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Board of Selectmen Minutes -- 11/01/2012
Selectmen’s Board Meeting
November 1, 2012

Present:        Jerry Dougherty IV, Chairman; John Allen and Bob Thompson, Selectmen

Visitors:       Office Administrator Diane Falcey, Police Chief Karl Meyers, Fire Chief/Road Agent Jay Henry, Hank Benesh, Peter Benson, Bill Wogisch, Jerry Dougherty, Kathleen Dougherty, Holly Lewis, Joan Kelley, Joan Aubrey, Susan May, Kathleen Driscoll, Jackson Chamber of Commerce,  and Rob Ruppel

Chairman Jerry Dougherty called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m.

  • Amend & approve minutes
  • Selectmen’s Meeting – October 4, 2012  Selectman Thompson, seconded by Selectman Allen, made a motion to approve the minutes of October 4, 2012.  The motion passed unanimously.  
  • Non-Public Session – October 4, 2012  Selectman Allen, seconded by Selectman Thompson, made a motion to approve the minutes of the Non-Public Session of October 4, 2012.  The motion failed 0-3-0.  [Chairman Dougherty noted agenda item #8 is to discuss the possibility of unsealing the Non-Public notes from the meetings related to the Holly Lewis litigation; as there are amendments Selectman Thompson wants to make to the October 4th minutes, further discussion and approval may occur then].  
  • Selectmen’s Meeting – October 18, 2012  Selectman Thompson, seconded by Selectman Allen, made a motion to approve the minutes of October 18, 2012.  The motion passed unanimously.  
  • Non-Public Session – October 18, 2012  Selectman Thompson, seconded by Selectman Allen, made a motion to approve the minutes of the Non-Public Session of October 18, 2012.  The motion passed unanimously.  These minutes are sealed as it is an elderly exemption request.
  • Bartlett-Jackson Transfer Station Hearing – October 25, 2012  Selectman Allen, seconded by Selectman Thompson, made a motion to approve the minutes of the Bartlett-Jackson Transfer Station Hearing of October 25, 2012.  The motion passed unanimously.  
  • Public Comment  There were none at this time
  • Police Report  Police Chief Karl Meyers reviewed Department activities since the last meeting; some items included five false burglar alarms; the individual that was causing a disturbance at the Grammar School (see October 18, 2012) was arrested and charged; someone found a loose dog; the dog was registered in Jackson so the dog was able to get back to its owner quickly; one individual was fingerprinted for SAU employment; a report came in of a suspicious car on Dundee and Officers checked on the welfare of an older person in town.  Officers made a traffic stop and found the plates were suspended; the plates were taken as required and the car was impounded.  A person in town has expressed an interest in coming on part time with the Department; Chief Meyers reminded the Board the Department has a part time officer but he has never been able to give Jackson the time the Department wanted from him; adding this person could fit within the current budget; this is just an fyi item and will be discussed more during budget season.    
  • Fire Department Report  Fire Chief Henry noted there is nothing of interest to report; things continue normally for the Fire Department.   
  • Highway Department Report   Road Agent Henry noted the town made it through the storm with no issues other than a bunch of trees down and some culverts getting plugged.  The trees cut included a couple of big trees at the Falls; someone might question why the trees were cut.  The crew has been getting the trucks ready for winter.  The Department has done a bunch of limb cutting all over Dundee; and on the state road; the town has to plow it and it needs to be done rather than bang up the trucks.
  •  East Branch was graded and since he had some gravel in this year’s budget he put ten yards of gravel over there.  The road was getting very nasty so he asked the government to grade it and it got done today; Jackson threw gravel at them and used their grader; it’s something that is usually done twice a year and didn’t get done at its usual time.  Some limbs need to be cut over there and he wants to combine his efforts with the government.  Road Agent Henry hasn’t been up the Class VI roads yet; he will do that tomorrow. The gazebo/Christmas Tree electrical service is being worked on and he hopes to have it done by next Thursday.  Road Agent Henry wants to add a couple loads of loam to the soccer field to smooth it up and get it ready for winter.  Road Agent Henry was asked to contact Jay Poulin regarding closing out Well #5.  
