Town of New Boston
Selectmen's Meeting
March 6, 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 Chief Krajenka Police Department
Police Chief Chris Krajenka was present to meet with the Selectmen to introduce Brian Harding who Chris is hoping to bring on in a non-sworn auxiliary and animal control capacity at the police department. Another person has also contacted Chris about their interest in volunteering for animal control duties. Chris said that Brian has a good background and will be an asset to the police department. Dave was concerned about legal issues for town volunteers. Burton suggested that Chris should call the trust to confirm coverage. Once Brian is accepted for this position, he will be trained for some duties, including traffic duties. Chris has developed a job description for this volunteer position. Brian will not be authorized for enforcement duties. He will be under the direct supervision of
Chris and Sgt. Kochanek. His duties will start with bringing police vehicles for maintenance until he gets additional training needed. Brian is a competitive shooter and can assist the other officers in getting certified weapons training. He will be paid for some duties, others will be volunteer. Brian will receive a modified uniform. Dave moved to accept the Chief’s recommendation that Brian Harding be an auxiliary officer and Animal Control Officer for an indefinite period of time. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
D. Move to enter Non-Public Session: David made a motion to go into Non-Public session per RSA 91-A:3II(a) at 7:12 PM. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
E. Move to exit Non-Public Session: David made a motion to exit Non-Public Session at 7:25 PM. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
There was some discussion about how to restrict people from bringing weapons into the Town Hall.
Attorney Chuck Douglas called Dave Nixon and said that John Bunting was not allowed on Joe Foistner’s property while Joe was gone. By the time John was told about this situation, he had already been to the property.
2. 7:20 PM John Riendeau Road Agent
John Riendeau was present to meet with the Selectmen to discuss the status of current projects that the Highway Department is working on.
· The Selectmen asked John who is marking the trees on Bedford Road with orange tape? John doesn’t know. John does plan to take down a dead tree on Bedford Road by Peter Clark’s property.
· The Wilson Hill/Bedford Road intersection project has been on hold for the winter. Burton will call Mr. Reed’s attorney to schedule a walk before the spring leaves come out.
· John will be meeting with the factory rep for the Mack dump truck sander this week because he has been having a lot of problems with it. The original problem with the chains was discovered about a year after the dump truck was acquired. John was never reimbursed for a chain as promised by the factory rep at the time. Since then, the hydraulic motor was replaced and one of the gearboxes is now gone. All these problems are probably related to the original chain problem.
· The loader lost a seal and will probably be repaired under warranty this week. The town will be loaned a loader to use while it is gone.
· The Highway Department has been working on maintenance of the York rake.
· Every road in town has been measured for the database John and Burton are preparing. Measurements have also been separated by paved v. unpaved roads, and new subdivision roads that are not yet approved public roads have been measured as well.
· John has been organizing the records upstairs and updating the asphalt plan using old bills from the paver as they show the date and the road paved.
· Roads will be posted for weight limits soon.
· The frost heaves have been the major problem this year and gravel roads have been extra muddy and needed crushed gravel.
· John expects to be able to work on Bog Road earlier than expected.
3. 7:40 PM Brent Armstrong 4-H Foundation
Brent Armstrong and Willard Dodge from the 4-H Foundation Board were present to meet with the Selectmen to discuss the fairness of the new property tax being imposed on the Foundation.
Willard has spoken with assessor George Hildum about the April 1 due date as 4-H will not have met with the people they need to before that date. Willard then listed the uses, services and benefits the 4-H Foundation provides to the town already including: The Hillsborough County Agriculture Fair, the Fourth of July activities, Fire Department training area, new driver training area, dog run area, a place for horseback riding, walking, fly casting, parking for railroad bed, horse shows, port-a-potty access, dog potty grounds, baseball team practice area, recreation department skating rink. The 4-H grounds are 100 acres of open space. The Foundation provided gravel to the town for 4-6 years at $1 per yard, then $1.25 per yard, which calculates to great savings to the town in the thousands of dollars. The
Foundation is no longer selling gravel to the town. The gravel is mostly gone. They are exchanging what gravel is left for the creation of additional parking and road maintenance at the 4-H grounds. Probably 2-3 acres will fall under the real estate gravel tax the town is imposing. The town probably won’t get much from the tax compared to what 4-H has already given to the town and the foundation requests to be excused from this tax. Dave is in favor of the idea but is concerned about other non-profits in town asking for the same exception. The Selectmen will ask Linda Sizemore and Kim Burkhamer to determine who else in town would be eligible for this exception, which may include the Community Church and Chestnut Hill Kindergarten. The Selectmen will review this situation with George.
