SEL20101123.mht

APPROVED

TOWN OF PELHAM

BOARD OF SE= LECTMEN MEETING

MINUTES

November 23, 2010

APPROVED &#= 8211; January 4, 2011<= /p>

CALL TO ORDER – approximately 5:30pm

PRESENT:

Mr. Douglas Viger, Mr. = Edmund Gleason, Mr. Robert Haverty, Mr. Harold Lynde, Town Administrator Tom Gay= dos, Finance Director Cynthia Kelly

ABSENT:

Mr. William McDevitt

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

APPOINTMENT

Auditors Interview – Melanson, Heath & Co., P.C. ̵= 1; Scott McIntire, Municipal Partner; Karen Snow, Senior Auditor

Mr. Gaydos said at the di= rective of the Selectmen they had been in search of an auditor who could address the issues that the Board had indicated they were interested in and who were ab= le to do the 2010 audit.

Finance Director Cynthia = Kelly introduced Partner/Shareholder Scott McIntire and Audit Supervisor Karen Sn= ow of Melanson, Heath & Co., P.C. &n= bsp;

Mr. McIntire provided the= Board with a handout that contained information regarding their company. He provided the Board with a brief history of his firm and explained that the Town’s audit would be serv= iced strictly out of their Nashua office. Mr. McIntire outlined= the firm’s resources/background and their resources to assure quality and timeliness. Ms. Snow discusse= d the firm’s attention to customer service, which she felt was one of their= strongest points. She explained that th= ey worked in a manner with audit teams so they got to know their clients and provide consistency.

The Board discussed what = they were seeking in an audit firm. The= timeline in which Melanson, Heath & Co. could begin was outlined. The Selectmen decided to discuss t= he matter further at their next meeting. Ms. Snow told the Selectmen if they had any further questions to con= tact them.

MINUTES REVIEW

MOTION:

(Lynde/Gleason= ) To approve the O= ctober 26, 2010 meeting minutes as amended.

VOTE:

(4-0-0) The motion carried.

OTHER BUSINESS

Elderly Exemptions

Mr. Gaydos said there was= a suggestion made by a resident that the Town adjusts their Elderly Exemption= to a broader scale. He outlined = the current exemption amounts. Currently the Town has approximately $10 - $12 million that was exem= pted every year. Mr. Gaydos review= ed the suggested exemptions submitted by the resident.

Mr. Gleason commented that exemptions were an issue they had discussed at length. He noted that Pelham was the only = town in the state that granted 100% exemption.&= nbsp; Mr. Gaydos added without asset limit. Mr. Gleason said in April, he had = an indication by the Assessing Department that there was $12,484,000 in proper= ties whose value was forgiven which cost us $244,000 in taxes. He asked if the amount had decreas= ed to $10,000,000. Mr. Gaydos had to assume it was the same; he was unsure of the timing of the two. Mr. Gleason noted that there was no recourse for those funds ($244,000) when the elderly people no longer qualify. It was noted that at= this point, the money was totally forgiven; the Town would never get the monies returned. Mr. Gleason didn= 217;t feel the situation should expand. He believed they should look to revise the exemptions to protect the assets and look into possibly recovering part of the taxes post-mortem to off-set some of the growth.

Mr. Lynde discussed the s= ituation and spoke of a court case with a duplex situation in which the Town lost. He said the Town should possibly r= eview increasing the asset level to allow more people to qualify and also ‘= wean’ off the total exemption by: 1) gradually increasing the age of eligibility = up towards age 80; or 2) leave the asset limitation alone and put in a second class with higher asset limitation but reduce benefits for those over age 75. Mr. Lynde asked if they f= ully understood the impact from last year. Mr. Gaydos said an e-mail had been sent out with that information.

Mr. Gleason pointed out a= s of April, there were thirteen new applications for exemptions which represented $3.3 million in additional untaxed properties.

Mr. Viger questioned if t= he resident was asking the Selectmen to review the specific wording they submitted, or if they wanted the Selectmen to review the current exemptions. Mr. Gaydos said t= he resident took another town’s result and wanted to know if Pelham coul= d do the same. He noted that the S= tatute didn’t permit the Town to lien the property; the only method the Town could use to lien a property would be to run it through the General Assista= nce Program.

The Selectmen discussed t= he resident’s suggestion. = Mr. Lynde said the suggested change was drastic and felt it would result in a significant shift in the amount, which he could not support. Mr. Viger recalled Mr. McDevitt sp= ending a lot of time regarding the issue. He didn’t think the Board had the means to change the language= at present. Mr. Gaydos said it w= ould need to be in the form of a warrant article. Mr. Viger had no interest in havin= g a warrant article. He said if s= omeone felt strongly, they could enter a petition warrant article.

