SEL20070220

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APPROVED

TOWN OF PELHAM<= /st1:place>

BOARD OF S= ELECTMEN MEETING

MINUTES

February 20, 2007

APPROVED – March 6, 2007<= /p>

CALL TO ORDER

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

PRESENT:

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

Also present:

ABSENT:

Members of the press and general public.

None.

MINUTES REVIEW

February 6, 2007

MOTION:=

(Domenico/Gleason) To approve the February 6, 2007 meeting mi= nutes as amended. =

= ;

VOTE:

(3-0-2) The motion carr= ied. Mr. Lynde and Mr. Bergeron.

The amendments to the minutes were as follows: page 2= , 1^st paragraph, the word ‘to’ was replaced with the word ‘versus’ in the following ‘…current station versus= the size…’; the word ‘which’was inserted into the following: ‘…regarding the process which would…’.<= /p>

OPEN FORUM

Mr. Frank McKenney, Appleleaf Road said he was employe= d by Verizon Communications and informed that Verizon Communications in New Hampshire w= as in the process of being bought out by Fairpoint Communications. Fairpoint is buying 40% of Verizo= n assets in Ma= ine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Fairpoint has bought 40% of Veriz= on; Verizon would spin off the e= xtra 60%. Mr. McKenney said Fairp= oint currently had 900 employees and would take on 3900 employees. He said they had been bankrupt tw= ice in the last ten years. He didn&= #8217;t feel it would be a great sale for the public. He handed out information that was prepared by his Business Manager. He informed there was a rally scheduled in Po= rtland Maine for March 3, 2007 and a parade was schedule= d in Manchester for March 17, 2007= . Mr. McKenney said their contract = would end August 8, 20= 08; after that Fairpoint would take over.&nbs= p; This still needs approval from the FCC and PUC. Mr. McKenney noted that Fairpoint= didn’t want to extend fiber optic and wanted to go back to using copper/DSL ̵= 1; dial up network. He asked the Selectmen to review the information.

Mr. Bergeron asked if there were any cities or towns = that had filed interveners with the PUC. Mr. McKenney said Governor Lynch was aware of the situation, but ha= d not given the Union full support, or go against it. He said a fund had been raised to= fight the sale. Mr. Bergeron wante= d to know if any municipalities are attempting to do anything with an intervene= r with the PUC. He said there appea= red to be a question as to whether they (Fairpoint) could really handle it. Mr. McKenney answered yes. He said he spoke to Police Captai= n Joe Roark as to what direction to go. He said Captain Roark suggested he come to the Selectmen.

Mr. McKenney was thanked for the information and aske= d to leave his contact information with Mr. Gaydos.

APPOINTMENTS

Candidates for appointment to the CSS Working Group<= /u>

Clifton= Hayes- Mr. Cliff Hayes, Balcom Road believed the Town was facing many problems, one of which is the traffic in= the center. Mr. Danevich asked M= r. Hayes to explain what Mr. Hayes meant by ‘Pelham is in a crisis̵= 7;, which was on his application. Mr. Hayes said the Town had a traffic crisis and felt he could do something ab= out it. Mr. Bergeron noted that = Mr. Hayes had attended both CSS meetings.&nbs= p; Mr. Gleason thanked Mr. Hayes for volunteering and felt his backgro= und would be beneficial.

Mr. Lynde asked if the Group had a specific number, o= r if it was open to anyone who wanted to apply.&n= bsp; Planning Director Jeff Gowan (who was seated in the public) said th= ere wasn’t a set size other than approximately 20-25 people. He said both Mr. Hayes and Mr. Lamontagne expressed interest early in the process. He asked that after the Board met= both applicants if the Selectmen would extend the CSS Group until March, 2008, = which would be a more appropriate time span.&nb= sp; He said he would also be seeking alternates and would speak to Mr. Gaydos to see if they needed to meet with the Selectmen.

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MOTION:=

(Bergeron/Lynde) To appoint Mr. Clifton Hayes as a = member of the Context Sensitive Solution Group.

= ;

VOTE:

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

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James Lamont= agne –Mr. Lamontagne said he lived in the Town center (for seven year= s) and resided in Town for approximately 20 years. He said he didn’t have a lo= t of background in traffic control, but had attended the meetings with the DOT = and found them very interesting. He said they were starting to come up with suggestions and possible solutions= and would like to continue with such. <= /span>Mr. Gleason thanked Mr. Lamontagne for volunteering.

MOTION:=

(Bergeron/Lynde) To appoint Mr. James Lamontagne as= a member of the Context Sensitive Solution Group.

= ;

VOTE:

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

MOTION:=

(Bergeron/Lynde) To extend the Context Sensitive So= lution Working Group to March 31, 2008.

= ;

VOTE:

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

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DISCUSSION

Peter Zoh= di – Request of George Harris to depict a roadway over Map 24 Lot 12-214 (Town of Pelham land) for the purpose of connecting Stonepost Road= to a proposed subdivision on Map 24 Lot 12-221.

