Minutes
Selectmen’s Meeting
June 12, 2006
6:32 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: Sgt. Gunnar Foss, Sam Demeritt, April Bacon, Harmony Anderson (Bear-Paw), Charlene Anderson, Mike Russo, Rod Nelson, Sue Mooney, Cheryl Smith, Diane Kirkwood, Mary Martin (7:45pm).
Ms. Bonser recognized Sgt. Gunnar Foss, current Emergency Management Director to speak with Board. He stated that he wanted to address two issues with the Board. His 1st issue is a long standing one predicated by the storm of Mother’s Day weekend -preparedness of the community to deal with an emergency. The Town is in need of generators, barricades, signs, & cones just to name a few things. His concern is that hurricane season is upon us and New England is predicted to be hit by at least one storm. If the community receives 10+ inches of rain and sustained 70-80 mph winds, we will not be able to get to people or have a place where they can stay. We were lucky that we did not loose power during the May storm so we had a communication network in place. Without power or a generator available, emergency
services will not be able to communicate with each other. The second issue he brought to the Board was that he is withdrawing as Emergency Management Director. He stated he will not do a job halfway and this position requires a lot of attention. He made it clear to the Board that he believes that the people in Town deserve someone who can dedicate the amount of time needed to do the job and do it well. Ms. Bonser thanked Sgt. Foss on behalf of the Board again for his efforts during the storm. She stated that he pulled the community together when we needed it. She asked Sgt. Foss for his list of priorities to help in preparedness. He replied that a generator for the highway shed (to allow Town employees to use the fuel pumps) and a generator for whatever building is designated as a shelter. He also indicated that the Highway Department needs more barricades, cones and signs so they can adequately mark roads that are closed, have high water etc. The issue of a shelter is an important
one. The ideal building is the Elementary School but it is located between two rivers and can be difficult to access. This building (Community Center) would be okay for short-term use for 15-20 people if a generator were available. Much discussion followed. Mr. Bock thanked Sgt. Foss for the great job he did during the storm and that he respects his decision to withdraw from the Director position. He believes it is the responsibility of the Town to provide shelter for anyone who needs it during an emergency. Sgt Foss then stated he would be remiss if he did not recognize the efforts of all the people who worked throughout the storm. Mr. Netishen then said that it would be difficult if not impossible to replace Sgt. Foss as Director. He feels that the community as a whole respects Sgt. Foss and will listen to him in a crisis. Mr. Netishen suggested that the Board meet with the Police Chief in an effort to free up Sgt. Foss for Emergency Management duties. Sgt. Foss reiterated the
fact that he
will not do a job half way and the community deserves more than someone who can only do the job halfway. Much discussion followed about the position in general. Sgt. Foss stated he would be willing to help the new person in any way he could. The board thanked Sgt Foss and he left at 6:55PM.
On a related matter, Mr. Brown gave the Board the information that he had gathered in regards to generators. The smaller generator that can be purchased this year would be for the highway shed. The larger generator would have to wait until next year due to the price of around $ 40,000. Mr. Brown contacted the Generator Connection in Barrington for a price for a small generator to run fuel pumps, lights & furnace for the highway shed. A gas powered 6000-watt generator with wheel kit, delivered would be $ 2150. Paul Colby had looked into generators from Home Depot, Lowe’s and Northern Supply. The generators themselves were less expensive but they did not include shipping or a wheel kit.
Motion: Netishen, second Bock to purchase 6000-watt generator from the Generator Connection.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
Mr. Brown will order the generator as soon as possible.
7:00PM Next on the agenda was the closing for the Bacon Easement. The Conservation Easement Deed was then signed by April Bacon, Harmony Anderson (Bear-Paw), Sam Demeritt (Bear-Paw) and the Board of Selectmen (Bonser, Bock & Netishen). Mr. Bock reiterated the fact that Ms. Bacon has been extremely generous and the community is grateful. Harmony Anderson (Bear-Paw) said it was a pleasure to work with the citizens of Nottingham. Mr. Brown reported that Dan Kern had informed him that Bear-Paw had received an additional grant of $ 1500 for transaction costs for this project. Mr. Brown presented Ms. Bacon with the check for the easement. Ms. Bacon thanked the Board and said she hoped more people would consider putting their property into easements. Mr. Brown will find out who will do the actual recording of the deed at the
Registry, a Bear-Paw representative or someone from the Town. April Bacon, the Bear-Paw representatives & members of the conservation Commission left the meeting.
