Members Present: Peg Reilly, Cindy Williams and Dennis Manchester

Others Present: Larry & Carleen Stickney, Bonnie O’Brien, Pete, Christie Phelps,
Jeff Cantara, Skip Reilly, Frank Hinkle, Carol Panaggio

The work session consisted of interviews with two of the appraisal firms that responded to the town’s RFP for Appraisal Work. Cindy Perkins and Mark Nieder of Commerford, Nieder & Perkins met at 4:00 p.m. with the selectmen. Arthur Maguire and Richard Vincent were in from Vincent Appraisals. Next week the selectmen will meet with representatives from Cross Country Appraisal and Avitar Associates.

Distribution of Minutes:

The minutes of December 14, 2006 were distributed for review.

Department Heads:

Maggie LaBerge was scheduled to come in, but did not appear.

All meetings are listed on the January calendar that is available at the meeting.

The selectmen’s office will be closed on January 1, 2007.

Lights: The outside lights need adjustment; Christie will let the contractor know. The contractor
also needs to give the town the price for the electrician to provide and install everything connected with the generator.

Chris Rhude: Christie let the selectmen know that Chris Rhude asked to be on next week’s agenda with regard to taxes and the dump. Christie asked Cat to send a memo to Barbara requesting her presence at the meeting in case the tax questions have to do with Barbara’s department.

Windows: Window treatments have not been decided as yet; Christie was directed to a website by Kreative
Windows to determine whether both companies are bidding on the same item.

Fire Marshall: Peg asked if the fire marshal has contacted the town with regard to an inspection of the building; Christie said he has not. Cindy asked if the state electrical and plumbing inspectors should be called. Dennis Manchester asked if someone has inspected the boiler. Fran Butler usually inspects oil fire boilers. The heating system in the building is propane and Dead River has inspected it prior to hooking up the propane. Christie was directed to call Dead River for certification that the heating system is properly installed.

Meeting with Bristol: Cindy asked if a date had been set to meet with Bristol and surrounding towns. Christie said it has not; the town manager is on vacation this week. She will be talking with her next week.

Ambulance Contract: The ambulance contract states two different amounts that the town is required to pay in 2007. Christie contacted Bristol and left a message to be called to find out which one is correct.

Verizon: Cindy said the person she spoke to on phone plans is no longer with Verizon. The new person will call her tomorrow morning.

Building Meeting: Peg asked if the building meeting took place last week. Cindy said it did and there wasn’t a lot discussed. The total cost of the building has not yet been calculated. Cindy questioned the contractor on the wiring. The telephone wiring bill came in over the estimate due to some additional work that was necessary. Cindy brought up the painting issue as well; Brackley called her later and offered to split the cost of the exterior painting because the town had not been asked what color the exterior of the building should be. His final bill should show a credit of $1500.

Abatements: Abatements were approved for James Apostolos and New England Power; $314.17 and $80 respectively. Motion made by Cindy Williams, Seconded by Dennis Manchester; Vote 3-0.

Fraser Deed: The deed for an easement on the Fraser property on Berry Road was signed by the selectmen.

Motion for acceptance made by Cindy Williams, seconded by Dennis Manchester; vote 3-0.

Extension for Training Time: A request to allow an extension of time for Frank Hinkle to complete the physical training requirement of his position. When he reported for testing on the 18^{th, his blood pressure level was too high. His medication has been adjusted and a new date for testing will be given. Cindy Williams made a motion to sign the extension form, Dennis Manchester seconded the motion; Vote 3-0.}

Purchase Orders: Purchase orders were signed for Office Depot for the purchase of a bulletin board for $544.99 plus shipping, and for Southworth Milton to do some work on the grader in the amount of $2,000. The road agent pointed out that the cost of the grader work started at $6,000, but he has managed to get some warranty considerations applied to the cost. Cindy Williams made a motion to approve the purchase orders; Dennis Manchester seconded the motion, Vote 3-0.