Mr. Haverty questioned if= the topic was on the Selectmen’s Priority List. Mr. Viger said it could be added; = last time the Board discussed exemptions it was a different approach. Mr. Gleason agreed that it could b= e put on the Priority List, but felt the proposed form was unacceptable. He believed the Board should look = at how Elderly Exemptions were handled. He recalled working with legal and felt the Town’s options were limited. He felt it should be refined based on the needs of the Town and the economy being faced. Mr. Haverty said while none of the Selectmen supported the proposed, they all appreciated the fact that it sho= uld be reviewed.

Mr. Viger summarized the conversation; the Selectmen realized they had to review/explore the Elderly Exemption, but were not in favor of putting the resident’s article on= the warrant. He asked Mr. Gaydos = to notify the resident of the Selectmen’s sentiments.

OPEN FORUM

None.

APPOINTMENT

Thomas LoPizzo, Local Government Center, Member Relations Advisor – New 3 year agreement

Mr. Thomas LoPizzo, Member Relations Advisor and Mr. Bill Cote, Health and Safety Advisor, both with the Local Government Center (‘LGC&= #8217;), came forward to discuss the Town’s membership in the insurance progra= ms through the LGC. Mr. LoPizzo outlined the programs the Town was involved in. He asked the Board to consider ‘re-upping’ their agreement for another multiple year period for the Worker’s Compensation and Property Liability knowing should the T= own decide to leave after the first year, or second year it would be free to do so. He discussed the fees for= the proposed programs. He noted t= here was a rate decrease for Health Insurance.&= nbsp; There would be a rate increase for the Unemployment Comp program goi= ng into affect in January; there was an increase in claims from 2008 through 2010. Mr. LoPizzo reviewed the information that was provided to the Board.

Mr. Gleason questioned if= the LGC was taking proactive measures to try and minimize the amount of Worker̵= 7;s Compensation paid out. Mr. LoPizzo said th= at was the point of bringing administration of the claims in-house; they would have direct control over how the claims were handled. Mr. Cote said they had the advanta= ge of assigning a nurse case manager immediately when a case appeared to be a protracted absence from work so the employee would be properly addressed in= the system and get back to work in a reasonable time. He said this wasn’t done in = the past to the extent they were able to do so now.

Mr. Lynde asked if it was legislation that brought the state from an $8000 base to a $12,000. Mr. LoPizzo answered yes and comme= nted that the state unemployment fund was essentially broke and running off fede= ral money borrowed from the unemployment system. Mr. Lynde discussed the Town’= ;s experiences with another insurance carrier. He said everything done with the L= GC had resulted in less costs for the Town. He outlined some of the courses offered that provided a prospective = of how to have less liability to the Town.&nb= sp; Mr. Lynde asked that TRIM be discussed. Mr. Cote discussed how the TRIM di= scount could be applied by and the elements included in such. Mr. Lynde confirmed that the = Town was in the program now and should continue in able to get the benefit.

Mr. Gaydos asked that a b= rief explanation be given regarding the worker’s comp modifier and the Town’s experience over the past couple years. Mr. Cote explained that they tried= to review a three-year period to see what exposure there would be for employees and t= he general public. He said the department head cooperation he received had been outstanding.

Mr. Viger thanked the gen= tlemen for their feedback. He said t= he Selectmen would like to receive Mr. McDevitt’s feedback and would have further discussion at their next meeting.

Jill Longval, NRPC – Presentation on Energy Technical Assistance and Planning (ETAP) program and report on Pelham’s energy assessment to date.

Planning Director Jeff Go= wan came forward to introduce Ms. Jill Longval of Nashua Regional Planning Commission (‘NRPC’) who met with the Selectmen to present information on t= he Energy Technical Assistance and Planning program. He said Ms. Longval, Mr. Lynde and= himself had been corresponding (over the past couple months) regarding the program = that included an audit of Town buildings. The audit rolled forward to also review the new proposed fire statio= n.

Ms. Longval addressed the= Board and stated that NRPC had been working with the Town over the last several months and her goal for the evening was to provide an overview of that work thus far and what they saw as the future.&= nbsp; She noted that all of the services provided had been funded through outside grants that NRPC had received; there had been no costs to the Town. Ms. Longval gave a presentation of the energy inventory (focused on the Town buildings) that h= ad been conducted. She discussed= the next steps that could be taken, if desired. The funding for the program began = last June (2010) and is a two year program.&nbs= p;

Mr. Lynde asked if Ms. Lo= ngval needed anything further from the Selectmen at this point in time. Ms. Longval said it was up to the Selectmen to consider if they wanted to form an energy committee. She said whatever direction the Board wante= d to go, they would provide the support to make it happen. The findings of the energy assessm= ent would be provided for further review.

Mr. Gaydos said he was pl= eased to hear that the municipal complex was performing well for a building of its size. He was interested in fu= rther information regarding the library building.

The Selectmen thanked Ms.= Longval for the information.

OTHER BUSINESS CON’T….

