TOWN OF PITTSFIELD
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
TOWN HALL, 85 MAIN STREET
PITTSFIELD, NH 03263
MEETING MINUTES OF APRIL 3, 2007
CALL TO ORDER
.
Call to order at 6:00 P.M., by Arthur Morse, Chairman
MEMBERS PRESENT
Arthur Morse (AM), Chairman, Larry Konopka (LK), Vice-Chairman, Linda
Small (LS), Ed Vien (EV), John Lenaerts (JL), Paul Skowran (PS), Town
Administrator, and Delores Fritz, Recording Secretary.
MEMBERS ABSENT
None.
.
PUBLIC INPUT
None.
AGENDA REVIEW
Add to Agenda: (EV) Assessing Offer; DES Letter; Letter to Lenny
Deanne, Acting Fire Chief; BCEP Open House. (LS) Town Administrator
Recruitment; Junk Yard Licenses; Employee Evaluations; Meeting Minutes
of September 19 and 26, 2006; Citizen’s Concern. (LK) Auditor’s Letter,
and Drug Warrant Article.
APPOINTMENTS
None.
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NEW BUSINESS
Action Items (Taken Out of Agenda Sequence)
5. Bill Provencal, Member – Citizen of the Year Committee
Mr. Provencal related that they all should have received his E-Mail
regarding the Citizen of the Year Committee. He related that the Historical
Society notified him that they no longer want to handle this, and that he was
part of the Ad Hoc Committee to get this rolling. Usually there are 5-7
members and what we are looking for is a member of the Board of
Selectman to serve on this committee. We will probably be meeting twice a
year this year and then once a year. Would any of you like to volunteer? If
the Historical Society does not do it, and we do not, it will probably drop.
We will provide the Chairman and he will be a non-voting member.
(EV) I would like to volunteer.
(LK) Motion to elect (EV) as member of the Committee. (LS) Second.
Carried 4-0.
2. Selectmen Representative on Board and Committees
The Board reviewed the list of necessary Selectman Board members to
various committees. (EV) related that he thought the past year had been a
good year with (AM) as Chairman, and (LK) as Vice-Chairman.
(EV) Motion to have (AM) as Chairman and (LK) as Vice Chairman. (LS)
Second.
(AM) related that he would not mind being Chairman but perhaps, things
would run smoother if he were not the Chairman, as he understood that he
was the vocal point for a lot of disruption of the rules and requesting
members consider other aspects of subjects. He related that this is his last
year and he would not be running again. (EV) related that he never once felt
that (AM) ever told them that “this is the way it is,” but rather let them make
their own decisions, and that he was only one of a five member Board and
they worked well together as a Board. We respected each other’s opinions,
didn’t make the news, and accomplished a lot this past year. (LS) related
that she also felt this way and that (AM) “ran a good meeting, always
checked with the Board and there is no problem with that.” (LK) stated that
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he also had no problem with (AM) as Chairman, though he had been
thinking, maybe, (EV) this year. (JL) related he thought things were fine
status quo.
Motion carried 4-0.
Board discussed the various appointments and voted as follows:
Union Negotiator Representative: (LK) Motion for Linda Small, Second
(EV) Carried 3-0. Abstain l (JL).
Union Negotiator Alternate: (LK) Motion for Arthur Morse, Second (EV)
Carried 3-0. Abstain 1 (JL).
Deputy of Welfare and Health Officer: (LS) Motion for Larry Konopka,
Second (EV) Carried 3-0.
Economic Development Committee: (LK) Motion for Ed Vien,
(LS) Second. Carried 3-0.
Merrimack Valley Reg. Water District: (LK) Motion for John Lenaerts,
(LS) Second. Carried 3-0.
Budget Committee: (LK) Motion for Linda Small, (EV) Second.
Carried 3-0. (No Alternate selected.)
Planning Board Representative: (LS) Motion for John Lenaerts,
(EV) Second. Carried 3-0.
Planning Board Alternate: (LK) Motion for Arthur Morse, (LS) Second.
Carried 4-0.
BCEP Representative: (LK) Motion for Ed Vien, Second (JL). Carried 3-0.
