Chichester Board of Selectmen
SELECTMEN’S MINUTES
February 24, 2004
PRESENT: Chairman Colbert, Selectman DeBold, Selectman Arey and Administrator Lisa Stevens
Chairman Colbert opened the meeting at 6:00pm.
SUBJECT: Department Heads
PRESENT: David Kenneally, Robert Kitson, Dave Paveglio
Hwy – Most of the culverts with ice problems have been taken care of. The trees at the Fire Station are set to come down on Thursday of this week. A roadside cleanup will be scheduled again in the spring. David would like to get the roads posted as soon as possible to prevent early damage. He will be talking to the border towns to co-ordinate this.
PD – All shifts are being covered with part time help. Motor vehicle statistics are running over from this time last year.
BI – There has been confusion with numbering of a house on Main Street. This will need to be clarified for 911 purposes. Also some residents on Mason Road still have not changed the numbers being displayed on their homes. Dave will send a letter out to the residents reminding them to update their addresses. This is critical for accurate reporting to 911 when emergency calls arise.
The traps have been installed in the drains at the new showroom for Gary’s RV. Gary’s RV has complied fully with everything and should be ready for an occupancy permit soon.
PUBLIC HEARING: Petition Warrant Article for increasing the Board of Selectmen to five members.
Chairman Colbert opened the public hearing at 7:00pm. There were approximately thirty townspeople in attendance. Chairman Colbert asked if there was a petitioner present who would like to speak to the article. Mr. Jeff Jordan read from a prepared statement. Some reasons stated for increasing the Board were; more evenly distributed work load, more opportunity for an even playing field, not just a popularity contest; and more diversity of ideas and opinions, and concern for major decisions being made when only two members are able to attend a meeting.
Mr. Earl Weir asked the Board of Selectmen to state their individual opinions.
Chairman Colbert is not in favor of this change. Selectman DeBold is not in favor and stated he does not feel strapped by the work load. He continued by pointing out that the town has only four full time employees; the budget process includes the selectmen, budget committee, administrator and ultimately the townspeople; there is representation on the other major boards; and the majority of the work is routine tasks with the legwork being handled by the office staff.
Selectmen Arey is not in favor of the change as well.
Mr. Weir commented as an ex-selectman stating he is not in favor. He does not see what you gain and believes it will add bureaucracy and slow down the process.
Ex-selectman, Dennis Call is not in favor either. If you are looking to expedite things, give the administrator more hours.
Mr. Tracy Scott spoke stating that in his experience as Chairman of the Planning Board, the number of members has never slowed down a meeting; in fact it gives a broader perspective. We should let the voters decide.
The question was asked what the terms would be. The Board explained should this get approved this year, it would be effective the following year and the length of terms would be staggered. This would mean we would be electing three selectmen for the year 2005.
Mrs. Blackman believes it would be a benefit to spread out the burden over five people. She believes it to be a protection from blame.
Lucille Noel feels a diversity of ideas is a good thing. Five people will spread the decision and diversity is always good.
Selectmen DeBold commented that not a lot of idea making goes on, its mostly routine business and managerial items.
Chairman Colbert stated a great deal is governed by state statute.
Mr. Scott stated some past board decisions were not the intent of the zoning such as the waivers being granted for impact fees. The decision was not necessarily the correct interpretation.
Selectman Arey responded by saying it is not our job to interpret the ordinances but rather to go by what is written with guidance from the town attorney when necessary.
Mr. Jeff Andrews asked if the selectmen were required to be ex-officios on other committees. Typically, this is based on the formation of the committee as set by statute.
Mrs. Wolf asked if the population number of twenty-three hundred (2300) included children. The response was yes and Joanna McIntosh stated the number of registered voters on the checklist was around twelve hundred (1200).
Page two of six, February 24, 2004
Chairman Colbert stated they try very hard to look out for the best interest of the town.
Mr. Ted Bailey was a selectman for almost twenty years and he never saw the need for more than three members and they never fought.
Road agent, David Kenneally stated he has talked with department heads in the Town of Epsom, which has gone to a five member board and they are having a hard time getting the selectmen to agree on issues.
Chairman Colbert stated the administrator does a lot of the bookkeeping and legwork, the job has evolved from the Board of Selectmen doing the work.
Dennis Call explained that when he was first a selectmen in the early eighty’s, the selectmen did the town books and all the assessing. The information was kept at the chairman’s house. Nineteen eighty-two (1982) was the first year the town hired a secretary and she worked twenty hours a week. Then during his second term in nineteen-ninety(1990) the board was no longer doing the books or the assessing, the secretary became the administrative assistant and worked thirty to thirty-five hours a week and she was doing all the legwork. This town is too small, I don’t believe the Board is overworked; the issue of time management is not there.
Mr. Weir feels if the petition was generated because someone is dissatisfied or unhappy, they should go to town meeting and vote a new member. There is more going on than trying to help the Board. This is just making a bigger problem.
Mr. Wolf stated some may feel this petition process is their only recourse.
Mr. Weir stated he is not arguing against the petition process, but the solution is to change the members on the board, not the number of members.
Mr. Blackman was glad for the opportunity to have such a discussion.
Mr. Andrews commented we should spend the money on a code enforcement officer instead of two more selectmen.
