SEL20110712.mht

APPROVED

TOWN OF PELHAM

BOARD OF SE= LECTMEN MEETING

MINUTES

July 12, 2011

APPROVED &#= 8211; July 19, 2011

CALL TO ORDER – approximately 6:30pm

PRESENT:

ABSENT:

Mr. Edmund Gleason, Mr.= Douglas Viger, Mr. William McDevitt, Mr. Hal Lynde,

Town Finance Director C= indy Kelley

Mr. Robert Haverty, Town Administrator Tom Gaydos

PL= EDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

MINUTES REVIEW

July 5, = 2011

MOTION:

(Lynde/McDevit= t) To approved the Ju= ly 5, 2011 meeting minutes as amended.

VOTE:

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

OPEN FORUM

None.

APPOINTMENTS

2012 Town Budget Discussion:

Town Finance Director Cindy Kelley came forward for the budget discussion. The Selectmen were provided with budget information for the departments being discussed.

Highway (Don Foss) – Mr. Foss reviewed the line items in the budget. Mr. McDevitt asked if each of the departments were using the same fuel numbers. Ms. Kelley said they were sup= posed to be. Mr. Gleason said typic= ally the existing number was used until the new number was negotiated. He said the Budget Committee agree= d with that. At reconsideration the = latest number was then used. Mr. Fos= s noted last month the cost for gas was $3.30 per gallon and $3.22 per gallon of fu= el. These numbers were exclusive of st= ate taxes. Mr. Foss discussed the department’s equipment; he put money in the equipment repair line, in= the event the warrant article for replacement equipment failed. Backup information for the warrant articles was provided. Mr. Ly= nde suggested the Selectmen consider initiating a lease with a purchase being contingent on Town Meeting approval. This would allow the department to get the truck up front (replace t= he 1999 Sterling) and avoid spending money on repairs. Mr. Gleason said they could ask Mr. Gaydos to check into the feasibi= lity of a lease/purchase agreement this year to offset the repair cost. Mr. Foss said the new truck would = have a six-year extended warranty. M= r. Gleason asked if there were safety concerns with using the existing truck.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Mr. Foss said the truck could have= a malfunction, but didn’t believe it would be something that would hurt someone.

The Selectmen continued to review the budget request. In looking at the overall budget, = Mr. Gleason noted that the department had increased $15,607, the bulk of it lyi= ng in salaries and repairs. Mr. = Foss said paving (under Specials) would be $243,000 in addition to the Highway B= lock Fund. Mr. Gleason questioned = if the specified amount would be enough to get the roads done. Mr. Foss said he didn’t know= what the Town would receive for a Highway Grant. Mr. Gleason noted if the Highway B= lock was anticipated to come in less than the amount from last year, the (maintenance) number should be increased.&= nbsp; He said the number should represent the actual cost of maintaining t= he roads. The Selectmen agreed. Mr. Gleason complimented Mr. Foss = for his thorough backup documents.

Mr. Foss reviewed the warrant articles he would like put forward: 1) acceptance of Block Grant; 2) raise and appropriate $50,000 for Willow Stre= et Bridge; 3) establish a Highway Department Garage Building Capital Reserve F= und and appropriate $50,000; 4) six-wheel plow truck ($142,400) to appropriate = the sum of $35,600 for the first year payment; 5) replacement 4x4 back hoe.

Mr. McDevitt questioned if they needed the funds for Willow Street. Mr. Gleason recalled that the brid= ge was red listed, but was not on the state’s ten year plan and they had put funds ($50,000) in last year, and would continue to so, in the event the To= wn needed to do the work. Mr. Mc= Devitt believed there was $200,000 already in the fund. Mr. Gleason said there was, but be= lieved they had decided to put money in each year. Mr. Foss said the estimate he had = for the Willow Street Bridge replacement (from 1998) that was $790,000.= He was told by people at the state to figure on a 4% increase; that number would be brought up to $1,215,000 with 20% of which being $243,000 (= if the state funded 80%).

