SEL20090505

APPROVED

TOWN OF PELHAM

BOARD OF SE= LECTMEN MEETING

MINUTES

May 5, 2009

APPROVED May 19, 2009

CALL TO ORDER – 6:35pm

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

PRESENT:

Mr. Robert Haverty, Mr.= Douglas Viger, Mr. William McDevitt, Mr. Harold Lynde, Mr. Edmund Gleason, Town A= dministrator Tom Gaydos

Also present:

ABSENT:

Members of the press and general public.

None.

MINUTES REVIEW

April 2= 1, 2009

MOTION:

(Viger/Lynde) = To approve the Ap= ril 21, 2009 Selectmen meeting minutes as amended.

VOTE:

(4-0-1) The motion carried. Mr. McD= evitt abstained.

The amendment made was as follows: page 4, 2^{nd
line – the sentence reading ‘Chief Roark felt the remaining str=
eets
as being critical.’ was deleted.}

6:40pm

OPEN FORUM

Mr. Haverty told Mr. Pult= ar that the Board had a full agenda for the evening. He said if he was coming forward to discuss the topic that had been discussed on numerous occasions; he would be limited to three minutes.

Mr. William Pultar came f= orward and discussed his previous appearance(s) before the Board in regard to his question about a Town policy being in place for complaints submitted about = Town employees. He asked the Selec= tmen if a policy was in place.

Mr. Lynde stated that a p= olicy existed and was in place. He = said he had given Mr. Pultar a copy of the policy. He said Mr. Pultar had an issue, w= hich was investigated, and the policy that was then adopted came out from that (investigation).

Mr. Haverty thanked Mr. P= ultar for coming forward. He told h= im that the Selectmen had previously given him a copy of the policy. Mr. Pultar felt his integrity had = been degraded at the previous meeting. Mr. Haverty stated that he had not impugned his integrity.

Mr. Pultar said he hoped = to receive the policy because he would be writing to request clarification. He wanted to know if he should lea= ve the meeting knowing that there was a policy in place or not. Mr. Lynde answered yes. Mr. Gleason stated that he wrote a policy predicated on what happened to Mr. Pultar. He said the policy had been availa= ble and believed he had given a copy to Mr. Pultar at the time it was initiated. Separately, at the= time, the Planning Department was asked to draft a set of frequently asked questi= ons that addressed the items of concerns. Mr. Gleason told Mr. Pultar that the issue had been addressed several times in numerous places and for some reason Mr. Pultar didn’t want to look at it or accept it. He s= aid at the time Mr. Pultar met with him in 2005/2006, he indicated that he didn’t want what happened to him to happen to anyone else. Mr. Gleason said at that time an investigation was instituted and a policy was written to address the issue. He said Mr. Pultar had= been satisfied, but come back with variations to such an extent that he personal= ly sent a letter to Mr. Pultar (in 2007) telling him that the original issue h= ad been addressed and he would not pursue it any longer. Mr. Gleason believed the Selectmen= had adequately addressed Mr. Pultar’s concerns in a public forum; the information was readily available. <= /span>

Mr. Pultar asked the Sele= ctmen to send him the policy. Mr. Viger handed Mr. Pultar a copy of the policy adopted December 26, 2006. Mr. Pultar said it was a good one.= Mr. Lynde stated that it was the policy. Mr. Pultar said he ag= reed. He asked if he could count on the policy. Mr. Lynde answered yes. Mr. Pultar asked Mr. Hav= erty why he had seemed so upset at the previous meeting and felt he owed him an apology. Mr. Haverty told Mr.= Pultar he apologized if he had offended him in any way; it was not meant to be personal and there was no character complaint. Mr. Pultar said thank you.

APPOINTMENTS

6:55pm

Junkyard License Renewal:

Jack Mansur’s Auto, LLC. – Mr. John Mansur came for= ward to discuss his application. T= he Selectmen reviewed the application. Mr. McDevitt explained (to the public) the review process, which involved many Town departments conducting inspections of the property.

MOTION:

(Viger/Gleason= ) To accept the application for Junkyard Automobile Recycling Facility License= to Jack Mansur’s Auto, LLC for the period April 1, 2009 through March 31, 2010.

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The motion carried.

Mr. Gaydos said they had = known for some time there had been a Consent Decree entered between the Town and = Jack Mansur’s Auto, LLC., the terms of which he would like to bring back before the Board. He said whe= n it was written it provided limits that at the time were common, but under new interpretations of the law it should be amended. The Selectmen had no objection to = Mr. Gaydos working with Mr. Mansur and bring the decree back to Board with suggested amendments.

