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Warner Board of Selectmen Meeting Minutes August 19, 2003
In attendance: Selectman Edward F. Mical – Chairman Selectman John C. Brayshaw Selectman Allen C. Brown Recorder of the minutes: Mary Whalen Chairman Mical opened the meeting at 6:00 p.m. Peter St. James, Chairman of the Wage Study Committee, along with committee members Chris Perkins and Liz Young, met with the Selectmen to deliver an update of the committee’s progress. The committee has worked with the Department Heads and the employees in the development of all job descriptions. The committee invited two town managers that have experience developing wage scales to meetings for questions and answers. The job descriptions are being re-typed and submitted to the Department Heads, Supervisors and individual employees. The committee will then move forward to develop a pay structure using the following towns with populations ranging from 2,500 – 4,999 as comparisons: Andover, Antrim, Barnstead, Boscawen, Bradford, Canterbury, Chichester, Enfield, Henniker, New London, Northwood, Pittsfield, Sutton, and Sunapee. Concord, Bow, and Hopkinton will be recognized but the results may not be included.
Chairman Mical asked the Wage Study Committee for a wage scale by mid-October in order to complete the 2004 budget process. Assessing Clerk, Martha Mical presented an MS-1 form for the Selectmen to sign. The MS-I form leads to the setting of the new tax rate. Copies will be forwarded to the Selectmen’s Office. Linda Mueller met with the Selectmen to further discuss the Naughton property on Route 127. Mrs. Mueller noted that the Board never addressed the home based business. The Board has not determined a time frame for Mr. Naughton regarding the purchasing of land to store his vehicles. Mrs. Mueller has witnessed refueling of trucks on the Naughton property and informed the Board that the refueling tank has since been removed. The parking on Poverty Plains Road is obstructing traffic when they are backing out. Mrs. Mueller has noticed that Mr. Naughton is also washing his trucks on the property. Mrs. Mueller has asked the Selectmen to address the home business. Selectman Brayshaw will look into the situation.Selectman Brown read the proposed changes to the Transfer Station into the minutes. These changes have been discussed and revised with Mr. Fouliard, Department Head of the Transfer Station.
Public Comments: Selectman Brown asked that the comments be limited to the proposed changes to the Transfer Station. Stephanie Gardner: Why are these restrictions happening? Selectman Brown: Restrictions for the paint came about for two reasons, 1) the growing mess outside the collection area and 2) the extra labor it takes to maintain the area. Paul Fouliard: There were sixteen additional hours voted on at Town Meeting. Stephanie Gardner: With the growth of Warner there is more trash, it is a dump. Selectman Brown: The Transfer Station is not a dump; it is a place to transfer material from the homeowners to the incinerator or recycling area. Steve Lindblom: Focusing the comments to the three areas leaves a feeling that the controversial issues will be dealt with later on when no one is paying attention. People have been given the impression that the Board would be replacing Mr. Fouliard. It has been mentioned that the Board would be limiting the time for the swap area. Please comment on these issues. There is a feeling that the current Board of Selectmen is more interested in neatness than recycling, recycling by nature is a messy process. I would encourage the dump to lean over to the direction of efficient recycling not in the direction of neatness. Paul has made the place a friendly place. A good dump tender is worth more to the Town than a good Selectman. Micro managing creates a hostile atmosphere. As far as I am concerned it is a dump because that is where I dump my trash. Selectman Brown: Some where a rumor started regarding Mr. Fouliard’s position. At no time has there been consideration of replacing Mr. Fouliard. Mr. Fouliard has expressed concern about cutting back the hours and that has not been discussed. Steve Lindblom: Do you make the decisions for the Transfer Station individually? Selectman Brown: To clarify my position, I am the Selectman representative to the Transfer Station; I am also the overseer of the Transfer Station building. Paul Fouliard: I resent the use of the word "overseer", especially being Native American. Nobody oversees people anymore. Selectman Brown: I am only quoting the title. Paul Fouliard: Where was this job description created, sole responsibility for the Transfer Station was given to me by the Board of Selectmen. Joan Saunders: You recently spent $4,000.00 for a clean up at the Transfer Station; does this leave their budget at risk of going over this