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Selectmen’s Board Meeting
August 13, 2015
Present: John Allen, Chairman; Bob Thompson and Bill Lockard, Selectmen
Visitors: Town Office Administrator Julie Atwell, Treasurer Kathleen Dougherty, Police Chief Doug Jette, Fire Chief/Road Agent Jay Henry, Videographer Hank Benesh, Bea Davis, Stan Weiss, George Howard, Frank Benesh, John Gleason, Bob Landry, Steve Langevin, John Watters, Phil Brogan
Chairman John Allen called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m.
- Selectmen’s Meeting – July 9, 2015 The minutes were approved 2-0-1 (Lockard abstaining).
- Selectmen’s Meeting – July 23, 2015 The minutes were approved 2-0-1 (Thompson abstaining).
- Update on July 23, 2015 Action Items
- Double Head Parking Lot Chairman Allen goes by this lot every day and he’s not seen any issues with parking. Officer Jette noted he’s gotten complaints about folks getting tickets.
- Upcoming Selectmen’s Meetings The next meeting is August 27th; with meetings in September set for September 10th and 24th.
- Police Report Chief Jette reviewed Department activities over the past month. The Covered Bridge Dance and the Golf Tournament went well; in order to alleviate parking issues in town a Police Officer was utilized to direct traffic with great success. There have been a half dozen calls from citizens and administrators at the school about treasure hunting on town property; behind the school and on Prospect Farm. They are taking artifacts from historical land; that is destruction of town property. There is a statute that states persons cannot cause damage on town property. What they find on town property belongs to the town. Prospect Farm is an historical property. The statute be added to the gate sign at Prospect Farm. This type of activity was seen once; it could be happening many times and by
the time the town does something about it, valuable items will have been removed. When asked if patrols have been added, Chief Jette noted there’s no change, just the usual patrol and the officer does not investigate if there are cars up there as that wouldn’t be safe. No prospecting/treasure hunting will also be added to the list at the Office for those coming in to get the key for Prospect Farm. Regarding the Open Container ordinance that was proposed a couple of meetings ago, Chief Jette and Selectman Thompson have committed to moving that forward. Chief Jette has examples of ordinances from other towns to work with. Chief Jette wants to educate folks regarding the ceremony surrounding the raising or lowering of the flag. Everyone should revere the flag and when the Police are putting it at half-staff or returning it to full-staff, there is a formal ceremony involved. Many times folks see the Police gathered to perform this ceremony
and they want to talk to the Police. The ceremony takes a minute and a half and Chief Jette asked that folks wait and not interrupt that ceremony; it is disrespectful to the flag. Chief Jette reviewed the Cop Sync program that he’d like to bring online; it puts the school in direct communication with emergency responders. If there’s an event at the school any teacher can hit the icon on their computer and it goes out to all the local and state responders. It provides a direct route with real time information regarding what is happening and who is responding. The cost to the school will be about eighteen hundred per building; for the town, the cost will be one-hundred-twenty dollars per unit for Jackson; it will be about one-thousand dollars per year. Fire Chief/Road Agent Henry asked about the use of cell service for this as that is not considered reliable enough to use. There is an App to install on phones in case the teacher can’t
get to their computer. Chief Jette is meeting with SAU 9 at their Safety Meeting along with the Bartlett Police Chief and Bartlett Selectman Jon Hebert. This system is faster than 911. Selectman Thompson would like confirmation about the fee. Chief Jette noted most of the cost is going to be absorbed by grants. The Selectmen support going forward with this. Bea Davis asked if there is a problem with one of the squad cars and Chief Jette explained that there had been on-going transmission issues over the past month or so and the vehicle slipped into gear when an Officer responded to a medical emergency up a steep drive. The vehicle rolled into some trees resulting in damage to both sides of it as well as to the radiator. Once the bodywork is completed it will go to the dealership for repair of the transmission. The vehicle was supposed to be ready today but it still hasn’t had the bodywork completed. Chief Jette thinks
the town needs to consider having a maintenance person for the town buildings for a couple hours a week and as a go-to person in case of some emergency in the building (such as burst pipes, no heat or electrical issues). The Selectmen feel they should be contacted in case of issues with the buildings and they will know who to contact. Selectman Lockard will talk with Inspector Bennett about being the point man on this. Chief Jette noted it is a matter of protocol to contact the Selectmen about any building issues but if he had a list of vendors, he could contact that vendor to get the repair in process more expediently. Some Departments have maintenance funds but the Police Department doesn’t. There is a maintenance line for the Office building as a whole. The Board will look at separating out lines for the upstairs and the Police Department.
