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Warner Board of Selectmen Meeting Minutes Tuesday, June 23, 2009 Chairman Karrick opened the meeting at
6:01 p.m. In Attendance:
Selectman David Karrick, Jr. – Chairman Selectman
David E. Hartman Selectman
Clyde Carson
Town Administrator – Laura Buono Absent:
None Others present: Senator Harold W. Janeway
District Rep. Christine Hamm
District Rep. Gary Richardson Linda Hedrick
Carolyn McCausland
Ken Klinedinst
Kimberley Edelmann Judy Rogers
Alfred Hanson
Martha Bodnarik
Jeanne Hand
Jim Hand
John Dabuliewicz
Charles Albano
Martha Mical
Richard Cook
Wayne Eigabroadt
Allan N. Brown
Allan McCausland
Jerry Marsh
J D Colcord
Mike
Cutting
Hank Duhammel 1. Library Trustee
Appointment Carolyn McCausland, vice chair for the
Library Trustees spoke favorably to the Selectmen in recommending Linda
Hedrick as a Library Trustee. The
term would be until March 2010 (next election).
Ms. Hedrick is a media specialist and has many years of library
experience. Ms. Hedrick explained for 25 years she and her husband were
very active in Hooksett, and since moving to Warner they waited for a
while and are now ready to become active in Warner.
Selectman Carson moved
to accept the nomination of Linda Hedrick as a Pillsbury Library Trustee. Chairman Karrick seconded the motion; all were in favor, the
motion passed. 2. Edelmann – Discretionary Preservation Easement Selectman Hartman explained that the Board
has previously visited the site. The
next step is the scoring system which is comprised of 6 questions that
must have a minimum total of 25 points and up to a maximum of 75 points;
each Selectman completed the questions.
This is the second application since RSA 79-D was approved at
Town Meeting in 2008. The
barn that is eligible for consideration is located on Kearsarge Mountain
Road (Kearsarge Meadows Horse Farm), previously known as Runaway Farm.
The Selectmen discussed their scoring on
the 6 questions and agreed on the following:
Total score:
43 The total score equals a 43% deduction
from the full valued assessment. Assessing
Clerk, Martha Mical recommends rounding the 43% to either 45% or 40% and
corrected the Selectmen by clarifying the deduction
is for any improvements that are made from this point forward.
The Selectmen acknowledged the correction. The Selectmen agreed to a 45% deduction. Jeanne Hand asked what the tax impact will
be. Chairman Karrick said
the impact will lessen the amount of valuation for tax purposes to any
future improvements to the barn. Selectman Carson added the intention is to encourage the
property owners to make improvements to a barn that has historical
value. Jeanne Hand
confirmed that there will be taxes paid by the property owner.
Ms. Buono explained that on the previous easement the property
owners would have paid an additional $128 in property taxes if there was
no easement on the barn; the easement is for 10 years.
Selectman Hartman moved
to grant a 45% deduction in value for any future improvements to the
barn located on Map 18 Lot 22 per the Discretionary Preservation
Easement guidelines. Selectman
Carson seconded the motion; all were in favor, the motion passed. 3. Ken Klinedinst Meeting Notices - Mr. Klinedinst would
like to talk about meeting notices; he feels they are duplicated for the
Selectmen’s meetings. There are various notices, agendas as well as a meeting
calendar on the website and posting at the Town Hall and Post Office; he
asked which one of the notices is the official notice of a public
meeting by the Board of Selectmen.
Chairman Karrick said whatever is posted 24 hours or more prior
to the meeting would stand as an official notice of the meeting.
Mr. Klinedinst said the website does not state the dates the
notices are posted, he also stated the meeting calendar on the web-site
does not state that the meetings are public or the date the calendar was
posted. Mr. Klinedinst
asked how are the citizens of Warner to know if the notices are posted
24 hours prior. Chairman
Karrick recommended to Mr. Klinedinst to view the website 24 hours prior
to a meeting and see if it is posted.
Mr. Klinedinst asked if all the postings on the website are
official postings. The Town
Administrator explained that agendas are not used as official postings
for Selectmen’s meetings. Mr.
Klinedinst confirmed with the Selectmen that they elect not to post the
date that notices are placed on the website.
Chairman Karrick said that is correct.
The Town Administrator added there should be an electronic record
as to when the webmaster posts the postings.
