6/12/07
Minutes Selectmen’s Meeting 6/11/07
Present: B. Pratt, M.Genest, S. Schacht, B. Sawich, B. Houseworth, A. Robblee, R. Edwards, D. Winchester, B. Burbank, M. French, T. Feyrer, W. Prokop, M. Pon
The selectmen approved the minutes of June 4th, 2007.
The selectmen voted to seal the minutes of the non-public meeting held at 6:30 p.m. regarding personnel issues.
The selectmen announced the promotion of B. Houseworth to the position of Town Planner effective, June 4th, 2007 and issued the attached press release. They thanked the Planning Board and the ZBA for their work on preparing the recommendations for the staffing needs of the Planning Department.
T. Feyrer introduced Chief Michael French, and Butch Burbank from the Local Government Center to the Board. Chief Feyrer explained the background and the purpose of the presentation regarding the steps the Antrim Police Department must take and why, in order to become a “Certified Department” within the state of New Hampshire. A copy of Chief French’s presentation on behalf of CALEA (Certified Association of Law Enforcement Agencies) is attached. The major purpose is to provide Risk Management and to reduce the liability cost of towns. The program provides agency accountability and proven standards of performance.
Each town can take a step-by-step approach. It is up to the Chief of the agency to develop the standards under which he wishes to operate, have them reviewed and approved by his peers, and then have them accredited by a certified appraiser. Once this is done, the policy is presented to the Board of Selectmen and the public so that it is clear to everyone how the department is operated. It was expressed that certification may be more important to smaller agencies than larger ones because is provides a solid proven base for the agency to build upon.
There is minimal cost for a town to become certified. It usually takes 12 to 18 months to complete the first phase. Certification must be renewed every three years.
The LGC offers grants and is investigating other ways to reward towns for becoming accredited. The selectmen were all very impressed with the presentation and clearly saw the benefits of the program. They thanked Chief French and Butch Burbank for taking the time to make them aware of this program and complemented Chief Feyrer on his willingness to have the Antrim Police Department work towards accreditation.
W. Prokop, Town Administrator then advised the selectmen of the following:
1. The activities of three (3) legal actions regarding code/health violations currently under investigation or coming to trial.
2. The hiring of a new Regional Prosecutor, Michael Beausoleil. He will be joining the regional team on Monday, June 25th, 2007. He brings to the position a strong background in prosecution and is currently working for the city of Manchester. The support for the Regional prosecutor was very strong from the selectmen from Hillsborough, Deering, and Antrim and from the Police Chiefs of Deering, Bennington, and Antrim.
3. The planned road improvements at the Recycling Center and driveway to the Highway Department and to Jamison Avenue for this year. The selectmen will review this with the Road Agent upon his return from vacation.
4. The review by Underwood Engineers of the Barsanti property on Summer Street regarding water runoff issues. The engineers report and recommendation to the Town should be finished within the next week.
5. The final drafts of the revised ordinances for Parking, Town Beach use, Skateboards, and Discarded material were given to the selectmen to review and approve.
6. The new ConVal payment schedule has been received and Antrim’s cost is just over $2.6 million for the next school year. This is a $200,000 increase from the school district, but is offset this year by an increase in the state’s adequacy grant. However, until the statewide school funding issue is resolved we will not know what our state grant will be or how it will be calculated. This continues to be a major concern for most towns in New Hampshire.
7. The State Department of Revenue will be auditing our assessments, veteran’s credits, elderly exemptions, and current use calculations within the next 2-3 weeks. They will be inspecting approximately 35 properties in Antrim. They will be driving a state car and will have a state I.D. badge. This is all part of the standard yearly update. This insures that we are in compliance with all the required regulations.
The selectmen voted at 8:15p.m., to go into a Non-Public session Per RSA 91.4a personnel issues.
The selectmen returned to public session at 8:40 p.m.
The first order of business was a vote to seal the minutes of the previous non-public meeting.
The selectmen than discussed several tax collection issues such as late Timber Taxes and Dog License fines. It was expressed by Selectman Schacht that people who do not register their dogs should be fined according to the state statutes. It was agreed that for 2007, the Tax Office will call people and advise them that they have not registered their dog or dogs. However, starting with 2008, we will send out notice post cards, and then if the fees are not paid, the police will be instructed to issue forfeiture notices according to the state statutes. The board agreed that this would be the best procedure to follow and to advertise this on the website and in the newspapers at the proper times.
The selectmen then voted to approve Chief Feyrer’s recommendation to post a 25MPH speed limit on Elm Street as soon as possible.
The selectmen approved the payroll and A/P for the week.
The selectmen will now go on to the summer meeting schedule, which is one meeting per month, or as needed from time to time. The next meeting is planned for the middle of July. The exact date and time has not yet been set.
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