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Minutes of 11/18/2013 DRAFT

November 22nd, 2013

Carroll Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes
November 18, 2013
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: Paul Bussiere, Bill Dowling, Bonnie Moroney

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

Members of the public present: Mike Gooden, Ann Fabrizio, Evan Karpf, Jeremy Oleson, Scott Sonia, Michael Hogan, Dave Scalley, Donna Foster

Pledge of Allegiance

The meeting was filmed by Evan Karpf.

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

Selectman Moroney made a Motion to: Accept the minutes of 11/4/2013 and Selectman Dowling seconded. The Motion passed unanimously.

Selectman Moroney made a Motion to: Accept the minutes of 11/14/2013 and Selectman Dowling seconded. The Motion passed unanimously.

The Secretary said they were close to getting a date but she and the auditor have been just missing each other lately and hopes to know soon when there will be a meeting.

Chairman Bussiere advised there were two articles for the warrant and read the Planning article.
“To see if the town will vote to raise and appropriate the amount of $12,000 (Twelve 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.”

The Secretary explained this is slightly higher than the article for 2013 and as a result, the lines in the Planning Board budget and the Property Inspection budget will each be reduced to $1 from the $500 they now show. Selectman Dowling made a Motion To: Approve and recommend this article. Selectman Moroney seconded and it passed unanimously. The Select Board recommends this 3 to 0.

Chairman Bussiere then read the article for the second year for the revaluation of the Town. “To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $24,000 (Twenty Four Thousand Dollars) to be placed in the Property Revaluation Capital Reserve Fund established in 2013 for the purpose of completing a total revaluation of the Town in 2017 – as mandated by the State, at five year intervals. This is the second installment to attain the total cost of $120,000 (One Hundred Twenty Thousand Dollars) for the total process as quoted by our appraisal company.”
Selectman Dowling made a Motion To: Approve and recommend this article. Selectman Moroney seconded and it passed unanimously. The Select Board recommends this 3 to 0.

Chairman Bussiere spoke about the Employee Manual Amendment and explained the Board had been discussing the number of hours per week that part time employees would work. The Affordable Health Care Act was noted as part of the reason for this as all employees who work 30 hours per week would be in the formula that determines the number of full time or full time equivalent (FTE) employees a company has. The Chairman explained they wanted to be proactive and protect the Town for any future ramifications. After discussion, Chairman Bussiere made a Motion To: Amend that all part time, non-benefit employees will work 29 hours, not to exceed 29.5 hours per week, regardless of what budgets may have in them. Selectman Moroney seconded and the Motion passed 2 to 1.

Evan Karpf asked who this would include; if current or future part time employees and Chairman Bussiere answered that it includes all part time employees as of now. Dave Scalley asked what the hours currently are for part time employees and Selectman Dowling said that 35 hours are considered full time because of NH Retirement, so anything less than 35 hours.

Selectman Moroney said the Budget Committee asked that she bring the street lighting discussion to the meeting as they have been looking at shutting some lights off as a possible way to reduce costs. Selectman Moroney said Greg Hogan, the Road Agent is working with someone from the State about this as they, also, are planning to do something similar and they want to be sure about what lights belong to whom, etc., before trying to even set something up. Michael Hogan, Chairman of the Budget Committee said other recommendations are to replace the light bulbs with LED’s to reduce costs. He said these are very expensive to replace as the payback will take at least two years, but then there should be a big cost-saving in five years.

Selectman Moroney said the Budget Committee also discussed pay-per-bag and want to look into this. She said they tried to do this a few years ago and it wasn’t approved. When asked, Bill Dowling said that total tipping and hauling fees would go away.

The following items were approved and signed:

HealthTrust Employee Insurance Agreement
Property Liability Trust Insurance
Town Hall Use Permit Applications – NH State Police, Parks & Recreation, Scales

Other:

It was noted that Thanksgiving is next week and the Offices will be closed Thursday and Friday.

Chairman Bussiere announced the Tax Rate had been set at $17.66 which is down from $19.05 for last year. He noted the town rate is only $3.60 which he said is very impressive to him. He said he felt all did a great job.

Selectman Moroney asked what was happening with the Grand View. The Secretary said Stan had visited it several times and had given them a building permit to complete but it has not been brought back yet. She was asked to have Stan check on it again.

Speaking as Chairman of the ZBA, Mr. Bussiere said he just wanted to advise that he will be going back to the Budget Committee with an update on their budget.

Chairman Bussiere had noticed some time ago that a couple of the Town Ordinances had been missed by the Town Clerk when she was notarizing them. So he was following up on this to be sure that all had been notarized.

Chairman Bussiere said due to files which have become missing, he believes any files, etc., that anyone wants to look at from now on should not be allowed to leave the Selectmen’s Office. People should see the Secretary and if any copies are needed then she will make them. Selectman Dowling said they shouldn’t leave the office anyway. Chairman Bussiere acknowledged that and said they will be upgrading the policy.

Donna Foster wanted to let the Select Board know that at the Planning Board meeting on Thursday, January 2, 2014, Tara Bamford and Pat Gavin from North Country Council will be here. This will be to present to the Board what they do and what is available from them. Mrs. Foster said they are inviting all the Boards and all the public to attend. She feels it will be very informative.

Mrs. Foster then asked if they could schedule hours at the Town Hall for the Planning Board Secretary. She said she feels it may be better suited to applicants when they need assistance or to see someone. She said she wanted to get a feeling from the Select Board before she brings it up to the Planning Board. She said this way, also, the Secretary wouldn’t have to work weekends. The Select Board expressed interest and discussion ensued regarding space and hours, which they also noted can be worked out in time. Dave Scalley asked about the files and if all are still on paper. Discussion ensued about scanning and filing electronically and Chairman Bussiere noted that municipalities are required to have hard paper files of everything.

Michael Hogan asked about the medical insurance agreement which was signed earlier and how the Affordable Care Act might affect prices. It was noted this is unknown and at this point no one was sure how it could be compared. A brief discussion followed with no definitive results because of unknowns, etc.


With no meeting next week, the Board wished everyone Happy Thanksgiving.

As there was no further business, the Board was polled and went into non-public session for Personnel 7:53 p.m.

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

There being no further discussion, Selectman Dowling made a Motion to: adjourn the meeting. Selectman Moroney seconded and the Motion passed unanimously. Chairman Bussiere declared the meeting ended at 8:17 p.m. The next meeting will be Monday, December 2, 2013.

Town of Carroll, New Hampshire ®2024