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Minutes of 12/10/2012 APPROVED

January 8th, 2013

Carroll Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes
December 10, 2012
APPROVED 1/7/2013
"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: Ann Fabrizio, Carmine Fabrizio, Tadd Bailey, Marc Brodeur, Evan Karpf, Joan Karpf, Dave Scalley, Bill Bochynski, Jeremy Oleson, Jim Covey, Lisa Covey, Scott Sonia, Michael Hogan

Pledge of Allegiance

The meeting was filmed by Joan Karpf

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

Chairman Dowling tabled the minutes of 12/3/2012 until the next meeting.

Chairman Dowling asked Selectman Bussiere about a website for TV that he said he would look into. Selectman Bussiere said there are costs and that it didn’t pan out. The Chairman thanked him for his effort.

Chairman Dowling spoke about the offer of free pharmacy discount cards the Town had been contacted about a few weeks ago. He explained that when these are used the person will receive a discount and the Town will receive a small amount of money on each use. This money may be used for the Food Pantry, fuel payments, etc. There is no cost to the Town and there are no liabilities or obligations for the Town – the company goes through towns as a way to get the cards to people who can use them. The Secretary said she had spoken with the Town Manager’s Office in Gorham, Maine, and was told they are very pleased with the program. They participate as a benefit to their residents, particularly those who don’t have insurance or are underinsured, so they aren’t looking for a big return – which they said was about $300 since they started at the beginning of the summer. They said they had the agreement looked at by their town attorney and everything has been fine – they also said the company has been very good to work with. The Selectmen said before they vote on it, they’d like Town Counsel to take a look at the agreement and will revisit this after that has been done.

Bill Dowling, Supervisor of the Transfer Station, said he wants to pull back his hours and advised they’d need to increase the pay to be able to hire anyone else. He proposed increasing line 100 from $24,311 to $33,280 and increasing line 101 from $16,380 to $24,311. Mr. Dowling said his salary would come from line 101. During discussion it was realized the line 100 position would change from a part time position to a fulltime position. If this is the case, they will have to consider benefits, etc., as currently there are no benefits. It was stated this would increase the Recycling/Transfer Station budget by $16,900 without benefits. Mr. Dowling said the replacement would be hired right after Town Meeting.

Selectman Catalano advised there still has not been a meeting about the Water Department debt.

Warrant articles were then read and voted on as follows: It was noted the numbers are for discussion purposes only, not necessarily the order in which they will appear.

1 To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $1,000 (One Thousand Dollars) for maintenance of the old landfill. This includes needs for actual physical maintenance, engineering and overseer expenses. The appropriation will come from the Landfill Closure Capital Reserve Fund established for this purpose. No money will be raised from taxation.

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


2 To see if the Town of Carroll will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $2,500 (Twenty Five Hundred Dollars) to hold a Household Hazardous Waste Collection Program. The Program will provide residents access to a Household Hazardous Waste Collection of household generated hazardous waste such as oil based paints, paint thinners, solvents, pesticides, gasoline and household cleaners.

Selectman Catalano made a Motion to: Accept as written, Selectman Bussiere seconded and it passed unanimously


3 To see if the town will vote to raise and appropriate the amount of $11,000 (Eleven Thousand Dollars) to fund Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals and the Property Inspector-Code Enforcement Officer Salary. And further to authorize the withdrawal of such amount from the Planning Special Revenue Fund established in 2006 for that purpose. No money to be raised from new taxation.

Selectman Catalano made a Motion to: Accept as written, Selectman Bussiere seconded and it passed unanimously

4 To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate $18,500 (Eighteen Thousand Five Hundred Dollars) to upgrade the Tritech Software (IMC) for the Police Department’s in-house, computer-based reporting system. This will be the first upgrade since 2000.

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


5 To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $16,450 (Sixteen Thousand Four Hundred Fifty Dollars) to purchase a Glass Crusher for the Transfer Station and Recycling Center. This appropriation will be raised from the Recycling Special Revenue Fund. The cost are as follows; $12,000.00 for the glass crusher, $1,000.00 for shipping, $3,450.00 for materials and labor for the enclosure and glass table. No money raised from taxation.

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


6 To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $9,171.00 (Nine Thousand One Hundred Seventy One) for ground-water monitoring of the old landfill. $2,937.00 (Two Thousand Nine Hundred thirty Seven Dollars) to pay for the engineer to take samples, produce reports and send the results to the Town and State. $6,234.00 (Six Thousand Two Hundred Thirty Four Dollars) to pay the laboratory fees to process the samples. The total amount to come from the existing Landfill Closure Trust Fund established for this purpose. No amount raised from taxation.

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


7 To see if the Town will vote raise and appropriate the sum of $50,000.00 (Fifty Thousand Dollars) for the operational costs of the Emergency/Ambulance Department budgeted expenses. The appropriation will come from the Fire Department and Ambulance Apparatus, Equipment and Personnel Special Revenue Fund. No money will be raised from new taxation.

