Minutes
Selectmen’s Meeting
August 21 2006
6:35 PM Chair Bonser opened the meeting and asked all those present to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.
Members: Mary Bonser, Peter Bock, Bill Netishen, Town Administrator Charles Brown and Heidi Seaverns.
Guests: Chief Phil English, Paul & Sharon Gecse, Paul Colby, Cheryl Smith, Jon Caron and Skip Seaverns.
Ms. Bonser recognized Chief English and asked for a synopsis of the day’s events. Chief English informed the Board that there was a resident in Town that had blockaded himself in his house and had threatened to blow the house up if he did not receive a televised apology from a Superior Court Judge, 2 local police Chiefs and a member of the department. State Police were called in and Route 4 was blocked off from approximately 9AM-2: 30 PM. The road was closed to insure public safety as the individual had stated that if he saw anyone around his house, he would blow it up. Rich Mitchell, from NH State Police, negotiated with the individual, first over the phone and then in person. The individual surrendered and was taken into custody at about 2:15PM. The Chief reported the individual is being held on cash bail at
Rockingham County Jail. Chief English went on to acknowledge the efforts of all agencies involved- State Police, Barrington, Northwood and Lee Police departments as well as Nottingham Fire/Rescue. The department received a couple of complaints in regard to re-routed traffic on Smoke Street. The Board wondered if it would be possible to get an idea of numbers and types of traffic that had been re-routed onto Smoke Street and Route 152.
Chief English next introduced Paul Gecse and his wife Sharon to the Board. Chief English went on to explain that Mr. Gecse is the candidate for the open officer slot. Mr. & Mrs. Gecse recently bought property in Town on McCrillis Road and will be moving here from Plymouth, Mass. He is a full-time certified police officer in Massachusetts (20 year veteran) and NH has reciprocity with Massachusetts for certification. He will not have to attend the full twelve weeks of the academy, and he will have to pass the physical agility test. Chief English will submit his paperwork so he will be able to attend the January academy. He has passed all testing that is required prior to hiring so Chief English asked the Board to appoint Mr. Gecse as a full time officer. He explained that there is a probationary period of 1
year.
Motion: Bock, second Netishen to appoint Paul S. Gecse as a probationary full time officer of the Nottingham Police Department with a date of hire of August 25, 2006.
Vote: 3-0 in favor. The Board welcomed the Gesces to the community. Chief English, and Mr. & Mrs. Gecse left at 6:50 PM.
Paul Colby stepped forward to address the Board. He reminded Ms. Bonser that she needs to fill out the POD information form. He reported to the Board that starting in September, the POD meetings will alternate between Nottingham and Raymond. Mr. Colby informed the Board that he would be attending an emergency management conference in September (19 & 20). Mr. Colby stated that he was rewriting the emergency management plan to insure compliance with FEMA and that the full time staff was in the process of being NIM certified which is a FEMA requirement that needs to be accomplished by the end of 2007. Mr. Bock asked if he was able to manage building inspector responsibilities as well as emergency management responsibilities.
Mr. Colby replied that building in town has slowed down and this has allowed him the extra time needed to work on the emergency management portion of his responsibilities. New home construction is about the same as last year but additions, renovation and other projects on existing homes have slowed down considerably. Mr. Netishen asked if Mr. Colby knew of any large subdivisions coming up. Mr. Colby stated there has been discussion of a 20 plus lot subdivision off Gebig Road and a possible 50-60 lot subdivision off Deerfield Road but neither development is before the Planning Board.
7:00PM Ms. Bonser opened the public hearing for adoption of new Planning Board fees. The Planning Board has asked for the increase in fees since the current fees that are charged do not come close to covering the costs for that department. Ms. Bonser reported that the Planning Board adopted this fee schedule after discussion of the fee schedule that was recommended by Ms. Beauchamp of SRPC. Mr. Brown stated that the ZBA fees will be updated through this same process once that Board meets again. A brief discussion followed.
Motion: Netishen, second Bock to approve Planning Board fee schedule as published.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
Regarding the outstanding minutes of August 7, 2006,
Motion: Netishen, second Bock to accept as corrected the minutes of August 7, 2006.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
Both Mr. Bock and Ms Bonser mentioned the recent NH Supreme Court decision regarding placement of names on the ballot. The Court has determined the method that has been used in the past may be prejudicial. There is a possibility that the Primary election ballots may have to be reprinted and as a result of this, the voting machines would have to be reprogrammed and the date of the primary election may have to be changed.
Ms. Bonser asked if Mr. Brown had received any more information regarding liability coverage of board members, the landowner and the public on site walks. Mr. Brown reported that all Board members are covered with the exception of any malicious intent. Members of the public are not covered by the Town’s policy. Ms. Bonser asked Mr. Brown to send a memo to all Boards concerning this issue.
The Board asked that Mr. Brown contact, by either letter or e-mail, the Dam Bureau in regard to the “A” classification of the Nottingham Lake Dam. The “A” classification means there is no threat to life if the dam fails and the Board feels this should be re-evaluated.
Regarding outstanding non-public minutes of August 17, 2006,
Motion: Bock, second Netishen to accept non-public minutes of August 17, 2006 meeting as printed.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
Next to be discussed was the appointment of Andrew Fast of Cooper Hill Road to the Conservation Commission. Mr. Bock stated that Mr. Fast works for the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. Some discussion followed. Mr. Netishen would like Mr. Fast to fill out a volunteer application.
