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Minutes of 11/5/2012 DRAFT

November 16th, 2012

Carroll Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes
November 5, 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: Bill Dowling, Mark Catalano, Paul Bussiere

The meeting was called to order at 7 PM by Chairman Dowling

Members of the public present: Greg Hogan, Jane Ikasalo, Sue Kraabel, Mike Gooden, Chris Pappas, Janet Nelson, Scott Sonia, Bill Smalley, Dave Scalley, Evan Karpf

Pledge of Allegiance

The meeting was filmed by Jane Ikasalo

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

Selectman Catalano made a Motion To: Accept the minutes of 9/24/2012 as written. Selectman Bussiere seconded and the Motion passed unanimously.

Selectman Bussiere made a Motion To: Accept the minutes of 10/15/2012 as written. Selectman Catalano seconded and the Motion passed unanimously

Selectman Catalano made a Motion To: Accept the minutes of 10/22/2012 as written. Selectman Bussiere seconded and the Motion passed. Chairman Dowling abstained as he was not in attendance at that meeting.

Selectman Catalano said they have not had their meeting about the water debt but they still plan to have it.

Chairman Dowling announced the Town received its tax bill from Coos County and we have to pay $1,552,758 before December 17. He went on to say the large amount of money we pay is a reason he wanted someone to attend the meetings and be able to report back to the Town.

Chairman Dowling said he feels we should have a complete energy audit done on the Town Hall so we have information and costs to know if we should fix the building or go elsewhere. Therefore he suggested putting an article in the Warrant for this purpose as he has received an estimate of $5,700. It was stated that we will apply for any grants that may be or become available. Selectman Catalano asked if there is a way to write the article that will allow us to still apply for and spend grant money if the article itself doesn’t pass. Chairman Dowling said he would look into that.

Chairman Dowling announced he had installed a dock leveler at the Transfer Station and had applied to New Hampshire the Beautiful for a grant. He was recently awarded $300 to offset the cost and said the Board should vote to accept it. Selectman Bussiere made a Motion to: Accept the grant money of $300. Selectman Catalano seconded and the Motion passed unanimously.

Chairman Dowling said they charged the Cable Television Committee with looking into a cable TV origination site at the Town Hall. Linda Dowling looked into it and responded to the Selectmen, which Chairman Dowling read and is attached. He said because of the costs and the economic times we will not pursue this. Selectman Catalano said he would like the Cable Committee to meet at least one more time as he feels they should try to get the tapes shown wherever they can as he feels it is important to get the information out. Selectman Bussiere had a website that he said he would check. It was also asked if they can archive and be able to put on announcements.

Chairman Dowling then read a letter of resignation from the Cable Television Committee from Linda Dowling, attached. Chairman Dowling made a Motion to: Accept the resignation and Selectman Bussiere seconded. It passed unanimously. Chairman Dowling asked that a letter of thanks be written.

Chairman Dowling said he called the Federal government regarding the Fair Labor Standards Act and overtime and heard nothing so he has written to Senators Shaheen and Ayotte. Therefore, overtime pay will stay the way it is until he hears something.

Chairman Dowling read a letter from Dave Scalley explaining that he was changing the sign at Hunt Properties (former Shakespeare’s) and had received his permit. As the new sign is somewhat smaller than the existing sign, Mr. Scalley asked that the size of the current signage be protected in the event he wishes to return to the larger size. Chairman Dowling said they cannot do this as it would be violating Town Ordinance. Mr. Scalley then asked if they replace the written sign only, but leave the frame and roof, etc. as they are, if the larger size would be protected. Chairman Dowling said he would look into this and get an answer back to him later. Mr. Scalley thanked him for this.

Next was an “Action Request Form” submitted by Rena Vecchio. Though Mrs. Vecchio was not in attendance, Chairman Dowling said he was a little surprised about this as she worked for Planning and Zoning and should know that an agenda is not required for non-public sessions. He went on to say they posted a non-public session which is not legal, as it should be posted as a public meeting and then go into the non-public meeting.

Following was a brief discussion about the Highway Block Grant funds. Chairman Dowling advised that municipalities with Class IV and Class V roads receive yearly distribution of money from the State and which may be used for construction. These monies have historically been deposited to the General Fund and he said he thinks it should be put into a special revenue fund or a capital reserve fund for use on the roads. Sue Kraabel said they had this discussion at a Budget Committee meeting and she called LGC and spoke with Barbara Reid. Ms. Reid said we can’t merely allocate “grant money” to a capital reserve fund as we must list a specific amount. Mrs. Kraabel said putting the money in the General Fund is appropriate and that it has always been shown as Highway Revenue and used an offset on our MS-4, which is a report of town revenue.

