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Town of AmherstBoard of SelectmenSeptember 10, 2007
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Chairman Bruce Bowler called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. Selectmen present: Brad Galinson, Reed Panasiti, George Infanti and Thomas Grella. Also present Town Administrator Gary MacGuire.
Upon a roll call vote, the Board entered non-public session under RSA 91-A:3, II (d). The Board exited non-public session at 6:58 p.m. While in non-public session, the Selectmen discussed possible land acquisition by the Town. No decisions were made, additional information was requested.
Regular Meeting
Mr. Bowler opened the regular meeting at 7:00 p.m.
Citizens’ Forum
Liz Overholt, Horace Greeley Road, commented that she had talked to Gary about putting up a second bulletin board – one strictly for meeting agendas and the other for posters. Mr. MacGuire reported he had asked Liz to bring this up because Jay Dinkel had been actively involved in this area of the renovated Town Hall. Mr. Grella mentioned that the Heritage Commission will be meeting on Thursday and he will bring it up. Mrs. Overholt also mentioned that last summer the Zipper and other pieces of equipment were on Horace Greeley Road. This summer 3-4 weeks were spent on other portions of the road along with another two weeks – they were up to eight weeks. There were other roads coming into Horace Greeley and she assumed paving would happen. Horace Greeley is less than two miles long and the Highway Department can only do so much. She thought the Board should pursue a bond to get all the roads done. It was taking way too long and once the Town was done, Horace Greeley will have to be done again.
Linda Kaiser, Manchester Road, told the Selectmen that the Conservation Commission has requested ten copies of the Zoning Ordinance printed double-sided. Charlie Tiedemann said they could print it from the website, but most do not have double sided printers and they refer to it at every meeting. Mr. MacGuire indicated he could have it professionally copied because of the lack of manpower and would be easier sent out. For herself, Mrs. Kaiser would like to have it by their next meeting. She also felt the Zoning Manual was in disarray and it was hard to find things. She suggested they take some of the LUCT money and hire someone from NRPC to organize the Zoning Manual to make it easier to find things. About a year ago Sally Wilkins had begun the organization with a first cut, but it was a mess. There were certain things the Town has to do and “we recommend that you consider getting this done as soon as possible”.
Mrs. Kaiser also commented that if the Master Plan gets done, the Selectmen needed to put something in the budget to rewrite it and thought this would happen in this coming year. She also wanted to know the condition of the CIP. Mr. Galinson advised the CIP plan was almost complete, but stalled – they have some new information coming in within several months. The impact fees they may need another warrant article in March. Half of the process is done to get impact fees and the summer of next year they hoped to have a CIP and legal impact to make sure the fees were there. Mrs. Kaiser next mentioned that the Master Plan process was not going very smoothly and several people, including her, suggest that they slow it down – they were supposed to be half way done. The elements have not been given to the Element Leaders and they need to “put the brakes on this process and do it correctly”. This was not working very well and at some point the Board was going to be approached for more money for a contract – she thought they should slow it down and see what they were doing.
Award Fuel Bids
DPW Director Bruce Berry reported he had been asked by the Board to come up with some fixed numbers on all four hydrocarbons [diesel, gasoline, home heating oil and propane]. There were four companies that bid and one document came through with mock-up prices. Only C. W. Fuels bid was fixed at $2.75 per gallon of gasoline. Regarding diesel, he advised that typically they fill the 10,000 gallon tanks twice a year. The Board reviewed the extensive spreadsheets presented as to the pricing per day based on monthly report of hydrocarbon costs on the State bid. After further discussion on the pricing and control because of the tanks were only filled up twice a year, Mr. Infanti moved to go with Director Berry’s recommendation on the State bid for diesel, second by Mr. Grella. Discussion: Mr. Berry responded to Mr. Panasiti’s question regarding the State bidding process, in that everyone was welcome to bid on the process and in the end is to allow the municipalities to piggyback on the State bid. Mr. Galinson spoke of his concerns and Mr. Berry indicated he kept all of them in mind and “it all comes into play”. Vote: Unanimous.
