Minutes
Selectmen’s Meeting
July 25, 2005
6:32 PM Chair Netishen opened the meeting and asked all those present to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.
Members present: Bill Netishen, Mary Bonser, Peter Bock and Town Administrator Charles Brown.
Guests: Chris Marken, Phil Auger, Diane Kirkwood, Win & Paula True, Frank Winterer, Paul Sweet and a number of others present that did not speak.
Mr. Brown reviewed Fire/Rescue & Highway issues with the Board. He reported that the Mill Pond Bridge project was underway. The Road Agent has informed Mr. Brown that the paving on the remainder of road projects will be done in September.
The board members reviewed the signature file.
Motion: Bonser, second Netishen to approve & sign Timber Tax Levy for Map 51 Lot 3.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
Members reviewed the Bear Paw invoices.
A site walk for the Lee Farm was set up for 7:45AM on July 26, 2005. Mr. Brown, Mr. Netishen & Mr. Bock will view the property at that time.
The Board then reviewed the minutes of the July 11, 2005 meeting.
Motion: Bonser, second Bock to approve the minutes of 7/11/05 meeting as corrected.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
Next to be discussed was the Action Item list:
1) How many site visits were generated from hearings?
2) Draft list to CIP from Board of Selectmen
3) Easement deed language from Comte
Mr. Brown will update the active issues list with these items.
Chris Marken stepped forward to update the Board with his continuing assessing issues. Mr. Marken feels that the assessors made too many assumptions because of dates of issuances of building permits. He hopes the issue of notice to property owners can be addressed. The Board will follow up with Avitar. The Board likes the idea of hangtags for notice but the costs may be prohibitive. Mr. Marken believes he will have to take up some of his issues with the State. Mr. Marken stated that Loren Martin from Avitar has been very professional throughout the process. There has been no date set for mailing letters to property owners with new values as a result of the hearings.
The Board next discussed the request for space for a Hunter Safety course this fall. There is space available. The Town will try to advertise the course. Mr. Netishen is concerned about firearms in public buildings. Mr. Brown will follow up with the Police Chief on this.
Motion: Bonser, second Bock to approve request for space for the Hunter Safety course given by Skip Haley as long as firearm concerns are met and certifications for instructors are verified.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
At 7:18PM Mr. Netishen recognized Phil Auger from Bear Paw. He supplied a draft of tasks to be done for the Bacon easement. Mr. Netishen and Mr. Bock stated that the site walk at the Bacon property went very well. Mr. Auger feels there should be a purchase & sales agreement signed if the Town wishes to continue with the project. Mr. Auger asked if the Town would consider paying for the survey costs once the survey work was done rather than waiting until the end of the project. Mr. Auger feels having an appraisal done on this property would be a waste of money because this project is very straight-forward and the cost of purchasing these development rights is very reasonable. Discussion moved to the Comte Easement. It was asked if the Comte deed was in it final form. Mr. Auger said he believes it is but will require a
final review by legal counsel before closing. Mr. Brown added that all dates and names should be checked before closing. After discussion of funding and grant activity, Mr. Auger feels the Comte project could possibly close by year-end. Back to the Bacon easement. Mr. Netishen feels that putting a money cap on the Bacon easement may help control the financial costs. He also feels a purchase & sales agreement should be signed before the Town commits to the survey. Both Ms. Bonser & Mr. Bock spoke to the fact that they feel the Town should move forward with this project. Mr. Auger will move forward and produce a P&S agreement. This ended the discussion.
At 7:35pm Mr. Netishen recognized Frank Winterer. Mr. Winterer reported that the plans for Nottingham Day are progressing. Hopefully the weather will not be like last year. The date is September 10th with a rain date of September 11th. Mr. Winterer reviewed the proposed schedule of events basically the same plan as last year. He reported that both the Town Clerk & Tax Collector’s offices will be closed that day. The BBQ will start at 4:00PM. The committee will be raffling off a kayak on that day, tickets are $5.00 each and there will only be 250 tickets sold. Tickets are already on sale. Volunteers are needed to help. Info already in newsletter. Mr. Netishen thanked Mr. Winterer for his efforts. BOS is in favor of this project.
Mr. Netishen opened the public hearing for the Discretionary Preservation easement. The applicant was not present. Ms. Bonser asked to recess the hearing and possibly set up a site walk.
