Town of New Boston
Selectmen's Meeting
January 9, 2006
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. APPOINTMENTS:
1. 7:00 PM Warren Drive Acceptance Hearing
This hearing was duly noticed and a letter dated December 16, 2005 from Michelle Brown of the Planning Department has been received saying Warren Drive is ready to be accepted. Dave moved that Warren Drive be accepted. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
D. APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
1. Minutes of December 28, 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 December 28, 2005 - The Selectmen reviewed the non-public minutes. David moved that they be accepted. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
E. OLD BUSINESS:
1. Planning: A two-page letter dated January 6, 2006 from Pat Panciocco, attorney for Right Way Builders, has been received which is expected to be discussed at the Planning Board meeting tomorrow night. The Selectmen have no objection to scheduling the meeting she requested.
2. Assistant Library Director Position-Deanna Powell was present to discuss the new Assistant Library Director position the library is requesting. The Finance Committee seemed interested in a part time library assistant. Burton asked about the rationale for a new person. Deanna says the new person is needed to do the new tasks of getting grants and the person would also focus on programs for the middle school and high school kids and adults in the town to get them involved with the library and make them aware of and use the library resources. The new person is also needed because of the statistics that show growth in town and growth in the number of participants in the kids programs and growth in the amount of time the computer resources at the library are
being used. Dave asked if this person is needed to do some of the tasks that Sarah, the Library Director, is not doing but should be doing. Deanna said that the main purpose of the new person is to expand programming. The statistics and the needs analysis done by the library show a need for programs that aren’t being offered right now. Sarah does management duties. The Trustees originally requested a full time assistant but now don’t expect this to become a full time position in the near future. They can still expand on other full time workers’ hours and combine some positions. The Selectmen asked if there is physical space at the library for another person. Deanna said that they expect to convert the front desk to a workspace instead of the current layout. The Selectmen asked that Sarah be asked about her retirement plans based on what has happened in other town departments when new directors took over.
Deanna is not comfortable asking about it. Burton suggests that if Sarah’s retirement will be soon, the library should hire a new director before an assistant director, or get a person who can do the desired duties when Bea retires. Deanna said that Sarah’s retirement had nothing to do with the request for a new person. Even a new director will need a highly trained assistant to help them accomplish what they want to do. Sarah could also benefit from a part time assistant to help her accomplish the ideas she has for the library. Deanna agreed to research how to legally ask Sarah about her retirement plans. The Selectmen are not against the new position.
F. NEW BUSINESS:
1. Library Trustee Appointment –Dave moved to accept the application of Jed Callen as library trustee in place of Tim Cady until the election in March. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
G. OLD BUSINESS:
3. 2006 Operating Budget-The Selectmen reviewed the 2006 Operating Budget. The new library assistant position is not built into the budget yet.
4. 2006 Warrant Articles and Warrant Order-Input on Warrant Wording and Explanations-The Selectmen reviewed the 2006 Warrant Article listing and Warrant Order.
H. APPOINTMENTS:
8:00 PM Fire Dept. Forestry Truck Grant Hearing
The Fire Wards were present for the Forestry Truck Grant Hearing. The hearing was posted in the paper. The truck will be paid for by a 95% federal grant and 5% from town funds. $171,000 is expected from the grant and the Fire Department will request $20,000 from the town at the election in March. The Fire Department will keep M3 (the current Forestry Truck) in service when they get the new truck until the cost of repairs dictate it to be sold. The new truck will be a Freightliner chassis and the body will come from VTech in Vermont. Dave moved to accept the grant. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
8:05 PM Fire Wards
The Fire Wards were present to meet with the Selectmen to discuss their concerns regarding Temsis the new state mandated reporting of EMS calls. This requires the volunteers who go on EMS calls to file an electronic report with the state within 48 hours of the call. The report takes one-half to two hours to complete and submit. The Fire Wards are concerned that volunteers are not going to want to do the reports and not volunteer for EMS calls. The Fire Wards are considering hiring a qualified person to do the reports for the volunteers. This person would be made aware of and sign the HIPAA non-disclosure agreement. The volunteers could then log on to the state’s website to review the report for accuracy within 15 days. The Fire Wards planned to keep their handwritten run sheets to use if a
court case arose out of the call. The state would have the electronically filed report for use in court cases. The Selectmen are concerned that there may be discrepancies between the two and said that the volunteers should incorporate their notes into the electronically filed report and destroy the handwritten reports. Town counsel Leslie Nixon will be consulted on this issue. The Fire Wards think this is an unfunded mandate and the Selectmen should get together with Selectmen from other towns with volunteer departments and go to the state to get this changed. Christine has talked to Rockingham Ambulance who said they are not going to file their reports electronically. Other towns have told Dan the same thing. Burton suggested that Dan call the Local Government Center for advice. The state has requested that EMTs start filing their reports electronically on January 15 and it will be mandatory as of March 15. The Fire Department
estimates they go on 20 EMS calls per month.
One way the Fire Department has recruited volunteers recently is by asking the Fire Academy if there are any students who would be interested in volunteering here to get experience.
Dan distributed a two-page New Boston Cellular Comparison to the Selectmen comparing the current cell phone plan with U.S. Cellular with a quote on a new plan from Nextel. This plan will add two additional phones and is expected to cost less than what the town currently pays for service including overage and other charges. Dan hasn’t discussed this new plan with the other department heads yet but police and fire are interested in Nextel because of the walkie-talkie capabilities.
I. NEW BUSINESS:
3. Wage Survey-The Selectmen reviewed the proposed 2006 Salary Ranges. They will review it further on their own and report back with any further ideas. Also discussed was increasing the range and possibly changing the definition of “market” rate.
J. OTHER:
1. Little People’s Depot applied to put up 2 signs on town property from 1/30-2/6. This is ok with the Selectmen.
2. Gerry Cornett from the Transfer Station submitted a template for a sign to be erected near Old Coach Road listing the town departments and their locations on Old Coach Road. Christine believes the area they wish to put it in is state property and they will need to be contacted about this.
3. The Boy Scouts requested a tour of the Town Hall. Dave has volunteered to give the tour.
4. Aggregate Industries called as there is a buyer interested in their land. Their main concern is if their permit can be sold with the land. The town may be interested in this land for a future school and may be able to buy this for just over $1.5 million. The Selectmen asked if the Conservation Commission should be notified about this potential, but if Conservation bought it, could it be used for a school? This will be looked into further.
K. PUBLIC COMMENT: No comments at this time.
L. Move to enter Non-Public Session: Christine made a motion to go into Non-Public session per RSA 91-A:3II(a) at 9:50 PM. David seconded the motion. All were in favor.
M. Move to exit Non-Public Session: David made a motion to exit Non-Public Session at 10:40 PM. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
N. ADJOURNMENT: David made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:41 PM. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Prepared by Maralyn Segien
| 
