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Board of Selectmen's Minutes 07/28/2008
Town of New Boston
Selectmen's Meeting
July 28, 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 Gordon Carlstrom 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 projects the Highway Department is working on.

·       The culvert at Meetinghouse and Cemetery Roads was overflowing but the Highway Department looked at it on Thursday and the pipes were handling the water.
·       John picked up the new one-ton from Quirk and delivered it to TenCo in Barre, VT to install the equipment John ordered.  One of the things John ordered was the salt control option. If it is found to be economical it is possible to equip the other Highway Department salting trucks with it.  The truck comes with a standard 2-year warranty.  The salesman in Barre offered to extend the warranty to 3 years or 36,000 miles for $100.  The truck bodies are made in Canada about 3 hours away from Barre. The salesperson offered to take John there to see how the bodies are made.  He is thinking about taking a vacation day to go there.
·       A holding tank is now in place for any liquids that may flow down the shop floor drains.  John decided to put the DES approved liquid drainage tank on hold this year unless the budget allows for it at the end of the year.
·       Cochran Hill Road is done.
·       The Highway Department still has to do the guardrails on Bog Brook Road.  Tucker Mill Road will be done the third week of August and they will do the Bog Brook guardrails at the same time.  Bog Brook Road is falling apart from the bridge to the Goffstown town line at the intersection with Christie Road and needs some underdrain.  There is not the money to do properly now so an overlay will be done to prevent further deterioration.
·       Thornton Road has been holding together through the recent storms.  The Highway Department will have to make sure the culverts stay clean in the fall.  
·       John hired Mike Parks to work part time as needed with the Department until fall.  He has worked out well helping out on Bog Brook Bridge when some employees were out on scheduled vacations.
·       South Hill Road reconstruction is planned for this year to include grinding of the current pavement and addition of crushed gravel to the road base.  Three culverts will be replaced. The road is broken up and needs paving.  Approximately $86,000 is needed to pave it.  Some block grant money will be used to cover it.
·       The Department might do some work on the cracks in Bedford Road and work on the shoulders and ditches if they have time this year in September and October.
·       Roadside mowing was done on the Turnpike, Lyndeborough Road, Old Coach Road and Bedford Road.
·       John received a quote from Granite State Minerals on salt, which went from $54 per ton to $61.41 per ton.
·       John reviewed his list of work done this year.  The Department repaired washouts on Briar Hill Road.  They finish grading for the spring.  They have installed culverts on various roads.  The roads will be swept again soon.  John is working on adjusting the paving schedule based on the new cost and will have it ready for the next meeting.  The dump body on the ’94 International was repaired.  The exhaust on the ’01 International was replaced for $625.  The Department still needs to work on the shoulders on Riverdale, South Hill and Bedford Road.
·       It cost $1300 per day for catch basin cleaning.  The company was here one day and will need to come back for one more day.  John will have to add a couple days into the budget for next year, as he has to start using a new company.  It will be $120 per hour for Bellemore Catch Basin Cleaning Services to do it.
·       John still needs to get together with Willard Dodge and Tom Miller to research the drainage pipes on the bank side of the bridge.  The Town Hall side is done.  Lee Brown and D&S are still working on a diagram of the pipes.  They discovered they might have to put a bigger pipe from the front of the Town Hall to the middle of the ballfield in the future.  
·       John still has to talk to Fire Chief Dan MacDonald about the money for the piping and wiring from the Town Hall to the Fire Station.  The Selectmen feel it makes since to do it while the Town Hall pavement is opened up for the Town Hall drainage.  The idea is to make the trench a little larger to allow upgraded wiring from the emergency generator at the Fire Station to the Town Hall and to increase the water pipe size going from the Town Hall to the Fire Station.
·       Linda Sizemore researched the issue of plowing sidewalks and found the Town of New Boston does not maintain sidewalks per the Snow Removal and Ice Control Policy of 2000.

D.  APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

        1.  Minutes of July 14, 2008 - The Selectmen reviewed the minutes.  Corrections were noted.  David moved that they be accepted as amended.   Christine seconded the motion.  All were in favor.  
2.       Non-Public Minutes of July 14, 2008 - The Selectmen reviewed the non-public minutes.  David moved that they be accepted as presented.   Christine seconded the motion.  All were in favor.



