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 Dave Woodbury beginning with the Pledge of Allegiance.
PUBLIC COMMENT: None.
APPOINTMENTS:
1. 7:00PM Greg Begin Police Department
Chief Begin was present to give the Selectmen and update on the police department. He first suggested installing a yield sign as traffic comes off Howe Bridege from Rte. 13. This would give traffic on Parker Road the right of way.
Christine motioned to install a yield sign at the North side of Howe Bridge, traveling on Parker Road. Gordon seconded the motion. All were in favor. Burton will check to see if a notice of the sign needs to go in the newspaper.
The Chief also discussed speed limit signs coming into and out of New Boston on Riverdale Road. He said that they are not consistent and some are illegal. The white 20 mph speed sign coming into New Boston is illegal. The sign should be removed or replaced with a yellow sign. The Selectmen decided to create a 30mph speed zone in that location. There was also some discussion about having a town-wide speed limit. The Chief will check with the judges as far as enforcement is concerned. In the meantime, he suggested that the town continue with the scheduled posting of roads in New Boston.
The Chief received a phone call from someone inquiring about the vacant position in the department. He has relocated to Milford and his present employment requires a long commute. The Chief will be speaking with him soon. Also, Officer Piatt is back to work after being out ill.
The Chief reported that the emergency generator has not been operating properly since the new computer system was updated. RBG Inc. has submitted a quote for a 200Amp generator. Burton will talk to Dave Cramb regarding the quote.
The Harley Davidson Motorcycle Lease Program was briefly discussed. The motorcycles are leased to the Police Department for one dollar per month for a six month period and then sold by Harley at an increased sticker price. The Chief noted that the first year would cost more due to training and licensing of police officers and also that transportation of persons would be a problem.
The Chief suggested changes to the No Parking Ordinance to include Handicapped parking, fire cisterns and fire lanes. Handicap fees are typically fifty dollars, all others would be ten dollars. Handicap parking spaces must be designated with signs and striping. A notice of public hearing will be established after reviewing the ordinance.
The monitoring system was discussed. The Selectmen questioned whether or not it should be included in the operating budget. The Chief feels that the system is critical for the protection of both officers and the civilians, as well as the receptionist. He also stated that the price for the system has not gone up. There will be a warrant article for 2003 for a new cruiser, but no warrant article is foreseen for 2004. The Chief did not feel that it would be wise to wait until 2004 for this item.
7:20PM Recreation Commission 2003 Warrant Articles
Patti Oakes and Lee Brown were present to give the Selectmen an update for the department. Lee informed the Selectmen that with Bob Waller’s recent injuries and Marc Montrone leaving the Recreation Commission, that Recreation might be looking for one if not two new commissioners. Lee reviewed the present budget with the Selectmen.
The Recreation department would like to use the library’s proposed community room for some of the softer, quieter programs that they offer. The commissioners are working on drafting a letter of understanding with the library.
CIP long term plans are to have a multi-use building/complex to be used for the louder programs. This would be approximately 6,000 square feet of space.
A warrant article was proposed that would establish a Revolving Fund account. This would be designed to replace the previous bookkeeping system that was found to be illegal. The towns of Jaffrey and Rye operate using two separate accounts, which is legal according to the statutes.
Burton suggested that the commissioners need to make a political decision with regards to the timing of the warrant article. Other things to consider would be how to generate the revenues and the make the public understand what the money will be used for. The commissioners feel that the fund is a high priority because it is long term health for the department. If Recreation generates a 20,000 dollar surplus in 2002, they would like the town to use that money to support the library complex. However, the DRA may not approve the 20 thousand dollar expenditure. They are also thinking about a future complex on an undetermined site that will cost 350 thousand, and would like the Selectmen to put money into a CRF for this purpose. The Selectmen stated that the town has to vote on any CRF. Burton will check
the RSA’s and with the auditor.
8:00PM Aggregate Industries Gravel Pit Permit Hearing
Dennis Lydon, the operations manager of Aggregate Industries was present for the hearing. Dave read the notice of hearing to the public. Also present were Barbara Stewart and Thomas Noel of 220 Riverdale Road. Dennis stated that the application is complete and that this is essentially a name change of corporate interests. The original pit, known as Coastal Materials, belonged to J.Cronin and was sold to Rocco Shelzi in the early 1970’s. With that transaction the name was changed to Wakefield Materials. Dennis has been involved with Wakefield for fourteen years. There is one non-active pit which has been reclaimed, and two active grandfathered pits, located on Tax Maps 6-14 and 3-57. . The two active pits are across the street from each other. More accurate estimates for
excavation purposes were made during the latest sale of the property, so changes need to be made to the permits. There are active bonds on both pits, but the amounts may need to be adjusted. The long-term plan is to truck sand to the Raymond plant to be mixed with man-made materials for all operations. The amount of hauling should not increase. Dennis will write a letter outlining a plan and addressing the bond amounts for reclamation. Trucking routes will change after the replacement of Howe Bridge. Dennis stated that he would like the town to contact him regarding any issues in the future before they become a problem.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
Minutes of October 28th – after reviewing the minutes and making changes, Christine motioned to accept the minutes with the corrections. Gordon seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Minutes of November 4th – the Selectmen reviewed the minutes and made necessary changes. Gordon motioned to accept the minutes as revised. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Minutes of Non-Public Session of November 4th – The Selectmen made minor changes to the minutes. Christine motioned to accept the minutes as corrected. Gordon seconded the motion. All were in favor.
