TOWN OF FARMINGTON
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES
Monday, February 9, 2009
356 Main Street, Farmington, NH
Selectman Present: Chairman Gerry McCarthy, Martin Gilman, Paula Proulx, Joan Funk and Gail Ellis.
Town Staff Present: Town Administrator Anthony Mincu, Fire Chief Rich Fowler and Planner Dan Merhalski.
Public Present: Charlie King, Kathy Spangler, Sam Reid, Arthur LeClair, John Theriault, Don Marble, Marc Guilmette, Dave Connolly, Lisa Dore and Traci Cameron
Chairman Gerry McCarthy opened the meeting at 6:00pm.
1. Review of Minutes:
a. Paula Proulx motioned to accept the public minutes of 1-5-09 as amended to clarify items 1a and 3a, 2nd Marty Gilman. Motion carried with Gail Ellis abstaining.
b. Marty Gilman motioned to accept the non-public minutes of 1-5-09 as amended to reflect a spelling correction of a name, 2nd Gail Ellis. Motion carried with all in favor.
c. Gail Ellis motioned to accept the public minutes of 1-7-09 as amended, 2nd Marty Gilman. Motion carried with Joan Funk abstaining.
2. Public Comment:
a. Fire Chief, Rich Fowler informed the Board that the town should be receiving a bid on the ladder truck this week because he had a town very interested in it. He also stated that he was asked to be part of the International Fire Association Grant Conference, which would require him to take four days off. All the expenses will be paid by the Fire Association and is scheduled for April 27 to May 1, 2009. Joan Funk motioned to allow Rich Fowler to attend the Fire Association Conference in April on town time, 2nd Marty Gilman. Motion carried with all in favor.
b. Gerry informed the Board that he was approached by the Skillin’s family who recently lost their home on Spring St, to see if the town would allow them to dispose of their fire debris at the landfill at no cost. Marty Gilman motioned to waive the dump fee for the Skillin family to take their house fire debris to the landfill, 2nd Gail Ellis. Motion carried will all in favor.
c. Don Marble, resident, informed the Board that he has presented a petition warrant to raise and appropriate $34,000 to do repairs and maintenance to the town clock and asked for the Board’s recommendation. Gerry explained this is an agenda item tonight and the Board will discuss it then.
d. John Theriault, resident, informed the Board that he also has presented a petition warrant article for the town to accept Cherub Drive and Holly Lane as town roads and is looking for the Board’s recommendation. The Board noted that all the supporting documents are provided. Mr. Theriault then asked for the Board to waive $500 of the $1000 requested because the road does not need to be surveyed and $500 should cover any legal transfer fees.
Gerry asked if the Board is suppose to recommend these articles and Dan Merhalski read section 5 of the road acceptance policy that say the Board needs to make a determination that the acceptance of the road would not have a negative impact to the town. Gerry commented that he believes the petitioners have met all the requirements and the accepting the roads would not have a negative impact. Joan Funk motioned that the Board of Selectmen was in consensus that Cherub Drive and Holly Lane have met all the requirements of the road acceptance policy and that accepting them as town roads would not have any negative impact to the town, 2nd Gail Ellis. Motion carried with all in favor.
Paula asked Dan what the impact would be if the Board was to reduce the fees to $500. Dan verified that the bonding of the roads is necessary for five years after approval but he is not sure if the start date is from completion of construction, road approval or construction approval. Paula noted that this might need to be revisited and clarified. Charlie King, planning board chairman, stated that the bonding is required for 5 years after subdivision approval. Dan then stated that he believes the only cost associated with the town acceptance of the two roads would be the legal review and transfer. Gerry McCarthy motioned to require a $500 bond in escrow by 2/23/09 by John Theriault with the understanding that if the fees to accept to the road if the warrant is passed exceed $500 then
John Theriault will be charged up to an additional $500 if needed, 2nd Marty Gilman. Motion carried with all in favor.
e. Kathy Spangler, resident of Tall Pine, requested an update on the Tall Pine culvert. Gerry stated that the Board is still trying to resolve this issue though it is not on the agenda tonight. Residents asked if it would be discussed at all and Paula replied that it might be brought up under old business.
f. A resident of Cherub Estates stated that she does not understand why they are responsible for the roads noting that when she bought her home she was under the impression that she was on a public road. Joan explained that Mr. Rizzo has made some errors and Mr. Theriault has come forward to get the road accepted so the residents won’t have to pay for the plowing and maintenance of the roads. She then asked why Mr. Theriault had to send a certified letter to Mr. Rizzo requesting permission to let the town take over the roads. Paula explained that Mr. Theriault requested the petition and in order to get it forwarded the permission from Mr. Rizzo was required.
