TOWN OF TUFTONBORO
MEETING OF THE SELECTMEN
Monday May 1, 2006
*Accepted* 5-8-06 CORRECTIONS IN BOLD
Selectmen present: Chip Albee, Susan Weeks and Bill Stockman.
Selectmen reviewed mail, which included:
Building Permit for Bill Kaiser, D & S Builders LLC, Marilyn Barba;
Property Transfer from Donald & Cynthia Wright to Arthur Joubert Trust;
Standard Dredge & Fill for Jeffrey Knight; Notice of Strict Liability for
Museum Lodges re: oil discharge; Parks & Rec 4/6/06 meeting minutes and agenda for 5/4/06; Notice of ZBA
Hearing; Letter from Attorney Ryan re: Cheney title; Legislative Bulletin #19;
Transfer Station Project Field Report #4 & #5 and phone memo 4/24/06; Letter from
Wolfgang Kaiser re: assessment practices; Letter from David Dietz re: Cheney
easement; NHDRA official Notification of Total Equalized Valuations; Chamber
News; Memo re: Betsey Patten assistance to residents for Homeowners Property
Tax Relief on 5/15 and 6/15; NHCCM Community News; Memo re: total refunded to
date; Carroll County Annual Report and MS-42; Memo re: MRI;
Letter from Brian Lord re: Ambulance Contract.
Minutes:
The Selectmen’s meeting minutes of 4/24/06 were approved as corrected. The non-public
minutes of 4/24/06
were approved as written.
Items for Signature: Notice of Intent to Excavate for White;
Abatement for Phelps w/letter from Tax Collector; Intent to Cut for Hersey;
Timber Tax Levy for YMCA, Perkins; Abatements (8).
Chairman Albee called the meeting to order at 9:00 am.
The first order of business was review of the minutes. Chairman Albee
suggested a correction. Selectman Weeks made a motion to accept the minutes as
corrected. Seconded by Chairman Albee with all in favor. Selectman Weeks made a
motion to accept the non-public minutes as written. Seconded by Selectman
Stockman with all in favor.
At approximately 9:05
Selectmen met with Claude Roessiger. Mr. Roessiger said that he had an issue
with the speed limit on Ledge Hill Road,
which he thought was too low. The posted limit is 35 but he says that most people
do much more than the limit. Mr. Roessiger then produced a speeding ticket for
going 50 MPH and wanted to know what the
Selectmen were going to do about it. He also had an issue with the Police
Officer calling him by his first name and requested that the police officers
address people by their family name not by their first name. Chairman Albee
told Mr. Roessiger that there was nothing the Selectmen could do about the
ticket and that he should address his concerns to the Police Chief. Chief
Shagoury advised that all town roads are posted at 35 MPH
or in some cases lower.
At approximately 9:15
Selectmen met with Librarian Christie Sarles and Trustees Marsha Hunter and
Carolyn Sundquist. Ms. Sundquist reported she had walked the abutting property
with librarians Christie Sarles and Lindalee Lambert and architect Tom Wallace
to see if the property was suitable for a new library. Mr. Wallace had written
an opinion letter, which was handed to all the selectmen and basically said
that a library could be built on the property but that there would be no room
for future expansion and that the difference in cost should be considered. An
additional sheet drawn up by the librarians that listed pros and cons for each
site was also distributed. The Selectmen felt that the library should focus
just on library issues and not focus on money issues. Ms. Sarles said that the
intention was to put down all considerations for the library, which includes
cost. Ms. Hunter said they were also speaking as taxpayers. Ms. Sarles reported
she has contacted soil scientist Greg Howard to do the wetlands survey update
but he will not be able to get to it until the end of the month. Selectman
Weeks suggested getting in touch with White Mountain Survey to investigate the
likelihood of getting a wetlands permit. Ms. Sarles reported that she had
received an offer to help make a woodland garden behind the library, which
would include paths and gardens for public use. Chairman Albee announced that
the town hopes to purchase the Dearborn
property for the public safety building. Ms. Sarles suggested that the Dearborn
lot could be used for the new library. Selectman Weeks made a suggestion to put
a new library on the back of the current lot.
