SEL20110802.mht

APPROVED

TOWN OF PELHAM

BOARD OF SE= LECTMEN MEETING

MINUTES

August 2, 2011

APPROVED &#= 8211; August 9, 2011

CALL TO ORDER – approximately 6:00pm

PRESENT:

ABSENT:

Mr. Edmund Gleason, Mr.= Douglas Viger, Mr. William McDevitt, Mr. Hal Lynde (arrived after non-public session), Town Administrator Tom Gayd= os, Town Finance Director Cindy Kelley

Mr. Robert Haverty

REQUEST FOR NON-PUBLIC SESSION

MOTION:

(Viger/McDevitt) 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. Gleason-Ye= s; Mr. McDevitt-Yes; Mr. Viger-Yes

It was noted tha= t when the Board returned, after the non-public session, the Board would resume th= eir meeting and address the remaining agenda items. The Board entered into a non-public session at approximately 6:0= 0 pm.

MOTION:

(Viger/McDevitt) To seal the minu= tes of the non-public session indefinitely.

VOTE:

(3-0-0) The mo= tion carried.

The Board return= ed to public session at approximately 6:33pm.

PL= EDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

OPEN FORUM

Mr. Mike Sherman, 10= 3 Old Bridge Street came forward to discuss the pavi= ng of Old Bridge Street. He said at the previous meeting he= and his neighbors came before the Board to discuss issues they had with Old Bridge Street being paved. They had concerns because they didn’t want to see the road raised. They had assurances from Steve Kea= ch of Keach-Nordstrom (Town’s engineer) and the Board that the road wouldn’t be raised. Mr. Sherman asked how the Board would assure him that the road wouldn’t be raised because no one saw anyone come in to do elevations. He said the markings from when Mr.= Keach shot elevations in the Spring had been taken off when the road was milled; = no benchmarks were left.

Mr. Gaydos had the understanding that the road would not be raised mo= re than it had previously been. = He will contact Mr. Keach and find out if he was prepared to assure it. Mr. Gleason didn’t feel the = Board was technically qualified to answer the question. He said they would attempt to get = an answer as to how to assure Mr. Sherman that the road wouldn’t be raised. He asked that Mr. Gay= dos contact Mr. Keach on Wednesday, and then contact Mr. Sherman or have either= Mr. Keach or the Highway Road Agent Don Foss contact Mr. Sherman with assurance= s.

Mr. Sherman told the Board that he and his neighbor went to Continent= al Paving and got surveying equipment and shot road elevations on Saturday. Th= ey also benchmarked locations down the street and took measurements so they co= uld triangulate back to those same benchmarks.= Last night they shot the elevations again so they knew what was taken off of the road. They hoped to shoot the elevations later in the week to see what (pavement) went back on = the road. Mr. Sherman said they w= ould report their findings back to the Board.&n= bsp; Mr. Gleason discussed what the Selectmen had authorized and told Mr. Sherman that they would follow up with the Highway Road Agent and with Mr. Keach so they could give some assurance of what would take place.

Mr. Lynde arrived.

APPOINTMENTS

2012 Town Budget Discussions:

Town Finance Director Cindy Kelley came forward for the budget discussion. The Selectmen were provided with budget information for the departments being discussed.

Conservation Commission – Conservation Commission Chairman Paul Gagnon reviewed the proposed budget. The 2011 budget was $= 3997. The proposal was to reduce the budget by $250 (approx. 6% reduction). Mr. Gagnon reviewed the budget. $300 for water testing was taken out. There was an increase in= dues for the New Hampshire Associations of Conservation Commissions from $450 to $500. There were no questions regarding the proposed budget.

Park & Recreation – Park & Recreation Director Brian Johnson came forward to review t= he proposed budget. The 2011 bud= get was $184,168. The proposed 20= 12 budget is $183,531 representing a reduction of $637. Mr. Johnson reviewed the budget. There was a brief discussion regar= ding the Park & Recreation truck. It was noted that the truck was approximately twelve years old and had approximately 75,000 miles. M= r. Johnson said the truck got the job done and seemed to be running great. Mr. Gleason questioned if the funds for road maintenance would be adequate to maintain the new access road at the back of Pelham Veteran’s Memorial Park. Mr. Johnson said he wou= ld speak with Alpha Tractor, who currently did work for the department. He said they were at the point wit= h the budget ($3000) that they could add material. He believed they would be fine wit= h the proposed budget. <= /span>

Mr. Johnson noted that he removed a portion of the funds for tree cut= ting from the budget. Mr. Gaydos suggested rather than cutting funding from tree cutting/pruning because it = had proven (in the past) to be an item that had to be in the budget, if that one line item should be moved into Town Buildings. In the past year $3000 was spent on necessary tree cutting. Mr. McDevitt said the topic seemed to be a bit unclear as to which department p= aid for certain services. Mr. Gay= dos discussed areas where tree cutting had been done and which budget that was responsible for payment. He w= as concerned if the funds were reduced from the budget that it would leave the Park & Recreation budget susceptible.&= nbsp; There was further discussion; the Selectmen kept the budget as presented, but will consider returning funding for tree cutting when they review in the future.

