PRESENT:
Rodney Towne |
Selectman |
Dwight Lovejoy |
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 Christine Quirk at 6:00PM beginning with the Pledge of Allegiance.
B. PUBLIC COMMENT:
None.
1.
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6:00PM
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John Riendeau
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Road Agent |
Road Agent John Riendeau was present to meet with the Selectmen to discuss projects the Highway Department is working on.
John will meet with Alan from Continental Paving tomorrow to schedule paving. The Town Hall parking lot and bottom of Meetinghouse Hill Road need to be paved. There is one catch basin in the area that is owned by the state. A state employee is coming to look at it to see if it needs any work before the area is paved.
John was in Concord today at a the Department of Environmental Services regarding the work to be done on the Old Coach Road culvert. This hearing was necessary due to the new stream regulations. A permit is needed and the state is deciding if this should be expedited.
The Highway Department has test driven both John Deere and CAT graders. They prefer the John Deere grader. John has received a quote of $186,000 from John Deere and $205,700 from CAT. A new wing will be needed as the old wing will not fit on the new models. The grader will be ready for the town with the new wing on two months after it is ordered.
John has received salt quotes from Granite State Minerals and International Salt. Both matched the salt bid price at $56.76 per ton. The town used Granite State Minerals last year. The Selectmen recommended using Granite State Minerals this year unless International Salt keeps their salt covered before delivery.
A separation where gravel is falling through was found in the Colburn Road double culvert. Steve Souza from Mitchie is coming this week to determine the cause and how to fix it.
The Historical Society asked the Highway Department to remove a concrete pad in front of the double doors at the Wason Building and replace the material underneath to allow for drainage. The Selectmen viewed it with the contractor George St. John. The Selectmen are OK with the Highway Department taking this on.
John will want to add the salt shed to the Warrant this year. He invited the Selectmen to come to the Highway Department to view and comment on his plans for the area.
Modern Protective Coating has said they cannot do all the work needed at the Riverdale Bridge. They recommended the town hire a water retention firm for the job. There are dry conditions now and it would be a good time to do it if possible. John will research water retention companies. He has used Portordam before. This is expected to cost approximately $10,000-15,000.
John is planning a meeting with the permit writers he uses for the upcoming McCurdy Road project.
The Highway Department recently worked on the headers on Bunker Hill Road. The Selectmen complimented the Highway Department on their work there.
2.
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6:30 PM
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Chris Krajenka
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Police Department
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Police Chief Chris Krajenka was present to meet with the Selectmen to discuss projects the Police Department is working on.
Patrolman candidate Joshua Joki has passed all the necessary tests for the position. He is scheduled for testing at the Police Academy in a couple weeks for a spot in the upcoming Police Academy. Chris gave his background information to the Selectmen. After this hire all patrolmen positions on the department will be filled. This is a full time position. Rodney moved to approve the hire of Joshua Joki for the position of full-time patrolman. Dwight seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Officer Wilson had a minor fender bender while backing resulting in minor scrapes to the bumper of car 3. Sergeant Widener scheduled all officers for officer driver training at Local Government Center.
The report came back on the repeater at Ridgeview determining the battery was not working there as the repeater was outdated and will need a battery backup costing $2500. The budget has $10,000 available for this.
Members of the Detail committee were present to discuss the progress the committee has made on the Detail issue. Chris indicated he is willing to change Details to a three-hour minimum for any event New Boston officers are asked to go to but cannot mandate for other agencies if they are needed to cover a detail in New Boston. Committee notes were prepared and given to the Selectmen for review. The committee is considering asking the voters through a Warrant Article if they would be willing to subsidize the cost of details for events benefiting the town up to $2500. The committee prepared a draft Warrant Article. This fund would then be built into the operating budget for future years if it passed. The committee will work on more guidelines for which non-profit organizations would be
included in the town funding and will add “with the approval of the Selectmen.” This is being considered because of the concern that Detail fees are impacting organizations holding events, taking 10-35% of their profits. The issue of which events need security and how much is hard to legislate. The town License and Permit Ordinance that gives the Selectmen and Police and Fire Chiefs jurisdiction over this pertains to events with 500 or more people in attendance. Town funded Details could be billed under overtime not the Detail rate making them easier to cover. Detail costs are rising every year. Also in consideration is if the town should fund 100% or another percentage of the details it agrees to fund. The committee will continue to work on other criteria such as alcohol to determine if a detail would be required at an event and how many officers would be required. The committee will continue to work on the Warrant
Article and prepare to meet with the Finance Committee.
Chris has his last class Thursday.
D. APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
1. Minutes of July 19, 2010 - The Selectmen reviewed the minutes including two sets of non-public minutes. Corrections were noted. Rodney moved that they be accepted as amended. Dwight seconded the motion. All were in favor.
E. OLD BUSINESS:
1. Planning:
The Planning Board granted Victor Lemay’s request for an extension on the conditions of the deadline given to him for his property at Wilson Hill Road.