Coombs Used Auto Parts – Mr. Charlie Coombs came forward = to discuss the application. The Selectmen reviewed the inspection reports.= Mr. Gaydos asked if they were still a member of the Green Yards program. Mr. Coombs said they= were, but weren’t licensed through them.&n= bsp; He said they still participated in some of the activities and attend= ed the meetings and seminars to keep updated.=

MOTION:

(Gleason/Lynde= ) To approved the application for Junkyard Automobile Recycling Facility Licen= se to Coombs Used Auto Parts for the period April 1, 2009 through March 31, 2010.

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The motion carried.

Board / Committee Appointments:

Conservation Commission – Lisa Loosigian - Ms. Loosigian was unable to attend= the meeting and would schedule an interview at a later date.

Fire Chief James Midgley:

Update of 2007 Communication Report – Chief Midgley stated that they had received funds to build a communications infrastructure; 70%-= 80% was complete except for one phone line.&nb= sp; Rather than using the phone line, for cost effectiveness, a microwave system was purchase and installed. The system was completely integrated with the Police Department, provides 95% coverage for the portables units and 100% coverage for the mob= ile units. Chief Midgley reported= that the project was now complete.

Chief Midgley provided fu= rther explanation regarding the signal transmission between the units, departments and future compatibility with the departments in the state and soon around = the country.

Swine Flu (H1N1) Update – Chief Midgley stated that he wa= s in constant communication with the State Emergency Operations Center (‘EOC’) who had been activated to track the H1N1 Swine Flu. He provided information on how the= cases were classified and the number of cases being tracked. He discussed the emergency supplie= s that were being stored and said the Town was fully stocked. He said the concern was not = for the current status, but what the flu would change into during the upcoming = flu season.

Sherburne Hall Policy

Mr. McDevitt told the Sel= ectmen that he had provided an updated (dated May 5, 2009) version of the policy. He said that certain uses would cr= eate costs directly attributable to the use which should be charged to the group using the hall. He said the p= olicy was a work in progress and reviewed the different aspects of the document.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>

Mr. Viger asked how deposits/payments would be handled. Mr. McDevitt suggested using the Park & Recreation Revolving Fund because they were equipped to handle reservations and cash.

Mr. Lynde asked if the fe= e would be charged if a group was willing to move the tables etc. from the hall. Mr. McDevitt believed the Town may= want to control how the tables/equipment is moved, but would leave the decision = up to the Board. Mr. Lynde asked= if there were specific charges associated with the table moving. Mr. Gaydos said there was a breakd= own that showed the costs.

There was further discuss= ion regarding the draft policy, which would be re-evaluated along the way. Mr. McDevitt said he would like to= see the Selectmen adopt the policy as a work in progress with the clear understanding that they would revisit it.&= nbsp; Mr. Lynde said he had no problem doing so, but normally a public hea= ring was held. He suggested that t= he Selectmen use the policy as the protocol until it was formally adopted. There were no objections.

Facility Request for Use, Sherburne Hall

Mr. Mark Jedraszek and Mr= . Lance Ouellette met with the Selectmen to discuss a volunteer group that would li= ke to hold a Festival of Trees in Sherburne Hall from the end of November to t= he beginning of December. There was a disc= ussion about the festival, which would be funded through volunteer activities. The organization was still in its infancy but would be looking to be chartered within three weeks. Mr. Gaydos would provide the Selec= tmen with feedback from the Chairmen of the various committees regarding schedul= ing.

Mr. Jedraszek said the organization wanted to know if using the Sherburne Hall would be an open op= tion for them. The Selectmen agree= d to keep conversations open as the plan came forward.

Mr. Haverty wanted to kno= w who would cover the costs for any modifications to the facility that had to be made. Mr. Jedraszek said that= type of thing would come to the Selectmen for approval, but the cost would be bo= rne through the organization. He = said they had consulted with an electrician who felt the current situation would= be adequate. He said the Fire Department would also be consulted with.&n= bsp; Mr. Gaydos said when consulting with the various departments they sh= ould review the site for the maximum use. Mr. Haverty wanted to proceed with caution since this was the first = time for the event.

Mr. Gaydos recommended se= tting up a meeting with the appropriate parties to establish the maximum parameter w= ith a recommendation being given to the Selectmen. There was no objection by the Sele= ctmen to have Mr. Gaydos proceed with contacting the parties involved to

OTHER BUSINESS

Crack Seal & Highway Paving Bid Awards

The Selectmen reviewed the recommendations for crack seal and paving that was submitted by the Highway Road Agent.

MOTION:

(Lynde/Gleason= ) To award the paving contract to PJ Keating of Fitchburg, MA.

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The motion carried.

