Present: Beatrice Davis, Chairman; Jerry Dougherty and John Allen, Selectmen
Visitors: Office Administrator Diane Falcey, Town Engineer Burr Phillips, Building Inspector Andy Chalmers
The Non-Public Session was called to order at 4:58 p.m. to discuss the Holly Lewis litigation.
Selectman Dougherty wants to know if this Board agrees that if they receive an acceptable site disturbance plan Holly’s permit will be issued; Selectman Allen believes there were other issues involved. Selectman Dougherty thought those would be dealt with after approval; he wants to know if this Board wants to go to court; approve the application; or what; he would like someone to enlighten him. Chairman Davis noted this Board would not be in this position if Holly had completed the site disturbance plan that was asked for but the litigation that is pending is for violation of the zoning ordinance and violations of the building code. Selectman Dougherty wants to know how that relates to site disturbance which was not part of the original petition but is now; he thought at the conclusion of the earlier meeting
regarding this litigation the decision was that if Holly were to submit an acceptable site disturbance plan the permit would be approved. It was explained that it was former Selectman Mason who said that regarding what the Board he sat on was looking for from Holly. Chairman Davis pointed out that Holly didn’t have the plumbing and electrical systems inspected either; she said she had the state inspector coming but he never came. Engineer Phillips noted the litigation is citing violations to the zoning ordinance and the state building code and to seek remedies for that; she would have to have the plumbing and electrical inspected. Selectman Dougherty thought the litigation is for building without a permit and he thought, based on the meeting the other day, that there was agreement that if Holly submitted a site disturbance plan then the Board would issue the permit.
It was noted that Holly needs to get a Certificate of Occupancy (COO). Holly had agreed to the stipulations, she submitted an application for a building permit and she agreed to not occupy her home; the Building Inspector recommended the Selectmen approve that application but the Board tabled the application because it didn’t have an acceptable site disturbance plan. Holly was enjoined from performing any work and pictures were taken for purposes of the pending matter. Selectman Dougherty noted Holly is enjoined from occupying her home without a valid COO; in order to continue with work the Board told her she had to submit a building permit application. The Jackson Selectmen accepted the application as complete even though Inspector Chalmers had recommended approval. It was pointed out that this all
happened a full year ago and this has been at an impasse as Holly did not submit a complete building permit application.
Selectman Dougherty reiterated that he had walked away from the meeting two weeks ago with the understanding that if Holly were to submit an acceptable site disturbance plan the Board would issue her building permit and now he’s hearing Holly needs inspections of plumbing and electrical and he disagrees with that. Chairman Davis asked Selectman Dougherty why he disagrees with this and Selectman Dougherty noted he would like the Board to approve the building permit upon submission of an acceptable site disturbance plan; she needs a building permit to continue work. Once she obtains the building permit then it becomes Inspector Chalmers’ issue. Jackson has a new Board sitting today; it’s a year after the original decision to go to litigation; the town could avoid going to court in August by taking some
action here. Engineer Phillips pointed out that Holly was asked to meet these requirements last year and over the last twelve months she hasn’t submitted what was requested; the ball is in Holly’s court as it always has been. Selectman Dougherty wants to know what is considered an acceptable site disturbance plan; there are layers to this that are much more complex; if this is what the town is going to accept as site disturbance plan he thinks that’s ridiculous; Holly did her work in 2005 before the town had a site disturbance ordinance. The water going onto her property was due to the town’s work; the town is dumping water on her property. Engineer Phillips noted that’s not accurate; the drainage was put in as part of the road years ago and it’s Holly’s responsibility to redirect it around her house; the road was there first. Selectman Dougherty disagrees noting Holly did her work before the town opened up the water
channel. Engineer Phillips can’t speak to that; it’s the town’s responsibility to clean out drainage when it gets plugged. The water comes down behind Holly’s house then comes around down the driveway and erodes it; gravel ends up in the road and that runoff runs into the road and ices up; her house is affecting a culvert. Selectman Dougherty doesn’t think Holly should be obligated to correct that because this was a driveway that was approved years ago by different boards. Office Administrator Falcey noted at the time Jay Henry did the driveway in 2005 he dug ditches at the side of the drive to guide the runoff but Holly filled the ditches in with rocks. Engineer Phillips pointed out that Holly didn’t dig it out so the stone keeps the runoff from going into the ditch. Selectman Dougherty noted that what Holly wanted to do was to pave her driveway and the town told her she couldn’t do that.
