SEL20080325

APPROVED

TOWN OF PELHAM

BOARD OF SE= LECTMEN MEETING

MINUTES

March 25, 200= 8

APPROVED – April 8, 2008<= o:p>

CALL = TO ORDER

PLEDG= E OF ALLEGIANCE

PRESENT:

Mr. Victor Danevich, Mr= . Harold Lynde, Mr. William McDevitt, Mr. Robert Haverty,

Mr. Douglas Viger, Town= Administrator Tom Gaydos

Also present:

ABSENT:

Members of the press and general public.

None

MINUTES REVIEW<= /p>

March 4, 2008

MOTION:<= o:p>

(Haverty/Viger) To approve the March&= nbsp; 4, 2008 meeting minutes as written.

VOTE:

(4-0-1) The motion carri= ed. Mr. Lynde abstained.

OPEN FORUM

None.=

APPOINTMENTS

Board of Selectmen: Election of Officers

MOTION:<= o:p>

(Haverty/Lynde) To appoint Mr. Douglas Viger as Chai= rman.

VOTE:

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

MOTION:<= o:p>

(Viger/McDevitt) To appoint Mr. Robert Haverty as Vi= ce Chairman.<= /p>

VOTE:

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

Discussion: Rezoning of Pat Gendron property, Route 38

Planning Director Jeff Go= wan said earlier in the year, prior to establishing the ballot, an issue came up wit= h a petition warrant article to rezone all of Route 38. He said ultimately it was the Selectmen’s decision not to put the article on the ballot because of a defect in its filing. Subsequ= ently, he had a number of discussions with Mr. Pat Gendron who produced an affidav= it (put together by his father) that established a Special Town Meeting where = the vote was taken to rezone his parcel as well as two others. Mr. Gowan said with that evidence,= they went to the Town Clerk’s office and look for Special Town Meeting records. He said the search produced the petition zoning question (#3) on the 1962 ballot which clearly described the portion of land. He said all three zoning questions passed at the meeting through a motion and a show of hands.

Mr. Gowan said with this information he began researching all the Town vote records during the past forty-five years. He said the= re were a lot of zoning questions that came in during this time that were main= ly by petition. He said the peti= tions were to rezone residential properties as commercial, which were mostly (if = not all) denied. In his research = he found nothing that would undo or make the vote null and void. He said he met with Mr. Gendron an= d his surveyor to be absolutely sure that the parcel of land is the same one described in the zoning article of 1962.&n= bsp; Mr. Gowan was convinced that the parcel was the same. He said he concluded that Town Cou= nsel should be contacted to obtain his opinion.= The Selectmen were provided with a copy of Town Counsel’s (John Ratigan) letter opinion dated March 11, 2008 that in summary states only a = vote of the Legislative Body could undo a prior act of the Legislative Body; the 1962 Special Town Meeting vote to zone the lots for commercial use was stil= l in effect; the easiest way to address the issue would be to revise the Town Zo= ning Map to correctly include the lot within the commercial district. Mr. Gowan asked the Selectmen for permission to update the Town Zoning Map.&= nbsp; He pointed out where the commercial district was located and where t= he lot in question was located. =

Mr. Lynde wanted to know = what other lots were referenced in the petition article. Mr. Gowan said the three propertie= s were the one in question, Jean Guy’s property and believed the third site = was where Discount Madness currently was located. Mr. Lynde reviewed the property description and didn’t feel it described a triangular piece. Mr. Gowan said Joseph Maynard of Benchmark Engineering, who was unable to attend the meeting, submitted a le= tter regarding the parcel. He reit= erated that he was confident that the property described was the property in question. Mr. Lynde recalled = there had been a meeting where all the zones were re-identified and changed. Mr. Gowan said there were a number= of times where current zoning districts were described, but none of them addre= ssed the property in question; they all addressed subsequent pieces of zoning th= at broke the Town up into different districts. It was Mr. Gowan and Town Counsel’s opinion that none of those votes undid the zoning voted in = at the 1962 special meeting.