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

Selectman Catalano commented on this and the article for the glass crusher saying that they both will be paid for from their special revenue accounts where the money comes from fees for services and thus are a break to the taxpayers – as no money comes from taxes.


8 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.

Chairman Dowling said an email from Karen Moran told about a workshop or class being held on how to do an audit and asked if they wanted to see if Ms. Moran could do that. They agreed it would be good if she or someone else could do it and said they’d hold off voting on this until they could find out if the class could be taken.


9 To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $12,375 (Twelve Thousand Three Hundred Seventy Five Dollars) to purchase three (3) storage trailers for the Transfer Station/Recycling Center. This appropriation will be raised from the Recycling Special Revenue Fund. No money raised from taxation.

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


10 To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate $20,000 (Twenty Thousand Dollars) for the 2013 tipping of bulky waste and construction debris, the removal of tires, Freon, propane tanks, electronics, florescent light bulbs, and antifreeze, container lease, equipment repair and equipment purchase and further to authorize the withdrawal as needed from the Recycling Equipment Special Revenue Fund established at the 2001 Town Meeting for this purpose. No money raised from taxation.

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


11 To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $24,000 (Twenty Four Thousand Dollars) to be placed in a new Property Revaluation Capital Reserve Fund for the purpose of completing a total revaluation of the Town in 2017 – as mandated by the State, at five year intervals. This will be the first request to attain the total cost of $120,000 (One Hundred Twenty Thousand Dollars) for the total process as quoted by our appraisal company.

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


12 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.

A brief discussion was held about getting other prices and the ADA law that requires sidewalks being plowed and Chairman Dowling said Greg Hogan had done much research and if Town Meeting votes it down, Greg has done his job to try to comply. Selectman Catalano said he feels this is extremely expensive for a “snow shovel” and said he knows he’s over-simplifying it, but that there should be a cheaper way and he also said he’s cognizant of the fact that litigation could come. He went on to say he felt a John Deere tractor with the plastic shield would seem sufficient to him. He would still like to see other prices.

Chairman Dowling called for a vote: 1 yes, 1 no and 1 said he’d like a bit more information. The Chairman declared this an abstention and said the article fails so it will not be in the warrant. After brief discussion, it was stated any article that fails will not be put into the warrant.


13 To see if the Town will vote to accept Mahlyn Drive, Poplar Way and Dori Way as Town roads

Selectman Catalano stated the Road Agent accepted these three years ago with one thing that had to be done – it was done and last year the Road Agent accepted them. He went on to say he feels the town needs to show it is friendly toward developers and that it’s long past time to accept these roads. Selectman Catalano made a Motion to: Accept as written, Selectman Bussiere seconded and it passed unanimously.


14 To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate $15,000 (Fifteen Thousand Dollars) to be placed in the Municipal Truck Capital Reserve Fund.

Selectman Bussiere made a Motion to: Accept as written. There was no second, so the Chairman declared this failed. It will not go into the warrant.


15 To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate $18,000 (Eighteen Thousand Dollars) to be placed in the Police Cruiser Capital Reserve Fund.

Selectman Bussiere made a Motion to: Accept as written. There was no second, so the Chairman declared this failed. It will not go into the warrant.


16 To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate $10,000 (Ten Thousand Dollars) to be placed in the Highway Equipment Capital Reserve Fund.

Selectman Bussiere made a Motion to: Accept as written. There was no second, so the Chairman declared this failed. It will not go into the warrant.


17 To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate $2,000 (Two Thousand Dollars) to be placed in the Computer Technology Capital Reserve Fund.
Selectman Catalano made a Motion to: Accept as written, Selectman Bussiere seconded and it passed unanimously.


18 To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate $2,000 (Two Thousand Dollars) to be placed in the Library Improvement Capital Reserve Fund.

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


19 To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate $10,000 (Ten Thousand Dollars) to be placed in the Landfill Closure Capital Reserve Fund.

This is for the old landfill, and a brief discussion was held that it’s over a period of time that the ground water testing that takes place. If there is a bad test it could result in our being told by the State to cap it. However, all tests have been good and as long as it’s not contaminated, which they don’t expect it to be, all should be okay. They decided to table this and look at the fund to see how much money is already in it.


20 To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate $35,000 (Thirty Five Thousand Dollars) to be placed in the Road Improvements Capital Reserve Fund.

Selectman Bussiere made a Motion to: Accept as written, Selectman Catalano seconded and it passed unanimously. Selectman Catalano said he doesn’t want this fund to get too low as there is a need to do the roads.


