TOWN OF BRADFORD
SELECTMEN’S MEETING
JULY 23, 2012
5:30PM
The Pledge of Allegiance was said.
Call To Order and Roll Call:
Harry Wright, Chair called the meeting to order at 5:33pm with Barry Wheeler, Sonny Harris, Cheryl Behr, Administrator, Marge Cilley, Secretary present. Marilyn Gordon, Treasurer was absent.
There were fourteen public attendees.
Review and Consideration of July 16, 2012 minutes:
Motion was made by Harry Wright, Chair to accept the minutes of July 16, 2012. Seconded by Sonny Harris. Harry Wright, Chair advised the second paragraph, page one, the earlier Non-Public meeting, as was shown on that Agenda, was not actually a Non-Public Meeting, but just a meeting with Mitchell Municipal Group.
Harry Wright, Chair also advised that regarding the air conditioner for the Senior room, Sonny Harris donated an air conditioner which he and Barry Wheeler installed, with no cost to the town, saving the $6,100.00 which had been discussed earlier.
Motion carried 3-0 with edit.
APPEARANCES:
Mr. & Mrs. Chet Mitchell, Solitude Ridge:
Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell came before the Selectmen regarding access to public records. Mr. Mitchell advised he is on the board of the Solitude Ridge Home Owners Association.
Mr. Mitchell advised that on the July 10, 2012 Planning Board Meeting, “Marcia Keller, Chair advised she will meet with the Selectmen and suggest the public give a day or two notice when wishing to view records.” Mr. Mitchell read from the July 16, 2012 Selectmen’s Minutes: “Marcia Keller, Chair Planning Board advised the Planning Board has agreed upon giving the public a two business days notice request to peruse public records. Also, unless it is for routine information such as minutes, a Planning board member would be notified.
The Selectmen concurred that this is a legitimate request. It was also stated that notification of this request should be published in the Bridge and minutes of the Selectmen as well as Planning Board”
Mr. Mitchell advised they do not feel something should be brought up at a meeting if it is not on the Agenda. This was not on the Agenda, and if it were, they would have been at the meeting. Mr. Mitchell went on to advise they are opposing any restrictions on access to public records. Mr. Mitchell also stated that they were at Merrimack County Registry of Deeds and did not need any advanced notice, and no one was peering over their shoulders while looking at the records. Mr. Mitchell also stated they do not feel the Planning Board Records are owned by the Planning Board, but are public records, and should be accessible to the public. He went on to read the Preamble of the “Access to Governmental Records and Meetings” which reads: Openness in the conduct of public business is essential to a democratic society. The purpose of this chapter is to ensure both the greatest possible public access to the actions, discussions and records of all public bodies, and their accountability to the people.
Mr. Mitchell went on to advise at the Town Hall, public records were not in locked cabinets…but in a locked room which could be accessed by the Town Clerk (who had the key). Why has this changed in the move to the current Town Hall location? Why can’t the Town Clerk have the key to the cabinets where records are kept? We can look at the records in her area and return the records to the Town Clerk when done. Mr. Mitchell advised the Chair of the Planning Board told them several times that she had to be here while they were looking at the records, and they feel it is a privacy concern for them. They do not want to have to explain to the Planning Board what records or why they are looking at them. Much discussion ensued. Mr. Mitchell advised these are public records and he does not feel there should be any restrictions, he does not mind calling an hour or two ahead of time.
Harry Wright, Chair advised not being on the agenda coincidentally ties in with the new policy that anything to be put on the Agenda will be required to be in by 11:30am on the Friday prior to the Selectmen’s meeting. Harry Wright, Chair advised the two day notice is a rule that is held by many towns in the state as noted in 91-A IV which states “If a public body or agency is unable to make a governmental record available for immediate inspection and copying, it shall, within 5 business days of request, make such record available”. Mr. Wright suggested we work out something practical that works. Harry Wright, Chair went on to state that yes, they are public records owned by the town, valuable to everybody, however, they are maintained by volunteers and when they get messed up and or misplaced, there is a lot of time and effort to get everything back in order.
Sonny Harris advised that the town has a huge responsibility of being stewards of these records, and number one, at the Merrimack County Registry of Deeds there are surveillance cameras all over the room and number two, you are looking at copies, not originals like you are here. It is our intent, and we encourage people to have access to these records and by protecting them, we are ensuring that they will be there for any one who does want to look at them, so they do not get lost, destroyed etc. Sonny also reiterated the 91-A: 4 Section relating to “within 5 business days”, and advised he was in contact with the Attorney at LGC who was in agreement with interpretation, as well as talking with people at the State Archives where he does a lot of research on original documents and they are of the same opinion that these records need to be safeguarded.
