Minutes of the Meeting and Public Hearing
Monday, August 6, 2001,
Warner Town Hall, Lower Meeting Room
Members
Present:
James McLaughlin, Barbara Annis, John Wallace,
John Brayshaw, Derek Pershouse
Members
Absent:
Andrew Serell, Cynthia Dabrowski
Alternates
Present:
Russ St.Pierre, Pam Mulsow
Alternates
Absent:
Mark Lennon (arrived late)
Presiding:
James McLaughlin
Recording:
Sissy Brown
I. Open
Meeting
Roll
Call
II. Approval
of the Minutes of the July 9, 2001, Planning Board Meeting
Ms.
Mulsow had some corrections to the unapproved minutes.
A motion was made and seconded
to approve the minutes as corrected. The
minutes were approved by a unanimous vote.
III.
Ray
Wentzel – Bonding letter and fill
for subdivision project
Mr.
McLaughlin reported that Mr. Virgin has received a copy of the final plan and
has reviewed Mr. Mock’s estimates of the cost of the bond and has agreed
that the amount of $43,600 is adequate to bond the project – the filling and
retaining wall. The Board, as well
as Mr. Virgin, is satisfied that Mr. Wentzel has met the requirements of the
bond. The next step is for Mr.
Wentzel to get the bond and have the bond reviewed by the Town of Warner’s
attorney.
Question
from Mr. Wentzel: Was a fax
received today (8/6/01) from a brokerage firm?
Answer:
Nothing was received from a brokerage firm.
A fax was received on 8/6/01 from Stephen Virgin, PE [regarding the
information stated in the above paragraph by Mr. McLaughlin]
Mr.
Wentzel stated that he had requested his broker draw up a letter of credit
based on his stocks and that $43,600 be set aside until the Town of Warner
until such time as it is released. Mr.
Wentzel gave three copies of the plan, marked “for construction”, as
requested by Mr. Virgin.
Mr.
Pershouse said that the actual bond is also needed.
A letter of credit is different than a bond, in that a letter of credit
guarantees that the funds are available. Mr.
Wentzel said he’s not getting a bond, but is having the brokerage firm hold
out $43,600 to the Town of Warner that he can’t spend or take out, etc.,
until the Town of Warner says that they are satisfied with the project.
Mr. Pershouse says we need the bond (a legal instrument) that
guarantees performance. Mr.
Wentzel stated that he thought that the options were a bond, a check, or a
line of credit. He would like to
take the letter of credit to the Town’s attorney to ask if that would be
sufficient. If not, he will cash
something out and bring cash.
Mr.
Brayshaw said that the Selectmen’s office would require a Performance Bond
certifying performance and the description of everything that the Town
proposes.
Mr.
Pershouse stated that the difference between a bond and a line of credit is
that a bond guarantees payment regardless of circumstances; i.e., if it were
necessary to use the bond to cover lack of performance.
With a line of credit, we could still wind up with a creditor saying
that we were making a claim against an individual, and the individual says
that he’s done what he should do, with the creditor being caught in the
middle.
Mr.
Wentzel said that bonds are not being given for the construction trade.
He said he’d checked with many companies.
Mr.
St.Pierre said that going back to the minutes of the meeting when the matter
of the conditions was discussed, the condition that was proposed was “to
provide the Planning Board with a bond of a letter of credit” and the “line
of credit” was crossed out.
Mr.
Wentzel didn’t know about that, and was proceeding with the letter as he
understood it. Mr. Pershouse said
that the next step is, if the funds are available, the bond is paid at a very
small fee (1/2 of 1% or 1%) of the total amount.
Mr. Wentzel said again that they’re not writing bonds for
construction work because too many big companies got burned, and that he’d
checked with eight or nine big companies, showed them financial statements,
two banks, and his portfolio, and was told to put the money up because unless
you’ve been in business for 40 years or are huge, they won’t write the
bonds.
Mr.
McLaughlin said that the Town had a letter of credit with Split Rock covering
a development that had a road involved, and the letter of credit was worthless
because the company declared bankruptcy and the town had to pay thousands of
dollars to complete the road.