Holly was asked on three occasions to put what she wanted to do on a plan so the town could evaluate what she was going to do for work. Selectman Dougherty feels this can be handled with some friendly dialog rather than saying we need an engineered plan. It was noted that the Board isn’t requiring an engineered plan; Holly was asked to submit something reasonable that can be used to determine whether runoff from her property wouldn’t end up onto town road. Selectman Dougherty doesn’t think the town requires that from everybody; we are singling her out. Inspector Chalmers noted the permitting process has always been agreeable and handled with friendly discussion; he met with Holly many times and she would agree to do something and then come into the Board meeting and say no she didn’t
agree with that or didn’t agree to do this. Selectman Dougherty disagrees with this characterization of Holly; every time Holly agrees to do something the town moves the goal post. Inspector Chalmers disagreed noted Holly says she is going to do it and then it doesn’t get done or she says she didn’t agree to it. Selectman Dougherty asked for an example of that. Inspector Chalmers noted that he went up to work with Holly regarding the value; what he and Shawn found was a second dwelling unit that Holly said was to be for her eighty-year old mother. She was told that’s great and that she needed to get approval for an accessory apartment. Selectman Dougherty asked what was found in Holly’s basement that would be considered an apartment. There was a two-burner portable cook top, a microwave and a dishwasher. Selectman Dougherty noted by considering that an accessory apartment Inspector Chalmers is saying no
one can have a wet bar in their basement. Inspector Chalmers noted that is not the case here because Holly said it was a separate dwelling unit for her mother. Selectman Dougherty asked what constitutes a dwelling unit; he doesn’t know. Inspector Chalmers reiterated that it was Holly who characterizes this as a dwelling unit. Selectman Dougherty noted that Holly noted she was going to be living in the basement while she completed the house; then she asked Shawn if she could get an accessory apartment for her mother not that it was going to be an accessory apartment. Inspector Chalmers noted that was not what the conversation was; Selectman Dougherty doesn’t believe Inspector Chalmers. Selectman Allen would like to see the location. If it’s not a unit that someone is living in he can understand Selectman Dougherty’s concern about this. Inspector Chalmers noted that’s why it’s important for the town
to have a plan so it is known what Holly is doing on the property; Holly hasn’t submitted this. Selectman Allen doesn’t want to keep Holly out of her house but she needs to comply with what the Board says she needs to provide. He asked that Selectman Dougherty not quibble about what was said two years ago; it’s done. Selectman Dougherty believes if the Board approves Holly’s building permit application the town can request that an inspection be done. Inspector Chalmers reiterated that in order to approve the building permit Holly needs to provide a site disturbance plan. Selectman Dougherty noted he knows Inspector Chalmers thinks Selectman Dougherty is singling Inspector Chalmers out; that’s not the case he feels the work Inspector Chalmers does is incredibly fair. Selectman Dougherty just doesn’t believe the discussion as represented. Inspector Chalmers noted he has never lied to the town and he has
been lied to several times, regarding this case, by Holly; he has spent a ton of time to resolve this for her. He noted Shawn didn’t work on a resolution; but Inspector Chalmers has done all he can to move Holly forward. To have an argument regarding what constitutes a dwelling unit is frustrating. Holly has been in the driver’s seat since the beginning and it’s also frustrating that a member of the Selectboard is saying Holly is truthful but Inspector Chalmers is not. Selectman Dougherty noted the Selectboard created this issue; it’s not about how Inspector Chalmers is doing his job; Selectman Dougherty thinks the Selectmen are asking for the wrong things. To this day he has no idea what the town’s site disturbance policy is. Selectman Allen pointed out that’s a problem that Selectman Dougherty can’t decide. The town has a very capable Engineer that the Selectmen asked to review the site
disturbance plan; he did and provided a plan to meet the requirements. Holly has had a whole year to come up with what was asked for. It’s like Holly stating that she’s going to lose her discount if she doesn’t get the paving done this week; she’s the one holding this up. Selectman Allen does understand Selectman Dougherty’s point but the town has been reasonable in telling her what was needed for compliance. She knows what she needs to do.
