SELECTMEN’S PUBLIC MEETING
September 21, 2009
Chairman McCarthy called the meeting to order at 5:32pm. In attendance were Chairman Trisha J. McCarthy, Selectman Raymond D. Thayer, Selectman Robert S. Donovan, Jr., Town Administrator Nancy J. Wrigley and Office Manager Mary B. Winglass. The meeting was audio taped; minutes were transcribed and typed by Office Manager Winglass.
Chairman McCarthy motioned to go into nonpublic session under RSA 91-A:3 II (d) – Personal property and (a) - Transfer Station. Second by Selectman Thayer. Roll Call Vote: Chairman McCarthy – yes; Selectman Thayer – yes; Selectman Donovan – yes. Vote: Unanimous.
Chairman McCarthy motioned to close at 6:37pm. Second by Selectman Donovan. Per unanimous roll call vote, the minutes of the meeting will remain confidential until in the opinion of the majority of the members the circumstances no longer apply except to announce the following;
- to give Thomas DiFalco a 2.5% increase due to achieving a Level II Solid Waste Operators Certification from Grade VI, step 8 to Grade VI, step 9 effective as of the date of his certification. Thomas DiFalco received his certification on 8/20/2009.
- to hire David Doughty as a floater at the Transfer Station at the beginning rate of $9.16, Grade V, step 1 effective today contingent with a background check and a 60 day probationary period.
- The Board asked to check with Town Counsel for a waiver to be signed by any person that needs help with removing items from their vehicle while at the Transfer Station.
6:40pm – Notice from Department of Safety Re: Public Safety Interoperable
Communication Grant
The Town received a time sensitive request from the State of NH Department of Safety requesting an inventory of the town’s Fire, Police and EMS radios. The reason is due to a Public Safety Interoperable Communication Grant to be used to reprogram over 13,000 radios in the State using grant funds for this purpose. The inventory of the town’s radios must be to the Department of Safety no later than the close of business on Tuesday, October 2nd.
Fire Chief Bill Ingalls filed his inventory report with the Selectmen’s Office today; Police Chief Larry Streeter had his in hand at the meeting. The inventories will be mailed to the Department of Safety with the (MOA) Memorandum of Agreement signed by Chairman Trisha McCarthy.
The town will not receive any direct funds from this grant.
Selectman Donovan motioned to approve to send the inventory for the Public Safety Interoperable Communication Grant for the reprogramming of the town’s radios and for Chairman Trisha McCarthy to sign the Memorandum of Agreement. Second by Selectman Thayer. Vote: Unanimous.
7:00pm - Department Head Meeting
Chairman McCarthy thanked all the departments for attending tonight’s department head meeting; these meetings are being held to allow everyone to come together to share what it taking place in their department and the attention to go green therefore spending less.
Ann Miles, Chair of the Planning Board reminded everyone that Plan NH takes place this Friday and Saturday. Friday events start at 12:30pm at the Town Hall where lunch will be served to the planners and will follow with a discussion on the town’s future needs and then a tour of the town.
Ann urged all to attend this important event for when completed, the information gained can be used for grant funding.
Larry Foote, Emergency Management Director asked to set a date for continuing the Hazard Mitigation Plan; Selectman Donovan asked to hold the meeting in the evening in order for all to be able to attend. A tentative date for the next meeting is October 6, 2009 starting at 6pm at the Town Hall. A copy of a proposed Press Release was discussed for it is necessary to notice the public of this meeting.
Police Chief Larry Streeter spoke on a policy and additional training for the use of the AlertNow messaging system; EMD Director Larry Foote will check on setting a date for additional training.
Chairman McCarthy urged each department to use this message system by setting up subcategories; Foote responded that he will try to set up training for October 6th at 5pm prior to the Hazard Mitigation Plan meeting.
Bob Leverone, Health Officer informed the group that as of this afternoon there has been no positive EEE mosquito pools in town; that does not mean not to expect them for they are in all the surrounding towns. All updates from the State have been communicated with the Superintendent of Schools and put on the town’s website. H1N1 is a wait and see game in case we need to exercise any major issue.
Tina O’Rourke, Welfare Agent stated that activity is picking up but so far so good. The Middle School is conducting a food drive and the Food Pantry just received a $1,000 donation.
Rick Bailey, Chair, Recreation Commission reminded everyone that the Newton Fall Fair will be held at Greenie Park on October 3rd from 10am to 3pm.
