BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING
SUNAPEE TOWN HALL
MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2005
Present: William Roach, Emma Smith, Richard Leone and Frederick Gallup.
Absent: Stephen White
Also Present: Ronald Verblauw, Sally Gillon, Donna Gazelle, Bob Henry, Deb
Champagne, and Rebecca Miller.
Chairman William Roach opened the meeting at 7:00 PM.
1. APPOINTMENTS:
A. Update from Water & Sewer Commission – Bob Henry
Mr. Henry began by saying that he would like to have a formal exchange between the Board of Selectmen and Water and Sewer Commission at least one time each quarter annually so that the commission may inform the Selectmen on what is going on in their departments. He announced that he is pleased that there have been no blow ups and it is now the end of August. He stated that the departments have qualified individuals working for them. Since the resignation of the superintendent, the foreman, David Bailey, has taken over as acting superintendent and he is doing very well. He feels that Mr. Bailey did a good job at presenting the departments at the Summer Town Meeting. He explained that Mr. Bailey has not shown an interest in the position. The commission has received a lot of
applications to date. It is their feeling that the individual for the position needs more sewer qualifications than water. An active education program is now on-going within the departments. They have been running efficiently, even with one less person, but feel they need to fill the vacant position as there are a lot of things that need to be addressed. Major activities of the commission are to keep working on a new water line at Lake Avenue and removal of sludge. The commission is investigating purchasing one GO tube as the present sludge disposal method is very expensive at $600 per trucking. The GO tube method is being used by the Town of Newport. Newport is very pleased with this system. The sludge is pumped through tubes and the tubes are placed on a concrete floor with drainage. Additives are placed into the sludge. Once dried, the sludge can be used within the community and even if shipped, the cost would be
much less per ton than raw sludge. Another major activity is looking at the budget long range. There are a lot of major projects that need to be addressed by the commission that can be very costly. Also, he would like to see better cooperation between the Town Officials and department heads. At this time, the cooperation has been excellent and he is very pleased. Fred Gallup congratulated Mr. Henry on his proposals. He stated that he feels this is a good step forward as far as cooperation between departments and likes the idea of long range planning in terms of projects. Donna Nashawaty stated she wished to approach a subject with Mr. Henry. The town is being required to install a larger water pipe for the Safety Services Building. A four inch pipe will be replaced by a ten inch pipe. As the town will have to foot the bill for this project and it will assist the water department, she will be asking the Board of
Selectmen to sign a letter to the commission requesting assistance with labor for the project. Mr. Henry brought up another major project the commission is facing and that is measurement of usage on meters. William Roach stated that this has always been a problem and returned to the subject of the GO tube and asked Mr. Henry how long the bag is used in Newport before it is opened. Mr. Henry stated that he guessed it may be one or two years and was not certain. W. Roach stated that he feels this is the best way to go in today’s technology and the savings would be great. Richard Leone raised the question of what the process was to connect up to a sewer line. D. Nashawaty and W. Roach explained that if a property lies within 300 feet of a sewer line, it is required to hook up. D. Nashawaty wished to add that she is very pleased with the work David Bailey has been doing. He finds him very pro-active and responds quickly each
time she has asked him a question. The Board agreed. D. Nashawaty told Mr. Henry that the budget process will begin in October. She will place the water and sewer commission on the slate sometime in November. The Board thanked Mr. Henry for coming in.
B. Report of the Garden Tour 2005
Donna Gazelle and Sally Gillon presented the Selectmen with a written report of the financial outcome of the 2005 Garden Tour. The report is attached to the file copy of these minutes. They had 700 visitors and received $13,545.00 profit. Other may be incoming and when received they will turn over to the town for deposit. They wished to express their sincere appreciation to their volunteers, and for the support of Lynne Wiggins, the Town bookkeeper, Donna Nashawaty, Town Manager, Police Chief David Cahill and Road Agent Tony Bergeron. William Roach thanked the Garden Tour individuals for the time and effort they put into the tour stating that it truly enhanced the beauty of Sunapee. D. Nashawaty stated that she will be presenting an article for the 2006
town warrant to the board for funds to be withdrawn from the Sunapee Beautification Fund for projects in 2006.
C. Sullivan County United Way – Kelly Murphy
Kelly Murphy, Executive Director, of United Way in Sullivan County presented the Board with information of an upcoming project the United Way is planning. She has spoken with Town Manager Donna Nashawaty and Police Chief David Cahill about a “Donuts on the Way” project planned for four communities. She would like to have this program in Sunapee on September 13 from 6 AM to 8 PM. A place has not yet been determined. An area along the side of the road will be marked off for drivers to pull over and receive a free bag with a donut and a coupon to purchase a cup of coffee. Also, volunteers will be delivering free donuts to area businesses. She stated that in other communities the Selectmen or Councilmen are volunteering their time to hand out donuts and stated that if the
Selectmen of Sunapee would like to join in, they may call her office. K. Murphy told the Selectmen that on Tuesday, September 27 at 9 AM in the Claremont Senior Center a meeting of the Transportation Summit would be held to discuss the problem of transportation in Sullivan County. She invited the Selectmen to attend. She also passed out two surveys the United Way is distributing throughout the county. Both regarding transportation. One is for individuals to fill out and the second is for businesses to fill out. She stated that United Way wants to cooperate with Sunapee in their endeavors.
2. ITEMS FOR SIGNATURE
The Board signed the items as outlined on the agenda attached to the file copy of the minutes.
