ANTRIM PLANNING BOARD
Public Hearing
April 4th, 2019
MINUTES
Members & Planning Staff Present:
Janet McEwen (Chair), Mary Allen (Member), John Robertson (Ex-Officio), Mark D. Murdough (Member), John Anderson (Member), and Ashley Brudnick-Destromp (Assistant to Land Use Boards)
Members/Staff Absent: Lynne Rosansky (Vice Chair), Neal Pattison (Member), Carol Ogilvie (Planning Consultant), and Steve MacDonald (Alternate)
Others Present: Carol Dahlberg (Resident), Dave Dahlberg (Resident), Dane D’Arcangelo (Eversource)
CTO: Chair McEwen called the meeting to order at 7:01pm
I. Eversource Public Hearing for Tree Trimming along Scenic Roads
Public Meeting:
Chair McEwen introduced herself and the Planning Board. She mentioned that Mr. Pattison whose seat was empty had not arrived at this point. The Chair asked Ms. Brudnick-Destromp to read the Public Notice. After Ms. Brudnick-Destromp finished reading the public notice, she asked her to verify the date that it was posted in the paper. Ms. Brudnick-Destromp said it was posted on Friday, March 22nd, 2019 in the Messenger Newspaper. The Chair asked her if it was posted within the Town. Ms. Brudnick-Destromp replied it was posted both inside and outside of Town Hall, at the Antrim Post Office, as well as the Town’s website.
Public Hearing:
Chair McEwen told Mr. D’Arcangelo that it was his turn to speak. Mr. D’Arcangelo introduced himself as a representative from Eversource. Mr. D’Arcangelo explained that Eversource is on a 4-year trimming cycle, and that they are trimming on other roads as well as the scenic roads. He explained how they send out notifications to landowners, and it gives them 45 days to respond. The trimming is 15ft above the top wire on the pole, and 8ft to the sides and 10ft below the wire. Mr. D’Arcangelo said that at this moment, it is only for trimming, and the only trees being removed would be less than 15 inches tall, and they are allowed to remove those. He explained that Eversource is assessing hazardous trees at this time, but will have a second public hearing if anything comes from that for removal.
Mr. D’Arcangelo asked if anyone had any questions.
Ms. Dahlberg on Smith Road asked what the time line is for this. Mr. D’Arcangelo said at this rate, probably fall or winter. He added that current trimming is being done in Hillsborough, and then Antrim is after that. Mr. D’Arcangelo said that plans can change, but he is positive it will not be within the next few months.
Mr. Dahlberg, also from Smith Road, said he was not aware property owners received notice. He explained in the past, the company would come out and just do it without speaking to anyone. Chair McEwen asked if he was in objection to this. Mr. Dahlberg said he did not have any objection, but did not know if the process or procedure had changed. He also added that there are a lot of dead tree’s that need to go. Mr. D’Arcangelo said he was aware; but that he is also new to his position, and is trying to make sure things are done more efficiently moving forward.
Mr. Anderson asked if the notices were sent by mail or dropped off at the residence in person. Mr. D’Arcangelo said typically the mail, and that they only use the address of the actual property itself. He added that if someone has a PO Box instead, it might not make it to them. Mr. D’Arcangelo then asked Mr. Dahlberg for his property address so he could make sure that he received a notice.
Chair McEwen said she lives on Old Pound Rd, a scenic road, and did not remember getting a notice ever either in the past. Chair McEwen said that she is aware that it is just trimming, but there are certain trees that should come down, as they can become problematic. Mr. D’Arcangelo said he knows that the company is looking at dead trees that have a high probability of hitting the wires if they fall. He added that the additional challenge is having public hearings for scenic roads, and he intends to put effort into fixing the scenic roads with hazardous trees.
Chair McEwen asked if the hazardous trees are tagged before the public hearing, so they can see what ones would be taken down prior. Mr. D’Arcangelo responded with, “yes.”
Ms. Allen asked if a property owner has identified 3 trees that need to be cut down, how do they go about informing the correct people to remove them. Mr. D’Arcangelo said that they can either call him directly, or go online to fill out a ticket on Eversource’s website, and they will be in touch.
Chair McEwen asked Mr. D’arcangelo what his experience was with the requirement for filing applications with other Towns. He responded that he knows Peterborough has one, but typically, they are just charged for the public notice.
Chair McEwen said she would like to close the public hearing if no one else had anything to add. No one responded.
Motion: Mr. Robertson made a motion to approve the trimming of trees on scenic roads, Mr. Anderson second it.
