Town of Antrim – Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes
July 19, 2010
The meeting was called to order at 5:00 pm by Chairman of the Board of Selectmen Gordon Webber at the Antrim Town Hall.
Members Present: Gordon Webber, Michael Genest and Eric Tenney (arrived at 5:03)
Staff Present: Galen Stearns (Town Administrator)
1. Mr. Stearns stated that he had received a request to tape tonight’s meeting to be able to supply a copy of the tape to David Degler at the NH DES. He stated that he does not recommend that we start this practice and that the official records of the Selectmen’s meetings are the written minutes as approved by the BOS. The board concurred.
2. Mr. Genest reported that there is a SAC meeting Thursday night which he is planning on attending.
3. Mr. Webber stated that the Planning Board had met with the ZBA in a joint meeting and discussed possible amendments to the Zoning Ordinances for Town Meeting. They also discussed the Master Plan.
4. Mr. Stearns explained that Mr. Duffy was present to discuss an issue with the board, but did not want to wait until the end of the Selectmen’s meeting to go into non public. Mr. Genest motioned and Mr. Tenney seconded to go into non-public session under 91-A:3 IIa. Mr. Webber yes, Mr. Genest yes, Mr. Tenney yes. The board, Mr. Stearns and Mr. Duffy went into non-public session at 5:12 PM. The board returned out of non-public session at 5:20 PM
5. Ms. Ann Edwards spoke to the board about issues she has experienced since the No. Main Street bridge project was performed.
a. Stone wall – the stone wall beside her driveway has stones at the base which have shifted significantly and she stated that this was caused during the vibratory compaction of the roadbed. The board asked her to obtain 3 updated quotations to repair the wall and the board would then select a contractor to repair the wall.
b. Lower driveway – Ms. Edwards showed pictures of the stones, dirt and water running down the road into her lower driveway. She stated that during the winter this area filled in and froze over causing a large area of ice. Mr. Genest stated that he has made a point of going by her driveway during heavy rains to observe the water flow and feels that a lot of the run-off is from Ms. Edwards upper driveway and a very minimal amount from the road. Ms. Edwards stated that she did not have this problem before the road was raised and felt it was the towns responsibility. Ms. Edwards stated that there used to be culverts under both driveways but that the Town had removed them when the sewer lines were installed. It was determined that the sewer lines were installed in the 1979
time frame. The possibility of installing a catch basin before her driveways or between the two driveways was discussed but the cost is unknown and the board did not know if at this point it is even possible to tie into the drainage system with an additional catch basin. Mr. Stearns opined that the quickest and probably least expensive solution to the problem would be to pave a slight berm along the edge of the road in front of both driveways to keep the water from the road from entering her driveway. Ms. Edwards stated that she was not really in favor of a berm.
c. Drywell – Ms. Edwards stated that she has received a quotation from SR Jones to move the drywell which allowed water to run into the basement of the house further down alongside the driveway for $950.00. Ms. Edwards stated that this work has already been performed to prevent water from backing up and running into the houses basement.
d. Lower driveway – Ms. Edwards would like the driveway at least graveled top keep it from becoming a mud pit.
The board requested that Mr. Stearns contact Underwood Engineering and have them come out to look at the issues and to contact Ms. Edwards when they would be at her property.
6. Highway Department - Fuel tanks – Mr. Stearns explained to the board that Mr. Degler from NH DES was at the Highway garage on Thursday, July 15th and two test pits were dug to have a general idea as to the extent of the diesel penetrationin front of the fuel tanks. The clean up will involve digging about 5 feet deep right in front of the tanks. The consensus of the board is to remove the tanks and obtain fuel cards from Rymes for future fuel purchases.
7. ARTS on-call employees - Mr. Stearns spoke to the board about having an on-call list for the transfer station that can be utilized when coverage is needed. The board agreed that a list was needed and wants the position to be advertised.
8. Anonymous letters, phone calls, voice mail and e-mails – Mr. Stearns told the board that he has been receiving anonymous letters, phone calls, voice mail and e-mails and that unless the board directed otherwise, he was not going to react to any anonymous communications unless it was a life safety issue. He stated that the policy he follow is that the Town only reacts to signed written communications. The board agreed.
9. Mr. Richard Cahoon – Mr. Cahoon spoke to the board about his abatement request and asked if the board had fully read the documents that he had submitted and the board stated that they had done a cursory review but normally follow the assessor’s recommendation to grant or deny abatement requests. Mr. Cahoon stated that the market value is what he paid for the property with-in 6 weeks before the reassessment and that he paid $114,000. Mr. Genest asked if this property was purchased as a foreclosure and Mr. Cahoon stated that it was purchased from a bank. Mr. Genest would like to review the abatement request documents, Mr. Stearns will make copies of Mr. Cahoon’s abatement package for the board to review and have Mr. Cahoon on the next agenda.
10. Ms. Nelkins asked if the assessing contract would be put out to bid in the future and the board stated that it would be.
11. Mr. Varnum spoke to the board about the paved travel way of Holt ill Road and that he thought it was to narrow. Mr. Genest stated that he had been watching the road during the rains to see how it would hold up and that the board had spoken with Mr. Craig the Road Agent about it and that the board was reviewing the project and that Mr. Stearns would be getting construction plans from Underwood Engineering.
12. Mrs. Bezio stated that tractor trailers were still using Goodell Road and stated that she thought that the road was to narrow for them to be using on a regular basis. Mr. Stearns will speak with Chief Lester to review the road and consider if it should be posted “No Through Trucks”.
13. Ms. Nelkins questioned if her request for information on the HVAC contractor from the Town Hall renovation was in the previous meetings minutes, Mr. Genest read the appropriate passage. She asked if the information has been found yet and Mr. Stearns stated that it had not been. Mr. Genest stated he thought that Mr. Boule had been the chairman of the building committee and that he might know what contractor performed the work. Ms. Nelkins asked if Mr. Stearns would contact Mr. Boule and he will follow up on this.
14. Ms. Nelkins asked when the budget advisory committee was meeting and Mr. Tenney stated that there was nothing for them to do at this time and that the committee would be meeting either in September or October.
15. Ms. Nelkins expressed displeasure in the amount of cold air that was blowing in the hallway of the Town Hall and that she has repeatedly asked that this be addressed. Mr. Stearns had put small carpets over the vents but that the amount of air blowing out of the vents was moving the carpets. Mr. Stearns will look into other solutions.
16. The board asked Mr. Stearns about the crosswalk paint and he stated that paint was being ordered through the State bid which was awarded to a firm in Texas.
17. Non-Public Session, Mr. Genest moved and Mr. Tenney seconded to enter into a non-public session under RSA 91-A:3: II a & c Personnel & Reputations. Roll call vote – all members “yes”. The board went into non-public at 6:37 PM and returned to public session at 6:57 PM
There being no further business, the Mr. Tenney motioned to adjourn, Mr. Webber seconded, passed 3/0 at 6:57 pm
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