Pandemic Committee: (EV) Motion for Larry Konopka, (LS) Second.
Carried 3-0.
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INFORMATION ITEMS
1. Economic Development Committee
Eric Bahr related that he was here tonight as Chairman of the Economic
Development Committee. At our last meeting, we discussed the current
contract the Board of Selectman has with NH Central Planning. On that
contract there is still 60 hours owed us which is supposed to be used for site
plan review revision and marketing strategy. We would like to change the
terms of that contract so that we can do grants and matching fund
opportunities. We think working on site plan while we have Master
Planning Committee in session is putting the cart before the horse. The
Planning Board may have to go back to make modifications. Many citizens
are very concerned about the current tax rate and spending Town’s money
looking for more money is a better use of it than rewriting some of the
Ordinances we have now. The Committee is behind this 100%. Matt,
Central Planning Committee, has made some clear and decisive suggestions
and the Committee thinks this is the way to go. (LS) related that as Eric
noted, without money we cannot go anywhere. I have seen the economic
profile and they have done a nice job. If we want to move forward, we are
going to have to do this. (AM) Are you saying in order to go out and find
grants, that we need money? Do we have it? (LS) Yes, Town just passed
$25,000. (AM) Who renegotiated contract? Mr. Bahr related that all the
Committee needs is a letter from the Board of Selectman stating that it is
okay to modify contract to look for grants and matching money. (AM) Paul,
can you do that? (PS) Yes. (JL) How much is expended at this point? Mr.
Bahr related that 60 hours remain of Matt’s time but he did not know the
dollar amount. Later, if we try to change gears, we will be out of money.
(JL) Motion we do just that, ask him to change course and pursue grants.
(LS) Second. Carried 4-0. (PS) to accomplish letter to Central Planning.
Mr. Bahr related that there was one more thing that he would like the Board
to pursue and that there was an ongoing interest for more opportunities for
commercial and industrial development across Route 28 and would like the
Board of Selectman to talk to water and sewer and get some sort of cost and
time estimate as to whether we have the ability to push water and sewer in
that area. There is USDA matching funds to do something just like that. I
have no idea of what the cost would be and we are requesting Board to
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solicit that information from Water and Sewer Department so that we know
what the water and sewer situation is in that area. (AM) Does it show
anywhere whether there is existing water/sewer? It seems we need to know
where it goes right now. (EV) There are places where water does cross
Route 28 but sewer does not. (LS) Perhaps, we can get some of that
information from Ron Vien and go from there. Mr. Bahr requested that the
Board keep them apprised of this.
1. Letter – Channel 24 Bulletin Board – Don Chase
(LK) related that Board had discussed the letter last week regarding the
updating and maintenance of information on Channel 24. (AM) related that
he had read Mr. Chase’s letter. (LK) reminded Board “We were going to
check into the security issues as we had some concerns in that regard.”
(PS) Is the system password protected? No. I have had a recent
conversation with Delores regarding the updating of this bulletin board and
she related that Donna has offered her some information in this regard. It is
probably reasonable to have someone internal and on staff to do this.
Delores related that though she had not done this before, she would be
willing to learn how to do it and does have some resources concerning this.
(LS) related that she thought this was the route to go. (PS) as soon as
Delores has learned the system, we need to advise the parties involved that
they can send information to the same address, different contact person. He
suggested that the first thing to do would be to purge all the old information
and then try and keep it up-to-date. (AM) requested (PS) write letter to Mr.
Chase relating this information thanking him for his interest and that his
letter will be kept on file for possible future use.
2. Selectmen Representative on Boards & Committees.
This was done earlier in the meeting.
3. Set-up Appointment with Liz, Cara, and Board of Selectman
(LS) related that last week she had said she would comprise memo and send
out with Board’s approval, but she would like to forego the memo and not
send one if it is okay with Board. (EV) related that he would go along with
her judgment on this.
