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Minutes of 7/11/2011

July 20th, 2011

Carroll Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes
July 11, 2011

"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: Mark Catalano, Bonnie Moroney, Bill Dowling.

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

Members of the public present: Roberta McGee, Frank Maturo, Jim Covey, Ike Ikasalo, Mike Gooden, Ann Fabrizio, Carmine Fabrizio, Scott Sonia, Greg Hogan, Dan Walker, Jeremy Oleson, Tadd Bailey, Bill Smalley

Pledge of Allegiance

Frank Maturo filmed the meeting.

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

Selectman Moroney made a Motion To: Accept the minutes as written. Chairman Catalano seconded and it passed unanimously.

The Secretary asked the Board if they would approve the Food Pantry being run by volunteers. She explained the hours the Pantry is open now are the same as the Office hours, but would be changed so the volunteers could plan when they would need to be present and probably more importantly, when they would be able to leave. The new hours will be 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., which would guarantee the volunteer(s) would be out by noon in case of a late arrival. The volunteers would be responsible for putting all food away as well as keeping the inventory for the monthly report for the USDA food. She also asked permission to have the volunteers drive to Berlin to pick up the USDA food about every six to eight weeks, and to give them mileage reimbursement. Currently the Highway Department takes care of picking up the food. She went on to say by having volunteers take care of this, the Office staff would have the time to spend on their other duties and pointed out that it does not mean the budget will be reduced. The money put into the Welfare Administration line was not extra money as it was moved from the office salary lines and will go back there. The Secretary stated the Office will continue to handle town aid requests and special gifts at the Holidays as these are confidential. The Board thought this was a good idea and Selectman Moroney suggested putting an ad in the paper for volunteers as well as change of hours. Chairman Catalano made a Motion To: Allow a voluntary Food Pantry to move forward. Selectman Moroney seconded and the Motion passed unanimously.

The Secretary passed a message on to the Selectmen from a resident who wished to remain anonymous, but wanted them to know she believes Scott Sonia is doing an excellent job with the Water Department. This resident was extremely pleased to receive notice that a job will be taking place and the water will have to be shut off to do the work. Mr. Sonia received applause from all in attendance.

The following items were approved and signed:

Water Warrant – Poggas, Cadigan, Roberts, Stahl
Property Tax Abatement – Schaier (First Issue Error)
It was explained this is not a new abatement, it was one previously approved but had not
carried forward to the 2011 first issue tax bill.

Regarding a response to George Brodeur Sr.’s email to the Board of several weeks ago, Chairman Catalano said he had it completed but didn’t get it sent to Selectmen Moroney and Dowling or the Board’s Secretary. He apologized for the delay and will send it tonight after the meeting. It will be brought up at the next meeting.

Chairman Catalano brought up the agenda item of beautification and reiterated that he thought it would be good to come up with a committee to work with properties and signage, as examples. He also suggested they might work with Stan as any violations would be taken care of through him and not the committee. He went on to say they may want to consider getting volunteers to help people keep up with things like mowing, weed whacking, etc; things they just have a hard time getting to. It was Chairman Catalano’s thought to get a few volunteers to start and come back and let the Board know what they can do to help regarding concerns that people have. Selectman Moroney said any cases in the past had been sent letters by the town and by Stan and many have not been responded to. Selectman Moroney also said money may be an issue for property owners regarding taking care of or fixing things. It was suggested that Stan send letters to sign offenders as there is a town ordinance and it should be enforced. Jim Covey said he had spoken with the sign ordinance person for the State and that person said the Select Board has the authority to remove signs based on our town ordinance. He pointed out several that seemed to be in violation, including Fairpoint, which has a sign on a PSNH pole; the Gift Shed, which is a “temporary” sign, and the Saffians, where there is also a temporary sign. (Mr. Covey added, “no matter how much we love the Saffians, their sign is still in violation!”) It was the consensus that Stan needs to address violations. Butch Garneau asked if the town has permits for signs. When told we do, he said if there is none on file it would appear there would be a violation. Stan should be asked to get a list together so letters can be sent. It was also noted this code should be enforced and if a policy needs to be set it should be and then stick with it. Chairman Catalano said if there is a concern they could request that Stan speak with the people to let them know what is wrong or in violation and how to correct it. It was noted that we need to be consistent. Selectman Moroney said not everything carries a fine and sometimes that is the only way to get attention. We have ordered the request for action forms which will be used also for follow-up. Chairman Catalano repeated that we will be looking for volunteers to get together and work on this and that it would be year round, not just summer. He said he would draft a poster which we might put up and requested that we look into putting something on the website, if there will be an extra charge or not.