  • Jackson Chamber of Commerce – Christmas & Winter Seasonal Beautification Committee  Kathleen Driscoll joined the Board; Road Agent Henry has been working with the Chamber and it has been getting very difficult to do all that is needed.  The Chamber formed a committee of local residents and business members to take this on and they are really excited to do this.  The cost to do this will be $5600 and they have already raised half of it.  Kathleen noted this will cover the lighting on the bridge and the directory map, thirty-two telephone poles and the big Christmas tree.  Kerry Scribner will be involved and it will all be done in conjunction with Road Agent Henry.  The current decorations have old lights and were looking bad and/or falling apart; the committee found solar lights that will work for years; these will be taken down, wrapped up and safely stored at a member’s location and the Chamber will commit to replacing anything that needs replacement.
  •  The Chamber is wondering if the Board would kick in some financial support to this project; it will be done regardless of town fiscal support.  Thom Perkins donated a bucket truck and Mike Mallet has a driver for it.  Selectman Thompson wants to know who will go up in the bucket.  The Chamber will find someone to do this; the driver has insurance for the bucket itself and is willing to put the Chamber under that portion; then the person going into the bucket will be under the Chamber’s coverage.  Selectman Thompson wants to make sure the town isn’t exposed to liability.  Kathleen noted Jackson is gorgeous and deserves this; the folks involved have the energy and a wish to do this.  Road Agent Henry noted it’s been a huge issue for the Highway Department time-wise and monetarily some years he had to come up with a couple hundred bucks and a few years it was $500; he supports the town contributing to this project; he has $13,000 left in his budget with two months left to get through.  Road Agent Henry warned Kathleen that the big tree is not easy to decorate; the town planted the little tree in the hopes that would become the town Christmas tree, he noted some folks don’t like the little tree but that is another issue; the little tree has power there.
  •  Selectman Thompson wondered what this decorating would have cost out of the Highway Department’s budget and Road Agent Henry noted it could cost between $200 and $1000 to do this project and this includes new wreaths and lighting which has never been considered in the budget at all.  These folks are volunteering their time for labor; Road Agent Henry feels the Board should contribute the $2800 and take it out of his Contract Hire line.  Selectman Thompson wants to make sure Road Agent Henry is positive he won’t need that money to expend this year.  Office Administrator Falcey suggested taking $800 out of the Contract Hire line and the remaining $2,000 out of the Maintenance of Town Buildings line.  Road Agent Henry noted it will be worth it to be rid of this work; it’s nothing for the Highway Department to invest two weeks’ worth of time on the Christmas tree and last year the town spent money on a bunch of led lights but the birds chewed on the electrical wires.  The plan calls for all the decorations to be taken down and stored each year so the Chamber hopes to keep the costs low after this year’s season.  Road Agent Henry does suggest leaving the lights up on the gazebo for winter weddings.  He knows of no reason to get special permission from the Co-op; Jackson has been decorating the light poles for so long it’s better left unasked.  Kathleen noted the balance needed at this time is actually $2500, not $2800.  Selectman Thompson, seconded by Selectman Allen, made a motion to contribute $2500 to go towards the Christmas and Winter Beautification project.  Chairman Dougherty asked for public input and Bill Wogisch asked where the Chamber advertised that it was seeking donations for this project.  An email went to all businesses and residents in the Chamber’s database; they also put the request out on Facebook.  The Chamber was getting ready to do a mailer requesting contributions.  Bill urged them to still do that even though the town might cover the current shortfall.  This is a worthy cause to have the folks in town contribute to.  He suggested an amendment to the motion.  Selectman Thompson withdrew his original motion, Selectman Allen withdrew his second.  Selectman Thompson, seconded by Selectman Allen, made a motion to contribute up to $2500 to go towards the Christmas and Winter Beautification Project.  It was noted the mailer can go into PO boxes tomorrow with a deadline of November 15th for donations.  There was no further discussion.  The motion passed unanimously.  Road Agent Henry suggested the Chamber think about what it might want next year for budget purposes.
