TOWN OF FARMINGTON
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES
Monday, September 22, 2008
356 Main Street, Farmington, NH
Selectman Present: Chairman Gerry McCarthy, Marty Gilman, Paula Proulx, Gail Ellis and Joan Funk.
Town Staff Present: Town Administrator Anthony Mincu, Water/Wastewater Department Head Dale Sprague, Public Works Director Joel Moulton, Police Chief Scott Roberge and Lt. Kevin Willey
Public Present: Ed Mirand, Mike Lasic of DRED, George Bald of DRED, Charlie King, JoAnn Doke, Mike Metcalf of Underwood Engineers, Tom Page of Underwood Engineer, Victor Lapierre, Norman Russell, Lorainne Meyer, Tim Moody and Tim Brown.
At 5:30pm, Marty Gilman motioned to go in non-public session under RSA 91A:3.II (c), 2nd Gail Ellis. Roll Call - Gerry McCarthy (yes), Marty Gilman (yes), Paula Proulx (yes), Gail Ellis (yes) and Joan Funk (yes).
At 6:10pm, the Board came out of non-public session and Chairman Gerry McCarthy opened the public meeting.
1. Review of Minutes:
A. Joan Funk motioned to accept the public minutes of 9-08-2008 as amended, 2nd Marty Gilman. Motion carried with all in favor.
B. The 9-08-08 non-public minutes were tabled so that the discussion on the votes could be added. As a result of reviewing the minutes, Gerry noted that he did do some research and found that the planning board and the conservation commission both need to review and make recommendations regarding town land purchases.
2. Underwood Engineers Report/ Water Capital Improvement Master Plan:
Mike Metcalf and Tom Page, both of Underwood Engineers, reviewed the information in their report and their recommendations for capital improvement. During their review there was a recommendation to consider another well in the well #6 aquifer area. Gerry questioned if the engineers considered that Rochester is installing two wells in this same aquifer and Mr. Metcalf replied yes. Gerry also asked if they did any testing of wells 1 and 2 and Mr. Metcalf replied no because the wells were abandoned. Dale Sprague added that well #1 is absolutely permanently closed.
The main priority for improvement with the town water system is to replace the old mains with the priority being the mains on South Main Street. Underwood Engineers had several suggestions for improvements that are all included in their report to the town. Gerry asked what would happen to the pipes that come off of the South Main Street line if it was to be changed over to a 12" main and Dale explained nothing should happen because the pressure is not being increased, just the volume. Underwood Engineers added that the water quality in town complies with all standards.
3. Public Comment:
A. Tim Brown, resident of Melody Lane, commended the Board for their recent inquiries into the Strafford County Dispatch expenditures. He suggested that the Board continue to push for answers to their great questions and to specifically ask the County Delegation for a Memorandum of Understanding that states exactly what the CIP fund was established for, how the money can be expended and by whom and the formula used to calculate the cost for each town.
B. Norman Russell, resident of Chestnut Hill Road, expressed that he is concerned the town backhoe is not being used properly, noting it is used to move trash from the wastewater plant to the landfill and to deliver loads of stone to various parts of town. He is also concerned that the maintenance of the town roads is being established by the Board of Selectmen and not the public works director. Gerry explained that Joel Moulton makes recommendations to the Board on what work he would like to schedule and then the Board approves the project.
C. Tim Moody, resident of Orange Street, explained that he had a large drainage problem on his property and that he was told a year or so ago, that if he installed a culvert and catch basin on his property the town would address the neighboring water problems. Neighbors of Mr. Moody explained that they are in a similar situation and Gerry assured them that this issue was being discussed shortly on the agenda.
D. Victor Lapierre, resident, commended the public works department and hopes residents realize that they are working as fast as they can with the resources they have.
E. Marty Gilman, resident, informed the public that he has received several calls about an apartment adjacent to the Opera House and that Dennis Roseberry, the Code Enforcement Officer, has "noticed" the owners.
4. Public Works Department (Joel Moulton, Director):
A. Cortland Street - Joel explained that he has designed a plan and is waiting to hear back from legal in regards to drainage easements. He also explained that due to his current work load he had a contractor provide a proposal for the work to install a 12" line and it came back at $11,085, where is it would cost him about $9,000 to do the job. Joel added that the project was not budgeted for this year because he has concerns that improving the draining up gradient on the undersized system other residents could be adversely effected. Gail asked Mr. Moody if he installed a culvert and he explained that he was court ordered to install the structure. Joel explained that his plan includes installing a 12" line from the Moody basin down to the corner, install a structure and
then continue the 12" line down to the main drainage line.