3. SELECTMEN ACTION
A. Contract for Safety Services Building
D. Nashawaty stated that she needed the Board’s approval to sign the contract. The contract amount has not changed and is $2,886,858.00. Richard Leone asked what rate the financing was. D. Nashawaty stated that it was at 3.96% and would reduce as time passed. Motion was made by Richard Leone to allow Donna Nashawaty to sign the contract with North Branch in the amount of $2,886,858.00. The motion was seconded by Emma Smith. The vote was unanimous and the motion carried.
D. Nashawaty informed the Board that ground breaking is planned for September 12. The construction company will probably arrange if any ceremony is planned.
D, Nashawaty raised the issue of the performance bond. The amount of the bond is $26,000. As North Branch has an excellent reputation throughout the state, it has been recommended to her that the town save the $26,000 and not purchase a performance bond. The purpose of the bond is to insure payment to subcontractors. As the town will be paying the bills, she is certain that this bond would not be needed and it is not required. Motion was made by Frederick Gallup to not purchase the bond based on the recommendation of the Town Manager. The motion was seconded by Emma Smith. The vote was unanimous and the motion carried.
B. Coalition Communities: Request for Donation 2005
D. Nashawaty brought to the Board’s attention a letter from the Coalition requesting a donation for 2005. They currently have in their budget $30,000 and need $53,000 to continue operating. D. Nashawaty informed the Board that money is still left in the account from previous years and the town voted to expend $2,500 this year. As many towns are a part of the Coalition, she felt the donation need not be sizeable. The Board all agreed that the Coalition has been trying to do a good job and have succeeded in some aspects and wished to continue to contribute to this cause. Motion was made by Frederick Gallup to continue to contribute to the Coalition $1,500.00 for 2005 to assist their efforts in respect to the state wide property tax. These monies to come from the warrant article. The motion was seconded by Richard Leone. The vote was unanimous and the motion carried.
C. Appointment of J. Anthony Bergeron: Committee Established Under HB 293
D. Nashawaty informed the Board that Tony Bergeron, Road Agent, was willing to be appointed to the committee established under HB 293. Motion was made by Emma Smith to appoint J. Anthony Bergeron as the Town’s representative to the committee established under HB 293. The motion was seconded by Frederick Gallup. The vote was unanimous and the motion carried. The Board expressed it’s appreciation to Tony Bergeron for his willingness to serve in many capacities for the community.
5. TOWN MANAGER REPORTS
A. Revaluation Update
D. Nashawaty informed the Board that the revaluation hearings are being held with two agents from Vision meeting with property owners at Town Hall. The meetings are scheduled at 15 minute intervals. Approximately 10% of the property owners have asked for meetings which are a good number for a community with 3000 parcels. The meetings will continue this week. Most of the items they have addressed are corrections such as measurements of buildings, lot size, square footage, etc. Some have questioned their value but all has been going amicably. She has heard from owners that they have appreciated the service given to them by the assessors. The assessors have reciprocated stating that they have found Sunapee property owners to be pleasant, polite and fair. D.
Nashawaty stated that, at the best of her ability, she anticipates a tax rate of $12,50 but will not be sure until all the figures are final after the meetings with the owners on corrections and assessments. The turn over date to the Town is scheduled for September 7. She is asking the Board to sign an extension to file the MS-1 (Tax Summary Form) with the NH DRA. This form is due September 1. The extension is being requested because of the turn over date of September 7. She explained that once the data is given to the Town on September 7, Vision will no longer be dealing with any of the assessments. The new assessor will be the one who will be receiving and reviewing the abatement requests, if any. Should these be denied, the next step is for the property owner is to apply to the Board of Land and Tax Appeals for a hearing.
B. Agenda for County Donor Roundtable Meeting
D. Nashawaty presented the Board with a draft of a proposed agenda for the August 23 meeting. She anticipates an attendance of 40 or more people. All towns will be represented with the exception of Bedford, Dover and Center Harbor. Stephen White and Emma Smith have volunteered to drive. Additions were made to the agenda to read notes from communities that cannot attend and to add a question as to what the participants feel is the next step. Discussion was held on bills that the Board would like to present to the legislature. It was felt the more bills submitted, the more attention the matter will receive. A total of 9 bills will be discussed at the August 23 meeting. D. Nashawaty will compose a handout. Discussion was raised by William Roach on two articles that
recently appeared in the Eagle Times and Union Leader. D. Nashawaty presented the Board with a graph she complied showing the payments to Sullivan County the past several years. It shows a spike in 1998 and 1999. She will try to determine what the cause of this spike was. This was the time Sunapee’s payment to the county more than doubled.
6. MISCELLANEOUS
- D. Nashawaty reminded the Board of the hearing for emergency lanes scheduled for August 29 at 7:00 PM in the music room of the High School.
- Emma Smith stated that she has attended meetings of the Sunapee Water Shed
Coalition Committee but has found that her schedule cannot handle these. Her husband, Charles, has expressed an interest in being the Town’s representative. Motion was made by Frederick Gallup to accept the resignation of Emma Smith from the Sunapee Water Shed Coalition Committee and to appoint Charles Smith as Sunapee’s representative to the Sunapee Water Shed Coalition. The motion was seconded by Richard Leone. The vote was unanimous and the motion carried.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:40 PM.
Submitted by, Darlene Morse Approved______________
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William Roach, Chairman Emma Smith, Vice-Chairman
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Richard Leone Frederick Gallup
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Stephen W. White
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