Next, Selectman Moroney addressed the warrant articles. She started to go through the various articles that were passed and said she understands waiting for the report from Coppola Rockburn to approve spending money, but there are only two articles on hold: the Fire Department pick-up truck and the Ambulance, which she said have no impact on the budget. She said she feels it’s time to readdress these and let people move forward on them. Chairman Catalano said he had spoken with four ambulance people and when they heard about cycling an ambulance out at 50,000 miles, he said their jaws fell open. He said they don’t think about doing anything until 100,000 miles and some are running with 300,000 miles. He said he agreed not to push back about the pick-up truck because the police needed to get rid of the Dodge Charger that was costing so much for repairs. Selectman Moroney reiterated the people voted for the ambulance, the Select Board are not really in control of that money. Chairman Catalano said when it was voted on there were a lot of things not brought under consideration, such as lower state revenues, county taxes going up, etc. He said he would be willing to bet given the pressures people are facing now the vote would have been different. Jeremy Oleson asked where the ambulance people were from as he said it would make a big difference if they were for-profit and how many vehicles they have. Chairman Catalano responded they were from Rockingham, Ross, Bridgeton, Maine and Hollis, NH. Mr. Oleson also pointed out running miles are different from miles traveled, as these vehicles cannot be turned off. Chairman Catalano said a draft of the financial review should be ready by the next meeting.

Selectman Moroney said the point is they have let everything else go except for the two Fire Department articles. She referred to a few more articles, $15,000 for the Landfill being one, and Chairman Catalano said that is a benefit for the people and repeated that he said if the money was essential to running the town, it could be used. He said the Fire Chief did not report that the ambulance is unsafe. Mr. Garneau said no one is saying it is unsafe, that they do not want to get to that point and further explained that it was voted some time ago to replace at 50,000 miles, and the Selectmen keep holding it up. After further discussion, Chairman Catalano said we have about a week to wait for the report and if the report is amenable, he will change, but if it comes back and says what he thinks it will say – at this time, he said they said at a public meeting, and wanted it made clear that the Select Board are staying out of the review. He proceeded to say he didn’t know what the rush is and he won’t change until the report is in. He went on to say that a townsperson read an article in the LGC magazine that many Select Boards don’t look far enough into the future – only a month or so, but they can have better control if they look beyond. He said he believes they have taken the proper fiduciary steps for the town. Selectman Dowling said they have all year to act, they don’t have to act today. Mr. Oleson said he didn’t necessarily come to talk about the ambulance but will drive the vehicle and do the best he can. However he wishes people would come to the Station and look at the equipment and see what it’s all about. Everyone seems very willing to talk about other towns and their vehicles, but very few ever dome in to see what this town has to do. Holding an open house, etc. were discussed, but Mr. Oleson said people can come anytime. As long as there is someone there, they are happy to show them around. “Ike” Ikasalo asked Selectman Dowling his position and he said to wait to get the report.
Other:

Selectman Moroney announced that Dot O’Brien, a former resident and owner of the airport with her husband, Joe, is now in assisted living. She was knocked over by a dog and broke her shoulder and arm and had other injuries and was in intensive care for a while but is back home now. Mrs. Moroney said she would love to hear from old friends and neighbors. Her address will be posted on the bulletin board at the Town Hall.

Selectman Moroney said Bobbie and Vern Amirault painted fire hydrants in town and wondered about thanking them. Scott Sonia said he is planning to take care of that.

Selectman Moroney also spoke about a building assessment for energy, sent from North Country Council, which she felt would be good to do. She mentioned one had been done a few years ago on the gym but she thought doing the whole Town Hall would be more beneficial. Selectman Dowling said this had come a while ago and he had spoken to Greg about it. Selectman Moroney made a Motion To: Make out the form and send it in. Chairman Catalano seconded and it passed unanimously.

Selectman Dowling said there is a Building Committee meeting for July 13, here at the Town Hall.

Selectman Dowling said Becki is looking for records taken from the Town Clerk’s Office several years ago by the State. He said he talked with Bernie Waugh’s office and now getting them back has to be done through the Court, which he said has no objection. The records should be back in a month.

Selectman Dowling said someone is interested in buying the old trash compactor and asked if they should get bids or just do the best they can. He said he had put a notice in the NRRA bulletin a few years ago and didn’t get any calls. He was asked why it wasn’t used and said because of the age and condition and there is a very limited market for these. Selectman Moroney suggested he see what the interest is and go from there. Selectman Dowling said it will be “buy as is where is.” If the person offers a good price, he will get in touch with the others.

Selectman Dowling also brought up about a meeting minutes policy. Apparently it came to light in a court case when minutes from one meeting were corrected but the minutes containing the corrections did not get entered as evidence. The new policy will require two sets of minutes for every meeting and one will be labeled “draft” and when they are approved, they will be so marked. The “approved” set will also contain the corrections if there are any. He said this didn’t have to be decided on tonight but wanted all to think about it. The Secretary said of course it can be done but wanted all to know it will take time and supplies.

As there was no further business, the Board was polled and went into non-public session for town aid and personnel matters at 8:00 p.m.

At the close of Non-Public Session, Chairman Catalano 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 Catalano made a Motion to: adjourn the meeting. Selectman Moroney seconded and the Motion passed unanimously. Chairman Catalano declared the meeting ended at 8:37 p.m. The next meeting will be Monday, July 25, 2011.

Town of Carroll, New Hampshire ®2024