Regarding the Gasoline Bid, Mr. Berry indicated that C. W. Fuels bid $2.75 and it was now at $2.09 with a six cents mark-up. Mr. Infanti moved to go with Director Berry’s recommendation on the State bid on gasoline, second by Mr. Grella. Discussion: Mr. Berry told the Board that they have a 5,000 gallon tank which was filled up approximately every six weeks. Vote: Unanimous.
Relative to the Home Heating Oil Bid, Mr. Berry reported no one bid on this and the only one that placed a bid was Burke who came through with what the mark-up price was and he could only assume he was confused on what they did last year. Fred Fuller received the bid last year, but did not include a bid bond. He recommended they go with the State bid which was Irving Oil for this year at $2.11 plus mark-up. Mr. Infanti moved to go with the State bid on home heating oil, second by Mr. Grella. Vote: Unanimous.
Relating to Hydrocarbon Propane, Mr. Berry reported they received two bids: Bot-L-Gas at $1.63 and Eastern Propane at $1.68. He spoke of his recommendations to go with the State bid because of the options available to him. Norman Wrenn, 20 Embankment Road and Bot-L-Gas owner commented on the market conditions indicating he would go with the floating bid. Selkirk, NY which is where the State based their bid on was not the best place to put out to bid and could be manipulated by the bidders. He guessed they would be saving 34 cents per gallon, but the best time to put bids out would be during March and April and would be in the Town’s best interest. He guessed they got a floating bid out of Selkirk that he would not recommend. His floating offer was 23 cents over Selkirk. Mr. Wrenn also spoke briefly about the supply and demand conditions during the winter months. There was also a discussion on what department had company owned tanks some of which were the Central Fire and South Fire Stations and the Recreation Department on Cross Road. Mr. Berry commented that every time propane is put out for bid, they encounter issues with propane-company owned tanks. Mr. Wrenn indicated he was offering 23 cents over Selkirk’s price. After further discussion Mr. Wrenn commented that today’s price with the float would be $1.66, Mr. Infanti moved that they go with Bot-L-Gas fixed price of $1.63, second by Mr. Grella. Vote: 4-0-1, Mr. Bowler abstained because he was a customer.
Award Winter Sand Bid
Mr. Berry advised the Town received five bids and he was recommending Thibeault Corp. at $6.44 per ton. Mr. Infanti moved to go with Thibeault Corp. for $6.44 per ton, second by Mr. Grella. After a brief discussion the vote was unanimous.
Award Crushed Gravel Bid
Mr. Berry spoke briefly about what the Department had done in the past regarding crushing gravel from projects. However, they recently did a bid specification for 2,000 yards of crushed gravel and Pike Industries came in at $9.25 per ton. There were two other bids that came in at $9.75 and $13.25. He was recommending Pike Industries. Mr. Infanti moved to award Pike Industries the crushed gravel bid at $9.25 per ton, second by Mr. Grella. Vote: Unanimous.
Mr. Infanti thanked Mr. Berry for promptly going out and doing the extra work the Board asked for promptly - he felt good about what they did that night because of the extra effort on Mr. Berry’s part.
Accept Resignation from Road Commission
Mr. Bowler read the resignation letter from Tom Sommers from the Road Commission and Recycling Task Force. Mr. Infanti moved to accept the letter of resignation from Tom Sommers from the Road Commission and the Solid Waste Task Force with regrets and acknowledge the work he has done over the years, second by Mr. Grella. Discussion: Mr. Bowler indicated Tom’s dedication and help to the Department and Town over the years. Vote: Unanimous.
Appointment to Road Commission
Mr. MacGuire reported he had talked to Jim Sickler of Amherst Street, who had served previously on the Road Commission and expressed an interest in serving the Town again. Mr. Infanti moved to approve Jim Sickler as interim Road Commissioner until the next opening, second by Mr. Grella. Vote: Unanimous.
Department Reviews
Library
Present from the Library were Amy Lapointe, Director; Trustees Chairman Don Holden; Trustees Dick Martini and Robin Julian. Mrs. Lapointe highlighted some important facts pertaining to the Library. They have not had any personnel changes amongst their regular staff this past year. In FY07 the overall circulation was up almost 4% which was double the growth they saw in FY06. Adult fiction and teen fiction were both up 9%; Juvenile fiction was up 15%; videos (adult feature films) was up 17% and Audiobooks and Music CD’s were both up 34%.
