|
|
Town of AmherstBoard of SelectmenApril 2, 2007
|
At 5:34 PM there was a unanimous roll call vote, by all Selectmen, to enter into a non-public session with Town Counsel (RSA 91-A:2 I. c.). The first matter discussed was a potential lease of land (RSA 91-A:3 II. D.) with no vote taken. The second matter discussed was a procedural discussion with Town Counsel. The third matter discussed was a potential land acquisition (RSA 91-A:3 II. D.) with no action taken at that time. There was a motion to adjourn this session at 7:10 PM.
Chairman Bruce Bowler called the meeting to order at 7:14 p.m. Selectmen present: George Infanti, Thomas Grella, Reed Panasiti and Brad Galinson. Also present Town Administrator Gary MacGuire and Executive Assistant Sharon Frydlo.
Mr. Bowler advised the Selectmen wanted to recognize several championship teams from Souhegan High School. The first one was the Girls Indoor Track Team. He called upon Track Team Coach Cathy Merra who introduced her team amidst applause from the audience. Mr. Bowler presented them with a certificate of congratulations from the Board of Selectmen.
Mr. Bowler indicated the second team was the Boys Hockey Team, back for the second year, and called upon Coach John Coughlan who introduced his players, amidst applause from the audience. Mr. Bowler also presented the Team with a certificate of congratulations from the Board of Selectmen.
Mr. Bowler called upon Athletic Director Bill Dod and Selectman Tom Grella who read a tribute to Mr. Dod prepared by one of Mr. Dod’s former assistants, Marti Warren. Mr. Grella handed him the “somewhat tattered” Championship Flag that had been flown in Town over the years whenever a Souhegan High School Team captured the State Championship. A certificate of appreciation was presented to him by Mr. Grella and signed on behalf of the Board of Selectmen. Mr. Dod spoke a few words of thanks to the many teams that accomplished this stature and the students themselves involved in these programs - a standing ovation was given to him by team members, their parents and the Board of Selectmen.
Dana Redmond, Recreation Commission, believed the Selectmen would be taking under consideration the Memorandum of Understanding between the Amherst School Board and the Town of Amherst. The Recreation Department believes this follows the existing spirit of the current lease that looked into the future. Mr. Bowler advised this item would be taken up at the end of the meeting at approximately 8:45 p.m.
Richard Hart – Planning Board
Mr. Hart explained he had only been a member of the Planning Board for approximately nine months. The reason he wanted to be a member was to represent the views of the Conservation Commission that he had been a member of for many years. He hoped during this tenure that he had communicated items between the Commission and Planning Board which was the primarily issue of why he was interested in joining. He was also interested in working on the Master Plan and because of his position on the Planning Board, he had been doing a much better job on the web site for this process. Mr. Infanti, as the Liaison to the Planning Board, indicated that Mr. Hart, representing Conservation, brought a different perspective, asked questions on how the natural habitat would work within a plan or development and has been an asset. Mr. Hart told Mr. Grella that he felt there were still places where communications could be improved in terms of making discussions more open and available to people who were interested in what was happening. He thought the TV helped the matter. Mr. Panasiti indicated he had been 100% behind having an ACC member on the Board and asked if he thought he made a difference. Mr. Hart responded that some people have said that there have been improved communications. Mr. Panasiti commended him in what he had accomplished during the past nine months and felt this was a step in the right direction. Relative to conflict of interest, Mr. Hart told Mr. Bowler he had stepped down once because one case were friends of his and another time when there was a continuing case and he had not been on the Board very long to hear the entire discussion. Mr. Bowler explained the process and mentioned that until the Selectmen make the appointments, he would still be a sitting member on the Planning Board.
Juli Harvey – Historic District Commission
Mrs. Harvey has lived in Amherst for five years a block away from Town Hall. Her career is in marketing and negotiations and has done a great deal of international contract negotiations. She enjoys working with people and looking for a common ground for all parties that is fair. She loves historic properties, bought an old home and restored it and would do it again for every house she lives in for the rest of her life. She is very passionate for older homes and thought it important to keep them preserved. She told Mr. Panasiti that she had gone before the HDC for a gardening shed and thought it would be interesting to be on the other side of the discussion. She explained to Mr. Galinson that when she first moved into Town she heard a lot of “buzz” about the HDC. What they are trying to do is a good thing – the preservation of historic homes. There were few towns like Amherst that are as nicely preserved. She told Mr. Grella that she felt the Commission was very fair in how they handled her particular case. She indicated to Mr. Infanti that if there was a conflict of interest with a close friend or neighbor, she would not feel uncomfortable telling them she did not agree with their plans.