Fellows Turnaround Agreement: Some small modifications were made to the turnaround agreement by the road agent. If the selectmen agree to them, Jeff will approach the Fellows with the agreement. Jeff said that if the Fellows do not agree to the modifications, the only person allowed to plow Sye Ali Road will be the road agent and it will be done on a as time allows basis. The selectmen took issue with signing the document stating that the property remains private. Some suggestions were made and a statement will be added that says “the legal status of the property will remain the same”. Cindy asked Jeff to make sure the road is included in the snow plow policy. Dennis Manchester made the motion to approve the agreement; Cindy Williams seconded the motion; Vote 3-0.

Old Business: With the exception of the Fellows issue, the old business items are ongoing. It is noted that the personnel policy has been completed and signed and will be distributed to the employees along with a benefits statement for full-time employees for 2006.

New Business: Bridge Warrant Article: Christie asked the selectmen if they wanted to add an article to the warrant for the Washburn Bridge Project; the total for the preliminary engineering. This would get the project into the schedule (July, 2011) with the NH Bridge Aid Program. The total for preliminary engineering is estimated to be $90,000; $72,000 of which would be reimbursed by the state. The total project is estimated to be $540,000. Cindy made a motion to go forward with the warrant article; Dennis Manchester seconded the motion; Vote 3-0.

Highway Block Grant: Peg announced that the town is scheduled to receive $69,001.14 in Highway Block Grant Aid in 2007. This is down slightly from 2006, which was $71,000+-.

Safety Committee Meeting: Cindy asked Christie to get a safety meeting scheduled soon.

Five Man Selectboard: Peg Reilly said she would like to put an article on the warrant for a five member selectboard. Her reason is that there are more and more committees, more and more commissions, and at least one selectman should be attending these meetings. There are just not enough selectmen to go around. Five would provide more diversification on the board. Dennis asked how that would work; would you need five votes or three. Three people would constitute a quorum and a majority of those present would constitute a vote. Peg said another reason for offering this article is that right now two selectmen cannot see each other and talk without being thought of as having a meeting. If the article is voted in, two additional selectmen would be elected in 2008. Dennis said he does not object to more people as he runs his own business and is not always able to get away.

Bailey Road: Peg asked Jeff if Bailey Road is complete at this time. He said that it is. The final figure came in at $248,335; which is under the $250,000 appropriated this year.

Trash Container: Peg said that she went by the office building a couple of weeks ago and there was trash all over the place out back. Is the trash being picked up on a timely basis? Christie said the road crew is doing the best that it can, but the trash between the two buildings is overloading the one container at the highway department. Jeff said twice he has had to pick up trash buried in snow. The department’s first objective is snow removal, not trash removal. Peg asked how the highway department ended up with the dumpster as she thought the office building was getting one. Jeff said he got one to save the department’s time in moving trash to the transfer station. It had been planned to have one dumpster at each location. Cindy had asked that only one be put in place and that the highway crew or the cleaning lady take the trash to the highway garage. Christie said the cost is $66 per month. In response to Dennis’s question, she explained that there is no discount for having two containers. Waste Management was going to charge $72; the town is using Best Way. Cindy said that people she talked to did not want to see a dumpster at the new building. Jeff suggested that a fence be put around the dumpster and the propane tank.

LRMFA Contract: Cindy asked if the contract has been received. Christie said it has not, but she will check with them to find out where it is. The breakdown of the appropriation has been received. Cindy said that the selectmen are supposed to sign the contract, not the fire department.

Non-public: Cindy said she would like to go into non-public session after public input is through.

Bonnie O’Brien: Is the garage being built on Thissell Road considered a garage or a house because they are building a room on top of it. Peg said it will be considered a garage until the assessors take a look at it. Cindy said as long as it doesn’t have a bedroom, it’s o.k. Bonnie also asked if something can be done with the firing range on Bog Road on Ron Olzak’s property. There are loud explosions every week and she has pregnant animals that are getting upset. The land is covered with junk the police chief said he would do some research on the problem. There is no noise ordinance in town and the trash is on private property.

Police Department Grant: Frank announced that due to Cat White’s diligent efforts, the department has been awarded a grant of $500 from WalMart. It is waiting in Plymouth, and he will pick it up soon.

