Jackson Selectmen’s Meeting
September 5, 2013
Present: John Allen, Chairman; Bob Thompson and Bill Lockard, Selectmen
Visitors: ***based on speaker’s voice/names mentioned/people seen on screen only… not sure I got them all****
Town Office Administrator Julie Atwell, Treasurer Warren Schomaker, Police Officer Sean Cowland, Building Inspector Andy Chalmers, Engineer Burr Phillips, Library Trustee Treasurer Edith Houlihan, Bea Davis, Jerry Dougherty, AFLAC Representative Al ***, Susan May, Bob Tafuto
Chairman John Allen called the meeting to order at 4:42 p.m. and asked for a moment of silence in memory of Phil Kelly who recently passed away; he was a great man and will be missed.
1. Approval of Minutes
a. Selectmen’s Meeting – August 22, 2013 The minutes were approved as written.
b. Non-Public Meting – August 22, 2013 – sign minutes envelope – RSA 91-A:3, II(c) The minutes were approved and sealed at the meeting; the Board members initialed the envelope.
c. Non-Public Meting – August 22, 2013 – sign minutes envelope – RSA 91-A:3, II(a) The minutes were approved and sealed at the meeting; the Board members initialed the envelope.
d. Non-Public Meting – August 22, 2013 – sign minutes envelope – RSA 91-A:3, II(a) The minutes were approved and sealed at the meeting; the Board members initialed the envelope.
2. Update on 8.22.13 Action Items
a. Whitneys’ Pond Chairman Allen apologized to Bob and Bea Davis; he said he would research the cost break down and has not done it yet.
b. Planning Board Opening This opening has been reposted.
c. Hazardous Waste Day This is scheduled for September 21st; this has been in the town column and enews.
d. Life Safety Inspections Town Office Administrator Atwell is still researching when these stopped and why.
e. Transfer Station Repairs This is on the agenda for completion under Old Business.
f. Knotweed Spraying Notification There will be further discussion under Old Business.
g. Town Office Wish List This has already been discussed with the Office Liaison.
3. Public Comment There were none.
4. Police Report Officer Sean Cowland reviewed Department activities since the last meeting; some items included fingerprinting residents for employment, a couple of calls for trees down; a call for a dog left in a vehicle that turned out to be fine. There was one courtesy transport and one call for a disoriented female by the covered bridge; said female was gone upon arrival. There was one found property report; a motor vehicle complaint on a Coleman truck (investigation continues), an assist to the Bartlett Police Department
with a motor vehicle accident; there was a theft report for a painting that was taken out of the Historical Society building; there were two false burglar alarms; one arrest for simple assault and the Police Department had its yearly firearms training including night training. Officer Cowland noted there have been reports of vehicle break-ins in Bartlett and Conway; there have been none reported in Jackson. These folks are going for easy targets like unlocked cars with electronics visible. He would like to remind folks to make sure they lock their cars and hide their gadgets, don’t make them a target.
5. Septic System Engineer Phillips is on his way; this item was tabled until then.
6. Legal Expenses There has been no change; one bill just came in but it’s not added in; the total to date is about seven-thousand dollars.
7. NHEC The Co-op is requesting continued permission for access. This was already approved and discussed in November, 2012; this Board has no problem with the continuation of permissions.
8. AFLAC Al *** is the town’s AFLAC Representative; no one has been out to speak with Jackson for a long time; Chief Meyers and Officer Cowland both have AFLAC if folks want to talk to someone with the coverage. Healthcare Reform is going into effect and employers have until Oct 1st to let employees know what will be available. AFLAC is meeting with a lot of towns; AFLAC has put together a slide presentation regarding what policies will look like in the future and the options that will be available.
Providing this information is to all employees is a DOL requirement. Many folks may not understand that they could qualify for subsidies; income can be up to four-hundred percent of the poverty level; for a single person that would be any income under forty-five thousand dollars; a married couple with children earning up to ninety-four thousand dollars will qualify for subsidies. It was clarified that all employees need to be educated about Health Care Reform and how it impacts the employee; receipt of that information has to be documented by October 1st; some employers are not aware they are required by the Department of Labor to do this. The training takes fifteen to twenty minutes total; Al makes out the forms and each employee has to initial that s/he knows about it. A lunch time meeting might work best; Selectman Lockard will coordinate a time with Town Office Administrator Atwell. Al noted most people have a bunch of questions about
Health Care Reform; this is going to happen; the program still needs to be tweaked but the basic structure is in place.
