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APPROVED Minutes of 10/3/2011

November 1st, 2011

Carroll Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes
October 3, 2011
APPROVED 10/31/2011
"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: Bonnie Moroney, Bill Dowling. Mark Catalano was excused due to a medical emergency.

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

Members of the public present: Roberta McGee, Frank Maturo, Ike Ikasalo, Jim Covey, Kelli Shedd, Cyndi Smith, Karen Moran, John Trammell, Ben Jellison, Joyce Charrette, Scott Sonia, Bill Vecchio, Rena Vecchio, Sue Kraabel, Dave Scalley, Jeff Duncan, Dan Walker, Tadd Bailey, Joan Karpf, Evan Karpf,

Pledge of Allegiance

Frank Maturo filmed the meeting.

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

Selectman Dowling made a Motion to: Accept the minutes of September 19, 2011, as written and Selectman Moroney seconded. The Motion was approved unanimously.

Selectman Dowling made a Motion to: Accept the minutes of September 26, 2011, as written and Selectman Moroney seconded. The Motion was approved unanimously.

Sgt. Smalley brought information and material to the Board regarding leasing a vehicle to replace the Police cruiser that has been deemed a total loss as a result of the accident in September. These would be with Ford Motor Credit and Sgt. Smalley said there is a non-approved appropriation clause in all leases. They would have two options, as they have both the Caprice and the Tahoe in stock, which are available for three and four year leases, with one payment per year. They also checked with MHQ, the same place where they bought the Silverado and though the Crown Victoria is hard to get now, they had purchased ahead, so they have plenty in stock. Discussion took place about the insurance money to be received which will be $11,175 from our own company. They will go to the other driver’s insurance company for recovery of this amount plus the $1,000 deductible on our policy which we will also receive. It was asked about the value of the equipment in the vehicle and though Sgt. Smalley did not have the figures with him, he said it was in the vicinity of $23,100 plus. Selectman Dowling said they would take this under advisement and there would be no answer tonight. It was noted the check from the insurance company would cover the first year of the lease plus some additional. Ike Ikasalo asked if we would pay to remove the equipment if voters say no to an additional year and if so, what the cost would be. Sgt. Smalley said he didn’t have that information, but believed it would be around $2,000 based on previous costs for installation and removal. Because it was all part of the package for the Silverado, it was not broken down so they do not have the actual cost for the installation. It was stated final costs would be available before any decisions are made. The cost to strip the Tahoe was also asked and Sgt. Smalley said it was $6,589 which will be covered by insurance.

Kelli Shedd, Cyndi Smith and Jim Covey attended on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Shedd presented the budget and explained that in order to reduce it by the requested 25%, they had to eliminate beautification, the Porta-Potty, and dramatically reduce the hours at the Information Booth. In doing the latter, they will substantially cut the hours for Betty Gilman who has been with them, for 19 years and lay off Jo Cabral who has been with them for 33 years

2012 2011
01-4589.10-301 Beautification 0 400
01-4589.10-302 Advertising 0 0
01-4589.10-303 Information Booth 7,350 10,222(incl.porta-potty)
01-4589.10-305 Town Entertainment 1,425 1,500

TOTALS $ 8,775 $ 11,700

Sue Kraabel asked about the current staffing of the Booth and they responded currently Ms. Gilman is five days and Ms. Cabral is two days and explained the various structures during the busy parts of the season and those times, early summer and fall when the hours are reduced because of traffic. Mr. Covey explained they are basically keeping the entertainment line as they had well over 400 people in attendance and they do bake sales at these events for their scholarship fund. Mr. Covey said this was the eight year and people are very appreciative. Mrs. Kraabel said she would like to see the Information Booth not cut so drastically. Rena Vecchio said it is not just an Information Booth, that it is really the face of the town that we can’t afford to lose. Mr. Covey said they have been given the mandate and went on to say membership is also down. After brief discussion, Selectman Moroney made a Motion to: Reinstate the salary line to the 2011 level. Selectman Dowling seconded and the Motion passed unanimously. All in the room applauded and thanked the Board. The Board thanked the Chamber members for attending.

