APPROVED
TOWN OF
BOARD OF S= ELECTMEN MEETING
MINUTES
APPROVED –
CALL TO ORDER
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
|
PRESENT: |
Mr. Victor Danevich, Mr. Edmund Gleason, Mr. Harold= Lynde (arrived during non-public session at approximately 7:50pm), Mr. Jean-Guy Bergeron, Mr. Tom Domenico, Mr. Tom Gaydos -Town Administrator |
|
Also present: ABSENT: |
Members of the press and general public. None |
A=
PPOINTMENTS
Presentation to Pelham CERT
Members of the CERT team and Fire Fighter Ric=
hard
Hanegan were congratulated for what they have done and presented with a
proclamation for being the premiere CERT team in
MINUTES REVIEW
|
MOTION: |
(Gleason/Bergeron) To approve the |
|
VOTE:<= /p> |
(4-0-0) The motion carried. |
The amendments to the minutes were as follows: page 3= , under Fire Station Presentation – the sentence reading ‘He was not in favor of building it for today’s need with expansion capabilities and wanted to know if that issue had been addressed’ was amended to read ‘. He inquired if they had looked at building it for today’s need with expansion capabilities.’; page 4, 1st paragraph – the sentences reading ‘He felt a volunteer contrac= tor (that lived in the Town) should research and provide his opinion. Chief Walker said the Town wouldn’t assume any more risk with a construction management process= than it would with any of the other processes.’ were amended to read R= 16;. He felt it was important to have = a group of volunteer contractors that lived in Town that would be willing to be an advisory committee and research the options and related risks. Chief Walker discussed the constr= uction management process and said the Town wouldn’t assume any more risk w= ith a construction management process than it would with any of the other processes.’; page 5 – the motion to move the crab apple tree reading ‘To confirm permission to move the crabapple tree and maintain’ was amended to read ‘To confirm permission to move t= he crabapple tree and provide periodic maintenance.’. There were also minor grammatical corrections made.
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MOTION: |
(Gleason/Bergeron) To approve the |
|
VOTE:<= /p> |
(4-0-0) The motion carried. |
The amendments to the minutes were as follows: page 3= , 1st paragraph – the words ‘for its use until’ were added to ‘…obligation to the Town for its use until the end of April.’; 6th paragraph – the words ‘prior to = the vote on the Warrant’ were added to: ‘…assets would be committed prior to the vote on the Warrant’; page 8, last paragraph – the word ‘populous’ was replaced by the word ‘voters’; page 9, 2nd paragraph – the word ‘time’ was added to: ‘…procedure time would also be…’; 5th paragraph – the word ‘internet’ was added to: ‘…adequate internet security..’; there were also a few grammatical corrections made.
OPEN FORUM
None.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
EEE Update, status of permit of spray for mosquito control
Mr. Danevich said the Town had no positive findings regarding EEE. He said even = though there was a diminished need because there had been a frost, it was not ‘ou= t of the clear’. There woul= d be an additional update at the next meeting.
APPOINTMENTS CON’T….
Removal of Trees on
Planning Director Jeff Gowan informed there were RSA&=
#8217;s
in place that required a vote by the Selectmen regarding required tree cut=
ting
as part of the
Mr. Gleason asked if the Town had complied with the
requirements of RSA 231:146 in connection with notification. Mr. Gowan said if the Board voted,
notification would occur
There was no public inp= ut.
|
MOTION: |
(Domenico/Gleason) To authorize Planning Director J= eff Gowan to remove the trees (deemed as nuisance trees) as necessary in compliance with RSA 231:145 & 146; a total of fifteen trees – = five on lot 5-115; four on lot 5-116 and six on lot 5-118 to facilitate the widening of the road (within the Town right-of-way on Lawrence Corner Ro= ad) as previously approved by the Selectmen. |
|
VOTE:<= /p> |
(4-0-0) The motion carried. |
Context Sensitive Solutions
Planning Director Jeff Gowan reminded persons of the =
Town
that the Context Sensitive Solutions place making workshop would be held <=
st1:date
Month=3D"10" Day=3D"19" Year=3D"2006" w:st=3D"on">Thursday, October 19, 20=
06
from
Code Enforcement Update
Mr. Danevich noted that a Code Enforcement officer ha= d been hired and asked Planning Director Jeff Gowan to provide an update. Mr. Gowan said that Mr. Tom Wakef= ield joined the Town in May, 2006. He said he was extremely pleased with the work done by Mr. Wakefield. He outlined the five elements of = code enforcement: research, observation, communication, follow up and documenta= tion. He then provided the Selectmen wi= th a summary of the work Mr. Wakefield had been doing.
