BC20101115twa-Not Approved

NOT APPROVED

TOWN OF PELHAM

BUDGET COMMITTEE / MEETING MINUTES

Monday, November 15, 2010

CALL TO ORDER – 7:30pm

PRESENT:

Also Present:

Mr. Daniel Guimond, Mr.= Dennis Viger, Mr. John Lavallee, Mr. Robert Sherman, Mr. Gregory Farris, Ms. Angèle Diack, Selectmen Representative Edmund Gleason, School Board Representative Andy Ducharme

Town Administrator Tom = Gaydos, Forestry Committee: Deborah Waters, Paul Gagnon and Gayle Plouffe

ABSENT:

Mr. Larry Hall, Mr. Ken= Dunne

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

2011 TOWN WARRANT ARTICLE REVIEW

Fire Station – The amount to be raised is TBD. Mr. Gaydos noted that a super majo= rity (60%) vote would be needed for the article to pass. He said the price was being held u= p for now; the Selectmen had asked that a number of aspects of the station be reviewed. They were also look= ing to have a guaranteed maximum price by the contractor.

Mr. Lavallee asked how th= e Board was expected to vote if there was no price. Mr. Gaydos said he was getting the= price as fast as he could. Mr. Glea= son said the Selectmen had asked Mr. Gaydos to look at the pricing and several variations; they weren’t prepared to commit to the $3.9 million. He believed they would come back p= rior to reconsideration; the article was a place holder to let the Board know th= ey would be coming forward with something.&nb= sp; Mr. Viger hoped to vote on the article prior to reconsideration. He asked if the design had changed= . Mr. Gaydos replied that the design= may change in a few minor areas and summarized what those changes would be. Mr. Viger said they had known abou= t the station since March and questioned why they didn’t have a number befo= re now. Mr. Gaydos stated that t= hey would be provided with a guaranteed maximum price. He said Trident Corp. was working = with the architect and engineer who were getting together with the builders, Eck= man Construction; the price would be coming from Eckman.

Mr. Guimond said he couldn’t vote on something without a dollar figure.

Tallant Road / Willow Street Capital Reserve Fund - $100,000 for the Willow Street Bridge replacement identified by the state as being substandard and eligible for 8= 0% grant reimbursement. The fund currently has approximately $124,000. Mr. Gaydos explained that the bridge had been deteriorating over the years. The Planning Director = was working with the state to get on an expedited plan that would be four or fi= ve years from now. The Town will= need approximately $400,000-$500,000.

Mr. Ducharme asked if the= re was any way the state could pull the 80% away. Mr. Gaydos said the bridge m= oney was based on gas taxes, so the state was committed to it.

Ms. Diack asked if the br= idge was currently on the state’s ten year plan. Mr. Gaydos answered no.

There was further discuss= ion regarding the actions being taken to try to get the bridge on the stateR= 17;s list and the importance of having funding in place.

Highway Block Grant - $281,000 to be raised and offset by state grant for the repair, maintenance and upgrading of Town roads. No money to be raised by taxation.= Mr. Gaydos said the final figure w= ould probably be received in December.

Forest Maintenance Fund – raise $45,000 for forest maintenance and stewardship. = The funds are produced from forest harvesting, not property taxes. Ms. Deb Waters presented the warra= nt article. She said the program= they were working on would make the care and maintenance of the Town forest land= and conservation areas self sustaining and self funded. The Forestry Committee has a long-= range plan for Town and conservation land, which Ms. Waters and Mr. Gagnon outlined.

Mr. Guimond asked that a = copy of the forestry budget be forwarded to the Board. He asked for the current balance o= f the account. Ms. Waters said ther= e was $159,000 in the account (as of 10/12/10), of which $19,000 had been spent/voted out in 2010. Reserve for pending projects was $= 45,000 that had also been voted out and set aside for Raymond Park and other areas. The actual balance in = the fund was $94,000, of which they would take the requested $45,000. Mr. Guimond believed the tax payers would want to know where all the forest areas were located. Mr. Gagnon said most of the land w= as shown on their website (access through the Pelham Web); they were in the process of updating the information to bring the new parcels in.

Mr. Lavallee questioned w= hat type of work could be done with $25,000 for maintenance. Mr. Waters said the amount was an estimate (for three areas); they needed to a survey, blaze the boundaries a= nd do site work. Mr. Lavallee as= ked if there was a plan for what the revenues would be. Ms. Waters answered yes; they beli= eved the revenues over a ten year period would break even. Mr. Lavallee asked what was encumb= ered in the $19,000 (spent/voted) for 2010.&nbs= p; Ms. Waters said they would provide the Board with their projected bu= dget and the amount that had been spent.

Mr. Viger asked what rema= ined in the bond authorized a few years ago. Mr. Gagnon stated there was approximately $1.65 million remaining. He noted there was also approximat= ely $380,000 in the current use fund. Mr. Viger asked if there was a time limit on the bond. Mr. Gagnon answered no. Mr. Viger questioned if there were= any parcels they were interested in purchasing within the next year. Mr. Gagnon answered yes.

