MINUTES OF
MEETING
April 7, 2005
Mert Mann
Leslie Hammond
Janice VandeBogart,
Town Administrator
Beryl Leggett from
Mert Mann made the motion to go into non-public session at 7:05pm pursuant
to RSA 91-A to discuss a legal matter.
Les Hammond seconded the motion and the vote was as follows: Mert Mann – aye;
Les Hammond – aye; Chuck Graybill – aye.
No motions made or vote
taken in non-public session.
Chuck Graybill
made the motion to exit non-public session at 7:18 pm, the motion was seconded
by Mert Mann.
Vote was as follows: Chuck Graybill – aye; Mert Mann –
aye; Les Hammond – aye.
George Holt met with the
Board of Selectmen. Chuck Graybill stated that the Board of Selectmen wanted to
compliment George on his eight years of services to the Planning Board both as
an alternate and a member. However, the
Board of Selectmen along with the Planning Board Chair and Co-Chair had come to
the decision to change the overall philosophy of the current board and with
that in mind and the discussion that took place, the Selectmen decided not to
appoint George to the Board. Chuck asked
if George wanted to go into non-public session to discuss this further. George Holt stated that he would like to
speak in public session.
Chuck Graybill
went on to say that three years ago George came in to meet with the Board of
Selectmen, when Chuck was the Selectmen’ representative to the Planning Board,
to discuss concerns then about his re-appointment to the board. There were concerns regarding George’s
discussions with potential sub-dividers prior to Planning Board meetings and
talking with people about acquiring conservation land prior to the discussions
with the planning board, among other issues.
It was decided then not to pursue this type of environment. Chuck went on to mention that during the
course of his tenure on the board he had brought to the table ideas fairly late
in the process and the board fully understood where he was coming from but in a
lot of cases there was a lack of dedication on his part to have a tenancy to
abstain from a high number of votes. It
would have been better all around to bring out these points in the beginning in
terms of how he was thinking and it should have been voiced sooner.
Mert Mann spoke up to say that the Selectmen were given
options of different people who would like to serve by Jim Marcou,
Chairman and Brian Nordle last week. This decision was not done in a
vacuum. The issue was discussed fully
and decided on the appointments that were made.
He stated that Marcou and Nordle
had said they had no problem with whatever decision the the
Selectmen make.
Les Hammond stated that
there was a concern in the way things have been dragging out on the Planning
Board and at the last minute there were changes that needed to be made. This was not just related to George’s
participation, but that this was generally what was happening and the board
would like to make some changes on the planning board. A new philosophy.
George Holt responded to say
that he felt it was conspicuous that he was singled out if the Selectmen wanted
to make changes. He had issues with the
board. Why was it that the Chairman of
the Planning Board was not dismissed? He
went on to say that he understood that he did not decide with the majority
often but it was his goal to keep an open dialogue with those who come in,
abutters, and developers. If there is a
reasonable point that came up, it needed to be explored. In a lot of cases, these are extension of
applications and at the last minute things come up and need to be addressed by
the applicant. Also he stated that
regarding the concern that he does not stand behind his votes, for the most
part he speaks his piece. If there is
more time involved, than he felt that was his fault.
George Holt stated as his
last point, he wanted to make it clear that he disagreed about his
dedication. He felt he was dedicated to
the board. Chuck Graybill
stated that he did not say that George was not dedicated. He was proactive, and the experience he
brought to the board was very good. He
went on to say that he sensed that at the last minute issues were coming from
another group not only from George.
George stated this was an incorrect interpretation.
Lastly, George stated that
he put a lot of time in for the Planning Board, such as the Cell tower ordinance, build-out study,
Zoning amendments, looking at plans, site walks, etc. He felt he was singled out because he does
not toe the line with the board, and feels sorry for the town. He felt he provided a balance and should be
appointed. Chuck stated that there had
been an outburst of concern, and he had fought to keep
George part of the group three years ago.
Now three years later they were getting the same feed back. Chuck thanked him for his many years of
service.
Tenney Hill Road : Leo Martel, Larry Cook, Conservation
Commission and Jeff Crosby, Road Agent:
Leo explained to the board that this last Saturday and Sunday there was
water coming from the power lines that washed silt into Tenney
Brook and damaged the road. He presented
pictures for the record. (Attached). This was a result of a previous problem with
land disturbed by the power company and the power company not following through
with repairs as promised.
Larry Cook stated that the
town was involved since May of last year when the problem started when the
power company built an access road to the power lines. He and Jan VandeBogart, Road Agent, and a representative from National
Grid had walked the land to observe the problem. Larry went through three companies to find
out who was responsible. Plans were
developed to correct the problem and in February they came up with a plan to
put together something that would correct the problem. They had promised that they would install
some type of erosion control for the winter.
He stated that the Road Agent, Jeff Crosby, went out on Saturday in the
rain to divert the water. He went out
again on Sunday as well. Larry stated
that Brett St. Claire from the Conservation Commission had taken pictures of
the damage and Larry had e-mailed the pictures to National Grid. He stated that the contractor from National
Grid will be meeting with the town at the site on April 14th review
the area. They will be able to take care
of the problem as soon as their equipment is freed up.