year? Selectman Brown: The demolition budget for the year is set at $7,000.00, Paul has done a good job at keeping this line down, to date he has spent either $500.00 or $700.00 up to this point. The clean-up of the shingles amounted to $3250.00. Being that it is past the half way point of the year with only four months left, the budget should handle it. Joan Saunders: Is there any truth to the fact that if Paul goes over his budget he has a greater chance of being replaced. Selectman Brown: That is not in the contract. Nicole Fouliard: It’s an RSA that states that if the Transfer Station goes 10% over the budget the Selectmen can dismiss the Department Head. Name unknown: Until a week ago, Mr. Fouliard only spent $500.00 of his budget for removal of demolition debris, and in one day you spent $3,200.00 dollars? Whose decision was that? Selectman Brown: That was my decision with the concurrence of the Board. Name not audible: Is it possible that Mr. Fouliard was holding on to the electronics, maybe there was a market driven cost reason for him to hold on to them. Selectman Brown: There is only one program that I am aware of that deals with electronics, it involves getting a dumpster for the sum of $585.00. These are then recycled. Name not stated: Did you land fill the ones that were put in the dumpster. Selectman Brown: I believe the ones with high metal content went into the metal dumpster. Pete Newman: No they did not. Selectman Brown: They were supposed to. Pete Newman: They went into demolition. Name unknown: Wouldn’t it make more sense to have used this dumpster if you know at least one company in Mass. that’s going to take care of them in an environmentally correct manner? I don’t know if you were here when this Town started mandatory recycling and started the Transfer Station, but one of the biggest ideas had nothing to do with how much money it would cost, it had to do with environmentally correct. Your solution may have been good on the idea of liability in case someone gets hurt but it was not environmentally correct. Selectman Brown: This $585.00 dumpster is on the horizon, it is something the Board will consider. Name unknown: How long did you know about it. Selectman Brown: About a month and half ago. Name unknown: You meet with the Board how often and you never talked about it in a month and a half? I’m sorry, if you talk about taking care of the environment you start today. Pete Newman: There is a charge on the computers of $5.00 a piece. Selectman Brown: My understanding is that it was not being collected until just recently. George Packard: May I suggest looking into mediation between Mr. Fouliard and the Selectmen before we loose the best Transfer Station attendant that we ever had. My main concern is there doesn’t appear to be real clarity in terms of what the level of decision making is that Mr. Fouliard is responsible for. Where is Paul’s decision level?Selectman Brown: I approached Paul three months ago about cleaning up the Transfer Station. That was the extent of it, nothing ever happened and we had several conversations about it. Finally, the demolition area and the electronics area pushed me to propose some action. There is a history starting with the suggestion to clean up the area. Paul is perfectly free to propose any ideas that will help run the Transfer Station more efficiently. Approval of expenditures is the Board’s decision. George Packard: Did the question of building additional storage sheds come up? Selectman Brown: Paul and I have discussed a number of things for improvement, not just cleaning up. We’ve talked about re-staging materials, Paul had a number of ideas, and they were, and still are on the table. They are not being addressed right now because they are budget impact items. Selectman Brayshaw: The building did come up as far as casual conversation, but for the record, I had volunteered to donate the wood for a shed so there would be no expense to the Town. Andy Bodnarik: I have been listening for a while; I am concerned about spending $3,250.00 for a couple of dumpsters for something that was deemed to be an emergency. Selectman Brown: No not an emergency. Coming up was the site inspection by the Budget Committee; I wanted to make sure that the Transfer Station presented its best face due to the equipment needs that have been stated in the Capital Improvements, cleaning up the Transfer Station is not a new idea. Andy Bodnarik: Why did we look at $3250.00 for two dumpsters as opposed to $585.00 for one? Chairman Mical clarified that the figure for the dumpsters included the pulling, but also it included what demolition material there was in the dumpster plus the shingles and computers. Andy Bodnarik: I’m concerned about the size of the building were the swap area is. You’re going to run into seasonal problems no matter what you