Alexandria Board of Selectmen
July 12, 2007
Work Session: Came to order at 5:30 p.m. in order to discuss the engineering proposals received.
Discussion was held amongst the three selectmen
and the road agent with regard to the
presentations submitted by the engineering firms on the Washburn
Road Bridge. The scoring
sheet provided by the state was used and the results were as
follows:
Dubois & King: 100 points
Hoyle Tanner 99 points
H.E. Bergeron 98 points
CLD 85 points
The contract will be awarded to Dubois & King.
Deliberative Session:
Pledge of Allegiance was led by Jeff Cantara.
Distribution of Minutes: The minutes of June 28 were distributed for review.
Approval of Minutes: The minutes of May 31 and June 14 were approved.
Departments Heads:
A letter was submitted to be signed in response to Jim Fredericks. Don Gangemi stated that he also drafted a letter for Mr. Fredericks and one for Dean Benton. With regard to the Fredericks’ letter, it was determined that some portions of both letters would work better than either on its own. The two will be joined and submitted for signature next week. Jeff said that he hoped the letter would point out that Mr. Fredericks’ attitude at his meeting with the selectmen were inappropriate and rude. The letter is informing Mr. Fredericks that the repair fee will be waived as there was no clear intent to damage the road nor was there a time limit set by the road agent for the repair to be completed. The letter did, however, reference applicable RSAs with regard to damages to a public highway.
Cindy asked for a small amendment to the letter presented for Randy & Chris Rhude. The change was made and the letter signed.
Elderly exemptions were signed for Leon Sharp and George Whittaker.
A building permit was signed for Carl Pappe on Knowles Hill Road; a timber warrant was signed for Robert McGill; the selectmen signed a letter indicating they will be using inventory forms in 2008; a check was signed for postage for mortgagee lien notices and the selectmen signed a refusal of tax deed for the tax collector. The reason the selectmen are refusing the tax deeds is that some of the notices were not sent out in a timely fashion by the former tax collector. There are thirty parcels that cannot be deeded this year which would otherwise have been.
A purchase order was signed for Tenco for the purchase of a GPS receiver and other items. The GPS unit will be used to inventory culverts, measure roads, determine 911 numbers, etc. This device will allow the work to be done without having to leave the vehicle.
Police Chief Frank Hinkle read a letter from the Bristol Police Chief thanking Alexandria for their assistance in a recent incident. Alexandria secured the inner perimeter of the house until NH Special Ops arrived and then proceeded to assist with traffic and crowd control on the outer perimeter. Frank explained that one of his goals when he took the job in Alexandria was to reduce the need for state police response to the town. In the first six months of 2006, state police responded to 96 calls in Alexandria; in 2007 only 21. That’s an indication of the local department providing more service. He wrote a memo to the members of the department letting them know what a great job they have been doing---state police responses to Alexandria have been reduced by 78%; calls for service have increased by 21%; while calls for service have gone up, our property crime rate has remained the same. Property loss due to theft in 2006 was $8,970 in the first half; in 2007 it was $4,750 in the first half. Self-initiated, proactive actions for motor vehicle enforcement have increased from 4 in 2006 to 28 in 2007. The officers have all been fitted with new ballistic vests. All officers are now certified in CPR. The new cruiser is well on its way to being deployed. The ATV has been deployed. The department has had a significant reduction in the complaints on ATVs. The department has been the recipient of over $20,000 in grants; both equipment and cash. Frank said the thanks for that go to Cat White for pursuing these grants. Don Gangemi explained that it is very difficult to evaluate and measure law enforcement because how do you measure the things that didn’t happen because we had “feet on the beat”. The department is doing a great job.
George Whittaker: George received a storm and maintenance guide for landowners. It may be a source for him to find assistance in getting streams cleaned out. George is not sure if the state is going to be of any help, but he will follow up on this new information.
Follow Ups:
Bunk for Police Lock-up: At BPS; waiting for appointment for install.
