BOS Minutes 07-11-2006

APPROVED

TOWN OF PELHAM<= /st1:place>

BOARD OF S= ELECTMEN MEETING

MINUTES

July 11, 2006

APPROVED – July 25, 2006=

CALL TO ORDER

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

PRESENT:

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

Also present:

ABSENT:

Members of the press and general public.

None.

S= wearing in of new Fire Chief Michael Walker

Judge Michael Jones swore in the oath of offi= ce the new Fire Chief Michael Walker. The Selectmen, members of the Fire and Police Department, and the p= ublic welcomed the new Chief.

MOTION:

(Gleason/Bergeron) To appoint Fire Chief Michael Wa= lker as the Town Forest Fire Marshall effective immediately.

= ;

VOTE:<= /p>

(5-0-0) The motion carried.

MOTION:

(Gleason/Domenico) To appoint Fire Chief Michael Wa= lker as the Emergency Management Director effective immediately.

= ;

VOTE:<= /p>

(5-0-0) The motion carried.

M= INUTES REVIEW

June 27, 2006

MOTION:

(Gleason/Bergeron) To approve the June 27, 2006 meeting minu= tes as amended.

= ;

VOTE:<= /p>

(5-0-0) The motion carried.

<= /o:p>

The amendments to the minutes were as follows: page 1- motion regarding Community Calendar was made by Domenico and seconded by Gleason; page 2 – 1^st paragraph – the word ‘submit’ was inserted into: ‘…to submit requests f= or Federal…’; page 2 under Interviews for Park & Rec – = the words ‘wished to’ were inserted in ‘…Department and wished to confirm…’; page 2 under Muldoon Park – the sen= tence reading ‘He believed 519,000 board feet of timber could be taken out’ was amended to read ‘He estimated the total park to have 519,000 board feet of saw timber was the inventory.’; page 4 – Little Island Pond (1^st= paragraph) the word ‘treed’ was replaced with the word ‘harvested’; page 5 – 1^st paragraph – ‘100 acres’ was replaced by ‘150 acres’; page 5 &#= 8211; under Gumpas Pond ‘Mr. Danevich confirmed that the project…= 217; was replaced by ‘Mr. Danevich confirmed that the Forest Management Plans…’; page 6 – Raymond Park invoices – the foll= owing ‘…accounts from the General Fund to reimburse the Town for pay= ment made under Continental…’ was replaced with ‘…accou= nts to allow payment to Continental…’; page 6, 2^nd paragraph – the words ‘$500 of which was….’ were deleted; page 6 – the heading ‘Standar= dized Budgeting’ was replaced with ‘2007 Budget Guidelines’; t= he sentence ‘Mr. Gleason provided a summary of his recommended 2007 Bud= get Guidelines he had recommended to the department heads at the 22 June meeting.’ was added; the words ‘..attempted to capture the standardization of budget preparation basically…’ were removed= ; the words ‘…review all items..’ were added; the word ‘flattening’ was replaced with ‘impacting’; page 7 – the sentence reading ‘There will be further discussion on the topic’ was replaced with ‘The majority of the Board agreed to = issue the guidelines.’ The motion for non-public was made by Lynde and sec= onded by Gleason. There were also grammatical corrections made.

OPEN FORUM

None.

PUBLIC HEARING – Forest Management Plan

Ms. Deborah Waters (member of the Forestry Committee), Mr. Dan Cyr, Town Forester and Mr. Brian Johnson, Forester with Baystate Forestry met with the Selectmen to discuss the Forestry Management Plan (for Gumpas Pond Conservation Area, Little Island Pond Conservation A= rea and Muldoon Park). Ms. Waters said at the time of th= e last public hearing (June 27, 2006) the Selectmen didn’t have the plans and now hoped = that the Selectmen had the opportunity to review them.

