Chichester Board of Selectmen
Minutes of Meeting
Tuesday February 6, 2018
Members Present: Jeff Jordan Tom Jameson, Ed Millette, Jodi Pinard Town Administrator and Kristy Barnouski Administrative Assistant
Budget Committee Members: Stephen MacCleery, Don Peterman, Norm Larochelle, Doug Hall, Richard Bouchard, and Marlene Hammond
Attendees: Chief Clarke, Zach Boyijian, Chief Quimby, Ewen MacKinnon, Bon Mann, Blaze Konefal, Kathy D, Mary Castelli, Peter Hammond and other members of the public.
Call to Order Mr. Jordan called the meeting to order at 6:00
Public Hearing for the budget-
The Moderator, Ewen MacKinnon went through the budget line by line.
Mr. Mann asked if both the Board of Selectmen along with the Budget Committee were able to discuss the CIP numbers. He was answered that yes, both boards did discuss them.
Mr. Boyijian spoke out against article regarding LUCT. The warrant would stop the current arrangement with the Conservation Commission getting 75% of the Land Use Change Tax (LUCT) and the Town getting only 25%. The warrant would switch the Town getting 75% of the LUCT and the Conservation Commission getting 25%. He stated that he felt it was deceiving and not giving voters the full story.
Mr. Konefal also expressed his concern for the warrant article stating that there are many projects going on in Town that will train the account rapidly.
Mr. Millette asked if it would be possible to request funds using a warrant article.
Mr. Boyijian stated that is possible however, the LUCT funds is the money they receive other than donations.
Mr. Jameson stated that he did not agree with this warrant article at all and suggested that the wording be changed.
Mrs. Castelli stated that this all seemed very rushed and last minute and that it hadn’t gone through the full process.
The Board decided to remove this article from the warrant.
Library-
Mr. MacCleery asked if the final numbers for the library were available at this time. He asked the Library if the numbers for heat and electric needed to be so high.
Ms. Davison stated that this will be the first full year so the Library doesn’t have a true idea of what it will cost and she wanted to leave the numbers where they were.
Other-
Mr. Mann stated that a lot of the money being raised this year is due to the capital reserves. He asked if the road maintenance line could be reduced to $300,000.00.
Mr. Jameson stated that if the Town back slided then the Town would not be able to keep to the plan. He further stated that the Town has a great contractor and uses great product and is now on his fourth project in Town.
Mr. Mayville stated that we should not stop now and that the RAC can now see the light at the end of the tunnel and needs to keep pushing forward.
Mr. Hammond stated that he felt the amount is too high and people can no longer afford to live in this Town.
Mr. MacCleery agreed and would like to reduce the CIP numbers.
Mr. Millette stated that he has served 7 years on the budget committee and 1 ½ on the Board of Selectmen and it’s always the same fight. The Town is the small part of the taxes and the school is the large part. We have to make tough decisions and don’t.
Chief Clarke asked why the school couldn’t use the Towns advisory budget committee and asked if someone could approach the school.
Mrs. Chagnon stated that the school is very adamant that they use their own budget committee.
Mr. Jordan closed the public meeting at 7:51pm.
The Board went through the warrant articles.
The Budget Committee proposed that the CIP be reduced by 20%. The Board voted and with a 2:1 vote. Motion passes.
Department Heads-
Highway-
Mr. Plunkett stated that the new truck would be in by late next week.
Mr. Plunkett also expressed his concern for the fuel line as he has been going through a lot of it.
Mr. Jameson stated that the rock that Mr. Plunkett has been putting down has been working really well.
Parks and Rec-
Mr. Boyijian stated that he was working on updating the park map for legal purposes for the grant funding. The Board would like the Town attorney to review anything before it’s recorded at the Merrimack County Registry of Deeds.
Fire-
Chief Quimby reported that there was a building fire which the call didn’t come in until 45 minutes after fire was discovered so the fire had a head start before the Fire Department arrived.
Mrs. Pinard wanted to thank the Fire Department, Police Department and the Highway Department for all of their hard work at the scene of the fire. Everyone really worked together.
Police Department-
Chief Clarke reported that there has been a recall for the CO2 detectors in the cruisers. He stated that they department has already installed their own in the cruisers and have not had any issues thus far.
Conservation-
Mr. Mann stated that there has been lots of work down at Shaw Field. They would like permission for a burn permit to clear brush. The Board told Mr. Mann to obtain the required permits from the Fire Department.
Mr. Jameson wanted to thank the Conservation Commission for all their help on the trail building the natural playground.
Chichester Condominiums-
Mr. Austin presented some documents to the Board and asked that his taxes be reduced to the original BTLA judgment. The Board stated they would take this under advisement.
Non-Public Session: RSA 91-A: 3 (a) The dismissal, promotion or compensation of any public employee
Consideration or negotiation of pending claims or litigation which has been threatened in writing or filed against the public body
A motion was made by Mr. Jordan and seconded by Mr. Jameson to enter into non-public session under RSA 91-A: 3 II (c). Jordan Aye, Jameson Aye, Millette Aye. Motion Passes.
A motion was made by Mr. Jordan and seconded by Mr. Jameson to exit non-public session Jordan Aye, Jameson Aye, Millette Aye. Motion Passes
A motion was made by Mr. Jordan and seconded by Mr. Jameson to seal the non-public meeting minutes indefinitely. Jordan Aye, Jameson Aye, Millette Aye. Motion Passes.
Adjournment
Being no further discussion, a motion was made by Mr. Millette made a motion and Mr. Jameson seconded to adjourn the meeting at 8:51pm. Motion passes.
Respectfully submitted,
Not approved until signed
Kristy Barnouski, Administrative Assistant
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