Jeff Crosby stated that on
Saturday the road was washed out after a fix and started to wash out to the
guardrails, so he returned on Sunday.
The police chief was called because he had to go on someone’s land to
correct the problem. This action slowed
down the flow and he put hay bales up also to slow it down but he will have to
go back to clean up the ditch and put up rip wrap. He also took pictures.
Leo Martel stated that this
wash out involved the stream, his pond and the pond at
Ron Slocum, who lives on Tenney Hill Road, stated that the ATV trails and Snowmobile
trails were also to blame. It was
recommended that someone contact Fred Mullen who is active in the snowmobile
club to be aware of this. Also, could
put up signs that this area has an erosion problem.
It was noted that a 4wheel
drive truck had been up there and flattened out the road and the side ditch so
the water no longer flowed along the road, and diverted the water down to the
town road. That was the major
problem. Could have
been the power company truck or a full size pickup. Someone checked the gate and it is open, maybe left open by the power company. This is on the edge of Cards and Mills
property. It was noted that
the town might want to check with the landowners.
Appointment: The Chairman of the Zoning
Board, John Trottier (not present)
, asked that Leo Martel be re-appointed to the Zoning Board as an
alternate, for three years.
Mert Mann made the motion to appoint Leo Martel as an alternate to the
Zoning Board of Adjustment with a term ending 2008. Les Hammond seconded the motion and the
motion carried.
Summer schedule: It was decided that the Board
of Selectmen will follow their usual summer schedule of meeting every other
Thursday during the months of July and August, plus the first Thursday in Sept. Vote was two to one in favor. (Les Hammond felt that they should meet every
Thursday night.)
The schedule for the summer
will be as follows:
July 7, 2005 No
Meeting
July 14, 2005 Meeting
July 21, 2005 No
Meeting
July 28, 2005 Meeting
August 4, 2005 No
Meeting
August 11, 2005 Meeting
August 18, 2005 No
Meeting
August 25, 2005 Meeting
September 1, 2005 No
Meeting
September 8, 2005: Back to regular schedule of every Thursday
evening at 7PM.
It was the decision of the
Board of Selectmen to authorize the purchase of a new Chain Saw for the highway department to replace the saw that was
stolen from the Town garage. It was
noted that the town’s insurance coverage would not pay for the replacement of
the saw because the town has a deductible of $1,000.
Louis and Anna Chan: Jacques Belanger, surveyor for
the Chan’s and Maria Dolder, Attorney for the Chan’s,
from Ucheda Law Firm were
present with the Chan’s to meet with the Board.
The meeting was taped by the Chan’s.
Jacques Belanger talked
about the Chan’s proposed subdivision off
It was noted that if there
was an increase in width it had to be done on the Chan’s side of the road
because Brenan owns on the left hand side. It was noted that if stone walls needed to be
move, they would be rebuilt. Also, noted
that the ROW was a 30 ft. easement, dedicated to the town. If the Brenan’s
wanted to do anything in the future, they will have to do the improvements on
their own.
The width of the road was
discussed. Was it 18 ft. for shoulders
with a crown in the center? What about
water runoff? Is there room for ditch
lines?
Jeff Crosby stated that he
had meet with Jacques Belanger and the Chan’s Attorney and walked the whole
length of the town Class V portion of the road from Grapevine Road to Brenan’s. There
were existing issues that needed to be corrected. First a culvert had to be put in to prevent
silting, a distance up the road at another culvert there was need for a header,
a guardrail of about 100 ft. long was needed, facing up the hill on the left
hand side and could stand to have trees taken down. The road needs to be cleaned up and shaped
with more gravel, etc. The overall cost,
in his estimation, would be around $25,000.
It was noted that because there is potential for more development, the
cost of this improvement could be allocated to the developers as the lots are
subdivided and built on. Could be controlled by the Planning Board.
Ken Swayze
pointed out that this type of costs could be proportionately assessed. He stated that the town did not have to have
the Capital Improvement Program in place before something like this could be
done, if it went through the Planning Board.
It is possible that this could be assessed at $1000 per lot on a twenty
five lot subdivision. The Chan’s could
be contributing to this improvement.
Chuck Graybill noted that this has to be done
on all projects, voluntarily. Jeff
Crosby noted that this issue could come back to haunt us on other roads in the
future so the town needs to start a system now so that we don’t get left
holding the bag.
Les Hammond asked what could
be done now for long term safety issues.
We have to do what is appropriate now for the safety of vehicles passing
on this road. He felt that 18 feet would
be narrow. Also, he stated that whether
the road upgrade was for one house or twenty five, it should not be
different. The safety issues are the
same.
Chuck Graybill
stated that he was under the impression that the travel way of the road was to
be 18 feet. This
18 feet would not include the shoulders and room for ditches for drainage.
Jacques stated that the 18
feet wide road did not come from the Chan’s.
They were willing to do whatever was necessary. It had come from the meeting on the site walk
that took place with the Conservation Commission and the members of the
Planning Board. It was noted for the
record that this was a site walk, not a formal meeting.
