Town of New Boston
Selectmen's Meeting
September 8, 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 the status of projects the Highway Department is working on.
· John has researched the new 10-wheel dump truck the Department is proposing to purchase next year. He has found a brand new 2007 Mack chassis and received a quote of $98,000 for it. A 2008 Mack was quoted for $123,545. John recommends the town get the 2007. The 2007 will also help because it will not have the new emissions requirements the 2008 or 2009 would have. The town has been offered a finance plan of $0 down and pays 50% of the price the first year and the rest of the price the second year. There is currently $150,000 in the CRF fund for the truck, which would cover the first year plus the body of the truck. A warrant article to expend
the funds would be placed on the March ballot. Burton and John will research it further and the Selectmen will discuss it again at the next meeting.
· The truck body installation company in Barre, VT will start working on the newly purchased one-ton the week after next. It takes 3-4 weeks to complete so John should get it in the middle of October.
· John was out working most of the day yesterday repairing damage after the storm.
· John is meeting with Tim White from Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission tomorrow to discuss potential improvements to be done on Bedford Road. Having this knowledge will help the Planning Board in assessing off site road improvements for any new subdivisions off Bedford Road.
· Beavers have been plugging some culverts on Bedford and on Meadow Roads. John will arrange to have them trapped when the water lowers.
· The Department has done some grading at Christie and Butterfield Mill Roads. They will put more gravel on Butterfield Mill Road next year.
· The South Hill Road project is about half done. The culverts will be done and the bridge will be repaired. The Department ditched on South Hill road and took down some trees at the edge of the road. Basins were installed. They widened the road at the beginning of McCollum when they put the culvert in there, which will allow for better sight distance at that intersection.
· The Department helped with the portal on the dam for the Tucker Mill Road culvert repair.
· The Selectmen suggested John start delegating some of the hands on work to members of the department who have the potential to become a foreman so he can get some time to work on his office tasks.
· Planning Coordinator Nic Strong sent a memo asking about finalizing road hierarchies. John is still working on it and waiting for some information from Road Committee Chairman Brian Dorwart before completing it.
2. 7:15 PM Newsletter Committee
Mary Barone and the Newsletter Committee were present to meet with the Selectmen and show them a sample of the potential employee newsletter. They plan to publish a quarterly newsletter to be sent to the employees in their paychecks. They hope the first issue will go out in October. They asked the Selectmen if they could purchase 4 reams of different colored 11”x17” paper to print the newsletters on. The Selectmen approved the purchase and the newsletter format. Of the names suggested, the Board like “Common Ground” the best.
3. 7:30 PM Eric Seidel Library
Eric Seidel Library Trustee Chairman was present to meet with the Selectmen to discuss funding for the new library. He said the latest estimate of the cost of the project has increased from $1.1 million to $1.3 million including the increased cost of materials and the addition of a privately funded community program room. The cost doesn’t include sprinklers. The Selectmen asked him to contact Fire Inspector Russ Boland to work out the various fire issues with the new building plans. Eric feels the estimate is conservative and further savings could be made to offset the cost of the fire code requirements. He estimates the total cost to be $1.45 million. There is $110,000 in a CRF already. They would get a $500,000 bond for the public share of the funding. He asked for a payment
schedule of 5 years at $100,000 per year. Burton will get several bond estimates for 5,8, 10 and 15-year bonds. The library has raised $611,000 from fundraising for the building plus expenses. They are still working on fundraising and hope to get at least $115,000 more by voting time in March. The current operating and maintenance costs are $183,360 per year including salaries. Staffing and hours would not increase right away at the new building. The building will be 2.5 times larger than the current one but also more energy efficient than the current building. Geothermal heating and cooling was considered but would only be installed with an additional gift of $100,000. They estimate a 25% increased cost for materials, 50% increased cost for electric, 70% increased cost for maintenance totaling $9,000 per year increased cost equaling 5% additional to the current operating and maintenance budget.
4. 8:00 PM Chris Krajenka Police Chief
Police Chief Chris Krajenka was present to meet with the Selectmen to discuss the status of issues at the Police Department.
· Personnel matters have been going well. The shifts are now covered with only occasional gaps.
· Officer Hurdick went to taser instructor school. The department is working on a policy for the Selectmen’s approval before they start using the tasers. Chris expects to have them deployed by December after the SOP is approved. The department will then stop using pepper spray.
· The department continues to prepare for the mock on-site. The evidence room is almost cleared. They are working with the court to finalize that. The department needs 2 gunsafes for accreditation at a cost of approximately $1600-2000 for 2. Chris expects to file for accreditation in December, and then the department has one and a half years after filing to become accredited.
· The Police Academy has made it more difficult to get into the academy. An officer has to be hired by a department for some time before being able to enter the academy. In New Boston’s current hiring phase, if a non-certified officer is chosen he would have to be hired by mid-October but wouldn’t have to actually start working for the department at that time in order to be accepted into the Police Academy’s January courses.
· The Chief discussed a recent traffic stop involving weapons and drugs and pointed out that officers in New Boston face the same issues as officers in bigger departments. There were 2 officers on that night which contributes to officer safety.
