TOWN OF PITTSFIELD
BOARD OF SELECTMAN
TOWN HALL, 85 MAIN STREET
PITTSFIELD, NH 03263
_____________________________________________________________
MEETING MINUTES OF OCTOBE 2, 2007
CALL TO ORDER
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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), Leon Kenison (LKe), Town Administrator, and
Delores Fritz, Recording Secretary.
MEMBERS ABSENT
John Lenaerts (JL).
PUBLIC INPUT
None.
AGENDA REVIEW
(LKe) Donna Keeley Resignation, Drug Awareness and Education
Committee, St. Laurent Complaint – Shooting Range, Welfare Monthly
Report, Arrest Log, DRED Grant, CDFA Grant Application and Non-Public
Session, two items RSA 91-A:3 2 (a).
NEW BUSINESS
Action Items
1. Town of Chichester – Perambulation Request
(LKe) There is a long-standing Statute, which requires town and cities walk
their boundaries every seven years. Chichester would like to walk the
concurrent boundary and suggested either October 20th or 27th, weather
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permitting at about 8:30 A.M. (AM) noted that this was requested several
years ago but because only he was present as a representative of Pittsfield
that it could not be accomplished as Statute requires that two members of
Board be present. (LS), (LK), and (EV) agreed that they could all be
available to do this on October 20, 2007 at 8:30 A.M. (LKE) to notify
Chichester of date and time and set up a meeting place.
2. Donna Keeley Resignation – Drug Awareness and Education
Committee
(LK) Motion to accept resignation of Donna Keeley from Drug Awareness
and Education Committee. (LS) Second, regretfully. Carried 3 -0.
(LKe) to send her a letter thanking her for past participation.
3. St. Laurent Complaint – Shooting Range
(LKe) related that (LK) received a call early Sunday morning noting that
Mr. St. Laurent was awakened by gunshots, notably target shooting, coming
through Bob Sharon’s property (though actually in the Town pit.)
Apparently there are several local police departments who have access and it
is noted that the Chichester personnel were there target practicing. It was
requested that this could be done at a more acceptable time and not so early
in the morning on a Sunday. Board agreed to have C hief Wharem discuss
with other local Police Chiefs and advise them of this. (LKe) has drafted a
letter to advise them accordingly and this will be distributed also.
INFORMATION ITEMS
1. Staff Meeting Notes 10-2-07
(LKe) This is for informational purposes. (EV) questioned that HSA would
be putting together a fact sheet for the Chamber of Commerce Business
Show, and wanted to know how this was to be displayed. (LKe) noted that it
would be included in the display for the Town.
2. Loudon Road Lot, Timber Cut Frequency, Reserve Deposit
(LKe) noted that the Conservation Committee had hired a forester to go in
and do logging on Loudon Road essentially for thinning purposes and
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harvesting. Expenses to cover this will be deducted from the total profit and
the balance returned to the General Fund. This was last done in the ‘80’s.
(EV) requested that Maurice Wells be notified of this as he was initially
questioning where the funds would go and did not feel it should go to the
Conservation Committee.
3. Monthly Welfare Report
(LKe) noted that this is the monthly report compiled by Betsey and he will
request her to include cumulative totals in this report in the future.
(LS) noted that the results continue to be excellent.
4. Arrest Log
(LKe) This was also distributed for information purposes only and includes
the highlights of the events that transpired this week.
5. DRED Grant
(LKe) related that this is a matching grant for development, renovation and
acquisition of outdoor areas. He has shared this information with the Parks
and Rec Committee noting that the deadline for submission would be
November 1st. (AM) noted that Parks and Rec should be urged to apply for
this grant. It was suggested that, perhaps, the grant could be used for
refurbishing the trails at Sargent Forrest.
6. CDFA Grant Application
(LKe) noted that this would be for a feasibility grant and is not a matching
grant. He will check with Matt and the Economic Development Committee
to see how it may apply here. It is relative to low -income individuals. Grant
application deadline is October 31st.