MOTION:

(Lynde/Gleason= ) To award the Crack Seal bid to Crack Seal, Inc. of Taunton.

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The motion carried.

Priority List Updates

Mr. Gleason stated that h= e met with the Senior Center Building Committee who indicated a desire to have a warrant article for an addition to the building which would be essentially = the same cost as requested at the 2009 Town Meeting. He said they wanted the warrant ar= ticle to focus on the expansion and not the bathrooms because they were seeking additional space for recreation activities. They expressed no desire to have a= new building, their request is for an addition. Mr. Gleason said based on his discussion, they will be coming forward with a warrant article request. He felt the Selectmen should consi= der moving the item higher on the priority list. He said he would work with the com= mittee to draft the warrant article which would indicate the cost would be offset = by the current Capital Reserve Fund as well as fund raising activities.

Maintenance of Common areas in Developments

Mr. Gaydos stated that the Planning Board had recently made requirements of development that contained cul-de-sacs for the cul-de-sac to have green middles. He said somehow it was overlooked = how those areas would be maintained; generally speaking the areas either become overr= un, or a neighbor maintains them. Mr. Gaydos said a neighbor on = Litchfield Circle came to the Town requesting if it was possible to remove the stone and shrubbery and add loam, grass and fertiliz= er; if the Town did so (each year), the neighbors would maintain the cul-de-sac center during the year. The c= ost for the maintenance work was estimated to cost two thousand dollars. Mr. Gaydos said he spoke to a nurs= ery that had some maintenance free ideas and could come up with other options if the Selectmen requested.

The Selectmen discussed t= he situation and were concerned with doing the maintenance. Mr. McDevitt suggested that the Selectmen send a letter to the Planning Board advising them of their concern and ask them to move away from green cul-de-sacs due to the long term maintenance cost. Mr. Gaydos = said he would like have disclosures included in information given to the Selectmen. He discussed a sit= uation where a dam was on a property that was given to the Town. The Selectmen discussed this situa= tion and questioned who had the authority to accept the property containing the dam. Mr. Gaydos understood th= at the Planning Board knew a dam was in the development plan and it was understood that it would be accepted in the process.&= nbsp; He said he would research the situation. There was also a discussion regard= ing the road being extended and the requirement for it to go to Town Meeting if= it had previously been accepted by Town Meeting.

TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S // SELECTMEN’S REPORTS

Mr. Gaydos said he went t= o a public hearing by the Senate regarding several bill about New Hampshire retirement. He said there were a lot of ideas discussed with a lot of people offering testimony. He said they would continue writin= g the Town’s representatives. Mr. Gaydos informed that the next cyclical evaluation was due to begin May 11, 2009 an= d outlined which areas would be reviewed.

Mr. McDevitt had no repor= t.

Mr. Lynde asked Mr. Gaydo= s, with regard to the revaluation, to provide the Selectmen with the ‘delta’ numbers prior to the ratio conversion/adjustment being = done. He wanted to see what the actual T= own assessment increase was. Mr. = Lynde reported that the High School Committee was nearing completion of its task; they put a presentation together that was due to be presented to the School Board in a week or two. They = would be meeting one more time to take a vote regarding which option would be presented to the School Board. Mr. Lynde stated that the Tot Soccer program was beginning and had two hundred twenty children participating. Mr. Haverty was concerned with the parking situation because flag football also would be held over the weekends. Mr. McDevitt said the area on the Village Green (across from Town Ha= ll) was intended to be an additional parking area. He said it would need a little wor= k, such as brush cutting. Mr. Ly= nde questioned if Tot Soccer had any money for clearing it. Mr. Gaydos said he would speak to = the Highway Road Agent to obtain an estimate.&= nbsp; Mr. Lynde ended by reporting that the Travel Soccer League held try-= outs to assemble teams to represent Pelham.

Mr. Gleason stated that t= he communications effort he was hoping to get going was a no-go. The newspapers are undergoing econ= omy restrictions and were seeking sponsorships. Mr. Gleason thanked the entire Boa= rd for attending the Little League’s Opening Day.

Mr. Viger stated that he = attended the Little League Opening Day and was proud to be involved with the organization. He appreciated everyone’s participation.

Mr. Haverty, who also att= ended the Opening Day, thanked Pelham Little League for inviting the Selectmen. He then reported that the Planning= Board had received the RFQ’s and would begin their review process. He said the Round-about Public Hea= ring would be conducted June 4, 2009 at 7pm. He said it was important to attend= the meeting.

ADJOURNMENT

MOTION:

(Lynde/Viger) = To adjourn the meeting.

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The motion carried.

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 8:52pm.

= &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