Town of New Boston
Selectmen's Meeting
May 1, 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 David Woodbury 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 Irene Baudreau Town Clerk
Cancelled
2. 7:15 PM Gerry Cornett Transfer Station
Cancelled
3. 7:40 PM Chief Krajenka Police Department
Police Chief Chris Krajenka was present to meet with the Selectmen to discuss the possible loss of Sgt. Frank Kochanek as the Londonderry Police Department has contacted Frank and asked him to apply for a patrolman position with them. Frank expects he can make $55,000 per year plus 100% medical benefits as a patrolman for Londonderry. He is a Sgt. in New Boston making significantly less and only 30% of his medical benefits are not covered. Chris has begun a study and in his opinion has found that Frank is paid less than Sgts. in other departments with similar populations in New Hampshire. In addition, Frank is currently the second in command in the New Boston Police Department with more responsibility than the typical Sgt. as he has taken over Lt. duties after the loss of the Department’s Lt. Chris feels
that Frank is doing an outstanding job in this capacity. Chris doesn’t want to lose Frank over a pay issue. It is apparent that people in the community also value Frank as Chris has heard many positive comments about Frank from people in town. Chris recommends the Selectmen approve an increase of $4.00 to Frank’s hourly rate, as the money he currently earns is not equivalent to the job he does. Frank currently earns $20.95 per hour. Lt. Lamy made $24.00 per hour and did less work than Sgt. Kochanek is doing now. Chris is afraid there is a real possibility of losing Frank to Londonderry. Dave said the town needs to respond to this because of the pressure from Londonderry. He feels other towns may raid New Boston for personnel and New Boston needs to respond regardless of the figures and duties mentioned and beyond Sgt. Kochanek’s duties. Chris distributed copies of the preliminary results of his salary study to
the Selectmen. He has asked 26 different town police departments for their salary information and 11 have responded. He expects responses from all 26 departments. His study shows that the base pay for Sgts. averages approximately $50,000. The salaries of positions equivalent to Sgt. Kochanek’s range from $19.50-29.25 per hour according to Chris’ study.
Frank spoke and said the major reason he is considering the position in Londonderry is the medical benefits. He is getting married July 8 and his fiancé and their 3 children would be added to his insurance at that time increasing the amount of money deducted from his paycheck. He said Londonderry contacted him because of references from three friends who work in the Londonderry department as Londonderry is adding 26 patrolman positions to cover the airport. He was approached by Londonderry and told Chris about it because of his respect for the Chief and the town. Frank feels dedicated to the community and doesn’t want to leave his work in New Boston but feels almost forced to because of the financial burden of medical insurance.
Dave said the Selectmen plan to study the salaries of all officer positions in the police department (not including the Chief’s salary as he is under contract). Chris wants to meet together with Burton and the Selectmen to put figures together for the salaries for the rest of the department. Burton has already sent some figures from the Local Government Center via e-mail and said more information will follow and a meeting will be scheduled for this purpose. Chris said he has put a lot of time into studying this and feels the Local Government Center study that Burton is using is 2 years out of date. Chris is afraid the information he gathers will not be considered and doesn’t want to waste time on it if this is so. Dave said he expects to see a study from Chris showing what he wants salaries at
the police department to be and why. Looking at the market is a portion to consider. Dave asked how far this would stretch the town and taxpayers. Chris said not much at this time as the department positions have not been full for some time and the Sgt. and Lt. positions have been combined and this would have a cents on the dollar impact on taxes.
Chris spoke about salary ranges at the recent department head meeting. He states he was told that the figures the town uses are based on information for towns with a population of 2,500 but the town will be using figures for towns with a population of 5,000. The town police department does not use the step program to determine officer’s salaries as other towns do. Chris said that under the current town formula it would take 16 years for an officer to reach the end of the salary range which is almost impossible.
Chris said that the last time he did a study Burton also did a study and Chris feels the Selectmen ignored his study and they approved Burton’s. Chris is afraid that is going to happen again and doesn’t want to waste time putting something together that won’t be considered. Gordon said in the prior situation the decision was already 90% made before Chris was hired and this is not expected to happen again. Chris said the Selectmen and department heads are not working together to get an end result. Dave said the needs of each department are different and a conglomerate report from all departments probably wouldn’t be as effective as the department heads meeting one on one with the Selectmen at Selectmen meetings. Chris was told that Selectmen’s meetings are the correct forum to
bring his wage study information to the Selectmen. Chris thought the Selectmen would rather see a completed combined study but the Selectmen said they would rather see the raw data and work with Chris and Burton to come to a decision.
