Board of Selectmen Meeting
October 17, 2016 Minutes
Pledge of Allegiance
Meeting called to order at 5:30pm
Roll Call- John Pfeifle, Chairman; Sonny Harris, Selectman; Jim Bibbo, Selectman
Karen Hambleton, Town Administrator; Marilyn Gordon, Treasurer were in attendance
Appearances
Scott MacLean: Warner River Nomination Update: Scott gave an update on the Warner River Nomination effort. He indicated that there will be a public information session on November 17th at 7:00PM in the Senior Room at the Community Center. This effort will result in a proposal requesting the Warner River be considered for nomination into New Hampshire’s Rivers Management and Protection Program.
Perry Teele – Schoolhouse Lot: The Historical Society requested permission to put permanent signs to identify the various old school houses in town. The first one will be placed at the Center School. Motion to allow the sign to be placed, vote 3-0.
Ellen Brownson Timber tax appeal: Ellen requested that the Select Board revisit their decision on her recent Timber Tax appeal. She provided an explanation and asked that the Board reverse their decision to charge doomage. A motion was made to charge interest on the initial timber tax due and not doomage. Vote 3-0. Camila will send out a revised bill.
Carolyn Stiles Class VI Road discussion: Carolyn asked for definition of road maintenance on a Class VI road. In the past, the Road Agent has given permission for individuals to maintain Class VI roads. John and the Road Agent assessed the work that was done on the road and the ditch and both felt that it was a good job. John stated that the person who did the work had asked for permission to maintain the road and the Road Agent gave him the approval. John is not aware of the exact date that this approval was granted. Carolyn feels the ditch digging was aggressive and is concerned about the exposed roots and the integrity of the stone wall. The pile of dirt that was placed on her side of the wall is another concern. There was no decision as to who would replace the dirt on the street side of the stone wall.
Chris Way – Town Clock: Chris informed the Board that the clock is working well. He currently does the winding of the clock and minor maintenance as necessary. The annual inspection and maintenance is done by another person. Chris and the maintenance person have talked and agreed that it makes sense for Chris to take over the annual inspection and maintenance as part of his clock duties. The Board agreed and a motion was made to add annual maintenance to Chris’s winding duties. Vote 3-0 in favor.
Camila Devlin, Tax Collector – Deeding Question: Camila recently came across a piece of property that should have been deeded a number of years ago. Due to a coding error in our system, it was not deeded because it was thought to be in bankruptcy. Camila indicated that she would like to begin the deeding process on this piece of property. The Selectmen agreed.
Regular Business
- Town Hall Update: The Town is still looking for someone to help with the sheet rocking. The furnace has come in and will be picked up in Concord by the Road Crew. It is scheduled to be installed by the end of October. Installation of the automatic door opener has been scheduled. Karen informed the Board that $18,600 has already been spent of the $30,000. There was a discussion of having the Police Department in the basement and this is a possibility as long as the basement is up to code and in there is a properly installed sprinkler system. The Fire Marshal will not give his opinion on locating the Police Department in the basement until he sees a plan.
- Amy Sherman sent an email requesting that the Select Board proclaim November 17th as World Pancreatic Cancer Day in Bradford. Motion to approve, vote 3-0 in favor.
- There are 3 or 4 dead trees in the back of the Community Center that should be taken down. The Board feels we should budget for a surveyor to come out to survey the property line and then remove the trees. This should be a warrant item for next year.
- Letter from Ayer & Goss: The letter stated that they were disappointed that the town’s heating oil went out to bid with Warner and that they had not been notified of the change. Karen is going to respond to them and include a copy of the email containing the bid request from Warner which was sent to Ayer & Goss.
- Board signed Bement Bridge Engineering Contract.
- Board signed Certificate of Substantial Completion for Breezy Hill Bridge.
- Board signed Call to Vote.
- Board signed Refund of 2013 Tax Payments against properties that have been deeded.
- Board signed Driveway Permit- Map 1/Lot 44
- Board signed Intent to Cut- Map 7/Lot 21
- Board signed Intent to cut- Map 18/Lot 31
- Board signed Tax Anticipation Note Request
- Board signed Perambulation Appointment
- John met with the road crew and they are very impressed with the shim machine that only cost the Town $5,000.00. They feel it saved the town a lot of money and does a great job. John also mentioned that the Road Agent indicated that he has approximately 4,000-5,000 yards of gravel and John feels that the Town should purchase this gravel now. Motion to purchase the gravel; vote 3-0 in favor.
- The Highway Department has needs a new loader and has located one for approximately $180,000. The Loader also comes with a 7 year 100% warrantee on all repairs. The Town would receive approximately $45,000 in trade for the old one. This will be a warrant item next year.
- Karen asked how the Select Board wanted to proceed with the Goldberg/Starr appeal. The Board would like to have Fritz Giddings give an appraisal. The Board made a motion to have Fritz get involved, vote 3-0 in favor.
- Karen informed the Board that next year’s Health insurance rates will likely increase by 5.3%.
- The Board discussed where to put the ADA button for the entry door into the Town Hall. Karen will show the Board the different options.
- Steve Chase of the Bradford Historical Society was not able to attend tonight’s meeting but informed Karen that the Old Post Office was not changing locations, rather it was being turned 90 degrees on the same location. The Fire Department visited the site and agreed that its location will not interfere with the fireworks display. The Board voted 3-0 to waive the building permit fee, vote 3-0.
Accounts Payable and Payroll Manifest reviewed and signed.
Minutes of October 3, 2016 meeting were reviewed and accepted with no change.
The next Selectmen’s meeting will be held on Monday, October 24, 2016 at the Town Hall.
Meeting adjourned at 6:52PM
Minutes submitted by Molly Hopkins