Daniel Sadkowski – CIC Committee
Mr. Sadkowski has been a resident of Amherst since 2003 and lives on Sycamore Court. Last month he completed his third year term on the ZBA and it was a tremendous learning experience that he enjoyed. He told Mr. Grella that he had watched the meetings on TV, operated the camera at one Planning Board meeting and worked the control room at another. Mr. Galinson indicted he had the pleasure of serving with Dan, he was important to the conversations and didn’t miss many meetings. Mr.Sadkowski explained to Mr. Galinson that on the Town’s website he saw there was an open position and he wanted to be more involved with the Town and this was another challenge for him to try something different. Mr. Panasiti appreciated that he wanted to volunteer for any committee and thought he was an able candidate. Mr. Infanti noticed him running equipment for one of the Planning Board meetings and saw someone enjoying what he was doing. Mr. Bowler indicated the Board could take a vote because they had an open position. Mr. Infanti move to appoint Dan Sadkowski to the Communications Infrastructure Committee for a three-year term, second by Mr. Grella. Vote: Unanimous.
Melissa Mellen – Planning Board
Mrs. Mellen has lived in Amherst for seven years on Chestnut Hill Road. She commented she appreciated the Town, especially when driving through Bedford. She worked in a family business in Concord for 10-15 years and spoke about the marketing and public relations work she had done. She thought the Planning Board would be a good fit for her. She was a bit familiar with the zoning laws, know when the Board meets and has been to the Master Plan meetings. She spoke about helping people who are concerned about the discussions being heard by the Planning Board. One of the major issues and concerns, she told Mr. Infanti, was control of growth and one of the predominant messages heard from the Master Plan group. Some people feel the lots on 101A were over-saturated and that the Planning Board does not feel this way. She also talked about preserving the five-acre lots in Amherst and many people do not want to become another Bedford. Mr. Grella mentioned that he was in another group who felt that 101A was basically commercial and industrial and should be kept in the same section. Mrs. Mellen indicated to Mr. Galinson that she had recently taken some time off from work and would be willing to help create zoning ordinances as well as attending the meetings. She told Mr. Panasiti she would consider an alternate position as well as another committee, such as the Master Plan.
William Wichman – Conservation Commission
Mr. Bowler remarked that Bill does a fair amount of work for the Commission and was probably the number one caretaker of the Town’s trails. Mr. Panasiti mentioned that he could not think of anyone that deserves to be on the Commission than Bill and he does a remarkable job. He was exactly what the Town needs and exactly what he should continue to do. Mr. Wichman told them that he doesn’t specialize in the formal learning process, but these were his specialties and he has been on the Commission for nine years. Mr. Galinson indicated Mr. Wichman does an important service for the Town and wondered if the ACC would become more active and identify itself with the Planning Board, PMEC and the ZBA. Hopefully Mr. Wichman could become strongly associated with those services, he said and appreciated what he has done. Relative to any improvement of the ACC in the future, Mr. Wichman told Mr. Grella that if they had more conversations on what the ZBA was doing, they could do better in this regard. They could be a resource on such things as wetlands. He was now the representative on OSAC and on land acquisitions the Commission could be a bit more foresighted. Mr. Infanti quoted from Mr. Wichman’s email in which he asked to serve again because “I’m feeling masochistic”. Two sentences in the reply said a great deal … “Thank you, Bill, you are one of our greatest dedicated volunteers. I will put you on the list”. Mr. Infanti commented that he did not know if they would let him get away, even if he wanted to. Mr. Bowler spoke of Mr. Wichman’s services to the Town as an active member of ACC, active member on the Recycling Committee and active member with the Stormwater II Committee. Whenever they needed something, they call Bill and he is there to lend a hand, “we thank you”, he said. Mr. Panasiti moved to appoint William Wichman again as a full member of the Conservation Commission for the next three years, second by Mr. Grella. Vote: Unanimous.
