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Minutes of 12/3/2012 DRAFT

December 12th, 2012

Carroll Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes
December 3, 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, Al Strasser, Nancy Mitiguy, Bonnie Moroney, Mike Gooden, Bill Smalley, Dave Scalley, Tadd Bailey, Jeremy Oleson, Evan Karpf, Bill Bochynski

Pledge of Allegiance

The meeting was filmed by Nancy Mitiguy.

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

Selectman Catalano made a Motion to: Accept the minutes of 11/26/2012 as written. Selectman Bussiere seconded and it passed unanimously.

Stan Borkowski’s report was received and posted.

Chairman Dowling said before the budget is finalized he wants to talk about hiring a part time secretary to help Maryclare and also about hiring another police officer as the money is there. He said they can decide at a later date.

Selectman Catalano advised there has been no meeting about the water debt yet but it is still planned for the future.

Evan Karpf spoke about the Planning Board and misinformation that he said was given at a previous Select Board meeting. He said there were conditions set about a surety bond that the applicant agreed to 17 or 18 months ago and referred to communications among the Planning Board or its representatives, the Town Attorney and the applicant. He read from numerous pieces of various dates and said all expressed the need for a surety bond. Because of a review in September on the road, Ruby Way, and questions on the bond, Dr. Karpf said he called a special meeting on November 29, to release all information from the Attorney. He said this was done for transparency ad so that all people have the actual information. Reading from one which asked the question as to whether the town had to require a bond or could withhold Building Permits, he said all had to be accompanied by a surety bond or cash and read further communications from the Attorney. Dr. Karpf said that this subdivision is costing over $1,000 and this money is coming out of the taxpayers’ pockets. He went on to say the bond needs to be in the town’s name and a ten-day cancellation is absurd, that 90 days is recommended – this is to protect the town, not the applicant.

Discussion about a warrant article for the next town revaluation followed. Chairman Dowling said it would be $24,000 a year, based on $120,000 which we were quoted by our appraisal company, Commerford, Nieder, Perkins, which they have kept at the same price as the one just completed. He said the money would be put away for five years, but that in year 3 the reval would begin. It was noted that we are mandated by the State to have a complete revaluation every five years and this would keep us in compliance. A warrant article will be brought to the next meeting.

Chairman Dowling said the Town had been contacted by a group called “My Pharmacy Saver” which offers free pharmacy discount cards to town residents and others. Apparently these may be used when buying prescriptions and the person will receive a discount. They may be used in all the major pharmacies and various local ones. The first use will generate a $3 payment to the Town and uses thereafter on the same prescription will generate 30 cents to the Town. This money may be used any way the Town wishes and some examples given were for the Food Pantry, fuel payments, etc. for residents in need. There is no cost to the Town and there are no liabilities or obligations for the Town – going through the Town is basically a way to get the cards distributed. The Selectmen asked the Secretary to find out a little more about how this works and to speak with other Towns that are participating, such as Monroe, NH, and Gorham, ME.

Other:

The Secretary had paperwork from the Treasurer that needed to be signed for the new Land Use Account she just opened. Certain application fees for Planning and Zoning Boards will be deposited to this account and transferred to the General Fund to cover the cost of reimbursable items such as postage and engineering costs. Chairman Dowling made a Motion to: Sign the paperwork. Selectman Catalano seconded and it passed unanimously.

There was a Town Hall Use Permit Application submitted by the Snowmobile Club for their annual Valentine’s Day dance. Selectman Catalano made a Motion to: Sign the application. Selectman Bussiere seconded and it passed unanimously.

Selectman Catalano advised they had been “playing phone tag” with two of the applicants for the Fire Chief position and finally were able to set up two telephone interviews for Friday. The first call will be at 3 p.m. followed by the second at 4 p.m. Selectman Catalano set up with Jeremy to meet at the First Station at 2 p.m. to go over their plans.
Evan Karpf brought up the new Land Use account. After discussion with Selectman Catalano and the Secretary, it was noted this is basically to capture the money paid by the applicant to cover costs that the applicant is responsible for.