9. Jackson Public Library – Fund Request The Library is requesting release of five-thousand-one-hundred-seventy-six dollars to fund operating expenses, as previously approved by the town. Selectman Thompson, seconded by Selectman Lockard, made a motion to approve the release of funds however it was determined that no motion is required as the voters already approved this expenditure. The motion was withdrawn, as was the second.
10. Jackson Historical Society – Tree Removal Request Treasurer/Historical Society Representative Warren Schomaker noted there is a dead tree and believes the Historical Society needs to get permission from the sSelectmen as they have first authority regarding anything that happens in and along the Wildcat. Road Agent Henry does a good job of tree removal and will leave a couple of feet of trunk to help stabilize the bank. Selectman Thompson isn’t sure about the Board having authority on this; Treasurer Schomaker noted he was informed by the
Conservation Commission that is the case. Selectman Thompson, seconded by Selectman Lockard, made a motion, once it is confirmed that the Selectmen have the authority, to authorize the Road Agent to remove the tree, leaving a couple of feet of trunk to stabilize the bank. The motion passed unanimously.
11. Old Library Grant The Old Library Committee is meeting on Sunday for one more review, then Monday the grant package will be mailed out. This is an FYI as the Board has already given approval to submit the grant request.
12. A/P Manifest to be signed This was done.
13. New Business There is no New Business.
14. Septic
a. Ammonoosuc Survey – Bob Tafuto Engineer Burr Phillips and Bob Tafuto joined the Board; Bob noted this home on Switchback Road has a septic system in failure; it was built in the 1920’s and is a five-bedroom home. Bob designed a five-bedroom septic system and Engineer Phillips denied it; there is a difference of opinion as to whether this home has always been a five-bedroom home or if there has been a change of use.
Engineer Phillips noted this is an “iffy” lot to begin with; the lot will support only twenty-three percent of its capacity. To the best of Engineer Phillips’ knowledge this property has been a Ski Club since the 1960’s and now it will become a Residential property; a Ski Club is based on a Bed & Breakfast calculation of sixty gallons per person per day while Residential use is calculated at one-hundred-fifty gallons per bedroom per day; a five-bedroom house would require seven-hundred-fifty gallons per day. Jackson Zoning Ordinance 2.2.1 states if the use has been discontinued for six years than that use is lost. The state’s take on this is that it would not be grandfathered as a five-bedroom residence due to the number of years since it was a five-bedroom
residence. The property would have to meet the current standards to become a five-bedroom residence. Engineer Phillips was involved with a house in North Conway where the state did the exact same thing; they are being consistent. Engineer Phillips believes the use has changed. This is Engineer Phillips’ position but maybe the Board has a better idea.
Bob noted the Ski Club had sixty-four bunks; they over-used it and the system failed in the 1970’s; it has been dumping effluent into the brook since then. The owner is buying a five-bedroom house that has had five bedrooms since 1922; Bob has tax cards from 2005 and 2013 that state it a five-bedroom residential property. This was not a business; it was used as a ski house; it had a sign saying Abenaki Ski Club; Bob could put a sign up at his house; that doesn’t change the use of his home. This was a residential use, people showed up to eat, sleep and go skiing. Three families owned this home and they used it for a ski house; their use is residential and now it is residential; they did not change the use of the house by sharing it. The state says as long as the town of Jackson
agrees that prior to 1967 this was a five-bedroom residential use, they will approve it as such. Bob agrees it would be different if this was a business that was changing into a residential use. This property’s use has always been residential and the current owners want to fix it.
Selectman Lockard wondered if the lot is too small to support a five-bedroom system; Bob noted the state would allow the use to continue if the use was grandfathered. Engineer Phillips noted the design would have to comply with the town’s current requirements; the lot has less than one-quarter of what would be required to support a five-bedroom system. Selectman Lockard noted what he is hearing is if he were building a new house he couldn’t get approval; this house, however, already exists; if the lot won’t support a five-bedroom system how is Bob going to put one in? Bob has designed an appropriate system; there’s a tank and effluent goes to field that is large enough to deal with a five-bedroom house.
