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Minutes of 08/14/2006

August 18th, 2006



Carroll Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes
August 14, 2006

"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 Planning 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."

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

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

Members of the public present: Roberta McGee, Eleanor Brauns, Doug Bews, Jeff Duncan, John Goodney, Billy Rines, Ann Fabrizio, Carmine Fabrizio, Evan Karpf, Joan Karpf, Leslie Bergum, Bill Dowling, Linda Dowling, Donna Matz, Mike Matz, Paul Ouimet, Jay Ouellette, Suzanne Ouellette, Dale Shakespeare, Ed Martin, Pat Martin, Bill Smalley, Joyce Bean, Mollie White, Martha Woolhouse, Marc Brodeur, Claire Gritzer, Harold Garneau, Mac McQueeney, Kathy Donegan, Jeanne Stapleton

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

Selectman Strasser made a motion to approve the minutes from 08/07/06. The motion was seconded by Selectman Moroney and passed unanimously.

Selectman Strasser began the meeting with a response to the eleven points brought up last week by Jay Ouellette. He stated that since the meetings had been quite short in the spring, they had
thought 2 meetings per month were sufficient.

As far as the Director of Training position, Selectman Strasser said neither John Goodney, nor John Gardiner was interested in the position so they named Bill Dowling. He was appointed in a public meeting.

As far as going around town during the day, Selectman Strasser said they are allowed to have work sessions as long as they are announced. Tuesday and Thursday 10 AM sessions have been scheduled each week and the public is welcome to attend but not participate. Currently they are working on procedures manuals, building permit procedures, and when these procedures are developed they will be brought to a selectmen�s meeting for approval.

Selectman Strasser said that while there had been a vote last week not to sell water to Bethlehem, they may look at again at some time. Our auditor Karen Carew is working out the accounting to deal with the water operating loss.

As far as the closure of Fieldstone Lane, Selectman Strasser said the Safety Committee should have been involved. The highway committee was activated and John Gardiner has met with the Regional Transportation Supervisor in Lancaster, and they�re working on a permanent solution to the traffic problem. He said the road was reopened to change the ISO rating and potentially save a number of Bretton Woods residents a lot of insurance money.

Selectman Strasser said there is no case to go after tax money from the prior owners of the Mount Washington Resort. What is being considered is a lawsuit to reclaim legal fees from defending MWH tax appeal cases. Adele Fulton of Gardner Fulton & Waught is currently evaluating our chances of winning such a case.

Selectman Strasser repeated his explanation of Chief Gardiner not being interested in pursuing the security contract for Bretton Woods. As far as discussion for a fire station in Bretton Woods, he referred to the Fire Department Master Plan which calls for a fire station in 2007 and a ladder truck in 2008. The new MWH owners have promised to give land for the station.

Selectman Strasser said at the end of last week�s meeting a procedure was set for hiring the new Police Chief. He said when Chief Gardiner was hired the screening was done by three selectman and 2 others. This time there will be Hiring Board made up of 5 people including one Selectman. Mac McQueeney announced that previously chosen Chuck Jellison and Jim Covey would be joined by Evan Karpf and John Sweeney and a Selectman of the Board�s choice. Bonnie Moroney volunteered and that was approved. Dr. Karpf will contact members to begin the selection process. As far as meeting with the former Whitefield Chief, Selectman Strasser said he had two people in town ask him to meet with the chief, so he met him briefly and brought back his resume for our file in the event John Gardiner retired. The only other candidates he�s met have been during a time when he was in the town office while they dropped off resumes. The Hiring Board will screen candidates, the top ones will be interviewed, and the selectmen will make the final decision. Selectman Strasser outlined the process by which Lindsey Straw had been hired, and said that after the fact he had seen paperwork of Mr. Ouellette�s that indicate Mr. Ouellette falsified ratings in order to hire Ms. Straw. Thus, Selectman Strasser said he was not interested in Mr. Ouellette�s opinion as to who we should hire as Chief.

As far as executive sessions being abused, Selectman Strasser said that executive sessions were no different from when Mr. Ouellette was on the board. Sometimes after a discussion, the board forgets to vote on an issue in the public meeting, and the voting is done after executive session concludes, and it not reported properly in the minutes. As far as the executive session on Monday, August 7th, discussion dealt primarily with legal problems with the building permits and building codes.

Selectman Strasser said the Selectmen had decided unanimously not to meet with the new owners of the MWH before the closing and said he first met Charles Adams at the Carroll Planning Board meeting on May 4th when they stood next to each other in the audience. Mr. Birknes has contact with Mr. Adams as president of the Bretton Woods Property Owners Association. Selectman Strasser said his conversations with Mr. Adams have been about Bretton Woods issues and things any newcomer to the area would want to know. He did say that Mr. Adams said our chief could pick out a piece of land for a fire station, and that their village would be design around whatever 2.8 acres that he chose.

