TOWN OF CHARLESTOWN
SELECTBOARD MEETING
NOVEMBER 15, 2006
Selectboard Present: Jon LeClair, Brenda Ferland, Steven Neill
Staff Present: David Edkins – Administrative Assistant
Keith Weed – Highway Superintendent
David Duquette – Water & Sewer Superintendent
Edward Smith – Police Chief
Tracy Fairbank – Recreation Director
Regina Borden – Recording Secretary
CALL TO ORDER & PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Jon LeClair called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING(S):
Brenda Ferland moved to approve the Minutes of the regular Selectboard meeting of November 1, 2006, as printed. Steve Neill seconded the motion. With all in favor, the motion was approved.
Brenda Ferland moved to approve the Minutes of the Non-Public Selectboard meeting of November 1, 2006, as printed. Steve Neill seconded the motion. With all in favor, the motion was approved.
Steve Neill moved to approve the Minutes of the Selectboard Workshop Meeting of November 8, 2006, as printed. Jon LeClair seconded the motion. With S. Neill and J. LeClair in favor, the motion was approved. Brenda Ferland abstained as she was not present at the November 8 meeting.
BID OPENING – Sale of Surplus Vehicles and Equipment:
Bids for the sale of surplus vehicles and equipment were received and opened at this meeting with the following results:
1993 Ford F-350 Pickup:
Blanc & Bailey - $3,050.00
Richard LeDrew - $1,330.00
Maurice Enterprises, LLC - $986.50
Doug Weber - $2,600.00
Kurt Osgood - $1,900.00
Michael Gallagher - $1,250.00
Shaun Hathaway - $2,899.00
Mark Bragg - $878.00
Justin Putnam - $800.00
Brent Brewer - $2,006.99
1997 Ford F-350 Diesel Pickup
Blance & Bailey - $2,050.00
Maurice Enterprises, LLC - $1,857.90
Kurt Osgood - $1,800.00
Michael Gallagher - $1,500.00
Shaun Hathaway - $1,801.00
Thomas Fuller - $1,510.00
Mark Bragg - $2,275.00
Chris Hemingway - $955.00
Justin Putnam - $200.00
Brent Brewer - $1,106.99
Surplus Equipment:
30 HP Wisconsin V Twin Motor – Cliff Stark - $51.00
US Electrical Motors 10 HP – Cliff Stark - $5.00
US Electrical Motor 15 HP – Cliff Stark - $5.00
US Electrical Motors 15 HP – Cliff Stark - $10.00
Baldor 5 HP Electric Motor – Cliff Stark - $10.00
Baldor 5 HP Electric Motor – Cliff Stark - $10.00
Steve Neill moved to approve the sale of the trucks and equipment to the high bidders. Brenda Ferland seconded the motion. With all in favor, the motion was approved.
Steve Neill recommended that the unsuccessful bidders receive notices of the decisions.
ACWORTH ROAD PROJECT BIDS:
Steve Neill stepped off the board due to a potential conflict of interest.
Jon LeClair opened the following bids for the Acworth Road Project:
Michael Metcalf - $26,900.00
BUR Construction - $24,000.00
Charlestown Cornerstone LLC - $24,870.00
There was a consensus of the Selectboard to have Keith Weed look over the bids and report back to them. It was noted that all the bids were very close.
Steve Neill resumed his position on the board.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Mrs. Polly Frizzell: Mrs. Frizzell, President of the Charlestown Women’s Club, stated that the new streetlights are beautiful. They want to recognize the donors by putting their names on plaques on the poles. They received enough money to light them but she needs permission from the Selectboard to finish the project. There are two brackets on each light pole and the plaques were a part of the design of the poles. Dave Edkins provided a picture of what the poles look like with the plaques. Mrs. Frizzell explained that the Club members only intend to have wreaths, at this time of the year and flowers in the summer, on the poles; there will be no banners. The Selectboard approved this request but recommended that they keep the plaques sedate. Mrs. Frizzell will now
go to the Planning Board.