Mr. Klinedinst asked if the Selectmen have a control system in
place when a Selectmen’s meeting date and time is changed, for example
from 5:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Chairman
Karrick said yes. Drainage – Mr. Klinedinst referenced the
unapproved meeting minutes dated June 2, 2009 where it says Chairman
Karrick asked why the contract is not going out for competitive bid. Mr. Brown explained when you use the same engineer you save
time on the qualification process.
Mr. Klinedinst asked what the urgency is for the project that
would drive not putting the engineering portion of the project out to
bid. Chairman Karrick said
if Mr. Klinedinst is speaking about the drainage project that includes
Kearsarge Mountain Road, Town Hall area, Main Street, across from
Bookends down to the river. One
of the reasons for the urgency is that the Mitchell Memorial Park is
going to be built next to Bookends. The Foundation funding the park
would like to begin constructing the park this summer and it would make
sense that any drainage pipes that would go through the park would be
installed concurrent with the construction of the park.
Mr. Klinedinst asked if the existing drainage goes through the
park area. Chairman Karrick
said no. Mr. Klinedinst
asked if there is a right-of-way through the property.
Chairman Karrick said no, the Town has permission from the
owners. Mr.
Klinedinst summarized by saying at the convenience of a private
project…… Chairman Karrick clarified that the park project is a
project that will benefit the whole town.
Mr. Klinedinst asked if the project is public or private.
Chairman Karrick said the project in a non-profit private
project. Mr. Klinedinst
said the bidding policy has been ignored to expedite the engineering
process by selecting an engineering outfit that, he is sure, has
impeccable qualifications. Chairman
Karrick said Provan & Lorber is approved by the State of NH.
Mr. Klinedinst asked if other engineer firms are approved by the
State of NH, he also asked if the Town requires a right-of-way through
the park property. The
Director of Public Works, Allan N. Brown explained that Provan &
Lorber is the Town’s engineer of record because the Town has
consistently over the years used Provan & Lorber to complete
engineering projects. As
far as access through the park, the owners have offered an easement to
run public drainage across private property; this is an alternate route
that will save the Town money. Without
the alternate route, Main Street as well as the side walks would be dug
up all the way down to the church.
Mr. Klinedinst then asked if there is a way the park portion
could be engineered prior to the entire project to satisfy the park.
Mr. Brown explained the idea is to engineer the drainage system
for the entire area that drains down to Main Street and only construct
the part the would effect the park.
Mr. Klinedinst asked if the entire construction project would be
placed out to bid. Chairman
Karrick said that normally projects are placed out for bid. Jeanne Hand asked what the cost is for the
engineering. She was answered $25K. Ms.
Hand asked why the Town is paying for drainage through private property.
Chairman Karrick said it will benefit the town. Ken Klinedinst asked what if the engineers
reject the path of drainage through the park.
Chairman Karrick explained that the engineers agree the path
through the park property looks like the most efficient way but all
aspects will be studied. Mr. Klinedinst asked if an analysis will
be conducted on the effects of the river downstream.
Mr. Brown said the engineers will complete a flow study, but in
fact there is no more water being sent to the river because of the
way it is being re-distributed. 4. Kimberley Edelmann Ms. Edelmann arrived at this point of the
meeting and the Selectmen informed her that earlier in the meeting the
Selectmen granted a 45% reduction in value for any future improvements
to her barn. 5. Ambulance Billing The Town Administrator drafted a letter to
the Town of Hopkinton. The
letter outlines figures on the ambulance billing the Board of Selectmen
object to. The actual
ambulance expense was paid in 2008; there were items on the billing that
were not there previously, part of which the Town of Hopkinton is
charging the Town of Warner a percentage of Hopkinton’s dispatch
service (dispatch is based on population) which is the first cost the
Board of Selectmen objects to ($5,907).
The Town Administrator also found other figures that did not add
up. The second amount the
Board of Selectmen objects to are unpaid transports that total $65,439
at $134 per transport which amounts to 488 calls.
The Town of Warner pays 25% of the total cost of transports which
means Warner should have been charged for 122 transports when in fact
the Town was charged for 161. The
non-transport calls were also figured incorrectly, the Town’s portion
was for 42.5 calls and the Town was billed for 40 calls.
There is a net overbill amount of $4,726.