Engineer Phillips noted there was a site disturbance ordinance proposed that says what’s needed; then the Planning Board simplified it to what is in the Zoning Ordinance and it is now so vague nobody knows what it means. The planning board realizes it’s vague. Selectman Dougherty noted if Engineer Phillips is not sure what is required how can Holly do that; Engineer Phillips referred to the letter that was sent to Holly that shows her what is required. Selectman Dougherty has read that and he has an issue with that but at the moment he’d like to figure out how to solve Holly’s problem. He wants to know if the Board is saying if Holly submits a site disturbance plan the Board will issue the Building Permit. Selectman Allen would like to give Holly one last shot and if she’s
willing to work with the town then great; if she isn’t then the issue goes to court. He doesn’t want this to go to court nor does he want to keep Holly out of her house. Chairman Davis will agree to this as long as Holly does what is asked of her. She would like Road Agent Henry to speak about the work that was done. Selectman Dougherty noted Road Agent Henry has said if it’s outside of eighteen inches from the side of the road then he doesn’t need to be involved. Selectman Dougherty asked if the site disturbance plan needs to be engineered or can it be dialog; Engineer Phillips noted there’s been a lot of dialog already; this has been going on for a while; Holly needs to have a plan that shows grades; she may need to take some elevations; it won’t cost $5,000 to do this; he believes to provide what is being requested would be less than a septic system design.
Selectman Dougherty reiterated his argument that Holly did the bulk of her work in 2005; Jackson had no site disturbance ordinance at that time. In 2009 Holly had heavy equipment up there to move a couple of boulders and she caused a problem. Selectman Dougherty asked how we will equally apply this to others. Engineer Phillips noted Holly created this problem; if she doesn’t fix it who should? She’s created a problem that is an issue with the town. Selectman Dougherty believes the Road Agent should be responsible to fix this. Chairman Davis noted the road issue is the same as at the Swan’s. Selectman Dougherty doesn’t think the site disturbance ordinance applies to Holly’s permit request and he will be fighting against this charge. He has reviewed the minutes
from the Public Hearing and he believes the people of this town did not want the Selectmen to do what they are doing today; this is absurd. Selectman Allen asked what the alternative is and Selectman Dougherty thinks the town should have allowed Holly to live in her house in peace. When questioned if that means the town should allow the water to run down the road Selectman Dougherty noted townsfolk live in the hills and water runs downhill; there are other driveways that are worse than Holly’s. He wants to know if Jackson will go back and ask them all to fix the issues; Chairman Davis noted the town has to do something because it creates a hazard to roads and vehicles. Selectman Dougherty noted even the man who wrote the ordinance says the plan could be on a cocktail napkin or it could be engineered; this is not an even application of the rules. Chairman Davis noted Holly was asked to submit a site plan that shows the ditches; Holly submitted a
letter of what she was going to do and then called Engineer Phillips to say the work had already been done. There is still erosion in the driveway; what was in her letter and what was happening were not the same. The town has the authority to tear out the end of the driveway if it’s creating a threat to public safety; that doesn’t call for enforcement of a zoning ordinance. Holly filled the ditches in; her work was counter-productive.
