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APPROVED Minutes of 08/08/11

August 23rd, 2011

Carroll Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes
August 8, 2011
APPROVED
"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, Mike Gooden, Carmine Fabrizio, Ann Fabrizio, Joan Karpf, Evan Karpf, Tadd Bailey, Jeremy Oleson, Mark Brodeur, Jim Covey, Bill Smalley, Scott Sonia, Bobbie Amirault, Vern Amirault, Rena Vecchio, Dan Walker, Dave Scalley, Joyce Charrette, Chris Pappas, Jeff Duncan, Ben Jellison

Pledge of Allegiance

Frank Maturo filmed the meeting.

The meeting began with Scott Sonia, Water Superintendent, who requested that Bobbie and Vern Amirault come to the front of the room. Mr. Sonia explained that Mr. and Mrs. Amirault had volunteered their time to paint the fire hydrants in town. He said this is time-consuming and was definitely needed and thanked the Amiraults for the job they had done. He presented Mr. and Mrs. Amirault each with a framed certificate of thanks. Chairman Catalano also expressed thanks and appreciation for their volunteerism on behalf of the Select Board.

Stan Borkowski’s report was received and posted.

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

Chairman Catalano said he had read the financial review from Carol Coppola and asked the Board for comments. Selectman Moroney said it seems to favor purchasing the ambulance and didn’t seem to think the town is that bad financially. So she feels we should go forward with the purchase as the voters voted. Selectman Dowling thought the report was incomplete and that she didn’t do the job asked. He said there were no forward projections and feels they need to have answers before we pay her. He spoke of the agreement and was advised a copy is on file in the Selectmen’s Office. Chairman Catalano spoke of the report received which had said it was a draft for discussion purposes only and not necessarily for public use, but because of RSA 91-A, did become a public document. He went on to say he was not compelled to include much public discussion until he gets more answers from Carol. He said he had tried numerous times to contact her both by phone and by email, and just learned recently that he had the incorrect email address. He said he had written a four page response to the report and sent it to Carol late today – the report contains no projections and that was 90% of the reason he brought her in. Chairman Catalano went on to read his email but reiterated he does not want to get into it tonight and prefers to wait for a response. He said the report in general was not concrete and there were no suggestions one way or the other. He requested that his email to Ms. Coppola be posted on the bulletin board at the Town Hall (email attached). The Chairman asked that people read the email, report and contract so all will be fully aware of all the information. Chairman Catalano asked about scheduling a meeting for next week so we could have Ms. Coppola attend to answer the questions in his email or if not that, to discuss her answers as she may have sent them. Chris Pappas asked why he feels the information will be available for next week if there hasn’t been a response so far.

Jim Covey said Ms. Coppola was asked to analyze and project and he said there was no quality in this report. He went on to say the Board is not getting what it paid for, that it is only boilerplate and he feels it is garbage at this point. It is missing depth and he would recommend not paying until they get what they are looking for. Rena Vecchio said she felt that there were good points to the report and took offense at the way Mr. Covey was speaking. She went on to say she thought the Chairman had requested that there be no discussion of the report tonight and wondered if it might be sour grapes because they didn’t get what they were looking for. Chairman Catalano said the main tenet seems to be lacking and it may only need further explanation. Jeff Duncan asked if there is a reason Ms. Coppola is not coming and presenting the report. He went on to say he had sent her some questions and she said she doesn’t want to change anything. Chairman Catalano asked if this meant that Mr. Duncan was suggesting the town not ask more questions, to which Mr. Duncan replied very strongly, absolutely not. Chairman Catalano said if she answers the questions as written, then we can move on; if not, the Select Board will need to have a discussion. Mike Gooden suggested asking her to come to the next meeting and if she cannot be here, postpone it to the following week. Chairman Catalano made a Motion: Pending Ms. Coppola’s availability, that we schedule a meeting for August 15. Selectman Moroney asked if this is something she can accomplish by next week and Chairman Catalano said he believes she absolutely can. In his opinion it is a two-day work effort. Selectman Moroney said the reason for the questions is there are issues to be clarified and wondered if it wouldn’t behoove the Board to give time so the information requested is complete. Chairman Catalano said it is okay with him to wait, but he doesn’t want to be perceived as trying to stall. Jim Covey said they should give her at least two weeks if they want quality. Chairman Catalano amended his Motion to: Meeting August 15, dependent on Ms. Coppola’s availability and ability to get the job done. Selectman Dowling seconded and the Motion passed unanimously. Chairman Catalano said he will contact Ms. Coppola.

