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Town of Meeting Minutes
Members
Excused: Rick Davies
and Hank Duhamel Members
Absent: None
Members
Arriving Late: None Alternates
Present: J.D.
Colcord, Peter Wyman, and Aedan Sherman. Alternates
Excused: None Alternates
Arriving Late: None OPEN
MEETING AT Barbara Annis opened the meeting at 1.
MINUTES Approve minutes of Approve minutes of Barbara
Annis noticed a typographical error in the Ed Mical made a MOTION
to APPROVE Paul Violette made a MOTION
to APPROVE 2.
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM (CIP) A.
Presentation to Planning Board Ed Mical said he
feels that the 2011-2016 CIP has been taken to the next step. He
explained a few things were added to the overview, pictures of some of
the projects, a chart of Direct Expenditures for Capital projects and
Capital Reserve Funds from 2005 through 2010 has been added, as well as
changing the format in the first few pages which includes the following
section:
The CIP serves as a source of information used:
Ed Mical said one thing
that should be considered when looking at Capital Improvement Projects
is the Master Plan. The CIP is supposed to be tied into the Master Plan;
items are identified in the Master Plan and at the time the CIP
Subcommittee reviews the projects the Master Plan is used as part of the
ranking system. The Master Plan has not necessarily been used in making
the decision because of the fact that the Master Plan is currently in
the process of being updated. Ed Mical said once the Master Plan is
updated then it should be used as a tool for the CIP process. Ed Mical said he would
like to recognize the CIP Subcommittee: Aedan Sherman, Peter Wyman,
David Karrick (Selectman), Laura Buono (Town Administrator), Martha
Bodnarik (Budget Committee) and Jeanne Hand (Public Member). All but
Aedan Sherman have served on the CIP Subcommittee for the past two
years. Ed Mical said there was
a meeting in the very beginning, before the paperwork was sent out;
three meetings were scheduled after of which only two meetings were
held. There was considerable discussion on some of the project items. Ed Mical said he would
like to make a couple changes to the Draft copy before it went to the
Public Hearing. The Board agreed to allow the changes before going to
the Public Hearing. The changes are as follows: 1. A line was deleted from the justification regarding the replacement furnace because it did not go with the project. 2. The original request for the granite steps was for $20,000 based on a rough proposal of two years ago, however at the end of last week a new estimate was received for $11,000. A request was made to change the amount to $11,000 based on the updated information. A photo of the front steps is included in the CIP.
3. Ed Mical would also like to add a statement regarding the cost
of the new fire truck purchased in 2010 at the end of page 24 titled
Capital Reserves under indebtedness. Barbara Annis asked the
Board if they had any questions or comments. J.D. Colcord asked why
the Library is included in the CIP since it has its own budget that the
Town is not in control of. Ed Mical said that question was raised during
a CIP meeting and the committee members agreed the projects did fall
under the CIP criteria. J.D. Colcord asked what
the yearly Town allocations to the Library are, based on the new
revaluation. The exact figures were not known at this time. David Hartman asked why
there was a section for just the 2011 recommended projects and not for
the entire five year period. Ed Mical explained that is just a quick
glance to use as a tool for the Budget Committee and Selectmen as to the
priority of the projects. Ed Mical read RSA 674:6
Purpose and Description: “The capital improvements program
shall classify
projects according to the urgency and need for realization and
shall recommend a time sequence for their implementation. The program
may also contain the
estimated cost of each project and indicate probable operating
and maintenance
costs and probable revenues, if any, as well as existing sources
of funds or the
need for additional sources of funds for the implementation and
operation of each project.