Mr. Ouellette responded that the safety committee should have been consulted about the naming of Director of Safety. As to the micromanaging, the sessions you�re having should be discussed and voted on beforehand, not after. As far as hiring Ms. Straw, Mr. Ouellette stated that Selectman Strasser had designed the form and both Chairman Wright and Selectman Strasser had voted for Ms. Straw. He also said it was his habit to vote last on any issue and everything he said should be on tape somewhere in the office. As far as the Chief�s position, Mr. Ouellette still wanted Selectman Strasser to step down from the process. Mr. Ouellette stated that once again the Board abused the executive session rules last Monday. He stated the public meeting should have been recessed until after executive session and then reopened for the public. Instead the public was not aware of another public meeting that night. Comments were made by Mr. Ouellette, Paul Ouimet and others that Selectman Strasser had used deceit in his dealings with town residents. Mr. Ouimet brought up the Article 15 Committee year end report, and again Selectman Strasser said he took responsibility for publishing information that was incorrect. Mr. Ouimet said he�d gone up to the recreation center last week to ask how often the police patrol up there, and was told they come up regularly, sometimes 2-3 times a day, taking time to visit with the kids occasionally. He then asked Chairman Wright and Selectman Moroney if they agreed with Selectman Strasser�s comments, and how much input they had into his statements. Selectman Moroney said she did not agree 100% with the comments and had had no input in their content, but agreed that Selectman Strasser should respond. She also said she intends to study rules for non-public meetings in an effort to keep the board in compliance. Chairman Wright said he�d had no input, that Selectman Strasser was better at this sort of thing. Mr. Ouimet stated that these comments meant to him that the majority of the select board was not represented in Selectman Strasser�s response, and that he�d been speaking for himself. Before moving on, the Secretary explained that tapes of these meetings are kept only until minutes are approved. There is an RSA stating that once minutes of a meeting are approved, the tapes should be destroyed or taped over. Until such time anyone is entitled to a copy of the tape, but once the minutes are approved, they�re gone.

Mollie White asked about rules applying to holding meetings outside the public forum, and Chairman Wright said it was his understanding that you could meet but make no decisions. He then moved to have meetings with supervisors every Tuesday and Thursday at 10 AM, and notify the public each time. Selectman Strasser seconded.

Linda Dowling mentioned that in addition to physical meetings, some email correspondence between selectmen can be called a meeting, and as such are not allowed. Selectman Strasser noted that legislation is pending in this regard. Ms. Dowling read from RSA 91-A:3 II and III having to do with non-public sessions. (copy attached) Ms. Karpf asked if we could get a clarification about executive sessions regarding legal matters. She is under the impression that you have to have an ongoing lawsuit or a letter regarding a court battle beginning, not that you decide something is a legal issue. A discussion took place about sealing executive sessions, and Ms. Dowling said the town where she lived previously had put the minutes to executive sessions in sealed dated envelopes, so that when appropriate they could be released to the public.

Doug Bews said he attended the hearing today regarding the AMC, and that Judge Vaughan has not made a ruling yet. Bernie Waugh, Town Counsel, argued against the PILOT agreement, saying the town has no authority to go into multi-year contracts for Payment in Lieu of Tax, because it�s a voluntary thing, and it has to be done every year. All their financial information should be received and reviewed every year.

Mr. Bews next brought up the meeting on August 2, 2005 between Chairman Wright and Selectman Strasser and Bernie Waugh to discuss the requirement of Jay Ouellette�s Earth Moving/Excavating business under the name of Bumper to Bumper Auto Repair and Towing to go before the appropriate boards for approval and public hearing. Mr. Bews and his wife delivered a letter to the town on August 29, 2005 asking if the result of the meeting was a display of complete incompetence of our town counsel to misdirect an applicant, or an attempt at a cover up for the Chair Selectman�s violations of the Town of Carroll By-Laws. Mr. Bews stated tonight that he had never received an answer to that letter. He stated that he and his wife had been sued by Jay Ouellette, Mark Clark, and Bill Wright for operating a snowmobile business on a commercial lot. We were taken to court not for a snowmobile business, but under Section II Purpose, not when a site plan was required. We were held to such a high standard while Mr. Ouellette was operating an unlawful business with Mark Clark and Bill Wright�s full knowledge of it. Mr. Bews stated that in what constituted executive session, the selectmen met with Bernie Waugh, and he would like to know the legal advice and legal decision made at the time of that meeting.