The following items were approved and signed:

Yield Tax Certification and Warrant – Berube
Town Hall Use Permit Application -- Garneau


Under Other:

Selectman Moroney said pursuant to a recent message from New Hampshire Retirement System that any part time employees taking their NH Retirement cannot work more than 32 hours. She asked Selectman Dowling if he is taking his retirement, to which he responded he is not. She said she had to bring this to attention as it is the Town’s responsibility to know about and act on these things.

Ann Fabrizio reminded everyone that there will be a stamp show at the Town Hall on Saturday, August 13. There will be lunch available and all proceeds will benefit the Town of Carroll Food Pantry.

Selectman Dowling asked about the Fire Department pick-up truck which had been discussed at the previous meeting. Chairman Catalano said he had made the call to the winning bidder as requested and had been told he had put the bid in for someone from Town and that person was supposed to have let the Town know he wasn’t taking it. Chief Duncan said another person had spoken with him about the truck and he will contact that person for a bid.

Selectman Dowling said he wanted to vote on the Minutes Policy. The Secretary asked why this had not been put on the agenda and Mr. Dowling said to put it on the next agenda.

Chairman Catalano said there had been conversations in the minutes regarding two Select Board members trying to keep employees from participating in the employee manual revision. They had requested that questions be put in writing so they could see them before trying to answer them, but the rumor was perpetuated that the Board would not meet with them. He said he pulled four emails and asked that they be posted on the bulletin board so everyone can read them and see that it was not their intention to not meet with the employees. (emails attached).

Chairman Catalano’s next item was regarding an email from Bernie Waugh on Selectman Dowling’s work in putting together the employee manual. Attorney Waugh said it is legal for him to work on this and stated that he cannot do this on his own as it requires a majority vote by the Board. Rena Vecchio said she agrees but pointed out it also states there is a thin line regarding perception. She went on to say one must balance between what is personal and what is politics. Mrs. Vecchio said she was on the Board when the last one went through and that all department heads worked on it and a lot of discussion was part of it. The perception of this one is that it was closed off and there was no input when it was being done. Chairman Catalano said Selectman Dowling didn’t write a lot of it as it was worked from a template from LGC. Jim Covey said at the last meeting they were ambushed and attacked on the employees’ part. Mrs. Vecchio said to read the complete email and then went on to say it was NOT an ambush as no one planned to come together. She said this was communicating that did get heated at times, but if they would have some, then it wouldn’t be an issue. Chairman Catalano said they will start scheduling to go over with the department heads and employees. Jeff Duncan said he thinks going through the process is necessary but would also like a timeline as budgets will be due soon. It was then suggested to have a meeting anyway on August 15, even if Ms. Coppola cannot be in attendance. Selectman Dowling said the Board should have a non-public session to begin going over the employee questions. Chief Duncan said he agrees the Board needs to discuss these among themselves. Selectman Dowling said regarding the budget, whatever budget we’re working on will be in force and if adjustments have to be made, they will be. It was asked if there is a copy of the new manual on a town computer, and noted there is not.

