SEL20121016

APPROVED

TOWN OF PELHAM

BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING

MINUTES

October 16, 2012

APPROVED – October 30, 2012

CALL TO ORDER – approximately 6:30pm

PRESENT:

ABSENT:

Mr. William McDevitt, Mr. Edmund Gleason, Mr. Doug Viger, Mr. Hal Lynde, Mr. Robert Haverty, Town Administrator Tom Gaydos.

None.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE=

MINUTES REVIEW

October 2, 2012<= /b>

MO= TION:

(Gleason/Lynde) To approve the O= ctober 2, 2012 meeting minutes as amended.&nb= sp;

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The motion carried.

OPEN FORUM

Mr. Paul McDonough, Mammoth Road came forward and thanked Mr. Gleason and Fire Chief James Midgley for the tour of the new fire station. He was impressed with what he had seen.

A= nnouncements:

Mr. McDevitt apologized to anyone who took their= trash to the Transfer Station on Tuesday, October 9, 2012. He said it had been the Town’= ;s practice to close the Transfer Station after a Monday holiday. He said they neglected to post a s= ign indicating the facility’s closure.&n= bsp; He thanked Mr. Gaydos for letting in as many people as he could on t= hat day.

Mr. McDevitt then stated they continued to post information about EEE & West Nile Virus on w= ww.pelhamweb.com/health. = This will be the last announcement this year on the subject.

<= o:p>

D= ISCUSSION: Fireworks

Mr. McDevitt indicated the Board had previously conducted a meeting and listene= d to people voice their opinions regarding fireworks. The Board appreciated the respectf= ul and thoughtful manner in which people spoke.&n= bsp; The present meeting is the Board’s opportunity to discuss what they should do, if anything, about fireworks.

Fire Chief James Midgley and Police Lieutenant Gary Fisher came forward for the discussion. Chief Midgley pro= vided the Selectmen with information on how other communities handled fireworks.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> There are no permissible fireworks= in the towns of Nashua, Hudson, Windham, Salem, Plaistow, Derry and Manchester= . There was no information for the t= owns of Sandown, Atkinson and Hampstead. Towns were fireworks are permissible, with no restrictions are Chest= er and Litchfield. The towns tha= t require permits are Merrimack and Londonderry.&nbs= p; After hearing the discussion at the last meeting, Chief Midgley said= it became evident that many of the people who testified had not read the State statute on permissible fireworks because they spoke of what they had been doing, which was illegal in the State.&nbs= p; Earlier in the afternoon he spoke with the State Fire Marshall’= ;s office about recommendations,= or what they had done to work with other communities in the State. He said several years ago they dra= fted a template for a permitting process. <= /span>Chief Midgley discussed the idea of having an educational component with the permitting process. He was to= ld that to do a formal class was probably not feasible from a standpoint of logistics, manpower and finances. He noted that the fireworks companies had nothing to offer to do an educational component. The St= ate Statute calls for information to be available for someone purchasing fireworks. Chief Midgley said= the Town’s options regarding fireworks were limitless. He said one option would be to hav= e a permitting process similar to that of Burn Permits. The day the fireworks would be dis= played a person could come to the Fire Station, get a permit and be given the rules and regulations that were developed by the Town. Chief Midgley didn’t feel th= e Town would be able to go in the direction of a full ban and didn’t feel the Town’s people wanted that approach either. He felt there were ways to make it= safer for residents and neighbors to use and tolerate fireworks.

Mr. Viger wanted to know the enforcement procedure if they were to ban fireworks. Lt. Fisher said enforcement would be the responsibility of whoever was delegated to do so.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> He said there was a Statute that delegated it to Fire Inspectors. Police Officers had the authority to enforce any State Law or Town Ordinance. He said during a h= oliday such as July 4^th when fireworks were going off all over, it beca= me a question if there was enough manpower to handle enforcement. He said they would need a Town Ord= inance in place to enforce; however banning fireworks would be a nightmare to try = to enforce.

Mr. Haverty questioned how the Town would ensure those displaying fireworks had= a permit. Chief Midgley said th= e Fire Department worked closely with the Police Department because they used the = same dispatch center. As communica= tions came in they were given to which ever department needed to deal with it. Each communication would be dealt = with on a case by case basis.