The program shall be based on information submitted by the departments
and agencies of the municipality and shall take into account
public facility needs
indicated by the prospective
development shown in the master plan of the municipality or as permitted
by other municipal land use controls.” It was explained that
although the CIP Subcommittee makes recommendations it is still the
Selectman’s final decision. David Hartman said that
he would accept it as a recommendation from the Planning Board on The
Capital Improvements Program. Barbara Annis said
personally she feels it is a tool to show an overview of how the entire
individual budgets will add up giving a broader view of the Town’s
needs. She does not feel it is intending to tell the Selectmen what to
do. J.D. Colcord said he
felt that 2.5 million dollars for a fire station was too much. He asked
if that was anywhere close to what an estimate of the cost might be. He
used the Highway garage as an example costing around $300,000 that could
hold the fire departments vehicles. He said he could not understand how
the cost could be so high for a fire station. Ed Mical said that
number was based on the cost of another fire station built recently
outside of Warner’s area. The amount was based on the square footage
that will be needed. Dan Watts said the
fire station is essentially a house not just a garage. Ed Mical agreed and
said that a portion of it is for storage but then there are living
quarters, a kitchen and sleeping quarters. He said the amount may be
high but that is what was submitted. Ed Mical said that at the
Selectmen’s meeting today the Selectmen authorized the collection of
information to get a better idea of the price. Paul Violette said
it is a ballpark figure and not an engineering estimate. Ed Mical said
that is correct. David Hartman said
that the Selectmen have been trying to keep a handle on the Fire
Departments request to get a new fire station. He said the Selectmen, at
the meeting today, did authorize the appropriation of up to $8,000 to
hire an architectural firm to develop a scope of what Warner is going to
shoot for and develop a cost estimate of what it would be as of today.
He said he is not sure if 2.5 million dollars is an accurate figure;
however, it is a Capital Improvements Project. Barbara Annis said
where the Pillsbury Free Library is self sufficient the Town has to give
them 1/15 of 1% in order for them to operate; they are under Town funds
but we do not have anything to say about how or when they spend their
money so she is wondering if they should be listed in the Expenditures
Chart below along with the Warner Water Village District. At this time
it is included in the chart with what the Town spends. Ed Mical said
when the addition was built the library came to the Town and it was a
Town expenditure as a Capital Improvements projects and not under their
operating budget. David Hartman asked
if the project amounts included in the 2011-2016 CIP were in addition to
the budget. Ed Mical said yes that was the request. Ed Mical said if it
was not put in as a Capital Project or not recommended by the
subcommittee it would not appear in the CIP. Barbara Annis said
the Planning Board spent a lot of time discussing Exit 9 and the funds
for the Exit 9 project. An estimate was received for $20,000-$30,000 for
the comprehensive study that they wanted to have done. The Planning
Board came up with the minimum of $10,000 request to make a total of
$20,000 in Capital Reserve Fund; however, the CIP subcommittee is only
recommending $5,000 so there will not be enough funds for the study.
Barbara Annis said that was disappointing. She also said that the RFP/RFQ
deadline is Ed Mical said that
another item talked about being a separate entity but not directly being
involved with the Town is the There were no
further questions or comments from the Board. B.
Open Public Hearing on CIP Barbara Annis opened
the Public Hearing. Jeanne Hand said she
is a member of the ADHAWK committee for what to do with the SAU building
and the old Middle School. She said different plans are being looked at
which would be a Capital Expenditure. She talked about the prior
$600,000 warrant from two years ago. The Nancy Ladd said they
were given a small estimate based on the probable new evaluation that
the Library’s allocation would go down $3,500-$7,500 compared to last
year. She said the 1/15 of 1% funds that come from the Town will be less
in 2011 than they were for 2010 because the evaluation of the Town is
less. Nancy Ladd said this coming year might be very tight for them
because they spent their reserves this year on fixing the roof and
masonry repairs. They decided to spend some of the trust funds on
collections and programs so they could spend some of the accumulative
money and tax money on the costly repairs. She said they also did some
insulating work for long term savings of energy costs. Nancy Ladd said
the requests the CIP subcommittee recommended is for insulating the
ceiling of the old space to help with the energy costs. She said the
percent they are automatically given from the Town was designed for
operating costs. The money that they were able to accumulate over time
from those funds is how they were able to do the repair work but they
have pretty much bottomed out. Nancy Ladd said there are some drainage
issues that need to be addressed as well as the meeting room downstairs
that has not been renovated at this time. They are requesting the money
from the CIP to help lower the operating budget cost in the long run by
saving on energy costs. Dan Watts suggested
the Library keep records of the amount of fuel used to see how much is
actually reduced. Nancy Ladd said they are currently doing that. She
said the amount of fuel used based on the degree day went down by 7% and
the amount of gallons went down by 25% since they insulated the new
building. Jim McLaughlin said
he would like to commend the committee for having the CIP put together
so well at this time. With no further
comments or questions Barbara Annis closed the Public Hearing and
Re-opened the Board’s discussion. C.
