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Board of Selectmen's Minutes 09/28/2009
Town of New Boston
Selectmen's Meeting
September 28, 2009

 

 

PRESENT:              Rodney Towne                   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 David Woodbury at 7:00PM beginning with the Pledge of Allegiance.  

B.  PUBLIC COMMENT:   

Alicia Boyer of 55B River Road was present to discuss the conduct of Corporal Widener during an interview she witnessed.  She wanted to make sure disciplinary action was taken due to comments he made.  Police Chief Chris Krajenka was present and said he learned of it the Friday after it occurred and disciplinary action was taken immediately.

C.  APPOINTMENTS:

          1.  7:00 PM                      Chris Krajenka                    Police Department
 
 Police Chief Chris Krajenka was present to update the Selectmen on projects the Police Department is working on.

·         Three quotes have been received to improve the handicap ramp at the police station.  Lee Brown’s quote was $4,830 for a steel rail system or $5,400 to recap the system.  Ciarla Construction’s quote was $4,850 and included the most attractive materials for this project.  Dodge Co. (Glenn Dodge) quote was $3,636 for vinyl coated aluminum system.  All are maintenance free systems, would have to reinforce the existing frame, and all complied with all bid requests.  All have been in touch with Building Inspector Ed Hunter to make sure their recommendations would comply with building codes.  This project could be paid from money the department has saved by not hiring an additional officer this year or from the building maintenance line.  The Selectmen expressed they would like the quality of any of these contractors but recommended Chris use Dodge Co. as the quote is $1000 less than the others.

  • Chris said that in almost all communities there is some type of FTO reimbursement.  He has been speaking with the Corporal about it and they have decided to propose a three-hour comp per week that they are doing FTO training.  The FTO process is a six-week process and one officer does the FTO training per week.  The Selectmen approved the proposal.
  • Chris volunteers with Special Olympics and they have asked him to attend a national conference in Connecticut November 14-16.  The Selectmen approved time off to allow Chris to attend the conference.

          2.  7:15 PM                      Ken Lombard                    Potential Land Purchase


Move to enter Non-Public Session: Christine made a motion to go into Non-Public session per RSA 91-A:3II(d) at 7:30 PM.   Rodney seconded the motion.  All were in favor.

 
Move to exit Non-Public Session: Christine made a motion to exit Non-Public Session at 7:50 PM.  David seconded the motion.  All were in favor.


            3.  7:45 PM                      David Ely                      Town Hall Energy Report


David Ely was present to discuss the Town Hall Energy Report he prepared.  He began by presenting drawings showing the existing conditions of the Town Hall, four elevations and a sectional of the building.  The energy report was given to Burton and the Selectmen two weeks ago.  David reported the following:

·         There is no passive solar possibility for the building due to its design. 

·         The basement is in need of upgrades, there are gaps in the stone foundation, and the windows and double doors let air in.  Air sealing, water mitigation and asbestos abatement are needed.  There is no insulation in the basement.  Any contaminants in the basement can move between all floors.

  • The first floor was renovated in 1992 with new windows and drywall.  There is probably six inches of insulation in the walls, which doesn’t help air sealing.  The windows are good but are hard coat lowE instead of soft coat lowE, which would help to keep the building cool during the summer.  David is not sure if the windows are properly insulated.  There is a drop ceiling with a plaster ceiling above and a fire barrier between the first and second floors.
  • The second floor has sixteen-foot ceilings.  The Grange Hall has the original windows with storm windows.  This floor is not very energy efficient and there is very little insulation if any.  Hallway and Recreation Office windows have been replaced.  The ceiling/attic floor has six inches of insulation.
  • The attic is timber truss; it is in mostly great shape structurally with some potential pulling away.  The windows are single glazed, not insulated and drafty.  Slate roof recently replaced.  David recommended insulating the attic floor and keeping the attic the same.
  • He made some recommendations on strategies to make the building better:  He said 1/3 of fuel costs could be saved by air sealing including all windows and doors, basement sill plates and attic and air sealing is number one priority.  He said the building is probably having “stack effect” in other words getting basement air throughout the building.  In the basement a floor could be poured, seal the basement doors and insulate the pipes.  Gasketed doors could be installed in certain areas of the building.  Some things could be done soon and some could be done during the planned Town Hall renovation in 2013.  The work in the basement, attic and outside wouldn’t disrupt the normal function of the building during work hours.  He would probably make these recommendations even if the remaining useful life of this building as a Town Hall were only 20 years because the building will still be here used for some purpose for at least another 100 years.  The Selectmen were concerned the building would become a money pit but David said even if an elevator was installed to use the second floor more it would still cost less than building a new building.  He also said the Historical Building is underutilized and once it is vacated it could be converted for Town Hall use and the electric heat could be abandoned and its heating system could be integrated with the Town Hall’s.  The Selectmen said that is the plan once the Historical Society moves out and to the current Library Building.  David said some of his recommendations are expensive.  The siding is in fair shape.  It needs to be painted periodically.  If the siding is removed, the insulation, vapor barrier could be placed on the outside wall and it could be typared and replace the siding with cement board siding, which would eliminate air infiltration, it is low maintenance and looks nice.  He recommended the Selectmen consider this for an OEP grant or during the 2013 renovation.  He recommended all windows should be replaced.  The heat gain on one side is causing very expensive air conditioning bills for the town and would be decreased with different windows and they should be a different style to maintain the historical character of the building.  Fiberglass insulation is in use here; this is the cheapest but poorest performing insulation.  David recommended using cellulose or foam if there is enough money available.  Ellen Campbell was present and reiterated the concerns about the asbestos in the basement and reminded everyone that proper ventilation will be needed as well as air sealing.  The asbestos in the basement is a very high priority and should be abated during the 2013 renovation or before especially if the town starts air sealing the building.  It is unknown if radon is an issue but that is easier to mitigate than asbestos.  Asbestos removal will not make the building more energy efficient.  Grant money is available and a Warrant Article should be prepared for the 2010 voting telling what the Committee plans to do in the current year with a cost.  The committee will work on finding funding sources outside of taxpayers if possible.  David will meet with the Climate and Energy Committee to prepare a strategy to start making the Town Hall more energy efficient.  He will also prepare the construction documents for each aspect of his proposal and Ellen will meet with a contractor to get estimated costs of each aspect of the proposal to go forward with the grant or budget process.  Climate and Energy Committee Chairman Susan Carr was present and said the committee has been researching grants and the estimated costs of the projects are needed to apply for the grants.  The Selectmen have a list of contractors who could do the asbestos abatement.  The town has been saving money for Town Hall renovations.  The taxpayers would have to vote to release the money to avoid tax impact.  Architect Roger Dignard helps with town projects and will probably be asked to help prepare Town Hall renovation plans in 2012.
D.  APPROVAL OF MINUTES:


