Members Present: Peg Reilly, Cindy Williams and Dennis Manchester
Work Session: The work session came to order at
Dow of TD Banknorth. He made suggestions
to the town as to how they could
yield higher interest rates on their money.
The selectmen have decided to change
the checking account to a money market account and use a “sweep” to
automatically
move excess money to a higher yield. The
bank has also offered direct deposit for
the employees at no charge to the town.
Additionally, Mr. Dow will review the town’s
accounts on a quarterly basis to insure that the products chosen are the
correct ones
for the town’s purposes. The treasurer
will be able to go online and check interest
rates at any time to determine if changes need to be made. Mr. Dow will also provide
a Letter of Credit that is acceptable to the auditors and other information to show that all deposits are insured against loss.
Peg
mentioned that Bill Hall asked if there were any balances left in any of the
old
bridge
projects that could be used this upcoming year.
Christie said that all the funds
had
lapsed into the unreserved fund balance.
Cindy
asked if the invoice received from Brackley said final on it. Christie thought that
it
did. Cindy asked her to check on it because Brackley told her there would be
added
charges because of working a certificate of substantial
completion. There was a question
of retainage on the Bonnette, Page and Stone contract. Christie will check on these
issues.
Cindy
would like Christie to request that the auditor come in and talk to the
selectmen
to
give them an explanation of the report once it is completed for 2006.
Maggie
said that she will not be available to meet with the selectmen next Thursday
as she
is going to the wildlife mapping presentation.
Christie asked if any of the
selectmen
are going; they are not due to the fact that it is a selectmen’s meeting night.
Christie
then asked if they would designate Maggie as the receiving agent for the town
because
there will be maps distributed to each town that evening. Maggie said she would
be
happy to pick them up for the town.
Cindy asked that a copy of the letter from environmental services regarding DeRoma
Development
be given to the planning board. Christie made a copy and gave it to
the
chairman, Maggie LaBerge.
Colin
Brown gave the town a price of $200 to lay out
decided
to have him do this work by a motion made by Dennis, seconded by Cindy
and
passed by a vote of 3-0.
Cindy spoke with Boake Morrison
about the metal that he removes from the transfer
station. He said he sometimes get $50 or
so for the metal. The town is charged
$150
for its removal. Christie was asked to
check with Doug regarding the ownership of the
containers at the transfer station. She
will do this tomorrow. Christie will
also set up a meeting with the selectmen, NRRA and Doug to go over any programs
that could be initiated at the station in order to generate more revenue for
the town.
Cindy has had the town’s phone
service reviewed to make sure that we are getting the
best rates. She provided Dennis and Peg
with a copy of the printout. It is felt
that the
rates presently being charged are very good.
The only one that needs to be checked is
the town clerk/town collector. Cindy
asked that the phone line put in at the old building
have limited calling as it will not be used for that much. Call forwarding is on the
police department’s line; message service is on the planning board line, and
the selectmen’s office should have caller I.D., but it didn’t seem to transfer
from building to building. Christie will
check on that. The line for the old
building should also be added
to the summary billing for the town.
Cindy asked if
said that they are supposed to be coming back to do that. She also said that the security
system at the other building will start working correctly once there is a phone
line there
that the system can use to call in trouble.
The new building may have to have an adjust-
ment made on the panic button pad. Right now the system does a periodic sweep
and is
not always able to pick up the clerk’s panic button. If this happens, the system calls in
trouble and the call goes to Grafton County
Dispatch. This needs to be
corrected.
Cindy asked for a meeting to review the ordinances that are going on the warrant. This will be done on the 1st of February during the work session. Cindy asked if final recommendations have been made by the budget committee; Peg said they have not.
Cindy said she called Fuller today and asked what their rates are for cleaning furnaces. She was told it is $89 plus any parts that are needed. This call was made as a result of an invoice received from Andy & Sons Plumbing. Jeff explained that the work invoiced for the waste oil furnace and involved part of the furnace being taken home by the vendor and worked on for many hours. The vendor also cleaned one of the other furnaces. Cindy said she understood now, but that the invoice just listed cleaning on it, so it seemed excessive.
Cindy called Paul Rizzo who should come to the town hall tomorrow to discuss the generator needs with Christie. The town is looking to run the entire building from a stationary unit that runs off propane. The unit should be mounted on a pad outside the building. Cindy said that they also need to get a price for rewiring the well so it can run from the new building. Right now all wiring is at the old building. This should be a unit that periodically runs a check on itself.
