SEL20100720

APPROVED

TOWN OF PELHAM

BOARD OF SE= LECTMEN MEETING

MINUTES

July 20, 2010

APPROVED &#= 8211; August 10, 2010=

CALL TO ORDER – 6:30pm

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

PRESENT:

Mr. Edmund Gleason, Mr.= Robert Haverty, Mr. William McDevitt, Mr. Harold Lynde, Finance Director Janet Gallant, Town Administrator Tom Gaydos

ABSENT:

Mr. Douglas Viger

MINUTES REVIEW

July = 13, 2010

MOTION:

(McDevitt/Lynd= e) To approve the Ju= ly 13, 2010 meeting minutes as amended.

VOTE:

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

OPEN FORUM

None.

APPOINTMENTS

Paul Zarnowski, Deputy Health Officer – Article K Waiver Hearings:

The Selectmen recessed th= eir meeting so they could meet as the Board of Health, with Deputy Health Offic= er Paul Zarnowski as Chairman. <= /p>

<= st1:address w:st=3D"on">29 Woekel Circle<= /st1:address>,&nb= sp; Map 31, Lot 11-16 – Owner K= en Cooley – Mr. Zarnowski said the applicant was requesting a waiver= to Section 295:15 – minimum land areas; required size is 1.3 acres the existing lot size is 0.27 acres. The applicant would like to convert an existing house to year round. Currently there is an existing Town and state approved septic system on the lot. Mr. Zarnowski recalled that the ho= use was rebuilt in the last two years. The house is supplied by water from an on-site well.

Mr. Tim Ferwerda of Merid= ian Land Survey, representing the applicant, discussed the application. He said the lot contained good soil conditions making it so there was very little chance of causing ground water pollution with the proposed system. There was over eight feet of soil that would filter the effluent.

Mr. Gleason questioned the purpose of the waiver since there was already an approved septic system. Mr. Zarnowski said the applicant w= anted to convert from seasonal use to year round. To do so they have to meet all the criteria of the Health Ordinance as well as meeting all the state requireme= nts with no waivers. The waiver b= eing requested was for lot sizing only. Mr. Gleason asked if the Board typically requested formal approval of conversions to year round. Mr. Zarnowski answered yes. He st= ated that the system had been rebuilt to current codes. He asked how the property was list= ed on the tax records. The owner Ken Cooley stated that the property was being assessed as year round.

Mr. Lynde asked if the ow= ner would be using the property year round.&nb= sp; Mr. Cooley said they would use the property, but probably not year-round. Mr. Lynde confirm= ed that the setbacks were being met. Mr. Zarnowski answered yes. He gave information to the Board regarding the state’s require= ments for conversions to year-round. Mr. McDevitt asked what the Town would risk/give up by not meeting the 1.3 acre minimum lot size requirement. Mr. Zarnowski said when the ordinance was originally written (in 1978) it went = by the old soil system basically for subdivision purposes. When dealing with lots around the = pond area, the sizing was increased by one third. This was all done prior to the cur= rent treatment systems. Mr. Zarnow= ski said if there is an existing system around the pond and a year-round home, = an owner can replace it without looking at area. He said the state views lot sizing= by having an owner demonstrate what the lot loading could handle. Mr. McDevitt asked if the 1.3 acre= lot size was not a concern in this case. Mr. Zarnowski said the way he reviewed lots was if a lot could have a septic system with no environmental waivers, it should be able to be conver= ted from seasonal to year round, or if there was a blank lot that could meet the criteria with no waivers it would be okay.= He noted that the lot being discussed showed an existing system as w= ell as a replacement area. He sai= d the well overlapped other radiuses which also provided protection. The well for the lot was up higher= than the surrounding wells.

Mr. Lynde wanted to know = how to overcome a situation if the property was sold and additional bedrooms were added. Mr. Zarnowski said if = the owners were to expand, a design would need to be done for the additional bedrooms; if there is an increase of over 300 gallons per day the owner wou= ld need to demonstrate that the lot could take all of the loading. Mr. Lynde asked if the owner would= need to come back to the Board for an additional waiver. Mr. Zarnowski said if they were to expand they would need to come back to the Board for lot size. Mr. Ferwerda informed that the sta= te wouldn’t allow any more than two bedrooms on the size lot being discussed; they couldn’t legally expand to three bedrooms.

