Town of New Boston
Selectmen's Meeting
August 25, 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: Police Chief Chris Krajenka was present and said Weare has decided to suspend the mutual aid with New Boston and Weare. Chris also said the Police Department shifts are now covered well.
C. APPOINTMENTS:
1. 7:00 PM Temporary Trailer Hearing - Luedke
A public hearing was called for a temporary trailer permit application for map 11 lot 23 on Hooper Hill Road. The notice of hearing was posted in the newspapers and at public locations. Gordon called the hearing to order at 7:04 PM. The application is for a one-year temporary office trailer during building construction. The Luedke’s were not present and there were no comments from the public. The public hearing was closed at 7:07 PM. David moved the temporary trailer permit application be granted for 1 year. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
2. 7:10 PM Irene Baudreau Town Clerk
Town Clerk Irene Baudreau was present to discuss the new vehicle registration process. The town started the new process last Wednesday where the town looks up vehicle registrations on-line and prints them when residents come in instead of the old pre-printed registrations. She said there have been no problems with the new process, residents are accepting it well and it has sped up the registration process. An article will be in the September issue of the New Boston Bulletin telling residents about the new process. There is also a program through the NH DMV the town can sign up for where residents can do certain registration renewals on their own computer for a $5 additional fee. There is a $53 one-time fee to the town if they want to sign up for this program with the state. The town won’t lose
any of their fees; the money will be wired from the state within 24 hours. The Selectmen will review the information and decide if New Boston should sign up for this program.
3. 7:25 PM Carol Holden County Commissioner
Carol Holden, the vice chairman of the Board of Hillsborough County Commissioners representing district 3 was present to meet with the Selectmen to update them on what the commissioners have been doing recently.
· The NH DRA will set the budget and tax rate in September. Expenses are down. They have tried to complete projects this year to save money for fuel costs and trying to economize. The county has no debt.
· The county is working on updating their website and has a new phone service.
· Union contracts have been settled.
· Their offices moved in 2004 and the Goffstown District Court will move to the second floor of their building by January 1, 2009.
· The Department of Corrections has 2 crews available to work in towns.
· The county participates in Operation Impact a program where young people can go to the jail and learn what it is like as a deterrent to criminal behavior.
· The county uses a new prescription drug program for uninsured and underinsured underwritten by CVS/Caremark where people can come to the town hall to get a card to use at pharmacies when their prescriptions are not covered by insurance.
· The county offers the US Communities purchasing program for office supplies, maintenance and highway supplies and homeland security.
· The county is working on master planning to flag and map wetlands in the county and preserve the resources. They are also looking for land to lease to take the impact off taxpayers.
· The county extension is located in Goffstown. Gordon suggested they get some signs so people can find them and use their resources.
4. 7:35 PM Mike Fortier Retirement Plan Discussion
Cathy Widener from the Retirement Committee introduced Mike Fortier from Wachovia Securities who the Committee has chosen to manage their retirement plans. The Committee sent his information packet to the Selectmen for review. The Committee met with 5 companies to change from Nationwide to a company that would give them better customer service. The Committee would like to switch this year. There is a $1,025 yearly administrative fee that will have to be covered. It was suggested each department should pay a portion of the fee from their budgets. The fee would be pro-rated for this year. The Committee recommends the American Funds plan from CPI after meeting with Mike and Mickey. Mickey Morley a Retirement Plan Consultant from CPI was also present saying they are an independent third party
administrator located in Massachusetts with their home office in Kansas. CPI does the record keeping, administrative, and customer service work. Every employee will meet with Mike twice a year to decide which fund line they want to use. Employees will call Mike with any investment questions. Employees can have their fund rebalanced at no charge. One person at CPI will be the employee contact. CPI has very low employee turnover. They are known for simplified conversion to the new plan. A $1,000 retainer check will be applied toward annual fees. If the town doesn’t want to wait until January 1, 2009 to switch, CPI will have to do all the year-end work for Nationwide and set up the accounts for the new year. The fixed asset accounts with Nationwide could be an issue but Mike feels the money lost by getting out of the plan early would be made up quickly at the new rate. More research to be done on this point.
Linda Sizemore recommended meeting with the employees to decide if they want to switch plans now or on January 1, 2009. The Committee will meet with Mike again to decide when to switch and to decide on the fund lineup. Mike recommends starting the process now so the plan can become effective January 1, 2009. He said he holds public seminars in Concord and has seminars scheduled in September, October and November. The Committee is still considering joining the NH Retirement plan in 2010, which they could join without any fees if they buy service shares.
D. APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
1. Minutes of August 11, 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: The Twin Bridge Land Management bond went from approximately $320,000 to $106,000 to take into account the road has been paved.
2. Survey-
· Burton is continuing discussion with the Department Heads about roles and responsibilities. Planning Coordinator Nic Strong feels more discussion is needed. Burton will ask the other Department Heads if they agree.
· A committee status report listing will be prepared.
3. Footbridge Proposals-The committee met with 6 engineering companies and 3 are still being considered. They will be asked to work on their designs and meet with the Selectmen at the September 22 Selectmen’s meeting before a decision is made on which company to use.
4. Scenic Byways-A memo was received from Jack Munn from the Southern NH Planning Commission outlining the process for Route 13 to become a scenic byway. Burton will e-mail Jack Munn, as the process seems to be a burden. Brandy Mitroff suggested contacting the Conservation Commission and the Historical Society to see if anyone is interested in attending the suggested meetings.
F. NEW BUSINESS:
1. Salary Plan-Brandy was present to discuss some language she recently became aware was included in the employee manual regarding employee raises saying town employees are guaranteed a COLA plus merit raise. She questioned how this became part of the employee manual as it is incorrect and it is also discussed verbally often. Brandy spoke to Nic who felt the employees could be made to understand this is an error and needs to be removed from the manual. Brandy prepared an article for the New Boston Bulletin for the Selectmen’s review and approval tonight. Nic also recommends the article be sent to the employees before it is published with a note from the Selectmen asking for their help and cooperation which the Selectmen will do. Brandy
researched it in the 1998 town report and said there was never a vote on the raise, Gordon explained it at the town meeting and the voters approved it. Dave feels there was a vote and the year mentioned in the employee manual could be wrong, and what was explained at the Finance Committee and Selectmen meeting the other night was appropriate and explainable. The employee manual was reviewed and it does say the Selectmen can refine the COLA plus merit raise process. It is not expected that the COLA cap would come into play very often. The language in question is actually in the compensation primer not the employee manual and will be revised. Burton will begin to circulate for Department Managers including informational articles from the Wall Street Journal, etc that pertain to subjects affecting the town and employees. Budget Season Guidance-The Selectmen reviewed and approved a memo to the Department Heads. Burton will send it to the Finance Committee for approval before
sending it to the Department Heads.
G. OTHER:
1. The Selectmen have received reports that Bill Morrissey has been harassing people again who want to use the land designated for recreation and the police have become involved. The Selectmen will get more information about it from the Police Department and send Bill a memo reminding him that people are allowed to park in the designated spaces. The Selectmen will consider getting an injunction from the court.
2. The employee barbeque has been scheduled from 1-3pm. Some departments will stay open that day and send employees to the barbeque in shifts.
H. PUBLIC COMMENT: No comments at this time.
I. ADJOURNMENT: David made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:00 PM. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Prepared by Maralyn Segien
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