SEL20091215 - Not Approved

NOT APPROVED

TOWN OF PELHAM

BOARD OF SE= LECTMEN MEETING

MINUTES

December 15, 2009

CALL TO ORDER – 6:30pm

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

PRESENT:

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

ABSENT:

None.

MINUTES REVIEW

Decemb= er 8, 2009

MOTION:

(Gleason/Lynde= ) To approve the De= cember 8, 2009 meeting minutes as amended.

VOTE:

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

OPEN FORUM

Mr. Paul McDonagh discuss= ed communications between the Board and the public and the importance of having open forum. He asked that the Selectmen continue to have the open segment of the meeting. He recalled there had been a cable television show at which people voiced their opinions. He said if it were still running, = he would voice his opinion.

APPOINTMENTS

Festival of Trees Update

Mr. Ken Eaves and Ms. Cha= rlene Takesian who are members of the Pelham Community Spirit Group came forward = to discuss the Festival of Trees that had recently been held at Sherburne Hall= . Mr. Eaves extended a thank you to = the Selectmen for letting them use Sherburne Hall. He said the event was a great succ= ess and hoped to continue having community events in the hall. Ms. Takesian thanked everyone who = had been involved as well as the community for their support.

Mr. Gleason commended the= group for their hard work and said he hoped they would continue to come back year after year.

Mr. Gaydos asked how many= people attended. Ms. Takesian said t= hey estimate approximately 1000 people, not counting the children.

Mr. Haverty said he had t= he opportunity to walk through and felt it was a great community program and looked forward to the upcoming year.

Mr. Lynde noted that the = Pelham Theatre Group had the stage set up for a play. The stage fit in with the theme of= the event. He said one of the most beautiful and touching sights was Santa Claus sitting on the stage reading books to children.

REQUEST FOR NON-PUBLIC SESSION

MOTION:

(McDevitt/Vige= r) Request for a non-public session per RSA 91-A:3,II, a (personnel)

ROLL CALL:

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

The Selectmen entered into non-public session at approximately 6:50pm. It was noted when the Selectmen re= turned from non-public session they would continue the remaining public business.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>

The Selectmen returned fr= om non-public at approximately

APPOINTMENTS CON’T…

Appointment of New Transfer Station/Recycling Center Supervisor – Discussion of plans for recycling and waste removal<= /b>

Mr. Haverty summarized the interview process taken to determine the Transfer Station Superintendent. After fielding approximately twenty three resumes, the Selectmen chose five candidates to meet with. Interviews were conducted. The Selectmen then unanimously sel= ected Mr. Ron Hannon and offered him the position of Transfer Station Superintend= ent which is a step six position. Mr. Hannon’s start date will be December 16, 2009.

MOTION:

(Viger/Gleason= ) To hire Ron Hannon as the Town of Pelham’s Transfer Station Superintendent start date effective December 16, 2009 at the p= ay scale of Step Six under the Supervisor’s Contract.

VOTE:

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

Mr. Haverty noted that Mr= . Hannon had the unanimous support of the Selectmen. The Selectmen welcomed Mr. Hannon = and wished him luck.

New Fire Station Presentation

The Selectmen were provid= ed with a plan set for the proposed new fire station. Mr. Gaydos asked that the Fire Chi= ef review the plan, discuss the various aspects of the plan and outline the ar= eas that were important to the Fire Department’s operation and made it a long-term building. He said t= hey felt the proposed station would meet the future needs of the community.

Fire Chief James Midgley = stated that he had been reviewing the plans extensively. He said the garage square footage = was approximately 8,502SF. After reviewing inventory and equipment, Chief Midgley believed they would use all the space in the garage with the exception of one half of one of the bays.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> All of their apparatus would fit i= nto the garage. Chief Midgley rev= iewed the plans and the other areas within the first floor area that would allow = for growth. He then discussed the second floor area which would be essentially the physical training area, lo= cker rooms (men and women), bedrooms which allowed for future growth/increased staffing as well as laundry room and mechanical room. He explained the importance of hav= ing a training area which (nationally) was thought of as an important aspect to h= ave to keep the firefighters fit and less likely to become injured.

Chief Midgley told the Se= lectmen that the proposal had allowed for the lot setbacks. The septic system (pump and tank) = will be located in the rear of the building; the leaching field will be on the opposite side of the parking lot. To meet current compliance, a 1500 gallon oil/water separator has be= en incorporated and will capture all of the run off from the center of the building (from the apparatus); an underground 3000 gallon holding tank (off= the back of the building) will separate the oils and be pumped off. Located in the back of the buildin= g will be three large propane tanks to feed the furnace system as well as a (diesel fed) generator to provide power to supply the building.