Mr.
Wentzel said that his banker said that the only way to write a letter of
credit would be to have the actual money is held in an escrow account by the
bank.
Mr.
Brayshaw said that the bottom line is that for everyone else prior to Mr.
Wentzel in a similar situation as has been required to have a bond, and that a
special exception can’t be made in this one instance.
He said that he would hold firm on the bond and do some research on it
to see what it would take to get a bond. Usually
bonding companies will take credit to use collateral also.
Mr.
Pershouse said that a bond company is simply a formality of a financial
contract, in this case with a bank.
Mr.
Wentzel said that they’re not doing it, and he’ll just have to bring a
bond in and if the Board isn’t happy with that, he’ll have to bring a
check in.
Mr.
McLaughlin questioned if a check deposited to the Town of Warner and held in
escrow if that would be sufficient? Mr.
Brayshaw said he would discuss the matter with the other two Selectmen and see
how they feel, and come back with an answer.
Mr. McLaughlin said that as far as the Board is concerned, they’re
trying to satisfy the conditions. Mr.
Wentzel said he wants to be able to bring in a check or the bond in the next
few days, and not have to wait another month.
Ms.
Annis suggested that Mr. Brayshaw could get an answer from the Selectmen at
their meeting on Tuesday night and have an answer to Sissy Brown on Wednesday
morning.
It
was confirmed that the maps were stamped and marked for construction.
Pam
Mulsow said that the decision that they have on record actually requires a
bond, and she would like to have it stay consistent.
In answer to Mr. Wentzel’s question as to why a check wouldn’t be
sufficient, Mr. Pershouse said
that a bond guarantees performance, whereas a check can be challenged.
Mr.
McLaughlin said that it might be possible to suggest bonding companies that
have been used in the past, if necessary.
IV. New
Hampshire Telephone Museum, Inc. Site Plan Review:
Site Plan for property
located at 32 Main Street East, Warner, NH
03278, Map 30, Lot 56, 1 acre +/-
Paul Violette, President of MCT Telephone
and Treasurer of
Doug Sweet, surveyor/engineer
Dick Violette, President of
Mr.
P. Violette said he was before the Board several months ago for a preliminary
overview, at which time they discussed the plans for the museum.
Since that time, they have done the work to put together the layout of
the existing property. He had
pictures of the property from different views and angles, as well as plans.
The museum owns the existing building and is leaving the structure
intact. A parking area has been
added as well as a walkway, drainage, topography and all of the various trees
and shrubs that are on the site today. The
plans indicate the size of the parking lot, the driveway into it, the handicap
space, the walkway from the parking lot, plantings and light and drainage.
Modifications will be made on the interior and maintain the exterior of
the structure as it is today. They
are an IRS approved charitable non-profit organization and are incorporated by
the State of New Hampshire.
Between
the Merrimack County Telephone Company and Dick Violette, they have a
collection of antique telephone equipment and historic artifacts of the
telephone industry in New Hampshire and primarily in this area.
They also have old company records that go back many years for the
company as well as other companies in the area and the telephone association
of New England. The project’s
initial objective is to construct and develop this museum for educational
purposes and to preserve the history of their company and of independent
telephone companies in New England and to preserve the records of the company
and other companies. The New
Hampshire Telephone Museum, Inc. is what people would normally call a
foundation. The foundation itself
is intended to do more than the museum – it is intended to expand its
educational horizons to offer opportunities for persons of all ages and
eventually expand to do other things like offer scholarships.
The foundation can apply for grants and take donations of money as well
as equipment and artifacts.
Question:
What is the approximate square footage of the area?
Answer:
2300 sf. The intention is
to use the entire house before the project is finished, including the barn for
storage. In the beginning, there
is an attached shop for display, then move to the house. There is an apartment
over the shop that hasn’t been used since the 1950’s.
The apartment could possibly be used for additional office space.
Question:
What type of lighting would be used for the parking lot?
Answer:
Two post lights that would shine down on the lot, as normal parking lot
lighting. They would be controlled
by switching inside of the house. They
could also have electric eyes on them so that they can go on and off by
themselves. They don’t expect
the parking lot to be full every day or any days.
