Town of New Boston
Selectmen's Meeting
August 21, 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 John Riendeau Road Agent
Road Agent John Riendeau was present to meet with the Selectmen to discuss the status of projects at the Highway Department.
· The Bedford Road upgrade project area was paved last week and will likely come in under the expected total cost as there was a good base there. Crushed bank run was put on top of the gravel to stabilize the road. New culverts were installed. The shoulders still need to be done.
· A trailer on Roby Road had 3-4 feet of gravel on the front lawn the result of serious road work back during the May heavy rain event. That has been cleaned up and the ditch line fixed. Riprap will be installed to better stabilize the ditch area.
· Bessie Leavitt Road was heaving at the end so the Highway Department took the backhoe and pulled up several boulders. The road was then repaved.
· Thibeault has not started making materials for Parker Road. The Highway Department has started the underdrain. Thibeault started the riprap and put in a culvert at their gravel pit entrance. This section from Riverdale to Howe Bridge will be paved once the new base is in place.
· Overlay and underdrain are planned for Meadow Road.
· A pipe will be installed soon in front of the lampposts for the driveway on Jerry Hill (Bedford Road) and the next one. They just put a shim on the road at this spot because it was so broken up.
· DES/Bog Road-John is still working on his permit and is trying to determine the best water diversion method. The weight limit signs came in and will be erected. John spoke to Principal Rick Matthews last year about the impact on buses and Rick didn’t think it would be much of a problem. John will talk to him again tomorrow. The box culvert is expected to cost $28,000.
· John Deere is coming tomorrow to look at the backhoe because it came with a thumb that was too short. John Deere will install the longer ones at no charge.
· There is wash up on Cemetery Hill Road at the top and on Byam Road that John will have to look at and determine how to fix.
2. 7:15 PM Road Committee Off Site Road Improvements
The old price of $65/linear foot is no longer valid. Rene Labranche from Dufresne-Henry recommended it be raised to $102/linear foot and the Road Committee has proposed it be raised to $165/linear foot.
Rene said he sent a letter to the Selectmen on March 27 with the price of $102/linear foot but the construction market has increased significantly since then. Chairman of the Road Committee Brian Dorwart says they considered the cost to make a road when preparing their figure of $165/linear foot. He maintains the $165/linear foot is correct but is not to be applied to constructing a new road. The Road Committee used DOT current values and the subdivision road standards when preparing their figure. Rene agreed that the document prepared by the Road Committee is a good document with valid numbers. Brian pointed out the calculator included at the bottom of the form which calculates the base cost of the road plus the cost of each specific aspect of the road such as culverts, retaining walls, swamps, etc.
He proposed the Planning Board use the calculator when determining off site road improvement costs and also let the developer submit their final number using the calculator to the town engineer for review and approval. It was also mentioned that the more subdivisions and roads that come in, the Highway Department might become overwhelmed with road maintenance and the major reconstruction jobs might have to be subcontracted out. Rick Martin and his attorney Patricia Panciocco were also present and Patricia said she thinks this would be legal but is not certain. She is afraid the developer would be made responsible for additional town traffic and existing resident traffic on the road as well as the traffic the developer creates which is all he should be responsible for. Rick Martin agrees the costs should be determined on an individual basis. Patricia read aloud RSA 674:21 and said the costs may need to be defined further and reminded the town that
the money can only be held for 6 years and if it is not used for improvement of the road it must be returned to the developer. A clear legal opinion is needed. Calculating future construction costs was considered. The Selectmen adopted the figure of $165/linear foot plus the calculation subject to the road conditions at hand additions or subtractions based on site-specific conditions of the road. Rick suggested that the developer should be given the opportunity to spend some of the money to determine what is under a road and what the road would need for road improvements. He feels this could also benefit the town to know what is under the roads but the Selectmen were not ready to discuss that at this meeting. Brian will prepare a spreadsheet and instructions on how to use it for the Planning Board. In the past, Warrant Article’s have been used to determine the town’s portion of the road improvements. Patricia was
referred to the Planning Board to learn how off site road improvements have been determined in the past.