Next to be considered were enforcement issues. First to be considered was the complaint from Charles Reid involving 91 McCrillis Road. Ms. Bonser recused herself and appointed Mr. Netishen as Chairman since she is an abutter. Mr. Reid alleges that Mr. Smith, the property owner of 91 McCrillis Road, was violating the hours of operation the ZBA had established and type of work being done on site was not within the guidelines established by the ZBA. Both Mr. Netishen and Mr. Bock feel that Mr. Reid did not provide sufficient evidence that Mr. Smith was violating the conditions set by the ZBA. Mr. Bock stated that there is an agreement / conditions in place and Mr. Smith, is abiding by the conditions.
Motion: Netishen, second Bock that the complaint about 91 McCrillis Road be closed since there is no clear & specific evidence that the owner is in violation.
Vote: 2 in favor, 1 recusal, Bonser. Motion passed.
The Sweet junkyard issue was next to be considered. Mr. Sweet was operating a recycling yard at his Garland Road property. The Board of Selectmen issued a cease & desist order. Mr. Sweet has petitioned the Board to vacate the order. Mr. Brown reported that no contamination was found in DES’ most recent visit to the property. He further stated that Mr. Sweet had corrected some but not all of the deficiencies pointed out in the DES report. Mr. Sweet has never applied for a junkyard license. He would not be able to conform to the state requirements for setbacks on his present lot. He has stopped operations and Ms. Bonser believes he does not plan to resume them.
Mr. Brown reminded the Board that if they vacate the order, Mr. Sweet can go back to what he was doing originally which was in violation of the Zoning Ordinance. Much discussion followed about Mr. Sweet’s operation. Ms Bonser asked if Mr. Sweet was aware of the fact the Board was going to discuss his situation at this meeting. Mr. Brown stated he had not notified Mr. Sweet. Mr. Netishen referenced letters that the Board had received from neighbors with concerns about what would happen if the Board vacated the order. He also referenced a memo from the Building Inspector regarding the Sweet property dated 5/6/06. The Building Inspector reported that Mr. Sweet had put up a wooden fence along most of the Garland Road frontage with a chain link gate. There were a couple of cars and a pile of tires visible. He did state
he was limited as to what he could see because of the fence. More discussion followed about the legal process of a cease & desist order.
Motion: Netishen, second Bock to not vacate the cease & desist order for Paul Sweet.
Vote: 2-1 (Bonser) in favor.
Mr. Netishen stated that if Mr. Sweet wanted to run a different business, he should go through the process. Ms. Bonser stated she thinks Mr. Sweet should have an opportunity to comment. Discussion continued about the legal process.
Ms. Bonser stated the next topic for discussion would be signs. She went on to say the Planning Board had made an effort to correct the sign ordinance this past year. They had corrected some problems but had created some more as far as advertising signs go with the new ordinance. Much discussion followed about what is allowed and what is not as far as signs on a property. Ms. Bonser stated that the Board is trying to enforce the Zoning Ordinances on one hand while trying to encourage economic development in town on the other. Mr. Netishen said that the Board had postponed their decision on signs in hopes that the new ordinance would define what was allowed & what was not. This was not the case however. Mary Martin stepped forward to address the Board. She stated she had written the Board 10 weeks ago in regards to
signs & lighting for the new ice cream place on Route 4 and she had heard nothing from the Board. She reported she had tried to review the Site Plan for this property but no one in the Planning Office could locate it. At this time, she made a formal request to view the documents. The documents will be located and Ms. Martin will be notified. Ms. Martin stated she does not believe the Site Plan accounts for a retail business. Much discussion followed about the enforcement of Zoning Ordinances and the ice cream shop in particular. Both Ms. Martin & Ms. Anderson stated that the lights are on at this particular business as late as midnight and the open flag is always out. More discussion on the topic followed. Mr. Bock apologized for the delay in response to Ms. Martin’s letter and stated the Board will send the Building Inspector to look at the property. Mr. Brown will discuss the situation with the property owner, as he has the ultimate responsibility for compliance
with the ordinances. Ms. Martin stressed compliance with the ordinances not compromise.
