Chichester Board of Selectmen
Minutes of Meeting
September 1, 2009
Members present: Jeffrey Jordan, Richard DeBold, and Nancy Tanner, Town Administrator
Others Present: Alan Mayville, Cynthia Mayville, John Dever, Patrick Clarke, Gil Vien, Jim Plunkett, Michele Plunkett, John Martell, Barbara Frangione, Bette Bogdan, Walter Sanborn, Thomas Houle, Richard Holloran, Donna Chagnon, Mike Valotto, Bruce Dyke, Brandon Giuda, Doug Hall, Stephen Stock
Selectman Jordan opened the meeting at 7:04PM.
Department Heads
Emergency Management Director: John Martell reported that he is waiting for the Hazard Mitigation Plan.
Police Department: Pat Clarke reported thirteen arrests at the checkpoint. The renovations at the safety building have stalled and Mr. Clarke is working on tying up loose ends. He is hoping to have a BBQ for the volunteers and an open house for the public.
Building Inspector: John Dever reported temporary housing for a family in town would be arriving tomorrow. He also reported seeing what appeared to be bases for lights on a business property that was not part of their site plan. Mr. Dever asked to be excused from the next department heads meeting; the Selectmen agreed.
Highway Department: Jim Plunkett reported two salt quotes; one from Morton Salt for 52.23/ton and one from Granite State Minerals for 54.53/ton. Jim reports that Pembroke has been getting their salt from Morton for fifteen years with no problems. The lowest estimate is approximately $12.00 less than last year’s prices.
Jim reported a group of trees on Kelly Corner Road that are all ready to come down and could pose a problem. Half of one tree fell on Saturday and took out power lines to a residence.
Jim is waiting for a call back from DES regarding water drainage on a property in town. He also spoke of a property owner who will be getting a letter regarding filling in a retention ditch.
Gil Vien and Jim both attended a seminar at Unitil concerning Emergency Response.
Raymond Brothers looked at the sanding shed and said that in order to put a roof on it they would need blueprints. The Selectmen did not think we had blueprints for the shed. A second company reported that they would not put a roof on the shed without an engineering study.
CLD has started doing the survey.
There was discussion about tractor trailer trucks on Cross Road. Jim spoke to the drivers and informed them that he would prefer them to use route 4. Selectmen Debold reported that a member of the Planning Board had approached him and inquired as to whether there was a change of use where there tractor trailer trucks are being used. Selectmen Debold expressed a safety concern. Jim is concerned about a structural issue with the culvert. Jim will look at posting the culvert.
Mr. Plunkett spoke of getting a good price on concrete blocks. He was able to purchase 20 for $20/block.
Fire Department: Gil Vien reported two new students at the station. One of the students has started an EMT class. He had one member resign. He reported that the ceiling did not leak during the last rain storm.
Discussion ensued regarding a recent fire.
Non-public session
Present: Jim Plunkett, Tim Ortley, Steven MacCleery, Jeffrey Jordan, Richard Debold, and Nancy Tanner
Pursuant to RSA 91-A:3 II (a), a motion was made by Mr. Jordan and seconded by Mr. MacCleery to enter into non-public session at 7:50 regarding a personnel issue. A roll call vote was taken: MacCleery – Yea, Jordan –Yea, DeBold – Yea. Motion passes.
Pursuant to RSA 91-A:3 III, a motion was made by Mr. MacCleery and seconded by Mr. Jordan to seal the minutes of the non-public session for a period of five years. A roll call vote was taken: MacCleery – Yea, Jordan – Yea, DeBold – Yea. Motion passes.
Pursuant to RSA 91-A:3 II, a motion was made by Mr. MacCleery and seconded by Mr. Jordan to exit the non-public session at 8:23pm. A roll call vote was taken: MacCleery – Yea, Jordan – Yea, DeBold – Yea. Motion passes.
Cable Committee
Brandon Giuda, Mike Valotto, and Bruce Dyke were present from the cable committee. The committee reviewed additional recommended changes. The Selectmen provided the committee with a list of desired drops. Discussion took place regarding the amount of the bond. The bond is currently proposed at $10,000. Mr. Dyke suggested increasing the bond amount to $50,000. Mr. Jordan agreed with that figure. The committee is to draft a cover letter to Comcast from the Selectmen for next Tuesday.
Other Business
Weathervane: Mr. Debold reports that the lighting is still an issue. Mr. Debold will follow-up with an on-site meeting between both parties.
Patten: Mr. Debold was told that the vehicle in question will be removed in a few days.