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(LS) related that she had talked with Cara and she had requested that they
meet either on Monday night when she is here or meet during the day. (PS)
related that if three Board members are present, it will need to be posted as a
Board of Selectman meeting. This can be done after determination has been
made as to day and time. (LK) related that Liz Hast would not be available
for a few days and it should be scheduled when she returns. (AM) asked
Paul to set up meeting for Tuesday at 3:00 P.M. He also related that after
reading Minutes from last week, that he felt there was something more to do.
Employees protect their turf and I do not think we want to be at odds with
the employees. Is what they are doing fine or should some changes be
made? I am fearful of the tone of what I read. We all agree that after
reading the Internal Controls Assessment that we do not agree with
everything that is in there. We would like employee feedback. (LS) I agree,
this was taken very defensively. (AM) Before we move on, how do we go
about this so as not to be contentious? (LS) related that it was not meant to
but it seemed to put some people in the defense mode and that is not where
we were coming from. I think we need positive feedback and this can be
accomplished at Work Session as suggested by Paul.
4. Bid Purchasing Policy (2/20/07)
(LS) related that she has revised the bid purchasing policy by adding to #3:
“Professional services are exempt from competitive bidding unless
otherwise determined by Board of Selectman.” (AM) asked after reading
the Minutes from last week, do we all understand what professional means?”
Board advised all understood.
(LK) Motion to accept addition to bid purchasing policy. (EV) Second.
Carried 4-0.
6. Reference Letter – Joseph Ducharme
(AM) related that this is a request for a reference as he has some work he
would like to do in Keene. According to Ron Vien, he does a real decent
job. (PS) to ask Ron Vien and Joseph Ducharme to draft letter and Board
will approve.
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7. Assessing Offer (Added to Agenda)
(EV) related that he had discussed this with Cara. He suggested Town
negotiate a one-year contract with Cross Country Appraisals, as they are
capable of utilizing ProVal software.
(EV) Motion, (LK) Second.
(LS) I agree with need to do something but I think we do not need to switch
twice. A lot of pick-ups have already been done. We should consider
staying with Purvis for now and then go forward from this point. (PS) I did
not know Purvis was doing pick-ups. (LK) They are just doing abatements.
(PS) related that no one was doing any pick-ups, which to clarify is a term
used for assessing new building construction of any type. Any building
action on a property calls for an assessment. (EV) related that the way he
understood it, abatements are part of the contract. (PS) related that he had
talked to Cara and she related that she had worked with Jeff Robles before
and liked working with him. (LK) related that presently no one has been
contracted to do pick-ups. (AM) If we do this, it is a year contract, but no
software? (LS) I guess I misunderstood about the pick-ups. Yes, if we go
with Avitar, the billing would have to be done manually. (JL) So, we want
to change Purvis to Cross Country Appraisals? (PS) We got proposals from
both companies and I have asked Cara to get a proposal from Visions as a
comparison. We need someone in the next six weeks to do pick-ups. (LS)
as long as we get out there soon. (PS) related that they charge a flat hourly
rate to do assessing. (LK) stated that he had heard some good things about
Cross Country. Jeff Robles knows the Town and that would be an
advantage. (EV) related that last week Avitar and Cross Country made a
presentation to Board. He called the Town of Rindge and they related that
they had switched from Avitar to Cross Country because Avitar did not
know their software. They are currently using Cross Country Appraisals and
have had no problems. (JL) Did we get a proposal from Purvis? (LK)
related that one had not been requested. (EV) reiterated that had he had
discussed this with Cara and she reminded him that Dept. of Revenue has to
approve contract which will probably take about ten days. (PS) contract will
be modified to conform to State’s contract.
Motion carried 4-0.
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8. Lenny Deanne Letter
(EV) We had talked about sending a letter from Board of Selectman
thanking him for “stepping up to the plate” as Acting Fire Chief. I do not
think this was ever done. (PS) Letter is still outstanding. (EV) Can you take
care of that? (PS) Yes.
9. Auditor’s Letter
(PS) related that auditors had sent letter noting that all applicable
information had been provided to them. Board agreed letter should be
signed by Chairman.
(LS) Motion (EV) Second. Carried 4-0.