Under services, their door count indicated it was 9% higher, however, the counter didn’t work all the time and that number was not accurate. Among other programs offered, they provide subscription databases that were up 21% in FY07. Another goal is to continue to provide a community gathering place. Their meeting rooms were used 597 times during this period. A couch was added and some furniture was reupholstered in the Children’s Room. They have developed a partner with the Historical Society and researchers now have far more access to the historical collection through the computer installed in the Archives Room. The Library continues to offer children’s programming with the average month being 729 children. 354 children participated in the 2007 Summer Reading Program and logged a record 6,567 hours of reading time. They offered for the first time, a summer reading program for adults. In the fall, they will offer a program on Chinese history and culture in partnership with the Northeast Cultural Coop. Mrs. Lapointe then passed out fortune cookies to the Board and invited everyone to come to the Library to look at Chinese photographs. She talked about space allocation with their ultimate goal being how to use their space more efficiently. She advised that going out in the mail soon will be the Amherst Town Library newsletter for fall. They were also looking at the demographics of sponsoring a new type of program for children under two.
Mrs. Lapointe pointed out that they didn’t envision an increase in the budget. Their biggest purchase will be for shelving. Mr. Infanti was involved with his children and they couldn’t wait to see the Librarians kiss a pig. They were doing such a great job and a whole new generation will have a new respect for the Library. In response to Mr. Grella’s question, Mrs. Lapointe indicated she had to think of a way to track the circulation and number of patrons. Mr. Galinson commented he was liaison to the Library and they were one of the Town’s star assets. He was excited to hear they do not anticipate any drastic increase in the bottom line. He also appreciated the fact that they were going to use their existing space rather than ask for more. Relative to technology, downloading audio books, better search and pluggins, they were on top of it for future generations and he applauded them for this. Mr. Panasiti asked about the computer the Lions Club had donated for sight impaired folks. Mrs. Lapointe explained it was still available, but very difficult to learn. Many people have used it strictly for the use of the large monitor. She also addressed his question about 80% of the Library budget was based on wages. Mr. Holden added that there were also Trustee Funds and other sources that are used to supplement money for books, etc. other than from the taxpayers. Mrs. Lapointe indicated that they expected to spend some $30,000 from Trustee Funds. Mr. Holden expressed their appreciation for the support from the Town, especially DPW, and he thanked them.
Finance Department
Finance Director Merri Howe met with the Board. Her busy office does everything from the every day expending of paying bills, recording revenues, payroll process state reporting requirements and the handling of the process required by GASB. She thanked the Selectmen for the additional four hours they gave her for her part time employee. The basic goal she strives for is that the information they passed onto the Department Heads was up to date and accurate. Their short term goal this year and next is to review their policies and procedures for gathering information and getting it out in a more timely fashion. The office was getting bogged down with more Human Resources matters and the duties associated with them were shared between herself, the Town Administrator and the Executive Assistant. A future goal is to incorporate this into a part time position.
Mr. Panasiti asked if there was a requirement by the State for having a person in this position. Did she have a breakdown of how much time was spent and it sounded like they were spreading it onto three different people. Mrs. Howe remarked that it came up in passing that it would be good if they had someone who could spend more time in this area and had not thought about how much time was being utilized. Mr. MacGuire added this was a good idea, but they did not have the time to track or categorize it between the three of them. Mrs. Howe told Mr. Galinson that the accounting system was doing well. She also told Mr. Grella that with the additional four hours, her office was making progress and getting caught up. Mr. Infanti did not have much to add. He commented that she was always in early, stays late and it was always a pleasure to stop in and say hello. Mr. Bowler asked when they expected to have the audit for Bob Vachon to present to them. Mrs. Howe will try and get a timeframe on this. Mr. MacGuire added they were better off than they were and they should be on schedule for the next one. They also may need to push a bit harder on their end. Mr. Bowler mentioned that it would be good to have the Auditors in before the Board starts the budget process.
