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Minutes of 04/28/2008

April 30th, 2008

Carroll Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes
April 28, 2008
"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, Christopher Hancock

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

Members of the public present: Roberta McGee, Mike Gooden, Carmine Fabrizio, Bill Dowling, Jeff Duncan, Bill Smalley, John Trammell, Tom Gately, Bill Rines, John Goodney, Roger Boyer, Molly Fuller, Clara Weloth

Pledge of Allegiance

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

Chairman Moroney moved to accept the minutes of April 21, 2008, as written. Selectman Hancock seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

The report from Stan Borkowski has been posted on the bulletin board.

Chairman Moroney announced that this would be the last meeting for Sue Kraabel, as Wednesday is her last day as Administrative Assistant. She then announced that this would also be Rena Vecchio’s last meeting as Selectperson. She is taking some vacation time, and starting May 12, she will be working in the office as Planning and Zoning Secretary. Chairman Moroney thanked both women for their service to the town.

Molly Fuller, District Ranger for the Pemigewasset Ranger District of the Forest Service, introduced herself, Clara Weloth, Wildlife Biologist, and Roger Boyer, Forester. She explained that there is a lot going on in the Forest Service and this district, and wanted to let us know some of their plans. The Holderness, Bethlehem, and Laconia offices will be consolidated into one office in Campton. It is currently under construction and will open in 2009. Ms. Fuller said there are fees for most users of the National Forest, and about 25% of the money goes back to the area where collected. She explained that they are doing a nationwide Recreational Use Analysis, trying to decide how large sums of money that have accumulated in a Land & Water Conservation Fund can best be spent. Ms. Fuller noted that they are looking for input from towns on what to do at existing facilities. She asked that suggestions come to them by May 9 if possible. Thus far tentative plans include replacing the septic system at the Sugarloaf Campground, water distribution upgrades at the Zealand campground, and a kiosk at the Lower Falls trailhead.

Ms. Fuller mentioned a Water Safety Program that is in response to high water deaths, and sited Upper Falls here in Carroll as an example. She said there is new signage at that site, and a recent Forest Order will prohibit alcohol use at the site. They will let people know about it then work in the enforcement.

Ms. Fuller brought up the Bike Path that’s been approved, and said Jim Covey is working hard to make it a reality. They will be flagging and putting in stakes soon with construction maybe next year.

Clara Weloth talked about various areas of wildlife management in the National Forest. She mentioned the spring stocking of salmon fry in the Ammonoosuc, and their hopes that eventually salmon will be able to go through then entire spawning process that no longer takes place. She said in the fall they go electro fishing in the river behind Garneau’s garage. The charge stuns the fish and they can weigh and measure them. Ms. Weloth brought up the burning of invasive plant species such as looserife. This takes place on Trudeau Rd. in Bethlehem.

Roger Boyer talked about the timber sales in Carroll. The largest in 2007 was Owl’s Head. Another was the Oscar sale with more to come in 2008 and 2009. The Zealand Trestle trail site was not active this past year. He said they will be working in Crawford’s Purchase, some up against the ski area, and will have meetings for feedback on how to use forest resources. Tom Gately asked how they deal with blow downs, as he’d recently ridden up the Base Road to the Cog Railway, and the trees along the road look terrible. There are many trees down, some of them uprooted, and he wondered if the Forest Service would be dealing with this, as it leaves a bad impression on visitors. Mr. Boyer said usually after storms they clear roads, but don’t deal with the aesthetics aspect of blow downs. All three visitors said this is the type of feedback they are looking for. Ms. Weloth commented these trees could be a fire hazard and also they don’t want to encourage wildlife to converge in areas by roads. Jeff Duncan asked how many acres of National Forest are in Carroll and how many acres surround the town. He said we are working on a Hazardous Mitigation Plan and those questions were asked at their meeting. Ms. Fuller said there are about 300,000 acres in the district and she thought about half the town of Carroll is National Forest. Ms. Fuller gave Chief Duncan two names (John Neely? and Jason Walker?) as contacts who could perhaps attend the May 7th meeting of the Hazardous Mitigation Plan Committee.