3. Town Clock Petition Warrant Article:
a. Gerry explained that Article 21 is a petition article to raise and appropriate $34,000 to do repairs and maintenance to the town clock. Joan commented that she is in favor of the article because it is a landmark and all residents enjoy it. Marty asked if the $34,000 is the only figure they have and Mr. Marble explained he created the petition based on the bids the town already had and this was a middle figure.
Marty then asked if the town owns the clock. Don replied that in the precinct report of 1965 the town and church reached an agreement that said the town would maintain the clock. Marty responded he knew that but questioned what legally happened when the precinct dissolved. Mr. Marble said he could research it more but all the other items that were in the precinct like the fire and water departments have been taken by the town, plus in 2007 there was a budget line for $200 for the town clock. Marty replied that the line has been in the budget for the maintenance of the mechanical parts of the clock and he is still not sure if the town physically owns the clock. Paula asked what would happen if the church was sold and Mr. Marble replied he is
unsure. Gerry commented that he is not sure the clock belongs to the town but he would support the petition if it said not to exceed $34,000 because he would hope it wouldn’t cost that much. Gail stated the article would have to be amended on the floor. Gail said she would feel more comfortable if she had a letter from the church stating the town owned the clock and exactly what parts. Marty asked who insures the clock and Mr. Marble said he would look into it. Gerry commented that he is not sure he would want to establish definite ownership because of the insurance reasons and the town should probably maintain the four faces, sills and mechanisms of the clock.
Paula asked who would be responsible for getting the bids and authorizing the work to be done. Everyone was in agreement the town would be responsible for this. Gerry McCarthy motioned to support Article 21 for the town clock repairs, 2nd Paula Proulx. Discussion followed in which it was stated the article should be amended on the floor to say “up to $34,000.” Motion carried – Gerry McCarthy (yes), Joan Funk (yes), Paula Proulx (yes), Marty Gilman (abstain) and Gail Ellis (no).
4. Conservation Commission: Presentation by Sam Reid of the Strafford Rivers Conservancy on the Sheepboro Road Easement:
a. Sam Reid explained that the Conservancy has been working with Fish and Game, the City of Rochester, and the Farmington Conservation Commission to establish funding to purchase 100 acres from the LeClairs for a conservation easement. So far they have secured $45,000 from the City of Rochester, $40,000 from NHDES and $50,000 from NH Fish and Game and they are looking for a commitment of up to $30,000 from Farmington. Mr. Reid explained that the LeClair’s will give up all development rights to the 100 acres through this easement and the City of Rochester will be the primary holders of the easement due to the proximity to their water supply. Marty asked if it is common to have another municipality own land in another town and Mr. Reid said yes.
Mr. LeClair stated that their goal is to have the entire Sheepboro Road corridor protected with conservation easements so that it can be preserved and used for education purposes. Joan asked what would happen if the land is sold and Mr. Reid said the easement follows the property. Gerry asked if Rochester can build on the easement and Mr. Reid said no. The Board was in consensus that they would like to be on the easement and Mr. Reid stated the town could be a secondary executory interest. Gail asked if Rochester could have come up with an additional $30,000 would they be here tonight and Mr. Reid replied no. Gail asked if there is anything in writing that defines the landowners’ rights and Mr. Reid explained that the deed will spell out
exactly what can and cannot be done on the property. Joan Funk motioned to support the LeClair Easement through the Conservation Commission, 2nd Paula Proulx. Motion carried with Marty Gilman and Gail Ellis opposed.
