TOWN OF CHARLESTOWN
SELECTBOARD MEETING
OCTOBER 20, 2004
Selectboard Present: Steven Neill, Brenda Ferland, Jon LeClair
Staff Present: David Edkins, Administrative Assistant
Keith Weed, Highway Superintendent
David Duquette, Water and Sewer Superintendent
Edward Smith, Police Chief
Robert Davis, Transfer Station Superintendent
CALL TO ORDER & PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Chairman Steven Neill called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Mr. Neill announced that Jon LeClair was not present but is expected to arrive later.
CARROLL DAVIES FRENCH: Brenda Ferland introduced Dave French, a guest and Democrat from this District, who is opposing Senator Robert Odell. When Bob Odell was running for that office the Selectboard offered him the opportunity to speak at a meeting and the same courtesy was extended to Mr. French. Mr. French advised that his birth name is Carroll Davies French but has always been known as Dave French. He believes that everybody in the District should have received a flyer in the mail that tells about his background and participation in the communities. He talked about his theories for New Hampshire. His concerns include the burden of high property taxes; efficiency in administration whether public or private, cuts in services for the school systems, nursing homes, etc.
There is a revenue problem and the existing tax structure, as it does not distribute the funding fairly. Right now the State is looking to increase the cigarette tax to relieve the revenue problem. He is recommending a non-binding referendum for an income tax that would take the burden off property taxes (pros and cons) and let the voters make the decision. He feels it is time to change the political leadership. He would appreciate all votes to elect him to the Senate.
MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING (S):
Brenda Ferland moved to approve the Minutes of the nonpublic Selectboard meeting of August 18, 2004, as printed. Seconded by Steve Neill. All in favor, so voted.
Brenda Ferland moved to approve the Minutes of the regular Selectboard meeting of October 6, 2004, as printed. Seconded by Steve Neill. All in favor, so voted.
Brenda Ferland moved to approve the Minutes of the non-public Selectboard meeting of October 6, 2004, as printed. Seconded by Steve Neill. All in favor, so voted.
Steve Neill moved to unseal the Minutes of the nonpublic Selectboard meeting of August 18, 2004. Seconded by Brenda Ferland. All in favor, so voted.
DEPARTMENT HEAD REPORTS:
Water and Sewer Departments: Dave Duquette reported that the departments have been busy working on the two booster pump buildings. They are trying to finish up their outdoor work before it gets too cold and have started to winterize the buildings. Two manholes were done on Lovers Lane; there are still three or four more that are sagging but they are okay for now. Everything has been running smoothly. Last week they flushed fire hydrants; out of 130 hydrants two need replacement and about a dozen need repairs. He has prepared next year’s proposed budget and did employee evaluations. Some work was done on Halls Pond and it is full. Even with all the rain there is still some drought. They expect to start running the water line through the Acworth Road section
(Frizzell and Champney properties). Keith Weed and Dave Duquette will be attending a storm water seminar in Concord tomorrow and there will be another seminar on November 4th by FEMA. They filled out an application to apply for grants. The State of New Hampshire was here to inspect the lagoon system; they have been trying to get the Town to clean the lagoons. The water was clear that day and they were impressed with the records being kept. The State will render a statement as to whether or not the lagoons should be cleaned otherwise it will be another seven to ten years. The water quality is 97-98% pure coming out of the lagoon. They are trying to reduce the sampling costs. Today Dave Duquette received a call from the Army Corps of Engineers and they want to do an inspection of the River bank. Steve Neill requested that in the future Dave Duquette try not to schedule flushing the hydrants on a scheduled
holiday.
Dave Duquette advised that Ernie Case is concerned that his driveway will not get fixed this fall, as that was a part of the Provan and Lorber punch list on the Old Claremont Road. They have not contacted him directly. Mr. Case wants to get this resolved before winter. Steve Neill felt we should have Dave Edkins write a letter to Provan and Lorber advising that we will fix it ourselves and will bill Provan & Lorber. We are aware of the issue that has existed for two winters and somebody might get hurt this winter.
Steve Neill moved that the Selectboard have Keith Weed resolve this issue and deal with it on the priority list. Seconded by Jon LeClair. All in favor, so voted.
Highway Department: Keith Weed advised that in the last few weeks they have been paving the areas that were dug into and patching potholes but there is still more to do. For the last two weeks work was done on Calavant Hill, as there were two sections that were very bad. They are doing fall grading now and working on the winter equipment. During the last two weeks they have been working on the drainage that includes Main Street, Hidden Valley, Michael Ave., Acworth Road, Old Springfield Road, etc. The department will help with the study on the drainage. Today they started removing trees on Main Street. Trees will also be removed on the South Hemlock Road. Dave Edkins mentioned that Keith Weed received a very nice letter from a resident on Calavant Hill thanking him
for the good job in that area.
