Minutes
Selectmen’s Meeting
August 30, 2010
6:30 PM Chair Bock opened the meeting and asked all those present to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.
Members Present: Peter Bock, Gary Anderson, Mary Bonser and Town Administrator Charles Brown.
Guests: Romeo Danais, Judy Doughty, Chris Mills, Gail Mills & Brian Stucker
Others: Heidi Seaverns.
Chair Bock asked Mr. Brown for an update on the various departments. Mr. Brown informed the Board that he had not spoken with the Police Chief or the Fire Chief today. Both were involved with 2 separate accidents on Deerfield Road. Mr. Brown had not spoken with the Road Agent today, so he was unsure if Kennard Road had been paved. Ms. Doughty informed everyone that the road had been paved. Mr. Brown then asked the Board to consider and act on the bids he had received for the old Fire car & the fuel bids for the upcoming year. The bids received for the conduit work on Stevens Hill Road will be reviewed with Mr. Stucker later in the meeting. First to be acted on were the bids for the 2001 Crown Victoria Fire/Rescue Department car that has been taken out of service. Two bids were received-one from Kris Parece in the
amount of $556 and one from Matt Curry in the amount of $ 251.
Motion: Bonser, second Anderson to accept the bid of $ 556 for the 2001 Crown Victoria Fire/Rescue car from Kris Parece.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
Next to be considered were the bids for fuel oil, propane & off road diesel. Mr. Brown stated he had received three bids as follows;
Difeo Oil & Propane- Off road diesel at rack price plus .22
D.F. Richard- # 2 Fuel Oil at $ 2.59/gallon
Propane at $1.89/gallon
Irving-#2 Fuel Oil fixed price of $ 2.36/gallon, variable at rack plus .25
Propane at fixed price of $ 1.794/gallon
Off road diesel at rack price plus .15
Mr. Brown informed the Board that Irving had put in a liquidated damages clause into their contract this year, allowing them to recoup monies if the Town does not purchase at least 95% of the contracted amounts. He went on to state that the prices for Irving change daily, so the actual prices may differ than those submitted, which were for 8/26/10.
Motion: Bonser, second Anderson to accept Irving Oil’s bids for off road diesel at rack price plus .15, fixed cost for propane as well as fixed cost for # 2 Fuel oil.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
The Board next addressed the signature file.
The Tax Collector has requested permission from the Board of Selectmen to extend the lien date by 3 days until September 13, 2010. This allows him ample time to process the liens. He has made this request in prior years.
Motion: Bonser, second Anderson to allow the Tax Collector to extend the lien date until September 13, 2010 and authorize Mr. Brown to sign the letter informing the Tax Collector of the result.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
The Board also reviewed and signed a salary history reflecting an increase in pay that was requested by the Library Trustees for a Library employee.
The Board will act on outstanding minutes at their next meeting.
Board members reviewed bills, mail & correspondence.
Mr. Brown told the Board that the September 3, 2010 hearing scheduled in regard to the USA Springs bankruptcy case had been canceled. The debtor has withdrawn their motion, involving the validity and enforceability of certain permits associated with USA Springs, without prejudice. Mr. Mills indicated there was an article in NH Business Review that discussed the motion. He left the meeting and returned with a copy of the article as well as responses to it and gave the copy to Mr. Brown. Ms. Bonser requested that Mr. Brown set up a meeting with the Board and Attorney Donovan to discuss the opinion from the Attorney General in regard to USA Springs permit. The Board discussed their availability and requested a meeting late in the week of September 6, if it could be arranged.
Chair Bock mentioned the upcoming election on September 14, 2010 and asked Mr. Stucker, the Moderator, if there was a need for ballot clerks. Mr. Stucker said he was unsure of actual numbers at this time but the town could always use additional people to help with the elections.
Next item to be discussed was the upcoming Legislative Policy Conference being held at LGC on September 17, 2010. Board members need to review the floor policies and be prepared to discuss and vote on their recommendations at their meeting on September 13, 2010. A voting delegate needs to be chosen, the Town has one vote in the process.
Motion: Bonser, second Anderson to appoint Charles Brown as the voting delegate for the Town of Nottingham at the 2011 Legislative Policy Conference.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
Mr. Brown asked the Board if they had any changes to the draft Budget Guidelines document he had given them at their last meeting. The Board had no changes. Mr. Anderson reported that he had attended the last budget meeting in which the committee elected officers, appointed a new member and reviewed financials from the Town. He indicated the committee wanted to see budgeted revenues as well as actual in the next statement.
Brian Stucker, CFRAC Chairman, stepped forward to address the Board. He provided copies of an email to the Board he had received earlier in the day from Jay Somers of Comcast. This letter was dated August 24, 2010. Mr. Stucker read the brief letter which indicated the price for the Stevens Hill Road project was estimated at $ 124,680. Mr. Stucker had requested a detailed breakdown of the costs, but none was provided. Mr. Stucker asked about the responses received from the RFP that went out. Mr. Brown stated the Town had received three proposals. No proposals were received from anyone that had been sent the RFP originally. The proposals were as follows:
John Taylor & Sons $ 37,730 (3” conduit)
East Coast Utilities Construction $ 44,732 ( 2” conduit)
Landsite Corp. $57,483 (2” conduit)
Mr. Stucker commented that only 1 company bid as the RFP specified as afar as diameter of conduit. He also reminded the Board that these bids were to provide the path for the cable only. The number that Comcast provided was for the complete job. Discussion followed about how best to fund the project, if the committee & the Board of Selectmen decided to pursue this. There was mention of establishing a special revenue fund for this purpose and designating
some of the franchise fee money to fund it. The franchise fee money has been used to offset taxes in past years. Mr. Stucker mentioned it may be possible to stagger out the payments over the 7 year contract period. Mr. Mills asked why Comcast was not paying for this project and wants to know why the Town is not pursuing it. Chair Bock, along with Mr. Stucker, explained that in the original contract with Continental Cablevision (1990), it was specified that when this portion of Stevens Hill Road wanted cable installed, the company would do it at no charge. In 1996 the laws changed and as a result, the company no longer is bound to this obligation. The Town originally intended to pursue this, however they were advised that such a lawsuit would cost a considerable amount of money and the Town would lose eventually. Mr.
