Work Session
August 15, 2011
Present were: Mayor Grenier, Councilors Otis, Ducharme, Nelson, McCue, Evans, Rozek, and Théberge; absent was Councilors Remillard
Others present: Pamela Laflamme, Debra Patrick, Dan Malone, and Barbara Tetreault, Berlin Daily Sun
Mayor Grenier called the meeting to order at 6:32 p.m.
Report on Jericho ATV Festival Held July 30 & 31
Dan Malone reported that the Jericho ATV Festival went well with beautiful weather and 1500 participants coming to the Park with their ATV’s. All seemed to have a good time.
Work has already started for next year. The parking situation will have to be reviewed as well as adding food vendors and a Sunday feature activity. The mud pit worked well for Saturday. Mr. Malone indicated that there were participants from North Carolina, England, California and many other places. The event was well advertised through social media, Internet and press.
Councilor Evans asked if the event generated revenue and Mr. Malone said that there is enough money for start up next year, about $5,500. He commented that the State could make the Club go through the user fee permit that could cost up to $2,000. The event is helping the State with good publicity for the Park and registrations. Councilor Rozek commented that his son attended the Festival and thoroughly enjoyed himself. The Councilor appreciates the hard work done by the ATV Club. Mr. Malone credited a team effort with Align Partnerships and about 35 volunteers who worked Saturday and Sunday.
Redistricting Ward Lines
Mayor Grenier explained that every ten years when the federal government does the census, redistricting comes up at both the local and State level. He added the Coos County could lose one to two state representatives due to the process bringing the county from eleven to nine representatives. Councilor Théberge confirmed that when the Federal Prison is filled, the numbers will change again.
City Clerk Debra Patrick referred to a memo she drafted to the Council and noted that the City Attorney Kate Miller added language that is hand written. The census numbers show that Ward 3 is 38% higher in population than the other wards. Per the US and NH Constitutions, cities and towns must determine whether ward lines need to be moved to achieve equal populations in each ward; the range of deviation must be less than 5% to be in compliance.
Ms. Patrick explained that the City Attorney recommended that the Council choose one of two versions for a charter amendment that would go to the voters on the November ballot. Version 1 is strictly a charter amendment that outlines the proposed changes to ward lines in a ballot question. Version 2 has the initial question regarding ward lines in one question and asks the voter if they want re-districting to be done by the council through an ordinance in a separate ballot question.
The City Attorney put together a timeline to get this done for the November election which is very tight. The Council needs to determine what option to go with; publish a notice in the paper to inform the voters; and have a public hearing on August 29th to continue the legal process as outlined. The outcome would then go to the Secretary of State’s Office.
Mayor Grenier questioned whether it is necessary to start an ordinance and Mr. MacQueen noted that the charter amendment will need to be established first with the Council deciding which version will be on the ballot. No ordinance is needed until the public authorizes the change through the ballot question.
Mayor Grenier confirmed that if the Council were allowed to change ward boundaries, he would want that change to be based on US census results and not at the will of the Council. He added that if there is a public hearing, he would want what the council is supporting to be presented to the public. He stressed that the the ordinance should only give the authority to redistrict all four wards as a result of the US Census which is done every ten years. Councilor McCue stated that the language complies with the Constitution. If in ten years it is necessary to comply with the Constitution by redistricting, Version 2 gives the council the authority to do so by ordinance. He confirmed that the decision cannot be made prior to the 29th due to noticing requirements for the public hearing.
Ms. Laflamme explained how the proposed new lines were established. Census 2010 puts the city’s population at 10,051; Ward 1. 2,238; Ward 2. 2,335; Ward 3. 3,193 and Ward 4. 2,285 and that puts the range of deviation at a number approaching 40% in Ward 3. We are required to equalize with the ideal number for each ward being 2,513. All population counts including the prison in ward 3. It made sense to take people out of Ward 3 and insert them into the wards with less people. What made the job more difficult is that the data that has the population numbers is in census blocks and the ward boundary lines have to be contiguous. The proposal before the Council gets us to an acceptable 4.3% range of deviation.
Census blocks are provided to us in GIS format by the Office of Energy and Planning. The blocks are not even in people or in geography; they supposedly follow some physical location and some were found to follow old range and lot lines usually only found in deeds. Ms. Laflamme noted that she did not take the time to create a map with new lines because it is very involved and if this does not get the approval of the Council, it would have been a lot of time wasted. She went on to explain how people would be moved from Ward 3 to the other three wards using the census blocks and maintaining contiguity.
