SEL20110118.mht

APPROVED

TOWN OF PELHAM

BOARD OF SE= LECTMEN MEETING

MINUTES

January 18, 2011

APPROVED &#= 8211; February 15, 2011

CALL TO ORDER – approximately 6:30pm

PRESENT:

Mr. Douglas Viger, Mr. = Edmund Gleason, Mr. William McDevitt, Mr. Robert Haverty (arrived after the meet= ing commenced), Mr. Harold Lynde (arrived shortly after the meeting commenced= ), Town Administrator Tom Gaydos

ABSENT:

None.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

OPEN FORUM

None.

OTHER BUSINESS

Citizen mail box

Mr. Viger stated that the Selectmen had received an e-mail from a citizen regarding their mailbox that was hit by a snow plow during the past storm. There is an allowance (of $25) by = the Highway Department to replace a mailbox or to give a check to the homeowner= for said mailbox. There was a discrepancy of what the mailbox was worth and the $25 allowance budgeted.

Mr. Lynde arrived.

Mr. Viger questioned how = the Selectmen wanted to proceed with a $400 mailbox replacement versus the $25 allowance. Mr. Gaydos discuss= ed the situation. In the snow storm,= an employee, who was in the process of plowing a cul-de-sac, backed up and hit= the mail box /decorative post that it was on and broke it.

Mr. Gleason asked if the = money would come out of insurance. = Mr. Gaydos answered no; there was a $1000 deductible. Mr. Gleason questioned if the mail= box was on private property, or the Town right-of-way. Mr. Gaydos said it was in the Town right-of-way.

Mr. McDevitt discussed the situation and the difficulty of living in New Englan= d during inclement weather. He = felt in this instance (because the plow backed into the mailbox) he was inclined= to reimburse the person on a one-time basis.&= nbsp; Mr. Gleason tended to agree, and was sympathetic to the homeowner, b= ut was concerned with setting a precedent for reimbursements. Mr. Viger was also concerned with setting a precedent.

Mr. Lynde asked if there = was true negligence. Mr. Viger said fr= om the basis of the e-mail and Mr. Gaydos’ discussion with the Highway Department, the incident occurred during a snow storm, nothing negligent. The plow driver went to the homeow= ner and informed them they hit the mailbox and that someone would be back the n= ext day to look at it. The next d= ay the Highway Department told the homeowner they had an allowance of $25 for the mailbox, however that wasn’t what the mailbox was worth.

There was further discuss= ion regarding how the Board wanted to proceed.= It was the decision of the Board to offer the $25 allowance. The Selectmen urged the Highway Department to be more careful.

PUBLIC HEA= RING(S)

First of T= wo Hearings regarding a proposal to purchase two properties. The first being 109 acres located = at 76 Spaulding Hill Rd. (Map 27 Lot 2/65). The second lot being .7 acres loca= ted in Little Island Park (Map 24 Lot 12/59). These lots are being acquired for = use as conservation land.

Mr. Viger asked if there was anyone wanting to speak regarding the two pieces of property.

Conservation Commission Chairman Paul Gagnon came forw= ard and provided a brief presentation to the Selectmen as to why the Commission felt the properties would be a good acquisition for the Town. He showed the first location, 109 = acre parcel located at 76 Spaul= ding Hill Road with a purchase price of $287,500, w= hich is the least expensive per acre purchase to date and would come from the Current Use Fund. He discusse= d the land composition and its connection to surrounding preserved land. The property was appraised at $322= ,000, copies of which are in the Selectmen’s office and Planning Department= .

Mr. Gagnon then discussed the second parcel being considered. The parcel is loc= ated to the north of Little Island Pond and was connected to a large 70acre plus parcel. The parcel appraised = at $6400; the Commission offered $3200 and the owner accepted. Mr. Gagnon showed the Selectmen wh= ere the Town owned land was located in the area of the proposed lot along with a 50ft. right-of-way.

