BOS Minutes 01-24-2006

APPROVED

TOWN OF PELHAM

BOARD OF SE= LECTMEN MEETING

MINUTES

January 24, 2006

APPROVED – February 14, 2006

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 – To= wn Administrator

Also present:

ABSENT:

Members of the press and general public.

None

MI= NUTES REVIEW

November 29, 2005 – awaiting clarification r= e: Article P.

January 10, 2006

MOTION:=

(Lynde/Bergeron) To approve the January 10, 2006 meeting mi= nutes as amended.

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The motion carried.

Amendments to the minutes were as follows: page 3 R= 11; 1^st paragraph under Public Hearing, the words ‘same as last year’ s= hall be replaced with the word ‘default’; 2^nd paragraph – the following was added to the end of the paragraph ‘…a= nd avoid $46,000 in stand alone interest fees.’; 3^rd paragraph – the words ‘amount of’ were deleted from the following ‘…payment on the Conservation Land…)

OPEN FORUM=

No input.

APPOINTMEN= TS

Darren Mar= tin Re: Petition Article - $16 Million New School Addition

Mr. Darren Martin was not yet present; therefore, Mr. = Kevin Steele met with the Selectmen to discuss a petition warrant article for an addition to the current high school. He said the needs at the high school were immediate. He said the School Board would lik= e to go in a different direction than the approach being presented tonight. The petitioners felt the voters sh= ould have the opportunity to make a decision regarding which direction they want= ed to go. Mr. Steele gave a presentation that included information for the following: 1) Land; 2) Propo= sed addition to High School; 3) Accreditation; 4) Additional Parking; 5) Athlet= ic Fields; 6) Core Area; 7) Financial Considerations; and 8) Recap and Warrant= Article.

Mr. Lynde viewed the proposal as an interim approach d= ue to the projected number students being 3600 and the proposal would be for 2650. He said ‘down the road’ the Town would have to build another school off-site. Mr. Martin said they had a second presentation that provided several options; new school at another site, building a new school on existing site, or expanding schools on existing site. Mr. Lynde believed the limiting factor was the amount of land.&nb= sp; The wetland mitigation area was discussed; Mr. Steele noted per the state, wetland mitigation areas did not have to be on site, but they had to= be within the boundary of Pelham. Mr. Lynde commented that the proposed renovation costs appeared to be low. He asked if there was emergency ac= cess to the building on all sides. Mr. Steele said per national fire code access should be on three sides.

Mr. Gleason had serious reservations due to the absenc= e of approvals/input from departments such as the Planning Department, Fire Chief and Police Chief. He said bef= ore it could be said that the design could be done, more detailed analysis was nee= ded. He asked if anyone had gone back t= o Team Design for concurrence that the numbers being used were valid. He then addressed the septic syste= m and wanted to know how it would be implemented since the current system was loc= ated at the front of the building; there were no costs in the proposed to renova= te, or curtail the current one. M= r. Gleason said he appreciated what was done with the proposal, but in the abs= ence of input from an architect, Team Design, Planning Board, Fire Chief and Pol= ice Chief, he had a problem with the design.&n= bsp; Mr. Steele said the use of the current septic system would be reduced with the addition; he said with normal construction practices an additional system could be installed for the addition. He said the proposal showed that t= he ‘needs’ could be met on site; there were other options for an addition.

Mr. Bergeron wanted to know if the addition took care = of the ‘needs’ at the current high school. Mr. Steele answered yes it would be built for the highest projection of students. Mr. Bergeron asked if there was en= ough land. Mr. Martin said there w= as enough land; the proposal had the self-imposed restrictions for mitigation = and kindergarten was removed so the high school needs could be met. Mr. Steele noted that at the bond hearing, the School Bo= ard Chairman said there was enough land to meet the proposal, but it could limit the expansion possibility for the other two schools. Mr. Martin said they had a second presentation that addressed some of the issues. Mr. Bergeron asked how many warrant articles would be addressing the high school. Mr. Martin said he knew of two art= icles; money for studies for a new high school and one was the petition article.