Mr. Gleason confirmed tha= t the design had taken into consideration all the deed restrictions with regard to the Mills property. Mr. Gaydos answered yes. Chief Midgley s= tated that the 200ft. setback included the driveway to the rear access. He said they were well within the = deed restrictions. Mr. Gleason ask= ed for an explanation for the egress for the apparatus. Chief Midgley said there would be = two egresses. The design showed a ‘horse shoe’ with a roundabout to the back of the station. There were two points of access in= the front of the building and one off toward the (right) rear of the building. =

Mr. McDevitt said he woul= d like to see a plan indicating the footprint of building and where it would be located on the parcel. He said consideration should be given to the fact that the parcel got damp in the r= ear (way back). He said if at some point in the future the Town decided to construct another building he felt = they had an obligation to make room for it.&nbs= p; He noted that the Village Green lacked parking and asked that thought should be given as to where a building could be put (in the future) as well= as where additional parking could be located.= He said the construction and placement of the proposed fire station shouldn’t block or create an unanticipated problem for a future building. Mr. Haverty noted t= hat there was ample parking around the fire station for employees as well as visitors. He said when the bu= ilding was situated on the footprint, deed restrictions as well as wetlands and wh= at was optimal in terms of traffic flow. He was confident that the plan would satisfy concerns.

Mr. Lynde said the buildi= ng should be located as close as the deed restrictions would allow to Marsh Road.= Chief Midgley said they were proba= bly forty feet past what was required, which was for optimal placement for the access turns in front of the building.&nbs= p; He indicated that the question of potential growth for the Town had = been reviewed. He said there was a significant amount of land behind the leaching field that contained a deeded access point on Sawmill Ro= ad. If a building were placed in that location they had the ability to put parking around that building as well as having common parking with the library.&nb= sp;

Mr. Haverty asked for fur= ther discussion regarding how the bays would be utilized in the proposed building. Chief Midgley state= d that the Fire Department currently had six pieces of apparatus that would take up the front three bays. The rea= r bays would be utilized by Forestry One, Forestry Three, a trailer, CERT trailer = and an air trailer. Chief Midgley= said the strategic plan was to replace the rescue with a dual-purpose vehicle (pumper/rescue), which would be less expensive than having two separate vehicles. He said the garage = would be filled to near capacity, but reiterated that there was room for future growth. He said it was not hi= s plan to try and fill the building with more vehicles than they currently had.

Mr. Gleason felt it was i= mportant to reiterate that the proposed station would only house the equipment the F= ire Department currently had leaving one half of one bay open. He said the building would enable = the Town to bring equipment currently outside to be stored indoors. Chief Midgley summarized the damag= e that had occurred to some of the equipment because of it being stored outside. He said having the equipment house= d inside would prevent the wear and tear that the sun, weather and elements currently posed on the equipment. Mr. G= leason said having the equipment inside should improve response times because it w= ould be contained within a controlled environment. Chief Midgley said one of their bi= ggest problems was the winter season. He said they required their Forestry One/plow truck to follow their ambulances. Because they need= it warm, there have been days they had to leave it running all day to keep ice etc. off of it.

Mr. Viger felt it was imp= ortant to point out that the station may be filled except for the half bay, but th= ey didn’t anticipate having to use any more of it in the foreseeable future. He said the next step would be a substation.   Chief Midgl= ey said he didn’t think the Town would see a substation in his time. Mr. Viger said the point was that = rather than having an addition to the proposed station, there would be a substatio= n at another location in Town. Chief Midgley didn’t foresee = them coming back to the Town with a request to add onto the building.

Mr. Lynde asked if the re= maining half bay could be used as a maintenance bay. Chief Midgley said it could potent= ially be used as a maintenance bay.

Mr. McDevitt asked how ea= sy it would be to add more bays to the building.= Chief Midgley said with the deed restrictions, there wasn’t a = lot of ability to add onto the building. He said the size of the building was appropriate for the lot and didn’t foresee adding on to the building.

The Selectmen discussed t= he financial aspects of the building. Mr. Gaydos said they had hired and used an owner’s project man= ager on the manager from the start. He said the plan was that there was an open book, not to exceed, price for the building. He said the Town wo= uld only pay for the actual costs and if the prices came in less than the not to exceed number, the savings would be the Town’s. He said the number was $3.95 milli= on dollars, of which they would apply $600,000 of the remaining impact fees to bring the over all number down to $3.35 million dollars. He said as soon as they receive the ‘go ahead’ from Town Meeting, they would be ready to go (with t= he project). Mr. Gaydos said the= re was concern about competition, both that there would be a lot, and that there wouldn’t be any. He sai= d the best plan would be to be prepared and move forward as quickly as prudent to= get bids in and awarded so the Town could take advantage of the low costs curre= ntly being seen.

