APPROVED

TOWN OF PELHAM

BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING

MINUTES

January 28, 2003

APPROVED – February 4, 2003

CALL TO ORDER

PLEDGE OF ALLEGAINCE

Chairman Farris opened the meeting at approximately 6:30 pm. 

MINUTES REVIEW

January 21, 2003

OPEN FORUM

None.

REQUEST FOR NON-PUBLIC SESSION

The Selectmen met with the Building Inspector/Code Enforcement Officer.  The Board entered into a non-public session at approximately 6:40 pm.  Also present was Mr. Gaydos.

The Board returned to public session at approximately 7:10 pm.

APPOINTMENTS

PUBLIC HEARING - continued for the conditional layout of an existing private right-of-way (Campbell Road, Gaston Street and Andover Street)

Mr. Gaydos informed that subsequent to the last hearing there were certain inconsistencies with the notification process, and a street (Methuen Street) was omitted.  Since there was a requirement for the omitted street to be included in the distribution of costs, the residents requested that their street be included in the improvement project.  Mr. Gaydos said that the notification process should be done again, in its entirety.  He felt there should be a review of the apportionment process and suggested that the affected people come up with a fair process. 

Mr. McDevitt noted that the Budget Committee did not approve the warrant article, which he felt would lead to the voters not approving it as well.  He said because there were a number of people who were strongly against the project, he would only support it if the residents got together and came back with a fair way to proceed.  Mr. McDevitt said an alternative, which he favored,  would be to consider forming a Village District (RSA 52:1) in the area.  He said a Village District would give the residents of the area total control over the road.  Mr. Gaydos further explained what authority a Village District held. 

Mr. Farris pointed out that the residents were having trouble gathering the funds from the residents for plowing.  Mr. McDevitt said within a Village District there were different rules if payment was not made.  Mr. Farris said forming a Village District was an option that could be reviewed, but felt that the notification process to include Methuen Street should happen. 

Mr. Derby felt it was late in the year to review the streets.  He said the streets should be reviewed in the summer, which would provide additional time to assess pricing.  Mr. Farris said that a broader base of residents may have input if the project was assessed in the summer, since some of the residents were seasonal.  Mr. Gaydos discussed the need for the improvement process to be determined, before a public hearing was to be held. 

PUBLIC INPUT

Mr. Lance Ouellette, 13 Gaston Street, President of the Campbell Grove Association said the issues were reviewed at the last meeting, and the residents were promised a breakdown of the new costs after a re-evaluation of the road lengths.  He said that Mr. Rob Mackey (resident of Methuen Street) informed that he had not been notified, but wanted to be included in the improvement project if he was going to be responsible for paying some of the costs.  Mr. Ouellette believed that Methuen Street was approximately 200ft. long.  He pointed out that there were a number of people present, who were in favor of the project and would like to know the final figure.  He discussed the need for the Selectmen’s help and noted the difficulty in gathering funds for plowing.  Mr. Ouellette asked that the review process continue and if there were people in opposition, they could come forward after a decision was made. 

There was a brief discussion regarding the method being taken for assessment. 

Mr. Don Chelton, 22 Campbell Road noted that there was a short stretch of Andover Street, to the east of Campbell that was not included in the original calculations.  He asked how Spring Street had been assessed.  Mr. McDevitt said that Spring Street had been assessed by the total assessed value.  He believed that the people living on Spring Street were assessed at 100%, and the people using the street paid 30% less.  Mr. Chelton said that some of the roads were in good shape and wanted to know if the cost would be reduced if a portion of the roads were accepted ‘as is’.  Mr. Farris said that the Road Agent, Mr. Don Foss reviewed the roads and determined the work to be done to bring them up to Town standards (per the subdivision regulations).  He said parts of the roads may not need as much work, but would still have to be reviewed by Mr. Foss.  Mr. Chelton asked if there would be a cap on the improvement costs.  Mr. Gaydos said the costs would not exceed $300,000.  Mr. Chelton asked who the governing body was that accepted roads.  Mr. McDevitt said that Town Meeting was the body which accepted roads. 

Mr. Ouellette asked what the future of the roads would be if they were not accepted by the Town.  Mr. Lynde felt the residents were better equipped to know what would happen to the roads over time.  He understood that there was a problem obtaining the funds from the residents for basic maintenance.  He said he couldn’t speak specifically about the roads in the area, but believed that continued deterioration would probably occur, and at some point the residents would be faced with major expenses for repair.  He discussed the alternatives that the residents had.  Mr. Ouellette confirmed, per RSA, that at least one resident from each road would need to sign the petition for submission to the Town.  Mr. McDevitt believed that a signature from at least one resident was needed for a road to be laid out.  Mr. Ouellette said that he obtained a signature from the resident on Methuen Street, and then submitted the document to Mr. Gaydos. 

Mr. Farris suggested that Mr. Ouellette poll the residents to find out what they felt would be a fair process for assessing the properties.  Mr. Ouellette asked if he should wait to hear back from Mr. Gaydos regarding the addition of Methuen Street, or if $300,000 was a fair number to use.  Mr. Gaydos said if the warrant article was not approved and the number was not accurate, the project would not be done this year.  Mr. Ouellette believed that the segment of Andover Street was included in Mr. Foss’ calculations. 

