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Minutes of 08/23/2010

August 29th, 2010

Carroll Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes
August 23, 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 7:00 PM by Chairman Hancock.

Members of the public present: Eddy Moore, Roberta McGee, Evan Karpf, Bill Dowling, Linda Dowling, Joan Karpf, Frank Maturo, Ike Ikasalo, Claire Gritzer, Tom Gately, Leslie Bergum, Sue Kraabel, Jim Covey, Allen Strasser, Harold Garneau, Herb McGee, Carmine Fabrizio, Ken Mills, John Trammell, Scott Sonia, Jeff Duncan, Bill Rines, Ben Jellison, Rick Brown, Mike Gooden, Lori Hogan, Devyn Hogan

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 August 9, 2010, as written. Selectman Moroney seconded and the Motion was approved.

The Sign Permit application by D’Urso/Brenda’s Country Kitchen & Inn was reviewed. The form seemed to be in order but further discussion, because John D’Urso’s property, where the sign is to be located is on a state highway, the question was asked if it will conform to NH state law. After a brief discussion of the sign ordinance and NH laws, Selectman Catalano made a Motion to: Table the item until laws may be checked. Selectman Moroney seconded and the Motion passed unanimously. It was learned during further discussion that the sign is already in the requested location though not affixed to a post, but in a truck. Chairman Hancock made a Motion to: Inform Mr. D’Urso and Brenda’s Country Kitchen & Inn that the sign must be removed until approval is received. Selectman Moroney seconded and the Motion passed unanimously. It was noted that the application said “12 month temporary sign” which led to a discussion of the period of time “temporary” refers to. Various people in attendance offered differing lengths of time, but a definition could not actually be found in the permit application. The Secretary was asked to inquire of the Code Enforcement Officer what the definition is, or the location of it in the ordinance.

The following were approved and signed:

Recreation Committee By-Laws Amendment – That Special or Working meetings may be called
by the Chairman with 24-hour notice, or upon the written request of three members of the
committee. (It is part of the By-Laws that a copy of any amendment must be submitted to
the Selectmen for inclusion in the town records). A copy will be given to Lori Hogan, as
requested.
Water Warrant – Latessa, Simmons, Ferrara
Intent to Cut – Werner/Smookler-McCole

Eddy Moore attended the meeting at the request of the Selectmen. Mr. Moore is in the Profile Region Cable Television Consortium in Littleton of which the Town of Carroll is also a member. Mr. Moore gave a brief background of the Consortium saying it is for the use and operation of Channel 2, and consists of an appointed person from each town to represent the town. Mr. Moore said its main job is to keep track of the agreement with the cable company and to oversee the running of Channel 2. He also said the intent is to get towns to utilize Channel 2. He said the reason he’s here is that he had a call complaining that Mr. Connor, who runs Channel 2, was selecting and limiting the airing of tapes to Selectmen’s meetings. Mr. Moore said they want to include all matters of government but it must be approved through the Selectmen or the representative appointed by the Selectmen. It was clarified that this is one person only, and the Town of Carroll has not had a representative since Dale Shakespeare passed away suddenly last year. Mr. Moore assured all that they will try to work with the town. It was also noted this could possibly work for better pricing for cable TV.

Mr. Moore explained that this is a public access station and that Robert O’Connor makes the decisions on what is aired. When asked, Mr. Moore said there are guidelines by Littleton High School as that is where it was set up by the cable company. Quality control was brought up, while specific to the airing of the meeting of April 19, it was in general as well. It was noted that the Carroll Information Group does the taping and non-political. As they tape from gavel to gavel, it was not known what happened to that particular meeting, but it was emphasized there are ways to address it to insure questions of unethical editing, and the group does not edit. It was further noted that it was not a question of ethics, but merely one about timing and the particular tape in question. Upon discussion and reflection, it was realized this was the tape that had been discovered to have broken part of the way through filming.