21 To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate $30,000 (Thirty Thousand Dollars) to be placed in the New Land & Building Capital Reserve

Brief discussion was held on the use of this money and it was noted it cannot be used to improve buildings or for rental fees. It is believed it may be used only to build or buy. Chairman Dowling said the energy audit probably won’t be done until the end of 2013 and it was his thought to put a warrant article in for fixing the Town Hall or building a new one. Selectman Bussiere made a Motion to: Accept as written. Chairman Dowling seconded and it passed by a vote of 2 to 1.

Chairman Dowling spoke about a warrant article for the Highway Block Grant and had a copy of his email communication with LGC. He explained it will be a wash and that it’s a way to capture the money. A warrant article will be written for a new Capital Reserve Fund.

Discussion then turned to the so-called “feel good” articles. The total of these is around $13,000 to $15,000. Selectman Catalano said there are many residents who use the services but cannot pay for them and he believes the Town should help its people. Selectman Bussiere said he is not against the organizations and what they do is all good, but it’s his opinion that the town shouldn’t be supporting them and he can’t get behind spending other people’s money that way. He believes these should be done by individuals. Selectman Catalano said from a purely financial standpoint, he believes the money spent is much less than what it would be for those actually in need. Chairman Dowling said if the town had to provide the services to the people who need them, we couldn’t afford it, and he said the services cannot deny the people. Selectman Bussiere said he feels the Coalition Communities is not a “feel good” article but rather something that is necessary for taxation. Selectman Bussiere further stated he does not want to take it away from the town to vote on these articles.

Selectman Catalano read the articles:

22 To see if the Town of Carroll will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $923 (Nine Hundred Twenty Three Dollars) as the Town's contribution to the Northern Human Services - White Mountain Mental Health and Common Ground, a non-profit mental health and development service center.

23 To raise and appropriate the sum of $2,000 (Two Thousand Dollars) to donate to the Tyler Blain House, Lancaster, NH, one of the only homeless shelters in northern NH

24 To see if the Town of Carroll will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $875 (Eight Hundred Seventy Five Dollars) payable to Littleton Regional Hospital, to help offset the cost of charity care and community benefit programs that Littleton Hospital provides.

25 To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $1,167 (One Thousand One Hundred Sixty Seven Dollars) and turn over such monies to the Northwoods Home Health & Hospice Services, a division of Weeks Medical Center. The monies are used to provide home health care services to the residents of Carroll

26 To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $1,000 (One Thousand Dollars) for the support of preventative and primary health care services of Ammonoosuc Community Health Services, Inc. for the residents of Carroll.

27 To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $1,797 (One Thousand Seven Hundred Ninety Seven Dollars) payable to North Country Home Health & Hospice Agency, Inc. for the support of the home health care, supportive care, medical hospice and community health programs and services of North Country Home Health & Hospice Agency, Inc. and Hospice of the Littleton Area for the residents of Carroll.

28 To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate $356 (Three Hundred Fifty Six Dollars) for the American Red Cross.

29 To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $2,000 (Two Thousand Dollars) for the Caleb Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers that serves the needs of elderly people in the community.

30 To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $500 (Five Hundred Dollars) for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of NH for recruiting, training and supervising volunteers who advocate in NH’s courts for the best interests of abused and neglected children.

31 To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $830 (Eight Hundred Thirty Dollars) for Tri County Community Action Program in support of their services for the community.

32 To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $2,000 (Two Thousand Dollars) to the Coalition Communities in Portsmouth, New Hampshire consisting of 36 towns to represent the Town of Carroll in a solution to our educational funding crisis by opposing the re-establishment of donor towns and keeping the statewide property tax so that it can be used locally to fund our own education assessment from the White Mountains Regional School District

33 To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $350 (Three Hundred Fifty Dollars) in support of the Senior Meals Program run by Tri-County CAP, Inc., North Country Elder Programs and to turn these funds over to this Group for such Program.

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

The following items were approved and signed:

Oath of Office – Barbara Amirault
Property Tax Abatement – Picconi
Property Tax Warrant – Picconi
Yield Tax Warrant – Pleasant North, LLC, M. Hogan
Water Warrant -- Panarello

Other:

Selectman Catalano said he had met with Jeremy Oleson and there were two phone interviews and conversations which he will discuss later.

Selectman Catalano also said there were issues where the Cherry Mountain water tank is and he is drafting a letter for review by the Select Board hopefully by tomorrow. This will also be sent to Town Counsel for his review. He went on to say there are broken culverts, the topology of the land is being modified and now it’ all wet. He said the work that is being done is changing the hydrology and the road condition is also deteriorating because of the heavy equipment being run on it and he feels all can be addressed and needs to be in writing from the Select Board.

As there was no further business, the Board was polled and went into non-public session for personnel matters at 8:05 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 Bussiere 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 8:57 p.m. The next meeting will be Monday, December 17, 2012.

Town of Carroll, New Hampshire ®2024