Mr. Gleason agreed that the people in Town didn’t seem to be in favor of banning fireworks. He believe= d the permitting process would be the right approach. He wanted to know if they could stipulate times of operation. He questioned if having permits would place an extraordinary burden on the Fire Department to chase them down. Chief Midgley believed the burden would be shared with the Police. Logistically, the problems with fireworks fall around the July 4^th timeframe. If they made a straight forward permitting process Chief Midgley felt they would catch most of the issues.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> The problems with fireworks outsid= e the July 4^th timeframe would be much sparser. Mr. Gleason asked what would happe= n to people that violated the permit process.&n= bsp; Chief Midgley commented if the Town didn’t have an ordinance t= hat had ‘teeth’ they may as well not waste time having an ordinance because there would be no enforcement.&nbs= p; Typically the Fire Marshall handles violations by taking fireworks a= way from people. Mr. Gleason want= ed to know what would happen to an individual that had either already fired off t= he fireworks, or was most of the way through them. Chief Midgley said the penalty wou= ld be up to the Board. Lt. Fisher believed a Town Ordinance could have a fine up to $1,000.

Mr. Lynde wanted to know the penalty for being in violation of a burn permit. Chief Midgley said it was broken u= p; fines could be significant (into thousands of dollars) if a person violated= air qualityregulations, a written warning (filed with the State) is generally g= iven if a person is burning without a permit or burning impermissible materials. If there are three infractions within seven years a person loses their right to burn.

Mr. Lynde knew that burn permits were valid for one year and assumed a fireworks permit would be valid for a much shorter time. Chief Midgley said if they were go= ing to use a permitting system, a person would need to pull the permit for the specific date they would shoot fireworks.&= nbsp; He hoped that the permit would have a timeframe on it so they could address what time fireworks could be shot off. Mr. Lynde questioned if shooting fireworks off at 2am was covered elsewhere. Lt. Fisher noted that the Disorder= ly Conduct Statute mentioned causing unreasonable noise at an unreasonable hou= r; the determination would need to be made as to what was unreasonable. He said other than July4th it may = be found to be unreasonable.

Mr. McDevitt provided his observations. He agreed with the feeling that a ban was impractical. He had mixed feelings about the id= ea of a permit; one reason was the Town ran thin on staff giving him great concern regarding enforcement. He said he’d be shocked to find that permits weren’t violated routinely= in other towns. He felt Pelham s= hould start with small steps, such education and publicity. He noted that either the Selectmen= or a vote at Town Meeting could act to have a permit or ban fireworks. He said if the Board was contempla= ting some sort of permit, it might be wise to put it in front of Town Meeting to have the voters decide. =

Mr. Gleason disagreed. He felt a permitting process was the right approach, although it may be difficult to enforce. He said the law abid= ing citizens would abide by the permit and become more educated, conscientious = and safer. Relative to enforcemen= t, the expenditure and manpower, he discussed the overwhelming response to the accident occurring during the past summer. Mr. Gleason commented he asked people during the public hearing if they felt permitting was an acceptable method and he received an answer in the affirmative from most. He didn’t want to ban firewo= rks. He said the Town insisted on people having a permit to burn and didn’t feel fireworks were any different = than a fire. People needed to unde= rstand there were repercussions associated with fireworks.

Mr. Lynde felt the benefit of having a permit would promote an educational proc= ess so people wouldn’t violate State law. He saw more of a benefit to having= the process versus not doing anything. <= /span>

Mr. Viger saw the value of a permit process and like having a date and time specified. However, the people currently trying to do the right thing would be the same ones pulling the permits. The people breaking = the rules wouldn’t pull a permit, or get education. He didn’t know if the Town c= ould handle the burden on the infrastructure for enforcement and was unsure if he was in favor of a permit process at this time.

Mr. Lynde didn’t believe having people pull a permit would be a burden (on the department). He also didn’t know if there was a need to follow up on someone that had a permit, unless they were in violation.&nbs= p; Mr. Viger questioned the ability of enforcement. Lt. Fisher discussed how they curr= ently responded to fireworks. He sa= id the problem was that they had nothing in place to enforce.

Mr. Gleason reiterated the reasons he felt a permit process would bring discipl= ine and be beneficial as an educational process.

