Alexandria Board of Selectmen
January 17, 2008
Approved January 31, 2008
The meeting came to order at 6:00 p.m.
Members Present: Cindy Williams and Tom McGowan
Pledge of Allegiance: Given
Distribution of Minutes: The minutes of January 10 were distributed for review.
Approval of Minutes: Tom McGowan made a motion to approve the minutes of January 3. The motion was seconded by Cindy Williams and passed by a vote of 2-0.
Appointment: Bill
Gabler, School Facilities Committee Chair, came in to give the selectmen
an update on the committee’s efforts. They have been meeting for
eight months now and
have two articles on the warrant for consideration this year. They
want to develop a
Master Plan and perform architectural studies in 2008 and 2009 in
preparation for coming
top the voters for construction costs in 2010. The Bristol Elementary
School has been
determined to be obsolete and cannot be renovated in a cost effective
way. There is 24
acres of land that the school district owns across the driveway from
the high school. This
may be utilized to build a new middle school, with the present middle
school becoming
the new elementary school with portions of it being renovated to house
the SAU Office.
More information will be forthcoming as plans are developed.
Department Heads:
Christie
Phelps: No building permits, driveway permits or purchase orders have
been issued this week. There is still a report that says the transfer
station is not being
shoveled and people have to walk through snow. The Washburn Bridge
engineer, Evan
Detrick, said that numbers for the construction of the bridge are not
available for this
year’s town meeting, but will certainly be in place for 2009. A
review of veteran’s and
elderly credit and exemptions shows that Alexandria is in line with
other towns in
Grafton County for veterans, but is a little under for elderly
exemptions. The selectmen
will consider warrant articles for the town meeting.
Frank Hinkle:
Frank presented a vehicle policy to the selectmen for their review. He
stated that officers Bob Bacon and Angela Lyford recovered a stolen
vehicle last week.
Angela has been given a time slot to train with Grafton County on the
in-vehicle
reporting system. Frank asked for a signature on a credit application
for a company that
supplies animal control items. The account would be used by Larry
Stickney, the animal
control officer. Christie signed the application.
Bonnie O’Brien-Poire:
Bonnie stated that the conservation commission is in need of a
selectmen’s representative. Tom McGowan said that he would serve in
that capacity.
Bonnie explained that the group meets on the 4th Wednesday
of the month.
Jeff
Cantara: There is a truck, the 2nd oldest one in the group,
that is over to Vinnie’s
Truck Repair for diagnostics. There is something wrong with the
motor. If it is a minor
item, it will be repaired. If it is a major one, Jeff will wait to
see what happens with
funding in March.
Items Requiring Signature:
Deed waiver for
2004 tax levy—Christie explained that the tax collector needs the
selectmen to say that they do not wish to take tax deeds for the 2004
levy properties
due to inconsistencies in the notification process. In 2008 this will
not be a problem
as Barbara Emery has followed the rules regarding timely filings.
The selectmen
signed a new contract with Plodzik & Sanderson. An increased amount
will be paid to the firm due to the reporting requirements on the
state and federal level.
A current use
application for Malcolm Pickering was signed. It was signed last week in
the wrong place.
Old Business:
Cole Hill Road-waiting for spring
Transfer Station Land: This is now a warrant article; it can be removed from this list.
New Business:
The selectmen
accepted the resignation of Bonnie Tourangeau from the conservation
commission.
Veteran’s Credits and Elderly Exemptions: already addressed
Christie was
directed to send an acknowledgement letter to Chuck Braxton in reply
to his recent correspondence about bridge closures.
Public Input:
None
7:00 P.M.: The selectmen met with the budget committee members to go over their recommendations on the various warrant articles. The will be one more article added for $30,000 to go into the Highway Equipment Capital Reserve Fund. There was a lively discussion on the pros and cons of capital reserves versus financing versus outright purchasing through taxation. In response to the articles on paving projects, Bill Hall said that he would like to see the town use paving contractors other than GMI, who seems to have been getting all the work the past couple of years. Mr. Hall also expressed his desire not to buy the “Cadillac” of trucks, but consider a less expensive model. Skip Reilly asked the selectmen why they put prosecutorial fees under the police budget. Cindy explained that it is a police department function and should not be under regular legal fees. Mr. Reilly wanted the other legal fees put under the selectmen’s budget, if that is the case. Christie explained that all the state reporting forms have it under the number 4153, not the selectmen’s budget. Cindy explained that new requests for funding from the Red Cross and Newfound Lakes Region were being put in warrant articles for the voter’s consideration. Budget committee members asked why the floor drains and radiant heat piping were put in two separate warrant articles. Christie explained that she did not want to jeopardize the passage of the floor drain article, which is a health and safety issue, but adding something else to it.
Adjournment: By motion of Tom McGowan; 2nd by Cindy Williams and a vote of 2-0, the meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Christie Phelps, TA