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Minutes of 06/12/2006

June 14th, 2006

Carroll Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes
June 12, 2006




Board members present: William Wright, Allen Strasser, Bonnie Moroney

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM.

Members of the public present: Roberta McGee, Tom Gately, Adam Selensky, William Shaheen, Bob Morency, Eleanor Brauns, Jim Covey, Edith Tucker, Dale Shakespeare, Billy Rines

The board began with the approval of bills and signing of checks.

Selectman Strasser made a motion to approve the minutes from 06/05/2006. The motion was seconded by Selectman Moroney and passed unanimously.

Bob Morency from RCAP Solutions came before the Board to talk about things he may be able to help the town with regarding water system issues. He said he’d been here about a year ago and was given the impression we need assistance in setting water rates when the metering system was put into place. Selectman Strasser said the meters are in place, but there have been delays in getting the software up and running. Also, we’ve had issues come up because we sell water to some Bethlehem residents. Mr. Morency said we can charge up to 15% additional to out of town users without being regulated by the PUC. Mr. Morency has a grant for NH DES to train owners of water systems. They offer free one-on-one training on subjects such as asset management, water ratings. Selectman Strasser suggested that as part of Capital Improvement Program, we will be valuing our Water System, and we could use some of Mr. Morency’s help. Perhaps Mr. Morency could give us specific information as to programs available to us. He also said funds received for water services were intended for expansion of our water lines, and we need to look into associated costs. Mr. Morency said he thought current estimates are $100 per foot for new water lines. We’ll need some help figuring out how to supply the three remaining road areas (Lennon Rd, Cherry Mtn. Rd., Rte. 302W) that don’t have town water. Mr. Morency’s time is paid by state and federal grants. Chairman Wright suggested we could use some help this summer in trying to replace old lines with 8” pipes to increase the flow rate. Mr. Morency left some brochures for us.

Rick Brown came before the Board to give an update to the warrant article passed to install laptop computers in the Police vehicles, and to discuss revising the contract between Grafton County and the Fire Department to include the Police Department. Since the warrant article passed, the prices for laptop computers have gone up, and instead of needing a modem for our radios, we need a combined radio & modem. As a result, outfitting both vehicles would go over the $10,000 limit of the warrant article. About 2 years ago, Patrolman Brown applied for grant money from the Car 54 Project and the grant has been approved for January 2008. Our present plan is to outfit the Tahoe now and have the Car 54 Project outfit a second vehicle in January. We also need to align ourselves with a dispatch service, and the state is getting away from local dispatch. Their intention is to consolidate dispatch to one unit in Concord (3-5 yrs). Lancaster no longer has a spot for us, so Grafton County is the best choice. There is a one time fee of $1,000 and an annual fee of $500. Thus there is a need to alter the contract with Grafton County to include the Police Department. The selectmen approved this change. Tom Gately asked if the bill for services would be broken down between departments so the budget committee could plan. He was told it would. Asked about the grant again, Patrolman Brown said it would pay for half the computer and some of the software. We would make the purchases and submit invoices for reimbursement.

The next item on the agenda was the Bretton Woods Cable Franchise Agreement. The original agreement expired in 2004 and the MWH partners would like the agreement renewed for another 15 years and would like the agreement assigned to the new owners. Since no one from the resort came to discuss the agreement, the selectmen voted to table the item until next week. While willing to extend the contract, they have several issues that need attention. Owners have complaints regarding lack of or poor reception on ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, and PBS. The selectmen would like performance standards and a 5 year review of performance.

Safety issues were next. Selectman Strasser said a final progress report would be sent on the 15th. He asked Billy Rines to make sure the compressor in the fire station is hooked up before the 15th, as once the state receives our letter, they will likely schedule another inspection.

Ms. Tucker made the comment that posting reports from Stan Borkowski was terrific idea.