Discussion led briefly to the Select Board’s standing on the issue of filming and it was stated that the filming just happened – no one ever came before the Board. They are not sure how they stand on it as they never had anything to do with it. The Chairman said he would be interested to know about any legal standings or such that may come about because of the filming. After questioning, it was noted that there are no issues philosophically with it. It was stated that there is not usually a large number of people who attend the meetings, but many have said they watch the TV showings and are happy to be able to see the meetings. Possession of the tapes and passing off to the TV station came up and the Information Group said they have possession of the tapes currently, but they could be given to the Selectmen who could then give them to Channel 2. They added that all meetings are being filmed so they would not be selecting what would be shown. Mr. Moore pointed out the FCC’s cable act for public access television says they cannot be censored – and it is time limits only that dictate what is and what is not shown. He said it is also on the internet at latvchannel2.com. It was also mentioned according to RSA 91-A, if the Board of Selectmen should consider the film as part of its record keeping. Mr. Moore reiterated that they would like to have the approval of the Selectmen for the internet as well, to be consistent.

The purpose for the representative remained vague as to whether it was just for the public access TV or if it would also work with cable TV, and again pointed out that the purpose tonight was to establish a committee. The committee will choose a representative whom the Selectmen will appoint to the Consortium. It was clarified this is the first time a committee is being set up, as it had always been just the single representative in the past. Article 1 of the agreement was read in part and clarified that it is also to negotiate with the cable company, as well as to work with public access. The question was asked about minors at meetings and the answer previously was that nothing could be done as they are public meetings. However, it was noted that the Group is respectful of people’s wishes and if they know they would try not to film minors or if they wanted to set up a designated area that would be kept out of the filming range, they would do that. The Board thanked Mr. Moore and moved to the nominations for the Cable TV Committee.

As discussion for the committee began, Selectman Catalano said he did not realize a list was being compiled in the Selectmen’s Office and he had a name that had been given to him, which he wanted to add to the list and that is Linda Dowling. The Selectmen were handed a list of eight names to which Mrs. Dowling’s name was added. Those people who expressed an interest in being on the Committee were: Evan Karpf, Bill Dowling, Sue Kraabel, Richard Gould, “Mac” McQueeney, Jeff Duncan, Rena Vecchio, Sandy Pothier and Linda Dowling. The Selectmen reviewed the list and Selectman Moroney said she saw several names on the list of people who are not already on town committees and as they are always looking to expand and get new people, she felt this would be a good time and place to start. Selectman Catalano said he would not want to lose a good person because of their being on one committee.

Evan Karpf asked if they would like to hear from any of the people as to why they signed up and Chairman Hancock asked him to go ahead. He said he is interested in community affairs and attends most of the meetings, participates in many town activities and is on the Planning Board He also said he came and requested to be the designated person as the town no longer had a representative and he is willing to make the commitment.

Linda Dowling followed by giving her list of credentials including having been the public educational government access coordinator in Pelham, is familiar with the communications policy act, was involved in negotiating franchise contracts, worked with 5-7 people, trained over 100 volunteers and knows cable infrastructure, among them.

The Selectmen deliberated over the volunteers and agreed on their list of five names. Chairman Hancock made a Motion to: Nominate the five people chosen for the Cable Committee as: Sue Kraabel, Richard Gould, Mac McQueeney, Sandy Pothier and Linda Dowling. Selectman Moroney seconded and the Motion passed unanimously.

Chairman Hancock then read a thank you note from the Coalition Community for the donation sent to them as a result of the March vote.

Harold Garneau addressed the Board saying this past week he noticed something about an order to remove a culvert on Old Town Road and believes the town will be sorry if they allow this to happen. He did not want to get involved but as Trail Administrator for the Snowmobile Club he feels he would be remiss if he didn’t let his concerns be known. He said the road floods and gets icy in the winter and these are conditions under which people wreck and get hurt. He said they’ve had a culvert in the past and it was removed and explained the ditch gets plugged up and there’s a long way to go before the water gets to the culvert. Now the beaver dam has water leaking through and will back up at the road; the beavers may build another one on the other side of the road. He was up there today and took pictures to support his conversation. Mr. Garneau would like to draft a letter through the Snowmobile Club to whomever it is that wants to remove the culvert as well as to the DES that he recognizes an impending danger/problem if that culvert is removed, the road floods and someone gets hurt. He wants to be sure who is responsible for water in the road as he sees the town physically removing a culvert and creating a problem. He wants the Snowmobile Club to get on record with Fish & Game, the Trails Bureau, Mr. Gadbois and whomever else is pushing to get the culvert out, to make sure they are all aware of the problem and that responsibility lies with the appropriate people or entity, not the Snowmobile Club or the town.