Vote: By a voice vote, all were in favor.
II. Minutes:
Review: Chair McEwen asked the Board to review the minutes from 3/21/19. She mentioned that Ms. Brudnick-Destromp had brought it to her attention that the last couple of meetings, the Board was making motions to review the minutes. She reminded the Board it was decided last year that this was not necessary, just a motion to approve them.
Discussion: There were a few errors made, and a sentence that needed to be added.
Motion: Mr. Murdough made a motion to approve the minutes as amended, Mr. Anderson second it.
Vote: By a voice vote, all were in favor.
III. Bylaw Review Continued:
Chair McEwen said that she would like Ms. Ogilvie to review the Bylaws, but that the Board can make suggestions. Chair McEwen asked Mr. Robertson if he had a chance to review Public Meetings vs Public Hearings, and what his findings were. Mr. Robertson said that the procedure is completely different from the Public Hearing that they just had vs. a regular Planning Board Public Meeting.
Mr. Anderson said that the State says in a Public Meeting, you do not need to allow public comment, but for a Public Hearing, you do.
Chair McEwen said that what she read on Public meetings under 7.1 in the bylaws, it says all regular Planning Board meetings are considered public meetings.
Ms. Allen mentioned the ZBA always has public hearings, but occasionally would have a public meeting, or a joint meeting with the Planning Board.
There was a long conversation amongst the Board members. Ms. Brudnick-Destromp added that when she started, she was told a public hearing had 2 parts to it, the first part was the Public Meeting section, as outlined on their laminated sheets for how to conduct a Public Hearing, and the second part was the Public Hearing itself, when the Applicant gets to speak, the abutters, those for and against, etc. Chair McEwen said that it now makes sense then, the way the bylaw is written if that is indeed correct. Chair McEwen said that she thinks it would be fine to leave this section of the bylaws alone. Ms. Allen agreed and explained the way she viewed it.
Chair McEwen asked if everyone agreed that they leave that part alone. The Board responded yes.
The Chair asked Ms. Brudnick-Destromp to review the Bylaws as well, and let the Board any changes she suggests be made, specifically towards the Planning Assistant section.
IV. Discussion of Fees & Application for Scenic Road Cutting
Ms. Brudnick-Destromp said that she had done some research like the Chair had asked of her at the last meeting in regards to what towns in the area have an application for scenic road tree trimming, and who charges a fee. Ms. Brudnick-Destromp continued that she had checked with Bennington, Peterborough, Hancock, Greenfield, Dublin, Francestown, Fitzwilliam, Hillsborough, and Stoddard. Out of those towns, Peterborough, Dublin, and Fitzwilliam all have an application and charge a fee, the rest do not.
The Chair asked her what the fees were. Ms. Brudnick-Destromp responded that one town charged $75, that was Peterborough, Dublin Charged around $55, and that Fitzwilliam was $100.
There was a short discussion amongst the Board members, and the Board decided to wait to speak to Ms. Ogilvie regarding the matter.
The Chair then began a discussion regarding what newspaper the Board should use for the Public Notices. The current paper is the Messenger, and Ms. Brudnick-Destromp informed the Board that the Messenger charges $60 per publication, at a fixed rate. She mentioned that the previous Newspaper, The Villager, used to charge $90 per notification, and then they went out of business around November of last year. Ms. Brudnick-Destromp added that the Town charges $90 to the applicant for a public notice fee, and that leaves a $30 buffer if Ms. Ogilvie has to write the notice and be compensated for it. The Chair and Ms. Allen both agreed that they preferred the Monadnock Ledger, as they both felt it reached a higher capacity of readers. Ms. Brudnick-Destromp informed the Board that a small notice with the Monadnock Ledger
is $92.50, and it is not a fixed rate, it can increase as more words are added to it. She added that, if the change were made to the Ledger, then the fee to the applicant would have to increase as well to cover the difference, and there would be no more buffer for Ms. Ogilvie writing the notice.
The Chair said she would like to use the Ledger moving forward, and asked the Board if they agreed.
Mr. Anderson wanted clarification on the fees. Ms. Brudnick-Destromp went over the current fee schedule. Mr. Anderson asked if larger companies pay the same as residents. Ms. Brudnick-Destromp said that the fees are the same, but larger companies usually have a much larger list of abutters depending on the scope of their project, and if there is regional impact, they pay for extra fees for that as well. She concluded that everyone is charged the same rates, some pay more or less depending on abutters.