Mr. Foss discussed the necessity of the Highway Department having a garage for their equipment. M= r. Gleason said the Selectmen would take the request under advisement and revi= ew department requests at the end of the budget process.

Mr. McDevitt commented that the warrant articles for the plow truck a= nd the back hoe should indicate that they are replacing equipment, not for the purchase of additional new equipment.

Mr. Viger felt that the Town had bought into a level of service by ha= ving the trucks in the front line and replacement should be a budget line item within the budget. He said th= ey weren’t replacing trucks, they were maintaining a level of service; without the truck the level of service would drastically be affected. The Selectmen felt it would be worthwhile to discuss with the Budget Committee. Mr. Gleason asked Kelley to make a= note to find out if the Budget Committee would be receptive to putting the funds in= to the budget as a replacement line. Mr. Foss noted that the 1999 Sterling Truck was put in service December 15, 1998 and curre= ntly had 89,000 miles and almost 10,000 engine hours.

Mr. Foss told the Selectmen that the Transfer Station Superintendent = was interested in having the current back hoe to compact trash; he does this periodically. It would only r= eceive approximately $10,000 as a trade-in. Mr. McDevitt questioned if the new back hoe could be used by the Transfer Station. Mr. Foss re= plied yes, when it was available. M= r. Lynde saw that the Highway Department used different makes of vehicles and asked if any one of them was better than the other. Mr. Foss said they all had their weaknesses; they had always gone with the lowest bid. There was a brief discussion about= the department’s vehicles and how long they may stay in service.

Mr. Foss was thanked for the time and effort he put into the budget. =

Elections (Dorothy Marsden) – The Selectmen reviewed the proposed budget. It was noted there would be four elections in the next year. T= he increase reflected in the budget was primarily because the number of elections. =

Town Clerk/Tax Collector (Dorothy Marsden) – = Mr. Gleason explained when reviewing the budgets earlier in the day he found th= at the backup sheets weren’t agreeing with the front sheets. He said when the warrants were pas= sed, effecting the various departments, Mr. Gaydos rolled the warrant impact in ‘lump sum’ and didn’t allocate it back to the various individual salaries. In order= for consistency, Mr. Gleason asked for a new holding line; this will be corrected. <= /o:p>

Mr. McDevitt noted that the department had a vacancy and questioned if they would continue to budget for that vacancy. Ms. Marsden wanted to because she = wanted to hire a full-time person by the end of the year, or the first of next year. Mr. McDevitt asked why = they needed to fill the position. = Ms. Marsden discussed the scheduling difficulties with having the vacant position. Mr. Gleason questio= ned if she would hire a full-time or part-time person. Ms. Marsden hoped to fill the posi= tion with an experienced full-time person. The Selectmen asked that the overtime figures for 2011 be provided to justify the cost versus savings of the empty position. Mr. Lynde noted that Ms. Marsden&#= 8217;s function wouldn’t be shown in the figures because she was paid salary= . Mr. Viger asked Ms. Marsden to fig= ure how many hours she put in at the office.&n= bsp; The Selectmen continued their review of the budget.

Mr. Gleason thanked Ms. Marsden for spending the time and diligence in preparing the budget.

Treasurer (Cindy Kelley) – Ms. Kelley said the budget would basically remain the same except for= the salary line.

Trustees of the Trust Funds (Cindy Kelley) – Ms. Kelley said the budget was level funded. Mr. Gleason noted tha= t the $75 for the specials was for reproduction of the fund origin book and could= be taken out. The item will rema= in for the time. <= /p>

Budget Committee (Cindy Kelley) – The 2011 budget was $2341; the proposed 2012 budget is $4166. The increase was due mostly to sal= ary and supplies.

Town Celebrations (Cindy Kelley) – The budget was level funded at $9055. As an fyi, Mr. McDevitt noted that= one of the veteran’s organizations may request some changes to the budget.

Debt Service – I/P (Cindy Kelley) – Mr. Gleason said in 2011 the Debt Servi= ce Interest budget was $186,970. The 2012= budget would reduce to $166,365; a decrease of $20,605. Debt Service Principal in 2011 was $536,599; the request for 2012 is $541,310. There was clarification as to why = the Spring Street bond increased.