Selectmen Catalano spoke to this and said he has been trying to help negotiate the best resolution to two problems, but also understands the importance of snowmobiling to our area. He said the damage done to the wetland is relevant and if the culvert is left, the wetland would still have to be mitigated and private property was damaged. They feel they have solved both problems by leaving the natural beaver dam and the big ditch and removing the wooden dam on top that extends from the beaver dam as well as the culvert. There was further discussion of locations of dams, ditches and culverts and the way the flow of water should be. It was noted we have not spoken with DES yet, that first the town is trying to get an agreement with the landowner. The wetlands will be filled in, back to the way they were, the big ditch by the beaver dam will remain and this will be maintained all the way down to the road by the landowner, and the town will maintain where it intersects with the old ditch along Old Town Road where it runs to the old cuvert. The comment was made about what would happen if the owner did not maintain the ditch and Selectman Catalano said the town will do it and will be well within their rights to charge the landowner. Mr. Garneau repeated that he wanted to address his letter to the owner, who is Don Gadbois, and will also send a copy to DES so they are aware of the concerns of the Snowmobile Club. Selectman Catalano stated that since there is a level of concern, they might consider putting up a sign warning to slow down as there is a possibility of ice. Bill Rines said this is not a problem that has happened only once. He was the one who put the logs in to slow or stop the water because the beaver dam had broken. He said it seems to be effective and agreed that removing the culvert will be creating another problem.

Allen Strasser spoke about procedures and budgeting. He said there is the same lack of procedure as when he was on the Board. He referred to the July meeting of the Budget Committee and said the two water department representatives were getting instructions from Selectman Moroney on how to note charges. Which subject led him to talk about charges and ask if the Board ever approved that backhoe repairs be charged to the Highway budget. He feels Selectman Moroney represents the Board on her own and believes there were charges to the Highway that should be made to Water. He said policies must be passed regarding charges that should be made to the water system. He went on to review line item expenditures and said Mrs. Moroney said that repairs for this building were way over due to electrical repairs and wiring for the generator. Selectman Moroney took exception to that statement as she did not say it nor would she, as it was not true.
Mr. Strasser continued that budgeting procedural changes are needed to stop the continual over-budgeting, which leads to high surpluses. He continued with discussion of various MS forms for the state and showed the worksheet used with DRA to set the tax rate. He verified that Chairman Hancock’s signature was on that sheet. He went on to say the town is not using the surplus or fund balance, to help reduce taxes. Lori Hogan said the town did and it is very misleading for him to say they are not and warned that he should be very careful when speaking about overlay and fund balance. Mrs. Hogan went on to speak about the recommended percentage of fund balance and the correlation to the surplus amount, which is between 5% and 17%, and which Mr. Strasser said he would get to. He said he got all of his numbers right from the DRA (Department of Revenue Administration) and continued to say the town did not follow the recommendations of the DRA on the amount of money to use to help reduce taxes. He went on to instruct how to figure out the amount of money needed. He proceeded with various suggestions on how to set budgets, to reduce spending, including eliminating capital reserve accounts because they encourage wonton spending. Chairman Hancock referred to the group who was with the DRA representative to set the tax rate and that they did, indeed, follow the recommendation. Mr. Strasser was not there and therefore did not know about the discussion of the amount of tax revenue the town was short because of the ongoing situation with the AMC and the fact that Bretton Woods had not paid their taxes. The amount of money left was suggested by DRA to hopefully cover shortfalls that may occur due to non-payment. $130,000 was used to reduce taxes, which covered the 98 cents that they had gone up the year before. Mr. Strasser disputed that the town needed to keep the amount of money they did and insisted the DRA did not recommend the amount. The Selectmen decided the amount, which does fall within the range recommended by DRA, and which they explained several times. Mr. Strasser feels more fund balance needs to be used to reduce taxes. A brief discussion of the settlement with AMC took place, which the Board felt was the best deal possible of a PILOT agreement of $22,500 per year retroactive to 2007. The amount is that which pertains to the town portion of taxes and eliminates the school and County portion. It was noted that after this year, because the figures are already in, that the town will no longer pay taxes to the school and County on the value of the AMC property. Mr. Strasser said they will continue because of the equalization rate. Mrs. Kraabel said it was only coincidental that the overlay amount and the amount to reduce taxes were $130,000 each, and reiterated it was due to the economic times and it was expected that a lot of people would be unable to pay their taxes.