Mr. Gleason noticed (in the plan) that there = was a recommendation to survey boundaries. Mr. Cyr said they found a few places where the boundary was not obv= ious. He said if the boundaries were be= tter defined, it would help the Town enforce people keeping their stuff on thei= r own property. Mr. Gleason said o= ne of the reports indicated that there may be infringement on Town property by a= land owner. Mr. Cyr said without = exact knowledge of the line, he could only go by rough measurements. He reiterated that the lines need= ed to be better defined. Mr. Gleas= on asked if it was permissible to authorize the survey under the Forestry Funds. Mr. Gaydos felt this = would be the perfect opportunity to use the Conservation Fund so an appropriation wouldn’t be needed unless money was taken from the Forestry Fund. Unless Conservation money was use= d, the appropriation (from Forestry Fund) would have to be done next year. Mr. Danevich asked if that was an acceptable timeframe. Mr. Cyr answered yes; a lot of where the lines were in question were close to the = brook where there wouldn’t be much harvesting and wouldn’t impede the work being done. Mr. Lynde s= aid in the past when forestry was done (bids went out and revenue was generated) = Mr. Cyr was paid from the proceeds from the revenue and the balance was deposited = in the Forestry Fund. He recomm= ended when the harvest was done that the Conservation Fund was reimbursed from t= he Forestry Funds.

Mr. Bergeron asked for an explanation of the markings on the trees. Mr. C= yr explained the blazing/painting process and how they would do a triangulati= on to help identify/define corner boundaries that they were sure of; there were = some that may need to be surveyed. He said once they are re-identified (by a surveyor), they could blaze and pai= nt the boundary.

PUBLIC INPUT

Mr. Michael Lecroix, = 14 Washington Street, asked why th= ere were already plans drawn up for fields if only forestry was being discussed. Mr. Danevich said= the current discussion was regarding forestry management; there would be a discussion later in the meeting regarding Muldoon and the potential for fi= eld expansion. He provided Mr. L= ecroix a copy of the forestry plan. Mr. Cyr noted there would not be any clear-cutting as part of the forestry operation.

Ms. Catherine Foy, 29 Nature’s Way, reiterated the importance to the community of closing off the proposed road (into Little Island Pond Conservation area) to public access and asked for confirmation of such. She wa= nted something aesthetically nice (not a gate). Mr. Johnson said the difference between putting boulders versus a g= ate was that a gate could be opened by the Fire Department for access. He believed the Fire Department a= nd other safety personnel should discuss the topic. Mr. Domenico asked if there was a= location further in as to not be visibly to the street and have the opportunity to overgrow again. Mr. Cyr said= there was a location at the woods line that a gate could be put in. Ms. Foy preferred an alternate ac= cess and questioned if access could be through the new 55+ development that was= to be built. Mr. Danevich said = there was no guarantee that the development would be built. Mr. Paul Gagnon of 103 Dutton Road (also the Conserva= tion Commission Chairman) believed the road in question was a private road and = access wouldn’t be allowed. M= r. Danevich noted there was already access from Nature’s Way. Mr. Lynde said there were two par= ts: 1) access for logging; and 2) emergency access. He said for logging it didn’= ;t matter what was there as long as the access could be moved and opened. He noted that emergency access co= uld likely be gained through the private road. He said it may be preferred = to have a gate for emergency access, but the Fire Chief would have to decide.

Mr. Lecroix asked where the access would occur (for forestry) in Muldoo= n Park. Mr. Cyr said they would come in o= n the existing road (through the ballpark) and as part of the ballpark construct= ion a new access road would be built around the backside of the play ground. He said there would be a very nar= row wetlands crossing near the existing culvert; there wouldn’t be much = of an impact.

= ;

MOTION:

(Domenico/Gleason) To adopt the Forestry Management= Plans for the Gumpas Pond Conservation Area and Little Island Pond Conservation Area based on the December 19, 2005 plan and Muldoon Park based on th= e June 22, 2006 plan.

= ;

VOTE:<= /p>

(5-0-0) The motion carried.

