TOWN OF
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
MINUTES OF MEETING
Present: Chuck Graybill
J. R.
Swindlehurst, III
Steve Kennedy
Janice VandeBogart, Town
Administrator
Chief Nelson
presented the following Letters of Commendation:
1. Joe Milioto, for doing an excellent job at
two sudden deaths,
2. Rene Rorcier, for doing an excellent job at
the Lefreniere sudden death incident, going above and beyond the call of duty,
3. Scott Wilson, for his work at the station on
the new information system and ongoing construction projects,
4. Lenny LaMarca, for his participation in the
2003 Law Enforcement Special Olympics Torch Run,
5. Beth LaMarca, for her participation in the
2003 Law Enforcement Special Olympics Torch Run,
6. & 7.
Chris Connelly, for his participation in the 2003 Law Enforcement
Special Olympics Torch Run and for his work at the station, in helping to
construct a new interview room, storage room and kitchen area.
Jeff also
mentioned the following Honorable Mentions:
Chris, for his help with a sexual assault and reckless conduct
case. Joe and Rene,
for their help with a domestic violence report, Rene and Chris, for their help
with a reckless gun incident, Beth, on her new job and Lenny, for his help at
the Hopkinton Strawberry Festival.
J.R.
motioned to grant to the Planning Board a 90-day extension for the Robert and
Dorothy Perry proposed multi-family unit subdivision on
Steve
updated the Board on the recent Planning Board meeting, relating to the Perry
extension. He feels it is a tricky road,
and could cost $500,000. He explained
that there will be a 32 foot ring around four homes, enough room for emergency
vehicles. Steve indicated that he is
scared because he feels the road is questionable. He would like some risk and longevity
assessment and is hoping that Don Mayo will have objections. He is questioning how the Town can protect
itself, particularly if the retaining wall starts to go and affects the road,
since there is no contingency money.
Jeff
Trexler was present and recommended that the road be designed by a professional
engineer. Steve asked if the engineer
could be sued, and Jeff responded positively, if he is negligent.
Steve
indicated that he wants to work as a team to answer questions regarding the
scheduling of the community center. He
feels that all proper information should go to one person who will take
responsibility for the center , and asked who that
person should be.
John
indicated that the School Board is working on a new policy and hopes to have it
completed by September. He mentioned
that everyone will need to complete an application and the School Board will
decide if the applicant will be charged or not.
He mentioned that there have only been two instances in which the
applicant was charged for use of the community center so far.
Jeff feels
there needs to be some control and that, with the new policy, the applicants
won’t need to come to the School Board.
He asked whether the Town wants to be involved or should it just be the
school? He raised the question as to
whether the public is being served well.
Steve noted
some concerns, including the sound system and the cafeteria cleanliness
issue. He suggested charging applicants
and then refunding them if they live up to the agreement.
John mentioned
that he has heard all the complaints before.
J.R.
mentioned that he heard them as well at the ham and bean supper, that people
were complaining that the center was a mess.
John said
they are working on it. He asked who it
should come back to, the Town or the School? He said it didn’t matter to him.
Jeff noted
that the scheduling has remained with the Town because then residents still
think they have Town ownership.
Janice
feels that it doesn’t make sense for the Town to oversee the center and mentioned
that historically it fell to the Town because the school wasn’t staffed in the
summer. She feels that it doesn’t make
any sense for the Town to schedule the center because they have no idea what is
going on and that the school is responsible for maintaining the center.
Rene
suggested that we think about it as a community school.
Steve feels
it is okay for someone at the school to schedule the center, but that there
needs to be a contingency plan and he recommends managing it at the
website. He asked that the School Board
keep the Board of Selectmen informed as the policy is updated.
John would
like to curb lights being left on and the doors left unlocked.
Steve
suggested holding a deposit, to reduce this problem.
Jeff
indicated that the policy the School Board is working on also applies to the
classrooms and grounds.
Steve asked
about the the closet. Jeff feels that
the school property needs to come out of the Town closet. J.R. mentioned that the Fire Dept. only found
167 chairs, out of an original 300. He
was told someone borrowed the chairs.
Fred Mullen brought the small number of chairs to the School Board’s
attention.
Steve said
the Town needs to take care of the Town’s closet and suggested the new Highway
Dept. employee could check on it weekly. Jeff will assign the closet for
Town/Community use only. J.R. mentioned
that the door doesn’t lock properly.
John mentioned that the Rec. Commission has things in the closet. Steve said the ladder is the biggest
problem.
Jeff
brought up the issue of the grounds. He
said the Rec. Commission uses the ball fields during two seasons. He feels that the school should also schedule
the grounds. Chuck and J.R. agreed. Jeff
feels that the reserved field slots have priority, but that anyone can use the
fields, if not reserved.
Rene
mentioned that he likes how the policy lays out priorities, based on how
closely tied to the interest of the community the user is. John likes the idea of scheduling on the
website.
Steve
raised the idea of renting out the community center as a potential revenue
source. Jeff doesn’t know if they should
get into money-making
with it and will seek the Board’s approval first.
Another
meeting between the two Boards was scheduled for 9/25 at
Steve
suggested the two Boards work on a budget together also. Jeff indicated that a lot of their budget is
out of their hands, but that capital improvements are in their control. Steve said that the Master Plan pulls
everything together, including what our facilities can support, the impact on Goffstown and that this information needs to
be shared with the school. John
mentioned the area agreement with Goffstown, and that Goffstown will need to
take all of Dunbarton’s students. Chuck wants to the two Boards to discuss
capital improvements at their next joint meeting, but not any other budget
information. Steve agreed with
discussing capital improvements and would also like to include pay raises. He feels the raises should be the same for
the Town and the school.
Jeff would like bus stops to be
included in proposed subdivisions plans.
Steve suggested that he see Ken Swayze and that it makes sense. Chuck thought it was a great idea.
J.R. asked
how the lawn mowing was going. Jeff said
he has not received any complaints.
J.R. asked
if there was anything the School Board would like to see done on the
grounds. Jeff mentioned that Jeff Crosby
had offered to fill in an area of the school grounds and put in a catch basin
some time ago and perhaps his offer would still hold. He said there are no issues they need to
discuss.
Chuck
Graybill, Chairman
_____________________________________________________________________
J.R.
Swindlehurst, III, Selectman
________________________________________________________________
Steve
Kennedy, Selectman
Respectfully
Submitted,
Joanne
Johnson