Town of Nottingham
Selectmen’s Meeting Minutes
January 20, 2009
6:31PM Acting Chair Bonser opened the meeting and asked all those present to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.
Members Present: Mary Bonser and Peter Bock
Members Absent: Bill Netishen
Others: Chris Albert, Resident; Charles Brown, Town Administrator; Traci Chauvey, Recording Secretary
ADMINISTRATIVE BUSINESS:
Acting Chair Bonser inquired about department reports.
Mr. Brown informed the Selectmen that he had an appointment form for Chief Jaye Vilchock.
Motion: Bonser, second Bock to accept the affirmation of the Nottingham Fire/Rescue personnel and appoint Jaye Vilchock as Fire Chief for 2009.
Vote: All in favor. Motion passed 2-0.
Mr. Bock inquired about the Highway Department. Mr. Brown reported that they are doing well, overall; however, he has received additional complaints about mailboxes that will be dealt with. The grader is in for repairs under its warranty.
Mr. Brown informed the Selectmen that Paul Colby, Nottingham Building Inspector is out on medical leave for a couple of weeks. Gene Perreault is filling in on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
Mr. Brown reported that Chief Vilchock, Deputy Chief Carlson and Tom Sweeney were meeting with Mr. Ricci from Ricci Construction to go over final issues with the new fire station.
Mr. Brown informed the public that he has asked the Selectmen to consider a couple of ideas for decreasing the budget. The Town currently plows three of the four Churches in Town and two private roads that are not designated as emergency ways. One of the roads has no occupancy, the other has one year round residence. Mr. Bock informed the public that the Selectmen have asked Mr. Brown to look at every possible avenue for cutting costs. Ms. Bonser stated that she would like to discuss it at a workshop for next winter. She is not willing to do that in the middle of winter and with no advanced warning. Mr. Bock agreed.
At 6:43 PM, Acting Chair Bonser acknowledged Mr. Albert and invited him to the mic.
Mr. Albert explained the he had come to the meeting seeking guidance. He is concerned about the erosion of the banks in the areas where the fishing derby is held and where the ball fields are. He fears that if it continues, there will be no more fishing derby and the town would eventually lose the ball fields. He estimates the cost to restore and stabilize the banks to be $5,000 to $10,000, adding that that would include his engineering and permitting services, which would be donated for free. He inquired about whether he should put a petition warrant article forth. Ms. Bonser suggested that the Selectmen
put it on with their articles to save Mr. Albert the time it would take to collect the signatures. Mr. Bock agreed acknowledging that Mr. Albert would need to address the questions and comments about the article. The Selectmen asked Mr. Brown to write the article using the wording of “not to exceed $10,000.” They invited Mr. Albert to attend their final budget meeting with the Budget Committee on Thursday, January 22. Mr. Albert agreed to attend. Ms. Bonser thanked Mr. Albert for his services to the Town. Mr. Albert left the meeting at 6:50 PM.
Mr. Bock announced that the Annual Meeting of the Food Pantry was taking place Monday, January 26, 2009 in the library at 6:30 PM. He invited anyone who is interested to attend.
The Selectmen addressed the signature file.
Motion: Bock, second Bonser to approve and sign the Land Use Change Tax for TM 18 L 3-5 in the amount of $8,500.
Vote: All in favor. Motion passed 2-0.
Mr. Bock reminded the public that the Senior’s Luncheon was scheduled for Wednesday, January 22 at 12:00 PM.
Minutes
November 25, 2008 (Workshop)
Line 169: Change the word ‘plan’ to ‘planned’.
Motion: Bock, second Bonser to accept the minutes of the November 25 workshop as amended.
Vote: All in favor. Motion passed 2-0.
December 8, 2008 (Meeting)
Motion: Bock, second Bonser to accept the minutes of the December 8 Meeting as written.
Vote: All in favor. Motion passed 2-0.
Discussion: Ms. Bonser inquired about the dog issue court case. Mr. Brown reported that he has had no word, yet. Ms. Bonser inquired about the sign issue on Neilson Road. Mr. Brown reported that the speed limit signs have been removed and replaced with ‘Slow’ and ‘Children’ signs.
December 8, 2008 (Non-Public)
Motion: Bock, second Bonser to accept the minutes of the December 8 Non-Public Meeting as written.
Vote: All in favor. Motion passed 2-0.
December 22, 2008 (Meeting)
Line 27: Change “…much to…” to ‘considerable’.
Line 37: Change “There…” to ‘The…’.
Line 59: Add the words ‘Conservation Easement.
