was already past the complicated steps; whatever the Board decided to do at this point, Mr. Zohdi would reflect in a final plan to be signed by the Planning Board and recorded at the Registry = of Deeds once bonding was worked out.

Mr. McDevitt made the fol= lowing motion: To approve the layout of a Town road through parcel 12-214 consiste= nt with the plan outline on sheet 2 of 2 presented to the Board of Selectmen on October 21, 2008; that being the inclusion of a 50-foot long raised island approximately 150-feet from the round-about shown on the plan. Mr. Lynde seconded the motion. Mr. Gowan suggested that the chang= e in the trail head parking should be reflected in the motion. He also noted that the Board should specify the type of curbing, noting that the Town usually used a Cape Cod berm out of asphalt. Mr. McDevitt amended his motion to indicate that the plan would be changed to include a graveled parking area = as outlined in Mr. Paul Gagnon’s (Conservation Commission Chairman) memo= of October 18, 2008 addressed to Mr. Jeff Gowan (Planning Director).&nbs= p; Also that the plans would show ‘granite curbing’ to be changed to ‘Cape Cod berm’.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Mr. Lynde amended his second.

MOTION:

(McDevitt/Lynd= e) To approve the layout of a Town road through parcel 12-214 consistent with the plan outline on sheet 2 of 2 presented to the Board of Selectmen on October 21, 2008; that being the inclusion of a 50-foot long raised island approximat= ely 150-feet from the round-about shown on the plan; the plans will show ‘granite curbing’ to be changed to ‘Cape Cod berm’. The plan will be changed to include a graveled parking area as outlined in Mr. Paul Gagnon’s (Conservation Commission Chairman) memo of October 18, 2008 addressed to Mr. Je= ff Gowan (Planning Director)

VOTE:

(3-1-0) The motion carried.= Mr. Haverty voted no.

Mr. Haverty’s sole opposition was the additional traffic calming.

7:47pm

Deborah Waters: Forestry Committee 2009 Warrant

Forestry Committee Member= s Ms. Deborah Waters, Ms. Gayle Plouffe and Mr. Paul Gagnon came forward to discu= ss a 2009 forestry warrant article that would request $45,000 from the Forest Maintenance Fund for the purpose of forest management, stewardship, securit= y, public education and other costs associated with the maintenance and care of Town forest land. Ms. Waters = said they wanted to remind residents that they weren’t asking for the fund= s to be raised from local taxes; none of the amount came from raised local taxes. She had a 2009 budget = that summarized the work they felt needed to be done. She said they were putting togethe= r a ten year plan because they felt it was important to ensure that the forests were managed properly, not only with forestry activities, but also fiscally= .   She discussed the forestry ac= tivity that had occurred.

There was a discussion re= garding the importance of the ten year plan and how to balance the funds so they could manage forestry work over the life of the plan. Ms. Waters went into greater detail regarding the importance of having sites properly prepared to be forested a= nd the need for adequate funds so the revenue could be increased.

The Selectmen will review= and vote regarding warrant articles at an upcoming meeting. Mr. McDevitt said he would like the warrant article to be more specific; at this point he felt it read too general.

OTHER BUSINESS

8:21pm

Discussion of Budget Committee Votes

Mr. Gaydos provided the S= electmen with a summary sheet of the Budget Committee votes. He said the summary showed the inc= rease from 2008 to 2009, the Budget Committee’s vote and any comments made.

There was a discussion re= garding the funding for the revaluation. The warrant article wording from 2007 was reviewed and seen as being= not clear as to the intent. Mr. McDevitt wanted to take the revaluation money out of the budget (as put in = by the Budget Committee) and go with the Selectmen’s original number.

The Selectmen then review= ed the Fire Department’s budget and what the Budget Committee changed. The Budget Committee had taken out certain items and replaced the dollar amount by adding in hose and a ladder= was added into the budget. Mr. Mc= Devitt discussed the review that the Selectmen had done with the Fire Department.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> He believed it was the only depart= ment that had been affected by an increase in pay (because of their contract) but they were still asked to come in at zero increase. He questioned how the department w= ould run on less money than the Selectmen approved, given that the Budget Commit= tee made cuts to the budget. Mr. = Viger said some items were deducted because of lack of backup. He noted that the Budget Committee indicated they would reconsider those items if the backup was received. Mr. McDevitt asked if the Selectmen could exercise their authority to direct the Fire Chief to have the backup submitted to the Selectmen by Friday (of this week). He felt it was too risky to let the issue go and risk a possible decrease in service. Mr. Gaydos was directed to contact= the Fire Chief to have the backup provided to the Selectmen by Friday.

Mr. Viger stated that the= Budget Committee wanted to add the funds for mosquito spraying back into the Health Officer budget. Mr. McDevitt = felt that item should be a warrant article.&nbs= p;

The funds for the Derry R= egional Bussing were removed from Health Services because the organization was no longer in business.

Park & Recreation had= one dollar added in the grant line to maintain the line in case any grants came= down.

Planning Department was l= evel funded for training.

The Budget Committee didn= ’t like the non-union raise pool, which was a change from their position last year. They would rather break= out salaries with percentage increases for the non-union employees.

Town Buildings had an inc= rease to repairs; which also included building repairs for Cemetery. The Transfer Station Superintenden= t was asked if he would rather have a skid steer or a truck in the operating budg= et; the Superintendent said the truck would be more beneficial.

Mr. McDevitt asked what t= he new threshold was for warrant articles for capital items. Mr. Viger said it was basically th= e NH state bid price on a cruiser times two (which was approximately $45,000-$50,000).

Mr. Viger said that the C= emetery and Library budgets were also reviewed, but since they were done by the trustees, he didn’t speak to them in any way.

Mr. Viger said he would p= rovide the Selectmen with a copy of the Budget Committee minutes for review prior = to the Selectmen’s vote.

TOWN ADMINISTRATOR / SELECTMEN REPORTS

Mr. Lynde said there woul= d be a fund raiser held on Saturday for the soccer fields. He discussed the items that would = be improved with the funds raised.

Mr. McDevitt provided an = update on the work being done in Sherburne Hall.&= nbsp;

REQUEST FOR NON-PUBLIC SESSION

MOTION:

(McDevitt/Lynd= e) Request for a non-public session per RSA 91-A:3,II, a (Union Contract Upd= ates)

ROLL CALL:

Mr. Viger-Yes;= Mr. Haverty-Yes; Mr. Lynde-Yes; Mr. McDevitt-Yes

It was noted tha= t when the Board returned, after the non-public session, the Board would not take = any other action publicly, except to possibly seal the minutes of the non-public session and to adjourn the meeting. The Board entered into a non-public session at approximately 8:51 pm.

The Board returned to public session at approximately 9:20 pm.

MOTION:

(Haverty/McDev= itt) To seal the minutes of the non-public session indefinitely.

VOTE:

(4-0-0) The mo= tion carried.

ADJOURNMENT

MOTION:

(Haverty/McDev= itt) To adjourn the meeting.

VOTE:

(4-0-0) The motion carried.

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:20 pm.

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

            =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;            =          Charity A. L. Willis

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