Mr. Haverty asked if the = proposed number had anything to do with the existing station. It was Mr. Gaydos’ understan= ding that the state indicated if the Town was going to abandon the existing stat= ion, the demolition of the building would be included in the overall project. He said there were some utility po= les that would have to be moved; a portion of the removal would be covered. Mr. Haverty asked if the proposed = number was ‘turn key’ (including moving communications). Mr. Gaydos and Chief Midgley answe= red yes.

Mr. Lynde said when the c= ost for the roundabout was being reviewed, the last view was that if there was some amount of money available (left over) it could be used to offset the Town’s cost for abandoning/moving the fire station, which could be another couple hundred dollars. Mr. Gaydos believed the comment was correct.&n= bsp; He said it was if there was any money left over and the Town wouldn’t know when that would actually happen. He said if the Town were to tell t= he state they would abandon the building, the natural progress would be to demolish the building so the roundabout could be completed, which would be = an expense the Town could avoid.

Mr. Gaydos said the warra= nt article (containing a blank number) had gone to the Budget Committee. The Budget Committee would hear the discussion Thur= sday, December 17, 2009. The Selectmen would insert $3.95 million dollars. There was a discussion regarding h= ow the warrant article would read.

MOTION:

(Lynde/McDevit= t) To reconsider the vote on the warrant article for the fire station.

VOTE:

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

MOTION:

(Lynde/Gleason= ) To raise and appropriate the sum of $3,950,000, to be reduced by $600,000 remaining in the Fire Impact Fee Account, for a net cost to the taxpayer = of $3,350,000, for the purpose of erecting a fire station and to authorize t= he Board of Selectmen to issue bonds or notes in compliance with the provisions of= the Municipal Finance Act (RSA 31:1, as amended) and to authorize the Board o= f Selectmen to negotiate and determine the rate thereon, and the maturity and other t= erms thereof, and to take any action they deem appropriate to effectuate the s= ale and/or issuance of said bonds or notes and appropriate the sum of $25,000 for the first year cost.

VOTE:

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

OTHER BUSINESS

Discussion of Fire Station Bonding

Mr. Gaydos stated that he= and Fire Chief James Midgley would be at the Budget Committee meeting on Thursday. He said the questio= n would come up regarding the term of the bond for the proposed fire station.

Mr. Viger said after a di= scussion with the Budget Committee, the sentiment of the board was that they preferr= ed a shorter bond term versus a long bond term.= They recognized that the school would be coming forward with items in the near future.

Mr. Lynde asked if a peri= od of five to ten years satisfy them. Mr. Viger believed they were looking to have a five year term. Mr. Lynde said competitive bids sh= ould be sought.

There was further discuss= ion regarding bonding. There was a consensus of the Selectmen to have a bond term of five to ten years.

TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S / SELECTMEN’S REPORTS

Mr. McDevitt said the Pel= ham Community Theatre would be having a play (Home for Christmas) at Sherburne = Hall on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Tickets will be available at the door.

Mr. Lynde said the Pelham= High School Study Committee held a meeting.&nbs= p; He said they had sent out a post card with information. He said they were waiting for the = school board to determine what their next actions will be. He believed they would try to put = out another brochure with additional details.

Mr. Viger had no report. =

Mr. Gleason said he sat w= ith the Police and Fire Department to review the memorandum of understanding with regard to the Town towing contract. He said it was one of the most organized interview/review processes. The companies sele= cted were Woody and Jean-Guy. Mr. Gleason reported that he would be attending the quarterly NRPC meeting and would report back to the Selectmen.

Mr. Gaydos stated it had = been a pleasure to work with the people involved with the Festival of Trees. He said the Park & Recreation Department had been coming up with ideas for use of the hall that would pro= mote other non-profit organizations. He hoped to be able to present those ideas to the Selectmen shortly.

Mr. Haverty had no report= . He wished all a Merry and Safe Christmas.

REQUEST FOR NON-PUBLIC SESSION

MOTION:

(McDevitt/Lynd= e) Request for a non-public session per RSA 91-A:3,II, a (personnel)

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 8:06 pm.

The Board returned to public session at approximately 8:46 pm.

MOTION:

(McDevitt/Lynd= e) To seal the minutes of the non-public session indefinitely.

VOTE:

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

ADJOURNMENT

MOTION:

(McDevitt/Lynd= e) To adjourn the meeting.

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The motion carried.

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 8:46 pm.

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

            =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;            =          Charity A. Landry Willis

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