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Minutes of 01/25/2010

January 30th, 2010

Carroll Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes
January 25, 2010

"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 Maryclare Quigley, Secretary

Board members present: Chris Hancock, Bonnie Moroney Ken Mills

Chairman Hancock called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. for non-public session. At 7:04 p.m. Chairman Hancock made a Motion to go out of non-public and seal the minutes. Selectman Moroney seconded and the Motion passed unanimously.

The public meeting was called to order at 7:07 PM by Chairman Hancock.

Members of the public present: Roberta McGee, Bill Dowling, Evan Karpf, Bill Rines, Mike Gooden, Rena Vecchio, Frank Maturo, Kelly Trammell, John Trammell, Jim Covey, Lisa Covey, Ben Jellison, Jeremy Oleson, Scott Sonia, Jeff Duncan, Bill Smalley, Joel Bedor, Tyler Phillips

Pledge of Allegiance

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

Chairman Hancock made a Motion to: Accept the minutes for January 11, 2010 as written. Selectman Moroney seconded and the Motion passed unanimously.

Joel Bedor came to talk about Habitat for Humanity. This program enlists the help of volunteers and local business people to build homes for people of limited means. The prospective new homeowners are required to work a certain number of hours as well. Mr. Bedor explained it is not totally free as Habitat for Humanity buys the land and holds the mortgage and the resident family makes payments to them. The home must be kept for a minimum of ten years after which if it is sold, the homeowner may keep any profit. This policy is to discourage anyone from using the program for trying to make money. The local group of about ten towns is the Ammonoosuc Chapter, and they completed their first house in November, 2009. There is a process for finding and selecting a family in need, which includes a credit check. When asked, Mr. Bedor said the family owns the home and are responsible for taxes. He went on to say there are committees within the organization to work with the families and help them to have an understanding of the responsibilities of ownership, maintenance, etc. Mr. Bedor said it is their goal to build a home each year in a town in the Chapter and wondered if there is any land in the Town of Carroll on which there are no taxes being paid or if there might be a property owner willing to sell some land at a reasonable price to Habitat for Humanity. Mr. Bedor thanked the Selectmen for allowing him to speak.

Tyler Phillips from Horizons Engineering spoke about a project that he is involved with and for which a grant will be sought. A few years ago a group of students from a local high school received a grant to study fish on the Ammonoosuc River and how culverts and/or bridges affect them. They discovered three locations which they gave a high priority for fixing and one was at Tuttle brook here in Carroll toward the back of the recreation area . The culvert needs to be replaced as it is not large enough. Discussion ensued as to exact location and other potential areas. Mr. Phillips said among the benefits of having a larger culvert or bridge, besides being a better access for fish, is it requires less frequent maintenance, i.e. debris will not get caught as easily as in a smaller area, and it provides much easier access for animals to get to the forest. Discussion took place about sponsorship of the project. Mr. Phillips said Trout Unlimited will sponsor it and manage the money/grant, but he said they did not want to go forward with the grant without support from the landowner, which is the Town of Carroll. He also asked if the Town had any interest in doing so. Chairman Hancock wondered if the Conservation Commission would be interested in administering the funds. Mr. Phillips said the application must be in by mid-March and if they were to receive the grant, the project would probably begin the design in the fall with actual construction later or next year – during low-water time. He suggested they may wish to discuss this and get back to him. Selectman Mills made a Motion to: To refer this to the Conservation Commission for their advice and feedback, keeping in mind the March deadline. Selectman Moroney seconded. Discussion ensued as Conservation Commission does not have the authority to disburse funds and this would now be something that cannot be included in this year’s annual meeting. Selectman Moroney suggested this may be something that the snowmobile club would also be interested taking part in as their trails go through the area. When asked, Mr. Phillips estimated the cost to be $60,000 to $70,000 and said the grant money is released when the project is approved, it does not have to be spent and reimbursed. Further discussion centered around town participation and support, but that Trout Unlimited should be the financial administrators. If Trout Unlimited agrees, a meeting could be arranged with them and Conservation Commission and some members of the snowmobile club. Chairman Hancock made a Motion to: Allow Mr. Phillips to go to Trout Unlimited about being the sponsors with town support and move forward with the replacement. Selectman Moroney seconded and the Motion passed unanimously. Selectman Mills rescinded his earlier motion which had been moved and seconded, but not voted on.