E.  OLD BUSINESS:

1.         Planning Including Board Appointment:  
·       The Selectmen reviewed a proposal for an appointment to an alternate position on the Planning Board.  David Teed has applied.  He is a teacher who has time and wants to give back to the town.  He has lived in town on Meadow Road for 1.5 years.  David moved the appointment of David Teed as a Planning Board alternate for a period of 3 years.  Christine seconded the motion.  All were in favor.
·       Heidi Ackerman was not ready for approval.  The manure area was not ready and her plans need to be changed for approval from the Planning Board,
·       Louis and Trudy Nixon stated in the past they would request no further subdivision but now plans a subdivision with a common driveway from the existing lot to the new lot.  The Planning Board is not sure if a driveway can be put there.  Louis has traffic and fiscal waivers and still needs to get an environmental waiver.  A sitewalk is scheduled.
·       John Young from Valley View Lane met with the Planning Board to discuss his plans to move the Hardware Store to a barn on his property on Valley View Lane.  This property is in non-conforming use and this would make it even more non-conforming.  Traffic to the store would have to travel up Clark Hill Road to Briar Hill Road to Valley View Road.  There are 2 residential houses and one commercial barn on the property making two uses on the same lot.  The Selectmen feel a variance is probably necessary.
·       Heidi Reisman Jones wants to make a building on Bedford Road contain 2 rental units and a daycare.  This would also be two uses on the same lot.
·       There was discussion about Mark Bilodeau’s business on Joe English Road.  He is bringing more material in and it is piling up.  He is trying to clean it up but it will be difficult to process such a large volume of wood.
·       The Hemlock Drive applicant changed the whole use of a building without changing the plan.  They need a sitewalk and have to change their site plan.
·       Stu Lewin suggested some changes to Planning Board procedures and the Board worked on this via e-mail.
·       The Rick Martin Right Way Builders project on Beard Road is expiring.
·       The Selectmen reviewed a letter from Attorney Dwight Sowerby from Attorney Drescher’s office to Joe Foistner regarding the bond for the road in the Waldorf subdivision.  The bond has not been renewed.  It is needed for the road to be accepted by the Town.
·       The driveway permit for Inkberry Road will probably be done at the August 25 meeting.
2.          Survey-
·       The employees on the Retirement Committee still want the state retirement plan.  The employees recommend the town change from Nationwide to Michael Fortier with Wachovia Securities in Concord.  The employees are ready to meet with the Selectmen to discuss it soon.  The Selectmen reviewed correspondence between Shannon Silver and NH Retirement.  The Selectmen feel the employees should also discuss their desire to join the NH Retirement Plan with the Finance Committee.
·        Evaluation training is scheduled for August 12. The Selectmen will attend both sessions.  Planning Coordinator Nic Strong prepared a general outline for discussion at the training and it will be worked on next week to make it more specific.  The Selectmen will review the outline and suggest any changes by the end of the week.  The forms were reviewed.  Explanations will become part of the form.  Employees will be expected to complete the “input” form.  Job descriptions will be further refined next year. Timelines still need to be prepared.  The Selectmen will review and suggest any changes to the Compensation Primer, Performance Evaluation Primer and Town of New Boston Salary Plan prepared by Nic.
3.          Context Sensitive Solutions-Representatives from NH DOT recently met with residents to discuss changes to the intersection by the bank and the intersection by Dodge’s Store.  The DOT representatives will consider the suggestions residents made and rework the plan and come back with new ideas.  The Selectmen discussed moving the Babson Memorial to another location such as the Town Common or the New Boston Tavern.
4.        Performance Improvement Form-The Selectmen reviewed the changes made to the first page.  It should now be ready for release to the departments.
F.  NEW BUSINESS:

1.          Twin Bridge Mgmt-Gravel-A note was received today from Nic about a conversation she had with Kevin from Northpoint about the gravel pit.  Kim Burkhamer, Assessor George Hildum and Building Inspector Ed Hunter will continue monitoring the situation at the pit.  Permission was given to Twin Bridge to remove stockpiled material on the property.  The Selectmen want to be sure they are not bringing material in and selling it out of the pit now which would be commercial use but they have not yet applied for a permit for this year to use the 8.1 acres they have had permits for in the past.  If they are buying outside they have to bring it to the site where it will be used.  Exception incidental to their subdivision is being done from of the 1.9 acre “never permitted” area.  Burton will ask Attorney Bill Drescher if they are allowed to buy material outside and store it at the pit.  It is believed that if it is to be used as part of the subdivision that is ok but if it is to be sold and used off-site that is not ok.  The Selectmen will review a letter Kim sent to Twin Bridge last week.  She will return their two checks to them.  They are also using a trailer as an office and need a temporary trailer permit.  Ed will be asked to work with them on this and view the area they are working in.
2.          Purchasing Policy-The Selectmen reviewed sample policies from several towns and thought the one from Henniker would work best for New Boston with some revisions.  Burton will draft one for New Boston for the Selectmen’s review.  He will ask the auditors about the practice of employees purchasing personal supplies with the town order and then giving the town a check for their items.
3.    Salary Plan and 2009 Budget Guidelines-Finance member John Bradfield proposed a percentage increase cap approach for the 2009 budget.  The Selectmen reviewed it but don’t totally agree with it because infrastructure would suffer.  John Bradfield sent an e-mail to the Selectmen with input from other Finance Committee members relative to his idea.  Kim DiPetro asked if they should become a Budget Committee instead of a Finance Committee.  The Selectmen wish it to remain a Finance Committee.  The Selectmen will suggest a meeting with the Finance Committee in August.  Burton prepared a memo and reviewed information regarding the COLA and raise trends.  The Selectmen suggested implementing a limit to total yearly raises such as 5-6% including COLA and merit.  This revision to the Salary plan will be discussed with Finance.
4.    Footbridge-Engineering Proposals-The Selectmen will review the proposals received recently.  Sandi Van Scoyoc, Burton and David will be on the committee plus Peter Hogan from Planning and possibly a member from Conservation.

G. OTHER:  

1.         Fire Chief Dan MacDonald e-mailed regarding the need for a new town electrician.  The Selectmen suggested asking Building Inspector Ed Hunter or Transfer Station Manager Gerry Cornett if they know of any electricians that would be suitable for the town.

H.  PUBLIC COMMENT:  No comments at this time.  
 
I.  ADJOURNMENT:    Christine made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:16 PM.   David seconded the motion.  All were in favor.

Prepared by Maralyn Segien