The Selectmen thanked Mr. Gagnon for his work for the betterment of the Town. Mr. L= ynde explained the process taken to review property and effectuate sales. The next public hearing will be he= ld February 1, 2011= at 6:45pm.

To conside= r the incurring of indebtedness for the following purpose: Municipal Fire Station to be locat= ed on former Mills Property. The pu= rpose of the hearing is to receive comment on the proposal to issue bonds or note= s in an amount of $3,500,000 to fund this indebtedness.

Mr. Viger asked if there = was anyone wanting to speak on behalf of, or in objection to the proposal. There was no one from the public w= ho came forward.

Mr. McDevitt stated that = it was a statutory requirement for the Selectmen to hold a public hearing and entert= ain comments. Mr. Gleason added t= hat the Selectmen took the proposal in front of the Budget Committee, who had a= pproved it. He said they were unanimo= us in their support for the project.

Mr. Haverty arrived.

APPOINTMENT(S)

Planning Director Jeff Gowan – Road Warrant Review

Planning Director Jeff Go= wan came forward to discuss the proposed road warrant. He said the Planning Board was recommending to the Selectmen to place on the ballot Moonshadow Drive and Collins Way as Class V public roads= . He noted that the question had been vetted through Attorney John Ratigan. He provided the Selectmen with an explanation of what work had been = done and why the roads were being recommended.

MOTION:

(McDevitt/Glea= son) To approve the submission of a warrant article to see if the Town would acce= pt Moonshadow Drive and Collins Way as Class V public roads (Recommended by = the Planning Board)

VOTE:

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

Mr. Gowan then discussed = the second article for consideration with regard Mulberry Lane, Shephard Road and Lannan Drive. He explained it would be a little complicated because it referred to sections of roads as opposed to a comple= te road, therefore reference is made to map and lot. He noted that the roads were 98% r= eady; the wearing course was applied and wintered over. He said there were minor issues to= be resolved and read aloud a memo describing those items.

Mr. Gleason asked why the= y were being asked to accept portions of roads.&n= bsp; Mr. Gowan said the remainder of the road was already accepted. Mr. Gleason questioned if road por= tions were approved if the entire road would then be Town accepted. Mr. Gowan answered yes, with the exception of Ballard Road<= /st1:address> because the top coat was unable to be done prior to the end of the year; the other roads would wrap up the balance of the project. He discussed the process that is t= aken for road acceptance. He= then showed the location of the roads being considered.

Mr. McDevitt reviewed the language and suggested a minor wording change to read: The Selectmen shall conduct a public hearing prior to their vote to accept.

MOTION:

(McDevitt/Have= rty) To approve the submission of the warrant article, with the revised language as sugge= sted by Mr. McDevitt.

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The motion carried.

&n= bsp;

Mr. Gowan then discussed = the third recommended warrant article for a Public Highway Acceptance Procedure= . He began by reading aloud the comm= ents of Steve Keach of Keach-Nordstrom, Planning Board’s engineering review firm, who was in favor of having a procedure. The Selectmen discussed the propos= al and reviewed the language of the warrant. Mr. Gleason made a motion to accept the language. Mr. McDevitt seconded the motion. = Mr. Viger read the proposed warrant aloud: To see if the Town would delegate the Board of Selectmen the authority for all future public road acceptance as authorized by RSA 674:40A under this statu= te the Planning Board would approve roads as part of recorded subdivisions, site p= lans or street plats and the Board of Selectmen could accept these roads as Town roads or public highways after holding a public hearing. (Recommended by the Planning Board= ). Mr. McDevitt suggested replacin= g the word ‘could’ (in the last sentence) with the word ‘may’.

Mr. Gaydos commented that= the language read aloud was somewhat different than the wording he had and questioned if it had been reviewed by Town Counsel John Ratigan. Mr. Gowan said it was. Mr. Gaydos showed Mr. Gowan the wo= rding he referred to. Mr. Gowan com= mented that he would send both versions of the wording to Attorney Ratigan for rev= iew.

