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Minutes of 06/25/2007

June 28th, 2007

Carroll Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes
June 25, 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, Allen Strasser, Rena Vecchio

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

Members of the public present: Roberta McGee, Thomas Gately, Eleanor Brauns, Carmine Fabrizio, Jim Covey, Jeff Duncan, Bill Smalley, Edith Tucker, Doug Bews, John Burt, John Trammell, Kelly Trammell, Ken Mosedale

Pledge of Allegiance

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

Selectman Strasser moved to accept the minutes of the June 18, 2007 meeting as written. Selectman Vecchio seconded, and the motion was passed unanimously.

Roberta McGee spoke about the questions Pat Martin had brought up regarding the town cemeteries. She confirmed that the $5,000 received from the Robert Williams estate could be spent for any cemetery maintenance, not for perpetual care for his grave. Any bills can be sent to the town hall, and money will be withdrawn from the savings account. The trustees have visited the Straw, Rosebrook, and Stickney cemeteries, and would like to put signs at each. Ms. Martin will call Len Reed in Bethlehem to see where they got the small pedestal signs that describe various historical sites in town. Selectman Strasser suggested they might want to get some lights that use solar power. They are $89, and will typically give power through the night. He also mentioned replacing the flag pole at the town hall, and getting a light for it as well.

It was confirmed that the cemetery salary budget line item is for any labor done by town employees, and that the mowing costs go into the cemetery maintenance line item. Ms. McGee said she’d spoken with Paul Gamache, who does such a good job of taking care of the Stickney cemetery, and he could use a weed whacker. Ed Martin removed the fallen tree from the Rosebrook Cemetery. Ms. McGee said there are a number of broken head stones in the Straw Cemetery, and Chairman Moroney suggested that Mike Gooden or John Gardiner could provide the name of a company who repairs stones. It was also suggested that Barry Normando in Groveton does this. The statement was made that before doing anything radical at a cemetery, the state must be contacted. Ms. McGee said they have a burial of ashes coming in July, and the state says if a cemetery trustee is present, the family can open the site. However, Ms. Martin will ask Billy Rines to do this.

Ken Mosedale, developer of Woodland Acres, said he received a bill from the town for a street sign, which he’d be happy to pay if the sign had the correct name on it. He showed the selectmen signed copies of subdivision plans for Phase I and II of Woodland Acres. Phase I was recorded in November 2004 and Phase II in August 2005. Both plans show the road off Woodland Acres Rd. as Grandpa Harry’s Lane. He said the street sign that was put up says it’s Harry’s Lane, and he wants the proper name on the sign. Bill Smalley, our 911 coordinator, said that in accordance with RSA 231:133 II, they are trying to eliminate names like “grandpa, uncle, etc.” from street names in order to make identification easier. Somewhere along the line one of the maps was copied with the “Grandpa” cut off, and 911 numbers and the street sign ended up missing that word. We have two 911 numbers assigned to Harry’s Lane, and one to Grandpa Harry’s Lane. He said the Planning Board is supposed to be checking with Fire Chief Duncan and Sgt. Smalley before approving street names. He also said at this point, the selectmen are the only ones who can change the name of a road. Chairman Moroney moved to change Harry’s Lane to Grandpa Harry’s Lane. Sgt. Smalley said he would be going to Cartographics on Tuesday, and have the changes made. He will also order a new street sign. The secretary was asked to write a note to the Planning Board asking them to have street names go to Sgt. Smalley, Chief Duncan, and the selectmen for approval.

It was announced that the Carroll Economic Development Corp. is having a meeting Tuesday, June 26th at 9:30 am. It will be held at the Four Seasons Motor Inn. Jim Covey said he had been invited, and they will be discussing the possibility of giving the Industrial Park land to a non-profit. As the CEDC is a non-profit organization, they can only give it to another non-profit. The assumption is that the new non-profit will market the property. Chairman Moroney said she’d like to have the CEDC come to the selectmen with the status of their organization. Selectman Strasser said apparently a deed had never been written turning the property over to the CEDC, and that will have to be done before anything can happen.