The public hearing for an emergency lane was discussed again. It will be July 17 at 7 PM. Selectman Strasser has spoken to someone in the NH DOT regarding the town bridge and our options to replacing it. The state has come up with an estimate for replacing the bridge, which we should have this week. Funding will come at the earliest in 2012 and the estimate is between $300,000 and $400,000. If it gets delayed, and costs go up the price could be almost double those figures. The town would be liable for 20% of these numbers. Selectman Strasser talked about an alternative to bridge replacement, and that is the state selling or giving a right-of-way to use the road behind Foster’s Crossroads. If that could happen we could build a road to access Old Town Road for between $50,000 and $70,000. The bridge would remain in place for pedestrians and snowmobiles. Minor repairs would have to be made, which the state could enumerate for us. The town would have to get permission to make Lauren Lane a public road and it would have to be paved at town expense as a betterment to the town, per Selectman Strasser. Dick Harris has filled in his property and would have to remove fill to provide full width for the road and snowmobile trail. The gentleman who spoke to Selectman Strasser will try to determine the proper channels for getting a right of way from the state. He felt they may be amenable to this proposition because it would save the state so much money if the bridge was not replaced. Mr. Rines asked if we are going to get pricing on the road and bridge repair estimates prior to the July 17. Selectman Strasser said he thought that was possible, as the state would furnish bridge estimates, and we’d try to have road costs too. We’ll still need to declare an emergency lane declaration for next winter.

Jim Covey met with Bruce Seymourian last Saturday about the snowmobile trail through his proposed subdivision off Sugarloaf Drive. He has agreed to come and walk off the trail with Mr. Covey on Thursday, and see just how much impact loss of the trail would mean to the snowmobilers. It would cut off access to Zealand, Fabyans …amp;quot; basically that portion of Corridor 11. Mr. Seymourian didn’t seem to be aware of the importance of this trail.

A discussion about heating oil for next winter was tabled until next week.

Various documents were approved and signed:

Property Tax Warrant 1st issue 2006 in the amount of $2,029,368.45
Supplemental Property Tax Warrant 1st issue 2006 the amount of $9,136.03
Yield Tax Warrant in the amount of $7,583.87
Land Use Change Warrant in the amount of $11,100.00

The $3,015.00 overpayment to Jewett Construction in 2005 was discussed. The May 8, 2006 letter to them requesting return of funds has been ignored, and the selectmen directed sending this to Town Counsel to pursue.

Adam Selensky and William Shaheen came before the Board to ask if they could use the Town Hall Gym on June 24th to hold a rock concert. They thought they had a hall in Bethlehem, but the night was given to someone else. Ms. Tucker asked if this was the one being held in memory of GG Allin, the one that the Assistant Principal of WMRS was concerned about, and they said it was. They said it would be a benefit for Allin’s family, with some of the proceeds going to them. There would be two bouncers and a police officer would chaperone plus all parents were welcome. There would be 6 or 7 bands, no drugs or alcohol, and between 150-300 kids. They plan to open the doors at 5:30 and play from 6 to 11:30 PM. The music would be punk rock, rock & roll, classic rock. Jim Covey said if they filled out the usual application for use of the town hall, the selectmen could check the security arrangement listed on the application. Tom Gately suggested we contact John Gardiner regarding security for this type of group. Chairman Wright suggested that the group would probably exceed the capacity limit for the gym. It was suggested that the fact that GG Allin’s name was associated with this concert, it would attract people from out of the area that the organizers would not be prepared for. Mr. Selensky said there would be 2 band parents present, and his parents would be there. Dale Shakespeare suggested that maybe the selectmen should be up front with these gentlemen and if they don’t feel this is an appropriate function for the town to host, tell them that. They said they’d discuss the event with Chief Gardiner and let the boys know.

Ms. Tucker asked if the MWH Partners had dropped all tax appeals and if it would free up any town money set aside for abatements. Selectman Strasser stated they had indeed dropped the appeals, but that the overlay from last year did not include anything for MWH, as the town felt their case was a strong one. He stated there are no pending tax appeals.

Jim Covey came before the Board to speak about one of the town’s employees, the Road Agent Billy Rines. Mr. Rines has been digging in front of Mr. Covey’s property, and Mr. Covey said that it was done in an outstanding way. He said they did it fast, efficiently, and they have it 90% put back together. He stated that Mr. Rines was one of the 2 hardest workers he’s ever seen in this town. He wanted to compliment Mr. Rines for the job that was done plus keeping Mr. Covey and his wife apprised of what was going on throughout the process.

At 8:10 PM, as there was no additional business, Chairman Wright declared the meeting ended and moved to go into executive session regarding personnel matters. This was seconded by Selectman Moroney. The board was polled, and went into executive session.

At the close of executive session, Chairman Wright made a motion to return to public session and seal the minutes from executive session; Selectman Moroney seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

Decisions from non public session:

A letter will be sent to Michael Fahey terminating his employment with the Town of Carroll, reason being he cannot perform the tasks for which he was hired, and the town must have someone in this position.

A letter to Megan McDuffee of Reno & Orr regarding due diligence information on the MWH was signed.

Safety Policies for the Town of Carroll Safety Manual were approved and signed by the selectmen.

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