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TOWN OF ANTRIM
Select Board Meeting Minutes
Monday, January 14, 2019
7:00 pm Town Hall
Present: Robert L. Edwards, Chair; Mike Genest, Selectman; John Robertson, Selectman
Staff: Donna Hanson, Town Administrator; Marshall Gale, Fire Chief
Agenda Items:
- Approval of Minutes – Public – January 2, 2019 Mr. Robertson moved to accept the minutes as printed; Mr. Genest seconded. Passed 3/0
- Preliminary Operating Budget
- Ambulance: Chief GaleS stated they were having problems responding to ambulance calls on Saturday and Sundays between 6 am to 6 pm. He proposed having two people on staff during those times. They would sign up in advance and receive $3.00 an hour on call and regular pay if called out. They could choose a six hour block or a twelve hour block. Thus there would be a two person crew for each shift. Chief Gale will supply guidelines to Ms. Hanson along with job descriptions. He said there would be a trial period for three months.
Chief Gale received a letter from the Peterborough Deputy Chief stating that beginning February 1st they will charge the Town of Antrim for calls Peterborough responds to when there is no one from Antrim responding. They will not charge us for mutual aid calls. Chief Gale will give a copy of the letter to Ms. Hanson to review.
Mr. Genest wants to be proactive determining what the town should be charging for ambulance service. He feels we are undercharging for our ambulance service. Chief Marshall will do some research into the cost and what other towns are paying for ambulance service. Mr. Robertson moved to adopt the trial staffing proposal as presented. Mr. Genest seconded. Passed 3/0
- Planning Department: budget was reduced by $7,175.00. resulting in a 2019 request of $31,900.00 Reductions were taken from salaries, workshops and miscellaneous expenses.
- Police Department: Mr. Edwards said Chief Lester reduced his salary line and increased his overtime budget because he has been unable to find a certified officer to fill the sixth position. He doesn’t see a reason to put the increase in salaries if he doesn’t think it will be used this year. The increase in overtime will be added to compensate for the lack of the sixth position. If the Chief does find someone in the middle of the year there will be enough funds in the overtime budget to accommodate the increase in salary without going over the bottom line. Mr. Genest said he didn’t think it was clear exactly what was being budgeted. Mr. Genest said he wanted it to be clear to the public that we are still looking for a sixth police officer. Mr. Genest said he doesn’t want to do what was done in September when a
sixth police officer was approved by the Board even though funds weren’t specifically allocated for a sixth officer in the 2018 budget. Ms. Genest asked Ms. Hanson to read the minutes of September 24, 2018 which approved a sixth police officer by a vote of 2/1 Mr. Genest opposed. Mr. Genest would like Chief Lester to come in and discuss this because he thought he wasn’t still looking for a sixth officer. Mr. Robertson said the door is open if he does find someone because the approval is still in place. Mr. Genest struggles with this because he wants to make sure it is transparent that the chief is still looking for the sixth position. Mr. Edwards said this is an interim step to pay overtime until he can find someone to hire fulltime. Mr. Genest struggles with the transparency because the average resident doesn’t know we voted to hire a sixth officer. Mr. Edwards said it was done in a meeting with minutes and was transparent. Mr. Robertson said if residents came to the
meetings they would know.
- Highway: Culverts/Bridges increased by $32,000.00 to pay for police detail on the West Street Bridge replacement. The town expects to be reimbursed 80% from the State Bridge program but needs to budget for the entire police detail cost in case the state does not reimburse. The increase in overtime budget was to accommodate raises and a staff shortage in 2018. Mr. Plourde will come in again to see if he can reduce his budget further.
- Health Agencies: Mr. Edwards said all these agencies do a great service but the overall budget is $29,966.00. He suggested we keep the Grapevine at $7,000.00 and the American Legion at $2,100.00 because they are directly related to Antrim. He also suggested moving the Teen Center Warrant article into the budget for $12,000.00. and reducing the rest of the health agencies 50%. The Select Board will give this more thought.
- Library: Mr. Edwards supports the library 100% and thinks they do a great job. He suggested the Board cap the town contribution to the Library budget at $150,000 and have the Library contribute the difference from their trust fund earnings. They have about $60,000 in unassigned funds so they could contribute approximately $23,000 to the budget. Mr. Robertson questioned whether they are restricted on how they could spend the trust money. Mr. Edwards thought they were not restricted but will confirm.
Solar Exemption Warrant Article: Mr. Edwards does not support a solar exemption. He feels that it is a great thing for people to install these panels but other tax payers shouldn’t shoulder the burden for people that choose to install these for their own purposes.
Ms. Hanson discussed template options for updating the town website at a cost of $3,000.00. The Select Board said they would leave it up to Ms. Hanson’s discretion since she has the expertise in this area.
- Update on Meeting attended by the Select Board:
- Planning Board: Mr. Robertson said the planning board is having their third session on the cell tower on Thursday. They have asked for 5 waivers. Minutes can be found on the town website.
- Park & Rec: Mr. Genest spoke about the percentages ConVal’s budget and property committee suggested for the share in the Town Gym utility cost. This will be discussed at a future meeting.
- Mr. Robertson moved to accept the 2019 holiday schedule. Mr. Genest seconded. Passed 3/0
- Ms. Hanson informed the Select Board that a right to know request was received today regarding the status of Holt Hill Road.
- Ms. Hanson said there is a property on Bobcat Lane that may be partially in the Town of Stoddard. Ms. Hanson will check with our mapping company.
- Mr. Genest, Ms. Hanson and Mr. Plourde will revise the policies for the Swap Shop at the Transfer Station and implement a trial period for the new policies subject to Board review.
- Land Use Change Tax amounts and values were reviewed for properties that no longer qualify for current use status. Ms. Hanson will get more information from the assessor on how the amounts were determined.
Mr. Robertson moved to go into non-public under RSA 91 A:3 II b Hiring. Roll Call Vote: Mr. Genest yes, Mr. Edwards yes, Mr. Robertson yes.
Mr. Robertson moved to hire Nick Tabor for the fire department. Mr. Genest seconded. Passed 3/0
- Mr. Genest moved to adjourn the meeting at 9:15 PM; Mr. Robertson seconded. Passed 3/0
Respectfully submitted,
Donna Hanson, Town Administrator
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