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Board of Selectmen's Minutes 11/03/2008
Town of New Boston
Selectmen's Meeting
November 3, 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 6:55PM beginning with the Pledge of Allegiance.   

B.  PUBLIC COMMENT:  Mike Sindoni of the Recreation Department was present to meet with the Selectmen to discuss projects the Recreation Department is working on.  They are considering renting the Apple Barn for a fitness center.  The Department and Recreation Commissioners want to send a mailing to residents to gauge interest.  They have not yet determined how much they can afford for rent.  Marcel Laflamme will join them for the commissioners meeting next week.  They will finalize the mailing at the meeting.  They have also been consulting other area fitness centers for suggestions.  Mike said afterschool and summer programs would be separate from the fitness center due to safety concerns getting children from the school to the Apple Barn.  There is an issue with these programs, as the Recreation Department will no longer have use of the white buildings next year.  Mike will meet with the Selectmen again at the next Selectmen’s meeting.

C.  APPOINTMENTS:

        1.  7:00 PM             Foxberry Road Acceptance Hearing                

The Board opened the public hearing at 7:00PM.  The hearing was noticed in the Goffstown News the week of October 26.  The Selectmen received a memo from Michelle in the Planning Department dated October 22 saying the maintenance bond was received and Foxberry Road was ready for a public hearing for acceptance of the road.  Road Agent John Riendeau was present and said he hasn’t gone to see if damage to the pavement has been repaired yet but will go there tomorrow and will call Burton with the status.  Planning Coordinator Nic Strong was present and said the purpose of the maintenance bond is to be used if something goes wrong later and not to fix the current deficit.  David moved to close the public hearing at 7:05PM.  Christine seconded the motion.  All were in favor.  David moved to accept Foxberry Road Phase II pending confirmation that barricades and signage have been removed and the pavement has been repaired.  Christine seconded the motion.  All were in favor.  Burton will send the appropriate letters once he hears from John that the conditions have been met.

        2.  7:05 PM             Willard Dodge           Downtown Drainage

Willard Dodge was present to report what he has found in researching the downtown drainage.  He said that John Palmer brought a petitioned warrant article about drainage at his property at the last deliberative session.  After discussion with the Selectmen, Willard, Tom Miller and Road Agent John Riendeau got together to investigate the downtown drainage by identifying catch basins, determine size of pipes, which pipes are connected to what and the direction of flow of water through them.  Willard said they didn’t find anything too surprising but there are 3 pipes where they don’t know where the water goes.  He will work on determining where the 3 pipes behind the church are piped to with Dave Elliott.  In his research he found that Les Tower, a former town Road Agent, drew some diagrams of the downtown drainage in 1950 and the diagrams are included in a packet to be kept on file at the town hall.  The Selectmen thanked Willard for updating the diagram.  Willard mentioned Kim Burkhamer and Linda Sizemore researched deeds with the state and Betsy Dodge researched old town reports for mentions of drainage.  Tom said drainage under Route 13 is the state’s responsibility from right of way to right of way.  Willard said the plan from 1950 shows drainage for Clark Hill Road that was never done and drainage by Almus Chancey’s property has stayed the same for 200 years.  Tom suggested going to the state “as-built” archives for accurate information about this.  Willard mentioned the pipe by Almus’ now has a plug in it blocking off the septic.  During the research Willard went into the pipes and he noted there is some debris in the pipe on Jason Unger’s property that needs to be removed.  He is still looking in the paperwork for more information on Bartlett’s Mill for the pond and dam on Clark Hill Road.  A powerpoint presentation was shown of pictures of the tunnels under the bank and on Jason Unger’s property.  Willard recommended that because the tunnels are 200 years old, they are probably not going anywhere, they are on private property, there are 2 buildings on top of the existing tunnel, they cannot be just dug up and replaced, he recommended support be placed at the header and place angular grillwork from the top of brook to the top of the tunnel to keep debris out.  Therefore he recommends it is Jason Unger and John Palmer’s responsibility to maintain the tunnel and header on their properties and the work suggested would cost approximately $200-300.  He suggested the town use caution when allowing development on Clark Hill Road to make sure additional water does not come from future developments down the hill because the water could become more than the tunnel can handle.  There is a subdivision for the Trussell’s before the Planning Board right now and they have said that any extra water would go to heron pond, which drains to the Piscataquog River.  Drainage from the top of Clark Hill Road to the tunnel needs to be researched further.  Any information should be sent to the state because it could affect the tunnel under Route 13 and that is a state responsibility.  