The secretary reported that she’d called the insurance company again about insurance for a cog railway engine should the town choose to accept one from Wayne Presby. The town has liability insurance in the amount of $2,000,000, and the representative didn’t know anything about a $150,000 liability cap for the town. Given our coverage, Chairman Moroney made a motion to have the Chamber of Commerce move forward on having the train be owned and displayed on town property. Selectman Vecchio seconded the motion, and it was passed unanimously. Lee Hallquist is meeting with Mr. Presby this week and will let him know what has happened.

In order to complete the application for FY 2008 payment ($9,162) of the state water grant, we needed to authorize one of the selectmen to act on behalf of the Board of Selectmen. Since Selectman Vecchio will be in office the longest on her current term, Selectman Strasser moved to have her be the authorized representative and sign the application. Chairman Moroney seconded the motion, and it was passed unanimously.

The following items were approved and signed.

Water Warrant – Trammell, Gentile, Marcklinger
Oath of Office – Jennifer Hancock – Deputy Town Clerk/Tax Collector
Town Hall Use Application – Garneau
Road Inventory for NH DOT

Selectman Strasser, Sgt. Smalley, and Chief Duncan looked at the Road Inventory map and a number of existing roads were added to the map. It was decided to send a copy of the Cartographics Dispatch Map with the one sent by the state. Chairman Moroney moved to sign the Inventory Collection form, Selectman Vecchio seconded, and the motion was passed unanimously.

Selectman Strasser said he’d been looking over the budget line items to see where we stand in terms of expenses incurred. Most items are fine, but because of the work on Fieldstone Lane, the water salaries and expansion lines are overspent. Also the Building Maintenance and Repairs line is tight because of the police and fire stations. Selectmen Strasser said we’d received a tax payment schedule from the School District, and the payments for the next 5 months are up about $23,000 each.

Selectman Strasser said he’s upset about some things that have been going on since Chairman Moroney has been on the board. He said from her very first meeting on the board she’s been making fun of him and periodically blowing up – some of the comments being personal attacks on him. On May 14, assignments were determined for each selectman, and Selectman Strasser was scheduled to take Chairman Moroney’s place on the Bridge Committee. He produced a copy of an email from Chairman Moroney to the engineer on the bridge project telling them not to deal with him, that he had not been given any information, and that she would try to keep him out of it as long as possible. Selectman Strasser said these types of communication interfere with his ability to do his job as a selectman. He said it is libelous, slanderous, and he wants it stopped. He said she’d done this before, and brought forth another email sent out preceding the March election, urging people to vote for Rena Vecchio. As part of that message, she talked about Selectman Strasser causing problems, and he interpreted the message as her urging people not to work with him, and he wants it stopped. He said there are set of rules and procedures and she needs to follow them, and set an example as the chairman. Chairman Moroney agreed.

Chief Duncan spoke to the issue of businesses in town having pool tables. He said the selectmen need to make a determination of whether to have pool tables in town, and a policy needs to be set (RSA 286:6). He spoke about coming up with a license or permit, and perhaps charge a fee. When asked why this was a fire department matter, Chief Duncan said he’d be the one inspecting them. He said there are currently businesses in town violating RSA 286:10 because they don’t have a license. Good ‘N You has 2 tables, the Pizza Pub has 1, and probably The Cave has 1. Selectman Strasser said he’d read the RSA’s and didn’t think the town had to issue licenses, and if they chose not to, no one would be in violation of anything. The secretary will check with LGC counsel to see if we need to license pool tables.