Close Public Hearing and Reopen Discussion
Barbara Annis said the Board will need to come up
with their review/comments to be included in the CIP. J.D. Colcord asked what happens if they do not
agree with the recommendations of the CIP subcommittee. Ed Mical said
this is the time the Planning Board can say if they agree or not. Paul Violette said he was not sure if he would recommend any changes since he did not sit in on the whole process. He feels the CIP subcommittee had taken everything into consideration. Barbara Annis said she realizes it is a difficult
year but she feels the Town needs to look long range planning. She said
even if a small amount is put in over a few years the amount will
compound. She used the Conservation Committee request as an example that
$50,000 is a lot of money to ask for but maybe a smaller amount could be
added each year to accumulate some money for the future. She said that
at this time it is safe since most of the land if not all of it is
located on a Class VI road which no one could afford to upgrade a Class
VI road to a Class V at this time. A brief discussion was held regarding whether the
Library should be part of the CIP since it is a separate entity. A
suggestion was made that the projects could be made as a request to the
Selectmen from the Library Trustees or as a petition warrant article to
the Town. It was understood that exceptions were made in the past by the
Selectman for the Water Precinct. Peter Wyman made a MOTION
to REDUCE the cost of the granite steps repair from $20,000 to $11,000.
J.D. Colcord seconded the MOTION.
All were in favor. David Hartman said the Library is not the same as the Water precinct that has its own taxing authority where the Library does not have its own taxing authority. J.D. Colcord said it does its own budget and the voters have no say in what they do with that budget. David Hartman said he did not understand why the Library requests were in the CIP as an immediate urgent need for this year’s budget request. A short discussion was held whether the projects belong in the CIP. J.D. Colcord made MOTION
to remove the Library requests from the 2011-2016 CIP and recommended
the Library either forward their requests to the Selectmen to have it
placed into the Town budget or submit it as a warrant article. David
Hartman seconded the MOTION. Dan Watts said that many of the projects in the CIP
are going to end up as warrant articles and he does not understand why
this is any different from those. He used the lawn mower request from
Parks and Recreation as an example. There was another discussion held
regarding the Library having their own operating budget. Dan Watts said
he does not feel it is an operating budget expense but rather a CIP
request. Ed Mical said that the criteria is the item has a
dollar value of at least $10,000 and a useful life expectancy of three
(3) years or greater. The Board all agreed with the requests but were
questioning whether the request belong in the CIP or not since they are
a separate entity and the Town has no control over there budget. Nancy Ladd asked if she could comment on the issues raised. Barbara Annis said yes. Nancy Ladd said the Libraries in A vote was taken on the Motion
to remove the Library requests from the CIP: Dan Watts-No; Paul Violette-No; Ed Mical-No; David
Hartman-Yes; Peter Wyman-No; J.D. Colcord-Yes. The MOTION
to remove the Library requests from the CIP was not
passed, David Hartman made a MOTION
to APPROVE the 2011-2016 CIP
as presented with the additional changes discussed. Peter Wyman seconded
the MOTION. All were in
favor. Paul Violette suggested that any large requests
such as the fire station request should be placed in the CIP early on to
have time to accumulate enough funds. Ed Mical said the fire station has
been included in the CIP for the past couple of years. Paul Violette made a MOTION
to continue discussion on the Planning Board’s comments of the CIP
later in the meeting to allow Vanessa Goold to present the Master Plan
update. The MOTION was
seconded and all were in favor. 4. MASTER
A. Community
Vision Chapter Vanessa Goold explained the Community Vision
Chapter had been initially developed about a year ago. She said she
wanted to bring the Chapter before the Board to review and finalize it.