MOTION:

(McDevitt/Have= rty) To approve the waiver to Section 295:15 –minimum land areas as request= ed for Map 31 Lot 11-16 29 Woekel Circle.

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The mo= tion carried.

Mr. Lynde requested that = the property card be flagged as limited to two bedrooms so if something happened the assessor would pick it up.

4 Little Island Park, Map 24, Lot 11-311, Owner Glenview Realty c/= o Ken Cooley

Mr. Zarnowski said the ap= plicant was requesting waivers to: 1) Section 295:15 – lot size, where 1.3 acres is required and the existing lot was approximately .11 acres; and 2) setback to Little Island P= ond – Pelham requirement 125ft., state requires 75ft. – applicant is proposing 75.8ft. Mr. Tim Fer= werda of Meridian Land Survey, representing the applicant, discussed the application. He said they were proposing a Presby enviro-septic leach field that would meet all the distan= ces to the wells. It met the state minimum distance to the lake. The house is two-bedroom; the leach was designed to handle three bedrooms. The system will meet all state requirements and will be limited to two-bedrooms.

Mr. Gleason asked if the = water supply would continue to be from the lake.= Mr. Ferwerda said they were proposing a well on the south east corne= r of the lot and would be within the 75ft. radius. Mr. Zarnowski said there was an ab= utting well; the two radiuses would overlap each other. Mr. Gleason asked if the lot requi= red any environmental waivers. Mr. Ferwerda said it didn’t require any from the state.

Mr. Zarnowski said the lo= t would need a Shore Land permit. Mr. Ferwerda answered yes. He said if the septic system was approved they would then submit the Shore Land permit. Mr. Zarnowski confirmed that the footprint would remain the same. Mr. Ferwerda said there was no plan change for the footprint of the building.

Mr. Gleason asked if the = soil was adequate and the topography was good for the leach field. Mr. Ferwerda said they hit seasona= l high water at 44inches.

Mr. Lynde noticed that Mr= . Ken Cooley’s name was on both applications that had come forward. He asked in what capacity he was representing Glenview Realty. Mr. Cooley stated he and Mr. Ferwerda were doing the design for Glenview Realty. Mr. Lynde asked if the system had failed. Mr. Zarnow= ski said it wasn’t breaking out onto the ground, but it wasn’t in g= reat shape. This case was similar = to the first. Mr. Ferwerda commented= that they were going to rebuild the house because it was too far gone. Mr. Zarnowski said to bring the ho= use to current code, they would need to put in a septic system and a well for water supply.

Mr. Haverty questioned wh= y, in this case, the house was going from seasonal to year round. Mr. Cooley said by the time the ho= use was done the Town would probably assess it as year round. Mr. Haverty didn’t see the hardship; the property was seasonal and the system was not in failure. He said from what he could tell the Board granted waivers for hardships in most cases; he reiterated his opinion that he saw no hardship and didn’t see a reason to grant a waiver. Mr. Ferwerda was almost certain th= at the tank was below the ground water table, which could pollute the ground water . By putting in the new syste= m, they would create a separation between the bottom of the leach field and the ground water table. This would provide a better chance in protecting the ground water. Mr. Ferwerda said the system could technically be called failed because it failed to treat the effluent before= the ground water.

Mr. Lynde commented that eventually the property would come before the Board to have the system replaced, regardless of what they were doing. Mr. Ferwerda agreed. Mr. Lynde said the concept of Arti= cle K was to try and cut down on the potential runoff going into the lake and the conversion of seasonal to year round. He said he had seen the process of converting over the years and had= a hard time with it. Mr. Zazrno= wski said when the first Article K was written they had looked into the coffee lots. He said Pelham’s = zoning didn’t differentiate between seasonal and year round as far as septic sizing; it was just ‘residential’. He said the only place seasonal to= year round was included was in the Health Ordinance so the Board could have a lo= ok at them prior to the conversions occurring. He said most of the properties aro= und the pond had become year round. Mr. Zarnowski informed that the state had adopted the criteria for year round residence conversions.

Mr. McDevitt said it seem= ed that the pond was better protected with the new system compared to the existing system. Mr. Cooley said the l= ot was approximately 14ft. above the lake.

Mr. Gleason respected the= attempt to protect the lake. On the o= ther hand, he said the entire lot would be upgraded, which transcended what the Board usually saw making the lot fully developable. Mr. Gleason had a problem with the application for this reason. = Mr. Zarnowski said upgrading the system was a plus and updating to current standards was also a plus. He= said if the applicant wanted to rebuild as a seasonal, the owner could pull a building permit.

