FARMINGTON BOARD OF SELECTMEN’S
MEETING MINUTES
AUGUST 11, 2003
(Public Session)
Attendance: Chairman Joan Funk, Gerald McCarthy, David Hall, Barry Elliott & Matthew Scruton
Staff: Ernest M. Creveling, Town Administrator
Minutes Approval
David Hall motioned to accept the non-meeting minutes from July 28th, 2003. Joan Funk seconded the motion. Gerry said on page #2 it should say, “would” versus “could”. David Hall motioned to accept the non-meeting minutes from July 28th, as amended. Joan Funk seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.
Barry Elliott motioned to approve the minutes from the public session of July 28th, 2003. Joan Funk seconded the motion. Gerry said the word “pond” needs to be placed after the word “mill”. David Hall motioned to approve the minutes from the public session of July 28th, 2003, as amended. Gerry McCarthy seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.
Old Business
Intersection of Rte #’s 11 & 153
Ernie said one issue concerning the intersection redesign is directly off Meetinghouse Hill Road. He said New England Furniture owns a parcel of land with approximately an 80’ apron. Ernie said since this is not a State road, the Town’s Highway Supervisor, Clark Hackett has approached the owner about the reduction of the apron. He said Clark reported the owner seems to be amenable to two 30’ driveways versus the existing 80’ apron. Ernie said the Selectmen don’t have to approve this, unless they desire to do so. He said they could simply allow the State to proceed. Ernie said the State would like to close off Meetinghouse Hill Road for a period of three days, if the Town is willing, in order to avoid inconveniencing drivers for approximately two weeks.
He said he would need to discuss this further with the Town’s emergency personnel, as to whether or not this makes sense, because this is the only road to that side of Town. Gerry expressed concern about emergency vehicles at least being able to pass and Ernie said if the work to reduce the hill is done dramatically over a three-day period, this might not be possible.
E 911
Ernie said the Bureau of Emergency Communications would have the maps ready by August 25. He said if there are any problems with them, Farmington could get them taken care of as the process continues to move along
New Business
Appointment of Representative to N.S.C.H.S.C.
Ernie said Deborah Lee had to work this evening and couldn’t be present for her appointment to the council. He said the Selectmen are very familiar with Deborah and the fact she is also the Emergency Management Director for Farmington. Gerald McCarthy made a motion to appoint Deborah Lee as the representative to the Northern Strafford County Health & Safety Council. David Hall seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.
Barry brought up some old business. He asked about the Rizzo proposal to donate land to Farmington, wondering about the progress on this. Ernie said the review of the proposal is not yet complete. He said the appraisal has been performed, but has not yet been received and investigation will be needed to determine what exactly was agreed upon with the original subdivision proposal.
Town’s Website
Ernie said he has received some comments concerning the Town’s website and updating. He said he has changed around how postings are performed and the new process is much easier. He said the personal computers now have shared directories and there are three people taking meeting minutes. Ernie said he has shown these individuals how to save their minutes to the shared files. He said Pam can then grab the minutes easily for posting on the website. Ernie said a few subscribers have indicated they wish to receive meeting minutes as they become available. He said there is a new method that performs both tasks simultaneously.
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Ernie said Pam would teach Lynn and then the information should be kept current. Joan asked how to subscribe and Ernie explained the process.
Ernie said the Farmington Economic Development Commission met last Wednesday and have asked that an economic development icon be available on the website too. He said he’s done a photograph collage of some of the businesses located on Rte # 11, and he’s moving forward with Virtual Town Hall to get this up and running.
Sarah Greenfield Business Park (SGBP)
Gerry said he asked last week to have the business park on tonight’s agenda. He said he feels it’s time to subdivide the remaining lots and to prep the sites with the conservation easements, in order that they may be enjoyed by the townspeople. Gerry said there’s only one non-conforming lot in the business park and he said many want to see the entire park developed, but he feels it shouldn’t be entirely developed. Ernie said the Board could expand the portion of the park beside Rte # 11, if they wished.
Ernie said he has rewritten the gravel extraction RFP, as the Selectmen suggested and it is ready for review and approval. Gerry said the original plan was to place the road beside the daycare center, but he said, he doesn’t believe this should be done. He said there’s plenty of room to develop the section of the park on Rte #11. Gerry said other surrounding lands should be maintained for the community to enjoy. Joan said she remembers plans for the Board to physically view the site and Gerry agreed the Selectmen should visit the area, for a better understanding.
Barry said the issue of the sand blowing all over the businesses currently located within the park, should also be addressed. He said he agrees with Gerry’s idea not to develop the entire park. Barry said the sand should be removed and the area re-seeded to prevent the sand from blowing around. Barry said the Selectmen need to sit down during a workshop and look at the entire topography of the business park and think about a course of action. Ernie said, if everyone agrees to leave some of the lots, then he should put the RFP for gravel extraction out to bid. Gerry expressed his concern about the need of material for the Town’s purposes, such as for cover for the landfill for its mandated closure.