Engineer Phillips noted, based on the soils, this property is not close to supporting a five-bedroom home but Bob has designed a system to get the effluent into the ground. Bob noted this property should have had a new system in the 1970’s or ‘80’s; this property would never support sixty-four bunks; the lot won’t even support a one-bedroom system, however, at the very least an existing lot of record can have two bedrooms. Engineer Phillips clarified if the lot can’t meet the density requirement then the state will “give you” approval for two bedrooms as long as it’s a lot of record.
Selectman Thompson wondered what Bartlett does about Ski Clubs. Bob has done two Ski Clubs, one in Bartlett and one in Conway; neither town has zoning that says Ski Clubs are a separate use nor does the state.
Building Inspector Chalmers, on the building code/life safety end, has looked at these properties as lodging and rooming homes. He agrees this is a change of use; the building has gone from a ski lodge to a single family home. The proposed use is a five-bedroom home; Bob is designing a system for a five-bedroom home; Engineer Phillips is saying the lot can’t support a five-bedroom home. Bob noted the state is saying if he can get a local engineer to approve the system and the Selectmen to approve it then it can go to the state. While it’s possible the state would turn it down; Bob believes the state would approve it.
Selectman Lockard wants to know if this was ever recognized as a commercial ski lodge; Engineer Phillips has a tax card and it says “Ski Club”; Selectman Lockard would like to know when this property quit being a Ski Club. Inspector Chalmers noted there was a Fire Safety inspection done on this property; it was listed as a business; since it was being inspected, and Jackson doesn’t inspect residential properties, this was being inspecting as something other than a residence. Selectman Thompson believes the Abenaki Ski Club is a business; people pay a fee to go to the club and use that facility, he wondered what this is classified as if not a business; Bob noted it’s a realty trust. Engineer Phillips noted continued use of the property as a Ski Club would have been grandfathered;
the owner is changing the use from a Ski Club, which is lodging, to Residential. Bob noted that’s the issue; he believes the use of the property as a Ski Club is Residential.
Selectman Thompson asked how big this house is; it is sixteen-hundred square feet, the bedrooms are very small. He asked how much bigger a system would have to be to support a three-bedroom home versus a two-bedroom home. The system would have to be one-third bigger to support a third bedroom; a system for a five-bedroom would be more than two times that required for two-bedrooms.
Engineer Phillips noted the argument comes down to this; is the Board willing to grandfather the house because it was a house thirty or forty years ago and now they want to convert it back to a house? This may have been a five-bedroom house in 1922 but it hasn’t been used as a house since it became a Ski Club. Bob noted the realty trust, made up of three families, bought the property in 1978; they didn’t take the sign down but for the past thirty-five years this has been used as a five-bedroom house mostly in the summer. It was clarified that there were folks using it in the winter; Selectman Thompson believes it was operating a Ski Club until fairly recently. Bob noted the Steinmeisters sold to Mountain Realty Trust in 1978 and it has not been a Ski Club since then. Selectman
Thompson isn’t quite sure it is correct that this hasn’t been used as a Ski Club since 1978; he’d like to know what the use of the Abenaki Ski Club is; people pay dues to belong and to use the property. He would like to see this worked out but the Selectmen put a lot of stock in what the Building Inspector and Engineer say; he is not saying Bob is wrong but he knows the property was used as a Ski Club with a cook on weekends fairly recently. There are conflicting stories about its use and before he makes a decision he needs to know what it was used as. Bob doesn’t know if they hired a cook; his neighbors have a cook. Selectman Thompson noted when someone hires a cook and pays that person with a pay check that says “Abenaki Ski Club”, he considers that to be a business. Bob noted the Ski Club is a Residential use; the Ski Club use was abandoned; the home was just sold as a five-bedroom home, just as it was in 1922.
