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Board of Selectmen's Minutes 10/20/2008
Town of New Boston
Selectmen's Meeting
October 20, 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.  Move to enter Non-Public Session:    Christine made a motion to go into Non-Public session per RSA 91-A:3II(a) at 7:00 PM.  David seconded the motion.  All were in favor.

C.  Move to exit Non-Public Session:  Christine made a motion to exit Non-Public Session at  7:35 PM.   David seconded the motion.  All were in favor.

D.  PUBLIC COMMENT:  None.

E.  APPOINTMENTS:

          1.  7:00 PM                      Gerry Cornett               Transfer Station Manager

Transfer Station Manager Gerry Cornett was present to meet with the Selectmen to discuss the status of projects at the Transfer Station.

·         The Stecco Trash Trailer doors are being modified to match the J&J Trailer.  The coupling and welding will be done this week and next week and then the Transfer Station employees will paint it.  This will make it safer for employees when closing the trailers as the doors will latch easily.

·         The Transfer Station will set a record this year by clearing $110,000 for recycling revenues but the rates are going down and it is not expected to happen again. 

·         The Transfer Station has paid approximately $7400 in fuel surcharges to date this year.  The rate was successfully renegotiated with the contractor.  Weare is considering acquiring a 10-wheel tractor in 2 years and partner with Dunbarton and New Boston.  Should that happen it is expected to cut trucking costs in half.

·         NH DES published recycle rates last week.  New Boston was ranked 25th of over 200 towns at a cost of $73.80 per resident.

·         Jim Cavan Chairman of the Solid Waste Committee has been working with a committee member who is also on the Hillsborough County Fair Committee who asked if the Transfer Station could be involved in recycling at the fair.  There is currently no recycling at the fair.  Gerry feels adding this task would be an unfair burden to the Transfer Station.  The Selectmen feel the leader on this issue should be the Hillsborough County Fair Board to either deliver a clean product to the Transfer Station or hire a hauler who does recycling to handle the fair product.  The Selectmen will write to the fair board.  Many people present felt that a crowd of the size that attend the fair would not make the effort to recycle.

·         Recycling at the New Boston Central School has been going very well and more recycling containers have been ordered to handle the material they are producing.

·         The town now uses East Coast Recycling for television recycling.  Every time a load is sent to them a letter is received saying they have received the material properly and disposed of it properly.  However, East Coast Recycling is now being investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency for improper handling of the material.  Proper disposal would be more expensive but would be handled according to EPA standards.  Gerry asked the Selectmen if the town wishes to continue sending the material to East Coast until they are told to change procedures or make the change now.  The Selectmen suggested the Solid Waste Committee discuss this topic at their next meeting and suggested staying with the current procedure until it is known that East Coast Recycling is disposing of the material improperly.  Gerry mentioned a record number of tvs have come to the Transfer Station this year and the same is expected for next year as people dispose of TVs unable to handle the mandated switch from an analog signal to a digital one.

·         The concrete pile has been at the Transfer Station for 5 years.  It should have been gone a couple years ago, as the Transfer Station is not allowed to have it.  In conjunction with the grandstand project Dave Elliot has offered to take it to the Town of Weare where they will process it and use it for roadbed.  Weare does the same thing with our glass.  The Selectmen asked Burton and Gerry to check with Road Agent John Reindeau again as well as the Road Committee to see if we want to try and do with these materials what Weare does.

·         The brush pit will be ground next week for $3,000.

·         The volume of furniture has decreased significantly since August at 1 piece per day on average and that is very manageable.

            2.  7:15 PM                      Sandi Van Scoyoc               Footbridge

Sandi Van Scoyoc of the Foot Traffic Road Safety Committee met with the Selectmen to update them on the footbridge project.  She said the Committee met last week and discussed the challenges they face and decided to pursue the bridge they want and have a design for and to get a waiver from the Buy America clause.  They have learned the waiver involves the Federal Register and comes from the Federal Government.  The Committee plans to return to the NH DOT Transportation Advisory Committee to request more funding and will ask for whatever amount they need for the original bridge or the backup plan of using used material Holden Engineering suggested.  The Foot Traffic Road Safety Committee recommended not asking the community for any more money for the project but will use the $10,000 they have reserved and volunteer hours and materials to make up the difference.  The Committee considered asking State Representative Linda Foster for help dealing with NH DOT if necessary.  Algonquin Bridge Company uses materials from the US but assembles the bridges in Canada.  Sandi is checking to see if they would qualify under the Buy America clause and is looking into other options and has asked them if they have an affiliate in the United States who could build the bridge and they are researching that.  Sandi has a March 2008 quote from Algonquin of approximately $50,000.  She has a quote from a US company for the same bridge or approximately $135,000.  She said Bill Rossignol from Holden Engineering seems optimistic about the possibility that used material might be available from the I93 construction going on now that involves replacing a number of steel bridges.

