Town of New Boston
Selectmen's Meeting
March 7, 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 Christine Quirk at 7:00PM beginning with the Pledge of Allegiance.
B. PUBLIC COMMENT: No public comments were made at this time.
C. APPOINTMENTS:
1. 7:00 PM Solid Waste Committee
The Solid Waste Committee met with the Selectmen to discuss several issues at the Transfer Station.
· The first issue discussed was the best way to handle cash transactions at the Transfer Station. New Boston’s system is an exact match with Manchester’s scale and program with no problems tracking money. In Manchester, cash is not handled on the property, only at 1 station (the scale office) and receipts are given. Manchester will obtain a signature pad. New Boston is run the same way-money is only taken at one place and receipts are generated for all transactions. Coupons were discussed but were felt to be not necessary for New Boston now that we have the scales and the computer. Recently there have been a couple of accusations
that employees were pocketing the cash which were determined to be unfounded by the Police Department. The Transfer Station has a new computer system in place and the Transfer Station Manager, Gerry Cornett, is very impressed with its capabilities, including creating a permanent record, generating weekly reports, and showing trends of busy and off seasons. 2 commercial haulers bring trash to the Transfer Station every week and pay approximately $50-70 each for not meeting the recycling standard. The typical homeowner brings in a couple of buckets totaling $6-18 each. Credit Card transactions were discussed but declined at this time due to the fees credit card companies charge. The scale is accurate as it is self-correcting. Gerry has sent requests to the state for schooling for 3 weight-masters. He recommends continuing the current system instead of going to coupons.
· The second issue is enforcement. Many people in town bring in their trash in black plastic bags and throw them into the hopper. It is believed that some of these bags contain recyclables. The transfer station has backed off on enforcement until a system is in place to handle the issue of recycling and people have returned to their old ways. Manchester is going to a “pay by the bag” system and is seeking recyclables from surrounding communities. Another option is putting the trash on railways that take solid waste to places such as Kansas City where they have huge landfills. Dave asked when will we try to attract recyclables? Gerry
says the US should be attracting recyclables as there is money to be made but so far is not trying. He wants to start storing more recyclables by constructing a pole barn where the trailers are and watch the prices until the prices are high and send them to the facility at that time. Trash odor is not an issue. The building itself will cost $15-16,000. Burton has seen this done in Wilton with success. Currently, Gerry has to send 3 different types of recyclables on the same truck as we don’t have the storage capabilities here. Shipping each type of recyclable in a full trailer will generate a higher revenue. New Boston is not currently recycling all grades of plastic. Some are being converted to electricity.
· The third issue is implementing enforcement. Gerry proposes sending out a mailing to the townspeople setting forth a 3 strike warning system. 1st strike is a verbal warning, 2nd is a written warning, and 3rd is expulsion from the transfer station for 2 weeks. People have no constitutional right to their trash after bringing it onto the property. A search warrant is not needed to look in the bags. The Selectmen recommend telling people in the mailing that New Boston has a mandatory recycling program voted in by the people in 1993 and the bags may be inspected for recyclables before being placed in the hopper and they may
be refused if not in compliance. There will also be a posting at the station, an interview of the Transfer Station Manager and a letter from the Selectmen published in the town newspaper informing people of the new policy at the same time as the mailing goes out. New Boston is behind other towns in this area that use sorting tables. The paperwork from our incinerator specifically states what can and cannot be placed into it. Comment from George St. John in the audience that the Selectmen should enforce as the governing body. Gordon agrees and says that is why the “complaint form” was changed to “comment form.” Gerry is also working on an improved pamphlet stating they are saving the town money by doing this. Recycling is a big benefit to the town and actually saves both time and costs at the transfer station.
· Gerry wants to extend the summer hours and make them year round. He has adequate staffing and lighting to be installed for this purpose. Starting May 1 the transfer Station will be open year-round on Tuesdays until 6:00 PM.
2. 7:35 PM George St. John Town Property
· George states he was not notified in advance of this meeting.
· His business insurance company has requested details on the liability policy for voted-in town officials as he is a fire ward. Burton states that appointed people will be given a packet explaining this and he will now send it to voted-in people as well.
· George was present to meet with the Selectmen and discuss parking for the ballfield on Old Coach Road. He stated there is a problem when people use the lower end of the ballfield and park on both sides of the road creating a 1 lane road. Also, little kids are running around the cars in the road unsupervised causing a safety issue. He suggests opening the old sandbank for additional parking, paint a crosswalk and install yield, watch for children and no parking signs along the road. This is one of the busiest roads in town. The Selectmen agree that signs and a crosswalk are appropriate in this case. The Recreation Commission needs direction from the
Selectmen to do this. Burton will check with Mike.
· George will return March 21 to discuss other issues.
D. APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
1. Minutes of February 23, 2005 - The Selectmen reviewed the minutes. Corrections were noted. David moved that they be accepted as amended. Gordon seconded the motion. All were in favor.
E. OLD BUSINESS:
1. Planning: Dave states the Selectmen are up to date as of the last meeting other than the site walk that took place Saturday when 3 properties were inspected: Jane Carr on Christie Road, Lyons property on Laural Lane and Palmer Property on Hooper Hill Road.
2. Gravel Pit Review Process: Regarding the February 25 letter from Nic at the Planning Board, Dave hopes it is now straightened out as it is unusual. Planning Board will do the work on new pits that want to open, and the Selectmen will work on the renewals.