Fire Station Discussion

Mr. Gaydos circulated the= latest update from Eckman Construction regarding the fire station building. He said the estimate increased slightly. The increase was primarily due to what was being seen in certain trades becoming busy and accordingly, they were able to command a higher price for their work. Mr. Gaydos said they were looking = at removing the balance of the impact fee (approximately $313,000) and raising approximately $4.2 million for the fire station project. He said he was continuing his discussions with the state.= He also spoke with several towns and found one that was exempted from putting an elevator in a two-story fire station. He said he would like to follow th= rough with the discussion because it was an $80,000-$100,000 item; if it was not needed the Town shouldn’t do it.&nbs= p; The radiant heating was reviewed ; there would be further discussion regarding such. Mr. Gaydos sa= id he had asked the people that put the original plan together to respond to the recent information.

Mr. Viger asked for the n= ew proposed number for the fire station. Mr. Gaydos said the number was $4.151 million with the impact fees already applied. Mr. Viger commented that last year’s warrant proposed $3.95 million with $400,0= 00 subtracted for impact fees. <= /p>

Mr. Gleason commented tha= t the Selectmen put the topic off because the Budget Committee wanted a number. He said they were voting Monday ev= ening and if the Selectmen didn’t make a decision, the item probably wouldn’t get Budget Committee support.

There was a brief discuss= ion regarding the costs quoted last year for the project. Eckman’s number last year was $4,631,575 (prior to any adjustments) which was reduced down to $3.950 mill= ion. The comparable number this year is $4.775 million; representing a growth of $144,000. Mr. Lynde asked if the same amount= of impact fees from last year would be available this year. Mr. Gaydos answered no; there had = been some bills paid since then in the amount of $310,300. The new number could be reduced to $4.464million; there is $313,000 remaining in the impact fees which reduces= the number further to $4.151 million. Mr. Gaydos noted that the irrigation well had been paid for out of t= he General Fund, which was an additional $12,000 that didn’t need to be included in the proposed costs.

Mr. Gleason said last yea= r they fought an uphill battle and found this year’s numbers to be disappointing. He said with t= he School Board coming in with a kindergarten for $3.8 million a $4.1 million = fire station didn’t have a chance of passing.

Mr. Viger commented that = last year there were a number of items the fire station went up against (at Town Meeting); this year it was kindergarten as well as something with monetary value for the high school.

Mr. Lynde commented that = he would like to see the Selectmen move forward and see if there were things they co= uld do to reduce the costs. He felt if they waited a year somet= hing else (bigger) would come.

Mr. Haverty stated everyo= ne knew the Town needed a high school, kindergarten a fire station. He said rolling out the same (fire station) plan at more money would further compromise the ability to get it passed. He felt the plan need= ed to be revisited, overhauled and then re-presented.

The Selectmen further dis= cussed how they wanted to proceed. M= r. Viger was not comfortable carrying forward the proposed number. Mr. Gleason didn’t feel sign= ificant modifications and pricing could be done in a month (for reconsideration). He said with the roundabout being delayed, it may give more time to focus on the fire station. Mr. Gaydos noted that because impa= ct fees were taken, the Town couldn’t build just what it needed, the sta= tion would have to be built for the level that was projected.

Mr. Viger suggested tabli= ng the plan ‘as is’ because there was nothing to present to the Budget Committee. Mr. Haverty said t= he question to be answered was if the fire station would be put off until next year. The Selectmen commented= that they didn’t have a number they could support and it could not be defe= nded at the Budget Committee. The Selectmen regretted that Mr. McDevitt was unab= le to attend the meeting because of an unavoidable conflict.

October 2010 Budget Review

Mr. Gaydos reviewed the s= tatus of the 2010 budget and provided an overview for each department.

Mr. Viger brought it to t= he taxpayer’s attention that last April the Selectmen had been approache= d by the Supervisor’s union looking to break away from their union and negotiate individual agreements as opposed to a collective bargaining agree= ment as done in the past. He said = he and Mr. Haverty met individually with the department heads and eliminated the compensated absence and negotiated individual agreements with every departm= ent head including the Lieutenants in the Police Department; they had made some great sacrifices. Significant strides had been made in saving money.&nbs= p; Mr. Viger said he and Mr. Gleason met with the Budget Committee gave= a presentation; the Budget Committee was very impressed with the work that was done and the support and commitment of the department heads realizing the n= eed to eliminate ‘tomorrow’s dollars’ and come to work with an agreement. The department hea= ds were unanimous to dissolve the union. Mr. Haverty asked that Lieutenant Fisher be recognized for his tirel= ess work on the other end of discussions.

REQUEST FOR NON-PUBLIC SESSION

MOTION:

(Lynde/Haverty) Request for a non-public session per RSA 91-A:3,II, a &d (Personnel; Consideration of acquisition, sale or lease of property)

ROLL CALL:

Mr. Viger-Yes;= Mr. Gleason-Yes; Mr. Haverty-Yes; Mr. Lynde-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 8:20 pm.

The Board returned to public session at approximately 10:05 pm.

MOTION:

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

VOTE:

(4-0-0) The mo= tion carried.

ADJOURNMENT

MOTION:

(Lynde/Haverty= ) To adjourn the meeting.

VOTE:

(4-0-0) The motion carried.

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 10:05 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