Town of Nottingham
Selectmen’s Meeting
June 8, 2009
6:36 PM Chair Bonser opened the meeting and asked all those present to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.
Members Present: Mary Bonser, Peter Bock, Gary Anderson
Guests: Gunnar Foss, Chief of Police; Andrew Roland, Potential Candidate for Patrol Officer; Charlene Andersen, Budget Committee Chairperson (arrived @ 7:02), Michael Koester, Budget Committee, Vice Chair (arrived @ 7:01), Chet Batchelder, Budget Committee; Karen Davidson, Resident; Brenda Wilber, Resident
Others: Charles Brown, Town Administrator; Traci Chauvey, Recording Secretary; Jaye Vilchock, Chief, Nottingham Fire/Rescue; Sandy Vilchock, Nottingham Fire/Rescue Member; Heidi Carlson, Deputy Chief, Nottingham Fire/Rescue; Marge Carlson, Resident; Jill Letourneau, Resident; Roger Letourneau, Resident; Patricia Roix, Resident; Tim Jarvis, Resident
ADMINISTRATIVE BUSINESS
Police Department Business – Chief Foss introduced Andrew Roland to the Selectmen and gave a brief rundown of his employment history with the Marines, Marine Patrol, and Exeter Hospital. He has undergone and passed the polygraph; his physical is scheduled for June 11th. Pending outcome of the physical, Chief Foss would like him to begin on June 22. At Chair Bonser's inquiry, Chief Foss indicated that the swearing in may be scheduled for the next scheduled Selectmen's Meeting. If everything is in order, the plan is for Mr. Roland to enter the academy on August 31st with graduation scheduled for December 4th.
Highway Department Business – Mr. Brown reported that the Road Agent, Mr. Fernald, would like to begin the repaving projects and the reclamation of Deerfield Road within the next two weeks. Chair Bonser noted that Mill Pond Bridge will be closed effective June 29, for the duration of the summer, to replace the bridge. Mr. Brown will send formal notification regarding the Mill Pond Bridge to the police and fire departments, shortly. Chief Foss will notify Lee’s Chief of Police.
Mr. Brown also reported that the loader has been delivered, noting that he is still working on the financing.
Fire/Rescue Business – Mr. Brown reported that he had received the accident report, from Raymond, involving the forestry unit. He has e-mailed 17 pages to the insurance company and will be supplying them with a disc of the full report, which contains 141 pages of pictures. Chair Bonser inquired about the outcome. Chief Foss informed her that it had been determined that the other driver was at fault.
Chief Vilchock informed the Selectmen that, due to the accident and resulting damage to F1’s skid tank, he wished to reallocate funds between budget lines. The pump motor is at the end of its life. Replacement had been considered for this past budget cycle but had lost out over the need for a boat motor. Pump replacement is also a near inevitability. The insurance company has paid $6,122 for repair of the tank. Chief Vilchock proposes that $1,900 be taken from the forestry line and $1,500 be taken from supplies and equipment to combine with the $6,122 from the insurance company and $3,000 that the Fire/Rescue
Association voted to donate to replace the skid unit. At Mr. Bock’s inquiry, Chief Vilchock reported that the initial repair timeframe estimate of six weeks did not include replacing the tank. Tank replacement will take four to six weeks once ordered. At Mr. Bock’s inquiry, Chief Vilchock reported that the new equipment would have an approximate 20 year life. There was discussion about notifying surrounding communities about the lack of a forestry unit, the status of the employees that were involved in the accident, and items that the department would go without in order to replace the tank. Chair Bonser acknowledged the department’s ability to put forth an acceptable proposal in short time, and praised them for doing it without increased costs in their budget.
Motion: Bock, second Anderson to approve the reallocation of funds in the Fire/Rescue budget as recommended by the Fire Chief.
Vote: All in favor. Motion passed 3-0.
Chief Foss, Mr. Roland, Chief Vilchock, Ms. Vilchock, and Ms. H. Carlson left the meeting at this time.
At 7:00, acknowledging parking issues, Chair Bonser asked the other Selectmen to address a memo from Janet Horvath, Recreation Director, while waiting a few minutes for Budget Committee members to arrive. Ms. Horvath would like to close a portion of Priest Road for the road race held on Nottingham Day this year. The sides of Priest Road are not appropriate for the run and there were some issues last year with runners in the road. Ms. Horvath has already discussed this with the Chief of Police and he is on board. The Selectmen agreed that they have no issue with closing a part of the road during the road race timeframe. Chair Bonser requested that notice of this be placed on Channel 22 a month in advance.
APPOINTMENTS
7:00 PM – Budget Committee – Budget Assistance, Schedule & Tax Impact Information
At 7:04 PM, Chair Bonser acknowledged Ms. Andersen, Mr. Koester, and Mr. Batchelder.
Ms. Andersen informed the Selectmen that the Budget Committee was interested to know how they could help with the budget season, if the Selectmen had any recommendations for the schedule, and if tax impact information could be available earlier than it was last year.
Mr. Bock acknowledged lack of public participation in the budget process and indicted that the Budget Committee could help by getting the word out and impressing upon people the importance of participation.
