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Minutes of 10/22/2012 DRAFT

October 31st, 2012

Carroll Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes
October 22, 2012
DRAFT
"These minutes of the Town of Carroll Select Board have been recorded by its Secretary. Though believed to be accurate and correct they are subject to additions, deletions and corrections by the Select Board at its next meeting when the Board votes its final approval of the minutes. They are being made available at this time to conform to the requirements of New Hampshire RSA 91-A:2."

Minutes recorded by Maryclare Quigley, Secretary

Board members present: Mark Catalano, Paul Bussiere. Bill Dowling was excused.

The meeting was called to order at 7 PM by Acting Chairman Catalano

Members of the public present: Jane Ikasalo, Mike Gooden, Dave Scalley, Carmine Fabrizio, Ann Fabrizio, Jim Covey, Lisa Covey, State Rep. Bill Remick, Marc Brodeur, Scott Sonia, Greg Hogan, State Rep. John Tholl, Bill Smalley, Karen Wante, Henri Wante, Leslie Bergum, Erik Bergum, Evan Karpf, Joan Karpf, Nancy Mitiguy, John Krebs, Mike Hazlett, Dean Eastman, Christine Perron, Jon Hebert

Pledge of Allegiance

The meeting was filmed by Jane Ikasalo

The Board announced the approval of bills and signing of manifests.

In the absence of Chairman Dowling, the minutes for 9/24/12 and 10/15/12 were tabled.

Stan Borkowski report was received and posted.

Acting Chairman Catalano announced that several members from State Department of Transportation were in attendance and turned the meeting over to them at this time. Dean Eastman introduced himself and the members of his team: Mike Hazlett, John Hebert and Christine Perron.

Mr. Eastman is the Project Manager and said they were here for a public informational meeting on the construction of the scenic overlook project on Route 302 near the Mount Washington Hotel. Mr. Hebert, from the Bureau of Highway Design, continued and explained the location which is essentially across Route 302 from the small turn-off near the river that is currently used. This project is proposed to provide a larger area and to make it a safer location as this is a major route with much traffic.

Ms. Perron, of the Bureau of Environment, explained they have been identifying the environment of the area, i.e. social, historic, etc. that may be impacted by this project. There is also an archeological project going on currently to determine if there is anything in that regard that must be considered, which so far, has not been evident. She went on to say the project requires wetlands and shoreline impacts and permits and that there are various plans already in place to protect the wetlands, etc., including surface and underground water.

Mr. Hebert expanded by saying they are concerned about the stability of the railroad bedrock and the river shallow bedrock, but they will be staying out of what he referred to as the “historic area” which would be the river toward the Hotel. He went on to say they will be combining the entrance with that for the Bretton Woods Motor Lodge, which they will be enlarging, and which will be one-way through the overlook. They are also setting it up to keep people from crossing the road and noted the area will be about six feet above the road. They expect that construction should have minimal impact on traffic and they are working with the Mount Washington Hotel, which donated the land where the project will take place. He continued that they will move the overhead utilities so they don’t interfere with the sight line and they are also working with Conway Scenic Railroad as they use the tracks that are there. When asked, it was stated they are hoping the project will start in May, but that of course it is very dependent on weather. It is a very wet location and if we have a wet spring, it may put it back a month or so. They don’t have dates yet as to lines will be moved, etc., as they are still doing studies on the river and other aspects of the project, but they will notify the utilities once they have the information. They expect to go to bid in March, so they will definitely know then. Leslie Bergum made suggestion of Dave Govatski as a person who may help with details regarding inventories, etc. of the Ammonoosuc River and offered her own help as the Town’s representative to the Ammonoosuc River Local Advisory Committee. Mrs. Bergum said she is on the Town’s Conservation Commission and also advised they’d be happy to help in any way as well. As there were no more questions, Mr. Eastman thanked the Board for having them and they departed.

The Secretary explained that the auditors requested that Annual Payroll be approved by the Board to be in compliance with auditing procedure and the Department of Labor. This Payroll includes the On-Call Firefighters and EMT’s, Ballot Clerks and Election Officials, Selectmen, and various Boards which members receive a stipend. Selectman Bussiere made a Motion to: Approve the Annual Payroll. Selectman Catalano seconded and it passed.

The Water Department debt update was tabled until they are able to have their meeting with the auditors.

The Employee Manual, (Fair Labor Standards Act) Overtime Update was tabled as the Selectmen are still waiting for word on the Federal Law. Selectman Catalano said they are trying to find out if being exempt from the Act means they “Shall Not” or if it is the Town’s decision whether to use the Act or not.