INFORMATION ITEMS
2. DES Letter
(EV) related that a there were a lot of deficiencies noted by the DES. We
should have Ron come in next week to discuss. (PS) related that he had sent
Ron a copy of this letter along with a cover memo asking him to respond.
Once he has responded, we can have him come in to meet with Board so that
Board can better understand the deficiencies. (AM) related that the State is
changing things and that the Board should not be overly concerned about
this yet.
3. BCEP Open House
(EV) related that for information purposes, there was going to be an Open
House at the Waste Water Disposal on April 27, 2007 at 7:00 P.M. so that
people could better understand the operation. Flyers will be forthcoming.
4. Town Administrator Search
(LS) related that she wanted to discuss with Board a little about the Town
Administrator search. After reviewing the applications, she felt that there
was not as wide a range of applicants as she had hoped. We wanted to know
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if it was possible to re-advertise and what do we do if present candidates do
not work out. (AM) related to re-advertise now would be stating something
to the effect, “We do not want you.” (LS) noted if we wait till the end of the
interview process, we will have lost a lot of time. (AM) related that another
avenue to take would be to use the headhunting process realizing that this is
probably not an expense we would want to incur, though it may be the right
thing to do. (LS) I am concerned with the timeframe and not having a big
selection. (EV) related there are still 10-12 candidates left. (PS) related that
two out of the twelve withdrew. (AM) related, “Again, I put a lot of faith in
MRI.” I do not think they would recommend someone for the job that
would not be appropriate. (PS) explained that now that Don Jutton had been
provided with the phone numbers of the individual Board members, he
would be contacting them to get their input as to what they are looking for as
far as a Town Administrator is concerned. He assured Board that Don
Jutton would give his candid opinions in this regard. (LS) wanted to know if
this will happen soon. (PS) noted that now that he has your telephone
numbers, very soon. (AM) related that it is not always easy to determine if
someone is good for a particular position. He related that in the past he has
made wrong decisions about certain individuals, they were hired anyway,
and they had turned out to be very good.
5. Junk Yard Licenses
(LS) wanted to know if the recent license approvals had been State certified
and that if the future, this could be part of the licensing process. (PS) related
that he had sent a memo to Mike McLaughlin to this effect but has had no
response yet.
6. Employment Evaluations
(PS) related that he had two outstanding evaluations to complete.
7. Minutes of September 19 and 26, 2006
(LS) noted that Board had not yet approved these Minutes and if anyone had
been able to determine which set of Minutes they actually were since they
were identical except for date. (LK) related that he would check his records
to see if he had an Agenda for either of these days.
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8. Citizen Concern
(LS) noted that she had been approached by a citizen regarding “dog refuse”
in the park. We need to make sure that the Ordinance in this regard is being
enforced. (AM) I would direct Paul to discuss with Chief. Last year there
was a similar complaint about this problem, but Chief really could not
enforce because individual in question had a house adjacent to park. (EV)
wanted to know if the Animal Control Officer was back part-time? It was
noted that she was not. Board wanted to know where this was occurring and
(LS) related around the dam area. (AM) suggested Paul write letter to local
newspaper relating that this is a Town Ordinance and to please be in
compliance.
9. Drug Awareness Article
(LK) wanted to update Board on upcoming N/A meeting. With the help of
the GSR in Concord, the first meeting will be Saturday, April 14, 2007 at
7:30 P.M. at the Pittsfield Community Center, Saturday Night Alive Group,
Narcotics Anonymous.
10. Mr. McKechnie Meeting
(PS) related he wanted to update Board on this. After last week’s meeting,
Mr. McKechnie made an appointment with him for today (April 3, 2007) at
2:00 P.M. I E-Mailed him to remind him of this appointment. I was
prepared to meet with him as well as Fred Okrent, HSA Inspector, Mike
McLaughlin, and the Director of HSA who were present. Mr. McKechnie
did not show up.
OLD BUSINESS
1. Town Hall Roof Deadlines
a. Type of Roof
b. Deadline for Quotes
c. Deadline for Job Completion
(PS) related that he had distributed the packet of information provided by
Mike McLaughlin regarding roof specifications.