The Town of Warner is requesting the Town of Hopkinton credit
approximately $10K on the 2009 bill.
Selectman Carson asked how this affects the budget.
The Town Administrator explained the Town will still end up
paying more than what was budgeted, but if agreed, there will be a $10K
credit and the next billing will be reduced by $5,900.
The Town Administrator said the budget will need to be increased
by $10K - $15K to cover the ambulance billing.
The Town Administrator will prepare a final version of the
letter. 6. State Budget Discussion Senator Harold W. Janeway, Representative
Christine Hamm and Representative Gary Richardson met with the
Selectmen. Chairman Karrick
began by saying how fortunate the Town is to have the Senator and
Representatives attend the Selectmen’s meeting. There is concern about the State budget because there is a
chance the State will not be sharing the percentage of revenues that
have been shared in the past; which will impact Town services or the
amount of taxes. Senator Janeway explained the budget
process. The Governor
presents a budget, the House works on the budget and sends it to the
Senate, the Senate works on it and then the differences are worked out
by a Committee of Conference which has a handful of Senators and
Representatives. At the
end, the House budget and the Senate budget had substantial differences
that are hard to bridge. The
House had in their budget a 15˘ per gallon gas tax increase stretched
out over a period of time, a Capital Gains Tax, State Tax, and a Gaming
Tax and maybe as an over site there was also $87 million missing for
school building aide. The
Senate version did not have any of the tax increases; it did include
funding the school building aide and a gambling proposal.
With the additional gambling revenue the Senate still cut State
budget proposals. State revenues were stable up to September of 2008, after
September the economy spiraled downward.
Some other differences were the House proposed cutting $100
million from Health and Human Services; meanwhile the demand on Health
and Human Services is increasing because of the economy, so ultimately
the Senate increased the case load projections in their budget. The
Senate did not propose a gas tax increase so they came up with a range
of increases for registration fees.
Those are just some of the differences between the two budgets
when they were entered to the Committee of Conference. The revenues were re-estimated and it was
found there was an additional $30 million dollar deficit in this fiscal
year which ends in about a week. Senator
Janeway said the State had drawn $87 million from the rainy
day fund leaving only $20 million going into the new budget.
In the Committee of Conference there was a
lot of give and take. On
the issue of gambling, the House refused to consider gambling which
required looking elsewhere for $220 million.
Senator Janeway said in the end he does not feel the things that
they did added to the burden on the communities because those changes
were in the Governor’s original proposal. Representative Gary Richardson said there
is still the obligation to fully fund education; there will be
additional funding in the amount of $123 million.
Mr. Richardson did report that the State will be sending Warner
and the School District more money in the next 3-4 years than what was
received in the last 2 years. Selectman
Carson asked if the increase is a result of stimulus money.
Mr. Richardson said yes. Selectman Carson said during the Joint
Board of Selectmen’s meeting that was held on June 11th one
Selectman spoke about the reimbursement for special education and how it
is sorely under reimbursed. Senator Janeway said the schools will be receiving more
money, they can choose to offset the cost of special education with the
money but the State is not allowed to tell the school districts what
they should use the money for. Senator Janeway asked if the Town has any
State Aid Grants for water/sewer treatment.
That money has been suspended for any new projects.
Christine Hamm said the next budget will
be even more difficult because there will be no stimulus funds.
Her real regret is that a $600 million dollar short fall still
did not trigger a real discussion about the States revenue.
Ms. Hamm said she co-sponsored an income tax bill which was
retained and she is also in favor of gambling.
She feels the State is doing what they have always done which is
to nickel and dime. She is
hearing from every constituency that they are not happy about this.
Mr. Richardson sees no choice for alternatives in the next 2
years; this current budget could not balance without the stimulus.
Selectman Hartman asked how much money is from the stimulus.
There is at least $400 million of nonrecurring income that will
not be available for the next budget.
The Governor and Senate were closed to any additional taxes.
Longer term implications need to be considered. J D Colcord asked what the confidence
level is in regards to the revenue figures. He said the Department of
Revenue found another $75 million.
Mr. Colcord is concerned that it may be found 6 months later that
the revenue is not actually there.
The Town Administrator said there is a lot
of hard work that goes into keeping the Town budget low.