Emergency Medical Services
Director Brian Gleason told the Board that night marked his 7th year anniversary and was looking to start his 8th year. He spoke of the dedication of the employees for the Town of Amherst and Mont Vernon. They were the ones who go out and do the job, and he spoke of how proud he was of them. They continue to have a high quality ambulance service. He indicated he would not have a large increase in the budget. It would contain a cost of living adjustment as determined by the Selectmen and Town Administrator. There would be an increase in his fuel line and he would look to increase the area of training by $2000. He talked about a two step increase with part one being last year. Staff levels have changed and the $4000 decrease in this line will be increased by $2000 this year for the loss. Another new $2000 line would be for Medical Control Required Equipment which he spoke briefly about and items needed for another level of care. He would also like to re-evaluate the vehicle maintenance line item. They have two ambulances and additional paramedic vehicles. Before making an increase, he would like to talk to Director Berry about having his employee work on the vehicles because they no longer are under warranty. He also commented he would like to base his budget on 727 calls per year rather than the historical 525 calls in the past. This would truly show the cost of the department – this would also increase the part time wage line items. This change would also increase the revenue line item. With the proposed changes, it would increase his budget by 4-4.5%.
Mr. Galinson remarked that his Department saves lives and he supported everything he needed, but personally he would like to see something less than 4.5% because of the political nature. Regarding shared departments, Mr. Gleason told Mr. Galinson he did not think combining the Fire and EMS budgets would show the true cost. However, they share resources in cross training. Historically there were traditions associated with both sides. In response to Mr. Grella’s question, he described EMS equipment that was similar to the Fire Department’s Scott Air Packs. Mr. Infanti commented that everyone has done a great job and the Town appreciates it.
Mr. Bowler indicated he received a copy of a letter from the N. H. Fire Service Committee of Merit that he read. A mutual aid call was received from the Town of Bedford where a tree had fallen on a woman and Amherst’s ambulance went to the call. Mr. Gleason elaborated that EMT Lynn Briggs, himself and Rick Istvan went on the call. During a freak storm, a tree fell down and crushed a Bedford resident. At the call were Bedford, Manchester Fire and Amherst as well. It was a touching moment for him that another Department put in for this award. Rick and Lynn deserve a lot of credit and they too, will be recognized, he said. It was touching that folks from their own community recognize them, now another community recognized them as well.
Public Safety Communications
Mr. Gleason, PSCC Liaison, advised that the Communications Center continues to operate exceedingly well with a full time Supervisor, three full time and two part time dispatchers providing services to Police, EMS, Fire and DPW. He was looking to increase staffing on a second shift and emergency call back such as for storms. One of their part time members has accepted a different position and won’t be available to them on the same basis. He was looking to see if they could recruit another part time person to compensate for those hours. The Center is working in a very professional manner and is part of the public safety team – he appreciated everything they have done and where they were today.
Mr. Gleason reported they were completing the final phase of interoperability with changing DPW to a VHF frequency with almost all operating on the same radio. The Department continues to operate in a cost efficient manner and he did not see any increase in the budget, other than a COLA. He will add to this budget another line item for custodial services – it will be removed from his EMS Department budget and put into the PSCC budget. A key focus for him as Liaison, will be looking into grants. In response to Mr. Panasiti’s questions regarding emergency communications response due to power outages, for shelters that are open, what roads are closed and that there was a need to look at this specifically due to what happened in Amherst this past spring. Mr. Gleason spoke about grants and an area they were looking at. There were different grants through Emergency Management and they were looking at every grant that was out there and which Department they would be applicable to. Mr. Galinson commented that he, Bruce and Peter work fantastically together and that saves the Town money and he appreciated this. In response to Mr. Bowler’s question about alerts, Mr. Gleason indicated he did not know if they had a tone alert, but knew they could simulcast dual ones and it was a good question.
Mr. MacGuire reiterated that from the inception to this day, the Communications Center is based on team work and why it was successful now and without the teamwork, this might not have happened. Mr. Gleason added that in addition to the relationship their Departments have with the Communications folks, the Town’s dispatchers have a tremendous working relationship with other dispatch centers such as Hollis, MACC Base and Merrimack, there is a great team effort throughout and they can’t do it alone.