5. New Business:
a. Traci Cameron, High School Transition Specialist, explained that she has had a lot of success with student internships in town through Kathy Seaver and the Fire Department. She now has a student who is interested in an internship at the highway garage. She explained that she would get approval from the Department of Labor for the work plan and the students would have to follow the laws for his age group, meaning he could not run machinery or drive. The student would earn school credit and would not earn pay for the work done. Gail asked how long the internship is for. Ms. Cameron explained it would end in June because the student is graduating and would be three hours a day for three days a week. The student could do janitorial work and assist the mechanic by gathering tools
and such and that the student would be covered under the school Primex contract. Marty asked what would happen if the supervisor had to leave the work place and Ms. Cameron explained that the student would then return to school. Tony stated that he requested a waiver of liability from the student and the parents. (Paula suggested having Tony create a standard liability waiver for all departments and Tony said he could do that.)
b. Preliminary Town Report – The Board decided that since they just received it tonight they would review later. Tony suggested that they email Megan asap if they have any concerns.
c. Sidewalk Safety Grant Recommendations – Dan Merhalski, planner, stated that he is looking to establish a committee to include himself, a Selectmen, a planning board member, a School Board member, Joel Moulton, Rick Conway, Rad Nichols from COAST, Heather Hesse-Stromberg of the Community Preservation Program and John Corrigan of NHDOT. Paula volunteered to be the Selectmen’s representative with Gail as the alternate. Dan will coordinate the members and meetings.
6. Final Warrant Article Review:
a. Joel Moulton reminded the Board that he has brought it up several times to utilize the 2006 and 2007 state reimbursement for a drainage study and questioned if the Board was willing to make this an article. He stated that there is $50,632.39 in the general fund that is from these reimbursements and money saved on the Reservoir Road project that he would like to utilize for the study. Tony said the funds would have to be taken out of the unreserved fund balance because that is where they were placed. Gerry asked when the next school draw down is and Tony replied in March. Paula asked how much is in the undesignated fund balance and Tony replied $1,743,503. Paula stated the town will not be able to utilize the stimulus plan without a drainage study to help rectify the residents who
are having all these water issues and therefore putting more water into the wastewater plant. She added that the town has mitigation money and should use it as such.
Gerry stated that he thought all the funds were encumbered, and that now it is probably too late because the funds are in the undesignated fund balance, but future reimbursements should have a public hearing and be put in a special line for mitigation projects. Gail commented that she thinks the drainage study should be completed. Joel added that the drainage study would be for the whole watershed area and would make recommendations on size and placement of drainage structures. Gail then suggested taking the funds and applying them to drainage upgrades. Marty Gilman motioned to leave the money in the general fund and to use the 12% state reimbursement that is currently expected to fund the Orange Street drainage project, 2nd Joan Funk. Motion carried with Paula Proulx and Gail Ellis opposed.
b. Tax Impact Statement - Gerry stated that with all the warrants passing there will be a minus six cent impact to the tax rate.
7. Old Business:
a. Vote on Special Warrant Articles –
1. Gail Ellis motioned to recommend Article 3 (wastewater facility) as written, 2nd Marty Gilman. Motion carried.
2. Marty Gilman motioned to recommend Article 10 (emergency medical motorized CRF) as written, 2nd Joan Funk. Motion carried.
3. Joan Funk motioned to recommend Article 11 (future technology CRF), 2nd Marty Gilman. Motion carried.
4. Joan Funk motioned to recommend Article 12 (public buildings maintenance), 2nd Marty Gilman. Motion carried.
5. Marty Gilman motioned to recommend Article 13 (public safety building), 2nd Joan Funk. Motion carried with Paula Proulx and Gail Ellis opposed.
6. Joan Funk motioned to recommend Article 14 (rec equipment CRF)), 2nd Gail Ellis. Motion carried.
7. Joan Funk motioned to recommend Article 15 (fire vehicle equipment CRF), 2nd Gail Ellis. Motion carried.
8. Paula suggested moving Article 14 before Article 7 so that the money is approved to be put in the CRF before the item is purchased, noting that if article 14 fails then article 7 could not pass because there would not be enough money to fund the purchase. Tony will move article 7 after article 14. It was also noted that the rec. van purchase warrant should be amended from $17,000 to $16,000, which would eliminate the need for moving the article.
