Town of New Boston
Selectmen's Meeting
March 10, 2008
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 Christine Quirk at 7:00PM beginning with the Pledge of Allegiance.
B. PUBLIC COMMENT:
Willard Dodge said a metal building at the 4-H grounds built in 2002 recently collapsed due to snow accumulation on the roof.
Brandy Mitroff said that in a phone conversation on February 6 she learned that Bruce MacDougall from MRI is coming back to work with the Police Department. She called Burton who seemed concerned she knew because it was discussed in executive session with the Police Chief Chris Krajenka. She was concerned about where the money to pay for this would come from, as it was not discussed in a Finance Committee meeting. Also concerned because a meeting took place at the Police Department with Burton and the Selectmen that was never posted. The Selectmen answered that was Chris’ review/evaluation meeting. Burton said it was an oversight that it was never posted. Brandy reminded Burton and the Selectmen to remember the statutes as it is illegal to not post a meeting and they need to legally enter
executive session and only discuss certain topics as allowed under the statutes. She said if the person involved wants the meeting to be public it could be. She also said that hiring Bruce at $10,000 does not qualify as a legal topic to be discussed in executive session. She was suspicious because when Bruce has been hired in the past it has been very public. Willard said he attended Chris’ evaluation, which was not the meeting in question. The Selectmen said they held two meetings for Chris’ evaluation, as goals were not discussed at the first meeting. Goals were a bigger part of the discussion at the meeting than discussion of hiring Bruce. They said Bruce is coming here to give Chris additional training he can’t get through the Local Government Center and to look at the Police Department to make sure it is running efficiently to keep officers happy working for this department. The services will be paid for through
the budget for the eighth officer and the education budget. The Selectmen apologized for not making it public earlier. They said they are not bringing Bruce in to try to get rid of Chris, the Selectmen feel he is doing a good job and could do a better job with this additional training from Bruce. Brandy suggested a mission statement be prepared regarding the purpose for hiring Bruce. Burton said it was left to Chris and Bruce to prepare this. Brandy said Nic Strong is present to take notes for Brandy so Chris can be informed of this discussion. Willard said he spends a lot of time with Chris talking about the Police Department and attends or listens to the tapes of Selectmen’s meetings to stay informed and he doesn’t feel the Selectmen are out to get Chris. He also said Chris is not going to come downtown several times a day for guidance on how to do his job (chain of command) because he just doesn’t have time for that due
to the nature of his job. As a taxpayer Willard does not agree with the Selectmen’s approach in bringing in Bruce. He is angry with the use of this $10,000 because he expects the report to say a certain thing and that could have been accomplished in a Selectmen’s meeting with someone such as Willard or Richard Campbell (a resident of New Boston who is retired from the State Police and Chairman of the Lottery Commission, etc.) instead of through hiring Bruce. The Selectmen disagree with Willard’s point of view and the chain of command point. They feel the decision to hire Bruce was a good one because he is familiar with the department and he is good at what he does. They consider the cost equal to 2 college courses Chris could have taken and he will get more from this as they consider this additional training. They did not know Willard was willing to help but maybe a parallel effort could also be done. Brandy said she has
talked to Burton and Chris about this situation and their versions don’t match particularly about where the money for hiring Bruce will come from in the budget such as tazers, an additional car, an eighth officer or the education line. Also there was a memo sent out saying tazers should be purchased soon after they are approved at voting when they were originally expected to be purchased in the fall per the discussion with the Finance Committee. Burton said he made a general statement about where the money for Bruce’s hire would come from in his phone conversation with Brandy and the memo on tazers was prepared after the meeting at the Police Department where it was discussed. When Brandy spoke to Chris he was not clear on the tazer/officer hire information. She also said that at the Finance Committee meetings Burton was not interested in hiring an eighth officer and it seems suspicious that he said the money for Bruce’s hire was coming
from the money budgeted for hiring the eighth officer. She has also read some information prepared by Burton regarding the Finance Committee meetings and considered it wrong and is starting to understand the Department Head complaints about communication and warned the Selectmen to take these complaints seriously.
C. APPOINTMENTS:
1. 7:00 PM John Riendeau Highway Department
Road Agent John Riendeau was present to meet with the Selectmen to discuss the status of projects the Highway Department is working on.
