TOWN OF BRADFORD
SELECTMEN’S MEETING
JULY 30, 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, Sonny Harris, Cheryl Behr, Administrator, Marilyn Gordon, Treasurer and Marge Cilley, Secretary present.
There were twenty public in attendance.
Sidewalk Bid Opening:
Harry Wright, Chair advised the Sidewalk Bids will be opened July 31, 2012 at 10:00am at the Community Center with the Selectmen seeing who bid and their price. All the documents will go to the Engineers to see who is qualified to go to the next step.
Review and Consideration of July 23, 2012 Minutes:
Motion was made by Sonny Harris to approve the minutes as presented. Seconded by Barry Wheeler. Motion carried 3-0.
APPEARANCES:
Eric Johnson, NH Timberland Owners Association:
Eric Johnson introduced himself as Program Director, NH Timberland Owners Association which is a non profit membership, based out of Concord. This membership consists of fourteen hundred and they manage approximately one million acres in New Hampshire. Their primary mission is advocacy, outreach education. Mr. Johnson advised he was alerted to Bradford’s Cutting Ordinance by a member and he believes there are some issues with the Ordinance that are in conflict with regulations dealing mainly with the intent to cut. Bradford requires a submission of a map along with the Intent to Cut. The map requirement is not one of the four requirements that are part of an Intent to Cut which is in violation of RSA 79 which deals with Intent to Cut. There are only four, and the map is not one of them.
Mr. Johnson brought up a Road Bond which he was advised Bradford no longer requires.
Mr. Johnson went on to state that the Selectmen have thirty days in which to sign, and if they haven’t they must forward reasons why to both the land owner and the forester. Mr. Johnson suggested the town look at these Ordinances and to make amendments where necessary.
Rob Steiz, Health Officer:
Rob Steiz, Health Officer came before the Selectmen to introduce himself and to note a page is on the Web now with contact information to be able to reach him.
Town Hall Restoration Committee:
Eileen Kelly, Chair Town Hall Restoration Committee:
Eileen Kelly, Chair Town Hall Restoration Committee came before the Selectmen to update them with their progress, and presented the preliminary schematic designs of the Phases of the Town Hall restoration as prepared by Rick Monahon, Architect. Eileen questioned the Selectmen on some things to be thinking about, on air conditioning which makes a difference in the type of heat installed and whether renewable or non renewable energy should be used.
A couple of questions were asked by Dave Pickman, one, where will the Police Station be and where is the Septic system fitting into the plans.
Dave Pickman advised if the Post Office building gets sold, the people that are now leasing will honor their year’s lease.
Mark Goldberg, Fire Chief advised an approved septic system plan should be done first.
Chris Frey questioned where the cistern will be and the reply was that has not been decided at this time.
The next meeting with Rick Monahon, Architect is scheduled for: August 27, 2012 at 7:00pm, at which time cost estimates will be received.
Michele Halsted:
Michele Halsted advised Phase I architectural proposal is a very preliminary Phase and the plan is upon completion of Phase I construction, all employee’s could be moved back into the Town Hall without having to vacate while Phase II is being worked on.
Michele Halsted gave the Selectmen the 7 to Save nomination for Town Hall so they can have a copy. Michele also advised it does not come with any money. What it would bring to the committee is the ability to reach beyond borders of Bradford with the endorsement of state wide recognized architectural historians and preservationists that this building is worth outside people donating money to save it. Michele also advised that money from outside is not going to pay for the project by any means.
Michele Halsted stated that the committee is working very energetically to secure an LCHIP Grant and that would be for $50,000.00. We are required ourselves, the Town Hall Restoration Committee, as partnership with the Rural Heritage Connection, to raise 50% match of that Grant which is $25,000, and this must be done by September 1, 2012.
This is a rather impressive goal, and if any of you have brought your check book, I will be outside. Major fund raising campaign has not been launched yet, and will not until we have a broader estimate of the project cost and architectural plans. The LCHIP Grant is due in early September and as owners of the property, we will be asking you to be co-signers of the agreement. At this time, Michele gave the Selectmen the authority to sign form for them to peruse and check out with the Town Attorney. Also signatures will be sought on an LCHIP Stewardship agreement. Chances of receiving this Grant are minimal as there are 50 requesting this Grant. However we are working on it as the next LCHIP Grant could be late 2013 or early 2014.
In response to Harry Wright, Chair’s question, Michele stated that cash is not needed at this time, but cash pledges are the same as cash to the LCHIP Grant. Michele also advised these pledges would probably be due the end of the year.
In response to a question, Michele advised the Money collected would be handled by the Rural Heritage Connection of Bradford into the Cornerstone Account which is a non-profit dedicated account and is focused exclusively on the Town Hall Restoration.