- DOT Presentation There are a number of folks from the DOT here tonight and they presented information on slides and in handouts regarding the bridge on Route 16 across from the Golf Course and next to Green Hill Road. This is the first of three informational meetings they are planning. This bridge has been red listed for four years and is number fifty-nine on the priority list. The bridge is seventy-seven years old and does have historical significance. The major issue is the drains that carry rainwater off the bridge; these are deteriorating. There is water going into the stone façade and the sidewalk is also deteriorating. The detour options are going seventy-five miles around Mount Washington or going through town and over the Covered Bridge which has a three ton weight limit. There could be no truck traffic over that bridge. That leaves phasing (working on one side at a time) or putting in a temporary bridge or building a new bridge adjacent. This is planned for 2023
and if a ROW has to be established for changes in the bridge, that process takes seven years. Bob Landry noted the Division of Historic Resources wants this bridge saved but testing will determine if that’s possible. Those results will be available by October which is when the DOT plans to schedule the next meeting; those results will determine whether the bridge will be renovated or replaced. The current bridge does have issues with sight lines from Green Hill Road and also with the closeness of the sidewalk to the travel lane. Chief Jette noted the current set up forces drivers to move over the yellow line as they approach bikers and walkers along that bridge. He wondered if the sidewalks could be mounted on the outside of the bridge; Bob noted they are willing to look at that. Fire Chief/Road Agent Henry asked how far the DOT would go with the sidewalks on either side of the bridge; Bob expects it to be one-hundred feet on either side of the
bridge. The sidewalk is a safety issue as is the sight line from Green Hill; Selectman Thompson thinks safety would trump the historical aspect of the bridge; Bob wishes it were that easy. Raising the pavement on Green Hill Road by ten inches would fix this as would lowering the railing on the bridge by six inches and raising Green Hill Road by six inches. There will also be a traffic study to see if a traffic light at that intersection is warranted. Road Agent Henry wants to incorporate the town’s work on the sidewalks into this bid; Bob said he can make that happen at any time. If the bridge is restored, water won’t be allowed to drain into the river anymore either; water will be stopped before it gets to the bridge and will drain through a grass swale.
- Public Comment George Howard would like to know more about the letter of support the Board generated for Starting Home; he reviewed the minutes but didn’t find that discussion resulted in support of this. The purpose of the letter was to support utilizing the unused portions of the old nursing home for this project because Starting Home can’t apply for grants until it has a location. George is welcome to watch the video or contact Dorothy Solomon for more in-depth information. This committee was supposed to meet on August 10th so there may be an update.
- Building Inspector
- Weekly Report – Kevin Bennett Inspector Bennett reviewed activities since the last meeting including several permits as noted below.
- Building Permit 2015000032 Map V02 Lot 25 – (Owner – Hurley – 32 Valley Cross Road) – Remodel, foundation frost wall, small basement, new electrical service
- Building Permit 2015000034 Map R17 Lot 46 – (Owner – Chapman – 67 Moody Farm Road) – Extend Permitn #2014000014
- Building Permit 2015000035 Map R13 Lot 19 – (Owner – Couture – Green Hill Road) – Extend Permit #2014000036
- Driveway permit – V02 Lot 21
- Building Permit application and fees The permit fees have been changed such that they would cover the Inspector’s salary and expenses, which the current fees do not. There will be a minimum permit fee as well for small jobs. The Board will review the fee schedule for the next meeting.
* These motions were incorrect and were reread into the record at the August 27, 2015 meeting.
- Trustee of the Trust Funds – Signature Required Selectman Lockard, seconded by Selectman Thompson made a motion to transfer funds in the appropriate amounts and into the appropriate Funds in accordance with Articles 8, 11, 13 and 7. The motion passed unanimously.
Selectman Thompson, seconded by Selectman Lockard, made a motion to withdraw one-thousand-thirty-one dollars and seventy-seven cents from the Bridge Repair Expendable Trust Fund to pay Lucy Hardware invoices from June 14th and June 17th and for Mountain Valley Fabrication invoice number forty-three. The motion passed unanimously.
Selectman Lockard, seconded by Selectman Thompson, made a motion to withdraw one-thousand-forty-seven dollars and forty-one cents from the Police Department Expendable Trust Fund to pay the Tire Direct invoice. The motion passed unanimously.
