Town of Tuftonboro

Meeting of the Selectmen

Monday, April 16, 2007

 

 

*Accepted* 4.23.07

 

Selectmen present:  Susan Weeks, Bill Stockman, Dan Duffy

 

Selectmen reviewed mail, which included: Building Permits for Bob Butler, Gary & Glenda Philrin; Memo from Heather Cubeddu re: Joint Loss Safety Committee meeting; DES Dredge & Fill Application for Beane; Approval for Construction for Jeff Bailey, CHA Realty Trust, Craig/Susan Dreyer, DQ Revocable Trust; Coalition Communities emails (2 dated 4.11. 07, 2 dated 4.12.07); NHDE letter re: Gregory & Barbara Jones; letter from L.A. Drew Inc; New Katahdin Village map.

 

Items for Signature:  Current Use Application for Stockman; Transfer Station Agreement for William Allen; Excavation Tax Levy for Carleton, Hammer, M.J. Sargent, F. Sargent, Bean; and Timber Tax Levy for Krey (4), Perkins, Hersey; Inventory of Taxable Property, Notice of Appointment of Officer – John Widmer, Treasurer.

 

At approximately 4:30 p.m. Selectman Weeks called the meeting to order and immediately made a motion to go into a non-public session per RSA 91-A:3, II(c) to discuss a welfare case.  The motion was seconded Bill Stockman.  A roll call vote was taken, Chairman Weeks – yes, Selectman Stockman – yes, and Selectman Duffy – yes.

 

The Selectmen came out of non-public at approximately 4:42 p.m. Chairman Weeks made a motion to seal the minutes indefinitely, the motion was seconded by Selectman Stockman, with all in favor.  The Selectmen agreed to grant the request for welfare assistance.

 

The Selectmen reviewed the 9.14.04 minutes which were submitted to them on 4.9.07 from Jon Beaulieu requesting corrections.  Chairman Weeks noted the corrections.  Selectman Stockman made a motion to accept the minutes as corrected.  The motion was seconded by Chairman Weeks, with all in favor.

 

Minutes from the Board & Committee Workshop on March 29 were reviewed and corrections made.  Chairman Weeks made a motion to accept the minutes as corrected, seconded by Selectman Stockman, with all in favor.

 

Minutes from April 9 Board of Selectmen’s meeting were reviewed and corrections made.  Selectman Stockman made a motion to accept the minutes as corrected, seconded by Selectman Duffy, with all in favor.

 

The sealed non-public #1 minutes from April 9 were reviewed.  A motion to accept the minutes was made by Selectman Stockman, seconded by Selectman Duffy, with all in favor.

 

The non-public #2 minutes from April 9 were reviewed and corrections made.  Chairman Weeks made a motion accept the minutes with corrections, seconded by Selectman Stockman, with all in favor.

 

It was noted that the non-public # 3 minutes submitted by Carolyn Sundquist were not required as the Selectmen did not go into a non-public session.  These minutes are incorporated in the body of the public minutes of April 9.

 

The minutes of the April 12 Selectmen’s work session were reviewed.  Selectman Stockman made a motion to accept the minutes, seconded by Chairman Weeks, with all in favor.

 

Chairman Weeks briefly discussed the April 12 meeting.  Selectman Stockman and Weeks met with Susan McKenna at 5 p.m. to discuss the Treasurer position.  Jack Widmer had also expressed an interest in the position.  The Selectmen decided to offer the position to Mr. Widmer.  Mr. Widmer will serve until March, when a new Treasurer will be elected.  At 5:30 p.m. the Selectmen met to review applications for candidates for Carolyn Sundquist’s position.  The Selectmen voted to make an offer to an applicant.  The applicant was contacted on Thursday evening and accepted the position on Sunday, April 15.   The new administrative assistant, Kathy Pounder, will begin on May 9. In meantime, the Town Administrator will work with Carolyn Sundquist to ensure a smooth transition.

 

Selectman Duffy commented that he felt badly that Carolyn had resigned.  He felt that she was a quality person who got a bad deal. He has received comments from the public and feels that she was forced out because of the prior administration. 

 

Chairman Weeks noted that she and Selectman Stockman had also discussed the Wolfeboro sewage disposal project during the April 12 meeting.  The Selectmen have scheduled a meeting on Tuesday, May 1st at 7 p.m. to hear a presentation from Wolfeboro on this project.  The meeting will be at the Tuftonboro school cafeteria, and will include two Wolfeboro selectmen, the town engineer, and an engineer from Wright Peirce.  Chairman Weeks noted that the Tuftonboro Association and the Conservation Commission are getting feedback so that everyone’s concerns are addressed.  John Sims had advised that there will also be representatives from the NH Department of Environmental Services.

