Town of New Boston
Selectmen's Meeting
June 30, 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:
Diane Sawyer from Lincoln Drive was present on behalf of the Garden Club to ask the Selectmen for funds to use to hire help for maintenance of the town common. The members are aging and do not have the ability to do some of the work that is required such as edging. They would like to hire a mechanical edger. She also gave the Selectmen a petition outlining hazards on the common such as the granite ramp near the telephone has heaved 1.25-1.5 inches above the brick walkway. The club is looking for a way to reset that. The thorns on the rosebush are hazardous and they plan to move the bush next spring. They have recently been working cleaning the donors brick walkway and trying to get sand off the grass. Transfer Station Manager Gerry Cornett suggested using the Highway Department street sweeper to
get the sand off the grass. The tree closest to the Fire Department needs pruning. Kim Britten looked at the trees last year and offered to prune them. Burton suggested signing up with a pruning program but the town has missed the time window for pruning this year. The tax money given to the Garden Club is usually for supplies and plants but they think if they are frugal they can afford to hire an edger but can’t because of the way the allowance is worded. Cleanup day took place but most of the people who participated were old and the club needs younger skilled people to help out. The Selectmen suggested getting volunteers or hiring the county inmates to do it. The Selectmen asked about fertilizing the lawn. The Garden Club plants but don’t do lawn care or trees. Merrick Kennedy mows the lawn and would probably fertilize. The Selectmen will advertise in the New Boston Bulletin for volunteers to help out on the
common. A work day was suggested and they considered putting more money in the budget for town common maintenance. They suggested cleaning up the sand earlier and will research the memo regarding the trees that need pruning.
Transfer Station Manager Gerry Cornett was present to discuss projects at the Transfer Station.
· A recent House Bill allows the Transfer Station to manage scales better by weighing down to 1 or 10 pound increments and will take effect August 27. The Transfer Station already has two scales that allowed them to weigh smaller loads in the past.
· The response to Willard Dodge’s concerns brought up at the last meeting was discussed. 1400 miles have been put on the truck since the Transfer Station got it at the end of last year and Gerry can account for every mile. He is now keeping a mileage log. He has been doing necessary maintenance on it to keep it in good shape. A response will be mailed to Willard this week.
· Hazardous Waste Day went smoothly with 76 vehicles but not a lot of material. There was not a lot of volume but the event should continue. Gerry complimented the Fire Department on a job well done and good training exercise for them and said the Highway Department was a good location for the event. The Budget line for the Hazardous Waste Day should probably be increased by $500-1,000. It usually cost $600 to setup but now costs $1,000 plus taxes charged where the material is taken. Further public education is needed on what is considered hazardous waste.
C. APPOINTMENTS:
1. 7:00 PM John Riendeau Road Agent
Canceled.
2. 7:30 PM Warren Houghton
· Warren distributed highlighted letters from the town and letters from NH DES to the Selectmen. He said he was told nothing was grandfathered and spent money on a site specific at his gravel pit but then was told he didn’t need it by Amy at DES who said he didn’t need a site specific because his pit has been there since 1963 and hasn’t changed the digging area since 1981. He was able to prove from old aerial photographs he is still in the same digging area. Kim Burkhamer is meeting with Town Attorney Bill Drescher on Monday and will give him the documents from Warren to review at the same time. She will also talk to Mary Pinkham-Langer at NH
DRA to determine how being grandfathered for the “site specific” affects his status under the gravel ordinance (155-e).about the situation.
· Warren said the Cemetery Committee will set prices for lots at their next meeting.
3. 7:45 PM Tracking Station Reclamation Project
Lt. Commander Reigstad and Jeff Oga were present to discuss the work they are doing this summer at the Tracking Station with the Selectmen. A powerpoint presentation was reviewed including what the station does, when they work, the history of the station as a former bombing range. Since 2005 they have been identifying unexploded ordinance and disposing of it. They reviewed the types of munitions used at the bombing range. Phase I was to look at their land and abutting land with LIDAR technology. Phase II was to walk the land with a magnetometer. They found and destroyed two bombs in 2006. Phase III is planned for this year where they will walk tighter for complete surface clearance of metallic material on the surface of an area of their installation from mid August to mid September. A
subsurface clearance is planned in the future. Robotic excavation of metallic material will be done at Joe English Pond. Each item will be investigated and detonated if it is a bomb. The plan to remove pieces from the two crash impacts next year. There is no indication of any bomb material on abutting land. 4 sand bombs were found on abutting land and removed. The public was allowed to recreate at the installation in the past but the installation is now closed to that type of activity. It is unknown if and when it will be reopened for this purpose. The area is not fenced but there are signs posted telling people not to enter. The only appropriate entrance is located on Chestnut Hill Road. This project is not expected to be completed for another 7-8 years. NHDES is working with them in all aspects of the project. The commander and staff are working closely with the police and fire departments of New Boston and
surrounding towns with ordinance that needs explosion.
D. APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
1. Minutes of June 16, 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 June 16, 2008 - The Selectmen reviewed the non-public minutes. Christine moved that they be accepted as presented. David seconded the motion. All were in favor.
E. OLD BUSINESS:
1. Planning:
· The road standards issue was discussed with. Gordon will prepare a document outlining the standards the Selectmen wish to be included that will be forwarded to the Planning Board. Pedestrians and cyclists should also be considered.
· Kenneth Barss final approval for mobile home was done.
· Christine will attend the sitewalk at the horse boarding and riding stables scheduled for July 15.
2. Survey-
· The Retirement Committee met and decided they like a few presenters of the 457 plans (to replace the Nationwide plan) and will rank. They will research if the 457 plan can be side by side with the state retirement plan. The employees want the state retirement plan but the Selectmen don’t want to become involved with it until its financial situation is more stable.
· Planning Coordinator Nic Strong responded to the memo Burton sent to the Department Heads regarding communication issues as she feels there is more to discuss. The other Department Heads haven’t responded. Burton will bring it up at the next Department Heads meeting. The Selectmen don’t feel a need to discuss but will if others do. Burton is concerned that the specific Town Administrator issues mentioned in the survey haven’t been addressed.
· The town employee BBQ should be planned for August.
· The evaluation committee has almost completed its work. The 2 forms have been combined to one form. Evaluations will take place twice a year. The spring evaluation will be a non-rated status check discussion between the supervisor and the employee. The fall evaluation will stay the same as it is now. The employees feel training will help. It was suggested that one person could do a review then every review would be discussed between all the Department Heads. The Selectmen want to decouple the ratings from the raise but the employees decided not to. There will still be a COLA and a merit raise. The Selectmen suggested a one-year
trial of the new system. The do not want to consider or hear constant complaints about individual ratings. Training for employees and managers will take place. The Selectmen will attend the training. The “input” form will now be required from the employees.
· Burton is still working on the employee manual revision.
F. NEW BUSINESS:
1. AFLAC-The enrollment form is in the read folder. A few employees are interested. The disability program was compared with what the town currently has with Primex and they decided to stay with Primex. The employees will pay for AFLAC coverage and the town will only pay administrative costs to take the money out of the employee’s paycheck.
2. Proposed New Policies-Distributed to the Selectmen for review at home and discussion at the next meeting.
3.Planning Board Alternate-Mark Suennen applied for the position of Planning Board Alternate for 2 years. He is a traffic management engineer who lives on Twin Bridge Road. He has attended 3 recent Planning Board meetings and shows interest. The Planning Board is excited about bringing him on. Christine moved to accept Mark Suennen’s application as an alternate on the Planning Board for 2 years. David seconded the motion. All were in favor.
4. Land Use Change Tax Payment Extension Request-Doug Hill sent in a request regarding his subdivision. David suggested the Selectmen continue looking at these requests on a case-by-case basis. The Selectmen will write to Doug telling him to follow the policy by paying when he can at the interest rate and then ask for an abatement of some of the fees from the Selectmen in the future.
G. OTHER:
1. Town Clerk Irene Baudreau spoke to Christine about the problems she is having in the Town Clerk’s office and Christine advised her to meet with the Selectmen to discuss it.
2. Betsy came in and said there was unauthorized dredging and filling at Prouty’s on Tucker Mill Road. NH DES was contacted and will view the area on Wednesday. DES spoke to the contractor. Kim Burkhamer took some pictures.
3. The process regarding the illegal timber trespass at the railroad bed needs to be started.
4. There was an announcement in Saturday’s paper saying the matter regarding the Mont Vernon Police Chief has been dropped.
5. Twin Bridge Land Management will be present at the next Selectmen’s meeting. Bill Drescher will be there. Kim is meeting with him Monday. Correspondence was received from Twin Bridge Land Management’s Attorney Charles Cleary. Bill will respond after he meets with Kim.
6. Bog Brook Road was graded today and is planned to be paved tomorrow. It will probably cost $65/ton for paving. Road Agent John Riendeau will discuss future plans for town paving with the Selectmen.
H. PUBLIC COMMENT: No comments at this time.
I. ADJOURNMENT: Christine made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:30 PM. David seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Prepared by Maralyn Segien
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