Motion: Bonser, second Bock to recess hearing until 8:30PM.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
Mr. Netishen recognized Win & Paula True. Mr. True reviewed his issue with the Board. He believes that since there is no map to indicate where the residential land is located and because he has more non-current use land than is required on lots 6 and 6-2 that he should be able to re-locate / distribute that land within the parcels. This would allow the Trues to designate 2 acres of non-current use land to a yet to be created lot in order for them to avoid a current use penalty if they sell the proposed lot. Much discussion followed. Mr. Netishen feels a survey should be done showing the non-current use property and other boundary lines. Mr. Brown stated that he has already consulted with DRA and the Town’s assessors and was told this is not the intent of current use regulations and should not be done. Discussion
continued. The Trues will supply, for the Board to review, a more detailed layout of their properties and how they feel they should be allowed to define this non-current use property. When this information is received, Mr. Brown will consult with legal counsel for and additional opinion.
At 8:25PM The Board took up the complaint issue at 226 Old Turnpike Road. Mr. Netishen read parts of the Zoning Ordinance to clarify the issue. The Board of Selectmen held a site walk on the property on July 21, 2005. Mr. Bock covered the highlights of the site walk. He feels at least some modifications must be done to the operation. Ms. Bonser feels the Board must take into consideration that this operation is Mr. Sweet’s livelihood and whatever the Board does will have an impact on that. She hopes that the Board will not put this man out of business but have the Board put together an ordinance to control the activity and processes being done on this property. Mr. Netishen feels that there is already an ordinance in place and the Board should enforce it. Ms. Bonser feels the Board has the authority to enact an
ordinance at any time after a public hearing. Much discussion regarding the existing ordinances and the Board’s authority followed. Mr. Bock stated that he was not ready to make a decision on this issue tonight. Mr. Netishen stated he cannot support a public hearing type meeting, an ordinance is already in place governing junk yards. If the Board does consider any changes or additions to our ordinances a public hearing must be held to make sure the public is aware of any/all changes proposed to the existing ordinance. The issue should not be put off indefinitely and the Board should schedule a time frame for action to be taken. Ms. Bonser believes Paul Colby should be consulted before taking action and this should be done at the next meeting. The Board will not make a decision tonight.
Mr. Netishen recognized Charlene Anderson & Cheryl Smith of Garland Road. Ms. Anderson is concerned that the ordinances we have in place now should be enforced. What message is this sending to businesses in Town? Ms. Smith does not feel that constantly changing the ordinances is the proper way to handle these issues. The ordinances certainly should not be changed to accommodate individual businesses. Ms. Anderson went on to say she feels the sign action taken by the Board may not have been the proper way to go and is again sending the wrong message. Much discussion followed between the Board members and guests regarding Zoning ordinances and enforcement. Mr. Bock assured everyone the Board will make the decision on these issues. The Board asked Mr. Brown to obtain a legal opinion regarding changes or additions
to ordinances.
Mr. Brown brought to the attention of the Board, two letters regarding the private roads and assessment issues. One of the letters was directed toward Ms. Bonser but the Board agreed it should be addressed by the Board as a whole. Mr. Brown will draft responses for the Board’s review.
Mr. Brown will post a Public Hearing for accepting grant money and place it on the August 8, 2005 agenda.
Mr. Netishen asked if members had any outstanding issues. The Board asked Mr. Brown to respond to Mr. Reed regarding his request for data since the Board has received an opinion from the attorney.
9:25PM Motion: Netishen, second Bock to enter non-public session under RSA 91-A: 3II (d).
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
9:38 PM- Motion: Netishen, second Bock to come out of non-public session.
Vote: 2-0 in favor.
Returned to regular session.
9:40PM Motion: Netishen, second Bock to keep all discussion in non-public session non-public.
Vote: 2-0-1 abstain, (Bonser) Motion passed in favor.
Mr. Netishen then explained that the public hearing for the discretionary preservation easement would be re-opened at the next meeting in 2 weeks. The Board hopes the applicant will be present to speak on behalf of the request. If there is no input at the next meeting, the Board will most likely deny the application.
Having no further business before the Board
9:43PM Motion: Bonser, second Bock to adjourn.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
Respectfully submitted,
Charles A. Brown
Town Administrator
Approved as corrected
8/8/05
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