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Warner Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes
Tuesday,
October 5, 2010
Chairman Hartman opened the public session
at
6:00 p.m.
In Attendance:
Selectman David Hartman – Chairman, Selectman David Karrick,
Jr., Selectman
Clyde
Carson, Town Administrator Laura Buono
Others present: Ed Mical,
Tricia Orr, Laura Hall, Jeanne Hand, Jim Hand
1. Generators
Emergency Management Director, Ed Mical
previously provided the Board with three quotes for generators for the
Fire Department and the Town Hall. The
Fire Station is a 60kw unit that runs on diesel and the Town Hall is a
20kw unit that runs on propane.
Mr. Mical said the quote from Yastrzemski Electric
includes installation and wiring (Yastrzemski Electric installed the
library generator). EPG and
Milton CAT quotes include hiring an outside contractor to perform the
installation.
The Town Administrator has a concern about
a grant was supposed to be applied for as was discussed during the
budget process and a grant cannot be applied for after the generators
are installed. Selectman
Carson
asked Mr. Mical about the grant. Mr.
Mical said the grant is tied into National Incident Management Systems
with a long lead; it could run into next year.
Selectman Karrick asked if there is a reason why the grant was
not applied for in April of this year.
Mr. Mical said he was working on other things such as updating
the Emergency Operation Plan.
Selectman
Carson
said when the warrant was presented to the voters it was for two
generators with the hope that the grant would cover the cost of one of
the generators and if the grant was not approved then only one generator
would be purchased. The Town
Administrator said her concern is during the budget process there was a
lot of discussion at the Budget Committee level presenting the generator
cost along with a grant.
Selectman
Carson
asked why the Fire Department generator runs on diesel and the Town Hall
on propane. Mr. Mical said
the run time is longer on diesel fuel and it was felt the diesel would
be easier to obtain during a disaster rather than propane.
Selectman Karrick confirmed that if a
grant was applied for at this time generators would not be in place for
this winter. Chairman
Hartman confirmed that a grant would cut the cost by 50%.
Mr. Mical is not sure if there is grant money still available,
the original submittal deadline was January 2010, he said because no
money was available on the Town level, the grant application was not
submitted in January.
Selectman
Carson
commented that it has been said that it is important and a priority for
the Town to have
Emergency
Management
Operation
Center
up and running during a disaster. He
feels this could be a strong argument in terms of completing the Fire
Station generator and then submit the grant for the Town Hall.
The Town Administrator suggests if anything is pending on a grant
the Board should make a decision as to which company they wish to use so
the money can be encumbered at the end of the year.
Selectman Karrick said the quote from Yastrzemski is less than
the money that was budgeted. Mr.
Mical said based on the price quotes that were submitted both projects
can be completed within the $37,500 that was approved at Town Meeting.
Selectman Karrick said it is unfortunate the grant was not
applied for but he also feels it would unfortunate to let another winter
go by with out the generators in place.
Selectman Karrick moved
to accept Yastrzemski Electric proposal for installing and wiring
generators at the Fire Department and the Town Hall.
Selectman
Carson
seconded the motion for
discussion. Selectman
Carson
said the way the generators were presented to the voters was two
generators are needed and a grant would cover half the cost and if the
grant was not approved then only one generator would be purchased this
year. Selectman
Carson
recommends moving forward and applying for the grant for the second
generator. Chairman
Hartman recommends accepting Yastrzemski’s bid because of the low cost
and still pursue the grant prospect.
Selectman
Carson
recommended tabling any action at this time until the next meeting.
Chairman Hartman recommends selecting a vendor and then the Board
can later modify the project. Selectman
Carson
would also like to see backup information pertaining to the generators
capacity. Mr. Mical added
that there are additional costs such as pouring pads for the generators
to sit on, adding a propane line for the generator at the Town Hall and
adding a new propane tank. Selectman
Karrick withdrew his motion so the availability of grant funds can be
determined first. Selectman
Carson
withdrew his second. Selectman
Carson
asked if the Library is satisfied with the generator that Yastrzemski
Electric installed. Mr.
Mical said he is not aware of any issues.
Selectman Karrick moved to choose Yastrzemski Electric for generator installation at the
Fire Department and Town Hall after grant availability is determined.
Selectman
Carson
confirmed that the Board will still have the option of voting after the
grant availability is determined (purchasing either one or two
generators this year). Selectman
Carson
seconded the motion; all were in favor, the motion passed.