Barry then asked about the lot that was purchased for the purpose of business expansion and which remains unconstructed for well over the covenant time frame. Ernie said he would contact the property owner and report back to the Board. Barry said Farmington sells the lots at below market value in order to spur economic development.
Ernie said he has met with the current property owner at SGBP, the engineer/surveyor and the CEO and the owner doesn’t really seem to know what he wants. He said the plans are going before the Planning Board on September 2nd and Ernie said he would attend this review. He said the drainage calculations have been performed and the setbacks have been met. Barry said the CEO and the surveyor didn’t thoroughly review the plan. Ernie said he would attend the Planning Board meeting to help explain the plan and the project. Barry said the Town CEO should have carried this through the entire process, but he didn’t. Ernie agreed and said he would like to discuss this further in non-public session.
Ernie said he’s drafted a site review process “Timeline” for the Codes Office, the Planning Board and the ZBA to follow. He said this plan would allow everyone on staff, along with a planner to get all their questions answered in advance. He then suggested the formation of a Technical Review Committee to include the applicable department heads. Ernie said he’s wanted this to happen since the planner was contracted to work for Farmington. He said the planner has accepted a job in the private sector and he’s in the process of negotiating with the Town of Milton about collaboratively hiring a planner. He said this should cut the costs of the process and the frustration. Gerry asked if this means some things would be taken from the Planning Board’s
discretion and Ernie said absolutely not. He said he doesn’t know how the Selectmen feel about this and Barry said he thinks this is sorely needed.
Matt wondered if this “Timeline” was modeled after another community and Ernie said no, but this is how other communities he’s worked for handle this process. Gerry worried about giving the Technical Review Committee the upper hand and Ernie said no, this wouldn’t happen. Barry said this process would answer many questions the Planning Board would have and would help to prevent the plans from being thrown back for additional work, thereby further delaying them. Discussion then ensued about how the Planning Board must follow the rules of procedure, which hasn’t been occurring. Barry asked if the intention of the Town of Milton is to hire a full time planner and then divide the cost with Farmington and Ernie said yes. Gerry asked if Milton might be interested in sharing the
cost of an Assessor too. Ernie said the cost of the
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revaluation and the annual assessments could prove this would be justified to consider. Matt asked if Ernie needed a vote concerning the shared planner and Ernie said yes, he would need the Board’s consensus.
Building Permit Application on a Private Road
Ernie said he would need to bring this before the Selectmen at a later date, because he needs to review the changes to the wording of the acknowledgment for Tax Map R 06, Lot 208 at Lancelot Shores.
Channel 26 Policy Considerations
Ed Mullen came before the Board of Selectmen to discuss his proposed policy considerations for Channel 26. He said the draft is a compilation of what other communities have, including the city of Rochester. Ed said the channel should be up and running by early October. He said the training of videographers needs to begin. Ed said some high school students with a few adults would be among those being trained. He asked the Selectmen to review the policy and make any deletions and/or additions. He then reviewed the draft to include the purpose of the service, the supervising authority, broadcast priorities, alphanumeric display, modes of broadcast, prohibited programming and controversial subject matter. Ed explained the difference between Channel 26 (Farmington’s government
channel), which is not a public access channel with operations limited to Town functions and operations and Metrocast Channel 12, which is a public access channel concerning services to Town residents. Ernie expressed his concern about the ability to appear as though the Town is providing non-partisan information. He said he doesn’t want to be in the position of having to decide. Ed said this type of information could be placed with Channel 12. Discussion then ensued about how just about anything could be considered controversial subject matter. Barry said he hopes Farmington doesn’t get “pigeon-holed” by this however. Ed said this could be run by Town Counsel preliminarily. Ernie said he couldn’t imagine people objecting to reflection on quality of life in Farmington, as long as it’s portrayed in generalities. Barry wondered what to do with that which may not be appropriate/fitting for Channel 26. Ed said he would get the FCC regulations on endorsements and services.
Matt wondered if the Town Administrator really wants to absorb all this responsibility for Channel 26. Ernie said his thought was perhaps the Cable Franchise Negotiations Team (CFNT) would handle this. Ed said the original purpose of the committee was for contract negotiations and the Town would really have to form a new committee for this other purpose. Ernie said Farmington could advertise for interested volunteers via the newspapers and Channel 12.
Discussion then ensued regarding the input of information onto the Farmington bulletin board and the VPN. Gerry asked who inputs the bulletin board information and Ernie said Kerry Mucher of the Parks & Recreation department, along with her assistant, Kelly Chase post the bulletin board information, but they still haven’t worked out who would handle the information for other departments. David asked who would be responsible for determining what is appropriate for posting on the bulletin board. Ed said this is why he suggested the Town Administrator be responsible for the oversight.