· Corporal Widener prepared a document comparing the number of recent traffic stops with traffic stops in other years. The community has been complementing the department for their increased traffic enforcement efforts.
· Chris gave the Selectmen a list of calls for service that occurred in town this year for their review.
· Officer Frank Kochanek’s reintegration in to the department is going well. He is appealing the town’s action and the town is working on preparing a committee to represent them in the appeal process.
· Chris requested use of the recreation van. He has already checked with the recreation department and they will not be using it that weekend.
· The police coverage at the fair went well.
· Damage was discovered on the bumper of one of the police cars, which occurred in May or June. None of the officers recall how the damage occurred.
· Chris has been researching a new vehicle for the department and prefers a 6-cylinder vehicle to an 8 cylinder and does felt they need 4-wheel drive due to the nature of the roads in town. He feels Ford Escape or Ford Explorer would be best. He would not like a hybrid at this time. The Selectmen agree. Prices for the Escape or Explorer would be lower than the price for a Crown Victoria. Trade-in for the department’s Expedition would be $7,000, which is less than it is worth. The town will keep it for now. Ross Lindhart from Car 54 told Chris he could get the equipment for the new vehicle at no cost to the town other than installation. He can deliver the equipment in December.
D. APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
1. Minutes of August 25, 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.
E. OLD BUSINESS:
1. Planning:
· Road standards were discussed.
· The Nixon lot was approved.
· Ackerman compliance was met.
· The Young’s hardware store proposal was sent to the ZBA before going to the Planning Board.
· Hemlock and North Mast Road-The developer put in the rip rap as requested.
· A sitewalk is scheduled for a proposed 12-lot subdivision on Clark Hill Road.
· Paul and Donna Shelto on Bedford Road proposed subdividing 4 lots on 33 acres.
· Inkberry Road-There are steep slopes in the area and the developer requested a variance.
2. Survey-
· Burton prepared copies of Chapters 6,7,8 and 10 for the personnel manual committee. He is still working on chapter 9. Chapters 1-4 are complete. The committee is also reviewing chapter 5.
· The employee cookout was a success.
· The employee newsletter will be going out soon.
· Burton will do a little more research on the NH Retirement Plan but as of now the Selectmen are not interested in considering this as an option for the town employees.
3. Salary Plan-Fred Hayes was unable to attend the meeting tonight. Brandy Mitroff also spoke with him recently and suggested another meeting between the Selectmen and the Finance Committee. Fred told Burton he thinks the town needs to come up with a way to keep the annual raise percentages down around 5% per year. The Selectmen feel the issue has received enough discussion and don’t want to have another meeting with the Finance Committee on the topic. The Selectmen considered what has been done in prior years. Amendments to the salary plan were considered. A cap for the COLA seems the best approach and that cap would be in the 3% to 3.5% range.
4. Selectmen CIP Items-Burton is working with the state to get a better idea of what the Gregg Mill Bridge will cost at today’s prices. The Tucker Mill Bridge is shown at 2008 cost. Burton requested an estimate of the engineering expenses for the next 3 phases of the Lyndeborough Road Bridge project. Road Agent John Riendeau was asked to get a price for what a grader will cost in 2010. The Selectmen will ask the Recreation Commission to meet with them again to discuss their plans for a recreation center. The Road Improvement CIP money may have to be put toward the Lyndeborough Road Bridge. The $25,000 for the Wason Building upgrade could be postponed one year pending if the new library passes. The new cistern design could be moved to 2010
with money for an engineered plan inserted in place of a CRF amount.
F. NEW BUSINESS:
1. Address Mapping for 911-The state 911 call center has requested some information to create a map of New Boston for their and the town’s reference. The town already has the information they are requesting on a spreadsheet. The 911 call center contacted Fire Ward Wayne Blassberg asking for help updating their files. The Selectmen signed the necessary form authorizing Wayne to do this.
2. Process: Selectmen Input For Supervisor Reviews-The Selectmen were given the employee evaluation form for them to provide supervisor reviews. They will have their comments prepared by the end of the week and return them to Burton.
G. OTHER:
1. The Selectmen decided to start the NH DMV program allowing town residents to do some registration renewals on-line at the $53 one time start up fee to the town.
2. The Selectmen reviewed and approved a draft letter to the engineering firms regarding the footbridge project.
3. David will be present at the end of the election on Tuesday to certify the count.
4. Town Attorney Bill Drescher will prepare a letter to the state regarding how to handle the state and town liens for the impending tax deed at 67 River Road.
5. The town deliberative session is tentatively scheduled for February 2. The school deliberative session will be February 3. The snow date for the town deliberative session will be February 4 and the snow date for the school deliberative session will be February 5. Principal Rick Matthews will ask the School Board at their meeting Wednesday night if they would like to meet with the Finance Committee on December 11 or 18. Finance Committee meetings will begin at the end of October.
H. PUBLIC COMMENT: No comments at this time.
I. ADJOURNMENT: Christine made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:10 PM. David seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Prepared by Maralyn Segien
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