Selectman Thompson asked if Bob’s client would be willing to accept fewer than five bedrooms. Bob believes they might but they would not accept a two-bedroom limit; that would be devaluing the property too much; the new owners bought a five-bedroom house. Selectman Thompson would like to see some sort of plan as to how a two-bedroom, three-bedroom and five-bedroom septic fits on the lot; he’d like to know what this is going to look like. Engineer Phillips noted it doesn’t matter if it’s a two-bedroom or a five-bedroom system; it’s still going to need waivers to put that much density into the ground. The intent of the minimum lot size is to prevent contamination of the ground water with nitrates; this area is on town water which alleviates that concern. If Bob’s client was pushed into a two-bedroom house, he may go to counsel. Four-bedrooms would be acceptable but he can’t imagine his client settling for two bedrooms instead of five. Chairman Allen noted he purchased a
six-bedroom house that had to be cut to three; it what happens with these old homes.
Inspector Chalmers understands there is off-site water but his concern is that there is a brook that runs by this property that dumps into the Wildcat; it runs right by the school. Bob noted his design maintains one-hundred feet from open water; this is going to require a waiver for the tank and he is calling for the tank to be sealed and grouted. The current system is thirty-five feet away from the brook; it’s an open cesspool that has been flowing into the brook the whole time many folks in the room were going to school down there.
Selectman Thompson noted the buyers were clearly aware there was not an approved five-bedroom septic in place. Bob countered that the buyers knew the septic system was in failure. Selectman Thompson believes the buyers should have been aware and known there was not a state-approved system for five bedrooms. Bob noted the buyers knew they could not occupy the property with a failed septic system. Selectman Thompson noted that means they knew they didn’t have approval for five-bedrooms. Bob agrees that would be the case.
Bob noted the project would require two waivers; the one for the tank and another one regarding the culvert that is above the property. The property is downhill from the culvert so it won’t feed into it.
Selectman Thompson feels a renovated home with a three-bedroom septic would improve the neighborhood but the advice this Board is receiving is that five bedrooms is overreaching and that even three bedrooms is overreaching. He’d like to know if there is common ground to figure out a way to beautify that area; if there’s not, then there’s not; the Selectmen can’t be the arbiters on this.
Bob asked Engineer Phillips if he is going to hold to two bedrooms; the Board would like to see what it looks like on the site. Bob put out the plan for the five-bedroom septic system and reviewed it; a large area of the lot is parking and the septic would be below that; the garage is to be taken down. Bob noted a waiver for the tank is commonly granted; the waiver for the culvert is usually granted only in cases of as-built/existing, which this is. The Board still feels the size of the lot is too small; a two-bedroom system would be a bit under half of what is shown on the plan current. The Board understands there is a lot at stake regarding the value of the property. Engineer Phillips noted his concern is not so much about grandfathering the five bedrooms; this is a lousy condition for the
system with the stream and wetlands.
Selectman Thompson doesn’t think the Board has enough information to make a determination as to this being grandfathered or not. If the Ski Club issues paychecks as “Abenaki Ski Club” it’s a business and they can’t call it Residential; this organization take dues in; they conduct business, they take in fees for the use of the facility; there were sixty-four bunks in there. He believes this property was recognized as Ski Club up to the point of sale.
Inspector Chalmers reminded the Board that it took a complaint about the garage on this property falling down; at that time the person contacted about the property was Robert Rocco who is listed as the President of the Abenaki Ski Club; that was within the last two years and the response is on record. Selectman Thompson doesn’t want to see this continue to dump effluent into the feeder stream; there was a weather event that caused a septic failure that impacted the School four or five years ago; it would be nice to get this cleaned up but he needs to sleep on it before making a decision. He’d like to take this up at the next meeting; discuss what was brought to light here and see if there is any compromise. Bob would like to get on with this project. If the state gives approval, the
owner will have ninety days to put the new system in; he has to do this now, he can’t wait until the spring.
Bob is here representing the owners; Selectman Thompson asked if the owners would be fine with three bedrooms; Bob is not sure but he knows for sure they wouldn’t accept two. Engineer Phillips asked if the Board is giving legitimacy to the property still being a Residential use; Selectman Thompson noted at the sale it was a Ski Club and any contact the town has had has been through the Club; he can’t sit here and say it’s been Residential but the Board has to clean this up. He’d like to find a reasonable way to use this twenty-six-hundred square foot property but he’s not sure a five-bedroom home is reasonable.
Selectman Lockard is uneasy with the Residential title; the Ski Club owned it and sold it several months ago. Bob noted the realty trust, made up of three families, sold the property to a single owner. Selectman Lockard doesn’t have enough knowledge to resolve this.
