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

2010 Select Board Archives

Older Archives

Back to 2024 Records

Minutes of 06/28/2010

July 6th, 2010

Carroll Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes
June 28, 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 H. Quigley

Board members present: Chris Hancock, Bonnie Moroney, Mark Catalano.

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

Members of the public present: Joan Karpf, Evan Karpf, Roberta McGee, Bill Dowling, Linda Dowling, Jim Covey, Frank Maturo, Mike Gooden, Carmine Fabrizio, Tom Gately, Kelly Trammell, Herb McGee, Jenn Hancock, Jeff Duncan, Scott Sonia, Tadd Bailey, John Trammell, D.J. Garneau, Keith Bergeron, Gregory Sophis

Pledge of Allegiance

Chairman Hancock read the following statement: “This meeting is being taped by a private citizen. It is not done under the auspices of the town and is not an official record of the Town.”

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

Chairman Hancock made a Motion to: Accept the minutes for June 14, 2010, as written. Selectman Moroney seconded and the Motion was approved.

Selectman Moroney made a Motion to: Accept the minutes for June 19, 2010 as written. Selectman Catalano seconded and the Motion passed. Chairman Hancock abstained as he was not in attendance.

The following items were approved and signed:

Recreation Area Use Permit Application – Mt. Washington Hotel Guests/Sponsored by Rec
Dept.
Town Hall Use Permit Application – Chamber of Commerce
Intent to Cut – Sophis
Property Abatement – Webster
Certificate of Occupancy – Birchwood Commons, Room #9
Water Warrant – Burt

Jenn Hancock, Chairman of the Recreation Committee advised the Board of Selectmen that Home Depot had donated an 8’ X 10’ metal shed, as they have used the park for several years for their employee barbecue. Mrs. Hancock said it was to be delivered today and will be installed within the next two weeks on the further beach side. It will be used to store safety equipment for the children. Mrs. Hancock said the Recreation Committee will send a thank you note when it was questioned if the Selectmen would send one.

Gregory Sophis was in to speak about extending the water line on Twin View Drive. He has purchased the lot next to the Savona lot where the line ends and plans to build a house there in the near future. D.J. Garneau, who accompanied Mr. Sophis, said if the town will provide the 6” piping, they will take care of the rest. Chairman Hancock said he had looked at the plan and it is his opinion that the water line stopped where the developer had planned to stop it. Discussion ensued as to type of line and responsibility and it was noted there are no laws regarding looping a line or not. It was also noted the responsibility for the water line belongs to the developer. Unfortunately, this is an older development and the property has since been re-sold, so going to the developer is not an option. The town believes they cannot take responsibility as they cannot afford to take on the cost burden and they do not want to set a precedent with this. When they were speaking of putting in a 1” line because of cost, Scott Sonia, Superintendent of the Water Department, was rather adamant about putting in a 6” line. Upon completion, the line becomes the responsibility of the Town and a 1” line is not only too small for anyone else to tie into but it will become a huge maintenance problem as it will not hold up. Mr. Sonia said when this issue first came up he contacted the realtor as both this lot and the one next to it were advertised as having town water and this is obviously not the case. Fire Chief, Jeff Duncan, said the town’s responsibility ends 10 feet from the hydrant and it’s the homeowner’s responsibility to cross the right-of-way for installation. He would prefer that the system be looped as in the long run that’s the better thing to do, but there is no mandate for it. It was suggested at this point that it be included as a requirement in the water regulations for future developments. Mr. Garneau asked if the fire hydrant near the area in question is sufficient and he was told that it is. Apparently a number of years ago, they went through this with Art Savona and the town supplied the pipe and digging. The Selectmen said this should not have been done by the town. They suggested going to abutting land owners about splitting the cost of the 6” line. When asked about the cost, Mr. Garneau said it was approximately $3,500. Chairman Hancock made a Motion that: The Town not install the 6” line and make it the responsibility of the landowner to install it. Selectman Moroney seconded and the Motion passed unanimously.

