Town of New Boston
Selectmen's Meeting
March 19, 2007
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:
Sally Delevan from Capitol Trash and Recycling spoke to the Selectmen on behalf of her husband, Timothy Delevan, saying they have served New Boston residents for 2 years and are now having weekly issues at the Transfer Station that they feel are getting worse. She read a prepared presentation to the Selectmen. She said their truck is weighed 9 times each week (3 times each load) and they feel this is unfair. She said all their customers are recycling. She said the Transfer Station threatens them every week saying they might not be able to continue dumping there. They find this to be very stressful and said they are doing the best they can and their customers are doing the best they can. The Delevans feel they are being harassed and treated disrespectfully at the Transfer Station.
They suggest 5 or 6 spot checks of bags, no need for weighing their truck unless all residents vehicles are weighed 3 times. In exchange the Delevans pledge to give a written warning to any customer found out of compliance and will do spot checks on those customers to ensure compliance. She said that the Transfer Station Manager told other haulers he wants the Delevans to stop dumping at the Transfer Station. They feel he shouldn’t be talking about them to other haulers. They tried meeting with the Transfer Station Manager and Burton and were discouraged by the meeting. They now ask to meet only with the Selectmen but the Selectmen would prefer to have the Transfer Station Manager present at the meeting as well. Sally will fax or e-mail a copy of her comments to the Selectmen. The Selectmen will consider her comments.
C. NEW BUSINESS:
1. Chairman Selection-Dave moved that Christine be named chairman of the New Boston Board of Selectmen. Gordon seconded the motion. All were in favor.
D. APPOINTMENTS:
1. 7:00 PM Pat Frickett Library
The library Assistant Director Pat Frickett was present to meet with the Selectmen to discuss a program they hope to take part in and requested a letter of support from the Selectmen. This is a Literacy Initiative for National Endowment of the Arts. The program will consist of town residents reading a particular book about Chinese culture (Joy Luck Club) and then the library will sponsor related activities. The library is applying for a $10,000 grant from National Endowment of the Arts and requests a letter of support from the Selectmen to include with the application. They also request a commitment from the Selectmen to volunteer in the program in some way and she included an application with her letter to the Selectmen. The Selectmen agreed to send a letter of support.
2. 7:15 PM Planning Board
The Road Committee and Planning Board members were present to meet with the Selectmen to discuss planning issues.
· The Road Committee has proposed a corridor study/ safety audit be done on Bedford Road between Wilson Hill Road and Klondike corner for a more scientific approach to deal with future development and traffic on that road. Brian Dorwart and Roch Larochelle from the Road Committee spoke saying an engineer would evaluate that section of the road for needs to be addressed to make it safer for traffic in that area. The Road Committee could help pull together the scope of work but probably wouldn’t hire the engineer. They could suggest engineering firms but the Planning Board wants to try to find a firm in the applications they already have on file. The Road
Committee expects the study to cost $5-20,000 and include an initial traffic study, field visits, a report and estimates. It could take 6 months to complete. Planning Coordinator Nic Strong said Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission is willing to help. SNHPC could probably give the engineer buildout data. The Road Committee suggests that the Planning Board, Road Committee and SNHPC should get together before the engineer is hired to write a scope of what they hope to learn from the study including main artery/long cul-de-sac concerns, what traffic will be like 10 years from now, what town departments will need at that time, infrastructure needs, a second outlet at Klondike Corner. The Selectmen agree this is the appropriate approach. The study won’t include biking/walking corridors but SNHPC might have some suggestions for that. Methods of payment for the study were discussed including impact fees, developer contribution, cost
sharing, using money from the town budget or money from specific planning warrant articles. John Bunting said Bedford Road is a corridor for traffic from towns to the west not just New Boston residents and they are also developing. The Road Committee suggested this is another area where SNHPC could help with information. The results of the study should be implemented with current Planning Board regulations. Planning Board Chairman Peter Hogan said the Planning Department has the staff and could take charge of the project but would expect different committees to take charge of different aspects of the study. The Planning Board said secondary access to Klondike Corner is a must and will probably need to be forced by the Planning Board and also to prevent cul-de-sacs that may be over a mile long. This could help with response time of emergency vehicles in the area. Consideration is needed for recreational land and areas for police and fire
support stations.
· Nic said the Recreation Commission is meeting with the Planning Board at their April 10 meeting to discuss recreational land set-asides.
· Planning Board membership and recruiting were discussed. Board members Bob Fury and James Nordstrom recently resigned. The Board now consists of 2 members, 2 alternates and the ex-officio Selectmen member. Gordon suggested approaching Kim DiPietro to see if she would be interested in becoming involved with the Board.
· Dave mentioned his frustrations with lack of knowledge and expertise in the planning field but is satisfied with the Planning Board’s ability to review applications. He suggested a need to be better educated in planning. Gordon expressed his frustration when the Planning Board runs out of time at meetings preventing them from planning and causing them to react to applications. He said he is happy with the Master Plan updates and wants to continue seeing that progress. Planning Board meetings will now start at 6:30 to allow for planning for 1 hour before application hearings begin. Peter said this was decided instead of adding an additional Tuesday
meeting per month. He said there is a lot of pressure on Planning Board members as they are under constant threat of a lawsuit. They considered asking applicants to submit their applications later to be approved faster but this doesn’t seem practical either. Dave suggested the Planning Board probably shouldn’t meet more than twice per month and their meetings shouldn’t go past 10:00/10:30 pm.