Mr. McDevitt asked what t= he process was for revising the zoning map.&n= bsp; Mr. Gowan understood that zoning questions were voted upon at Town Meeting; changes are then reflected on the zoning map. Mr. McDevitt said the map misrepre= sented the votes because it never included the parcel approved in the early 1960’s.

The Selectmen discussed h= ow they would proceed such as possibly notify abutters. Mr. Danevich discussed the actions= that had taken place and noted that there was adequate back up documentation to reaffirm the parcel as originally voted on in 1962. Mr. Gowan said he could work with = his department to establish the abutter list.&= nbsp; He didn’t feel it would be appropriate for Mr. Gendron to pay = for notification. The Selectmen didn’t see a problem with notifying abutters.

Mr. Pat Gendron, owner of= the property, was confused why abutters would be notified. He felt it would be a waste of tim= e and money since the property had already been passed at Town Meeting. Mr. Haverty said a lot had changed= since the 1962 Town Meeting. He sai= d it was likely there were different abutters and they should know it was not a decision that the Selectmen were making, but rather it was something they w= ere enforcing. He said the abutters should have t= he opportunity to comment. He didn’t think the outcome would change, but thought it was the Selectmen’s responsibility to communicate the change. Mr. Gendron felt it would open a c= an of worms. Mr. Haverty said if so= meone was in disagreement with it, it would come out one way or another. He felt it was the Selectmen’= ;s responsibility to let the abutters know.&n= bsp;

MOTION:<= o:p>

(McDevitt/Haverty) To direct the Planning director, = at the Town’s expense, to notify the abutters of the matter.

VOTE:

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

The S= electmen would discuss the topic at their next meeting in two weeks.

Discussion: Harris Development Project (aka Ba= yberry Woods)

Planning Director Jeff Go= wan said there was a proposed project where it was contemplated to connect an existi= ng Stonepost Road to a proposed subdivision that had been approved by the Planning Board. He said prior to the approval, or = the Planning Board taking the application, Mr. Peter Zohdi of Herbert Associate= s, following Town Counsel advice for road layout procedure sought permission f= rom the Selectmen to file an application with the Planning Board showing the connection. The process was followed and over the course of the past year, the Planning Board had been working with the developer on the project and it was approved approximately= a month ago. Mr. Gowan said he = had consulted with Town Counsel (John Ratigan) again and referred to a letter he wrote in February, 2007 which carefully and methodically mapped out the roa= d layout procedure for the Selectmen to follow in allowing the road connection to ta= ke place over Town property. He = showed a copy of the plan indicating where the road connection was proposed.

Mr. Gowan reviewed the st= eps to be followed for laying out the road: 1) petition would be made to layout the highway on Mr. Harris’ behalf by Mr. Zohdi; 2) Selectmen would need to walk the site again to understand exactly how the road would be laid out ac= ross the Town property (he recommended that notification be extended to those residing on the cul-de-sac on Stonepost Road); 3) an assessment would need = to be done of the value for the Town parcel of land as it current was and what it’s value would be once the section of road was added (this would determine if there would be a loss or gain in value). Mr. Gowan said there shouldn’= ;t be a need for any easements beyond what already existed on the cul-de-sac. He said the Selectmen would have to determine if there were any damages resulting to an abutter from the project going through. He said Mr. Ha= rris would be responsible for paying whatever the Selectmen assess those damages= to be. He said once the process = with damages was resolved, a complete plan showing the layout and dimensions wou= ld then be given to the Selectmen and then recorded at the Clerk’s office. He said there would b= e a sixty-day appeal process before any construction would begin.

Mr. Lynde asked what the = road grades were. Mr. Gowan said a= t this portion there wasn’t a slope. He said there was a section within the Harris property was a little sloped, but it didn’t exceed the Town road specifications. Mr. Lynde asked what the maximum s= lope was. Mr. Gowan said nothing e= xceeded approximately 9% grade. He sa= id he wanted the Board to be prepared that Mr. Zohdi would bring a layout petition forward. He said he would ask= the Highway Safety Committee to formally comment regarding the round-about.

