Town of New Boston
Selectmen's Meeting
January 20, 2009
PRESENT: Gordon Carlstrom Selectman Absent
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 6:45PM beginning with the Pledge of Allegiance.
B. PUBLIC COMMENT: None.
C. APPOINTMENTS:
1. 6:45 PM Conservation Members Land Opportunities
Burr Tupper and Ken Lombard from the Conservation Commission were present to meet with the Selectmen to discuss the town’s opportunity to buy land on River Road. Ernie Thibeault approached the Conservation Commission at a meeting and said he wants to sell 4 parcels of land totaling approximately 353 acres on River Road in the next year to 18 months. The final price is unknown at this time. The Conservation Commission and Selectmen decided they were most interested in the areas labeled “cornfield” and “pit” on the map. These areas could be used for town offices, a school, recreation purposes, a fire station, or agricultural purposes. The other properties would be nice to have but are not very useful to the town. A town vote to purchase the property is probably needed before
a down payment is put on it. This opportunity will be discussed at an upcoming all boards meeting. Burton will check with Planning Coordinator Nic Strong about when the next meeting is scheduled or will schedule a meeting just for this topic if necessary.
2. 7:00 PM Lee Nyquist Deliberative Session
Moderator Lee Nyquist was present to meet with the Selectmen to discuss the Warrant Articles and procedures to follow during the upcoming Deliberative Session scheduled for February 2 at 7:00 PM. The Selectmen’s Warrant Articles begin at number 11. The Warrant Article wording comes from Town Attorney Bill Drescher. The NH DRA has said they agree with the wording for the library CRF article. The Selectmen will give an overview of the budget at the Deliberative Session. Burton will double check that it is appropriate to have the Lyndeboro Road and Howe Bridge improvements in the same article as Howe Bridge is not on Lyndeboro Road. Refreshments will probably not be served at the Deliberative Session. Any community requests for display tables at the Deliberative Session should go through Lee
for approval. Burton will contact Principal Rick Matthews to confirm use of the facility and will contact Dan Jamrog to confirm he will set up the sound system. Lee will select the clergy to deliver the invocation.
3. 7:30 PM Tim White, SNHP Bedford Road Study
Tim White from the Southern NH Planning Commission, Bo Strong, a town representative to the Commission, Road Agent John Riendeau, Planning Coordinator Nic Strong, Planning Board Chairman Stu Lewin and Planning Board members Don Duhaime, Doug Hill and Mark Suennen were present to meet with the Selectmen to discuss the results of the Bedford Road Study. Nic introduced the topic saying the Planning Board became concerned a couple years ago when several development requests were coming in for the area at the end of Bedford Road. They decided to request a study of the entire area of Bedford Road instead of taking the individual developers studies of their areas of the road. The Selectmen funded the study. The report was received from the Southern NH Planning Commission last fall. After review the Planning Board
had questions about it, as some of the conclusions were not what they expected. Mark asked Tim if the report takes traffic from western towns using Bedford Road to get to Bedford and Manchester into account and was told yes, it was calibrated from a model developed a few years ago. Tim said SNHPC is working on a new updated model and will provide an estimate from the new model to the Planning Board and will provide updated figures when the new model is in use. Mark also asked about table 5 on page 6, which notes 30 miles per hour as the prevailing speed, but he noted the actual speeds traveled on that road and the roads feeding into Bedford Road are higher. He asked if that was taken into account and Tim answered 30 miles per hour pertains to the new subdivision roads, as they don’t expect the speeds in the subdivisions to be more than 30 miles per hour due to road designs. Stu did not agree with that. The Planning Board members wondered if
the table should be recalibrated to a 40 mile per hour speed. Nic noted the townwide speed limit is 35 miles per hour not 30. Tim answered saying if the speed is recalculated it probably wouldn’t change the conclusion in table 5 and probably wouldn’t make a difference in the commute times it addresses. Mark said the results make sense but the numbers used to get there are incorrect which leads to the question did the town ask the correct questions when requesting the report. Stu mentioned there are grammatical errors that should be corrected if the report is redone. Stu noted on page 3 1st paragraph he doesn’t believe Bedford Road can handle that many cars. Tim answered that calculation came from figures listed in the Highway Capacity Manual for roads similar to Bedford Road. The figures show Bedford Road is not approaching capacity but Stu feels that is not true of Bedford Road and these conclusions make him question if
any of the conclusions made in the report are correct. Planning Board member Don Duhaime asked if table 1 on page 1 could be labeled more clearly but it was noted it is clearly labeled and is referenced again on page 3, which explains its purpose clearly. Tim said the traffic capacity will vary at different sections of Bedford Road but they could not study each section of Bedford Road that is why they came to the conclusions they did. Mark asked if a footnote could be added to the report saying “vehicles per day” instead of “passenger cars per day” to take into account the trucks and buses that travel Bedford Road. Planning Board member Doug Hill mentioned the Planning Board expected the report to find that Bedford Road was in bad shape due to the flooding problems it has had in recent years, the twists and turns, etc. but the report found it was not in bad shape but rather it was in typical shape. Don mentioned the Planning
Board’s concern about emergency vehicle access. If it is blocked in certain places, emergency vehicles will not have ready alternate access to the area. Road Agent John Riendeau said some potential improvements were suggested in the report but there is so much development in the area it would cost the town millions of dollars to improve some of the worst spots. Stu discussed question number 2 about commuting patterns saying the answers to questions 1 and 3 are hard to believe through his personal experience traveling the road every day that there aren’t issues. Doug said the Planning Board put subdivision requests on hold pending receipt of the report and now that the report was received the subdivision applications have moved forward. From a Planning Board perspective he feels the questions were answered.