Mrs. Hogan spoke of the MS-5 report and some of the numbers that Mr. Strasser was referring to. She said the beginning fund balance and the ending fund balance equal the net change and the actual number is very different from Mr. Strasser’s amount. Mrs. Hogan also referred to Mr. Strasser’s comments about capital reserve funds which she called “very dangerous” as the funds are meant to create level taxation, and this keeps taxes from spiking. This money is not spent willy-nilly as Mr. Strasser said. Selectman Catalano said he is part of the CIP (Capital Improvement Plan) and he thinks this will help with the credibility of the capital reserve funds. Mrs. Hogan warned that we are way under reserved and this was created by ourselves. She said the Budget Committee calls for zero based budgets from the departments and they have to explain every dollar they request. Last year they reduced the budget by ten percent. Mr. Strasser said he still disagrees about the fund balance and he disputed Mrs. Hogan’s comments.

Discussion then turned to budget presentations from the Treasurer, the Moderator and the Trustees of the Trust Funds.

Susan K. Kraabel, Treasurer presented: salary at $4,158; mileage at $590 (based on 19 miles @ .50, 62 trips to the bank); bank fees at $1,200 (averaged based on what has been paid so far this year, with fees raised next year). Total of $5,948.

Ben Jellison, Moderator, said his budget for 2011 would be reduced because of fewer elections.
He said he is researching vote counting equipment as it’s beyond time to move forward, but he’s only in the beginning stage so it’s not anything that will be done soon. Mr. Jellison also said the reduction in Moderator Training/Travel is because there is much on-line for a Moderator, so he takes advantage of it.

2010 2011
Supervisors Sittings 250.00 250.00
Town Meeting Supervisors 1.00 1.00
Supervisors Elections 300.00 150.00
Moderator 300.00 300.00
Supervisors Expenses 150.00 100.00
Advertisements 300.00 300.00
Moderator Expenses 500.00 250.00
Moderator Training/Travel 250.00 150.00
Elections Training 250.00 250.00
Ballot Clerks 1,500.00 750.00

Total Proposed Budget $2,501.00

Claire Gritzer presented the budget for Trustees of the Trust Funds. She said they had reduced their budget last year, so they kept it the same. Mrs. Gritzer also read a report on the investments, a copy of which is attached.

2011
Salaries
Treasurer & Chair 313.00
Secretary 263.50
Bookkeeper 263.50
Supplies 75.00
Training & Travel
Dues 60.00
Annual Local Government Center Conf. 100.00
NESGFOR Fall Meeting 240.00
NH Charitable Fund Session 100.00

Total Proposed Budget $1,415.00

Under Other:

Tyler Phillips forwarded a letter received by the Ammonoosuc Chapter of Trout Unlimited that the grant they applied for to replace a bridge/culvert over Tuttle Brook was recommended for partial funding. At the time the application was completed and sent in, it was believed that it would be awarded in its entirety. Because it was not for the complete project, a minimum of $54,000 must be raised to in order to receive the grant and continue with the project. Mr. Phillips said in spite of the letter giving about six months for a decision, he had received a telephone call and they would like to know fairly soon if it will be accepted. He said both he and Trout Unlimited have been unable to find any grants for the balance and he wanted to know if the town will try to find a grant or fund it themselves. After brief discussion during which they stated the complete funding was a main reason they supported it, Chairman Hancock made a Motion to: Decline the award for Tuttle Brook. Selectman Moroney seconded and the Motion passed unanimously. Joan Karpf said the Conservation Commission had supported the Selectmen earlier when they chose to go for the grant, and she was sure they would support this decision as well.

