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Minutes of 04/30/2007
May 5th, 2007
Carroll Board of Selectmen
Meeting Minutes
April 30, 2007
"These minutes of the Town of Carroll Select Board have been recorded by its Secretary. Though believed to be accurate and correct they are subject to additions, deletions and corrections by the Select Board at its next meeting when the Board votes its final approval of the minutes. They are being made available at this time to conform to the requirements of New Hampshire RSA 91-A:2."
Minutes recorded by Maryclare Quigley, Secretary Pro Tem.
Board members present: Bonnie Moroney, Allen Strasser
The meeting was called to order at 7:03 PM.
Members of the public present: Roberta McGee, Eleanor Brauns, Bill Dowling, Ann Fabrizio, Carmine Fabrizio, John Trammell, Mike Gooden, Lori Hogan, Bill Rines, Tom Gately, Dale Shakespeare, Leo Lavalley, Evan Karpf, John Burt, Jeff Duncan, Doug Bews, Donna Foster, John Foster, Kathy Saffian, John Gardiner
The board announced the approval of bills and signing of checks.
Chairman Moroney moved to approve the minutes of 04/23/2007. Selectman Strasser seconded the motion, and it was passed unanimously.
Chairman Moroney established that Stan Borkowski’s report had been received and was posted on the bulletin board.
Chairman Moroney advised that Town Counsel had reviewed the lease for the temporary police station at the Hogan garage, and that she and Lori Hogan had merged Lori’s version with Atty. Waugh’s version (which basically had to do with clarification of some items), to have it ready for the meeting. While reading the lease, Selectman Strasser wondered if the wording about the monthly rent and receiving a discount based on early payment might be a bit confusing, so Ms. Hogan took the lease to rewrite that part, and the Board moved on to the next item in the interim.
An email from Administrative Assistant Susan Kraabel regarding her conversation with Roger Francoeur of RPF Associates was read. This was about the possibility of an inspection at the police station to determine the extent of the mold problem. However, Mr. Francoeur said it is very difficult as there are no established guidelines or standards. Initially they do not do a full test inspection with a lot of expensive lab work, but rather a preliminary one that would be visual, with various readings, with spore trap testing being the only thing that would involve simple lab work. He explained that some kinds of mold are worse than others, but made no guarantee that the preliminary review could reveal the kind that might exist. The rough estimate for the first review is $1,000 to $1,500. Their current schedule is a week or more out. Ms. Kraabel advised Mr. Francoeur that the information would be given to the Select Board and that a decision would come later.
Discussion took place about clean-up costs which appear to be very expensive and time consuming. General consensus seemed to be that the best way to handle it would be to rip everything out to the concrete (which also included discussion of kind of materials to use for rebuilding), actually removing anything that may have come in contact, and then power washing or otherwise dealing with what remains. Upon questioning, Fire Chief Jeff Duncan believes the portion of the ceiling/roof over the fire station is all right as there hadn’t been any leaking there to his knowledge. He did, however, ask what the plans are for the building regarding repairing it and what money might be available for it. Chairman Moroney responded that there were none at this point except to get it down to, or below, the rafters to get it to be useable, and to get the police department situated in their new space. She reiterated that there should be most of the insurance money to be used in it, as the money being used for the rental is that which had been put into the budget for benefits for the fireman position that did not pass. Selectman Strasser said he believes there will be about $50,000 available. He advised that he had suggested in emails to Ms. Moroney and Ms. Vecchio that they draw up a line item number for this project and make any transfers of what money there is, thereby getting all the money into one police/fire station account, and that they should have an amount next week. Chairman Moroney said there is some work to do to get the building ready to move into, and once that is done and the police are situated, they will have a better idea of what money there will be to work with. Selectman Strasser suggested that if Chief Duncan could get things torn apart as soon as possible after the police move out, it would give them a better chance at evaluating the needs.
At this point, Ms. Hogan re-presented the lease, and Selectman Strasser made a motion to sign the lease as amended. Chairman Moroney seconded, and the motion was passed unanimously.
Ms. Hogan was given the signed lease and two checks, one for the deposit and one for the first three months’ rent. The Board thanked Ms. Hogan for her hard work in getting this done so quickly.
