SUNAPEE BOARD OF SELECTMEN
MEETING
7:00 PM Town Office Meeting Room
Monday, December 14, 2009
Present: Stephen White Chairman, William Roach Vice-Chairman, Charlotte Brown, Frederick Gallup, Emma Smith, Donna Nashawaty, Town Manager
Also Present: Katie Richardson Intertown Record, Scott Blewitt, Recreation Director, Charles Smith, Spec Bowers, Shane Hastings, Richard Duperey, Kenneth Meyer, Representative Suzanne Gottling, Roger Landry, Peter Urbach, Tony Bergeron, Road Agent, Chief David Cahill, Chief Dan Ruggles, David Bailey Water & Sewer Super.
Tom & Eva Sullivan, Arlene Adams, Officer Puchler, Rob Messenger, Lynne Wiggins, Betty Ramspott, Melissa Heino, Rhonda Gurney, Barbara Chalmers, Betsy & Dick Katz, Michael Durfor, Anne Nielsen, Mary Epremian, Daniel Banks, Lisa Bozagan.
Chairman White called the meeting to order at 7:00PM.
Tony Bergeron & Chief Cahill-Central Street
Chief Cahill and Tony Bergeron gave an overview of the plans that have been worked up for Central Street that originated from the petition the residents of Central Street sent to the Highway Safety Committee. Tony Bergeron and Chief Cahill met with the State DOT and the attached drawing shows the proposed intersection. After hearing suggestions from the Board and residents Tony Bergeron felt that the plan was a “good start” and he will go back and refine the intersection. There was also discussion regarding ways to slow down traffic on the road, one way was installing speed bumps, which according to Donna Nashawaty are discouraged by the town’s insurance company because of the liability on public roads. The other suggestion was changing the speed limit to 20 miles per hour. Motion that the January
25th meeting be a public meeting to change the speed limit on Central Street to 20 miles per hour by Selectman Brown, seconded by Selectman Smith. All in Favor
Selectmen Action
Motion to reappoint the following members to the Old Town Hall Committee: Dana Ramspott, Michael Durfor, Betsy Katz until 2012 and Joyce Hill, Elizabeth Webb, Eleanor White until 2011 by Selectman Smith, seconded by Selectman Brown. 4 in Favor, 1 Abstained.
Tony Bergeron requested a motion to accept the gift of $1,998.72 from the Lake Sunapee Protective Association for the Burkehaven Sunapee Swirler by Selectman Gallup, seconded by Selectman Roach. All in Favor
Budget Advisory Committee Report
•Chairman Bowers reviewed the 2010 Warrant Article recommendations from the BAC. Donna Nashawaty asked about the $25,000 Coalition warrant article (it helps with the administrative costs of the information gathering to try to keep the Town of Sunapee out of the “donor town” category) that the Board of Selectmen had voted on a few weeks earlier, Chairman Bowers stated it was the first he had heard of this article. Donna Nashawaty also asked about the Wastewater treatment plant upgrade, which was overlooked by the BAC.
Chairman Bowers asked the Board when they would need these overlooked warrant article recommendations and Chairman White said if you wanted to make a recommendation it should be at the December 28th Board of Selectmen’s meeting. Donna Nashawaty proposed that the Capital Reserve Maintenance Library Fund warrant article be changed to the Capital Reserve Town Buildings Maintenance Fund Discussion, which would be spent on the direction from the Board of Selectmen.
•Chairman Bowers gave the recommendation of the BAC on the Operating Budget, which were as follows:
- Cancelling the step raises to employees, according to Chairman Bowers, the Sunapee voters don’t like the idea of government employees getting step raises while many private employees are taking pay cuts or are happy they still have a job.
- That the Town Manager and Board of Selectmen investigate the possibility of offering the Health Savings Account (HSA) style of health insurance.
Chairman White asked if these were the recommendations from the entire BAC committee, which they said yes, and Chairman White told the BAC that the Board of Selectmen would take the recommendations under advisement. Chairman White advised the BAC that the Board of selectmen would ask the Town Manager to come back to the Board with her evaluation of an HSA.
Chairman White opened the floor to public comments regarding the BAC recommendations which were as follows:
•On the BAC recommendation on the Dewy Fields warrant article, Scott Blewitt wanted to speak on behalf of all the Sunapee children and volunteer coaches, that there is not adequate space to provide our athletics, what the BAC would suggest to help them reconsider? Chairman White’s suggestion was to use the high school fields when the school isn’t using them. Scott Blewitt told the Board that both the school and the recreation department use the fields daily. Chairman White felt at this time, to expend the money for new fields, he agreed with the BAC. Donna Nashawaty informed the Board that the rules have changed regarding the set-up and establishment capital reserve funds, and suggested it might be time to start funding a recreation field capital reserve fund.
•Chief Cahill’s question to the BAC; what is the presentation and what else needs to be done on the health insurance plan. Chairman Bowers offered to give Chief Cahill a copy of the HSA plan. Chairman Bowers stated that the presentation was based on a generic HSA policy and that he didn’t have the details of the policy that was offered by the town’s insurance company, but if it is like all the other HSA policies, in Chairman Bowers opinion, this presentation has enough for every employee to make a decision. Chief Cahill questioned whether this particular policy put more of a financial burden on the employee instead of the employer, which Chairman Bowers response was that over time the employee would save money. Richard Duperey assured Chief Cahill a change in the health insurance would be looked at
carefully, but would not occur in 2010.
Old Town Hall Committee & Library Trustees
Chairman Ramspott and Michael Durfor of the Old Town Hall gave a brief history on the purpose of the Old Town Hall Committee and the research the committee has done to find a suitable occupant. Chairman Ramspott reported that at the November 8th meeting the committee voted unanimously to work with the Library Building Committee, to explore the possibility of using the Old Town Hall as the library for 2 reasons: to save a historic site in town and because the town already owns the building. Chairman Chalmers of the Library Building Committee presented the Board with the proposed warrant article; Do you favor changing the new library building location from the Harbor Riverway site to renovating the Old Town Hall and reserving a portion of the building for other town uses? Motion to put this article on the warrant
after checking with counsel by Selectman Roach, seconded by Selectman Brown. 4 in Favor. 1 Opposed.
Chairman’s Report
•Chairman White handed out a memo that he wrote to the Board regarding 3 areas in Tony Bergeron’s budget that he would like the Board to review and discuss at their next meeting on December 28th.
•Chairman White reviewed one option that the Donna Nashawaty had researched regarding the town report. According to Ms. Nashawaty, the town can save $3000 by printing 1500 copies of the town report and then mail a postcard which would read: Town reports can be picked up at Abbott Library, Transfer Station or Town Offices. The town would still print and mail out 3200 copies of the Deliberative mailers.
•Chairman White asked the Board to keep the $500 Community Alliance requested for the bus transportation in the budget and next year the town ill receive more detailed reports of Sunapee ridership. Selectman Roach felt that to tell the town if it didn’t pay the $500 the service would be suspended, felt like a gun was being held to the town’s head. Selectman Roach stated if the service was important to10 Sunapee residents, even without the report of ridership the service should be continued. Representative Gottling will go back and see if she can find the figures that were given to the County.
Motion to adjourn: Meeting adjourned at 9:43PM
Submitted by,
Barbara Vaughn
Administrative Assistant Approved:_____________
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Stephen White, Chairman Charlotte Brown
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William Roach, Vice-Chairman Frederick Gallup
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Emma M. Smith
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