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Minutes of 07/02/2007

July 4th, 2007

Carroll Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes
July 2, 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 7:03 PM.

Members of the public present: Roberta McGee, Carmine Fabrizio, Ann Fabrizio Jeff Duncan, Bill Smalley, Edith Tucker, Doug Bews, John Burt, John Trammell, Kelly Trammell, Mike Gooden

Pledge of Allegiance

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

Two changes were made to the minutes adding that a light on the flag at night at the town hall is required by law. Page 3 had a correction clarifying what Chairman Moroney stated in her email to Hoyle and Tanner. Chairman Moroney moved to accept the minutes of the June 18, 2007 meeting as corrected. Selectman Strasser seconded, and the motion was passed unanimously.

There was no report from the Carroll Economic Development Corp., but someone who had attended their meeting said there will be no transfer of the industrial park land to another non-profit. They plan to get more actively involved in developing the land, with the main focus to be bringing jobs to the area, rather than just to increase the tax base. The CEDC has gotten some information on state and county officials who can give guidance in their efforts. There was some discussion about the relationship between the town and the CEDC, as the bylaws don’t spell out a clear definition of what authority the town has.

Selectman Strasser had contacted Bernie Waugh about whether the town must license pool tables, and Atty. Waugh’s opinion is that they do not. He said the RSA says they may license them, but does not mandate it. He cited the town of Lebanon as having a licensing board, and they do not license pool tables. Jeff Duncan stated his concern is about safety, not whether a business has pool tables. He said any business that needs an assembly permit is inspected annually, but it could be up to a year before an inspection reveals the fact that a pool table has been placed such that it blocks egress from the building, and the licensing inspection could prevent this. Several options were discussed, including having the selectmen adopt a policy requiring notification to the fire department of adding pool tables. A town ordinance adopted by the selectmen was also proposed, and a zoning ordinance created by the Planning Board, and voted on at Town Meeting. Doug Bews suggested that any ordinance refer to non-movable objects blocking egress, so as not to single out pool tables. It was brought up that there are numerous town ordinances in place that people are not aware of, and maybe we should publish them in the Annual Report. It was suggested they be reviewed first for current relevancy, and Chief Duncan and Sgt. Smalley will bring their copies to the office. In the meantime, Chairman Moroney made a motion to have Chief Duncan create a checklist for new business owners that includes the issue of not blocking egress with any non-movable objects. Selectman Strasser seconded the motion, and it was passed unanimously.

No action has been taken with regard to the two trailers on John D’Urso property, and that subject was tabled until the next meeting.

The secretary reported that notices had gone out to town employees with regard to the NIMS training. Each person who must take the training (including the selectmen) was given the website and copies of the final exam for each course. Copies of the course summaries are available in the office.

The subject of using insurance settlement funds to repair the old police station was next on the agenda. The secretary read a portion of RSA 31:95-b which deals with spending unanticipated revenue. In our case, because the amount is over $5,000, we can overspend the voted budget amount if we hold a public hearing. Selectman Strasser moved to have a hearing on July 16, 2007. Chairman Moroney seconded, and the motion was passed unanimously. Discussion then took place on how much money would complete the job of tearing down the damaged portion of the building and re-constructing it for fire department use. Chief Duncan said he has some preliminary numbers, but would prefer to wait until he’s put the work out to bid before discussing the costs involved. When using part of the court ordered restitution money for this project was mentioned, it was decided to hold off the public hearing until true costs are available. Selectman Strasser moved to wait to set the public hearing date until we know the bid due date. Chairman Moroney seconded the motion, and it was passed unanimously.

With regard to the Bretton Woods fire station sites, Chairman Moroney reported that the Building Committee was sending two people to walk the sites, as one is close to the river, and they’re not sure what the other site looks like. She said John Gardiner had been in contact with the Bretton Woods people and discussed some of the items on their draft offer of land letter. The committee feels they can’t give a response until they have more information. Another meeting is scheduled for July 25th. Selectman Strasser said a letter had been received in September 2006 and the draft offer in March 2007. He read portions of the March letter, describing the properties on either side of the Above the Notch motel. The letter said they will donate approximately 2.8 acres, deed it within 90 days of a response from the town. The town would pay closing costs, and each party would pay for their own attorney. It states we must do something with the property within 3 years, or the town would pay to deed the property back to the resort. The term of this agreement is 10 years from March 6, 2007. It says everything will be in writing and nothing verbal applies. Selectman Strasser said the only thing verbal that needs to be in the document is what Charles Adams promised in October when he came to speak to residents at the town hall. He said they wanted to have the rights to the colors and architectural additions, and they would pay the additional costs. Chairman Moroney said when the resort people met with Mr. Gardiner, they said they would not pay for these things. Selectman Strasser said that if the committee didn’t like the sites, we could ask for somewhere else. Selectman Vecchio asked if we had shown the draft letter to our attorney, as she was unwilling to sign a contract without legal assurance. Selectman Strasser said we need to respond to their draft, bringing up the matter of architectural review. Selectman Vecchio moved to send a copy of the draft letter to Bernie Waugh, Selectman Strasser seconded, and the motion was passed unanimously. Selectman Vecchio questioned whether we should send a letter to Bretton Woods letting them know we are working on the response, and it was noted that Mr. Gardiner has made that known.

