Town of New Boston
Selectmen's Meeting
December 22, 2008
PRESENT: Gordon Carlstrom Selectman
David Woodbury Selectman
Christine Quirk Selectman Absent
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:
Gordon read aloud a letter from the Selectmen to be published in the New Boston Bulletin recognizing the outstanding response during the ice storm.
Planning Board Chairman Stu Lewin was present to discuss the status of Hutchinson Road. That road has been scheduled for a public acceptance hearing on December 29. Vinnie at Thibeault Construction was notified that it is their responsibility to plow the road until the town accepts it. Stu also mentioned a safety concern as there is a cellar hole dug with no foundation poured or construction on it. The Selectmen decided it is a danger and needs a fence or it needs to be filled in. The Selectmen will refer the matter to Building Inspector Ed Hunter for resolution.
C. APPOINTMENTS:
1. 7:00 PM Kettle Lane Road Acceptance Hearing
A Road Acceptance Hearing was advertised in the Neighborhood News. Michele Brown sent a memo on behalf of the Planning Board saying Kettle Lane is ready for acceptance. The Public Hearing was closed at 7:02 PM. David moved the acceptance of Kettle Lane as a public class V road. Gordon seconded the motion. All were in favor.
2. 7:05 PM Dan MacDonald Fire Department
Fire Chief Dan MacDonald was present to meet with the Selectmen to discuss the emergency generator at the Fire Station as it failed during the recent ice storm. He said it is a 1968 engine and will probably be difficult to fix. He is proposing purchasing another generator from Powers who the town has good experience with at the Police Department. Andy from Powers came and looked at the current generator and the generator powering the radios at the tower on Ridgeview Lane. Andy recommended a Kohler 30KW generator for the Fire House at approximately $17,500. Quotes were provided to the Selectmen for review. Dan also mentioned the Ridgeview radio site is the most critical for needing an automatic generator as it controls radio communication in the town. A Dayton generator installed in 1982 is currently
there. Andy said parts would be hard to find for it if it failed. Dan suggested a 10-12 KW generator for $8,800 there. Dan will research if a smaller generator would be effective there. It is expected this year's budget can be used to replace the firehouse generator. The Ridgeview generator would be planned for replacement under the emergency budget next year. Dan said the firehouse generator could be installed within 30-60 days. He suggested putting the generator they have now out to bid and if no other town departments want the Ridgeview generator that one could be put out to bid as well. During the storm the school generator was started but soon stopped and the low coolant light came on. It was filled with antifreeze and ran until Saturday night when the low coolant and low oil lights came on. A hole was noticed in the radiator. They are not yet sure why it is losing oil. It is scheduled to be serviced and
tuned under warranty. Dan will return to next week’s Selectmen’s meeting to discuss the downtown cisterns. Fiberglass or Mitchie concrete cisterns are being considered and Dan recommends using the Mitchie cistern because it will come with a 50-year warranty.
3. 7:30 PM Chris Krajenka Police Department
Police Chief Chris Krajenka was present to meet with the Selectmen to discuss issues at the Police Department.
Move to enter Non-Public Session: David made a motion to go into Non-Public session per RSA 91-A:3II(a) at 7:38 PM. Gordon seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Move to exit Non-Public Session: David made a motion to exit Non-Public Session at 7:47 PM. Gordon seconded the motion. All were in favor.
· The Police Chief employment contract for one year was signed.
· Police Department vacation rollover requests will be done tonight. Chris asked for money instead of a rollover and that was granted.
· The status of the second communication grant for $28,000 was discussed. The town now needs to pay approximately $16,000 for some equipment to go on the repeater at Jim Dodge’s property. There might be enough left in the police budget to cover it.
· A police vehicle broke down during the weekend snowstorm and is now at the repair shop to determine what is wrong with it.
· Some officers were not paid appropriately recently and Chris said there was a communication problem between the Police Department and the Town Hall. Cathy Widener will review the police time cards with Burton and Town Accountant Karen. The Selectmen suggested that the town hall leave a message on Chris’ cell phone when Cathy is unavailable if this happens again so he can communicate effectively with his employees and the same thing should be done when other department heads have this type of problem.