Discussion then returned to mold inspection by the RPF Associates. Because testing could be inconclusive and the lack of guidelines and standards for mold problems, among other things, it was felt that spending money on such an inspection was unnecessary as it is known that there is a mold problem and it is further known that major work must be done to rectify it. Selectman Strasser made a motion that they not accept the RPF Associates offer and use the additional funds to replace more materials. Chairman Moroney seconded, and this motion was passed unanimously.
Chairman Moroney read the letter written to John D’Urso regarding the removal of a second trailer from his property on Little River Road which had been discussed the previous week. Chairman Moroney made a motion to sign and send the letter, Registered Mail, Return Receipt Requested, and Selectman Strasser seconded. The motion was passed unanimously.
The following documents were approved and signed.
Yield Tax Warrant – Corkery, Bayroot
Abatement – Burns
Abatement – Meyette
Abatement – Myette, Drummond, Palmer
Town Hall/School Street Use Permit – Permission granted and signed previous week,
second page needed signature.
Selectman Strasser brought up a draft letter from Bretton Woods regarding the property offer for a fire station sent to the Building Committee and John Gardiner sometime ago. He said a letter has to be sent back to say okay, but has not seen anything yet. Nothing had been brought up at the last meeting which was understandable as it was the emergency meeting for the police station. Chairman Moroney will check with Mr. Gardiner about this. According to Selectman Strasser, once the Committee responds, they will have their lawyers finalize it.
Selectman Strasser also brought up the organizational meeting they had and that they were to look into Selectmen duties – write down and decide who will do what, what has already been assigned, etc. He suggested as part of the organization structure, that he and Chairman Moroney write down the duties they now have and at the next meeting between themselves and Selectman Vecchio, have them assigned or reassigned (some are rotated and wouldn’t be part of this, such as the Planning Board).
Selectman Strasser also wants to go over the Comp time agreement to include all employees and also to include procedures for use and including in the policy manual. There are details he feels should be gone over and would like to do this at the next meeting.
Doug Bews asked if the AMC was to have filed their paperwork this month regarding their tax status in the town. Chairman Moroney stated that they have started and that Ron Cote from the State said we could request more information from them, as it is felt that they have submitted only the bare necessities, and that the financials are not really satisfactory. Selectman Strasser said they are setting up a difficult case for us this year and just wants the people to know. Mr. Bews said the contract is over and they can’t just extend it without the other party. There is a time line for submitting materials and as this has not happened Selectman Strasser wanted it noted that as of this date, (April 30, 2007) we have not received all of the information from AMC. It was pointed out by Selectman Strasser, that at the beginning of this, Avitar, the appraisal company for the Town of Carroll at the time, did not do the type of appraisal they had been requested to do and it hurt the town. A number of issues were brought up regarding what is going on including that they sell alcoholic beverages and this is not allowed of charitable organizations, as well as their being designated an educational facility and while true in part, does not describe the majority of their activity. It was also noted that while they were collecting Rooms & Meals Taxes, they were not sending them to the State. Selectman Strasser sent a letter to Representative King about this, and they will now apparently be doing so. Additionally, it was stated that they are now receiving more for their rooms (or at least a portion of them) than the local motels, and it was initially part of the argument that they were not to be in competition with them. General consensus was that “light should be shed” on these aspects of AMC behavior. The Selectmen advised that the matter is being handled by Town Counsel.
Dale Shakespeare reported on the seven town consortium with Time Warner. Through the years there have been agreements with various companies including Grassroots, Adelphia and now Time Warner. At this time, they are unable to locate the transfer from Grassroots to Adelphia, leaving a gap at 2004 to 2005, which they need to find out about. The Selectmen said Mr. Shakespeare may need to speak to Town Counsel, Bernie Waugh about it. Selectman Strasser made a motion to authorize Dale Shakespeare to speak with Town Counsel. Chairman Moroney seconded, and the motion was passed unanimously.
Tom Gately asked about the Naturally New Hampshire property. He was advised that the Building Inspector, Stan Borkowski, had inspected the property and that he had followed up on this with a letter to Mrs. Fekay. He is awaiting a response.
Selectman Strasser reported having a meeting with Mr. Borkowski and the ISO people in Bethlehem on enforcement. At this point, we are at an ISO 9 rating. This all hinges on the State Building Code, which according to Mr. Strasser is two to three years behind, and that we cannot get a lower rating because of the age of the state code.
Selectman Strasser also reported attending a County meeting with the Legislators in Lancaster. The main reason for this meeting was wanting to find ways to save money. The average income per year in this County is $29,000. A number of subjects were covered including the two nursing homes, the need for more jail space, the fact that the State Retirement System is very deeply in debt, and view taxes.