Boy Scout Troop: Jon LeClair recognized the presence of several Boy Scouts and their Troop leaders. They were in attendance to observe the proceedings for their Citizenship Merit Badges.
DEPARTMENT HEAD REPORTS:
Recreation Department: Recreation Director Tracy Fairbanks was present on behalf of the committee. She went to the pool area and discovered that the keys did not work on the padlock but she will obtain a duplicate. A new padlock was purchased for the other gate and she distributed keys to the Department Heads in attendance. Ms. Fairbanks agreed with the Selectboard that the pool area needs to be cleaned-up and it is her intention to do that. Steve Neill mentioned that the punched-in screens need to be repaired. The quote received for miscellaneous repairs had been approved by the Selectboard but a Certificate of Insurance for the Town needs to be received before work can begin. Ms. Fairbanks advised that the Soccer Season went very well and the Soccer Tournament was
awesome; Walpole and Alstead attended. All the equipment has been put away. They had a great season with all the events and are now headed into the basketball season; sign ups were down but they have enough for teams. They are also working on the Winter Carnival. There is one vacancy on the Committee. The lights in the little storage room and some lights in the Town Hall are not working; they would like to have that taken care of. The refrigerators in both locations are not working properly; Brenda Ferland suggested that she write an article for publication in the Our Town paper to solicit replacements.
Highway Department: Keith Weed reported that the fall grading was done but with all the rain they will go back to do it again. The guardrail company will be here next week. Guardrails on Scott’s Drive were put in today. Dave Edkins received a call from Emergency Management who is waiting to send somebody over to do an inspection of the work; it would be good to show them a finished product. Keith Weed said that D & E Tree Service would take down the trees on Main Street next week. Work is being done on the sheds. The Highway Department’s portion of the work on Calavant Hill is done; Charlestown Cornerstone started their portion this week and that is about 45% complete. The International truck is in Concord having work done on the hydraulics and will be
there for about a week. The Chevrolet one-ton is at Howe Motors as there is a problem with the brakes. The winter equipment is ready to go.
Transfer Station: Keith Weed advised that the new gate is done. Northeast Scale was here to make repairs so there should no longer be a problem with moisture. They are in the process of looking at trucks and trying them out. Dave Edkins mentioned that in the budget under Government Buildings the line item for Building Maintenance and Repairs was not filled in; Keith Weed is waiting for prices to come in.
Uniforms: Keith Weed talked with the Alltex representative about the uniforms. They agreed to give the employees what they wanted but requested adding two years onto the contract. The Selectboard agreed that this would not be in the Town’s best interests. Some employees are not happy with the service; the clothes are clean but repairs are not being made. There was discussion relative to the contract and the fact that there is a need for documentation of unsatisfactory clothing and service before the contract can be cancelled.
Water and Sewer Departments: Dave Duquette reported that the Summit Hill Pump Station is up and running; he has been doing some monitoring. No one has complained about the pressure being cut back. The new pump is running about 12 hours a day instead of all day. They replaced the curb stop going into Patch Park. A hydrant was replaced on the Old Claremont Road. The groundwater monitoring has been done and samples were taken in North Charlestown for the arsenic. Two meter pits were installed at the Putnam Farms property on Old Springfield; one for the barn and one for the home. He talked to Daniels Construction about the Fling Road project; it has to be done this year. He will check the toilets by the pool as there was a high reading. Steve Neill suggested
putting in a ball valve at the band shell; it can be put on when in use and shut off at the end of the event. Many days no one is there.
Police Department: Police Chief Ed Smith announced that Jay Williams had a baby girl and both mother and daughter are doing fine. He explained an incident this past week when a teenager picked-up a stray cat that bit them, the dispatcher intervened but was spit on the face by the cat and ultimately the cat was disposed of. The head was taken to the Public Health Department but the cat did not have rabies. They have been busy with domestic calls. The snow tires are on the cruisers.
Steve Neill recommended a short break from 8:02 to 8:08 PM.
Jon LeClair declared that it would be appropriate to enter into a Non-Public Session at this point in the meeting.