            3.  7:30 PM                Nancy Loddengaard                        Gregg Cemetery

David Lamagna and Nancy Loddengaard were present to meet with the Selectmen to discuss the issues surrounding the cemetery located on their property.  They contacted Terry Knowles from the state Attorney General’s office for answers and she wrote back to them in July and included the applicable RSAs.  David Lamagna and Nancy referred to RSA 298:14 and interpret the RSAs as saying the cemetery on their property is a private burial ground not a public cemetery.  They would prefer the cemetery be moved but the town nor David and Nancy are willing to actually do it.  David and Nancy say that when they first bought the property they did not mind descendents of the people buried in the cemetery to visit.  However since then they say the town has tried to make it a public cemetery and they have found people who are not descendents on their property visiting the cemetery.  The land is posted.  They feel they descendents of the people in the graves should be allowed to visit because that is what their deed states.  David Lamagna has researched the deed in Concord and found nothing allowing anyone other than lineal descendents to visit the cemetery.  They would consider designating a route through their property for access to the cemetery.  They would consider giving written permission to the cemetery trustees to maintain it.  They have also given dozens of people permission to use their property as long as they call first to let them know they are coming and sign a waiver of liability.  They haven’t changed the status of their land to recreation use for tax purposes because they want to know who is there.  They do not want people there they don’t know who feel entitled to visit the cemetery because it was designated by the town as a public cemetery.  They feel allowing the public there is a violation of their constitutional rights.  Terry Knowles said in her letter to David and Nancy that the Trustees of the Trust Fund report does not include any information on this burial ground because there is no trust fund associated with it.  The town will write to Terry to notify her of past practices regarding this cemetery.  David and Nancy feel the descendents own the bodies and the graves but not the right of way or an easement to the land the cemetery is on.  The town disagrees and think there is significant public interest in the area. The Selectmen referred to the deed that says there is a clause that states “Reserving the graveyard and the right of way to same” as found in the deed dated February 23, 1888 and subsequent deeds.  Warren Houghton Chairman of the Cemetery Trustees said the trustees have only visited the cemetery twice since he has been a trustee to maintain the cemetery.  He said they did not knock down the rock wall or cut down a tree.  David and Nancy said they did not live at the property at the time but were told by neighbors that the town Highway Department damaged the rock wall and cut down the tree in the 1980’s.  There is a disagreement between the town and David and Nancy about who did this damage but it is felt at this time that it will never be known for certain who actually did it.  The cemetery trustees want to maintain the cemetery and allow any people who are interested to visit the cemetery but will not go to the cemetery while this disagreement is going on.  The past two times they were there they cut poplar trees to prevent damage to the stonewall and gravestones.  They said it is clear where the cemetery is bounded.  The last time they were there they had Selectmen secretary Linda Sizemore call David and Nancy to tell them they were coming to maintain the cemetery and while they were there Nancy asked them to leave.  The Selectmen asked the cemetery trustees and David and Nancy to work on an agreement of what the cemetery trustees are allowed to do at the cemetery.  David and Nancy said they could do that but first other town groups have to be informed they cannot go to the cemetery for recreation.  The Selectmen said they are trying to avoid going to court to resolve the issue by coming to an agreement to accommodate the needs of the public.  The town feels they own the cemetery for maintenance.  The cemetery trustees say they need to trim the brush four times per year.  Nancy said the cemetery trustees could call her direct to let her know they want to come out.  The Selectmen reminded David and Nancy that this agreement does not prevent the town from taking this matter to court.

F.  APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

          1.  Minutes of October 6, 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 October 6, 2008 - The Selectmen reviewed the non-public minutes.  David moved that they be accepted as presented.   Christine seconded the motion.  All were in favor.