Discussion turned to the document referred to in the previous meeting – the Secretary wanted it clear that even though it was said at the time that the document was written to Mr. Garneau, it was actually addressed to the Selectmen and it was stating that the Road Agent and Water Superintendent had checked measurements on Twin View Drive, so the Garneaus could have permission to cut the trees in the town’s right-of-way. At the request of the Selectmen, this was rewritten to include that any driveways disturbed in the construction would be returned to their original condition and it would be the responsibility of the contractors, the Garneaus, to do so. This document was addressed to Mr. D.J. Garneau and Mr. Dan Garneau of Dan’s Dirt Work. Chairman Hancock made a Motion to: Sign the document to the Messrs. Garneau. Selectman Moroney seconded and it passed unanimously. It was also confirmed that letters had been sent to the abutters on either side of this property letting them know that the trees in the town’s right-of-way will be cut. The Secretary said the signed notices that the certified letters had been received are already back.

Further discussion by Scott Sonia took place regarding a 6” main and running a service line to it. It was suggested a curb stop be put at the junction of the 6” main and that it be run to the property line. It was noted that Mr. Sophis may want to go back to the party from whom he purchased the land as it should be their responsibility for bringing the water main to the property line. There was more discussion over responsibility and size of the line. It was stated that we need to set a policy or procedure as to how this will be handled. Chairman Hancock read several excerpts from the Carroll Water Works Policy and said the Board has the discretion whether or not to authorize the extension of a water main and they do not believe this qualifies – that it is not meant for this type of application.

Chairman Hancock read a letter from the State Liquor Commission advising that Brenda’s Country Kitchen & Inn has made application for a liquor license. The State requires that a town advise they do not object to a license being issued before the Commission will grant such approval. Selectman Catalano asked Keith Bergeron, sole proprietor of the new business, if there was any truth to the rumor he had heard that there would be dispensing machines with cans of beer. Mr. Bergeron responded that there is absolutely no truth to that! Chairman Hancock then read a letter from the Board giving permission to issue the license. Evan Karpf thought the letter didn’t sound right and that it should be rewritten, so Chairman Hancock made a Motion to: Sign the revised letter to the Liquor Commission. Selectman Moroney seconded and it passed unanimously. The Secretary said the new one would be ready the next day.

Chairman Hancock read a letter from the U.S. Census Bureau thanking the town and staff for its support and the use of a site for conducting Census activities along with an accompanying Certificate of Appreciation. Chairman Hancock suggested framing the Certificate.

Chairman Hancock also read thank you letters from Tyler Blain House (homeless shelter) and North Country Home Health & Hospice for the Town’s generous support of their services.

Under Other Business, the Secretary spoke to the Board about the fact they had allowed some experimenting with hours in an effort to reduce overtime hours and they have found that working ten hour days has helped greatly in doing so. This means they each work four days rather five (most weeks) and because they alternate taking Wednesdays and Fridays off, the actual Office hours have not been affected at all as there is always someone covering. Chairman Hancock made a Motion to: Change the hours of the Selectmen’s Office staff to four ten-hour days. Selectman Moroney seconded and it passed unanimously.

Joan Karpf said they had received an abatement letter from the appraisal company and it also referred to an increased assessment for the next tax bill because the have a finished basement. She said they wondered about it as they had not done anything new. Evan Karpf said they were assessed for a full finished basement and it was only partial, though he did say there was a bathroom that had not been included. He went on to say he had telephoned the appraiser about it and he told them they could take pictures and measurements and send them to him. Later, the Karpfs received word that the appraiser wanted to set an appointment to do an inspection and when they asked about the change, they were told the town had made it. Discussion took place and when asked, Mrs. Karpf said the appraisers had been in twice in the past. The Selectmen said it had not come from them but most likely from the Tax Collector who also has to monitor the appraisal company periodically.

