TOWN OF
Selectmen present:
Chip Albee, Susan Weeks and Bill Stockman.
Selectmen reviewed mail, which included: Building Permits for Lance Williams, Fenton Varney, Dave Adams; Copy of letter to Holmes; Memo from Code Officer re: electric & plumbing permit charges; Environmental Site Assessment on Dearborn property from H. E. Bergeron (2); Town & City (3); Property Transfer from Lake Cottage Trust to Share B of the JWM Generations Trust; Approved subdivision plan for Mary Smith; Approved Boundary Line Adjustment for Corky & Betsy Newcomb; Letter from Attorney McLetchie re: Grady; Notice of ZBA Public Hearing re: Melvin Village Marina; Notice of Voluntary Merger for Dawson; Notice of Moultonborough ZBA Public Hearing on 9/20/06; Letter from NRRA re: changes; UNH News & Views; Permit By Notification for David Lee; Police & Code Officer fuel usage for August; Fire Dept. fuel usage for July; Standard Dredge & Fill Application for Steele; Superior Court Order of Notice re: Tucker; Confirmation of Meeting on 9/20 with Ed Bergeron; BudCom meeting notice on 9/26; Info re: bond rates; Memo re: website request from Conservation Commission; Memo from Town Clerk re: update on State MV system switch; Property Transfer from Stephens to Turner 1031 Titleholder LLC.
Items for Signature: Professional Services Agreement for Town Administrator; Notice of Guaranty of Performance Assurance for Zadeda.
Correspondence Folder: Copies of letters to Wakefield Selectmen, Dawn Evans; Letter from Milton Page.
Budgets: Code Officer
To Do Folder: Website Survey; Sales Survey;
At approximately 9:00 Chairman Albee called the meeting to order. The first order of business was review of the minutes. Chairman Albee made a minor change and Selectman Weeks made a spelling correction to the minutes of 9/11. Selectman Weeks made a motion to accept the minutes as corrected. Seconded by Selectman Stockman with all in favor. The first non-public meeting minutes were reviewed next. Chairman Albee made a minor correction. Selectman Weeks made a motion to accept the minutes as corrected. Seconded by Selectman Stockman with all in favor. Selectman Weeks made a motion to accept the second non-public minutes as written. Seconded by Selectman Stockman with all in favor.
At approximately 9:05 Selectmen met with Anne Getchell and Sue Woolard of USDA Rural Development. Ms. Woolard explained that Rural Development has a Community Facility Program that would be able to fund the projects for the library and public safety building. It could be funded separately or together. Ms. Woolard suggested splitting the projects so that the projects could be paid off at different times if necessary (as an example – the library could receive a large donation). The town meets the population requirement of 20,000 residents or less. The funding could be used for construction, renovation or purchase of property. There would be 100% financing and no application fees. It would consist of a general obligation bond for 20-30 years with no prepay penalties. The interest rate is fixed once a commitment is made. The current interest rate is 4.5%. A commitment would be made with a positive bond vote at town meeting. The closing would take place at the time of substantial completion of the project. The construction would have to be financed – a # of banks have done this type of bridge financing. The big advantage of going through Rural Development is that the loan can be prepaid. Ms. Woolard went over a checklist of what the town would be required to provide and advised that none of the requirements would slow the project down. In regards to an inquiry about grants, Ms. Woolard stated that there is very little grant money available – only $58,000 for the whole state for 2006 – but it could be used for equipment such as shelving, desks, computers, etc. An application package was left with the Selectmen. Ms. Woolard said that this is the time to get Rural Development involved if the Selectmen intended to work with them.
Chairman Albee made several announcements:
The Selectmen reviewed the Professional Services Agreement provided by MRI for the Town Administrator. Chairman Albee made a motion to sign the agreement with MRI. Seconded by Selectman Weeks with all in favor. The Selectmen said the first step is to have the Town Administrator meet with personnel and develop a job description.
The Selectmen reviewed and signed the Notice of Guaranty of Performance Assurance for the Zadeda Farms subdivision.
The Selectmen approved having Lisa Herder create a website page for the Conservation Commission. She will do it on her own time at an agreed-upon hourly rate. Estimated time is about 2 hours.
At approximately 10:05 Selectmen met with Fire Chief Adam Thompson. Chief Thompson presented his concerns with the proposed safety building designs as submitted by the architect last week. He also provided some helpful information on getting started on building a new fire station. Some discussion ensued about the new building and the Chiefs concerns. The Selectmen asked if any vehicles could be eliminated and do we currently have the right types of vehicles. Now would be the time to make sure we have the right equipment. Chairman Albee asked Chief Thompson to look at the age of the major apparatus and project future needs since the town proposes going through major budget funding. Chief Thompson said he was currently doing an assessment and was looking to move to all diesel vehicles.
Chief Thompson reported 145 fire, 119 medical and 46 service calls; oil burner inspections – 26, gas – 7 and woodstoves – 4. The Selectmen advised Chief Thompson to schedule a non-public session in the next couple of weeks to discuss salaries.
In response to it being mentioned previously Chief Thompson reported that the town does have a Dun number, as he has needed one for federal grants. The Chief said he is currently working with the state regarding federal funding for emergency management. The Selectmen and Chief Thompson discussed the options for the location of the safety building. The Selectmen felt the site should be determined before determining square footage. The Selectmen also mentioned that they would need to see the cost of the new library before deciding on a new building or a renovation.
Selectman Weeks reported on the school withdrawal study. The
chairman of the withdrawal study committee reported that
Chairman Albee reported that the environmental study done by
H. E. Bergeron on the
The Selectmen agreed to hire Keith McBey of Bonnette, Page and Stone to act as construction manager for the building project. Selectman Weeks made a motion to hire Bonnette, Page and Stone for a sum of $5000 to oversee the project from today to a vote at town meeting. Seconded by Selectman Stockman with all in favor.
The Selectmen discussed the sign for the Transfer Station. Selectman Weeks had a picture of the current sign for review. Joe Kowalski will provide his pictures of other Transfer Station signs. The Selectmen also have to determine where the gate should go.
Joe Kowalski reported that he had called Waste Management about the current contract, which expires in 2007. He left a message with Tim Donovan to call the Administrative Assistant.
Selectman Weeks will contact Town Counsel regarding the letter from Attorney McLetchie regarding the Grady property.
The Budget Committee has scheduled their first meeting on 9/26 at 6 pm at the town office.
The town clerk has advised the Selectmen that she is switching to the state motor vehicle system hopefully by the first week in October.
The Selectmen again brought up the options given to them last week by architect Mo Gagnon. Selectman Weeks advised she also wants to look at the utilization of the town office building. The Town Administrator needs space as once the job is in place they would need to have a presence. The Selectmen felt they needed to look at all of the town buildings.
The Planning Board is meeting on Friday at 2:30 to work on the Master Plan with Joanna Whitcomb.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:10.
Respectfully Submitted,
Carolyn Sundquist
Administrative Assistant