TOWN OF TUFTONBORO
Selectmen present:
Chip Albee, Susan Weeks and Bill Stockman.
Selectmen reviewed mail, which included: Building Permits for; Property Transfer from Tucci to Deshaies; NH DRA re: 2006 tax rate; Letter from Attorney Varney re: Marriott cemetery; Memos from Administrative Assistant re: Electric meters at transfer station, Cost of health and dental insurance for 2007, replacement of breezeway doors, Munismart response to budget question; Thank you letter from American Legion – Harriman-Hale Post; Letter from NH Dept. of Safety re: boat registration; letter from Library trustees re: public safety building project; Wetlands & Non-site Specific Permit for David Ladd, Barton Carlson; Request from Conservation Commission re: NH Climate Change Resolution; LGC Slice of Life.
Items for Signature: Right of Burial for Muise; Intent to Cut for Krey (2); Letter Agreement from H. E. Bergeron re: Transfer Statement; 2006 Tax Warrant.
At approximately 9:00 Chairman Albee called the meeting to order. The first order of business was review of the 10/23/06 minutes. Selectman Weeks and Town Administrator Jeanie Forrester recommended several changes. Selectman Stockman then made a motion to accept the minutes as amended. Seconded by Selectman Weeks with all in favor.
Selectman Stockman reported that there is some concern with the letter recently sent to all boat owners by the NH Department of Safety regarding registration money. Many towns receive substantial revenue from boat registrations if boat agents in the town itself handle it. Any registration done through the state says with the state. For the Town of Tuftonboro it amounts to approximately $30,000 per year. The Selectmen want this issue brought to our state representatives. Selectman Stockman will follow up.
The Town Administrator reported:
The Selectmen approved and signed the following:
Code Officer Jack Parsons gave his report on 2006 permits issued (2005 in parentheses):
The junk cars at Hidden Valley should be cleaned up shortly. Mr. Parsons has been working closely with the property owner and everything will be moved to his Leavitt Lane property. The building is to be built in the spring; the owner currently has all the materials to build the structure. The owner was informed that everything must be inside the building. Mr. Parsons has been looking into options for junk car removal for other property owners.
Fire Chief Adam Thompson reported 175 fire, 138 medical and 51 service calls to date. There has been 29 oil and 14 gas burner inspections and 7 woodstoves inspected. Chief Thompson and Lieutenant Pike have attended training over the last 3 weeks. Lieutenant Pike has now completed all required classes. Firefighters Hopkins and Greenwood are now certified as 1st Responders. Currently 18 members of the department are medically certified. Re-certification of members took place at Tuftonboro School recently. The state has completed the apparatus inspections and found the following:
Boat 1 will be taken to Eastern boat for inspection. The engine seems to have lost power.
The Marriott family has approached the department and offered to purchase a replacement vehicle for the 1977 and 1982 vehicles if the town agrees to keep the Mirror Lake station open for the lifetime of the new vehicle (about 15 years). The department had been looking to replace these vehicles. The Selectmen asked for something in writing from the Marriott’s as soon as possible. Selectmen asked Chief Thompson to sit with the Town Administrator to determine the cost to maintain that station. The Marriott’s do not expect the station to be manned.
Chief Thompson asked if the Dearborn property could be used for training. The Selectmen and Chief will do a site visit after the meeting.
Chairman Albee stated that any time off needs to be more organized. Last week Chief Thompson and Chief Shagoury were out of town at the same time.
At approximately 9:35 Selectmen met with Gerry Holmberg regarding his building permit application for a barn. The Selectmen were concerned about the use of the structure and wanted the use stated on the permit. He said he was creating an asset for a future sale and it would be for personal use and not commercial. The Selectmen signed off on the building permit.
