BOS Minutes 03-25-2005

APPROVED

TOWN OF PELHAM

BOARD OF SE= LECTMEN MEETING

MINUTES

March 15, 2005

APPROVED – March 29, 2005

CALL TO ORDER

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

PRESENT:

Mr. Victor Danevich, Mr. Harold Lynde, Mr. Jean-Guy Bergeron, Mr. Edmund Gleason, Mr. Tom Domenico, Mr. Tom Gaydos, Town Administrator

Also present:

ABSENT:

Members of the press and general public.

None.

&nbs= p;

The Vice Chairman, Victor Danevich, opened the meeting= at approximately 6:30 pm. He began by welcoming the two new Selectmen, Mr. Gleason and Mr. Domenico.&n= bsp;

MINUTES RE= VIEW

February 15, 2005

MOTION:<= o:p>

(Bergeron/Lynde) To approve the February 15, 2005 meeting= minutes as amended.

VOTE:

(3-0-2) The motion carri= ed. Mr. Gleason and Mr. Domenico abstained.

Amendments to the minutes were as follows: page 2 the = name Corkrin was corrected to read ‘Corcoran’; page 2 – the incomplete sentence reading ‘…neighborhood for the proposedR= 17; was amended to add the word ‘subdivision’ now reads ‘…neighborhood for the proposed subdivision.’

OPEN FORUM=

None.

Election of Chairman and Vice Chairman

Mr. Danevich was nominated for Chairman; Mr. Lynde was nominated for Vice Chairman. = There were no other nominations.

MOTION:<= o:p>

(Lynde/Gleason) To elect Mr. Victor Danevich as Sele= ctmen Chairman for the year 2005.

VOTE:

(4-0-1) The motion carri= ed. Mr. Danevich abstained.

MOTION:<= o:p>

(Gleason/Domenico) To elect Mr. Harold Lynde as Sele= ctmen Vice Chairman for the year 2005.

VOTE:

(4-0-1) The motion carri= ed. Mr. Lynde abstained.

Discussion= of Representative Appointments – Budget Committee, Planning Board, Recreation Advisory, Council on Aging, Joint Loss Safety Committee, Sherbur= ne Hall

Mr. Danevich said last year the Board chose to not have Selectmen representation for each of the departments and instead focused on working on a group with each of the departments. However, the two committees with statutory requirements are the Budget Committee and the Planning Board. He said there were also appointmen= ts for Recreation Advisory, Council on Aging, Joint Loss Safety Committee, Sherbur= ne Hall. Mr. Danevich asked that= the Selectmen contact him with interest in being a representative on one of the committees.

Award of <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">Skate Park Bid

Mr. Danevich said a formal Request for Quote (‘RFP’) ($55,000) for equipment at the <= st1:PlaceName w:st=3D"on">Skate Park had been submitted, to which two bidders responded that would work within t= he $55,000. The Skate Park Commi= ttee has reviewed the bid and recommended that it be awarded to BASR in the amou= nt of $55,000.

Mr. Gleason asked if the funds for the skate park were= from the Town or volunteers. Mr. Danevich said the skate park was being built with no tax funds. He discussed the fund raising effo= rts.

MOTION:<= o:p>

(Lynde/Bergeron) To award the Skate Park bid to BASR= as recommended by the Skate Park Committee and the Park & Recreation Director.

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The motion carri= ed.

Police Det= ective Resignation

Mr. Danevich read aloud a resignation letter submitted= by Detective Timothy Kelleher, who would like the opportunity to remain as a p= art time officer if possible.

MOTION:<= o:p>

(Lynde/Bergeron) To accept, with regret, the resigna= tion of Detective Timothy Kelleher effective March 13, 2005.

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The motion carri= ed.

Warrant Ar= ticle Review of Results – Revaluation Process

The Selectmen reviewed the Warrant Article results fro= m the 2005 Town Meeting. Certain it= ems would be further discussed when setting the priorities list for the upcoming year.

Budget Ove= rview – Election Results

Mr. Danevich said in preparation for the meeting he as= ked Mr. Gaydos to provide a current up-to-date budget of where the expenditures were and to highlight briefly any potential problem areas. He understood that research was not complete and meetings had not been held with all the department heads.

