Online Services

Pay Online
Online Vehicle Registration Renewal Online Property Tax, Water & Sewer payments Online Dog License Renewals Vital Record Request E-Reg Estimates
GIS & Property Database

View of Carroll from Sugarloaf

Minutes of Town Board Meetings

Search Minutes of Town Board Meetings

2007 Select Board Archives

Older Archives

Back to 2024 Records

Minutes of 12/10/2007

December 15th, 2007

Carroll Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes
December 10, 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: Harold Garneau, Carmine Fabrizio, Roberta McGee, Eleanor Brauns, Jeff Duncan, Mike Gooden, Evan Karpf, Lori Hogan, Devyn Hogan

Pledge of Allegiance

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

Chairman Moroney moved to accept the minutes of December 3, 2007, as written. Selectman Vecchio seconded, and the motion passed 2-0, with Selectman Strasser abstaining as he had not been present for the meeting.

Stan Borkowski’s report has been posted on the bulletin board.

Mr. Borkowski will put in writing details of his recent conversation with John D’Urso, but it has not yet been received.

After last week’s report of salaries for area town managers and administrators, the total cost of hiring an administrator with a salary of $55,000 was calculated. Including taxes and benefits, it would cost the town $81,899 --- more than the selectmen expected. The item was tabled with selectmen wondering if a warrant article with those numbers would pass. Selectman Strasser referred to a recent letter from John Gallus regarding the need for care when considering new hires. There’s concern that in a few years the state retirement program will be under funded by 50%. As the town’s contribution to the retirement program has increased dramatically, the selectmen discussed the possibility of putting money in some other plan for employees. The state will be contacted to see if we must remain in their retirement program.

A warrant article was presented for $52,000 for building design plans for a police station in Twin Mountain and a fire station in Bretton Woods. This will be done by Mr. Hebert, an engineer that George Brodeur has worked with in the past. Jeff Duncan said the Mt. Washington Resort owners have offered to provide services to come up with a plan for where we might put future buildings on town property. The most recent town purchase of land was made with the Historical Society in mind, but the total picture will be looked at. Selectman Strasser moved to approve and recommend the warrant article. Selectman Vecchio seconded the motion, and it was passed unanimously.

Selectman Strasser told the group that he would be attending a seminar on Friday at the NH Department of Revenue. The subject will be warrant articles, and he will be asking questions on how to write some of ours.

Selectman Strasser said he’d spoken with the assessor’s office about costs for the 2008 budget. Based on a 5 year revaluation cycle, the costs for 2008 will be $35,000, rather than the $60,000 included in the selectmen’s budget. These numbers have been passed on to the Budget Committee. A bill from Commerford Nieder Perkins for parcels in excess of the contract number was discussed. There were almost 300 parcels more than anticipated, and there additional billing is $22,515. Since there is only $9,000 left in the assessing line item, the balance must be transferred from other lines. There is money in the deputy town clerk line and the office assistant line. Selectman Strasser moved to transfer budget money from these two line items to the assessing line. Chairman Moroney seconded the motion, and it was passed unanimously. The 2008 assessing cost estimate reflects the higher number of parcels.

It was reported that Becki Pederson would like to send water bills twice a year instead of once. She’d like to send one bill in April or May, and a second bill later in the year, when we could possibly have metering in place. It was felt it would be easier for most residents to handle the smaller amounts twice a year rather than one large bill at the end of the year. Chairman Moroney moved to approve the split billing, and Selectman Vecchio seconded the motion. It was passed unanimously.

Bridge funding was discussed next. Hoyle Tanner has submitted numbers which suggest the total cost of the bridge to be built in 2008 to be $1,048,000 with the state paying 80% or $824,000. The town’s portion will be $216,000. All these numbers include interest to be paid on a short term Revenue Anticipation Note, as the town must temporarily pay the portion to be reimbursed by the state. The Bridge Committee has asked the selectmen to come up with the method of funding for this project, and Selectman Strasser suggested using $100,000 of the undesignated fund balance to pay for part of it. This would avoid the necessity for the expensive bonding. He will ask Matt Low of Hoyle Tanner to write a warrant article for us and he will take it to DRA on Friday for the seminar. Harold Garneau said the Bridge Committee is preparing a presentation for the public so everyone will understand the need for the bridge. He said the state won’t allow us to keep using the road past Foster’s, and we must build this bridge as soon as possible. Funding is available from the state in 2008, and if we delay the project we may face the possibility of having to fund the bridge ourselves with reimbursement not coming for several years. Mr. Garneau spoke about the bridge design, and said the state originally wanted a 24’wide bridge, but the absolute minimum allowed is 18’. When discussing design with the engineers, they asked for a 6’ section to be designated for pedestrians, bicycles, and snowmobiles, but after doing cost analysis, the designers decided on a l4’6” rail to rail bridge to sit on the existing abutments, and a separate 6’ curb to curb bridge for pedestrians, etc. The driving surface on the vehicle bridge is 12’10”wide. The combination of two bridges can be built in the current right of way. Building two bridges will result in a less expensive, safer bridge environment. The state will allow us to add the two widths together and meet their 18’ minimum width, and we can use the existing abutments for the vehicle bridge. If we were to build one 18’ bridge, we would need new abutments, and this would add thousands of dollars to the cost.

