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Minutes of 08/28/2006
August 28th, 2006
Carroll Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes
August 28, 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, Evan Karpf, Bill Dowling, Linda Dowling, Dale Shakespeare, Bill Smalley, Harold Garneau, Tom Gately, Judy Cookson, Jim Cookson, Karen Moran, Mac McQueeney, Buddy Buder, Judy Buder, John Seeley, Tadd Bailey, Joyce Bean, Pat Martin, John Goodney, Ben Jellison, Jim Covey, Chris Hancock, Billy Rines, John Burt, Jeff Duncan, Dan Luebke, Doris Luebke, Tom Upton, Dot Upton
The board began with the approval of bills and signing of checks.
Selectman Moroney said she had gotten an email from Karen Moran stating that her name was missing from the list of attendees, and none of her questions were mentioned in the minutes. The secretary will correct the minutes and the approval will be done at the next meeting.
John Seeley, chairman of the Bethlehem Planning Board, came before the town to discuss services and town water for areas of Bethlehem that are closer to Carroll than Bethlehem center. He was in possession of a letter from our selectman to the owner of Ledgewood suggesting various proposals for Bethlehem payment of Carroll taxes based on the amount of town services that might be supplied by Carroll employees. Selectman Strasser stated this was a draft letter that should never have been passed on to Bethlehem. The matter has never been approved by the selectmen. He then read a document he’d written outlining response times and capital costs for emergency services for areas of Bethlehem that are much closer to Carroll than Bethlehem. He said the Town Selectmen feel that Bethlehem should pay an annual payment toward those Carroll costs generated by being the nearest to respond to calls. His document mentioned the warrant article passed last year to prohibit the sale of water outside town boundaries. In spite of legal counsel assurance that the article cannot prohibit action by the selectmen, at the present time they have no plans to sell water out of town. Selectman Strasser outlined the history of costs with Bethlehem, stating that while supplying water to Bethlehem residents, their selectmen refused to grant tax exempt status to the water tower that sits on Bethlehem property. He recognized the mutual aid agreement as beneficial to both towns, and said any future agreement will be separate from that. Selectman Strasser said we had received a request for water from the engineer for a subdivision across the river from Ledgewood, but Mr. Seeley said that to his knowledge no new subdivisions had ever requested water or town services from Carroll, and so far they had only seen a lot line adjustment in Bretton Woods. He acknowledged that development in Bretton Woods could really be an issue, because we are so much closer, and there will be a need to work together. He stated that any cost sharing between towns must be voted on by Town Meeting, not by selectmen. Selectman Strasser said in the past year and a half, they’ve written two letters to the Bethlehem selectmen, and have had no response. He stated they are looking at negotiating some type of agreement to be approved by Town Meeting. Mr. Seeley said as far as Little River Road is concerned, he’s not sure what the selectmen want. Selectman Strasser said we can charge out of town residents 15% more, but would have to get a franchise through the PUC, and they don’t want to do that right now. He said we’d like to start with eliminating the tax on the water tower, and Mr. Seeley said he’d speak to the selectmen about that. He stated when the previous resort owners came to Bretton Woods with their plan, there was some talk then about service fees, but this hasn’t been discussed with the new owners. Selectman Strasser said the new owners want to come here on October 2nd to meet with selectmen and town residents and perhaps they’ll present some preliminary plans. Mr. Seeley said if plans for Ledgewood come in, he’d notify us of hearings so we could attend. He also assumed they we’d continue to respond to fire and ambulance calls as we have in the past, and the response was yes. Discussion took place as to who responds first when a Bethlehem property close to Carroll is involved. Both Jeff Duncan and Ed Daniels said the 911 dispatch calls Bethlehem, and their chief calls Carroll. They also said in order for that policy to change, the selectmen must make that decision, not the fire chiefs. Mr. Seeley said he would have his selectmen contact us with any Ledgewood information, and he’d make Fire Chief Jack Anderson aware of what’s going on. Chairman Wright said perhaps we could ask the Celebration people to come here on Tuesday, October 3rd, since our Monday meetings seemed to be running longer than usual. A motion was made to that affect, seconded, and passed unanimously. Bill Dowling stated that Bethlehem had to tax the water tower, but they can abate the tax.