NON-PUBLIC SESSION – RSA 91-A:3 II:
Brenda Ferland moved to enter into a Non-public Session pursuant to RSA 91-A:3 II to discuss (a) Personnel – compensation of public employees and ( c) Reputations which, if discussed in public, might adversely affect the reputation of any person other than a member of the Board itself. Steve Neill seconded the motion and, on a roll call vote with all in favor, the motion was approved. The time was 8:10 PM.
The regular meeting resumed at 8:58 PM.
SELECTBOARD COMMENT:
Recreation Committee: There was a consensus of the Selectboard to have Dave Edkins request that the Recreation Committee provide a copy of the minutes of their last meeting, a written job description for the Recreation Director, a copy of their Bylaws and Code of Ethics.
Brackett Circle: Keith Weed reported that the road was paved a few weeks ago and he doesn’t see an issue. The Selectboard scheduled a Public Hearing during the next regular Selectboard meeting on December 6th at 7:00 PM to consider the Town taking over this road. A copy of the notice will be sent to the Highway Advisory Board.
OLD BUSINESS:
There was no Old Business to come before this meeting.
FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION – Payroll, Purchase Orders, Vouchers, Warrants, Abatements, Etc.: The Accounts Payable Vouchers were signed by the Selectboard.
Purchase Orders: The following Purchase Orders were approved and signed by the Selectboard: 1) Highway – Jordan Equipment $6,162.90; 2) Highway – Frederick Farrar, Inc. $419.31; 3) Highway - Lane Construction $471.30; 4) Pool – Rick’s Electric $390.00; 5) Water – Nickerson Electric $1,664.05; and 6) Water – Eastern Analytical, Inc. $431.00.
A bill was received for the CEDA legal notice in the Eagle Times for their Community Development Block Grant meeting that eventually was cancelled. The Selectboard agreed to request reimbursement from CEDA.
APPOINTMENTS, PERMITS, LICENSES & RESOLUTIONS:
Hawkers & Peddler’s License: An application for a Peddler’s license was received from Wild Bill’s Chuck Wagon but was put on hold pending receipt of additional information.
CORRESPONDENCE:
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA): The Selectboard acknowledged receipt of a letter from CASA requesting a $500 appropriation in the 2007 budget.
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT’S REPORT:
Cell Phones: Dave Edkins has a meeting scheduled on Monday with a representative from Nextel to discuss consolidation of all the Town’s cellular phone accounts with one carrier.
Vehicle Titles: The Selectboard signed the Title Assignments for the two vehicles that will be sold to the high bidders as previously discussed.
Proposed Salaries for the 2007 Budget: Dave Edkins distributed copies of a spreadsheet with proposed salaries for the 2007 budget that was worked on at the Workshop meeting last week.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Conservation Commission – Steve Neill: Steve Neill had no report from the Conservation Commission.
CEDA – Jon LeClair: Dave Edkins noted that the next meeting will be on Monday, November 20th at 5:30 PM.
Planning Board – Brenda Ferland: Brenda Ferland reported that the Planning Board met on November 7th and approved a boundary adjustment between existing lots for Roxanne Bailey and the Estate of Cynthia Bailey on the Old Claremont Road. They accepted as complete an application from Gary & Alichia Knight d/b/a G&S Tree Service but asked for some additional information.
Solid Waste Committee – Jon LeClair: Jon LeClair will be scheduling a Solid Waste Committee meeting soon.
Heritage Commission – Brenda Ferland: The Heritage Commission has not yet met this month.
Ambulance Department – Steve Neill: Steve Neill noted that there have not been any Ambulance Department meetings since his last report.
ADJOURNMENT:
Steve Neill moved to adjourn this meeting. Jon LeClair seconded the motion and, on a roll call vote with all in favor, the motion was approved. The time was 9:28 PM.
Respectfully submitted, Approved,
Regina Borden, Recording Secretary
Jon B. LeClair, Chair Steven A. Neill Brenda L. Ferland
(Note: These are unapproved Minutes. Corrections, if necessary, may be found in the minutes of the December 6th, 2006, Selectboard meeting.)
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