The two trailers on John D’Urso’s property came up again. Mr. D’Urso maintains the second older trailer is an accessory building, used for storage only. Chairman Moroney read Stan Borkowski’s note on the subject and said if that’s the case, he needs a building permit for the second trailer. It was pointed out that his building permit for the new trailer has conflicting statements on it. In one place it states the old trailer will be removed, and another place states it will be moved to another spot on the lot, and Mr. D’Urso thinks this permit covers the situation. Chairman Moroney moved to send a copy of the permit and Mr. Borkowski’s report to the attorney and ask what we should do next. Selectman Strasser seconded the motion, and it was passed unanimously.

Selectman Strasser commented that he thought Mr. D’Urso did a good job cleaning the exterior of John Bell’s property on Rte. 3 South. Chairman Moroney read Stan’s report on the things needing attention on the building itself, and this will be sent to Mr. D’Urso.

Chairman Moroney asked the status of the Ridgeview/Brook Rd. property with the trailers on it. The secretary said it has been surveyed, and it’s for sale, apparently along with a piece across the river in Bethlehem that is also owned by Juliah Chamberlain. Doug Bews said he’d heard that James Lydon, on Ridgeview Drive is buying the property. Discussion took place about levying fines or going to court, and Town Counsel will be consulted since we’ve had no response to the last letter sent.

The town has received the property tax bill for the Hogan property where the police have rented space. Chairman Moroney moved to abate the tax, Selectman Vecchio seconded the motion, and it was passed unanimously.

Information on heating oil for next year was presented. The Energy Alliance through Irving Oil is offering with membership #2 Fuel Oil at a fixed price of $2.43 per gallon. Stiles Fuel is offering a fixed price of $2.45 per gallon. Given the problems we had with Irving Oil and furnace maintenance the year before last, Selectman Strasser moved to contract with Stiles Fuel for oil. Chairman Moroney seconded the motion, and it was passed unanimously. Then the discussion turned to the fuel being used at the new police station, and Sgt. Smalley said the two new furnaces there are oil fired units, but because the tank is outside, it needs to be mixed with kerosene in the winter to keep it from freezing. Stiles put 100 gallons of kerosene in the tank on May 1, and at the current price of $2.869 per gallon, we should have oil put in it until mid-November. The secretary will contact Stiles about a fixed price for mixed fuel.

Mr. Bews asked if there was anything new to report on the AMC exempt status. He was told they had submitted the required forms, but the Town Counsel is going to ask for some additional information. Selectman Strasser said he would call Bernie Waugh to see what will be done next.

Selectman Strasser said he’d spoken to Phil Bodwell of Commerford Nieder and Perkins, and he thought the work on the AMC valuation was done, but we won’t have any of the new assessment numbers until the beginning of September. Mr. Bews asked if the selectmen had made a decision about whether the AMC meets the criteria for property tax exemption. The answer was no, that Atty. Waugh was still working on this. He’s looking at things like recent court decisions to see if they favor our situation.

Chairman Moroney told the group that Maryclare Quigley had broken her wrist and elbow on Saturday, and that her address would be on the bulletin board for anyone who’d like to send a card.

Selectman Vecchio asked if there is money in the budget for some flowers to put outside at the new police station. She said she’d be happy to do the planting. Lee Hallquist has already put some flowers around the flagpole and Chairman Moroney has cut the grass. Coveys asked about painting the station, and the Hogans are planning on painting it.

Selectman Strasser said we need new flagpoles at the town hall, and perhaps some of the solar powered lights for them. Mr. Covey said if Billy Rines took down the shutters and letters, he would paint them.

At 8:18 PM, as there was no additional business, Chairman Moroney declared the meeting ended.




Action Items:

NIMS Training – send notices to employees
Response letter to Bretton Woods land offer
Using insurance settlement to offset police station repairs
Property tax exemptions – increase limits
Industrial Park land use
Term Limits for Planning & Zoning
Fix sign on town hall
Grant program letter of intent by July 2
Pool table licenses
D’Urso trailers letter to atty.
Chamberlain property

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