7. BOS Meeting October 9, 2007
(EV) related that he would be on vacation next week and not be available for
BOS meeting. BOS agreed not to meet on Tuesday, October 9th and
continue their weekly meetings for the rest of the month. (LKe) to post
change.
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OLD BUSINESS
1. Land Use Change Tax – Signatures
a.) James Bapple; b.) Lachlan Grey; c.) Thomas Hogan
(LKe) related that these are to be signed by BOS. Town Appraiser has set
the values. The end result will be that taxes will not have to be abated and
DRA has already approved this.
(LK) asked if there was any new information regarding the rest of the
properties. (AM) noted that he still did not think it was correct that two
properties side-by-side are evaluated as building lots and one can be up to
four times more than the other. He related that some property owners do not
reside there and would not be aware of what is going on. He related that Mr.
Hogan is not sure what to reconfigure his two-acre lot. All have been
evaluated at around $16,000 no matter what size.
(LS) questioned that there were no dollar amounts on these forms.
(AM) related that this is to allow them to take property out of current use
without penalty. Assessor has changed value of property. (LKe) noted that
BOS has already voted on this and accepted Jeff’s work and this just takes it
out of current use. (LK) questioned how they came up with the figure of
$16,000 and that there may only be a few lots similar to this.
2. Contract Service for Emergency Trash Removal
(LKe) noted that he has had difficulty contacting them and would continue
to try.
3. Taxi Ordinance
(LKe) noted that he has the information and will be putting the information
together for presentation soon.
4. Tax Deed Property Report
(LKe) related that some photos have been taken, but he has not yet had the
opportunity to meet with Mike to observe properties. Hopefully, sometime
next week this will be accomplished and addressed at next BOS meeting.
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5. Rotary Bill for Police Detail – Balloon Rally
(AM) In regard to what we briefly discussed last week, is it proper to pay
detail rate to l. salaried employee; and 2. Town employees? (LS) related
that she believed this was up to the discretion of the Police Chief. (LKe)
noted that this can be argued both ways and the precedent has been that
someone is around for general protection. (EV) questioned whether it
qualifies as detail? An event this large, not call it detail. (LS) noted that
these were all valid questions. We are unde rstaffed here and yet one can be
on detail somewhere else. There is a fine line there. We do not always have
good coverage here and they should be on regular duty and not on detail
duty. (AM) questioned if they offer to work and the event is here in Tow n,
do they still get detail pay? We had police officers working 17 and 19 hours
on Saturday. There are no controls out there. The length of time worked is
too long. (LS) questioned why they worked so many hours in one day.
(AM) related that Bob said details were to protect vendors on Saturday night
and except for a couple, most vendors left on Saturday night. Generally
speaking, it is not proper to be sending out a bill like this whether it was to
the Rotary or some other organization. The traffic control did not involve
5,000 people for 19 hours. (LS) noted that again it is up to the discretion of
the Police Chief. This would be a good time to discuss this with him.
Should they have been out there for so many hours?
(LK) read the applicable Statute.) (AM) related that he could not understand
why police details were so long on Saturday. The bill encompasses 160 ½
hours. If we are going to charge for details, we need controls on charging
for it. (LS) And, we need to know where details are. (AM) We are the
Town and do we agree that 8 officers were needed on Saturday for at least
12 hours? Was that a threat to the welfare of the community? We cannot
answer this but we need to know. (LS) noted that we should defer this back
to Police Chief. (LKe) noted that he would relay this information to Bob
and have him come in and address BOS on this. (LK) noted that these
questions were asked before. (AM) related that how you define a Town
activity should be explained. (LS) related that BOS needs to get to the
bottom of this. (AM) related that the criteria should be the same for all
events. Old Home Day is not necessarily a Town activity; it is put on by
volunteers. We need to establish criteria and all organizations should be
treated the same.
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APPLICATIONS & WARRANTS
1. MS5- Financial Report
(LKe) This needs to be signed by Board members so that Cara can set a date
with DRA for tax rate setting. (AM) noted that, perhaps, Leon can contact
them to have them come and discuss with Board to give us a good overview
of things.