Mr. Farris noted that the deliberative session would be held February 3, 2003 at the New Elementary School.  He suggested that a representative discuss the warrant article and explain that there was no money being raised by taxes.  Mr. McDevitt noted that at Town Meeting, the voters would not be voting on the method of assessment, but only whether to approve the raising of the bond. 

Mr. Chelton wanted to know what would happen if the money was expended and the Town decided to not accept the road.  Mr. McDevitt said that there were one, or two exceptions that allowed the Selectmen to accept a road.  He said one exception was the process of petition to lay out a road through the betterment assessment.  He provided a copy of a memo from Town Council (dated March 19, 1993) which explained the process.  He noted that state law had not changed since the memo was provided to the Selectmen.  He gave the memo to Mr. Gaydos to make copies for interested parties. 

Mr. George LaBonte, Gaston Road asked that the Selectmen stay in contact to co-ordinate information. 

NEW BUSINESS

Review and vote on lease for library

Mr. Philip Currier, President of the Pelham Historical Society, discussed the proposed lease agreement for the library.  He said that the agreement had been discussed in November with the following concerns being voiced by the Selectmen: 1) activities conducted will be open to the public, and 2) cost of utilities.  Mr. Currier said that the activities would be open to the public.  He said that the level of activity would be less than the current library and didn’t feel that there would be a burden on the Town if the Town maintained the utilities, as previously discussed.  He noted that the utilities would be revisited on, or about July 1, 2006.  He said no major renovations would be made to the building without the landlord’s written consent.  Mr. Currier gave a brief history of the property and discussed the deed restrictions as spelled out in November of 1896.  The feeling was the Historical Society’s use tied into the educational use as spelled out in the deed.  He said that the Historical Society would like to go before Town Meeting with a unanimous vote.     

Mr. Bergeron confirmed that the land was donated with the intention that a library building would be built.  Mr. Currier answered yes.  Mr. Bergeron asked if the Town accepted the land with the knowledge that they had to build a library.  Mr. Currier answered yes. 

Mr. Lynde asked if research was being done to designate the library building as a historical entity.  Mr. Currier said that the Historical Society would look into having the property designated as a state historical site. 

Mr. Farris confirmed that the Town would pay for the utilities, with the exception of the phone.  Mr. Currier answered yes.  Mr. Farris noted that the current heating system didn’t work well and wanted to know if the Town would be responsible for its repair/replacement.  Mr. Currier said, the Town still owned the building, so any major components would need to be taken care of by the Town. 

Mr. Currier noted that a slight addition had been made to the Use paragraph.  He said that ‘maintenance of a history and genealogy library’ had been included within the paragraph. 

Mr. Gaydos recommended that if the Selectmen agreed upon the lease agreement that Mr. Currier should submit the final draft prior to the February 3, 2003 deliberative session so copies could be handed out to interested parties. 

Mr. Currier noted that there was contingency language incorporated within the agreement in the event the warrant article failed at Town Meeting. 

Mr. McDevitt informed that his name appeared on the Historical Society’s member roster and noted that he would have no benefit from the lease.  The Selectmen did not object to Mr. McDevitt voting. 

Attached hereto is a copy of the revised lease agreement for submission at the February 3, 2003 deliberative session.

OLD BUSINESS

Municipal Building

Mr. Gaydos reviewed the change orders that had been approved.  He went on to review the items and note which were credits, and which were additional costs.  Mr. McDevitt appreciated the mention of the credits so that members of the public would be aware of the scope changes.  He noted that the project was currently under budget. 

Police Chief Haglund said there was a request to add a 220 volt line for the treadmills in the fitness room, which would cost $784.  He said the line would allow for less draw on the electricity.  Chief Haglund said that the prisoner process area in the cell complex had been redesigned to include a counter and cabinets so there would be no obstruction when viewing the holding cell.  The revision change also included a small interview room with a total cost of $2475.  Chief Haglund ended by requesting $1955 for a 10ftx10ft year-round dog kennel on a concrete pad for the K-9 unit. 

Chief Haglund handed out documentation that outlined communications equipment.  He requested an archival digital call recorder, which would record all the phone lines and radio transmissions.  He spoke with two distributors and recommended going with Cyber COM whose price was $18,270.  He noted that Cyber COM was also handling the Motorola equipment.  He ended by informing that the money would come from the communications budget in the amount of $282,000.  He believed that they would still come in under budget. 

Chief Haglund informed that a benefit for the Lyons family would be held February 14, 2003 at the Fish and Game Club.  Anyone interested in purchasing a ticket, or making a donation should contact Ann Barrett 635-2411. 

Regional Water District

Mr. Bergeron provided the Selectmen with copies of the Regional Water District’s first charter meeting from January 23, 2003.  He reviewed the agenda and what was discussed.  He noted that the next meeting would be held January 30, 2003 to continue working on the charter.  He confirmed that the warrant article for the Town was all set for March ballot.  He received a breakdown of Pennichuck’s customers from each community, which totaled 28,576 customers.  Mr. Bergeron said that he would ensure that the Selectmen receive a copy of the most recent information he received. 