Discussion about raising income and asset level requirements for elderly tax exemptions took place. The secretary will research current levels and what maximums can be, so that a warrant article can be written for next March. We will also determine whether the town has ever adopted certain available exemptions such as for wood burning heating systems and disabled persons.

In a discussion about the shutters and letters on the town hall, it was decided to contact Art Savona for a quote to replace the shutters with more durable vinyl shutters.

It was reported that John Goodney had spoken to FEMA officials about the grant program with a July 2 deadline to file intent. He determined that for what he’s seeking a different grant program is appropriate, and will proceed with that.

Selectman Vecchio asked if there is a Safety Committee meeting scheduled, and while no one could name the date, there is probably one in July. This will be determined during the week.

Follow up on the Juliah Chamberlain property and the trailers on it, is being looked at by Atty. Waugh.

The following items were approved and signed.

Property Tax abatement – Hogan, Warren
Yield Tax Certification – Camara

Mr. Bews said last week Selectman Strasser had handed out a sheet showing that we’re currently paying approximately $30,000 per pupil to the school district, and he’d done some research into the contract with the district. He said the charter/contract, written over 40 years ago, has performance written in -- how we will pay and what we’ll get with that money. He then read from the Uniform Commercial Code dealing with contracts, and it deals with the absence of specific time provisions. It states where the contract provides for successive performances but is indefinite in duration it is valid for a reasonable time but unless otherwise agreed may be terminated at any time by either party. He said he’s not necessarily bringing this up to get out of the district, but we need to examine it and separate performance from the charter. We should have the option to send our children to perhaps the White Mountain School in Bethlehem for a lot less money. Selectman Strasser said the Article 15 Committee had looked into this, and they’d spoken to John Teague, who’d lost six cases based on this premise, and wouldn’t consider taking on any more. Several attorneys told the committee that the current Supreme Court did not understand the type of contract we have, and would not enforce the Uniform Commercial Code. Selectman Strasser said the student population is dropping in the other towns, and eventually the all the other towns will outvote Lancaster. It was stated that a warrant article could be put forth to stop allowing Vermont students to be tuitioned in for $6,700. Mr. Bews also asked if we know how much of the school budget goes to support the municipal sports program.

Selectman Strasser said we had set up a schedule to have a Water Commissioners’ meeting after the election and another one in the fall, so we need to do this. The water system is still running at a deficit, and we should look at this prior to setting new water rates. He said we should be billing twice a year, and need to get rates set. Chairman Moroney asked if Karen Carew was done with her audit of the water system, and the secretary will contact her on Tuesday.

Chairman Moroney said she’d received a call from Michael King of North Country Council. He and someone from his office would like to meet with the selectmen and the Planning Board to talk about setting up a Capital Improvement Plan. He said with all the development in Bretton Woods, we need to be concerned about the effect on things like roads, fire station, and police. There is still grant money for a CIP, and he feels we need to proceed. The Planning Board will be asked if they can meet on August 6th.

John Trammell said there is free training available from Homeland Security for police personnel. The town pays the officers’ salary for the week, but the government pays for the rest, including transportation. Chairman Moroney made a motion to send our police personnel. Selectman Strasser seconded the motion, and it was passed unanimously.

At 8:45 PM, as there was no additional business, Chairman Moroney declared the meeting ended, and moved to go into executive session regarding personnel 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 and seal the minutes from executive session; Selectman Vecchio seconded and the motion passed unanimously.









Action Items:

NIMS Training Progress
Response letter to Bretton Woods land offer
Public Hearing to spend unanticipated revenue
Property tax exemptions – increase limits
Industrial Park land use
Term Limits for Planning & Zoning
Fix sign on town hall
D’Urso trailers letter to atty.
Chamberlain property
NCC/Planning Board meeting
Water Commission meeting

Town of Carroll, New Hampshire ®2024