Police Department: Police Chief Ed Smith will be attending the presentation by Homeland Security next week. This week the department is doing Halloween safety in the schools and doing Red Ribbon week in the primary school. His proposed budget was handed in to Pat Royce and employee evaluations will be in on Friday. Dave Edkins noted that the new handicapped ramp has brought in some new kids that are just hanging around; the Police Department will keep an eye on it. Dave Edkins reported that the young men that were interested in the skateboard park went to the Recreation Committee and they want to pursue that. State law exempts towns from liability for skateboard parks provided they do not charge for using it and the Town is not grossly negligent in maintenance. Primex has
provided some information sheets with suggested rules, etc. Steve Neill felt that Ray St. Sauveur of Unique Signs should be sent an appreciation letter for his lettering work on the radar/speed warning unit at no charge to the Town.
Transfer Station: Robert Davis took about thirteen tons of cardboard to Claremont today. Last Friday fourteen tons of shingles went to Maine and he brought back a trade-off load of material so there will be no cost to the Town. Two people will be going to solid waste operators training tomorrow. Everything else is okay. Employee evaluations are done. There was discussion regarding the collection of household hazardous waste as the Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission had sent the Town a notice, however, there was a consensus that the Town has historically done this with Keene and will continue to do so. Mr. Davis also reported that the re-use center is back in operation.
NON-PUBLIC SESSION:
Brenda Ferland moved to enter into a Non-Public session pursuant to RSA 91-A:3 II to discuss personnel matters (a), hiring issues (b), reputations (c) and pending litigation (e). Steve Neill seconded the motion and, on a roll call with all in favor, the motion carried. The time was 7:40 P.M.
The regular meeting resumed at 8:08 P.M.
FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION – Payroll, Purchase Orders, Vouchers, Warrants, Abatements, Etc.: There was no payroll voucher this week. The Selectboard approved and signed the Accounts Payable vouchers.
Purchase Orders: The Selectboard approved and signed the following Purchase Orders: 1) Fire Department –Hillside Motors for Generators $4,365.00– this will be reimbursed by a Homeland Security grant; 2) Highway –Normand Beaudry, low bidder, $3,380.00 for roofing on the Maintenance building; 3) Fire Department –Fire Tech & Safety $3,600 for one dozen Scott Air-Paks – this will also be reimbursed by Homeland Security grant funds; 4) Highway –Smith & Allen- $1,016.00; 5) Highway – Lane Construction $3,116.64 for Calavant Hill; 6) Highway –Lane Construction $649.86 for hot mix; 7) Transfer Station –P.C. Scale- $695.00 for an annual up-date; and 8) Recreation Department - Rick’s Electric - $332.50 for the pool closing.
Current Use: Three Land Change Tax warrants were approved. Two were on the Meany Road and one on the Acworth Road.
APPOINTMENTS, PERMITS, LICENSES, & RESOLUTIONS:
Recreation Committee: The Recreation Committee has recommended that Craig Fairbanks be appointed as a member of that Committee. The Selectboard signed the appointment document.
CORRESPONDENCE:
Swan Common: A letter was received advising that there is a dead maple tree on the west side of Swan Common and Robert and Jackie Kasprzak are requesting permission to plant another tree in its place. The purpose of the new tree would be a memorial to Tyler Gates who lived on the Common. Steve Neill and Brenda Ferland endorsed this request as long as Mr. & Mrs. Kasprzak check with Keith Weed so that the tree is located in an appropriate place.
Jon LeClair arrived at the meeting at this time.
Great Country Road: A request letter was received from Vic St. Pierre of Five Eagles Design petitioning the Selectboard to alter a Class 6 highway, Great Country Road, for a two-rod layout road. He would like to upgrade it to Class 5 status. Dave Edkins has been reviewing the process especially in view of the dispute over ownership of the adjacent strip of land. Now that the Selectboard has received the formal Petition, which is the first step in the process, Dave Edkins would like to forward the information to the Town counsel to guide us through the appropriate process because the matter could end up in court. Any expenses would be referred back to the Petitioner. The Selectboard approved having this referred to the Town counsel.
2005 Holiday Schedule: The Selectboard received the suggested 2005 Holiday Schedule. The two floating days preferred by most employees are Monday, February 21st, 2005, Presidents Day and Monday, October 10th Columbus Day. The Highway Department would prefer November 11th Veterans Day as opposed to Columbus Day. The Transfer Station is dealt with separately. The Selectboard will review the proposed schedule and this will be an agenda item for the next meeting.
