APPROVED
TOWN OF
BOARD OF SE= LECTMEN MEETING
MINUTES
APPROVED &#=
8211;
CALL TO ORDER –
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
|
PRESENT: |
Mr. Robert Haverty, Mr.= Douglas Viger, Mr. Edmund Gleason, Mr. William McDevitt, Mr. Harold Lynde, Town Administrator Tom Gaydos |
|
ABSENT: |
None. |
BOARD OF SELECTMEN – ELECTION OF OFFICERS
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MOTION: |
(Gleason/Lynde= ) To appoint Doug Viger as Chairman. |
|
VOTE: |
(5-0-0) The mo= tion carried. |
|
MOTION: |
(McDevitt/Lynd= e) To appoint Edmund Gleason as Vice Chair. |
|
VOTE: |
(5-0-0) The mo= tion carried. |
Mr. Haverty turned the me= eting over to the new Chairman, Doug Viger.
Mr. Viger publicly thanke= d Ms. Dottie Marsden and Ms. Linda Newcomb for their efforts during the recent To= wn Meeting. He said they had don= e an amazing job.
MINUTES REVIEW
|
MOTION: |
(Gleason/Lynde=
) To
approve the |
|
VOTE: |
(3-0-2) The mo= tion carried. Mr. Viger and Mr. Haverty abstained. |
OPEN FORUM
None.
APPOINTMENTS
Results of the
The Selectmen reviewed the
results from the
Mr. McDevitt commented th=
at the
voters had approved the following article: “To
see if the Town will vote to approve the following resolution to be forward=
ed
to our State Representative(s), our State Senator, the Speaker of the House,
and the Senate President. Res=
olved:
The citizens of
The Selectmen did not add=
ress the
results from the
2010 Board/Committee Announcement of Openings
Mr. Viger reviewed the li= st of Board/Committee openings: 1) Zoning Board of Adjustment (2 positions);
2) Conservation Commissio= n (2 positions); 3) Council on Aging (15 positions); and 4) Forestry Committee <= /p>
(1 position). The positions will be posted= . Members of the public were encoura= ged to apply for open positions.
Attorney Paul DeCarolis – Discussion of Frank Fichera Jr.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> & Constance Crooker –
Attorney Paul DeCarolis c= ame forward to discuss a case currently in front of the Zoning Board of Adjustment. He stated that the applicant would like to build on two lots on a parcel of land without the construction of a Class V roadway. The issue they believed coming up at the Zoning Board was what rights the applicant’s had in order to use the property as compared to the Town’s rights. Attorney DeCarolis stated that a letter was received by Attorney John Ratigan (Town’s attorney), which he was in agreement with. He said if they received both Zoni= ng Board and Planning Board approvals, they would next need to come to the Selectmen to request permission under RSA 674:41for the right to use the private drive. He felt it wou= ld be premature at this point to ask for the Selectmen’s approval because t= hey hadn’t gotten to the engineering stage. In Attorney DeCarolis’ opini= on they had an implied easement to use the property and would have the right (= if appropriate approvals granted) to use the road for a private drive or const= ruct a road to Town standards. He = believed the Zoning Board was looking to know if the applicant had the right to use = the roadway under either scenario. Attorney DeCarolis believed Attorney Ratigan was in agreement with such based on a c= onversation he had with him and the letter received on the subject.
Mr. Gleason asked if the = abutters were in concurrence. Attorney DeCarolis said after the abutters objected at the Zoning Board meeting, they spoke to them. It was his understanding that they were willing to work with the applicant; he has sin= ce heard from them and at least one was looking for the construction of the Cl= ass V road. Mr. Gleason asked if = the abutter would have the opportunity to speak to the Zoning Board and indicate their concerns. Attorney DeCa= rolis answered yes; they would address their concerns at both the Zoning Board and Planning Board.
Mr. Haverty questioned wh= y the matter was in front of the Selectmen at this point if the applicant didn’t need approval or comments.&nb= sp; Attorney DeCarolis said a question had come up at the Zoning Boars a= s to who owned the road, what the Selectmen felt about the proposal and if the applicant was allowed to legally build on the road (with Zoning and Planning approvals). He believed the Zoning Board was seeking guidance; they were looking for the Selectmen’s opinion, which was received through Attor= ney Ratigan.
Mr. Gaydos asked if there= would be a need for Selectmen’s approval if the applicant’s acquired = the dedicated area. Attorney DeCa= rolis believed so, because they still would not have frontage on a Class V road.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> He said the Selectmen would need to issue approval (as well as Zoning & Planning under RSA 674) for them to construct a home. He said hav= ing the area deeded to them would make the process easier.
Mr. McDevitt discussed his
understanding that the right-of-way was dedicated, but not accepted; it was=
There was further discuss=
ion as
to the procedure needing to be followed by the applicant. A variance would allow the applica=
nt to
use a private driveway with access on
The Selectmen took no act= ion.
AT&T Use of Town Class 6 Road
Mr. Peter Marchant of KJK
Wireless, agent for AT&T came forward to discuss the proposed use of a =
Town
road to access a cellular tower off
Mr. Gowan discussed the H= ighway Safety Committee’s (‘HSC’) opinion. He said their big issue was for th= e Town to have no liability for the improved section of the Class VI road, which w= as indicated in the document put together by the Town’s Attorney John Ratigan. There were improveme= nts off the road that fell under the Planning Board’s purview. Mr. Gowan explained that there wou= ld be no bond for the off-site improvements, but there would be (as part of the Planning Board’s plan compliance monitoring) an additional sum within that figure. The Planni= ng Board’s engineering consultant, Keach Nordstrom, would review the sit= e.