Chris said that he still has concerns about communication between the Selectmen and the department heads:
· He feels communication was stifled at the recent department head meeting and this is an ongoing problem. He said this affects the morale of departments in town. He said communication is not as open as it should be at the meetings. He wants open lines of communication at the monthly department head meetings. He feels that a particular conversation changed at the last department head meeting when Dave joined the group. Chris tried to bring the topic up again at the end of the meeting as it was not properly resolved but no one else seemed to want to continue the conversation at that point. Burton said it will be discussed again at the next department
head meeting, which will be elongated, and he will send an e-mail to the appropriate parties listing the topics to be discussed. Burton asked Chris to wait until that meeting to see if the problem is resolved then.
· Chris said the town administrator and the department heads are not working as a team. Gordon said the Selectmen should also be part of the team and Selectmen meetings are the forum to do this. The Selectmen cannot always attend department head meetings. Chris said he should not have to come to Selectmen meetings for clear communication but the Selectmen said that is the way. Gordon suggested Chris prepare an agenda when he comes to Selectmen meetings so everyone knows what he expects to discuss when meeting with the Selectmen and Chris agreed to do so. Gordon and Chris have been meeting monthly but Chris feels the communication is still one-sided.
Gordon said information flows both ways through Burton. The Selectmen set all the policies, not Burton. If Chris gives information to Burton he will give it to the Selectmen. Dave said the preferred method is to give information to Burton in writing to give to the Selectmen.
· Chris feels the information he has brought forward on various topics for the Selectmen to consider has been shut down for various reasons such as the town is too small, and it is too poor of a community. Chris feels things are either not heard or the Selectmen don’t want to deal with it.
o He said the police department is seriously undermanned and the Selectmen and himself still need to review Interim Chief Bruce MacDougall’s report together as mentioned in the Town Report. He said this had been brought to the Selectmen’s attention in November, December and January and no action has been taken yet.
o He stated there is concern as the department is not fully staffed and there is potential to lose the current officers as they are underpaid.
Fire Chief Dan MacDonald was present and said that Sgt. Kochanek is a good officer who could go to another department but wants to try to stay. Willard Dodge was present and reminded everyone of the number of town officers lost in past years that shouldn’t have been. He doesn’t want to lose an officer of the caliber of Sgt. Kochanek. The town of Raymond, NH is having the same problem. If officers do keep leaving the town, new officers will have to be trained. Willard and Chris are concerned about the liability issues this would cause. John Bunting said there are three issues here: wage fairness, quality of hires and expense to New Boston. He suggested considering wages for second in command in other departments rather than wages for Sgts. or third in command in other departments
in the decision regarding Frank’s wages. Frank said he came to New Boston from the Allenstown, NH Police Department. He would be a captain making significantly more if he still worked there.
Christine made a motion to raise Sgt. Frank Kochanek’s hourly rate by $4.00 per hour effective immediately. Gordon seconded the motion. All were in favor. Frank was reminded that the insurance fees come out of his paycheck before taxes.
Dan said every department in town provides services and the town needs to be ahead in compensation management and department head communication needs to improve for morale, compensation and growth. He suggested surveying the department heads asking them about problems. He doesn’t think Selectmen meetings are the correct forum to discuss it, instead use a meeting between upper management and department heads. Dan said Planning Coordinator Nic Strong mentioned the same problem a couple weeks ago and he expects it to come up again by another department head.
4. 8:15 PM Lin Pothier Business on Class VI Road
Lin Pothier and Michael Pare were present to meet with the Selectmen to discuss the waiver the Planning Board has requested. The Selectmen asked them to make their business fit the road or the road fit the business at the last meeting and Lin and Michael feel they have done that. They contacted the Fire Department asking if an emergency vehicle could make it up to their business and were sent an e-mail from Fire Ward Wayne Blassberg saying the Department would do their best to get there. Lin said Mike can make it up the road any time of year in a 2-wheel drive truck similar to a fire truck. The property owners on the road maintain the road, as it is a Class 6 road.