OLD BUSINESS:
Planning – The following items were discussed at the November 12 meeting:
Compliance Hearing for Jill Lowell of 476 Francestown Road for a Craft Party home business. The site plan was approved.
Compliance Hearing Condition Use Permit for David Allen located on Bedford Road & Orchard Road. A conditional use permit, one wetland crossing, and a driveway permit were approved.
Public Hearing/Major Site Plan for C&G Ledges by George Merrill for four storage buildings. One abutter, Mrs. Riseman, was present to express her concerns with lights shining on her property. There will be a site walk on Tuesday, November 26th at 6:00PM and another on Saturday, November 23rd at 8:30AM.
Public Hearing/Major Site Plan for New Boston Community Church expansion project. Plans were reviewed by the board. State approval for septic is needed as well as a variance from the ZBA for two uses on one lot. Adjourned until 12/10/02 at 7:00PM.
Right Way Builders, Inc. by Rick Martin – Proposed amendments to approved Subdivision plan. Lot line adjustments and plan notes were approved.
Carl Houghton – Potential Home Business for the purpose of salvaging propane tanks. Carl was instructed to call the Fire Chief, the State Fire Marshall, and DES to obtain more information on this type of business. A site walk will be scheduled which the planning board would like to attend.
Ron Brenner of 52 High Street – requested a final site walk and compliance hearing.
The planning board will meet on December 10th and December 17th.
The Selectmen took a five minute break at 9:40PM. The meeting resumed at 9:45PM.
Gravel Ordinance – Drescher Letter – The Selectmen agreed not to ask the town to repeal the current gravel ordinance until a new one is written. Attorney Drescher recommends in his letter that the planning board review the site plan for gravel pits. The State statute proclaims the planning board as the regulator, unless the town votes to change the authority to another governing body. The Selectmen agreed that the planning board should be the regulator and adopt the regulations and permit fees. The day to day operations may possibly be delegated to the Selectmen, as they are currently. The Selectmen would like the planning board to work on the regulations next year for placement on the ballot in 2004.
Emergency Generators – Burton spoke with electrician Dave Cramb regarding the generators in town. The school’s generator is not working properly, and is not hooked up to the water pump. It was originally installed to run the Emergency Center, not to run the school. Prior to the school’s addition, there was an excess amount of water pressure, so there was no need for the generator to run any water pump. Dave ran the electrical wires necessary for the pump during the school’s renovations, so it just needs to be hooked up now. The Fire Station generator may be better utilized at the Police Department. Burton pointed out that the Police Department’s generator may not be powerful enough to run both the fire station and town hall.
Clark Hill Road Lot Line Adjustments – Bob Todd clarified that there is still a small amount of work that needs to be completed. Attorney Leslie Nixon will revise the deeds for the property owners. The town will have to vote to give the old roadway back to the property owners at next town meeting.
NEW BUSINESS:
Jenkins Pit Crushing – the owner would like to do rock-crushing from 9:00am-4:00pm, Monday through Friday, for a period of one month. The Selectmen approved, but suggested that next year they do rock crushing while the leaves are still on the trees, cutting down on the noise level. Burton will write back to the owner.
Planning Department Budget – The Selectmen reviewed the budget with Burton. Dave questioned the amount of overtime. This will be discussed at the Finance meeting.
OTHER:
Snow plowing – Gordon reiterated that when residents plow snow across the roadway, that they should clean up the mess. Brandy will run a public notice in the Bulletin for this and for snow parking.
Granite Mailbox Posts – Lee Murray has noticed an increase in granite posts in town and is concerned that residents will want them replaced if broken by the highway department. The Selectmen discussed and agreed that if a post is broken, it will be replaced by a standard, pressure-treated mailbox post. Distance from the edge of the road was also discussed, but not determined at this time. The Selectmen may adopt a policy on this issue, but will wait to talk with Lee before doing so.
Town Clerk – Irene Baudreau will be taking vacation early in January and she will be asking the Selectmen to carry over some vacation time from this year. Paula Bellemore will try to fill in for Irene while she is away. Michelle filled in for the bookkeeper today and was able to do all the preliminary work in order to run payroll. Burton reported that December billings tax monies are beginning to be received by the town.
Burton may be out for a day or two during the next couple of weeks for personal reasons.
PUBLIC COMMENT: None.
At this time, Gordon made a motion to enter into a non-public session, according to
RSA 91-A: 3 Section II (a), to discuss personnel issues. Christine seconded the motion. Each member of the board was polled individually and all were in favor.
At 11:20PM Christine made a motion to exit the non-public session 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 seal the minutes of the non-public session for a period of five years. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Christine made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 11:25PM. Gordon seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Prepared by Cindy Romano
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