SEL20090811

APPROVED

TOWN OF PELHAM

BOARD OF SE= LECTMEN MEETING

MINUTES

August 11, 2009

APPROVED &#= 8211; August 18, 2009=

CALL TO ORDER – 6:30pm

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

PRESENT:

Mr. Robert Haverty, Mr.= Douglas Viger, Mr. William McDevitt, Mr. Harold Lynde, Mr. Edmund Gleason, Town Administrator Tom Gaydos, Finance Director Janet Gallant

ABSENT:

None.

MINUTES REVIEW

July = 28, 2009

MOTION:

(Gleason/Lynde= ) To approve the Ju= ly 28, 2009 meeting minutes as amended.

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The mo= tion carried.

Augus= t 4, 2009

MOTION:

(Gleason/Viger= ) To approve the Ju= ly 28, 2009 meeting minutes as amended.

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The mo= tion carried.

OPEN FORUM

None.

PUBLIC HEARING – To accept a donation of a 26-acre parcel = of land identified by Town Tax Maps as Map 9, Lot 9-5, owned by Timothy Zelonis and located off Simpson Mill Road, Pelham, NH

Conservation Commission C= hairman Paul Gagnon came forward and discussed the proposed donation of a twenty-six acre parcel. He stated that a presentation was made to the Conservation Commission and they had voted to accept the parcel. He showed = the location of the proposed parcel and how it connected a newly purchased parc= el to a parcel that previously wasn’t connected. With the donation of the Zelonis p= arcel, the Town would own a 76 contiguous acre parcel. Mr. Gagnon stated that much of the parcel was wet and contained Golden Brook and a prime wetland. He said it was a beautiful parcel.= The property was located off Simpson Mill Road; Mr. Zelonis had retained two, five-acre house lots that were believed to ha= ve been approved by the Planning Board. Mr. Gagnon believed there were approximately five or six acres of uplands and the remainder of the parcel was primarily wetlands. He said the thirty-six acre parcel (without the break out of the two house lots) was appraised at $315,000 on = the tax records. He suggested having the parcel surveyed ($2600) so Mr. Zelonis= could write it off. He noted that M= r. Zelonis had not asked for any money and there were no associated costs.

Mr. Gagnon provided the S= electmen with a spread sheet showing a summary of the conservation land donated and purchased since 2003.

Mr. McDevitt asked that M= r. Gagnon show where Mr. Zelonis’ parcel abutted the two parcels (18 acre parcel and the Linton parcel) already owned by the Town.   Mr. Gagnon showed exactly wh= ere the proposed lot was located.

Mr. Viger asked if the pr= oposed parcel could be accessed for foresting.&nb= sp; Mr. Gagnon said the access would be easy if an additional (65 acre) parcel were acquired; in its present configuration it would be difficult to access.

Mr. Gleason asked if the = lot would remain in its natural habitat without as much public access as other lots. Mr. Gagnon said he woul= d love to have a trail along the stream, but presently the snowmobile bridge wasn’t really safe because of damage that occurred from flooding (dur= ing the Mother’s Day floods a few years back).

Mr. McDevitt discussed the donation process. He noted th= at at Town Meeting (in 2004) RSA 41= :14,a was adopted. He stated that the R= SA required that the Selectmen have the recommendation of the Planning Board a= nd Conservation Commission. He w= as unsure if they had received the Planning Board’s recommendation. There was also a requirement that = two public hearing are to be conducted. Mr. McDevitt read Warrant Article 39 aloud from the 2004 Town ballot which asked if the Town would adopt RSA 41:14,a.

Planning Director Jeff Go= wan (who was seated in the audience) came forward and told the Selectmen that both t= he Zoning Board and the Planning Board had public hearings on the matter. He stated the public hearings had = been properly noticed to abutters and there had been conversation at both hearin= gs about the proposed land donation.

