BERLIN CITY COUNCIL
WORK SESSION MINUTES
Tuesday, September 4, 2007 – 6:30pm
Executive Council Chambers of City Hall
Mayor & Council Present |
Staff Present |
Others |
Mayor Danderson |
Richard Poulin |
Pat MacQueen |
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Paul Grenier |
Harold Bigelow |
Andre Caron |
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Dick Lafleur |
Diana Nelson |
Pam Laflamme |
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Paul Cusson |
Tim Donovon |
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Mayor Danderson brought the meeting to order at 6:30 pm.
1. Ward IV Interviews
a. Rick Davis
Mr. Davis reviewed his past. He and his wife moved up here six years ago. He works for the Northern Correctional Facility. They bought property from the City, fixed it up and now live in it. He had no pre-conceptions about area and should have few conflicts of interest. His wife Chris is the Deputy City Clerk. They have two grown kids in the Portsmouth area. This is their fourth year working on Riverfire.
Councilor Cusson asked why he moved up here. Mr. Davis said they moved from Mass. to Londonderry to Barrington and continued to move north. He heard the facility here was run differently. They didn't really know anything about Berlin. The housing opportunities drew them a lot. They rented when they first came. They could go back to Concord but Berlin is now home. He would like to get more industries and businesses back into the area. He has no silver bullet for Berlin.
Councilor Lafleur asked how he saw the education system? Mr. Davis said he sees about half and half of people who are happy with it and about half are leaving because of it, particularly the older children going into the High School, but he is not sure what the problem is.
Councilor Bigelow asked what he would like to see done with the mill site. Mr. Davis said he hoped it would not be another mill but something with jobs and bring people into the area. He was concerned that if it is a power plant it might deter people from coming in. People were always concerned with the smell of the place. He is not sure what all the options are.
Councilor Cusson asked if he would run in the next election. He said he would because he will be at the prison for another 15 years.
Councilor Nelson asked how he felt about the federal prison. He said he is all for it if they do it half as well as the state prison.
Mayor Danderson asked how he would handle people who criticize your decisions? He said he doesn't encounter a lot of people except who he works with.
Councilor Nelson asked if there was a primary focus you have? He said he wants to get Main Street buildings all open.
b. Frederick Treis
Mr. Treis said he moved here nine years ago and lives on Burgess Street. He got involved with the ski club when he came. He feels the City needs more people to get involved and be civically active to help make decisions. He has been a DES inspector for almost 20 years. He said the City has some exceptional public employees. He spent time in the army and went to Plymouth State as a biologist and worked for their Sewer Treatment Plant for a while. He has been a lot of places and has worked in outdoor recreation and worked internationally. He feels this knowledge of outdoor recreation and customer service can be a big help. He doesn't think there is any silver bullet but that it will take a lot of small acts and keeping going in the right direction.
Mayor Danderson asked about his thoughts on 'either/or' ideas. The Mayor said we need to balance everything with something else. Where do you fit in with that? Mr. Treis said alternative energy is a great alternative and was thrilled to hear about the wood pellet idea. He is conflicted about the Laidlaw proposal. It could still make dust and background noise in the east side neighborhoods. On the positive side, it is alternative energy and there is a need for market for low-grade woods. In the long run, the loss of that could really hurt us. He admits he actually doesn't know enough about it at this point.
Councilor Bigelow asked what he perceived Berlin's greatest deficiency was. Mr. Tries responded that it was probably the poor quality housing which brings in other issues. He hates to hear people talk negative about Berlin. But these aren't the ones who are in a position to invest in the city.
Councilor Cusson asked if we are missing the mark anywhere. Mr. Tries said he has heard a lot of good things about Andre Caron. He doesn't really know if there is more that could be done there or not. He has talked with the Fire Chief on issues and likes what he hears from city employees. He said he would like to see more out of the box thinking like a whitewater park in the gorge by the mill and developing the cell site when it is cleaned up. Skowhegan, ME, is doing this. Their downtown is now doing quite well.
Another idea is rafting. He discussed the Pontook area of the river which they have now made into a going business selling fun on the river. This adds like a secondary layer to the basic industries in town. A whitewater park would be icing on the cake. He sees a Berlin that is cool and funky and people want to live here.
Councilor Lafleur asked about the educational system. Mr. Treis said his daughter is three and he doesn't really know enough about it at this point. He said it seems like there is an incredibly high dropout rate based on what he reads in the paper. It may be reaching a point where consolidation is needed.
Councilor Nelson asked how he felt about the federal prison. He said he had no problem with the federal prison and is actually more worried about the expansion of the state prison. He is concerned that families of prisoners at the state prison may move to Berlin.
Councilor Nelson asked, what is your primary focus. Mr. Treis said helping develop economic diversity in the community.
Councilor Grenier entered the meeting at 7:15pm
c. Jennifer Boucher
Ms. Boucher said she was born and raised in Berlin. She went to a number of colleges. She got her feet wet in the hospitality industry and did sales and marketing. She moved back to Berlin and went into mental health case management. She said she has a strong tie and connection to Berlin. She wants to be proud of where she is from. Currently, Berlin's reputation elsewhere is not very flattering and she would like to turn that around. The decisions we are making now will define that. She said the community is divided and a lot of negativity. She wants to be part of the solution and not part of the problem. Need to focus on the strengths and chip away at the deficits.
Councilor Grenier asked her about how this should be done. Ms. Boucher said she sees first hand people being recruited to the area to start over. They have a bus ticket bought for them in FL. This is despicable. These people are being exploited too. People are actively recruiting these people. We have social services here, and it is too easy for some people to come here and live off the community.