3. Riley Lot: The Tax Collector is currently working on deeding the property including confirming the death of Mr. Riley and contacting heirs. The property deed date is in May. It is probably worth more than the taxes owed. Neighbors may be able to help with the time frame when Bob Riley ran the fuel oil business on the property. The Selectmen are still trying to determine what type of business was done on the property and when. Harold Strong said that Riley didn’t store oil there; instead he would pick up oil at a different site with his truck and deliver it to customers. This was at least 20 years ago. Gordon believes that as of 1985 Bowen was storing equipment there.
At this time the meeting is turned over to David Woodbury for 8:00 Appointment: Planning Board and Road Committee
Dave stated that the purpose of this meeting is to determine how the Road Committee, Planning Board and Town Engineers can work together. He distributed a discussion outline to the Board of Selectmen as well as the following participants:
Planning Department: Nic Strong, Planning Coordinator and Michele Brown, Planning Assistant
Planning Board Representative Bob Furey
Road Committee Members: Brian Dorwart, Roch Larochelle, Harold Strong, and Tom Miller
Road Agent John Riendeau
Rene LaBranche from Dufresne-Henry Engineers
Nic Strong gave an overview stating that the main issue is the Road Committee has become involved at a level never done before in planning review. Their reviews look like town engineering reviews. The Planning Board did not expect the Road Committee to duplicate the work of Dufresne-Henry. She felt that each agency’s function needs to be defined.
A particularly problematic application was the application for Vista Road. Nic stated that the Planning Board sent out their typical blanket request to all of the departments in town asking for input. The departments usually respond only if they feel it is necessary. This time was different in several ways. First, the Planning Board was surprised by the response from the Road Committee. Second, this applicant was anxious to proceed which led to the meeting with the Road Committee that was probably never done before.
The blanket request went out and the Road Committee was asked to look at it by John Riendeau. The road committee spotted several problems and were concerned that the town could become liable for additional plowing costs and hindrance to safety personnel caused by the steepness of the property. However, they did not make engineering comments because that is Dufresne-Henry’s job.
A suggestion was made that the Road Committee should be in an advisory role to the Planning Board, then come to meetings to see how their recommendations are being processed as problems arise when they meet directly with the applicant. Consulting Dufresne-Henry is typically one of the last steps in the planning process. Gordon points out that is fine for the normal application, but in more complicated situations such as this perhaps Dufresne-Henry should be called in earlier.
Rene from Dufresne-Henry suggests that a TRC or Technical Review Committee be formed in New Boston consisting of members from different town committees. A department head committee is already in place. If Dufresne-Henry is called in at an earlier stage, they would evaluate the plan to see if it is reasonable for development and consider Road Committee ideas to prevent redundancy. Rene suggests a representative from the Road Committee should meet directly with the Planning Board and other departments to clarify concerns as opposed to only correspondence between departments. When asked by Dave about professional exposure, Rene answered that if they are just talking there is not much. The Road Committee says that the town engineer, not the Road Committee should put the engineering response in writing and that
John, the Road Committee, a Planning Board representative and possibly others should meet to discuss suggestions before correspondence is distributed. They feel the Planning Board should be timelier in their communication with developers and applicants if there is a problem so they don’t spend too much money and would be less likely to sue. Gordon agreed, suggesting that if it is a problematic application, it should be recommended for professional review by Dufresne-Henry earlier in the process. One solution is to contact the applicant and tell them there are issues and ask if they want to open an escrow account earlier in the process to get Dufresne-Henry involved when there are engineering issues discovered by the Road Committee. When the Road Committee responds to the Planning Board’s blanket request, they should state specifically if they “recommend this application should have full engineering review” but any department response
could flag an application to be reviewed by Dufresne-Henry. Rene estimates early intervention in the form of a conceptual review by Dufresne-Henry would cost the applicant an additional $700-1,000. The Road Committee is more familiar with the town and could help focus Dufresne-Henry at this stage. A more detailed review by Dufresne-Henry would be done later at the normal time in the planning process.
A suggestion was made that the Planning Board include check boxes in their blanket requests to the departments indicating that the department should “check here if there are concerns, check this other box if no concerns.”
Another suggestion is to consider a review and amendment of the subdivision regulations. Nic states she doesn’t see a problem with this. The Road Committee is willing to meet with Dufresne-Henry to discuss changes. Some specific changes were proposed by the Road Committee a couple of years ago pending the master plan that should be completed at the end of 2005, however, some changes can be implemented at any time.
More issues concerning this matter will be discussed at a later time.
At this time the meeting is turned back over to Christine Quirk.
F. NEW BUSINESS:
None.
G. PUBLIC COMMENT: No comments at this time.
H. OTHER:
1. The auditors are here this week. New Boston is not in compliance with GASB34 and this will be published in the town report with a letter from the Selectmen explaining why the town is not in compliance as the report from the auditors is harsh. The Bond Bank has been consulted about this and says it is not a problem and it will not interfere with New Boston getting federal grant money. The Selectmen will review both letters but are willing to accept the harsh letter with the explanation letter to be published.
2. David will be at the polls tomorrow to certify the vote.
3. A letter appointing the tax collector was signed by the Selectmen.
4. Changes to the town reports for next year: consider a color cover, may be changing to a bigger size town report if cost is similar to the current publication cost.
I. ADJOURNMENT: Gordon made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:58 PM. David seconded the motion. All were in favor.
J. Back in Session: Gordon made a motion to go back in session. David seconded the motion. All were in favor. Gordon made a motion to appoint Karen Heselton as the Tax Collector for 3 years. David seconded the motion. All were in favor.
J. ADJOURNMENT: Gordon made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:00 PM. David seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Prepared by Maralyn Segien
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