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Minutes of 12/17/2012 DRAFT

January 5th, 2013

Carroll Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes
December 17, 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, Tammy Dubreuil, Evan Karpf, Bill Bochynski, Jane Ikasalo, Ann Fabrizio, Carmine Fabrizio, Mike Gooden, Jeremy Oleson, Michael (Miggy) Rouillard, Tadd Bailey, Richard Nelson, Donna Foster, Dave Scalley

Pledge of Allegiance

The meeting was filmed by Jane Ikasalo

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

Selectman Bussiere made a Motion to: Accept the minutes of 12/3/2012 as written. Selectman Catalano seconded and the Motion passed unanimously.

Chairman Dowling tabled the minutes of 12/10/2012 until the next meeting.

Selectman Catalano advised there has been no meeting about the Water Department debt.

Selectman Bussiere wanted to revisit the sidewalk plow article. He said he had gotten the information he was looking for and was pleased with what he saw and found that the price was the best for them. Therefore he wants to revote on the article. Selectman Catalano said he was not satisfied that the Road Agent had done his “due diligence” on this issue. Chairman Dowling said then Greg will have to work hard at the deliberative session to get the people to vote for it.

Chairman Dowling read the article: “To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $35,000 (Thirty Five Thousand Dollars) for the purpose of purchasing a tractor with front bucket, plow, snow blower and sander to be able to clear all of the Town’s sidewalks in accordance with NH State law set by the Americans with Disabilities Act, RSA 231:90-92-a; $31,000 (Thirty One Thousand Dollars) will be withdrawn from the Highway Equipment Capital Reserve Fund and $4,000 (Four Thousand Dollars) will be raised by taxation.” Selectman Bussiere made a Motion to: Accept the article as written and Chairman Dowling seconded. The Motion passed by a vote of 2 to 1.

The article for the Highway Block Grant was discussed. The wording is critical as there must be a specific amount written and we cannot be sure what exactly will come from the State, so they will most likely use an amount they can be sure of which they will ask the taxpayers to fund. Then when the grant money is actually received, it will be a “wash.” Chairman Dowling said they prefer a Special Revenue Fund as that must be voted on by the legislative body to spend. It was clarified that this is a different fund from the Highway Equipment Capital Reserve Fund or any other fund that we now have. Chairman Dowling said he will go to DRA and speak with them when he goes to Concord on Wednesday.

Chairman Dowling brought up the energy audit for the Town Hall. He noted Karen Moran could not do the webinar as it had already taken place and said they could go with a warrant article or wait to see if they get money from the county if it’ll be available. He said he feels there’s been enough done to tell us about the boiler in the basement or what kind of windows to put in the gym. He believes a complete audit would at least give us an idea if we should fix the building or build a new one. He said the department heads have been proactive upon the completion of the free audits that were done at the Highway Garage, the Fire Department and the Pump House, but we need more here.

Chairman Dowling read the article: “To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $5,700 (Five Thousand Seven Hundred Dollars) to have a complete energy audit done on the Town Hall. Applications will be made for any grants that may become available and if awarded, will be used to offset this appropriation.” Selectman Bussiere made a Motion to: Accept this article as written, Selectman Catalano seconded and the Motion passed unanimously.

Chairman Dowling said they need to start taking care of some of these things as there have been numerous studies and audits done and they end right there. He said there are things Greg cannot do such as replace the boiler, windows, etc., as there just isn’t enough time. He went on to say he took Greg up to Colebrook when he went to look at a glass crusher and on their way back, they stopped and looked at a building that had just been built for $278,000. He said it’s a place to start at least.

A brief discussion of the budget ensued. It was noted the Budget Committee voted to break out the electric and heating oil costs per building to get a better idea of where the money is going.
Selectman Bussiere asked about the two clothing lines in the Fire Department budget and was told by Jeremy Oleson one is for the regular daily uniform while the other is for the special protective clothing they need when fighting fires, etc. He thanked Mr. Oleson for the clarification.

The Selectmen looked over the Default Budget which will be put into place if the new Operating Budget should fail. This is essentially this year’s budget with changes only to one-time or contract items such as insurance. It was noted the amount is $1,515,784. Selectman Catalano made a Motion to: Sign the Default Budget. Selectman Bussiere seconded and the Motion passed unanimously.