Selectman Allen asked what would make Selectman Dougherty comfortable; Selectman Dougherty would like to have a dialog with Holly for her to describe what she will do to fix this; that means not submitting detailed plans. If the town is going to ensure that a design is going to work applicants need to provide detailed drawings. Selectman Dougherty understands the need for that but he doesn’t think the town has an enforcement mechanism to require that. Chairman Davis noted Holly has to have a plan; Selectman Dougherty took out the original site disturbance plan submission and stated this is more detailed than any other site disturbance plan. He thought the request was for work she was going to do not for work already done. Chairman Davis noted the work that Holly did created a problem; Selectman
Dougherty thinks the plan she submitted is enough to meet the request. He stated that the town’s been screwing Holly for years. Chairman Davis pointed out that she’s been in the same situation with the town for years and she didn’t sue the town. Water coming down the embankment carries sediment down and around the house then down the driveway. Selectman Dougherty reiterated that the work being discussed was done in 2005; her driveway was approved in 2005. Engineer Phillips has offered his technical advice. Selectman Allen noted if Holly takes down a steep bank she needs to stabilize that otherwise it could bring down more and the person above is effected; it’s common sense; she has an obligation to keep sediment and runoff out of the road. Selectman Dougherty would like someone to name one other person the town has done this to; he pointed out that there’s a guy blasting rock right nearby. It was noted the
blasting is being done in an Association and it was approved; it’s a private road; it’s not the same thing.
Holly needs to present a plan for what she is going to do to prevent erosion. Engineer Phillips noted the work didn’t end up like the plan she turned in. Spot elevations could be shots off a benchmark; she needs to show the riprap in the ditch and grades. Selectman Dougherty asked if Holly could divert a large portion of the water before it gets to the driveway would that minimize the amount that goes into the road; Engineer Phillips noted that would absolutely minimize the runoff; she won’t ever comply with the road standard but she could use ditching to do that. The plan Holly submitted only shows one pitch and it doesn’t show the connection with the town road; she has to show the end of the road and the low point before the end. Selectman Allen noted the town needs to clarify to people that
the drive has to be graded properly. In a previous letter Holly said it was stabilized and when Engineer Phillips went out it clearly was not or if it was done then it didn’t do what it was supposed to. She has to show stabilization at the back and to provide a construction timetable. Matting will be needed if it is going to be a winter project; the plan submitted doesn’t show what was needed. If Holly paves and it’s wrong it will have to be taken out.
Selectman Dougherty noted if Holly were reasonable we wouldn’t be here today but that doesn’t justify the illegitimate process that brought us here. He’d like to know if he were to speak with Holly to tell her what would be acceptable would the Board consider taking up her permit again. Inspector Chalmers pointed out that no one is asking for anything different than what was asked for a year ago. Selectman Dougherty noted the site disturbance ordinance was brand new and the Board said to her that she had to provide a site disturbance plan. An improper fee was paid in 2005 as a result of undervaluing the project so there was a fee adjustment in 2008 and then the town inspector inspected her for plumbing and electrical. Inspector Chalmers noted that Holly asked several questions and John
would make snide comments then Holly would ask another question and John would make another comment; she asked questions about the electrical systems and the plumbing systems and then asked about building components; then after all the questions it was brought out that they were working on the electrical panel.
Selectman Dougherty asked what Holly is going to have to prove in order to get a COO; what is the town going to require of her. Inspector Chalmers noted Holly needs to have a licensed electrician and a licensed plumber willing to affirm that the work was done properly. She is allowed to have either a state or local inspector in and Holly has already talked to the state inspectors about this requirement. Selectman Dougherty noted that is between the state plumbing board and state electrician board. It was reiterated that Holly can’t have a COO until those components are inspected; when Shawn and Inspector Chalmers went out most of those systems were uncovered but when Town Counsel Upton, Holly’s attorney Fay Melendy and Inspector Chalmers went out to take pictures everything was covered. She
needs to have a licensed plumber and electrician sign-off on the work; the state requires it; the state requires inspections of plumbing and electrical; the work can’t be covered until it’s inspected. Selectman Dougherty asked again what the town is going to require from Holly in order to issue her a COO. Inspector Chalmers stated Holly is going to need to have a licensed plumber and a licensed electrician inspect or certify the work; the state requires inspections by an inspector; it can be a building inspector or a state inspector. Selectman Dougherty noted the state Fire Marshall does inspections for electrical work but the plumbing can be done by a local building inspector. His issue here is that the town doesn’t have a valid inspection process for the state building code; the Board is enforcing the state building code and the town’s inspector can approve the work. He wants to know what process says work has to be inspected.