Jim Covey said he had met with Bill Rines who cut into the wood line to help with the location of the proposed railroad cars. He reiterated that Public Service has no issues with either the height or the setbacks, and the 75’ distance mentioned includes the engine, tender and coach – the latter which they had not realized originally that they were also receiving. Mr. Covey said he still feels the monument should be repositioned to give it its due, and they are looking into getting another flagpole. A steel pole, which they would prefer would be about $8,000 while an aluminum one is about $1,300. Needless to say, they are still looking. The distance to the water line and whether it is “live” is still in question, so Scott Sonia said he will have Granite State Rural Water Works help him so he can determine exactly where it is and its status. Mr. Covey said when the town accepts the gift, insurance will consider it in the same category as playground equipment. The Board asked that the Secretary check with our insurance company. He repeated that safety is the first issue, but there will not be a fence around it, and implored everyone to work on a design that is pleasing to all. He went on to say he believes a very nice job can be done at repositioning the monument by twenty or thirty feet and opined that more people may actually view it with the train there than currently do. Mr. Covey said he believes if it is done right, it will not be disrespectful. The Board again said it is very important to get input from the public and they need to figure a way to give a realistic idea of what it will be like. After much discussion, Selectman Catalano said he thinks we should get measurements every three feet or so distance and height and use helium-filled balloons to make an outline. He also said he will pay, help, do whatever, to get this going. It was suggested again that Edith Tucker be asked to put a piece in the paper about it when it is decided how and when the simulation will be done. Mr. Covey and Selectman Catalano will go to the Cog Railroad together to get information to move this along. Mike Gooden suggested a sign-up sheet that would be easy for people to simply say “yes” or “no” to having it – another suggestion was that it be located at the Information Booth to make it as easy as possible to use.

Selectman Catalano asked where we are with Old Town Road and Mr. Gadbois. It was stated that we have been working with deeds and Town Counsel to try to determine if there is anything recorded, and that we should be hearing very soon about it.

The Rines excavation project was brought up and it was noted there has been no response from Mr. Rines, though Town Counsel advised that the Judge had ruled in favor of the town and not issued an order for the town to sign the Intent to Excavate which had been presented several weeks before.

Evan Karpf asked what we were paying Horizon Engineering for the Old Town Road work and Selectman Moroney said around $5,000 which had been quoted, and which was a lot more money than it would have been if the issue had been resolved years ago when it should have been. Chairman Hancock said they had been hired specifically for the DES permitting as requested by our legal counsel. Joan Karpf asked about the road classification and wondered about a snowmobile trail being on a Class V road. She’s concerned as they are going for a special exception for their Funtown property to rent snowmobiles and wants to be sure there will still be a trail. It was stated the road would be plowed if the town votes to have both uses—the road and the trail. Selectman Catalano wondered if there is a conflict of interest because this company is the engineering company for Bill Rines’ subdivision. Selectman Moroney said no as Bill had done the work on Old Town Road because he was asked to do it by the town. It was an emergency situation at the time as they were afraid they would lose the road. Chairman Hancock said in speaking with Attorney Walter Mitchell the week before at Court, that he said no, though he was asking other questions and not that specific one.

Selectman Catalano asked Mr. Covey if he thought the town should look into buying part of the hill (below the Information Booth) from the State for $1. Mr. Covey said we’d still have to go through the permitting process and the biggest of these was environmental, which would again, take years to get.

Bill Dowling, Superintendent of the Transfer Station advised the Selectmen that he had sold half a load of #1 plastic, two ton, for more than $2,100 – which was considered quite incredible. Mr. Dowling said he is also still looking at becoming a consolidation station -- material would come to him already separated. If anything comes of it, he will bring it to the Board.

As there was no further business, Chairman Hancock moved to go into Non-Public Session for legal matters at 8:52 p.m. 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. Selectman Moroney then made a Motion to: Amend the Carroll Water Works Policy that “Any property owners using a well as the sole source of water shall be exempt from curb stop billing due to illegality of using two water sources.” Chairman Hancock seconded and the Motion passed unanimously.

There being no further business, Chairman Hancock made a Motion to: Adjourn the meeting. Selectman Catalano seconded and the Motion passed unanimously. Chairman Hancock declared the meeting ended at 9:37 p.m. The next meeting will be Monday, July 12, 2010.