Town of New Boston
Selectmen's Meeting
June 12, 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 7:17PM beginning with the Pledge of Allegiance.
B. PUBLIC COMMENT: No public comments were made at this time.
C. APPOINTMENTS:
1. 7:00 PM Fire Wards
The Fire Wards were present to update the Selectmen on issues they have been dealing with.
· The new M2 arrived and is in service.
· The Freightliner chassis for the new forestry truck will be in this week.
· The ambulance committee is choosing a manufacturer for the new ambulance. This will be covered by the regular CIP, which seems adequate for what they are considering. Once the new ambulance is in the old X2 will go out of service and the old X1 will go to the tracking station. Fire Chief Dan MacDonald suggested the old X2 could be converted to a highway department vehicle at that point.
· M1 was refurbished as planned for this year.
· The Selectmen asked about the status of the downtown cistern. Dan said an engineer was going to look for solutions but Dan hasn’t heard back from him so he will follow up.
· The Fire Wards asked the Selectmen to send a letter of appeal with the Fire Wards to the owner of Dodge’s Store asking him to install a fire alarm system as his building poses the greatest risk of fire to the downtown area due to the nature of the use of the building and hazards. The building is 12 feet away from the closest building. The Fire Inspector inspects it annually. The Fire Department has spent a lot of time explaining how the property affects the safety of the downtown area to the owner of Dodge’s Store and gotten quotes for him for a fire alarm system but he has no interest in installing this. After the fire alarm is installed there will be
an additional monthly bill to have it monitored. The Selectmen will look into how much the town pays for monitoring of the fire alarms in town buildings. The Fire Wards will draft a letter to the owner of Dodge’s Store and forward it to the Selectmen for approval and signature in which they will ask to meet with him to discuss installing a fire alarm and work with him to get it done. If this doesn’t work his insurance company may need to be contacted specifying the risk the building poses to the town. There is no ordinance requiring him to have an alarm system.
· The State Fire Marshall will become involved in the situation at the creamery as a new wire service was installed but one box is out of code as it is too close to a water pipe. They were told to move it but have not moved it so the Fire Marshall will enforce it.
· There have been more problems with the Library’s fire alarm system since they started working on the roof. It has been taken off line. The library is reluctant to call for service on the system because of the cost. Burton will ask Central School Principal Rick Matthews whom they use to test the school’s fire alarm system. George St. John said he would get Burton the name of an electric company with an alarm division that he has used in the past that was very good. George also said the gauge on the nitrous tank for the sprinklers at the library indicates it is empty.
· The future fire station committee has formed. Roger Dignard has volunteered his service for architecture for the fire station but if the building includes non-fire components his service will not be donated. The committee includes Willard Dodge, Gary Perron, Lou Lanzilotti and several Fire Department members. They are doing a space needs study and brainstorming sites. They plan to visit some newer stations to see what they need. They are considering sleeping, meeting and training rooms as well as bays large enough for the fire trucks. Dave suggested they consider space for non-fire department needs. If it is combined with the police station
the police will have separate rooms because of police security issues. Timing of the new building may conflict with a need for an addition at the school or a new school building. George will keep Burton informed on the committee’s progress.
· The Fire Department now has 48 members of which half are crosstrained in medical and 98% are certified in some capacity, which represents the highest level of certification within the department ever.
· The tempsys requirement for ambulance runs adds an additional ½ to 1 hour per ambulance call per person. It hasn’t impacted quality of service to the town. Laptops are provided in the ambulance, which has helped people fill out the tempsys form, but they are expected to need yearly replacement due to wear and tear from jostling around in the ambulance during calls.
· George mentioned he was riding around town with Road Agent John Riendeau the day after the floods and realized there were flooding problems where there never were problems before due to developments. George suggested the Planning Board would have to be aware of this problem when approving big developments and require developers to put in box culverts.
· Dan Teague is working on a letter to be published in the New Boston Bulletin about addressing issues and the emergency situation. Dan Teague will e-mail a draft to the Selectmen. They will ask Police Chief Chris Krajenka to draft a letter for the New Boston Bulletin about heeding road barricades.
2. 7:30 PM Gerry Cornett Transfer Station
Transfer Station Manager Gerry Cornett was present to meet with the Selectmen to discuss issues at the Transfer Station.
· The hopper building has been completely enclosed and rebuilt. Gerry said STJ did an outstanding job at a great price. The new building is 6’ shorter with a slanted roof for water runoff. It is also designed to let air pressure out during high winds. A letter will be sent to EPA describing how this will help keep water out of the hopper. The trailer is planned to be covered next.
· There was a previous landslide on the east side in October 1997. DES and GZA were involved at the time and it was repaired but not fixed. This time the south slope failed and it is estimated to cost $300-600,000 to fix it. 18” of material will have to be pulled back manually to remove the old enclosure and put in grippers. Duke will come up on June 21 to do test pits to pull back as much as he can to look for damage. The project will have to be done in July to get some growth on it before winter.
· Gerry believes the operating costs of the Transfer Station could be decreased substantially by using Corcoran Environmental and distributed information to the Selectmen for their review. Trucking costs would increase but operating costs would decrease by 2/3. Corcoran plans to open a C& D processing facility in Goffstown and build a material handling plant in Manchester. Weare has agreed to take New Boston’s glass and ship it for half of what we are paying now.