There was a long discussion amongst the entire Board about the current fee structure, the possibility of changing it in the future, and that they would like to consult with Ms. Ogilvie first prior to changing any fee’s. Ms. Brudnick-Destromp reminded the Board that if they make a motion to change the paper to the Ledger, then they would be losing money on the publication fees until the fee was adjusted. The Chair said she was aware.
Motion: Ms. Allen made a motion to change the paper to the Monadnock Ledger, Mr. Robertson second it.
Discussion: Mr. Anderson asked that if they do make the change that they keep it, and not change it again to avoid confusion.
Vote: By a voice vote, all were in favor.
Ms. Allen said she would like to wait until Ms. Ogilvie returned to discuss changing fees, or doing a scenic road application. Mr. Anderson said that he did not want to settle anything tonight, just wanted more information.
The Chair asked Ms. Brudnick-Destromp to put reviewing of the current fee schedule on the agenda for the next Board meeting.
Motion: Ms. Allen made a motion to table to discussion, Mr. Robertson second it.
Vote: By a voice vote, all were in favor.
V. Planning Assistant Report
Ms. Brudnick-Destromp informed the Board that she attended the SWRPC Planner’s Round Table last Wednesday, and got to meet several Planners in the area. She mentioned that she had brought up writing a Solar Ordinance, as well as making changes to the current Cell Tower Ordinance, and got some good feedback from the other Planners and Planning Assistants. Ms. Brudnick-Destromp said that overall, it was a great experience and very useful.
Ms. Brudnick-Destromp also informed the Board that the Town of Antrim will be hosting the SWRPC “Community Conversation,” for the towns of Antrim, Bennington, Hancock, Greenfield, Windsor, Stoddard, Sullivan, Nelson, and Harrisville on Wednesday May 22nd from 6:30pm-8pm at the Antrim Town Hall. Once flyers are put together, Ms. Brudnick-Destromp said she will be distributing them to the Post Office, Library, Town Hall, Avenue A Teen Center, T-Birds, Antrim Marketplace, and then to the other town’s as well. This is an all age’s event that they would like to get feedback from teens, young adults, working professionals, elderly, and parents on what they would like to see in their community moving forward economically and socially. She also added that there is a survey that the SWRPC is asking each town to have as many
residents complete. She said at this point, there were 11 residents who had taken the survey, and that she was struggling with getting people to fill it out. The Board offered their support, and she gave the members copies of the handouts to complete the survey. The Chair asked the Board to support Ms. Brudnick-Destromp in hosting this event as much as they could.
Ms. Brudnick-Destromp said she wanted to take a minute to review the budget after the month of March has now ended. So far, she said, everything is still going in the right direction. She pointed out however that they have not received a bill yet from Ms. Ogilvie, but she does have her own separate budget that has not been touched yet this year. Ms. Brudnick-Destromp also mentioned that she had a conversation with Mr. Edwards already about not having Ms. Ogilvie attend the site visits in person for the CIP this year in order to reduce costs, and possibly having someone else do the spreadsheet, and have Ms. Ogilvie write her staff report based off the spreadsheet and the minutes. The Board agreed that was a good idea.
VI. Master Plan Update & Open Discussion
Chair McEwen said her and Ms. Allen met and reviewed the Master Plan, and that they are going to meet again. The Chair asked the Board how they did with their subcommittees. Mr. Anderson said he and Mr. Murdough did not get to meet together due to schedules, but they have been doing research on their own, and will try to get together this week to discuss.
Chair McEwen mentioned getting businesses within the town that have registered with the Secretary of State compiled together on a list. Mr. Anderson said that the only businesses we are going to get are LLC or Inc. Chair McEwen said she understood, but that it would be a start to getting a list of businesses within the Town. Chair McEwen said she wants to see what left in the past 10 years, and what has come in.
Ms. Brudnick-Destromp suggested that someone look at the town’s website, and inform her what needs to be removed, changed, or added prior to the website being redone.
Mr. Anderson said he wants to nominate an alternate for the next meeting, Patrick Pataglia, who owns a concrete business in town. Chair McEwen said it would be good for him to come and talk to the Board, and if he wants to be an alternate, they can vote or hold off until he is ready to make that commitment.
Mr. Anderson asked if he could also get a hard copy of the 2010 Antrim Master Plan. Ms. Brudnick-Detromp said she would make a copy for him.
Motion: Mr. Robertson made a motion to close the meeting, Mr. Murdough second it.
Vote: By a voice vote, all agreed
Meeting Adjourned: ~ The meeting was adjourned 8:50 PM
Respectfully Submitted,
Ashley Brudnick-Destromp
(Assistant to Land Use Boards)
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