Brent said that the Hillsborough County 4-H Foundation, Inc. was in dire financial straits in the early 1990’s and almost dissolved. If the Foundation dissolved at that time, the grounds would have gone to the State of New Hampshire 4-H Foundation. Brent was concerned and had the bylaws changed to say that in the event the Foundation dissolves, the grounds would be assigned to the town of New Boston to continue the current use and activities on the property. The Foundation owns the property and buildings on the property. They expect to work on the caretaker’s house this summer. It will include offices and a small caretaker’s apartment.
F. APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
1. Minutes of February 13, 2006 - The Selectmen reviewed the minutes. Corrections were noted. Christine moved that they be accepted as amended. David seconded the motion. All were in favor.
2. Non-Public Minutes of February 13, 2006 - The Selectmen reviewed the non-public minutes. David moved that they be accepted. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
3. Amendment to Minutes of December 28, 2005-Nancy Biederman requested an addendum be added to the minutes of the December 28, 2005 meeting to change the word “pressured.” The Selectmen decided to restate this portion as follows: “If the situation presents itself, the Selectmen had previously encouraged Nancy Biederman and her playground group to point out to the Playground Association that turning over the playground to the town or the recreation department would make a project like theirs easier to accomplish.”
G. OLD BUSINESS:
1. Planning:
· Doug Hill construction work session and design review. A 2900-foot long cul-de-sac with underground utilities is planned. There was discussion because if one is allowed, other subdivisions of the same length will have to be allowed. The proposal was endorsed. The Fire Wards recommended sprinklers and a cistern for this subdivision. Doug’s position is he would prefer a cistern and not sprinklers.
· Moody and McKenzie Subdivision-There was strong resistance to subdividing to the south, as there is a lot of water although a house could fit onto the lot. The lot to the north has questionable sight distance from the driveway. A driveway permit was granted in 1996 and McKenzie feels he can get a 200-foot sight distance. The Planning Board asked for proof of these things.
· McCurdy Development-Access road moved. Peter Hogan asked them to consolidate lots 28 and 29. They have a few wetlands issues they still need to deal with. Area for recreational use has not been added to the plan. Cyndie Wilson pointed out to the board that a lot of the surrounding property has conservation easements on it. There was a question about if the road plan going through the Olde Colony development is going to leave the 2 lots on his property as conforming.
· Non-residential sight plan for kennel and horse business. Town Attorney Bill Drescher has warned that the release and waiver won’t carry over to a business enterprise on this class 6 road and the condition of Helena Drive should be looked at, therefore this has been turned over to the Selectmen to decide what to do about this.
Linda Pothier and Michael Pare were present at the Selectmen’s meeting. They said this property has been used for horses for the past 100 years. They want to continue horses. They are willing to stop the dogsitting if necessary. They primarily do hay rides and carriage rides. They gave 5 rides on their property last year and encountered no cars during the rides. The carriage rides they give in town do not pay for the upkeep of the horses as they donate half of that money to local charities in town. The Selectmen are concerned about the traffic impact from big events at the property, such as horse shows. Linda is willing to cut down the number of riding lessons she gives to 1 lesson per day. She is a certified teacher. The horse
shows they hold at their farm are not commercial. Michael stated that when they filled out the application they checked the box for “board” just because it was the closest to what they intended to do, but in fact it is not a kennel and they don’t board horses. Christine said the campground had to upgrade a class 6 road to a class 5 road in the past but this is a different situation. Dave is concerned about the town’s liability from allowing this type of traffic on this particular road. He also feels an ambulance will probably be needed at the facility someday due to the nature of the business with horses. There is some question on if an ambulance would be able to pass this road. Linda said she noticed a sign on a road in Goffstown that said “Not maintained by town-pass at own risk.” The Selectmen felt this type of sign was not enough protection. Linda asked who owns the road, as she is concerned
that if they do upgrade the road they won’t be able to protect their upgrade. Gordon and Dave suggested that Linda and Michael should size their operation to the road. Linda and Michael said they don’t mind refining their business plan. They also might have to modify their class 6 agreement with the town. Attorney Bill Drescher has been asked to give an opinion at Planning Coordinator Nic Strong’s request but his opinion has not yet been finalized. The Selectmen advised Linda and Michael to refine their proposal, check with Fire Chief Dan MacDonald about emergency vehicle passability, wait for Bill Drescher’s opinion and contact Nic or Michelle at the Planning Board about what the Selectmen said.