Jeff Duncan began his budget presentation with a chart of the make-up of the Department. There are two Full-time members, ten call firefighters, three call EMT’s and two Explorers, with breakdown of ages and lengths of service. Chief Duncan went on with charts showing the ambulance calls to date are up considerably while the fire calls are down. The latter is due a lot to false alarm activations in Bretton Woods and at the Hotel which they have done a lot of work on correcting. He finished with times and types of calls (all filed in the Office). Chief Duncan spoke briefly about the current budget and some of the lines that are over. These include having to buy an unanticipated printer and supplies, replacing a large number of radios and batteries, and reimbursing mileage due to the lack of the pick-up truck. He also mentioned the revenues and because the calls are up, the revenue is also, which to date is more than $77,000. This led to the vehicle replacement schedule and Chief Duncan said however the money is raised, whether from the Special Revenue Account or by taxation, based on the cost of replacement, we must put away approximately $78,000 per year to keep up with the schedule. At this point Chief Duncan went into the budget:

2012 2011
01-4220.10-100 Fire Chief Salary 3,966 3,966
01-4220.10-101 Officers Salaries 3,000 1
01-4220.10-102 Full Time Firefighter 38,610 38,610
01-4220.10-103 Firefighter Salaries ($10/hr) 12,000 13,000
01-4220.10-104 2nd FF Position 37,080 37,080
01-4220.10-200 EMT Salaries ($10/hr) 11,500 12,000
01-4220.10-201 Overtime 12,500 10,200
01-4220.10-202 NH Firefighters Insurance 400 450
01-4220.10-300 Office Supplies 700 400
01-4220.10-301 Telephone 1,300 1,200
01-4220.10-302 Medical Equipment 1,500 1,200
01-4220.10-304 Inoculations 200 200
01-4220.10-305 Office Equipment 1,000 200
01-4220.10-342 Software Support 2,800 2,550
01-4220.10-400 FD Equipment Supplies 750 500
01-4220.10-401 Medical Supplies 1,500 1,500
01-4220.10-402 ALS Medical Supplies 750 500
01-4220.10-403 Oxygen 1,200 1,200
01-4220.10-410 Defibrillator Supplies/Maint. 700 700
01-4220.10-500 Dispatching (Twin State) 5,506 4,678
01-4220.10-501 Mutual Aid (Twin State) 500 500
01-4220.10-502 North Pact Mutual Aid 350 350
01-4220.10-600 Equipment Purchase 1,500 1,000
01-4220.10-601 Radio Repair 1,250 1,000
01-4220.10-602 FD Vehicle Repairs & Maint 3,500 3,000
01-4220.10-604 FD Maintenance 2,000 2,500
01-4220.10-605 Ambulance Repairs & Maint. 3,000 2,500
01-4220.10-606 Engine 1 Payment 1 65,000
01-4220.10-660 Forestry Equipment 400 250
01-4220.10-680 Extrication Equip./Maint. 400 300
01-4220.10-685 SCBA Equip./Maint 1,500 1,200
01-4220.10-700 Gasoline 8,000 6,750
01-4220.10-701 Travel Reimbursement 500 1
01-4220.10-702 Clothing 800 600
01-4220.10-710 FD Protective Clothing 2,500 1,500
01-4220.10-715 Ambulance Protect. Cloth. 500 750
01-4220.10-725 EMS Training 700 2,000
01-4220.10-800 F.D. Training 750 1,300
01-4220.10-801 Fire Prevention 200 300
01-4220.10-802 Inspections 250 500
01-4220.10-900 Miscellaneous 300 300

TOTALS $ 165,863 $ 221,486

Chief Duncan began discussing his budget with the Salary lines that they are in at current rates with the caveat that if raises are disbursed, these lines will increase. The Officers’ salaries have been reinstated as they were removed last year to reach the requested goal of reduction. However, Mr. Duncan said it is not fair to them not to be paid as they do a very good job. The Firefighter salaries line is reduced because the number of call firefighters is down, and he emphasized that this does not include when he and Jeremy cover for each other.