  • Building Matters – Andy Chalmers, Building Inspector
  • Urey, Donna (V9, Lot 17) Install 24 x 24 garage & 10 x 10 entry room  Selectman Allen, seconded by Selectman Thompson, made a motion to approve the permit for Urey, Donna (Map V9, Lot 17) to install a 24 x 24 garage & 10 x 10 entry room as recommended by Inspector Chalmers.  The motion passed unanimously.  
  • Ruppel, Robert (V7, Lot 123) Install 24 x 24 garage  Chairman Dougherty noted Inspector Chalmers is not recommending this permit; it appears the new construction will encroach on the setback of North Hampshire Ridge.  Rob is the builder on this one; Selectman Thompson asked if he was aware of the setback; Inspector Chalmers had suggested Rob make the application and go to the ZBA once it is denied.  Chairman Dougherty asked for a motion to deny however Selectman Thompson wanted to know how much into the setback this would be; he was informed it’s about a fifteen foot encroachment; he has thirty-five feet and it should be fifty feet.  The sooner the Board denies this, the sooner it can go to the ZBA.  Once the Board makes its decision, Office Administrator Falcey will send a notice of decision out and Frank Benesh will be contacted to schedule the ZBA for a meeting.  All abutters have to be notified; they may make it for a meeting in November.  Selectman Thompson, seconded by Selectman Allen, made a motion to deny the permit for Ruppel, Robert (Map V7, Lot 123) to install a 24 x 24 garage based on Section 4.3.1.2, encroachment into setback.  The motion passed unanimously.
  • Mallet Corp. (R13, Lot 29) Fire restoration & remodel dining room  Selectman Allen, seconded by Selectman Thompson, made a motion to approve the permit for Mallet Corporation (Map R13, Lot 29) for fire restoration & remodel dining room.  Selectman Thompson wondered if the Board is being asked to approve a permit for work that’s already being done.  Chairman Dougherty noted some of the work might be in process; all the work that is being done is being overseen by the insurance company and Fire and Health Inspectors are also monitoring this project; it’s very transparent and well-documented although it is unknown what the cost is for the permitting process; Chairman Dougherty pointed out there were also emergency repairs that had to be completed to close in the building.  This application is not recommended as it has no diagram for the floor plan; plans need to be reviewed for fire and life safety purposes.  Selectman Allen withdrew his motion, Selectman Thompson withdrew his second.  
  • Chairman Dougherty will look into this; he’s not sure why the Board needs plans since it will have the same use; it’s fire restoration of the dining room; the only thing unknown is how much the work is going to cost.  Selectman Thompson wants to be supportive of the business; he was expecting something at the last meeting; he understands floor plans take time.  Office Administrator Falcey noted Inspector Chalmers is recommending approval of part of this project; he recommends approving Phase I which is correction of the fire damaged area; he is not recommending Phase II, the interior remodeling.  Selectman Thompson wondered if the Board could approve the whole thing contingent on the Inspector approving the floor plan; the Board has issued conditional approvals before; he wants to move forward; he doesn’t want the Mallet Corporation to have to wait another two weeks.  He doesn’t think it is unusual for a business that has a loss like this to look at a way to remodel and improve efficiency; there is no change to the footprint being proposed.
  •  Chairman Dougherty is ready to approve this with no conditions as it is all being inspected by all these other agencies; the Board’s part is almost meaningless.  Office Administrator Falcey spoke with Inspector Chalmers about this; he and the Fire Inspector are concerned because there is talk about changing the entryway which would change the life-safety; it was noted that’s the Fire Inspector’s purview not the Building Inspector’s.  The Board doesn’t want something it does tonight to prolong the Mallet Corporation’s inability to get back into business.  Chairman Dougherty noted typically the permit is not issued until the conditions are met.  Jerry Dougherty noted that unless the Board is specific it shouldn’t have conditions attached; the Board should either issue the permit or not.  Selectman Thompson, seconded by Selectman Allen, made a motion to approve the permit for Mallet Corp. (Map R13, Lot 29) for fire restoration and remodel dining room.  The motion passed unanimously.  Selectman Thompson pointed out the need to establish the value fee but Office Administrator Falcey noted that is not an issue; this is done all the time because with a remodel one can’t know the value of the work until the walls come down.  Bill Wogisch wants to know why the Building Inspector is not in attendance tonight; there are eight items to cover tonight; he should be here; the Board members have to answer questions the Building Inspector should be answering.  Selectman Thompson asked if there is a policy regarding when the Building Inspector Chalmers should be at a meeting and Chairman Dougherty noted Inspector Chalmers attends when he is asked; typically that would only be if something was complicated.  Bill feels the Inspector owes it to the town to be in attendance; it’s common sense.  Chairman Dougherty noted it is his fault for not notifying Inspector Chalmers; the Selectmen are the ones who approve these applications; Inspector Chalmers wasn’t asked to attend today because Chairman Dougherty hadn’t seen the applications yet.  