Town Building Use Fees: Dave Edkins feels there should be a policy on fees for all non-profits who want to use the buildings to treat like groups the same. He suggested that we allow Charlestown based non-profits to use the buildings at no charge but for out-of-town non-profits we could justify a charge. Pat Royce noted that usually only private parties have paid rent. The Selectboard will review and up-date the policy.
Arrowhead Facility: Dave Edkins received a letter from Bob Weaver regarding the City of Claremont applying for a grant to develop snowmaking equipment at the Arrowhead Facility. They are requesting a letter of support from Charlestown. The Selectboard had no objections; therefore, Dave Edkins will draft the letter of support.
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT’S REPORT:
Community Alliance: Dave Edkins is working with Greg Vigue from the Community Alliance to upgrade our welfare guidelines. Hopefully, this will be ready in a few weeks.
State Transportation Plan: Brenda Ferland plans to attend the November 1st meeting on the proposed State Transportation Plan.
Department of Revenue Administration: The representative from the DRA will be in Town on Monday, October 25th to discuss setting the tax rate.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
There was no Public Comment at this meeting.
SELECTBOARD COMMENT:
Solid Waste Facility: Steve Neill handed out the responses to the memo with questions regarding the Transfer Station that Tom Minickiello had. Tom Minickiello advised that he would have liked this discussed in public. He feels that the Finance Committee should consider breaking down the amounts rather than lump them together to avoid confusion. It was noted that a Town sticker is not needed to use the recycling facilities.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Conservation Commission – Jon LeClair: Jon LeClair said there have been no meetings.
CEDA – Brenda Ferland: Brenda Ferland reported that CEDA met at Meadowbrook. The officers will stay the same. They are trying to work their way through the breakup of the Sullivan County Economic Group and have to decide which group they want to go with but are not ready to make a decision. They will have a special meeting, no guests, in a few weeks and decide what they want to do with the Gristmill property. The CEDS program is still on and there was discussion regarding the Town Hall work being eligible for some grant monies. The CIDC Board is going to take nominations and Brenda Ferland is on for taking a nomination for the Town and George Grabe for CEDA. They are looking at a new Federal program called New Market Tax Credits. Steve Neill suggested that the
Rotary be asked if they would like to complete the CEDS application because of all their work at the old Town Hall. He feels the Selectboard needs to recognize all of the Rotary work and time in that building especially because they are a volunteer group.
Heritage Commission – Brenda Ferland: Brenda Ferland will schedule a meeting soon.
Solid Waste Committee – Jon LeClair: Jon LeClair reported that the Solid Waste Committee met again tonight. They have a potential contract agreement and when the plans are finalized they will bring it before the Board. The proposed budget is virtually complete.
Planning Board – Steve Neill: Steve Neill advised that the Planning Board met last night. They gave final approval to Duane Wetherby on Langdon Road for a home dog grooming business. Final approval was given for a two-lot subdivision on the Sam Putnam Road for Ethel Slinkowski and Kate Baldwin. The Planning Board accepted as complete an application for a two-lot subdivision on the Langdon Road for Andrew and Lori Cook. They gave final approval for an Amendment to the existing Site Plan for Christopher Tobias. The Mitchell Family Trust application for a six-lot subdivision on the Sam Putnam Road was denied as premature and incomplete. They approved the new sign for the Library that is already up. The Planning Board moved to waive an optional Public Hearing for the
Charlestown Fire Department for a 24’ x 24’ addition to the existing storage building on Main Street.
Ambulance Committee – Brenda Ferland: Brenda Ferland attended the Ambulance Committee meeting last Friday night. They have already made over 300 calls this year. It was noted that they recently did a good job with a Code 9 call; they took the gentlemen to Valley Regional where there were no beds, then he was transported to Springfield, then transported to the Veteran’s Hospital but eventually he was okay and walked out of the hospital. They have a new volunteer that is a nurse, available during weekdays and is thinking about taking the Paramedic courses. They continued with their present slate of officers. The Charlestown Ambulance will be hosting the Halloween festivities behind Beaudry Enterprises from Thursday, October 28th through Saturday,
October 30th. Adults will be admitted for $5.00 and children under 12 will be $2.00. They are proposing to put in a new door on the other side of the garage because the new ambulance will take up all of the garage space.
There being no other business, Brenda Ferland moved to adjourn the meeting. Jon LeClair seconded the motion and, with all in favor, the motion carried. The time was 9:00 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Regina Borden, Recording Secretary Approved,
Steven A. Neill, Chair
Brenda L. Ferland
Jon B. LeClair
(Note: These are unapproved Minutes. Corrections, if necessary, may be found in the Minutes of the November 3rd, 2004, Selectboard meeting.)
| 