· Staffing issues: Glen was out for 5 weeks but is back now. The Transfer Station is losing the college kids but 1 was hired Friday and a potential fill-in person may be hired.
· The Ford frame gave way on the plow truck and the transmission is gone. Gerry thinks he may be able to sell it. Gerry has seen some potential replacement trucks for sale for about $5,000.
· Waste management: The burner was shut down for 2 weeks so have been shipping to Claremont at additional cost and time. Shut down to general dumping 4 more weeks but opening again Thursday to New Boston. Flooding an issue making heavy loads and causing abnormal stuff to be in the loads.
· The 4-year-old trailer is showing signs of premature rust. The rear third, front by the kingpin and the roof are rusted. Stucco is not going to help fix it but did give the name of a company to paint. It is buckled all over the sides. A full redo is scheduled for next year but should have been done last year. It will be done this year along with the needed welding for about $5-8,000.
· Hauler compliance is still a big issue. The fees are not deterring them. Their recycle rate is in the 70’s and should be in the 40’s like the rest of New Boston is required to do. They refuse to get better percentages. Gerry recommends positive reinforcement by writing them a check once a month for half of what the town makes from their recyclables. The haulers are afraid they are going to lose customers by forcing them to recycle but Gerry has run some numbers to show them that the fines really are costing them too much. The Selectmen agreed to try the positive reinforcement for one month and if that doesn’t work privileges will
be suspended.
D. APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
1. Minutes of May 30, 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.
E. OLD BUSINESS:
1. Planning: There was no meeting but there was 3 sitewalks:
· Beard Road condexes compliance sitewalk-approved.
· Greenfield Road/Daylilly Lane-inspected driveways.
· 4 lots McCollum/Meadow Road
The Selectmen signed the contract from Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission.
2. Helena Drive-Lin Pothier and Michael Pare were present to meet with the Selectmen about the status of Helena Drive. If it stays a Class 6 road the Selectmen will ask that it meet the most basic safety requirements. They gave suggestions for improvement but can’t require those changes be made. If the town gets too involved the road will have to become a Class 5 road. The dropoff may need to be addressed with a jersey barrier or linear markings indicating the edge of the road. The town would not be responsible to maintain the increased quality of the road. Waivers roll from owner to owner of the properties on the road. Lin will probably have to sign a new waiver for her business and she is willing to do that. She will come
up with a proposal to address the safety of the corner to make it safer if the Planning Board approves their business plan. Approval of their site plan will be contingent on their completing the road plan and signing a release and waiver. A public hearing on this is scheduled for June 26,
3. Building Inspector Replacement-4 potential candidates were interviewed and one candidate is now being considered for the position. The Selectmen feel this is not a full time position. The hours have already been increased from 2 to 3 days. The Selectmen do not want to readvertize for the position.
4. Develop “Charge” For Municipal Building Projects Committee-Burton did not prepare the material to discuss this at this meeting and it will be discussed at another meeting.
5. Water Run-off Issues-Burton will contact Town Attorney Bill Drescher about the Thornton Road issue when Bill gets back from vacation. RSA 236:19 implies water can’t be dumped on a public way, however, Town Forester John Ferguson said residents can cut trees on their land. In subdivision situations when developments keep going in behind each other and all the water goes to the original culvert, developers may have to be required to either overbuild or subsequent developers will have to replace the original culvert. Burton will work on a pamphlet to give to people when they apply for timber permits.
F. NEW BUSINESS:
1. Open Space Committee Appointment-Gordon moved that Peter Maloney be appointed to the Open Space Committee of the Conservation Commission for a period of 3 years. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
2. Letter to Reeds-The Selectmen reviewed a letter to be sent to the Reeds regarding the Bedford/ Wilson Hill Road intersection.
G. OTHER:
1. It looks like the property owner is putting in a second driveway at the modular home near the entrance to the campground on Old Coach Road. Interim Building Inspector Ed Gilligan will be asked to look at it. This is the same property where they had a hearing before the ZBA for a garage they were building that was not in compliance.
2. The school bus couldn’t travel Tucker Mill Road, as it needed grading and ditch lines filled after the floods. It was graded today. 2-tier weight restrictions may need to be invoked on roads in times of emergency.
3. Bog Brook Road will be posted for weight restrictions after school is over for the year.
4. The 6th grade class is going to the campground for a graduation celebration.
5. Burton and John went to a FEMA meeting Friday and filled out the necessary form. They have an appointment with a FEMA representative on Thursday at 10:00 for advice. Burton has asked people to e-mail photos of damage to him before Thursday.
H. PUBLIC COMMENT: No comments at this time.
I. Move to enter Non-Public Session: Gordon made a motion to go into Non-Public session per RSA 91-A:3II(a) at 10:08 PM. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
J. Move to exit Non-Public Session: Christine made a motion to exit Non-Public Session at 10:55 PM. David seconded the motion. All were in favor.
K. ADJOURNMENT: Gordon made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:56 PM. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Prepared by Maralyn Segien
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