Dave Scalley attended on behalf of Hunt Properties and their new sign. The Permit has already been approved, but the new one is somewhat smaller than the existing sign, and Mr. Scalley wants to be assured that if they choose to return to the current size, they will be allowed to do so. He referenced a letter the Selectmen had given Birchwood Commons awhile ago. Selectman Bussiere said he would want to do some further research on this to be sure of the handling of this. Evan Karpf said they had only removed the sign but had left the frame and said if they put it back, it would be to the Zoning regulations and they would go to the Planning Board for site plan review. He went on to say if it is down for one year, it would lose any “grandfathering.” The Selectmen tabled the item and will get answers for the next meeting.

The Groundwater Management Permit Application Renewal from Provan & Lorber was for review. This is required by NH DES for the old Landfill and is renewed annually.

The Action Request Form filed by Rena Vecchio was tabled to the next meeting.

Discussion of the Highway Block Grant was deferred to the next meeting.

Acting Chairman Catalano then read an article that the Budget Committee voted to ask the Board of Selectmen to include in the Warrant for 2013: “To see if the town will vote to adopt the provisions of RSA 32:5,V-b to require that the annual budget and all special warrant articles having a tax impact, as determined by the governing body, shall contain a notation stating the estimated tax impact of the article. The determination of the estimated impact shall be subject to approval by the governing body.” Selectman Catalano said he believes this is a good idea as did Selectman Bussiere, but questioned to whom the “governing body” referred and wanted to go back to the Budget Committee just for clarification. Therefore, the Selectmen did not vote at this time.

Medical self insurance was tabled as Chairman Dowling was the Board Member who spoke to our HealthTrust representative about it.

Evan Karpf was the only person who responded to the request for a town representative to the Coos County Board. Therefore, Selectman Catalano made a Motion to: Accept Evan Karpf’s offer to be the Town Rep and Selectman Bussiere seconded. The Motion passed. Dr. Karpf said his plan is to attend the meetings to get information and bring it back to the Town. The Board thanked him for volunteering to do this.

The following items were approved and signed:

Avery Sweeping Contract
Evan Karpf said he thought in the past the sweeping contract included the town parking areas
(Police Station, Fire Department, Town Hall) and Greg Hogan, Road Agent, said it still does.
Town Hall Use Permit Application – Hibbard

Other:

Selectman Bussiere clarified that tax bills did not include an amount to be paid to the County. He was reminded that the amount for “State Tax” was for education only.

Evan Karpf then asked the Board since Bill Dowling was not in attendance, to make a motion in recognizing that all that he does with recyclables, hazardous waste, etc., and that he does a tremendous job – that they name the Transfer Station the “William Dowling Transfer Station” in recognition. Selectman Catalano agreed that Mr. Dowling does wonderful job and that he “makes it work.” Selectman Bussiere said he obviously loves his job, etc. and he agreed a certification of appreciation or something would be great, but deferred to Selectman Catalano. Dr. Karpf said given that he is the lowest paid and most experienced employee in town, he felt it should be done. Jim Covey said he would second this and felt that Bill will leave a lasting legacy. Selectman Catalano made a Motion to: Name it the “William Dowling Transfer Station” and Selectman Bussiere seconded. The Motion passed.

Jim Covey said though he could not reach Selectman Catalano, the Kiosk “Siting” Committee of Greg (Hogan, Road Agent), Scott (Sonia, Water Supervisor) and himself met and found the perfect location near the Information Booth. All were in agreement of this.

Selectman Catalano said he had heard rumors that he went “ballistic” at a recent Budget Committee meeting and just wanted to say that was completely untrue. He said the Selectmen had received two emails from the Chairman regarding receipt of the Selectmen’s budget as well as other information. While he stated he understood the need for the Committee to have the Selectmen’s budget and that it did not go forward for several weeks, he felt the emails to the Board were threatening and unwarranted and asked that people please watch the DVD and make their own decision. He read the noted two emails from the Budget Committee Chairman for the record (attached). Selectman Catalano went on to say these had been discussed at non-public session last week by the Select Board. He went on to note that historically the budget process starts in September and that it was nearly four months early this year.

As there was no further business, the Board was polled and went into non-public session for personnel matters at 8:30 p.m.

At the close of Non-Public Session, Acting Chairman Catalano moved to return to Public Session and seal the minutes from Non-Public Session. Selectman Bussiere seconded and the Motion passed unanimously.

There being no further discussion, Acting Chairman Catalano made a Motion to: adjourn the meeting. Selectman Bussiere seconded and the Motion passed unanimously. Acting Chairman Catalano declared the meeting ended at 8:50 p.m. The next meeting will be Monday, November 5, 2012.

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