Mr. Danevich asked if there was any interaction betwe= en the Code Enforcement Officer and the Assessing Department. Mr. Gowan answered yes; he provid= ed examples of when this might occur. =
Mr. Gleason suggested providing the Budget Committee = with the data to show that the argument of having the position was valid.
Mr. Bergeron commended the department for the work th= ey were doing. Mr. Danevich also tha= nked Mr. Gowan for the work being done with regard to Code Enforcement.
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MOTION: |
(Gleason/Bergeron) To release the memorandum dated =
|
|
VOTE:<= /p> |
(4-0-0) The motion carried. |
Health Officer Discussion (Possible non-public session 91:A:3,I=
I,(b)
Mr. Danevich said there were three applicants for the position of Health Officer. = There was a request for non-public session.&nbs= p;
REQUEST FOR NON-PUBLIC = SESSION
|
MOTION: |
(Domenico/Bergeron) Request for a non-public sessio= n per RSA 91-A:3,II, b (Hiring of any person as an employee). |
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ROLL CALL:= |
Mr. Danevich-Yes; Mr. Gleason-Yes; Mr. Bergeron-Yes= ; Mr. Domenico – Yes |
The Board entered into non-public session at approxim=
ately
The Board returned to p=
ublic
session at approximately
|
MOTION: |
(Domenico/Lynde) To make Mr. Paul Zarnowski as Depu=
ty
Health Officer (at his request) for a stipend of $1000 per year effective
immediately. Also to hire =
Ms.
Marlene Demers at a stipend of $3000 annually as the Health Officer for =
the
Town of |
|
VOTE:<= /p> |
(5-0-0) The motion carried. |
Fire Chief Michael Walker introduced Ms. Marlene Deme= rs, the Town’s new Health Officer. Ms. Demers discussed her credentials and how her experience would benefit the Town.
Forestry Warrant Article Discussion
Ms. Deb Waters, Conservation Commission Chairman Paul=
Gagnon
and Mr. Bob Lamoureux met with the Selectmen to discuss the Forestry Warra=
nt
Article. Ms. Waters distribu=
ted a
copy of the amended article that was sponsored by the Forestry Committee.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> The warrant article proposed to d=
raw not
more than $35,000 from the Forestry Trust Fund for the purpose of stewards=
hip,
management, care, security, education and costs associated with maintenanc=
e and
care of Town forestland. Ms.=
Waters
reviewed the proposed 2007 Forestry budget. She said bids were put out for Mu=
ldoon,
Little Island Pond and Gumpas Pond.
Four bids were returned for Muldoon and the commit=
tee
accepted the bid yielding the highest proceeds; one bid each was returned =
for
Gumpas Pond and Little Island Pond these were rejected because they were h=
alf
of what was estimated to be received for each of the parcels. She explained that the companies
weren’t bidding on the two parcels because there was site work that =
would
have to be done to access the parcels.&nb=
sp;
She said they would like to do the site work on the two parcels and=
then
put them back out to bid to get the projected revenue that they wanted.
Mr. Gaydos asked if the properties would be surveyed.= Mr. Gagnon said the Costa propert= y had been blazed. Muldoon may need to be surveyed. Ms. Waters said she spoke with Fo= rester Dan Cyr and decided that the plans for the adjacent subdivisions perhaps c= ould be used to do a blaze; they may come back and request money for a survey.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> She said it would be revisited at= a later date.
Mr. Lynde said it may be in the Town’s interest= to have the survey because there may be an encroachment on the property. He discussed the bids that came i= n and noted that the money would come back in forestry.
Mr. Gleason asked for clarification regarding the pay= back funds for the Conservation Commission. Mr. Gagnon said certain costs, such as opening the Merriam property= and blazing Costa property and Gumpas Pond were paid out of the Conservation F= und; they would like to pay items such as these out of the Forestry Fund in the future, but there wasn’t a warrant article authorizing such. Mr. Gleason asked if another warr= ant article would be submitted later for commission at Gumpas Pond and Little Island Pond. Ms. Waters answ= ered yes. She said when the work = was done at Gumpas Pond and Little Island Pond they would re-bid and put it in= the 2008 budget. Mr. Gleason ask= ed if the sink hole listed in the budget was a second hole, or improvements to t= he one identified earlier and had been corrected and filled by the Town. Mr. Danevich said clarification w= as needed. Mr. Gleason asked what the blazing process entailed. Ms. Waters discussed how properties were blazed to identify boundary lines.
Mr. Gaydos said he woul= d like to work with the Forestry Committee to get more information.