The Board discussed the application and their feelings regarding the requested waiver. Mr. Lynde said this case was disti= nct from an empty lot (with no house). <= /span>

Mr. Cooley said in regard= to hardship, once the changes were made they would be assessed as year round.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>

MOTION:

(McDevitt/Lynd= e) To grant the waiver to Section 295:16 – setback from the leaching fiel= d to Little Island Pond and waiver to lot size Section 295:15 on Map 24 Lot 11= -311 known as 4 Little Island Park.

VOTE:

(3-2-0) The motion carried.= Mr. Gleason and Mr. Haverty voted no.

MOTION

(McDevitt/Lynd= e) To adjourn the Board of Health.

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The mo= tion carried.

The Selectmen reconvened = their meeting.

2011 BUDGET REVIEW

Health Officer – Deputy Health Officer Paul Zarnowski cam= e forward to discuss the 2011 Budget Request. Mr. Gaydos reviewed the line items with the Board. It was noted that the Selectm= en were asked to consider a fee increase.&nbs= p; Mr. Gaydos will pull information together for the Selectmen to discu= ss at a later time.

Town Parking Ordinance – Final Review & Possible Vote<= o:p>

Mr. McDevitt noted that d= uring the July 6, 2010<= /st1:date> the Selectmen voted to approve the Town Parking Ordinance, which was effect= ive upon passage. He was not clea= r what the Selectmen were now reviewing. Mr. Gaydos said the Selectmen were making sure that the changes were accurate. The amendments were reviewed. The Selectmen concu= rred with the amendments; there was no objection to signing the ordinance. Mr. Gleason believed the Selectmen should revote regarding the Ordinance based on them being rewritten.

MOTION

(McDevitt/Lynd= e) To approve the Town Parking Ordinance as amended.

VOTE:

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

2011 BUDGET REVIEW Con’t… Finance Director Janet Gallant

Police Department - Police Chief Joseph Roark and Laure= tte Guay came forward to discuss the 2011 Police Department Budget request. The Selectmen reviewed the line items. Chief Roark reviewed t= he budget increases that weren’t contractual, but were items they would = like to implement: 1) re-institute the D.A.R.E program $5365; 2) department (nat= ional) accreditation – training cost is less than $2000, recognition $2715, continue recognition $500, plus annual training costs; and 3) new equipment- animal control truck (take off line) replace through leasing additional pic= k up truck (5 year lease), replace 2007 SUV (moving down to administration) with another SUV through 4 year lease. Chief Roark explained that the Police Department budget had an incre= ase of 3.35% due to contractual increases.&nbs= p; He said if the three items discussed were added into the budget it w= ould increase the budget by 1.3% with a total increase of 4.69%.

Mr. Gleason commented tha= t last year the Police Operating Budget came in at 5% under budget. He questioned whether or not some = of that 5% could have been applied to this year’s budget to offset some = of the additional cost. Chief Ro= ark said the lion share of the budget was contractual. He said if there was a situation (such as a murder or a hurricane) the budget may be pushed and overspent. He wasn’t comfortable cutting the budget any closer.= He commented that the allocated money not spent was turned back to t= he general fund.

Transfer/Recycling Center – Superintendent Ron Han= non and Finance Director Janet Gallant came forward to present the requested 20= 11 budget. The lines items were reviewed.&nbs= p; There was a brief discussion regarding the items accepted at the facility along with the associated costs.&= nbsp;

TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S / SELECTMEN REPORTS

There were no reports.

REQUEST FOR NON-PUBLIC SESSION

MOTION:

(Lynde/McDevit= t) Request for a non-public session per RSA 91-A:3,II, a (personnel)

ROLL CALL:

Mr. Gleason-Ye= s; Mr. McDevitt-Yes; Mr. Lynde-Yes; Mr. Haverty

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 9:50 pm.

The Board returned to public session at approximately 10:30 pm.

MOTION:

(McDevitt/Lynd= e) To seal the minutes of the non-public session indefinitely.

VOTE:

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

ADJOURNMENT

MOTION:

(McDevitt/Lynd= e) To adjourn the meeting.

VOTE:

(4-0-0) The motion carried.

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 10:30 pm.

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

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

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