Mr. Gowan provided furthe= r detail regarding the project and the alternatives that were discussed prior to the final plan being approved. He believed there would be a number of residents interested in speaking at the public hearing. He said the Planning Board entertained everyone’s feelings on the matter and weig= hed the pros and cons. He believe= d the vote for the road connection as shown on the plan was unanimous.

Mr. McDevitt wanted to kn= ow exactly where the round-about would be located. Mr. Gowan said the topography plan showed better detail of the round-about.&n= bsp; Mr. McDevitt asked if the round-about would be done in lieu of the c= omments by the Highway Safety Committee. He said in 2006 they recommended that the roads be less straight. Mr. Gowan said the roads were significantly less straight. = The developer had to request waivers for the bend in the road.

Mr. Danevich asked if the= project was similar to what was done on Longview Circle. Mr. Gowan said the difference in the proposed to the Longview round about, was that the prop= osed would have a truck apron (textured center section). It would be similar to the round-a= bout in Nashua near Hayward’s ice cream. Mr. Danevich asked if there had be= en any recorded accidents or problems on Longview with the configuration. Mr. G= owan was not aware of any. He said= he could speak with the Police Department.&nb= sp; Mr. Danevich said it should be reviewed.

Mr. Haverty said because = he was on the Planning Board (Selectmen’s Rep.) he had been to the property and viewed the cul-de-sac.= He asked what type of plantings and maintenance would be required for the center of the cul-de-sac. Mr. Gowan said any green island in= any cul-de-sac would be the Town’s responsibility to maintain. He believed he had heard the Board suggest the approach of creating an ‘adopt an island’. He said in this case with private = homes, having a mechanism for maintenance would be difficult.

There was no further discussion. Mr. Gowan said he= would work with Mr. Gaydos to keep the Board properly informed of the various asp= ects including the petition and the assessment.= He said Mr. Gaydos would do the proper scheduling on the agenda.

Council on Aging, Member Appointme= nts –

Senior Center Director Sue Hovling submitted the list of the following people who were recommended for appointment to the Council on Aging: Daniel Atwood, Georgia Atwood, Diane Brunelle, Donald Brunelle, Dorothy Carter, Eugene Carter, Terry Dresell, Leo Doherty, Emily Hodge, Shirley Janocha, Betty Leonard, Edward Richard, Marina Sintros, Barbara Tracy. There= are also two non-voting Ex Officio members: Senior Center Director Sue Hovling = and a Selectmen Representative. M= r. Danevich said he had been the Selectmen Representative during the past year.

MOTION:<= o:p>

(Danevich/Haverty) To a= ppoint Daniel Atwood, Georgia Atwood, Diane Brunelle, Donald Brunelle, Dorothy Carter, Eugene Carter, Terry Dresell, Leo Doherty, Emily Hodge, Shirley Janocha, Betty Leonard, Edward Richard, Marina Sintros, Barbara Tracy to = the Council on Aging

VOTE:

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

OTHER BUSINESS<= /p>

Mr. Viger said a departme= nt head had come up with an alternative to a failed warrant article. He asked Mr. Gaydos to elaborate.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Mr. Gaydos said there were two Collective Bargaining Agreements that failed during the last voting session= . He said it put the Town in the pos= ition of having the Police Union go into their third year with no contract and the support staff would go into their second year with no contract. He said with the Police there was a possibility that employees may begin looking to other agencies for employment. He said the Police Chief had been notified that there were five employees in various stages of background checks. He said the prospects of the economy’s continuing poor performance further impres= ses that next year’s contract would also be turned down making it difficu= lt to attract talent. Mr. Gaydos= said the Selectmen had three options: 1) petition the Superior Court for a Speci= al Town Meeting to ask the voters to reconsider the contract or a variation of= it; 2) The voters only voted against the contract, and there is a line item in = the Operating Budget, the Selectmen could transfer funds to the Salary line accounts and pay higher salaries (this is a legal option that had been veri= fied by the state); or 3) Do nothing until next year and work with the Unions to craft an agreement that the voters may find more palatable.