  • The Board is working on changing the permitting process; this demonstrates and highlights the main problem with Jackson’s current process; the town doesn’t have a building inspector; the Board of Selectmen acts as the building inspector; Inspector Chalmers is not the town of Jackson’s building inspector.  Bill asked what his role is and was informed Inspector Chalmers is a consultant; the Board has never appointed him as building inspector and there is no formal contract with him; he acts as the Building Inspector but that doesn’t make him one.  In a real process Inspector Chalmers would make these decisions but in Jackson the Board makes the decision; Inspector Chalmers has no real authority.  The Board is working on changing the process.  Bill wondered if the town ever had a building inspector, even prior to Inspector Chalmers.  Chairman Dougherty can’t answer that; Jerry Dougherty noted Jackson has never had a building inspector approve permits or handle the process; Chairman Dougherty noted that assumption is based on current law and the laws are always changing.  For example the law used to state that anyone could fill the role of building inspector and now the law states the person in that role must be qualified; it’s a known, very big flaw in Jackson’s process.
  • Braun, Matt (V5, Lot 4) Add 12 x 12 addition to house  Selectman Thompson, seconded by Selectman Allen, made a motion to approve the permit for Braun, Matt (Map V5, Lot 4) to add a 12 x 12 addition to house as recommended by Inspector Chalmers.  The motion passed unanimously.  
  
  • Kelley, Joan S. (V4, Lot 21) Add two additions to house  Selectman Allen, seconded by Selectman Thompson, made a motion to approve the permit for Kelley, Joan S. (Map V4, Lot 21) to add two additions to house.  The motion passed unanimously.    
  • Benson, Peter & Emily Trustee (R18, Lot 58) Permit extension requested  Selectman Thompson, seconded by Selectman Allen, made a motion to approve the extension for Benson, Peter & Emily Trustee (Map R18, Lot 58) as recommended by Inspector Chalmers.  The motion passed unanimously.  Peter Benson would like to ask a related question regarding the taxes on the property.  The tax year begins on April 1st; the old house was gone as of April 20th; while a new house is being built there has been no building on this property for five months; does the town abate and reassess the taxes.  Chairman Dougherty noted the building permit allows Jackson to do a reassessment to the property; if the Assessor was there on April 2 Peter’s tax would be based on that building; if the Assessor does it now then the tax would be based on what’s done now; the assessing process is different than the building process; the Assessor can look at the property any time for the 2013 taxes; it comes down to at what point he sees the property; he may look at the permit and base the assessment on the permit value but where this was a remove and rebuild the Assessor will likely have to visit the property to reassess it.  Peter has a comment; he has already paid fees of over $700; a reapplication fee of $75 seems high.  He was informed the Board will be having further discussion on this under agenda item number 11; the Board has to look at what it is doing and see if what it is doing is fair and equitable.
  • McDevitt, James & McCann, Dorothy (V1, Lot 13) Demolition Permit  Chairman Dougherty wondered if the Board has issued these before; Peter noted he filed one last year; it’s mostly for assuring mitigation of lead and/or asbestos.  This permit starts the process for the applicant to go to DES; whether the applicant is tearing down the property or burning it, the process is the same; it also tells the Assessor he needs to go to the house and reassess it.  Selectman Thompson, seconded by Selectman Allen, made a motion to approve the Demolition Permit for McDevitt, James & McCann, Dorothy (Map V1, Lot 13).  The motion passed unanimously.  Selectman Thompson wonders why the permit only needs one signature; Chairman Dougherty noted the Board could look at redesigning it.