Mr. McDevitt said the telephone equipment reviewed by the Selectmen at the previous meeting had the capability for a surveillance camera and questioned if there was need for additional surveillance in areas that they wouldn’t have it because of being so isolated. Mr. Johnson told the Selectmen tha= t the chain link fence had been fixed at no cost. The Scouts will be fixing the spli= t wood fence. Mr. Gaydos said the telephone equipment presented to the Selectmen was in the process of being installed. He spoke with the = Cable Director regarding the possibility of adding a camera; something would be d= one this year.

Mr. Gleason commended Mr. Johnson on the budget preparation.

Planning Department – Planning Director Jeff Gowan reviewed the proposed budget. The 2011 budget was $275,452. The proposed 2012 budget is $284,287. Most of the changes= were in salaries (contractual increases). The line for Planning Director education was taken out because it was something incorporated into the contract.&= nbsp; There was a brief discussion regarding the vehicle used in the department and the desire to replace it.&n= bsp; Mr. Gowan continued to review the proposed budget highlighting the a= reas of reduction that were done to offset any increases. He said a warrant article would be requested to set funds aside (possibly $10,000) for the Town to be included= in a study of the Beaver Brook watershed being done by the Army Corps of Engineers. Mr. Gleason asked = that an agenda item be added for further discussion.

Mr. Gleason thanked Mr. Gowan and the other department heads for their diligence and concern when putting their budgets together. Mr. Gowan thanked Ms. Kelley and M= r. Gaydos for their assistance in the budget process.

Selectmen – Mr. Gaydos and Ms. Kelley reviewed the proposed budget. The 2011 budget was $458,630. The proposed 2012 budget is $469,9= 40. Mr. Gaydos reviewed the budget. Mr. McDevitt noted (for the public= ) that the Selectmen’s budget was for the ‘administrative heart’= of the Town and not a budget paid to the Board of Selectmen. The Selectmen receive a total of $= 4800 divided between the five members ($900 each; $1200 for the Chairman).

Insurance – Ms. Kelley reviewed the proposed budget. She indicated that budget was basically level funded with $750 coming out (insurance policy with Counsel on Aging that had been cancelled). Mr. Gleason questioned why the $750 wasn’t included in the default budget. He said the item was in the operat= ing budget from the previous year and questioned why it wouldn’t then be included in the default. It w= as suggested to review the RSA. = The items contained in the proposed budget were last year’s numbers being used as placeholders. Mr. Gaydos noted in taking all vacation buy backs the total came in under $50,000. = He said that number could easily be transferred from the department budgets to= the compensated absence line or vice versa.&nb= sp; In essence, the department budget or the compensated absence could be reduced.

Retirement – Mr. Gaydos and Ms. Kelley reviewed the proposed budget. Mr. Gaydos said the Governor’= ;s Counsel changed the expiration date for the Board of New Hampshire Retireme= nt System; they were replaced as of July 1^st. It had been expected people wouldn’t be appointed in time to vote on the new certified rates but = the Governor’s Counsel met and quickly appointed people to fill the slots= . The rates will be voted on either = August 4^th or 9^th and if approved they will be effective as = of August 1^st. Mr. Ga= ydos said what the Town had appropriated for 2011 would be more than what was needed. He had confidence a decision would be made. The b= udget was based on the new proposed rates that would be voted on. Ms. Kelley stated overall the budg= et would go down $155,716 because the rates would decrease for each of the subsidies. She reviewed the l= ine items in the budget explaining what changes would be made.

Mr. Gleason discussed how he proposed the Selectmen proceed with the budget review schedule. =

OTHER BUSINESS

June 2011 Revenue and Expenses Review

Mr. Gaydos commented that the Town was on track. The Selectmen were provided with information for review.

MINUTES REVIEW

July 19,= 2011

MOTION:

(McDevitt/Lynde) To approve the July 19, 2011 meeting minutes as written.

VOTE:

(3-0-1) The motion carried. Mr. Vig= er abstained.