The Selectmen discussed t= heir options. Mr. Lynde outlined t= he difficulties the Town would face if Officers were to leave. He favored any effort that would k= eep the employees. He was willing= to turn in his stipend to help offset the cost. Mr. McDevitt agreed with Mr. Lynde, however, he felt the voter sent a clear message to the Selectmen when they turned the contract down. With regret, he would support going back to the bargaining table.

Mr. Viger asked if there = was any leeway to rework the contract and lessen the term. Mr. Gaydos said they could discuss= any number of options that would make the contract more palatable.

Mr. Haverty questioned wh= at would happen next year if they found money this year to fund the salaries. He asked if they would be looking = for money again. Mr. Gaydos said = it would be depend on how they apportioned the money. He said to make it up the cost was approximately $30,000. He sai= d if it wasn’t given as part of the permanent pay they would be in the same position as this year.

Mr. Lynde didn’t fe= el that people realized the true impact of some of the warrant articles. He viewed the Selectmen’s ro= le as not only listening to the voters, but also understanding that their insight would help make decisions that would be better for the Town. He wanted to find some way to gene= rate the funds because he was concerned with the impact.

Mr. Viger said it was mor= e than just finding the funds to pay for the line items. He said the voters turned it down = and that outcome made it clear that people didn’t want the contract. He said it appeared there were two options and wanted the Selectmen to make a decision so the Chief could be up front with his Officers.

Mr. Danevich said he couldn’t support a Special Town Meeting given the backlash of voters after the special meeting for the school teacher’s contract. He said the despite the consequenc= es, the voters were clear. He sai= d it was the Selectmen’s job to represent the majority of the voters wheth= er or not they personally agreed with the decision.

Mr. Haverty felt the only= option was to work on an amenable contract for next year. He said there were aspects other t= han pay raises that could be negotiated.

There was further discussion. Mr. McDevitt made= the following motion: The Selectmen direct the Town Administrator to return to = the bargaining table with both the Police Union and the Support Staff Union in = an attempt to craft a contract for presentation to the voters in March, 2009.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Mr. Danevich seconded the motion.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Mr. Lynde said he would support the motion, but not with the intent that the Selectmen shouldn’t try to pursue other avenues. Mr. McD= evitt said inherent in his motion was not to petition the Superior Court, and not= to transfer other funds to the salary items; he said his motion was intended to specifically exclude those actions and return to the bargaining table as the only solution in the next twelve months.&n= bsp;

MOTION:<= o:p>

(McDevitt/Danevich) The Selectmen direct the Town Administrator to return to the bargaining table= with both the Police Union and the Support Staff Union in an attempt to craft a contract for presentation to the voters in March, 2009. Motion clarified: inherent in the motion was that the Selectmen would not petition the Superior Court, and = not to transfer other funds to the salary items; the motion was intended to specifically exclude those actions and return to the bargaining table as = the only solution in the next twelve months.=

VOTE:

(4-1-0) The motion carried. Mr. Lynde voted no.

Board of Selectmen Priorities=

The Selectmen reviewed the remaining warrant articles and discussed what items they would focus on. Mr. Danevich said there were a lot= of changes that should occur with the priority list based on the warrant. He offered to update the list so t= he Selectmen could then reset their priorities.

TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S /= SELECTMEN REPORTS

Mr. Danevich said he was within approximately one week= of getting all the video archives in digital format. He also noted that the streaming v= ideo technology would be available shortly.&nbs= p; He also reported that the link MAP system link to the state was successful.

Mr. Haverty had no report. He welcomed Mr. Viger and Mr. McDe= vitt back to the Board after being re-elected.&= nbsp;

Mr. Lynde reviewed information with regarding the state pension system. He said modifications had been made to the statutes that govern it and there was additional legislation to try to address it further. He said a presentation would be gi= ven in Nashua = on April 17, 2008.=

Mr. McDevitt thanked the voters for their support. On a personal note, he thanked all= those who expressed sympathy to his family on the passing of their son.

Mr. Viger had no report.=

ADJOURNMENT

MOTION:<= o:p>

(Lynde/Danevich) To adjourn the meeting.

VOTE:

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

The meeting was adjourne= d at approximately 8:35 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; &= nbsp; Charity A. L. Willis

&nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; Recording Secretary