Mr. McDevitt said the Selectmen had told people they would let people know if t= hey decided to have a permit process. Mr. Gleason said if they were going to do a permit, he would like the Chief to come up with a tentative permit for them to review.

Mr. Haverty was not in favor of exploring a permitting process. He had concerns regarding enforcement.

Mr. Gleason and Mr. Lynde were in favor of exploring a permitting process. Mr. Viger, Mr. Haverty and Mr. McD= evitt were not in favor of exploring a permitting process.

Mr. McDevitt believed there were a lot of violations (many were innocent) and f= elt the Town should institute some sort of education. He said the Selectmen could submit guidelines to be published in the newspaper. He said they might entertain askin= g Town Meeting to call out a time for fireworks.&= nbsp; He said there were some videos available that could be run on public television.

Mr. Viger stepped forward and told the Board that he would take on the challeng= e to contact local fireworks vendors to draft safety guidelines that could be po= sted on television or in the newspaper. He would bring that plan back to the Board for review. There were no objections.

OTHER BUSINESS

Ambulance Capital Reserve Fund<= o:p>

Fire Chief James Midgley told the Selectmen that the cost of the ambulances had = been going up incrementally over the last several years. He stated that the first $25,000 o= ut of the ambulance revenue was put into a revolving account for the purchase of a new ambulance. Because they a= re running two ambulances, trying to replace them in four-year cycles the $25,= 000 wouldn’t be enough. He = would like to place the first $50,000 into the account, which would get them on t= rack for having approximately $200,000 to replace an ambulance. He said this number may need to be revisited in the future to address cost increases.

Mr. Gleason asked for the annual revenues on ambulance calls. The department averaged between $225,000-$250,000, but were on the way this year to be approximately $300,000. Mr. Gaydos suggested putting $60,000 into the fund to create a buffer to know that the number wo= uld be good for a longer period of time. Mr. Gleason said an informal recommendation had been made to take so= me of the ambulance funds and put it into a capital reserve to help offset the co= st of major fire apparatus. A ty= pical fire truck cost approximately $650,000.&nb= sp; The next fire truck replacement is anticipated next year. Mr. Gleason asked if the ambulance= revenues could be used to offset the cost of fire apparatus. Mr. Gaydos said it couldn’t = be as direct as the revolving account. He said if they wanted to do that, it would require a warrant article to show where the money was coming from, or it could be raised through taxation.

Mr. Lynde asked if it would be a vote of the Board, or Town Meeting to put aside the $50,000. Mr. Gaydos said = it would have to go to Town Meeting because it was an expressed amount. Mr. Lynde supported increasing the amount to $60,000. For fire apparatus, he felt they should do a warrant article.

After further discussion and the Chief explaining the equipment that was transfer= red over to new ambulances, the Board leaned in the direction of putting $60,000 into the ambulance fund; a warrant article would be needed to increase the current amount to that figure.

EMT Impact

Chief Midgley told the Selectmen as of October 1^st the State essential= ly changed its EMT85 status and converted to Advanced EMT (essentially EMT99). EMT’s couldn= 217;t get registered at EMT85 any longer and needed to be certified at the higher level. The budgetary impact t= o the department next year is approximately $13,000; the increase to the budget is expected to be approximately $8,000. Chief Midgley was looking to reallocating educational budget toward = the certification. The State won’t allow EMT’s to challenge the tes= t at the same time; they are only eligible to do so in the twelve months prior to when their certification is due to expire.= Therefore, costs will impact the budget for two years.

Mr. Gleason would like to go to the Budget Committee with the full impact and k= eep the department’s training money intact. He said it should be recognized as= a State mandate that has no regard to the impacts to the towns. Mr. Viger agreed. He noted that Chief Midgley had al= ready given warning to the Budget Committee of the issues.

There was a discussion regarding the testing and the purpose for the change in st= atus which would create a national standard.&nb= sp;

Mr. Haverty supported the Chief maintaining his full budget with the request of funds to cover the additional costs.

The Selectmen supported Chief Midgley going to the Budget Committee at reconsideration maintaining his full budget and requesting additional fundi= ng for the EMT testing.