Mr. Gaydos provided the Selectmen with an assessment a= nd informed that most of the department budgets were operating within their no= rmal spending rate. However, the t= wo areas where there had been unforeseen expenses were the Police Department (overtime issues) and the Highway Department due to the incredible snow storms. The Highway Department should be at approximately 20% of their expenses to date, but were at approximately 45%. He said th= e Town was in a low spending mode. <= /p>

There was a brief discussion regarding the defeat of t= he operating budget and what decisions would need to be made by the Selectmen regarding the default budget. Mr. Danevich understood that the state law (RSA 40:13) provided towns with the vehicle to run a special town meeting/session in order to account for some = of the items that would increase the budget.&= nbsp; Mr. Gaydos said the RSA allowed a special town meeting for one purpo= se, to present a new operating budget, which would go though the same process of review; Selectmen present to Budget Committee who would either approve or n= ot recommend at which point (if approved) would go to a Deliberative Session a= nd then to Town Meeting. H= e said there was a timeline that needed to be followed, but it was not a ‘snap’ decision that needed to be made.

Mr. Danevich said there were two options: 1) do nothing – use default budget and determine where to cut; and 2) could choose a special meeting to present a new operating budget.

The Selectmen then discussed the revaluation. Mr. Gaydos informed that the Town = had to have the April 1,= 2006 numbers revised and into compliance, which they currently did not. Mr. Danevich noted if the default = budget was used, there would not be adequate funding for the revaluation. He asked what would happen if the = Town did nothing. Mr. Gaydos said = if the Town ignored the state mandate for revaluation, he would have the obligatio= n to contact the Department of Revenue Administration and indicate that the Town would not comply and had no funding do the revaluation. With this scenario, the Selectmen = would not have input or control in the revaluation process; the state would call a company of their choice, negotiate a price and oversee the entire process.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Mr. Danevich asked if there would = be additional cost to the taxpayers. Mr. Gaydos said the state did not solicit competitive bids. He also pointed out that with the = state handling the revaluation the company chosen may not use software compatible= to what the Town currently had, which would mean additional costs to purchase = such software. In the end the bill= is sent to the Town.

Mr. Gleason asked if there was an option not to do the revaluation at which point it would be ‘bumped’ to the DRA Commissioner who would make a decision.&nb= sp; The Town may be charged with any state incurred costs He understood th= at there was a state approved list of assessors and questioned if the costs wo= uld be compatible to what the Town had seen.&n= bsp; Mr. Gaydos said the costs wouldn’t be compatible if there were= in a non-competitive scenario. He = said the Town solicited bids and received five.= He said they were moving forward and assessing the bids. In the event the state handled the revaluation, Mr. Gleason wanted to know if the Town was handed a bill up fr= ont, or if the amount was applied when the tax rate was set. Mr. Gaydos said the amount would be reduced from the Town’s surplus at the time the tax rate was set. He noted that the revaluation had = to start in 2005; the legislature formed two committees to ensure towns were complying; Pelham received a five-year notice that this had to be done.

Mr. Lynde was concerned with how the valuation of util= ities was done. He discussed the pr= oblem the Town had last time the utilities were done.

Mr. Gleason said the voters turned the money down and = the state should recognize it. He questioned where the money was if the default budget was used. Mr. Gaydos said the Town may be ab= le to make some sort of agreement where minimums could be paid; he didn’t h= ave the answer.

Mr. Bergeron said after reviewing the vote for Article= #20 (Operating Budget) he noticed that it was not written the way the RSA requi= red; there is a big portion at the end that for some reason was not included. He researched the past three years= and found that the language had been included on those ballots. Mr. Gaydos said there had been an oversight the Town checked with DRA who informed it was not an issue. Statute 40:13 still holds, whether= it is printed, or not. Mr. Bergeron= said the Selectmen had to make a decision whether or not to go to a special Town Meeting. He wished the additi= onal language had been included so the voters knew if the Operating Budget failed that there would be a ‘next’ step.

There was further discussion regarding what action sho= uld be taken at this point regarding the Operating Budget. The Selectmen requested timelines = for items such as for Town Meeting, programs and revaluation ‘drop dead’ dates.

Mr. Domenico said his concern with the state handling = the revaluation was the Town’s ‘rainy day’ fund was at about = the minimum standards. He said the state was encouraging the Town (and other towns) to increase the contributi= on and retention of funds. He fe= lt that long-term the Town should review how it was contributing to the fund a= nd be very careful how such funds were spent.=

Mr. Danevich confirmed that Mr. Gaydos was working with department heads to identify the time lines and what programs could/couldn&= #8217;t be cut. He said there were th= ree options: 1) do nothing – go with the default budget; 2) go with revis= ed budget through Special Meeting; or 3) Special Meeting to accommodate incremental costs and to cover the revaluation (or a portion thereof).