9. Joan Funk motioned to recommend Article 16 (water infrastructure replacement fund), 2nd Marty Gilman. Motion carried.
10. Joan Funk motioned to recommend Article 17 (town employee financial obligation fund), 2nd Marty Gilman. Discussion followed in which Paula asked if the Selectmen were the agents to expend this fund and Tony said yes. Motion carried
11. Paula stated that Article 18, is to change the allocation to 100% of fees collected go to funding the Code Enforcement Officer but it does not specify an allocation. Tony said it does not need to be specific. Paula said that she looked back at the 2004 warrant where the fund was established and a specific appropriation is required. Tony replied that DRA did not say anything when they reviewed the warrants but he will check with legal and do further research.
b. Draft MS-7 – Tony explained that he will need to change the MS-7 to reflect the $34,000 for the town clock, the $16,000 for the rec. van and article 18.
c. Final Budget Review – Tony explained that he added $22,322 to the highway department salary line, which affected the FICA lines because it was found that the line did not reflect the correct staffing levels. Paula stated that she is still concerned that an extra person is loaded in Dale’s budget and therefore the rate payers are funding an extra position. The Board agreed to discuss in non-public so they could use names to figure it out.
8. New Business:
a. Telephone Protocols – Tony forwarded two quotes to the Board, one from Fulton Communications and one from Bay Ring Communications. He recommended Bay Ring because Fulton Communications is a third party provider. The total annual savings with Bay Ring would be $4,675.49. Paula asked if Bay Ring included all the phone lines in town and Tony said yes. Paula asked if the contract is for one year and Tony said no, it is for three. Gail asked what the penalty is for leaving Fairpoint and Tony said there isn’t one. Gerry McCarthy motioned to go with Bay Ring Communications on a three year contract with a one year option to evaluate, 2nd Marty Gilman. Motion carried.
9. Old Business:
a. Website Upgrade – Paula asked how much it would cost and Tony replied it would be $975 that would come from the cable tv franchise. Paula read the warrant from 2004 and believes the Board needs to find out who the agent is to expend the franchise fund and that the virtual town hall has been historically funded through the Economic Development budget line. Tony said he would research to see who the agent to expend is.
b. Primex Training – Tony informed the Board that Primex wants to meet with the Selectmen to discuss re-pooling and plan for the future. Paula reminded Tony that the town is supposed to be getting monthly workman’s compensation reports. Gail commented that she was not impressed that all the department heads did not sit through the training with their employees. Tony said he would bring it up at the department head meeting.
c. Campbell Commons Roadway Information – A packet of information was given to the Selectmen by Tony for their review before the public hearing on 2/23/09 at 6pm at the Old Town Hall.
d. Other –
1. Paula asked if the town is holding up the Golf Course by not signing off on the easement and Tony said he has the paperwork and he will double check.
2. Paula asked what is happening with the police cruiser and Tony said he believes the Chief is repairing it with his insurance and that he will give him a deadline to have the repairs done.
3. Paula asked if the Fire Chief got his issues resolved with dispatch and Tony replied that they had a meeting today and Rich is happy with the outcome. Gerry added that the Sheriff was very accommodating and Rich’s request will be established within dispatch’s policies and procedures.
4. Paula asked if there is any new information regarding the Tall Pine culvert and how the Board is going to rectify the situation. She then asked Tony what prompted him to call Joel and ask for the quotes for the culvert. Tony said he was asked for the quote and assumed someone was going to pay for it. Paula asked who asked for the quote and Tony said Joan Funk. Gerry stated that someone must have told Lapierre to pick up the culvert. Joan commented that she doesn’t know why the culvert was released without payment. Tony commented that there was never an okay to release the culvert. The Board agreed to have Mr. Lapierre, Joel Moulton, Tony, Joan and the resident Joan gave the quote to at the next meeting so that the
situation can get resolved.
Marty Gilman motioned to go in non-public session under RSA 91A.3.II. (c) at 10:11, 2nd Joan Funk. Roll Call – Gerry McCarthy (yes), Marty Gilman (yes), Paula Proulx (yes), Gail Ellis (yes) and Joan Funk (yes).
Gail Ellis motioned to adjourn, 2nd Marty Gilman. Motion carried.
Meeting adjourned at 10:31pm.
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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