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Board discussed the types of roof available – metal or various types of
asphalt shingles, colors, types of flashing, concerns with metal roofs and the
fact that the Town Hall is an architecturally visual building. (AM) related
that though it has never been put up for a vote, he assumed that the Board
had eliminated slate as a choice for the type of roof due to the expense and
finding someone who can do this type of roof replacement. (PS) related that
the Mike McLaughlin would review the bids with the Board. Bids will be
generated with closing date of May 22, 2007. Board decided a completion
date of October 31, 2007 would be agreeable.
2. Highway Garage – Exhaust Issue Update (2/13/07)
(PS) noted the memo from Building Inspector about a system with Clean Air
Technology. This system was reviewed with Mike and George and the
vendor. Both agreed that this system seems to suit Pittsfield’s needs,
however, costs do not include electrical work. Mike and George will be
asked to attend next BOS meeting, April 10, 2007 with appointment at
6:15 P.M.
(PS) noted on a related issue, that BI had provided quotes for replacement
doors for the highway garage. Mike and George had discussed with three
different companies and they recommend that Board accept the bid in the
amount of $8,952, which was originally budgeted for $11 or 12,000. (LS)
noted that there was a second estimate for a remote in the amount of $960,
which was noted, is included in total. (AM) suggested Board approve after
Mike and George come in next week. (LS) We did address it last week. Are
they looking for approval tonight? (AM) We can do that next week.
(AM) addressed whether Mike received pay for appearing at BOS meeting
and does George as well? It was noted that Mike is paid hourly and would
receive compensation for his appearance, but George is salaried and would
not. (EV) noted that sometimes salaried employees do have to appear at
meetings, which is part of their job. (LS) Currently it is a “give and take
situation.”
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3. Welfare Cap – Update on Guidelines (2/20/07)
(PS) related that he had found the computer file, updated the Guidelines,
printed a copy and would be getting it down to Betsey tomorrow
(April 4, 2007). Each member of BOS will be receiving a copy of this.
(LK) related Betsey is doing a good job and (PS) noted that she is now
coming in on Fridays for a little while to catch up on some past billing.
APPLICATIONS AND WARRANTS
1. Application for Elderly Exemptions
(PS) noted that there was a question on an application submitted last week
because of incomplete or absent information. He noted that he had
discussed this with Cara regarding the general formatting, some revisions
were made, and document will be more formalized and give more specific
instructions on how to be completed. This form will be sent out to all who
had previously qualified.
(EV) Motion to accept Elderly Exemption for Brown, (LK) Second.
Carried 4-0.
CHECKS AND MANIFESTS
(LS) Motion to accept Payroll for week ending April 5, 2007. (EV) Second.
Carried 4-0.
(LS) Motion to accept Accounts Payable (EV) Second. Carried 4-0.
MINUTES
(EV) Motion to accept Minutes of March 27, 2007. (LK) Second. No
corrections. Carried 4-0. Abstain 1 (AM).
PUBLIC INPUT
None.
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BOARD DISCUSSION
(LK) reviewed Agenda for next week.
(AM) suggested that in near future, perhaps, next week, Board can discuss
some goals to be set forth for 2007. We can suggest three to six goals that
all can agree to work on so that we can see our accomplishments.
He also suggested that Board should review the information on the Salt Shed
and review the engineer’s report again as to how the property is to be used
and what are the other things that will be before us prior to it being done so
that changes will not have to be made.
We should also send a letter to the School District advising them that we
would be willing to work with them as they form the SAU so that there will
be no duplication of services.