The Board then discussed live versus taped broadcast and Gerry said Selectmen’s meetings, Town Meetings and School District meetings should be broadcast live and Ed said Channel 12 would cover these particular meetings, as well as election announcements, etc. Ernie said the controversial subject matter clause in the policy considerations should be left out of the policy. Ed said the fewer live meetings held at this point, would be best, until the training is complete. The Selectmen agreed they could work up to more, as the Town becomes more adept with the equipment. Discussion ensued about how to determine what would be taped. Ernie said storage of the non-public sessions would also be an issue. Ernie said he would speak with Town Counsel for their advice. Ed said the library has
offered to make taped versions of the meetings available through their lending library. The Selectmen agreed this library service would be helpful. Barry said he feels economic development highlights concerning businesses in Town would be important. Both Ed and Ernie said the problem with this is, it could become commercial like and the Town could receive complaints from those businesses not highlighted. Ed suggested discussing this with Counsel too. Ernie said he would ask Town Counsel if he could seek the advice of Attorney Susan Chamberlin, who assisted in the contract negotiations process.
The Board then talked about the problem of some residents not using Town trash bags at the landfill. Ernie said traditionally if a resident arrives with their trash in plain bags, the attendants collect money for each bag. He said if the Board wants to firmly implement the use of only Town trash bags, they could perform notice over a six-week period at the landfill site. Joan said a former Selectman witnessed an individual dispose of over 20 bags at no charge. Ernie said he would discuss this further with Dale Sprague.
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Joan then asked Ernie about the retaining wall on Elm Street. Ernie said he received a materials list from Mike Burlage of the NH D.O.T., who agreed this wall is a mess and who said, the State would assist in the process to repair and with the costs.
Barry questioned certain budget line item expenditures. Ernie explained what he could and said he’d report back on those he wasn’t as familiar with.
Gerry asked what the cost for Attorney Krasner’s year of prosecution service was and Ernie said he would check.
Oil Bid Award
Ernie said fuel oil and gas were put out to bid and Union Oil was one of the bidders. He said C.N. Brown Oil Co. bid, but only on fuel oil, but their price was much cheaper than Union Oil’s cost per gallon. Ernie said he told bookkeeper, Pam Merrill to call Union Oil and ask them if they would be interested in only the contract for the other fuels, with the fuel oil bid being awarded to C.N. Brown. He said as a result of Pam’s call, Union Oil agreed to match the per gallon price of C.N. Brown. Gerald McCarthy made a motion to award the oil bid to Union Oil. David Hall seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.
MS-1
Ernie said the MS-1 form is due by September 1st or a $100.00 per day late feel would be assessed by the DRA. He asked the Selectmen if they would sign the MS-1 for submission to the State. The Board obliged.
500 Boys & Girls Club Grant
Ernie said the grant is pretty straightforward. Joan asked about the problem with ledge and Ernie said it has been resolved in about a week’s time with the engineers from Pike Industries, noting placement of the ball fields has been turned to avoid the ledge. Ernie said the property is supposed to close on August 15th and this is the deadline for the last extension from Pike Industries. He said he doesn’t have the revised plans, because they are still a working document, and he’d like to know the Board’s comfort level, before proceeding. Ernie said he expects to get the conservation easement agreement tomorrow. Joan said as long as Ernie can review the entire grant agreement, this should suffice and Matt agreed that he too is comfortable. Barry said
the Planning Board should be made aware of the modifications made to the plans for the field. Discussion then ensued regarding whether or not the modifications would actually change the approval or sentiment behind the project. Ernie said if this needs to go back to the Planning Board, he doesn’t foresee a problem, but he couldn’t guarantee it. Concern was then expressed about whether or not the entrance placements were changed. Joan Funk made a motion to authorize the Town Administrator, Ernest M. Creveling to sign the closing documents for the 500 Boys & Girls Club ball fields property on Friday, August 15, 2003. David Hall seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.
Joan Funk motioned to enter non-public session. David Hall seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous. The public session temporarily adjourned at 9:05 p.m.
Public Session reconvened at 10:05 p.m. Matthew Scruton made a motion to seal, indefinitely, the non-public session minutes from this evening. David Hall seconded the motion and the vote to seal, indefinitely, the non-public session minutes from this evening was unanimous.
Matthew Scruton motioned to adjourn the meeting. Joan Funk seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.
Respectfully submitted,
_______________________________
Lynn C. Seaboyer Gerald McCarthy
Admin. Asst.
APPROVED _______________________________
David Hall
__________________________
Joan A. Funk, Chairman _______________________________
Barry Elliott
__________________________
Matthew Scruton
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