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Board of Selectmen Minutes -- 01/19/2012
Selectmen’s Board Meeting
January 19, 2012

Present:        Beatrice Davis, Chairman; Jerry Dougherty IV, John Allen, Selectmen

Visitors:       Office Administrator Diane Falcey, Police Chief Karl Meyers, Town Clerk/Tax Collector Jeanette Heidmann, Building Inspector Andy Chalmers, Jerry Dougherty III, Bill Wogisch, Huntley Allen, Susan May

Chairman Beatrice Davis called the meeting to order at 4:02 p.m.  

  • Amend & approve minutes
  • Selectmen’s Meeting – January 5, 2012  Selectman Dougherty, seconded by Selectman Allen, made a motion to approve the minutes of the Selectmen’s Meeting of January 5, 2012 as written.  The motion passed unanimously.
  • Non-Public Sessions – January 5, 2012  Selectman Dougherty, seconded by Selectman Allen, made a motion to approve the minutes of the Non-Public Sessions of January 5, 2012 as written.  The motion passed unanimously.
  • Police Report  Chief Karl Meyers reviewed Department activities since the last meeting; some items discussed included:  Assisting the Highway Department regarding a person parking on the road; someone turning in some ammunition which was turned over to the State Police; assisting a motorist that was lost.  There is a business in town that believes it is getting fake internet orders; these are being made from overseas; there’s not much the Department can do to help them; another business in town was shorted on some firewood; the business and the supplier came to an agreement.  The voting went smoothly.  There was a report of a sexual assault; two false burglar alarms and a call about an elderly citizen who wanted to stay in her house even though the heating system was broken; Officers were able to convince her to go to her sister’s house.  There was a report of theft of three handguns and a rifle; a person who is on parole is up here on vacation and registered as required.  Chief Meyers asked if the Board is okay with the Department purchasing the AED; the funds have been accepted; the Board had previously approved this.  
  • Tuckerman Ravine 2012 Inferno Pentathlon  The applicant has to sign this; Office Administrator Falcey will assure that is done.  The pentathlon will be April 21, 2012.  The Board members signed the document.  
  • Building Permits – Andy Chalmers, Building Inspector
  • Town Clerk/Tax Collector’s Office (Map R14, Lot 8) Remove non-structural wall between offices; and relocate electrical to sidewalls  Town Clerk/Tax Collector Jeanette Heidmann explained she has been trying to get the wall taken down in the office for some time; the set-up is awkward; people can’t see if she’s there and members of the Public have to come into the back room if two people need to be helped at the same time; it’s not a good way to run the office.  She put out a Request for Bids but the two contractors who responded have backed out.  The work now will be done by local folks; Joan and Roger Aubrey will help with the project; Dick Bennett is a licensed electrician and Inspector Chalmers will do the inspection.  The plan is to do this on a Friday through Sunday and have the office ready for work on Monday; the date planned is February 24 – 26.  Many Thanks to the Aubrey’s, Dick and Inspector Chalmers.  Selectman Dougherty wanted to point out he is in favor of this being done; he is not in favor of the Building Permit being issued; he is opposed to the policy.  Town Clerk/Tax Collector Heidmann noted nevertheless the policy is still in place.  Selectman Allen, seconded by Chairman Davis, made a motion to approve the permit for the Town Clerk/Tax Collector’s Office (Map R14, Lot 8) to remove the non-structural wall between offices and relocate the electrical system to the sidewalls.  The motion passed 2-0-1 (Dougherty)
Selectman Dougherty noted he has a problem with enforcing policies that the Board has not enacted.  He thanked Inspector Chalmers for the work he facilitated on the Shaw residence.  