· Chris asked if a Warrant Article should be included this year asking the town if they wish to adopt the dog statute. The Police Department has been receiving complaints from residents but can’t enforce the issue without the statute. The Selectmen decided it should be included on the Warrant.
· Chris is working with the state on some legislation regarding DWI enforcement when an individual is impaired due to prescription drugs.
D. APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
1. Minutes of December 22, 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 Planning Board discussed the cisterns, which include a compartmentalized system. They plan to change the subdivision regulations to reflect the new design, which also has a better warranty.
· Jack Munn from the Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission discussed the fiscal impact analysis that found Impact Fees didn’t seem to be very effective for the town given the way they work. He suggested the Board of Selectmen adopt the report. The Selectmen will review it and make a decision at their next meeting.
· The McCurdy development was not completed. The Road Committee and Planning Board have agreed to a negative 1.5% slope rather than 3% for the road that is suitable to the developer. They will meet with the Planning Board again January 13.
· Shaky Pond Development will meet with the Planning Board again January 13 because the road issues were not well enough defined. The road design is not yet complete.
· Hutchinson Lane was found to be in compliance.
· Trussell subdivision on Clark Hill Road was voluntarily withdrawn and they will reapply later as they are not ready to put their environmental application together.
· Willard and Jim Dodge were present and it was noted that the language of the zoning ordinance needs to be clarified regarding foundations but Willard and Jim agreed the pad and home would be removed when Betsy Dodge stops living in it. It was found to have minimal impact on the site and the Planning Board agreed to it.
· The D’Amelio driveway on Byam Road was discussed and a sitewalk took place. The site slopes are much steeper than 3 to 1 and an issue has come up about stabilization and the use of stump grindings.
· A resident on Inkberry Road came in and expressed his frustration with the Planning Board over the continuing dispute related to his driveway. A $500 bond was decided on to fix his driveway. A sitewalk took place Saturday.
· The Albertini driveway on Byam Road has a problem with sight distance. This is a secondary driveway that has been placed without a permit.
2. Survey-
· A meeting with Primex is scheduled for January 7 at 3:30. Burton e-mailed Nick Manolis with the updated list of subjects to be discussed regarding roles. Nick thinks that discussion should be done separately from the meeting on January 7.
· Michele is working on putting the personnel policy manual together.
· Burton suggested asking the department heads during the spring evaluation how their departments can improve. The Selectmen thought it was a good idea.
3. 2009 Budget-Revenues are expected to go down. Burton will work on the budget more. The Selectmen agree with the memo Burton wrote to them about the recreation request.
4. Montgomery Letter-The Selectmen approved the letter.
5. Footbridge Letter-The Selectmen approved the letter.
F. NEW BUSINESS:
1. Employee Newsletter Contribution-The Selectmen approved their proposed contribution to the employee newsletter.
2. Unresolved Building Dept. Permits-Mark and Gretchen Anderson and Benevides have unresolved building permits. Building Inspector Ed Hunter has done all he can do to get them resolved. Town Attorney Leslie Nixon will be asked to give advice on a resolution.
3. Vacation Carry-Over Requests-Reviewed and approved.
G. OTHER:
1. The town will send a letter to Baltimore Gas and Electric and the company from Nova Scotia thanking them for the work they did for the town after the recent ice storm.
2. Linda Sizemore approached Gordon saying that Burton needs to start closing his door at times to work on projects without interruption. The Selectmen agree and suggested he could work from home at times if necessary.
3. Woody mentioned to Dave that Don Chapman had mentioned to him that the church should be wired in to the new Fire Department generator as it is a secondary town shelter and maybe the library could be wired in as well. The Selectmen consider the upstairs of the town hall to be the secondary shelter. The church is used for school evacuation purposes but those are not due to lack of power so the generator would not be necessary in that situation. However generator size and incremental cost of connecting the church will be researched.
4. Jeanne Shaheen’s office wrote to the town asking if there are any pending infrastructure projects that could be used to help stimulate the economy. The Selectmen will think about it.
5. David moved to ratify Selectmen approval of participation in the John Stark Scenic Byway program. Gordon seconded the motion. All were in favor.
H. PUBLIC COMMENT: No comments at this time.
I. ADJOURNMENT: David made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:36 PM. Gordon seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Prepared by Maralyn Segien
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