2. Community Action Program – Lease Agreement & Office
Relocation
Community Action Program Area Director,
Laura Hall met with the Board to discuss moving the area office from
upstairs at the
Old
Graded
School
to the main floor. If the
Board approves the move, then the lease agreement would need to be
modified as well as adding some cleaning requirements.
Selectman Karrick confirmed that the food pantry would also move
into the same room as CAP making the CAP function handi-cap accessible
for the public.
Selectman
Carson
said the Board still needs to have a future discussion about the
buildings best use for the community.
His concern is if the CAP program consolidates on the main floor
and the Board decides in the future to do something else with that room.
Selectman Karrick said how realistically quick the Board is going
to decide and implement what to do with the
Old
Graded
School
. The Town Administrator
said the lease agreement could be a 2 or 3 year agreement with CAP.
Ms. Hall said her current office was grandfathered from the
ADA
requirements but if the office moves to the main level she can’t go
back to the top level. The
Town Administrator added that CAP is a big community resource.
Selectman
Carson
would like the Board to develop a plan for the
Old
Graded
School
that includes CAP long-term,
ADA
and other uses. Ms. Hall
said CAP has been in the building for 30-years.
Selectman
Carson
sees the
Old
Graded
School
as a home for organizations that provide community services.
Selectman Karrick moved
to enter into a two-year lease with Community Action Program occupying
the main floor space formerly known as the
Kearsarge
Children
Center
. Selectman
Carson
seconded the motion. Selectman
Carson
would like to see the lease before voting.
The Town Administrator will create the lease adding square
footage changes for the Selectmen to review before they sign the lease.
Chairman Hartman said the essence of the motion is developing a
2-year lease. All were in
favor, the motion passed.
3. Jeanne Hand – School Safety
Jeanne Hand said the School District
Facility Director, Dan Noyes has visited the district schools citing
various items. In
Simonds
School
there are cracks in the foundation, asbestos tiles and a fire escape
that needs repair. The
Facility Director has money in the budget to hire a contractor to assess
what needs to be done to the foundation at
Simonds
School
, as far as Mrs. Hand knows this has yet to be completed.
She feels for the safety of the children this assessment needs to
be completed and as a Town there should be more involvement in seeing
such items are followed through. Chairman
Hartman said to Mrs. Hand that she should be addressing Dan Noyes, the
School Board reps. and the Municipal Budget Committee reps. about her
safety concerns. Chairman
Hartman said the Selectmen will make an effort to convey Mrs. Hand
concerns to the School Board. Mrs.
Hand strongly feels there should be Selectman involvement in the School
Board’s decisions. Mr.
Hand who is a member of the MBC said he would also bring Mrs. Hand’s
concern forward to the MBC and come back with feedback.
Selectman
Carson
suggested a follow-up meeting about the facilities is in order with Mr.
Noyes, i.e. update on the
Main Street
drainage. Mrs. Hand does not
feel it should be assumed that the school will automatically make the
right/correct decisions for the Town; there should be more involvement.
4. Jim Hand – Municipal Budget Committee Meetings & School
Budget
Mr. Hand who is Warner’s representative
on the MBC said meetings will begin on October 12th.
He said the school budget at this time has a 4.6% increase
($1,670,000) for 2011/2012 school year.
Mr. Hand said generally speaking the schools within the district
have held down operating costs, however the Middle School has included
in their budget $18K for paving and $62K for text books.
Mr. Hand and other board members agree that the increase in the
budget needs to be reduced. Also,
the budget increase does not include a teacher contract.
Mr. Hand said if a contract is agreed upon there will be an
additional 3-4% increase; however, Mr. Hand said the teachers have been
told not to expect to make harsh demands because of the financial
crisis. Mr. Hand added that
health coverage increased by 12% and he suggested to the MBC it may be
time to start thinking about not being in the health care business,
right now the teachers pay 20% of the health care costs.
Also, the State contribution to retirement has been reduced from
35% to 25% leaving 10% for the school to pay ($390,000).
Mr. Hand is expecting to see another version of the school budget
on October 12th.
Mr. Hand spoke about the $2.9 million
dollar energy proposal that was presented last year to the voters.
The school owes Honeywell $50K and learned that it will cost more
than the $2.9 million.
The Town Administrator asked Mr. Hand if
the school has discussed the decrease in the revenues coming from the
State Education Fund. The
Town alone will be receiving $300K less from the State.
Selectman
Carson
asked if the school received School Building Aide in regards to the $2.9
million energy proposal. Mr.
Hand believes the school received less than what was expected.
