Chichester Board of Selectmen
SELECTMEN'S MINUTES
February 24, 2009
MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairman DeBold, Selectman Jordan and Administrator Lisa Stevens.
Selectman MacCleery was on vacation.
Chairman DeBold opened the meeting at 7:00pm
SUBJECT: Historical Society; Barn project clarification
PRESENT: Society members, Richard Pratt & Fred Shaw
Mr. Pratt informed the Selectmen that the reason for this appointment this evening was to clarify a previous comment made by Selectman Jordan, that the society members had entered the property of his mother without permission, while working on the Barn Project several years ago. Mr. Pratt outlined the procedures used by all members during their research on that project; all owners with a barn on their property received a letter from the Society detailing the scope of the project. A society member would follow-up with a phone call on those that had not responded to the mailing. Mr. Pratt stated that no property was entered without permission of the homeowner. Further, there are no notes listed in the file to indicate that anyone from the society was on the Jordan property. Mr. Jordan had
spoken to Mr. Shaw and stated his mother did not want anyone on the property. Mr. Shaw did take a photo of the Jordan barn from the road. Mr. Jordan stated that Mr. Walt Sanborn had called his mother and gone to her residence. Mr. Pratt asked all society members about this and Mr. Sanborn does not recall this incident. Mr. Shaw apologized to Mr. Jordan on behalf of the society if in fact this did occur and informed the Board that the society would like to do something of this type again, cataloging cellar holes. The same procedures would be followed. Again Mr. Shaw reiterated that no one will enter private property without prior permission from the property owner.
SUBJECT: Highway questions
PRESENT: David Kenneally; Road Agent, David Colbert
Mr. Kenneally came to the Board this evening to discuss his frustrations with how the Board of Selectmen brings questions about his department to light in the minutes. Specifically Mr. Kenneally asked why the questions are being raised after the Department Heads leave or at the end of a Board meeting and then when the Board meets with the Departments the same questions are never asked, and the Department Head is never afforded the opportunity to answer the questions. The questions appear in the minutes, but the answers never do. Mr. Kenneally stated in his opinion, this makes it look bad for the individual department. Mr. Kenneally spoke about the minutes of February 10, 2009, which read, "Selectman MacCleery has reviewed the data comprised about the Town of Merrimack's highway budget and
winter costs. ~According to Steve's reading, Merrimack spends $150,000 for winter maintenance on 160 miles of road. ~~Selectman MacCleery would like to hear from the Road Agent why we spend so much more per mile than the Town of Merrimack does." This is now legal record for the town. Mr. Kenneally stated that a comment such as this from a selectman was wrong and an ignorant statement to make during this political time. Mr. Kenneally clarified for the record, the facts on the Town of Merrimack's budget;
Sand/salt/calcium chloride budget line total for the year = $150,000- Merrimack uses predominately salt on their roads.
20 plow drivers = 20 routes @ 8 miles per driver/route versus Chichester's 3 trucks @ 16 miles per route / parking lots on town buildings are contracted out
Total money spent 07/08 winter materials budget for the Town of Merrimack was $253,167.
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February 24, 2009
Mr. Kenneally asked, why are we wasting all this time and money on this research and then not bringing it up to the Department Head during Department Head meetings, why do I have to come in here separately to defend myself?
Selectman Jordan commented that he agreed with Mr. Kenneally; these questions should be raised on Department Head night.
Chairman DeBold stated he could not speak for Mr. MacCleery who was on vacation this week; however Chairman DeBold could see Mr. Kenneally's point that this does look bad at election time.
Mr. Kenneally responded, this is not the first time this has gone on. Week after week this goes on, it should stop, and the inconsistencies should stop. Case in point, the sand, we are insisting to stick with the lowest price, we didn't do that with the paving last summer when using Pike, they were not the lowest bidder. I have brought my recommendation to the Board to use better sand, I tried the sand from Pembroke, and it wasn't as good as the sand we have used in the past from DeCato.
Chairman DeBold stated he was trying to stick with the purchasing policy established by the Board and that he had called area towns that were and still are using the same product Chichester just bought and they have had no problems with it.
Mr. Kenneally commented that the $150,000 mentioned in the WMURTV report on the Town of Merrimack was in reference to the purchase of a new plow truck, you guys should get your facts straight before you throw something out there that gets put in the minutes as fact, you do this to me all the time. Chairman DeBold cautioned Mr. Kenneally about making accusations without proof and reiterated that he could not speak for Selectman MacCleery.