Mr. Danevich reminded the Board and the public that t= his was extremely early in the process/preliminary and the applicant had not filed= and official subdivision with the Town. He said the Selectmen would simply discuss and find out if there we= re any objections. Mr. Danevich= then reviewed Article #36 (2006 Town Meeting Warrant) which passed with a vote = of 1871 in favor of, to 862 against to move the parcel into conservation land= with the exception that the road would not prohibit road connection to facilita= te public safety. He said opini= ons had been received from the Police and Fire Chiefs as well as the Highway Depar= tment Agent.

Mr. Peter Zohdi of Herbert Associates, (representing = the applicant) showed the Selectmen the proposed development and a possible connection road through the conservation area. There was also an area designated= for open space. Mr. Zohdi said h= is client was proposing a 36-lot subdivision. The Planning Board asked the applicant to meet with the Selectmen t= o see if there was a possibility to go through parcel 12-214 to have another acc= ess to the Spring Street area part of Town.&n= bsp; Mr. Zohdi explained that many years ago, he worked on subdivisions = that had a long-range plan to get to Spring Street through the Town road system. He said they had one= access through Lannan Drive to connect to Spring Street; it was the Planning Board’s desire to connect the proposed subdivision through allowing for two accesses. He said during the Stonepost development, the Planning Board insisted on having a right-of-way to the T= own property so in the event Mr. Harris developed his property, the two could = be connected. Mr. Zohdi said the Selectmen walked the property last year, since then there had been one mee= ting with the Planning Board and wanted to know if the Selectmen were ‘preliminarily’ in favor of the proposal. He said if yes, they would have to design it and go back to the Planning Board and if they were satisfied, th= ey would need to come back to the Selectmen for the public hearing process and legal work.

Mr. Gleason wanted to know the advantage of going thr= ough the Stonepost land, if it was just connectivity. Mr. Zohdi said it was a connectiv= ity that the Planning Board wanted. Mr. Gleason questioned if the road shown on lot 12-213 was an additional access. Mr. Zohdi said the P= lanning Board asked them to investigate the area.= He said there was a quarry in the area and felt the road would be t= oo close, but if the Selectmen wanted to connect at that point they could. Mr. Gleason confirmed that lot 12= -213 was Town land. Mr. Zohdi ans= wered yes. Mr. Gleason said there = were two potential areas for connection. Mr. Zohdi said they had discussed possibly gating the access or just building it for emergency access; he didn’t have a complete report. =

Mr. Lynde felt it was unfortunate that the Town pieces weren’t properly connected and the cul-de-sac was intruding into a f= airly narrow area. He didn’t= like the configuration of the road. Mr. Danevich noted that the plan was conceptual and the discussion was non-binding. He said the app= licant was looking for the go-ahead to do the engineering work. He said once application was made= per RSA 231-8 the applicant would still need to come back for formal public hearings. There was further discussion regarding what was being asked of the Selectmen.

Mr. Domenico, being the Planning Board representative= , noted that a majority of the Planning Board was in favor of road connectivity in= this area. He informed Mr. Zohdi = that he didn’t like lots 19 & 20. Mr. Zohdi said once they figure out the road they would review the = lots.

Mr. Bergeron said the voters voted and the Planning B= oard wanted to see if connectivit= y was possible and the Safety Committee had concern in that area for quite some time. He felt if there was a landowner = that would allow the Town to work on a plan he would hate to have the Selectmen= not look into having it happen. =

Mr. Gleason would like to investigate the feasibility= but wanted to hear from the Safety Committee and the Planning Board prior to g= iving approval. He said because the Planning Board wanted the connection, not the developer, he would like to = know the rational behind the decision and what the improvements would be because some conservation land and neighborhood activity would be disrupted. He wanted a clear understanding o= f what the net benefit to the Town would be.&nbs= p;

Mr. Lynde noted that the Warrant Article (#36) was to= set aside the land as a conservation area and there was an amendment made that= a road should be allowed if it was deemed that there were sufficient reasons= to lay out a road. He didn̵= 7;t feel there was any evidence, either way (conservation land, or because of = the amendment) to be determined for which the article passed.

Mr. Danevich confirmed that the only thing the applic= ant was looking for was to be able to communicate back to the Planning Board that = the Selectmen were willing to take the next step and look at a plan, under RSA 231:8 which would start the formal process. Mr. Bergeron made a motion indica= ting such; Mr. Domenico seconded the motion.&n= bsp; Mr. Danevich said the Selectmen needed to provide guidance back to = the Planning Board. Mr. Gleason = said the motion should indicate that the Selectmen authorized Mr. Zohdi to pres= ent as part of his plan the connection as potential, subject to the public hea= ring and final approval. Mr. Lynd= e felt the extent of the motion should be that the Selectmen weren’t giving= a ‘flat’ no. He was uncomfortable telling the applicant to spend engineering dollars. Mr. Gaydos understood, from the P= lanning Board point of view, was to make sure that the Selectmen were aware of the proposal and to find out if they were in favor or against such.

