PRESENT:
Gordon Carlstrom Selectman
David Woodbury Chairman
Christine Quirk Selectman
Burton Reynolds Town Administrator
CALL TO ORDER: A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was called to order by David Woodbury beginning with the Pledge of Allegiance at 7:04PM.
PUBLIC COMMENT: Kim DiPietro of 469 Clark Hill Road asked if a meeting had been set up or the issue resolved regarding the Sherburne Lot off Old Coach Road. Burton replied that he had spoken with Lee Murray, the road agent, concerning the main area of the sand reserve. Bob Todd of 336 Francestown Road had previously stated that the bounds are fifty feet from the wetland areas and fifty feet from the road. Burton also spoke with the town’s auditor regarding donation of services, and he stated that donations have to go to town meeting for a vote because it affects the 50/50 split of the revenues.
APPOINTMENTS:
1. 7:00PM LaBree Road Acceptance Hearing
Dave Woodbury read the hearing notice to the public. Included was a letter from the contractor, Al Bell, stating that all conditions have been met and the road is complete. Engineers from Dufresne Henry sent an approval letter. Nic Strong, Planning Coordinator, stated that the planning board is satisfied that all the requirements have been met. Christine made a motion to accept LaBree Road as a Class V road. Gordon seconded the motion. All were in favor. The Post Office and the School will be notified by the town of the acceptance of the road.
2. 7:15PM Warren Houghton
Warren Houghton was present, along with Maureen Mansfield, to discuss a bond issue with the Selectmen. Mr. Houghton is putting up a $7,000 CD for the two acres of his gravel pit. Warren will prepare a letter of intention, along with a map, specifying the two acres for reclamation purposes. He is concerned that in the future a new Board of Selectmen will require him to come up with another bond in order to go back to the original pit area that he has been excavating from. The Selectmen told him that it may depend on how long the older are section of the pit has been inactive. In the meantime, Burton will check with Mary Pinkham Langer at Municipal Resources regarding the matter.
While he was there, Warren informed the Selectmen that the Cemetery Trustees have used the $9,000.00 in monies donated by the previous cemetery trustees as a gift for road improvements and work on the fountain. The road at the top gate was paved down to the pine trees and a new road constructed. The fountain has been sandblasted and will be painted. The Trustees are going to look into an old cemetery between Dennison and Thornton Roads. It is believed to belong to the Chandler/Whipple family, but seems to have been abandoned.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
Minutes of October 21, 2002 – Selectmen reviewed changes to the minutes. Chris motioned to accept the minutes with the necessary changes. Dave seconded the motion. Gordon abstained from voting due to his absence for the meeting.
Non-Public Minutes of October 7, 2002 – Christine made a motion to accept the revised minutes for this portion of the meeting with the changes. Gordon seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Minutes of October 28, 2002 - These were deferred until the next meeting.
OLD BUSINESS:
Planning – There was no Planning Board meeting last week. Dave Woodbury attended the Carl Houghton portion of the site walk, regarding a home business, propane tank recycling. He noted that the level of noise and odor was less than expected and that conditions were not shocking. He is not sure of the zoning regulations, but stated that the location is quite remote.
Goffstown Perambulation – Christine and Dave met with Goffstown’s Town Administrator and the new fire chief for the purpose of reviewing the locations of the town boundary markers. The first marker was located behind Paula Ciarla’s home. The second was found on Roby Road, but it had been broken off. The third bound had been previously found on Leach Hill Road in 1988, but not recently by the intern hired by Goffstown. They located the bottom portion of a broken boundary marker with a pile of rocks, with the stone stump still in the ground near Brad Carr’s driveway. The fourth marker was located near the old Fales bookstore on River Road. The fifth and sixth were located on Riverdale Road, and the last located way in the woods.
Weare Perambulation – The Selectmen met with Weare’s Perambulator and located several bounds intact on Riverdale Road. The bound on Twin Bridge Road may have been moved. There is a PVC pipe near the road with lettering on it and Bob Todd is concerned that it may have been moved during construction. The other bounds were in good order. Bob Todd will be marking updated returns with GPS numbers.
APPOINTMENTS (cont’d):
3. 8:00PM Hazard Mitigation Plan
This plan was compiled by a committee along with the Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission, funded by the New Hampshire Office of Emergency Management. It is a compilation of information about the town of New Boston, including major assets, historical sites, and hazardous material sites, such as the Tracking Station. Also included in the plan are feasible options to minimize potential damage along with a prioritized list of implementation schedule and funding resources. Gordon moved to accept the plan for the town of New Boston. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor. The plan was adopted. Gordon also suggested that the plan be reviewed on an annual basis, before budget season, and that there be some public education about the plan.
OLD BUSINESS (cont’d):
Performance Evaluation Procedures – Burton reviewed the procedures with the Selectmen, looking for their input. Dave suggested an evaluation be done at the end of the probationary period. The time of the evaluation was also discussed. The term used for the person doing the rating was determined as well as who would review the evaluation with the employee. Employees who are not satisfied with their overall evaluations would then go to the Selectmen to discuss their concerns. The evaluation process will be included in the personnel manual. Employees will receive a copy of their evaluation form. Marginal or outstanding ratings need to be supported by comments. Job descriptions should be able to be amended, or added to, for those employees who possess skills outside of the job
description that the town would benefit from. The Selectmen suggested an annual training session for persons doing the ratings. Situations will come to the attention of the Selectmen before meeting with an employee. These would include differing opinions between the Town Administrator and the department heads.
NEW BUSINESS:
Planning Board Appointment Procedure – in the past, the planning board reviewed the candidates and made recommendations before they were sent to the Selectmen. With Sam Hackler’s resignation, there are only two alternates left. Brent Armstrong raised the question as to what process would be used to interview potential candidates. Brent feels that the Selectmen should interview all potential candidates, but the Selectmen should know the planning board’s preference.
Tentative 2003 CIP - Final figures are in from the department heads and a tentative CIP schedule has been developed for 2003-2007. The committee is now made of up of no-department heads, which has made a difference. Also, by using CRF’s we are now saving in advance of the purchase instead of bonding or leasing and having to pay interest expense. The committee may have one more meeting this year.
Library Budget – The Selectmen reviewed the budget with Burton. Salaries for the library employees were discussed. The children’s librarian will not make it to market rate in the typical number of years. Burton suggested a one time adjustment of 1.07% plus the COLA. The method of payment for general maintenance was also discussed alone with increasing the rate of pay from $12/hr to $15/hr. The Finance committee will review and discuss the library’s budget on Wednesday, October 6th.
OTHER:
No Parking – Chief Begin would like to see an ordinance for no parking in front of fire cisterns, as the tickets he has already given out are not legal in court. The Selectmen suggested that the Chief draft the language for the ordinance and talk to Leslie Nixon and then they would vote on it.
Police Motorcycles Program – Gordon mentioned the Harley Davidson lease program as an option to replacing or adding another cruiser to the police vehicle fleet. This option would take approximately five months of wear and tear off the police vehicles during the summer months.
PUBLIC COMMENT: None.
NEW BUSINESS (cont’d):
Personnel Issue – Non Public
Christine motioned to enter into a non-public session to discuss a personnel issue, according to RSA 91-A: 3 Section II (a). Gordon seconded the motion. Each member of the board was polled individually and all were in favor.
Gordon made a motion to exit the non-public session according to RSA 91-A: 3 Section II (a), at 10:39PM. Christine seconded the motion. Each member of the board was polled individually and all were in favor.
Gordon made a motion to seal the minutes of the non-public session for a period of five years. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Gordon made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:40PM. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Prepared by Cindy Romano
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