The following item was approved and signed:

Town Hall Use Permit Application – Washburn

The Secretary said the auditors had asked that funds be encumbered to cover bills for 2012 that aren’t received until after December 31. Therefore she had received the amounts that each department head determined they would require and are as note for a total of $42,651:

Highway Dept. - $ 7,533
Gen. Buildings - 12,618
Street Lighting - 1,800
Police Dept. - 3,700
Transfer/R/C - 2,000
Fire Dept. - 5,000
Ambulance - 10,000

Selectman Catalano made a Motion to: Encumber $42,651 for payment of 2012 bills and Selectman Bussiere seconded. The Motion passed unanimously.

Other:

The Secretary said a sign permit application had been received for Brenda’s Country Kitchen and was not on the agenda as it had only been signed by the Road Agent. However, as they are hoping to erect it before Christmas, she brought it and asked if they approve it, if it could be signed pending approval and signature by the Chief of Police. After brief discussion with Dave Scalley, who owns the property, Selectman Catalano made a Motion to: Sign the permit contingent upon the approval of and signing by Chief Trammell. Selectman Bussiere seconded and the Motion passed unanimously.

Selectman Catalano said the draft letter had been reviewed and approved by Town Counsel for the Cherry Mountain water tank and asked that it be put on town letterhead as recommended by Attorney Waugh. Selectman Bussiere made a Motion that: the Select Board sign the letter when it is ready for mailing. Selectman Catalano seconded and the Motion passed unanimously.

A letter to the U.S. Post Office was discussed based on a previous request regarding the possible closure of the Twin Mountain Post Office. Selectman Catalano said he will draft a letter and send it to the other Board members. They will talk about it at a meeting in January.

Evan Karpf said he attended the County Commissioners meeting and the Town of Carroll is the second largest taxpayer to the County. He said most of the money goes to the nursing homes in West Stewartstown and Berlin. He spoke briefly of the budget, noting that there are 25 unincorporated places in the whole state and 23 of them are in Coos County. He said he is looking to see what can be brought back to our town in the way of grants, etc. He said he spoke with people in Tri County Cap and will get information on how many people use their services. Selectman Catalano spoke of the “feel good” articles and said some of these organizations also receive funds from the County. Dr. Karpf said he will get information on this and bring it back to the Board. The Board thanked Dr. Karpf.

Greg Hogan spoke of the warrant article to take over the roads in the River’s Edge II Development (Mahlyn Drive, Poplar Lane and Dori Way) and said he had re-inspected these and that now there are cracks in them. He feels the developer should seal or fix these to accept them. He said he is not opposed to accepting the roads but felt he should bring this up for the town’s benefit. Selectman Catalano didn’t understand why this would be an issue particularly after the roads had been accepted previously by Mr. Hogan and the previous Road Agent and in view of the fact that the developer essentially donated $100, 000 to the town building these roads along with topsoil at the Recreation area. Chairman Dowling said the Board could give Mr. Hogan the stipulation that he get a quote to fix the roads and the town would pay for it.

Donna Foster said the recycling/landfill center where a family member lives has what they call a “dump store” and thought the town might wish to think about something similar—brings in a little money and keeps things out of the landfill. Mr. Dowling said he already puts things like that on the side for people to take if they want. He said anything that’s usable, he already saves.

The Secretary brought up that the Fire Department would like to add $2,000 to their budget for 2013 only for special details and, hopefully to get a revolving fund started.

Jeremy Oleson gave the Selectmen a copy of the warrant article he proposed and asked that it be included in the warrant. He said there are more special details now and one reason is the state has passed a law that requires fire personnel on hand when there are fireworks displays. Chairman Dowling read the article:

“To see if the Town will vote to establish a revolving fund under the provisions of RSA 31:95-h for the purpose of providing public safety service contracted details. Ninety five percent (95%) of the revenues received for fire special details will be deposited into the fund, and the money in the fund shall be allowed to accumulate from year to year, and shall not be considered to be part of the town’s general fund unreserved fund balance. The Town Treasurer shall have custody of all monies in the fund, and shall pay out the same only upon order of the Selectmen and no further approval is required by the legislative body to expend. Such funds may be expended only for the purpose for which the fund was created.”

Selectman Catalano made a Motion to: Accept the article as written. Selectman Bussiere seconded and the Motion passed unanimously.

Sel3ectman Bussiere made a Motion to add a new line in the Fire budget for the revolving fund. Selectman Catalano seconded and the Motion passed unanimously.

Dave Scalley asked for non-public with the Board which they granted.

As there was no further business, the Board was polled and went into non-public session for town aid and personnel matters at 8:24 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 9:40 p.m. The next meeting will be Monday, January 7, 2013.