Motion: Bock, second Netishen to appoint Andrew Fast as a full member of the Conservation Commission with a term expiration of April 2009.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
Jon Caron was next on the agenda. He wanted to update the Board on the progress of the lot line agreement he is working on between his property and the cemetery. The language of the actual agreement is still not complete but he provided the Board with a copy of the plan outlining what Mr. Landry has done to this point. Once he receives the document from his attorney, he will contact the Board. The reason for this agreement is to define the actual bounds of the cemetery in relation to his property. Mr. Caron will provide copies of the agreement for signature as well as a plat to be recorded at the Registry. He stated he will pay the recording fees as well as the cost for the monumentation. A brief discussion followed. He asked the Board if they saw any reason for him not to proceed. The board stated they had no problems
with the concept. Mr. Caron will contact the cemetery trustees to let them know about the agreement and to see if they have any concerns. Mr. Caron thanked the Board for their time.
Mr. Brown informed the Board he had been contacted by MRI in regard to the audit on internal controls done in October of 2005. This contact had been initiated by an inquiry made by Mr. Brown to an LGC representative early last week. MRI is willing to come back and perform the audit again if the Board wanted them to. Much discussion followed. Since all Board members are comfortable with the Draft audit given to the Town earlier this year, Mr. Brown will contact MRI and let them know they do not need to schedule another audit.
Mr. Brown brought the draft budget timeline to the Board’s attention. He also informed the Board that SOG had paid their third of the costs associated with the Supreme Court filing and the bill for Nottingham’s third was in the bill folder.
Ms. Seaverns informed the Board that the MS 1 would be ready for signature next Monday or Tuesday. She stated there were a few properties that needed review before the final numbers could be calculated. All Board members said they would be available to sign the documents.
Ms. Bonser informed the Board that Professor Haney had given a presentation on his study done on Pawtuckaway. Ms Bonser stated it was a very in depth presentation. Professor Haney indicated that a conclusion to his report was not part of the study but if the Board wanted his recommendations, they should request that in writing. The Board will request his recommendations in writings as well as costs associated with the recommendations and a timeline. Ms. Bonser then informed the Board that the PLAC has received the federal Clean Water Act grant that they applied for.
Mr. Bock informed the Board that Chelli Tennis of the Nottingham Food Pantry had contacted him and asked him to let the Board know that the Pantry has seen an increase in use. Requests for emergency distribution of food have also increased. As always, volunteers are needed.
The Board took a short break at 8:10PM. The Board resumed the meeting at 8:14 PM.
Next to be discussed were the Draft Recycling Policies as well as the proposed new fees for disposal of construction debris. Much discussion followed about compliance, education and enforcement of this policy. Mr. Brown would like to have additional monitors in place for about a month to educate the patrons of the Recycling Center as to what is acceptable and what is not. After that initial 30 day period, enforcement will start and may include loss of privileges for a
certain amount of time. It was decided that the $ 1.00 fee be put into the permit portion of the policy. A discussion followed about transparent bags. As a result of that discussion, the statement that the staff may open and inspect bags or containers, as they deem necessary was also added to the policy. The collection of resident’s trash by certain individuals that in turn bring the bags and items to the center was discussed. No trash from any commercial enterprises will be accepted. Recyclables from these enterprises may be accepted after a written request is made to the Recycling Supervisor. A brief discussion of a pay per bag system followed. A public hearing must be held before the Board can formally adopt this policy. The hearing will be scheduled for September 5, 2006 as well as a hearing for the adoption of
the proposed fees. The fees are for trucks with construction debris/wood waste. The fees are as follows:
A 6’ truck bed or trailer $20.00
An 8’ truck bed $25.00
1 ton truck bed $30.00
Mr. Bock requested that the informational flyers be ready for distribution at Nottingham Day. Mr. Seaverns stepped forward. He echoed the Board’s feeling that education about the whole recycling process was necessary at this point. He suggested to the Board that they have someone stopping people at the gate if they do not have a sticker on their vehicle.
The Board next addressed the items in the signature file,
The Board signed the salary sheet for the new officer.
The Board signed the Yield tax levy for Map 52 Lot 4-1.
Motion: Netishen, second Bock to approve Land Use Change Tax (LUCT) for Map 3 Lot 6-1.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
Motion: Netishen, second Bock to approve Land Use Change Tax (LUCT) for Map 5 Lot 10A-2.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
Motion: Netishen, second Bock to approve Land Use Change Tax (LUCT) for Map 5 Lot 10A-1.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
Motion: Netishen, second Bock to approve Land Use Change Tax (LUCT) for Map 39 Lot 4.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
Motion: Netishen, second Bock to approve Land Use Change Tax (LUCT) for Map 39 Lot 5-1.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
The Board then signed the Forest & Land reimbursement form from NHDRA.
Mr. Brown informed the Board that a representative from Jeb Bradley’s office will be at the Town Office on Friday August 25, 2006 from 9:30 am-10:30 AM.
Mr. Brown informed the Board that the remediation at the Lee Farm would be taking place on either Thursday or Friday of this week. He also told the Board that the demolition of the OLD PD building was scheduled for Thursday or Friday this week although he has not received confirmation of this date from Danley Demolition.
9:11 PM Motion: Netishen, second Bonser to enter non-public session under RSA 91A: 3 II (a).
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
9:40 PM Motion: Bonser, second Netishen to come out of non-public session.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
9:41 PM Motion: Netishen, second Bock to keep all discussions in non-public session non-public.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
Having no further business before the Board,
9:41 PM Motion: Bock, second Netishen to adjourn.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
Respectfully Submitted,
Heidi Seaverns
Approved as corrected
9/5/06
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