- Gray’s Inn Garage - Storage Fire Chief/Road Agent Henry noted there have been multiple calls from folks asking to store items in the Grey’s Inn Garage; the Old Library Management Committee asked to store books in there; which is not an appropriate use of that space as it’s not a waterproof area. There’s a brand new Library building if those books are to be kept and if they are of no use, then they should be disposed of. The Conservation Commission has equipment in there, the Chamber puts things in there and there are now three different trailers (emergency management) in there. The school bus is stored there over the summer and if the Police Department were to impound a vehicle or other items, the Inn Garage would be the place for those items to be stored. It’s getting to be a full building and he’s
concerned there won’t be room for town uses. The Highway Department works very hard to keep the place organized and clean but there are others that are abusing the building; they just throw their items in. There’s a lot of staging in there, there is stuff for the snow sculpture competition, there’s playground equipment in there from years ago. Selectman Thompson will go through the building with Fire Chief/Road Agent Henry for further discussion at the next meeting. The DOT is not going to provide the thirty-thousand dollars towards roads that it committed to; it may still give Jackson twenty thousand; there will be further discussion about this once all emails are received. The knotweed is getting worse and there is a lengthy approval process for spraying it. There is already money in the budget for this but it may need to wait until next year. Black Mountain East/West is moving forward with bringing the area up to the required
standards for building. There are two firefighters who will be honored in Manchester for their actions in saving a person during a house fire at Woodland Pines. Travis Chick from Bartlett and Anthony Giovani from Jackson both got this person out of the burning building; it’s great to see the two towns’ working together this way. The Board will be advised of the date for the ceremony.
- Emergency Operations Plan – Signature Required This is the annual acceptance of the Plan. Selectman Lockard, seconded by Selectman Thompson, made a motion to accept the 2015 Emergency Operations Plan. The motion passed unanimously.
- Intent to Cut Map R12, Lot 55, Units 1 & 2 – Owner Simone This was signed outside of a meeting due to time constraints.
- DOT Guardrail Replacement – FYI The DOT is going to be replacing several sections of guardrail on Route 16 between Jackson and Gorham. The start date for this work is March 29, 2016.
- Melloon Road Landfill Summary Report – FYI The groundwater report is in; HEB is requesting a reduced sampling plan.
- HGTV Logo Release (added) As discussed at a previous meeting, HGTV will be filming Log Cabin Living in Jackson; this release will allow them to show any logo associated with Jackson that might be filmed. Selectman Lockard, seconded by Selectman Thompson, made a motion to sign the Logo Release. The motion passed unanimously.
- Request for Assistance Selectman Lockard noted Town Office Administrator Atwell has been working on an Assistance case and handling it very well.
- Public Comment Frank Benesh doesn’t feel the inspection fees need to cover the Building Inspector’s salary. Frank is seeing a number of situations where folks have started work on projects without a permit. There is no penalty for these folks, they are discovered to be doing work, they come in and request a permit which is either approved or not but there’s no penalty; there’s no reason for folks to do the right thing and get the permit before doing work. Selectman Thompson asked how many complaints have come into the Office in writing. There have been no written complaints filed and Selectman Thompson wants to be careful that the town doesn’t send in the Inspector from anonymous reports from folks who may have an agenda. Frank noted that is not what he is talking about; he’s talking about
situations that Inspector Bennett “stumbles” upon as he goes about doing his work. Selectman Thompson noted those complaints need to be on file and Frank noted all of the ones he is talking about are in writing in the ZBA file. Inspector Bennett noted he’s caught five of these so far this year which is very different from getting anonymous complaints via email. Frank doesn’t disagree with Selectman Thompson’s concern over acting on anonymous information; Frank is speaking about applying a penalty for those situations where folks who know better start work without a permit. Some towns double the fees for a penalty. While the Building Inspector has the authority to issue fines, Selectman Lockard wants to make sure Inspector Bennett lets the Board know about any fines he wants to impose.
- Other Business (added) Ellie Spears would like to be appointed to the Old Library Management Committee. Selectman Thompson, seconded by Selectman Lockard, made a motion to appoint Ellie Spears to the Old Library Management Committee. The motion passed unanimously. Tim Scott sent a note thanking the town for the work done to resurface his road.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:05 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by:
Martha D. Tobin
Recording Secretary
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