Minutes
Selectmen’s Meeting
March 17, 2008
6:30 PM Chair Bock opened the meeting and asked all those present to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.
Members Present: Peter Bock, Bill Netishen, Mary Bonser and Town Administrator Charles Brown.
Guests: Officer Brian Spagna, Therese Thompson, Sue Mooney, Judy Doughty, Chris Mills, Gail Mills, Lillian Edelmann and Bill Garnett
Others: Heidi Seaverns.
The first order of business acted on was to choose a new Chairman for the coming year.
Motion: Bock, second Bonser to nominate Bill Netishen as Chairman.
Vote: 2 (Bock, Bonser)-1 (Netishen) in favor. Motion passes. Board members rearranged their seating arrangement.
Chair Netishen then indicated that the Board would discuss committee assignments later in the meeting and move on to administrative business first. The first item to be discussed was a memo from Janet Horvath in regard to becoming a work “host” for the State of New Hampshire’s Work Experience Program. This program provides an opportunity for an individual who has been out of the workforce for a while to get experience before actually reentering the job market. It would be a part time position and the individual would not be an employee of the Town (no workmen’s compensation or health insurance). It would be one person at a time with an agreement for 3 months with the possibility of an additional 3 months if all parties agreed to it. All members thought this was a good idea,
Motion: Bonser, second Bock to allow Recreation Department to become a “Host” for the State of NH’s Work Experience program for 3 months with an option for an additional 3 months.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
Mr. Brown informed the Board that Wayne Travis from NYA had been in the office today to request use of the fields at the Community Center for April, May & June for baseball/softball/ t ball. The Board had no issue with this request as long as field use was coordinated with the Recreation Department so there would be no conflicts with Town events.
Next item to be discussed was the purchase and sale agreement for the new ambulance that was approved at Town Meeting on Saturday. The agreement has to be signed and faxed back to the company (Sugarloaf Ambulance) before the order can be placed.
Motion: Bock, second Bonser to accept the purchase and sale agreement for the 2008 Ford E450 XL ambulance in the amount of $ 127, 568 (includes trade-in) and to further authorize Charles Brown to sign the agreement.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
Ms. Seaverns asked the Board members to sign the contracts that were in the signature file for general assessing and data verification for 2008. She explained that the contracts would not be forwarded to Commerford, Nieder, Perkins, LLC (CNP) until the Town Attorney had reviewed them. Since the Board had voted at their last meeting to award the contracts to CNP, they signed the documents.
The Board next addressed the signature file,
Motion: Bock, second Bonser to reappoint Deputy Tax Collector Elizabeth Warrington for a term to end April 2011, at the request of the Tax Collector.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
Motion: Bock, second Bonser to accept Timber Tax levy for Map 53 Lot 20 & Map 29
Lot 12-1 for a total of $ 2,282.87.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
The Board will act on outstanding minutes at their next meeting.
Board members reviewed bills, mail & correspondence.
Mr. Bock asked if the positions at the Recycling Center had been posted. Mr. Brown stated they had, and he has had one individual apply. Mr. Bock reminded the audience that misuse of the Recycling Center costs the Town money. The time is coming when you will be asked to leave the Recycling Center if you bring unsorted trash, trash not in the appropriate bag, etc. If people don’t recycle, the Town may be forced to a pay per bag system to try and control costs. Mr. Brown added that the State projected all Towns would be at a 40% recycling rate two years ago. Nottingham’s rate is about 37%; Littleton’s rate is in the 70% range. Therese Thompson stated she would not use plastic bags as they take 1000 years to degrade. She went on to say her students are working on a brochure about this subject and further
stated she would provide the Board with a copy of the brochure once it was finished (May).
The Board next discussed committee assignments for the upcoming year. After much discussion, the following assignments were agreed on:
Bill Netishen-Planning Board Representative
Peter Bock-Budget Committee Representative
Mary Bonser-Building Committee
Mary Bonser-Pawtuckaway Lake Advisory Committee
Mary Bonser-Capital Improvement Committee
Peter Bock-Conservation Committee Representative
Peter Bock-Nottingham Day Committee
The Board discussed the liaisons for the departments and decided on the following assignments:
Peter Bock-Police Department
Mary Bonser-Fire/Rescue Department, Recreation Department (if needed)
Bill Netishen-Highway Department, Emergency Management, POD, and Building Department (if needed).
The liaison project is a result of the board members wanting to get closer to the process and all Board Members believe it helped them in the budget process.
Ms. Bonser stated that Steve MacKenzie had expressed an interest in serving on the cable advisory committee, if the committee was activated again. Mr. Brown also stated Minot Granbery has also expressed interest as well. The Town’s cable agreement with Comcast is up in 2009.