  • Lewis, Holly (Map V8, Lot 30) Certificate of Occupancy & Mutual Release  Holly joined the Board; Chairman Dougherty noted the town has received confirmation that this case was closed on January 27, 2012.  Now that this is complete, Chairman Dougherty wants to make a comment about what has gone on here.  This has been a long and difficult process for a lot of people in this town, particularly Holly; there were lots of accusations and lots of rumors in the community.  One charge this Board of Selectmen has had thrown at it is about not seeking to recover legal fees from Holly over this and he’d like to give his perspective.  Holly has been the victim of a very poorly run process; that gets pointed out with how the town deals with building permits; the town doesn’t have a good process; that has to be solved.  Chairman Dougherty didn’t think it would be fair for the town to recover costs from Holly; the town didn’t incur those expenses because of anything Holly did but because of action the town took; that is the most important reason not to ask her for those costs.  From a legal sense the town had a very weak and frivolous case against her; the RSAs state when this is the case the municipality is to pay.  The details are long and he would be more than happy to go through them should anyone want further information but the bottom line is that Jackson didn’t perform reasonable enquiry and its record demonstrates that very clearly; the Board needs to do work to get the building permit process in line so this never happens to anyone again.  Someone approached Chairman Dougherty and told him he should be ashamed to be seen talking to Holly; Chairman Dougherty is very proud of all the actions he has taken on for Holly and if anyone else had been through this he’d stand up for them in the same way; it’s a shame this happened and he hopes Holly sees the good in this community as much as she has seen the bad.  In his heart he knows that is what this community is about; he wishes Holly well and good luck in her new home.  Holly thanked the Board for helping end what has been a horrible situation since 2008.  Selectman Thompson has spent a lot of time getting up-to-speed on this when he came on the Board; he concurs with Chairman Dougherty; nothing was done in bad faith; that having been said there was an agreement drawn up in June of 2011 and all those conditions have been met.  The town’s attorney has changed since 2011 and the town’s current Counselor says Jackson’s process is indefensible; it’s time to move on.  Jerry noted what Chairman Dougherty is describing is a lack of due process and equal protection; that’s the most important thing town officials protect.  Bill noted he’s attended enough meetings back to 2008 involving Holly; he has an opinion regarding what really happened here; this became a personal issue for some of the Selectmen and it became nasty.  Chairman Dougherty noted it’s time to move forward now and work on the process and to establish a good and equitable process that works for everyone.  He noted it’s fair to point out that where Jackson’s system works, and for the people is works for, it works very well.  Chairman Dougherty would like to move agenda item #15 forward at this time, this is to discuss unsealing the minutes involving the Holly Lewis case.
  • New Business –  Unseal Lewis Litigation Non-Public Session Minutes  Chairman Dougherty thinks this is a good thing to do but that the Board should review them before they are released en masse.  He’s confident that everything is okay but it’s been a while since he’s reviewed all of them.  Selectman Allen agrees the minutes need to be reviewed to make sure no reputations would be impacted.  As Non-Public minutes, they can only be reviewed when the Selectmen are meeting together.  Selectman Thompson feels it’s important, now that the court case is done, for the Board to do this but they do need to be reviewed; further action will be postponed until the next meeting.   
  • Timber Tax Assessment Work Agreement – Forest Land Improvement  Chairman Dougherty thanked Office Administrator Falcey for facilitating this; the town has been very lucky to have Dennis Thorell to do this for $40 per hour; the Board is sorry to see him go but the person who is interested is just as good.  Don Johnson has been doing work with the Conservation Commission; it’s a wise replacement and the increase in the hourly rate to $75 is more reflective of what it takes to have the service done.  The indemnity clause has been added.  Selectman Thompson, seconded by Selectman Allen, made a motion to approve the Timber Tax Assessment Work Agreement with Forest Land Improvement out of Chocorua, New Hampshire.  The motion passed unanimously.  The document requires three witnesses; Selectman Thompson asked three members of the Public to witness it.
