Newton Planning Board
Plan Work Session
October 24, 2006
1. Call to Order
The Chairman called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM, with seven regular members and one alternate present. The meeting was posted in three town locations: Newton Post Office, Newton Junction Post Office and Newton Town Hall.
2. Attendance
The following members were present:
Kim Pettit - Chairman
Ann Miles – Vice-Chairman
Gary Nelson – Selectmen’s ex-officio member
Mary Allen – Member
Deborah Finnigan - Member
Richard LeClaire – Member
Kim Vaillant - Member
Kip Kaiser – Alternate member
Also, present:
Reuben Hull – Circuit Rider/planner
3. Review of Regulations and Ordinances; Discussion and Pre-planning for the March warrant
Ms. Allen distributed ordinances from East Kingston regarding Accessory Apartments and Home Occupations for the members to review. It was suggested that the Board have a preliminary discussion at 8:30 PM for proposed articles for the 2007 warrant.
4. Deshaies Subdivision
The mylar for the Deshaies subdivision had been delivered to the office for signing. He received a conditional approval for a two-lot subdivision on April 13, 2004 and is excerpted at follows:
Brian & Jane Deshaies (04SU003CA)-Public Hearing-2 Lot Subdivision Application Review Continued- Mr. Jim Lavelle, addressed the Board on behalf of Brian & Jane Deshaies. He explained the plan and addressed RPC’s comments.
He stated that a New Septic will be going in where the existing driveway is and a new driveway will be installed to the right of the house. A Motion was made, by Lo Vecchio and seconded by Kaiser, to grant Conditional Approval of the Subdivision based upon the following three conditions: 1) The Lot Line for the Well Radius, 2) the Road Agent states in writing that there is adequate sight distance, and 3) a New Septic system is installed before any building permits are issued on the new lot. The Motion carried unanimous. A memo will be sent to the Building Inspector regarding the 3rd Condition and that it is for Lot 8/2/7-4-1 of the Deshaies plan until the Planning Board states it is ok to issue.
There was discussion that a conditional approval expired in six months and Mr. Deshaies would need to file a new application. Ms. Miles stated that the Board would need to consider not permitting any more building in certain developments because this would not be proper planning. There was discussion about tentatively scheduling a work session on November 1, 2006.
4. Manifest
The manifest for the Operating Budget was submitted as follows:
Newton Planning Board
Manifest – Operating Budget
October 24, 2006
Budget Item Balance Expense New
Balance
Telephone $ 138.62 $ 72.91 $ 65.71
Books $ 200.00 $ 89.00 $111.00
Total Expenditures from Operating Budget $161.91
Motion made by Ms. Allen with a second by Mr. LeClaire to approve the Operating Budget Manifest as presented. The motion passed unanimously.
5. NPREA
Ms. Vaillant discussed the invoicing process for the NPREA account. She said that bills were still being received from Altus Engineering and DTC. Mr. Kaiser suggested that letter be sent to all vendors requesting that duplicate bills be sent to the Planning Board to reconcile the accounts where information was missing. He was told that this had already been done. Ms. Pettit said that there had been discussion about having a new requisition form that would include a running balance for each applicant. Ms. Vaillant asked what system would be used to maintain the invoicing and Ms. Miles said that the developers and the Board needed to work together. Mr. Hull referenced Greenland saying that each applicant had an individual passbook account.
A manifest for the NPREA account was presented but not addressed.
Ms. Miles said that NPREA was totally out of control and that money had poured out of here with no product for time and money spent. She said that they were trying to re-construct four years of mismanagement. Mr. Kaiser said that there should be a uniform procedure. Ms. Pettit said that once invoicing could be done there would be a uniform procedure. Mr. Hull asked what the trigger would be for when an account was overspent. It was decided that if an account went into the negative, the hearing would not be held.
There was discussion about asking for estimates. Mr. Hull suggested a graduated table for estimates because no one would have exactly the same expenses. Ms. Pettit said that the increase in the bond deposit should help with this. Ms. Miles suggested a tighter TRC process. Ms. Pettit reminded the members that revised plans were reviewed at TRC meetings as well as new submittals. Mr. Kaiser said that the TRC acted as an initial sounding board and should provide adequate review.