CHECKS & MANIFESTS
(LS) Motion to approve Payroll and Direct Deposit. (EV) Second.
Carried 3-0.
(LS) noted that for observation purposes only, there was a great deal of sick
time.
(LS) Motion to accept Accounts Payable. (EV) Second. After discussion,
carried 3-0.
Discussion included 1. What is our policy on meal reimbursement if
someone is away? 2. Is the NFPA bill in lieu of hard copy of codes or in
addition to what we are paying? (LKe) noted that he believed this covered
it all. (LK) noted he would like to know of price increases and why?
3. Postage Reserve Account. Can we pay in small increments instead of
paying all at once? (AM) suggested that $1,000 increments be added as
needed. (LKe) to check. 4. Seacoast Computer check for $945. (LKe)
noted that a non-functioning computer at the Police Department was
replaced. (LS) questioned whether it was in the budget and whether (LKe)
was aware of this. (LKe) noted that he was aware of this and that Police
Chief noted that he would incorporate it into his budget somehow. (LS)
mentioned that he should notify us first before buying. (AM) noted that if
computer is needed for everyday work, it might be crippling to Police
Department not to have it before it can be approved and fixed/replaced.
(LKe) noted that it was one used routinely and he will check again with Bob
regarding the budget for this.
MINUTES
1. Non-Public Session, September 25, 2007
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(LK) Motion to accept Public Session Minutes of September 25, 2007.
(LS) Second. Several changes were noted. Carried 3 -0.
2. Non-Public Session, September 25, 2007, Session #1 and 2
(LK) Motion to accept Non-Public Session Minutes of September 25, 2007,
Session #1 and 2. (LS) Second. Carried 3-0.
3. Non-Public Session September 18, 2007, Amended.
(LKe) noted that these Minutes have already been approved and voted upon
and was presented to Board just for viewing.
PUBLIC INPUT
(AM) related that he would still like to see a light on Leavitt Road and this is
something he would like to continue to pursue.
Pam St. Laurent wanted to know what happened in regard to the guns going
off at 5:55 A.M. on Sunday morning at the Town pit. (AM) explained to her
what transpired earlier in the meeting noting that these were police officers
from a different town and have instructed Bob that this is an unacceptable
time for this and hopefully, will not occur again. Ms. St. Laurent noted that
this was not very considerate of the neighbors.
She also noted that on the Sunday of the Balloon Rally around 8:00 A.M.,
there was a cruiser sitting up at the corner by the bank. What was going on
there at 8:00 A.M? Do we need to check into what hours are actually
needed for any event?
Denise Morin commented on the rug stains in the large meeting room.
Close Public Input
OTHER
1. Replacement of Rug in Large Meeting Room
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(LK) noted that the BOS had previously discussed replacing rug in large
meeting room with hardwood floors. He related to Board that he had a quote
for some of the things that needed to be done before floors could actually be
replaced. This would include pulling up the old rug, which could be done by
volunteers, and replacing the sub-flooring, which would be accomplished by
a contractor. He offered a quote that would be about $4,500 to include the
few things necessary to be done by private contractors and cost of materials.
He noted that he would volunteer his time and expertise to replace the floors
and do the final finish work.
(LKe) noted that he would get together with Cara to put this project out for
bid. (LK) noted once you put this out for bid, you will then be better able to
see the difference.
2. Volunteers – Pavilion
(LKe) noted that members of staff approached him regarding volunteering to
do the repairs at the Pavilion. The supplies would be purchased by Parks
and Rec and staff would complete the work. This would also be a general
clean-up day and hopefully, could begin a Town tradition, which would be
done every Fall. It was noted that they have pride in Pittsfield and would
like to somehow contribute. Board members were agreeable with this.
NON-PUBLIC SESSION
(LK) Motion to go into Non-Public Session per RSA 91-A:3 2 (a). (EV)
Second. Carried 3-0. Members of Board were individually polled, and all
agreed.
Public meeting was adjourned at 7:20 P.M.
APPROVED: October 16,2007
___________________________ ____________________
Arthur Morse, Chairman Date