Ms. Dowling reminded the board that when going into executive session, it is necessary to poll the board, and record each selectman�s vote in the minutes. She also said that on Rte. 115 there is a campground with traffic going in and out. She�d like the town to see if the state would put up signs warning of traffic turning and entering. She has seen many close calls with vehicles and kids on foot and bicycle. Chairman Wright made a motion to write to the state about getting signs put up. Selectman Moroney seconded, and the motion was passed unanimously.

Mac McQueeney stated that 2 years ago an article was passed to hire a town administrator, and the article was determined to be not legal because it had no salary amount mentioned. He said perhaps a town administrator could be helpful now; that person could do the micro-managing and report back to the board. Chairman Wright moved to put a warrant article on the ballot to hire a town manager with a maximum salary of $60,000. Selectman Moroney seconded, and the motion was passed unanimously.

Dale Shakespeare wanted the board to know that one of the comments he made to Jim Covey the previous week had offended Mr. Covey, and he wanted to apologize for that. He had no intention of insulting him, and he wanted Mr. Covey to know that.

Jeff Duncan brought up a grant that had been approved for an exhaust system for the fire station bays. The grant must be accepted before September, and the town�s portion of the expense is $6,800, with the grant being $32,300. The selectmen agreed to find the money from the budget and possibly a portion could come from capital reserve. The trustees will look into that possibility. Chairman Wright moved to find the money for this expense, Selectman Moroney seconded, and the motion was passed unanimously.

Marc Brodeur asked about the water system and why it was losing money. It was explained that the meter reading process had some glitches in it that were being worked on. There is new software for the hand held reader, and Becki Pederson is entering information. She and Billy Rines have started the preliminary meter reading process.

A town hall use permit for Irene Gillery was approved and signed.

The fact that we had not named a representative for the Cable TV consortium was brought up. No one volunteered and the matter was tabled until a future meeting. However, it was mentioned that with Time Warner taking over Adelphia, it might be a good time for the Town to have a public meeting with them, and Selectman Moroney made a motion to contact them. Selectman Strasser seconded the motion and it was passed unanimously.

The secretary reported that Recreation Director John Quigley estimated it would cost $350 to build a floating dock, and also that the insurance company had been contacted regarding liability. He suggested the town really think about the advisability of a dock, but if they wanted, he would come up and view the site and make recommendations to limit our liability. The fund raising car wash had been approved, and the dance which would be the same as other small dances they�ve had in the past, was approved too. Mr. Bews suggested that perhaps purchasing a floating dock rather than building one would limit some of the town�s liability. The secretary will call Butch Burbank at PLT and ask him to come up.

Claire Gritzer said there was an article in the current issue of Town & Country about email communication with regard to the right to know rules.

Dr. Karpf wanted to let people know that he will be cutting trees near the airport, and has contacted appropriate property owners. He will call Charlie Baylies before he starts.

Selectman Strasser made a motion to appoint John Goodney Director of Training for Safety Issues. Chairman Wright seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

Discussion took place regarding police, fire, ambulance service that involves Bethlehem properties. Chief Duncan explained the mutual aid procedures for fire and ambulance. There is no written agreement for the ambulance/EMS mutual aid. Basically they request, we go. The only charges are to the patient. For fire apparatus there is a written contract with 23 towns from Pittsburg to Orford plus some in Vermont. The Town of Carroll will respond wherever requested. 911 calls for Bethlehem go to Bethlehem and will continue to go to Bethlehem. They get toned and the Bethlehem chief tones us. We are not the first responder; if we get there first, when Bethlehem personnel arrives, they are in charge. Acting Chief Smalley said the police have state mutual agreements with towns from Lisbon to Lancaster, and they respond when requested. Selectman Strasser suggested that given the Bretton Woods, Ledgewood and Stonehill subdivisions that are contiguous to Carroll but actually in Bethlehem, maybe we approach Bethlehem for a contribution for fire equipment. Chief Duncan said here in the Twin Mountain area, there are not many calls, maybe 4 or 5 a year. He suggested the homeowners in the new subdivision may push for some kind of an agreement with Carroll. In the meantime, we will invite John Seeley, chairman of the Bethlehem to come to board meeting on August 28.

There was some discussion of possibly putting a new police/fire station on the Mooseland Grill property. Both Chief Duncan and Acting Chief Smalley said it would put all the Bretton Woods properties within 5 miles of the station.

Ms. White asked about town maintenance on private roads, such as Serenity Lane. Chief Duncan said he tours all town roads to make sure fire equipment can access all areas. But covenants in new subdivisions must show residents are responsible for maintenance, and the Planning Board is to have this written into the subdivision plan. Lack of access would be referred to the Road Agent and he would contact owners.

At 9:30 PM, as there was no additional business, Chairman Wright declared the meeting ended.