There was a discussion re= garding the public hearing procedure and how the process should proceed. It was suggested that the Selectmen obtain a letter of recommendation from the Planning board. The Planning Board’s next me= eting was scheduled for August 17, 2009; the proposed donation will be discussed at that time. The Selectmen will hold public hea= rings on August 18, 20= 09 and August 25, 2= 009.

Mr. Gleason complimented = the Conservation Commission as well as Mr. Timothy Zelonis for the generous contribution. He asked where = the $2600 (for the survey) would come from.&nb= sp; Mr. Gagnon said the funds would come out of the current use fund. He wanted clarification that at the meeting of Augus= t 25, 2009 the Selectmen would vote regarding the acceptance of the parcel as well as = the expenditure of the $2600 (for the survey).= Mr. Haverty believed that would be the case.

The public hearing was cl= osed.

APPOINTMENTS

Deb Waters – Forestry Committee – Peabody Forest Management Plan & Muldoon Park Matters

Conservation Chairman Pau= l Gagnon came forward and told the Selectmen that Ms. Deb Waters was unable to attend the meeting, he would sit in her place.&nb= sp; Mr. Dan Cyr and Mr. Mike Powers of Baystate Forestry also came forwa= rd to discuss the Peabody Forestry Management Plan for = Peabody Forest. Mr. Cyr provided an overview of th= e proposed plan and discussed the current condition of the forest. He said they were ready to mark the timber and generate a prospectus of sale.&= nbsp;

Mr. Gagnon said they were= seeking approval to put the parcel out to bid for the timber.

Mr. Lynde asked for a sum= mary breakdown of the forestry plan, such as expected board feet, amount of pulp etc. Mr. Cyr didn’t have exact information but he said there was approximately 1.5 million board feet. He said he would like to take out 300,000-500,000 board feet of timber. He noted that the number didn’t equal one third of the trees, = the number represented one third of the volume (a lot of which was within the larger trees). He said once t= he trees were marked he would have a better idea of a dollar figure.

Mr. Viger asked if the ac= cess to the forest was still in good shape. Mr. Cyr said they had made a bull dozer access to the power line. He said if a truck road (3-season = road) was made over the woods road it would allow for emergency access; the cost = for which could be rolled into the forestry operation. Mr. Viger asked if that would be favorable when it went out for bid. Mr. Cyr said the markets were doing well.

Mr. Gleason discussed the importance of good maintenance, which would bring re-growth to the forest a= nd revenue to the Town. Neglect = of maintenance would be a loss in assets to the Town and would have a negative effect to the forest. Mr. Gle= ason asked if there were any problems with invasive species in Peabody Forest. Mr. Powers discussed what was foun= d and commented that it wasn’t really bad, but it would be reviewed further= and addressed.

MOTION:

(Lynde/Gleason= ) To authorize the Forestry Committee to proceed with implementing the Forest Stewardship Management Plan with Peabody Forest as present= ed to the Selectmen.

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The mo= tion carried.

Mr. Gagnon then discussed= Muldoon Park, specifically the area near t= he play ground. He said there wa= s a road near the playground as well as a wetland area that was sometimes calle= d a vernal pool. He said the road= was originally put in for logging purposes and used once every ten to fifteen y= ears so there were no problems with it being located so close to the water. Once the playground and the ball f= ield behind it was put in the road had gotten more use. Mr. Gagnon drew a sketch of the area. He said jointly between= the Conservation Commission and the Forestry Committee they would like to resol= ve the issue and proposed that some of the forestry funds (from timber harvest) be used to correct the situation. He then showed the Selectmen what alterations were being proposed which were basically moving a portion of the playground and moving the road away from = the wet area. At this point the c= osts were not known, but he wanted to let the Selectmen know what was being reviewed.

Mr. Gleason said the Sele= ctmen were considering secondary access to Muldoon Park because of safety. He believed at one ti= me there had been a recommendation to have an egress going out in the back of = the major league field. He said a second egress should be part of the thinking when reviewing plans to alter = the area.