Other Business
Memorandum of Understanding/Lease Modification
Between the Amherst School District and the Town of Amherst
On the Bean Fields
Mr. MacGuire summarized that the memorandum was discussed several weeks ago with the School, Recreation and himself. The School District’s attorney drafted the Memorandum of Understanding. It was then presented to Town Counsel who made some recommendations and adjustments to protect the Town’s interest and was what the Board had in front of them. It was his understanding that all the changes were in agreement with the exception of section three as recommended by Town Counsel, and not supported by the School.
Mr. Panasiti added that the current lease was written in l984 and the Recreation Commission would like to bring it up to 2000 standards. The Bean property was approved by the voters and they would like to redo the lease again. The School Board and Recreation Commission agreed to item number two which was to extend the lease a few more years to include the Bean property so that they don’t have to do a rewrite. Town Counsel suggested the wording in red in number three and was something the School Board would like to see go away as he would too. They had discussions before about this property being a viable site for a new school, but it did not have the size requirements for a new one. Regarding about the issue of reimbursement to the Town, it would have to be reimbursed through the taxpayers’ money and might be a conflict in and of itself. This part of the agreement could be a “show stopper” for the entire project.
Mr. Bowler indicated that the School Board had not taken a vote on this. They were supposed to have a meeting on Thursday, but canceled by the Business Administrator. The School Board has not looked at this and their Counsel had not seen it on Friday morning. Both Counsels have talked and so far they did not know where they stood. The School Board was not meeting again until this Thursday and they will not know if there are any other issues they may have. Another matter brought up by Town Counsel was that the Town would give them i.e. $430.000 if the project cost this much, not the $450,000 that is in the memo.
Mr. Panasiti explained that it was important that the Selectmen and School Board sign this soon. They have a company that has been awarded the bid and has already lost one week’s time. They have already told this person that they may not have payment until July and the company has agreed to wait, but was not sure he would agree to wait three more days for an answer from the School Board if the Selectmen don’t recommend approval of the MOU. It was Mr. Panasiti’s recommendation that they approve this. The company they awarded the work to is considerable less and they are afraid of losing him as he was losing money each day that goes by.
Dana Redmond spoke briefly about the meeting they had with the Amherst School Board. The present lease was in the 23rd year of a 25-year lease. It was decided to extend the lease out to 2014 and part of the MOU. He mentioned that the School District has been a good partner – they supplied the Town with the Recreation Department building and they always had the right to take back land if there was a need. The School District voted this past year to not consider the Bean Fields for a school expansion, as it did not meet the criteria. There is no effort to try and turn the Bean Fields into a school site. Originally the property was purchased in 1999 for parking and fields. Those improvements would stay with the School District as the owners. There shouldn’t be any intention to take this property back. They asked to use the land and can’t afford delays. This agreement has worked well for so many years. He did not think the School Board could commit to future School Boards a pay back.
Mr. Panasiti mentioned that there was talk about interest penalties and costs in addition and why they were needed. Mr. Redmond explained that technically they cannot pay for improvements until July and they need the contractor to start. Five hundred dollars is the finance charge to hold the payment until July so the work could begin. They would ask the Selectmen to award the contract to the developer. Mr. Panasiti added that it was the Commission’s recommendation to use a contractor from Bedford. Mr. MacGuire advised this would be the School Board’s call, the Town was just the one funding it. Mr. Redman indicated that if they lose this contractor, the next one was $75,000 over the current one. Mr. Panasiti mentioned that the reason they were pushing to get this done was because of the growing season.
In response to Mr. Infanti’s statement, Mr. Redmond corrected him that the vote for non-use of the fields for a school had been changed to five in favor instead of the original 4 to 1. Mr. Infanti indicated he was not against this at all and respected Town Counsel’s opinions, he sits up and listens because Counsel knows what he is doing and puts the good of the Town before anything else. In this particular case, the fields are important and would agree with Reed that the money would come out of the same pocket if the School Board decided to take the new fields, turn them into a parking lot, would have to reimburse the taxpayers and he would be very vocal about this. Saying this, he said he would go along with changes that Town Counsel recommends with the exception of number three and take the chance on reimbursement.
Mr. Grella agreed with Mr. Infanti. He spoke about the close relationship between the Town and Schools in the past and could not think of any issue where both Boards were not in agreement. He briefly spoke about the Firemen’s Muster being held over the years on Spaulding Field with the School’s approval.
