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 at 7:10PM beginning with the Pledge of Allegiance.
PUBLIC COMMENT: None.
APPOINTMENTS:
1. 7:00PM Lee Murray Highway Department
Lee Murray reported to the Selectmen that Bunker Hill Road has been ground and paved and that D&S is working on a culvert on Middle Branch Road. The gravel roads are being graded and the screening of sand at the Shelburne Lot will begin on Wednesday. Dave Woodbury questioned Lee as to whether or not the Town should contract with Skip Gomes for the maintenance of the access road to the Post Office and proposed new library site. The Post Office already has a contract with Skip for winter maintenance. Lee suggested asking Skip what it would cost the Town to do the road. Lee is short one truck for the downtown area and would rather wait until another truck is added or the library is built, whichever comes first. Gordon inquired about the shoulder work that still needs to be done on Bedford Road. Lee
told the Selectmen that he is working on several projects and there aren’t enough people or hours in the day, but he hasn’t forgotten about it.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
Minutes of September 23, 2002 – Christine made a motion to accept the minutes with Burton Reynold’s and Nicola Strong’s changes. Gordon seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Minutes of October 21, 2002 – deferred until next week.
APPOINTMENTS (cont’d):
2. 7:30PM Elaine Tostevin School Board
Elaine Tostevin of Wilson Hill Road was present on behalf of the school board to speak to the Selectmen about gathering census data for preschool age children. She explained that this data would be used to plan for future enrollment in the New Boston Central School for kindergarten and the first grade. The school board is hoping to enlist the help of the Town Clerk in passing out the census form to new residents in town. Notices have been posted in the New Boston Bulletin as well. The Selectmen and Burton Reynolds assured Elaine that the Town Clerk would support the effort. Gordon Carlstrom inquired about the status of the proposed emergency road access to the school. Elaine reported that they have estimates from D&S and stated that it was just a matter of time before work begins; probably in the
spring of 2003.
OLD BUSINESS:
Planning – The meeting of October 22, 2002 covered the following:
Freedom Crossing – One Way and Do Not Enter signs will be reinstalled. A waver was approved on the water shed outline and drainage computations. A new deed was presented to the planning board regarding the access road to the new library.
Tris Construction –There was an informational session on a five lot subdivision on Rte 136 which involves thirty acres. Information involved the size of the lots, number of driveways, and sprinkler systems. The application will be submitted in about a month. The planning board prefers shared driveways.
Carl Houghton – There was an informational session for regarding a potential home business. Mr. Houghton came before the board to see if he needed a site plan to run a propane salvage operation at his home. There will be a site walk on November 2, 2002.
New Boston Community Church Expansion – The application for a 4,175 square foot addition linking the existing church with Nan’s house was accepted by the board as complete. There will be a site walk on November 2, 2002.
George Merrill-Non Residential Site Plan Review/Major Site Plan – a continuance was granted for this item and rescheduled for 11/12/02 at 8:30pm.
Compliance Hearing – Scott & Karen Belanger have applied for a 3-lot minor subdivision. A site walk was held on October 15th. The requirements have been met and the application was approved by the board.
Minor Site Plan – Peter Hogan’s application for a 450 square foot office within a 2,250 square foot barn was approved with conditions on 11/14/2002. There was a site walk on October 15, 2002. All conditions have been met and the application has been approved. This is for the operation of an educational and behavioral consulting home business on Scobie Road.
Miscellaneous –
Sam Hackler has submitted his resignation as an alternate member to the Planning Board due to lack of time.
Site Walk – There will be a site walk and compliance hearing on November 2nd at the home of David Allen for improvements to a stone wall header, slopes, driveway, and culvert installation.
ZBA Meeting – will be held on October 29th regarding the cell tower for Wilson Hill Road.
Perambulation – will be held for the Goffstown line on November 1, 2002 and for the Weare line on November 2, 2002.
Gordon made a motion to accept the resignation of Sam Hackler with regret. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor. Nic has written a letter of thanks.
NEW BUSINESS:
Planning Board Rotation – The Selectmen briefly discussed when the break in the rotation schedule should be in order to avoid a newly elected Selectman attending the planning board meetings right away. It was decided that Dave will begin attending the meetings in mid-November for a four month period. The Selectmen discussed who would attend the upcoming site walks and perambulation on November 2, 2002.
Piscataquog River – There has been a series of complaints regarding the turbidity in the river and it is felt that it may be coming from Inkberry Drive. A meeting was on Monday and it was decided to notify DES. They were given a clear idea of the situation. The Department of Fish and Game has also been notified. There will be a site walk held on Wednesday, October 30th at 10:00am, which Holden Engineering will attend along with representatives Thibeault Corporation, the developer.
APPOINTMENTS (cont’d):
3. 7:45PM Melissa Harvey Farmer’s Market
Melissa Harvey was present to talk to the Selectmen about starting a Farmer’s Market here in New Boston. She has been to Bedford’s Farmer’s Market and thinks that New Boston would benefit from having one of it’s own. She has contacted Karen Grypko, from the Department of Agriculture, who initiated the farmer’s market in Wilton and is looking into possible locations in New Boston. It would require parking, which rules out the downtown area. Possible locations would be the 4-H fairgrounds, the central school or recreational fields. Liability insurance was also discussed. Dave Woodbury suggested identifying a location first and talking to the owner. Burton gave her the number for Jolee Chase at the 4-H office in Milford. Melissa will check with Nic Strong regarding
zoning regulations.