Mr. Kenneally finished by stating he has done everything he could this past year to make the budget work. He would appreciate it if the Board would not ask such questions without the Department Head present.
Chairman DeBold stated he understood David's frustration; however he was under the impression that the Road Agent was going to be asked to follow up. Administrator Stevens explained that Chairman DeBold was going to review the data himself and bring back to the table for discussion prior to asking Mr. Kenneally to compile any data. No follow through has been completed by the Board at this time.
Mr. Colbert joined the conversation at this point and stated his reason for attending the meeting this evening was also to set the record straight. Mr. Colbert stated that the minutes of February 10, 2009, read like a political bombshell. The minutes say that Mr. MacCleery wants to ask the Road Agent a question, if a question is going to be asked, it should be a Board decision, not one selectman. The minutes reflect a constant pounding on the highway department. Mr. Colbert went on to say that Selectmen MacCleery's statement was completely inaccurate, it was a dangerous and irresponsible thing for a selectman to say, the facts are easy enough to verify, the information is available on the Town of Merrimack's website, it was unfortunate that Selectman MacCleery was not here to defend himself.
The same thing happened last year with how the Town Clerk was handling the ballot procedure. Mr. Colbert personally witnessed what happened at the school with this particular selectman. Mr. Colbert continued, he didn't know whether this was done in malice or not but Mr. MacCleery is an educated guy on this stuff and would know how to research this.
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It was Mr. Colbert's opinion that comparisons should not be done with the eighth largest town in the State, but rather you would use the tool that is already in place from the study the Town Organization Committee completed with surrounding towns and towns with the same population demographic. Furthermore, this department has never been more scrutinized than over the past four years with between the Town Organization Committee and the Road Advisory Committee. These have shown that the highway department is not off on some huge spending spree.
Chairman DeBold again stated he did not know how to police what other selectman say, perhaps this was not handled in the best way, if one particular selectman has a question, maybe they should go and speak to that individual before bringing it to the board.
Mr. Kenneally stated, it's your job to supervise me and it's your job to watch how I spend money, I understand that, my problem is how it is being done. I concentrate on trying to keep the roads clear and be as fiscally responsible as possible.
Selectman Jordan inquired what arrangements had been reach regarding the purchase of more sand. Mr. Kenneally stated he is now out of sand and plans to speak with Mr. Merrill of Pembroke Sand & Gravel tomorrow. Selectman Jordan stated he agrees with the Road Agent's opinion of the sand and explained he had followed behind a town truck as it was sanding a road and the sand was blowing all up the sides of the truck. This is what is referred to the ìghostî when there are too many fine particles in the sand. Selectman Jordan stated it was his opinion that the town go back to purchasing the sand from DeCato.
Chairman DeBold clarified that the follow up with other towns using the same product reported no problems, so perhaps the town was not sold the same product from the successful bidder, as the other towns. Chairman DeBold asked the Road Agent if he thought the bidding process was wrong. Mr. Kenneally stated no, it keeps everyone in check, just don't always go with the low bidder, Mr. Kenneally did state in the minutes last summer when the sand bid was in process that he preferred and want to stay with DeCato's sand.
GENERAL BUSINESS/BOARD DISCUSSION:
The Board reviewed the proof of the town report and after discussion decided to change the background color of the cover and to rethink the space constraints for incorporation of the budget spreadsheet into a concise format for ease of reading and use during town meeting. This would entail deleting some of the non vital columns that appear on the master spreadsheet used during the budget meetings. The Board agreed to revise the spreadsheet format only, for inclusion in the town report, for ease of reading and review at town meeting
The Board reviewed email correspondence from Mr. Brian Boyer regarding the newly adopted Road Agent Wage Classification Scale. Mr. Boyer is seeking clarification as to the Board's legal authority to establish such a pay scale. The Board will take this matter under advisement but have no intentions at this point of repealing the Road Agent Wage Classification Scale.
The Board reviewed the management letter received as a result of the recently completed audits of several town departments. It appears there are still questions that need to be resolved with the reporting from the Trustees of Trust Funds. The Board would like to review this issue at length and formulate a course of action to assist the trustees in completing this work timely and accurately.
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Mail and correspondence were reviewed. Accounts payable and payroll were signed.
Being no further business for this evening, Chairman DeBold adjourned the meeting at 8:37PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Lisa Stevens Approved As Corrected
Administrator 3/3/2009
______________________ _______________________ _______________________
Richard DeBold, Chairman Stephen MacCleery Jeffrey Jordan
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