4. 8:00 PM Doug Hill Temp. Trl. Extension
Doug Hill was present to meet with the Selectmen to ask for a five-year extension of his temporary trailer permit. The Selectmen have received a letter dated January 5, 2009 from the property owners, Paul and Sue Bohr, stating they have no issue with the trailer being located on their property. The Selectmen told Doug that if they grant the 5 year extension and the Bohrs decide he cannot have the trailer on their property anymore the trailer will have to be removed. Christine moved to grant a 5-year extension for Doug Hill’s temporary trailer. David seconded the motion. All were in favor.
5. 8:10 PM Sandi Van Scoyoc Footbridge Project
Sandi Van Scoyoc of the Livable Walkable Committee was present to meet with the Selectmen to discuss engineering oversight for the footbridge project. Sandi doesn’t want to do it but committee members Randy Parker, Bill Morrissey and Jay Marden are willing to do it on behalf of the committee. If members of the committee don’t do it the responsibility will fall on Burton. However, Burton will be the contact person for Tom Jamieson at NHDOT. Tom wants his interface to be with a town official. Bill Rossignol from Holden Engineering will be asked how the committee members can interface with him. The Selectmen prefer one committee member for this task. Sandi suggested the interested committee members could meet with Bill and Burton to discuss how the committee can help in the process.
This meeting will take place and should help decide who should take on this role. Burton spoke to Bill about how to cross the wetland piece at the footbridge and they decided Bill would contact Tom directly about it. Sandi said the state would offer a new round of grants in 2009. She asked if the town would like to consider applying for one for sidewalks or the Context Sensitive Solutions improvements. However, the grants require the town pay for 20% of the project she is not in favor of asking the taxpayers for more money for these projects.
D. APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
1. Minutes of January 20, 2009 - The Selectmen reviewed the minutes. Corrections were noted. Christine moved that they be accepted as amended. David seconded the motion. All were in favor.
E. OLD BUSINESS:
1. Planning:
· Public hearings were held for the topics going on the March 2009 warrant with no major issues.
· The Shaky Pond Development needed a waiver on the 1000-foot cul-de-sac to give the Conservation Commission some land at the end of the cul-de-sac. The road plans weren’t complete at the last meeting. The subdivision will probably be approved at the next Planning Board meeting.
2. Survey-Planning Coordinator Nic Strong is trying to reschedule the meeting with Nick Manolis from Primex. February 5 is a possibility. Christine will be out of town that day.
3. 2009 Budget & Warrant Article Review-See above. Burton noted the last of the 2008 expenses went through this week. The year to date expenses will be available at the Deliberative Session. The Department Managers were informed of the date and are expected to attend.
4. Topics For Selectmen’s Report-The printer is beginning to work on the town report. The Selectmen will consider the topics for their report and will work on it tomorrow.
F. NEW BUSINESS:
1. 2008 Encumbrances-The Selectmen signed the encumbrances.
2. Ice Storm-FEMA-Road Agent John Riendeau and Burton attended an informational meeting regarding the ice storm. They learned 75% will be reimbursed and spring road cleanup will be included.
3. Comcast Agreement-Riverdale Rd. Area-Comcast is asking for a 4-year agreement. In 4 years that area will merge with the rest of the town’s service with Comcast. Burton will ask them to build in the franchise fee. The Selectmen will sign the agreement when it has been revised.
G. OTHER:
1. The letter to former officer Ryan Storro regarding his training agreement will be reviewed and sent certified mail. If he does not respond the matter will be referred to Town Attorney Leslie Nixon.
2. Doug Clark is unable to continue shoveling snow at the town buildings. Transfer Station Manager Gerry Cornett is interviewing another person to take over. Dave asked Burton to ask Gerry if there are any issues of snow coming off the roof at the Transfer Station, as he doesn’t want a resident to be hit by falling snow there.
H. PUBLIC COMMENT: No comments at this time.
I. ADJOURNMENT: Christine made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:16 PM. David seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Prepared by Maralyn Segien
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