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Minutes of 04/09/2007

April 11th, 2007

Carroll Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes
April 9, 2007
"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 Susan Kraabel, Secretary.

Board members present: Bonnie Moroney, Rena Vecchio
The meeting was called to order at 7:04 PM.

Members of the public present: Roberta McGee, Mike Gooden, Tom Gately, John Trammell, Kelly Trammell, Bill Smalley, Jeff Duncan, Billy Rines, John Foster, John Goodney

The board announced the approval of bills and signing of checks.

Chairman Moroney moved to approve the minutes of 04/02/2007. Selectman Vecchio seconded the motion, then said she could not vote because she had not been at the meeting. Minutes will be approved when Selectman Strasser returns.

The report from Stan Borkowski is posted on the bulletin board.

John Foster came to the board to present his check for $1,000 to cover legal costs of the land transfer from the town to him and his wife. He again stated that if costs go over that amount he will reimburse the town.

The insurance claim for police station damage was processed and the itemized settlement offer is $18,159.60 plus the cost of replacing the surveillance camera that was not included. Chairman Moroney said she thought the town should accept that amount. Tom Gately said he’d dealt with claims adjusters for years, and the only way we’d get more money would be to spend money on legal fees to gain probably not a lot more. John Trammell also felt we should accept the settlement offer. Chairman Moroney moved to accept the settlement, Selectman Vecchio seconded, and the motion was passed unanimously. Roberta McGee questioned how the building got that bad that fast, and was told that John Gardiner had been writing memos for years, and the town chose not to spend money on the building maintenance.

The following documents were approved and signed.

Yield tax warrant – Ken Elworthy
Current Use Tax Abatement – Richard Gould
Elderly and Disabled Lien Releases (3) – Barnaby/Benoit
Sign Permit – UPS
Veterans’ Tax Credit – John Trammell
Intent to Cut – Cersosimo Lumber – Owl’s Head Sale USFS – hold for bond
Intent to Excavate (4) – Pike Industries
Oath of Office – Trustees of Trust Funds – C. Gritzer, L. Dowling, A. Fabrizio
Oath of Office – Zoning Board of Adustment – J. Karpf

Ms. McGee gave a little history of the Pike Industries excavation problems when they first opened and started blasting. Parker Road residents had cracked foundations and broken windows. The Patio Motor Court got cracks in their swimming pool. It was noted that these were issues between the residents and Pike, that the town cannot stop them from excavating.

Chairman Moroney announced that Scott Sonia had recently completed classes, and had been designated a Certified Backflow Prevention Device Inspector.

Chairman Moroney brought up the fact that last year residents of Parker Road Extension had petitioned the town to make that road a dead end in an effort to stop drivers from racing down their street. Because fire trucks and plows wouldn’t have proper clearance, this was not done, but “Not a Thru Street” signs were put up. A resident recently told Chairman Moroney that the signs haven’t slowed people down, and now the question is could we put speed bumps on the road. Billy Rines said he has some for the recreation area road, but will find out about costs for additional speed bumps and the necessary signage. He also stated they would have to be removed for winter plowing. Selectman Vecchio would like the secretary to check with the LGC or our attorney about the legality of putting these in on a public road.

The secretary brought up problems with the computer in the highway garage. They have been using Worldsurfer dial-up internet service, and because of problems with the Verizon junction box on Parker Road, their service is almost non existent. The telephone line provides only half the speed required for internet connection, and most of the time they cannot use the internet for any kind of materials research they need. It took 9 hours to download Norton Antivirus software. Mr. Sonia called Time Warner, and for their service they will charge $23 to install and $44 per month. Chairman Moroney moved to allow them to sign up for cable internet. Selectman Vecchio seconded, and the motion was passed unanimously. Other internet discussion included the fact that because the police department shares internet service with the fire department, they must use Worldsurfer for their email. Jeff Duncan thinks the original cable contract included free service for the town hall, and that Time Warner may have a different policy for police/fire stations. All this will be researched.

Chairman Moroney read thank you letters to Linda Dowling and Pam Walsh for their service to the town on the Budget Committee. Chairman Moroney moved to sign the letters, Selectman Vecchio seconded, and the motion was passed unanimously.

Mr. Rines said he’d been down to the state surplus yard earlier in the day, and after checking out several vehicles, chosen a 4 cylinder Ford Ranger truck for the highway department. He said we will be billed by the state ($2,450), and he and Mr. Sonia will go get the truck this week.

Chief Duncan said he knew Butch Garneau would be digging on Fieldstone Lane this spring, and could we use him to dig behind the station to change the grade and drainage on the hill. It will be approximately 20 hours of labor, and he will contact the owners for permission to grade. 20-30’ of land behind the station belongs to the town; the rest is private property. Selectman Vecchio asked if jobs like these were put out to bid, and was told not always. There are only special circumstances where bids are mandated, and the town tries to use local people when possible. Certain jobs like last year’s fire station addition are put out to bid.

Chairman Moroney said there will be a meeting on Wednesday, April 11, to discuss police station options. Lori Hogan will be there to discuss rental of the gas station on Route 3 South as a temporary measure. The building committee will discuss visited sites, architectural plans for a possible new building, septic costs, metal buildings, etc. They have not ruled out anything at this point.

Tom Gately said he objected to the meeting policies and procedures suggested by Selectman Strasser a few weeks ago. He feels that the meetings never get out of hand to the point where we should be asking people to leave, and the proposed rules are unnecessary. Selectman Vecchio disagreed, saying she was shocked at a meeting she attended as a resident in early March when one attendee threatened another. While she agreed that having the chairman conduct meetings in an orderly fashion will do a lot to prevent outbursts, she feels having a policy is a necessity. The wording for procedures is still up for discussion.

At 7:58 PM, as there was no additional business, Chairman Moroney declared the meeting ended, and moved to go into executive session regarding personnel, legal matters, and
town aid. This was seconded by Selectman Vecchio. The board was polled, and went into executive session.

At the close of executive session, Chairman Moroney made a motion to return to public session, Selectman Vecchio seconded, and the motion passed unanimously. The preceding discussion will be made part of the public record. First, no legal matter was discussed, as the party requesting a meeting did not attend. Chief Trammell, Sgt. Smalley, and Chief Duncan discussed overtime hours and pay with the board. The number of night callouts this year has increased, arrests are up, and the police overtime budget is only $5,000 for the year. Chief Trammell and Sgt. Smalley have been recording comp time so as to not use up the entire budget before half the year is over. Chief Duncan has already used most of his overtime budget. February and March have been the busiest 2 months in 6 years. He also is looking for comp time as opposed to overtime. Chief Trammell, realizing there was no existing policy, brought a copy of an agreement he’d like approved and made policy, as well as RSA 275:43. The policy allows time off in overtime hours rather than pay at time and a half. Chairman Moroney moved to sign the agreement due to excessive overtime. Selectman Vecchio seconded, and the motion was passed unanimously. Discussion also took place regarding overtime for Chief Trammell. While he hasn’t taken overtime pay in months, our personnel policy states as a law enforcement officer, he is entitled to it.

At 9:15 PM, Chairman Moroney moved to go into executive session regarding town aid. This was seconded by Selectman Vecchio. The board was polled, and went into executive session.

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

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