· The Selectmen approved a redrafted highway use permit. Roads will be posted for weight limits Monday.
· Skip Gomes is taking over the management of the Tingley gravel pits.
· He asked that hired trucks used for winter plowing be paid weekly, even when the bookkeeper is out and the Selectmen agreed.
· He gave the Selectmen a draft list of Highway Department core duties by month and will update it as necessary as it is probably not yet complete. He also compiled a list of his other projects and monthly management duties and will provide that to the Selectmen monthly.
· He will get more sand this week as the supply is running very low.
· The Pelican will be used again this year for sweeping.
· He is meeting with Mitchie Corp tomorrow about the DES preference for natural bottoms in culverts so he can get the permits done for Bedford Road.
· A list of necessary equipment repairs was provided to the Selectmen. There is a truck at Fairfields the town might be interested in purchasing but the price is only approximately $2,000 less than a brand new truck so he recommends waiting for a 2009 truck. The Selectmen agree.
· The Highway Department is overbudget on salt and the hired equipment and overtime budgets have been heavily impacted by the snowy winter.
· John said the ditch at Thornton Road is working better and normal for the current road conditions of saturation and frozen ground. Brandy said water is still getting into the road but otherwise it is looking good.
· The Highway Department received a compliment on their work maintaining Briar Hill Road this winter. John mentioned the Department has received many compliments by phone this winter.
2. 7:30 PM Nic Strong Planning Department
Planning Coordinator Nic Strong was present to discuss a grant application with the Selectmen.
Nic asked the Selectmen to apply for a grant from the Housing and Conservation Planning Program from the State Office of Energy and Planning. The chairman of the Selectmen will need to sign the application. It is set up to marry housing, conservation, the environment and developers. The grant helps towns come up with a historic preservation strategy and regulations. Public input is sought during the grant process. There are 4 stages to the grant and towns can apply for each stage in order. Each stage has a town fund-matching requirement. She proposes New Boston apply for the final stage of the grant to update regulations to help with the master plan which has a 25% match requirement. The grant is for a maximum of $30,000 but she doesn’t think New Boston will need that much. She is working
on the grant and will have it reviewed by Jack Munn from the Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission to come up with a budget and a timeline. It is due to the state by April 11. As part of the grant the state will need updates on how the project is going and a final report. It is expected to be completed in a couple years. Some money already in the Planning Department budget can be used for the matching funds. The Selectmen agreed to apply for the grant.
3. 7:45 PM Jack Munn Southern NH Planning Department
Jack Munn and Rachel Kelly from the Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission were present to meet with the Selectmen to discuss a sourcewater protection project they are working on with the town. They are working with three towns including New Boston to teach them how to do this type of survey on their own. They will work with the Highway Department plus a couple of landowners to do the survey and make recommendations. In the process a violation could be discovered which would be addressed with the appropriate state authorities but they have found these to usually resolve easily. The town and Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission are not the enforcers in these situations; the state DES is the enforcer. A training has been scheduled at the town hall on March 14. Jack reviewed a handout with the
Selectmen. Rachel has already done some work with the Community Church well, which may need to be repeated and expanded upon. Risk to wellheads would be assessed. Jack asked for approval from the Selectmen to work with the Department Heads. Road Agent John Riendeau has already agreed to have Rachel and DES come to his site. The Selectmen agreed.
4. 8:00 PM Non-Public RSA 91-A:3 II(d)
Gordon made a motion to go into Non-Public session per RSA 91-A:3II(d) at 8:43 PM. David seconded the motion. All were in favor.
David made a motion to exit Non-Public Session at 8:52 PM. Gordon seconded the motion. All were in favor.
5. 8:30 PM Chris Krajenka Police Department
Police Chief Chris Krajenka was present to meet with the Selectmen and reviewed his monthly report:
· Officer Storro has completed breath test operator school and can now handle DWI stops from start to finish.
· Officer Wilson is in the FTO phase and it is going nicely.
· Officer Storro is doing his regular duties and is working on converting one of the cells to an equipment room.