Bob wondered, if the client agreed to three bedrooms, would Engineer Phillips stamp the plan and send it on to the state. Engineer Phillips noted he would have no justification to do that; it is a reasonable compromise but what regulation allows for this?
Inspector Chalmers noted the Selectmen are tasked with following the letter of the Zoning Ordinance; this may be reasonable but the Board can’t interpret the Ordinance; they have to apply it literal. He suggested denying the request and sending it to the ZBA; the ZBA is not a precedent-setting board; their decision on this won’t affect anyone else down the road.
Chairman Allen would like to send this to the ZBA; Selectman Lockard would deny this request for an exception based on tonight’s discussion. Bob asked the Board to either grant the exception or to make a decision that a Ski Club is a Residential use. Selectman Lockard reiterated that he is not comfortable making that decision.
The Board wondered how many others Ski Clubs there are in Jackson; Bea Davis noted there are two, the S-kimos and the Drifters. There isn’t a lot of precedence to be set.
Selectman Thompson, seconded by Selectman Lockard, made a motion to deny the five-bedroom septic proposal. Bob is a bit concerned about the timing and getting to the ZBA; Engineer Phillips noted Bob could stick with the two-bedroom plan while going to the ZBA; he could over-design the septic bed, making it bigger than it needs to be. That would allow him to go to construction while going through the ZBA. He might waste some site work to get it into the ground before it freezes or they can live with two bedrooms. There was no further discussion. The motion passed unanimously.
b. Thad Thorne Surveys - Dave Douglass Engineer Phillips has sent a letter to Thorne Survey; they didn’t realize there was an issue; this will come back to the Board.
15. Old Business
a. Knotweed Town Office Administrator Atwell was thanked for the letter that was generated and sent out; the contractor is going to begin on Saturday the 14th at 7 a.m. as long as it is dry. There was one owner that didn’t want her property sprayed; there was another request not to spray but it was for an area the town wasn’t planning to spray. The area for mechanical removal is on Carter Notch Road. A member of the public noted there is an area of knotweed that is affecting visibility on a road; she
was asked to get the contractor information from Town Office Administrator Atwell and to speak with the property owner to see if they would agree to have the area sprayed; there are seven or eight people who have asked to have the contractor spray their property as well as another resident from Bartlett who attended the Jackson meeting about knotweed removal.
b. E9-1-1 Authorized User Form – to be signed This is regarding Department of Safety communications and requires a signature. Selectman Thompson, seconded by Selectman Lockard, made a motion to authorize Chairman Allen to sign the E9-1-1 Authorized User Form. The motion passed unanimously.
c. Transfer Station Repairs The estimate for the repairs is fifteen-hundred dollars and there is plenty in the account. Selectman Thompson, seconded by Selectman Lockard, made a motion to approve the repairs to the Transfer Station, as presented by Manager Edgerly, up to fifteen-hundred dollars, and for those funds to come from the Bartlett-Jackson Transfer Station account. The motion passed unanimously.
d. Update – Tax Card Tracking Town Office Administrator Atwell will continue tracking through December; there have been thirty-nine requests over the past thirty days.
e. Transfer of Funds – Old Library As previously discussed, these funds were approved in Warrant Article 19; it requires only signatures.
f. Burglar alarms and fire alarms Town Office Administrator Atwell got a response from the LGC on this that she will pass it on to the Selectmen; this will be on the agenda for the next meeting. Bea asked if the town is fining folks; the town is issuing fines but the Board would like to investigate what other towns are charging for problematic alarms; of which Jackson has quite a batch.
g. Jackson Code - email George Howard has expressed a concern with the process of establishing a building inspector for Jackson; he’s also concerned whether this will be a fully-funded position of the town or a per diem contract. Town Office Administrator Atwell called LGC for an opinion as to whether this position would have to be open to a full hiring process. In their opinion, if the Selectmen change this from a contract to a town position, the full hiring process is not necessary. Chairman Allen would like to keep
Inspector Chalmers on board. Bea noted the town already voted to enforce the state building code. It was explained that George’s concern was that this was a new position and as such should be open to new hires; the LGC says that is not necessary. Currently the job description is waiting on Inspector Chalmers input; the Board took the LGC job description and asked him to look at it and fit into it what Jackson is doing; the Board will schedule another work session; the whole thing will come together in short order.