The final topic of enforcement issues was the dumping of refuse on State property. Mr. Brown reported that at this point there was nothing further that the Town can do until we receive a letter from the Park Manager requesting action. The remaining refuse is 99% brush/leaves; the park personnel removed some metal objects. Ms. Bonser added that DES had been notified.
Mr. Brown informed the Board that the School Board would like to meet with the board on July 10, 2006. They have 2 issues they would like to discuss with the board. Mr. Brown will confirm the time with the School Board and will allot ½ hour on the agenda for discussion.
Gail Mills has been recommended by the Planning Board to be appointed as Commissioner to Strafford Regional Planning Commission (SRPC). This would fill 1 of 2 vacancies for Nottingham.
Motion: Netishen, second Bock appoint Gail Mills as SRPC Commissioner to represent Nottingham.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
Appointment of an Emergency Management Director (EMD) was next to be discussed. Mr. Brown reported he had a discussion with Paul Colby, Building Inspector, in regards to the position and he indicated he would be interested as long as there was a stipend involved. Discussion followed about the hours that the position will take and responsibilities as well. The consensus of the Board was that they would stay involved in the POD process but the EMD would be the main contact. Ms. Bonser reminded the Board that Sgt. Foss would be the Assistant Director.
Motion: Bonser, second Bock to appoint Paul Colby as Emergency Management Director subject to his acceptance with a stipend to be determined.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
Mr. Netishen reminded the Board that the next meeting for the POD was Thursday at 1:00PM in Raymond. Mr. Brown will update Mr. Colby and let him know he needs to attend this meeting. Mr. Netishen went on to say that this would be an organizational meeting and that the Memo of Understanding (MOU) with the State and the budget for Nottingham had to be turned in at this meeting. Much discussion followed about who should sign the agreement.
Motion: Netishen, second Bock to authorize Paul Colby to sign the State MOU. If Mr. Colby does not accept the position, to authorize Mr. Brown to sign.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
A brief discussion followed about the budget & who would prepare it.
Next item was the contract for the Planner from SRPC. Mr. Brown stated there had been some confusion with the document and the last draft he had received was still not complete. After some discussion, it was decided that the Planning Board should review the final draft document at their workshop on Wednesday before it is signed. Mr. Brown will contact Cynthia Copeland and have the document for the Planning Board.
Mr. Brown informed the Board that there have been several incidents at the Recycling Center-not sorting trash, and dumping of refuse at the gate-and he had written letters to the individuals involved. He had spoken with the Town attorney and he had indicated that Nottingham should have a recycling Policy even though we have been recycling since 1973. Mr. Brown also stated that some individuals have been taking advantage of the system and that a pay per bag system and/or a fee schedule for disposal of construction debris would cut down on the problems.
Mr. Brown reported that the PLIA had formed a new group called “Pawtuckaway Kids” which hopes to incorporate lake conservation education with fun activities for all children in Town throughout the year. The group would like to have a Sand Castle Day at the Town Beach on August 26th from 11:30am-2:00pm. They would like the Town to co-sponsor the event. Mr. Brown stated he had spoken with Janet Horvath, Recreation Director about the event. If the Town co-sponsors the event, it would fall under the Town’s liability coverage.
Motion: Netishen, second Bock to co-sponsor the PLIA Sand Castle Day on August 26th at the Town Beach.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
Mr. Brown will notify the Pawtuckaway Kids Coordinator.
Mr. Brown informed the Board that the Town had received the wetlands permit for the Deerfield Bridge.
Cheryl Smith & Sam Demeritt came into the meeting with pictures of various places in the Brook Crossing subdivision that erosion had taken place. Mr. Brown kept the photos and will have the Building Inspector check out the sites mentioned. Mr. Brown stated that the developer has been very cooperative in the past in regards to these issues.
Motion: Netishen, second Bock to accept as printed the minutes of May 30, 2006.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
The Board reviewed those items requiring signatures.
Motion: Bock, second Netishen to assess the Timber Tax Levy for Map 61 Lot 2.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
Having no further business before the Board,
9:03 PM Motion: Bock, second Netishen to adjourn.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
Respectfully Submitted,
Heidi Seaverns
Approved as amended
6/26/06
| 
