BOS Minutes 04-18-2006

APPROVED

TOWN OF PELHAM

BOARD OF SE= LECTMEN MEETING

MINUTES

April 18, 2006

APPROVED – April 25, 2006

CALL TO ORDER

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

PRESENT:

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

Also present:

ABSENT:

Members of the press and general public.

Mr. Tom Domenico

MI= NUTES REVIEW

March 11, 2006

MOTION:=

(Gleason/Lynde) To approve the March 11, 2006 meeting minu= tes as written.

VOTE:

(3-0-1) The motion carried. Mr. Bergeron abstained.

March 23, 2006

MOTION:=

(Lynde/Gleason) To approve the March 23, 2006 meeting minu= tes as written.

VOTE:

(3-0-1) The motion carried. Mr. Bergeron abstained.

April 4, 2006

MOTION:=

(Gleason/Bergeron) To approve the April 4, 2006 meeting minute= s as amended.

VOTE:

(4-0-0) The motion carried.

Amendments to the minutes were as follows: page 7 R= 11; under Transfer Station, the words ‘the Town’ were deleted = and replaced with ‘Waste Management’ in the following ‘…worked with Waste Management for many years…’; the ending times and motions were: Gleason/Bergeron at 10:38 pm; there were also minor grammatical and spelling corrections.

April 8, 2006

MOTION:=

(Bergeron/Lynde) To approve the April 8, 2006 meeting minute= s as amended.

VOTE:

(3-0-1) The motion carried. Mr. Gleason abstained.

OPEN FORUM=

Mr. Leo Thibeault said there was an article in the new= spaper about a potential workshop date in August (regarding the Town Center) and wanted to know what that date would be. Mr. Gaydos said it was only a fram= e work of when to start the process. Mr. Danevich said it would be well publicized.= Mr. Thibeault circulated a press release that announced $2 million f= or safety and traffic flow improvements to the Pelham roadway intersections. He felt the Selectmen should consi= der placing the traffic options that came from the public hearings on the ballot for the voters to decide.

APPOINTMEN= TS

Lisa Atkins – Request to Maintain Town Property on Jones Farm Road =

Ms. Lisa Atkins and Ken Paquette residents from Jones Farm Road said they would like to beautify their cul-de-sac. They met with the Highway Road Age= nt Don Foss who came to the site and discussed what could be done. Mr. Danevich said the Town was gra= teful for residents coming forward. He discussed the fact that the Town would not be responsible for any improveme= nts done. Mr. Gaydos read aloud t= he recommendation provided by Mr. Foss. No elevation grade is to be raised.= There was no objection by the Selectmen.

Paul Gagnon – Interview for Conservation Commission and Forestry Committee

Mr. Paul Gagnon met with the Selectmen to discuss his interested in being re-appointed to the Conservation Commission and Forestry Committee. Mr. Gleason asked = for Mr. Gagnon’s perspective regarding land purchases next to commission member’s land , the assertion that wetlands were being purchased and also he wanted to know Mr. Gagnon’s vision for conservation over the next ten years. Mr. Gagnon said the Costa purchase= was across from his land and explained that he had known the Costa family since= he moved into Town and when the commission was looking to purchase land he approached the Costas. He not= ed that the commission had also purchased three other parcels that were not ne= ar his property. He addressed th= e fact that most parcels contained wet areas and said the amount of wet areas were always noted prior to purchase. Mr. Gagnon discussed his vision for the commission in the next ten years, mainl= y working with the Planning Board, enforcement regarding wetlands, and land purchasing. He said he was op= en to suggestions for what the commission should be doing.

Mr. Lynde said he compared the percentage of wetlands contained on subdivision plans to the land being purchased and found that t= he subdivisions had a greater percentage of wetlands. He recalled how Mr. Gagnon became = active with land purchasing, which began with the Nature’s Way parcel. Mr. Gagnon discussed how the Nature’s Way land purchase came about and when he became involved with the commission. He discussed = the advantages to the land purchases that had been made.

Mr. Bergeron asked if there had been a goal of purchas= ing 1000 acres when the $3 million dollar warrant article passed. Mr. Gagnon said the goal was to pr= otect 1000 acres, which he explained how they would go about protecting such. He discussed the properties purcha= sed and noted if the cost was broken down per acre, the cost would have been between $6600 – $7300 per acre. He said the one hole in the plan was no conservation easements had b= een purchased.