Chief Duncan stated he had been asked to break out Fire and Ambulance expenses, thus the following lines are for Ambulance: 200, 302, 401, 402, 403, 410, 605, 715 and 725; and the following are for Fire: 102, 104, 201, 300, 301, 305, 342, 500, 501, 502, 601, 604, 700 and 900.

As he proceeded through the budget, Mr. Duncan noted that Dispatching is up as Carroll is busier than all of the other towns in the group; Radio Repair is up as this is where the battery purchases are put and they cost $300 each; Vehicle Repairs increased slightly as everything is a little older; Ambulance is up as neither one is under warranty; the Engine 1 payment is down as this will come from Capital Reserve by voter authorization to be paid in August, 2012, and this will be the final payment as the truck was purchased in 2008. Various clothing lines are increased because it wears out and the protective clothing has expiration dates. They received a grant in 2002 for ten sets of protective gear and it’s good for ten years. They may need one more set of Ambulance protective clothing so they were able to reduce this line. They’ve also reduced the two training lines as though they are trying to get everyone in the department certified, they’ve been able to get the actual training down to about $100 per person. Chief Duncan said all of this results in a 25.11% reduction from the 2011 budget and a 41.6% reduction from 2009. Selectman Moroney asked about their Turn Out Gear and Mr. Duncan said they have been trying to buy one or two sets a year in anticipation of gear expiring. He said one complete set of turn out gear, including boots, for a firefighter is $2,700.

Joan Karpf said she found an old wage and salary report which she found interesting. She also said she found that most if not all ski towns in the area have privatized services. When she followed up to find out what was going on she found out that there’s a big push on this and asked 1) why we shouldn’t go private and 2) if there are better ways to use the revenues to help with the cost to the taxpayers. Chief Duncan said if they choose to privatize that’s fine, but he does not think it will be cheaper and went on to say that they would need roughly seven full time people to provide 24 hour coverage and he believes it is a horrible disservice to the town of they choose to go with less than they have now. He reiterated he does not believe it could be done cheaper. Regarding better utilizing the Special Revenue Fund, Chief Duncan said again that may be, but at $78,000 a year to fund vehicle replacement, if the revenue is used to fund the budget, they still need to raise the money for the vehicle. Chief Duncan said he has been looking into different things with Selectman Catalano but would rather not try to answer anything at this point as it is not complete. Mrs. Karpf then spoke of joint services--when towns join together to share services. She said Waterville Valley and Campton, Bartlett and Jackson and Lincoln and Woodstock do this. Jeremy Oleson said there’s a lot of talk about EMT’s, but he said, he is more than an EMT – he does extrication, he works on the person, then he puts the person in the ambulance and he drives the ambulance to the hospital – this is the service people get from our Department. But this is not what an EMT does. Chief Duncan said 51% of Jeremy’s salary is allocated to EMS and 55% of his own is allocated to EMS. Ben Jellison asked Mrs. Karpf if she had the numbers that the towns pay for these services. She said she didn’t as they were just ideas and it was a brainstorming session. Mr. Jellison said that it’s fine to through ideas out there, but it’s important to have the costs also if comparisons are really to be made. Mrs. Karpf said she had talked with Sugar Hill and they use Ross Ambulance and also pay $2,000 to $4,000 to Franconia for additional coverage. Chief Duncan said that is for about 30 to 40 calls a year versus a town with approximately 250 calls. Rena Vecchio said it is important to realize that during the last election, taxpayers supported the Ambulance and Fire Department. Just because the Select Board chose not to purchase the vehicles yet, doesn’t mean there was no support.

Ike Ikasalo asked about fees for false alarms. He said some time ago they were working on these and hydrant fees and wondered about them. Chief Duncan said the Select Board is working on them and they have gone back to Chief Trammell for adjusting. He also said the alarm owners have been working on their alarms and the calls have dropped greatly. Sue Kraabel said the town tried to do this a number of years ago but were told by the State they cannot charge for false alarms -- and even though some towns are doing it, they are “skating on thin ice.”