Selectman Moroney said last week Selectman Strasser had made a motion which she had not voted on, but was passed, asking department heads to fill out duty rosters each week. She then read a statement to Selectman Strasser objecting to his micro-managing of town employees. She said problems with employees should be discussed with all three selectmen in executive session, not during the day. She then asked the residents at the meeting if they wanted the employees micro-managed and a have a roster of who is working where and when or if they were happy with the job the employees are doing and think that Selectman Strasser should leave them alone and have only one department head meeting per month not during the day. She said she would stand by what these voters want. Most people clapped in support. She then moved that the roster requirement be removed. Chairman Wright asked if other towns had duty rosters. Billy Rines said some do, but in his position, too many things come up so that a duty roster would be a waste of time; on this day he’d done one thing that he’d planned, the rest of the day was spent on things that came up during the day. Selectman Strasser said it was an issue of wanting to know where someone was if they were needed. Mr. Rines said he has a pager and the truck has a radio, so he can be reached. Selectman Strasser said there’s no way to know who’s on duty. Karen Moran said we’re a small town with not many employees, and there shouldn’t be a problem keeping track of who’s working where. Billy is working somewhere and the police should be all over the place. Chairman Wright suggested a situation where someone came into town looking for a specific police officer, and we couldn’t tell them whether he was on duty or not. It was suggested we could call the police station, and if no one was there, Troop F would know who was on duty. Mr. Dowling said they should just be calling whatever department an employee works in. He also said the selectmen should be contacting Primex to get stress management training arranged, with all this paperwork everyone was being asked to do. Stress is a workers’ comp issue, and the selectmen are bringing it on. Selectman Strasser said what brought this on was he’d gotten two calls at home and one previously (two anonymously) that people in town who were supposed to be working for the town, were actually working elsewhere, and he couldn’t doing anything because he didn’t know where they were supposed to be working. Mr. Rines said if it is one of his employees, he wants to know about it. Selectman Strasser was asked if he’s contacted the department head, and was told no. Ed Daniels asked if the Select Board was going to vote on the motion by Selectman Moroney. He was told there was no second, so there would be no vote. Mr. Daniels was appalled that they were not going to even consider the feeling of the townspeople here tonight. Chairman Wright said he’d consider it for next week. Tom Gately said he thought legally the motion had to be seconded for discussion purposes, and Selectman Strasser did so. Selectman Moroney said there should be no rosters for next week, and Chairman Wright agreed.
Mr. Dowling spoke to Selectman Strasser about the statement he’d made that he tended not to pay attention to anonymous statements. Yet last week Selectman Strasser said “people” had concerns about the money coming out of my department, and but never said who it was. Selectman Strasser said he thought Karen Carew was looking at how the money was being applied on the BMSI software, not the amount of money. Mr. Dowling said in the last 18 months he’s put more money in the bank from the recycling center than was done in the past 20 years from the old dump. He can account for the money, and no one ever did before.
Ben Jellison asked if there should be a motion to table Selectman Moroney’s motion to eliminate the duty roster. Chairman Wright moved to table the motion, Selectman Strasser seconded, and the motion was passed unanimously, with no duty roster until a decision next week.
Evan Karpf came before the board to request a budget of $500 for the purpose of hiring a police chief. He explained we will have to pay for a physical agility exam and other incidental expenses. Chairman Wright asked Acting Police Chief Smalley if he had the money in his budget, and was told he did. Dr. Karpf said the committee had met twice, set up protocols, come up with questions for candidate interviews, and done preliminary review of resumes. Their next meeting would be spent discussing candidates after having had time individually to go over their credentials.
John Goodney reviewed the facts that we had 22 violations in the March 2006 inspection, that we had worked hard to correct these problems, and the one of the biggest efforts was to create a safety manual for the town. It is ready for approval, and when signed, he will date and distribute copies of the manual to each department. Selectman Moroney moved to adopt the Town of Carroll Safety and Health Policy as written. Selectman Strasser seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. A motion was also passed to send a copy to Inspector Roy at the Department of Labor.
The notices from the state regarding nomination for Health Officer and Deputy Health Officer were read. Mr. Goodney said from a safety standpoint, it was difficult to have a health officer who’s not in town very often. Selectman Strasser said he had verified Mr. Borkowski’s NH resident status. Selectman Strasser moved to reappoint Stan Borkowski, Chairman Wright seconded the motion. Ms. Moran asked what qualifications were necessary, and Mr. Daniels said not many ?" there are guide books to help you. He is responsible for restaurant inspections, property violations, and should be a member of the safety committee. With discussion about Mr. Borkowski’s residence and the difficulty of him not being in town much, Selectman Strasser withdrew his motion, and it was decided to put a notice on the board in the Town Hall to see if anyone would like to volunteer for the position.
The secretary brought a proposal from Laconia Savings Bank to install Onsite Check Teller in the town hall. This machine and the software with it would enable the town to scan checks for deposit and have the deposit done electronically rather than physically take the checks to the bank. The proposal included a reduction in activity fees such that with the $35 monthly Onsite Check Teller fee we would be saving approximately $20 per month and our deposits would be credited faster. There were questions about security for customer checks, and also whether we should consider changing banks. Selectman Strasser moved to look at other banks. Chairman Wright seconded the motion, and it was passed unanimously.