They would let the Library use the parking lot whenever the Museum wasn’t
using it. Eventually, the museum
would be open some weekends or evenings, or have speakers and bring in school
groups and adult groups.
Question:
So at this time, you’re not planning on being open from 9 – 5,
Monday through Friday?
Answer:
No. There might be times
when someone would be there on a casual basis, or other times when
arrangements might be made for visits by invitation.
At this time, the regular hours of operation haven’t been decided.
Question:
Is this a unique type of museum?
Answer:
Somewhat. There are a
number of them around the country. Bell
Pioneers had one in Manchester, but it is smaller than it used to be.
An organization called the Independent Telephone Pioneers of America’s
purpose is to preserve the history of telephone and communications.
The Violette’s are members of this organization and grant money is
available for projects like this.
Question:
Will the museum also have current technology and features, or is the
concentration essentially historical?
Answer:
It will have some current technology like fiber optics and other
things, but they will continue to bring in pieces to add to displays as
technology changes. The displays
will also be changed from time to time.
Mr.
McLaughlin asked if the Board has any questions regarding the plan and its
completeness.
Mr.
Pershouse asked if there were an elevation plan or if there will be any
changes to the building that might affect the neighborhood.
Mr. Violette said that the building will stay the same, but with a coat
of paint and that they’re not sure if the awnings will be kept.
Mr.
McLaughlin asked if there would be any grading required on the parking lot.
Mr. Sweet said that will be slight grading on the southeast side –
very slightly sloped (2 – 3%). The
water runoff will be dispersed. The
backyard area has been used in the past to store a large amount of snow, and
they are working with Mr. Brown on where this might be stored in the future.
There is enough room to push snow off of the driveway all around.
Ms.
Mulsow asked for a picture of the proposed signage.
Two signs on posts, in the front lawn and on the side.
Locations might be around the shop area or around the side for the main
entrance. Size would be 2’ x 3’.
This has not been decided at this time.
Question:
Is the building on Town water and sewer?
Answer
Yes
Question:
Is a dumpster planned?
Answer:
No
Ms.
Annis had a question about an area on the plan, and it was stated that it
depicts a proposed stone drainage gutter are that will be installed.
Any drainage would be dispersed into an old cellar hole area.
Currently it is a sheet flow, but it will be stone.
There used to be a hotel there (Kearsarge Inn) and it was burned down
in 1964 as a controlled burn by the Fire Department as a drill.
It has been lawn since that time.
The
rear of the area is wooded, but it will be cut back about 30 or 40 feet for
lawn and swale to catch runoff.
Question
How far away is the Warner River?
Answer:
The 250’ from the high water mark is at the parking lot.
Mr. Violette said that in the 1800’s, when the railroad came in and
the depot was brought in, the river was re-routed.
This created the “old Warner River”, which is now wetlands and
animal habitat. This created about
80 additional feet from the property line to the active Warner River.
There is a turnout off of Depot Street for some of the water that runs
across the property. They have
talked with Mr. Brown about moving it up the street just a little bit and
using the old foundation as a retention basin.
Mr.
McLaughlin asked if the Board had any more questions or concerns about the
plan. There were no questions.
A
motion was made to accept the plan as complete.
The motion was seconded and, hearing no discussion, the plan was
accepted as complete.
Mr.
McLaughlin closed the meeting and
opened up the Public Hearing.
Nancy
Ladd said that when they were working on the Library, there was a fairly large
Town right-of-way on that street and that most of the Library’s parking lot
is actually on the right-of-way.
Question:
Would any future street expansion take away from walkways or driveways
around the museum?
Answer:
They aren’t constructing anything new, and Mr. Brown thought it was a
rather wide right-of-way. The
sidewalk would have to be modified if the State did anything, but it would be
minor.
Mr.
McLaughlin asked if the Water District had any comments.
Since the water and sewer is already in, there won’t be new
installations. Mr. Sweet stated
that the sewer service is directly out to East Main Street.
Mr.