The changes to the revenues sets the Town back before the budget
process even begins, which is a huge frustration because there is a lot
work going into the Town’s budget to either keep it low or level
funded. What will happen
moving forward because the property tax owners can’t keep taking that
hit? There may not be new
taxes created but the taxes that we currently have are increasing.
On the Town level it doesn’t help because it is unable to
increase or sustain services because the Town is supplementing the
State’s budget. Realistically
the State needs to look outside the box. Christine Hamm encourages getting the word
to the Governor and representatives that an examination of the revenue
sources is preferred and to come up with alternatives. John Dabuliewicz recommends going back and
looking at State programs that could be cut, he recommends eliminating
the Division of Economic Development.
Wayne Eigabroadt commented on the number
of homes that are for sale. He
feels the majority are homes of seniors who can no longer afford tax
increases. He also feels
the State is not looking in the right areas as far as budget cuts. Charles Albano feels a strong message
needs to be sent, one way is to vote down the budget.
The State does not have a spending issue it has an income issue.
Mr. Albano feels if the budget is passed, no message will be
sent. Representative
Richardson said there is a message because everyone involved in the
budget process has seen how bad it really is; as far as he is concerned
he will be addressing the revenue issue.
Hank Duhammel does not want to see an
income or state tax, he would like to see a large family recreation
center in the White Mountains, similar to what is in Las Vegas that will
employ challenged individuals, and he feels this would help to take the
burden off of the State. Mr.
Duhammel would like to see creativity and innovation on the State level. The Board of Selectmen thanked Senator
Harold W. Janeway, District Rep. Christine Hamm, and District Rep. Gary
Richardson for attending this evenings meeting. 7. Jeanne Hand – Barn Preservation Easement Ms. Hand asked the Selectmen to reconsider
their decision that was made earlier this evening regarding the barn
easement. Chairman Karrick
declined reconsideration. 8. Temporary Structure Policy Discussion was tabled until July 7th. 9. Administrator’s Report Abatement Request – An abatement
request came from a resident with regard to a greenhouse being built on
land in current use. The
resident does not agree with the change tax and has stated that it is
not a greenhouse but a high tunnel.
It may be a good idea for the Selectmen to take a look at the
building in question prior to making a decision on this request.
Selectman Hartman asked what the State has advised.
Assessing Clerk, Martha Mical contacted the State which said the
structure qualifies for a change tax.
The Selectmen instructed the Town Administrator to draft a letter
explaining that the Selectmen have denied the abatement request for the
current use penalty. Audit – The auditors were here
last week conducting the 2008 audit and have most of the work completed. This year promises to go more smoothly than last year since
the audit firm doesn’t anticipate having the same issues as last year
where one of their major auditors was pulled into two fraud cases. Transportation Enhancement Program
– Allan Brown and the Town Administrator are meeting with Rodrigo
Marion from Central NH Regional Planning Commission on June 24th
at 2:00 p.m. with regard to the TE Program in conjunction with doing
upgrades on the old sidewalks on the Post Office end of Town.
Allan Brown would also like to look into adding new sidewalks
down to Exit 9 as an add on to the Safe Routes to School grant received
for the new sidewalks in the center of Town.
The Town Administrator asked the Board if they are comfortable
with this request because if approved the cost of maintenance will
increase. A letter of
interest needs to be submitted by July 2, 2009.
Selectman Carson asked if it would be possible to re-establish
the right of way down the middle of Route 103; the way the right of way
is now the sidewalk could end up going back and forth from different
sides of the road. Alfred Hanson asked what type of sidewalk
is being proposed. Martha Mical recommended not using brick
for the sidewalks because the bricks shift and heave.
She would like to see wider sidewalks going to the lower end of
town. The current policy that includes sidewalks
will be reviewed. Fuel Prices - The Town
Administrator is in the process of obtaining fuel prices for the
2009/2010 heating season and anticipates having this information for the
next Selectmen’s meeting. So
far, the prices are considerably lower than the 2008/2009 price. Transfer Station – Ash Pile Transfer Station Foreman, Varick Proper
has been doing work to get prices to dispose of the ash pile which
contains some high levels of contaminants which may be considered
hazardous. He has learned
that the test required by the Department of Environmental Services is
not the same test required when disposing of the waste. Mr. Proper will be moving forward with a TCLP test which will
determine what the product is capable of leaching and hopefully, this
will enable the Town to dispose of it at a landfill rather than incur
the expense of a hazardous waste disposal. Purchase of Land: Phil Miles has notified
the Town Administrator that he sent the draft deed from the State of NH
to the Town of Warner, as well as a Memorandum of Understanding for the
well to the Attorney General’s office for their review.
