July 10, 2007
Selectmen Meeting Minutes of July 9th, 2007
Present: B. Pratt, M. Genest, S. Schacht, W. Prokop, N. Harding, T. Nichols, R. Haggett, W. Riley, A. Merlan, K. Testa, S. Nelkens, J. Mckewen, P. Boule, L. Warner, B. Reynolds, S. Phillips, O. Phillips, D. Chauncey.
1. The selectmen approved the minutes of the meeting of June 11th. Chairman Pratt welcomed the members of the Antrim Historic Society. T. Nichols, N. Harding, and R. Haggett explained to the selectmen that the purpose of their request to meet with the selectmen was to explain that they have been offered the opportunity to have the Stone Church donated to the society and they want to get a feel from the selectmen of how they would feel about having the Town support some of the maintenance cost of the historic building. Nothing is finalized and they will be having a meeting with members of the Stone Church Foundation this Friday evening to discuss the possibilities. They see this as a good opportunity for the entire town, but it is going to need maintenance on an annual basis. They are looking into other funding possibilities
and investigating grants that may be available. Chairman Pratt stated that when he last met with the current owners they were willing to donate it to the Town, with the stipulation that it be managed by the Historical Society. If this is still true, then it could be covered along with all other government buildings and would require a Public Information Meeting to be held or a warrant article to be presented at the next Town Meeting in March. The Board all were in favor of exploring this further and to investigate what the projected annual cost would be. The selectmen thanked the members of the Historic Society for their interest and for coming to the board at this time. Chairman Pratt agreed to join the members of the Historic Society at the meeting Friday evening with the current owners. The selectmen will wait to hear how Friday’s meeting goes and then will be happy to discuss the options further.
2. The Board than began the discussions on the proposed ordinance changes:
a. Beach/Boat Launch Area
1. Concerns that were raised were as follows:
The banning of glass containers-
Hours of Operation for the boat launch area is bias to fisherman-
The need to clarify “wording” –appropriate attire, boisterous,-
Indecent language, etc. make it very clear.-
Clarify who can give orders regarding conduct-
b. Roller Skates, Scooters, and Skateboards
1. Concerns that were raised were as follows:
Kids need a place to skateboard and our park is not adequate
Kids are not the problem-the problem is speeding cars
We should be issuing tickets to the speeders –particularly on
West Street, Buttercup Lane, and Summer Street.
We should do more with education regarding proper use.
We should consider asking the Town to approve the building of
“Bike Paths” along town roads.
We should change the penalties back to the current one.
Use some of the language from the Bicycle Ordinance.
c. Dog Control: No changes suggested except some spelling corrections.
d. All other ordinances were staying as suggested.
The comments made tonight will be incorporated into revised versions and will be posted on the Town website and hard copies will be available at Town Hall by the middle to end of August. The selectmen will than hold an advertised public hearing on all the ordinances in the fall.
4. The selectmen voted to enter into final contract negotiations with Corcoran Environmental Services, Inc. for our recycling needs.
5. The selectmen reviewed the six months (Jan.-June) expense and income results and were pleased that we are on budget in both expense and income items.
6. The selectmen approved the request of the Acting Tax Collector, D. Hanson, to write off up to $850.05 of administrative charges that show up on our tax records. This amount is affecting 134 different properties.
7. The selectmen discussed the request from the Planning Board regarding the bonding and road requirements for the planned subdivision of Pleasant Street. The Board's opinion is that a minimum bond should be set for any potential damage that could be done to the intersection at Pleasant Street and that the design of the new roadway must include the proper design for the site line, drainage, and road surface of Pleasant Street at the intersection.
8. The selectmen approved Chief Feyrer’s recommendation of promoting Matthew Elliott to the rank of Sergeant of the Antrim Police Department.
9. The selectmen discussed the letter they received from Mr. Barsanti regarding drainage issues he feels need to be corrected by the Town at his home on 28 Highland Avenue. The selectmen had Underwood Engineering, Inc. look at the property and make a recommendation as to what should be done. Selectman Schacht also looked at the property and concurs with Underwood’s report. The selectmen asked the Town Administrator to send a letter to the Barsanti’s advising them of the action the Town will be taking.
10. The Town Administrator gave the selectmen the following update:
a. The Town Clerk’s Office will be closed From Tuesday July 10th through
Thursday, July 12th for final training on State Motor Vehicle administration and
On Monday, July 16th we will begin processing motor vehicle plates and stickers.
b. FEMA has paid the Town $40,001.34 for eight of our 30+ projects that were a
result of the April flooding. We are expecting at least another $50,000 from
FEMA.
c. Bridge Up-date – The State of NH, D.O.T., Bridge Division has approved our
requests to repair or replace the following bridges; White Birch Point, North Main Street, Old North Branch, Depot Street Relief, Depot Street Arch, Depot Street Bridge, and Craig Road Bridge. These are now all in the NH Bridge Program and 80% of the cost will be paid by the state. We have the approval and funding available to proceed immediately with White Birch Point. We are waiting for a time line approval on all the other bridges.
d. CIP/Budget Process for 2008: The selectmen support our current CIP plans and
the process. All department heads will be asked to update last year’s request with good cost estimates and rationale for the need. All department heads will be asked to prepare a 0 increase budget for 2008, on a line item basis. Increases beyond the Department Heads control will be the only one’s allowed, such as Fuel cost, insurance rate increases. Overall wage increases will be in line with the cost of living index.
e. Department of Revenue Audit of our assessing has been completed and the report stated that our assessing is done correctly and the report gave us a rating of very good.
f. 2007/2008 Fuel contract: At this time we are waiting to see what programs are available to the Town. We will be working with the Conval District, and the Town of Hillsborough to develop a sound purchasing plan for the upcoming year.
The selectmen voted at 9:15 p.m. to go into non-public session per RSA 91:4-a to discuss personnel and legal issues.
The selectmen voted to go back into public session at 9:30 p.m. and to seal the minutes of the non-public session.
The selectmen approved payroll for the week and reviewed miscellaneous correspondence that was received.
The meeting adjourned at 9:40 P.M.
The next meeting will be Monday, August 13th, at 7:00 P.M.
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