Being no further discussion, Chairman Colbert closed the public hearing at 7:40pm, thanking everyone for their participation and comments.
SUBJECT: Conservation Commission
PRESENT: Bob Mann and Jeff Andrews
Mr. Mann wished to discuss the proposed warrant article to increase the percentage placed into the Conservation Fund from the land use change tax revenue. They were under the impression the Board of Selectmen supported this increase and would not have moved forward with the article if they did not.
Page three of six, February 24, 2004
The Selectmen stated the article should be brought forward if the commission wants it to and let the town vote decide its outcome.
The survey from the Master Plan Committee shows there is a lot of support for preserving conservation land. Mr. Mann stated the Selectmen are the financial managers of the town and by not recommending this article it takes the momentum out of it. Selectmen DeBold stated one of his reasons for not supporting the article was due to the fact that the commission’s other article for the purchase of the Shaw property was appropriating funds from taxation only and not anything from the commission’s account. Mr. Andrews explained that the statute governing use of that money is very specific as to its use. The conservation easement requires permanent deed restrictions and use is limited to forestry and agriculture with some passive recreation. The commission as a group has not discussed
spending money from the conservation fund.
Another point of concern is the logging activity to take place on Davis Road. The committee wrote the letter to the Board listing their concerns because they felt it was their place to make comment as this is one of the few un-fragmented parcels left in town. It has been designated as an area of priority by the Natural Resources Inventory.
Mr. Andrews also shared a draft of an upcoming letter from the Federal Government alerting the town to the fact that anyone doing work on roadways will have to fill out the necessary permits regulating storm water run-off.
SUBJECT: Beehole Beavers Snowmobile Club
PRESENT: Larry Ricker
Mr. Ricker came before the Board to ask permission for his snowmobile club, The Chichester Beehole Beavers, to maintain the snowmobile trails on Class VI roads. He plans on submitting a grant to the State of New Hampshire for some of this work. It will require running an excavator down Pound Road to drag the dirt back into the holes. It will not change the slope of the road. The Board requested he contact the road agent and have him go out and look over the site with Mr. Ricker. The Board will have the document prepared and forwarded to Mr. Ricker once it has been signed.
SUBJECT: Logging Operation on Davis Road
PRESENT: Bill Stevens
Mr. Stevens paid a courtesy call to the Selectmen to inform them he was ready to begin his logging operation and will be attempting to get a logging truck up Davis Road. The Board of Selectmen informed Mr. Stevens that Blackman Bridge had been posted with a 6 ton weight limit in order to protect its’ integrity and for liability issues and since they had not required Mr. Stevens to post a bond, he would be liable for any damages made to the bridge or private property. Mr. Stevens acknowledged he was aware of the requirements set forth in his Intent to Cut and that should he cross any wetlands, he would be responsible for the necessary permits to be filed with the State.
Page four of six, February 24, 2004
The Board made it clear to Mr. Stevens that they expect him to comply with all the State requirements as they pertain to his logging operation. Mr. Stevens stated he intended to
get all the required permits. There was discussion about whether or not it was possible for Mr. Stevens to take the logs out the other way. He did not believe his property had any road access in Epsom.
Mr. Stevens informed the Board that Davis Road no longer appears on the road inventories for Chichester. He asked if the Board had authorized this change and if so why. Davis Road no longer appears on the map of Chichester he obtained from the State.
Is this the guideline the State uses to issue Highway Block Grant money? If so, it’s inaccurate. The Board was not aware of this change and would like to research these inventories and their process and forward the necessary corrections to the State for Davis Road and others that appear to need updating. Discussion ensued as to what agency is responsible for sending these inventories, when that is typically done and who will be responsible for updating them. It was agreed by all that more information was needed.
The Board will work on getting a process in place for the Board and the Road Agent to review the road inventories along with the town map.
SUBJECT: Waiver Impact Fee
PRESENT: Mike McKay
Mr. McKay asked the Board to waive the impact fee on his building permit for Back Road. This new home will be the McKay’s primary residence. Motion Selectman Arey and seconded by Selectmen DeBold to approve the waiver and refund the McKay’s the impact fee. The vote was two in favor, one against. Motion carried.
GENERAL BUSINESS/BOARD DISCUSSION:
Motion Selectman DeBold and seconded by Selectman Arey to nominate Jeff Jordan as a full voting member, to fill the vacancy on the Board of Adjustment. All were in favor.
The Board agreed to allow the NA group to meet in the grange on the odd number months when they conflicted with the Historical Society meeting at the Community Building and to accept the same payment as is customary for that use.
The Board signed abatements along with payroll and accounts payable.
The Board would like to meet with the Supervisors of the Checklist and discuss their computer needs. Lisa will schedule for next week.
Voting booths will need to be assembled and a reminder that the Board will not meet on Tuesday, March 9, 2004, due to town elections. A work session was scheduled for Thursday, March 11, 2004 to review town meeting documentation.
Page five of six, February 24, 2004
Being no further business, the Chairman adjourned the meeting at 9:35pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Lisa Stevens
Administrator
_______________________________
Chairman Colbert
_______________________________
Richard DeBold
________________________________
Harold Arey
APPROVED AS WRITTEN
3/2/2004
Page six of six, February 24, 2004
| 
