Town of Farmington
Board of Selectmen Meeting
4-10-06
Present: Chairman Paula Proulx, Vice Chair Paul Parker, Marty Gilman, George Meyer and Gerry McCarthy, Town Administrator Paul Weston, Public Works Director Joel Moulton, Water/Wastewater Superintendent Dale Sprague, Planning and Community Development Director Paul Esswein
At 6:00pm Chairman Paula Proulx called the meeting to order and asked everyone to join her in the pledge of allegiance.
PUBLIC INPUT
Steve Dean approached the Board to let them know that the cost of a replacement flag for downtown is approximately $250-$280 and not $450 which he originally quoted. Henry Martino of 19 Cherub Drive approached the Board to discuss two topics: first Jessica’s Law, which calls for tougher penalties for child molesters and secondly local enforcement of illegal alien laws. Steve Durance approached the Board with a proposal to move the School Board meetings to the Selectmen’s chambers so that they could be filmed live on Community Television. Steve presented a draft schedule to fit the School Board meetings in with the other meetings held in the Selectmen’s Chambers. He will be present this as a motion to the School Board at a future meeting. The Board of Selectmen will look at this after the School Board
votes.
Approval of Minutes of 3-27-06. After review, Paul Parker motioned to approve the minutes as amended. Gerry McCarthy seconded the motion. All in favor.
OLD BUSINESS
Junkyard License Renewal; Harold Butts, 273 Pound Road – Paul Esswein approached the Board and proceeded to state that Mr. Butts junkyard has been inspected by DES and the Code Enforcement Officer. DES has given Mr. Butts a list of recommendations to bring his junkyard up to compliance. Mr. Butts approached the Board and explained that his yard is classified as a ‘hobby yard’. Most of his vehicles still run and he continues to work on them. He was told that he did not have to drain the fluids from the vehicles that still run. Paul Parker motioned to approve the junkyard permit renewal for Harold Butts until June 2007 with the condition that Mr. Butts works with DES and Code Enforcement to bring his yard up to compliance. Gerry McCarthy seconded the motion. All in favor
Appointments – Charlie King approached the Board to discuss his application for a 3-year regular member position on the Planning Board. After questioning by the Board and after Charlie described his view of the role of a Planning Board member, George Meyer motioned to appoint Charlie King as a regular member of the Planning Board. Paula Proulx stated that according to procedure, all applicants should be interviewed before a decision can be made. Motion withdrawn. Charles Wibel approached the Board to discuss his application for a regular member position on the Planning Board and answer questions put to him by the Board. Another applicant for Planning Board, John Law, was not able to attend the meeting due to a conflict with his work schedule. There was discussion over whether or not it was a
conflict of interest for Selectmen George Meyer to vote for Planning Board applicants because of his monetary interest in the Equivise project. Marty Gilman questioned that if that was the case, wouldn’t the two Selectmen involved in the lawsuit have a conflict of interest as well. Paul Weston stated that he spoke with legal counsel and was advised per RSA that it would not be a conflict of interest for George Meyer to have a vote in the appointments. The five members must manage the Town. Paul will again consult with legal counsel on this matter and provide the Board with a written statement. Since Mr. Law was not present, the Board will attempt to interview him at a special meeting on Wednesday, April 12 or interview him via written correspondence. Zoning Board applicants: Applicant Barry Elliott was interviewed at a previous meeting for a position on the Zoning Board. Randy Orvis approached the Board to discuss his application to the Zoning Board and also the Conservation
Commission. Steve Durance approached the Board to discuss his application for the Trustees of the Trust Funds and also the Downtown Committee. Paul Parker motioned to appoint Steve Durance to the Trustees of the Trust Fund to fill the available term until March of 2007. Gerry McCarthy seconded the motion. 4 in favor, George Meyer abstained. .
NEW BUSINESS
Sprinkler System installation project at Town Hall: Shawn Bergeron approached the Board to discuss his proposal for this project. (A copy of the proposal will be attached to the final written copy of these minutes). The total proposed cost to design and oversee this project from beginning to end is $9,460.00. Marty Gilman stated that he has contacted four contractors and was told that they would not consider bidding on the project without specifications drawn up by Shawn Bergeron. Paul Parker referred to letter from Shawn dated March 28 that stated that a sprinkler system is not required. Shawn replied that the least problematic solution to comply with the life safety codes is to install a sprinkler system. Paul Parker also asked Shawn why the Police Department portion of the building was not included in
the proposal. Shawn stated that the first reason was because he was specifically told not to include it and the second reason is that is separated by a firewall, which classifies it by code as a separate building. Paul Parker expressed concern that the PD has a lot of volatile ammunition and Shawn replied that the concern was focused on allowing the 100s of people time to evacuate the Town Hall. There are probably no more than 20 people in the PD at one time. Shawn states that he would be happy to look into the cost to sprinkler the PD. Marty stated that Southwell of the Stated Fire Marshall’s office was impressed with the report and we should be hearing back form him in about 10 days. Shawn stated that the reality is that you can’t make this old building come into full compliance but we can have a life safety plan that the state will approve. The Selectmen agreed that they would make a decision to approve the proposal after state approval and Shawn Bergeron would not
have to be present. He will not be able to start the project until the end of July.
At 8:30 pm Paula Proulx called for a 10-minute break. George Meyer re-cused himself from the remainder of the meeting. The meeting reconvened at 8:40 pm.