Joan asked if the money for this project is in Joel's budget and he said no. Paula asked if this would be considered a major project and Joel responded yes, it would take 5-10 days. Gail asked if Joel has a drainage plan and Joel said no, but that he does have one to propose to the Board. Joan questioned if the town should create a drainage/watershed plan before starting a project of this size and Joel said it would make sense because repairs without it could cause more problems further down the system. Gerry asked if it would be a fair statement to say this area would be a priority start area once the drainage and watershed plans are complete and Joel said yes. Joel added that it might not be a bad idea to consider adding regulations to
prevent more drainage issues, like setting a limit to the percentage of impervious surface a lot can have.
B. Striping Bids - Joel reported that the roadways that are in need to be striped include; Spring Street, Chestnut Hill Road, Meetinghouse Hill Road, Bay Road, Ten Rod Road, Silver Street, Hornetown Road, Meaderboro Road, High Street, Ridge Road and Governor's Road. Joan inquired on the quality of the paint being used and Joel replied that it is NHDOT paint. Joan Funk motioned to go with the low bidder, Seal Tec Ashphalt Coating, Inc. for $14,520 for the striping of the roads, 2nd Marty Gilman. Discussion followed in which Gail asked where the money was coming from for this contract and Joel explained he has $7,230 encumbered for painting of lines and then $9,011.04 in his painting of lines budget line for this year. Marty asked when the project would be done and Joel
replied it would be done by the end of September, weather permitting. Motion carried with all in favor.
C. Levee/River Material - Joel informed the Board that he received an email from Senator Sununu's office stating he was aware of the problem. Joel also reminded the Board that he has emails into DES regarding the levees and just recently received a letter from the Army Corps telling him to just go in the river and take care of the shoals. Paula responded that she has a hard time spending money out of the town budget for something that the state should be doing. Joel replied that he agreed but reminded the Board that if the levee fails the town would be in a very precarious situation, so should probably clean-up the shoals and install the rip-rap. Marty commented that historically the town only went down the center of the river with the dozer and Joel said that all the soil deposits
are an issue.
Joel stated that he could pull $7,000 out of his rebuild/repave line (because he saved so much money on these projects) to pay for the river maintenance. He has a bid from K & B Rock Crushing at 175.00/hr for 40 hours to remove the shoals from the river. Marty pointed out that this cost will actually be several thousands more because the town will be trucking the soil and supplying the appropriate 18-36 inch erosion stone. Gail asked what would happen if the town does not do the maintenance and Joel said we would be taking a chance. Paula asked how much the shoals have brought the river up and Joel responded about 2-3 feet, so high rains could possibly make the river top the levee. Gail asked if the erosion control encumbrance could be
used for this and Joel said he would like to use it for another project but the remaining FEMA money could possibly be used. Gail commented that she would like to see the project go out to bid. Paula Proulx motioned to put the levee project out to bid, 2nd Gail Ellis. Motion carried with Marty Gilman opposed.
D. Spring St. Update - Joel informed the Board that he went up to explain the issues surrounding the drainage to the residents in that the town can not really do much because his home is much lower than the road. However, Joel does have a few recommendations for those residents and he will contact them this week. Gerry commented that the elevations of the river should be recorded after the maintenance so that the town will not miss out on future funding.
E. Tree Care Bids - Joel informed the Board that he put the specs in the paper and received two bids. Gerry asked if Asplundh put in a bid and Joel said no they work primarily for PSNH. Gerry asked if they do anything for the town in return for using the parking at the DPW and Joel said no, very minimum. The Board agreed to give them two weeks notice to find other accommodations for parking.
Joel recommended going with the lowest bidder as long as there are no underlying issues. Scott Roberge said that he would not recommend this particular company because his department has had multiple legal issues with them including non-licensed drivers. The Board agreed. Marty Gilman motioned to contract Urban Tree Service for the tree care, 2nd Gail Ellis. Motion carried with all in favor.
F. Rip Rap Material - Joel stated that he would like to utilize K & B Crushing, Inc. to mobilize equipment in the Sarah Greenfield Business Park pit to produce an additional 600 yards of rip rap material to stabilize drainage areas. He estimated the cost to be about $2,500 and has $2,723 in his erosion control encumbrance line. Joan Funk to motioned to approve utilizing K & B Crushing for the rip rap material, 2nd Marty Gilman. Motion carried with all in favor. Joan asked Joel if he had looked at the piece of ledge on Paulson Road yet and Joel said yes he has plans to take care of it and he will be installing the signs as well.
G. Bus Shelter - Marty suggested tabling this topic so that it can be researched where to locate it. Scott said the Family Care stop on Rte. 11 is usually very busy and the board agreed that would be a good place. Joel will check with DOT about placement here and Tony will check with Frisbee.
5. New Business:
A. Christmas Lights - Scott reminded the Board that traditionally the Board has approved $1000 for the maintenance and expansion of the Christmas lights and that is what they are requesting again. This year they would like to expand the lights to the Municipal Offices, which would be the last expansion. Marty Gilman motioned to take $1,000 from the Economic Development line for the Christmas lights, 2nd Paula Proulx. Motion carried with all in favor.