G.  OLD BUSINESS:

1.   Planning: 

·         Planning Board Chairman Stu Lewin prepared a draft policy for Planning Board Alternate training for the Board’s review.

·         Mark Bilodeau met with the Planning Board to improve his home cordwood business operations.  They agreed that he would keep the woodpile only 10 feet tall and keep it off the lower slope.  He will try to move the front pile to the back.

·         In the 42-lot subdivision McCurdy Development it was found that the two roads coming out of the development don’t meet town standards.

·         Shaky Pond Development LLC application complete.

·         Thomas and Christine Quirk Clark Hill Road subdivision will need to ask for a waiver for stormwater and traffic.  The application is not yet complete and they will meet with the Planning Board again November 11.

·         Noel Sagna and Kary Jencks met with the Planning Board to discuss their interest in starting an adult daycare home business.  They were asked to do more research on ADA and life safety codes.

·         The Bedford Road Safety Study was received and found that Bedford Road is at ¼ of its traffic capacity.  The Planning Board will discuss the study at their next meeting.

·         The Planning Board received a letter from Mark LaBlanc for Indian Falls Road asking for an extension.  The Planning Board feels the road needs to be fixed first.

2.    Survey-The Selectmen reviewed a letter to the Retirement Committee about the NH Retirement Plan.

3.    Capital Improvement Plan-Tom Miller recommended moving bridge renovations a few years.  Town Hall renovations were removed from next years CIP.  The cistern for the center of town was added to next year’s CIP.  The CIP Committee recommended the Fire Wards meet with the Selectmen to discuss the truck replacement options, schedule and projected costs.

4.  Selectmen as Appeals Board-The Selectmen will act as the appeals board at the hearing regarding Sergeant Kochanek’s demotion to patrolman.  They plan to limit the time of the hearing to approximately 2 hours.  Dave will call Attorney Karen Levchuck for suggestions in determining what the issues discussed at the hearing will be.  The Selectmen do not plan to have their own attorney there and will not have witnesses but will use the paper trail.  Karen and Attorney Soltani will be the only attorneys there.  The Selectmen will record the hearing and keep the tapes. 

5.  Health Plan – Deductible Participation-Burton will work on a schedule.  Under the Luminous Health Plan, a high deductible plan, the town plans to help employees for a few years with the deductible should they need health services.  A policy for new employees will be determined as well.

H.  NEW BUSINESS:

1.    Attendance At November Election-Town Moderator Lee Nyquist wrote to the Selectmen saying that all Selectmen have to be present at the polls during the entire Election Day.  Burton will ask the Local Government Center if that is true.

2.    Health Plan Rates For 2009-Selectmen Secretary Linda Sizemore received a call from Blue Cross saying that all health plan rates will decrease by 1% next year.

3.    Consumer Price Index – Letter To Employees-The Selectmen reviewed and approved a letter to the employees saying the Selectmen will limit the COLA to 3% this year even though the Consumer Price Index was 4.9%.

I. OTHER: 

1.  A Memorial Stone for the church is at a resident’s house and needs to be moved and placed on Peter Clark’s field to commemorate the location of the first meetinghouse in New Boston.  Dick Moody will coordinate this with the Highway Department.

2.  SAU Business Manager Ray Labore has not responded to Burton’s recent follow up e-mail about the oil contract with Fred Fuller.  Burton will call another oil company for a comparison quote.

3.  The Selectmen approved a letter to NH Welfare from the Tax Collector.

4.  The Selectmen signed the finance agreement for the Mack 10-wheel truck and noted it contains a non-appropriation clause.

5.  The Selectmen reviewed a letter to former Officer Ryan Storro regarding his training reimbursement agreement.  Dave also suggested a letter to the Antrim Selectmen asking about the possibility of the Antrim Department assisting Ryan with paying for the training and will draft a letter to the Antrim Selectmen.

6.  The response letter to Noel Sagna was reviewed and approved.

7.  The Selectmen signed the timber intents.

J.  PUBLIC COMMENT:  No comments at this time. 

K.  Move to enter Non-Public Session:   Gordon made a motion to go into Non-Public session per RSA 91-A:3II(a) at 10:25 PM.  David seconded the motion.  All were in favor.

L.  Move to exit Non-Public Session:   Christine made a motion to exit Non-Public Session at 10:50 PM.   David seconded the motion.  All were in favor.

M.  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