  • Forest Fire Warden Appointment  Chairman Dougherty noted these are all reappointments except for two; there are a lot of deputies here; this is merely a formality; it requires no input from the Selectmen anyway.  Selectman Thompson, seconded by Selectman Allen, made a motion to approve the Forest Fire Warden Appointment as presented.  The motion passed unanimously.    
  • Old Library Management Committee  Joan Aubrey and Susan May joined the Board.  The Committee has been collecting funds under the Historical Society but has gotten several contributions in the name of Marty Wogisch; the Committee thinks it might be better for it to have its own organization.  They have presented paperwork for setting up a separate 501(C)3; as this is a town-owned building the Committee feels it’s appropriate to present this to the Selectmen; they don’t know if the town wants an attorney to review the documents; once this is done the town won’t need the Management Committee; maybe at a future meeting the Board can give input on this.  Chairman Dougherty thinks this is a great idea; it offers transparency and accountability in reporting.  Joan gave the Board the Articles of Agreement and a set of bylaws.  There is no person from the church on the Committee; they have four members at this time.  Susan noted setting this up will also allow a lot more members.  The Committee looks forward to getting the Board’s comments.  Selectman Thompson asked if there is any sense on when the church will replace the member; the seat has been vacant for about four months; Peter noted they hope to have a new person elected at the January meeting.  
  • Jesse Lyman Heating Oil -  Propane & K1 Fixed Rate Contract  This vendor was already approved at a prior meeting.  Selectman Thompson, seconded by Selectman Allen, made a motion to authorize the Chair to sign the contract.  The motion passed unanimously.    
  • Building Permit Fee Refund Request  The Board has received a request for a refund of $1575 for permit fees as the home was not built.  Chairman Dougherty noted it seems there isn’t much the Board can do about this; the permit was pulled in 2006; there is no process or policy to deal with this; there isn’t any way to retro this to 2006; the Selectmen will respond politely that the Board is denying the request.  The Board would like to have further discussion about the fees and how out-of-whack they are; it’s a little high to charge that much to pull a building permit.  Fees are meant to cover expenses.  Last year the town collected $10,571 and spent $8,609 on inspection and engineer expenses.  Office Administrator Falcey has already filtered out expenses from Hurricane Irene and separate work Engineer Phillips did; it would be more if she put in the septic inspections.  Chairman Dougherty noted the town is not allowed to use these fees as a source of revenue; the figures are off only a little bit here but then he looks at the fairness part.  He built his home in 2003; he would have had to spend $2000 for his building permit and that would have been hard for him to do that then.  He wants fees to be part of the building permit process discussion.
  •  Now fees are based on square footage and take into account enforcing the full building code while Jackson doesn’t go through the process of full enforcement of the building codes. It’s not right to collect based on a process the town doesn’t implement.  The first part of this process is to determine what the process is going to be; the Board won’t have the answer until March as to whether the town agrees to do full enforcement; long term or short term.  It’s not fair for Jackson to charge such a high fee for building permits; people are not getting value out of that.  Selectman Thompson is not sure what the formula is; as the Board looks at the number of fees and the amount of fees collected; there were thirty separate transactions and 30% of the fees were in two transactions so only new construction has the very high fee; if the concern is about fees being high the Board should hone in on new home construction formulas.  The Board has been looking into this in an effort to get to some reasonable, logical, local building code enforcement; the Board has looked at other towns to see what might work for Jackson.  Chairman Dougherty noted he likes the way Conway handles this.  There is a formula and fees are capped whereas Jackson’s are not; the fee structure isn’t fair.  Selectman Allen noted there are seven inspections needed; if one is failed then the applicant should have to pay for additional inspections.