Councilor Rozek questioned how one could go from voting at Brown School and now have to go all the way to the Recreation Center to vote. He asked why the center was not adjusted and he asked for the boundaries to be highlighted on a map saying that the squiggly lines mean nothing with no map to look at. Ms. Laflamme made the point that she equalized the wards and kept the boundaries contiguous without looking to see who it affected. She added that there are alternatives to consider. Ms. Patrick made the point that in other communities council members were moved from their wards and they put language in that kept the councilors moved during redistricting in place until the next municipal election.
Councilor Nelson asked if it is time to have one councilor from each ward and four at large. Councilor Rozek voiced that will not take care of the problem today. Councilor McCue thanked Ms. Laflamme saying that this task was not easy. He asked if the ballot question is put out and the voters don’t approve, what happens? Mr. MacQueen replied that it could lead to a special election and could perhaps end up in court; eventually it would have to get straightened out.
Mayor Grenier commented that he preferred to get the support of everyone on the Council for this and he suggested that it be looked at more closely. Councilor McCue asked if the change is not done for the municipal election, can it be added to the primary. Ms. Patrick established that the State wants to have the redistricting done by midsummer because it affects the redistricting for State representatives. The latest that it could be done is at the Presidential Primary in January.
Ms. Laflamme explained that in ten years, when the federal prison is open, we will not be able to avoid redistricting again. Councilor Rozek said that he would like to come in to look at it adding that there has to be a fair and equitable way to make this decision and he would like to be given the opportunity to look at it. Mayor Grenier agreed to put it off but stressed that it needs to be done for January. Councilor Rozek said that he wants to work with Pam for an alternative for the voters in ward 3. Mayor Grenier noted that this will be done before this Council is gone.
Councilor McCue noted that getting the question on the ballot along with a scheduled election avoids the expense of a special election. Mayor Grenier added that there is a process to amend the charter where a Charter Commission is established to review the Charter and make recommendations that are then posed as a ballot question to the public. Mayor Grenier asked for a revised redistricting document for October 1 and Ms. Patrick will revise the timeline to corroborate with the January or Februrary Presidential Primary.
Clarification of Property Motion
Ms. Laflamme indicated that in the Disposition of Property motion made at the August 1, 2011 meeting, a condition was added that there shall be a mandatory lot line adjustment on properties sold to abutters. Ms. Laflamme pointed out that a lot line adjustment is an expensive process that requires a survey whereas a lot merger is a simple process done by the Planning Board. She clarified that anomalies will still need to be taken care of with a lot line adjustment but most will only require a lot merger.
Councilor Evans moved to amend his motion of 8/1/2011 by removing “lot line adjustment” and replacing it with “lot merger”; Councilor McCue seconded and the motion carried.
[Motion of 8/1/11 Councilor Evans moved with a second from Councilor Ducharme that the City Manager is hereby authorized, indefinitely until rescinded, to offer for sale at the earliest appropriate opportunity, the properties listed below by sealed bid with conditions as indicated for each property. An additional condition shall be a mandatory lot line adjustment lot merger (see 8/1/11 for list of properties) on properties sold to abutters.]
Contract for valuation of Utilities
Mr. MacQueen reported that he was asked to sign off on a letter to bind the City to a contract with Skip Sansoucy for $28,000 for valuation of utilities. Mayor Grenier confirmed that the Board of Assessors did not vote on this issue. He asked the Council to approve the contract and to waive the bid process.
Councilor Rozek moved to accept a professional contract for services for $28,000 from Skip Sansoucy to perform utility valuation updates in this fiscal year; Councilor Nelson seconded. In discussion Councilor McCue asked for clarification of “Laidlaw $5,000” which is depicted in the contract. Mayor Grenier noted that a value based on what the PILT is needs to be set so that we have value in place for other taxes such as county and school. In the vote that followed, all voted in favor.
NCC Request for Letter of Support
Mr. MacQueen reported that last year we sent a letter supporting the sustainable communities’ initiative application for the North Country Council and they were not funded. They are trying again this year and asking for another letter of support.
Councilor Rozek moved to send the letter of support; Councilor Otis seconded and the motion carried.
There being no further business in the work session, Mayor Grenier moved on to the Public Hearings.
Respectfully Submitted,
Susan Tremblay
Administrative Assistant
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