D.  APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

        1.  Minutes of October 20, 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.  
  •  Non-Public Minutes of October 20, 2008 - The Selectmen reviewed both sets of non-public minutes.  David moved that they be accepted as presented.   Christine seconded the motion.  All were in favor.
E.  OLD BUSINESS:

  •    Planning:  
  • The Planning Board discussed definitions of accessory dwelling units either as part of the building or a second structure.  Sample definitions from other towns were reviewed.
  • Amendments to zoning were passed with some minor changes.
  • Trussell subdivision on Clark Hill Road-The Trussells asked for a waiver on the drainage and there were concerns from Gordon Russell on how it was addressed.  The waiver from stormwater management was denied.
  • The Planning Board decided the Bedford Road Study outcomes were not what they expected.  The road capacity was found to be at 25% but they questioned if the correct model was used as traffic from westerly towns was possibly not considered.  Emergency access was not addressed adequately.  The Selectmen have to discuss the study and invite the Road Committee and Planning Board to a meeting to discuss any further action.
  • Paul and Donna Sheatler changed their subdivision from 4 lots to 3 lots.  The drainage report for residential subdivision was incomplete and not accepted because it did not include 50 year flow.  Waivers were granted for fiscal, traffic and environmental.  They will meet with the Planning Board again November 11.
  • Compliance hearing for the Inkberry Road driveway denied, as the repairs have not yet been confirmed.
  • Kim DiPietro met with the Planning Board about the noise ordinance for Jake brakes in the center of town and a dirt track where they run ATV’s all weekend long.  She was referred to the NH Fish and Game Department and Department of Transportation.
  • The variance for John and Rita Young’s hardware store on Valley View Road was denied by the ZBA.
  • Dave will represent the Selectmen on the Planning Board duties beginning with the sitewalks scheduled on November 15.
  •    Survey-     
  • Burton is trying to meet with the Department Heads to discuss roles.  He prepared a list of topics for the Selectmen’s review and will ask the Department Heads for topic suggestions at the next Department Head meeting Wednesday.
  • The Selectmen decided to send thank you notes with the paychecks to employees who participated in the survey thanking them for their efforts.
  • Burton received an e-mail from CPI the company handling the transactions for the Retirement 457 plan saying they have received the paperwork.  Mike Fortier the representative from Wachovia will have a group meeting with everyone and then begin meeting one on one with the employees in December.
  • The Retirement committee has not yet said when they can meet with the Selectmen to discuss the state retirement plan.
  • The personnel manual committee wants to meet with the Selectmen after the Selectmen work on the tax rate Friday and then again next week.  
  •     Fuel Oil, Gas and Diesel Costs For Budgeting-Putnam Oil agreed to charge 30 cents less per gallon of oil delivered to the town than they would charge to homeowners when the town needs oil delivery for the next year.  The Selectmen decided to budget $3.00 per gallon for oil $3.00 per gallon for gas and $3.50 per gallon for diesel next year.
  •  New Health Plan-Deductible Participation-The Selectmen will review the plan and then discuss it with Burton before a representative from the Local Government Center comes to discuss the plan with the employees.

F.  NEW BUSINESS:

  •    Climate Committee Letter-The Selectmen approved the letter and suggested the committee publish more information in the New Boston Bulletin about how the town can reduce energy use.
  •    Christmas Gathering-Christine suggested holding a holiday gathering at the Friendly Beaver Campground for town employees and fire department members on December 13.  The invitation will come from the Selectmen.  Some money will be taken from the Selectmen budget line to cover some of the costs of the gathering.  Employees had requested more of these types of gatherings in the survey.
3.    Friends Of Recreation Monies-There is approximately $30,000 left in the Friends of Recreation account.  The organization is now defunct and there are no officials left to dispense monies.  Terry Knowles from the state Attorney General’s office referred the town to Probate Court.  Town Attorney Leslie Nixon will be asked to research the documentation needed and file it in Probate Court.
  •    Selectmen’s Budget-Preliminary Overview-The numbers are not yet prepared but Burton has been working on it and talking with the appropriate people to get an idea of what will be needed next year and will put numbers in for discussion at the next Selectmen’s meeting.
G. OTHER:  

  •   The Selectmen decided they may have to ask Attorney Bill Drescher’s office to take the Saunders Hill cemetery issue to court for a final decision on whether the public has a right to access the cemetery without getting approval from the abutting landowner.
H.  PUBLIC COMMENT:  No comments at this time.  
 
I.  ADJOURNMENT:    Christine made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:46 PM.   David seconded the motion.  All were in favor.


Prepared by Maralyn Segien