Chairman Catalano said the Cog train is being positioned so it no longer impinges on town property or water lines in the area. Jim Covey said he has the letter already to send to the state and hopefully the placement will satisfy them. He said they will recommend that only track be laid this year and let it settle and people can see how it’s going to be. He went on to say the DOT’s biggest concern is people stopping on the roadway to look and causing traffic problems. He said there are other places in the state where this has been a factor also, but they have been able to mitigate problems and he believes the same can happen here. Chairman Catalano thanked Mr. Covey and Scott Sonia and others who have been working on this project.

Chairman Catalano referred to a previous meeting when it was stated there had been precedent set by the Select Board in freezing spending and the suggestion had been made that it had never been done before. He said concerned citizens had looked into this and gave ten examples when the Board chose not to spend the money, among them: 1987, 1998, 1995, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009. Ben Jellison said if he was referring to the question he raised, his was regarding Special Revenue Funds. The suggestion was made to maybe look at the tape as the question was directed to Joan Karpf. Chairman Catalano said he couldn’t care less where the money comes from--the Select Board has the legal right to not spend money. Mrs. Karpf said this is not the first time the Select Board did not follow what the people want. She said not necessarily a warrant article and referred to 2007, which she has brought up several times, that even though it was voted to pay the water bond by the town, in 2007 and 2008 it was paid only by the water users. At this point, Tadd Bailey stated that he just happened to see part of the last meeting on Channel 2 and Ben did say Special Revenue Fund. Chris Pappas referenced the warrant article recommendations by the Board the Budget Committee and asked what changed between then and March 21 when the spending freeze was imposed. Chairman Catalano said it was his first year as a member and he didn’t really know how things went. He said if he had been asked if we needed an ambulance he would have said at town meeting it was not a good idea. He referred to when the money was put back into the budget for overtime for Police and Fire and no one brought up about the Select Board and Budget Committee being over ruled. He went on to say by April values were out of whack and abatements were coming in and refunds were being made. He said the State budget was showing revenue cuts, the County was talking about the possibility of needing a supplemental budget and school funding was also brought up again. All things were hitting the town for 2011 and 2012 with a potential debilitating effect. Jim Covey said he feels the largest effect is the reval which could send the tax rate higher.

Referring to the financial report, Chairman Catalano said the Board has fiscal responsibility and planning which they were looking to this report for. Marc Brodeur said the Special Revenue Fund is a good thing. It was started a number of years ago and they have bought equipment with it – which the town has not had to raise any money for. He asked if the Select Board is looking to put the money elsewhere and said it is a real asset as it keeps the town from having to put money into a Capital Reserve Fund. Chairman Catalano said once they have sound information from the report, Jeff and the Board will need to talk regarding budgets. He said Chief Duncan could come back using this for payroll or something else in the Department. Joan Karpf said this money can only be used for the viability of the Fire Department.

Jim Covey said he read the financial report and highlight areas of it and was shocked to discover the employees have not received raises yet. He said if they don’t have evaluations and job descriptions in place yet, just give them their raises. Chairman Catalano said he takes exception that there have been no raises in three years. He has read and compared the annual reports and every year, employees are making more money. Mr. Covey repeated if there are no guidelines set for merit raises yet, just give the raises. Chairman Catalano said during a Budget Committee meeting money was set aside for merit raises for the employees and that was the reason he agreed to raises, because they were tied to merit. Selectman Moroney said however, this discussion was not done at the Select Board level. Mr. Covey reiterated because they can’t come up with a formula it is no reason not to give the raises. Tadd Bailey asked if the employees will be getting raises and Chairman Catalano said maybe not. Mr. Bailey asked if they do get them, will they be retroactive to April 1, and Chairman Catalano said he believes they should be. Selectman Moroney said the report spoke of comparing wages with other towns, which they have done. She also said evaluations have been done on all supervisors and several employees and job descriptions have been basically done for all except the Office and she just brought some in – she referred to the uniqueness to jobs as not all descriptions “fit”. She there are only so many hours in a day for accomplishing things. Selectman Moroney said she believes it is too late this year to do merit raises. She said she’s not against them and they should start now to put the process in place for next year. Chairman Catalano said he doesn’t understand why they can’t do merit wages. He said we could call LGC to get wage information and if we’re out of whack, we can change. Joan Karpf said she went to most of the Budget Committee meetings and choosing which towns to compare with was hard, so they used five or six towns based on many things – hotels, ski area, etc. She said she thought she remembered them not being able to agree on a town and thought they had not done it. It was also pointed out dealing with population is different than value. Chairman Catalano said the Board should look at the LGC and each pick two towns to use for comparison.

