Town of New Boston
Selectmen's Meeting
September 19, 2005
PRESENT: Gordon Carlstrom Selectman
David Woodbury Selectman
Christine Quirk Selectman
Burton Reynolds Town Administrator
A. CALL TO ORDER: A regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen was called to order by Gordon Carlstrom at 7:00PM beginning with the Pledge of Allegiance.
B. PUBLIC COMMENT:
Robin Bishop, Liz Furlong, Donna Dicey, Christine Bilodeau, Debbie MacDonald, Alex Miller and Anthony Pimenta were present to speak with the Selectmen about their concerns regarding the candidate for Police Chief.
The Selectmen will not publicly identify the candidate. These residents have heard rumors of who the Selectmen are considering and have had negative experiences with him. They do not want this person to be hired as New Boston’s Police Chief. The Selectmen gave them the name and phone number for the person from the Chiefs of Police Association that is doing a background check on the candidate. The candidate has worked in the school environment and the background committee will talk to contacts that have had both positive and negative experiences with him. The Selectmen told these residents that they should contact the background committee this week with their concerns. The residents were afraid that they would have trouble getting in touch with the background committee. Dave stated that he will
make sure the background committee has spoken with them before the Selectmen can make their final decision to hire a new police chief. Robin stated that he is a father of 5 and the candidate has affected his family and other people around him for years. He wants to move out of town if this person becomes the police chief. He feels that this person does not use authority and power properly. A police chief will have the power to arrest someone and change his or her whole life. He suggests the Selectmen make the identity of the candidate public and hold an emergency meeting at the school to give residents an opportunity to discuss this matter with the Selectmen. Christine Bilodeau said they wouldn’t be able to trust the police in town anymore. Brandy Mitroff suggested the Selectmen break from precedent in this instance and confirm the identity of the candidate and invite parents to send letters to the background committee in the
next New Boston Bulletin. The Selectmen were against this as they don’t seek public comment for any open position in town. Most positions have a probationary period after the person is hired but police don’t. The police chief will have an employment contract for employment for a certain number of years. The Selectmen have no plans at this time to readvertise the position. Anthony stated that the candidate uses excessive force and doesn’t do his job the way he is supposed to. Alex said that the candidate treats kids as if they are all guilty until proven innocent. Debbie said the candidate has no respect for teens and he will undermine the new skateboard park and the proposed recreation center. She is afraid that if he becomes the police chief, the same thing will happen in New Boston that happened in Weare before Chief Begin went there. Some residents are afraid to come forward because of the candidate’s
position. Some residents and teens are concerned that the candidate is going from being just an officer to being the chief of police in a different town.
C. APPOINTMENTS:
1. 7:00 PM Gerry Cornet Transfer Station
Gerry Cornett was present to meet with the Selectmen to discuss issues at the Transfer Station.
· Landfill closure problem-DES may request testing for methane gas. Gerry doesn’t think it is a safety issue for New Boston because of the geological makeup of the soils near the Transfer Station but DES could require at least one extra well to be installed and test pits costing approximately $25,000 each to be dug. Gerry agrees that one well might be a good idea. The facility would have to be closed for 72 hours before the testing can take place, but that is impossible as the Transfer Station is never closed for 72 consecutive hours. Gerry recommends that Burton, himself and the GZA talk to the person from DES who is requesting this in person. If that
doesn’t work, town counsel will need to meet with her supervisor. Gerry feels that the town should start to put money aside to pay for this because when it is ordered to be done it could cost tens of thousands of dollars and it will have to be done right away. The methane levels have risen this year, probably because of the wet spring weather earlier this year.
· Hopper update-The existing hopper will be removed by Atlantic on Sunday, October 2. Gerry will redo the welding on the structure for rigidity and it will be enclosed. The new door is on. The new hopper will be installed on Monday and Tuesday. The facility will be closed on Tuesday. Wednesday will be the backup day if installation is not finished Tuesday.
· They are finishing the small scale addition. The small scale is used for weighing bales of recyclables and small volume C&D.
· George St. John will put a permanent rubber roof on the wholescale house and the addition.
· Gerry is recommending that the town purchase a forklift and new roll offs for glass and tin bins from the operating budget. It is expected to have funds available due to reduced tonnage of solid waste. The oldest trash trailer has mechanically been rebuilt and it is not necessary to spend taxpayer money to replace it in 2006-the current CIP replacement date. The hauler has offered to buy it but Gerry wants to keep it for one more year. Gerry expects that if the two trailers are well maintained they should last about 10 years each. On the other hand, the skidsteer is getting tired. It has no parking brakes, needs tires and is undersize for what they
do with it. He wants to buy a forklift now to help out with the type of work the skidsteer does to keep the skidsteer going for 2 more years. He expects the forklift to last for many, many years and will only cost $7,500-8,500 used. He expects the Transfer Station to come in near $100,000 underbudget this year. He wants to cancel the CIP for 2006, postpone the trailer replacement to 2007 and replace the skidsteer in 2008 with an articulating loader that will cost approximately $55,000. The roll offs need to be replaced now because crushing cans is a safety hazard and will not be done at the Transfer Station anymore. In the past some maintenance items like the roll offs were on the warrant articles because of matching grants, but that is not the case this year.
· The noncompliance letters are not working, probably because they are not being mailed to the residents fast enough. The Selectmen will sign several letters, which Gerry will keep at the Transfer Station. When there is a violation he will note it on the letter, mail it to the resident right away and inform the Selectmen of what happened.
· He also proposes the commercial haulers get some “rejection” stickers to put on bags. When it is clear the customer is not recycling a sticker will be placed on the bag and the bag left behind. The stickers can be made at the prison for a low cost. Manchester uses this system.