Mr. Bowler asked if the other part time people are going to be able to pick up the lost hours from the person leaving. Mr. Gleason indicated they were looking to put on a second person when needed and would be careful they do not create an overtime situation.
Recreation Department
Recreation Director Nancy McMillan thanked Recreation Commission Chairman Dana Redmond who continued to support the Department. She highlighted points in her report on the staff and who they were, their duties and a change in working hours for them. New titles were for Office and Program Administrators. To meet the needs of the public, these two support staff positions total 45 hours. She was in the process of determining how those hours were allocated and will make a recommendation to the Town Administrator in order to provide better service to the community. The Department had hired two new employees that replaced the Program Assistant and the Park Maintenance Foreman. She reported the fields were in better condition and more playable than in the past. Regarding the Program Assistant, she has offered more programs to adults and seniors and she was grateful they have joined. Regarding Baboosic Lake, the Aquatics Director left at the beginning of the season and she will make recommendations in the FY09 budget.
Director McMillan does not see any unforeseen circumstances in her budget and thought her forecast was accurate and expected to live within it. She mentioned that goals were being carried over and that the Commission has been working long and hard on them as they relate to either the programs that were recommended and supported by volunteers and private groups. Within the next few weeks a policy will be complete. The other carry over is the comprehensive schedule program with the Amherst and the Souhegan High School Districts. She advised there was such a demand for field spaces that they now have had a conversation with the SAU on how to get a master schedule for all indoor and outdoor spaces.
Mrs. McMillan spoke about the Facilities Committee’s list of needs with some included in the CIP and some not. New goals that will be reflected in the 2009 budget will contain a maintenance plan for each one of their other fields. Another goal will be to improve playing conditions on the softball field at the Middle School and she had a conversation with the School about this. The use of the Middle School fields by the School is 30% and by the Town 70%. The arrangement they have now is that they maintain some of them, but they hope to have a plan put together where they maintain all of them.
Mrs. McMillan indicated it was her responsibility to know what the trends are and bring those ideas back. She will continue to encourage the Commission to have a specific Master Plan. Mr. Redmond remarked it was a great year for Recreation and believed the Selectmen know how glad they were for their support. Reed has been very helpful in getting the message out. They are trying to improve communications with both School liaisons. This was the first time Recreation has come in second place for field and indoor use in the schools.
Mr. Panasiti commented that there are many fields to take care of and they had discussed this many times about someone to take care of all of them. He saw this growing and felt they were duplicating services and equipment. Perhaps they should look for a Parks Department for someone to maintain all fields for both the Schools and Town. The Bean property has been a focal point and with the hiring of the new maintenance person he has done a great job for the Town. Mr. Galinson asked about rebuilding the SHS track field. Mrs. McMillan advised that when the Commission designed the list they looked at all needs. As they speak, the High School is looking to do work on them. In response to Mr. Galinson’s question, Mrs. McMillan indicated there were some reciprocal things they do at no charge.
Mr. Galinson asked if Mrs. McMillan had any thoughts about PMEC being a sub-department of Recreation. She indicated she had no opinion because she didn’t have the facts, but explained it was not uncommon for a Recreation Department to have under their jurisdiction an environmental center for open and passive recreation. Relative to the Facilities List and the CIP, she told Mr. Grella that they had given CIP information on anything over $100,000. This was a working document and she wanted to make them aware that some qualify for the CIP and some don’t. Mr. Infanti asked how big a program was Baboosic Lake for the kids. He had attended the Rotary Swim Meet at Keyes Field and saw the various things that had been done there and wondered if there was any plans for the future to have a similar field. On the List he saw turf at the High School as high priority and a swimming pool as low priority and he was curious about the turnout at the Lake. Mrs. McMillan explained they were open six weeks for swim lessons and an average class was 6-8 kids and may have 100-125 kids that take lessons. What they see at the Lake is blue algae, but has seen some improvement with homeowners. Long term, they have some limitations on parking and how big the beach is. Mr. Infanti thought this was something they might look at long term or maybe the Facilities Committee could think about it.