The dam at the proposed Beard Road subdivision was discussed. There is a classification issue, concern over a design flaw that could fail the dam, and ongoing maintenance issues. Depending on what is required John may not have the equipment necessary to maintain a dam. Roch Larochelle recommends the town not accept the dam now as new regulations came out on Friday that would make it a detention pond and it should be redesigned if necessary to meet the new standards. The engineer of record should look at it and send his answer in writing with his stamp.
D. APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
1. Minutes of August 7, 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. Non-Public Minutes of August 7, 2006 - The Selectmen reviewed the non-public minutes. Gordon moved that they be accepted. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
E. OLD BUSINESS:
1. Planning:
· Gordon will be unable to attend the meeting tomorrow night, as he will be out of the country. Dave will attend.
· The final draft of the Master Plan is in.
· Ragamuffin’s-The issues are noise, safety and impact to the area. A sitewalk was held and music was playing which couldn’t be heard much outside the building except in the back where it may need to be modified. Police Chief Chris Krajenka was at the sitewalk and sent a letter to the Planning Board saying he doesn’t expect any issues but Gordon feels there could be some safety issues as there is no police coverage during some of the bar’s operating hours. The septic has a 22.5 person capacity. The capacity for the bar is now down to 72 people and could go down to 60-65 people. They would need a septic design to handle 1400
gal/day. There may be an option to monitor their water usage and give the results to the state showing they don’t use that amount of water.
· The driveway regulations were adopted.
· Right Way Builders Beard Road-compliance hearing. Condos ok.
· Susan Road Subdivision-Gordon asked the developer to put open space in their plan.
· David Plantier-approved.
· Dave Elliott off Tucker Mill Road- Requested a second driveway as the gift shop is doing better than expected. There is not 200’ of frontage but it may be reasonable as it is a business with a home and there are topographical issues.
2. Salary Ranges-First reviewed a specific situation. Dave Jolicoeur at the Transfer Station. Burton noted there is currently a raise cap in the salary plan for promotions and asked if the Selectmen wanted to apply that in this situation. Burton also presented the Selectmen with a sheet showing a possible new salary range. If the Selectmen wish to apply this range for this job, it should start at $12.00. Transfer Station Manager Gerry Cornett was present to suggest a new pay rate. The Selectmen decided to approve a raise retroactive to August 7, 2006.
Gerry also mentioned the legislature is in committee now for something that could become more costly for the town. Under the new law DES would become self-funded. Gerry will be at the legislative session in Concord tomorrow.
Burton gave the Selectmen a packet with information from the state department of labor. Burton said the figures given to the Selectmen are from the Local Government Center book from last year. For most of the positions Burton suggested taking the survey guide figure and multiply by the COLA and then multiply by 1.03. The Selectmen will review the information and decide how to proceed.
3. Trustee of Trust Funds-Dave Woodbury prepared a list of potential candidates, which Burton will also show to Fred Hayes, a trustee, for his opinion.
F. NEW BUSINESS:
1. Political Advertising In Town ROW-Burton said there has been a change in the law effective August 14 allowing political signs on state ROW. The Selectmen will have to decide if the town ROW policy should be changed once the actual language of the new law is available. Real estate and other signs may still be a problem.
2. Non-Profit Funding Requests-Police Chief Chris Krajenka will write to the Selectmen as he is strongly in favor of the town donating to a charity that had inquired about a town donation. If the Selectmen feel it is appropriate it will be placed on the March ballot and the voters will decide if they want the town to donate money.
3. MS-4 Estimate of Revenues for 2006- The Selectmen reviewed a draft estimate of 2006 revenues to be used in the setting of the tax rate.
G. OTHER:
1. The Selectmen reviewed a memo from Assessor George Hildum regarding the revaluation status saying he is ready to move to the individual hearings stage. The Selectmen reviewed and approved a letter prepared by Burton to be sent to taxpayers with their new assessment.
H. PUBLIC COMMENT: No comments at this time.
I. ADJOURNMENT: Christine made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:10 PM. Gordon seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Prepared by Maralyn Segien
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