There was discussion about last year’s schedule. All agreed that it worked well. Dates will be changed to correspond with the 2009/2010 calendar, but the order of events and timing will remain the same. There was discussion about last year’s budget and the support received at town meeting. Ms. Andersen acknowledged that the Selectmen were working with a budget that they had drastically cut two years prior. Mr. Bock noted that the Selectmen had cut the budget again last year and indicated that they would do the same during the upcoming season. There was discussion around the possible loss of room and meal tax money coming down from the State. Mr. Brown noted that the State budget is a concern for all. He has been at a recycling conference where topic of discussion
has been the crash of the commodities market. Towns need to stop depending on these funds. Everyone acknowledged that it was going to be a tough budget season.
The Selectmen and Budget Committee member discussed the fire department’s proposal to replace the skid unit on F1. Ms. Andersen reminded all that the fire department has a capital reserve fund.
Chair Bonser felt it would be helpful for the Budget Committee to communicate their issues/concerns/suggestions/position to the Selectmen’s Rep, Gary Anderson, once the State has set its budget. Ms. Andersen suggested posting tax impact information with each article at the point that financing is being researched.
Returning to the discussion on public participation, Ms. Davison suggested that more effort be put into making people aware that budget discussion meetings are not general business meetings. The budget affects all residents. The State budget affects all residents. Mr. Bock believes it would be helpful for the public to understand what affect losing the room & meal tax money would have on Nottingham and its budget/taxes. He noted this as an action item.
The Budget Committee’s first meeting will be held at 7:00 PM on Thursday, July 31. There is currently an open seat on the Committee and an open position for recording secretary. Interested individuals should contact the Selectmen’s Office at (603) 679-5022.
The committee members thanked the Selectmen for their time and left the meeting.
7:15 PM – Karen Davidson – e-mail Follow Up - Reschedule From May 26, 2009
At 7:28 PM, Chair Bonser acknowledged Ms. Davidson and invited her to the mic.
Referring back to the conversation about getting the word out regarding the upcoming budget, Ms. Davidson informed the Selectmen that Fremont’s website lists each warrant article with an explanation of what and why, and the amount of the tax impact the item carries. She will see if it is still there and send the Selectmen a link.
Ms. Davison informed all that she was here to follow up on some e-mails that she had previously sent the Selectmen and Town Administrator dated April 10, 2009.
Ms. Davidson inquired as to whether there is one place she can go to obtain copies of all past warrant articles. Mr. Brown informed her that the best place to get this information is from the town report, noting that you need to have two successive years to have both the warrant and the pass/fail results.
Ms. Davidson inquired about the status of USA Springs. Mr. Brown informed her that they have been moved back into Chapter 11 and have six months to file a re-organization plan. The bank and USA Springs had presented a stipulation agreement but all creditors had objected. The Town’s reason for objection was to ensure their placement on the list of creditors.
Ms. Davidson challenged the vendor list published in the Town Report, noting that people who received abatements are listed. She feels that there should be separate lists for vendors, abatements, and others. Chair Bonser informed Ms. Davidson that people who receive abatements receive a check and are therefore considered vendors by the accounting software. The lists are generalized in the interest of providing the information, while watching costs. Mr. Brown informed Ms. Davidson that the Annual Town Report cost approximately $9 per copy this past year; adding pages for separate lists increases the cost. Ms. Davidson also feels that there should be lists for unpaid property taxes and tax deeds and liens in the Town Report. Mr. Brown acknowledged that this is public information and
interested parties can obtain this information at the Town Office. Administration does not feel that it would be appropriate to publish the names of people who have fallen on hard times. Ms. Davidson suggested using map and lot numbers in conjunction with amounts owed.
Ms. Davidson inquired about either changing the time of, or broadcasting, Selectmen’s workshops. Chair Bonser noted that workshops are mostly held to meet with department heads and are therefore scheduled early for their convenience. The Selectmen are making an effort to broadcast workshops, however, there are scheduling conflicts.
Lastly, Chair Bonser informed Ms. Davidson that when the money is collected from USA Springs it will go into the general fund.
Ms. Davidson thanked the Selectmen for their time and left the meeting.
7:45 PM – Brenda Wilbur – Animal Control Officer Training
At 7:45 PM, Chair Bonser acknowledged Ms. Wilbur and invited her to the mic.
Ms. Wilbur and Ms. Roix took a seat at the mic. Ms. Wilbur explained that she was here to request that the Selectmen consider sending the Animal Control Officer to an ACO training class held at UNH. She stated that she has done some research and Nottingham is one of only a few towns who do not have a trained ACO as part of the police department.
Chair Bonser explained that Mr. Witham has been Nottingham’s ACO for 20 or more years. She is not opposed to him going to a training but, with his background and experience, is unsure if there would be anything gained from his attendance. Chair Bonser feels that things normally run well for the ACO, but acknowledged the two issues that brought the residents accompanying Ms. Wilbur, this evening, forward. Ms. Roix feels that Mr. Witham is unsure of his jurisdiction, authority, and responsibility and that he does not know where to search out this information. Mr. Brown was informed by the Commissioner of Agriculture that there was nothing the town could do about an issue involving domestic animals (guinea hens were the subject of inquiry) but the Selectmen have recently found publications that
say towns can establish policies with fines. Chair Bonser has spoken with Mr. Witham, who is looking forward to assisting the Selectmen with writing a domestic animal policy.