Mr. Cyr will proceed to implement the plans.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>

OTHER BUSINESS=

Revaluation Update=

Mr. Gaydos said at this point properties had = been visited by the Assessor; two separate attempts have been made to gain acce= ss to all the homes; however, there were a number of residences (for one reason = or another) that had not been entered so they will have one last chance. He said the values were being fin= alized and expected to be able to send out a letter informing what value was being placed on their property. At= that point, property owners would have the opportunity to have an informal hear= ing with the assessing company. = Mr. Danevich asked what the entry rate was.&n= bsp; Mr. Gaydos believed it was above 60%. Of the 2000 people scheduled for = call back (in May), 1480 responded leaving 520 non-responsive people. Mr. Gaydos said if a person wante= d to appeal their valuation, they would lose the right to appeal if they don= 217;t allow an interior inspection which was a state law.

Mr. Bergeron questioned what the assessors wo= uld assess (inside the house) if someone didn’t participate and the appe= al time period was over. Mr. Ga= ydos said if the assessors didn’t go into a house they would make some as= sumptions based on a typical house in the neighborhood.

Mr. Lynde asked if there would be an opportun= ity for people to see their assessments on line. Mr. Gaydos answered yes; when the= notice of assessed values were mailed they would also be posted on-line. A property owner would be able to= review similar houses to see how they compare.&n= bsp; Mr. Gleason noted that the new data would be on Version 6; the old data would be maintained on Version 4 of the assessing software.

Mr. Domenico said there had been some questio= ns from residents regarding house values and if they would revalue homes base= d on property values as they were a year ago.&= nbsp; He said his explanation was that it didn’t matter because it = would be the same set of data/sales across the Town and would be equitable. Mr. Gaydos said the values would = be done based on sales data from April 1, 2006. He said= the Town had the challenge to keep the values up to date and had discussed try= ing to keep the system updated on a regular basis (5 years) to stay in complia= nce with state regulations.

Mr. Danevich asked if the project was on schedule. Mr. Gaydos believe= d the project was on schedule. Mr. Gleason said they would continue with monthly meetings until the effort wa= s complete. He said utilities were now under contract.

Mr. Danevich asked if the project was within budget. Mr. Gaydos answered yes. Mr. Gleason said there = were no modifications to the contracts and held the line with a firm fixed price.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Mr. Gleason said the only thing t= o worry about were the things budgeted on an anticipated cost basis (i.e. number of appeals, court cases). He fe= lt there was adequate money in the budget to cover such. Mr. Gaydos believed things were g= oing well and would continue to be monitored.&= nbsp;

Muldoon Park= Update (baseball fields)

Mr. Gaydos said he had contacted a logger and= was in the process of developing an agreement with them. He said the objective for this ye= ar was to remove the timber and then take the specific ball field area and remove= the stumps and clear the land so Little League could loam, prepare the field, = put the fences up and seed. The remaining park of the park would be addressed at a subsequent season.

Mr. Danevich asked for an explanation regardi= ng required permits and the process for such. Mr. Gaydos said he met with Peter Zohdi of Edward Herbert Associate= s who reviewed all the permitting. He said all the necessary notices had been made to the EPA and were in compli= ance with the necessary permitting to get the present step completed. Mr. Gleason said he had a discuss= ion with Attorney Phil Currier and forwarded him a letter (with the knowledge = and concurrence of the Board) and understood that Mr. Currier had agreed in wr= iting to grant a 50-foot easement for the Nashua Road access and believed planni= ng could incorporate the secondary access/egress. Mr. Gaydos said that would be a p= roject unto itself because it was a major wetland.

PUBLIC INPUT

Mr. Michael Lecroix, = 14 Washington Street said his major concern was traffic. He felt= there was currently inadequate parking. <= /span>He wanted to know where the proposed parking and road would be located. Mr. Danevich believed the updated= plan was in the Planning Department (a copy could be provided); he would make it available on-line once he obtained an electronic copy. There was a brief discussion rega= rding where the possible egress would be placed. Mr. Gleason said Mr. Zohdi recommended having the egress come out directly opposite Hancock= Lane to create an intersection if possible (and approved). Mr. Gaydos noted that there was a considerable amount of permitting/engineering to cross the wetland. Mr. Danevich said the engineering= should also review the traffic flow within the park.

