TOWN OF TUFTONBORO

MEETING OF THE SELECTMEN

Monday December 12, 2005

*Accepted* 12-19-05 CORRECTIONS IN BOLD

Selectmen present: Bill Stockman, Chip Albee and Susan Weeks.

Selectmen reviewed mail, which included: Plumbing Permit for Wakstein & Robinson; Electrical Permits for Wakstein & Robinson, Peter Chapel, Victoria Kinnaman, Nicki Hunter, Hadley; Driveway Permits for Scott Thompson, Richard F. Roberts; Cease and Desist Notice for William L. Stockman; Request for Abatement from Dana DiFiore; Letters from Bert Poirier, Charles W. Hayes III re: property values and appraisals; Minutes of 12/5 Budget Committee Meeting; House Calendar for 12/1; Copy of letter from Budget Committee Chair to Edwin Garrett; Letter from Paul Zimmerman re: public safety building; Letter from Wolfgang Kaiser re: communication; Letter from Squam Lakes Science Center re: Ragged Island property; Notification of Final Tax Bill Mailed by Tax Collector; Notice of NRRA Conference; The Inner Chamber Newsletter; Letter from Plan NH re: design assistance; Executive Council Report from Councilor Burton and his schedule for 12/12 thru 12/17; Draft Conservation Easement Deed from Atty. Ryan; Notice from NH Dept. of Agriculture re: Mini-Grants; Notice from Adelphia Communications Corp. re: Bankruptcy; Standard Dredge and Fill Application for Richard & Marilyn Anderson; Information re: Local Government Center contacts; Copy of Complete Forestry Notification from NHDES re: Canaan Mountain Timber Harvest; Property Transfers from Herbert K. Brasseur and Evelyn Ernestine Brasseur Rev. Trust of 2001 to Pickering Place LLC, Kimberly A. Plante Living Rev. Trust of 2002 to Mary Hersey, Mary Hersey to Kimberly A. Plante Living Rev. Trust of 2002.

Minutes: The Selectmen’s meeting minutes of 12/05/05 were approved with corrections.

Items for Signature: Timber Tax Warrant for Richard Thompson; Abatement for Brian Hennessy, Guilford Ide, Peter Ladd, James Champagne, Greg Tierney, Dennis O’Brien, George Rapp; Supplemental Warrant for Alison Jones Revocable Trust; Application for Veterans Credit for Weisenburger (incomplete).

The meeting was called to order by Chairman Stockman at 3:00 PM. The Selectmen then met with Carol Opochinsky regarding drainage problems near her residence on County Road. Mrs. Opochinsky indicated that she had met with the Road Agent, Stephen Hunter, earlier in the day and was satisfied with the outcome of their discussion.

On another issue, Mrs. Opochinsky expressed her concern that she may not be getting town information, such as official notices, in a timely fashion. She lives in Canada during part of the year, so the mail sometimes takes a long time to reach her. She asked if there was another way to handle this issue, such as emailing her any information.

Selectman Weeks reminded Mrs. Opochinsky that the regulations for these issues are determined by the State and the Town must adhere to those regulations. She referred Mrs. Opochinsky to the town website, www.tuftonboro.org, to help her stay current on the issues facing the town and its boards. Selectman Weeks also suggested that Mrs. Opochinsky could contact the Town Office via email.

Selectman Weeks said that she was not optimistic about the different boards changing their procedures for the few people that are out of the country. Resident Tony Lyon suggested Mrs. Opochinsky subscribe to the online version of The Granite State News.

At approximately 3:10 PM, the Selectmen met with Fred Sargent regarding the Transfer Station. The Selectmen presented Mr. Sargent with his annual appraisal. They asked Mr. Sargent to wait until the end of the meeting to meet in executive session to discuss Transfer Station personnel issues. Mr. Sargent reported that he has purchased a chain saw for the Transfer Station.

At approximately 3:15 PM, Chuck Illig, a resident of Shirley Way, met with the Selectmen. He thanked the Selectmen for making the completion of the paving job on Shirley Way a priority. He is very happy with the finished product. Mr. Illig also thanked the Selectmen for being fiscally responsible. He was happily surprised by the fact that the tax rate has decreased and felt that it was due in part to the Selectmen’s efforts. He closed by saying that the Selectmen have kept Tuftonboro a good place to live.

The Selectmen have been working on the Cheney Farm conservation easement. Selectman Albee reported that they have been in contact with Attorney John Ryan. They now have a draft easement that they expect will be acceptable to both the federal government and the Town. Chairman Stockman said he would get a Conservation Plan from Wayne Cheney.

Selectman Albee announced that a Joint Loss Safety Committee Meeting would take place on Monday December 12th at 7:00 PM.