Mr. Lynde asked if it was possible to split the cost o= f the revaluation over more than one year. Mr. Gaydos said he was attempting to do so. Mr. Lynde asked if the department = heads could present the budget that they needed as well as the impact as a result= of not getting it. Mr. Gaydos sa= id the department heads would be submitting information to the Selectmen; the Selectmen could then determine who they wanted to speak with further.

Mr. Gaydos believed the Selectmen would have a good id= ea of what was happening in each department by the end of the week.

OTHER BUSI= NESS

Selectmen = Priority Sheet Review – Update Discussion

Mr. Danevich said a process had been started last year= which coordinated the Selectmen’s priorities. He asked the Selectmen to review t= he list, make additions, or deletions. He also asked that the items be ranked so that each Selectman’s priorities could be ‘meshed’ together. He read aloud the items currently contained on the list.

One item was the Town safety traffic issue. Mr. Bergeron provided a summary of= what had taken place. He said Depa= rtment of Transportation Commissioner Carol Murray had visited the Town to review = the situation. Ms. Murray sent re= quests to U.S. Senators Gregg and Sununu and Congressman Bass requesting $1,000,000. He said the Selectmen had voted (4= -1) in favor of two synchronized lights, which were previously estimated at $255,0= 00 (in 2001) and had possibly increased due to additional work done at the site. He said letters had als= o been sent to the State Representatives (District 27), Senator Chuck Morse, County Commissioner Rhonda Charbonneau and Executive Counselor Ray Wieczorek. Mr. Bergeron said he met with a Pr= oject Director for Senator Judd Gregg and a representative from Charlie Bass̵= 7; office updated him. He has a scheduled meeting with a representative from Senator Sununu. He said after the meeting he would= be back in contact with Ms. Murray.

Mr. Danevich continued the review of items listed on t= he priority list. Mr. Domenico w= anted to move communication up to one of the top priorities and have the Selectmen come up with an effective communications plan.

Discussion= of Open Positions and Applications

The following positions are available:

Board of Adjustment – 1

Cable TV Advisory Committee – 1

Conservation Commission – 1

Planning Board – 2 regular members / 2 alternate= s

Park & Recreation Advisory – 4

Nashua Regional Planning Commission – 1

Fire Station Study – 3 to 5 (who have no relatio= n to the Fire Department)

Mr. Gaydos said he would prepare a list of limits for = time the members would serve.

Mr. Danevich asked Mr. Gaydos to contact PTV and the l= ocal paper to advertise the available positions. Anyone interested should obtain an application from the Pelham web page.

Mr. Danevich asked Mr. Gaydos to schedule appointments= at the next meeting with the people who have already applied for the positions.

TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT / SELECTMEN’S REPORTS=

Mr. Gaydos indicated that he was moving ahead with the= items approved by the voters. He sa= id they were moving ahead with the revaluation to the point of not spending any money.

Mr. Domenico thanked the voters for placing their trus= t in him. He pledged to work with = the Board and Mr. Gaydos to focus on communication.

Mr. Bergeron said he would be attending a Commissioners Meeting at NRPC, Wednesday, March 16, 2005. He welcomed Mr. Gleason and Mr. Domenico.

Mr. Lynde welcomed the new Selectmen. He addressed an item that arose at= Candidate’s Night; the candidates for Selectmen were asked if they supported the Conservation Commission buying land that was under water or that abutted Conservation Commission member owned land.= He passed out a criteria list that was used when land is being acqui= red or considered for open space. He also handed out a listing of all the land that had been acquired by the Conservation Commission and reviewed such.= He resented people casting dispersions on those who work for the Tow= n. In closing, he wanted the public t= o be aware that the process was ‘above-board’ lengthy process and the people were doing great work to benefit the Town.

Mr. Gleason thanked the voters for electing him and re= garded his election as an opportunity to be of service to the Town. He challenged the Board to create = a Town vision to work with all departments the school and citizens to come together and formulate a plan that everyone could agree to and open the lines of communication.

Mr. Danevich welcomed the new Selectmen. He informed that the Planning Boar= d had been meeting and would submit a series of Subdivision Regulation proposed changes for public hearing. &nb= sp;

ADJOURNMEN= T

MOTION:<= o:p>

(Bergeron/Gleason) To adjourn the meeting.

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The motion carri= ed.

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 8:15 pm.

&nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Respe= ctfully submitted,

&nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &= nbsp; Charity A. L. Willis

&nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Recor= ding Secretary