Mr. Fran Walsh, 21 Washington Street said the proj= ect sounded big and questioned how it would be paid for. Mr. Gleason said there was a logg= er that would clear just the specific area for the fields and his costs would be o= ffset from the benefit he got from the logs taken out. The estimated maximum exposure is= $2500 at this point. Mr. Gleason s= aid Little League was paying for everything else; they were volunteering to le= vel and sod the fields, put the fences up, irrigate and seed before the fall (= the costs for this work is estimated at $23,000-$30,000). Mr. Walsh asked if there would be= a buffer from the field to the abutters.&nb= sp; Mr. Gaydos said there would be a 50-foot buffer; some of the larger trees would be removed which would allow for smaller trees to fill in and create a visual and sound barrier. = Mr. Walsh felt 50-feet was close to his house and questioned if a fence would = be added. It was noted that the= fields would be fenced. Mr. Walsh w= as concerned with people cutting through his property. Mr. Gleason said Little League ha= d been up behind Mt. Vernon Drive and didn’t have a problem; the problems seemed to be from ATV’= s not foot traffic.

Mr. Lynde questioned if pulling the area out = of the forestry plan would affect it. Mr. Danevich said Mr. Cyr indicated the area could be pulled out wi= thout affecting the plan. Mr. Gayd= os said there would be approximately $3000-$5000 produced out of the total area. Mr. Lynde thought it was still an= open question. Mr. Danevich said = he confirmed during the meeting that Mr. Cyr indicated the project could be d= one exclusive of the ball fields. Mr. Lynde wanted a better understanding regarding how the trees would be removed. Mr. Gaydos said he questioned what condition the fields would be left in. He knew that the ball field area = would be left totally clean, but he wasn’t able to find out how the rest o= f the process would be left. He sa= id it was important to remove the ‘slash’ because when it dried it w= ould become a fire hazard. Mr. Ly= nde confirmed it wasn’t a Town responsibility and the Town wouldn’= t be paying. Mr. Gleason confirme= d. Mr. Gaydos understood that a bio-= mass (and stumping the ball field area) would be done. He said the remaining issue was w= hat amount would remain, and who would pay removal of such.

Mr. Domenico pointed out that a reputable com= pany had quoted $8500 to clear the area, but with Mr. Gaydos negotiating with another party, the work may be able to be done for $2500. Mr. Gleason discussed the work th= at Little League would be doing, which would build on Town assets with a volu= nteer effort. Mr. Lynde said he ho= ped no other fields would be done on the site because he felt the site was maxed out. Mr. Gleason agreed.

Mr. Lynde made a motion to formally separate = out the clearing of the proposed additional Little League fields from the Fore= st Management Plan and to allow them to be done as a separate entity at no co= st to the Town. Mr. Danevich asked= that the motion be amended to add ‘at this point in time’ in the ev= ent there ended up being a cost. There was further discussion regarding how the motion should read; it was decide= d to separate the motion to 1) separate the plan; and 2) cost.

= ;

MOTION:

(Lynde/Bergeron) To formally separate out the clear= ing of the proposed additional Little League fields from the Forest Management = Plan and to allow them to be done as a separate entity.

= ;

VOTE:<= /p>

(5-0-0) The motion carried.

Mr. Domenico made a motion to contract with a reputable logger to clear the area that will encompass the fields and to s= tump that area with a bio-mass operation; to log without stumping the future pa= rking area adjacent to those fields at a cost not to exceed $2500. Mr. Gleason seconded the motion.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Mr. Lynde asked what the source o= f funds would be. Mr. Gaydos said he= would look at it in terms of Town Buildings and in terms of other materials that= may be able to be traded.