The Board received a reply from the State Department of Transportation in response to their letter of February 9, 2009, requesting the removal of the passing lane and the reduction of the speed limit on the section of Route 302 East from the Mount Deception Campground to the Episcopal Church, just beyond the driveway to the Mount Washington Hotel. They have completed their review and have determined to keep it as it is though they considered reducing the length of the passing zone, but ultimately chose not to do so.

Chairman Hancock read part of a letter (attached) to the Carroll Police Department that commended Patrolman Tadd Bailey in his handling of a traffic accident earlier this month, for which Officer Bailey was applauded by the meeting.

Bill Dowling gave the Selectmen his vacation schedule for late September and early October, and advised the attendant will run the Transfer Station in his absence. When questioned about licensing, Mr. Dowling said Anita has a Level 1 license and that’s all that’s required, a higher level license is needed only if there’s a problem.

Evan Karpf wanted to clarify that the excavation work being done at Birchwood Commons is replacing the septic system. They have put in a new, larger system than required so it took much more space than what it replaced.

Bill Dowling said there were 18 people who took advantage of the Household Hazardous Waste day. As a result, he figured the line was overspent by about $200, so if it is done again next year, they will have to raise the amount in the warrant article. He also said if a larger number use it, that will make the amount higher, too. Mr. Dowling explained a reason for the high cost this year was because North Country Council usually gets a grant that covers the set-up fees, but this year they were unable to get it. Lori Hogan asked how a warrant article can be overspent and Mr. Dowling said because it was. Claire Gritzer said the warrant article did not say where the money would come from and wondered if it was from the special recycling account. Mr. Dowling said that the money had come from taxation.

Joan Karpf said she was having a problem with receiving mail on time for the ZBA and the Conservation Commission. Apparently she had just received a piece that was dated last month. Mrs. Karpf was assured by the Secretary that when the mail is received, it is opened and placed in everyone’s mailboxes.

Bill Rines spoke of a storage shed to be replaced at the Highway Garage. This was brought up at a previous meeting and Bill Dowling said he could get a trailer for $1,500 and a grant for reimbursement of up to half the cost. Mr. Rines spoke to Mr. Dowling and asked if he could get the grant. A discussion of container/trailers took place and it was agreed that he should go ahead as there would be savings. Mr. Dowling will apply for a grant from New Hampshire the Beautiful and will have to submit proof of payment with the application. Selectman Moroney made a Motion to: Proceed with getting the storage unit. Chairman Hancock seconded and it passed unanimously.

Joan Karpf said she walks her dogs on her own land but noticed recently when at the Recreation area that there are signs that say no dogs allowed. She said a lot of people travel with their dogs. She said she knows the Selectmen voted for that a few years ago, but wondered why they don’t amend it to keeping the dogs on leashes and picking up after them instead of no dogs at all. It was explained that part of the problem is the dogs swim in the pond. When certain bacteria, etc., levels get too high, the pond has to be closed and drained and let refill to take new readings. The issue of enforcement also came up when she wondered about an area where dogs can run. The Selectmen said they will look at the ordinance next week when the updated ordinance comes back for review.

As there was no further business, Chairman Hancock moved to go into Non-Public Session for personnel matters and town aid at 9:57 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.

There being no further business, Chairman Hancock made a Motion to: Adjourn the meeting. Selectman Moroney seconded and the Motion passed unanimously. Chairman Hancock declared the meeting ended at 11:04 p.m. The next meeting will be Monday, August 30, 2010.

Town of Carroll, New Hampshire ®2024