Selectman Moroney then addressed a number of emails going around town with the subject line showing “Town of Carroll Newsletter. Mrs. Moroney said though there are a number of people being attacked in these emails, she was speaking particularly to those about herself and read from a prepared statement. There are many incorrect statements in them including: the special revenue fund for recycling which is required by law to have the name changed to reflect a change in use, i.e. paying one year of the bond payment, which was taken out to build the transfer station, of $30,000 to help keep taxes down – the idea to do this came from the Budget Committee; Overlay is the amount of taxes the Selectmen estimate will NOT be paid, thus that amount is added to the amount to be raised by taxation; Unreserved Fund Balance is where the money is that Selectmen may use to help lower taxes; and while the DRA has limits to how much of that may be used, they also require that the balance cannot accumulate too much – so they control that balance, in essence. It was noted that even without using the Fund Balance, the 2009 tax rate would have been $3.87 which was down from $4.49 in 2008. These are among many pieces of wrong information that have been given out to the public. Regarding the Police Chief, Mrs. Moroney stated that he was entitled to a life before moving here and he is entitled to one now. It is her hope that the recipients of all of these emails be intelligent and ask questions – not just believe the potentially libelous information being pushed onto them by these anonymous emails. She further stated that being a Select Person is not for the meek and quiet, given the criticism and chastisements that one receives when in office.

Selectman Mills said it is beneath the character of our community for this type of activity. He believes these attacks reflect on the people doing the attacking NOT on the Select Board and the employees. Given the lies and misinformation contained in these emails, Mr. Mills believes they are being sent anonymously because the author or authors doubt their arguments. He urged those people or the person to come forth and document the information – take part in debate and discussion in the open. Selectman Mills referred to the recycling fund money – this is money to be used to pay down the bond and help save money for the taxpayers. The Board of Selectmen has no agenda – they are only trying to do the job the best they can. He reminded the attendees the Selectmen are administrators, NOT representatives. Selectman Mills stated these emails only continue to propagate ignorance about issues.

Kelly Trammell spoke of the new water policy, copies of which the Selectmen had received earlier. Mrs. Trammell said Town Counsel had completed her final review and she hoped the Selectmen would approve it tonight so it can begin being implemented. Chairman Hancock thanked Mrs. Trammell and the Water Department for the excellent work this policy constituted and said he knew it was a lot of work. Chairman Hancock made a Motion to: Accept the water policy and procedures as written. Selectman Moroney seconded and the Motion passed unanimously. Selectman Moroney asked Mrs. Trammell about a comment made by Lee Hallquist at the budget hearing. Mrs. Trammell said she was not there, but heard that Mr. Hallquist had said he received a letter saying there would be only one billing in 2010 and that would be in October. She said the policy does not address this, but she looked at the letter Mr. Hallquist was referring to and it didn’t mention when or how many times billing in 2010 would take place.

Discussion had taken place at an earlier meeting about a deal that had been made with one developer concerning the cost of hooking up water. Researching has not turned up any paperwork to document anything. Town Counsel was consulted and it is her recommendation that everyone should be charged the same rate. If there is conflict in the future, the property owner should produce the documentation. Chairman Hancock made a Motion that: Per the lawyer’s recommendation, everyone should be charged the same fee, $1,500, to hook up to town water. Selectman Moroney seconded and the Motion passed unanimously.

There were nine petition warrant articles presented to the Selectmen. Two of these articles were denied due to the lack of the required number of signatures. Chairman Hancock read each of the seven articles and the Selectmen discussed and made their recommendations. (The complete articles are attached).