= ;

MOTION:

(Domenico/Gleason) To contract with a reputable log= ging company to clear the area that will encompass the fields and to stump th= at area with a bio-mass operation; to log without stumping the future parki= ng area adjacent to those fields at a cost not to exceed $2500.

= ;

VOTE:<= /p>

(5-0-0) The motion carried.

R= aymond Park Update

Mr. Gaydos informed that the Town had all the permits, site specific, notice of intent with the EPA, but had not had the opportunity to begin primarily because of rain. He said now that things had the c= hance to dry out permanent stabilization work should be scheduled; cost estimates needed to be obtained.

Mr. Lynde asked if there was possibility for = FEMA reimbursements for the costs. Mr. Gaydos said it was a separate area (up by the old railway bed).

Budget Schedules

Mr. Gaydos said the schedule had been reviewe= d so all the budgets would be reviewed by the end of August. A schedule was tentatively set for weekly meetings alternating between regular scheduled meetings and budget = only meetings. The Selectmen will contact Mr. Gaydos with any conflict to the schedule, with the understandi= ng one of the August meetings may be cancelled due to no quorum. Mr. Gaydos said they have already requested the Warrant Articles and have an idea what will be brought forwa= rd.

TOWN ADMINISTRATOR / SELECTMEN RE= PORTS

Mr. Lynde noted that the ‘Community Calendar’ is now linked to the Town web page. He informed that Sunday, July 16, 2006 there = would be a concert on the Village Green from 5pm-7pm with the music of the Two Fiddlers. He ended by discussing a recent visit he had with his son who is in= the Army Special Forces at F= ort Brag and had retur= ned from his fifth combat tour.

Mr. Gleason informed that the budget process = was underway. He felt it was a g= ood process, informative and useful.

Mr. Bergeron had no report. He asked Mr. Lynde to thank his s= on for his service.

Mr. Domenico said he had received several com= ments regarding the fireworks during the Independence Day Celebration and thanked Pelham Community Spirit for their efforts. He noted that during the Planning Board meeting the hearing involvi= ng Camp Runnels came forward. An option was presented in lieu of open space based on a calculation they did on the Tina Avenue subdivision which he believed to be a $56,000 donation toward recreation/o= pen space in the Town. The gener= al consensus of the Planning Board was that they didn’t like the option= and that the number was too low. He said the Girl Scout camp had occupied the land for many years; the land wa= s not in current use and contributes essentially nothing to the tax base. He said the Council that operates= is a Massachusetts Council and the vast majority of girls who attend camp are n= ot from Pelham. He said if ther= e was an incident where the Police or Fire needed to respond it was a burden put= on the Town’s services. M= r. Domenico said he had asked Mr. Gaydos to research the possibility of a pay= ment in lieu of taxes arrangement.

Mr. Gaydos said the Town was continuing to wo= rk with FEMA; the next step is mitigation.

Mr. Danevich said as part of the Vision upgra= de contractual agreement the software would be upgraded from Version 4 to Ver= sion 6. He said the Town was awai= ting a response back from the New Hampshire Municipal Association and Primex rega= rding the draft Internet Use Policy.

REQUEST FOR NON-PUBLIC = SESSION

MOTION:

(Lynde/Bergeron) Request for a non-public session p= er RSA 91-A:3,II, a (Personnel).

= ;

ROLL CALL:=

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

Mr. Danevich noted that when the Board returned, afte= r the non-public session, the Board would not take any other action publicly, ex= cept to possibly seal the minutes of the non-public session and to adjourn the meeting. The Board entered i= nto a non-public session at approximately 8:25 pm.

The Board returned to p= ublic session at approximately 9:07 pm.

= ;

MOTION:

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

= ;

VOTE:<= /p>

(5-0-0) The motion carried.

ADJOURNMENT

MOTION:=

(Gleason/Bergeron) To adjourn the meeting.

= ;

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The motion carr= ied.

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:07 pm.

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

           = ;            &= nbsp;           &nb= sp;            = ;            &= nbsp;           &nb= sp;            = ;           Chari= ty A. L. Willis

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