Dale Shakespeare asked if any review has been done of the accounting system to maintain better security. Selectman Strasser said our auditor Karen Carew has set up some new procedures to increase accountability. In addition we need to produce a procedures manual which will be done through the winter. The auditor will come up at least every three months to make sure we’re doing things properly.
The property tax abatements for Mr. Evansky and Mr. Goad were approved and signed. In the case of Mr.Goad, the property consists of a building which the town has taken for non payment of a tax lien. The land belongs to Bayroot, and the Goad building was condemned. The abatement is issued just to get the taxes off the town books.
An application from Brian Smith for Veteran’s Property Tax Credit was reviewed, approved, and signed by the selectmen. A copy of his DD214 was attached, and he has the proper qualifications for the tax credit.
The next subject discussed was the proposed committee to look into costs of bridge replacement or building a road for accessing Mountain View Lane and Old Town Road. The secretary reported that a newspaper ad had not yet been done, but she has talked to Harold Garneau and Jim Covey about serving on the committee. It was also suggested that the Road Agent be part of the committee. Chairman Wright moved to add Billy Rines to the committee, Selectman Strasser seconded, and the motion was passed unanimously. Further discussion was tabled for a future meeting.
Jeff Duncan said that Chairman Wright and Selectman Strasser had come to the fire station unannounced earlier in the day with a list of grievances pertaining to him, and he wanted to waive his right to executive session and address these issues tonight in public. He would give answers tonight if possible, and next week if necessary.
Selectman Strasser said last Friday you said “there was no master plan; that it was these two selectmen, Bill and I, who had caused a shameful display of not doing their job for ensuring its use and application.” Selectman Strasser stated he’d gone to see John Birknes, chairman of the Planning Board, and he said the latest annual revision would be available in a few weeks. He would like Mr. Duncan to stop making such statements and correct them with the people he’d spoken to. Mr. Duncan said he’d been in the town hall today and the newest master plan was dated 1989. It was sent to the registry but there cannot be any changes unless they come through the town clerk, and this has not been done. According to the Local Gov’t. Center, RSA’s mandate there be only one master plan in the town. We cannot have a separate Bretton Woods master plan; it may be a chapter of the Town of Carroll master plan. According to Mr. Duncan, all this came up because of the previous week’s discussion of the infrastructure committee not using the BW master plan. Selectman Strasser said the Planning Board is responsible for the master plan and Mr. Duncan said the Select Board is responsible for the Planning Board. Mr. Duncan read from the first page of the master plan. It states that this plan has no regulatory power. It is just a guideline. Thus the building committee is not obligated to follow the master plan.
Selectman Strasser said that last Friday Mr. Duncan again alleged that the Carroll/Crawford Purchase property line is shown on a different place than on the developer’s maps. Selectman Strasser said he’d checked our previous maps and talked to the land planner Jim Kennedy, and they said it was correct. Mr. Duncan said we have two maps in this town that show two different things, and one needs to be fixed; he doesn’t claim to know which one is correct. He addressed this with the planning board and was wsurprised to be admonished by the selectmen for trying to get this matter straightened out. Selectman Strasser suggested that we ask Commerford Nieder & Perkins to check this out, as they are assessors for both Carroll and Crawford’s Purchase. Discussion led to the fact that Selectman Strasser and Chairman Wright had come together this morning to discuss all these items with Mr. Duncan, and Mr. Duncan did not want to talk there, but in a meeting with all 3 selectmen present. Several people questioned the legality of the two selectmen meeting the way they attempted to this morning.
Selectman Strasser then stated the selectmen had written a letter to Mr. Duncan regarding the improving the ISO rating for Bretton Woods residents, and had never gotten a response from him. Mr. Duncan said he knew which letter he meant, the one dated May 10, 2006. He said the letter did not ask for a response, so he didn’t respond. He first pointed out an August 1, 2006 letter from ISO thanking us for supplying information about the Town of Carroll’s fire protection. He then addressed various points of the May 1 letter. He pointed out that ISO uses GIS and mapping to calculate the 5 mile limit, so his or the selectmen’s routing would make no difference. However, he has checked the routes mentioned in the May 10 letter, found them to be over 5 miles, and could not report incorrect numbers to ISO. He also stated vehicles over 10,000 need a permit to drive on any town road. He mentioned several steps taken to improve ISO ratings, and the fact that they’ve been reported to ISO officials. He said he’d made a number of improvements to the fire department to raise the ISO rating. Regarding the water department, Selectman Strasser said Mr. Rines had been directed to paint all hydrants the proper colors before winter, and from here forward, hydrant fees will be used only for extending water lines. We will be taking up the same issues for the Bretton Woods water. John Gardiner plans to attend the Planning Board meeting on September 7 to discuss building and infrastructure issues.
