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Minutes of 8/2/2012 APPROVED

September 7th, 2012

TOWN OF CARROLL
PLANNING BOARD

MINUTES
August 2, 2012

APPROVED

Members Present: Chairman, Dr. Evan Karpf, Vice Chairman, Erik Bergum, Selectmen Representative, William Dowling and members, Donna Foster, Richard Nelson, Ernest Temple, and Kenneth Mills.

7:00 PM A quorum bring present, Chairman Karpf called the meeting to order. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Minutes Review:
Minutes of July 5, 2012
Mr. Mills noted a correction on page 5, second paragraph, the last word should be “Boards” not “Board”.

Mr. Nelson offered a motion to approve the Minutes of July 5, 2012 as corrected. Mr. Dowling seconded the motion. The vote was 4 – 0 – 3. The motion carries.

Correspondence:
The Code Enforcement Officer’s monthly report was available in the meeting folders for all members.

The Ex Parte information regarding communications between applicants and Board members is available in the meeting folders.

The L-Chip information is also available in the meeting folders. This information is from the Coos County Registry of Deeds. L-Chip fees are charged with every set of mylars that are filed. The fee is $25.00 and the money is used for historical projects.





Page 2 of 4
Planning Board
August 2, 2012

Unfinished Business:
Rules of Procedure – Publishing Notices
LGC was contacted for an opinion regarding clarification of “a paper of general circulation”. Their response was, “there is no definition of a paper of general circulation.” The advice given was to choose a publication that has the highest probability of providing notice to the target audience. It was noted that the Caledonian was published in St. Johnsbury, Vermont and had Littleton area articles inside starting around the 4th page. It was the general agreement that the Coos County Democrat was the paper with the highest probability of reaching Carroll residents and it was very accessible.

The deadlines and timeframes for publishing were discussed. The applicant must be made aware of these upon submission of an application that requires publishing a notice of public hearing.

Mr. Bergum offered a motion that the Planning Board uses the Coos County Democrat as their designated paper of general circulation. Mr. Temple seconded the motion. The vote was 7 – 0. The motion carries.

Further discussion took place regarding an eventuality that might occur in which publishing in the Democrat could not take place. It was noted that an “escape clause” might be appropriate to be pro-active instead of waiting for such a situation to arise before the Board addresses it.

Mr. Bergum offered a motion that in the event of an emergency or extenuating circumstances, the Board, at its discretion, may vote to use another paper of general circulation. Mr. Mills seconded the motion. The vote was 7 – 0. The motion carries

Change of Regulations – size of mylars
Chairman Karpf explained that the wording in the Sub-division Regulations for the size of mylars is slightly different from the wording in the Site Plan Review Regulations. For consistency and to avoid confusion, he suggested that the wording that “mylars will be 22” X 34” be used in both Regulations.

The Secretary told the Board that the last set of mylars she took to the Registry of Deeds for filing was 24” X 36”. The larger the size, the more it costs to file with the Registry of Deeds. She will be measuring mylars when they are presented, from now on.
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Planning Board
August 2, 2012

Chairman Karpf offered a motion to require that all mylars submitted be 22” X 34” and that this be reflected in the Sub-division Regulations and the Site Plan Review Regulations. Mr. Mills seconded the motion. The vote was 7 – 0. The motion carries.

Ms. Foster asked if these changes could be made by the Board without going to Town Meeting. It was explained that ordinances must go to town meeting but regulations or policies of the Board can be changed by the Board.
Chairman Karpf said the Draft Driveway Regulations have been developed. He has a couple of changes but after they are made he asked the Secretary to send them to the Code Enforcement Officer and request that he address the application to reflect the regulations and develop a fee schedule.
.
Chairman Karpf told the Board that the Sub-division Regulations and the Site Plan Review Regulations need to be inputted in a digital format. He said it is almost impossible to make changes to the documents unless they are computerized. The Secretary has offered to use her own software to read-in the regulations. This method will take much less time than typing the documents in. Discussion took place regarding how much time it would take for the Secretary to do this. It was noted that the need to have this done was evident but consideration of the budget was another factor. After further discussion:

Mr. Bergum offered a motion to authorize the Secretary to read-in the Sub-division Regulations and the Site Plan Review Regulations at her hourly rate for 40 hours. After 40 hours she is to stop and get further authorization from the Board. Mr. Mills seconded the motion. The vote was 7 – 0. The motion carries.

2013 Budget
Chairman Karpf explained the budget request he had been working on. He said a number of line items are paid by the applicants. Those fees go into the Planning Board Special Revenue Fund. He said it is reasonable that these expenses should be paid from the Special Revenue Fund. It was also noted that the Code Enforcement Officer was paid from the Special Revenue Fund but also has a line item in the budget. The Secretary was tasked with finding out what the Code Enforcement Officer gets from the Fund, his costs, the fees that he generates and the status of the Fund.

Chairman Karpf said he did not fill in the line for the Master Plan as Mr. Mills had stated interest in moving ahead on that project. Mr. Mills said he is in the process of obtaining information
Page 4 of 4
Planning Board
August 2, 2012

from other towns. He said he would gather as much information as possible and then bring it to the Board. It was the opinion of the Board that a three man sub-committee could work to put the Plan together. It was noted that this could take a large amount of time. The Board could probably bring a finalized Master Plan to the town at the 2015 Town Meeting. Mr. Nelson volunteered to be part of the sub-committee. It was noted that every town is unique. It was Mr. Mills’ opinion that a good macro plan could be in place by Christmas.

Chairman Karpf asked if there should be funding for this effort in the 2013 budget. While it was felt that initial costs related to gathering of information was minimal, $100 was a reasonable amount for any costs that might be incurred. Chairman Karpf noted that North Country Council charges in the thousands for doing a Master Plan.

Other Business:
Ms. Foster said she has concerns regarding communications between the Board, the Planning Board Secretary and the Selectmen’s Office. Mr. Dowling said a meeting took place on August 1st regarding communications. The issue is being addressed.

Chairman Karpf said he is resigning effective tonight. Mr. Bergum said his employment responsibilities have changed and he is not willing to make an additional commitment to the Board (as Chairman). He asked Chairman Karpf to stay on until September when he can see what his commitment would be. Chairman Karpf agreed and the issue was tabled until September. It was agreed that the Board should focus on getting alternates. Ms. Foster asked if the Selectmen would appoint someone. It was explained by Mr. Dowling that the Planning Board is now an elected Board and per RSA must appoint its own members. The Selectmen have no authority over the elected Planning Board at all.

Mr. Temple offered a motion to adjourn. Mr. Bergum seconded the motion. The vote was 7 – 0. The motion carries.

8:26 PM the meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,
Linda J. Dowling
Secretary
Carroll Planning Board