Town of New Boston
Selectmen's Meeting
September 6, 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: No public comments were made at this time.
C. Other:
Burton mentioned that Bill Reedy came in and said that he plans to do the town hall roof in October. The slate will be delivered on October 19 and will be placed near the white storage buildings. Graham is planning to do the chimney at the end of September before the slates are taken off.
D. OLD BUSINESS:
1. Planning:
· Roger Dignard and Rick Martin rescheduled their appointments.
· George Merrill compliance hearing on phase 3 of building number 6. He put in silt fencing as requested.
· Public hearing for tree cutting on scenic roads-The VP of Asplundh and David Crane from PSNH met with the Planning Board and promised they would do a nice neat job cutting down trees around the wires. They will take the soft wood off the side of the road and take the chips to the shed.
· Emile Boussiere sent a letter about the Reed’s property on Wilson Hill Road requesting that the property be rezoned to “RA” from “manufactured housing.” The Planning Board would like the proper paperwork put together to do this.
· Rising Generation Daycare-The owner has amended her site plans several times from a two-story building to a one-story building and back again. She amended the site plan again at this hearing and asked for an extension. The Planning Board has requested she do a new application with the amended plan as she has made significant changes from what was originally approved.
· Mike Dahlberg sent in an interpretation of the steep slopes on Whipplewill Road. J&W Landscaping bought some land that before they started doing work on it, was not classified as a steep slope. Work was done at the property making it fall under the steep slope ordinance. He feels the preconstruction contours should apply. The Planning Board sent it back without comment.
· Town Attorney, Bill Drescher sent in a reply about Donovan’s group home permit issue. He feels the applicant doesn’t need to do a site plan at this time. However, if anything other than a group home is planned for this property a site plan review will need to be done.
E. APPOINTMENTS:
1. 7:10 PM Tim Cady Library Roof
Tim Cady was present to meet with the Selectmen to discuss library roof repairs.
Tim has diagramed the roof showing it divided into three sections based on the condition of the roof in each section. There are a lot of leaks in the flat section of roof. On the CIP, he plans to move up some of the roof repairs. They were originally scheduled to be done in 2007. The original roof is in poor shape and will need to be repaired next year, costing approximately $5,000. He wants to replace the flat section of the roof now before the leaks cause more damage to the interior of the library. The other sections of roof could be repaired next year or the year after. He has already spent $2,000 of the $5,000 for roof repairs. He asked if any other funds were available to be used to supplement the cost of these unexpected repairs. Burton said he believes that the
$2,000 Tim requested can be covered. The library also plans to replace the fence along the river that will cost approximately $5,200. They plan to have the fence replaced with an aluminum fence or a fence made of something more permanent than wood. The final design of the fence has not yet been decided. The fence will also need to be anchored to the retaining wall. They plan to have the fence replaced before winter. He expects to be over budget this year on repairs. The Selectmen asked about the status of the trust fund money and were wondering if some of that could be used for repairs. Tim answered that some of the trust funds are designated for toys and computers and other library program needs, but some could possibly be used for repairs although it was intended for programs. The Selectmen agreed to pay $2,000 for roof repairs from the budget. Tim mentioned that Therrien Roofing has been doing the repairs when the flat
roof has been leaking and is most experienced working on this roof. The Selectmen agreed to get the flat portion replaced now by Therrien Roofing and get bids from other contractors for repair of the other sections.
2. 7:20 PM Warren Houghton Cemetery Expansion Project
Warren Houghton was present to meet with the Selectmen to discuss the status of the cemetery expansion project.
The stonewall has been built. D& S Excavation has started the sitework. Dave and Steve from D&S Excavation were present to discuss setting up a payment schedule for their work. Burton suggested they submit their bills to the Cemetery Trustees, then the trustees will approve them and they will get paid. The trustees will review the bills twice a month. The stonewall cost approximately $2,420 more than expected but this extra expense should be covered by interest earned. Grading and shaping should be done this year. Paving and seeding could be done next year if necessary.
3. 7:30 PM Address Ordinance Hearing
This hearing was called for enactment of a street and address numbering ordinance. Gordon called the hearing to order at 7:38. Town counsel, Leslie Nixon has reviewed the proposed ordinance and adjustments were made. Comments have been received from the Building and Planning Departments and from John Bunting, who does the address numbering for the town. Gordon closed the hearing at 7:42. Christine moved to accept the street and address numbering ordinance. Dave seconded the motion. All were in favor.
