TOWN OF CHARLESTOWN
SELECTBOARD MEETING
JANUARY 7, 2004
Selectboard Present: Jon LeClair, Steven Neill
Staff Present: David Edkins, Administrative Assistant
David Duquette, Superintendent of Public Works
Robert Davis, Superintendent of Solid Waste Facility
Acting Police Chief Edward Smith, Police Department
CALL TO ORDER & PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Jon LeClair called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Mr. LeClair announced that Brenda Ferland would not be present as she is attending the Legislative Session in Concord.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF DECEMBER 17, 2003:
Steve Neill moved to approve the Minutes of the regular Selectboard meeting of December 17, 2003, as printed. Seconded by Jon LeClair. All in favor, so voted.
POLICE MATTERS - ROXANNE SHELTON:
Mr. Edkins reported that Roxanne Shelton has informed him that she has resolved her concerns with the Police Department and it will not be necessary for her to attend this meeting.
HIGHWAY ADVISORY BOARD RESPONSIBILITIES: Review & Approval of Final Document: Jon LeClair advised that the Highway Advisory Board Responsibilities document was reviewed, approved and signed by two Board members. Tom Minickiello would also like to have Brenda Ferland approve and sign the document if she is in favor of it.
DEPARTMENT HEAD REPORTS:
Highway Department: David Duquette reported that the new truck came in and will be in service tomorrow; only a few small things need to be done. The new plow routes are established and seem to be working well. The loader with plow & wing are doing a good job in Town and it is allowing the crew to keep roads and streets wide. There have been a few complaints about lawns but it is doing the job in about two-thirds of the time required by the small pick-up. St. Pierre’s delivery service for the sand has also been working very well and Mr. Beaudry has been hauling. It has saved a lot of man-hours for the Highway Department to do other things. The plowing of sidewalks has been revamped; they are now using potassium chloride rather than rock salt. They continue to
sand sidewalks on Paris Avenue and some of the smaller streets. The additional pole barn has been working out very well. They have a new system for mounting the plows on the trucks.
Water & Sewer Departments: There is a major leak on the intersection of Route 12 and Lovers Lane. It looks like it was leaking for about two to three months but it just surfaced about two weeks ago. The leak is controlled but it is leaking about 150,000 gallons a day. They have to wait for the proper weather, equipment and manpower to get in there to fix it; Dave Duquette explained the process to be used for repairs. This will require use of an excavator. The Old Claremont Pump Station has been working beautifully with a small heater. The Wastewater Treatment Plant went through another EPA inspection and they achieved a 98-99% rating for the 5th year in a row. The grit chamber is now operational and running; the State is coming next week to do an
inspection.
Dave Duquette distributed some items for the Board’s consideration. The first sheet provided information on a sidewalk sander. The current sander will not work for the potassium chloride. He looked at four different spreaders and prefers the one available at R.N. Johnson. It has the most capacity, comes with a spread control kit and will also spread fertilizer. The nearest competitive one is made from plastic rather than 14 gauge steel and isn’t as rugged. Ron is now doing this with a hand spreader and it is taking him about four hours to do the sidewalks, it used to take two hours. Potassium chloride is about six times more expensive than rock salt so we don’t want to waste it.
Steve Neill moved to purchase the “750S model” sidewalk spreader for salt/sand at a cost of $1,145.00. Jon LeClair seconded the motion. All in favor, so voted.
Dave Duquette distributed a worksheet on rear traction tires for four dump trucks that he is trying to purchase under the State bid price through Wilson Tire. He would like to purchase four G143s and eight G164s for a total cost of $2,817.32; rims for the new truck would be $316.00. Bottom line for 12 tires and four rims mounted would be $3,133.20. The other truck would run the best tires left in the shop. Dave Duquette passed around pictures of the condition of the tires being used. At the present time they will not run chains on the tires they have because the steel belts are visible and it is not safe. The Town bought six new traction tires in 2000.
Steve Neill moved to authorize Dave Duquette to request a purchase order for $3,133.20 to purchase tires and rims as discussed. Jon LeClair seconded the motion. All in favor, so voted.