Mr. Gaydos read aloud the proposed language he had for the warrant, which had slightly different word= ing for the first sentence. Shall the T= own vote to delegate the Board of Selectmen the authority to accept public road= s as authorized by RSA 674:40A.

Mr. Gleason withdrew his = motion and Mr. McDevitt withdrew his second pertaining to the language read aloud = by Mr. Viger. Mr. Gleason then m= ade a motion to accept the language read aloud by Mr. Gaydos. Mr. McDevitt seconded the motion.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>

MOTION:

(Gleason/McDevitt) To a= pprove the submission of the warrant article reading: Shall the Town vote to delegate the Board of Selectmen the author= ity to accept public roads as authorized by RSA 674:40A. Under this statute the Planning = Board would approve roads as part of recorded subdivisions, site plans or street plats and the Board of Selectmen may accept these roads as Town roads or public highways after holding a public hearing. (Recommended by the Planning Boa= rd)

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The motion carried.

OTHER BUSINESS

Award Highway Department Bids per Highway Agent, Don Foss’ Recommendation

Mr. Viger read aloud the recommendations for the twent= y-one items sent out to bid as submitted by Highway Road Agent Don Foss.

Mr. Lynde commented that not all items had a price. Mr. Haverty, who spoke to Mr. Gayd= os, noted that all the prices would be posted on the (Selectmen’s) websit= e. Mr. Viger stated that Mr. Foss see= med to have done his due diligence in going out to bid and obtaining competitive pricing.

MOTION:

(Lynde/Gleason= ) To accept the recommendations of the Highway Agent on items one through twenty-nine of his memo, except for item number eleven for which there is= no bid.

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The motion carried.

2011 Warrant Article Review (See A= rticle 5)

Mr. Viger read aloud the proposed warrant article 5 regarding acceptance of the Highway Block Grant $318,383, which recognized the new number received by t= he state.

Mr. Lynde questioned how it compared to last year. Mr. Gaydos said it was favorable t= o last year’s amount. He said = they had budgeted much less in anticipation of cuts.

Mr. Gaydos reviewed the draft warrant that had minor amendments to be made and insertions of items discussed at the present meeting. Mr. McDevitt offered a wording ame= ndment to the School Resource Officer warrant.&nb= sp; It was suggested to have the Police Chief provide comment. The wording would remain as it was= and could be amended at the Deliberative Session. Mr. McDevitt reviewed the wording = for the Pawn Shop Ordinance and offered an amendment to have it read it was recommended by the Police. Mr. Gaydos said the ordinance would be posted including a one page synopsis say= ing why he feels it needed to be done. Mr. McDevitt discussed the article (#16) pertaining to the conveyanc= e of a 50ft. right-of-way to an individual.&nbs= p; He said the article didn’t indicate where the right-of-way was located. He offered a suggest= ed amendment to include map and lot numbers.&= nbsp; Mr. Gaydos felt the amendment was more descriptive and an amendment = to what was drafted.

Mr. Gaydos asked if the Selectmen had comment regarding the order of the warrants. There were no comme= nts regarding the order of the warrant.

Town Report Update &= nbsp;

Mr. Gaydos stated that the Town Report was a work in progress. A suggestion would be sent out reg= arding the cover and dedication. He questioned who would work with him on the Selectmen’s Report. He was unsure if there was a memor= iam. Mr. Viger said there was no one on record with the Town Clerk. M= r. Gaydos informed that a draft of the Voter’s Guide would be done before the end of the week. It would= go to the printer within two/three weeks.