Selectman Strasser said to Mr. Duncan that he seems to be upset with Selectman Strasser and Chairman Wright because he, Mr. Duncan, feels he shouldn’t have the money spent on the fire station this year held against him as far as building a new fire station in town. Mr. Duncan said this money was just to bring the building up to code, a band aid so to speak. And a good portion of the money came from grants. The building will still need to be replaced. Selectman Strasser quoted parts of the master plan that reference spending in accordance with the growth of the tax base. Both Selectman Moroney and Mr. Duncan stated that the infrastructure committee was trying to look at needs and scheduling, and the selectmen should listen to their committee. Mr. Rines said every department came before the committee to determine how we can best use our land, and which department had the greatest need. They decided on the fire/police departments. Ed Daniels asked if we own land in Bretton Woods. Currently we don’t, but Selectman Strasser recounted his conversation with Charles Adams about giving 2.8 acres for a fire station. Mr. Duncan said he didn’t have the authority to pick out land for the town. Mr. Daniels said the committee was trying to determine what it would cost to build a substation in Bretton Woods and a station here in town, to see where it would be cost effective to build. They made arrangements to get the topographic map of the Mooseland property, and the selectmen would not allow them to even look at that possibility. Jim Covey said he’s on the committee and the first he’d heard of the 2.8 acres offered by the resort owners was 2 weeks ago. Selectman Strasser said it was in the papers, and he then spoke to Mr. Adams about it. He said if we get the 2.8 acres in Bretton Woods, we should go with a 2 station plan so everyone is less than 5 miles from a station, to get the maximum amount of coverage. Mac McQueeney suggested we contact Pat Corso, the resort general manager, who talks to Mr. Adams all the time, to see about the process of picking out the 2.8 acres. Mr. Rines asked if we could get the topo map of the land we own here. It was turned down last week along with the map for the Mooseland property. Selectman Strasser made a motion to get the map for our land, Chairman Wright seconded, and the motion was passed unanimously. He then suggested looking at the land where the highway barn sits. Selectman Strasser stated that Mr. Adams expressed some concern because they have plans for a building above 31’ and they’ll need a ladder truck out there. He feels the owners would give at least $100,000 in donations. He mentioned the suggestion of using the DPW land as being centrally located for a station. The problem with the Mooseland site is it takes away .8 miles from Lennon Road and Rte. 115. He again suggested a 2 station plan.
Mr. Dowling asked who the lawyer was that told Selectman Strasser that they didn’t have to post minutes from the meetings he and Chairman Wright were having around town. Selectman Strasser said it was Bernie Waugh, and Mr. Dowling asked if we were going to continue to employ him. Selectman Strasser explained the meetings are working sessions, mostly on manuals, and they come to the selectmen’s meetings for approval. He said Selectman Moroney can’t attend because of her employment, but she knows they meet every Tuesday and Thursday, and sometimes Mondays to meet with Mr. Borkowski. Several people expressed displeasure with the two selectmen meeting without the third, creating a quorum, and without minutes being posted. Committees in town post their meetings and also their minutes.
Mr. Bews asked if the selectmen had an answer to the letter he’d written a year ago. Selectman Strasser brought forth a response he’d written and Atty. Waugh approved. Mr. Bews wanted minutes from an alleged illegal meeting held between Chairman Wright, Selectman Strasser, and Atty. Waugh. Selectman Strasser read his letter to Mr. Bews that states that the meeting with Atty. Waugh as legal counsel is excluded from the definition of “meeting” and therefore was not subject to the Right-To-Know Law. The letter also stated that since Mr. Bews’ attorney apparently intends to file suit soon, all further communication regarding this matter should be through his attorney. Selectman Strasser also said that by law no one has the right to insist on lists of things being put into the minutes, and they don’t have the inherent right to question the selectmen. He said it was part of the Right-To-Know Law. You cannot come in and ask a series of questions and demand an answer from every selectman. They do not have to answer you. He could not give a definite RSA reference at the moment.
Tom Gately wanted to express his thanks to Mr. Duncan and the ambulance squad for their quick and professional response when one his renters was taken ill recently.
At 9:25 PM, as there was no additional business, Chairman Wright declared the meeting ended and moved to go into executive session regarding hiring and legal matters. This was seconded by Selectman Moroney. The board was polled, all three voted yea, 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.