Alexandria Board of Selectmen

April 11, 2006

 

Members Present:     Bob Bacon, Peg Reilly and Cindy Williams

 

The meeting came to order at 6:00 p.m. with all members present.

 

Pledge of Allegiance

            Led by Bob Ramsey

 

Approval of Minutes

            None

 

Distribution of Minutes

            The minutes of March 28 and April 4 were distributed for review.

 

Department Heads & Committees:

Barbara Emery was scheduled to appear this evening, but went home sick. She will be here next week instead. Christie said that the town clerk/tax collector, treasurer and admin. assistant all agree on the amount of money collected during March. Barbara will be reviewing her budget to see if she can have Gayle Cook come back to assist her with a determination of records that can either be archived or destroyed.

            Jeff Cantara asked to speak with the selectmen on a couple of issues.

Tree Cutting: Evans Tree Service is in town working on Cass Mill, Mount Cardigan, Brook Road and Fowler River Road. Jeff would like to get a price from them for topping some of the trees that the town needs to take down in those areas. He wants the town to forego the three bid requirement as Evans is already working that area and should be able to provide a competitive price. The selectmen told Jeff he needs to have a price before they will agree to the work. The money could come from the contracted services line in the highway budget, bearing in mind that some of that money needs to be used during plow season.

Temporary Employee:  Jeff asked to be able to hire temporary help. This would enable him to send two people in one direction and then have three to start working on the Bailey Road project. Because the labor for the Bailey Road project is a warrant article expense and does not come out of the regular highway budget, it is felt that there will be sufficient money to cover the costs.

Fill:  Donna Roy, a resident on Mt. Cardigan Road, has offered the town fill and large rocks to be used on the Bailey Road project. The planning board chairman has indicated that there is no planning board approval needed for the removal of this fill as it is under an acre. Ms. Roy will sign a letter formally offering the material to the town. Peg Reilly made a motion to accept the offer; Cindy Williams seconded the motion, and it was passed by a vote of 3-0.

Fire Chief: Christie was asked to contact the fire chief to ask him to appear on the third Tuesday of each month to meet with the selectmen.

 

Announcements:

            Selectmen’s Work Session on April 18 at 4:00 p.m.

            Selectmen’s Meeting on April 18 at 6:00 p.m.

            Planning Board:  April 19 at 7:00 p.m.

Land Use, Building Permits, Purchase Orders, Etc.

            Highway Purchase Orders:

Purchase Order for 600 yards of Ledge Pak from Ambrose Brothers, purchase order for GMI Asphalt for $116,600 for Bailey Road and purchase order for GMI Asphalt in the amount of $5400 for Mountain View Road were approved.  Cindy William made the motion; Peg Reilly seconded the motion, and it was approved by a vote of 3-0.

            Building Permits:

A building permit for Rachel Clayman on Kirk Pasture Road was tabled, requiring further discussion with regard to the need to inspect the area for emergency vehicle access.

            Intents to Cut/Excavate:

            Approved for Georgiana Salsman on Braley Road

            Denied for J.P. Morrison on Foster Pond Road as planning board states this pit is not permitted.

            Timber & Excavation Warrants:

            Thomas Diehl-$243.82

            Raymond Wojcik-$639.74

Excavation Warrant for Newport Sand and Gravel-$63.81; Boake Morrison-$287.88 and William Hall-$125.02

Timber Warrant for Craig & Cindy Williams-$1124.58

Timber Warrant for James & Brenda Sullivan-381.03

Abatement for Jeffrey Kalil on Fowler River Road

 

Old Business:

Flood Insurance Program:  Christie needs to determine acreage in town that is within flood plain area before application can be signed.

Gas Cards: The town car should have one card for the vehicle and one for the person who signs it out. The police vehicles will each have their own card and any employees of the police department will have a card.

Loader Loan:  Bids for the loader load were reviewed and the bid was awarded to Northway Bank. The submissions were as follows:  Northway Bank-4.25%; Meredith Village-4.93%; TD Banknorth-5.06% and Franklin Savings-7.90%. The submission from Caterpillar Financing was not used as it provided a quote on the wrong amount and the wrong length of time. Christie will send letters to all those who submitted a price.

Contract with Brackley Shaw: The contra with Brackley Shaw has been reviewed by town counsel. Based on the review, the selectmen signed the contract once Peg Reilly made a motion to accept it; Cindy Williams seconded the motion and it was passed by a vote of 3-0.