Mr. Lynde said the Park & Recreation Advisory Boa=
rd met
Mr. Bergeron wanted clarification regarding the state= ment of accepting the ‘highest bid’.&= nbsp; Mr. Gagnon explained that the bids were loggers telling how much they would pay the Town = to take the lumber. He said the comm= ittee picked the logger that would pay the most. Mr. Bergeron wanted to know how much of the $35,000 would be spent = on parking. Mr. Gagnon said at = Little Island Pong and Gumpas Pond they were trying to ‘kill two birds with= one stone’ by requesting money to improve the entrances for logging equipment. He didn’t k= now the exact amount for parking. Mr. Bergeron felt if the back up was clear it would be easier to explain.
There was further discussion regarding the proposed budget. Ms. Waters explained= that they were holding back as an emergency fund since the money was for ten ye= ars.
Mr. Lynde asked if there would be a follow up warrant article since there were tree products on other Town property. Ms. Waters said they would wait f= or now and come back with a more tailored approach. Mr. Lynde suggested speaking with= the Park & Recreation Director because he would be putting in an article f= or tree planting.
Mr. Danevich asked that= the committee work with Mr. Gaydos regarding the warrant article language.
OTHER BUSINESS
Bid Review for Fire
Mr. Gaydos said three bids were received and opened e= arlier in the afternoon. The bids w= ere being reviewed because they appeared to be different in terms of the scope= and what they felt needed to be done. Mr. Danevich asked if there were any preliminary findings regarding= the mold. Mr. Gaydos said the preliminary findings were that the mold was toxic. He said they are finding out from= the companies what their approach would be.&n= bsp; Mr. Gleason asked if public access should be restricted to the station. He questioned if th= ere was a risk. Mr. Gaydos said air = tests were performed and came back negative.&nb= sp; He said they were still working on how the situation would be approached.
No Hunting Ordinance Discussion – Possible Revisions
Mr. Danevich said the Board had acted by majority vot=
e to
retain the current policy with no change.=
He said it was recognized that there were certain items that needed
further discussion. He said =
if
there were any proposed changes, the Board would follow the RSA requiremen=
ts
for public input. Mr. Danevi=
ch reviewed
the Selectmen meeting minutes from
Mr. Danevich said it had been discussed at the previo= us meeting to remove pepper spray/gas and mace from the definition of Firearm= s. He suggested also removing paint = ball guns. He said there was info= rmation on the Fish and Game website and discussed his findings. Conservation Officer Mike Matson explained if certain hunting was allowed, the hunters could help with enforcement issues. Mr. Dane= vich continued review of the ordinance and noted he didn’t object to orga= nized events by Scouting etc.
Mr. Bergeron said he had originally voted in favor of= the ordinance; and was glad that Officer Matson (an expert from the state) pro= vided information and he learned things such as: 1) Raymond Park being in excess= of 250 acres; 2) there are hired trappers that trap for the Town; 3) no history i= n New Hampshire of anyone being injured by use of a bow and arrow; and 4) the ty= pe of safety courses the hunters have to take.&= nbsp; He said this was another form of nature promoted in all states. He felt hunting could be done in a controlled manner.
Mr. Lynde said the Park & Recreation Advisory Boa= rd had a strong sentiment against relaxing the rules at Raymond Park because of t= he trail system etc. He said th= ere seemed to be a problem there now with people who disregarded the law and if there was some way to allow limited hunting late in the season that could improve the situation, he would support it. Since he didn’t know of a w= ay that it could be guaranteed, he was not in favor of allowing hunting at this point.
Mr. Gleason felt recreation areas should remain dedic=
ated as
such. He didn’t feel h=
unters
should police the people because there were no assurances or guarantees th=
at it
would happen. He believed if
hunting was allowed there was an opportunity for an accident to happen.
Mr. Domenico said the only change he would be in favo= r of was the removal of pepper gas or mace as originally written. He was not in favor of removing p= aint ball guns because there was a difference from them and organized paint ball.
Mr. Danevich noted that hunting was an important mean= s of managing some wildlife species. He believed there should be an exception regarding the potential of trapping = by issuing a permit.
The Selectmen had no objection to change/remove peppe= r spray, gas and mace from the definition of Firearms. Paint ball guns will remain in the definition of Firearms.
There was a brief discussion regarding posting signs informing that trapping was occurring. Mr. Danevich questioned if there w= as an objection to posting a sign informing of trapping activities. The Selectmen had no objection to posting a sign at points of entry to the park that there may be trapping i= n the park.
There is an exemption clause that states organized activities require written approval by the Recreation Department or Select= men.