There was further discuss= ion about the area. Mr. Gleason s= poke about there being a buffer zone between the existing field behind the playg= round and an abutting neighborhood (Washington Street). He said it was unknown if a second field would be constructed.

Mr. Lynde recommended tha= t a gate for the playground not be on the side with the road. Mr. Gagnon said he would review th= e work that would need to be done and come back to the Selectmen with accurate cost numbers to determine if the alterations were reasonable.

Mr. McDevitt asked if constructing a second field was being ruled out or if it was something that might happen. Mr. Viger said = the initial plan was to have two fields. He said when the first field was being built the buffer zone was realized and an additional regulation sized field wouldn’t have fit.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> He didn’t feel there was eno= ugh room for a second field, unless the field was used as a practice field.

In general, the Board was amenable to Mr. Gagnon pursuing further action and coming back with cost numbers.

OTHER BUSINESS

<= st1:address w:st=3D"on">9 Meadow Lane<= /b> Property Line Adjustment

Attorney David Groff came= forward to update the Selectmen regarding the process being taken now that a plan h= ad been submitted. It was his understanding that no objections or comments had been received by the Selectmen. Attorney Groff sai= d the next step would be for him to file a petition with the court; the Selectmen could authorize the Town’s Attorney to do one of two things: 1) to do nothing and when the time limits to respond expire (in a couple months) Attorney Groff would have the order finalized by the court and the plan wou= ld be recorded and go to the Planning Board ; or 2) the Selectmen could authorize t= he Town’s Attorney to ascent to the petition, filing an answer saying th= ey agreed and the information was correct and the court would grant the order.

Mr. Gleason confirmed wit= h Mr. Gaydos that negative feedback had not been received. Mr. Gaydos said no response had be= en received.

There was a brief discuss= ion regarding what action the Selectmen wanted to take. Wording for a motion was reviewed.= Attorney Groff offered language; t= he Selectmen then voted for the following motion:

MOTION:

(Lynde/Gleason= ) To authorize the Town’s Attorney to accept service, and to notify the court that the Selectmen have no objection to the petition being granted, relative to tax map 42-10-231.

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The mo= tion carried.



APPOINTMENTS CONT…

Brian Johnson – Raymond Park Funding Requests

Park & Recreation Dir= ector Brian Johnson told the Selectmen that the new soccer fields were being work= ed on at Raymond Park. He said t= hey would like to finish the fields so they could be used in the fall. He explained they would like to wi= thdraw funds that had been deposited as a voluntary contribution to Park & Recreation in lieu of building recreational amenities within subdivisions.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> The funds were not tax payer dollars. The fund had been se= t up for new recreational facilities.

Mr. Haverty questioned ho= w much was currently contained within the fund.&n= bsp; Mr. Johnson believed there was currently $38,000. Mr. Gleason believed there was $35= ,715. Mr. Johnson said there had been ot= her contributions made before the updated list. Mr. Haverty reviewed the request l= ist: excavating-$8000, fence-$10,000, and landscaping-$4100.

Mr. McDevitt asked if the= work had been bid out. Mr. Haverty didn’t believe the request fell under the bid policy because it wasn’t tax payer money. Mr. Lynde said the work was a continuation of the work they had been doing. He said they took the grant money (approximately $45,000) and raised private funds (approximately $15,000) wi= th a goal of doing the soccer fields as much as they could and then trying to continue with the effort. He = said they would like to have the fields completed by September so they could be used. He said the companies u= sed to do the improvements had also been used on other projects in Town.

Mr. Viger asked how much = of the work listed in the breakdown had already been started or completed. Mr. Johnson said none of the work (outlined in the breakdown) had been started or completed.