Mr. Gleason asked if a sign would be placed on the Mer= riam property. Mr. Gagnon said a s= ign and a kiosk containing a trail map would be added to the property shortly.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>

MOTION:=

(Lynde/Gleason) To appoint Mr. Paul Gagnon as a memb= er of the Conservation Commission with a term expiring April 1, 2009.

VOTE:

(4-0-0) The motion carried.

MOTION:=

(Lynde/Gleason) To appoint Mr. Paul Gagnon as a memb= er of the Forestry Commission with a term expiring April 1, 2009.

VOTE:

(4-0-0) The motion carried.

Park & Recreation Director Darren McCarthy – Recommendation for Closing Lyons Park

Mr. Danevich said during the last conversation, the situation seemed grim. He ask= ed Park & Recreation Director Darren McCarthy for a status update. Mr. McCarthy said the situation had improved and a lot of the issues previously brought before the Selectmen had been resolved. At this point,= Mr. McCarthy said the only on-going issue was the skate park users not wearing = their helmets. He asked the Selectm= en for more time to educate the users on why they should wear helmets. Mr. McCarthy explained what had transpired since he met with the Selectmen. The recommendation at this point w= as to not close the park.

Mr. McCarthy then explained that last Monday one of the basketball hoops was completely bent down and essentially ripped out of the backboard. He contacted the manufacturer who would provide a quote to replace the backboard or put the = rim up.

Mr. Gleason said he had made an effort to go to Lyons Park and saw a significant improvement in the park and complimented the children= and parents for taking steps to maintain the property.

Mr. Lynde also recognized the effort brought forth by = Mr. McCarthy as well as the children, parents and Town employees.

Mr. Bergeron asked the costs for repairing the damage.= Mr. McCarthy said at this point th= e only cost was the damaged basketball rim. He addressed the graffiti, identified the areas and flipped the skat= eboard panel to have a clean area. He noted that he had a citrus based graffiti remover that worked well and was used a lot at Muldoon. Mr. Bergeron asked if there was any vandalism coverage for anything that may happen in the future. Mr. Gaydos said there was a $1000 deductible per occurrence.

Mr. Danevich asked if the new fence helped to curtail traffic. Police Chief Evan Ha= glund (who was in the public) answered yes. Mr. Danevich said the actions seemed to have made a difference and a= sked the Selectmen if they wanted to close the park. At this point, the Selectmen didn’t see the need to close the park.

Mr. Gleason asked Mr. Bergeron as a Representative to = help make it mandatory for helmet use in skate parks. Mr. Bergeron discussed the Bill regarding helmet use.

Mr. McCarthy said he would like to leave the two warni= ng signs (that contained information regarding helmet use) and asked to remove= the other signs unless they needed to be reposted later. There was no objection.

Park & Recreation Director Darren McCarthy – Scheduling of Rectrac Software Demonstration

Park & Recreation Director Darren McCarthy said he arranged for the Rectrac system to be tested Monday, April 24, 2006, 10am; and the actual meeting would be sc= heduled for April 25, 20= 06, 10am and would ta= ke approximately 2 hours. If anyone was intere= sted in the demonstration, they should contact the recreation department for fur= ther information.

Carrol Mur= ray, Commissioner of State Department of Transportation with Jeff Brillhart, Ass= istant Commissioner Department of Transportation – Discussion of Town Center Traffic Program

Commissioner of State Department of Transportation Car= rol Murray along with Assistant Commissioner, Department of Transportation Dire= ctor Jeff Brillhart met with the Selectmen to discuss the traffic in the Town Center. Also present was Mr. Steve William= s and Kerry Deers of the Nashua Regional Planning Commission (‘NRPC’). Ms. Mur= ray said they were doing intensive training in a process called Contact Sensiti= ve Solutions (‘CSS’), which they felt Pelham’s project would= be right for such.

Ms. Deers discussed&n= bsp; CSS and said it would help Pelham work in partnership with the Department of Transportation (‘DOT’) to come up with a project = that would suit the community and encompass/engaged the people using the area. A diagram of the CSS process was circulated to the Selectmen; the phases were: 1) problem/need; 2) planning;= 3) scoping; 4) design; 5) construction; and 6) M & O.