Mr. Domenico had no comment.

Mr. Danevich asked if Mr. Martin and Mr. Steele suppor= ted other proposals. Mr. Martin f= elt there were other viable options but believed the proposal addressed the high school needs sooner than other options and would be lower in cost. Mr. Steele said the ‘needs&#= 8217; had to outweigh ‘wants’. Mr. Danevich questioned the elevation for the 10-year flood plain and said a determination of the site couldn’t be done without a topology plan. He said there wasn̵= 7;t enough information at this time; the proposal was at the conceptual phase.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> He addressed impact fees and noted= that during the past year there were 45 new homes. There was further discussion regar= ding the increase in traffic. Mr. Danevich said he would look for comment from the Town’s Safety Commit= tee and Engineer during the proposal process.&= nbsp;

Mr. Martin said they had a second proposal they would = like to present. Mr. Danevich invi= ted the gentlemen back at a later date (based on the current agenda). Mr. Steele said for those interest= ed, there was additional information on www. phsaddition.com. Questions can be directed to phsaddition@adelphia.net.

Tim Zeloni= s Re: National Grid Communications

Electrical Inspector Tim Zelonis met with the Selectme= n to discuss communications with National Grid.= He said there were various issues, some of which were storm related = but others were with single homes. He felt that since National Grid took over Granite State Electric communication had been lost. He said to try= and rectify the communication problem by a meeting that should be arranged with= the proper people at National Grid that could give the Town direction. He knew of instances where people = had been out of power for an amount of time that was not acceptable. Mr. Gaydos recommended a coordinat= ed approach with the Town backing Mr. Zelonis. He agreed that a meeting should be= set up with National Grid to understand the issues.

There was a brief discussion regarding the process in = which electrical services were handled. Mr. Danevich asked that Mr. Gaydos propose a date to meet with National Grid to discuss service and communication. <= /span>

Jim Greenw= ood – PTV Update and Equipment Purchase Plan

Mr. Jim Greenwood met with the Selectmen regarding a r= equest to purchase equipment to upgrade the system used by PTV. He provided backup data of the typ= e of equipment for Selectmen review and explained how they would improve PTV. Mr. Danevich noted that the reques= t for $39,000 fell under the public hearing process and to spend such would requi= re a meeting to be scheduled. He suggested scheduling the public hearing at the next Selectmen meeting to ex= pend up to $40,000.

Mr. Gleason noted that the grant currently had $54,000= with $39,000 being spent it would leave $15,000. He asked if there was more money c= oming in. Mr. Greenwood said the mo= ney would be depleted, that’s why there was a warrant article that would continue to be on the ballot for the next several years. He said the five-year upgrade plan= would be upgraded to incorporate the funding needed over the next three years.

Jeff Gowan= – Code Enforcement Update - Cou= rt Challenge Update

Planning Director Jeff Gowan met with the Selectmen to= discuss the documentation of code enforcement actions. He said ‘revamping’ th= e code enforcement policies had a dramatic (successful) effect with working through the backlog. Despite this suc= cess, all Mr. Gowan’s goals had not been met.&= nbsp; He believed there needed to be set hours established for the existing code enforcement personnel so the Town could move into a more proactive enforcement mode. He said he = would like to change the description of the code enforcement responsibilities to = set specific (set) hours.

Mr. Gleason wanted to know if twenty-five hours per we= ek (for code enforcement as included in the 2006 budget) would be adequate to addre= ss the current backlog and sustain an effective code enforcement policy in 2006 and beyond. Mr. Gowan said the budget proposal was twenty-four hours, but he felt it would be adequate. He wanted to bring set hours into = the existing structure and make improvements now.

There was a general consensus of the Selectmen to proc= eed with the plan Mr. Gowan outlined.

