Special Meeting & Work Session
October 22, 2012
Present: Mayor Grenier, Councilors Otis, Remillard, Benski, Morgan Allain, Higbee, Rozek, Nelson and Theberge
Others present included: Patrick MacQueen, Michael Perreault, Henry Noel, Linda White, Barry Kelley, Thadeus Soltys, Bill Maddalena, Randall Trull, Roland Berthiaume, and Barbara Tetreault Berlin Daily Sun
SPECIAL MEETING
Mayor Grenier called the Special Meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. All Council members were present at roll call.
Resolution 2012-32 Authorizing an Application to the EPA Brownfields for 200,000
Councilor Remillard moved to table the resolution and hold a public hearing November 5, 2012; Councilor Otis seconded and the motion carried.
Councilor Higbee moved to recess to work session; Councilor Otis seconded and the motion carried.
WORK SESSION
717 Fifth Avenue
Ms. White explained that Mr. Kelley came to the Council several weeks ago with a proposal to purchase 717 Fifth Avenue, tear the building down and transport the debris to the transfer station; the City would be responsible for the hazardous material removal and tipping fees. She confirmed that the neighbors have no interest in the property.
Mr. Kelley indicated that his proposal would save the city money because he would be doing the demo and landscaping. He paid for an environmental assessment of the property which found that there is $3,900 of removal costs and Ms. White estimated tipping fees at between two and four thousand.
Mr. MacQueen pointed out that the Council can meet with regard to this issue in non-public session. Mr. Kelley noted that he would pay tipping fees that go over $3,000. Mayor Grenier agreed that the matter would be discussed in non-public session.
Fire Dept Fees
Assistant Chief Soltys reported that the inspection and collection of fees is in its infancy and process is still being worked on. The Fire Department is also following up on issues from the State Fire Marshal’s building inspections from 2007 for which no fees are collected unless multiple visits are needed to achieve compliance. Chief Trull noted that 92 buildings were inspected and there are 58 compliant.
Assistant Chief Soltys explained that inspections are done on code compliance, assembly; day care, new construction, multifamily dwellings, health care facilities for which fees are collected prior to completing the inspection. Councilor Remillard asked for a report of what has been taken in since the inception of the ordinance in April of 2010.
Councilor Rozek asked if there is a fee for instituting the 155-b orders on negligent properties. Chief Trull said that the time is billed and added to the final tax lien of the property.
Mayor Grenier established that the implementation of fees is a work in progress and he will stand behind it. The inspections are necessary due to the age of Berlin’s housing stock.
Councilor Nelson asked what happens if the inspection is not sought out by the home or business owner. Assistant Chief Soltys replied that letters go out with a notice of 30 days to comply and if action is not taken then the process continues up to and including an evacuation order for the building. The goal is to have a smooth inspection with zero violations.
Chief Trull said that departmentally, he needs to work on procedures, implementation of fees, policy, and educating citizens. It is important to keep the trust of the public and that can be done with a better understanding of procedure. He reported that the people have been paying the registration fee for vacant buildings. He’s created a citation form and if a vacant building is not registered, the owner would be sent a notice of violation and given another 15 days. If compliance is still not achieved, the City takes civil action and the violator could be charged $100 per day which doubles every day the building is not in compliance. Mayor Grenier noted that the vacant building ordinance is to protect the fire department making them aware that a building is vacant in the event of a fire. Mr.
MacQueen added that the vacant building ordinance is also meant to bring up the quality of buildings.
Assistant Chief Soltys said he is reorganizing and setting new goals for the future agreeing with Mayor Grenier that once the process has been cycled, it will be easier to get it done in a timely fashion.
Councilor Nelson questioned the budget deficit in revenues asking what steps have been put in place so that there is not a big deficit in the coming year and if the projections were set too high. Assistant Chief Soltys indicated that there are notices and tracking tools but only part time assistance and there are inspections that take time that are not charged. Councilor Remillard asked for a quarterly report of fees.
Chief Trull reasoned that the original fee estimate was $27,000 and the estimate was increased in the final budget.
Mayor Grenier commented that the Council set a high target and an effective inspection program is expected to help support the position and to make the community safer; he added that overall the department is doing a good job. Chief Trull stated that in the first quarter there has been an increase in fees collected of over $1,500.
Land and Home Sales
Linda White handed out pictures of the parcels owned by the city that she would like to dispose of.
216 Grafton Street is a steep slope and it is an undersized lot at .06 of an acre.
Councilor Rozek moved to, indefinitely until rescinded, offer for sale 216 Grafton Street by sealed bid to the direct abutters with a minimum bid of $1,000; Councilor Remillard seconded and the motion carried.
33 Gilbert Street is a steep slope and an undersized lot at .05 of an acre.
Councilor Rozek moved to, indefinitely until rescinded, offer for sale 33 Gilbert Street by sealed bid to the direct abutters with a minimum bid of $1,000; Councilor Remillard seconded and the motion carried.
360 High Street is a s standard size lot at .11 of an acre. Councilor Remillard declared that she is an abutter and Mayor Grenier asked that she leave the room during the discussion.
Councilor Rozek moved to, indefinitely until rescinded, offer for sale 360 High Street by sealed bid to the direct abutters with a minimum bid of $2,000; Councilor Higbee seconded and the motion carried. Councilor Remillard did not vote on the issue.
