Town of New Boston
Selectmen's Meeting
March 5, 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: 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 update them on projects at the Police Department.
· Chris said the hiring process is complete and introduced full-time officer Ryan Storro and part time officer Joseph Fussell. Chris said Ryan is a former resident of New Boston from 1996-2005 who now lives in Antrim. He was enlisted in the Navy and his recent background is in construction. It has been his lifelong dream to become a police officer. He is signed up for the April Police Academy and Chris expects he will do well. In the meantime he will be preparing at the Police Department. Joseph is a full time certified officer for the NH State Liquor Commission and is a full time officer in Brentwood. He has experience as a full time officer
since 2004. He graduated from the 136th NH Police Academy. Gordon moved to accept Ryan Storro and Joseph Fussell as officers in the New Boston Police Department. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor. Town Clerk Irene Baudreau swore them in. Sgt. Frank Kochanek presented them their badges.
· Chris said he has had some problems completing the federal communications grant because of misdirection from the repeater vendor. The height location on the tower is not tall enough for the receptor to receive and then amplify signals. Don’t expect a problem from the Air Force or the FCC in getting it placed higher on the tracking Station tower. Equipment has been taken to Ridgeview for now. The new radios are on a different frequency than the old, which has made communication between town departments and surrounding towns difficult. The police department can now communicate with other town departments and there are ways to communicate with
surrounding towns if necessary. Chris hopes to get another grant to remedy this problem, or the budget might be able to cover the cost, which is expected to be a couple thousand dollars. Chris expects to receive another grant for a repeater on the cell tower on Dodge’s property or perhaps the new tower planned for the Highway Department site but the paperwork has not come in yet.
· The Project 54 grant funding has been postponed by the federal government until 2008.
· COLEA accreditation-The department was moving forward and things were going well until they ran into problems with the 5th edition standards. Sgt. Frank Kochanek has been working with Sean Kelly who doesn’t recommend getting accredited this year. Chris also spoke to Goffstown Police Chief Mike French who agrees. They recommend sending Frank and secretary Cathy Widener to COLEA manager school in Montreal or Colorado. Chris asked if funding could be used to send them to the school. The Selectmen agreed they could attend the class in Montreal July 23-27 since Canada has the same COLEA standards as the US.
· Chris asked to attend an FBI Incident Command School in Meriden, CT in coming weeks. He has signed up but Frank and Officer Keely Bergeron are not available for full duty at the time the school is scheduled. The Selectmen recommended Chris check the costs to travel to the school in different locations at different times of the year.
D. Move to enter Non-Public Session: Christine made a motion to go into Non-Public session per RSA 91-A:3II(a) at 7:39 PM. Gordon seconded the motion. All were in favor.
E. Move to exit Non-Public Session: Gordon made a motion to exit Non-Public Session at 8:01 PM. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
· Sheriff Jim Hardy has offered an officer and a car to New Boston to fill in for the missing officers at a cost of the officer’s time and no cost for the car. The Selectmen agree to use these services. Chris will get more information on the cost.
· Workers Comp will be contacted about getting Keely back to work and costs.
· Burton and Chris will meet this week to finalize the new employee letters.
· Chris attended an FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development training last week and felt it was worthwhile. He wishes to attend the FBI Academy in the future.
· Chris recently completed his Sociology class that he enjoyed and earned an A. He is trying to transfer an EMT course he took for Biology 101 and has until April 23 to get his application in.
· The department has had problems with their surveillance cameras. They are draining the batteries in the cars. Chris hopes to get a grant to replace them in the future.
· A new black and white copier will be leased for the Police Department. The current copier lease expires in May.
F. OLD BUSINESS:
1. Maple Street Parking-Chris and Road Agent John Riendeau met at the area and photographed it. They recommend 4 head-in parking spaces at the location. Chris is concerned because there is only 16’ width from the rear of a parked vehicle for access and if there was a really bad snowstorm more space would be lost because of snowbanks. 1 more parallel parking space may be allowed. Chris will write a report of the findings for the Planning Board who will make the final decision.
2.
G. APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
1. Minutes of February 20, 2007 - The Selectmen reviewed the minutes. Corrections were noted. Gordon moved that they be accepted as amended. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
H. OLD BUSINESS:
1. Planning:
· Shaky Pond Development-Al Bell-This is 1 of 3 developments causing concern at the Bedford Road portion of town. Al Bell and his partner Jim Bath made some concessions at the meeting but would not agree to make a road to connect to Bedford Road/Klondike Corner. The Planning Board says if a road is not made the project won’t be approved. This issue will be discussed with the Road Committee at the next Selectmen’s meeting. This is the first time this type of issue has come up at the Planning Board. Town Attorney Bill Drescher and the Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission may be consulted for advice. Dave wants to encourage
Planning Coordinator Nic Strong to become more aggressive at the Planning Board meetings as she has the most knowledge and sophistication on the issues. Gordon received a communication from Nic today asking for help with the Planning Board Chair and suggesting that the Planning Board needs to spend more time planning. The Selectmen feel the Planning Board members should give more individual input on issues. The Planning Board has decided to implement planning sessions for 1 hour at the beginning of every meeting and then proceed with the regular meeting. The Selectmen suggested meeting with Nic and the other Planning Board members at the next Selectmen’s meeting after the appointment with the Road Committee to discuss several issues including Chairman Peter Hogan’s deportment and its effects on the Planning Board. Gordon and Burton will follow up with Nic.
· Pulpit Road construction has started.
2. Gravel Hearings: Letter and Schedule-The Selectmen reviewed a proposed letter to be sent to the gravel pit owners regarding the deadline for their applications (April 1st). Burton read a letter received from Bob Todd on behalf of Harold Strong. A draft hearing schedule was presented to the Selectmen for review.
I. NEW BUSINESS:
1. Completion of MS-5 (Town’s Financial Report)-A letter was received from Sheryl Pratt, the town auditor from Plodzick and Sanderson about the new auditing guidelines. Town Treasurer Karen Johnson was asked if she would do the MS-5, which she agreed to do, but in the meantime Sheryl decided she would prepare the MS-5, and give it and the supporting material to Karen for review. Karen will then sign off on it.
2. Town Buildings Maintenance and Snow Removal-Burton has been working with Transfer Station Manager Gerry Cornett to help department heads with maintenance issues. Handyman Eric Scoville became upset when Police Chief Chris Krajenka questioned his snow removal bill and then came up with varying rates for work at each town department. This expedited the need for Gerry’s services. Gerry came up with Transfer Station employees who were available for snow shoveling during the recent storm and discovered the shoveling didn’t take as much time as expected. The departments may not be billed for shoveling and the Transfer Station schedule might be absorb the time the employees spend shoveling at town departments. The department heads have been asked to
come up with tasks they might be interested in having Gerry do. On the other hand, if a department doesn’t feel they need his services, they do not have to use him. Gerry has indicated to Christine he would be looking for additional compensation for his time doing these services. Once the exact nature of his duties becomes clearer, the compensation issue will be revisited.
3. Attendance at Town Vote-The Selectmen are not required to attend at the voting location as it is not a federal election but Burton encourages them to attend to answer questions voters may have. Christine expects to attend in the morning, Dave is available in the afternoon and Gordon is available after 5:00 and he will sign off and certify the votes.
J. OTHER:
1. Burton reminded the Selectmen of their sitewalk Wednesday at Byam Road for the Thibeault development.
2. Transfer Station Manager Gerry Cornett looked at an International Tractor 10-wheeler with Butch Byron. They found it to be in good shape and expect it to last for many years. It costs $6,000. Gerry wrote a letter to the Selectmen recommending purchase and Butch has offered to service the new tractor in exchange for the old tractor. The Selectmen agree to the purchase. Burton will check with Auditor Cheryl on how to handle the exchange.
3. The cell tower agreement was sent to town attorney Leslie Nixon for review. So far she has not responded.
K. PUBLIC COMMENT: No comments at this time.
L. ADJOURNMENT: Christine made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:58 PM. Gordon seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Prepared by Maralyn Segien
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