· Peter said enforcement is an issue. The Planning Board is not an enforcement board and he feels there is no enforcement board. Once something is done it is hard to get it fixed if it is not in compliance. The Building Inspector has enforcement authority but he is not doing it. Certificates of occupancy are occasionally given before driveways are approved and then it is too late to get a non-compliant driveway fixed. Peter is not asking for more regulations, he wants more compliance and enforcement of the current regulations. The Selectmen will pass his concerns on to the Building Inspector. Willard Dodge also expressed his frustration that
the town officials can’t get the driveways done right and it is costing taxpayers money. The driveway process will be added to the next Selectmen’s meeting agenda. Peter suggested billing the developers for repair of the offending driveway instead of the taxpayers.
E. APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
1. Minutes of March 5, 2007 - The Selectmen reviewed the minutes. Corrections were noted. Gordon moved that they be accepted as amended. David seconded the motion. All were in favor.
2. Non-Public Minutes of March 5, 2007 - The Selectmen reviewed the non-public minutes. Gordon moved that they be accepted. Dave seconded the motion. All were in favor.
F. OLD BUSINESS:
1. Employee Survey Next Step-Burton said the Department Heads are deciding if they want the facilitator Barry Cox to return. After the initial meeting Barry told Burton some employees were reserved because their immediate supervisors were present and he would be willing to meet with just the employees at another time. The Department Heads agreed and felt the employees should review a summary Barry compiled to make sure they agree with it. A meeting of the employees is scheduled for March 28 at 3:00. Burton has e-mailed a letter to be sent to the employees to the Department Heads for their review and approval. Fire Chief Dan MacDonald e-mailed Burton and the Department Heads suggesting looking at the issues in-depth and come up with a plan to solve the
issues. Burton noted that some issues could be resolved just by explanation to employees through memos or a general meeting. Other issues will need committees to be formed to solve them. Some towns with similar situations have proposed Warrant Articles to pay for salary surveys. One problem is employee reviews are not yet completed for the 9/05-9/06 year. Christine wants to be sure longevity is recognized in the reviews and that new hires are not being hired at more money than long-time employees earn. Peter is concerned that another female employee could become pregnant and want to work from home after the baby is born such as Nic has done. He is concerned that developers are getting a bad impression of the Planning Department because Nic is not always in the office and Michelle is not getting the training from Nic she should be. The Selectmen will review the parameters that were decided at the time it was agreed that Nic could work
from home. Peter was encouraged to outline specifics of instances when he feels things are not getting done or working as they should due to Nic working at home on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Peter has also mentioned that he would like to receive his planning information for the meetings before Friday. John mentioned that Michelle could become pregnant and want to work from home as well. Willard also believes Nic should be in the office full time. Burton said some employees like the situation where Nic works from home because is makes the workplace seem more family friendly but there are other employees who feel it is unfair because everyone is not being treated the same. Peter also mentioned that the Planning Board should state the problem to be solved when forming subcommittees to draft ordinances. He feels the overlay district is the next issue and enforcement is needed, not more regulations.
G. NEW BUSINESS:
1. Signing of MS-2 (Voted Appropriations)-The MS-2 is in the sign folder for the Selectmen’s review and signature. It will then be sent to the DRA.
H. OTHER:
1. The letter to the gravel pit owners was sent as intent forms were received from the state.
2. Townspeople have been plowing snow into the roads and leaving it there. Their addresses will be noted and they will be dealt with according to the applicable ordinance.
3. The Selectmen want to meet with Sally and Tim from Capitol Trash and Recycling as well as with Transfer Station Manager Gerry Cornett. Solutions include charging them to dump their trash or make them take their trash to another facility. Gerry has offered to go out on runs with Capitol Trash to show them how to make the recycling program work.
4. The Selectmen will review a workshop offered by the Municipal Association focusing on the Selectman position and decide if they wish to attend.
5. The auditors are here this week. They suggested rearranging a report to meet a portion of the GASB 34 requirements at a charge of $500 but the Selectmen feel this is unnecessary as the GASB 34 requirements will not be fully satisfied and an explanation letter of non-compliance would still need to be included in the town report.
6. Burton spoke to Gerry and Police Chief Chris Krajenka as Phil Byam recently came to the Transfer Station with a load of construction debris they felt had been brought in from Goffstown as Chris had followed him to the Transfer Station from Goffstown. Glenn was willing to allow it to be dumped at the Transfer Station because Phil is a “nice guy.” Phil admitted that approximately 1/3 of the load was from Goffstown. Gerry has been working some Saturdays at the Transfer Station to observe enforcement efforts by other staff members.
7. Town Attorney Leslie Nixon completed the cell tower review and suggested some changes. Burton will give a copy of her suggestions to Nic and the Selectmen for review.
8. Burton attended a Primex seminar today regarding coaching. He plans to apply what he learned in the employee survey resolution process and feels the Department Heads could participate in an exercise presented to learn how to improve their employee mentoring and coaching skills.
I. PUBLIC COMMENT: No comments at this time.
J. ADJOURNMENT: Gordon made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:07 PM. Dave seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Prepared by Maralyn Segien
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