Ms. Murray said there had been discussions in the past= about who should manage the project. She suggested that the DOT manage the project through the CSS approach. Mr. Gaydos asked for a description= of the project phases from beginning to end.&= nbsp; Ms. Murray said the preliminary stage would bring the Town into a pu= blic hearing. Mr. Danevich asked w= hat the timeframe would be for the overall project. Ms. Murray discussed the way the m= oney was distributed (reimbursement program) was 20% upon passage, 20% as of Oct= ober 1^st of that year, and 20% each year after. She said the project was worked in= the 10-year plan and had construction in 2010.= She said the other phases didn’t have to wait to that point and suggested starting the preliminary engineering phase (CSS). She said there had been a discussi= on about removing the four new projects from the plan, which still was going b= efore the Senate for approval; hearing would begin next week.

Mr. Danevich asked if the project was secured so the T= own was allowed to begin working with DOT and NRPC. Ms. Murray answered yes; a schedul= ed needed to be outlined. She sa= id if the Senate was going to take the project out of the plan it would probably = be quickly. Mr. Danevich said th= e Town was concerned about having a fatal accident. He said they wanted to know what n= eeded to be done to get the process started.&nbs= p;

Mr. Gleason said it was reported that the $2 million d= ollars was an 80/20 share and the state had offered to absorb the 20% if they ran = the project. He wanted to know ho= w the cost would be absorbed if NRPC handled the balance of the project. He also questioned if there was an= y risk proceeding prior to 2010 and if there was any cost that the Town would be expected to bear relative to the project.&= nbsp; Mr. Brillhart believed the state would do the 20% share because it w= as a state highway. If the Town didn’t want to run the project, the state would do it and follow the Federal rules. He said the fi= nal design could be done either by the Town or the state. Ms. Murray addressed the question = about costs to the Town. She said s= he didn’t know what if any adjustments would have to be made to any wate= r, sewer or utility lines or items that were not eligible expenses. Mr. Gleason said he wanted to know= if there were any hidden costs that should be anticipated or planned for. He asked if the state would pick u= p 20% of the total project, or if the 20% was for their portion. Ms. Murray said the state would pa= y 20% of the total project. She sai= d they would pay whether or not the state ran the project because it was a state road. Mr. Gleason noted that = it was a state road up to the To= wn Center and then it = became a Town road up to Marsh Ro= ad. Mr. Brillhart said typically if th= e Town had plans to extend the work a long ways down the road, the state’s w= ork would end at the intersection and the town would pay 100% of the additional work; however there were a lot of possibilities with the proposed project.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> He said if the fire station were to move, there may be some Town expense although, the project could pick up a = big chunk, if not all of it. Mr. Gleason said the Fire Station was a sensitive issue because of its proximit= y to the Town = Center and was curious if the state envisioned the station being moved. Mr. Brillhart said it was possible, but wouldn’t know the answ= er until they worked through the process.&nbs= p; Ms. Murray said the project scope and limits would be defined as discussion progressed. She no= ted that the intersection had to be re-worked and what ever it took to fix the intersection with the state road, the state would participate in; any utili= ties would be a Town expense.

Mr. Lynde said with the combined forces of the state, = NRPC, and the Town it would be a signature project that would deal with the traff= ic problem most effectively. He = asked where the Town was in the CSS process and where the Town would be in six months. Mr. Brillhart believe= d the Town would be at the beginning of the CSS process. He said mapping should be done and meetings should be set with the Town. He said they would hopefully be back in August/September to kick-off= the meetings. Ms. Murray said som= ething to think about when defining the problems would be bicycle/pedestrian issue= s.

Mr. Williams said NRPC had quite a data base of inform= ation and informed that the DOT (with the I93 widening project) purchased very hi= gh quality aerial imagery of all the surrounding communities including Pelham.= He believed this information would= be helpful as other projects came forward.&nb= sp;

Mr. Bergeron thanked the Commissioners and NRPC for me= eting with the Selectmen. He was ha= ppy to hear about CSS. He asked for = an explanation of how the expansions in communities were viewed. Ms. Murray said there was a citizen’s advisory group that created a draft of a Long-range Transportation Business Plan that focused on what transportation would be in the future and what keys would be used to make it work. She provided a brief summary of wh= at the draft contained.