Mr. Hand said he is going to try to obtain all the details
regarding the energy proposal.
Selectman
Carson
recommended having a public information session with the School Superintendent
presenting the school budget as well as having Warner’s School Board
reps. and Municipal Budget Committee reps. present.
School Superintendent Jerry Frew also invited the Selectmen to
attend the October 12th Municipal Budget Committee meeting as
an opportunity to express their budget concerns.
Chairman Hartman feels that holding a public forum would be not
be fruitful, he feels it would be more fruitful for the Board of
Selectmen to meet with Mr. Frew and Warner’s reps. Selectman
Karrick suggested the Board attend the October 12th meeting
as well. Mr. Hand said if
the Selectmen choose to attend the October 12th meeting he
would advise the MBC in advance.
Selectman
Carson
proposed that the Warner Board of Selectmen host a Joint Selectmen’s
Meeting with Mr. Frew sometime in November and then the Board of
Selectmen attend the October 12th MBC meeting.
The Board members agreed to Selectman Carson’s proposal.
The Board asked the Town Administrator to coordinate a Joint
Board meeting with Mr. Frew on October 25th.
The Selectmen will meet on October 12th
for their regularly scheduled meeting at
5:00 p.m.
5. Tricia Orr
Ms. Orr lives on West Roby and has
witnessed awful conditions near to where she lives regarding chickens
and their living conditions which she feels is inhumane and unsanitary.
She is not sure if there are any regulations regarding chickens
and how they should be housed. Chairman
Hartman recommended that Ms. Orr contact the State Veterinarian.
Ms. Orr asked if it would be possible for the Town of
Warner
to create an ordinance that would address her concern.
The Town Administrator said such a petition could be submitted by
a citizen and offered to assist if needed.
6. OHRV Policy
Selectman
Carson
said the State statutes say the Selectmen have the ability to regulate
OHRV traffic on Class VI roads and if decided to do so the Town needs to
formalize it as either part of a Selectmen’s ordinance or a policy on
record at the Town Clerk’s office.
Selectman
Carson
said the statute regulates both on and off road vehicles.
Selectman
Carson
provided a draft policy for the Board to review.
Chairman Hartman asked why the current agreement isn’t an
acceptable action. Selectman
Carson feels the concern is not the Bound Tree ATV Club it’s more of a
broader issue and he thinks to give permission to the ATV club and not
address all the peripheral issues is not good policy.
Selectman
Carson
said his concern is those other than the club using the trails; there is
no policy or procedure setting limitations or how the Selectmen want the
Class VI roads used. Chairman
Hartman said the Board has not granted permission for ATVs to use any of
the other Class VI roads. Selectman
Carson
would feel more comfortable laying out parameters that could be reviewed
regularly and he would like to have some statistics to review a year
from now. Chairman Hartman feels having statistics is way beyond what
the Town needs to do to have a policy; the Bound Tree ATV Club has sent
two measures of feedback about cleaning up the trails.
Selectman
Carson
said it not Bound Tree that’s the problem.
Chairman Hartman understood that the Bound Tree Club was the
group to work with to develop a plan so that the Board could see how it
would actually work.
Selectman Karrick said in reviewing
Selectman Carson’s policy proposal there areas of interest, and he
feels using those areas as well as working with Bound Tree ATV Club a
policy could be created. Selectman
Carson
said there should also be others involved as well.
Selectman Karrick said he is a member of
the snowmobile club and the club maintains trails not only for
snowmobile use but for skiers, hikers and cyclist etc.
Chairman Hartman asked if the snowmobile club maintains the
trails for ATVs. Selectman
Karrick said not specifically, but because the trails are maintained
they are left in better shape than if they were left to deteriorate.
The Board members will review Selectman
Carson’s policy proposal for future consideration.
7. Budget Work Session Schedule
The Selectmen will meet on October 13th
at
2:00 p.m.
, October 20th at
3:00 p.m.
for budget work sessions.
8. Ambulance
The Board of Selectmen will invite the
Hopkinton Selectmen, Fire Chiefs and Town Administrator on October 26th
to discuss the ambulance billing.
9. 100 Year Anniversary – Town Hall & Old Graded School
The Selectmen agreed that the Town Report
will acknowledge the 100 year anniversary as well as rededicating the
Town Hall and
Old
Graded
School
during the annual Christmas celebration.