Regular Business:
Discussion ensued regarding enlarging the Fire Department and Mark Goldberg, Fire Chief advised there are five State Forests that cannot be touched and Tall Pines is one of those areas. Some discussion ensued regarding the Fire Department building which could possibly be the Police Station but then, where would the Fire Department go?
Chris Frey advised the portion of the Fire Department building where the Rescue Squad is housed belongs to the Masonic Lodge; it is not on town property.
Accounts payable were reviewed and signed.
Harry Wright, Chair advised he was at a Regional Planning Conference last week, and there is a program called Granite State Future to coordinate and re-write the Master Plans of the nine Regional Planning Commissions. CNHRPC has not re-written since 1991. In September there will be a new logo with an information box beside it, asking for input and vote as to what you think the State should be looking at.
Land Sale of the Sanborn/Griggs property – and adjacent lot was brought up by Harry Wright, Chair. Discussion as to what and how it should be handled. Several ideas were discussed and a request to bring in ideas was suggested. Cheryl Behr advised that in order to sell that property as well as some others owned by the town, a ninety day letter needs to be forwarded to previous owner.
Two lots will not be listed as they will go to the abutters. Phil LaMoreaux, Vice Chair of the Planning Board advised several of the lots are non-conforming and the first approach could be to the abutters to seek bids with the stipulation that any property under bid would voluntarily merge with their property. This would not preclude them from sub-dividing it in the future if it met the current lot size frontages.
The person doing the auction of town owned property in Sutton would like to come and talk to the Selectmen after August 10, 2012. The Auctioneer’s fee is 10%.
Reconsideration of vote on Planning Board access to files:
Sonny Harris advised there were conflicting information from two different attorneys regarding the timing of procuring Planning Board records for the public. At the last Selectmen’s office, they voted:
“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”
Phil LaMoreaux, Vice Chair of the Planning Board questioned if the Selectmen create the same policy for inspection of the Town Clerk’s records? Phil advised both, the Town Clerk and Planning Board members are independently elected, and the records are the Planning Boards. Phil suggested that the Select Board refer any questions to access the Planning Board records to the Planning Board.
Marcia Keller, Chair, Planning Board advised the Selectmen may have received the message from the Town Attorney last week, and it did not come to the Planning Board until this morning. Harry Wright, Chair advised that was an oversight. Marcia also advised the Planning Board made a decision from the information they had and may have to reconsider their vote and put it on the agenda for the next meeting.
Cheryl Behr questioned if there is a problem with the Administrator having a key to the Planning Board files? Phil LaMoreaux, Vice Chair in answer to Cheryl’s question as to what is the problem, was that they are dealing with sensitive documents which from time to time have come up missing, and as the RSA states, there should be some one there to aide in the viewing and make sure something is not missing. Cheryl related the same applies to the property files which are handed over to some one requesting them whenever they want to look at them. Cheryl went on to state perhaps nothing should be put in the Planning Board File that is not scanned.
Harry Wright, Chair in response to Mr. Mitchell’s suggestion of having all the records scanned, stated in time and budget this is an excellent idea.
Marcia Keller, Chair Planning Board suggested this will be discussed at their next meeting with the addition of the information that they had not received until this morning.
Mrs. Mitchell read the Right to Know Law to the attendees.
Harry Wright, Chair advised their main goal is to make this work.
Marcia Keller, Chair Planning Board advised it was in the minutes last week that Cheryl will forward a letter to the Planning Board and at this time have not received it. Cheryl replied that the Selectmen advised her to hold off on this.
Sonny Harris reiterated that it is disconcerting that two attorney’s have two different views of the situation. Phil LaMoreaux, Vice Chair, Planning Board suggested if Cheryl does write the letter, it would give the Planning Board a basis for discussion and they may modify it.
Conversation continued regarding thinking about the scanning of Planning Board records by starting from the present and going back chronologically which seems practical per Harry Wright, Chair.
A Timber Tax warrant was reviewed and signed.
Reimburse Timber Tax request reviewed and signed.
Motion was made by Harry Wright, Chair to not reconsider last weeks plan regarding Planning Board files. Harry Wright advised he will meet with the Planning Committee at their next meeting to review process and procedure and various legal opinions. No second, no vote.
The Selectmen agreed that Cheryl will forward the letter from the Selectmen to the Planning Board.
Among the several sheets of information made available at the Selectmen’s table were:
Disposition of Municipal Records, Section 33-A:3
Guide to Determining Stumpage Values according to RSA 79-New Hampshire Timber Tax.
Highway Work Schedule for week ending July 28, 2012 (found at end of minutes)
Motion made and seconded to adjourn at 7:00pm.
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”.