Brett St. Claire stated that
he was at the site walk and Jim Marcou measured out
18ft. Mert
Mann echoed Chuck’s statement that this was not an official meeting or
decision.
Brett St. Claire stated that
the Conservation Commission had discussions with the Chans
and that the Commission and the Planning Board thought it was reasonable to
have the road 18ft. wide. Les Hammond asked what constituted the provisions for
this 18 ft. Brett stated that the width
of the road by the Mackinnon property (at
The Selectmen felt that they
realized that the Chans had come here tonight with
the idea of moving on and they needed to come to some sort of decision. They stated that the town has to think in
terms of safety and with that in mind it would be their feeling that the road
would have to be upgraded with 18 feet of travel way and two foot shoulders on
each side. The board would be satisfied
with that. That way it would be possible
for large trucks to pass. This would
make the overall road way 22 feet wide.
Jacques Belanger stated that
when they left the site walk it was agreed on 18ft. The Chan’s are not against making the road
wider. Jacques said that they could if
the Conservation Commission
would allow trees to be cut on this scenic road.
Larry Cook stated that the
Conservation Commission had agreed to the 18 foot width because that was what
was discussed and that this width would fit between the stones walls without
moving them. He pointed out that the
road was scenic, gravel, narrow and has trees on each side. The purpose of the scenic road hearing was to
maintain the character of the scenic road.
He felt that the CC was cooperating with everyone going on the site
walks, and he thought that it was the consensus of the people on the walks that
this width of 18 feet was acceptable.
Chuck Grabill stated this did not come from
the Selectmen and the Planning Board was waiting on the Selectmen for a
decision.
It was decided that the
Conservation Commission would review this at their meeting next Wednesday
evening, possibly take a site walk and check this out.
It was pointed out that the
town regulations require 24 feet for the road width, including shoulders. Chuck stated that the board realizes that
this is not a through road, however, for safety purposes the town would want to
have 18 feet of travel way with two foot shoulders on each side, having a total
width of 22 feet.
Steven Brenan
Jr. (present) stated that there are two families there now but will
have six families. He was
concerned about the mess in the spring with mud, etc.
Jeff Crosby wanted everyone
to keep in mind that the site walks were done in good weather in the winter and
early spring things are different. Need
to have ditch lines for run off and a place to put the snow, especially on the
hill area.
Doris Ledger (present), stated that she lives on the corner of
Les Hammond stated that all
landowners on that road have rights and all rights are respected, those who live
there and those who subdivide. It
was also noted that the town has a thirty three foot right of way on that
road. This part of the road already is a
Class V public highway. Chuck Graybill pointed out that eventually the town would want to
improve this part of the road anyway and the town already owns it.
Mrs. Ledger asked about the
proposed guardrail. The Road Agent
stated that the guardrail would be about 500 feet up the road, on the other
side of the Milioto residence.
Barry Mackinnon from
Jacques Belanger asked if
the Chan’s needed to come back to the Conservation Commission. Larry Cook stated that they would if the road
was to be wider than 18 feet. Ken Swayze stated that he would be glad to attend the meeting,
saying that he had some recommendations on how this could be done.
Selectmen’ decision: The decision of the Board of
Selectmen was to recommend to the Planning Board that the road be constructed
with 18 feet of travel way, and two foot shoulders on each side. This making the width of the road 22 feet
wide, with the standard requirements for base and crush gravel and whatever
culverts that might be required. The
Class V part of the road would need to be upgraded and it would be up to the
Planning Board to decide who is to pay for this. The Road Agent will bring his recommendations
to the Planning Board. Someone would
have to look into the legalities of allocating the cost of the improvements to
the Class V portion of the road. This
would be for the Planning Board to decide, whether it would be done as part of
the Chan’s subdivision or future improvements, possibly on a bonding
basis. Regardless, the improvements need
to be made.
Mrs. Ledger wanted her
concerns to go on record and requested that the town look into the legal
aspects of going forth with an 18% grade on this road.
Jeff Crosby. Road Agent: Jeff spoke with the board
about water problems at Gorham Pond.
Jeff stated that the parts
were in for the grader and that the grader should be up and running next
week. The roads are in need of spring
grading.
The Road Hearing is scheduled for April 28, 2005, at 7:30pm.
Telephone system: The town technical advisor,
Robert McHenry, has reviewed the bids for the telephone system and recommended
that the Selectmen strongly consider Voice Systems from
Tax Collector, Martha Rae: Martha informed the selectmen
that two properties are up for deeding to the town for non payment of taxes on
Tuesday, April 12, 2005. Roger Gagne, D5-01-06 and Ron Moyle, J3-01-22.
Comments from the public:
Lori Davis commented on
recent board appointments and will be submitting a list of concerns, in
writing, in two weeks relative to past Board of Selectmen meeting
procedures.
Motion adjourn by Mert Mann at 9:00 pm, seconded by Les
Hammond, and all in favor.
Meeting adjourned at 9:00
pm.
___________________________________
Chuck Graybill, Chairman
___________________________________
Mert Mann
___________________________________
Leslie G.
Hammond
Board of
Selectmen
Recorded by: Janice VandeBogart