NEWTON BOARD OF SELECTMEN
DATE: TUESDAY, MAY 20, 2014
TIME: 6PM
LOCATION: NEWTON TOWN HALL, 2 TOWN HALL ROAD
MEETING MINUTES
- Call to Order, Roll Call Vote
Chairman Donovan opened the meeting at 6:01pm. In attendance were Selectmen Robert S. Donovan, Jr., Chairman, Matthew A. Burrill, James L. Doggett, Lawrence B. Foote, Charles R. Melvin, Sr., Town Administrator Nancy J. Wrigley and Selectmen’s Office Manager Mary Winglass. The meeting was audio and video taped; minutes were transcribed and typed by Winglass.
Donovan motioned to go into Nonpublic Session under RSA 91-A:3 II (c) - Tax Deeds; (c) - April 15th Nonpublic Minutes. Second by Burrill. Motion passed with a unanimous roll call vote.
Donovan motioned to close the nonpublic session at 7:30pm. Second by Doggett. Per a 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.
- Pledge of Allegiance
- Introduction of Guests
- Approval of Minutes (Review prior to meeting)
- Selectmen’s Public Meeting minutes dated April 15, 2014 and May 6, 2014
Doggett motioned to accept the Selectmen’s Public Meeting minutes dated April 15, 2014 and May 6, 2014. Second by Foote. Motion passed with Melvin abstaining.
- Selectmen’s Nonpublic Meeting minutes dated April 15, 2014 and May 6, 2014
Doggett motioned to accept the Selectmen’s Nonpublic Meeting minutes dated April 15, 2014 as amended and the May 6, 2014 minutes as written. Second Foote. Motion passed with Melvin abstaining.
- Repair quotes for Police Department cruiser
The Board reviewed (3) three estimates for damages sustained due to a collision with the Police Department 2013 Chevrolet Impala. Chief Streeter contacted (8) auto body shops and included a copy of the appraisal done by an adjuster that represents the Town’s insurer.
Doggett motioned to award the repairs to Colonial Auto Body. Donovan asked to hold off in order to make public the estimates received by the following companies:
- Colonial Auto Body in the amount of $2,146.31
- Kingston Collision Center in the amount of $3,450.00
- Blinn’s Auto Body & Collision Center in the amount of $2,903.79
Melvin explained his concerns with the estimates and suggested to send the cruiser to a local Chevy dealership to obtain a quote.
Doggett motioned to rescind his earlier motion and motioned to request that we get a quote for the cruiser repairs from a dealership. Burrill added that getting a quote will give us more information to make a decision. Second by Foote. Motion passed with a unanimous vote.
- Recreation Commission Re: Memorial Day Parade, World Series Trophy and Rescheduled Dinner
Chairman of the Recreation Commission Annie Collyer was present to discuss the following;
Memorial Day Parade
Collyer gave an update on the parade with the line up at 10:30am; step off at 11am with the ceremony at Willow Grove Cemetery on Whittier Street. All the Selectmen will be at the parade; Melvin will be hauling the Hayford Carriage as long as the weather is good. The Selectmen will lead the pledge of allegiance.
World Series Trophy
Collyer stated that with Burrill’s help we have the World Series Trophy for display and pictures on Wednesday, July 16th from 3pm to 5pm. The Recreation has two proposals on where to hold this event.
One proposal is to display it at Greenie Park. Maybe entertain having a vendor selling hotdogs with the hope to raise awareness and a resource in town that needs some work. Donations will be suggested and they plan to use the pavilion in case of rain.
The second proposal is to hold it at Camp Tasker on Country Pond who will ask for a donation for a photo with the trophy and other activities.
Burrill suggested using Greenie Park in order to showcase the park and have a display of the proposed plan. Doggett prefers to use Greenie Park for it is town property.
Doggett motioned to have the World Series Trophy housed at Greenie Park. Check to find out if there are any provisions that may require a detail or protection for the trophy. Burrill responded that the trophy comes with its own security detail. Second by Burrill. Motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Rescheduling the dinner dance
Collyer informed the Board that only 40 people signed up for the dinner/dance therefore the event was cancelled. Collyer is looking at a couple alternative sites; the American Legion Hall is not available nor is the Fish and Game Club and now she is looking at the VFW in Kingston. Donovan offered to call his contact at the VFW to find out their availability on Saturday, July 19th from 6pm to 11pm. State Representative Mary Allen asked to have a $10 meal or less with a $15 ticket price to support Greenie Park.
North Shore Music Theatre Trip
Collyer informed the Board that they only sold 10 tickets therefore they cancelled the bus but made the tickets available to those who signed up giving them the option of traveling on their own. Six residents used their tickets and drove to the Theatre.
YMCA Swim Contract
Collyer mentioned that she just today received a revised swim contract from the YMCA which she did not have a chance to review before the meeting.
- Retirement letter from Fire Chief William Ingalls
Foote read the letter from Fire Chief William Ingalls retiring from his position as Fire Chief with 50 years of service to the department. Ingalls last day will be Thursday, October 23, 2014 and would be happy to meet with the Board to discuss the transition of his duties to the successor.
Doggett motioned to accept Fire Chief William Ingalls retirement with an effective date of October 23, 2014 with regret and appreciation. Second by Burrill. Donovan thanked the Chief for his years of service and dedication to the Town of Newton. Motion passed with a unanimous vote.