Inspector Chalmers again repeated that the State building code says it has to be checked and Selectman Dougherty pointed out it doesn’t say it has to be inspected. Inspector Chalmers reiterated the national electrical code requires inspections prior to covering work; the state plumbing code requires inspections prior to covering work. Inspector Chalmers can do this; the local building inspector can do inspections to meet the state building code. The Fire Marshall has designated plumbing and electrical inspections to the town. Prior to the town having a building inspector the selectmen used to go out to inspect electrical and plumbing work. Holly needs to find someone to take responsibility for the work since it’s been covered. Selectman Dougherty asked what process requires that and was told there is no process that requires this. This is not the proper process to enforce the state building code; there is no policy or process
that says work has to be inspected by a licensed plumber and electrician. Inspector Chalmers insisted that both the plumbing and electrical codes say the work has to be inspected before it is covered; if Holly can find a plumber or electrician to say it’s been done right that requirement will be met.
Selectman Dougherty reiterated that Holly did the work before the state had any residential building code. He told his fellow Board members to handle this, the way they want to but he is going to do something differently; he is going to appeal this with the court of public opinion and to the paper; this is a community. He defied the other Board members to read the file on this and say the town has done properly by Holly. This is the most despicable and improper action by this town. Selectman Allen asked that Selectman Dougherty not be hostile to him; he wants to help Holly and he’s trying to understand the situation. It was pointed out that the Selectmen have had the authority to require inspections since 1999; it may not have been formally adopted but it is past practice from long before Holly came to
Jackson. Selectman Dougherty countered that Jackson didn’t start to inspect for building codes until 2007. Inspector Chalmers noted that is not true; there are notes from Jason Carr from 2005; he noted this is all ancient history; everyone involved has been trying to help her but Selectman Dougherty is stuck on his belief that everyone is wrong. Chairman Davis asked Selectman Dougherty to listen to someone besides Holly; Selectman Dougherty suggested Chairman Davis should listen to someone besides Town Counsel Upton. Selectman Allen noted if the issue needs to be resolved in a court of law then Jackson should do that; go to court to see who is right. Holly’s defense is an affirmative defense; she isn’t contesting validity of the facts but argues that the town hasn’t officially adopted an enforcement mechanism; the judge isn’t going to listen to Holly’s defense. Office Administrator Falcey noted the judge is
going to look at whether the town has the authority to enforce the building codes. If this goes to court it would be a good resolution but it may not answer Selectman Dougherty’s concerns. Selectman Dougherty noted the Board would learn a lesson that will cost the town $20,000. The damages against Holly are $400,000 to $800,000; perhaps this can be worked out in mediation. There isn’t going to be mediation unless this goes to court.