She asked if there were any comments. Vanessa Goold said she wanted to revisit the
Business and Commercial Development as well as Residential Development
sections of the Chapter to be sure they reflected what the Board wanted
in terms of the Vision of Warner. The Business and Commercial Development section
talks about expansion of the commercial zones as well as in the Exit 9
area based on a 2008 survey. Barbara Annis said the way the section is written is correct as of now however it may change in future for the Exit 7 and 9 areas. She agreed that Warner does favor putting conditions on designs and performance standards. Vanessa Goold asked if Barbara Annis would like a
more long term vision discussed in the section or should it wait until
the Planning Board is finished discussing the possible changes. Barbara
Annis said they are just in the beginning stages so it would be better
to wait. The Board agreed the current verbiage still fits
with the vision of Town of In the Residential Development section of the
Chapter it was agreed to add some verbiage about Workforce Housing
Overlay. Vanessa will Draft a new copy with the Workforce
Housing Overlay information and forward it to the Board for review. B. Vanessa Goold said her two goals for the night were to: 1. Develop a Future Land Use Map that would express the Board’s and the Community’s desire for future land use. 2. Recommendations for future land use in each of
the categories identified in the map. Vanessa Goold invited the Board and the Public to
look at three maps (future land use map created 10 years ago, current
zoning map, and a topographical map of Warner to create a new future
land use map to incorporate into the Master Plan. After discussing and review of the maps it was
agreed to use the existing Future Land Use Map from ten years ago with a
few changes. It will now show a larger commercial zone in the Davisville
area and a couple of lines were adjusted in other areas. The Board
agreed to keep the categories the same as before (low/medium/high
density). The Board agreed the addition of a special
agricultural District was not necessary. Vanessa Goold said she wanted to come up with some
recommendations in each of the categories for the Future Land Use
Chapter describing the map. She said since the map was more or less the
same she could draft in what was in
the previous Master Plan as well as a discussion about the small changes
made at this meeting. She will send the information to the Board for
their review before the Vanessa Goold will be returning on Vanessa Goold also asked if the Board would like to
include a Community Facilities Chapter in this Master Plan. Ed Mical
confirmed the Chapter was in the last Master Plan. Barbara Annis asked
Vanessa Goold to let them know the cost of the additional chapter,
before Vanessa Goold thanked the Board and left the
meeting. The Board thanked Nancy Ladd and Jim McLaughlin for
their input. 5.
CONTINUED CIP DISCUSSION After a brief discussion the Board agreed that Paul
Violette would compose the Planning Board comments to be placed in the
CIP. 6.
SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS A. CDPC (Commercial
District Planning Committee) J.D. Colcord said the committee felt the Davisville area is probably the best area to make changes in for this year. They want to keep everything simple and easy for the voters to understand their recommendations. J.D. Colcord said most of the area is already commercial as well as a gravel pit so it makes the most sense to expand the Commercial District in that area. Paul Violette said they were also looking at two other items: 1. Modifying building footprints 2. Signs in specific districts. The committee will be discussing their finds at the
Barbara Annis asked if they had discussed multiple
buildings on one lot. Paul Violette said yes they have. Paul Violette said they have mainly been
concentrating on the C-1 District in Davisville. J.D. Colcord asked if the Board would like them to
continue with their research of the possible expansion of the Davisville
area. The Board agreed they would like the committee to continue with
the research. J.D. Colcord said they will come back with a
recommendation regarding height, impervious surfaces, etc. B. Barbara Annis said the committee has not been able
to meet due to Ed Mical working on the CIP. They are planning on getting
together in the near future. C.
TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE The RFP/RFQ deadline is D.
SELECTMAN’S REPORT David Hartman said at a recent Selectmen’s
meeting it was noted that some committees were meeting at non-public
venues instead of at the Town Hall, Library or other public area. He
said if there is a reasonable reason for not meeting at the Town Hall
that would be okay but it is preferred that the committees meet at a
pubic venue such as the Town Hall. There were some further negotiations for the
acquisition of land for the fire station. A court date has been set for May 2011 to hear the
case regarding the Azmy property. David Hartman said the 9. PUBLIC
COMMENTS No public was present. 10.
ADJOURN Peter Wyman made a MOTION
to ADJOURN. J.D. Colcord
seconded the motion and all were in favor. The meeting was adjourned at
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