 

The Town Administrator gave the following report:

  • Selectmen were sent the updated pending list and calendar last Thursday.
  • A follow-up call to DRA was made to find out the status of the MRI assessing contract.  John McSorley advised that DRA had made some recommendations and would be forwarding to the Town shortly.
  • A follow-up call was made to the NH Electric Cooperative to find out the status of the energy audit report and action to be taken on the electric meters.
  • Lloyd Wood has asked for a meeting with the Selectmen to review budget issues.  The meeting is scheduled for April 24th at 6 p.m.
  • It was confirmed that funding is available for the Safe Routes to School Program and John Corrigan from the NHDOT would like to schedule a meeting with the Selectmen.
  • A follow-up call to Ted Wright and the NH DES was made.  Per NH DES, they would like a letter in the next three days confirming that they will receive the proper documentation for the expansion of the Groundwater Management Zone within the next two months.
  • Forrester noted that Selectman Duffy is scheduled for the Local Government Center Workshop on May 22.  Forrester will attend the Saturday workshop in June.
  • Forrester noted that the Town continues to receive checks for the compost bins, however, the checks need to be returned and reissued to the Town, not the NRRA, since these checks were received after the deadline and payment has already been sent to the NRRA.

 

The Selectmen had a discussion about the lease agreement for the Code Enforcement Officer.  After further discussion with DRA, they advised that the Selectmen could enter into a lease arrangement for the Code Enforcement Officer’s vehicle.  The leasing of this vehicle is not in conflict with the Town Meeting vote against a new police vehicle/SUV.  The lease arrangement is not for the Police Department and it is not for an SUV.  The Selectmen also considered the option of giving the Code Enforcement Officer one of the Police Department’s cruisers, which would require removing the equipment.  Chairman Weeks explained that by doing this, it would affect the Chief’s ability to hire a 4th officer because they need to have the vehicle for that 4th officer. 

 

Selectman Duffy noted that some folks in town were of the opinion that the Selectmen were trying to do an “end around” them on the Town vote against the police vehicle.  Chairman Weeks explained that it was not an end around…the Code Enforcement Officer’s vehicle is no longer working and there are funds in his budget for vehicle expenses.  There was a brief discussion about staffing and vehicle requirements.   Selectman Stockman stated that he would like to replace the Code Officer’s non-working vehicle with the cruiser.  Selectman Duffy stated he saw both sides…he thought the lease arrangement was good, but he also thought taking one of the police cruisers was an option.  The Selectmen decided to do some further investigation on this and make a decision at next week’s meeting.

 

Chairman Weeks noted that there had been a meeting of the Joint Loss Safety Committee and also noted that they hadn’t been notified of the meeting.  Chip Albee had been the Selectmen’s representative for that committee.  Chairman Weeks asked Selectman Duffy if he would like to serve on that committee.  Selectman Duffy agreed and will try to coordinate his schedule to attend the next two meetings (June 11 and June 13).  There was a brief discussion about whether Joint Loss Safety Committee (JLSC) minutes should be posted on the website.  They agreed it would be a good idea.  Jeanie asked if the Selectmen would like a page on the website listing the JLSC committee members as well.  The Selectmen agreed.  Jeanie will ask Heather for minutes and get information for the web maintenance company to post on the site.

 

Chairman Weeks noted a letter from Wolfeboro Oil offering a fixed price for fuel for next winter, but there was no price mentioned.  Jeanie will follow-up.

 

Chairman noted other mail including a notice from the Local Government Center for the WalkNH project in May 2007, an education offering from the Local Government Center, a memo from the Coalition Communities, and a training program offered for Selectmen by Antioch NH Institute.  Chairman Weeks suggested the Selectmen review the training program materials and if interested in attending, notify Jeanie.

 

Chairman Weeks made a motion to move into non-public session at approximately 5:45 p.m. per RSA 91-A:3, II(a) regarding personnel issues.  The motion was seconded by Selectman Stockman.  Roll call:  Chairman Weeks – yes, Selectman Stockman – yes, Selectman Duffy – yes.

 

The Selectmen moved back into public session at approximately 6 p.m. and voted to seal the minutes on the non-public session indefinitely. 

 

The Selectmen agreed that a letter should be sent to the employee requesting a release of information before taking any action.

 

Selectman Duffy apologized to the Selectmen about his comments earlier regarding Carolyn Sundquist.  He explained that he wasn’t trying to embarrass anyone, but he had been getting feedback from the community and was asked to bring this issue up at the meeting.  He admitted that he didn’t know the facts of the situation but felt that Carolyn had been given a bad deal, commenting that she should have been notified of the non-public session about her.  Jeanie Forrester advised the Selectmen that the Local Government Center had confirmed that there was no requirement for the Selectmen to notify Carolyn of their meeting regarding her performance.  That would only be required statutorily or if required per the personnel policies.  The Selectmen noted that there were a lot of rumors going around about this situation that were not correct.  It was noted that it was not appropriate for the Selectmen to share with the public the facts of this situation and that they could not control rumors that have been generated by others.

 

There was a brief discussion about the office setup and communications with the staff.

 

There was a brief discussion about the Gould property.  The Town has been approached by someone wishing to rent it on a short-term basis.  The income could possibly off-set the purchase of a new furnace that is needed.  The Selectmen directed Jeanie to look into this.

 

The meeting adjourned 6:35 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Jeanie Forrester, Town Administrator

Town of Tuftonboro