Mr. Farris asked if they = were reviewing buildable properties. Mr. Gagnon said there was a property being reviewed now that had an appraisal indicating it was not buildable. He said it was hard for him to comment at this time because he didn’t ha= ve a purchase and sales agreement. Mr. Farris recalled when the warrant was presented to the Town the idea was to acquire properties that would normally be built as houses. Mr. Gagnon said that was correct.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Mr. Farris said some of the things purchased seemed to not be buildable. Mr. Gagnon commented that the buildable land cost more. He discussed some of the properties purchased and noted he had a chart indicating how many (house) lots had been proposed for each, the percen= t of wetlands and what was paid per acre. He provided a copy of the chart and will e-mail a copy to the Board.= Mr. Gagnon mentioned the firs= t time around it was expensive to open the properties up and harvest them, but once the logging yards and roads were put in, the second time around should be m= ore revenue and less expense.

School Resource Officer - $39,815 to hire/equip a School Resour= ce Officer from July – December 2011, after which the position, if appro= ved, would be funded through the Police Department Operating Budget. If the article is passed, the Poli= ce Operating Budget will be reduced by $5365 eliminating the DARE Officer.

Mr. Gaydos commented that= the article narrowly lost last year. He said the Police Chief and the Selectmen believed it was a worthy project and was needed in Town. During the summer the officer continued to work with young people and would fill in shifts; it was a year-round position.

Mr. Guimond asked if the = expenses could be shared with the School Department. Mr. Gaydos said because of the nat= ure of the job, the School Resource Officer would need to report to the Police Chief.

Mr. Lavallee asked for clarification/breakdown of the requested amount. Mr. Gaydos explained how the money= would be broken out. Next year the = total cost would be approximately $73,000. Mr. Lavallee asked if the School had requested the position. Mr. Gaydos said the School was in = favor of the officer. Mr. Ducharme = said the School was in favor of the position, but had not requested it. Mr. Viger pointed out that a perce= ntage of the requested figure represented non-recurring costs.

Mr. Viger asked what the = $5365 represented that would come out of the budget if the School Resource Officer was approved. Mr. Gaydos stat= ed the amount was for the DARE program, a substitute for the School Resource Offic= er, and would come out if the School Resource Officer was approved. The Police Chief convinced the Sel= ectmen of the fact that the School Resource Officer was far more effective than the DARE program.

Mr. Farris understood tha= t the School Resource Officer may be pulled to cover shifts in the summer and questioned if the same would happen during the school year. Mr. Gaydos said it would be at the Police Chief’s discretion. &nbs= p; He believed there were times during the school year that the officer could be pulled, such as during school vacation. He commented that their primary fu= nction was to work in the schools and to maintain a relationship with the young pe= ople when school was not in session.

Compensated Absence Fund - $100,0= 00 to be placed in a Compensated Absence Trust Fund. The money shall come from the year= end unreserved fund balance and have no impact on tax rate. Mr. Gaydos said the article was at= the recommendation of the Selectmen and Budget Committee to start allocating mo= ney back into the fund. Mr. Guimo= nd asked what the present liability was. Mr. Gaydos said it was approximately $800,000. Mr. Guimond asked for the fundR= 17;s balance. Mr. Gaydos said ther= e was approximately $61,000.

Mr. Viger asked if verbia= ge could be added to indicate that the money would go against the $800,000 shortfall. Mr. Gaydos said it= could be done; the liability of $800,000 could be added.

Muldoon Second Egress - $130,000 to construct a second egress f= rom George M. Muldoon Park onto Nashua Road with the money coming from the 2010 year end unreserved fund balance and ha= ve no impact on the tax rate. Mr. Gaydos discussed the concerns regarding the safety at the park. He noted that they received a perm= it from the Department of Environmental Services which was running out. They had a year’s chance to = get the work done. The plan has been reviewed and it w= as decided that the roadway could be gravel versus asphalt. The project would be put out to bi= d and believed it would come in for less.

Mr. Farris questioned if = parking would be allowed on the new road. Mr. Gleason said it would only be 20ft. wide. Mr. Gaydos said the road would not= be for parking.

Mr. Lavallee asked how the traffic pattern would be designed, such as to enter from Mammoth Road and exit onto Nashua Road= . Mr. Gleason said the traffic patte= rn had not yet been decided. He said= the Highway Safety Committee should review the traffic.

In looking at the plan, M= r. Viger asked where the playground equipment was located. Mr. Gaydos described the location o= f the playground. Mr. Gleason provi= ded further clarification.

The Board concluded their= review of the proposed warrant articles.

There was a brief discuss= ion regarding the upcoming schedule.

ADJOURNMENT

MOTION:

(Lavallee/Sher= man) To adjourn the meeting.

VOTE:

(8-0-0) The motion carried.

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 8:30 pm.

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = Respectfully submitted,

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = Charity A. Landry Willis

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = Recording Secretary