The business plan agreed to with the Planning Board is for a riding stable giving 12 lesson sessions per week and a small summer camp program that she has always held. There will never be more than 3 horses for lessons because of insurance costs. She also has draft horses that pull the hay wagon and carriages on and off the property. The hours of operation will be from 6:30AM to 9:00 PM.
This property has always been a farm. It was a llama farm prior to their purchase of the property and the school used to bus kids to the farm for field trips. The Selectmen are most concerned about vehicles coming to her property that are not familiar with the road. The danger is another person could slide off the road. One solution would be guardrails but these probably cannot be installed because of the location of a sand pit. The worst spot in the road is where it turns from a class 5 road to a class 6 road. Gordon suggested posting a sign warning drivers it is a one lane road in spots, keeping up the sign that says it is not a town maintained road and filling in the bad area. Lin and Mike are not sure they can fill in the bad area as it is not their property but they could ask the owners, the
Boisverts, about it. A couple truckloads per day are removed from the gravel pit there. Mike and Lin said trees have been removed and rocks were moved to widen the road. Abutter Laura Robbins was present and requested Mike and Lin keep the culvert clean. She asked if kids getting lessons will be riding on the road and Lin said yes but only when she feels they are experienced enough to do so and only on horses that are not skittish in the road. Lin said there is no reason anyone will bring a horse trailer to their property for the sake of their business. One issue is if the road deteriorates from increased traffic from the business it would be Mike and Lin’s responsibility to upkeep the road. They need to make the road reasonably safe for the business.
Mike, Lin and Laura said that all the families on the road have different ideas about how to maintain the road. Gordon suggested they meet with the Road Agent to determine the proper way to do this and to determine exactly where the class 5 road ends and make sure it is up to class 5 standards. Lin and Mike asked how road deterioration would be determined and were told to ask the Road Agent what the condition of the road should be and compare it to that. They should discuss the one-lane road sign with the Road Agent. Burton will contact the Road Agent and have him call to set up a meeting when he gets back from vacation. Lin prepared a list of people who should be invited to the meeting. Laura suggested the neighbors should meet together before the meeting with the Road Agent.
A waiver will need to be executed and the Selectmen want to have a sitewalk at the road. Christine will inform the Planning Board at the May 9 meeting that the Selectmen are leaning toward approving the business. Lin, Mike and Laura all said they do not want the road changed to a class 5 road. However, the road will be petitioned to become a class 5 road if the town does much maintenance on it. Lin, Mike and Laura asked if 4-wheelers were allowed to travel on class 6 roads and Burton will check into it. Mike gave Burton and the Selectmen some information he received from the Farm Bureau. A public hearing will be scheduled if necessary.
D. APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
1. Minutes of April 17, 2006 - The Selectmen reviewed the minutes. Corrections were noted. Gordon moved that they be accepted as amended. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
2. Minutes of April 24, 2006 - The Selectmen reviewed the minutes. Corrections were noted. Christine moved that they be accepted as amended. Gordon seconded the motion. All were in favor.
E. OLD BUSINESS:
1. Planning:
· Pothier and Pare-Postponed to come to Selectmen to deal with the class 6 road issue.
· Pulpit/Bedford Road-7 lot subdivision-Box culverts because of rare turtles and easements for wild animals to travel were requested and the owner agreed to provide them. Mark Ciarla sent a note saying he would agree to give up the portion of Pulpit Road they requested.
· Rick Martin Beard Road subdivision-Rick Martin bought the property next to the other piece to improve sight distance. However, the Road Committee was present saying this wasn’t good enough. Rick offered to take some trees down and give the town $97,000 for fair share assessment of road maintenance. This was discussed and the Board was surveyed. 3 opposed and 2 for it. Rick will go back and find a place for a driveway and reconfigure the road. He is scheduled to meet with the Planning Board again at the May 23 and June 16 meetings. He is now planning to build duplexes and single-family homes. There will be a long cul-de-sac
with underground utilities and a cistern and sprinklers for fire control.
· Philip Duke 4 lots-Everything was submitted, storm water management plan and a lot line is being moved to make one lot square. The property is getting cleaned up. Gordon asked about remediation testing. The Planning Board signed off on 4 driveway permits without waiting for Road Agent John Riendeau’s opinion as they have already waited 12 weeks and he never looked at it. No problems are expected with the driveways.