Code Enforcement Officer Steve Duncanson introduced himself to everyone and gave his email address as a way to contact him with any questions.
Terry Caswell, Library Director stated that it has been busy at the library and they are having their annual donation drive to help the Food Pantry.
Bob Leverone, Health Officer explained that he conducted an inspection at the Transfer Station due to a resident complaint and he found no free standing water and does not see any eminent hazard. He spoke with the homeowner and informed him that the town will send a sample to the state when there is a significant amount of water discharged.
Town Administrator Nancy Wrigley explained that she prepared a 2010 Town Meeting timeline for all to take tonight. Wrigley asked for a timely submission from each department for their year-end reports.
Chairman McCarthy handed out an additional memo outlining decisions made by the Board regarding the following; Selectmen’s meeting schedule for the remainder of the year, no more than a 2% increase in any 2010 proposed budgets, cost of living to be placed in a separate warrant article, December 14th by 4pm is the deadline to submit a department sponsored warrant article to the Board of Selectmen and lastly the importance on referring to the conflict of interest ordinance when in doubt. The Board of Selectmen recently decided to print this ordinance on the back of their meeting agendas for easy access and suggested that each department consider doing the same.
Office Manager Mary Winglass will send out this information in a memo electronically to all departments.
Town Clerk Mary Jo McCullough informed Trisha McCarthy, liaison to the Conservation Commission that she has not received any meeting minutes from the Commission; McCarthy will talk to the Conservation Commission about it.
Fire Chief William Ingalls stated that today he was made aware of open wells behind the Sargent Woods Recreation building which are large enough to be a cause of concern. Ann Miles responded that that the property is privately owned and to contact the Planning Board Administrative Assistant. It was discussed that the town owns some responsibility once we became aware of it; Health Officer Bob Leverone offered to check the property and write a letter of deficiency to the bank letting them know that this condition exists
Transfer Station Kevin Jolicouer talked about how the fence at the Transfer Station was repaired this week and on Monday the new recycling shed is to be built. Kevin thank everyone who helped during the fee free weekend and proposed holding a fee free weekend in the spring as well as the fall.
Chief Building Official Ron LeMere stated that the department is facing a shortfall with the lack of building in town. Changes have to be made to accommodate the shortfall and he is working on a plan to address the it; his plan is to hopefully have something to be reviewed at the next selectmen’s meeting.
Town Administrator Nancy Wrigley announced that the Board recently awarded the bid for the construction of the pump house which is an addition onto the Town Hall. Construction should start within the next couple of weeks.
Library Director Terry Caswell asked for the date that the first draft for the 2010 proposed budget is due to the Selectmen. Chairman McCarthy responded that no date has been set as of yet. Town Administrator Nancy Wrigley asked if the Board wants to meet with the department heads at the same time they review the budget; Selectman Donovan replied that he feels that is the best way to handle it for if there is an issue then it can be solved the same night.
- Introduction of Guests
- Old Business
A. Police Chief Streeter Re: Continue discussion of space needs at the Police
Department
Police Chief Lawrence Streeter discussed that a few weeks ago he met with the Board about putting a construction type office trailer on the Police Department property and Board asked him to get some numbers to help determine the cost. Chief Streeter had two proposals; the Board decided to have Town Administrator Nancy Wrigley check the budget and the proposal figures and to put it on the next agenda.
Chief Streeter added that he has another option that he wants to present to the Board; a proposal that is pretty lucrative and deserves to be discussed but he is not ready to discuss it tonight. Chief Streeter will arrange for this third alternative to the police building to be discussed at a future meeting.
B. Town Hall generator and set up of generator(s) at town buildings
The Board reviewed a spreadsheet outlining the companies that bid on the installation of a generator at the Town Hall. The Board narrowed it down to two; Patrick McCuster of Newton and Councilman Electric of Atkinson and asked to set up interviews for Monday, September 28, 2009 starting at 5:30pm.
C. Review proposals for Statistical Update
The Board reviewed a spreadsheet outlining the bids received for statistical update. Since the Board had not yet been able to review the bids, this item was tabled this item until the October 5th Selectmen’s meeting in order to give them time to review the information.
A. New Hampshire Citizen Corps Program Grant Application
Present were EMD Director Larry Foote and Deputy Director Mike Giordano
Deputy Director Giordano informed the Board that the NH Citizen Corps Program grant, if approved for $10,000 will give the townspeople a way to be part and trained at a volunteer level for there are many that want to know how they can help. Training will be a combination of classroom and hands on training and conducted by Emergency Management personnel.
