APPROVED
TOWN OF
BOARD OF SE= LECTMEN MEETING
MINUTES
APPROVED &#=
8211;
CALL TO ORDER –
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
|
PRESENT: |
Mr. Robert Haverty, Mr.= Douglas Viger, Mr. Harold Lynde, Mr. Edmund Gleason, Town Administrator Tom Gaydo= s |
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Also present: ABSENT: |
Members of the press and general public. Mr. William McDevitt |
APPOINTMENTS
PUBLIC HEARING: To accept Donation from Bob Reindeau of a Unibind
Binding Machine & Supplies with an Approximate Value $1000
Mr. Gaydos provided a bri= ef explanation of how the binding machine worked.
There was no public input= . Mr. Reindeau was thanked for the donation.
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MOTION: |
(Lynde/Gleason=
) To
accept the donation of a binding machine, with appreciation, valued at
approximately $1000. |
|
VOTE: |
(4-0-0)
The motion carried. |
MINUTES REVIEW
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MOTION: |
(Gleason/Viger=
) To
approve the |
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VOTE: |
(3-0-1)
The motion carried. Mr. Lyn=
de
abstained. |
There were three grammati= cal changes made.
OPEN FORUM
Ms. Susan Snide came forw= ard with members of the Pelham Elementary Destination Imagination Team to submit a permit application to hold a raffle. The purpose for the raffle tickets was to fund the Team’s trip= to the Global Competition being held in May.&= nbsp; The Team won the regional and state competition and would now be competing with teams around the nation.&nb= sp; Ms. Snide explained the details of the raffle. The Team members were introduced t= o the Board and were wished good luck from the Selectmen on the competition.
APPOINTMENTS
BOARD / COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS:
Conservation Commission –
Karen Mackay – Ms. Mackay said she really enjoyed the Conservation Commission and came forward to request re-appointment to the board. Mr. Haverty asked what= Ms. Mackay’s goals and objectives would be over the next three years. Ms. Mackay stated that her priorit= y was land conservation. Mr. Gleason tha= nked Ms. Mackay for her dedication and volunteerism. Mr. Lynde asked if the current rul= es/regulations were adequate from a conservation point of view. Ms. Mackay felt they did a good jo= b, there were a few issues that she felt they could do better with. She didn’t know if the board shared her opinion, but said she felt building should be taken out of the f= lood plains. She said the Town cur= rently accepted the FEMA rules, but felt it should be stricter. She said some people had problems = with flooding and felt it was an issue. <= /span>
Paul Gagnon – (Conservation Commission and Forestry Committee) – Mr. Gagnon began by telling the Selectmen that Ms. Mackay and M= s. Glennie Edwards took the Town records, made a list of every single Town own= ed parcel and updated the Town map. He said the map was a God Send and had been given to the Conservation Commissi= on and the members of the Forestry Committee. Mr. Gagnon stated that he was applying to both the Conservation Commission as well as the Forestry Committee. He said his passio= n was land preservation and discussed what had been done regarding such during the past few years. He said he en= joyed working on both committees and to be able to work the whole process of conservation through. Mr. Hav= erty thanked Mr. Gagnon for the work he had been doing. Mr. Gleason thanked Mr. Gagnon and= the Conservation Commission for the work they had done and would continue to do= for the Town. He asked how much w= as remaining in the bond. Mr. Ga= gnon said there was slightly over have remaining. It was noted that the Town map was available at the Planning Department and on the Conservation Commission web site. Mr. Lynde asked if Mr. = Gagnon felt the current rules/regulations were adequate for the job the commission= was trying to do. He also asked h= ow he felt about building within the flood plain. Mr. Gagnon felt the conservation subdivisions would be helpful. With regard to the flood plain, he felt they should look carefully at what was p= ut in it and the proximity to it. At this point, he didn’t have a definitive answer.
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MOTION: |
(Viger/Gleason=
) To
appoint Ms. Karen Mackay and Mr. Paul Gagnon to the Conservation Commissi=
on
to the two available three-year positions. |
|
VOTE: |
(4-0-0)
The motion carried. |
Forestry Committee – (one 1-year term / one 2-year term)
Paul Gagnon – (discussed his application for the Forestry Committee during his Conservation Commission interview)
Gayle Plouffe – Ms. Plouffe came forward to discuss her application for re-appointment onto the Forestry Committee. She was interested in the two-year term. She discussed what had = changes and strides had been made over the years since the committee had been formed. She would like to con= tinue the accomplishments of the committee. The Selectmen thanked Ms. Plouffe for her volunteerism.