Five Person Highway Crew: Jeff said that if you read the 2003 annual report, the highway department had five full-time personnel and one part-time person. The fifth guy that he is looking to hire is not a new position; he is simply replenishing what the department already had in a previous year. He understands that the voters will be the ones to determine whether that fifth position becomes full-time. Jeff said that he is, as a taxpayer, as interested in the bottom dollar as anyone else. Unfortunately, he said, he was handed a crumpled up, nasty highway department that had been set on the shelf with a bunch of dust on it as far as the conditions of the roads, the conditions of the equipment and trucks. He will stand up at town meeting and say that as the road agent this is what he is asking for to try to start the process to fix what he didn’t break. He is just stepping up to the plate and asking all residents to do the same. If the town keeps throwing five dollars at something that will eventually need $200,000 for, the town will never get to that $200,000. Our roads and equipment are in such condition that, unfortunately, he is the bad guy who has to step up and say stuff is falling apart. He feels that if he can request additional amounts for 4-5 years, then the process can begin to calm down. The town has extra roads, but no extra trucks. What he is asking for now is not that far off from what was asked for in 2003. Cindy said that it will be up to the voters as the benefits are not there for the fifth person until they are voted in at town meeting. Peg said that the budget committee’s budget will be the one voted on a town meeting. If the people want to change it, that’s fine.

Tax Rate Increase: Cindy asked Christie if the $3 increase she is projecting included the bridge and the fire department money. Christie said she put the fire department in at last year’s level, but did not include the bridge. Cindy wanted to know if the increase will be more than $3. Christie said she could let the selectmen know at next week’s meeting now that the year end is here and she can project anticipated revenue better. Dennis asked about the ambulance and Christie said that she used last year’s figure when computing the increase. There was some discussion about the fire department’s request for funds. Peg said the chief only asked for what was done last year. Dennis Manchester, a member of the fire department, said that amount barely covers the cost of insurance, let alone other expenses. Carol Panaggio asked if it would benefit the department to become part of the town.

Larry Stickney/Police Cruiser Issue: Larry asked the selectmen about an article that appeared in the paper regarding police cruiser usage and why it was an issue. Cindy said that she had not seen the article and was given a copy of it. When asked who had complained about the police cruiser being seen out of town, she stated she did not remember. Audience members did not have a problem with the chief having the car with him. Chief Hinkle said that he explained during his interview process that he would not have a personal vehicle for a while and was there any problem with this. Cindy stated that this conversation never took place in her presence. Frank explained that the car issue came up in a phone call he had with Bob. He further explained that if he takes the car to do a little grocery shopping, he is still on call and would leave to go to an incident if necessary. He said he had spoken to the insurance company and was told that the car and he were covered if responding within the scope of his duties. Passengers needed to sign waivers. Cindy stated that she talked to the insurance company and got a different explanation. Cindy made a recommendation that a townwide policy be made based on the information she received from the insurance company in order to safeguard the town—that town vehicles only be used within the scope of employment. Mr. Stickney replied that he felt that was unnecessary, or out of line. Cindy said that she has a personal complaint about Frank using the police cruiser for non-police business. The issue of complaint forms came up and there are none on file for the police department. The road agent pointed out that having to watch every left step and right step is a distraction to the departments trying to do their jobs. Cindy said she had been in contact with town counsel and wanted to go into a non-public session regarding the hiring of a public official; Peg said Frank had already been hired. Cindy said there are certain expectations that have not been met and that too many conversations were held with only one selectman making decisions. Mr. Stickney state he felt the chief should be left alone to do his job. Cindy wants to see a contract with the chief; Peg explained that the board had that discussion and decided not to have a contract. Carol Panaggio and Skip Reilly also supported the chief and said that he is doing a good job. Frank asked if the non-public session was about him and whether or not his job was in jeopardy. Cindy said it is not in jeopardy. Cindy made a motion to go into non-public session, but there was no second. Peg said she was not sure if it was legal for the selectmen to using the hiring of a public official as the reason because Frank is already hired. There were many other comments made that can be heard by listening to the tape made of the meeting.