Bonnie Moroney said she had received a phone call from Roberta McGee about the Post Office survey that was just mailed to town residents. She feels it is important to keep the Post Office and asked that Bonnie come to the Selectmen to request their help and to also stress the importance of people filling out their surveys and returning them. She requested that the Selectmen send a letter to the Postal Service and perhaps the newspaper. The Board thanked Mrs. Moroney for her concern and for coming to the Board.

Al Strasser said the taxes took a pretty horrible jump and the Select Board should make a presentation. He said the Budget Committee said the revaluation wouldn’t make a difference, but it made a big one. He said the town lost a lot of value and the Selectmen “spent money like drunk Indians,” and the spending needs to come down. He said the Select Board is responsible and should listen to the townspeople and not just the employees. Selectman Bussiere thanked him and said it helps when people come in and talk. Mr. Strasser responded this is just a little town and needs to stop acting like a big town. He went on to say the Fire Department doesn’t really do much and they got an ambulance they didn’t need and went on to say that we don’t need a Police Department.

Selectman Catalano said he is a proponent of reducing costs and with the recent revaluation, the decrease in the town value should come as no surprise. He went on to say he believes the legislative body (voters) doesn’t turn out the way they should and that there should be more involvement in the process – attending Select Board and Budget Committee meetings as well as the Deliberative Session. He said people should vote down items they don’t want. He spoke about a statement the Chairman had made at numerous meetings about encouraging people to attend the various meetings. He further said the Fire Chief replacement is presently being discussed and that current plans to no call for replacing the fourth police. He said the people who vote are not necessarily those who sit on the different boards and the legislative body can change and he feels there was a euphoria of 5, 6, 7 years ago for development that no longer exists. He finished by saying he is not trying to push responsibility onto the taxpayers, but it does take both the public and the boards to reduce spending.

Bill Smalley asked how much of the increase was attributed to the fact that there had been no fund balance to reduce the tax rate. Selectman Catalano said $500,000 had been used in 2010 and reduced it about $1. He said the State recommends a certain amount be kept but there was over a million dollars at the time and he felt it was absurd to have that much. The following year a lesser amount was used. Because of that there is only a small amount of fund balance left, so they did not use any this year. Sgt. Smalley said he understands and doesn’t think it’s wrong, but feels people should know. He also said the town portion wasn’t the only part that went up, that the school and county also went up. Selectman Catalano did caution that town services could be impacted if the budget goes down.

Jeremy Oleson said he feels Mr. Strasser’s assessment of the Fire Department isn’t necessarily correct and would be happy to have anyone come to the Station and discuss anything to do with the Department. Selectman Catalano reminded all that the Department used $50,000 from their Special Revenue Fund to pay down operating costs this year and will be doing so again in 2013.

Chairman Dowling said he has heard gripes since the tax bills went out and reminded all that what is voted for in March is paid for in November. He said there’s only so much the Select Board can do – if people vote for things they have to be paid for. Mr. Strasser said the problem with the whole budgetary process is that no one is checking. He said there may be a lot of well-meaning people, but it doesn’t work. He continued by suggesting that there should be a warrant article to eliminate the Budget Committee.

Dave Scalley asked to speak to the emails released by the Planning Board. He said no emails to the Attorney were released, only the responses. Mr. Scalley also referred to Dr. Karpf’s statement about the cost to the town by the applicant and he said this is not the fault of the applicant. He asked who hired Stan Borkowski and what his duties are and was told Mr. Borkowski was hired by the Select Board in 2005. His duties are to enforce codes, RSA’s and other laws.

Chairman Dowling said the Planning Board voted to release the responses not anything else. Mr. Scalley said the public can’t get the true story if they are not getting both sides. He then asked for a non-public session with the Selectmen. Selectman Catalano said he would be amenable to a non-public if it included both Mr. Scalley and Evan Karpf. He said this is not a town that is hostile toward developers and business owners and feels the whole thing has been blown way out of proportion.

As there was no further business, the Board was polled and went into non-public session for town aid, personnel and legal matters at 8:00 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 9:15 p.m. The next meeting will be Monday, December 10, 2012.

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