Mr. Galinson disagreed and felt number three should be kept in. He spoke about voters’ perception and that if a new building needs to be built there will be a warrant article where people will vote whether they want to spend “x” to build a school. He felt there should be a penalty clause because of voters’ perception of using LUCT funds to build the fields. Mr. Redmond indicted there was no provision for a School District to sign for something like this. For 23 years they have given the Town their land to use and there was nothing to think this would change within 3-5 years and doesn’t hold true with what history tells them. It is the same taxpayer and the same people who pay for this all along.
Mr. Bowler indicated he had a discussion the past Thursday afternoon with Reed and the School Board Chairman. The Town has used the fields for a number of years and it was the Town who built and maintained Spaulding Field and Upper Wilkins with Town funds. It was a nice thought to have something in the MOU to protect the Town. It would be nice if the School Board decided to put in a School that a warrant article indicated “x” number of dollars to replace those fields or fields they may have to build elsewhere. He also respected Bill Drescher’s opinion, but it is the Board’s option to go against this. What bothered him was that the School Board did not have a meeting on Thursday so that the Selectmen could have looked at what they had decided on. Mr. Redmond mentioned they have to protect their interest, but it should be built on trust. Mr. Bowler indicated that on the Town’s side the warrant article passed by a great deal and the School’s side was much closer and it sent a message.
Mr. Infanti moved to support the Memorandum of Understanding by deleting in No. 3 – “which renegotiation shall include provisions that reimburse the Town for the corresponding loss of use of said fields.”, second by Mr. Panasiti. After a brief discussion Mr. Infanti amended the motion to insert back “endeavor to” on the fourth line between “shall” and “renegotiate”, second by Mr. Panasiti. Vote: 4-1, Mr. Galinson opposed.
Interview – Sandra Fraser
Caroline Quinn stopped in to tell the Board that Mrs. Fraser’s husband had taken ill and was being looked at by the EMS crew - this was the reason she was not present for her interview for a position on the Historic District Commission.
New Business
Mr. MacGuire handed out a memo from DPW Director Bruce Berry on gravel fill for the new Salt/Sand Shed. He explained that Mr. Berry had recently learned of an opportunity to obtain some fill and requested additional quotes for 2,000 yards of six inch aggregate delivered to the Dodge Road site. The pricing received was as follows: Granite State $35,700, Pike Industries $24,000 and Leighton White, Inc. $15,800. Mr. Berry was asking the Board’s support to purchase the aggregate from Leighton White. Funding would be from this year’s surplus salt budget of $43,608.91.
Mr. Infanti felt it a good price at $8.00 a yard delivered. Mr. MacGuire told Mr. Panasiti that the original price was for the purchase of the salt/sand shed and not for the entire site work. Mr. Infanti commented that this would probably tie up the loader and it would have been quicker if they had two loaders. Mr. Bowler agreed that this was a good price and asked if they have filled the salt shed up as a start for next year. Mr. MacGuire will check on this. Mr. Infanti moved to purchase 2,000 yards of six inch aggregate from Leighton White Inc. not to exceed $15,800, second by Mr. Grella. After a brief discussion the vote was unanimous.
Memorandum of Understanding
Mr. Infanti suggested that if the School Board agrees to the MOU on Thursday night, the Selectmen could come in on Friday to sign it.
Other Business
Mr. Infanti reported on last Tuesday’s Master Plan meeting. He found it very interesting and heard some mixed messages. People would like to see more trails in Town, there were a number of people upset with the development on 101A, didn’t want any more and didn’t want their taxes to go higher which was a Catch 22. This document was going to shape the direction Amherst will go in the next 10-15-20 years. There were approximately 40 people not counting the facilators, group members and members of the Planning Board. If people want to shape the future of the Town and give some guidance, they need to show up now. The Planning Board has approved very few residential developments during the past year and people need to come to these meetings and give their opinion.
Mr. Grella reported he was in a different group and shared some of their thoughts. One of the ladies, who lives in the Village, feels very safe and not afraid to leave her house open. The group was satisfied with the public safety departments – Police, EMS and Fire Departments and thought they were doing their job. The concern was101A that has the most commercial density and they were glad it was centered there.
