TOWN OF FARMINGTON
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES
Wednesday, March 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, Director of Planning & Community Development Dan Merhalski, Water/Wastewater Superintendent Dale Sprague, Town Mechanic John Radcliffe and Public Works Director Joel Moulton.
Public Present: Dottie Bean, Lorraine Meyer, Norman Belieau and JoAnn Doke.
Chairman Gerry McCarthy opened the meeting at 6:00pm.
1. Review of Minutes:
a. Marty Gilman motioned to accept the public minutes of 1-12-09 as amended for spelling corrections, 2nd Gail Ellis. Motion carried with all in favor.
b. Gail Ellis motioned to accept the public minutes of 1-14-09 as amended to reflect a note under item #6 that Gail voted no because she wanted the items to be level funded from 2008, 2nd Marty Gilman. Motion carried with all in favor.
c. Gail Ellis motioned to accept the non-public minutes of 1-14-09 as amended for spelling corrections, 2nd Marty Gilman. Motion carried with all in favor.
d. Paula Proulx motioned to accept the public minutes of 1-19-09 as amended to add clarification to item (h), 2nd Gerry McCarthy. Motion carried with all in favor.
2. Public Comment:
a. Gerry read a letter addressed to the Board of Selectmen regarding the loss of Judge Nute from the Historical Society. They would like to donate a granite bench in Judge Nute’s memory to be placed in front of the Municipal Offices by the fountain. Gail Ellis motioned to approve the donation of the bench in memory of Judge Nute by the Farmington Historical Society, 2nd Marty Gilman. Motion carried with all in favor.
b. Recommendation for Road Acceptance of Labrador Lane and Cottontail Road: Norman Belieau informed the Board that he went to the Planning Board for their recommendation like the Board asked. Gerry read the memo from the Planning Board that stated they would not recommend the road acceptance because the development’s road is not complete and the status of how the road was constructed thus far is unknown, plus they questioned how the bond would be used appropriately if needed. Gerry commented that the Selectmen can not responsibly say that there is no negative impact to the town if they were to take over these roads. Gail asked if the topcoat on the road is all that is left to complete the road and Dan Merhalksi replied no, the road needs to be inspected as to how it was
constructed but it has been under snow since this request came forward. Paula Proulx moved that the Board of Selectmen’s determination is that the road acceptance of Labrador Lane and Cottontail Road, (based on the Planning Board’s recommendation to deny the recommendation of acceptance), might render a negative impact to the town if it was accepted, 2nd Joan Funk. Motion carried with all in favor.
3. Water/Wastewater Department:
a. Abatement Request by Dennis Loughlin – Dale forwarded the abatement request by Mr. Loughlin that asked for the abatement based on the fact that on January 4, 2009 is pipes froze and burst and therefore the water was not returned to the sewer. Dale recommended abating $58.50 on the sewer bill. Marty commented that Dale did quite a bit of research for this abatement and that maybe the Board should consider an application fee to help cover the research costs. Joan Funk moved to grant the abatement for Dennis Loughlin for $58.50 based on Dale’s recommendation and contingent upon the bill being paid, 2nd Gail Ellis. Motion carried with all in favor.
b. Final Review of Wastewater Treatment Plant – Gerry stated that the Board needs to emphasize the NHDES 50% loan forgiveness potential funding. Dale stated that he is also creating handouts for the town meeting as well.
4. Old Business:
a. The Board signed the golf course easement.
b. Gerry read a memo from Rick Conway of the Rec Department that stated the Dancing With The Stars fundraiser brought in $3162.
c. Paula informed the Board that the Economic Development Committee (EDC) received a letter of resignation from Sharla Rollins and that they would like to present her with a thank you for years of service plaque. The Board agreed she was a valuable committee member for many years. Marty Gilman motioned to approve the EDC to purchase and present a plaque to Sharla Rollins for her years of service to the town, 2nd Gail Ellis. Motion carried with all in favor.
d. Gerry stated that Cathy King would like permission to have a concession table at the town meeting to benefit the food pantry and the Board agreed it would be okay.
e. Paula asked Joel if he has any news on the landfill permit extension and Joel said no, not yet.
f. Paula stated that on one of the statements she noticed a charge for a police phone card and questioned what it is. Tony said he would research it. Marty added that he noticed phone charges to one number on the phone bill for a total of 288 minutes and that it seems a little excessive. Tony said he would look into this as well.
g. Joan asked if the Board is taking any action on the stipend for the safety committee. This led to a discussion on what other stipends exist in town and Tony will research how many and what they are and then the Board will revisit them for the next meeting. Gail noted that her concern with the stipend is that the work is being done by town staff on town time, so it doesn’t seem appropriate to double pay someone. The Board is looking to eliminate all stipends.
h. Paula stated that she would like the legal services to go back out to bid.
i. Gail stated that she called Scott Roberge for an update on the missing landfill stickers and he said he was awaiting some information from Joel. Joel responded that he was waiting for the Chief to pick up the information but that he would forwarded the information he had on Tuesday.
j. Gerry stated that he received a memo from Kerry Lapierre in which it stated that Joel called Tony when he went to pick up the culvert for Tall Pine and that Tony told him that he could have it because there was someone willing to pay for it. Gail asked Tony who was going to pay for it and Tony replied that he did not know. Gerry reviewed what he knew earlier that Joan asked Tony for the quotes and that Tony said Joan told him that she knew someone was willing to pay for it. Joel said that Tony told him to put the culvert aside because someone was going to pay for it. Joan said that she can only attest that she did get the quotes and Kerry’s phone number and that she did drop off the quotes, however she said she never told Tony that she knew someone who would pay for it. Gail
stated that the question as to who told Kerry to pick up the culvert has still not been answered. Joel said he called Kerry to set-up the pick up of the culvert because Tony said to set it aside. Gerry commented that the Lapierre’s did a good, neighborly thing and are in no way responsible for the cost of the culvert. Joan added that she asked Tony last week after the meeting why he said she said that she knew someone was going to pay for the culvert and Tony replied that was his perception. Gail asked Joel to forward the contact name he has for Tall Pine to Tony. Paula commented that the culvert should not have been released without a signature because the residents of Tall Pine were very clear that they were not interested in replacing the culvert. Gerry will forward the letter from Kerry Lapierre to all the Selectmen and the Board will discuss again.
At 7:26pm, Marty Gilman motioned to go in non-public session under RSA 91A.3.II (a), 2nd Gail Ellis. Roll call – Gerry McCarthy (yes), Marty Gilman (yes), Paula Proulx (yes), Joan Funk (yes) and Gail Ellis (yes).
Marty Gilman motioned to adjourn, 2nd Paula Proulx. Motion carried with all in favor.
Meeting adjourned at 9:55pm.
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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