Update on Water and Wastewater Departments. Dale Sprague approached the Board. He stated that the Water department has a $25,000 projected deficit spending in 2006 based on income versus appropriated funds. (A copy of a financial report will be attached to the final written copy of these minutes). Dale is suggesting a 9.2% increase in water billing. This will be an approximatly 7 cents per day increase for the average household ( $27.00 per year). A public hearing on this proposal will be held on May 22 at 6:00pm.
Authorization to engage Wright and Pierce Engineering to conduct an Inflow/Infiltration Study on the sewer system. Dale stated that there are three key areas to focus on that are putting out an extraneous flow to the wastewater plant. The areas include Riverside Drive, Garfield/Crowley/Mechanic streets and Orange and Grove Streets. The study will identify the problems, which may be infiltration, sump pumps, cracked pipes or bad joints. The past year recorded the highest flow to date. The plant has a capacity of 350,000 gallons per day. The historic average is approximately 220,000 gallons per day. Gerry McCarthy asked why the sewer line was being extended into the Farmington Ridge Mobile Home Park. Dale stated that the Board of Selectmen approved this at a past meeting . Paul Weston will research
this issue. Paul Parker motioned to accept the proposal from Wright and Pierce for the Inflow/Infiltration study. (A copy of this proposal will be attached to the final signed written copy of these minutes). Marty Gilman seconded the motion. A 4 to 0 vote in favor.
Resigning of the Town of Farmington Backflow Prevention Ordinance. Paul Parker motioned to attest to a true copy of the Backflow Prevention Ordinance adopted on 8-29-01. Gerry McCarthy seconded the motion. A 4 to 0 vote in favor.
Discussion on long range planning and engineering consulting needs at the landfill. Joel Moulton approached the Board with a proposal to change engineering firms from Geo Insight to CMA engineering. Joel stated that Geo Insight has been slow on the uptake and that CMA is geared more towards municipalities. Geo Insight has made no progress to answer a letter from DES from last year; they have holes in their data and have not done enough research. The Town needs a more proactive consultant, which Joel feels CMA will be. Paul Parker motioned to seek a proposal from CMA Engineers. Gerry McCarthy seconded the motion. A 4 to 0 vote in favor. Paula stated that this issue should be put on high priority.
Proposal for the Public Works Crew to switch to a four-day workweek during the summer hours. Joel told the Board that he felt that a 10-hour workday 4 days a week would be more efficient than 5 eight-hour days. The setup and breakdown time would be less. This is similar to a contractor’s schedule. He would make sure that there would be sufficient personnel on call on Fridays in the area in case of an emergency. The hours would be 6:00am to 4:30 pm. The new schedule would start May 3 and end at the end of October. Paul Parker motioned to accept the 4-day workweek as proposed by Joel Moulton on a probationary basis. Marty Gilman seconded the motion. A 4 to 0 in favor.
Transportation Improvement Plan. Joel Moulton asked the Board to approve holding a presentation by a consultant on classifying roads and assisting with the development of a plan to repair/pave roads. This would be at no cost to the Town. The 4 members of the Board were in agreement to allow the presentation.
Paula Proulx motioned to table the appointments of liaisons. Marty Gilman seconded the motion. A 4 to 0 vote in favor.
Correspondence File: the Board signed a certificate congratulating Kyle Charles Alden on achieving the rank of Eagle Scout. The Town Hall Committee will be meeting April 25. Paul Parker asked his fellow Board members to consider drafting a letter to the Judge presiding over the upcoming sentencing of the woman who injured Police Officer Myron Crossly. Paul Parker suggested outlining the loss it has been to the Town to loose Officer Myron because of this woman’s actions and to consider this in his sentencing decision. The Board agreed this was a good idea and Paul Weston said he would draft a letter. Joel Chagnon submitted a letter of resignation form the Trustees of the Trust Funds. Paul Esswein submitted a request for a grant from the Land Conservation Commission for the Dubois land purchase. On May 8,
Elizabeth McNaughton of the NH Fish and Wildlife Department will be coming in to discuss the purchase and to walk the property.
At 10:05 pm, Paul Proulx motioned to go into Non Public Session per RSA 91-A:3 II (c,d,e). Gerry McCarthy seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken. Paula Proulx – yes, Paul Parker – yes, Gerry McCarthy – yes, Marty Gilman – yes.
Junky Yards: Paul Esswein approached the Board to discuss several options on how to approach this issue. Much discussion followed. The Board agreed that the first step is to revise the current Town Housing Codes Ordinance.
Conservation Easement: The Board discussed a proposed conservation easement in exchange for a waiver for back taxes. They agreed to proceed to the next step and send a draft of the easement to the individual’s attorney.
Fire Department personnel matters. The Board discussed this issue and agreed that a meeting with the Board members of the Farmington Volunteer Fire Department Association should be arranged.
At 11:00 pm Paula Proulx motioned to come out of Non-Public Session. Paul Parker seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken. Paula Proulx – yes, Paul Parker – yes, Gerry McCarthy – yes, Marty Gilman – yes.
The meeting adjourned at 11:05 pm.
__________________________________ _______________________________
Paula Proulx, Chairman Paul Parker, Vice Chairman
__________________________________ ________________________________
Marty Gilman Gerry McCarthy
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George Meyer
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