Once he has their comments back, he will notify the Town
Administrator. The Town Administrator also reported that
she and Ed Mical attended an Emergency Management Conference today.
10. Manifest Selectman Hartman moved
to authorize the Selectmen to sign manifests and order the Treasurer to
sign payroll check numbers 1877-1906 (includes 10 direct deposit stubs)
in the amount of $63,169.04 and accounts payable check numbers
43177-43239 in the amount of $396,546.15.
Selectman Carson seconded the motion; all were in favor, the
motion passed. 11. Selectmen’s Other Business Chairman Karrick reported that the Board
of Selectmen will be meeting with the Town of Webster on Monday, June 29th
at 7:30 p.m. in Webster. Discussion
will be about a property that is located in both Town’s, Map 3 Lot 76.
A letter of complaint has been received from a near by property
owner, the owner is asking for an abatement. Selectman Hartman reported that there is a
Concord Regional Solid Waste Joint Board meeting on Tuesday, June 30th
at 6:00 p.m. located in Bow, NH. There
will be a formal presentation by the consultants and the Director of the
Regional Co-op to the Joint Board.
Selectman Hartman recommended that the other Board members
attend. Selectman Hartman
is also inviting John Warner. Judith
Rogers asked Selectman Hartman if he will be voting at the meeting.
Selectman Hartman said no, the vote will take place on July 29th.
Ms. Rogers asked Selectman Hartman if he will be presenting to
the Town what he learned so the townspeople can give him their input. The Town Administrator clarified that Selectman Hartman would
not be voting for the Town to change to single-stream, it’s a vote for
the Co-op. Selectman Carson acknowledged that the
Recycle Committee no longer exists.
Selectman Carson reported that the Energy
Committee members attended a conference in Concord, NH of all the
State’s Energy Committees. The committee applied for a grant to complete an audit on the
town buildings, approval will be known within 2 weeks.
The Energy Committee plans on applying for another grant later in
the year. Selectman
Carson is exploring another source that could lead to potential
electricity cost savings. Martha
Mical asked what will be the affect with Public Service of NH if there
is another major/minor power outage.
Selectman Carson explained that would be part of the decision
process. Also, Hank
Duhammel is working with the Energy Committee on developing an Energy
Ordinance. Martha Mical reported to the Board that
Mr. Clark Davis has not received a letter regarding his family cemetery.
It was clarified during a Selectmen’s meeting that the cemetery
is indeed owned by the Davis family.
12. Meeting Minutes Selectman Hartman moved
to approve non public meeting minutes dated May 26, 2009, June 2, 2009
site walk meeting minutes, June 2, 2009 meeting minutes, June 4, 2009
non public meeting minutes and June 9, 2009 meeting minutes.
Chairman Karrick seconded the motion; all were in favor, the
motion passed. 13. Non Public Session Selectman Hartman moved to enter into
Nonpublic Session at 8:53 p.m. per RSA 91-A:3 II (c), reputation. The
motion was seconded by Chairman Karrick. A roll call vote was taken.
Chairman Karrick – yes; Selectman Hartman – yes; Selectman Carson
– yes. Motion passed
unanimously. In attendance: Chairman David Karrick,
Jr., Selectman David E. Hartman, Selectman Clyde Carson and Town
Administrator Laura Buono Selectman Hartman moved to come out of
Nonpublic Session at 9:09 p.m. The
motion was seconded by Selectman Carson. A roll call vote was taken.
Chairman Karrick – yes; Selectman Hartman – yes; Selectman Carson
– yes. Motion passed
unanimously. Selectman Hartman moved to seal and
restrict the nonpublic meeting minutes per RSA 91A:3 III.
Motion was seconded by Selectman Carson.
A vote was taken. Motion
passed unanimously. 13. Adjournment Selectman Hartman moved to adjourn the
meeting at 9:09 p.m. Motion was seconded; all were in favor, the motion passed. Board of Selectmen David Karrick, Jr. – Chairman Respectfully submitted, Mary Whalen Recording Secretary
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