· Gerry asked about the School/Transfer Station relationship. The school has dumpsters but has been bringing heavy items over to the Transfer Station as they are afraid there will be an extra cost to them for these items when the dumpsters are emptied. However, the Transfer Station is charged by weight, which is paid by the taxpayers. It needs to be determined if the school is charged by weight or by the load for dumpster pickup and then make the best arrangement for the town.
· Oil collection and storage-Gerry has ordered 5 tanks for oil/petroleum storage, installed 4 and is already pumping into them. By the end of this week there will be full containment. The next step will be to contain the interior of the building.
2. 7:30 PM Jay Marden Gravel Pit Regulations
Jay Marden was present to meet with the Selectmen to discuss his correspondence regarding concerns about gravel pit operations in town.
Jay’s main concern is Tingley’s gravel pit on the west side of Route 13. He has noticed the banking keeps going lower and lower without any evidence of reclamation. Dennis Sarette met with Walter Leach, Jr. (Bucky) at the pit. Bucky said they did go closer than they meant to which caused a pine tree to come down and cause a lot of damage to the landscape. He said he will reseed and start reclamation at some point. The pits are charged a higher tax rate until they reclaim it. This particular pit is grandfathered and is controlled only by the state law regarding minimum operating standards of gravel pits. He suggests that the town should tell the pits to reclaim when they renew their permits every year. He also suggested that bonds should be raised at renewal time as the cost of
reclamation goes up every year. The Selectmen said that the pits have cash bonds and there are some in town who have done reclamation. There are minimum reclamation standards to get the bonds back. Pits should have only 2 acres open at a time. In this case, the pit is grandfathered so they don’t have to follow the regulation. They only renew their permits out of courtesy. Jay suggested the town get an agreement from the operator that he won’t go right up to Route 13 and ruin the view along the river. Advice from Mary Pinkham Langer, the state gravel tax appraiser, will be sought. The Aggregate Industries pit is up for bid. If it is sold it will no longer be grandfathered and will have to go before the Planning Board for a site plan. Jay doesn’t want these gravel pit issues to wait until permit renewal in April. He suggests the town buy the pit off River Road through the Open Space Committee and
control the development.
D. APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
1. Minutes of September 9, 2005 - The Selectmen reviewed the minutes. Corrections were noted. David moved that they be accepted as amended. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
2. Non-public Minutes of September 9, 2005 - The Selectmen reviewed the minutes. David moved that they be accepted. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
E. OLD BUSINESS:
1. Planning: A hearing took place at the school to discuss the proposed driveway regulations. There were issues with the draft as terms used throughout the document were not consistent. This will be changed. The 300 foot site distance was felt to be too long, as well as the system of measurement from the edge of the traveled way. Those will be changed at the work sessions. Residents were concerned the regulation applies to existing driveways. Some language will be added to the regulation that the only way it would affect paving an existing driveway is to prevent water going into the road. The Attorney for the Concerned Landowners of New Boston was there who said that the town needs to vote on this but Attorney Drescher has
said that is not necessary.
2. Tuition Reimbursement Benefit- The Selectmen reviewed and discussed copies of Milford and Amherst’s policies and forms for Tuition Reimbursement Benefits and discussed options for a policy for New Boston.
F. NEW BUSINESS:
1. Selectmen’s CIP-The Selectmen reviewed the CIP. A lot of things were done this year and will be taken off the list including the town hall roof and chimney, and the town revaluation. The town hall renovation is being looked into and a furniture vendor was in to make some suggestions. The library roof needs to be moved up to 2006 from 2007 based on the discussion with Tim Cady at the previous Selectmen’s meeting. The Trash Trailer at the Transfer Station is backing up one year. The Fire Department CIP will be back on track now that a grant has been approved to replace the Forestry truck. The library will probably come forward with a new plan for improvements and repairs on the existing building or plans for a new library. The Highway Department will need a CIP for a 10 wheeler and heavy equipment.
2. Municipal Facilities Questions for Master Plan-Burton has been working on answering the questions and reviewed it with the Selectmen to make sure they agree with the answers.
G. OTHER:
1. Christine asked about follow up on her question from the last meeting about speed limit signs on class 6 roads. Burton has not looked into this yet.
2. Christine asked if something is put into the Selectmen’s mail slots, can it be taken out as something was taken out of her box before she could see it and then disappeared. The answer was generally something could be taken out to put in the read folder for all Selectmen to see.
3. Address Ordinance. Burton asked Fire Chief Dan MacDonald if he wanted to advertise the new ordinance but Dan didn’t seem too interested in doing this. The hardware stores could be notified that people will be looking for numbers for their houses. Christine suggested she could try to distribute info at the Fire Department breakfasts. The Selectmen will try to think of ways to advertise the ordinance.
4. There will be a foot traffic meeting Thursday at 7:00 at the church. Dave will attend.
5. Dave moved that the town of New Boston resolve to participate in the Health Trust, LLC. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor. The Selectmen signed the necessary document.
6. A Finance Committee member has asked if the Finance meetings could be moved to Wednesday nights instead of the scheduled Thursday meetings. This is impossible because all Selectmen need to be present and two of three are already obligated to attend Fire Department meetings every Wednesday night.
H. PUBLIC COMMENT:
Brandy asked about Tim Lamy’s resignation and if that was the subject of the Selectmen’s recent closed meetings. The Selectmen confirmed that he has tendered his resignation as of November 13, 2005 and the Selectmen have accepted it. He is no longer on active duty as a police officer. The Selectmen cannot comment now or anytime in the future about the seriousness of issues or the subject of closed meetings beyond what the minutes say.
I. Move to Non-Public Session: David made a motion to go into Non-Public session per RSA 91-A:3II(b) at 10:25 PM. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
J. ADJOURNMENT: David made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 11:06 PM. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Prepared by Maralyn Segien
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