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Minutes of 6/15/2020
June 22nd, 2020
Carroll Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes
June 15, 2020
“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 Kelly Trammell, Secretary
Board Members: Robert Gauthier, David A. Scalley, Bonnie Moroney
Participating members: Imre Szauter, Jeremy Oleson, Tadd Bailey, Michelle Palys, Carol Carlson-Cunningham
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Chairman Gauthier.
Pledge of Allegiance.
Chairman Gauthier announced the approval and signing of the manifests.
Selectman Moroney made a motion to approve the minutes of 6/8/2020. Selectman Scalley seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
Imre Szauter spoke on behalf of the Building Committee. He requested the Board allow the Building Committee to meet on Thursday, July 2 at 9:00 a.m. in the community room with any restrictions requested by the Board. He also asked for the Board’s guidance on resuming planning for the dedication ceremony for the new facilities. Selectman Scalley said he believes meeting on July 2 would be fine. Chairman Gauthier asked if the Governor still has a cap of 10 people. Fire Chief Oleson stated the meeting should be fine with social distancing measures in place and anyone that is compromised should wear a mask.
Selectman Scalley said in regards to the dedication ceremony he would suggest August. Jeremy Oleson suggested Labor Day and mentioned there is a pancake breakfast that morning. Imre Szauter stated the idea would be to have a ribbon cutting ceremony with light refreshments followed by tours of the building. Michelle Palys suggested not holding the ceremony on a holiday weekend because business owners may not be able to participate because they will be too busy. The Board agreed to place the topic on the next meeting agenda and asked Imre to follow up with Mike Finn, the Chair of the sub-committee.
Selectman Scalley addressed Carol Carlson-Cunningham, the President of the Chamber of Commerce. He told her that School Street has to have a culvert replaced that was damaged in a storm some time ago. He stated that in conjunction with the replacement, they are thinking about removing the hot top, fixing the road and the parking near the information booth and working with the State to correct the road angle going onto Route 3. Scalley was questioning whether or not to open the information booth as the construction is most likely to take place in July and August. He anticipates the road will be closed for a month. Carol said she expects that August will be the busiest month. She said the booth is scheduled to be opened this weekend and continue with weekends only until after July 4 when it will be open daily. She likes the idea of fixing the area but thinks the information booth will be needed more than ever because visitors are likely to have a lot of questions about restrictions due to coronavirus. Jeremy Oleson suggested letting the Chamber use the old Fire Station as a temporary information booth once the construction begins.
Carol provided the Board with a list of pole numbers to accompany the paperwork for a Municipal Decorative Pole Agreement with Eversource. Once approved, this would allow banners, flags, etc. to be placed on the poles.
Carol also advised the Board that N.C.I.C. is divesting of its NH Grand assets. They currently own the kiosk by the booth and lease it to the Town with maintenance agreed to be performed by the Chamber. N.C.I.C approached Carol about transferring ownership and she asked the Board if it should be the Town or the Chamber. Selectman Scalley asked if there was a fee associated with taking the kiosk. Carol said they are being given away. There was a brief discussion and the Board stated it should be owned by the Town on Town property.
Carol asked the Board about funding for the season. She said flowers had already been purchased and planted. Because of the construction discussion, Carol was now wondering about the placement of the port-a-potty. Selectman Scalley said to put it at the information booth now and move it to the Fire Station later. The Board agreed to release the funds to the Chamber and to stay in touch with regards to construction.
Selectman Scalley made a motion to sign the Municipal Decorative Pole Agreement. Selectman Moroney seconded and all were in favor.
The Board reviewed an Oath of Office for John Trammell as Emergency Management Director. Selectman Scalley made a motion to approve and sign. Selectman Moroney seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
Imre Szauter said he received an email with regards to the NH Saves Eversource rebate. Bill Vecchio had put the paperwork together for the submission. Imre was informed that the Town will receive a rebate of $12,985.75 for the Town Hall and $22,598.75 for the Public Safety building for a total of $35,584.50. Payment should be received in 4 – 6 weeks.
Selectman Moroney asked if the Hogans had been made aware that June is the last month of the police lease. She said if they haven’t, it should be made official. Moroney also suggested that Trahan cleaners be called once the police move out to clean the building and leave it in good shape. It was decided that the Secretary will get in touch with Lori Hogan to advise her the building will not be rented next month. She will also check on expectations of how the building is to be left. The Board agreed to allow Becki Pederson to have more hours to do a clean up after the move out.
Selectman Scalley provided a written response (attached) to Selectman Moroney’s previous letter. He stated that Selectman Moroney continues to break the oath of office by disclosing confidential information. Scalley said that the Board agreed to give him approval to speak with the Town’s Attorney in his capacity as Building Inspector. He said in his roles for the Town, he is approached by people all the time who want to voice their concerns to him. Selectman Scalley said he is concerned with Selectman Moroney and her position with the Town. He said she continues to breach the oath of office revealing non-public information to both members of the public and employees. He feels she is no longer working in the best interest of the Town.
Follow Up:
Fire Station Bldg – Deed Restrictions – Discussion will be held in non-public session.
Tax Deeded Property – Route 3 North – Selectman Moroney said a packet had been put together and sent to the Town’s Attorney.