At approximately 9:40 Selectmen met with Jay Poulin and Joe Klememtovich from H. E. Bergeron to begin the discussion on the next phase of the transfer station recycling renovation. The estimated cost on the Letter Agreement was discussed. Mr. Poulin said that it was just an estimate and that the charges would be billed on an hourly basis so that it may very well be under the estimate. The project is unknown at this time and this phase is to determine the details in order to come up with a plan. The Selectmen approved and Chairman Albee signed the Letter Agreement. Mr. Poulin took one copy with him. The Selectmen told Mr. Poulin that the plan needs to be done quickly for budget purposes. It is scheduled to be presented to the Budget Committee on 12/19/06. Discussion ensued regarding what the selectmen were looking to do at the facility. The paving will be part of the paving budget and Mr. Poulin said he would provide the road agent with the square footage so he can get an estimate on cost. Selectman Weeks suggested visiting other facilities to see how they handle recycling. Scott Greenwood said the recycling windows, which the selectmen were discussing, in Wolfeboro did not work well. Mr. Poulin said he was not aware of any heated buildings with windows. Joe Kowalski said that he and the transfer station personnel felt that windows were not a viable option at this point. The current system was working well. The Selectmen said the issue is to encourage more recycling. The public needs more protection from the weather as they transfer recyclables. The current door is too small; the end of the building rather than the side of the building seems like a safer location for the traffic flow. Perhaps multiple doors with automatic open-close could be installed. Chairman Albee said the Selectmen need to set goals and get a policy. A meeting was scheduled with Jay Poulin, the Selectmen and transfer station personnel for Wednesday November 8th at 9:30 at the Transfer Station.
Selectman Weeks submitted the proposed new sign for the facility. It has a different format from the current sign. The Selectmen suggested and it was agreed to change the hours to 8 am to 4 pm for all days the station was open (Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday). The new sign was approved and will be ordered from NH the Beautiful.
At approximately 10:25 Selectmen met with Mo Gagnon and Keith McBey. Mr. Gagnon presented the 2 options for the public safety building as requested by the Selectmen. Option 1 had the FD on the Dearborn property and an expansion and renovation of the PD at the town office. Option 3 has the FD and PD in the safety building on the Dearborn property. Mr. Gagnon said that keeping the building at the front of the site would keep the cost down and the building would have to be two stories because of the site. The total height of the building would be 40 feet with a 10-12 foot roof. The PD would occupy the 1st floor, the FD would be on the 2nd floor over the bays and the 2nd floor area over the PD would be common area. The Selectmen approved Option 3 in which the FD and PD would be together in the safety building on the Dearborn lot. Chairman Albee said he would like to see a few more options in the design. Site work will be coordinated with Ed Bergeron of HEB. A meeting was scheduled with the Police and Fire Chiefs for Monday November 6th at 10 am at the town office.
At approximately 10:55 Selectmen met with Police Chief Shagoury to discuss authorizing a grant application for cross agency data sharing. In order to be able to access the data the department would need another IMC module and a fixed IP address. The PD would be able to access other agency databases and they would have access to Tuftonboro’s. The yearly ongoing charges would be $1000 for software maintenance and a monthly fee for the IP address. The Memo of Understanding would have to be signed today as the grant application is due by 11/3/06 and is being handled by the Antrim Police Department. Chairman Albee was not in favor if there was any significant impact on the budget. He thought that fiscal impact studies should be included with these types of requests. Selectman Weeks asked if this was something we need. Chief Shagoury replied that it was. Selectman Weeks made a motion to sign the Memo of Understanding. Seconded by Selectman Stockman. Selectmen Weeks and Stockman voted in favor.
Selectman Weeks reported that she and Selectman Stockman visited the Tucker property last week and also viewed the neighboring properties. They both agreed the Tuckers had a legitimate concern with their assessment being out of proportion with their neighbors but that it was not right to lower the assessment below what they paid. After speaking to Loren Martin at Avitar it was determined the abutting lots were assessed too low. After much discussion the Selectmen agreed to lower the Tucker assessment by $120,000. The plus factors for both the site and beach were lowered from +25 to +15. The Selectmen disagreed on raising the assessments for the Jean and Baerenklau properties at this time. Selectman Weeks felt that by not changing them the Tucker property was still out of proportion to their two neighbors. Selectman Weeks made a motion to adjust the Tucker’s value by $120,000. Seconded by Chairman Albee with all in favor. The Selectmen will have further discussion on the other 2 properties next week.
Chairman Albee said that he agreed the cost for the Lang Pond Road Permit by Notification work done by H. E. Bergeron should come out of the Docks & Bridges budget.
Chairman Albee will follow up with town counsel regarding the Marriott family private burial ground on their property. He wants to make sure they go through the proper steps.
Chairman Albee will follow up on the replacement of the breezeway doors.
The electric meters at the transfer station that have only used 2 kwh in the past 2 years will be discussed at the meeting next week at the transfer station.
The Selectmen were generally in favor of the NH Climate Change Resolution. Selectman Weeks had a problem with the last paragraph. The Selectmen will prepare a statement for the town warrant.
Chairman Albee reported that the cost for employee health benefits would rise in 2007 by 12.5% for employees and 16.3% for retirees. There was no change to dental benefit costs.
The road striping has been completed.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:35
Respectfully Submitted,
Administrative Assistant