Article 46 – A bid policy. It was pointed out that if this is approved, (had it been in effect before now) – the town would not have been able to purchase the tractor with the mower deck and saved the $3,000 that they did. It was also noted that if three bids are not received, and which has been the experience any number of times when bids have been sought, a project will not be able to be done. Selectman Mills made a Motion to: Not recommend this article. Chairman Hancock seconded and the Motion passed unanimously.

Article 47 – Board of Public Works Commissioners. The Secretary advised that the article is not legal as it also includes buildings and the RSA 38-C, to which it refers is exclusive of buildings. It was also stated that when there had been consideration a while ago about the land use boards being elected positions, a major argument against, was the difficulty getting people to run for offices and positions that already exist. Selectman Mills made a Motion to: Not recommend this article. Selectman Moroney seconded and it passed unanimously.

Article 48 – To elect members at large to the Budget Committee. Selectman Mills said as in previous discussions, it is already very hard to find people to run for any board positions, without adding to the numbers. Selectman Mills made a Motion to: Not recommend this article. Chairman Hancock seconded and the Motion passed unanimously.

Article 49 – Reduction of hours for the majority of fulltime employees. The Secretary advised that this article is non-binding as it relates to personnel issues which are under Selectmen’s authority. Selectman Moroney made a Motion to: Not recommend this article. Selectman Mills seconded and it passed unanimously.

Article 50 –To limit total budget for 2010 and to limit fulltime employee wages based on figures from the NH LGC. It was stated that people have the chance and should have the right to discuss these things at the deliberative session. It was also pointed out that a lot of towns don’t report to the LGC. Also, the Secretary advised this is not binding as it relates to personnel issues which are under Selectmen’s authority. Selectman Moroney made a Motion to: Not recommend this article. Chairman Hancock seconded and it passed unanimously.

Article 51 –To revoke the “Town Handbook” and reinstate “Town Personnel Policies Manuel.” This also is non-binding and not legal as it is under the authority of the Selectmen. Chairman Hancock made a Motion to: Not recommend this article. Selectman Mills seconded and it passed unanimously.

Article 52 – To prohibit any forms of special or bonus pay to any employee. Selectman Mills questioned if the Town pays bonuses, and it does not. It was noted that the police work special details, not during their regular shifts, and whoever requests this service, is billed. The town is reimbursed for all costs. Once again, this is not binding as it is under the authority of the Selectmen. Selectman Mills made a Motion to: Not recommend this article. Selectman Moroney seconded and it passed unanimously.

Selectman Mills stated in spite of the fact that the Selectmen felt they could not recommend the articles, he wanted to commend all the people for taking part in the process.

The following items were approved and signed:

Water Warrant – McGee, Gray, Carlson-Cunningham Trustee, (2)
Town Hall Use Permit Application – Monahan, Twin Mt. Snowmobile Club
Ambulance Agreement with Coos County
Letter for Nomination of Bail Commissioner
Letter of Engagement for Audit 2010, Melanson Heath & Company
2010 Warrant
MS-7, 2010
Default Budget
It was noted the default budget is $1,924,219.

As there was no further business, Chairman Hancock declared the meeting ended at 8:23 p.m.
Pursuant to a subsequent brief discussion with Jim Covey, Chairman Hancock moved to go into Non-Public Session for Personnel Issues. The Board was polled and went into Non-Public Session.

At the close of Non-Public Session, 8:57 p.m., Chairman Hancock moved to return to Public Session and seal the minutes from Non-Public Session. Selectman Moroney seconded and the Motion passed unanimously.

There being no further discussion, Chairman Hancock made a Motion to: adjourn the meeting. Selectman Moroney seconded and the Motion passed unanimously. Chairman Hancock declared the meeting ended at 8:58 p.m. The next meeting will be Monday, February 1, 2010.

Town of Carroll, New Hampshire ®2024