Mr. Gleason questioned ho= w the Selectmen could ascertain that the prices for the work were reasonable. Mr. Johnson stated that Lakeview F= ence had been used throughout the Town; he reviewed companies and received sever= al recommendations to use them. = He hadn’t gone to bid since then because he liked their work and the pri= cing was competitive. Mr. Gleason = asked if there were any statements of work so at the end of the task they could measure performance. Mr. John= son said he had that information. Mr. Gleason confirmed that there was some type of criteria for measuring performance. Mr. Johnson said= he did. Mr. Gleason confirmed th= at the request was consistent with the specified use of the funds. Mr. Johnson understood that the fu= nd was to be used for new recreation facilities.&= nbsp; Mr. Gleason saw that there was a request to use $8000 that had been encumbered in 2008; he questioned where it was encumbered from and for what purpose. Mr. Johnson said it = would be in addition to the money requested.&nbs= p; Mr. Gaydos said it had been encumbered from maintenance for field drainage. Mr. Gleason asked w= hat line item it had come out from. Mr. Gaydos said it came from Town Buildings.&n= bsp; Financial Director Janet Gallant came forward and informed that the = Park & Recreation 2008 budget had been under expended by over $50,000. She stated that the Selectmen had encumbered $8000 at the end of the year.&n= bsp; She said the money was encumbered at a Selectmen meeting and it was = put into the audit. Mr. Viger off= ered further clarification and explained that the initial encumbrance of the mon= ey was to take care of the M= uldoon Park drainage probl= em with the softball field; the work came in a lot less than what was done.

Mr. Lynde discussed the w= ork that had been done and what work they hoped to get done keeping in mind how it w= ould continue to be maintained. He= said the current plan was to finish taking care of the fields, stabilized the sl= opes and install additional fencing. He said they had discussed detention ponds which could be used as a water sour= ce for irrigation. He said they woul= d also like to bring electricity to the park.&nbs= p; Mr. Lynde said they would be turning to the people using the fields = to try and get additional funds to do the work.

Mr. Viger said he didn= 217;t support the top portion of the proposal because there was no back up or a p= lan as far as the tasks that would be completed. He discussed the $8000 and stated = the project came forward after a failed warrant article and Mr. Lynde came forw= ard and said the work would be done through fund raisers and private donations. He said the $8000 = was encumbered to take care of drainage issues at parks and in his opinion was = for Muldoon. Although the work ca= me in less at Muldoon, he didn’t feel it was right to spend the encumbered money in another location.

Mr. Gaydos said TFMoran h= ad done a plan showing what was permitted to be done at the fields. He asked what would satisfy the questions. Mr. Haverty discus= sed the process he took when hiring a vendor or doing a project at his work. He said he provided a breakdown by= hour of the deliverables to show what was done during the process. He said the Selectmen were given a request for $8000 for excavating and didn’t have any backup with. Mr. Lynde said he recalled doing a= task description for the first portion of the project and would do the same for this. Mr. Viger stated he wou= ld like to see a description of the work to be done that all parties agreed to. Mr. Lynde said he would w= ork with Mr. Johnson and Mr. Gaydos to put a task description together.

Mr. Haverty noted that th= e plan had more than one piece that could be separated out if the Selectmen chose = to do so.

Mr. McDevitt made a motio= n to authorize Park & Recreation to spend $8000 of encumbered funds for field drainage at Raymond Park. Mr.= Lynde seconded the motion. Mr. McDe= vitt said he was sensitive to concerns, but felt the work was imperative.   Mr. Gaydos commented that the proposed work would complete the soccer field construction portion of the project. He discussed other i= tems that could be done at the park that would be inexpensive. He wanted it noted that the propos= ed work would not complete the entire project.

Mr. Gleason asked if the = $8000 expenditure would mitigate the erosion concerns of the Department of Environmental Services. Mr. G= aydos said it would mitigate the permit concern that drainage off the field would= be dealt with/treated prior to runoff. Mr. Gleason confirmed that the $8000 had been for field drainage at = Muldoon Park. Mr. Johnson said that was correct.= Mr. Viger didn’t believe it = was drainage specific to Muldoon, but rather simply ‘field drainage’= ;.