Senior Cente= r Expansion Update – Possible Furnishings Purchase

Mr. Gleason provided an u= pdate regarding the Senior Center expansion, w= hich was almost complete. The Buil= ding Inspector and Fire Chief had reviewed the building and were getting ready to issue a temporary Certificate of Occupancy. He discussed some of the costs associated with the project. = He then appraised the Board on two changes that were identified and would be c= oming to the Board. The first was e= lectrical panel work (approximately $2500) and the second was support of an interior = beam (approximately $2300-$2500). = After these costs, the project would be completed leaving $23,510 unexpended from= the Senior Center warrant. The Council on Aging wanted to kno= w if any money could be spent on furniture or anything to go in the space. Mr. Gleason said his initial respo= nse was that it wouldn’t be appropriate, however he had since thought abo= ut it and wanted the Board to consider it.&nb= sp; He asked the Selectmen if they would be receptive to authorizing som= e expenditure for the facility as normal expansion, such as for a speaker system, tables = and chairs or rack for a television. He discussed the flooring and said if the seniors decided to go forward with a= new floor (versus tying it in with the old floor) a credit would be given (from= the builder) of approximately $300.

Mr. Lynde said he would e= ntertain it, but would want more detail along with a cost breakdown of what had been done. He felt money should re= main available in the event things came up once the facility was being used.

Mr. Gaydos discussed the = facility and said with the addition connecting to the old section of the building, t= he old section would need to be brought up to code. Examples of items to be corrected = were pole stations, smoke detectors and some of the door swings needed to go in the proper direction. Mr. Gaydos = believed the Town = Building budget should be able to = handle the corrections; the rooms will need to be reviewed and an itemized list wo= uld be made indicating what pieces needed to be changed. It would then be priced out to see= how big of an item it was.

Mr. Gleason said he could= provide the Selectmen with a cost breakout to date. They knew the project was done and exactly where they were at regarding costs. He said the Seniors could be asked= for a list of what they felt was needed, which the Selectmen could evaluate and m= ake a determination of what was appropriate.&n= bsp;

Mr. Viger said when the p= roject was presented it was stated that the seniors just wanted a building and nee= ded space. The initial price came= in at an amount more that the warrant article, so the floor plan was reduced and = came back with an estimate less than what the warrant article was going to be. He said it appeared now that there= was a little extra money that they wanted to spend on things that weren’t discussed when the project initially came forward or what the intent of the voters was. He said he would = really have to consider the non-structural items because he didn’t believe it was the initial intent of the warrant article.

Mr. McDevitt wanted to kn= ow what the life safety costs were going to be before the Selectmen went too far wi= th other items. Mr. Gaydos said = he would try to get a number for the Selectmen by the end of the week. He said the Fire Department wanted= to see a drawing of each of the rooms and location of the poles.

Mr. Gleason said he wrote= the article for the Senior Center, which indic= ated it would be an expansion. He believed that the seniors would incur some costs; the Council on Aging had previously contributed money and would contribute additional money to dress= up the Senior Center. He felt it was an honest effort to= do what was reasonable and correct and would stand the voter’s evaluation.

Mr. Viger discussed other projects where it was stated the cost would be a certain amount or less. He didn’t want to set a prec= edent with buying furniture etc. because he didn’t feel that was the initial intent of the warrant article. He had a hard time spending extra money on soft costs. He asked that the Selectmen be pro= vided with a list of items.

2010 Year End Budget Review

The Selectmen held off di= scussing the 2010 budget to the next meeting.

TOWN ADMINISTRATOR / SELECTMEN REPORTS

Mr. McDevitt thanked the = Garden Club for cleaning up the Town Common.

Mr. Lynde and Mr. Haverty= had no reports.

Mr. Gaydos reviewed RSA 3= 2-7 regarding encumbering money. = He discussed a situation in Windh= am where they encumbered money to be spent during a future year. In looking at the law, Mr. Gaydos explained that was the proper way for such things to be done. He felt it was important to discus= s the manner of appropriations.

Mr. Gleason provided the = Selectmen with a summary of the reconsideration meeting held by the Budget Committee.

Mr. Viger commended the H= ighway Department for the work they had done during the recent snow event. He thanked the Police and Fire Departments for their dedication during the period of time when the stand o= ff occurred in the Sherburne = Road vicinity.

ADJOURNMENT

MOTION:

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

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The motion carried.

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 8:30 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