Chief Duncan said he had understood for a number of years that of the $25 fee for Certificate of Occupancy inspections, $15 went to Building Inspection and $10 went to the Fire Department. The fee was increased to $50 earlier in the year and none goes to the Fire Department. Discussion ensued and it was stated the total amount has gone to Planning for at least the last five years; first to the General Fund and in recent years directly to the Planning Special Revenue Account. It has always been used toward the cost of the Building Inspector and Code Enforcement Officer.

Police Chief, John Trammell, presented the proposed budget for his department. Chief Trammell began by saying the salary lines are all blank as he didn’t know what to put there due to the voter-approved raises that have not yet been put into effect.

2012 Change
01-4210.10-100 Chief 54,075
01-4210.10-101 Sgt. 50,813
01-4210.10-102 Det. 45,974
01-4210.10-103 Special 10,000
01-4210.10-104 Overtime 7,500
01-4210.10-105 Training 1,500
01-4210.10-106 Patrolman 41,134
01-4210.10-107 Details 0
01-4210.10-200 Office Supplies 2,500
01-4210.10-202 Prof. Assoc. 300
01-4210.10-203 Vehicles 5,000 -5,000
01-4210.10-204 Gas 12,000
01-4210.10-205 Accurint 850 +100
01-4210.10-206 Fairpoint 2,000
01-4210.10-207 U.S. Cellular 750 -500
01-4210.10-208 Grafton 800
01-4210.10-209 Time Warner 700
01-4210.10-210 Wireless 1,080 -320
01-4210.10-211 IMC 1,425 +55
01-4210.10-300 Equipment 1,000
01-4210.10-301 Radio Repair 1,250
01-4210.10-302 Computer Support 2,000
01-4210.10-303 Bulletproof Vests 1,500 +1,500
01-4210.10-304 Computer 1
01-4210.10-305 Clothing 2,100
01-4210.10-306 New Clothing 1
01-4210.10-307 Uniform Cleaning 750 +250
01-4210.10-308 Ammunition 3,000
01-4210.10-309 Travel 400
01-4210.10-310 Vehicle Lease 1
01-4210.10-330 Grants 1
01-4210.10-900 Miscellaneous 400 +100

TOTAL $ 250,805

Chief Trammell said the budget is reduced by $3,816. He explained the lines where the changes occurred: 203-vehicle line, reduced by half as they have the new cruiser and is assuming replacement of the wrecked cruiser; so costs will be minimal, tires, oil, etc.; 205-Accurint, increased, background investigations of people outside what State Police do; 207-U.S. Cellular, reduced as the police all share one cell phone; 210-Wireless, reduced, this is for vehicle computers; 211-IMC, increase, running system for in-house computers; 302-no change, but Chief Trammell pointed out the vendor agreed to do two months at no cost to keep at same amount; 303-increased, vests are good for five years and expiration date is stamped on them, so they need to start purchasing new ones; 307-increased, tried to cut it last year, but they are already over; 309-Travel is staying the same and again, assumes replacing the cruiser. The line is substantially over already as they reimburse mileage to the Officers who currently have to use their personal vehicles to go to Court, in Lancaster and in Concord. The Chief explained they do not have a choice about appearing as they are subpoenaed and would be arrested if they do not. Regarding use of personal vehicles, he said he called LGC who handles our insurance, to find out about coverage, and they will cover up to $500 limit. Further, he checked with his own insurance and they said no coverage for use for company business. LGC sent him a copy of the information they quoted from. Selectman Dowling asked Chief Trammell for a copy of that and the Chief said he would make a copy and put it in his mailbox. The question was asked if by dropping the individual cell phones, it puts any officers in any danger and the Chief answered that yes, it could. As there were no further questions, the Select Board thanked Chief Trammell.
The following items were approved and signed:

Perlmutter Letter regarding not plowing Old Cherry Mt. Road from Rt. 115 end
Water Warrant – Wheeler, Bragg Family Trust, O’Brien, Champagne
Town Hall Use Permit Application – Mason
Credit Card Contract – Interware and Global Processing

Other:

Selectman Dowling said the Select Board received a letter from Sandy Pothier that she was resigning from the Cable Committee. He suggested anyone wishing to be on the Committee to submit their name to the Office and that we send a letter of thanks to Ms. Pothier.

