TOWN OF BRADFORD
SELECTMEN’S MEETING
JULY 9, 2012
5:30PM
The Pledge of Allegiance was said.
Call to Order and Roll Call:
Harry Wright, Chair called the meeting to order with Barry Wheeler, and Cheryl Behr, Administrator present. Sonny Harris and Marge Cilley were absent.
Review and Consideration of July 2, 2012 Minutes:
Motion to approve the minutes as presented by Harry Wright, Chair. Seconded by Barry Wheeler, Chair. Motion carried 2-0.
APPEARANCES:
Marlene Freyler:
Marlene thanked everyone for helping out over the 4th celebration. Sand went out from under a biker on the bridge on West Main Street, by the old mill per Marlene. Flags will be taken down in the next couple of days.
Reports on fireworks being let off at a different location were positive.
Harry Wright, Chair advised some people made comments that the parade would be better at 4:00pm to which Marlene Freyler advised she is not moving it back to 4:00 o’clock no matter what anyone says. She advised it is difficult to get people for the parade at 4:00pm.
Sandra Falicon re: Fairgrounds Road:
Ms. Falicon advised they live at 56 Fairgrounds Road where the road has been ground up. She described the road as being very dusty for the whole length of the road; this is different than dirt dust as it includes ground up asphalt, being black with an oily texture that clings to everything. They cannot live out doors, grill outside and their plants are suffering, and to mow the lawn, old shoes are necessary as the dirt does not come out.
Ms. Falicon advised it is unfair that they have to use electricity for several fans to run continuously when their home would be cooler with the windows open if they could have them open. There has been nothing done to alleviate the dust level until apparently today. The July 4th grading of the road aggravated the situation with the increased holiday traffic. The situation creates a nuisance, a potentially respiratory dangerous situation for the elderly as well as people with asthma as a partial list from a fact sheet Ms. Falicon read from. Ms. Falicon requested the Selectmen to read the sections from the Health Hazard Fact Sheet she presented to the board. In closing, Ms Falicon urged the Selectmen and Highway Department to proceed in paving Fairgrounds Road now and allow the people living there get back to their lives and enjoy the summer.
Harry Wright, Chair advised there are a number of points to speak to from the highway prospective, and one of the decisions was to take action on one of the worst sections of road, of which there are many, and improving a piece at a time. The road builder philosophy is to grind it, put it back down and let it age, settle, take out any rocks that have worked their way up, then re-surface the following spring, replacing culverts in between. The board made the decision to do that section of road. Barry Wheeler advised the Calcium spreader arrived today and he advised the road was actually white after spreading calcium, then they watered it. The highway crew will use calcium and water as needed hereon. Barry also advised they have eight culverts to replace down the road as well as rocks to dig out as well as shimming to do with gravel. They cannot re-pave the road at this time. Barry advised he has been aware of the problem and has been waiting for the spreader which has arrived, so now they can take care of the problem.
Harriett Douglas questioned how often they intended to water to which Barry replied Mondays and Fridays. Last Friday was not done, as the road crew took Friday off as the holiday instead of Wednesday. Harriett inquired if it gets real bad, could they do it three times a week to which Barry advised yes, but the calcium should improve it considerably now. Another thought is to have police patrol there to keep the traffic slowed down for now. Barry Wheeler stated that if they paved that road now, it would be a waste of money. Cheryl Behr will check with the Police Dept. to see if a lower speed limit can be posted on that section of road for now, followed by some additional police presence in the area to cut down on the traffic speeding.
Harry Wright, Chair requested citizens let the Highway Department or Selectmen know if the dust is back again.
REGULAR BUSINESS
Accounts payable and Payroll Manifests were reviewed and signed.
Cheryl Behr read the following letter from William Martin into the minutes.
“To Board of Selectmen, Bradford, N.H.
After a recent discussion with Selectmen Barry Wheeler I was impressed at what he was trying to do in an effort to reduce highway costs and associated future C.I.P. expenditures. In an effort to follow his lead and try to give back to the Town of Bradford I have decided to try and do the same. When I bought my home on Pierce road one of the first things I did was put in a Pistol Range that I didn’t fully utilize until recently. I recently discovered that our local Police have a request for a Pistol Range that I don’t believe will ever come to fruition. Coming from a background with numerous family and friends in law enforcement I feel their safety is paramount. I continually read about fatalities in law enforcement and have decided to open my range to the Bradford Police in order that they can sharpen their skills and make it home safely to their respective families. I will contact the Chief with the details of when the range will be available to them. I feel so strongly about their safety that I intend to extend the offer to the surrounding Towns Police Departments.
Respectfully,
William F. Martin
Harry Wright, Chair advised he has talked with the Police Chief and Thanked Mr. Martin, but feels the offer is inappropriate.
Health Officer Position was posted in the Bradford Bridge and to date, one application has been received. The Selectmen will wait for decision until there is a full board present.
Cheryl Behr advised a letter came from the N H Housing Authority stating that if the N H Housing authority is involved with a foreclosure, no additional taxes can be collected on the property. RSA 204C:49 was quoted. This is an unusual circumstance where the town will have to forfeit Five thousand seventy one ($5,071.00) in taxes. When banks foreclose, they pick up the tax bill. An abatement from the taxpayer was signed.
CAP contract was signed.
Discussion ensued regarding property owner’s needing to clear driveway ditches on Fairgrounds Road, a letter drafted by Cheryl Behr and read to the board was signed to forward to residents.
NH Retirement System forms are not back from the Police Department as yet, so cannot be signed at this time.
Cheryl Behr Thanked those who worked on the July 7th celebration.
The Highway Department Report was made available for the attendees of the meeting and are included at the end of the minutes.
Cheryl Behr questioned Barry Wheeler about the Uniform bill for the Highway Dept. The rags used and price was questioned being $36.00 of a $90.00 bill. Barry suggested cutting the amount in half as they do use them, but not that much right now.
Cheryl advised that Harry Wright, Chair mention tonight that there is a Non Public session scheduled for July 16, 2012 at 4:30pm per RSA 91A3:IIe legal, re: Town Counsel. This is basically a meeting of the members of the Mitchell Group who has been the Town Attorney’s for twenty or so years. Basically an introductory meeting and to cover some communication issues.
A comment was made regarding logging trucks tearing up some area of Center Road and Barry Wheeler advised he will check it out. Mention was made of having logging operations being bonded and Barry Wheeler advised there is now a law that if logging concerns are bonded, then gravel trucks, oil trucks, all will need to be bonded.
Marlene Freyler reiterated the Non-Public rules of procedure.
A response letter acknowledging Jane Johnsen’s letter to the Selectmen was signed, thanking her for her interest, the Selectmen will review her letter and comments and will take her information under advisement.
There being no other business, the meeting was moved and seconded to adjourn at 6:05pm.
Respectfully submitted from tape
Marjorie R. Cilley,
Secretary
For an audio file (mp3) of the recording to this meeting, please visit http://bradfordnh.org/mp3/ where they are named according to the date and the organization. Please note that, due to space issues, any recordings may be purged from the website without notice. Files can be saved to your hard drive, by right-clicking the link to the file (from the index list) and using “Save Link As” or “Save File As”.