Selectman Thayer motioned to approve the NH Citizen Corps Program Grant application as written for $10,000. Second by Selectman Donovan. Vote: Unanimous.
B. EMD Larry Foote Re: Grant writing compensation
Emergency Management Director Larry Foote stated that he is looking for the approval by the Selectmen to pay up to 15 to 20 hours for preparing a grant application which will only be paid if the grant is approved. The department head will have to approve all applications before work is started.
Selectman Donovan motioned to approve compensation to the town employees for grant writing with department head approval. Second for discussion by Chairman McCarthy. Discussion: This is for town employees only; excluding the school system and may be better to do it on a case by case basis. This will be done for departments that do not have set hours and the department head will come up with the time to be paid for the application, which will only be paid if the grant is approved. We need to be conscious on the specifics of the grant for some require a funding match and we need to consider the budget. Vote: Unanimous.
C. 2010 Forest Fire Warden/Deputy Reappointment Form
Per the recommendation of Fire Chief William Ingalls, the Board approved the following reappointments.
Selectman Thayer motioned to appoint William E. Ingalls as Forest Fire Warden and Roland Estabrook, William Higgins and Skip Merriam as Deputy Forest Fire Wardens per the approval of Fire Chief William Ingalls. Second by Selectman Donovan. Vote: Unanimous.
- Per RSA 31:95-b to accept and expend unanticipated funds of $1,000
donation to the Newton Food Pantry
Chairman McCarthy motioned to accept and expend a $1,000 unanimous donation to the Newton Food Pantry. Second by Selectman Donovan. Vote: Unanimous.
- Discussion on job descriptions for all Town Hall employees
The Board discussed that they need to put some time into reviewing existing job descriptions and to prepare job descriptions for those that currently do not have one.
The Board decided to review this policy at their next meeting.
- Hold Harmless and Indemnification Agreement between the Town of Newton and Carriage Barn Equestrian Center
Ann Miles owner of the Carriage Barn Equestrian Center informed the Board that she has a copy of the hold harmless and indemnification agreement and she has problems signing this agreement and cannot sign it. Also she was asked to increase her insurance liability and she informed the Board that the cost to increase the insurance is $500; which she agreed to take care of. Selectman Thayer replied that he did not make last Monday’s Selectmen’s Meeting and he does not think this is fair for Ann has put a lot of time into this town event, Plan NH and the Selectmen were aware of what was coming. Chairman McCarthy discussed that at this point it is too late but in defense of their action, the town is dealing in new territory and thought that this would be the most prudent thing to do but this one slipped through the
cracks.
Selectman Donovan added that the town should have a policy that we should not have any town events on private property. It was discussed that the Police Department have been invited to attend the Plan NH Meetings but we have no idea how many residents to expect.
Selectman Thayer motioned that we do not have Ann Miles owner of the Carriage Barn Equestrian Center sign the Hold Harmless and Indemnification Agreement for this one event. Second by Chairman McCarthy. Discussion: The Board discussed that they learned by this event that we need to work on a policy. The Board decided to leave the liability insurance at the $300,000 currently in place for the Carriage Barn Equestrian Center. Selectman Thayer rescinded his motion; Chairman McCarthy rescinded her second.
Selectman Thayer motioned to exempt Ann Miles from signing the Hold Harmless and Indemnification Agreement for the Plan NH event and to allow the current insurance binder of $300,000 stand. Second by Selectman Donovan. Vote: Unanimous.
Selectman Donovan motioned that any town functions must come in front of the Board of Selectmen for approval of the location. Second by Chairman McCarthy. Vote: Unanimous.
- Saturday, October 24th – Historical Society 3rd Annual Wine & Cheese Social,
4:30pm - 6:30pm at the Merrimac Savings Bank
- Newton Fall Fair, Saturday October 3rd, 10am to 3pm at Greenie Park
- Plan NH, September 25th and 26th help plan Newton’s future!
- Accept Minutes of Selectmen Meetings
- Reports from Department Heads
- Adjourn
Chairman McCarthy motioned to adjourn at 9:37pm. Second by Selectman Donovan. Vote: Unanimous.
Respectfully Submitted,
Mary B. Winglass, Office Manager
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