It’s clear the Board isn’t going to reach a consensus because Selectman Dougherty can’t agree to the Board requirements of Holly; if it can’t be solved then the Board has to do what needs to be done to resolve the situation. Selectman Dougherty thought after the last meeting the consensus was that the Board was going to mediation. Engineer Phillips noted the Board members need to all be on the same page if they want to settle this out of court. Selectman Dougherty noted the timeline doesn’t match up; this town hasn’t done anything proper. Both sides made mistakes but the town doesn’t have the luxury of making a mistake. Engineer Phillips noted the town is trying to do the right thing. Selectman Dougherty noted Holly applied for an extension on her application in
July 2008 and the town didn’t answer her until September 2008. Inspector Chalmers noted that was not correct; there were discussions with Holly in between those dates. Selectman Dougherty challenged him to show where that is on the record. The town should have denied the permit and said it would not issue a COO but it didn’t do that. The town has made errors and then tells Holly she has to comply with the new laws. Holly applied for renewal in July 2008 and didn’t have a response until September 2008. In August 2008 there was discussion that was written up by Shawn Bergeron. Selectman Dougherty reiterated the length of time between request and response and was asked if Holly ever came in to ask what was happening; he couldn’t answer that but believes the town has been obtuse. Selectman Dougherty reiterated that there is no documented discussion between July 2008 and September 2008 and this may have been when
Shawn went to Alaska so he wasn’t around to be involved in discussion. Folks here are trying to characterize that the town has tried to do everything for Holly and particularly that her extension was denied because there was no value; there was discussion in 2005 about value but value wasn’t asked for until 2008. The building application had been extended in 2006 & 2007. Office Administrator Falcey noted the original application didn’t include the walkout basement which was one of the reasons a new application was requested to understand what was being built. The denial was based on inspections and value; the project changed in scope. Selectman Dougherty noted Holly started living there in 2006 and the state didn’t have a building code. It was explained that when Holly’s permit expired she is getting a new permit and is required to comply with the current codes. Selectman Dougherty noted there is discrepancy
here; there are others who have taken three years to build. It was reiterated that the town has no way to show how much work she did when. The tax cards document some of the work but doesn’t specifically say electric and/or plumbing. There is nothing official in the record. In December 2008 Inspector Chalmers and Shawn went into the property; all the interior walls were open at that time; the electrical was roughed in; the basement interior walls were completed. Selectman Dougherty asked if anyone knows if any of Holly’s interior walls had issues and Inspector Chalmers noted there were plumbing and electrical issues; Shawn had started to compile a list of the issues but the State Fire Marshall said it wasn’t up to Shawn to tell her how to fix it; he came up with three sheets of violations before he was told to stop. Selectman Dougherty queried the proper way to notice the violation would be; it would be to notify the owner of
the violation and give them the opportunity to fix it. It was pointed out that it is the owner’s responsibility to fix the violation. Inspector Chalmers noted the State Fire Marshall’s office would have performed the inspection if Holly could find a plumber and an electrician to take responsibility for that work. Selectman Dougherty asked if the town noticed Holly of her specific violation and was informed the violation was for lack of inspection; while the state didn’t have the IRC it did have the electrical and plumbing code. Holly did the work herself and that’s reasonable and Selectman Dougherty feels the proper remedy is to say to Holly here’s the violation (for example: the wire is too small, the vent pipe is too small). Inspector Chalmers reiterated the work hadn’t been inspected so no one could provide Holly with that. Selectman Dougherty noted it would have been proper to tell Holly she had to
cease all work until it was inspected. Inspector Chalmers reminded Selectman Dougherty that Holly was having a hard time coming up with value; she wasn’t noticed about inspection because Shawn and Inspector Chalmers were up there to come up with a value; she did not want a plumbing and electrical inspection but while they were up there she asked several questions regarding plumbing and electrical work.
Selectman Dougherty does not accept that for a single family home an inspection is needed. The remedy for not being allowed to inspect is to go to court and give the homeowner a warrant to do an inspection on the property. Selectman Dougherty isn’t saying Holly was cooperative; if she didn’t call for an inspection it’s the town’s responsibility to get a warrant to do the inspection. It was noted that would be creating an issue as soon as the town got a warrant. Inspector Chalmers reiterated that Holly had to fill out a building permit application showing what she had on site and it turned out that what she had on site was not what she had applied for. She had it valued at $170,000; she didn’t have the finished basement on the application. She told Inspector Chalmers that
she didn’t provide it because no one asked her for it. Holly is arguing that she was told she didn’t have to have an inspection. It was pointed out that there are inspection notes for other jobs at that time; why would Inspector Carr have told her she didn’t need inspections.
