Town of Carroll, New Hampshire

• Town Services
• Town Meeting Minutes
• Planning Board/ZBA
• Applications & Forms
• Town Clerk/Tax Collector
• Map
• Home

Minutes of Town Board Meetings

• Planning Board
• Board of Adjustment
• Select Board
• Budget Committee
• Building Committee
• Energy Commission

Minutes of 3/19/2014 APPROVED

April 8th, 2014

Carroll Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes
March 19, 2014
APPROVED 4/7/2014
"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, Bonnie Moroney, David Scalley

The meeting was called to order at 6:28 PM by Chairman Bussiere

Members of the public present: Joan Karpf, Cathy Warren, Bob Warren, Jeremy Oleson, Scott Sonia

Pledge of Allegiance

The meeting was filmed by Joan Karpf.

Chairman Bussiere explained the reason for this special meeting was due to the frozen water main on Route 3 North and that Mr. and Mrs. Warren had wanted to meet with the Board. He went on to say that he had spoken with the State to inquire about the town’s liability in this situation. He was told this is considered a utility and that the town must make its best effort to solve the issue.

Scott Sonia, Water Superintendent, advised the Board that they had gotten the line free and water to three of the four houses just before he arrived for the meeting. He said there is a blow-off at all places and all have been asked to keep the water running at least at a trickle to try to prevent it from freezing again. The last house is a vacation home and though the owners are not there, he has spoken with them several times. Because it is the last in the line, the water must run there and he has been in turn it on. The house that does not yet have water is also a vacation home and the owners do not anticipate being back for a while.
Chairman Bussiere thanked Mr. Sonia for all of the time and work he has put into this. He said a temporary line had been put into place and this froze and the many attempts since had been unsuccessful. He continued saying that this has been an extremely hard, difficult year with so many days below 0 degrees and that all the towns around have had many issues.
Chairman Bussiere asked Mr. and Mrs. Warrant for their comments. Mr. Warren thanked the town and the Water Department for their efforts during this time and said he was speaking on behalf their son who actually owns the property but is out of the state and unable to speak for himself. He also said for their information, that he has full power of attorney. It had been clarified that they had renters in the house and who had moved out temporarily. Mr. Warren read a statement prepared for this meeting (attached). Essentially they would like to insure repairs are made that will prevent this from happening in the future; they feel the town was negligent; and they feel their renters should be compensated for the fees they were charged while out of their home.

It was asked who owned the house in which they are currently residing and it was stated the father of the tenant. During discussion of the daily fee being charged, Mr. Warren said that $145 was a good starting point.

Jeremy Oleson, Fire Chief, asked how long the water issue could go on and Mr. Sonia replied that it will be until the main lets go and the frost is out of the ground. Then they will have to see if there are any breaks in the line. Chief Oleson also stated for his information, that the inoperative hydrants have to be bagged as even though he knows about this, other firemen may not and also if there is an issue for which mutual aid would have to be called, those departments definitely would not know. He said this identifies that they are out of service. Chairman Bussiere verified with Scott Sonia that these three hydrants have been scheduled for replacement this year.

Selectman Moroney asked if the tenants or anyone had called the Town Offices about the tenants relocating. Mrs. Warren said though they tried numerous times to reach numerous people about there being no water, no one called about the relocation.

Chairman Bussiere said he was very impressed that they got the water running today and thanked Scott and his crew again. Discussion turned to when the tenants could move back in and the Board felt there was no reason they could not go back tonight. Mrs. Warren said once all is taken care of and they are moving forward again, she hopes they will make it a priority to make the repairs so they are not doing this again next year.

The Chairman said they are trying to take care of the water system and there are many things they are trying to resolve including ice buildup in the water tanks, finding where all the water lines are, and finding all the shut-offs, to name a few. He said he will summarize the meeting for Monday’s meeting which may be changed accordingly, and most likely will most likely then be sent to town counsel. He said he has several things to research as well as wanting to check the water manual. He reiterated that it could be a while before they have any answers.

Selectman Moroney implied that freezing wasn’t unique to this section when she said that it used to be that people from all over town would leave water running a little to avoid this problem. She said they don’t do it anymore due to now having water meters and not wanting to waste the water.

The Warrens thanked the Board for having this special meeting for them and in turn Chairman Bussiere thanked them for coming in.

There being no further discussion, Selectman Moroney made a Motion to: adjourn the meeting. Selectman Scalley seconded and the Motion passed unanimously. Chairman Bussiere declared the meeting ended at 6:58 p.m. The next meeting will be Monday, March 24, 2014.

Town of Carroll, New Hampshire ®2024