10. Consent Agenda
Selectman Karrick moved to approve the
consent agenda for
October 5, 2010
as follows:
o
Gravel Pit Excavation Tax Warrant in the amount of $334.38
o
Timber Tax Levy for Map 8 Lot 24 in the amount of $90.77
& Map 12 Lot 5 in the amount of $1, 814.45
o
Intent-to-Cut on Map 18
Lot
8-3
Selectman
Carson
seconded the motion; all were in favor, the motion passed.
11. Manifest
Selectman Karrick moved to authorize the
Selectmen to sign manifests and order the Treasurer to sign Payroll
Check numbers 762 - 813 in the amount of $58,518.41 (including 22 direct
deposit stubs) and Accounts Payable check numbers 44911 - 44972 in the
amount of $201,214.20. Selectman
Carson
seconded the motion; all were in favor, the motion passed.
12. Other Business
Chairman Hartman said the Town will be
facing the Guaranteed Annual Tonnage decision; how many tons of trash
will be hauled to the Regional Co-op.
Currently the Town’s hauler, Naughton & Sons is hauling to
another place other than the Regional Co-op.
This change has lowered the tonnage to the Regional Co-op.
The Selectmen agreed that they need to meet with Mr. George
Naughton, owner of Naughton & Sons, first before making a tonnage
decision.
Selectman Karrick attended the senior
luncheon on September 30th at the
Mountain View
Senior
Center
in
Bradford
,
NH
. Selectman Karrick learned
about all the services and programs available for the seniors.
Selectman
Carson
feels the Selectmen should create a snow removal policy.
The Town Administrator said that there is already a draft policy
that has been sent to the Director of Public Works for review.
The Town Administrator will send a copy to the Selectmen so they
too can review it.
Chairman Hartman has completed his review
of the Personnel Policy and he will forward his corrections and changes
to the Town Administrator. He
also completed reviewing the Investment Policy.
The Selectmen signed the revised Assessing
Contract that includes Country Appraiser owner signatures.
Pine
Grove
Cemetery
has been completely transferred to the Town of
Warner
.
The Selectmen signed the contract between
Central NH Regional Planning Commission and the Planning Board regarding
Phase III of the Master Plan.
The Selectmen approved sending the F350 to
auction. Instead of trading
the vehicle the Highway Department was able to get more money for it by
selling parts and auctioning the vehicle.
The Town Administrator presented an
Intent-to-cut for property owned by Mr. & Mrs. Larry Pletcher.
The Pletcher’s signed the Intent before the cut began but the
Intent did not arrive at the Town Offices until today and it is believed
the cut is already nearly complete.
There are still taxes from a current use penalty that need to be
paid. The Town Administrator
spoke with Mr. Pletcher who said the taxes will be paid tomorrow
morning. The Selectmen
signed the Intent-to-cut knowing the back taxes will be collected.
The Town Administrator presented Taxable
Property Inventory penalties waiver requests.
The Town Administrator granted waivers for all but two.
Both penalties that were upheld called the Selectmen’s office
and requested reconsideration; these two penalties were also waived last
year. The Selectmen agreed
to leave the fine in place on both requests because waivers were granted
to them last year.
The Town Administrator reported that the
title work is moving forward on the property that was purchased for a
Fire Station (Map 29 Lot 001).
Selectman
Carson
asked once the purchase is finalized does the liability insurance come
into play. The Town
Administrator said yes, the property will be added to the liability
insurance and secured.
The Town Administrator reported that the
Transportation Sub-Committee will be meeting with representatives from
Market Basket at 2:00 p.m. on October 12th.
13. Selectmen’s Objectives
Selectman
Carson
said the Odd Fellows Building Committee will be meeting on Thursday,
October 7th to address the Selectmen’s request for demo and
weatherizing costs.
Selectman Karrick asked about
Hartshorn Lane
(private road). The Town
Administrator learned that the Town can charge the residents for road
maintenance as an option. Another
option is for the residents to form an Association.
Retreat Road (Clark Davis) is moving
towards a resolution. At
this point the DPW does not feel the Town has any responsibility to make
any changes to
Retreat Road
. The road was moved
initially because it was substandard and it was found that there is no
evidence that Mr. Davis ever had road frontage; the resolution would
need to be worked out with Mr. Davis’ neighbor.
The Town Administrator recommends having the DPW meet with the
Board for a more detailed explanation after which the Selectmen’s
office will send Mr. Davis a letter of explanation on the Town’s
findings.
14. Adjournment
A
motion was made at 9:10 p.m. to adjourn.
Board of Selectmen
David E. Hartman - Chairman
David Karrick, Jr.
Clyde
Carson
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Whalen
Recording Secretary
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