The final report from the auditor has not been received for 2006, and awaits completion of the Management Discussion Letter from the selectmen. This document inclusion is mandated by GASBY legislation put into place last year, and is supposed to give townspeople a better understanding of the town’s finances. Chairman Moroney said she would work on completing the letter.

A letter from USDA Rural Development was read. This letter concerns the bond taken out in 1994 for the water system, and the suggestion was made by USDA that the town consider refinancing the current 4.50% interest rate loan. It could mean reduced payments or a shorter term. Selectman Strasser will follow up on this letter.

A Yield Tax Certification form for timber cut on Bill Rines’ property was approved and signed -- $844.12.

A Conservation Inspection Report for the Warren property on Rte. 3 North (the flats) was presented. Because the property has a conservation easement, the state requires annual inspection to see that it has been maintained in accordance with the easement. Joan Karpf did the inspection and reports all is well.

Chairman Moroney read a letter from Karen Moran, who is on the Budget Committee, but was not writing on behalf of the committee. Ms. Moran reported that the 2008 Selectmen’s budget included $60,000 for road resurfacing and $15,000 for sidewalk repair. She also reported that there is a Highway Fund Capital Reserve Fund with $54,000 and a Major Road Improvements Capital Reserve Fund with $95,400 in it. She questioned whether the selectmen had considered a warrant article to use these funds as a source of income rather than the 2 budget line items. She also said the Water Department budget submitted had an estimated increase of 41% largely due to line items that relate to expansion that upgrade lines but do not add water users. She also noted there is a Water Department Capital Reserve Fund in the amount of $2,200. She asked if the selectmen had considered a warrant article for the water expansion rather than the new budget line items. Finally, she asked about possible new policies that may impact the budget. Selectman Strasser said he thought we need to keep the capital reserve money intact until we have a plan for road resurfacing. He said our roads have been neglected, and until the road agent comes up with a comprehensive plan we should leave money items the way they are. He said the water line money in the 2008 budget is to upgrade the School street line. A warrant article was discussed, but no decision was made. A Policy and Procedures Manual was started last year, but not completed. Selectman Strasser will look for his work and send to the other selectmen.

The Industrial Park land was discussed and the fact that some of the previous participants in the CEDC have left the area. It was suggested that Steve Messina may be able to give us some more information, and that a public meeting has been suggested for after the holidays. Selectman Strasser said that because the land has never been deeded to the CEDC, a warrant article could be presented to take the land back or to change its use. Selectman Vecchio said we need businesses that would provide jobs to keep young people in town and able to make a living. Selectman Strasser said Pete Rivera (Coos County Economic Development Council) is willing to help anyone to work on this.

There still has been no deed recorded for the transfer of the Chamberlain property to Roberta Daly.

The Paquette Circle house has shown no activity and it was suggested we send a letter to the new owners regarding the boarded up windows, etc.

Evan Karpf gave the selectmen a new report of his inspection of the Baptist Church School. He said everything is up to snuff, and they can destroy the first report. He said there is a meeting scheduled for Thursday night at 7 pm to discuss a Planned Unit Development (PUD) Ordinance for the pedestrian village in Bretton Woods. He also said the Public Hearing for the Story/Sales Center will be concluded on January 3, 2008, and that at the Planning Board December 6th meeting they accepted the application for the Dartmouth Brook subdivision. Selectman Strasser asked why there was a need for a change of zoning for the village. Dr. Karpf said the village will be built for everything in one place and will create density issues. R-2 zoning requires 40% open space, and they are talking about only 20% open space. He said zoning was originally built around the automobile, and this village will take the automobile out of the picture. They want a PUD which requires a zoning change which requires Town Meeting vote. He said a PUD has benefits, but they need to look at all the issues, such as traffic. We still have only two major roads – Rte. 3 and Route 302.

Mr. Garneau mentioned again the need to take advantage of available state money in 2008 for the bridge construction.

It was suggested that anyone who wants to submit a warrant article do so for next week. The Budget Committee is looking for these as soon as possible.

Mike Gooden reported that the Historical Society has a new Christmas ornament for sale. They are available from members or from the Town Clerk, and are $7.00 apiece.

Chairman Moroney asked if anyone was aware of a “Toys for Tots” program in town. Jeff Duncan said items are collected at the Whitefield School, and our police department provides a list of children to them. Chairman Moroney said we’ve not received any information to post so people would know they could contribute. It was also reported that the Mt. Washington Hotel Giving Tree program is being done through the ski area this year, and we’ve not received information about that either.

At 8:40 PM, as there was no additional business, Chairman Moroney declared the meeting ended, and moved to go into executive session regarding legal matters. 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:

Response letter to Bretton Woods land offer
Warrant article - Property tax exemptions
Industrial Park land use - CEDC
Chamberlain property
Paquette Circle house
Website
Bank change/PDIP
Highway Shed
Warrant article – town administrator
Hwy/Water Capital reserve money –how long there?
Policy/Procedures Manual
Management Discussion Letter
Retirement Fund Possibilities