Daniel Dubreuil – Mr. Dubreuil came forward to discuss hi= s application to the Forestry Committee. He= was a former member of the Conservation Commission and was familiar with the prog= rams and formats. He stated that h= e had twenty years experience with land management, surveying, soil sciences and wetland delineation. He was interested in which ever term was available. Mr. Gleason reviewed the applicati= on and asked how Mr. Dubreuil would implement environmental awareness to the local schools. Mr. Dubreuil said he= would initiate something with the Boy Scouts as he had done in the past with the Conservation Commission. He discussed his idea to have a Christmas Tree growing area farm to benefit the community.
There was a brief discuss= ion regarding the applications. B= ecause there were only two available positions and three applicants, Mr. Gagnon suggested that Mr. Dubreuil either join the Conservation Commission or the Stewardship Committee. Mr. Du= breuil was not interested in re-joining the Conservation Commission and was intere= sted in volunteering with the Stewardship Committee.
Mr. Gleason asked Mr. Gag=
non to
inform Ms. Deb Waters of Mr. Dubreuil’s interest in volunteering for =
the
Stewardship Committee and to let her know he was backed by the Selectmen.
|
MOTION: |
(Lynde/Gleason=
) To
appoint Mr. Paul Gagnon to a one-year term and Ms. Gayle Plouffe to a
two-year term onto the Conservation Commission. Also to offer full support to Mr=
. Dan
Dubreuil for his offer of working with the Stewardship Committee. |
|
VOTE: |
(4-0-0)
The motion carried. |
Mr. Haverty noted that Ms= . Holly Saurman had originally submitted and application for the Forestry Committee. She later sent and e-mail requesting that she be removed from consideration due to a potential appearance of a conflict of interest. He said the Selectmen appreciated h= er initial application and encouraged her to become involved. Mr. Viger asked that the Conservat= ion Commission continue to have open communication, which would benefit everyone.
JUNKYARD LICENSE RENEWAL:
Jean-Guy’s Used Cars & Parts, Inc.
Mr. Gaydos stated that th= ey had continued with the regular application process which included a site visit. The Code Enforcement Officer, Deputy Health Officer and Fire Inspector have reviewed the site and found it to be very well kept and the organization well run. He discussed the fact that Jean-Guy Bergeron, during his term as Selectman, encouraged the Town to become invol= ved with the Green Yards Program. He informed that every recycling facility in Town was a member and accredited under Gre= en Yards. He said the Town had c= ome a long way and thanked Mr. Bergeron for helping to get to this point.
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MOTION: |
(Lynde/Gleason= ) To approve the license renewal (for Jean-Guy’s Used Cars & Parts, Inc.) for one year. |
|
VOTE: |
(4-0-0) The mo= tion carried. |
OTHER BUSINESS
Discussion – Street Renumbering E911 Compliance
Highway Safety Committee
(‘HSC’) members Police Chief Joseph Roark, Acting Fire Chief Ja=
mes
Midgley, Highway Road Agent Don Foss and Planning Director Jeff Gowan came
forward to discuss the E911 compliance with street numbering. Police Chief Roark provided the Bo=
ard
with a summary of what they would like to accomplish during Phase II. The roads included with Phase II a=
re
Mr. Gaydos suggested that= an organization (such as Little League) might want to consider selling house numbers as a fundraising opportunity.
Mr. Lynde questioned what percentage of the Town was currently complete. Chief Roark said from the spreadsh= eet they had worked on there were approximately twenty additional streets that = had a numbering issue that were being reviewed on a case by case basis. He stated the roads included in the first two phases corrected the most egregious problems.
Mr. Lynde recalled when t= he project began they had spoken about doing the whole Town and asked if that = goal had been abandoned. Chief Roa= rk said there had to be a balance between convenience, the rural nature of the Town and emergency services. He said they worked hard as a group to narrow the roads down to the = list they were bringing forward. He believed trying to reach the whole Town had come off the table sometime last year. Mr. Gowan’s impre= ssion of the Selectmen’s position was there didn’t seem to be support= for doing the entire Town. He sai= d the HSC discussed the project and agreed with the perceived Selectmen’s position. They decided to tak= e the problems in a manageable fashion and over a manageable period of time. Mr. Lynde thought that the state h= ad done a complete mapping of the Town years ago. Mr. Gowan said the state did an in= itial mapping where they determine the initial problems were. He said once public hearings were = held and the Selectmen signed off on the changes, the state would then do their final mapping.
Mr. Haverty remembered the initial public hearings where the residents were told that the entire Town would have numbering changes based on a fifty foot grid. He said portions of the Town were = now in a fifty-foot and questioned if they would be creating confusion by not havi= ng other portions on a fifty-foot grid. He felt if they were going to have a standard, the entire Town shoul= d have that uniform standard.