MOTION:

(McDevitt/Lynd= e) To authorize Park & Recreation to spend $8000 of encumbered funds for field drainage to finish the project at Elmer G. Raymond Park.&nb= sp;

VOTE:

(3-2-0) The motion carried.=   Mr. Haverty and Mr. Viger v= oted no.

Mr. Haverty stated that h= e voted no based on the same reasons articulated by Mr. Viger. He believed the task was the right= thing to do in general, but philosophically didn’t agree with the mechanism being used to fund it.

2010 Budget Review

Parks & Recreation – Park & Recreation Director B= rian Johnson came forward to review the proposed 2010 Park & Recreation budget. Once beginning review= of the budget, the Selectmen agreed that the bottom line number was adequate, = but asked that the 80 Fund report be reformatted. Mr. Johnson then continued his rev= iew of the proposed budget and explained how the line items had been adjusted. He commented that the 2009 budget = was $172,044; the 2010 request was $170,070.&n= bsp;

Planning Department – Planning Director Jeff Gowan review= ed the proposed 2010 Planning Department budget. He said there was a reduction of $= 13.10 from the 2009 budget and the proposed 2010 budget.

Conservation Commission – Conservation Commission Chairman Paul Gagnon came forward and reviewed the proposed 2010 Conservation Commis= sion budget. The 2009 budget was $= 4477, the proposed 2010 budget was $4188.

Selectmen – Finance Director Janet Gallant reviewed the proposed 2010 Selectmen budget with the Board. She reviewed the line items and no= ted that there was a $3 decrease in the 2010 proposed budget from the 2009 budget.

Insurance – Finance Director Janet Gallant stated that the rates would not come in until late October or November.

Retirement – Finance Director Janet Gallant reviewed the = 2010 proposed budget. She stated it showed an increase of $81,000. She explained how she arrived at the proposed numbers. Mr. Gleason felt it would be benef= icial to understand the impact of the state pass-down.

Ms. Gallant stated that s= he had created a spread sheet showing all the budget numbers. She said before Cemetery and the Library, the Operating Budget (as proposed) was at 10,519,714, which was a = .5% increase above last year’s budget.

OTHER BUSINESS CONT…

Mosquito Testing Results

Mr. Gaydos reviewed a rep= ort that indicated there had been 669 mosquito pools had been tested throughout the state; there had been no West Nile Virus or EEE findings in any of the tests.

TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S / SELECTMEN’S RE= PORTS

Mr. McDevitt stated that = due to the late Tom Kirby’s persistence, the Town started the forestry program. He said because of M= r. Kirby’s persistence the Town had a terrific program.

Mr. Lynde concurred with = Mr. McDevitt. He reported that th= e next Concert on the Common would be held August 19, 2009.&nb= sp; This will be the last concert of the season. Mr. Lynde also reported that the H= igh School Study Committee continued to meet.&= nbsp;

Mr. Viger and Mr. Gleason= had no report.

Mr. Gaydos reported that = they were slowly bringing Sherburne Hall into compliance so an occupancy permit could be obtained.

Mr. Haverty had no report= .

REQUEST FOR NON-PUBLIC SESSION

MOTION:

(Viger/McDevit= t) Request for a non-public session per RSA 91-A:3,II, a (contract negotiati= ons)

ROLL CALL:

Mr. Haverty-Ye= s; Mr. Viger-Yes; Mr. McDevitt-Yes; Mr. Lynde-Yes; Mr. Gleason-Yes

It was noted tha= t when the Board returned, after the non-public session, the Board would not take = any other action publicly, except to possibly seal the minutes of the non-public session and to adjourn the meeting. The Board entered into a non-public session at approximately 9:28pm.

The Board returned to public session at approximately 10:11pm.

MOTION:

(Lynde/McDevit= t) To seal the minutes of the non-public session indefinitely.

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The mo= tion carried.

ADJOURNMENT

MOTION:

(Lynde/McDevit= t) To adjourn the meeting.

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The motion carried.

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 10:11pm.

            =             &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