Chief Midgley provided the Selectmen with a stat= us report of the new fire station. There was a discussion regarding the roofing system that would be installed to increase resistance to wind damage.

2013 Budget Committee Update

Mr. Viger provided an update regarding the Budget Committee review of the budget and recent vote. There was a = total reduction of $1,825. The new = budget is $12,416,568; with the addition of the Cemetery and Library, the total To= wn budget is $12,795,629, which represents an increase from last year of 1.9%.=

Transfer Station Holiday Closin= gs Discussion

Mr. Gaydos discussed the Transfer Station hours and also discussed the employee’s contract.

The Selectmen discussed the hours at the Transfer Station with the holiday clos= ing schedule and the costs of overtime versus provision of services to the Town’s people. With the Selectmen’s agreement, the facility will remain open the Saturday pri= or to Veteran’s Day, and close the day after the holiday on Tuesday. Mr. Gaydos will have a discussion = with the union about the holidays for the upcoming year to have a situation that= is fair to the employees and the tax payers.&= nbsp;

Action Item Review

The Selectmen reviewed and updated the status of the items on the action item l= ist.

SELECTMEN’S /= TOWN ADMINISTRATOR REPORTS

Mr. Gaydos contacted Liberty Utilities about a meeting with the Boa= rd of Selectmen. They asked to c= onduct meetings past October 30^th.&nbs= p;

Mr. Gaydos received correspondence from Boyden Landscaping requesti= ng that the Town extend their contract through2013 and 2014 keeping the same f= ixed cost currently contracted (annual $80,200).

Mr. Gleason felt Boyden had demonstrated quality and reliability and continuation of that contract would be prudent and economically responsible.

Mr. Lynde asked if the contract covered all the work that needed to= be done. Mr. Gaydos said items s= uch as reseeding of fields was handled through the recreation department. Mr. Viger felt Boyden provided an exceptional level of service and without a price increase he would be happy= to extend the contract. Mr. Have= rty was also in favor of extending the contract. He said Boyden had been a valuable partner to the Town and had gone above and beyond what was expected.

MO= TION:

(Gleason/Lynde) To extend the current Boyden contract for an additional two years at the existing price.

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The motion carried.<= /p>

Mr. Haverty and Mr. Lynde had no report.

Mr. Viger reported that Boy Scout Troop 25 would be conducting a fu= nd raiser car wash Saturday refreshments will be available. =

Mr. Gleason stated there would be a roundabout pre-award meeting he= ld October 24, 2012 at 10am in the Town Hall.= He told the Board he was provided with a copy of the new county budg= et, which appeared to be increasing $2,679from last year. He ended by saying that the Counci= l on Aging had submitted their paperwork for non-profit status.

Mr. McDevitt commented that the evergreen had been planted at the Library.

REQUEST FOR NON-PUBLIC SESSION =

MO= TION:

(Gleason/Lynde) Request for a non-public sessi= on per RSA 91-A:3,II, e (Consideration or negotiation of pending claims or litigation)

ROLL CALL:=

Mr. McDevitt-Yes; Mr. Gleason-Yes; Mr. Lynde-Y= es; Mr. Viger-Yes;

Mr. Haverty-Yes

It was noted that when the Board returned, after the non-public session, the Board would not take any other action publicly, except to poss= ibly seal the minutes of the non-public session and to adjourn the meeting. The Board entered into a non-public session at approximately 8:55 pm.

The Board returned to public session at approximately 9:10 pm.=

MOTION:

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

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The motion carried.

ADJOURNMENT

MO= TION:

(Haverty/Lynde) To adjourn the meeting.

VOTE:

(5-0-0) The motion carried.<= /p>

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:10 pm.

      = ;            &n= bsp;            = ;            &n= bsp;            = ;            &n= bsp;   Respectfully submitted,

      = ;            &n= bsp;            = ;            &n= bsp;            = ;            &n= bsp;   Charity A. Landry

      = ;            &n= bsp;            = ;            &n= bsp;            = ;            &n= bsp;   Recording Secretary

BOARD OF SELECTMEN ACTION ITEMS=

=

March 29, 2011

Mr. Gaydos to put timeline toge= ther for Castle Hill Road (6/7/11 easement being completed that would allow= the Crawfords to access their property)(7/5/11 – Mr. Gaydos stated t= he project was moving 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 quickly)(8/9/11 – Mr. Gaydos continuing to work with Attorney Solomon- associated correspondence wi= ll be provided to the Selectmen)(8/30/11 – still in progress); 1/17= /12 – still in court. As of 7/10/12 on-going legal issues – October 16, 2012 remains in court.