Mr. Danevich asked if there was any other burden (e.g. bidding process, publications) on the Town, other than the time component.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Ms. Murray said they may ask for h= elp getting the word out for meetings. Mr. Danevich asked if the Highway Department or traffic details were part of the project. Ms. Murr= ay said it was all part of the project. Mr. Danevich discussed what communication efforts the Selectmen had = been undertaking. Mr. Brillhart sa= id having an advisory committee could help with communication efforts. Mr. Danevich asked if any office space/staging area would be needed. Mr. Brillhart said it was handy to have a room on a regular basis, b= ut that could be worked out.

Ms. Murray commended the Town for stepping forward and helping itself. Mr. Danevich = asked if there was something the Town could do before August. Mr. Brillhart said the Town would = have to wait for the state to take the next step. Ms. Deers said the Town could begin thinking about who some of the ‘stakeholders’ may be. She said as the project got rollin= g, there would need to be a communication strategy of how to communicate with = the residents.

Mr. Danevich summarized and noted that the next hurdle= would be for the plan to get through the Senate.= Beyond that the Town could begin working with NRPC; being a state ro= ad, the state will help with the 80/20 split; the process will take time – construction anticipated around 2010; 20% funding becomes available upon passage of the bill, 20% the first year and 20% each subsequent year.

Mr. Brillhart discussed the concerns with funding decreasing. He said the Town = was extremely lucky to have the project scheduled for 2010. Mr. Danevich asked if the Town sho= uld think about a contingency plan. Mr. Brillhart didn’t believe so. <= /span>Ms. Murray discussed the importance of keeping town centers vital and not just = to move traffic.

Mr. Danevich thanked the Commissioners and NRPC for me= eting with the Selectmen.

OTHER BUSI= NESS

Fire Chief= Hiring Process – Timeline, Process & Interview Panels=

Mr. Danevich said the application process had been completed; there were 18 applicants, one had withdrawn. He said interviews were being set = up for April 29, 2006. Mr. Gaydos discussed the interview process; each applicant will meet with a professional board, citizen board = and Highway Safety Committee. The= idea is to make an offer by May 15, 2006.

Periodic F= inancial Review

Mr. Gaydos said the report was the first one run for t= he year. It showed approximately= 33% of the year. Mr. Gaydos revie= wed the report with the Selectmen.

Mosquito P= lan Discussion

Mr. Gaydos said the Town had reviewed a couple differe= nt options. He discussed a mosqu= ito control plan that had a product called a Mosquito Dunk, which was a floating disc that is dropped into water and protects an approximate 100SF area for approximately 30-60 days. The product is environmentally safe. Mr. Gaydos said he met with Park & Recreation Director Darren McCarthy to determine where the product would be placed. The cost would be $600. The discs would be used primarily on Town (and school) property.&n= bsp;

Mr. Gleason questioned where the money for the discs w= ould come from. He also wanted to = know if funds should be allocated for mosquito control next year. Mr. Gaydos believed the Town should allocate funds. He said the T= own should also look at the solution and determine if it was affective; if so, consideration should be given to continue it. Mr. Gleason believed state or fede= ral money would become available for EEE and wanted to know if such funding cou= ld help offset the costs. Mr. Ga= ydos said the Fire Chief was following up on funding. He was unsure if the funding was f= or testing or prevention.

Mr. Bergeron said if the Town was going to set funding= aside he wanted to know if it would be in a warrant article, or contained in someone’s budget. Mr. Danevich felt it should be contained in the Public Health budget. He suggested discussing the issue further during the budget cycle.

Mr. Gleason asked if there was an available source for= the money. Mr. Gaydos noted that = the Town saved in excess of $600 during the process of putting out the Town Reports.

The Selectmen further discussed and unanimously suppor= ted the mosquito control proposed by Mr. Gaydos.

Update to = Board of Selectmen Priority List

Mr. Danevich said the 2005 items that were completed h= ad been removed. He then reviewe= d the items contained on the list which included correspondence with additional i= tems received by the Selectmen.

