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Minutes of 02/08/2010

February 19th, 2010

Carroll Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes
February 8, 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 6:30 p.m. for non-public session. At 6:50 p.m. Chairman Hancock made a Motion to go out of non-public and seal the minutes. Selectman Mills seconded and the Motion passed unanimously.

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

Members of the public present: Roberta McGee, Bill Dowling, Linda Dowling, Mike Gooden, Tom Gately, Lisa Covey, Jim Covey, Frank Maturo, Evan Karpf, Carmine Fabrizio, Bill Rines, Scott Sonia, Bill Smalley, John Trammell, Jeff Duncan, Kathy Saffian, George Saffian

Pledge of Allegiance

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

Chairman Hancock made a Motion to: Accept the minutes for February 1, 2010 as written. Selectman Moroney seconded and the Motion passed unanimously.

The following items were approved and signed:

Commerford, Nieder Perkins, LLC, 2010 Contracts –
General Assessing Services and Cyclical Revaluation Services
Town Hall Use Permit Application -- Recreation Committee
Easter Egg Hunt, Back-up for Movie Night, Halloween, Wreath making, Tree Lighting
Partnership Agreement Form, North Country Rideshare – North Country Council
Annual Highway Safety program
Water Warrant – Beaulieu
Letters to State Representatives

It was noted the North Country Council is currently developing a link for (NHDOT) RideShare program with only a few communities and they are hoping to expand the number of communities, of which Carroll is one. The Agreement forms are required for the grant for funding that they are writing for the expansion. It was pointed out that this is at no cost to the Town of Carroll.

The letters to our State Representatives, Evalyn Merrick, William Remick, and Herbert Richardson, are requesting their support of a House Bill that will allow the retention of local control in the matter of school funding. In addition, the Selectmen were also able to express their dissatisfaction with the “donor” approach to funding. This appeal to our Representatives is in response to a request by the Coalition Communities. That office is hoping for a big response from our communities.

Chairman Hancock read the letter from the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (attached). This is in regard to officially changing the name of Mount Clay to Mount Reagan and this Board is responsible by law for standardizing geographic names for use by the Federal government. These changes must be approved before they can appear on Federal maps and publications.
Local acceptance is very important to this Board so they want to know of its significance to the community as well as the opinion of the Selectmen. The NH State Legislature passed a bill in 2003 changing the name for State use. But a name change cannot be considered at the Federal level while the honoree is still living. There is also a required five-year waiting period which has now passed since President Reagan passed away in 2004. Therefore, this name change may now be considered. Selectman Mills said if there was no date noted for a decision from the Select Board, he would like to get feedback from the public and maybe the Conservation Commission. His colleagues agreed and Chairman Hancock made a Motion to: Table a decision until they could get some feedback. Selectman Moroney seconded and the Motion passed unanimously. The Board also agreed they would take this up again on March 8, by which time they would expect that all information and feedback would be received. The Secretary was asked to post the information we received on the bulletin board at the Town Hall and with the minutes.

Bill Rines told the Board he had heard today from Presby Construction with a price for sweeping the town roads of $3,350, based on their previous telephone conversation. Mr. Rines noted that he had been told they only recently bought their equipment and so far have only done some of their own work and no municipal sweeping. Discussion ensued as Mr. Presby had not come to look at the roads and other areas to be swept. Selectman Moroney was concerned that Mr. Presby may not be as familiar with the project as he should be and found out while doing it that he had substantially misjudged it. It was decided that Mr. Rines should formulate specifications and perhaps reinitiate a new bid process. Chairman Hancock made a Motion to: Table this discussion and have Bill write up the specs that may then be put out to closed bid. Selectman Mills seconded and it passed unanimously.

Selectman Mills said through conversations among other things, he feels there is a misunderstanding of what the Select Board does and does not do. According to “Knowing the Territory” (a survey of municipal law for NH local officials by the Local Government Center), The Board basically is elected to manage the prudential affairs of the town, but the Board does not represent the town – the town represents itself. When asked about input or involvement in community issues, he acknowledged it is certainly encouraged, but not for micro-management purposes. The Board does the best they can at making decisions and finding solutions to issues and problems. Input is always encouraged and solicited but direction comes from town meeting.

Evan Karpf asked if there are job descriptions in place for the employees. Selectman Moroney said there are a lot done, but they are being worked on; mainly, for the offices. The Police and Fire Departments as well as the Highway and Transfer Station are done. Although since making Highway and Water separate departments, those descriptions will need to be redone. Mrs. Moroney explained the Board is in the process of completing evaluations for department heads which have never been done before. Dr. Karpf said he had submitted a description for Health Officer and that if the Board needs another copy, he can provide that.

Dr. Karpf also asked the Board about the previous meeting. The Board signed two Certificates of Occupancy for Birchwood Commons, a commercial venture Dr. Karpf’s, and he was told that someone said that they guessed there was no problem with taxes and it was supposedly said about three or four times. He wondered if that was in reference to the signing of the CO’s. He said he wasn’t there but had been told a Selectman said it. He said it had nothing to do with the CO’s, it has to do with the charge per square foot for rent. Selectman Mills said he commented that taxes may not be so bad if new businesses are coming into town. It was noted that it is encouraging to see them coming, and that it is a separate issue.

Jim Covey then asked, based on Selectmen Mills’ earlier statement, how they see the role of the Select Board regarding leadership in this town. Mr. Covey believes they are the leadership entity “driving the ship,” and that they set the tone based on their direction, whether it is positive or negative. Mr. Covey believes their roles include: to spur economic development, to focus on lowering taxes and to manage their money properly. He also asked if there is going to be a candidates’ night as not many people know anything about the second candidate. It was suggested that he should be encouraged to get his word out and Mr. Covey said that is why there should be a candidates’ night. At this point, it was noted that this is not a function of the Select Board. Selectman Moroney said these nights in the past had been sponsored by the Women’s Discussion Group, which had basically disbanded, but because of the elections coming up, the subject had been brought up. She said she will work on seeing if one can be done. Mr. Covey continued to press the Board on what they see as their roles in leadership. He said the Board has not done anything to encourage recycling from the day the Transfer Station opened. He said Bill (Dowling) has done a great job, but the Board should, and now there is a warrant article for pay-per-bag. Selectman Moroney said the Board could institute the pay-per-bag but felt the people should make the decision. She also said making recycling mandatory has also been suggested, and they may have to look at that in the future. Mr. Covey wants the Board to be the leaders and push the recycling. Selectman Mills said maybe the Board could do more, but it’s the town that runs the town and people need to involve themselves. (Mr. Covey wants the individuals who are not recycling to be made known.) Mr. Mills also reminded Mr. Covey that they are a Select Board, not the town managers and they all have full time jobs. If this is what people are looking for, then they should fund the position and hire a full time person. Mr. Dowling noted that we pay to truck glass to Littleton and once there, we pay to have it ground.

It was noted that there will not be a meeting next week due to the holiday.

As there was no further business, Chairman Hancock declared the meeting ended at 7:55 p.m. and moved to go into Non-Public Session for Personnel Matters. The Board was polled and went into Non-Public Session.

At the close of Non-Public Session, 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 Mills seconded and the Motion passed unanimously. Chairman Hancock declared the meeting ended at 9:39 p.m. The next meeting will be Monday, February 22, 2010.

Town of Carroll, New Hampshire ®2024