· John Eggers New Boston Tavern-John was present to meet with the Planning Board to discuss a change in use for Neville Hall. He plans to change it into a Sports Bar with the smoking section for the restaurant. There were concerns about increased traffic on Route 13. He plans to have live music on weekends. A covered walkway will connect the two buildings.
· Friendly Beaver Campground-10 tent sites and a toilet building were approved.
· Christine told Interim Building Inspector Ed Hunter that Tom Quirk is a master plumber if he needs help.
· Travis Daniels is becoming an Alternate on the Planning Board and Donald Duhaime will take his place as a full member of the Board.
2. Salary Ranges-Burton said the figures given to the Selectmen are from the Local Government Center book from this time last year. Chris said they were 2 years out of date because the fiscal year for some larger communities goes from July to June 30. Chris has the police pages from the book. This will be discussed at the next department head meeting. Department head meetings are now held the second Wednesday of every month. Christine and Dave plan to attend the next department head meeting. Burton distributed information on how the Selectmen made this decision last time to see if they would like to use the same process this time. Burton also distributed figures from the State of NH for different employment groups. Burton said
there is a wide variation in pay in positions similar to what New Boston has in other towns but there are also a wide variety of duties in the same positions in different towns. Most towns don’t discuss this as in depth as New Boston does. Other town department salary ranges are expected to be completed before the police salary study discussed earlier in the evening.
F. NEW BUSINESS:
1. Arthur Johnston Current Use-Apparently the Johnston’s refinanced their property and the mortgage company made a mistake when listing the owner of the property. Mr. Johnston is willing to do what is necessary to get his paperwork straightened out and Assessor George Hildum has requested permission from the Selectmen not to charge Mr. Johnston the land use penalty. The Selectmen decided not to charge the land use penalty.
2. Conservation Commission Alternate Appointment-Ed Gilligan has applied for a position as an alternate on the Conservation Commission. He worked at the Air Force Tracking Station until retirement. Gordon moved to accept him as a Conservation Commission alternate. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
3. Christian Farm Road Name-The town is trying not to approve two word road names. John Bunting said he suggested Critsen, Christian or McGinnis as road names but there was concern that Critsen or Christian Road would conflict too much with Christie Road. The Selectmen approved the road name Christian Farm Drive.
4. Bookkeeper/Tax Collector Office Furniture Proposal-The town is trying to make the limited space in the town hall more usable. There is $6,000 in the budget for office furniture. The proposal from East Coast Office Interiors is for $5,400 for desks with overhead storage and adjustable shelf bookcases for the Bookkeeper and Tax Collector office. The old furniture will be removed on May 25, the office will be painted and the new furniture will arrive May 26.
G. OTHER:
1. Dave and Christine plan to attend the department head meeting May 10.
2. John Palmer’s septage problem will be tested. Something was done with the leach field at the Almus Chancey property last week.
3. Dennis Lydon from Aggregate Industries called Burton saying he signed a purchase and sale agreement with Thibeault and the two want to meet with the Selectmen. They will be scheduled to come to a Selectmen’s meeting. The town needs to decide who enforces the gravel pit regulations. Nic is preparing an ordinance that describes each department’s duties in this situation. This particular pit is very old no proper reclamation has been done.
4. Police Standards and Training sent an inquiry letter regarding the reason a former employee left. They state they should be informed when an employee leaves and given a reason. The Selectmen feel their request doesn’t apply to the situation but will have Town Counsel Leslie Nixon review it and make a decision. Burton will send it to her.
H. PUBLIC COMMENT:
Willard wants the Board to consider installing an elevator as they upgrade the town hall, as it will be necessary in coming years. Roger Dignard was consulted and it will cost approximately $80,000 and consume a 10’x10’ area on each floor. Fire exits are at opposite ends of the building and there are sprinklers for fire safety. The current stairs are not in good shape. John Bunting said he is in favor of an elevator to make the second floor more accessible. Other considerations are a new building which would cost more or the upstairs of the current building could be put to better use. Dave is concerned about destroying the historical value of the upstairs space by converting it to office space. Willard said he would prefer the space be converted to office space than to be unused.
Willard requested that an elevator be included in the completed floor plan. John said posts and a second floor could be added in the fire station if that building is used for something else someday.
I. ADJOURNMENT: Christine made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:35 PM. Gordon seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Prepared by Maralyn Segien
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