TOWN OF TUFTONBORO

MEETING OF THE SELECTMEN

Monday February 23, 2004

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*Accepted* 3-1-04 CORRECTIONS IN BOLD

Selectmen present: Rick Chellman, Susan Weeks and Bill Stockman.

Selectmen reviewed mail, which included: Building Permits for Bruce Campagna (2); Memo re: audit scheduled for 3/15; Property Transfer from Merrimack College to Scott Urquhaut, Leo G. Schofield to John H. & Debra R. Bolles; Approval for Operation for Brenda/Robert Whitten II; Approval for Construction for Robert Chalmers, Leander/Rosaline Minnerly, Bruce Campagna; Notice of price increase from Pike Industries; Boundary Line Adjustment for Heffernan and Bentley; DOT letter re: County Road Bridge; ZBA Notice of Public Hearing re: Walker; Coalition Communities; CEI Environmental Edge; Health Resources; Legislative Bulletin #8; Full Circle; Tri-County CAP request for support re: dental clinic; Business Review; Ray Burton report #1; Memo re: DRA approval of budget and warrant.

Items for Signature: Dufresne-Henry – Tuftonboro Landfill Closure Supplemental Agreement #3; Dufresne-Henry – Final Payment Application for Northeast Earth Mechanics; Dufresne-Henry – Balancing Change Order; Acknowledgement re: boundary line adjustment for Heffernan and Bentley; Letter to DOT re: County Road Bridge.

Minutes: The Selectmen’s meeting minutes for 2-17-04 were accepted as corrected.

At approximately 6:30, the Selectmen met with Town Moderator Dan Barnard to review the proposed warrant articles in preparation for town meeting. Mr. Barnard reported that in checking the RSA’s he found that the swearing in of all elected candidates should be done after a three-day waiting period. He will continue to check into this further but proposes doing the swearing in at the end of the meeting. Mr. Barnard questioned a couple of the articles, which were explained by the Selectmen. The Selectmen will decide on Election Day who will speak to which article. Mr. Barnard will look into improving the sound system for Town Meeting, possibly increasing the number of microphones.

Selectman Weeks advised that the architect said the renovation project for the Town House should be ready to go out to bid in one to two weeks after Town Meeting.

The Selectmen thanked Mr. Barnard for his time.

AT approximately 6:40, the Selectmen met with Fire Chief Adam Thompson and Tuftonboro Firefighter Association President Lloyd Wood. Mr. Wood stated that the Association will start its budget process soon and will need an owner index from the Town. The Association is looking at several smaller items this year. Chief Thompson reported that the tracks for the ATV have been installed and the defibrillator has arrived. Both have been put to use already.

Chief Thompson questioned the status of the Brindlee Mountain contract. The Chief said that the truck could be delivered tomorrow if the contract is acceptable. Chairman Chellman stated that there are several minor changes to the wording. Chief Thompson said that Brindlee would accept the contract with the changes initialed. Selectman Stockman moved to enter into the fire truck lease agreement with Brindlee Mountain. Seconded by Selectman Weeks with all in favor. Chairman Chellman will fax the agreement with the changes to the Chief on Tuesday.

Chief Thompson reported that 4 members are scheduled for EMT training. This will mean that about three-quarters of the department will be certified EMT’s.

Calls to date – 31 fire, 15 medical and 3 service.

At approximately 6:55, the Selectmen met with Joe Kowalski. Mr. Kowalski was looking for clarification on the holiday pay policy, which states that all employees should get paid. This is not the case, as the Fire Chief and the Recycling Center Supervisor do not. There is also a discrepancy between the Police Department and the rest of the Town. Selectman Weeks stated that the Police have their own policy. Mr. Kowalski expressed the opinion that the policy needs clarification because not everyone is treated the same. Selectman Weeks said that each department has a different schedule and that salaried people are treated differently. Chairman Chellman said that the concept of fairness is valid. Selectman Stockman stated that anyone not working the holiday could take another day off.

Mr. Kowalski also wanted to mention the gap in the vacation schedule and the formula for accruing days. He stated that the formula is not a standard rate. Mr. Kowalski just wanted to bring these issues to the attention of the Selectmen. The Selectmen thanked Mr. Kowalski for his time.

Chairman Chellman has discussed the Waste Management contract with Town Counsel. Selectman Weeks met with Joe Kowalski last week and went over the WM contract in detail and compared it with the proposal from Casella Waste Management. Proposed changes were noted. Copies of the changes were given to the other Selectmen. Selectman Weeks said that when the two companies were compared there was very little difference in cost.

Mr. Kowalski proposed changes to the fee schedule to charge for propane tanks. It costs from $1.00 to $5.00 per tank to dispose of them. The larger tanks cost $30.00. Selectmen were not in favor of charging for the smaller tanks but would be in favor of charging $30.00 for the larger tanks. Fred Sargent said that there are people willing to pay to dispose of the large tanks but he would not accept the money unless everyone is required to pay. Chairman Chellman stated that he would rather have the Transfer Station accept everything in order to keep these items from being dumped in the woods. The disposal of fluorescent bulbs was discussed.

Signs will be posted at the Transfer Station to enforce the use of permits.

The Selectmen discussed the holiday schedule for the current year for the Transfer Station. The holiday closings are different from the Town Office due to different work schedules.

Chairman Chellman will talk to Tom Sweeney before signing any of the Dufresne-Henry papers.

Selectmen signed the letter to DOT regarding County Road Bridge.

Selectmen signed the acknowledgement to the Planning Board re: Heffernan/Bentley.

Selectman Weeks spoke regarding some of the publicity in the papers lately and wanted to take this opportunity to clarify several issues:

• The Highway Department (4312) has been level funded for the past two years. This year it was increased by $20,000.00 to perform new work. It is the Road Agents job to maintain the roads and keep within the budget. The rate when using the town truck is $25.00 per hour not $50.00.
• The Budget Committee did a great job this year and her comments were taken out of context. The Committee went over the budget line by line, there were no hidden appropriations. The Selectmen have more involvement in all phases of the process so are better able to speak on the different issues.
• The insurance allegations are totally false. Bill Antonucci did not handle the Town’s insurance. Tina Antonucci was the Town’s contact at D. B. Warlock. It was noted that the municipal trusts have only become more desirable since 9/11 when the insurance spiked dramatically.

Selectman Weeks said that the compactor bids will be discussed next Monday night.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:10 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,

Carolyn Sundquist

Administrative Assistant