· Discussion on village cistern. Don Duhaime got a quote of approximately $400,000 for the 120,000-gallon cistern and questioned if it would work in conjunction with the school’s cistern. They considered taxing only property owners in the middle of town who would benefit from the cistern.
· Mitch Larochelle sent a letter complaining about Peter Hogan, which upset Peter. Dufresne-Henry sent a letter proposing a three-prong approach to resolving issues.
· The driveway regulations were to be discussed but most people at the meeting were not prepared to discuss it so the discussion was postponed.
· The Planning Board was considering mailing a postcard advocating steep slopes but decided not to send it when Dave said the Selectmen try not to send this type of mailing out.
· Christine will now take over Planning Board duties.
2. Gravel Pit Permitting Assistance-Continental Placer, Inc. is an engineering firm that specializes in gravel pit permitting. Brent Tardiff from Continental Placer is willing to come to New Boston and explain to pit owners what they need to do to come into compliance with the new regulations. He is available the week of March 27 for a meeting with the pit owners. The Selectmen will set up a seminar and send a letter to the pit owners notifying them of the seminar. The Selectmen are preparing to send the regular renewal letter to the pit owners now, which is being reviewed by Mary Pinkham-Langer from NH DES. The Selectmen wrote to Tingley’s pit telling them they need to come into compliance with RSA 485. DES visited them. Problem
pits should have their problems fixed this year or they will not be able to renew next year. An ordinance should be drafted. Aggregate Industries wanted to sell their pit to Thibeault but has not been able to because the property rights and mineral rights are owned by different people. Dennis from Aggregate Industries is already working with Continental Placer to come into compliance with authorization from his company as it is expensive to get into compliance. In the future the Selectmen plan to set up permits so they don’t come up for renewal every year and hopefully renewals can be staggered.
3. Taxing of Campground Trailers-Assessor George Hildum wrote to the Selectmen with a listing of the trailers he plans to tax and asked for a decision from the Selectmen on if they want to tax the trailers. The Selectmen are not sure at this time if the revenue is worth the assessing costs. Christine has asked for the tax price and George has refused to answer until the Selectmen decide they want to tax the trailers. Christine recused herself from the Board. She showed the Selectmen photos of an example of a trailer in poor shape that would be taxed and would not bring in more than $20. George wants to tax trailers with screened in porches with plastic covering the screen just for the winter to keep snow out but these screen porches
should not be included in the 320 square foot calculation and should not be taxed in Christine’s opinion. George originally said he would not include open screen porches, decks or patio areas but did include these in his final listing of trailers. The campground is losing campers because of the tax threat and Christine mentioned that if this continues the campground could close and be replaced by house lots. Gordon would like to know the tax price on the two most valuable trailers on the list. Burton will ask George about the figures. Christine has asked George about the details of his plans to tax but he has not answered. Dave feels that if the cash flow to the town is positive the trailers should be taxed. Christine feels that New Boston should tax only if all other towns tax. Dave would like George to come to a meeting to discuss this. Christine went back on the Board.
H. NEW BUSINESS:
1. Schedule at the Polls-Christine plans to be there on and off all day. Dave will be unavailable in the morning but will try to be there in the afternoon. Gordon is running for office so probably will not be there.
2. Future Discussion Topics-Burton prepared a Police and Selectmen interface document listing possible discussion topics for the Selectmen’s review and comment. Each Selectmen will meet with the Police Chief several times. Burton distributed an article about governing body/police chief relations to the Selectmen. Gordon suggested setting up a meeting between Chris and Interim Chief Bruce MacDougall.
3.Overview of Seminar on Municipal Building Projects-Burton attended this seminar but had a complaint about a presenter who didn’t want to share in writing the information he provided on his slides during his presentation because he considers it work product and feels it would hurt his business if he shared it. However the seminar itself was very good and was about how to get building project articles to pass at voting by getting people in the community outside of the affected department involved on the committees advocating for the passage of the article.
4. Town Investment Policy-A rough draft was prepared by Karen Johnson. Plodzick and Sanderson has reviewed it and will work on this further.
5. GZA Landfill Monitoring Contract-The 2006 contract was signed by the Selectmen.
I. OTHER:
1. Gordon commented on the Recreation Department’s frustration with the school, as the school won’t commit about what they would like for classroom space in the new recreation center. Burton said the school probably should not be pressed to say they would use the space but instead should just give specifications on what the school would need if it became necessary for them to use the center for classroom space.
J. PUBLIC COMMENT: No comments at this time.
K. ADJOURNMENT: David made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:35 PM. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Prepared by Maralyn Segien
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