do. If you fix a specific area, you are going to loose opportunity to recycle valuable items. If your not going to deal with the paint at the Transfer Station, people will stock pile it at home. Liability-wise, would you rather deal with it at the Transfer Station or would you rather deal with the liability of having it dumped resulting in a site clean up. On the demo swap area, setting a fix schedule may result in costly clean up. Why were we stock piling 30 tons of shingles? There may be an opportunity where some of that material may be recycled into asphalt. Selectman Brown: Mr. Fouliard can better explain the original intent for the shingles. Paul Fouliard: The current demo box goes to a land fill called Errco who is very specific on their requirements on what goes in the box, until recently only 1/5th could be shingles. Recently it has been changed to half of the box. To maintain a low cost there will always be a stockpile of shingles. Fred Brofos: I was on the original Recycle Committee and I am happy with how things are run now. However your forklift needs to come in, you should move the computers to the fee area where you would get money for them and they would not block the door. Selectman Brown: It’s been discussed with Paul about cleaning out the paint shed so we can turn the shed into a swap area keeping out of the traffic area. Fred Brofos: If you do away with the swap area then all the things will go into the dumpster. Tom Stotler: (Sutton resident) you have a good Board of Selectmen trying to do the best they can for the Town. I love the Transfer Station because I take more home than I bring over. You are lucky to have Paul running the Transfer Station. Tim Bologna: I used to work at the Transfer Station, if the paint is not taken, then you need to educate the Town on alternatives. Has anyone looked into volunteer programs for the Transfer Station to help out? Nicole Fouliard: We spent $3,200.00 for a clean up, is it true that the State inspected the facility two times in the last three months receiving maximum scores? Selectman Brown: According to what Paul said that’s the case. Nicole Fouliard: Isn’t it according to the paperwork that the State sent to you? Selectman Brown: The paperwork was submitted to Paul. I have asked Paul a number of times for a copy of that report. The Selectmen have not seen it yet. John Healy: If we restrict the paint there will be improper ways of disposal. When I pull in there I don’t expect a tourist attraction I expect it to be dirty and cluttered. The Town has grown since 1989, we need to take down the fence and make more room. Maureen Ireland: I am on the Recycle Committee; the committee has talked before about expanding the space, rather than getting rid of stuff to make it look neater we should be using more space that is available beyond the fence. The Transfer Station is the only Town operation that brings in revenue and couldn’t some of this revenue be used to run the Transfer Station. Peter St. James: I would like it understood that I am speaking as a resident and not the Chairman of the Wage Study Committee. This situation has a potential of getting inflamed very quickly, if you have seen this weeks Argus Champion where the issue of racism has been raised, it has a potential to escalate, I suggest that it should be dealt with quickly. I concur with much that has been said, while people are waiting for their tax bills, the last thing they need to hear is that a choice was made to make the Transfer Station look pretty, or keeping money in the budget to generate revenue. The Board has taken micro managing to a level that even Dilbert couldn’t understand. Why has the Board by-passed Department Heads and treat them like children, these people are professionals. Get Warner out of the newspapers and let us get back to business. Ron Wirth: The Recycle Committee discussed the cost of processing the paint with a drying material that amounts to $500.00 per year. Selectman Brown: I am not worried about the amount of drying material. Ron Wirth: What is the cost of the labor to process the paint? Selectman Brown: I suggest you obtain the cost from Paul. Name not audible: Who is in charge of the Transfer Station, I assume it is Paul. I love the recycle center. My children and I take pride in recycling and I am teaching my children a value. We need to teach our children to take care of the earth. Selectman Brown: I would like to finish up with one comment. I would like to apologize to Mr. Fouliard for the overseer title and I recommend changing that title. Judith Rogers: As an employee, I feel the Transfer Station has been assigned an overseer and I have never heard that word before. A liaison was assigned when we had Selectmen on the Board with full time jobs who could not be here every minute of the day, so the liaison was assigned as a