Mayor Danderson said we recently made a vote against the crisis center in the community and asked her if she understood this. Ms. Boucher said we don’t want to do things to make the city more enticing to people who are not productive. However, there is a need for crisis respite beds. The Northern Human Services proposal needs to have some clear criteria.
Councilor Nelson asked how she felt about the BOP. She said she thinks it is good and should provide a shot in the arm to the economy. It is not all good but you have to weigh out the pros and the cons.
Councilor Nelson asked about her primary focus as a Councilor. Ms. Boucher said we need to market all of the positives. We don't necessarily do a good job at tooting our own horn. She feels that rural areas will shortly be a hot commodity. She would like to help with that. We have to take a proactive approach and need to increase community spirit.
Councilor Lafleur asked what she thought of the educational system? She feels she received a well rounded education. Her daughter just started kindergarten. She feels there is definitely room for improvement. She was disappointed with cut in education aid to Berlin.
The Council then voted by secret ballot for the three candidates. The ballots were counted and confirmed by the Mayor and Jennifer Boucher received six votes; Rick Tries received one vote and Rick Davis received one vote. Accordingly, Jennifer Boucher was elected by the Council to fill out the remaining term of Rick Roy in Ward IV.
2. Truck Cab Bids
The Manager reviewed the quotes that had been received by Public Works of which there had been three including the quotes. These quotes led to a lower price for the new cab of $16,500 which still seems quite high but is several thousand lower than the previous quote.
Councilor Grenier moved and Councilor Poulin seconded a motion to waive seal bids for the purchase of this truck cab. The motion was passed unanimously.
3. Resolution Authorizing Change of Scope to include City Master Plan
Pam Laflamme reviewed that this amends the purpose of the two prior resolutions to change the scope to expand to cover the overall master plan for the city. She said the funders were worried that the city would be better served by doing our master plan than something that might not even be usable.
Councilor Donovan said he put the original resolution on the table for the mill site. We have never followed the city master plan. Doing the mill site is the most important thing. He is insulted that bureaucrats changed this without coming to the Council.
Mayor Danderson said we should look at the whole picture including the mill site. He said it is not going to help studying the mill site if you can't do anything with the result because we don't own the property. He said the City is better served by adding it into the Master Plan.
Pam reviewed the deficiencies of the last Master Plan which nobody uses. The mill property was an impetus to go ahead and get this done. The last plan was obsolete by the time it was received over four years in 1992.
Councilor Bigelow said we are talking about 450 hours of consulting time and a consultant will have to bring in subcontractors. We will pay for it all whether we implement or not. He feels it should be tightly focused on economic development?
Councilor Cusson said he was not a big advocate of master plans. He see this as a business plan. He was wondering if the master plan might influence the funding agencies? Pam said it could.
Pat MacQueen said that state law sets a master plan up as the legal basis and foundation for all city zoning. He also said that it was critical in his opinion that any consultant simply be looked to to provide technical advice and to serve as a facilitator. The overall plan needs to be driven by committees which are led for the most part by City Councilor and Planning Board members. Any such plan should be able to be amended updated and revised at any time without consultant help as it is the citizens of the community which develop the actual recommendations. The consultant shouldn't be doing this but should just be providing base information for the community to work with.
Councilor Donovan said we are at a cross roads. He said a master plan will not incorporate economic development. We have spent $45,000 of HUD money to do the Thiebault plan. The mill site is private but we can have an effect on it indirectly. The most critical thing is image and path forward collectively in the same direction. We shouldn't use this grant money to do obligations we have under state law.
Andre Caron said that from a housing point of view, we have had a huge change from 1992. He is starting to see problems with housing for the aged. We have the means here to deal with this. We have to address the age of buildings where some are obsolete. Maybe garden apartments and condominiums will go like hot cakes because now we are a transient community.
Paul Grenier said that in 1992 Bass Shoe had just closed and the mill was still employing about 1700 people. The big concern was the #11 boiler which had to be replaced. Nobody envisioned a parking lot at the Burgess Mill. He thinks we need a Master Plan to give some guidance going forward. We will no longer see heavy industry here. Without a solid plan going forward, we will be out of luck.
There was discussion about how the public is involved. Pam Laflamme said sometimes.people don't participate in public hearings or surveys but they might participate on the web.
Councilor Bigelow asked for the criteria given to the consultant
4. Capital Appropriations Resolution Discussion
Pat MacQueen distributed some suggested changes to the resolution which included adding $2300 for the assessing contract, adding $10,500 for additional FICA and Medicare costs as well as clarifying that the item listed as City Hall Security be changed to City hall improvements.
5. Other – Nobis Engineering Contract
Andre Caron said this contract will demolish and clean up the land the City owns south of the Gilbert Street Park. It will not close the case but will take care of the physical part of it. The state will continue to monitor the area. Extra precaution is needed because because of children in the area. Monitoring will probably take about a year or so. This will close the chapter on this project. The City signs the contract in this case but there is no City money involved in the contract.
Councilor Lafleur moved and Councilor Bigelow seconded a motion to authorize the City Manager to assign this Nobis contract. The motion was unanimously approved.
The Council adjourned the Work Session for the Public Hearings and the regular Council meeting at 7:45.
6. Non-public Session
After the regular Council Meeting the Mayor and Council voted unanimously to go into a non-public session on land matters under RSA 91-A:3, II (d)
In non-public session the Manager and the Council reviewed the land situation with respect to a potential bio-mass plant on land owned by the City and the Solid Waste District.
In non-public session, the Mayor and Council also voted unanimously to say that they would accept Shelby Street if it were offered to them.
On unanimous vote, the Council came out of non-public session and unanimously voted to seal the minutes of the non-public session.
There being no other business, on unanimous vote, the meeting adjourned at 9:45 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Patrick MacQueen
City Manager
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