  • Household Hazardous Waste Day  The next HHWD is Saturday September 15, 2012.  The document states Jackson grants authority to Conway to represent Jackson and has appropriated $1000 for this purpose.  Selectman Dougherty, seconded by Selectman Allen, made a motion to appropriate $1,000 for the Household Hazardous Waste Day in conjunction with Conway.  The motion passed unanimously.  
  • Certified Accountant Quotes  John Lyford is not renewing his CPA license but is willing to do the work.  Leone, McDonnell & Roberts was the agreed upon choice by the Board previously.  Office Administrator Falcey pointed out LMR is local and the least expensive; she would recommend them.  Selectman Dougherty asked if they would be doing an audit and Office Administrator Falcey pointed out $4,000 is allocated in the 2012 budget so the town needs to stay in the $4,000 range.  She suggested they do the MS-5; that would give them a good opportunity to learn about the town and we can see how they work; the Board agreed this sounds reasonable.  Selectman Dougherty, seconded by Selectman Allen, made a motion to contract with Leone, McDonnell & Roberts as CPA for the MS-5.  The motion passed unanimously.  Selectman Dougherty noted the Board doesn’t have to really choose the MS-5 as the only thing they are doing; Office Administrator Falcey noted they can have other work done if funds allowed however the MS-5 is due in May.
  • Old Library Management Committee  Susan May noted the Old Library Management Committee is asking for the Board to approve a warrant article; she distributed copies.  The article read:  “To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $5,000 to secure professional services for the design of a septic system solution  and water connection to the old Library for the purposes of installing a restroom in the building.”  They are asking for $5,000 to cover researching a septic system; a portable tank or connecting to the church if they are willing; the Committee is still researching this.  Selectman Allen believes $5,000 is too much and Susan noted just because they are asking for $5,000 doesn’t mean the Committee has to spend it for that; they would plan to put any leftover toward the project.  Someone from the Committee would speak to the article.  Office Administrator Falcey clarified the first paragraph which is the Warrant Article language will be published in the town report not the two additional paragraphs on the document distributed tonight which lists the Committee’s reasoning and conclusions regarding the request.  Selectman Dougherty noted if the Board is being asked if it is in favor of this being on the warrant his answer is yes but the Committee needs to clean the language up a little bit; they need to be more vague as they could be limited on what they can spend the money on.  Susan noted they need to find a solution.  Huntley Allen noted the building would have to get septic before the water can be done anyway.  Selectman Dougherty noted the Selectmen will rewrite this for the Committee.  If the article calls for using the $5,000 for a “solution” or “options” for the septic and water situation then some flexibility for what the funds can be spent on would be allowed.  Susan noted the water has to come from across the road as the Protestant Chapel doesn’t want the lawn dug up.  It was noted the Committee would have to contact the state about digging up that road.  Selectman Dougherty asked if the Committee would want to be able to have the $5,000 applied to the state application for approval; it doesn’t make sense to want a solution designed but not apply to the state for the permissions needed; for $5000 both could be done but the article says the money can be used just for the design.  He noted this is going in circles; the Committee can’t make a plan until they get advice; they can’t get an estimate for the system until they get a design; once they get the design they could apply to the state for the permit.  Chairman Davis pointed out the Committee had to find out if they could connect with the church; the council said they could do a holding tank on their land; the Committee wants to do whatever works best.  Selectman Dougherty noted if the Committee is hoping to use the funds to design and apply then they want to word this so the $5,000 can be used for that; there’s no reason not to word it so they can go further than just the design; they could say design, engineering and state application fees.  This has to be worded properly; Office Administrator Falcey needs to have it before the Budget Hearing on February 9, 2012.  Selectman Dougherty noted the Committee needs to figure out what they want to do with the money and make sure they can do that with what they are asking for.  It was clarified that Susan will reword the article.  
  •  2012 Budget – Final Review  Office Administrator Falcey has finalized the draft budget figures and proposed warrant articles which can be found on page five and six of the budget document she distributed.  She noted the town got $42,000 in this week from FEMA; this means the warrant article for repairs to Dundee Road will only need $8,000 in taxes.  She also wanted to confirm whether the Selectmen wanted to increase the warrant article for Bridge Repairs and Maintenance from $10,000 up to $20,000; the Selectmen confirmed this.  In the analysis projected receivables of $579,000 is conservative; the town received a little under that last year; that total includes the $42,000 from FEMA.  This document is set in the format that will be presented at the budget hearing without the Comments column.  The net tax is $1,593,489.00; last year’s was $1,329,044.45.  Taxes would be sixty-six cents per thousand higher (going from $3.45 to $4.11).  Office Administrator Falcey also noted last year the Selectmen used $152,000 from the unreserved fund balance; the total amount listed now is without any offset for unreserved funds being used.  The balance of the unreserved fund was $873,000 as of 2010.  Once the MS-5 is done in May 2012 that amount should increase as there was some money left over in the 2011 budget.  Bill Wogisch noted with the School portion added in the town is currently at $10.45 per thousand and will be increasing another sixty-six cents.  Selectman Dougherty noted the Board hopes to be able to lessen the impact of that in October.  The School budget will remain fairly even minus the warrant articles.  Bill would like to point out that a few months ago he visited with Dick Badger and got a list of tax rates in the area; we are amongst the lowest here in Jackson for what we have and what we’ve done compared to other towns.  Selectman Dougherty noted the Board got the list from the entire state last year and Jackson is among the lowest in the state; Jackson residents get a lot for their tax dollars here; he noted that is not just because of the Selectboard; it’s the Office staff; the Highway staff; the Library; everyone tries to keep costs down.  Office Administrator Falcey noted the only thing not included in the draft tonight is the Old Library Committee’s request for $5,000; there are a couple of outstanding petitions but they have until February 7th to submit them.  The Selectmen are in favor of moving forward with this budget.     
  •  Budget Hearing Date:  February 9, 2012  The Budget Hearing is set for Thursday February 9, 2012.
  • Alternate date: February 16, 2012  The alternate date for the Budget Hearing is Thursday February 16, 2012, if the February 9th date is canceled due to inclement weather.  
  •  A Big Thank you to volunteer Election workers  Chairman Davis thanked all of the Volunteer Election Workers.
  • Public Comments  Huntley Allen noted that Selectman Dougherty has consistently stated that the State doesn’t charge for inspections and Huntley has brought in a copy of charges from the state.  Huntley also talked with the State Fire Marshal last night; the law is being changed to put inspections in all towns; the State Fire Marshall told Huntley if fees are charged by the town then an inspection is required.  Selectman Dougherty noted he respectfully disagrees with Huntley’s statements; when asked which one Selectman Dougherty stated not about the plumbing fees but the idea that if the town charges fees for a building permit that we are required to have inspection by law.  When Huntley noted Ron Cyr stated this Selectman Dougherty pointed out he doesn’t know the context of the statement.  Huntley noted Ron is dealing with another town that stopped inspections; their insurance rates went up and folks are not able to get loans.  Selectman Dougherty noted the LGC has been clear that the statement isn’t supported by the law.  Huntley noted the legislature is changing that so it is going back to towns to have inspections.  Selectman Dougherty noted he is aware of the house bills and he’s not sure which one Huntley is talking about; he’s looked at all of them.  Huntley suggested Selectman Dougherty call the State Fire Marshal; Selectman Dougherty noted he doesn’t have to.    
Selectman Dougherty, seconded by Selectman Allen, made a motion to dissolve the meeting at 4:52 p.m.                                            Respectfully submitted by:

                                                        Martha D. Tobin