h. Route 16 Guardrail - FYI A letter has been received regarding the state working to replace substandard guardrails and drainage between the Bartlett town line and Pinkham’s Grant starting on September 16th.
i. Property Liability Trust – Select Power of Attorney Chairman Allen signed the document which will allow PLT to continue providing services to Jackson.
j. Hiring process for Administrative Assistant (added) Bea noted when the Town Office Administrator was hired there was a committee involved; Bea would like to be involved in the Committee conducting the hiring process for the Administrative Assistant. The Board isn’t sure how the hiring process is going to move forward. Chairman Allen has a couple of friends that applied so he’d like to abstain. Selectman Thompson would like to see Selectman Lockard be the Selectmen’s Representative in the hiring
process. All three Selectmen will review the applications and make comments but he would be the one involved in the interviews and hiring process. During the last hiring process, all the Selectmen went through the files and ranked the applicants in order of their qualifications; that guided the Board towards who was a good candidate for a first interview; after that recommendations would go to the Board. Selectman Lockard will do the first interview; September 10th is the cut-off for applications; he will work with Town Office Administrator Atwell on this.
16. Public Comment Bea asked what the Office hours are; Town Office Administrator Atwell noted they are Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Fridays until noon. They are posted on the door and on the town website.
Edith asked if there is an AED in the Office building; she would suggest there should be one here but she’d like the town to fund one for the Library; that is a town building that gets a lot of use and a lot of people. An AED is CPR for dummies; she has been certified as a coach; this reinforced for her the need for an AED in every building and on every floor. Jerry Dougherty noted the Whitney Center, the School and the Fire Department have AEDs and they each paid for their own; he feels the Library should do the same. Selectman Lockard noted he’s not belittling the suggestion but this is like fire extinguishers, how many does the town want to have? Jackson could have five AEDs in every building but then the town has to keep people trained to use them; there is a liability with having
these; someone has to manage them. Edith agreed that they are not needed in every room but the AED talks whomever takes it off the wall through the entire process; users do not have to be certified. As Library Treasurer, she has applied for a grant from the Co-op to provide one to the Library; if they don’t get the grant that is no reason not to have one at the Library; she believes Jackson should have these in its buildings. Chairman Allen asked if folks at the Library have access to the Office building; Edith noted they do not and she hopes he isn’t suggesting that when someone is having a heart attack a staff person would be able to get over to the Office for an AED. He noted he wasn’t suggesting that, he was just asking; he reminded her that the Police vehicles have AEDs. Selectman Thompson noted the organization he works for got a huge grant to put them in. If the grant doesn’t come through he suggests the
Library ask the voters to fund it and one for the town offices as well.
Town Office Administrator Atwell asked if the Chart of Accounts need to be discussed in a meeting or if this can be handled as office business. Selectman Thompson would like to have that conversation now. Town Office Administrator Atwell noted the DRA is looking for Jackson to clean up the Chart of Accounts; they aren’t wrong but were set up incorrectly. MRI hasn’t submitted a time estimate but the work will be at seventy-five dollars an hour; Town Office Administrator Atwell estimates it will take five to ten hours. Selectman Thompson would like her to bring this back to the Board with a hard estimate on time so they will have some idea of the costs involved.
Selectman Thompson, seconded by Selectman Lockard, made a motion to go into Non-Public Session in accordance with RSA 91-A:3, II (a) at 6:19 p.m. The motion passed unanimously.
17. Non-Public Session
a. RSA 91-A:3, II(a) The dismissal, promotion, or compensation of any public employee or the disciplining of such employee, or the investigation of any charges against him or her, unless the employee affected (1) has a right to a public meeting, and (2) requests that the meeting be open, in which case the request shall be granted.
b. RSA 91-A:3, II(a) The dismissal, promotion, or compensation of any public employee or the disciplining of such employee, or the investigation of any charges against him or her, unless the employee affected (1) has a right to a public meeting, and (2) requests that the meeting be open, in which case the request shall be granted.
Respectfully submitted by:
Martha D. Tobin
Recording Secretary
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