=

May 10, 2011

Mr. McDe= vitt researching appropriate signage for Raymond Park (where parcels are located and what names were allowed per deeds) (6/7/11 Mr. McDevitt sa= id research was completed and would like to discuss with the Board after = the meeting of 6/28/11)(7/5/11 – Mr. McDevitt said a discussion shou= ld be scheduled regarding the names at Raymond Park. Information is avail= able to educate the Selectmen. A discussion will be scheduled for July 19, 2011)(8/2/11 Mr. McDevitt sa= id the Board had received a draft of the naming requirements of the park, which raised additional questions.&nb= sp; The Selectmen will schedule a discussion at a later time)(8/9/1= 1 – there is a question whether there could be signs that stay up at Raymo= nd Park – this is in the process of being addressed)(8//30/11 ̵= 1; agenda item scheduled) / 10/25/11 – research still being conduct= ed and signs to be designed; 1/17/12 – ongoing project – an E= agle Scout project will possibly be brought forward to put up kiosk. July 10, 2012 – Park &a= mp; Recreation Director waiting for a Boy Scout to come forward with a project. / October 16, 2= 012 Mr. McDevitt will speak to Park & Recreation.

May 24, 2011<= /u>

Mr. Gaydos to review the legal ramifications of changing the road classification in the Gumpas Pond area; 7/1012 Mr. Gaydos to check sta= tus with Ms. Waters. / October 16, 2012 pending. =

July 5, 2011<= /u>

Mr. Gaydos to request from Comcast something in writing indicati= ng there will be no additional charge for moving cable to new fire station location (8/2/11 Mr. Gaydos said there were several issues he would de= al with all at once when Comcast returned the signed contract)(8/30/11 – contracts returned – Town will approach Comcast with two required follow up letters of agreement) / 10/25/11- Mr. Gaydos to ask= Mr. Greenwood to follow up; 1/17/12 follow up needed for written agreement= . / October 16, 2012 pending

August 2, 2011

Obtain status regarding Young’s Crossing and the flashing = sign on Route 38/Gage Hill Road/Ledge Road intersection and from Police Chi= ef. (8/9/11 Mr. Gaydos had a discussion with Police Chief Roark regarding the flas= hing light and there may be less expensive alternatives. The Chief has requested a mee= ting with the DOT district for Pelham)(8/30/11 – correspondence recei= ved from State – Mr. Gaydos to work with Police Chief Roark to compi= le accident statistics) / 10/25/11 – Mr. Gaydos said Chief Roark was heading this up – the same type of study is being done at the Sherburne Road intersection.; 1/17/12 – still working with intersection (with state) in conjunction with Sherburne Road. / October 16, 2012 Planning Director Gowan to address and provide status update.=

August 16, 2011

Mr. Gaydos to research if there is legislation pertaining to dam water releases for a future agenda item (8/30/11 –Mr. Gaydos wor= king on response regarding dam water releases and hoped it would also addre= ss the flood ordinance Mr. Gowan was working on)/ 10/25/11 – Mr. Ga= ydos said there was wording, but it didn’t have sufficient ‘teeth’ – an agenda item will be scheduled for Selec= tmen discussion; 1/17/12 – at a standstill between what the state is willing to do and what the Town would like them to do. Mr. Gaydos felt the flood stu= dy would aid in an outcome. /October 16, 2012 proposals to be reviewed and narrowed down and presented.

April 10, 2012

Mr. Gaydos to co= ntact people in Londonderry regarding the flood study and work with Mr. Gowa= n to coordinate. / October 16= , 2012 pending.

April 24, 2012

Planning Directo= r to review water supply regulation and well ordinance documents and return comments to the Selectmen; October 16, 2012 in progress.

July 17, 2012

Selectmen to rev= isit the PUC order/Pennichuck Water to see what the repayment obligation (f= or legal fees) was to the Town. =