At approximately 9:40
Selectmen met with Police Chief Andy Shagoury. Chief Shagoury advised that he
thought 35 MPH was appropriate for Ledge
Hill Road referring back to Mr. Roessiger’s
comments. There is a lot of traffic on Ledge Hill and more cars are being
stopped. Selectman Weeks suggested borrowing Moultonborough’s speed display for
Route 171. Chief Shagoury reported on the formation of a drug task force. The
official announcement will be made next Monday. This is a collective agreement
between all law enforcement agencies in which resources would be collectively
pooled. One issue that was not clear is what the cost would be to the town.
Chairman Albee asked Chief Shagoury to try to get a feel for how it would
affect the budget and to see if there would be any liability concerns. Chairman
Albee also advised Chief Shagoury that in regard to Mr. Roessiger that there
should be a reasonable outcome and the Chief should enter the discussion
with an open mind. Chief Shagoury said he felt that some issues should have
been addressed to him first.
Tony Lyon reported that the Planning Board was hosting a
Public Forum on June 1st on the Master Plan. Anyone looking for
current information should access the link from the town’s website.
The Selectmen reviewed the recommendations by Avitar and
approved abatements for:
- McLaughlin 56-1-32
- Deambrose 14-3-41
- Robert
Smith Trust 32-2-10
- Beverly
Bruce Trust 17-1-3
- Plummer 70-1-31
The Selectmen reviewed the recommendations by Avitar and
denied abatements for:
- Quimby 51-3-2
- PAK
2000 40-4-7
- Ferland 15-3-36
The Selectmen approved and signed the following:
- Timber
Tax Levy for YMCA, Perkins
- Intent
to Cut for Hersey
- Abatement
for Phelps (Approved last week)
The Intent to Excavate for Alvin White was held for further
information.
At approximately 10:05
Andy Savage came in to talk to the Selectmen about the request to post a bond
on logging he was doing on Mountain Road.
The property had been sold but Mr. Savage said he retained the logging rights
to the property. He said that he had
complied with Dennis Thorell’s (Timber Tax Appraiser) request to file a Report
of Cut and a new Intent to Cut. Mr. Savage did have the timber tax payment with
him to give to the tax collector. Mr. Savage did not understand why the
selectmen were requiring him to pay for the estimated timber in advance. Mr.
Savage said that Mr. Thorell has known him for many years and will vouch for
him. The Selectmen said they would look into it and notify him of their
decision by the end of the week.
The Selectmen discussed the letter received from Brian Lord regarding
the ambulance contract. Mr. Lord confirmed that he would provide ambulance
coverage for the town until next March for the amount budgeted. A motion was
made by Selectman Stockman to award the ambulance contract to Lord Lakeside
Ambulance. Seconded by Selectman Weeks with all in favor.
The Selectmen have a tentative walk around the Transfer
Station scheduled for Thursday to look at traffic flow, discuss change orders
and plans for next year.
Selectman Stockman reported meeting with Cheryl Williams
regarding the dry hydrant on her property. She agreed to have it capped off at
ground level. Chief Thompson had advised Selectman Stockman that the department
still has the right to draw water from the pond in an emergency. Ms. Williams
had several additional issues that she discussed with Selectman Stockman. They
included the public safety building, residential zone changing into a
commercial zone, the proposed day care facility among others. The RSA
concerning water access to the pond will be researched. Selectman Weeks said
the selectmen need to try to resolve the issues with Ms. Williams to keep the
hydrant.
The public meeting was adjourned at 10:30.
At approximately 10:30
Selectman Weeks made a motion to go into non-public session pursuant to RSA
91-A: 3 II (b) to discuss personnel issues and RSA
91-A: 3 II (d) land acquisition. Chairman Albee seconded the motion. Roll call:
Chairman Albee – yes, Selectman Weeks – yes, Selectman Stockman – yes.
Respectfully Submitted,
Carolyn Sundquist
Administrative Assistant