MOTION:=

(Lynde/Domenico) The Board does not object to the P= lanning Board requesting the applicant to produce a layout that would show a road crossing Town land; however, the Board of Selectmen does not commit to a= ny further action of approval, or disapproval and will conduct the process = as required by RSA to have a public hearing and make a decision based upon = the results of that public hearing and not based upon Planning Board directi= on.

= ;

VOTE:

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

Mr. Danevich said the Selectmen will look for the app= licant to re-file a petition in accordance with RSA 231:8. Mr. Zohdi said he would do so. Mr. Danevich was interested in ob= taining comments from the Planning Board, Safety Committee, Conservation Commissio= n and stakeholders (abutters and special interest groups). He wanted those comments prior to= anything coming back to the Selectmen. He made it clear that the motion did not constitute approval.

OTHER BUSINESS

Resignation of call firefighter Brenda Fisher

Mr. Danevich read aloud the resignation letter submit= ted by Ms. Brenda Fisher. He then r= ead aloud a letter submitted by Fire Chief Michael Walker requesting that the Selectmen accept the resignation with regret.

MOTION:=

(Gleason/Bergeron) To accept, with regret, the resi= gnation of call firefighter Brenda Fisher.

= ;

VOTE:

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

Ms. Fisher was thanked = for her volunteerism.

Public Event Permit Policy and Application-Possible Vote

Mr. Danevich read aloud the first paragraph of the pr= oposed Public Event Permit Policy. = Mr. Gleason suggested adding a page for appropriate signatures. Mr. Domenico had no comments. Mr. Bergeron confirmed that the policy was mainly for organizations. Mr. Danevich answered yes, but no= ted that there was a specific clause for weddings. There was further discussion rega= rding the proposed policy.

MOTION:=

(Gleason/Bergeron) To implement the procedure for P= ublic Event and Permit Policy and Application.

= ;

VOTE:

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

Mr. Danevich said he wo= uld work with Mr. Gaydos to implement.

Voter Guide Draft.

Mr. Danevich said all the departments had been workin= g on the draft guide. He asked the Selectmen to review the draft. There was a brief discussion; any feedback should be directed to Mr. Danevich or Mr. Gaydos. Once complete, the final document will be posted on the web.

RFP Process

Mr. Danevich suggested that the Selectmen discuss how= RFPs are posted and making them more accessible on the web. He said a simple solution was to = create a separate web page including information. He said he would create a draft for Selectmen review.

TOWN ADMINISTRATOR/SELECTMEN REPORTS

Mr. Gaydos informed that the 2005 audit had been completed. He asked if the Selectmen wanted to meet with the auditor. Both Mr. Lynde and Mr. Gleason would work with Mr. Gaydos to set something up. Mr. Gaydos que= stioned how the Selectmen wanted to proceed with 2006; since it was late in the ye= ar, he asked if they wanted to go out to bid.= Mr. Gleason believed it should be bid competitively (out to 2 or 3 bidders). The Selectmen agreed.

Mr. Domenico had no rep= ort.

Mr. Bergeron reported that the CSS committee met February 15, 2007 and revisited their vision statement and came up with a final version. He said they reviewed preliminary studies and traffic model that was quite interesting. He discussed the items that the s= tate and committee were working on that could be done now versus waiting until = 2010 to improve the Town center intersections.= Mr. Bergeron said the next meeting would be held Thursday, May 17,2007 at t= he Police Training Room and reviewed what the discussion topics would be. He said the meetings were thoroug= h, and decisions were built on consensus. Mr. Bergeron discussed some of the activities he was involved in th= at would need someone to continue to be involved in. The groups were as follow: 1) Mer= rimack Valley Regional Water District; 2) Nashua Regional Planning Commission; 3)= Town CTAC; and 4) Context Sensitive Solution committee.

Mr. Gleason noted that the Budget Committee reconvene= d on February 13, 2007 to discuss two warrant articles that were modified at the Deliberative Sessio= n; 1) PVMP restoration; 2) Deputy Fire Chief.&n= bsp; He reported that the PVMP passed with a 5-2 vote. The Deputy Fire Chief was not sup= ported; there was a consensus was that there was enough on the ballot this year fo= r the Fire Department and would entertain the item coming back next year.

Mr. Lynde and Mr. Danev= ich had no report.

ADJOURNMENT

MOTION:=

(Gleason/Bergeron) To adjourn the meeting.

= ;

VOTE:

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

The meeting was adjourn= ed at approximately 7:45 pm.

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

   &nb= sp;            = ;            &= nbsp;           &nb= sp;            = ;            &= nbsp;           &nb= sp;            = ;      Charity A. L. Willis

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