  •  A suggestion was made that up-front fees should be $25 for work under $10,000 and $75 for work over $10,000 then charge the value fee when the town closes out the building permit.  Peter noted it was not fun to write a $600 check before he even put a shovel in the ground but overall it’s been a good process; knowing that he is doing things right has been reassuring.  If folks are doing what they should be doing then inspections should not be onerous; it’s when people cut corners that there are issues.  Chairman Dougherty noted from the town’s perspective the history is convoluted; the town initiated a larger fee for the building permit to cover costs for repairing roads that were being damaged by construction vehicles; the town is not allowed to take in revenue to cover road costs but the town at the same time got into inspecting homes and wanted to cover the costs involved there.  The figures show the town got close to that last year.  It was suggested the town should collect an administrative fee up front but when someone builds a $500,000 home that wasn’t there before, any costs to get that building up will be covered in the tax that Jackson will collect for many years; the town will recoup its costs in future tax years.  Peter would like folks to understand that he’s been on the receiving end of this process and he can’t speak highly enough about inspections; the difference is life-saving.  
  • Public Comment  There were none at this time.
  • Board Issues  There were none at this time.
  • Old Business:
  • Board Policy  There is nothing new to add at this time.  
  • Elderly Exemption Application Revision  Office Administrator Falcey has generated modifications to the worksheet and the Board reviewed the document.  Office Administrator Falcey has made some edits and recommendations so it is more clear and straight forward.  Chairman Dougherty finds the edits make the application more clear.  Selectman Thompson went through a few scenarios using the worksheet; there needs to be an adjustment for the blind.  There should be two separate applications.  The Board would like to see instructions stating that all records submitted to the town will be returned to the applicant and the fee for postage is to be submitted with the application; Office Administrator Falcey pointed out where that is already in the instructions.  Chairman Dougherty would like to clarify all income for applicant and spouse for the year is based on the last year’s income tax filing; he’s also a little concerned that this says the town can ask for “any other documents needed to verify eligibility”; if the town can deny the application based on the applicant not supplying the documents that are necessary then he wants the application to list all the possible items so it is not open ended; there should be a list of all the documents needed up front and that there may be others the town may ask for; folks need to know what’s necessary and what the town needs to ask them for.  
  • The Board reviewed all the changes:  This is only for an elderly tax exemption; Page 3 the Board will be looking for language stating the income is based on the most recent (prior year); in other words, someone would submit their 2011 tax return for a 2012 exemption.  Folks will always ask; the Board wants to get this right.  Selectman Thompson would like to see #3 pulled out of the list and to make it a separate statement that there may be other documents the town requires for eligibility; something to the effect of “the town may be asking for other documents to verify eligibility”.   There will be a further revision based on tonight’s discussion.  Selectman Thompson feels the town should take the elderly exemption template and create an application for the blind; the town needs one on record.  Chairman Dougherty noted the Board has to see if the town has adopted this; it’s not likely it has.  Office Administrator Falcey was thanked for putting the document together.
Selectman Allen noted a citizen on Wilson Road asked if the Board would consider changing the Stop sign to a Yield sign where Wilson Road enters the state road; if a person doesn’t have four-wheel drive it’s hard to get over that hill.  The sign was changed about thirty years ago; Wilson Road goes onto a state road so the state may have jurisdiction there.  Chairman Dougherty does not support this; he doesn’t know that he’s ever stopped there and he’s been driving that for twenty-six years but it’s smarter to have a Stop sign there rather than a Yield sign.  Selectman Thompson wants to know why it was changed; there isn’t a Stop sign on Cameron Drive.  Chairman Dougherty will ask Kenny and seek Road Agent Henry’s input too.

The Board went into Non-Public Session in accordance with RSA 91-A:3 II(e) to discuss an Elderly Exemption at 6:49 p.m.  

The Board has determined that it will be consistent with minute taking of Non-Public meetings.  The LGC recommends that only those involved be in attendance.  The Board members feel the minutes Chairman Dougherty put together for the October 4th Non-Public Session were adequate as have been the two other sets he’s created.  The minute-taker was discharged from recording the minutes and left the meeting at 6:53 p.m.
 
  • Elderly Exemption
  • Non-Public Session RSA 91-A:3 II(e)- Elderly Exemption Applicant

                                        Respectfully submitted by:

                                        Martha D. Tobin
                
                                        Recording Secretary