Mr. Galinson attended the CIC meeting last Wednesday. The Committee was frustrated on the lack of funding and they decided they would only televise the Board of Selectmen’s meetings and not televise the Planning Board, ZBA and School Board. He felt it important that he bring this to the Board’s attention. There was also a concern about lack of manpower as well as the funds.
Mr. Galinson also mentioned that Jay Dinkel had brought up this subject before and that was the similarity of road names specifically Thornton’s Ferry Roads I and II. Changing one of them would be helpful and a safety issue. He commented that the Postmaster refused to delivery mail if it was addressed to Thornton’s Ferry Road “2”. He would like to see if this was an easy fix or not. Mr. Bowler advised this was brought to the Board about a year ago and the Department Heads, especially the Emergency Services weighed in. This was not a concern of theirs because of E911 and house numbers show up when someone calls. There was a discussion about Thornton’s Ferry Road I being changed to County Road and he knew there were several residents that would “fight this tooth and nail”. Mr. Grella mentioned that after being on the Fire Department for 30 years, there was never any confusion. Perhaps the Postmaster should look at his own procedures. Mr. Infanti commented on Col. Wilkins Road and Col. Wilkins Run. The E911 system actually eliminates some of the problems associated with the close road names because it comes up on the computer screen rather than verbal, but the E911 people are still the ones that don’t want to see similar sounding names. Mr. Panasiti felt the concern was future growth in the Town and on TF Road II there was a development in progress. The Town now has approximately 13,000 people and there may come a time when they have to consider changing some names because of similarities and problems. It only takes one time for something to happen before it grabs your attention and they need to at least talk about it. Mr. Bowler felt there were other places in Town that were more of a concern to him.
CIC Committee
Mr. Bowler invited Chairman Doug McAllister to sit down and talk with them. He indicted he knew of their frustration that the warrant article didn’t pass and they needed some equipment. He commented that they were doing a tremendous job volunteering their time, but was a bit disappointed that the Committee was doing this now and didn’t wait until the end of the fiscal year. He was committed to try to do something to get the piece of equipment that they desperately need. The Board wanted to build a reserve, but probably made a mistake and started too high on the Capital Reserve amount. He asked that perhaps they could reconsider their decision until the end of the fiscal year.
Mr. McAllister explained that it was not always about money. When the CIC was formed, it was chartered to do three things: Rebuild the cable system, televise BOS meetings and oversee the franchise agreement. Two were done successfully. As part of the negotiations, Comcast has done a survey of various people in Town. The opinion is that the residents don’t want to pay for more cable services. How does the Town account for money that it gets from the cable franchise fee. Last year the Town received $107,000 and $11,000 more than what was budgeted. The 5% is from the cable subscribers that subsidize the entire franchise fee, but to say they don’t have any offsetting funds isn’t true because they do. They are looking for a commitment to continue to move ahead with Public Access. If the Selectmen want to fund it through a warrant article every year, the Committee cannot work this way. When they first started, Public Access wasn’t part of this. Public Access TV should be moved out of the Committee and run by the Town and it should be run on a purely voluntary basis. They personally committed to finish off the School Board and will be there for three more meetings. They intend to honor the commitment the Committee made to broadcast the Selectmen’s meetings.
Mr. Infanti agreed that they needed to commit to Public Access TV and was amazed how many people watch the meetings. Since they don’t get more than 100 people at the Deliberative Session, he was pleased that people watch other meetings such as the Planning Board and ZBA and they owe this to the citizens. Negotiating a franchise agreement can be a full time job. He was committed to the group, he did not know what to do, but maybe they can look at some creative ways.
Mr. Grella as a cable subscriber was amazed it had gone from 3% to 4% to 5%. He suggested giving a certain percentage of the LUCT funds to the cable channel even though it may take another year. He would like to see a warrant article next year to see if people would contribute money to get something back. Mr. Bowler was not convinced it should be a warrant article, but there maybe some offsetting money coming in. Mr. Galinson did not think a warrant article was the way to go either and the re-negotiations of the franchise fee was eminent. Knowing that they need a small operating budget for the CIC to exist perhaps they could get Comcast to put some money aside each year for an operating budget and a small studio.
