Selectmen’s Minutes 03.23.15

Board of Selectmen Meeting

March 23, 2015

 

Pledge of Allegiance

Meeting called to order at 5:30pm

Roll Call- John Pfeifle, Chairman; Sonny Harris, Selectman; Harry Wright, Selectman

Appearances

1. Fire Chief, Mark Goldberg requested Selectmen accept contract for tanker and make a decision regarding prepayment. Advised current tanker has low trade-in value.

– Chair moved to retain current fire truck tanker, when the new equipment comes online the old tanker will be exchanged to the highway dept. Motion seconded. Vote passed 3-0.

– Chair moved to take 3% prepay discount of $4,671.00. Motion seconded. Vote passed 3-0.

2. Mike Bean of M.A. Bean Associates- a site contractor who predominantly works on bridges. Advised that 63% of Municipal owned bridges are currently red listed and bridge repair through the state run Bridge Aid Program typically goes as follows: State performs biannual inspection of bridges, town spends 150-200K for plans from engineer, submit plans to state, they provide feedback, then you are waitlisted (speculated current waitlist believed to be for 2026), finally state reimburses 80% and town pays 20% of final cost. Process: take off current deck, most cases pin and pour a pad onto and behind abutment (20ft span- 30ft bridge), precast deck slab (5000psi  concrete, meet HL93 loading capacities required by state), provides stamped engineered drawings, provides Form 4 bridge calculations. Most bridges take about 1 week. Provides day by day timeline for progress of bridge. Offers temporary bridge for instances where uninterrupted traffic flow is required. Temp bridge certified for passenger vehicles and UPS/FedEx trucks- not for 10-wheelers and cherry pickers. Provided Selectmen with references. Advised is schedule is flexible, upon being hired he will submit drawings within a week and begin work within about 3 weeks.

Rough estimates for bridges in need of repair in town are as follows: S. Breezy Hill Rd- 40-50K, W. Meadow Rd- 80-100K, Center Rd- 80-100K, Water St- 100K, Johnson Hill Rd- 80K.

3. Barry Wheeler, Road Agent- Advised today, while looking for generators, he came across a  1985 CAT Grader with 49hrs on it for 25K from White Farm State Surplus. Arrived Friday from Germany. Road Agent advised this could save the town 300K. This purchasing method learned from Washington.

– Town Administrator determined between now and May the town will be short 100K due to cash flow problem. Advised instituting fiscal responsibility until tax bills go out. Noted the town currently has 450K of uncollected tax bills.

– Fire Chief urged caution as this is a military spec CAT from Germany and it may be difficult to get parts.

Barry stated Washington Road Agent has informed him that obtaining parts for these machines is not difficult.

– Motion made to move forward if everything checks out after model/serial # retrieved and necessary checks are made. Motion seconded. Vote passed 3-0. Selectmen signed form to establish eligibility for federal surplus property.

4. Mary French present representing the Kingsbury owned property of the late Fred French. Stated current owners owe 3 years of back taxes. Town can take property for taxes on March 31, 2015 at 5pm. Once town takes the property it has a duty to sell for taxes and penalties (with excess income returned to owners). Due to a large build-up of snow the property does not allow access close to house, which has rendered a prospective disabled buyer unable to view the house. Requests a 60 day extension before the town takes the property for taxes, in an effort to sell the property for a higher cost than what the town would sell for. If the owners are able to pay 1yrs taxes and interest the property will be put on a hold from taking.

– Motion made that if not sold by the owners on or before July 1, 2015 then the town takes the property plus back taxes and 15% of assessed value. Upon remittance of back taxes and penalty the property goes back to current owners. Motion seconded. Vote passed 3-0.

5. Fritz Von Behren of Bradford Fish & Game requested the property be deemed tax exempt (property taxes are about $31/year).

– Selectmen advised they support BFG’s venture and community contributions but will not make tax exempt so as not to set precedence.

Requested information on when the town cemeteries will be put up for bid. Selectmen advised the Cemetery Commission has committed to present supplier through summer 2015.

Regular Business

  1. 100% of wage structure is annual review, not automatic. Reviews will be conducted prior to wage increases that are scheduled to be effective April 1st. Motion made to move forward and approve supervisors to proceed with reviews- understanding the disciplines that have been established through town meetings approvals. Motion seconded. Vote passed 3-0. Chair advised a certain salary will be discussed in private at a later time.
  2. Town Hall Restoration discussion:

Sonny Harris-

  1. Safety issues- particularly concerned now that safety issues have been made public.
  2. Town is in violation of statutes requiring reasonably accessible records.
  3. In violation of law ²conditions of legal instrument  because town should be turning building over to heirs if not occupied immediately. Anyone who does not take it seriously should read nationally recognized case law N. Hampton Congregational Society V. N Hampton School District (NH Supreme Court- 1951). Advised we satisfy safety issues and move back into Town Hall as soon as possible.

John Pfeifle, Chairman-

-Need new, rebuilt approach to Town Hall renovation. Would like to wait two weeks to allow the board to think about how to reorganize the TH committees, including potential reappointments

-Would like to use the remaining money allocated for Town Hall Restoration (18K left from 2014 95K Town Hall bond)

-Suggested that the April 13, 2015 Selectmen’s Meetings be held at Town Hall.

-Take action to solicit a volunteer crew to remediate the building to allow Town Administrator/Assist./Tax Collector/Deputy to move back into offices at town hall by May 1, 2015.

-Suggested basixrenovations to space including reinforced doors- as the current town office location is unsafe.

-Would like to see a volunteer list put up immediately.

Harry Wright-

-Thinks that the proposal is outrageously optimistic.