Ms. Wilbur has researched the job responsibilities of the ACO’s for Portsmouth and Raymond. They are responsible for enforcing State law and local ordinances. She feels our ACO is at a disadvantage due to lack of arresting power. She reported that Steve Sprowl, of the SPCA, has informed her that Nottingham in one of only a few towns whose ACO is not a member of the police department. Ms. Roix concurred. Chair Bonser assured the residents that Chief Foss would be included in the conversations with the ACO.
Mr. Jarvis assured everyone that this is not an attack of Mr. Witham. Ann Taylor, ACO for another town, attends this training every year. It is a standardized training for all ACOs and they believe that all of Nottingham will benefit from Mr. Witham’s attendance. At Chair Bonser’s inquiry, Ms. Wilbur informed the Selectmen that the training is held at UNH, July 20-24, at a cost of $325. Chair Bonser informed the residents that Mr. Witham has another job. The Selectmen will need to see if this fits his schedule. She indicated that if he was not able to attend, someone could obtain whatever documentation is supplied at the training.
Mr. Bock and Mr. Anderson thanked the residents for their efforts in researching the laws and helping to educate the Selectmen in this area. Mr. Bock assured them that their issues will be taken seriously. Mr. Jarvis believes it is a quality of life issue. He would like to have input at the meetings with Mr. Witham regarding the domestic animal policy. The Selectmen informed him that the meetings will be open, posted, and broadcast.
Mr. and Mrs. Letourneau stepped to the mic to inquire about monitoring of their neighbor’s dog situation. Seven unneutered/unspayed dogs were left in the owner’s care. They voiced concern over their safety and that of their animals. They voiced concern over the unneutered/unspayed condition of the dogs. Chair Bonser informed the Letourneau’s that she would follow up with both Mr. Witham and Mr. Sprowl, from the SPCA, to see who is monitoring the situation and find out why the Selectmen have not received any reports.
Mr. Jarvis and Ms. Roix stepped to the mic. Ms. Roix inquired about the ACO having to personally witness the barking for a 30 minute period, acknowledging that Mr. Witham has another job. Chair Bonser informed Ms. Roix that it was the law. There was discussion about the RSAs. Mr. Brown confirmed with Mr. Jarvis that the RSA Mr. Jarvis was reading required barking for a period of 30 minutes. Mr. Brown noted that the RSA is not clear about who must witness the barking. Chair Bonser acknowledged the need for a policy.
Chair Bonser reiterated that Mr. Brown will check with Mr. Witham and schedule workshops that will be posted, open, and broadcast. Mr. Jarvis informed the Selectmen that there is currently enough in the Zoning Ordinances to resolve their issue. The offender is a commercial business and a commercial business cannot cross the boundary line. Chair Bonser, acknowledging Mr. Jarvis’ comment, will, also, invite the Building Inspector/Code Enforcement Officer to the workshops.
All remaining audience members left the meeting.
OTHER BUSINESS
Chair Bonser inquired about recycling bids. Mr. Brown reported that he was not prepared to make a full recommendation at this time. He had received proposals from four companies. He has pulled the top two bids for each item but the conference he is currently attending has raised additional questions. He read through the submitted bids, noting that he is still up in the air on some of the items. There was discussion of getting some type of a tamping device for the recycling center sometime in the future.
Mr. Brown reported that much uproar has occurred over the complaints of ‘dump picking’; apparently, lots of people participate. Mr. Anderson reported that he had met with recycling center employees. He believes that they are not scrapping, as a general rule, acknowledging that scrapping by anyone should be discouraged. He has received many comments from the community regarding their ability to recycle items they remove from the recycling center. There was much discussion around activities that take place at the recycling center. All agreed that Mr. Brown will write an interim policy allowing recycling and banning scrapping until a formal policy is written.
A workshop was scheduled for Monday, June 15, at 11:30 AM to discuss the recycling bids and review the interim Recycling Center Policy.
Chair Bonser noted that the Selectmen need to vote to authorize Mr. Brown to file the LOGO documentation for the landfill.
Motion: Bock, second Anderson to authorize Charles Brown, Town Administrator, to file the LOGO documentation on behalf of the Town.
Vote: All in favor. Motion passed 3-0.
Chair Bonser asked the Selectmen to make a determination on the request from the Perron family to have access to Nottingham Town Beach.
Motion: Bock, second Anderson to uphold the recommendation of Janet Horvath, Director of Recreation, to not approve access to non-residents.
Vote: All in favor. Motion passed 3-0.
Having no further business,
Motion: Bock, second Anderson to adjourn the meeting.
Vote: All in favor. Motion passed 3-0.
Meeting adjourned at 9:25 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Traci Chauvey
Recording Secretary
Approved as amended at the July20, 2009 meeting
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