Health Officer: Mr. Debold shared information from a survey that he conducted with regard to the Health Officer position being combined with the Building Inspector position. Mr. Debold looked at towns with the same population as Chichester as well as the surrounding towns. He found that a large number of towns do combine the Health Officer position with another position. Of the surrounding towns surveyed all but Epsom combined the position with building inspector. Mr. Debold explained that Epsom is a self-inspecting town. Of the towns surveyed only two had a Health Officer with any medical back ground.
Mr. Dever spoke of his interest in the position and said that we would want to be more proactive with public health education. He feels that a lot of the job already spills over into his current position with the inspections. Mr. Dever already has office hours and has attended Health Officer trainings in the past.
At this time Mr. Jordan said he would entertain brief comments. Mr. Houle felt that this decision was being based on politics. Ms. Bogdan addressed Mr. Dever directly with questions regarding his medical back ground and training in courses such as FEMA and NiMS. Mr. Dever reported having no medical back ground or FEMA training. Mr. Devers said he would utilize resources from the State and from affiliations such as the Building Officials Association. Ms. Bogdan asked Mr. Dever about his hours for the town and if he was paid hourly or salary. Ms. Bogdan’s line of questioning was cut off by Mr. Debold, as he felt she was interviewing Mr. Devers and did not think it was appropriate since she was also a candidate for the position. Discussion ensued around the volunteer credentialing program.
Ms. Frangione asked how many other towns would have a medical professional if they could get one? She also said it doesn’t make sense to compare what we are doing to other towns.
Mr. Debold said that he envisions working with the new Health Officer and developing a program to include emergency preparedness and education. He felt the Health Officer should be considered a department head and may be asked to develop a budget, which would have to go through the budget process. Ms. Bogdan said she felt that if you combine the positions it would have to go to Town Meeting. Ms. Bogdan said the information is free you just need to invest your time. If you have a volunteer it is free. Mr. Debold said he understands the concern about taxes, however, there may be a need for a slight increase in the Health Officer expense line. Mr. Debold then said that it may be a case where instead of having a bottom line increase we may have to pull money from other departments such as Fire and Police.
Ms. Bogdan said that the department heads needed to be in on any discussion involving their budgets.
Discussion took place regarding the duties of the Health Officer. Ms. Chagnon asked the Selectmen if they are considering a Health Liason position and whether or not it would be a warrant article. Mr. Debold said the Health Officer is a liason by definition. Mr. Debold does not see this as a warrant article, there may just be a change in the budget.
Mr. Debold said he feels it is time for a decision. The present building inspector is willing to take the position and many towns he had spoken too reported very few Health Officer issues throughout the year.
Mr. Debold made a motion to combine the positions of Building Inspector and Health Officer. Mr. Jordan seconded the motion. Motion passes.
Ms. Tanner reported that Mr. MacCleery has expressed being in favor of Mr. Dever taking on the Health Officer’s duties during their conversation earlier in the day. Ms. Bogdan wanted it noted that Mr. MacCleery was not present for the discussion at tonight’s meeting.
Highway Dept: Ms. Bogdan said that the Highway Department used an “$80,000” loader to pull a York rake and inquired as to why this would be done. She also said that the Highway Department put Calcium Chloride down on a road and then graded it right after. She asked the Selectmen to look into these matters as well as the matter of a stump that has been in need of removal for several months.
Route 28: Mr. Sanborn provided the Selectmen with a Route 28 Corridor Safety Study.
Trash clean up: Mr. Jordan and Mr. Mayville will make arrangements with each other to take care of the trash issue on Main Street.
Main Street reclassification: Mr. Jordan will call Jack Barnes to follow up. Mr. Mayville suggested that we do a cost analysis and see what we are getting into. Much Discussion ensued regarding the road maintenance and the condition of the road. Mr. Mayville said it would be nice if the Town would maintain it, but he felt the road itself has a lot of underlying issues. Mr. Mayville feels it may be expensive for the town on a yearly basis because the road is deteriorating. Mr. Debold suggested that we get input from the townspeople, but feels we need to give them information regarding the road and costs. Ms. Bogdan said that the Selectmen received a letter from the State weeks ago and it has not been followed up on and no one has follow up on inquiring as the what repaving consists of. Mr. Debold will
follow up with the State regarding the repaving.
Much discussion ensued about how to discourage tractor trailer truck traffic through the area including lowering the speed limit.
Forest Fire Warden: Mr. Stock will follow up on outstanding bills for illegal burns.
Accounts payable and payroll were approved in the amount of $39,944.12
The minutes of August 25, 2009 were approved as written.
A motion by Mr. Debold and seconded by Mr. Jordan to adjourn the meeting at 9:55pm. Motion passes.
Respectfully submitted,
Approved as Written
Nancy Tanner
____________________________ ___________________________ __________________________
Stephen MacCleery, Sr., Chairman Jeffrey Jordan Richard DeBold
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