Legal (Cindy Kelley) – The 2011 budget was $90,000; the request for 2012 is $85,000.

The Selectmen thanked Ms. Kelley for her work and the manner the budg= et was prepared.

OTHER BUSINESS

Signing of Comcast Franchise Agreement Renewal

The Selectmen were asked to sign the agreement prior to leaving so it could be provided to Comcast.

ACTION ITEM REVIEW

Deferred until M= r. Gaydos was present.

TOWN ADMIN= ISTRATOR / SELECTMEN REPORTS

Mr. McDevitt exp= lained that he didn’t bring up the subject regarding the CIP at the last Planning Board meeting because the board barely had a quorum and the Chairm= an was not present. He said it w= ould be brought up to them. He sai= d he and the Planning Director had a telephone (speakerphone) conversation with a representative with the Army Corps of Engineers and a representative from Senator Shaheen’s office to discuss the 729 program dealing with the Merrimack River Watershed. He= said they would like to have Pelham and Beaver Brook to be included in a study of Pelham’s flood plain and the drainage area, with an eye toward determining causes and possible solutions for flooding. He said the problem was federal fu= nding and bureaucracy; the representative from the Army Corps would pursue having Pelham included in the study, there was nothing further for the Town to do. There would be tight coordination with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services. It was indicated that these things= often come down to money and the Town might be expected to do the same.

Mr. McDevitt sai= d he was involved with an on-line seminar that was also attended by Mr. Gleason, Planning Director Jeff Gowan, Fire Chief Midgley and Cable Coordinator Jim Greenwood. The seminar was primarily geared toward engineers, but was a run down on how to design roun= dabouts, make them work, why they are not rotaries or traffic circles. Mr. McDevitt said he got something= out of it. Mr. Gleason picked up = on the opening statement that stressed roundabouts were safer. He noted Windham was looking to put five roundab= outs in.

Mr. Lynde said roundabouts were more energy efficient because vehicles didn’t idle a= nd waste gas. He discussed the Concerts on the Village Green series schedule.

Mr. Viger had no report.

Mr. McDevitt not= ed there was a meeting Wednesday at 6= pm with a FEMA representative to follow up with the flooding meetings that had previously been conducted.

Mr. Gleason said= Pelham had been advised that the office of Senator Jeanne Shaheen would be sending= in its Director of Constitute Services and a representative of Special Assista= nce for Constitute Services to conduct a walk in on July 14, 2011 from 12pm -2pm. He discussed the upcoming meeting schedule.

REQUEST FOR NON-PUBLIC SESSION

MOTION:

(McDevitt/Lynde) Request for a non-public session per RSA 91-A:3,II, a (Personnel)

ROLL CALL:

Mr. Gleason-Ye= s; Mr. Viger-Yes; Mr. McDevitt-Yes; Mr. Lynde-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 8:15 pm.

The Board return= ed to public session at approximately 8:36 pm.

MOTION:

(McDevitt/Viger) To seal the minu= tes of the non-public session indefinitely.

VOTE:

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

ADJOURNMENT

MOTION:

(McDevitt/Viger) To adjourn the meeting.

VOTE:

(4-0-0) The motion carried.

The meeting was adjourned at approximately = 8:36 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

BOARD OF SELECTMEN ACTION ITEMS

March 22, 2011=

·         Mr. Gowan to advise Selectmen whether the CIP will be instituted; ~~Mr. McDevitt will contact Planning Director Gowan re: Planning Board’s intentions for (reforming)~~ CIP (Planning Board to make final decision- Selectmen resolved 4/12/11- left open for further resolution by Mr. Gowan; 5/10/11 Mr. Gaydos to follow up with Mr. Gowan re: status)(6/7/11 Mr. McDevitt said the Chairman of the Planning Board would s= et the CIP on the shelf for the time being because there was no public interest – after discussion with Selectmen, he said he would go back to Planni= ng and ask that they reconsider) (7/5/11 – Mr. McDevitt to ask the PB on 7/7/11 their plans for CIP and if they would reconsider reinstituting the c= ommittee);