Key Box – Jeremy Oleson stated a solution has been worked on with the office and the matter should be all set. The Board agreed the item could be removed from the agenda.
Sound Panels – Imre Szauter is working with a representative from Armstrong Corp. to come up with suggestions for the echo in the community room. Szauter said he would like professional advice on what to purchase but anticipates doing the install ourselves. The representative offered to come to the site and perform testing. Imre said he’d like to continue working with Selectman Moroney on the matter and will bring the suggestions back to the Board.
Opening Town Hall – Selectman Scalley said paving will be completed on June 19. He said police and fire are schedule to move the 22nd – 28th. Hydroseeding is scheduled for June 23. The pavement will have lines pained on June 26. Chairman Gauthier suggested opening on June 29. Fire Chief Oleson asked if there were going to be any other precautions put in place. A discussion was held on signs, hand sanitizer, masks and CDC guidelines.
Other:
Chief Oleson stated ambulance transports are governed by the State on response to the closest facility if someone calls 911. He said people can make requests but, in an emergency, it is ultimately the crew’s decision. He said if someone is looking for a non-emergency transport by ambulance, advance notice needs to be made for scheduling of personnel and coverage.
Selectman Moroney said she had been asked by Dianne Morneau about borrowing tables in July for an outdoor event. Selectman Scalley said our tables and chairs are beat up from being loaned out. Chairman Gauthier said he’s concerned that COVID changes everything too. Who would sanitize everything? Jeremy Oleson said he believes that we need to get out of the business of loaning out items or they should be left at the Highway Garage so walls, etc. don’t get banged up. Imre Szauter stated if the grant goes through, there won’t be room in the storage room for the new furniture plus the old tables and chairs. Selectman Scalley said he doesn’t think we should loan out any of the new furniture. He also stated for liability reasons we should discontinue the practice. Chairman Gauthier agreed. Selectman Moroney said she would inform Dianne Morneau.
Chief Bailey said he had just spoken with Becki Pederson and she does not want to do a final clean on the PD. Her last day there will be June 21. The Board agreed that if Lori Hogan expects the building to be left in more than broom clean condition, to go ahead and call Trahan for a final clean.
Bailey also stated he looked into protective window film for privacy at the PD and FD. He said $2530.71 covers the material and the installation. He stated this is a window tint that would also help stop the window from shattering if someone were to throw an item through the window. Selectman Moroney asked if this would come out of the Town budget versus the building project budget. She was told yes, the Town budget. The Board approved the window tint.
Chief Bailey asked the Board to release the budget hold they placed for overtime and extra patrols. He said he’d like to schedule additional patrols for July 4. Chairman Gauthier stated he would expect an increased presence for the holiday. There was discussion on shifting coverage and coverage hours while still trying to save money. Selectman Scalley advised the Chief to proceed as he has been and put on additional coverage for July 4, preferably with a part-timer. He said the matter could be discussed again at the next meeting after he has an opportunity to take a look at the budgets. Fire Chief Oleson said both Police and Fire should be scheduled for 24 hour/day coverage for the July 4 holiday weekend. He said the way people are recreating, there are a lot more people in Town. Chief Bailey asked the Board about filling open vacation time for July. He said it makes it more difficult to fill if he waits until the last minute. Selectman Scalley advised the Chief to try to get it filled with part-timers.
Selectman Moroney asked if the ZBA had been informed that Sara was leaving. Selectman Scalley said he didn’t think so. Selectman Scalley asked Chairman Gauthier if he would advise the Chair of the ZBA.
Imre Szauter asked if the Board could provide guidance on who will have access to the Town Hall building with regards to key cards. A discussion was held. Chairman Gauthier made a motion that until further notice, people who do not have key cards at this present time will not have access to the building. Any groups or organizations can come in during normal business hours. Anyone requesting access outside normal business hours must submit a written request to the Select Board. Selectman Scalley seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.
The Secretary also asked the Board that with the discussion of the Town Hall opening would they address the Community Room usage for functions. The Board said that the new furniture was still scheduled to be delivered. Also, with social distancing measures that would have to be monitored, the room would not be available now for function use and would be revisited later.
Chairman Gauthier read a statement (attached) that he had prepared. Gauthier reminded the Board of the oath taken as Select Board and that also means not divulging information from non-public sessions. He said even though Selectman Moroney’s letter wasn’t about him, he’d like to address it as well. He said the Board can try to control legal costs but sometimes legal advice is most useful as an ounce of prevention. As Chair, he wanted to remind the Board to stay focused on managing the affairs of the Town. He recognized with COVID-19 these are stressful times but wants the Board to remember their oath and do their jobs.
The Chair advised the next meeting will be June 29, 2020 at 7 p.m.
At 9:02 p.m., Chairman Gauthier made a motion to go into non-public session per RSA 91-A:3 for legal. The motion was seconded by Selectman Scalley and polled; Gauthier – yes, Scalley – yes, Moroney – yes.
The public phone portion of the meeting was discontinued.
At 10:01 p.m., Chairman Gauthier made a motion return to public session and seal the minutes. Selectman Scalley seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Chairman Gauthier made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Selectman Scalley seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Chairman Gauthier declared the meeting ended at 10:01 p.m.