Bill Dowling noted that when the Transfer Station received the bill for the Household Hazardous Waste Day, the charge exceeded the warrant article amount by about $375, so he amended the article for the 2013 Warrant to $2,500 from $2,000. He said costs go up each year, and this year the waste was just short of 500 pounds.

Mr. Dowling also made a correction on the warrant article that he submitted for $20,000 for tipping fees. The last sentence had a “/” (slash) in it that didn’t belong there. The Secretary advised she had seen that and already made the correction.

Chairman Dowling then read a warrant article submitted by the Budget Committee to require the estimated tax impact be shown with each article that contains money. This was followed by an article from the Police Department to upgrade their in-house, computer-based reporting system, Tritech Software (IMC) which hasn’t been upgraded since 2000. Copies of the Capital Reserve Fund articles were also read by the Chairman. Chairman Dowling said the article for computer technology should be changed from $2,000 to $5,000 as this is for all town departments and technology is not getting any cheaper. Copies of all articles are attached. The Board said they will vote on these at their next meeting.

Chairman Dowling said he attended a medical self-insurance seminar in Lancaster and it seemed to save a lot of money. Later he went to Concord and met with our LGC Health Trust representative, Pattie Beek, and learned a great deal more about it. To be self-insured we need to have more than $102,000 as well as being required to raise $50,000 per individual to cover various costs, co-pays, etc. Plus, when costs are more than $33,000, we would have to hire a special person to have the paperwork done to comply with HIPPA. Therefore, he said he believes we should stay where we are.

Chairman Dowling read the Dog Ordinance which was adopted on February 22, 2012. He said it means dogs are not allowed in the Recreation area, whether or not they are on leashes. He went on to say the Chamber of Commerce is trying to get people to town and give them something to do, so they want to establish a walking trail that will go through the Rec Area, and they want people to be able to bring their dogs. The Chamber said they will put “doggie bags” in the Rec area for people to clean up after their dogs. Chairman Dowling said he wanted thoughts about changing this Ordinance to a “leash law,” which will have to have a public hearing and be voted on in March, per RSA 466:31-c. It was also noted they might consider posting a sign that says “No Dogs in the Water” (as that could contribute to too-high readings of E-Coli). It was also clarified that the pond, playing fields, etc., are owned by Rec, but the sandpit is not.

The following items were approved and signed:

Water Warrant – Drouin Trust, Lennon, Gilman
Town Hall Use Permit Applications – Mason, Police Dept., Parks & Recreation (Ski Sign-Up,
Christmas Party, Basketball)
Cartographic Associates, Inc. Contracts – 2013
The Secretary advised that the contract amounts are the same as they have been since 2010.

Chairman Dowling explained flood maps have been revised and updated and we must hold a public hearing before voting on the OEP Resolution to Adopt Revised Flood Insurance Rate Maps. These maps are in the Office for public viewing. It was stated that the Town must adopt these in order to have flood insurance available to residents of the Town. The public hearing has been set for the beginning of the regular Select Board meeting on November 26, 2012.

Other:

The Selectmen had asked what may be available in the capital reserve fund for technology and the Secretary said she checked and as of today, there is $9,311.96 and before the end of 2013, there will be an additional $8,000 available.

Sue Kraabel, Town Treasurer, said a recent possible family emergency made her think about the fact that she does not have a Deputy Treasurer and according to State Statute, she is allowed to appoint one. Therefore, she told the Selectmen she would like their approval to appoint Karen Moran and as Deputy, Mrs. Moran would be able to do anything the Treasurer can do. Thus, in the absence of the Treasurer, town business can still go on. Mrs. Kraabel also asked if they approve her nomination that they vote on one Selectman to sign the corporate resolution when the paperwork is changed. She also stated they should probably add $200 or so to the budget for payment. Chairman Dowling made the Motion to: Appoint Karen Moran as Deputy Treasurer. Selectman Catalano seconded and it passed unanimously. Chairman Dowling said he would entertain a Motion that: He should sign the paperwork for the bank and Selectman Bussiere seconded. This passed unanimously. Mrs. Kraabel thanked the Board and said she would bring the paperwork in as soon as it is ready.

It was asked if the Board considered changing the coverage, the employee split or the deductible and it was stated it didn’t seem a change in deductible would be worth it this year. But they said they may look at it again. Selectman Catalano thanked Chairman Dowling for going to the LGC.

As there was no further business, the Board was polled and went into non-public session for legal and personnel matters at 8:15 p.m.

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

There being no further discussion, Chairman Dowling made a Motion to: adjourn the meeting. Selectman Bussiere seconded and the Motion passed unanimously. Chairman Dowling declared the meeting ended at 8:45 p.m. The next meeting will be Monday, November 19, 2012.