Selectman Dowling said that Maryclare is going to workshops in Concord on Wednesdays. As the Office is closed in the mornings on Wednesdays as it is, he recommends the Office be closed for the entire day for the remaining days that she goes. It was agreed to close the Office all day for the next two Wednesdays.

Evan Karpf asked if the bill for engineering fees had been re-sent to Bill Rines and was told it had been. He was also told the bills for the Court case are being assembled.

Acting Chairman Moroney announced there will not be a meeting next Monday, October 10, as it is the Columbus Day Holiday. She also announced the Board will have a non-public meeting on Wednesday, October 12, as they are hoping to complete the evaluations for merit raises.

Dave Scalley asked to be recognized and said he was supposed to have been on the agenda. He asked why he was called and told he’d have to go to non-public. Selectman Dowling said it was because of a potential legal matter and Mr. Scalley said he had no intention of discussing any matter but the code issues in an incident report the Board members and Stan Borkowski had received. He showed the Board an email from Mr. Borkowski that he had received today stating that the only issue Mr. Borkowski was aware of was that two of the units do not have a secondary means of egress and that Mr. Scalley has proposed putting sprinkler heads in each unit which is acceptable to himself and Fire Chief Duncan. Mr. Borkowski also said that he would have to fire rate the new laundry room which has to be separated from the living areas, which is agreeable to Mr. Scalley.

Mr. Scalley proceeded by speaking about the “Incident Report,” dated September 16, 2011, from the Health Officer, Evan Karpf, and said that the person the report referred to didn’t want to respond so that issue was done. However, the report included items considered “code deficiencies” and it was brought to his attention by Mr. Borkowski at a meeting they had previously set up for Tuesday, September 20. Mr. Scalley questioned why he had not been informed of the report when it was written, and also asked what the duties of the Health Officer are. Selectman Dowling stated he has to respond when called upon. Mr. Scalley questioned how anyone besides himself would even know the answers to those things written about as well as how Evan Karpf would have gained access without Mr. Scalley being involved. Dr. Karpf said that the ordinances and regulations impact the residents of town and must be followed. He further stated that three gentlemen living in an apartment in the building approached him and told him about the things in the report. Mr. Scalley said when he saw the men they wanted to know who was the person who had been interrogating them. He asked what protocol is for a health officer and also if they need to notify the owner. Mr. Scalley was told they don’t. Mr. Scalley referred to various emails between Dr. Karpf and the former owner of Mr. Scalley’s building, as well as between Dr. Karpf and Jim Covey – requesting and discussing information about the building; all of which were written days before the incident for which the health officer’s services were requested. Mr. Scalley questioned the motivation for these, including the involvement of the other people as he again emphasized the emails were dated September 13 and September 14, and the call for the Health Officer didn’t come until September 16. Dr. Karpf said Mr. Scalley had told the Planning Board there were three apartments there and he was trying to find out. It was Mr. Scalley’s opinion that most of the contents of the Report were outside the purview of the Health Officer. After further discussion, Mr. Scalley reiterated that he had mitigated all of the so-called code violations and all met with the approval of Stan Borkowski, the Building Inspector and Code Enforcement Officer.

As there was no further business, the Board was polled and went into non-public session for town aid and personnel matters at 8:35 p.m.

At the close of Non-Public Session, Acting Chair Moroney moved to return to Public Session and seal the minutes from Non-Public Session. Selectman Dowling seconded and the Motion passed unanimously.

There being no further discussion, Acting Chair Moroney made a Motion to: adjourn the meeting. Selectman Dowling seconded and the Motion passed unanimously. Acting Chairman Moroney declared the meeting ended at 9:20 p.m. The next meeting will be Monday, October 17, 2011.