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Minutes of 11/2/2015

November 5th, 2015

Carroll Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes
November 2, 2015


“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: David Scalley, Bonnie J. Moroney, Paul Bussiere.

The meeting was called to order at 7 p.m.by Chairman Scalley.

Members of the public present: Bryan Mycko, Mike Gooden, Greg Hogan, Rena Vecchio, Chris Pappas, Kelly Trammell, Michael Hogan, Dianne Hogan, Debbie Szauter, Imre Szauter, Jeremy Oleson

Pledge of Allegiance

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

Selectman Moroney made a Motion to: Approve the minutes of 10/19/2015 as written and Selectman Bussiere seconded. The Motion passed unanimously.

The Building Permit Procedure/Property Change Notification was next and Chairman Scalley made a Motion to: approve and send to Town Counsel for review. Selectman Moroney seconded and it passed unanimously.

Kelly Trammell asked about inspections and said if people are paying for them, they would most likely be looking for them. Rena Vecchio asked if there was to be no more building inspector and she was told not yet. When she asked if they are leaning that way, the Board said yes they are. A discussion of not having an inspector versus having one ensued. The Board said there are many nearby towns which do not have them. It was stated that the new form is mostly for keeping the town informed of what’s going on and for property tax information. Selectman Bussiere said the Select Board is the enforcement authority and with having a Building Inspector, they deferred to him, but the Select Board is still the authority. Rena asked about enforcing the Zoning Ordinance and who was going to do the inspections. Selectman Moroney read from the new form the following excerpt:

“By signing this document,

I/We understand that the information given is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.

I/We understand this permit is valid only for the work noted and expires 36 months from date of issuance. Extension for this permit must be applied for prior to expiration of the current permit.

I/We understand that all construction will be done in accordance with town, state, and building regulations and that compliance is the sole responsibility of the applicant.

I/We certify that all requirements specified in the Zoning Ordinance shall be met and that all structures shall comply with setback requirements as stated therein. Setbacks to be approved by town official.

I/We understand that the proposed work shall be done in accordance with the plans, sketch and specification submitted. I/We further understand that no changes to the permit shall be made without written notification to the Town and that changes may result in the need for additional approvals.

I/We understand that violation of the terms of Zoning Ordinance, including beginning construction without a building permit, will result in an immediate cease and desist order and I/We may be subject to fines outlined in RSA 676:17.”

Selectman Moroney pointed out that it basically puts all responsibility on the applicant and thus there is little or no need of inspections by the town. Kelly Trammell pointed out we may have to omit or change the words “building permit” as the new form is not that. Chairman Scalley said his motion included sending it to Town Counsel for review so she can make that recommendation along with any others.

Michael Hogan told of his problems with his new house and that after the fact, it cost him $100,000 to jack the whole house up two and half inches as it was sinking. He said this was a result of inspections not being made or the inspector not knowing what he was doing. He said in a town where he lived previously, there was a fulltime inspector who was on the jobsite every day. But he also added he knows that will cost a lot more money. Rena Vecchio said she felt they were originally planning to fix the problem, not get rid of everything. Michael Hogan said there are a lot of things going on and he has not seen any permits displayed. Again the pros and cons of having an inspector were discussed. Chairman Scalley said the Board seems to feel there should be a fulltime inspector or none. Rena asked if anyone had called Belmont and they said no one from the Board had. The questions were asked why town do not have inspectors and what the town would do in the meantime if they remove the inspector. The Board said it should probably be left up to the people if they want a building inspector or not. Rena said she didn’t know if she needed the Board’s permission to call Belmont or not, and they said she should feel free to call. When asked to be reminded about this, she said at last year’s annual New Hampshire Municipal Association meeting she had attended a workshop and they said towns should never give up having an inspector. The Selectmen questioned the validity of the leaders of the workshop as they were all building inspectors. Selectman Bussiere asked about the fee structure and the Chairman said his motion is only for the form. Selectman Bussiere said he would like to let Town Counsel know that fees will be charged.

Attention turned to the Employee Manual and Selectman Moroney said they had started talking about instituting Paid Time Off earlier, which includes vacation and holiday pay. She read from the revised section of the Manual, which includes extra time as added incentive for employees who have completed twenty years of service, as well as paid time off for regular part time employees who work 20 to 29.5 hours per week. The Secretary said at a previous meeting, they said they would include the two personal days (16 hours) in the PTO, but the numbers did not. A discussion of sick time also took place and Kelly Trammell noted the waiting time for short term disability had been moved to 14 days to save money. However, the amount of accrued sick time allowed, should be increased to reflect this. Discussion ensued as to how much should be allowed, how employees might use it; i.e. that it would be abused. It was stated that it was ironic that they would be splitting hairs about sick time and at the same time offering paid time off for part time employees. Selectman Moroney said the changes will be made and brought back to the next meeting. At a later date, there will be a meeting with the employees about the Manual.