Chairman Davis believes this should go to mediation; Selectman Allen agrees. Engineer Phillips pointed out the Board members are talking about unofficial mediation where the two lawyers and everybody involved sit down. This is reasonable. Selectman Dougherty noted the Board has to accept or not accept the site disturbance plan then accept or not accept the COO based on specific conditions; some of the conditions that the Board is going to apply to Holly, is not going to be accepted by her. Engineer Phillips noted the three Selectmen need to come to a consensus as to what would be acceptable for a site disturbance plan; if the three can’t come to consensus then mediation isn’t going to work. Chairman Davis pointed out that Holly covered the electrical and plumbing work so she doesn’t know
how the Board is going to get around that. There are ways to test the plumbing and electrical work without tearing up walls but the continuity test has to be done by an electrician. Inspector Chalmers can’t sign off on what he hasn’t seen. Selectman Dougherty is willing to go along with this; it’s painful to him because he thinks the town shouldn’t do this but he wants to get Holly into her house. The Board is acting wrongly and Selectman Dougherty is going to tackle the bigger issue of how this Board is conducting business; he will keep his protestation quiet to move this forward. Selectman Allen noted the Board does need to come up with a clarified site disturbance ordinance so this doesn’t happen again. Selectman Dougherty noted the Shaw issue is a good example of how the ordinance works when it is applied from the start. Chairman Davis pointed out that the Shaw’s cooperated. Inspector Chalmers
noted that most of these builders are pretty reasonable; it’s when they aren’t that the Board needs to clarify the enforcement mechanism. It was agreed that if an informal mediation doesn’t work then the town will take the further avenue to continue with the court case. The attorneys won’t be able to get together until after the 4th of July; Selectman Allen will be available then as well.
Selectman Dougherty noted the first part of the mediation is the site disturbance plan so he will work with Holly on this. The things that are needed are the site disturbance plan and inspection of the electrical and plumbing work. This is not insurmountable; for a bad situation this is the most reasonable solution. It’s not a hard thing to open the walls if need be. Selectman Dougherty noted the smart thing would be to do the inspections when John and Holly are not there. No one is requiring an engineered plan but it has to be on paper and it has to show erosion control.
Selectman Allen wants to see the site and speak with Holly. The two Selectmen cannot go together as that would constitute a quorum. Selectman Dougherty noted having one Selectman meeting with Holly wouldn’t be appropriate but he is willing to take this on to avoid a commitment from the town or divulging information. He was cautioned that the town doesn’t want to go to court and have Holly say “Jerry told me…” Selectman Allen is concerned about that as well; it would be his word against Holly’s. Selectman Allen is not going alone; he will go with either Engineer Phillips or Inspector Chalmers; he will go up to the site before the informal mediation meeting. If Holly accepts an inspection then the Board members can go as Selectmen; the Selectmen have a right to go in and
evaluate the home. Selectman Dougherty noted what he thinks needs to happen is to have Engineer Phillips talk to Holly about the site disturbance plan; Engineer Phillips noted he has spoken with Holly several times; since Selectman Dougherty has a relationship with Holly he can talk to her and suggest that she call Engineer Phillips for clarification if needed. Since Engineer Phillips is the town’s paid engineer he will send a note to Ron Briggs regarding the site disturbance plan. Ron is pretty reasonable and he could probably create the plan for under a thousand dollars. This is the best option because if Holly goes to a large engineering firm she’ll get charged a lot. The town isn’t engineering everybody else’s site. Selectman Dougherty will talk to Holly; if she decides to call Ron he can call Engineer Phillips regarding what is the minimum required by the town. After that the ball is in her court. It was noted Thorne did the septic and Diane Smith would be reasonable
as well; they’d have the data on the site; this would be the least costly option for Holly.
The Board agreed to postpone the Transfer Station discussion.
Selectman Dougherty, seconded by Selectman Allen, made a motion to come out of Non-Public Session at 7:04 p.m.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:05 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by:
Martha D. Tobin
Recording Secretary
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