Mr. Netishen then stated he would recognize any audience members who wished to speak to the Board. He asked that all discussion, comments and questions be directed to the Chairman.
Sue Mooney was first to address the Board. She wanted to discuss an available grant from NHOEP. It is a four stage grant entitled Housing and Conservation Planning Program. The four stages are:
1) Research, mapping and data analysis
2) Growth and development strategy planning
3) Master plan updates
4) Implementation into the regulatory framework.
Ms. Mooney continued to explain that any applicant has to go through all the stages and there are different levels of funding and matching requirements within the stages. Ms. Mooney was unsure about the length of the funding. She will forward the link to the program information to the Board so they can review it. She informed the Board she would be discussing the grant with the Natural Resource Committee on Tuesday night and with the Planning Board at their meeting on Wednesday night. Mr. Netishen commented that there was a preparation workshop being held on March 20, 2008 for the grant. Judy Doughty stepped forward and informed everyone that the School Board had finally received the results of the feasibility study and that the growth projections would probably of some use to this effort. She stated she would contact the
SAU to forward extra copies of the report to the Selectmen’s Office. Ms. Doughty went on to say that the report showed the surrounding towns with a decline in student population over the next 10 years while Nottingham showed an increase. Ms. Mooney thanked the Board for their time.
Next to address the Board was Bill Garnett. He started by thanking the BOS for their efforts in helping in getting the article for the cost of copies defeated. He stated that his job would be much easier as a result of the vote. He next spoke to Article #2. He asked the BOS if any individual decided to act on behalf of the Town due to inaction by the BOS, would the Town be liable for paying for such an action? He suggested that the Board interpret the clause that refers to this action and make their recommendation known. All Board members agreed that the Board needs to seek advice of council before making a statement. Discussion followed. Gail Mills stepped forward to offer her interpretation of the clause. She believes the author put that clause in the document to insure that individuals would not be denied standing as
they have been in the past at numerous State proceedings. She stated Mr. Linzey would be able to answer the question definitively and she will ask for his input. Chris Mills then stepped forward to say that the reason they were in attendance tonight was to clarify any questions that anyone may have and if they could not answer the questions, they would get the answers from the author of the document. Mr. Bock thanked them for the offer. He went on to say that the last few months in Nottingham have really tested the depths of democracy. He said that the Board would be open minded to the ramifications and obligations of this article.
Mr. Netishen informed the audience that the Board would be adhering to the policy in place for being put on the agenda. He stated that if an individual or group wanted to be placed on the agenda for the BOS meeting, they need to contact the office by the Wednesday before the meeting. Unless an emergency arises, the Board will stick to the written agenda. This policy allows the Board to gather information prior to the meeting so more time can be spent during the meeting dealing with the issue.
Mr. Brown informed the Board there was a need to go into non-public session, if there was no more outstanding business before the Board. Lillian Edelmann stepped forward and asked if the non-public session had been posted. Mr. Brown stated it had been.
Mr. Bock wished all a Happy St. Patrick’s Day. He informed the audience that the Nottingham Day Committee was scheduled to have a meeting on Wednesday night at the Library at 7PM. He encouraged people to attend and become involved in Nottingham Day.
Since the Board was going to go into non-public session, everyone left the meeting with the exception of the Board members and Mr. Brown.
7:55 PM Motion: Bonser, second Netishen to enter non-public session under
RSA 91A: 3 II (b).
Vote: Netishen yes, Bonser yes, Bock yes, 3-0 in favor.
8:17 PM Motion: Bonser, second Bock to come out of non-public session.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
Back into regular session:
8:17 PM Motion: Bonser, second Bock to keep all discussions in non-public session non-public. Vote: 3-0 in favor.
The following action was taken after discussion in non-public session.
Mr. Brown addressed the Board regarding his recommendation to fill three positions. One part-time position in the Town Office, one part-time position in the Land Use Office and one part-time position at the Recycling Center.
Mr. Brown recommends Traci Chauvey to fill the Town Office position.
Next, Mr. Brown recommended Lisa Sears for the Planning / Zoning Secretary position.
Continuing, Mr. Brown recommended hiring Josh Stevens as a part-time Recycling Center Attendant.
Motion: Bonser, second Bock to approve Mr. Brown’s recommendations regarding the secretarial positions and the recycling attendant position.. Vote: 3-0 in favor.
Mr. Brown reminded the Board that they needed to appoint the alternates to the Advisory Assessing Committee.
Motion: Bock, second Bonser to appoint Bonnie Winona & Skip Seaverns as alternates to the Advisory Assessing Committee for one year.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
Having no further business,
8:23 PM Motion: Bonser, second Netishen to adjourn.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
Respectfully Submitted,
Heidi Seaverns
Approved with corrections, as noted in the April 14, 2008 Minutes.
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