McLaughlin closed the Public Hearing
and re-opened the regular meeting. He
asked the Board if they had any more questions or comments.
There were none.
Mr.
Violette asked if the Board approved this site plan review, would he then be
able to move forward on the project and get a building permit for the parking
lot. The answer was yes.
Mr. McLaughlin said that the Board would definitely prefer to have
lights that shine down into the lot to minimize the impact on surrounding
properties.
Question:
Will there be motion detectors on the parking lot lights?
Answer:
Probably not. If the
building is used at night, they would be turned on from the inside or have
electric eyes that would come on at dusk, and then turn them off from the
inside. If the Library used
the parking lot more, they would consider having them on the electric eyes to
come on at dusk and go off at dawn. A
discussion followed re: motion detectors and/or timers.
Mr. Violette said they want to do the safest and best thing, and will
consult with the Library.
Ms.
Ladd suggested a way to decide how much to allow the use of the parking lot,
like the public using the lot for overflow Main Street parking.
She said that the lamp posts for the parking lot wouldn’t pose a
problem because the tree line, there aren’t any residences affected, and
there aren’t any residences on the Main Street side.
It
was stated that the Police patrol the area on a very regular basis, and
signage would help to discourage the lot being used by skateboarders.
A
motion was made to approve the site plan as presented.
The motion was seconded. There
being no further discussion, the motion was unanimously passed.
A
bill was presented to Mr. Violette for payment of abutter letters and
publication expenses, and was paid. Ms.
Mulsow said that every plat or site plan approved by the Planning Board must
be properly recorded in the Registry of Deeds.
Therefore, two Mylar copies to be stamped, signed, and registered.
A
motion was made and seconded to have Sissy Brown sign the Mylar copies of the
site plan of the New Hampshire Telephone Museum, Inc. on behalf of the Board
for registration. The motion
passed.
V.
R.C.
Brayshaw & Co., Inc. Site Plan Review:
Continuation of hearing on
Site Plan for property located at Waterloo Street, Warner, NH
03278, Map 36, Lot 1-4/1-5 (merged), C-1, R-2 Zoning Districts.
Proposing Site Plan for new construction for printing company.
Fran Brayshaw, Owner
Doug Sweet
Mr.
John Brayshaw, Selectman, recused himself for this portion of the meeting.
Mr. McLaughlin asked Mr. Lennon to fill in for Mr. Brayshaw.
Mr.
McLaughlin gave a report of the Site Visit held on Tuesday, July 17, 2001.
[copy of minutes of the Site Visit attached].
Sissy
Brown handed out copies of the updated and expanded plans as requested by the
Board, including addition of sheet #3. Mr.
Sweet stated that the area around the building was expanded to 20 scale, and
added the architect’s elevation to make them more easily read.
Mr.
Wallace had a concern that semi-trucks coming off of 103 and have to stop, the
end of the truck will still be sticking out into the street.
He questioned whether the plan was drawn to scale.
Mr. Sweet says that there is plenty of room for a semi, but Mr. Sweet
assured him that it is drawn to scale and that the template used is based on a
50’ truck.
Ms.
Annis asked if this used to be the way trucks came to their present location,
but now they can’t because the road goes through a residential area.
But in the beginning, trucks used this route and were able to make it
OK.
Ms.
Annis said she wasn’t able to be at the Site Visit, but had a question re:
the concerns brought up in a letter from Mr. Dorrington.
What was the opinion of the Board re: distance between septic system
and the river and was the steepness of the slope such that erosion wouldn’t
be a problem? Mr. Dorrington had
concerns about habitat and water quality issues.
Mr.
Young was impressed with everything. The
site is set back from the water, and thinks it is well laid out and well
thought out, lighting was discussed. Ms.
Mulsow said she was amazed that the natural state of the land lends itself to
the plan. It is level, and it
doesn’t appear that there will be the need for disturbance, especially where
the land does drop off there is no need to push land/dirt over the bank.
There are natural buffers and berms, and it appears it is made for this
project.
A
letter of the letter received from Mr. Dorrington was given to Mr. Sweet.
Mr.
