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Town of AmherstBoard of SelectmenOctober 9, 2007
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Chairman Bruce Bowler called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. Selectmen present: Brad Galinson, Thomas Grella, Reed Panasiti and George Infanti. Also present Town Administrator Gary MacGuire and Executive Assistant Sharon Frydlo.
There were no questions, statements or concerns from members of the audience.
Mr. Bowler announced that effective Wednesday, October 3, 2007 Rick Todd, Captain of the Merrimack Fire Department was appointed to the position of Fire Chief by a unanimous vote of the Board. He will assume his duties as the Full Time Chief on October 22, 2007. At 6:30 p.m. on Monday, October 22, 2007 he will be publicly sworn in.
Mr. MacGuire advised the Hazard Mitigation Plan had not changed since the Board viewed it back in April or May. The draft had been sent onto FEMA with minor changes recommended. It was now approved and requires the Board’s official adoption to make the Town eligible for Federal funding. Mr. Panasiti asked for a brief synopsis of the Plan. Mr. MacGuire reported the plan was under the auspices of FEMA where local community issues were addressed. An example for Amherst was an area just north of the high school on Boston Post Road that constantly floods and they had not had funds to raise the road. All Department Heads and NRPC will be assisting the Town to mitigate the flooding by raising up the road. Other issues were also put into the Plan. Mr. Infanti moved to adopt the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan as written, second by Mr. Grella. Vote: Unanimous.
Big Tree Co-Champion Sycamore
Mr. Bowler turned the meeting over to Mr. Infanti, Liaison to the Cemetery Trustees. Mr. Infanti indicated that the Cemetery Trustees received a letter from UNH Cooperative Extension and quoted the first paragraph as follows: “Congratulations for being the owners of the Hillsborough County Co-Champion Sycamore. The tree was measured by Anne Krantz, Spencer Brooks and Bill Mahar for the New Hampshire Big Tree Program”. The tree, he said, was the second largest Sycamore in the County and was located in the Cemetery behind Town Hall. The tree was 95 feet in height, 171 inches in circumference, had 70 feet of average crown spread and “was an incredible large tree”.
Other Business
Mr. MacGuire reported he had attended a Homeland Security seminar along with EMS Director Brian Gleason in Kansas City which brought them both to a Level III certification. It was a worthwhile program they participated in and beneficial getting all the officials certified.
Mr. Infanti reported he had attended a recent Cemetery Trustees meeting in which they discussed their successful project to bring the cemeteries back up to par. They had hired a part time gentleman who did a great job in raising the stones, it justified the summer employment and they hoped he would come back next year. They also were looked at a rental tractor from Chappell that they may consider buying in the future. At the Planning Board meeting they talked about the Berkshire project on 101A, signage, etc. He also mentioned that Presidential Candidate John McCain will be at the Amherst Congregational Church in the near future.
Mr. Grella had nothing to report but will be attending Heritage Commission and Historic District Commission meetings in the next two weeks.
Mr. Galinson reported that the CIP will have all the data gathered and inputted within the next one to two meetings and put into a spreadsheet with the next step being impact fees.
Mr. Panasiti reported he had missed the last Recreation Commission meeting, but saw George’s comments on their minutes in the “read file”. He asked about any changes the Planning Board was considering to the Zoning Ordinance regarding Route 101A. Mr. Infanti indicated he had not seen any major changes to anything pertaining to that road.
Mr. Bowler reported he had missed the SRLD meeting where they began discussing their next budget.
Minutes
Mr. Infanti moved to accept the minutes of September 24, 2007 as written, second by Mr. Grella. Vote: Unanimous.
Non-Public Session
Upon a unanimous roll call vote the Board entered non-public session at 7:15 p.m. under RSA 91-A:3 II (b) personnel. The Board exited non-public session at 7:35 p.m. While in non-public session the Selectmen discussed compensation of a new hire.
Upon a motion made and duly seconded, the Board adjourned the meeting at 7:35 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Sharon L. Frydlo
Executive Assistant