1.  Minutes of September 14, 2009 - The Selectmen reviewed the minutes.  Corrections were noted.  Rodney moved that they be accepted as amended.   David seconded the motion.  Rodney and David were in favor.  Christine abstained.

2.  Non-Public Minutes of September 14, 2009 - The Selectmen reviewed the non-public minutes.  Rodney moved that they be accepted as presented.   David seconded the motion.  Rodney and David were in favor.  Christine abstained.

E.  OLD BUSINESS:

1. Planning: 

·   The Wilson Hill Road development was discussed.  The Planning Board approved a driveway plan that included an easement.

·    The Water Resource Plan was presented and discussed.  The Planning Board voted not to accept it or include it in the Master Plan.

·    Clark Hill Trust-The applicant asked to be removed from the agenda and be seen at the next Planning Board, as they are not yet ready.  The Planning Board voted to have them return at the end of October and if the plan is not ready by then the Planning Board will deny the application.

·     A closed session with Attorney Dwight Sowerby took place to discuss the cordwood business on Joe English Road.

2.  Survey-

·    “The Roles” meeting took place last week.

·     Burton will prepare a memo for the Selectmen’s review to recap the survey process, how things were addressed and how to move forward.  The process might now be complete.

3.  LeClair Builders Road Name-The developers have presented two name options for their new road to be approved by the Selectmen.  They are Fieldstone Drive or Ledgewood Drive.  Rodney will ask Bing and Sylvia Chancey if they have any suggestions for a road name in that area of town that would meet the town’s criteria.  If not the Selectmen would prefer the Fieldstone Drive option.

4.  Lyndeborough Road Bridge Update-Attorney Dwight Sowerby has prepared the easement documents.  The Selectmen will now get a date from Hoyle Tanner to hold a meeting on site with the abutters.  The goal is to get the easements signed and tell the utilities it is ok to start moving the utility lines.  They were willing to do it this fall.  The final engineering drawings are almost done.  The bid specifications will go out in December, come back in January to be ready for the Deliberative Session in February.

5.  Capital Improvement Plan- The Selectmen reviewed the CIP in preparation for budget planning.

F.  NEW BUSINESS:

1.  Employee Newsletter Submission-The Selectmen reviewed and approved a draft of their submission for the fall employee newsletter.

2.  Library “Topping Off” Ceremony-The ceremony will take place November 1 at 1:00PM.

3.  Scouts Use Of Upper Town Hall-Scott Hunter has asked for permission for the boy scouts to use the upper town hall for their weekly meetings on Monday nights from 5:30-7:00PM for the remainder of the school year.  A group of approximately 14 people will be in attendance each week.  The Selectmen will ask Scott to get permission from the grange as well.

4.  Non-Public (Selectmen Office Assistant Search)-Deferred to end of meeting.
 

G. OTHER: 

1.  Daniel Donovan’s attorney wrote to the Selectmen.  The Selectmen decided not to respond at this time.

2.  The Selectmen decided to ask Planning Board Alternate Mark Suennen if he would like to serve on the Regional Economic Development Steering Committee along with Planning Board Chairman Stu Lewin and Planning Board member Dean Mehlhorn.

3.  Jed Callen sent a letter to the Trustees of the Trust Funds relative to monies provided by the Wason family for building upkeep.  That will be discussed next week when Sharon Wason meets with the Selectmen about use of the Wason library building.

 
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(b) at 10:05 PM.   Rodney seconded the motion.  All were in favor.


J.  Move to exit Non-Public Session: Christine made a motion to exit Non-Public Session at 10:35 PM.  Rodney seconded the motion.  All were in favor.

 
K.  ADJOURNMENT:   David made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:36 PM. Christine seconded the motion.  All were in favor.


Prepared by Maralyn Segien