Mr. Panasiti said he knew there was a significant fee associated with the franchise and this money should be used for ACTV. Mr. Bowler indicated this was revenue coming in and in order to spend it they would have to have a specific line item and they were not set up to do this. Mr. Galinson thought this an interesting way to do it sooner rather than later. Mr. McAllister explained what the Federal Government in 1984 allowed towns to do. In 1996 it was changed, to allow the towns to collect the fee because in the past many towns didn’t have Public Access.
Mr. Bowler indicated he was 100% committed and asked how many members did they want to get where they were going. Mr. McAllister advised they had nine positions and three or four who have an interest in public broadcasting. Those folks must be at Town Hall for every meeting along with the volunteers. While they have volunteers, they are not running the whole thing. The hours are getting greater and greater and he did not think it unreasonable to hire someone to do it on a part time basis as it would be an incentive to do it. After listening to the rest of the Selectmen, Mr. Bowler felt the entire Board was 100% in favor of making this happen. He suggested putting something on the web, in the paper and on TV 20.
Mr. Infanti advised he was totally committed, but was concerned with having only four people. He would like to see them continue if they could get more people to help them. He thought they would miss it and thought it important for the Planning Board, ZBA and School Board to be seen, but it was unrealistic with the number of volunteers they have. Mr. Grella was also 100% behind the folks who were doing this and hoped they could give them some funds. Mr. McAllister told Mr. Panasiti that the students who are doing this get Community Service credits. The School is actively trying to build their own video studio and want Channel 21. The Committee has been recruiting from Souhegan since they started.
Mr. Bowler suggested blitzing the web site and TV with ads to keep this going and thanked Mr. McAllister for his time.
Mr. Panasiti mentioned that in the spirit of open communication, he would like to ask the Chairman and the rest of the Board to extend an invitation to the Amherst and Souhegan School Boards to sit down and talk about budgets and where they stand in the coming year. Mr. Bowler advised this has already been started. On April 30th, their Representatives, Amherst, Souhegan and Mont Vernon School Boards have been invited to meet with the Board as well as the Milford and Mont Vernon Boards of Selectmen. Milford is committed to having a meeting with them, but had a meeting that night as well. Mr. Panasiti also said he had been thinking about Dr. Starke, his comments and walking out of the meeting at their last meeting. Mr. Bowler thought it a personnel issue and something they can set up at a later date.
Mr. Bowler advised he went to the ZBA meeting in March to support the individual who was the high bidder on 3 Norton Street. He was anxious to get moving as soon as possible and had already been in contact with the Town. Mr. Bowler asked that Mr. MacGuire check with Counsel to see if he could start demolition prior to the closing. He also asked the status of Greenwood Road. Mrs. Frydlo reported the buyers were in Florida and would be back in New England by mid May. They were not opposed to a lot line consolidation as recommended by Counsel and Mr. Tiedemann volunteered to help them fill it out upon their return.
Mr. Bowler congratulated Mr. MacGuire for completing 31 years of service on April 5th. He was approaching a full year as Town Administrator and he was greatly appreciated by the Board. Mr. MacGuire thanked them for their well wishes.
Minutes
Mr. Infanti moved to accept the minutes of March 19, 2007, second by Mr. Grella amended as follows: Line 41 – Change “produces” to “produce”; Line 43 – Change “laxed” to “lax”; Line 88 – Place a period after “75%”, strike “on” and replace with “He had”; Line 89 – insert “one” after ‘put”; Line 90 – Change “75%” to “50% reduction”, Strike “don’t need the” replace with “can get a” before “75%” and then insert “reduction” after it; Line 97 – Insert “Dr. Starke made a motion to only grant a 50% reduction at Baboosic Lake, motion failed for lack of a second”; Line 100 – After “opposed” insert “Dr. Starke walked out of the meeting”; Line 167 – After “in” insert “considering”; Line 184 – Change “indicate” to ” indicated”. Vote: Unanimous.
Non-Public Session
At 9:55 there was a unanimous roll call vote to enter a non-public session to further discuss a potential land acquisition (RSA 91-A:3 II. D.). At the conclusion of the discussion, a vote was taken (5-0) to not enter into a purchase and sales agreement at this time. This session was adjourned at 10:30 PM.
Respectfully submitted Respectfully submitted
For the Regular Meeting Minutes, For the Non-Public Session Minutes,
Sharon L. Frydlo Gary D. MacGuire
Executive Assistant Town Administrator