Evan Karpf noted that all the code books have been received by the Town and are in the Office.
John Foster asked that the matter of the Deed be tabled until next week. He had not seen a copy prior to tonight’s meeting and needs time to take it to a surveyor for review as he has some points that don’t agree. Selectman Strasser made a motion to table it and Chairman Moroney seconded. The motion was passed unanimously.
Chief Duncan reported that he had spoken with the owner of the property adjacent to the fire station and received permission to cut some trees and do some grading for better drainage. He had a copy of an email which he handed to the Board for the record. As had been voted at the previous meeting, now that permission has been received Chief Duncan will contact Butch Garneau about doing the work.
Mr. Shakespeare wanted to share a point of information, that when a business changes hands, if there is a negative unemployment balance, the state does not collect from the former owner, it collects from the new owner. Selectman Strasser said this is where state law must be changed.
Bill Dowling had a request to purchase a used oil filter crusher. He received two prices, one from NAPA for $4,533.45 and one from NewPig Corp. for $5,572.00. NAPA’s price includes shipping while the other will add shipping to the cost. Mr. Dowling said there are several other companies from the South, the Midwest and West. Chairman Moroney asked if the NAPA price would be covered by his budget and he said it would. He advised the Board that he will be getting $2,500.00 grant money back from the State from the Used Oil Program, so the actual cost will be $2,033.45, and it will take about a year and a half to get it the money back. Chairman Moroney made a motion to give Bill permission to purchase the crusher from NAPA. Selectman Strasser seconded, and the motion was passed unanimously.
Mr. Dowling also brought up for the Board to think about adopting a “no picking” policy at the Transfer Station. If a town department (or anyone else) needs a piece of pipe or something “here or there” he has no problem with it, it’s people taking large amounts of items that he can make revenue on for the Town. Chairman Moroney asked him if he could write something up for the Board to go over when Selectman Vecchio returns, so she can be included in it.
With regard to testing the wells, Mr. Dowling reported that the new company had two people doing it and that they had done a very thorough job.
Kathy Saffian asked if anything was being done about the Memorial Day Parade – it’s not too far away. She commended John Gardiner on the job he had done for the past number of years and just wanted to be sure the effort is not lost as Mr. Gardiner is no longer the Chief of Police (he stepped into the breach and brought it back 20 years ago she said, and she would hate to lose it now). Mrs. Saffian offered whatever help she might give. Chairman Moroney said it will continue and Selectman Strasser concurred.
The following documents were approved and signed at this time.
Oath of Office, Cemetery Trustee – Pat Martin
Yield Tax – Rumford Paper
Intent to Cut – Rines, Camara
The Selectmen’s Office received a telephone call from Sheila in the Superintendent’s Office inquiring if the Town of Carroll would be interested in joining a group in seeking a bid for oil for next season. The thought is that it might be substantially less expensive if it could be purchased in bulk. Little information is available at this time – we know that it will be from Pittsburg to Woodsville and include several school districts and all of their towns, and one vendor will be chosen. Sheila said she needs to hear from us tomorrow, having only heard of this today herself. According to what she has been told, if you express an interest in it, you will be making a commitment. Ms. Kraabel forwarded Sheila an estimate of what the Town uses for oil and propane. Billy Rines asked about maintenance, should the Town decide to give this a try. He said it may not be worth it if we can’t get anyone to come—many companies won’t do the service if the oil is not bought from them. In the end, it was asked to try to get more information as there seem to be too many unknowns. If we cannot get additional information, then the Board will wait and see how it works in the first year. If there is more information to bring before the next meeting, they will discuss it further.
At 8:10 PM, as there was no additional business, Chairman Moroney moved to go into executive session regarding town aid. This was seconded by Selectman Strasser. The board was polled, and went into executive session.
At the close of executive session, Chairman Moroney made a motion to return to public session and seal the minutes from executive session; Selectman Strasser seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
Memorial Day Parade plans were discussed and Chairman Moroney and Selectman Strasser will split the duties. Maryclare was asked to check with Mr. Rines on Tuesday about flags so they may be ordered as needed. Chairman Moroney said they will be seeking guidelines from people who have been previously involved.
There being no further business, Chairman Moroney declared the meeting ended at 9:00 p.m.