Cindy asked if any explanation had been received about the wiring that Bob had listed on his timecard. Christie said that Frank could probably answer that question.
Christie gave the by-laws and covenants for the Fowler River Association to Cindy for review. It was discussed whether or not a meeting should be held with the owners of the property within the subdivision. Christie will check with Dorcas Gordon to determine her timeline for settling this matter.
Deliberative Session: Came to order at
Pledge of Allegiance: Led by Jeff Musheno
Distribution of Minutes: The minutes of January 11 were distributed.
Approval of Minutes: Cindy made a motion to approve the minutes of December 28 as corrected; Dennis second the motion and it was approved by a vote of 3-0. The minutes of January 4 will be tabled until Peg has an opportunity to read them.
Jeff Musheno: Jeff wanted to take issue with some comments
that were written in The Citizen on the 29th of December. In the article it is stated that Peg said
Jeff took the police cruiser to
Frank Hinkle: Frank stated that one of his goals when coming here to work was to promote a good working relationship with all the departments and with the townspeople. He has seen agencies recognize people who did something good throughout the year through public recognition and a citation. Tonight he wished to give out the first commendations of his time with the town. Don and Ann Gangemi were the first recipients. They donated a digital camera and photo quality printer to the police department, equipment which was needed. The next recipients assisted with an accident scene involving a fully loaded dump truck that was blocking the road.
It was raining, it was muddy and the chief said that he watched while men volunteered their time, equipment and knowledge to get the truck righted and back where it belongs. These people are Ken Patten, Harold Platts, Fred Platts, Wes Morrill and Arthur Barron. Frank said that the people of this town have been most cooperative with his department and he wants to keep that going. Fred Platts said that this gesture is what the town has needed for a long time; it is a healing process that the town needs.
Department Heads:
Frank Hinkle: Frank has discovered that the town is in danger of losing a $2500 grant for bullet proof vests. This grant will expire in six weeks. The vests should cost somewhere between $3500 and $4000. The grant will pay for half of the cost up to $2500. Peg said that would need to be put in the budget. She said Frank should attend tonight’s budget committee meeting to ask that the total cost and offsetting revenue be put in the budget. Cindy asked if any of the officers have a vest at this time. Frank said some are wearing old vests that have not been fitted to them. Cindy asked Frank about an activity log being published in the paper. He said that he has been trying to work with the local papers to get something in on a bi-weekly basis, but has not had much luck. He will try again to get this done. Peg asked what determines whether a person’s name is listed in the activity log or not. Frank said it depends upon what information the source is willing to give up and what the editor of the paper decides to include.
George Whittaker: The animal complaint that the health department received has been taken care of. The horses have been moved to another town. The health department, George and Peg, also performed inspections on two houses that provide child and adult care to insure compliance with state regulations.
Mike Corliss: Mike is not here, so there is no report from the fire department.
Announcements:
All meetings are in the new office building unless otherwise noted.
January calendar is available and is on the web.
Peg asked about the bulletin board; Christie said she is waiting for the contractor to hang it.
Chuck
Stuart is scheduled to be here this evening from the
Superintendent for the
Marie Ross: Marie gave the selectmen the handouts
from the budget hearing and left a CD that contained a recording of the
hearing. Copies of the handout are
available at the selectmen’s office. Ms.
Ross gave a brief explanation of the articles contained in the school warrant. She explained that there will be a study
group meeting to determine if the
Land Use, Building Permits, Purchase Orders, Other Items Requiring Signature:
Fellows Turnaround Agreement: Was signed by all parties; will be sent to
Grafton registry for
recording. The vote to sign the document was 3-0.
Letters to
two planning board members regarding
dismissal; one was signed, one was not and will
be brought back up for
discussion next week.
An abatement was signed for June Champagne
The
selectmen voted to abate all interest
and penalties on the Rhude properties.
Christie will draft a
letter explaining that this
has been done and that future tax disputes should be done after the taxes are
paid, or in the event that an
escrow account would be used, that account would need to be in the
name of the Town of
Alexandria, not the property owner.