Mr. Gleason also recalled=
when
the project began that the entire Town would be done using a fifty foot grid
for numbering. He asked if th=
e Town
would be in compliance with the E911 criteria with the revised scenario.
Mr. Gaydos discussed his understanding of the project, which was that the HSC would bring forward a group of roads and do what they could each July 1st until the project was complete. He said the HSC has now brought th= e next list of roads to be done and suggested if the Board wanted to give the HSC a new charge, they should.
Mr. Viger felt the HSC ha= d done what they were charged to do and the Selectmen should go with the presented plan, follow the timeline and re-evaluate and determine Phase III.
Mr. Haverty saw that the =
proposed
implementation date of Phase II was
There was further discuss= ion regarding the project. There = was a general consensus of the Selectmen that the time line looked good and the project could proceed as outlined.
Revenue and Expense Review for March
Financial Director Janet = Gallant came forward to review the expenditures after completion of the first quarter. She said overall the= y were currently running under even with a couple items running over. She reviewed the status of the department’s budgets. M= s. Gallant then reviewed the revenues for the first quarter. She noted that motor vehicles were= down 1.25% and if it stayed that way it could mean approximately $30,000 at the = end of the year. She was concerned about the interest rates being low. She said the tax collection rate this year was 1.89% uncollected and last year at this time it was 2.28% uncollected. She said the Transfer Statio= n was running approximately 30% behind.
The Selectmen discussed t= he budget. Mr. Gleason asked tha= t the Selectmen be provided with a comparative number showing where they were last year versus this year, which would make it easier to review.
Board of Selectmen Priority List Update
The Selectmen reviewed th= eir Priority List. The top priori= ties are the new central fire station, E911 road renumbering, and Town center traffic issue. There was cont= inued discussion about the items on the list, their order and if they should stay listed or be removed.
There was a brief discuss= ion regarding budget review. The Selectmen will challenge the Department Heads to bring their budgets in with zero increase and provide information about how they will be affected by do= ing so.
TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S // SELECTMEN’S REPORTS
Mr. Lynde stated that Tot= Soccer would be starting up in a couple weeks.&nb= sp; He said the Municipal Advocacy Committee met and discussed the state budget. He summarized the discussions that they had. Mr. Lynde commented that the Pelham High Study Committee had been meeting regularly. At their most rece= nt meeting they reviewed a draft presentation to be given to the school board.
Mr. Viger reported that t= he Budget Committee held their organizational meeting where Mr. Larry Hall was voted in as Chairman and Mr. Daniel Guimond was voted in as Vice Chairman.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> The emphasis would be the prioriti= zation of warrant articles. Mr. Vige= r told the Board that the Pelham Little League had held their field clean up which= was well attended and a great success. <= /span>
Mr. Gleason announced tha=
t the
Pelham Baseball Softball opening day would be held at
Mr. Gaydos discussed
Mr. Haverty provided a re= port from the Planning Board. He s= tated that an RFQ had gone out for engineering companies and the Planning Board w= ould take working sessions to develop a list of companies. He will report back to the Selectm= en once they cull the list down.
REQUEST FOR NON-PUBLIC SESSION
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MOTION: |
(Viger/Lynde) = Request for a non-public session per RSA 91-A:3,II,a – (personnel) |
|
ROLL CALL: |
Mr. Haverty-Ye= s; Mr. Viger-Yes; Mr. Lynde-Yes; Mr. Gleason-Yes |
It was noted tha=
t when
the Board returned, after the non-public session, the Board anticipated hav=
ing
further business and possibly an announcement. The Board entered into a non-public
session at approximately
|
MOTION: |
(Lynde/Gleason= ) To seal the minutes of the non-public session indefinitely. |
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VOTE: |
(4-0-0) The mo= tion carried. |
The
Board returned to public session at approximately
Mr. Haverty stated that the Selectmen would like to announce, after reviewing a= pproximately eighteen resumes and going through a meticulous interview process, the Board had agreed to hire Acting Fire Chief James Midgley as the Pelham Fire Chief. The decision was a una= nimous vote of 5-0. Mr. Haverty noted although Mr. McDevitt was unable to attend the meeting in person, he communicated via-email his support of Chief Midgley.
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MOTION: |
(Lynde/Gleason= ) To hire James Midgley as the next Fire Chief for the Pelham Fire Department.= |
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VOTE: |
(4-0-0) The mo= tion carried. |
Fire Chief Midgley was welcomed and congratulated by the Selectmen.
ADJOURNMENT
|
MOTION: |
(Gleason/Lynde=
) To
adjourn the meeting. |
|
VOTE: |
(4-0-0)
The motion carried. |
The
meeting was adjourned at approximately
= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = Respectfully submitted,
= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = Charity A. L. Willis
= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = Recording Secretary
BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING/April 21, 2009