The Planning Board decided Reggie Houle needs to re-establish the bond or complete the road project at Daylily Lane before any certificates of occupancy will be issued.
A resident on Bedford Road applied for a license to foster dogs from the state. The state requires permission from the locality before granting this license. The Planning Board wrote to the resident allowing this, as New Boston has no rules in this regard.
Final sitewalks are scheduled for August 4 for the LeClair project at Wilson Hill Road and the Linda and Kenneth Diaz project on Arrowwood Drive.
The Planning Board discussed a request for more detailed billing statement on a project from town engineer Northpoint and will ask Northpoint for this information.
Bob Waller was not present to discuss his home business and the Planning Board did not discuss it at this meeting.
The Planning Board voted to accept a 2900’ cul de sac instead of a through road on the Twin Bridge Land Management project. Reduced density and underground utilities were also discussed and may have been included in the motion.
The firewood business on Joe English Road was not discussed.
2. Selectmen Meeting Procedures- The Selectmen will review it and discuss it in September.
3. Wilson Hill Road Name Change-The Emergency Management Department has suggested a name change for a portion of Wilson Hill Road. Road Agent John Riendeau recommended the newly named portion of the road extend from River Road to where the road ends. Thompson Lane or Drive or Thompson Corner Road have been suggested for names. The Selectmen decided to change the name of this portion of the road to Thompson Lane effective November 1 to allow time to notify residents and the post office.
4. Post Office Traffic Signage-Rodney spoke with the Police Chief and Planning Coordinator Nicola Strong about this issue. This issue arose from one complaint. Several parties have been spoken with regarding the matter including the postmaster, resident and police chief. The Selectmen decided no further action will be taken and they will not send a letter to the property owner asking for additional signage to be considered.
F. NEW BUSINESS:
1. Recreation Use of Grange Hall-Recreation Director Mike Sindoni has asked for permission to use the Grange Hall for a Lego club. He has spoken to Howard Towne, a Grange representative, about the matter. The Lego club activities would not interfere with Grange activities or Cub Scout use of the hall. The Selectmen approved this for a trial period.
2. Sign Committee Member-Code Enforcement Officer Ed Hunter has asked for a Selectmen to be part of the Sign Committee. Christine agreed to be part of this committee.
3. Wason Building Changes-The Selectmen decided to send two members of the Highway Department with equipment to remove material and compact the area to improve drainage at the area of the new double doors at the Wason Building. The Historical Society asked the town to pay for a new window and frame costing approximately $2500 for the window next to the double doors that was rotten. The Selectmen agreed. The Police Department will not need the furniture in the Wason Building that was being saved for it.
4. Welfare Guidelines-Burton and Selectmen’s Secretary Laura Bernard have completed revision of the Welfare Guidelines and it is ready for Selectmen review and approval. This will need yearly update.
4. Equalized Valuation Ranking-Burton reviewed the state calculation of tax impact in each New Hampshire town. New Boston ranks 100 out of 220 and has the best tax impact of all surrounding towns except Dunbarton.
G. OTHER:
1. A request came in to list everyone in attendance at Selectmen’s meetings in future minutes. The Board was in favor of doing so.
2. The Selectmen walked John Dodge Road for evidence of campfires and partying per Alan LaPenn’s recent complaint. The Selectmen did not find much evidence of campfires or partying but did find a lot of fishing litter. Conservation Commissioner Burr Tupper also went and suggested posting signs in the area such as “Recreation allowed dawn to dusk” or “Carry In Carry Out.” They also considered asking volunteers to collect trash in the area. Alan suggested blocking the road but this is illegal as it is a Class VI road and inappropriate due to emergency access issues. The Selectmen will send a letter to Alan.
3. The Town Hall asbestos abatement is expected to take place during the week of August 16. The location of the August 16 Selectmen’s meeting will have to be moved from the Town Hall. Health Officer Shannon Silver will ask Town Hall employees if they plan to be out that week. Employees taking that week off will be expected to use vacation time if available.
4. Burton will be on vacation next week.
5. Fire Chief Dan MacDonald received a purchase order for the $33,000 the Air Force Tracking Station has agreed to pay the town for the ambulance service it provides. This amount will go up every year per the contract. The purchase order will not be sent to town counsel for review. Burton will also get a copy of the building agreement Dan has signed with the Tracking Station.
6. Christine will sign the Wildfire Mitigation Water Resource Project grant application tomorrow in the presence of a notary.
H. PUBLIC COMMENT: None.
I. Move to enter Non-Public Session: Rodney made a motion to go into Non-Public session per RSA 91-A:3II(a) at 8:05 PM. Dwight seconded the motion. All were in favor.
J. Move to exit Non-Public Session: Rodney made a motion to exit Non-Public Session at 8:35 PM. Dwight seconded the motion. All were in favor.
K. ADJOURNMENT: Rodney made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:36 PM. Dwight seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Prepared by Maralyn Segien
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