July 26,= 2011

MOTION:

(McDevitt/Lynde) To approve the July 26, 2011 meeting minutes as amended.

VOTE:

(4-0-0) The motion carried.

ACTION ITEM REVIEW

The Selectmen and Mr. Gaydos reviewed the action item list. Completed items were removed.

With regard to the second egress at Muldoon, Mr. Gaydos said the law = did not require a public hearing to be held.&n= bsp; If a public hearing were to be held, there were rules that the Plann= ing Board would have to abide by which would put the project start date out unt= il September. He recommended tha= t the Selectmen send a letter to all the abutters with a drawing, description of = the project, description of the DES permit and explain to those abutters what w= as going on. He said the Selectm= en could then hold a public meeting and discussion so if anyone had comment th= ey could do so at that time (prior to final bids being received). Because the Planning Board wouldn’t be meeting again until September, Mr. McDevitt said it might= be worth asking the Planning Director and Planning Board Chair if they would consider having a meeting. He= said the Planning Board had received a copy of the plan and expected a more deta= iled plan to be given to them. Aft= er further discussion, it was suggested that the Planning Board be invited to sit-in at the public meeting conducted by the Selectmen so they would have = the opportunity to participate. M= r. Gaydos was asked to discuss with the Planning Director the possibility of having the Planning Board attend a public meeting (held by the Selectmen).<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>

TOWN ADMIN= ISTRATOR / SELECTMEN REPORTS

Mr. Gaydos said the mosquito testing results are starting to come back. The numbers don’t appear to be as large as in previous years, which may be due to a decrease = in the number of towns conducting tests and reporting. No positive results were found for= West Nile Virus or Eastern Equine Encephalitis.= No positive results were found in animals or humans.

Mr. Viger and Mr. McDevitt had no report.

Mr. Lynde report= ed that the next concert on the Village Green would be held August 10, 2011.

Mr. Gleason stat= ed he met with the Budget Committee who discussed New Hampshire Retirement, CIP a= nd having replacement vehicles in operating budgets. An updated vehicle inventory will = be provided to the Budget Committee as part of their budget review process. The Budget Committee requested a l= ist of all the roads that were repaired/repaved etc. in the past couple years; Mr. Foss was notified. When compl= eted, the information will be sent to Budget Committee Chair Larry Hall.

ADJOURNMENT

MOTION:

(Viger/McDevitt) To adjourn the meeting.

VOTE:

(4-0-0) The motion carried.

The meeting was adjourned at approximately = 8:30 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

BOARD OF SELECTMEN ACTION ITEMS

March 22, 2011=

· Mr. Gowan to advise Selectmen whether the CI= P will be instituted; ~~Mr. McDevitt will contact Planning Director Gowan re: Planning Board’s intentions for (reforming)~~ CIP (Planning Board to make final decision- Selectmen resolved 4/12/11- left open for further resolution by Mr. Gowan; 5/10/11 Mr. Gaydos to follow up with Mr. Gowan re: status)(6/7/11 Mr. McDevitt said the Chairman of the Planning Board would s= et the CIP on the shelf for the time being because there was no public interest – after discussion with Selectmen, he said he would go back to Planni= ng and ask that they reconsider) (7/5/11 – Mr. McDevitt to ask the PB on 7/7/11 their plans for CIP and if they would reconsider reinstituting the committee)(8/2/11 Mr. Gaydos spoke with department heads to put together th= eir own CIP);

March 29, 2011=

· Mr. Gaydos to provide schedule for 2^{nd<=
/sup>
egress at Muldoon; presentation of plan (4/12/11 – plan to be received 4/13/11 Mr. Gay=
dos will
request Highway Safety Committee recommendation; 5/10/11 Mr. Gaydos said when he receiv=
ed the
easement agreement and the deed is drawn up – that paperwork will be
forwarded to Mr. Phil Currier for review/approval)(6/7/11 – Mr. Gaydos
said they were awaiting Mr. Currier’s comments on the easement deed /=
Mr.
McDevitt said the Planning Board was awaiting information from Selectmen as=
to
the traffic flow at the Muldoon Park property line / Highway Safety Committ=
ee
recommended both egresses be two-way traffic, and during the winter to close
the Nashua Road access)(6/21/11 – Mr. Gaydos provided an update that =
the
access would be the full 50ft. and the Little League would be able to move
their fence out 8ft)(7/5/11 – Mr. Gaydos to set a public hearing R=
11;
additional information to be provided to the Highway Safety Committee and
Planning Board)(8/2/11 – Mr. Gaydos said the plan had been received.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> The RFP was put out. Prior to bids being accepted a pre=
-bid
meeting would be held and have the DES permit reviewed. Mr. Gaydos will discuss with the
Planning Director the possibility of having the Planning Board sit in on a
public meeting held by the Selectmen);}