The Selectmen then discussed allowing bow and arrow u= nder special exemption. Officer M= atson informed that bow season was September 15 – December 15; perhaps if = that is too long of a season, a compromise would be October 15 – December= 15 since most trees were off the trees providing a longer range of sight. Mr. Bergeron suggested allowing b= ow hunting from October 15th – December 15th. Mr. Domenico, Mr. Lynde, Mr. Glea= son and Mr. Danevich didn’t support the suggestion. Mr. Gleason didn’t feel that an opportunity should be cre= ated for an accident to happen. M= r. Lynde felt an alternate proposal was to increase the Police budget to incr= ease the patrol in the park. Mr. Domenico was not in favor to opening the parks to hunting of any type. He felt the regulation allowed the Selectmen the flexibility in the future should there be a problem with (an= imal) population to address such on an as needed basis. Mr. Danevich also couldn’t = support hunting. He discussed the fa= ct that the park was still being developed. Mr. Bergeron asked what activities were in the park during October = 15th – December 15th. Mr. Danevich said the park was used for soccer, camping, horseback riding etc. Mr. Bergeron que= stioned if November 15th – December 15th was a better timeframe. Mr. Danevich said= it helped, but felt it would create a liability that they didn’t have to. He noted there were well over 100= 0 acres in Pelham that were open to hunting; the only area being asked for protect= ion were the three recreational areas. =
Officer Matson asked that citizens contact Fish &= Game if they witness a violation. He noted that he covered eight towns and the vast majority of the information= for cases was from other hunters. Officer Matson indicated that he believed that the regulation created more of a pr= oblem in that law abiding hunters were restricted from an area therefore those n= ot following the laws would utilized the area.
Mr. Bergeron asked if it was possible to vote regardi= ng what was discussed. Mr. Danevich = said it wasn’t the intent to vote at this time but rather to build a consens= us, have Mr. Gaydos work with Town counsel to work on language. Mr. Domenico made a motion to rem= ove pepper gas or mace from the definition of Firearms and to add a third exem= ption for trapping.
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MOTION: |
(Domenico/Gleason) To instruct Mr. Gaydos to make t= he following changes to the existing regulation, run them through Town Coun= sel and present them back to the Board: 1) removal of pepper gas or mace from the definition of Firearms; and 2) addition of a third exemption ‘Trapping’ for managing some species of wildlife, which woul= d be posted by permit issued by the Board of Selectmen. |
|
VOTE:<= /p> |
(5-0-0) The motion carried. |
Mr. Danevich said the next step would be for Mr. Gayd= os to work with Town Counsel. He t= hanked Officer Matson for working with the Board.
Internet Policy – Possible Vote to Adopt
Mr. Danevich said as part of the Technology Plan, the Selectmen identified the need for an internet acceptable use policy. The policy had been proposed, rev= iewed and revised by the New Hampshire Municipal Association. Mr. Lynde didn’t want the p= olicy to preclude temporary workers. Mr. Danevich said the policy established a base line policy. He said the next policy would be = for handling sensitive information.
|
MOTION: |
(Gleason/Bergeron) To accept the Internet Use Polic= y as written. |
|
VOTE:<= /p> |
(5-0-0) The motion carried. |
Mr. Danevich said the next step would be to have Mr. = Gaydos provide Town employees as well as elected and appointed officials a copy o= f the policy to sign and acknowledge that they have read it.
BOS Priority List Review/Update
The Selectmen reviewed = the priority list. Mr. Danevich = will post on the website.
Financial Review
Mr. Gaydos provided the Selectmen with an overview of= the Town budget to date. Mr. Gle= ason asked that a sub total be added after the Department budgets.
TOWN ADMINISTRATOR/SELECTMEN’S REPORTS
Mr. Gaydos and Mr. Dome= nico had no report.
Mr. Gleason informed that the Budget Committee was continuing. He recognized the professionalism of the Fire Department when reviewing their budget.
Mr. Bergeron reminded people that the Context Sensiti=
ve
Solutions place making workshop would be held
Mr. Lynde noted that th= e Park & Recreation Advisory Board met; it was a good meeting.
Mr. Danevich informed that the Annual Horribles Parade
(sponsored by the Pelham Fire Fighters Association) would be held at the
parking lot of the
REQUEST FOR NON-PUBLIC = SESSION
|
MOTION: |
(Bergeron/Lynde) Request for a non-public session p= er RSA 91-A:3,II, d & e (Consideration of acquisition, sale or lease of property; Consideration or negotiation of pending claims or litigation). |
|
ROLL CALL:= |
Mr. Danevich-Yes; Mr. Gleason-Yes; Mr. Lynde-Yes; M= r. Bergeron-Yes; Mr. Domenico – Yes |
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
The Board returned to p=
ublic
session at approximately
|
MOTION: |
(Domenico/Lynde) To seal the minutes of the non-pub= lic session indefinitely. |
|
VOTE:<= /p> |
(5-0-0) The motion carried. |
ADJOURNMENT
|
MOTION:=
|
(Domenico/Lynde) To adjourn the meeting. |
|
VOTE: |
(5-0-0) The motion carr=
ied. |
The meeting was adjourned at approximately
&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
BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING/October 17, 2006