Dave Duquette would still like to purchase a sea container (storage box) and has the perfect spot behind the garage. They are still available for $2,200.00. This will allow sufficient storage to buy in bulk for savings. Following a discussion, there was a consensus that the Selectboard can only approve the purchase of necessities until the budget is passed. Steve Neill indicated that he would approve this purchase as soon as the budget is passed.
Dave Duquette would like to put in a Warrant Article for a stainless steel sander at a cost of $12,349.00. Mr. Edkins noted that Warrant Articles should be ready for the budget hearing on January 19th, 2004, as it has to be posted by January 26th, 2004. Steve Neill suggested that the Selectboard look to the Highway Advisory Board for a recommendation on this request.
Members of the Highway Advisory Board that were present agreed to meet at the highway garage on Wednesday, January 14th at 3:30 P.M. to do a walk through and inventory. Dave Duquette will be present and Cliff Stark volunteered to assist. Steve Neill would like them to develop a five-to-ten year schedule for equipment replacement based on age, condition, etc.
Dave Duquette asked what the policy is to allow property owners on private roads, such as Nichols Lane, Old Stage Road and others, to take sand for those roads from the garage. We do allow them to take sand for their driveways but he is talking about loads in pick-ups. Steve Neill noted that it was for residents to use for private sidewalks and driveways. Tom Minickiello felt there should be limit of a five-gallon pail. There was a consensus to install signage establishing a limit of four or five 5-gallon pails for Charlestown residents only. It was also agreed to put up a barrier allowing room only to walk through to the sand pile, thus discouraging people from taking truckloads of sand.
Dave Duquette would like to purchase some cold patch next month but the regulations now require that it be covered when stored.
Solid Waste Facility: Bob Davis reported that the compacter has been fixed at a cost of about $1,600.00 and it seems to be working fine. At some point he would like to sit down with the Selectboard to review waste disposal contracts. Today he went to Swanzey to attend a recycling meeting. Waste Management will not bid on running the Keene Transfer Station this year so it appears that Keene might run it themselves. There is a new facility opening up in Hadley, Mass. In 2007 the NH/VT Solid Waste Facility might be closing up. These are things we need to keep an eye on.
Police Department: Acting Police Chief Ed Smith advised that the Sheriff’s Department has taken over the police duties in Unity as of this morning and they are doing about 30 hours during the course of a week. Other than that, it will still be the State Police. We are still dispatching for Unity. The Charlestown Police Department just rolls along accident-after-accident. Steve Neill noted that Ed Smith needs to keep on top of the contracts for the dispatching to make sure that they are renewed on time and that the telephone billing is done in a timely fashion. Steve Neill announced that Acting Police Chief Ed Smith will become the new Police Chief on Friday at which time the Town Clerk will swear him in. Congratulations were extended to Ed Smith.
Ambulance Service: Jerry Beaudry stated that there was nothing new to report but requested a brief non-public meeting to discuss personnel at the end of this regular meeting.
PUBLIC COMMENT: There was no public comment.
SELECTBOARD COMMENT: There were no Selectboard comments.
FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION - Payroll, Purchase Orders, Vouchers, Warrants, Abatements, Etc.: The regular Payroll and one payroll correction were approved and signed. The Vouchers were approved and signed.
Purchase Orders: The following purchase orders were approved and signed: 1) Library - Sterling Cleaners for $1,476.44 - this is an insurance claim as it involved the clean-up following a leak; there is a $1,000.00 deductible; 2) Wastewater Facility - Velano Bros. for $1,491.25 for pipes and fittings; 3) Police Department - Uniforms for $348.00; and 4) Solid Waste - Eastern Analytical for testing in the amount of $1,002.40.
Abatement: An Abatement was approved for Loren Reed for water usage in the amount of $21.20 and sewer usage in the amount of $9.09.
The following abatement list was approved and signed for ambulance charges:
2000 - Under Age 60 - $ 5,890.61
2001 - Under Age 60 - $10,396.55
2000 - Over Age 60 - $ 230.06
2002 - Total - $ 31.50
2003 - Total - $ 54.00
Total - $16,602.72
Jerry Beaudry questioned the practice of abating bills for those over 60 - we can’t have separate billing processes, as all residents must be treated equally under Medicare rules. Steve Neill responded that everybody is billed uniform across-the-board. Under 60 is money that is uncollectable through the regular billing and collection process.