4. 7:45 PM Open Space Charter
Ken Lombard, Chairman of the Open Space Committee, was present to meet with the Selectmen to discuss the proposed Charter that he has prepared for signature by himself, the Chairman of the Selectmen and the Chairman of the Conservation Commission. The purpose of the Charter is to say what the Open Space Committee does and how they are going to do it. The Conservation Commission has seen the Charter and agrees to it. The Selectmen reviewed the charter and made one change that Ken will fix and return it to the appropriate parties for signature. Ken was concerned because real estate transactions happen quickly and the Conservation Commission and the Selectmen, from whom he would have to get approval to spend money to do the real estate transactions, do not meet often enough. Emergency meetings can be called
with both the Conservation Commission and the Board of Selectmen for approval of funding.
The Open Space Committee is currently considering a property from Carolyn Mohan at the Half and Half Farm where she would like to sell an easement to the town. The property is next to some town land and there is wildlife around the area. They are planning to do an appraisal soon. There is no price on this yet.
5. 8:00 PM Willards Septic Easement
Jessica and Jonathan Willard were present to meet with the Selectmen to discuss easements they are seeking on town property at the school. The Willards plan to open a preschool next to the Central School. They have been working on the easements with the School Board who was going to grant the easements until it was discovered the School Board is not authorized to do this so the Willards had to come to the Selectmen. One of the easements is for groundwater to drain onto town land at the school. The preschool will be using an alternative septic system so no septage is expected to ever drain onto school property. This is a lot loading issue, and the easement is needed just to satisfy the state land requirements for septic systems. Hopefully, this easement will not be needed in time once the state
recognizes this type of septic system or if the type of business at this location changes.
The other easement is to use the Central School driveway to access the preschool.
The Selectmen asked the Willards to provide them with a copy of the opinion letter from the school district attorney and the School Board meeting minutes just to be sure the School Board does approve of these easements, then they will have the town attorney review the documents to help the Selectmen make the decision to grant these easements.
F. APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
1. Minutes of August 22, 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 August 22, 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
G. OLD BUSINESS:
2. Bog Brook Contract-William Schubert, Attorney for Bud Scott, wrote the Selectmen as he questioned their decision to award the contract to CSSI because CSSI sent their bid in later than asked. CSSI did, however, tell the town the amount of their bid ahead of time. The Selectmen have prepared and signed a response letter to him.
H. NEW BUSINESS:
1. Part Time Vacation Benefit-A part-timer is eligible for 2.5 hours of pro-rated vacation time based on time in service. He works 20 hours per week. A question came up on if the town policy was worded correctly. The Selectmen reviewed the policy and feel no change is necessary.
2. Tuition Reimbursement-Burton will check with other towns to see if they have a policy on this, as it can get complicated.
I. OTHER:
1. A resident involved in a recent rescue call mentioned that the police department should become trained to bring in their AED unit if they know they are going into a heart related call. A First Responder Course will be taught at the town fire station beginning this month. Police officers in town may be interested in attending as well. The Selectmen will check with the Police Chief to see if this is a possibility or if it would interfere with manpower issues in the department.
2. Christine asked if a speed limit sign could be installed on a Class 6 road. De facto limit is 35. She would like to post a lower limit. More research will be needed to answer this. Burton will check with the Municipal Association.
3. Christine asked if the town has received any information about housing the victims of the Katrina Hurricane as WMUR told viewers to contact their local government about this. Schooling of children is a concern. Exceptions to the residency rules may be necessary in this case. Christine is considering inviting some families to move into some empty trailers at the campground.
4. The Skateboard Park dedication will be September 11, 2005 at 1:00. Dave and Gordon will plan to attend.
5. Nic Strong has sent letters to all department heads regarding the 2006 CIP.
J. APPOINTMENTS:
1. 7:00 PM Beaver Pond Name Hearing
Cyndie Wilson did not appear at the meeting but Dave moved to name the beaver pond on her property “Place Pond.” Gordon seconded the motion. All were in favor.
K. PUBLIC COMMENT: No comments at this time.
L. Move to Non-Public Session: David made a motion to go into Non-Public session per RSA 91-A:3II(b) at 9:15 PM. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
M. ADJOURNMENT: David made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:16 PM. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Prepared by Maralyn Segien
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