·         Speak with Garden Club re: decorating round-about and possible lighting in future (Mr. McDevitt);

March 29, 2011=

·         Mr. Gaydos to provide schedule for 2^{nd<=
/sup>
egress at Muldoon; presentation of plan (4/12/11 – plan to be received 4/13/11 Mr. Gay=
dos will
request Highway Safety Committee recommendation; 5/10/11 Mr. Gaydos said when he receiv=
ed the
easement agreement and the deed is drawn up – that paperwork will be
forwarded to Mr. Phil Currier for review/approval)(6/7/11 – Mr. Gaydos
said they were awaiting Mr. Currier’s comments on the easement deed /=
Mr.
McDevitt said the Planning Board was awaiting information from Selectmen as=
to
the traffic flow at the Muldoon Park property line / Highway Safety Committ=
ee
recommended both egresses be two-way traffic, and during the winter to close
the Nashua Road access)(6/21/11 – Mr. Gaydos provided an update that =
the
access would be the full 50ft. and the Little League would be able to move
their fence out 8ft)(7/5/11 – Mr. Gaydos to set a public hearing R=
11;
additional information to be provided to the Highway Safety Committee and
Planning Board) ;}

·         Mr. Gaydos to speak with Police Chief regard= ing schedule for enacting Pawn Broker Ordinance (4/12/11 – Mr. Gaydos informed that the Police Chief was doing a lot of work with policies in accordance with being a certified agency, once completed he will work with Legal on the Pawn Broker Ordinance)(4/26/11 Police Chief rewriting the ordinance -upon completion will be reviewed with Mr. Gaydos then given to Selectmen)(7/5/11 – Police Chief has been working to replace and offi= cer – this item will be scheduled soon);

·         Planning Board to make recommendation to Selectmen regarding Article #14 (portion of Mulberry Lane, portion of Shephard Road and all of Lannan Drive);

·         Mr. Gaydos to put timeline together for Cast= le Hill Road (6/7/11 easement being completed that would allow the Crawfords to access their property)(7/5/11 – Mr. Gaydos stated the project was mov= ing forward, there were other issues to get out of the way prior to addressing = this);

·         Future discussion regarding sidewalk from Se= nior Center to roundabout (4/12/11 – to be added as an action item on the agenda for the next Department of Transportation meeting to determine cost savings) (6/7/11 – the Town to decide if they still want the sidewalk – a meeting should be scheduled with DOT to find out if May date is s= till viable).

April 26, 2011<= b>

&nb= sp;

·= ; = Mr. Gaydos to review vendor list and identify which items should be discussed. (5/10/11 – Mr. Gaydos created a list and was fu= rther breaking it out because some vendors supply more than one item) (7/5/11 Mr. Gaydo= s said the Town was spending a lot of time concentrating on a law suit – this wi= ll then be addressed)

May 10, 2011=

· Mr. McDevitt researching appropriate signage= for Raymond Park (where parcels are located and what names were allowed per dee= ds) (6/7/11 Mr. McDev= itt said research was completed and would like to discuss with the Board after the meeting of 6/28/= 11)(7/5/11 – M= r. McDevitt said a discussion should be scheduled regarding the names at Raymond Park. Information is available to educate the Selectmen. A discussion will be scheduled for= July 19, 2011)<= b>

May 24,= 2011

·= ; = Mr. Gaydos to contact the Congregational Church to find out how long they would allow the Town to use their property (7/5/11 – Mr. Gaydos said he would continue to = follow up. They previously had an agreement and didn’t believe that would change.)

July 5,= 2011

·= ; = Mr. Gaydos to request from Comcast something in writing indicating there will b= e no additional charge for moving cable to new fire station location;

·= ; = To ensure a side letter is received from Comcast for the free internet service= for the school.

July = 12, 2011

·= ; = Mr. Gaydos to check into the feasibility of a lease/purchase agreement (to repl= ace the 1999 Sterling<= /st1:City>) this year to offset the Highway Department repair cost.