There was a brief discuss= ion regarding the bond. Mr. Gowan stated he would not issue a Certificate of Occupancy until the road work was done and signed off on by Keach Nordstrom as well as the Highway Road Agent, Don Foss. Mr. Gleason confirm= ed that under the principle bond, the road work would be covered, or the bond would not be released. Mr. Go= wan said there was a restoration bond for the private property being improved; there would be no bond for the improved section of the Class VI road. He said that portion of the road w= ould need to be built prior to the other work being done on the site. Mr. Gleason wanted to make sure th= at there was some mechanism in place to ensure that the work was covered or the bond didn’t get released until all the work was done. Mr. Gowan said that was correct, t= he work was viewed as an overall project.&nbs= p;
Mr. Viger paraphrased a l= etter received by the HSC; the road would not be accessible for Police or Fire apparatus because of its grade and its many curves. Also, it would not be feasible for= the Town to maintain the road or allow access by clearing through the winter months. Mr. Viger said provid= ing that the letter is clear, the Town would like to step back from any liability. Mr. Gleason pointe= d out if the Selectmen agreed with Attorney Ratigan letter stating the limits of municipal liability it would relieve the Town of any obligation.
|
MOTION: |
(Gleason/McDev=
itt) The
Board of Selectmen approves the Limits of Municipal Responsibility and
Liability Agreement for the Class VI portion of |
|
VOTE: |
(5-0-0)
The motion carried. |
The Selectmen signed the agreement; a copy of which will be provided to the applicant.
OTHER BUSINESS
2010 Board of Selectmen Committee Assignments
Mr. Viger reviewed the co= mmittees needing a Selectmen representative. He solicited feedback via e-mail; appointments will be made at the n= ext meeting.
Mr. Gleason respectfully requested to be reappointed to the Council on Aging, NRPC and the Rockingham Economic Development Committee. There were no objections.
Board of Selectmen Priority List
The Selectmen then review= ed their priority list to determine the placement of items and whether they should b= e moved or removed.
Paul Gagnon – Chair, Conservation Commission – Open
Space Plan Report
Ms. Christine McCarron and Ms. Karen MacKay came forwa= rd to discuss the Open Space Plan developed through Community Technical Assistance Program (‘CTAP’). Ms. McCarron explained that the CTAP committee had met several times for the purpose of analyzing data layers in measuring the value of, and prioritizin= g, open space resources. B= ecause this was done through CTAP, no tax money was used to develop the plan. A Geographical Information System (‘GIS’), a data mapping tool was used to assist in the project. Six environmental la= yers were chosen as protection for the Town; each was assigned a value of one po= int. When these values were added toget= her they created scores between 0-6; the higher the score, the more environment= al features were identified and considered important to preserve. Once all the properties were ranke= d, the committee then prioritized within the green infrastructure for protection by applying scores between 1-3 with 1 being the highest priority. Higher priority was given to the a= reas in Town that already contained conservation properties in an effort to expa= nd them and create greater connectivity between the parcels.
Ms. Kare= n MacKay reviewed the process taken to choose the various layers used in determining= the high priority parcels and those parcels that could be used for connectivity= to conservation lands. When disc= ussing the priority status, Ms. MacKay explained that the study would be used as a tool when parcels are being considered for development; it will assist boar= ds in understanding the value when determining open space and connectivity of parcels.
Mr. McDevitt said a checklist is used when acquiring l= and and felt it would be wise to add a land’s priority level to that checklist when submitting a request. Ms. MacKay agreed, but didn’t want parcels assigned a 3 to be disregarded. Mr. Haverty said having the priority number would help the Selectmen frame where a parcel fit into the plan; they would still look to the Conservation Commission for the= ir recommendation.
The Selectmen thanked Ms. Carron and Ms. MacKay for the presentation.
TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S
/ SELECTMEN’S RE=
PORTS
Mr. McDevitt acknowledged= that the Pelham Public Library was mentioned in the New York Times as participat= ing in the Food for Fines program with the food being donated to the food pantry. He then commented tha= t it was a pleasure working with the election crew.
Mr. Lynde thanked the vot=
ers for
re-electing him. He said he h=
ad
completed twenty three years as a Selectmen. He reported that he would be atten=
ding a
Municipal Advocacy Committee meeting in
Mr. Haverty had no report= .
Mr. Gleason stated that h= e and Mr. McDevitt attended the Governor’s Council sub-committee meeting on= the round about and found it to be very informative. He intended to attend the next NRPC meeting.
Mr. Gaydos thanked the To= wn emergency crews during the recent rain storm event.
Mr. Viger thanked the res= idents for the voter turnout at Town Meeting.
ADJOURNMENT
|
MOTION: |
(Haverty/Lynde=
) To
adjourn the meeting. |
|
VOTE: |
(5-0-0)
The motion carried. |
The
meeting was adjourned at approximately
= &nb= sp; = &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Respectfully submitted,
= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = Charity A. Landry Willis
= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = Recording Secretary
BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING/March 16, 2010