Resident John Simms asked the Selectmen how much the value of the Cheney Farm would be increased since last year. The Selectmen replied that either the Land Bank or the Conservation Commission would be working on this issue. The Land Bank has agreed to pay up to $1500.00 for the updated appraisal.

At approximately 3:35 PM, the Selectmen met with Code Enforcement Officer Ted Wright. Mr. Wright reported he has an estimate for repairs on the town vehicle he has been using. It will cost about $1,000 to fix. Mr. Wright noted that walk-ins have slowed down a bit, as is normal for the season.

The Selectmen and Mr. Wright then discussed his proposed 2006 Budget. He presented a budget with two possible scenarios: to keep the staffing the same as in 2005 or to move to a full-time Code Officer with benefits. Mr. Wright also proposed a change in the building permit fees due to the fact that the current fee structure may not fully pay for the cost of the Code Officer’s time. Mr. Wright closed by stating that so far his department generated more revenue than was anticipated for 2005.

The Selectmen presented Mr. Wright with his annual appraisal. They asked Mr. Wright to make the revisions to his budget, which they had discussed during the meeting. Mr. Wright agreed to have his budget ready the following morning so the Selectmen could present it at the Budget Committee meeting on December 13. The Selectmen advised Mr. Wright that if the Budget Committee had any questions, he could meet with the Budget Committee in January.

Resident John Simms asked Mr. Wright how the bird flu pandemic could potentially impact his role as Health Officer. Mr. Wright replied that Police and Fire Departments would be impacted more than Health Officers.

Chairman Stockman then began to discuss a Cease and Desist notice that was in the Selectmen’s mail. After some discussion, Selectmen Albee interjected that he felt it was not proper to bring this issue before the Board at this time. The Selectmen agreed and Chairman Stockman said he would discuss this issue with Mr. Wright during the Code Officer’s office hours.

The Selectmen then reviewed their mail, which included a copy of a letter sent by resident Bert Poirier to the BTLA. The Selectmen have not yet heard from the BTLA on this issue, so the Selectmen decided not to take any action at this time. All other letters were assessment related and the Selectmen will correspond as such.

The Selectmen then began to review the 2006 Budget for Patriotic, Direct Assistance and Health Agencies. They decided to keep Patriotic at $1,800. Direct Assistance was increased to $22,500, with some change in allocation of funds. Selectmen discussed the 2006 requests from Health Agencies and decided to increase the budget to $23,987, with $1,500 for Life Ministries.

Selectman Weeks announced that the Selectmen, Mr. Wright and an engineer would be walking some property that the Town might be interested in acquiring for a Public Safety Building on December 13 at 2:00 PM. Resident John Simms asked the Selectmen if they had plans to keep, or discontinue use of, the satellite stations once the Public Building was done. Selectman Weeks said she was sure there would be a lot of discussion about the plans in future meetings. She went on to say that the Board has agreed that the town needs new facilities, so that will probably change the purpose of the current stations. Mr. Simms asked if these discussions would take place prior to Town Meeting. Selectman Weeks said it would be discussed at the Budget Committee public hearing for the 2006 Town Budget.

At approximately 4:00 PM, the Selectmen met with Police Chief Shagoury. Chief Shagoury reported that the candidate for the Sergeant position has withdrawn from the process. However, there is another candidate for the position. The new candidate had applied for the position last year, but withdrew due to the possible changes to the 2005 benefits structure.

The Selectmen and Chief Shagoury then discussed his proposed 2006 Budget. Chief Shagoury reported that the increase in the Overtime budget is partly due to the fact that the Lakes Region Humane Society will be moving. Therefore, until the LRHS move is complete, Tuftonboro officers will have much further to travel with each animal. He is considering a Temporary Animal Control Officer in order to bridge this gap, as Tuftonboro Police handle approximately 160 animal calls per year, but is awaiting more detailed information from LRHS.

Chief Shagoury detailed the police software and computer budget, but cautioned that he was awaiting finalized bids from vendors. A discussion about the police pay structure also took place, with a draft version of a proposed grade/step chart as the basis. It was decided that the Police Budget would not be presented to the Budget Committee at the December 13 meeting, giving Chief Shagoury time to resolve the animal and computer questions.

Fred Sargent announced that he wanted to clarify the holiday closures for the Transfer Station. The Transfer Station will close at noon on Saturday, December 24.  It will also be closed on Sunday, December 25, and Sunday, January 1. A public notice will be placed in the newspaper.

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 4:35 PM.

Selectmen then met with Fred Sargent in Executive Session to discuss Transfer Station personnel issues.

Respectfully Submitted,

Lisa Herder

Administrative Office Assistant