Mr. Gowan then discussed a court challenge. He said there had been a Zoning Bo= ard of Adjustment (‘ZBA’) variance denial very much on the strength of= the recommendation from the Highway Safety Committee regarding the safety of ad= ding another driveway very near the focal point of an intersection. The case came back before the ZBA = for reconsideration and there was a unanimous decision not to reconsider the ca= se; the Town was then taken to court. Mr. Gowan said the case had the potential to become a landmark case. He said the Town and th= e ZBA needed the ability to deny cases based solely on public safety. He asked that the Selectmen suppor= t the full court press.

OTHER BUSI= NESS

Vote on Wa= rrant Posting

Mr. Gaydos had the warrant and said there had to be fi= ve copies. There was one small c= hange – under the first session the only articles being considered for deba= te would be item numbers 8 – 37 (the first items are who is running for = office and zoning questions).

The Selectmen (tentatively) decided that their next me= eting would be held Fe= bruary 14, 2006.

MOTION:=

(Gleason/Bergeron) To sign the Warrant.

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The motion carried.

The Selectmen signed the Warrant.

Retirement= – E. David Fisher, Fire Chief

Mr. Danevich said notification had been received from = Fire Chief E. David Fisher regarding his intention to retire in June, 2006. An official retirement communicati= on would be expected at a later point in time. Chief Fisher was commended for wor= king with the Selectmen and backfilling the position. A succession plan would be brought forward and worked out over the next several months.

Award of T= own Report Printing

Mr. Gaydos said the Town had gone out to bid for the printing of the Town Report. = Bids were received from five companies; three of which were acceptable. The bid was awarded to the lowest = (most qualified) bidder, which was Northeast Offset of Chelmsford, MA for the amo= unt of $10,391.75 which would produce 5200 reports. Mr. Gaydos read the other bids aloud.

There was a discussion regarding the mailing costs and question if the Selectmen wanted to ask the Boy Scouts to distribute. The Selectmen decided to ask the B= oy Scouts if they would distribute the Town Report. The sample ballot and voter guide = will be mailed out separately.

TOWN ADMIN= ISTRATOR / SELECTMEN REPORTS

Mr. Gaydos discussed the recent storm events and the associated costs: January 15th (12-hour event) $13,400; January 18^{th (short event) costing $2000; and J=
anuary
23^rd (approximately 20-hours) $14,300}

Mr. Domenico, Mr. Bergeron, Mr. Lynde and Mr. Gleason = had no reports.

Mr. Danevich said the next meeting would be the Delibe= rative Session on Februa= ry 7, 2006; the Selectmen would meet February 14, 2006. He enco= uraged voters to visit pelhamweb.com page under 2006 Town Warrant to review all the associated information. Mr. Danevich ended by informing he would be seeking re-election.

REQUEST FOR NON-PUBLIC SESSION

MOTION:=

(Gleason/Bergeron) Request for a non-public session = per RSA 91-A:3,II, (a & c) Personnel; Matters which, if discussed publicly, w= ould affect adversely the reputation of any person)

ROLL CALL:<= /b>

Mr. Danevich-Yes; Mr. Lynde-Yes; Mr. Bergeron-Yes; M= r. Gleason-Yes; Mr. Domenico-Yes

Mr. Danevich noted that when the Board returned, after= the non-public session, the Board would not take any other action publicly, exc= ept to possibly seal the minutes of the non-public session and to adjourn the meeting. The Board entered in= to a non-public session at approximately 9:00 pm.

The Board returned to public session at approximately = 10:15 pm.

MOTION:=

(Gleason/Lynde) To seal the minutes of the non-public session.

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The motion carried.

ADJOURNMEN= T

MOTION:<= o:p>

(Gleason/Lynde) To adjourn the meeting.

VOTE:

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

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 10:15 pm.

&nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; Respectfully submitted,

&nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Chari= ty A. L. Willis

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