Other Building Issues: BPS looking at
options for separating police reception from booking. 1-2-3
Lock & Key was here today to move the receiver for the panic
buttons. It was felt that the receiver
was getting too much interruption in communication in the utility
room. The key fobs for the pd are
still being worked on.
Flood Insurance: Christie was hoping to have the final approval this week, but it is not available as yet.
Old Business:
None
New Business:
Christie read a message from Maggie LaBerge. She asked for approval from the selectmen to establish a non profit organization for the purpose of raising funds to be a bandstand in back of the old town hall. The selectmen said that the town’s employer i.d. could not be used for this project. There would be no money coming neither directly to the town nor from the town. Cindy asked that Christie contact Maggie and say that the selectmen would like to see some plans before they approve it. Peg raised a concern about liability. Christie said people would be covered if they were recognized by the town as official volunteers. Christie also said that she suggested Maggie get in touch with officials in Hebron to determine how they went about the construction of their bandstand.
Land Use Forums: The planning board will be holding land use forums one hour prior to the regular planning board meetings on the 3rd Wednesday of each month beginning on July 18 at 6:00 p.m.
Community Day: Maggie wrote that the Alexandria Community Day was a great success and she wished to thank each and every person who participated or volunteered. The Community Day Committee will be meeting soon and it seems that there is enough interest to hold another “day” next year. If you have any suggestions for changes, deletions, etc., please leave them with Christie. We will go over them at the meeting. Don asked if there was any indication that the groups that participated in the day were satisfied enough to do it again. Christie said there was not as yet, but it would be discussed at the meeting. She had suggested that certificates of appreciation be issued to all groups that participated. Frank said from his point of view it was a success. Voices Against Violence and NH Special Ops were both there. It was the first time that a town has requested that NHSO come out and be a part of a function. Bobby Cormier was quite pleased to have been asked. Peg asked Jeff is he was satisfied. Jeff said that he was and that some people stayed for a while looking at the trucks and talking to people. Christie said that next year it is planned to purchase yellow construction hats for the highway department to give out. George said that emergency management and health both have to get all new supplies as a result of community day. Water test kits, tick information, 911 stickers and other items were well received. Kate Barrett was there for the conservation commission and asked if the maps she had for that day might be mounted where people could see them. They had to do with aquifer sites, wildlife areas and slopes.
Kate asked if the easel at the old town hall could have cork applied to it in order to accept thumbtacks. At the present time, it takes almost a hammer and nail to get something attached to the easel. Kate said that many hands helped to work on Saturday. Christie explained that Bonnie O’Brien was in charge of going around that day to collect the names of everyone who participated. Sue Cheney said that the photo session went well. There were 42 in the picture and people were so excited to have it done. The school was visited by probably 100 people that day. She did say that there is a need for signs down by the town hall to let people know the school is open and how to get to it. Sue asked if the photo could be included in the town report. Christie suggested that it be on the back cover where there would be no writing and therefore it wouldn’t have to be reduced. Don said what he like most about the photo is that it included all age groups. He suggested that a video camera be running next year to collect people’s stories. Sue said visitors were encouraged to write down their memories. As far as the town report, Christie will check into the necessity for releases.
Carol Panaggio: Carol asked Christie to send along her thanks and appreciation to Cindy, Peg and Skip for all the work they have been doing on mowing the lawns; they look wonderful.
Cheryl Nowell: Sent an e-mail asking to
be able to leave rate cards for political advertising at the town
hall. The selectmen do not want that type
of material at the hall. Christie will send a
reply to the e-mail.
Avitar: Chris Murdough sent an e-mail
asking if the lots along West Shore Road should be
combined onto one tax card as they are
listed as one parcel on the deeds. Cindy
suggested that since there are other
properties within the town that have the same
issue, we leave them as is. Christie will
call Chris in the morning.
550 letters were sent
to property owners who have not had an interior inspection done
on their homes. At this time, 80 responses
have been received.