Danais asked that the committee should try to pin Comcast down for an amount for the balance of the work needed that is not in the estimates. The CFRAC needs to decide if they want to continue with this project and once that determination is made, they will let the Selectmen know, who will ultimately make the decision. Mr. Stucker announced that the next meeting of the Cable Franchise Renewal Committee is scheduled for Tuesday August 31, 2010 at 7PM in Conference Room # 1. He also indicated that the Comcast representative would be in attendance at the meeting. Mr. Stucker stated that the Town is working on the 90 day extension for contract negotiations, which expires in mid October and we may have to consider asking for an additional 90 day extension.
Mr. Stucker then spoke as Moderator. He stated that if someone was interested in being a ballot clerk they could contact Elaine Schmottlach (Democrat) or himself (Republican). Chair Bock asked how an Independent voter would vote in this election (September 14). Mr. Stucker stated that voters have to declare a party at check in on Election Day. He went on to explain that there will not be a check out area on Election Day, he believes it is an additional step that is not needed. He went on to report that the voting machine was tested on Thursday and he was very happy with its performance. Mr. Stucker indicated he would like to set the gym up for the election 2-3 days prior. Mr. Mills asked when the polls would be open. Mr. Stucker stated the polls would be open from 8AM-7PM. Mr. Stucker thanked the Board for their time and
left at 7:30PM.
The next appointment on the agenda was with Gail Mills. Ms. Mills stepped forward to address the Board in regard to Town policies & ordinances. Ms. Mills read a statement asking the Board of Selectmen to post all policies & ordinances on the Town website, including the personnel policy. Chair Bock asked Ms. Mills what communities had their personnel policies online. Ms. Mills stated in her search of 10 towns, she found 6 with their personnel policies online (Raymond, Durham, Concord, Pittsfield, Dover & Newmarket). She went on to say that many residents have complained to her about the lack of information (policies & ordinances) on the website and she believes that this may be a violation of RSA 91:A:3-II (Right to Know). Mr. Brown stated that these items are available for review in the Town Office during
business hours. Ms. Doughty then spoke of an instance where she feels she was treated discourteously in the Town Office when she asked to see the dog policy. Ms. Bonser asked if she had filed a complaint, she said she had not. Both Mr. Mills & Ms. Doughty spoke about the difficulty in getting to the office during scheduled business hours. Mr. Brown reminded all that at this point, staff time is the biggest issue in regard to the website. Along those lines, Chair Bock reported he had spoken with Coe Brown in regard to work study and he did not think it is a viable avenue. There are many restrictions on work times. Ms. Mills suggested speaking with Dover High School. She stated they have a program where students are in school for a ½ day and work outside for the other ½ day. Chair Bock said he would continue pursuing the work study position. Ms. Mills rejoined the audience.
Chair Bock asked if the other Board members had anything they wished to discuss. Mr. Anderson gave each of the Board members a handout about the archive room project that the Building Committee is working on. He then went over the outline for the project as far as what was needed-Provide heating & air conditioning; to be fire rated & insulated; install sufficient lighting; supply open shelving and/or closed shelving (if necessary); properly secured entrance, furnish with secure & fire rated steel cabinets to store legal/critical information and to be organized by individual departments. He reported to the Board that he had spoken with the Town Office staff and they felt confident that they could organize the space and documents once the room was established. Ms. Bonser asked what size room he envisioned. Mr.
Anderson indicated he was thinking about the size of a small library. Ms. Bonser went on to say she would like to see an overall plan for the back addition before committing to the archive room. Chair Bock reminded the members about the Food Pantry expansion in a part of the back, which will be funded by the Pantry. Discussion then followed about the environmental controls necessary for an archive room and the expense associated with these controls. It was the consensus of the group that the room probably should be called a records storage area. Mr. Danais suggested purchasing used fire proof cabinets for a cost saving measure. Mr. Anderson will keep the Board apprised of the Committee’s work on this project.
Mr. Mills asked if the two attorneys had been contacted as he had requested at the last meeting. Mr. Brown indicated there had been contact and he would provide Mr. Mills with the responses.
Chair Bock reminded the people present and the viewing audience that Nottingham Day was rapidly approaching. The celebration will be held on Saturday September 18, 2010. Volunteers are needed and urged people to please contact if they wanted to be a part of this day. Mr. Anderson reminded all that the Church will be putting on the Chicken BBQ at the end of the Nottingham Day Celebration.
Having no further business,
8:05 PM Motion: Bonser, second Anderson to adjourn.
Vote: 3-0 in favor.
Respectfully Submitted,
Heidi Seaverns
Approved as written at the September 13, 2010 meeting.
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