Rena Vecchio asked what the Beautification Committee is doing. Chairman Catalano said at this point he has done nothing and presumed it was the same with Jim Covey. The Secretary said she had been asked at the last meeting to contact Stan about signs which she did. He started his inspection and brought a list which needs to be checked for permits. Chairman Catalano asked if letters could be sent have the owners provide the proof of permits. Dave Scalley asked what to do if permits go back to the 1960’s. Chairman Catalano suggested checking with the State as any on State routes would require a State permit. He said he will get a name and phone number where to call.

Joan Karpf asked about the information Bill Vecchio had brought to the previous meeting and if there had been any follow up. There hasn’t been a response yet.

Rena Vecchio returned to her original question and wanted to know a direction for the Committee. Chairman Catalano said perhaps they could write their own purview of what should be 1) areas to focus on as a committee and 2) the kind of recommendations to make to the Select Board.
Evan Karpf said the signs regarding no swimming at the town pool have all been removed as testing had been done and the numbers were now good. He said there will be more testing on August 9. He noted that West Nile has been identified in Nashua and warned for caution. He said he had received tick removers for dogs, donated by Atlantic Pest Control and he has put them out for anyone who wants to take one.

Dr. Karpf also said he had asked at the last meeting about the Newsletter and would still recommend the Board reviewing it. Chairman Catalano said he had spoken with LGC and was told they recommend if the town name it on it and town money spent that at least one other Board member should review it – or don’t put the town name on it. He said this is not to be perceived as censoring or a reprimand to Bonnie (Selectman Moroney). He said content had not been discussed other than that the Board should not push an agenda or otherwise put anything in that could have a political outcome. He said he’d like to keep it going if Selectman Moroney is amendable to another member reviewing it and getting approval. She said she had only done what had been asked of her five years earlier when she came on the Board. The Chairman said they can discuss this later if needed.

Jim Covey said the three Selectmen are invited by the Chamber to their next meeting on September 12. This will be at the Highland Center with breakfast at 9 a.m. and the public portion beginning about 9:40 a.m. They have invited Mr. Lamontangue from the Coos County Economic Development committee as their speaker. Mr. Covey said the public is always invited to the Chamber meetings.

Mike Gooden asked if the Historical Society could have permission for their annual yard sale and tractor show up by the Information Booth. This is held on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend. The Board agreed they could.

Jeff Duncan said he had seen an article in the paper last week about a school board meeting with the Governor’s Council. He asked if the Board had met with the town representative to give her some direction regarding issues within the school district. He said we can argue about taxes but municipal is the smallest portion of them. It was suggested contacting Annette Marquis to see if she is aware of the meeting and if she would care for any guidance from the Board regarding ideas or issues they’d like her to pursue. The date of the meeting wasn’t known so this will also be looked into. Rena Vecchio said when she was on the School Board, should would try to keep the Select Board apprised of things going on and would also bring information back to the School Board. Joan Karpf asked if anyone knew about our rep and her position. She said it may not be what the Board’s is.

As there was no further business, the Board was polled and went into non-public session for town aid and personnel matters at 9:25 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 10:35 p.m. The next meeting will be Monday, August 15, 2011, if Carol Coppola can attend. If she is unable to attend, this meeting will be non-public only and the next meeting will be Monday, August 22, 2011.

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