B. Blessings of the Animals Request - The Board reviewed the application to use Fernald Park on a Saturday in April. Paula noted that the release form needs to be signed. The Board is concerned that they have no insurance. Paula asked who is going to be responsible to make sure the park is clean at the end of the day and Tony said Rick talked about requiring a $250 deposit for clean-up. The Board agreed that they would like them to come in and give more details.
C. C. Tall Pines Culvert - Gerry said that he received a few calls about the town doing work on a private road. Because of these calls he went to Joel and had him stop the work and then went and met with Tony about it. Gerry stated that it is his opinion that this failed culvert is not affecting a town road and it is a civil issue with the association for this development. Joel said the water is potentially saturating the sub-grade of the road but not undermining. Paula asked if the work the DPW is doing on Chestnut Hill Road is affecting this area and Joel said no. Marty asked if anyone on Tall Pine or Branson Roads have discussed payment for this culvert work and Joel said no.
Joan commented that she did not have any influence over this project and that Joel had explained to her the drainage problem and her only comment was to make sure he did it right. Joan added that legal agreed with the work if it was being done to protect a town road. Gerry responded that there is no question that the culvert should be fixed but he is not sure who should pay for it. Joan stated that water never used to stay and pond on her property but it is now and that water will affect the road. Paula responded that the homeowner’s association for Tall Pine should be responsible for taking care of the failed culvert. Joan replied that her property is entirely flooded due to the new culvert the town put in and the failed culvert on the other
side.
Mike Funk, resident, stated that some of this water is due to a structure built by the MacGruders that is blocking the natural flow of water. It was discussed that no one is sure if a homeowners’ association for Tall Pine and Branson actually exists and Charlie King stated that there definitely is one, it is just not active. Marty said that this is a tough situation, but the culvert is on private road and Joel should contact all the homeowners and have them get together to contract someone to install a new culvert and pay for it. Charlie added that whether or not they have a functioning association is not the issue but that they are responsible for maintaining the road and infrastructure.
Gail asked what the approximate cost of the work would be and Joel replied that he would estimate it to be about a $3000 job. Gerry said the town needs to try everything possible to make the residents aware of the situation and costs and that they would be responsible for Chestnut Hill Road as well if it is damaged. Joel said he would forward letters to the residents on Tuesday. Mike Funk suggested adding a deadline for them to react and the Board agreed with this.
6. Old Business:
A. Police K-9 - Gerry explained that he put this back on the agenda because he felt there was no decision rendered on whether or not the town should pay for the gas for the last K-9 training. Joan stated again that she understood the Chief would be taking the cruiser and the gas in it when she originally voted for the K-9. Gerry reiterated that he was told there was no cost. Scott reminded the Board that the school is free and there has been no cost for replacing him while he is at training and there is only eight weeks left. Marty said he did not know the dog was in school until two weeks ago and Scott responded that he has been upfront about all the trainings since the beginning. Scott added that
his department always knew where he was and could get a hold of him at anytime when he was at the trainings; he mentioned an instance where he had to return to town to deal with a situation immediately after arriving at training. Tim Brown, resident, interjected that at this point in the dog’s training the town is looking at getting a return for their investment because he will bring in drug forfeiture money. Tony confirmed Mr. Brown’s comments from a practical sense. Joan Funk motioned to continue the training of the dog, 2nd Paula Proulx. Motion carried with Marty Gilman and Gerry McCarthy opposed.
B. Dispatch Update - Gerry informed the Board that a letter was received from Ray Bower in which he stated he would like to meet with the Board. The Board agreed he should come on 10/13/08 with the Sheriff and they would like him to present information on the credit card (for the past 3 years), R & V Embroidery, Catering and much more prior to the meeting. Gail requested a copy of when the capital fund was created, how it was set-up and who the agents are.
C. FCTV Personnel - Ed Mullen regretfully passed in his resignation to the Board effective 11/7/08. He explained that he has been working to set up people to do his job. Rick, Therese and Megan will be trained on the website with Megan as the go to person and that the Board should consider compensating her for this extra work. Charlie King thanked Ed for all his hard work and service to the town. Ed will meet with Tony to see what compensation for Megan would look like.
D. Class VI Road Acknowledgement - Gerry said that the first owner does not need to sign this because her property is on a Class V road. Paula reminded everyone that a condition of approval was that they had to have a maintenance plan on file for liability and Tony said it was all set.
Marty Gilman motioned to adjourn, 2nd Gail Ellis. Motion carried with all in favor.
Meeting adjourned at 10:25 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Brandy Sanger
Recording Secretary
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Chairman, Gerald McCarthy Vice-Chairman, Martin Gilman
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Paula Proulx Gail Ellis
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Joan A. Funk
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