communicator between the departments to come back to the Board of Selectmen. Is it a position that needs to be reviewed by the Wage Study Committee? Where are the people that have complained about the Transfer Station, they are not here tonight. All the people here are in favor of the Transfer Station. Steve Bridgewater: As a member of the Recycle Committee, I would like to make a statement; the Board of Selectmen appointed a Recycling Advisory Committee, initially, Mr. Mical was a liaison to that committee. On several occasions the committee asked Mr. Mical to make recommendations from the Recycle Committee addressed to the Selectmen, these were assignments that were given. I do not remember you ever executing one. The next year Mr. O’Connor became the Recycle Committee liaison, Mr. O’Connor made drastic improvements and changes, he was an excellent liaison to the Transfer Station. Mr. Brown has replaced Mr. O’Connor. Mr. Brown, who has no clue of what’s going on in this town about recycling, is now the Selectmen Liaison to the Transfer Station. None of these changes has been discussed with the Recycle Committee. Who are the people that are formulating these plans, I submit that one of them is Mr. Mical, and there are other people who are causing you to make these changes. As far as the Recycle Committee goes, our recommendations have been toward the elimination of dumpsters, the enforcement of the recycle ordinance. If the Transfer Station needs more man power then give it to them, if the laws need enforcement you are to direct the enforcement agency to move forward. You have been asked to do so for three years and you have not done it once.Chairman Mical closed public comments. The proposal will be continued to the next Selectmen’s meeting on September 2, 2003. The proposals will be forwarded to the Recycle Committee for their input. The Board received the document regarding the rating of the Transfer Station. Selectman Brown requested patience to read the data presented. Input will be addressed at the next Selectmen’s meeting. Selectman Brown spoke about the Hopkinton Fair Police Detail. In order to get the issue of police detail resolved, the Board of Selectmen initiated a meeting with the Department of Transportation. The first meeting was held a week ago with the District Supervisor, also in attendance was Town Administrator from Hopkinton, General Manager of the Hopkinton Fair Committee, Selectman Brayshaw, Chief Chandler, Selectman Brown and a representative from the State Police. At the end of the meeting there was a general consensus that what needs to be established is an event safety committee and that as a group they would convene again. At the second meeting it was stated that the Department of Transportation will be measuring traffic flow during the Hopkinton Fair this year and there will more meetings regarding the resolution to Warner’s participation during the fair. Both Police Chief’s, from Warner and Hopkinton, will be meeting on Thursday, August 21, 2003. Recommendations will be brought to the events committee. o Mr. Peter St. James, a Director of the Hopkinton State Fair Association, commented that the Board is pleased to have a chance to sit down to address the issue. There are other events that will be using the fair grounds. We want to keep a good relationship with Warner.The Selectmen commented on the upcoming Public Hearing on the Martin Building scheduled on September 23, 2003. The Riverwalk Project Public Hearing is scheduled for September 2, 2002. The final design will be presented. Town help will be discussed at the hearing. The Selectmen signed the revised estimated revenue form (MS-4). The Selectmen reviewed a purchase order for the Planning/Zoning department for a new computer. Selectman Brown made the motion to approve the meeting minutes from July 22, 2003. Chairman Mical seconded the motion. All were in favor. The motion passed. The Board proceeded to review correspondence. The Town Hall was rented for a baby shower on August 10, 2003; it was found that there was no gas in the stove. Selectman Brown made a motion to reimburse the Town Hall rental. Chairman Mical seconded the motion. All were in favor. The motion passed. Public Comments: Mr. Tim Bologna who attended his first Selectmen’s meeting asked what the actual function of the Selectmen’s meeting is. The Selectmen’s functions were explained. The Board proceeded to approve Building Permits. Rhonda Rood met with the Board for clarification on a lot that is partially seasonal on Couchtown Road. Chairman Mical explained that to build on a Class V seasonal road, the owners would need to meet with the Board. Chairman Mical made the motion to adjourn at 9:20 p.m. Selectman Brown seconded the motion. All were in favor. The motion passed.
Edward F. Mical – Chairman John C. Brayshaw Allen C. Brown |