The following items were added to the list:

1) New Hampshire Retirement warrant article passage

2) Legal enforcement

3) Contract negotiations – Police, Fire and Fire Association

4) Road layout of Campbell Road

5) Operating procedures, organizational charts and ces= sion plans

6) Route 38 add gas ( so it will be utility, water and= gas)

Mr. Gaydos discussed the Senior Center bus. He asked for clarificati= on how to proceed with the bid process. Mr. Gaydos was asked to publicize the bids; they will be opened May 18, 2006.

TOWN ADMIN= ISTRATOR / SELECTMEN REPORTS

Mr. Gaydos had no report.

Mr. Bergeron had no report.

Mr. Gleason informed that the Planning Board favorably received the addition of two fields at Muldoon Park done by the Little League. The Planning Board recommended that Little League come before the Selectmen. Little League would be willing to = clear the egress (emergency access) to the point they could; there were two obstacles: 1) wetland crossing permit required; and 2) no land owned to Nashua Road= . Mr. Gleason asked that the Selectm= en allow Mr. George Saurman from Little League come in and discuss the proposal. Selectmen Lynde not= ed that an offer had been made to grant a right-of-way from the park to Nashua Road. Gleason noted that Opening Day for Little League would be held April 29, 2006 = 9am. He extended an invitation to the Selectmen to attend opening day. Mr. Gleason then reported on the progress of Vision Appraisal. He said they were at 70% complete = when they were supposed to be at 90% complete.&= nbsp; Vision has assured the Town that they will be fundamentally complete= on May 12, 2006. Mr. Gleason said he had implemente= d a corrective action plan; they were asked to set a goal for how many houses t= hey would do per week, for the next four weeks and provide a weekly report. He also asked that Vision redo the= ir progress plan and their spending plan.&nbs= p; Corcoran didn’t feel that the delinquency in the data collecti= on would be detrimental to the completion date. He said the Town had a mechanism a= vailable in the contract to increase the amount of withholding to 30% if the Town fe= lt the progress was not satisfactory. <= /span>He believed this was the time to put together a program containing a question/answer FAQs – a communication campaign. Mr. Gleason said the Selectmen wil= l have to strategize, by approximately June 9, 2006, how to address the people who will not allow entry. There was a brief discussion regar= ding the entry rate (43%) and how the Town would proceed after the data collecti= on period.

Mr. Lynde said Park & Recreation met, programs are= doing well; summer camp sign up will happen soon. He said a private organization had= been formed ‘PARKA’ as a means of collecting funds to provide adjunct support to recreation programs. There is no affiliation between Park & Recreation and PARKA.

Mr. Danevich said a letter had been written to Planning Director Jeff Gowan from the Department of Transportation (‘DOT’= ;) regarding the request to close the Castle Hill Bridge during construction. The lett= er indicates that the DOT wanted to review the submission and discuss with Windham. The DOT also wanted to review the = detour plan and would work with Pelham and Windham regarding acceptable traffic control for the bridge. Mr. Danevich said the plan stood to close the bridge unless there was compelling evidence or the state could of= fer an alternative bridge. Mr. Da= nevich said he received an update from the Fire Chief that the ladder truck would = be arriving within two-three weeks. Also the rescue squad (out for refurbishing) was due back in a week = or two. He ended by informing wi= th the passage of the Technology warrant article, remote access computer system wa= s introduced.

REQUEST FOR NON-PUBLIC SESSION

MOTION:=

(Lynde/Bergeron) Request for a non-public session pe= r RSA 91-A:3,II, a & b (personnel; Hiring of any person as an employee).

ROLL CALL:<= /b>

Mr. Danevich-Yes; Mr. Gleason-Yes; Mr. Lynde-Yes; Mr. Bergeron-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 10:00 pm.

The Board returned to public session at approximately = 11:25 pm.

MOTION:=

(Gleason/Bergeron) To seal the minutes of the non-pu= blic session indefinitely.

VOTE:

(4-0-0) The motion carried.

ADJOURNMEN= T

MOTION:<= o:p>

(Gleason/Bergeron) To adjourn the meeting.

VOTE:

(4-0-0) The motion carri= ed.

The meeting was adjourned at approximately11:25 pm.

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