The Secretary said she was asked at the previous meeting to inquire about pay-per-bag trash disposal. Town Counsel advised that the Selectmen do not have the authority to require this type of disposal and that it must go before the town on a warrant article. Discussion ensued regarding why this should or should not be instituted in the Town of Carroll.

Selectman Bussiere said he was speaking not as a Selectman, but as the Zoning Board Chairman and spoke about the ZBA’s $1,800 portion for GIS Mapping. He said they had already presented their 2016 budget to the Budget Committee but have another meeting on November 12. They will discuss it and notify the Office if they are interested. Chairman Scalley said he was speaking as a ZBA member and that he feels the cost is too high. He doesn’t think the taxpayers should have to essentially be burdened with this program. Rena Vecchio said she feels the town needs to start getting their paperwork in order and this would be a good thing. It would also be useful for many reasons. Further discussion followed again with reasons why this should or should not be pursued. Michael Hogan said he did the math and after the initial set-up, the cost would be about $75 a week, which is very reasonable.

Chairman Scalley read a letter from the Parks and Recreation Commission nominating Dianne Hogan to complete the term for Michelle McCorison which expires in 2016. Chairman Scalley made a Motion to: Approve the nomination of Dianne Hogan. Selectman Moroney seconded and it passed unanimously. It was noted Mrs. Hogan will have to reappointed if she wishes to continue when the term expires.

The following items were approved and signed:

Equalization Municipal Assessment Data Certificate – DRA
Certificate of Occupancy – Fulton
Water Warrant – LaRoche, Gilman, Kelly, Lennon

Other:

The Secretary said Chief Trammell brought a correction for his budget to the Office and asked that it be brought to the Select Board’s attention. When he added up the total for his presentation to the Budget Committee last week, he missed a line in the amount of $2,000. So his department budget should be increased by this amount.

The Secretary was asked to remind Chief Trammell about including the prosecutor and bringing his budget back for updating.

Discussion followed regarding going to the payroll company, Paychex. Chairman Scalley said he did a breakdown of costs and explained how he did it. Selectman Moroney said she would prefer the salesman get real numbers from the town, rather than use figures that don’t relate to us, so we can have a more accurate amount for what it will actually costs us. Kelly Trammell asked if they would check on whether the payroll company will implement the new Affordable Care Act and what the additional cost will be. She said she was at a workshop a while ago and it was brought up there that some companies will do it but there will be additional fees.

Discussion of appointing the new Health Officer took place and it will be done at the next meeting.

Selectman Moroney said she had completed evaluations on department heads and sent them to Selectman Bussiere who then sent them on to Chairman Scalley. The Chairman said he had not had a chance to review them, but will do so in the next few days. This led to a discussion of whether there will be raises for employees this year. It was noted there is no Federal Cost of Living Adjustment this year, so there will be none on the local level. However, they could possibly be looking at merit raises for 2016, which would be based on the scores of the evaluations. Michael Hogan reiterated his recommendations of some time ago which are to establish pay scales and pay rates. This would help both the employee and the Town as they will all know what can be attained and how.

Chairman Scalley asked Greg Hogan if he had a budget for road costs yet and he said he had called again today but had not heard. He said he is hoping for a more closely figured estimate than what had been thrown out there. When asked for a “ballpark figure,” he said two million dollars. It was noted that if a bond is going to be needed, we should try to get started as there are strict requirements associated with one.

Rena Vecchio said there will be an ad in the paper for a meeting on Tuesday, November 17, at 7 p.m. for anyone interested in starting on the Town’s celebration in six years.

Michael Hogan said he received a rather large report from the committee working on the Rooms & Meals Tax distribution committee. He said he hadn’t read it yet as it only just came, but he wanted to update the Board.

As there was no further business, the Board was polled to go into non-public session, per RSA 91-A-3 for personnel and town aid at 8:55 p.m. Selectman Bussiere, yes, Chairman Scalley, yes, Selectman Moroney, yes.

At the close of non-public session at 9:46 p.m., Selectman Moroney moved to return to public session and seal the minutes from non-public session. Selectman Bussiere seconded and the Motion passed unanimously.

Selectman Moroney made a Motion to adjourn the meeting and Chairman Scalley seconded. The Motion passed unanimously. Chairman Scalley declared the meeting ended at 9:50 p.m. The next meeting will be Monday, November 16, 2015 at 7:00 p.m.

Town of Carroll, New Hampshire ®2024