The following items were approved and signed.

Town Hall Use Permit – Mason, Vecchio
Elderly Exemption – Jordan
Property Tax Abatement – Messina
Property Tax Abatement Denial – Johnson
Letter to MBIA confirming new Treasurer
Certificate of Occupancy – Melick, Talbot

It was reported that Evan Karpf had volunteered to be a commissioner from Carroll on the North Country Council board. Rena Vecchio volunteered to be the second commissioner. Chairman Moroney moved to appoint both people. Selectman Hancock seconded the motion, and the motion passed 2-0 with Selectman Vecchio abstaining.

It was stated that there are new locks on the two town hall entrances, and we are keeping a list of who has keys. Each key is numbered, and the list identifies the specific key someone has taken.

Now that spring has arrived, the subject of the two trailers on what was Chamberlain property came up. At this point both the land and the trailers belong to Roberta Daly. The secretary will call Town Counsel to check on what’s been prepared in an effort to get the unsightly trailers removed.

Bill Dowling stated that when he saw the engineer at Provan & Lorber last week, he was told that the state said we do not have to put a landfill monitoring well on Beckie and Curtis Pike’s property. He brought a copy of the state’s email to Provan & Lorber, and the selectmen have received this.

Mr. Dowling is planning to get proposals for cutting wood on the old town landfill, and he wanted to know the procedure to follow. The selectmen suggested putting an ad in the paper and ask for sealed bids to be opened in public session.

Chairman Moroney read a letter from John Trammell explaining the trip he and Tadd Bailey made to Rhode Island last week. His former police agency had surplus equipment that they offered to us for free if we came to get it. They picked up file cabinets, computers, monitors, televisions, and a roll cage for the Tahoe. New, this equipment would cost approximately $15,000. The only cost to the town is mileage and four meals that total $398.48. Chief Trammell has sent a thank you letter to Rhode Island.

Roberta McGee asked about getting a new selectman. The selectmen will appoint someone to serve until next March, and then the position will be on the ballot for the one year left on Selectman Vecchio’s term. Ms. McGee said she’d also been asked when the water meters would be used. They will be read twice this year before using them next year.

Chairman Moroney asked if we’d received the bill for new flags yet, and was told no. She said if there is enough money left, she’d like to get some ice cream and have a social after the Memorial Day Parade.

There will be a work session next week to work on job descriptions for the highway department. They will be meeting with each department in the near future.

Selectman Hancock asked the status of the truck repair. Bill Rines said it was not a cracked head, but the injector caps. The truck is still being worked on, and they will do some additional things, such a replacing the oil pan, while the engine has been pulled. Questions came up about the additional costs, and Mr. Rines said it was all work that needed to be done, and it made sense to do it now rather than have to pull the engine again later. It was determined that the selectmen are not agents to expend on the highway truck or equipment capital reserve funds, and Chairman Moroney said we should put in a warrant article next year to make them agents.

At 8:04PM, as there was no additional business, Chairman Moroney declared the meeting ended, and moved to go into executive session regarding town aid and personnel. 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.

Back in public session, Chairman Moroney made a motion that effective June 1, 2008, all four full time police officers, including Chief Trammell, will be paid straight time for 40 hours work, then they will be paid time and one half for any hours worked beyond 40. The hourly officers will no longer be paid for 3 hours standby time, and their hourly rate of pay will be adjusted accordingly.

At 9:04 PM, as there was no additional business, Chairman Moroney declared the meeting ended.

Action Items:

Industrial Park land use - CEDC
Chamberlain/Daly property
Website
PDIP
Policy/Procedures Manual
Trail Crossing Agreement – waterline
Town Hall Decking
Prop/Liability Insurance options
FEMA Required Classes

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