6. Board Business
No new or revised plans were received for the November meeting. Dr. Robinson will be provided one hour from 7-8 with the Master Plan update and survey results, five public hearings have been continued and there will be discussion about revising ordinances and regulations. Plan distribution was discussed.
Ms. Pettit said that she had not done the minutes from the TRC meeting.
Mr. Nelson briefly updated the Board regarding the Peaslee Crossing Road and Smith Corner Road improvements.
Ms. Vaillant left the meeting.
Code Enforcement and the need for a Code Enforcement Officer were discussed.
The logging that had been done on Heath Street was discussed as it pertained to the fact that there had been no provisions or bonding the roads for damage caused by the logging trucks. There was extensive discussion regarding bonding for Off-site improvements, logging and similar situations.
7. RFP – Town Engineer
Ms. Pettit said that she would finish working on the RFP and she had roughed out a response time and the contract would be for three years with a probationary period. Mr. Kaiser said that he recalled a conversation about having two engineering firms and that whichever engineer was awarded the contract, they must agree to do no private engineering in town during that time. It was also discussed that there should be no mark-ups in pricing and all billing from the engineer should be based on direct cost. There will be a pre-selection process and advertising involved.
Motion made by Ms. Miles with a second by Mr. LeClaire for Ms. Pettit to finalize with the Board of Selectmen the RFP as developed. The motion passed unanimously.
8. 2007 Preliminary Budget Discussion
Salaries – The amount proposed includes a 2.5% Cost of Living increase as recommended by the Selectmen via memorandum dated October 2, 2006. There was no salary increase given in 2006 because the Board did not budget for one.
Telephone – Increased to $1,000.00 which reflects a $100.00 increase.
Security Alarm – Level budgeted.
Equip. Purchase/Repair – Increased to $2,000.00 for a new copier and possibly a postage meter.
Office Supplies –Level budgeted. The amount expended includes the cost of having Zoning Books made and bound. However, the sales for this have decreased because this information is now available on the town’s website.
Travel Expense – Level budgeted.
Dues, Seminars, Subscriptions –Should be renamed to accurately reflect what it is: RPC Dues. This is the dues that the town pays to be a part of Rockingham Planning Commission and the amount is based on the town’s population. This enables all of the town’s land use boards to utilize the services of RPC. Level budgeted.
Postage – Level budgeted.
Recording Fees –Level budgeted. Recording Fees are actually paid by the applicant to NPREA. This line should be for copies obtained at the RCRD either in person or via internet.
Petty Cash –Level budgeted
Consultant Fees –Level budgeted
Legal Fees – Level budgeted.
Advertising –Recommend reducing to $500.00
Training Expense –Level budgeted.
Circuit Rider –This is for the Circuit Rider/Planner Contract. Level budgeted.
Master Plan/CIP – Zero funded; line should be eliminated.
Motion made by Ms. Allen with a second by Ms. Pettit to send a memo to the Town Bookkeeper that the Planning Board would like to receive monthly revenue amounts and to include these in the Annual Report. The motion passed unanimously.
There was discussion that the residents wanted to see the salary breakdown per employee shown in the annual report and had been requesting such for at least two years.
Motion made by Ms. Allen with a second by Ms. Miles to send the 2007 Preliminary Budget for the Newton Planning Board to the Selectmen. The motion passed unanimously.
9. Continuation of Board Business
The Board will conduct a hearing to adopt FEMA but the first hearing for SB2 towns cannot be held until after November 15, 2006.
The Administrative Assistant will write a press release to the local newspapers about the low response to the Master Plan Update as well as the poor reception of surveys.
10. Adjournment
Motion made by Ms. Miles with a second by Mr. LeClaire to adjourn at 10 PM. The motion passed unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Sally E. Cockerline
Administrative Assistant
Newton Planning Board
| 