McLaughlin said that one of Mr. Dorrington’s concerns voiced at the Public
Meeting [in July] was whether or not the Brayshaw’s would at any time have
both the new location and the current location going full bore as printing
operations. Mrs. Brayshaw said
that they’re looking to the future and that it is difficult to judge the
future. They are currently adding
on to the present location, and wanted to get this very large step behind them
and have this plan in place for future expansion.
They don’t plan to operate under two roofs because it’s not
productive. But a transitional
situation is needed. The present
location will always be commercial unless someone buys it and makes it a
house. She said that she wrote a
letter to Mr. Dorrington in response to his letter.
Mr.
McLaughlin asked if the Board had any more questions.
There were none.
Ms.
Mulsow said that the Board has accepted the application, held the Public
Hearing, held the Site Visit, all fees have been collected, and maps have been
provided.
Ms.
Mulsow moved to approve the Site Plan Review as proposed and presented.
There was a second. Mr.
McLaughlin asked for discussion. Ms.
Mulsow said that Mrs. Brayshaw had a question about how much time they have
for the plan to stay in effect. She
researched the question, and found something from 1991 and found an RSA that
states that a plan that has been approved and recorded being exempt from any
changes in zoning for a period of four years.
It requires that the plan must be recorded in the Registry of Deeds and
it must be vested; i.e., you must make some type of substantial activity like
cutting down trees, clearing, etc.
Mr.
Pershouse had a question regarding the last paragraph of the Site Plan Visit
regarding timing, and Ms. Mulsow said that was a question that Mrs. Brayshaw
had about how long the approved Site Plan Review would be valid.
They plan to go forward with the addition to the existing building, and
build the new building in the future.
Mr.
McLaughlin called for a vote. The
Site Plan was approved by a unanimous vote.
Ms.
Annis made a motion to allow Sissy Brown to sign and stamp the Mylar plans for
the Site Plan Review for the Brayshaws, on behalf of the Board, on August 8,
2001. The motion was seconded and
passed.
VI.
Communications
and Miscellaneous
Zoning
Changes meeting
·
Mr. Pershouse discussed the meeting scheduled
on August 13, 2001, to pull together a group of people from the Planning Board
and the community to begin work on the follow through of the zoning changes
that were voted into effect last March. The
intent is to get into the details of what will happen when we have an
applicant in either a commercial district or residential district.
Mr. McLaughlin came up with a document from Nashua Regional Planning.
The publication is called Non-regional Development: Community Character
Guidelines, prepared by Nashua Regional Planning Comm. with financial
assistance from the New Hampshire Office of State Planning and the New
Hampshire Department of Transportation.
·
More copies of the document have been ordered.
It involves such issues as parking behind buildings, pedestrian
concerns being a priority, landscaping, architectural considerations such that
buildings are compatible with whatever the Town deems to be proper including
building materials, etc. The
meeting will be in two phases, because an open forum could get out of hand.
Mr. Pershouse is in the process of getting announcements out, and the
format will be structured. The
discussion will start with whoever shows up at the first meeting, talking
about structure of the committee, and then phase two would be to sign people
up and start working on specific components.
He encouraged as many members of the Planning Board to attend as
possible. It is important to
emphasis that this is going to happen anyway, and demands will get steeper
with growth in the next months and years, and this gives us the opportunity to
direct the growth and will help to meet the needs of the community at large.
If growth is done right, it benefits everyone in the community.
·
The meeting is tentatively scheduled for 7:00
PM at the Library. The final
location will be posted. The name
of the committee hasn’t been decided upon, and will be addressed at the
first meeting.
Financial
Report:
Approval
of Minutes
Mr. Wallace moved to accept the minutes
of the May 7, 2001, Planning Board Meeting as corrected.
The motion was seconded and passed.
Nathan
Taylor
Camping
Ordinance
Capital
Improvements
Tower
Applications
Miscellaneous
Adjournment
It was moved and seconded to adjourn the
meeting. The meeting was adjourned
at
Approval of minutes:
Monday,
September 12, 2001 by unanimous vote of the Warner Planning Board