-Would like to see the focus on Restoration Committees and bond issue for next year. Cited the article on Loudon (Concord Monitor- 3/8/15) where a Reserve Fund has been created with deposits from a yearly warrant for 100K in an effort to pay cash for renovations.

Public Input on discussion:

– Town Clerk advised that the office requires a Static IP address (price for Town Hall wiring has been quoted at $3000.00). Expressed extreme concern about moving the computer systems around in the event of future renovation work at Town Hall. Reminded Selectmen that the heating system is not adequate in the Town Clerk’s office at Town Hall.

– Town Administrator answered concerns of conditions stating that all hazardous materials have been removed.

– Town Treasurer expressed concern over funding.

– George Angelli expressed that the cost is all that is talked about ¹the bond # has been too high- cited comparable series of attempted Highway Garage warrants. Suggested town get a bond for simply the cost to get the Town Offices back into the Town Hall– over time appropriate remaining $ to complete project.

– Jim Bibbo suggested they put together a presentation and approach each individual group in town prior to Town Meeting- get input from groups.

– Marlene Freyler stated that there are many restrictions when using the LCHIP grant which need to be explored.

– Fire Chief said there would be state regulated fire codes to adhere to.

Chair formally moved to make the effort to move the offices as soon as possible with an optimistic date of May 1, 2015 back into the old Town Hall. Town offices to be there as reconstruction of the building hopefully moves forward in the years to come. Pending funding availability, meeting all local/state fire regulations and ensuring no statutes are being violated. Motion seconded. Vote passed 2-1.

 

Harry Wright, Selectman- Thoughts on Town Hall going forward- March 23, 2015

Next year Town Meeting:

– Promote issuance of same bond.

– Have separate warrant article for 100K for Town Hall Capital Reserve Fund, selectmen as agents to expend. To be passed over if the bond passes.

– Promise that the 100K Capital Reserve article will be on the warrant every year that the bond doesn’t pass until the project is complete.

Today:

Call THRC- together have them create a plan with measurable actions:

-Have Kelly Gale estimate the $ of her time required for complete plans.

Authorize her to complete the plans using leftover $ from the 2014 95K and funds from RHC cornerstone acct and THRC fund account as necessary.

-Actively recruit skilled townsfolk into the project.

Have the committee research relative cost & benefits for subsets of the project to help define components of the final plan (ie: hot water baseboards vs radaiant heat; boiler fuel type: wood pellets, oil, LP; air conditioning for office area)

This year:

– Actively promote the plans, request feedback from the populace (pro & con)

– Perhaps a forum or two to show progress, request feedback

-Visit various groups in town with this info, get buy in, request feedback

-Raise $

Comments on Points:

– Baseboard vs. radiant heat:  with the full cellar as planned, radiant heat for the 1st floor may be practical.  Cost differential between the two is totally unknown (by me at least), should be researched.

– Fuel type:

  • I was totally pro-wood pellets at the start of the project. At that time, we could “buy BTUs” (commit to pellets) and the capital expense of boiler purchase would be underwritten by the supplier(s).  This program no longer exists.
  • Today I would favor LP. Better turn down ratio than oil, but mostly because (looking to the future) natural gas will be available.  It will be the most desirable fuel and a simple changeover.

 

Sonny Harris, Selectman- Thoughts on Town Hall based on Town Meeting Results of 3/21/15

It is a true, though very sad, fact that only after an irreversible and careless loss of a historic structure, do people generally unify in preservation of special buildings. This proposal has failed three times, each by a very narrow margin. Nevertheless, every failure is an opportunity, and through these past failures, we have collectively focused and strengthened our safety, governing, environmental, utilitarian, economic, cultural and social goals in this current proposal including:

-improved safety of people

-improved safety of records

-improved cost-effectiveness

-improved accessibility of records

-improved governmental efficiency

-historic preservation

-reduced environmental footprint

-creation of local jobs

-enhanced social/cultural connectivity

-satisfaction of current legal obligations

-enhanced tax base

-elevated community pride

The Town Hall is the classic symbol of the foundation and cornerstone of northern New England democracy in its purest form. I find it disturbing that many choose to ignore/risk gross liability of human and document safety issues, deplorable document accessibility, encourage present obligations to lose one of our Town’s greatest assets (culturally & economically) and risk losing a wonderful grant that many fine people work tirelessly to achieve. The bond method appears to be failing, so let us attempt other methods that do not require a 2/3 majority.

Environmental Thoughts relative to Town Hall- see attached page

Regular Business Continued…

3. Storage units rented for removed records from town hall will be cancelled.

4. Appointments signed by Selectmen

5. Sand purchase opportunity briefly presented. Will discuss further after further research on legality and property access.

6. A couple would like to speak with Selectmen in Non-Public Session later this week regarding property problems on West & Oakdale Rd.

7. Town Administrator advised of difficulty getting through to Mr. Chivers regarding easements. DOT does not require proof of easements before bidding it, however proof is required prior to construction otherwise legal penalties could become an issue.

8. Town Administrator pointed out that the town has expended all of the money in the legal budget.

  • Harry Wright advised that the law passed re: pole tax created has been inflicted on utilities. Utility companies given 5 yr buy, said buy has been re-upped several times and no money has been paid.

Pending Issues

  1. Autocraft- forwarded to town attorney for action
  2. Failed septic system on Route 114
  3. Shed unlawfully built on Center Rd
  4. Questionable effluent N side of Old Warner Rd

Accounts Payable and Payroll Manifest reviewed and signed.

Minutes of March 16, 2015 meeting were reviewed and accepted as presented. Meeting adjourned at 7:25pm.

¹Amended 3/25/15

²Amended 4/6/15