Town Report

Mr. Gaydos said that all reports for the Town Report would be due the first week of February.  Mr. McDevitt wanted to ensure that all departments were aware that they needed to submit reports.  Mr. Gaydos said that any departments that had a report last year had received a letter this year.  Mr. Lynde asked that tax rate information be included.  Mr. Gaydos said that all the documents from DRA regarding the rate setting would be included.  Mr. McDevitt confirmed that the audit information be included. 

NEW BUSINESS CON’T.....

PLAN NH

Mr. McDevitt asked for the authorization to fill out and send in the application form to PLAN NH, a non-profit corporation that worked with the community to provide suggestions for the reuse of publicly owned buildings.  He said in filling out the application, there was no financial commitment.

Discussion on joint meeting with the Planning Board

Mr. McDevitt felt the joint meeting with the Planning Board and Selectmen was timely.  He felt there was a pressing need for the Selectmen to work with the Planning Board regarding the organization of the Planning Department.  He recalled there was a discussion regarding the Planning Board seeking legal advice.  He believed that the Planning Board could get legal advice from anyone, as long as it was specific to an application and charged to and paid by the applicant.  He said there was no budget for general legal advice, except through the Selectmen’s budget.  Mr. McDevitt believed there was general agreement that more help was needed within the planning office.  The last issue discussed was the Planning Board’s participation with the RFP for hiring an engineering firm, with a consensus that the hiring of the firm would be coordinated with the Town Administrator and the Planning Director.  Mr. Gaydos said that he spoke with the Planning Board Chairman, Mr. Victor Danevich and agreed with the suggestion to hire several companies, rather than one. 

Mr. McDevitt said that the Planning Board was willing to have Mr. John Bobula meet with them regarding the office structure report he composed.  Mr. Farris said that Mr. Bobula would attend a meeting to discuss the structure within the Planning Department, as soon as an appointment could be set.  Mr. Lynde wanted to ensure that the Planning Board members received a draft copy of Mr. Bobula’s report. 

Mr. Gaydos said that Mr. Bobula had set certain objectives for completion before the move into the new building.  He wanted to check the objectives to ensure they were on target since certain things had been added to the objectives.  He suggested performing an assessment of the Planning Department to ensure that the new systems were in place before the move to the new building.  Mr. Farris said that an organizational chart would be helpful so that everyone was aware of the objectives.

Mr. McDevitt suggested the formation of a separate committee which included two Selectmen and a couple members of the Planning Board.  He said the committee could meet and report back to their respective boards to provide recommendations.  Mr. Lynde felt the report should be reviewed and comments discussed before meeting with Mr. Bobula.  Mr. Farris said the Planning Board members should be given a copy of the report and informed when Mr. Bobula would attend a meeting so they could discuss any issues.  There was a brief discussion as to what date Mr. Bobula would meet with the Selectmen and what would be discussed.  It was suggested to solicit the Planning Board’s initial comments and forward them to Mr. Bobula before the first meeting.  Mr. Farris noted that Mr. Gaydos would ask Mr. Bobula to attend the Selectmen’s meeting on February 11, 2003. 

Renaming Streets

Mr. Gaydos said that comment had been received.  The Safety Committee met and Fire Chief Fisher made a presentation to the group of all the various correspondence.  He said a sub-committee would make the final recommendations.  He noted that Chief Fisher would attend the Selectmen’s February 4, 2003 meeting to give a presentation.   

TOWN ADMNISTRATOR’S REPORT/SELECTMEN’S REPORTS

Mr. Gaydos said a request had been received for an elderly exemption, in which a DD214 (honorable discharge) was required.  He noted that records were difficult to obtain and wanted to know if documentation from the Department of Veterans Affairs, which contained all the pertinent information would be acceptable.  The Selectmen discussed the situation and made the following motion:

Mr. Gaydos asked what his limits were for when minor work needed to be performed (i.e. fixing the roof at the Fire Station).  The Selectmen believed that there was a policy in place and asked that Mr. Gaydos review the language. 

Mr. Derby had no report. 

Mr. McDevitt informed that the Municipal Building Committee would meet Wednesday at 7pm.  He then noted that the Recreation Advisory Committee met and discussed a trails committee forming and certain issues at Raymond Park. 

Mr. Bergeron had no report.

Mr. Lynde had no report.

Mr. Farris reminded residents that a fundraiser would be held at the Fish and Game Club February 14, 2003 for Officer Lyons. 

REQUEST FOR NON-PUBLIC SESSION

Mr. Farris noted that when the Board returned, after the non-public session, the Board would not take any other action publicly, except to seal the minutes of the non-public session and to adjourn the meeting.  The Board entered into a non-public session at approximately 9:15 pm.  Also present was Mr. Gaydos.

The Board returned to public session at approximately     pm.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at approximately       pm.

                                                                                          Respectfully submitted,

                                                                                          Charity A. L. Willis

                                                                                          Recording Secretary