Town of Lyme
Board of Selectmen
Minutes for October 17, 2007
1. The regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen convened at 8:00 AM in the Fire Station training room. The following attended the entire meeting: Simon Carr, Dick Jones, Charles Ragan, Bookkeeper/Secretary Dina Cutting, Police Chief Pauline Field and Administrative Assistant Carole Bont,. The following attended parts of the meeting: Assessing Assistant Elise Garrity, Treasurer Andrea Colgan, Library Trustees: Chair Judy Russell, Treasurer Mardi Bowles, Nora Gould, John Kuniholm, Tish Smith, Librarian Betsy Eaton.
2. The following administrative matters were discussed and actions taken:
a. The minutes for October 10 were approved with minor amendments.
b. The manifest was approved and signed.
c. An Intent to Cut application was signed for:
Henry A. Dall Map 405 lot 50
d. A Yield Tax assessment was signed for:
Dartmouth College Map 414 lot 58 $415.26
e. The Board approved Harold and Jean Bomhower’s request to purchase a cemetery lot. In view of Jean’s service to the town, the Board voted to waive the charge for this.
f. Manning Rountree’s appointment to the Budget Committee, until March 2008, was signed.
g. The Board voted to approve the following pay adjustments to Cemetery and Transfer Station workers, upon completion of their relevant probationary periods and certification:
i. Daniel L. Cutting $11.00 to $11.50 effective 10/01
ii. Daniel F. Quinn $15.50 to $16.50 effective 10/07
iii. Lance W. Goodrich $10.00 to $10.50 effective 10/07
h. The Keane’s conservation easement had raised several issues:
i. Town counsel had been involved in an excessive amount of work; resulting in a significant cost to the town. As we had no policy in place, the town would have to accept this. However, the Board voted to implement a policy that, in negotiating future conservation easements, it should be made clear that legal fees should be borne by the donor of the easement, with the town paying the recording fees.
ii. The lot had been incorrectly described on the deed. The Board and Conservation Commission will need to re-sign this. The cost of re-recording the deed should be paid by the Keane’s attorney.
i. The Auditor’s report and review of December 31st 2006 financial statements were accepted.
3. Town Offices:
a. Reconfiguration: Carole, Dina, Elise and Andrea presented their proposal for the Selectmen’s Office and Planning and Zoning Administrator’s office. Dina and Andrea would take the front (Vickie’s) office. Elise would remain where she is with Carole moving in to the current meeting area. Half the tax card files would move in to the ‘back’ (Carole & Dina’s old) office and this would become the Planning & Zoning Administrator’s office.
b. The costs would be:
i. Computer $400 approx
ii. Phone $3-400 approx
These would come from the “Basement re-arrangement line” of $15,000.
The costs for egress windows and for revised lighting were also being pursued and Pauline already had an approx. $5000 sum for the panic buttons. Once all these costs have been determined, they would be prioritized and, if necessary, an amount sought in next year’s budget.
The Board approved the proposed changes.
c. Filing cabinets for the Document Trailer: There is a need for additional filing cabinets and the staff are investigating possible sources.
d. To facilitate staff attending Selectboard meetings, it was agreed that the Board would move its meetings to 8:00 AM on Thursdays, starting December 6.
4. Carole is working on getting the tax bills out. She needs to get the data to the mailer by October 26, so that they may be mailed November 3 with a due date of December 3.
5. Police Department:
a. Budget: Pauline came in to discuss her proposed budget. She had reduced some lines due to being satisfactory, while increasing the hours for the part-time officer. She was also due for a replacement computer system but this would be covered in the town offices computer budget.
b. Shaun on Disability Leave: There was a discussion on funding of staff while on disability leave. Pauline and Dina will work the details out.
6. The Library Trustees came in to discuss their proposed budget:
a. Librarian Salaries: The COLA had not yet been determined and the Trustees had worked on 3.3% plus merit increases. There was a discussion on the town’s method of determining COLA increases, based on the Social Security index plus 0.5% for longevity. The town will give the Trustees information on the actual numbers once the Social Security index is announced. (subsequently SSI announced at 2.3%).
b. They plan to undertake some building repairs, primarily replacing lighting in the non-fiction area.
c. Mike Beck will undertake snow shoveling this winter. The 8th grade operation could not work through a lack of adult supervision at the necessary times.
7. Tish Smith wished to record her and her neighbors’ thanks to Pauline for Pauline’s response to their concerns.
8. There were no bids for the police SUV. Pauline was authorized to negotiate with Veracka’s or any other interested party. Carole will also put an ad. in Town & City web sales section. The dog box should be donated to any suitable non-profit organization.
9. The Broadband investigation commission (Packetfront) had asked for a further $500 as the town’s contribution to the program. The town meeting had already appropriated sufficient to cover this.
10. Simon reported briefly on the Town Offices Committee open meeting and the subsequent regular meeting. The committee had agreed to proceed with negotiating with Ray Clark for the Recreate site. They were also planning a series of neighborhood open meetings through November.
11. There was a brief discussion on applications for Lyme Center Academy Building. The Board agreed, that for convenience these should be submitted in a standard form.
12. Advertisement for Vickie’s replacement: Carole proposed to run a line advertisement in the Manchester Union Leader for four Sundays, which would cost approximately $450. She will also run ads in the Valley News and Town & City. The Board approved these proposals.
The Meeting adjourned at 9:50 AM.
Simon Carr
Recorder
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