Follow ups:
Generator: Someone will be coming to meet with Christie on Friday
Safety Meeting: Held today; subject matter was safety checklist for transfer station
Building Wiring: Has been taken care of; all computer wires are now in place
Meeting of Newfound Area Selectmen: No answer from
administrator in the morning.
Phone Service for Health Officer: Waiting for install date
Phone Review for Town: Has been done
Shooting Gallery Issue: Frank has turned the issue over to
George as he is allowed to
enter the property. The property will be monitored and anyone
hearing excessive noise there
should contact the police
department.
Police Officers: Someone asked last week if the officers could show up once
in a while so
people can see them. There were three of them here this evening,
but two had to leave to
respond to a call for service.
Doug Paterson: Christie is trying to set up a meeting with
selectmen, NRRA and Doug to go
over possible programs for the
transfer station.
Final Number for Building Project: Should be available first of February
Old Business:
Chris Rhude will be in next
week. The tax collector has asked that
the selectmen vote to approve
an abatement for all interest and penalties to date. She will then do the entries and let the
selectmen
know what the full amount is. Dennis
questioned why the interest and penalties were being considered for abatement.
Peg explained that Ms. Rhude has had tax dispute issues with the town and has
been trying to get them settled. She was
told by a former board that she did not have to pay the taxes while they were
being disputed. She has been meeting
with the selectmen on a regular basis for over a year to get things
settled. Dennis said he did not know
enough about the issue to vote on it.
Christie explained that there is no tax money being lost. Cindy made a
motion to approve the abatement; Peg seconded the motion and Dennis
abstained. The motion passed by a vote
or 2-0-1.
The other old business items are there are reminders of things that need to be worked on.
New Business:
Colin Brown was voted on; all three
selectmen voted in the affirmative to have Colin lay out
Ali Road
Building Issues: The vinyl
signs will be ordered by Dennis; the blinds can be ordered from Budget
Blinds as the other company’s product was not the same; someone asked if the
town is going to put shutters on the building.
Discussion was held and it was decided not to. The flag catalog was given to Peg so she can
pick out a flag pole for the exterior of the building.
Britta Brown: The selectmen still need to meet with Britta Brown, the deputy tax collector.
Public Input:
Jeff Cantara: Jeff gave an explanation of his process for plowing the roads, especially in light of the latest storm. He explained that if the department had peeled off the snow on the roads, they would have turned into a sheet of ice. He made the decision to leave some material on the roads. They have procedures and strategies that they follow and hope to have the selectmen’s support in their efforts.
Jeff has gotten two other prices on
the stump work on the
There is an ice buildup problem at the highway garage where the metal meets the foundation. Discussion was held and it was decided that Christie will call Construx, the contractor, to have someone meet with the road agent and a selectman to discuss the matter.
Jeff figures that $3100+ was spent
at E.W. Sleeper recently in an effort to repair sanders. There has not been a storm yet this year
where all the trucks stayed running. The
truck lease was discussed briefly. Cindy
said that both Jeff and Frank had proposed leases when buying new vehicles this
year. Northway Bank indicated they would
give an interest rate of 4.25%. The
lease interest rate is 6.86; Jeff said he has gotten them down to 6.1%. That could change come March. Jeff promoted the lease as an alarm clock
that will go off at the end of the term; alerting the town to the need for a
new vehicle rather than running equipment into the ground. He is also looking at extended warranties on
the trucks. Cindy suggested that the Capital
Improvement Program should work as that alarm clock.
Jeff said that he is issuing 911 numbers, but not final inspections on some of
the driveways. The reason is that there
is still work to be done on them. It was
suggested that when the letter goes out issuing the number, that the property
owner be advised that they are still obligated to complete the work as outlined
on the driveway access permit.
Positions Available: Peg
read the list of positions that are up for election this year. She felt there is an error in the listing of
budget committee positions and will talk with Barbara about it. The filing period is January 24 through
Town Clerk/Tax Collector Hours: Christie announced that Barbara’s hours are changing slightly. They will now be Monday 10-4, Tuesday 9-4, Wednesday closed, Thursday 9-7, Friday 9-4. Those new hours will be posted.
George Whittaker: Has the town been reimbursed for the electricity they used during the construction process. Christie said that will be taken off the final bill.
Cindy made a motion
to go into nonpublic session at
A vote of 3-0 brought
the selectmen out of their nonpublic session at
Respectfully submitted,
Christie Phelps, Admin. Assistant