 

New Business:

Chris & Randy Rhude: Chris and Randy Rhude came in to protest their Land Use Change Tax assessment. They stated that the town was supposed to bill them within a year and a year has already passed. The selectmen explained they had originally billed Roger Bedard for the LUCT, but he had appealed to BTLA. BTLA decided that the town had sent the bill too soon as the buffer area around the pit could be used to determine contiguous acreage. Once the lots were sold, however, the land would no longer qualify for current use. The lots were sold during the litigation period, and the buyers were not informed of the case. Christie was directed to contact the NH Department of Revenue Administration to determine whether the selectmen are correct in billing the new owners.

 

Tapply Thompson Representative:  the TTCC is looking for a representative from the town on their board. Peg Reilly suggested contacting Lorraine Jones to see if she is interested. She spoke on the issue at town meeting, and it was felt that she is a good candidate. Christie was directed to contact her to see if she is willing to serve.

Norman Baldasaro: Mr. Baldasaro asked the town for a 911 number. He has had the property for several years now and needs to put in a phone, which requires a 911 address. Christie was requested to send him a driveway access application as had been done in the past.

Veteran’s Credit:  A veteran’s credit was denied for a property on West Shore Road as the applicant is not yet living at the location; they are still living in Bristol. They were informed that the credit will be approved for 2007 if the applicant is residing in the house at that time.

Motor Vehicle Agent:  Barbara Emery was told that the town is at the bottom of the list with regard to getting back their municipal agent status. Barbara is going to write a letter to the Department of Safety. The selectmen would be willing to send a letter as well if Barbara feels it would be helpful.

Municipal Building Loan: The building loan interest rate proposals are due by April 11, 2006. They will be taken into consideration next week. Cindy asked if the bank will commit on the conversion rate from a construction loan to a regular bond. Christie said that information should be contained in the proposal. Cindy reported that almost $1500 per month is being made on the money in the capital reserve account.

Newsletter: Christie was directed to send a memo requiring newsletter articles by the third week of April.

Meetings:  Bob Bacon said he may need to request that the night of the selectmen’s meeting be changed due to his work schedule and will bring the subject up next week.

Bog Road: A letter is being signed that will be sent to Mr. Nicholson on Bog Road confirming a verbal agreement made with the road agent, Jeff Cantara. The letter explains that the town has installed delineators on Bog Road to indicate the temporary end of road. Mr. Nicholson will remove the boulders and will not move any material into that area until such time as the width of the road can be determined. Mr. Ramsey asked why there is a delineator on Mr. Nicholson’s property on the Town Pound side.

1300 Hours Issue: Cindy asked for an explanation of the 1300 hour issue as she was told by NH Police Standards and Training that the only time exempt from the limitation on a part-time police officer is for training. Bob said he has never known of it becoming an issue. If an officer goes over the1300 hours and the town is making every effort to avoid the same in the future, it does not become an issue. Skip Reilly agreed with Bob statement. Cindy said that she was told that the state is going to enforce the 1300 hour limitation. Cindy said the Form A said that a medical exam was done and asked whether it was. Bob said that Ernie was supposed to supply the town and state with his medical release. Bob asked Christie if she has received a copy of the release, to which she replied she had not. Ernie had not told Cindy he was full-time certified, he only indicated that his administrative hours were not a part of the 1300.  Cindy asked that the town write a letter, on the recommendation of Police Standards and Training Director, Keith Lohman, to request a waiver on the 1300 hour for Ernie to protect the town in the event he goes over.  The Council will be meeting on the 18th and could review it at that time. Bob and Skip agreed that it was not necessary because there wouldn’t be a problem if we went over the 1300 as long as we showed the town is actively seeking a full-time chief.

Background Check:  Barry Walker asked who had done the background check on Ernie Parmenter. Bob Bacon replied that Hebron had. Barry asked why Hebron did it. Bob said he told Ernie to have a background check done because it is required. Anybody can do the background check as long as you have a legitimate reason for it. Cindy said she is discouraged because it was not discussed among the selectmen as to who was going to do it. Mr. Reilly asked if Mr. Parmenter was ever presented to the town as being full-time certified. Bob Bacon said he was not. Ernie had not told Cindy he was full-time certified, he only indicated that his administrative hours were not a part of the 1300.

 

Public Input:

Sye Ali Road: Mr. Fellows asked how the research is going on the width of Sye Ali Road. Bob Ramsey said that he could find nothing in the safe, and it may never have been laid out. Cindy read a letter from Larry Stickney regarding the width of a road for which no records are found. Such items as rock walls, brush lines, fences and utility lines are taken into account in lieu of actual layouts. The width of a prescriptive road would vary with the above evidence. In the absence of any other information, the department (DOT) has used a width of 10-15 feet beyond the traveled portion of the right of way as a side easement. The issue is ongoing for now; there has been no determination on the road.

 

Adjournment:

            A motion was made, seconded and passed to adjourn the meeting at 8:20 p.m.

 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

Christie Phelps, Admin. Assistant