· Glenn Dodge has almost completed the building construction except for the stairwell, which is currently buried under some snow. Chris is happy with this construction. There was a recent malfunction of the baseboard heat in the garage. They tried to discontinue heating the garage but it affected the heat of the whole building so heating of the garage will have to continue. This cost $1,900 for Granite State Plumbing to repair.
· Sgt. Kochanek is cleaning the evidence room.
· Sgt. Kochanek is in the third week of DARE at the school.
· Project 54 is now completely installed and running smoothly.
· The Department goals will incorporate the goals discussed at the January meeting. Chris will discuss them with his staff and then list them.
· Chris has been accepted for a first responder training program focusing on incident command in Charleston, SC April 8-10.
· The Selectmen told Chris that there was discussion about Bruce MacDougall’s hire during the first hour of this meeting and he should obtain a copy of the tapes to listen to it, as he was not in attendance at the time.
· Department personnel were reviewed. The department currently has 3 patrolmen (Santos. Wilson and Storro) plus the chief (Chris), sergeant (Kochanek) and corporal position (not currently filled) totaling 6. The status of the hiring process was discussed. There were 5 qualified applicants for the corporal position but Chris is now down to 3 after the oral boards. 1 applicant stated he would be willing to take a patrolman position if not selected for the corporal position. Chris might have his final decision on these candidates by the end of this week or beginning of next week. Another applicant who is not certified is also being considered for hire
after voters approve the eighth officer.
· Officer Santos is graduating from the Police Academy March 28 and Officer Wilson is coming off FTO at about the same time. The Selectmen wish to attend the ceremony.
Gordon made a motion to go into Non-Public session per RSA 91-A:3II(a) at 9:08 PM. David seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Gordon made a motion to exit Non-Public Session at 9:24 PM. David seconded the motion. All were in favor.
D. APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
1. Minutes of February 25, 2008 - The Selectmen reviewed the minutes. Corrections were noted. David moved that they be accepted as amended. Gordon seconded the motion. All were in favor.
E. OLD BUSINESS:
1. Planning:
· The Board discussed future planning including multi-family zoning and decided to work toward affordable housing in town.
· Tom Miller’s non-residential site plan was approved. His work area will be 100’x100’ including retail sales and storage. He plans to specialize in hardwoods. Noise was not considered to be much of an issue.
· Christine and Tom Quirk 8 lot subdivision. Abutters were nervous that the use of the pre-existing emergency accessway would become a regular access but it is planned to become a joint driveway for 2 lots. There were wetlands concerns on lot 10. A sitewalk will be scheduled in May after the snow melts. Ray Shea feels attention is needed to where Clark Hill Road was relocated onto Christine’s property. She plans to sign it over to the town. The right of way change to 50’ could be an issue. Immediate development is not planned.
· The Bilodeau’s were present at the Planning Board meeting to discuss their cordwood business on Joe English. Mr. Bilodeau will work on decreasing the pile of cordwood in his front yard and will report his progress to the Planning Board in July.
2. Survey-The meeting regarding the evaluation process took place with a representative from Primex who said they are pleased with the safety component of the current evaluation process, they will work on alternative ways to do evaluations, and provide training (the Selectmen will attend both the management training and the employee sessions). Methods of employee recognition other than compensation were discussed.
F. NEW BUSINESS:
1. Selectmen’s Attendance at Town Vote-Christine cannot close as usual because she is on the ballot. Gordon and Dave will be present to close. A Selectmen representative should be present at all times to answer any questions residents may have on an issue. Gordon will be there from 7am-9am, Christine will be there from 9am-2pm and Dave will be there from 2pm to close.
2. LGC Multi-Year Property Liability Ins. Agreement-The Local Government Center is offering a 999 pricing plan where the price is guaranteed not to go up more than 9% per year. Burton will discuss the contract further with the LGC and other insurance representatives. Primex also offers property liability. Renewal is due in July.
G. OTHER:
1. The Selectmen signed a letter to the Department Heads regarding job descriptions.
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 10:38 PM. David seconded the motion. All were in favor.
J. Move to exit Non-Public Session: Gordon made a motion to exit Non-Public Session at 10:50 PM. David seconded the motion. All were in favor.
K. ADJOURNMENT: David made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:51 PM. Gordon seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Prepared by Maralyn Segien
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