Other: Jeff is on vacation from the 23rd
– 27th of July. Ron will be in charge. A rep from Voices Against
Violence is scheduled to be here at 6:15 next week. Don Gangemi may not be
able to attend next week’s meeting. NH the Beautiful has money for
equipment, but not for disposal of waste oil. Adam at NRRA suggested
Advanced Liquid Recycling, whose information Jeff already has. Adam said
that is his only
recommendation because until testing begins at the transfer station before oil
is placed in the barrel, you will continue to receive unsuitable materials. Jeff
asked what budget pays for the disposal. The office will be closed on
Tuesday because Cat and Christie both have appointments outside the office.
Checks will be ready on Monday by noon. Both Christie and Jeff have been
contacted by a realtor asking for the procedure to
gain approval by the town to upgrade a Class VI road. It was determined
they will have to notify their abutters and adhere to the Class VI Road
Specifications passed by the
town. They should also submit plans to the town for any repairs or improvements
they are planning to make to the bridge. Jeff said all Class VI roads in town
are posted with a 10 ton weight limit. Bill Hall suggested that the state be
contacted for some funds to improve the bridge and road that leads up to Welton
Falls, which is the area in question. Eastman Hill: Wade Reed bough Bob
Webber’s property on Eastman Hill Road and,
according to Jeff, is improving the road. He has done mowing and ditch
cleaning. He is planning on using some on site material on the same site, just
in a different area. His intentions are to make a little field area where he can
have a campsite with a picnic table. Eventually, he hopes to build up there.
Jeff said the highway has two free demos coming; machines that he can try out.
Fowler River Road: all the cross pipes are in.
Harold Platts informed Jeff that they he understands what is being done in the
area of his Fowler River Road property, the town is within its rights to do the
work and he is not going to sign a letter. Don Gangemi asked Jeff to document
his conversations with Harold. Wesley Platts asked when a man’s handshake was
not enough to get work done. Cindy replied it is when you get sued enough
times, you start putting things in writing.
Jeff reiterated that he does not feel he has gone outside the town’s right of
way. Dean Benton’s area is the only one on hold at the moment, but Jeff is
working with Ken Robie to go on his side of the road. Jeff said that there is a
need to “neaten” up the Benton’s area; it is not finished at this time. He is
not going to add anything, just fix what is there. Jeff feels he is still
within the right of way with what he has done at that location.
Christie looked up some numbers with regard to the tax deeding issue discussed earlier in the meeting. The total due on property taxes from 2005 and prior years is $182,236; 2006 is $105,987 and 2007 is $206,297. (2007 is approximately 11.5% of the total billed out for first issue that is still due.) Cindy asked if those figures contain the interest and penalties; they do. Skip asked if the school tax had been paid; Christie replied that it had.
Skip asked about the land use forum that the planning board is having. Christie explained that even though the town voted down zoning this year, the planning board is still able to bring it up again. Skip said that any money spent out of the planning board’s budget to promote zoning is against the wishes of the people. He said that Cindy is on the board and should be representing the wishes of the people. Cindy said that most every town that has zoning needed to bring it to the voters for several years before it was passed.
Ed Skroback said that he feels the amended letter to Mr. Fredericks is good.
Kate Barrett asked about recycling plastics as she heard that it takes 1,000 years for a plastic bottle to decompose. She was told that the town is looking into a program for plastics. Cindy said that Doug’s comment when presented with the idea of more recycling is that he will need additional manpower.
Jeff said that during the last thunderstorms, the highway department has not lost any roads. He is quite pleased with that fact. He also stated that he sent a letter to Boake Morrison regarding the use of materials on Fowler River Road. Boake called during the meeting and was upset about the letter. Jeff and Christie both said they felt it was a decent letter. Bill Hall said he would like to thank Jeff for his efforts to save the town money.
Kate Barrett said that the Newfound Lakes Region Association was given some grant money for a 30 month project involved with water shed mapping. There are nine towns that have a piece of the water shed area. NLRA is asking to have a forum in each town to explain the project. It may be that NLRA may assist in the inventory of natural resources for the town, which is a considerable project.
Adjournment
Cindy made a motion to adjourn. Don seconded the motion and it was passed by a vote of 3-0.
Time: 8:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Christie Phelps,
Admin. Assistant