Timber Tax: A Timber Tax Levy was signed for $1,292.93.
Warrant: A Warrant to Collect Yield Taxes was signed in the amount of $3,371.58. Mr. Edkins advised that this was a corrected Warrant that had been previously signed.
APPOINTMENTS, PERMITS, LICENSES, & RESOLUTIONS:
Police Chief: Jon LeClair read the appointment document and the Selectboard signed the appointment of Ed Smith as the Police Chief to be effective January 9th, 2004.
CORRESPONDENCE:
Polling Place Accessibility Self-Assessment Questionnaire: Dave Edkins reported that this is a voluntary survey from the Attorney General’s Office and most of this document was fairly easy to address but the Town has some minor short-comings - signage and door handles. People who complete the survey will be eligible for grants so Dave Edkins completed it and there was a consensus to send it in.
TOWN MEETING PREPARATION - AL ST. PIERRE: Albert St. Pierre, Town Moderator, wanted to talk about using the Community Room more for ballot voting. The Town Meeting Deliberative Session on February 4th will still be held in the school gymnasium at 7:00 PM. On January 27th there will be the Presidential Primary and on March 9th there will be the Town Vote and they would like to use the Community Room for both. In September there will be the State primary election and in November the general election and they would like to use this room for those as well. Based on the number of people to the number of voting booths we are right on the edge for the size of this room. This room is good and the people are comfortable with it. The Selectboard gave
their approval. Cliff Stark said that at some point someone should take the time to fix up the voting booths. Albert St. Pierre will take care of the signage. This year there will need to be some handicapped parking as well as posted parking spaces for voters only. Albert St. Pierre will talk to the Police Chief about monitoring the parking. Jon LeClair advised that the Selectboard will meet with Albert St. Pierre about a week ahead of before the Deliberative Session to prepare for the meeting.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Conservation Commission - Jon LeClair: Jon LeClair did not have a report from the Conservation Commission.
CEDA - Brenda Ferland: Brenda Ferland was absent.
Planning Board - Steve Neill: Steve Neill reported that the Planning Board met last night and had a Public Hearing on a proposed Zoning Amendment to re-zone the north end of Main Street from Zone E to Zone A. The Planning Board voted unanimously not to support this Petition. It will be on the Town Meeting Ballot as proposed.
A second Public Hearing was held on a proposed Building Code amendment that would require that a Demolition Permit be obtained from the Building Inspector prior to the removal of any structure, dwelling or portion thereof in order to provide a means for better estimating the age of remaining buildings, particularly those of historic importance. The Planning Board voted unanimously not to support this Petition. It will be on the Town Meeting Ballot as proposed.
In addition to the above, the Pickul/JETTCO subdivision on the Old Springfield Road and Hammond Road was carried over until the next meeting on January 20th. The Planning Board accepted as complete the St. Pierre, Inc. proposal for construction of an office/scale house and expand their existing sand and gravel operation on the Jeffrey Road.
Solid Waste Committee - Jon LeClair: Jon LeClair noted that there have not been any meetings of the Solid Waste Committee.
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT’S REPORT:
WARRANT: Dave Edkins prepared a preliminary Town Meeting Warrant for the Selectboard to review. The deadline for the submission of petition articles is January 13th, 2004. He will be working with Bob Davis on the contract with Wheelabrator.
NON-PUBLIC SESSION- RSA 91-A:3 II
Steve Neill moved to enter into a non-public session to discuss personnel matters pursuant to RSA 91-A:3 II (a). Jon LeClair seconded the motion and, on a roll call with all in favor, the motion carried. The time was 8:30 P.M.
Respectfully submitted, Approved,
Regina Borden
Jon B. LeClair
(Note: These are unapproved minutes.
Corrections, if necessary, may be found Steven A. Neill
in the minutes of the January 21st, 2004,
meeting.)
Brenda L. Ferland
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