· Mr. Gaydos to speak with Police Chief regard= ing schedule for enacting Pawn Broker Ordinance (4/12/11 – Mr. Gaydos informed that the Police Chief was doing a lot of work with policies in accordance with being a certified agency, once completed he will work with Legal on the Pawn Broker Ordinance)(4/26/11 Police Chief rewriting the ordinance -upon completion will be reviewed with Mr. Gaydos then given to Selectmen)(7/5/11 – Police Chief has been working to replace an offic= er – this item will be scheduled soon);

· Planning Board to make recommendation to Selectmen regarding Article #14 (portion of Mulberry Lane, portion of Sheph= ard Road and all of Lannan Drive)(8/2/11 this will stay on the list to remain on the Selectmen’s radar, Mr. Gaydos to follow up with Mr. Gowan regardi= ng status);

· Mr. Gaydos to put timeline together for Cast= le Hill Road (6/7/11 easement being completed that would allow the Crawfords to access their property)(7/5/11 – Mr. Gaydos stated the project was mov= ing forward, there were other issues to get out of the way prior to addressing = this)(8/2/11 Mr. Gaydos is working with Attorney Solomon and will have a timeline quickl= y);

· Future discussion regarding sidewalk from Se= nior Center to roundabout (4/12/11 – to be added as an action item on the agenda for the next Department of Transportation meeting to determine cost savings) (6/7/11 – the Town to decide if they still want the sidewalk – a meeting should be scheduled with DOT to find out if May date is s= till viable)(8/2/11 previous consensus of the Board to not put in the sidewalk) =

April 26, 2011

&nb= sp;

·= ; = Mr. Gaydos to review vendor list and identify which items should be discussed. (5/10/11 – Mr. Gaydos created a list and was fu= rther breaking it out because some vendors supply more than one item) (7/5/11 Mr. Gaydo= s said the Town was spending a lot of time concentrating on a law suit – this wi= ll then be addressed)(8/2/11 Mr. Gaydos to provide status of the items.= Mr. Gleason said after budgets were completed he would add this as a= n agenda item in September for discussion)

May 10, 2011=

· Mr. McDevitt researching appropriate signage= for Raymond Park (where parcels are located and what names were allowed per dee= ds) (6/7/11 Mr. McDev= itt said research was completed and would like to discuss with the Board after the meeting of 6/28/= 11)(7/5/11 – M= r. McDevitt said a discussion should be scheduled regarding the names at Raymond Park. Information is available to educate the Selectmen. A discussion will be scheduled for= July 19, 2011)(= 8/2/11 Mr. McDev= itt said the Board had received a draft of the naming requirements of the park, which ra= ised additional questions. The Sel= ectmen will schedule a discussion at a later time)

May 24,= 2011

·= ; = Mr. Gaydos to contact the Congregational Church to find out how long they would allow the Town to use their property (7/5/11 – Mr. Gaydos said he would continue to = follow up. They previously had an agreement and didn’t believe that would change.)(8/2/11 Mr. Gaydos said he owes= Mr. Currier some materials)<= o:p>

July 5,= 2011

·= ; = Mr. Gaydos to request from Comcast something in writing indicating there will b= e no additional charge for moving cable to new fire station location (8/2/11 Mr. Gaydos said there were several issues he would deal with all at once when Comcast returned the signed contract);

·= ; = To ensure a side letter is received from Comcast for the free internet service= for the school (8/2/1= 1 this item included with the above).

July = 12, 2011

·= ; = Mr. Gaydos to check into the feasibility of a lease/purchase agreement (to repl= ace the 1999 Sterling) this year to offset the Highway Department repair cost. (8/2/11 Mr. Gaydos will have in= formation on August 9^th)

July 26= , 2011

·= ; = Mr. Gaydos to provide Selectmen with backup information regarding the Ambulance Capital Reserve Fund (warrant article and RSA) and the Selectmen’s authority (8/2/11= wording that initially appeared to be straight forward isn’t – further review is needed);<= u>

·= ; = Mr. Gleason will provide the Selectmen copy of the wording from the Ambulance Capital Reserve warrant (8/2/11 still being reviewed);

August = 2, 2011

·= ; = Ob= tain status regarding Young’s Crossing and the flashing sign on Route 38/Gage Hill Road/Ledge Road intersection and from Police Chief.