4. 8:00PM Forestry Sherburne Lot
Bob Todd and Kim DiPietro were present to speak to the Selectmen about a proposed warrant article which would make the Sherburne Lot a town forest. Bob was looking for feedback from the Selectmen as to what they would like to do in this matter. He explained that as a town forest, it would have multiple uses. The timber would be harvested, it would be managed to provide an ecological haven for wildlife, and it could also have recreational uses, such as hiking trails. Forestry would manage the land, drawing on 4-H and the Department of Resources and Economic Development. It would take a vote from the town to change the status, once it becomes a town forest. Currently, the highway department is excavating sand and gravel from a well defined, 13-acre portion of the property. Lee Murray is concerned about where
the boundaries of the 13 acres are located. Dave suggested scheduling a site walk to determine where they are located. Burton, Lee, and Bob will review the map and do a site walk at some point in the future.
Kim DiPietro spoke to the Selectmen regarding the donation of professional services to the town. These services have a monetary value and should be expensed against the gross sale of the timber. In the past, it was not applied to the general fund, it simply enhanced the sale of the timber. Kim went on to explain that the purchase of the Sherburne Lot wiped out the Forestry Committee’s account and there are no big timber harvests foreseen in the near future. Presently, the Forestry Committee receives fifty percent of timber sales from town forest and with some thinning left to do, the loggers would like to see the donation of their services go to the Forestry Committee, not the general fund. Gordon suggested getting the opinion of the town’s auditor to see how donations should be handled. The
town should receive a reply within thiry days, allowing the Forestry Committee to prepare for a warrant article if necessary.
The Selectmen took a ten minute break at 9:00PM.
OLD BUSINESS:
Performance Evaluation Procedures – Burton gave the Selectmen a rough draft of the instructions for completion of employee performance evaluation form to review. Dave Woodbury feels that it should be as brief as possible, making it easy for the department heads to use. Burton outlined the process of evaluation for them. The Selectmen will provide him with their feedback within the next week.
Library Access – Don Grosso has been asked to write an easement to the abutting properties at the same time as preparing the deeds. The current easement needs to be extinguished, and will probably be handled by Attorney Bill Drescher. The Post Office still needs to approve the plan and the plowing situation needs to be reviewed. The closing will wait until the access strip is annexed to the library lot.\
CVI Cluster Development on Bedford Road – Bolton is the road builder and is not involved with the sub-division at all. The contract with Eric Farris states that a bond is needed, but Mr. Farris cannot get a bond due to a lack of securities. He also owes $700.00 in legal fees. Nic inquired about the town paying his legal fees so that he could acquire a bond, but the Selectmen stated that if the town paid the fees, a lien would have to be placed on the property. Gordon suggested that there be no further approval on the sub-division until the fees are paid. Evidently, Mr. Farris has gone bankrupt in the past in other towns. Nic is looking for the support of the Selectmen regarding pulling the subdivision.
NEW BUSINESS:
Mailing of Town Reports – Burton questioned whether the Town Report should be mailed in the future. The cost for mailing the reports is six hundred dollars, but he feels that the town would save approximately $2,000 by not mailing them and cutting the number of copies printed in half. The Selectmen decided to continue to mail them this year, but get feedback from the residents at the same time.
Thibeault Gravel Pit – There is still digging and grading going on in the floor of the gravel pit. Burton has sent a letter requesting an engineer to look into the sediment pond. It was below level and has been filled in, but a new sediment pond was made in the meantime. Burton is looking for guidance on how to procede with the “new pond”, which was moved.
Transfer Station Budget – The Selectmen reviewed the line items of the budget with Burton. The Finance Committee will meet on Wednesday, October 30th to go over the budget.
Howe Bridge Contract – Burton asked that wording be added to the contract to state that New Boston would pay for the bridge after Holden Engineering signs off on the job. It would be a violation of State Aid for him to pay before the engineer signs off.
OTHER:
Perambulation – Gordon suggested doing the GPS coordinates during the November 2nd perambulation.
Tim Lamy Response – Dave inquired as to when they would respond to Tim Lamy’s request regarding his salary. The Selectmen need to discuss the matter with Chief Begin. A written response needs to be prepared explaining their position and the rationale for it. Burton will draft a letter.
Forest Hills Subdivision – Nic had Al Bell write a letter to the Selectmen regarding the acceptance of the roadway in the subdivision. A public hearing needs to be held for road acceptance.
Peggy Kenney – owns land in Weare off Griffin Drive and is interested in buying town owned land in New Boston which abuts her property. Dave Woodbury explained that the town doesn’t historically sell town property and also that the boundaries were in disarray. It may also be a town forest. Burton is looking into the status of the property.
PUBLIC COMMENT: None.
ADJOURNMENT: Gordon made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:45PM. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Prepared by Cindy Romano
| 