687 & 675 Main Street are abutting commercial lots that could be merged into one ¼ acre lot. Councilor Remillard suggested waiting 30 days to consider what is wanted on the site before marketing.
729 & 735 Second Avenue are non-buildable lots. Mr. MacQueen commented that these buildings were on Jesky Lane which is a private right of way that the City has been maintaining for years. At some point the City should take a position that it will no longer maintain Jesky Lane. Council members agreed overall; however they did not feel it to be the right time to discontinue maintenance while there is still one building that counts on the city for access. Ms. White suggested merging the lots and putting the property out to abutters. Though the parcel will be a non buildable lot, an accessory building could go on the lot.
Councilor Rozek moved to, indefinitely until rescinded, offer for sale by sealed bid to the direct abutters, the merged lot of 729 & 735 Second Avenue as a non-buildable lot with a with a minimum bid of $5,000; Councilor Remillard seconded. After further discussion Councilor Remillard moved to amend the motion to reduce the minimum bid to $2,500; Councilor Rozek seconded and the motion carried. The first motion was voted on and unanimously approved, as amended.
Ms. White reported that four buildings were offered for sale with bids due October 4; none of them sold and she felt the minimum bid was too high. All of these buildings will require a significant investment by the buyer.
Councilor Remillard suggested that offering buildings to abutters may be a way of seeing that the buyer has a vested interest in the renovation of the property.
Councilor Rozek moved to, indefinitely until rescinded, offer for sale by sealed bid to the direct abutters the properties listed below:
Map/Lot 130-0124, 290 Grafton St. .23 acre: This parcel and building will be offered for sale by sealed bid with the minimum bid being determined by condition (fair/poor), lot size and assessed valuation of $47,200. $7,080. The purchasing party is required to renovate and make the property habitable within 12 months of the purchase date and meet the requirements set forth in the then current City Ordinances. City Code Enforcement will make the final determination as to the fitness of the building. The sale of this property will subject to a reverter if the conditions of sale are not met.
Map/Lot 110-0066, 819 Fourth Ave .11 acre: This parcel and building will be offered for sale by sealed bid with the minimum bid being determined by condition (fair/good), lot size and assessed valuation of $74,600. $11,190. The purchasing party is required to renovate and make the property habitable within 12 months of the purchase date and meet the requirements set forth in the then current City Ordinances. City Code Enforcement will make the final determination as to the fitness of the building. The sale of this property will subject to a reverter if the conditions of sale are not met.
Map/Lot 110-0041, 615 Fourth Ave .11 acre: This parcel and building will be offered for sale by sealed bid with the minimum bid being determined by condition (fair/poor), lot size and assessed valuation of $57,700. $5,770. The purchasing party is required to renovate and make the property habitable within 12 months of the purchase date and meet the requirements set forth in the then current City Ordinances. City Code Enforcement will make the final determination as to the fitness of the building. The sale of this property will subject to a reverter if the conditions of sale are not met.
Map/Lot 130-0377, 590 Goebel St. .23 acre: This parcel and building will be offered for sale by sealed bid with the minimum bid being determined by (fair/poor) condition, lot size, and assessed valuation of $47,200. $7,080. The purchasing party is required to renovate and make the property habitable within 12 months of the purchase date and meet the requirements set forth in the then current City Ordinances. City Code Enforcement will make the final determination as to the fitness of the building. The sale of this property will subject to a reverter if the conditions of sale are not met.
Councilor Higbee seconded and the motion carried. Councilor Remillard abstained.
WWT Request
Henry Noel reported to the Council that centrifuges were left out of the waste water treatment improvements because it was thought that they could be rebuilt when in need of repair. Mr. MacQueen noted that developing circumstances show that Wright Pierce may need to review the dewatering system after all.
Mr. Noel explained that the centrifuge rebuilt 2 years ago is coming back and now needs to be sent out again. The project would bear the cost of looking at other equipment such as screw presses that could do the same thing. He confirmed that it would be slightly more energy efficient to run the press.
Mr. MacQueen indicated that the high precision on the centrifuge is off and it starts a vibration that gets worse and worse. Councilor Rozek suggested considering all the options including finding the cause of the imbalance. Wright Pierce will come back with recommendations and cost for each to include all options, cost and life cycle of each option.
Other
Mike Perreault provided a report of work done in this year’s paving contract. Councilor Remillard asked if the miles and locations could be added to the report. Mayor Grenier clarified that additional information needed is to include the cost of equipment; material; manpower, length of roadway covered and job locations.
Other
Councilor Otis commented that the local football team is in second place and if they make it to the playoffs, Eagle’s field does not qualify for tournament play. Mr. Perreault noted that only the track field or Community Field would qualify. Council members voiced their support for the team to play at Community Field and for the field to be prepared for tournament play.
Non-Public Session
Councilor Nelson moved with a second from Councilor Higbee to go into non-public session per RSA 91-A:3II (d) consideration of the acquisition, sale or lease of real or personal property… So moved, the motion carried unanimously by roll call.
Councilor Rozek moved to come out of non-public session; Councilor Nelson seconded and the motion carried unanimously by roll call.
Councilor Rozek moved to seal the minutes as releasing them would render action taken ineffective; Councilor Nelson seconded and the motion carried unanimously by roll call.
Councilor Rozek moved to adjourn; Councilor Nelson seconded and the motion carried the meeting ended at 8:55 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Susan Tremblay
Administrative Assistant
| 