Sonny Harris went on to advise he wants people to be able to look at these records, however, at the same time wants them to be available but also protected.
Question was why cannot the Administrator have a key and access to the Planning Board records as well as all other records of other departments.
Cheryl Behr advised she is not the Town Clerk as was referred to, but is the Administrator.
Question was asked by the Mitchells of why are the records under lock and key here when Cheryl had access to them at the Town Hall any time. Cheryl Behr advised yes, she had a key to everything at the Town Hall, but she was not sure the Planning Board knew she was releasing records.
Sonny Harris reiterated that he is a professional researcher which he has done for nearly forty years, having done half the towns in the State of New Hampshire, and with rare exceptions, I need three, four or five days notice to look at those records and usually give a general idea of what specific file I want to look at. Mrs. Mitchell advised she is not concerned with the notice, but does not want someone looking over her shoulder or asking every minute what are you looking for, that is a privacy issue.
Barry Wheeler spoke up and advised these are not copies, but originals. People do take things unintentionally or they get mis-filed and once gone, cannot be recovered, he had two sets of plans but only one can be located at this time.
Dave Pickman advised that the reason records are now kept under lock is because many years ago when he was Selectmen, records were missing or getting mis-filed.
Cheryl Behr advised the reason for the current Planning Board files being locked is they are now located in a room that is used for many functions.
Motion was made by Barry Wheeler to contact the Planning Board for them to give Planning Board file keys to Cheryl Behr for access to records for the public’s perusal. When finished will leave the filing for the Planning Board to re-file. Seconded by Sonny Harris. Motion carried 3-0.
Cheryl advised she will type up something for the Planning Board.
REGULAR BUSINESS:
Accounts Payable were reviewed and signed. Cheryl advised there were 40 – $10.00 roster checks for the Fire Department.
The Police received a Thank You.
Cheryl thanked Sonny and Barry for installing the air conditioner in the Senior Room which was no cost to the town. They are also looking for a Homeland Security Grant to cover an air conditioner.
Cheryl Behr advised the Town’s portion of the Block Grant has been reduced from previous years, and we will receive around thirty thousand dollars less. The reason for the drastic drop is not known at this time.
Forms were signed for the appointment of Rob Steiz as the new Health Officer. Harry Wright, Chair advised Rob has already gotten into the middle of his new job for which he thanks him for that.
Cheryl Behr read a letter from Jane Johnsen dated July 19, 2012. (Letter at end of these minutes). [Webmaster: The document was inserted as a graphic and not easily removed for posting; interested parties may review the document at Town Offices.]
Sonny Harris responded to the letter stating that first of all, it is not a fact, Barry is not acting as a part time Road Agent, he is just helping with the town crew. Second of all, it is an open investigation, and we do not dictate to the County or Federal people how to conduct an investigation, that is up to them, it is over when it is over and has nothing to do with us. Sonny added that we are lucky to have Barry, that he is doing a good job and saving us money.
Mr. Chet Mitchell stated Barry is doing a great job on Fairgrounds Road plus the hundreds of gallons of gasoline he has saved.
Harry Wright, Chair advised it is still a transient situation; this is not a long term issue.
Cheryl advised the Agenda for the Selectmen’s meetings will close on Friday’s at 11:30am from now on and she will get it posted and on the internet as soon as possible after that.
Barry Wheeler questioned a bill and whether the work is done and it should be paid at this time or not. Cheryl will check into this further.
The Road Crew report for the week ending July 21, 2012 will be at the end of these minutes. [Webmaster: The document was inserted as a graphic and not easily removed for posting; interested parties may review the document at Town Offices.]
Barry Wheeler advised he would check with the Engineers regarding the curb cut at the Sanborn property on East Main Street.
Cheryl advised she has not contacted anyone regarding the building on the Sanborn property.
Cheryl has a list of town owned properties from Perry Teele and Chris Frey who had been working on this as well as a letter from the auctioneer.
Motion was made by Sonny Harris to go into Non-Public under RSA 91-A:3IIe. Seconded by Barry Wheeler.
Sonny Harris Yes Barry Wheeler Yes Harry Wright, Chair Yes
Motion carried 3-0.
Sonny Harris thanked the Mitchell’s for having patience.
Meeting Adjourned 6:28pm to Non-Public
Non Public Meeting Adjourned at 7:17
Regular Meeting Adjourned at 7:21 per E-Mail from Cheryl Behr July 24, 2012
Respectfully submitted
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”.