Line 101: Add the word ‘renewal’ and change the word ‘were’ to ‘are’.
Line 119: Change the word ‘Hose’ to ‘Host’,
Line 122: Capitalize ‘State’.
Line 131: Capitalize ‘State’.
Line 164: Change the word ‘for’ to ‘of’.
Through out: Correct the spelling of Mr. Demeritt and Mr. Kern.
Motion: Bock, second Bonser to accept the minutes of the December 22 Meeting as amended.
Vote: All in favor. Motion passed 2-0.
Discussion: Mr. Brown informed the Selectmen that the grant documents for the two mitigation sites had been submitted to the State.
December 29, 2008 (Workshop)
Line 56: Change the words ‘Broadcast Advisory’ to ‘Franchise Renewal’.
Motion: Bock, second Bonser to accept the minutes of the December 29 Workshop as amended.
Vote: All in favor. Motion passed 2-0.
Discussion: The Selectmen discussed the fact that there are petitions coming forth from both the School and the Town for a generator. They will address the public about attending the School Deliberative Session at their next meeting on February 4, 2009.
January 5, 2009 (Workshop)
Motion: Bock, second Bonser to accept the minutes of the January 5 workshop as written.
Vote: All in favor. Motion passed 2-0.
January 5, 2009 (Meeting)
Line 24: Change ‘PM’ to ‘AM’
Line 39: Add the word ‘like’.
Line 56: Add the words ‘on these items’.
Line 61: Change the time to ‘6:30’
Line 92: Add the words ‘a licensed land surveyor’.
Motion: Bock, second Bonser to accept the minutes of the January 5 Meeting as amended.
Vote: All in favor. Motion passed 2-0.
GENERAL BUSINESS
Ms. Bonser addressed the public, noting that a review of Avitar’s assessing of the lake homes had come under review by the Department of Revenue Administration (DRA). This review was precipitated by a letter of complaint to the Governor’s Office. She acknowledged that this was a difficult time for the Selectmen; that allegations had been made that they had acted inappropriately. Mr. Bock concurred. Ms. Bonser informed the public that this re-evaluation had been put off as long as possible, adding that they were pushed by DRA to correct the disproportionality. She read the conclusion of the DRA report, which states that the application was relatively fair, consistent, proportional, and reasonable. She invited the public to come to the Town Office to review the entire report. Mr. Bock feels that DRA’s report is a vindication of the assessing firm’s and the Board of Selectmen’s actions.
The Selectmen discussed an upcoming meeting at the New Hampshire Municipal Association (NHMA) on January 30 to discuss revenue funding. NHMA does not usually push revenue funding issues with the State but all communities have expressed grave concern.
Motion: Bonser, second Bock to authorize Mr. Brown as the voting delegate who will attend this meeting.
Vote: All in favor. Motion passed 2-0.
The Selectmen announced that Kent Nolan, a representative from Senator Gregg’s office, would be available at the Town Municipal Complex on Tuesday, January 27 from 2:00-3:00 for anyone wishing to discuss concerns. The Selectmen will be coming in to speak with him.
The Selectmen received copies of the Selectmen’s Report written by Chair Netishen. They will review and return their comments to Mr. Brown tomorrow.
Mr. Brown informed the Selectmen that he had given them a memo from Tom Sweeney addressing issues the Building Committee is encountering with the salt shed project.
The Selectmen received copies of the Warrant. The overall budget, not including debt service is down $73,671 (2.5%). Including debt service it is down a total of six percent. The 2008 final numbers indicate that the Town came in $18,704.45 (0.56%) under budget. Mr. Brown informed the Selectmen that he is hoping to have the draft MS-7 available for the budget meeting on Thursday. Ms. Bonser stated she is hoping to have the CIP Report for the meeting.
Ms. Bonser inquired about the painting bids. Mr. Brown reported that Mr. Schmottlach would be taking a class on lead remediation. Ms. Bonser want figures for the lead remediation work before making a commitment.
The Selectmen will hold a Department Head Roundtable meeting on February 9 to discuss future planning and budgeting.
The Selectmen will hold a bond hearing for the salt shed, fire truck, and loader on February 17. Snow date will be noticed as February 19.
Mr. Brown informed all that the Planning Board will be holding a public hearing for proposed zoning changes on February 3, 2009 at 7:00 PM.
Having no further business,
Motion: Bonser, second Bock to adjourn the meeting.
Vote: All in favor. Motion passed 2-0.
Meeting adjourned at 8:01 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Traci Chauvey
Recording Secretary
Approved as amended at the March 4, 2009 meeting
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