Town of New Boston
Selectmen's Meeting
December 29, 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: None.
C. APPOINTMENTS:
1. 7:00 PM Hutchinson Lane Road Acceptance Hearing
A Road Acceptance Hearing was advertised in the Goffstown News on December 18. The Planning Board sent a memo saying Hutchinson Lane is ready for acceptance. The Public Hearing was closed at 7:07 PM. David moved to exit the public hearing. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor. David moved the acceptance of Hutchinson Lane as a public class V town highway. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
2. 7:05 PM Dan MacDonald Downtown Cistern
Fire Chief Dan MacDonald and Fire Ward Dick Moody were present to meet with the Selectmen to discuss the proposed downtown cisterns. In a CIP meeting it came up as $500,000 for a 120,000-gallon tank and Gordon suggested the town get 2 30,000-gallon tanks instead for significant savings and that is what Dan and Dick are here to discuss tonight. Dick suggested getting another quote for the 120,000 gallon tank from Mitchie Corp. because 60,000 is only good for 15 minutes. It was noted that not all the downtown buildings have early fire detection capabilities. Pressurized tanks were discussed and they considered tying the cistern into the town hall. Locations considered for the cistern were town property on Meetinghouse Hill, over by the school “white buildings” or the left side of the Depot Bridge. The Meetinghouse Hill location seems to be the best location discussed tonight. Dan prefers getting 2 50,000-gallon cisterns instead of 2 30,000-gallon cisterns. The Fire Wards will
verify the quotes and research if any grants are available for the project and hope to get it on the 2010 Warrant. A $50,000 range CRF could be started next year. Another option is to add on to a modest cistern in phases. The current plan if there is a fire downtown is to get water from the river or from Clark’s pond but the water supply depends on the season. Dan also mentioned the new Fire House generator will be delivered next week and cost $17,500. It replaces a 1960’s vintage unit that failed during the long ice storm outage and will be covered in the 2008 budget. The old generator will go out for bid next month. An 8.5KW generator was determined to be the most appropriate replacement for the 1982 generator at the Ridgeview location and is expected to last at least 25 years. The Emergency Management Budget for 2009 will include the Ridgeview generator. This allows town radio communications to continue when
power outages occur. Dan sent letters to the National Guard, Shelter volunteers and gas company thanking them for the work they did for the town during the ice storm. Selectmen Secretary Linda Sizemore will obtain the addresses for the electric companies so the Selectmen can thank them. Dan noted the tank for the tanker will be delivered tomorrow. Upgrading was approved in the March 2008 Warrant. The hose truck will be worked on next if funds are approved in the March 2009 Warrant. Dan also discussed the situation with Weare regarding mutual aid. He hopes to meet with the Weare Fire Wards soon but so far they have not cooperated in scheduling a meeting. The Weare Selectmen and Fire Wards have not responded to any of New Boston’s letters and requests for a meeting. Dan said the chiefs involved in the mutual aid agreement will request their Selectboards to put more pressure on Weare to resolve the issue. Burton has
spoken to the Weare Town Administrator about it as well to try to help them resolve properly covering daytime emergency events (fire and ambulance).
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. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
2. Non-Public Minutes of December 29, 2008 - The Selectmen reviewed the non-public minutes. David moved that they be accepted as presented. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
E. OLD BUSINESS:
1. Planning: None. The next meeting will be tomorrow night.
2. Survey- A meeting with Nick Manolis from Primex is scheduled for January 7 at 3:30.
3. 2009 Budget Review-Burton reviewed estimated revenues for 2009. Income is expected to be down especially for bank interest and recycling products. Fewer revenues to offset the expenditures would cause the tax rate to rise. The Selectmen will meet with the Finance Committee on January 10.
F. NEW BUSINESS:
1. Warrant Wordings & Article Placements-15 Warrant Articles are planned excluding Planning and Zoning Articles. Burton will start working on wording the articles and send them to the DRA. The Selectmen asked Burton to ask Town Attorney Bill Drescher when the gravel ordinance will be ready as the Selectmen want it included on the Warrant.
Susan Carr from the Climate and Energy Committee was present to discuss the potential of a Warrant Article regarding auditing some or all of the town buildings. She plans to meet with the Selectmen on January 5 and will have the wording of the article ready them. The Committee is working on getting quotes for the project including all town buildings or only a couple. She also asked if the Selectmen would like the Committee to conduct a 20-minute training regarding saving money by changing human behavior for town employees. She said other towns are doing this. The Selectmen said it would be ok for the Committee to present to the Department Managers during their Department Manager meeting. Susan also noted the Committee is working on the EPA Energy Challenge with 2 town buildings. The Selectmen
also suggested the Committee start publishing a monthly column in the New Boston Bulleting. Susan said they have published an article almost every month with various targets.
2. 2009 Initiatives-The Selectmen approved the letter encouraging a closer look at how departments might operate more efficiently and cost effectively. It will be given to Department Managers at the January Department Managers meeting to distribute and discuss with their employees.
3. Vacation Carry-Over Requests-The Selectmen asked if these cost the town a lot more money but Burton said the employees generally don’t save too much time so it doesn’t cost the town much more every year. However, if an employee takes the time after the March raises then it is costing 4-5% more.
4. Tax Payments Status-Tax payments are $150,000 below where they were last year. Tax Collector Ann Charbonneau suggested an article be published in the New Boston Bulletin regarding property values and the tax process and the Selectmen agreed. Ann said some residents don’t understand why their property values have not been reduced to reflect present day values.
5. Topics For Selectmen’s Report-The Selectmen reviewed a list of topics to be discussed in their yearly Selectmen’s Report.
G. OTHER:
1. Selectmen Secretary Linda Sizemore will obtain addresses for a letter of thanks to be written by the Selectmen.
2. David moved the Selectmen accept the Fiscal Impact Study prepared by Jack Munn of Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
3. It was noted the Parker Road Bridge still has issues with the bridge deck. It is bubbling 2 feet past where the pavement was repaired and there is a pothole 2 feet before where the pavement was repaired. The Highway Department will be asked to repair it.
4. A letter from Primex was received asking if the town would like to sign a multi-year workers compensation contract with them for a 5% discount. The Selectmen signed the multi-year contract. Burton will also research whether the town qualifies for the 2.5% discount for following “best practices.” Christine moved the Selectmen accept the resolution as outlined by Primex. David seconded the motion. All were in favor.
5. Doug Hill sent a letter asking for an extension on his temporary trailer permit that is due to expire in February. Burton will ask him how much longer he needs as only 1 extension is allowed. The Selectmen will make a decision on it in January.
H. PUBLIC COMMENT: No comments at this time.
I. Move to enter Non-Public Session: Christine made a motion to go into Non-Public session per RSA 91-A:3II(a) at 9:05 PM. David seconded the motion. All were in favor.
J. Move to exit Non-Public Session: Christine made a motion to exit Non-Public Session at 9:10 PM. David seconded the motion. All were in favor.
K. ADJOURNMENT: Gordon made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:11 PM. Christine seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Prepared by Maralyn Segien
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