Board should also establish some criteria for things that come before us. We
have no set criteria for reasons for decisions or denials we make. To use the
one example when Rotary came forward and asked for drinking down at the
Town Pool. It was denied but there was no criteria we used to deny it and
there are a couple of other times where we had a right to make a decision on
something, but I think that decision needs to be one where a person comes in
and they know what it is they need to meet before we just say “No, we are
not going to do that.” If it is, as Larry says, all we want to do is have a
police officer there, then we should put that out there. Anyone that is going
to ask for a Waiver of that needs to supply a police officer so that everyone
can have that in front of them before they come in and ask for it. I do not
think it is proper for us to make a decision on a case-to-case basis. (EV) It
makes sense in that case, if you want to use the Town Pool and have alcohol
there, you need to do this, this and this…..(LS) it is either that or take the
total alcohol waiver out of there. You can put criteria on something all you
want but if somebody comes forward you know is going to be a problem,
then would you want to hand them over a license to do it? (AM) I think you
need to have a criteria for things like this. People need to know what
criteria they need to meet in order to accomplish what they wish to do. (LS)
That is what I am saying, it goes two ways. There should be no drinking and
no Waiver for this. If you are going to do this, then you need to do this and
this, but we still do not want them over there. The other alternative is to do
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away with allowing a Waiver because that is what gets us into trouble. If
you put in an Ordinance “No Drinking” and then say but we’ll waive that if
you want if you give us this particular information, then you are still opening
yourself up. This is just one instance that was brought up. I agree with Art
that you want to treat everyone fairly but at the same time, we do not want to
back ourselves into a corner. (AM) If the Board decides that, it is fine, too,
but then we ought to go ahead and change that Ordinance and get that out of
there. (AM) noted that he was brought up to believe that it was wrong to
gamble, and that the raffle permits they approve, he feels, are wrong.
However, there is no criteria for this either, but if you have a criteria and
Police Chief says you have to do it, fine., but if there is no criteria then it
becomes, “I do not want to do it this time, but maybe next time.” (LS) noted
that if it has to do with drinking this is one of the biggest problems we have
in Town. You can have a criteria on your perspective but there are other
surrounding circumstances often involved and we need to look at some of
that stuff so it is fair for all. (EV) Speaking of nasty habits, look at the Town
Hall, Looking around, there are cigarette butts everywhere on the ground.
We provide a receptacle and it has been there all the time, yet the cigarette
butts and trash is thrown on the ground. Maybe we need to put up a sign,
“Please take your litter with you.” It was noted at the EDC meeting we
should make our community more sellable and you come to Town Hall and
see cigarette butts all over the ground. That is nasty to me. Maybe we
should ban smoking on Town property.
(LK) noted that he had the Board’s 2006 goals. I feel we, as a Board, got a
lot done last year. Also, I thought Town Ordinance was that no alcohol
could be served on Town property. Is that correct? (LS) noted that is what I
am saying, because we have that little clause in there, you can have it
waived. (LK) It depends on the circumstances. (LS) This is not all cut and
dry and things can be waived.
(AM) noted that he felt that he sees several things that indicate, “We are not
all making a decision based on the same criteria and that is not fair.”
(JL) wanted to know if we would be contacting Mr. Green, Concord
Hospital and was advised the (AM) and (EV) would be meeting with him in
the near future. (JL) wanted (AM) and (EV) to reiterate that we want to
keep things in Town. This is globalization on a small model. This is our
community and we need to get all the help we can. (EV) related that,
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unfortunately, this was a done deal before we were made aware of it. (JL)
wanted to know if the new SAU would be strictly Pittsfield and if so, to
make sure that the office would be in the downtown area. (AM) We do not
yet know if it will end up being a single district SAU but I am sure that the
office will be within the school facility. They probably cannot afford to rent
a place.
(LS) Just a reminder that Non-Public Sessions should be towards the end of
the Agenda so that people do not have to leave, wait outside, and then come
back. It would be nice to schedule them more courteously.
(LK) related that Board had an appointment next week with the former
Town Manager Committee. How do you want to handle this? After talking
to the LGC, it could be a non-public session, and if it would not be
detrimental to anyone’s reputation, then Board could unseal Minutes and
make them public or we could start it as a non-public and if we feel it could
be public, then go into public session. (EV) related that Paul and he had
discussed the issue of non-public session. (PS) related that they had
requested an appointment time for early in the meeting. (AM) suggested
that it be at 7:30 P.M. since there is not too much on Agenda next week.
(PS) advised he would advise them accordingly.
ADJOURNMENT
(EV) Motion to Adjourn. (LS) Second. Carried 4-0.
Adjourned 8:05 P.M.
APPROVED: April 10, 2007
Date
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