- MRI Professional Services Agreement
Donovan explained that this is an agreement with MRI for the search of a new Fire Chief. A couple changes were made to the agreement and we are now ready to sign.
Doggett moved to sign the contract. Second by Melvin. Motion passed with a unanimous vote. Town Administrator Wrigley added that this will be paid out of the legal budget.
- Fire Dept Tanker 4 estimate for inspection sticker
Fire Chief Bill Ingalls was not available to attend tonight’s meeting for he attended the walk-thru for Officer Arkell.
Doggett moved to table until the next meeting. Second by Burrill. Motion passed with unanimous vote.
Melvin asked if we can get the Fire Chief to get another estimate to fix the whole truck for there is another mechanic in town that owns a garage who has his certification. Melvin added to at least open it up for others to stop by and take a look at it for this person can fix the whole truck. The owner of the garage in town is David Bouchard located at 78 South Main Street. The Board asked to have the Chief to obtain another estimate from Bouchard.
- Replacement furnace at 29 West Main Street
Winglass informed the Board that she worked with the Fire Chief on obtaining quotes for a replacement furnace at the Newton Junction Fire Station/Horace Williams Building owned by the Newton Baptist Church. Fire Chief Ingalls contacted Pastor Jim who responded that the church will pay half the cost. Fire Chief Ingalls suggested the Concord oil furnace in the amount of $4,700 from Marshall Heating and Cooling.
Doggett motioned to install a new Concord oil furnace in the West Main Street Station/Horace Williams Community Hall for the sum of $4,700 for the 15-20 year service life. Melvin added that for $700 more you will get a furnace that is the best in the industry and will last 30 - 40 years. Doggett changed his motion to install the Thermopride oil furnace for $5,500. Second by Melvin. The cost is to be split evenly with the Newton Baptist Church and the Town of Newton. Motion passed with a unanimous vote. Paid from the General Government Buildings budget.
- Resident Michael Fortin request fee waiver for abandoned items
Doggett stated that Fortin of Wilders Grove Road has approached us requesting to take abandoned items left at an abutting piece of property to the Transfer Station and asked to be charged no fee for disposing these items. Doggett added that he will not be making a motion for he does not believe you should be cleaning up your neighbor’s yard.
The property is in foreclosure and Donovan stated that if it is bank owned to send a letter for we do not have the authority to give permission to go on private property. The Board agreed to send a letter to the bank and to include the zoning violation.
The Board asked to send a response to Mr. Fortin stating that the Board cannot give permission to go on private property but the Board will be in contact with bank.
Doggett motioned to authorize the Chairman to sign the letter to the bank. Second by Burrill. Motion passed with a unanimous vote.
- Town & City Bi-Monthly Publications
Winglass informed the Board that with the increase to the Board of Selectmen from 3 to 5 members has an impact on who receives the Town & City publications from NHMA. The town receives (9) free copies therefore we either take it away from two department heads or we can purchase (2) more subscriptions for $50 per year.
Melvin moved to approve the $50 for the year. Second by Donovan. Motion passed with a unanimous vote.
- Extend Cable Consultant for another six months
Chairman of the Cable Committee Mary Winglass discussed the need to extend employment for Cable Consultant Chris Liquori for another six months. The FCC is expanding their band width which affects the purchase of the wireless microphones. The recent equipment failures did not allow Liquori to complete upgrades to the cable equipment such as live streaming, camera upgrades, projection screen for displaying slides and a new controller for the cameras.
Melvin motioned to extend employment to Chris Liquori for six more months with the same stipulations. Second by Foote. Motion passed with a unanimous vote.
- Resident Barbara Card Re: Refund of $25 resident sticker
Resident Barbara Card sent in an email asking for a refund of $25 since she found the lost resident sticker.
Melvin motioned to return $25 resident sticker to Barbara Card. Second by Foote. Motion passed with a unanimous vote.
- Additional work on the Transfer Station generator
The Board reviewed a repair quote from Powers Generator in the amount of $424.14 for the new battery and a major PM Service.
Doggett motioned to authorize the payment of $424.14 to bring the generator up to proper working conditions. Second by Foote. No more than the $424.14 for additional work. Motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Firefighter Memorial Flags are free and available at the Town Hall, Estabrook’s Garage and the Central Fire Station on South Main Street. The Newton Firefighters Association purchased the grave memorial flags to place on the graves of fallen firefighters in town to honor their service as firefighters.
- Other Business, Sign Manifests, Requisitions, Abatements, Tax Credits, Correspondence and Appointments
Donovan spoke on behalf of the Board extending condolences to the Jenkins family whose son passed away in a car accident this past weekend. If there is anything the Board can do please give the office a call.
Doggett motioned to pay the Payroll Manifest dated May 23, 2014 for the pay period of May 4, 2014 through May 17, 2014. Second by Foote. Motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Doggett motioned to approve the Vendor Manifest in the amount of $587,925.92 dated May 16, 2014. Second by Burrill. Motion passed with Melvin abstaining.
Foote motioned to sign the State of New Hampshire Forest Fire Report for Training in the amount of $44.07. Second by Doggett. Motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Donovan motioned to adjourn at 8:34pm. Second by Burrill. Motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Respectfully Submitted,
Mary Winglass, Office Manager
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