In response to Mr. Bowler’s question, Mrs. McMillan indicated they have a great group with somewhere between 12 to 20 seniors coming together for game days at the Fire Station. It was helpful that the Fire Department was letting them use their space. Relative to bus trips, she explained there was a church group in a neighboring community that has this market. Seniors were also looking for health services and senior services have expanded. Parkhurst Place provides newsletters and she has taken Thursday game days to seniors there. Mr. Bowler asked how Mont Vernon fit in with their budget. Mrs. McMillan advised they do not maintain Souhegan fields. Mr. Redmond added there was an agreement and they pay a percentage of the High School programs. Mont Vernon doesn’t have a recreation department and they have explained that Amherst underwrites the recreation program and to that extent they have increased user fees for programs they participate in in Amherst. After further discussion, Mr. Bowler asked if they were going to get an update on user fees and policies.
Police Department
Police Chief Peter Lyon told the Board he has listened to a lot of goals about changes and advancements, but the Police Department is about maintaining quality control. It has been a year of significant, but modest changes. The first was Project 54 and upgrading all the cruisers that came to the Town pretty much for free and will last about ten years. Earlier in the year they purchased new firearms for all the officers using drug forfeiture funds and did not cost the Town anything. They received six additional radios at $3,000 each through a grant. As they go into the future, he was looking to replace their ballistic vests (approximately $550 each) and he hoped to get a grant for this. He has begun researching new non lethal weapons (tasers) to replace the baton and pepper spray. This gives the officer the option of standing 15’ away from someone in order to subdue them and run between $800-900 each. He has not identified any grants for this purchase. He would be looking into buying a pool of them and then sharing.
The Chief continued … Relative to manpower, they had just hired one of two positions a year ago. However while recently working on his own, the officer sustained injuries in a car accident. He expected to have him back next week full time. Officer Mahoney was recently hired and is in his third week at the Police Academy. He found people willing to work together and bring different strengths to the job in the excellent department he had inherited. A year ago he thought he would come to the Board for a new position, but he is looking at this again, and thought the time has now come. They needed a position two years ago that had been turned down. It was a position they needed then and they need it now. In terms of activity, spring is a busy time and they have had several bad accidents. During the summer things are not as busy. Car stops are up from last year, otherwise things were going well.
Mr. Infanti thought the transition had gone very well and pleased the way the other went as well. Mr. Grella indicated he was impressed with the demonstration and asked about adding more. The Chief explained they have six cruisers outfitted and equipped equally, but would like to look at other additional lighting. Mr. Galinson thought it said a lot of his Department to see the Chief escorting third graders across the road, getting out there, meeting the people and getting things done. Mr. Panasiti asked what impact 101A has on personnel and potential for other positions. Mr. Lyon told him that they spend a great deal of time there and it has become a sector all its own. Look at NRPC statistics of where they were five years ago and where it is today. Mr. Bowler asked about the vests. The Chief explained he put in a grant for them in March or April. They were not in dire straights, but a matter of keeping up the need to maintain them and he hoped to include this as part of his budget. Mr. Bowler then asked where they stood on the canine unit because the Selectmen were quite excited about this when they first heard about it. Chief Lyon said they were still interested and something they could make good use of, but the most important thing was the cost. He hopes to get back to the Board sometime with a plan.
The Chief appreciated their support and the support of all the other Department Heads in Town – the teamwork is fantastic he said. Mr. Bowler added it was not just the Department Heads but all the employees who work together and felt they were pretty fortunate.
General Government
Mr. MacGuire spoke briefly about the value of the Town employees. Under the umbrella of General Government, he told the Board they needed to address the lack of an employee retirement system. There are a few problems with the New Hampshire Retirement System and there were a number of options for them as a Town. This was on his agenda last year about this time to focus, on a 401A plan which has some advantages, but never got it done. He may need help in getting a proposal together. He commented that they had staffing issues, becoming proactive and getting things done. They were in a bit of a bind like the research to develop a canine plan and his work researching a retirement system – it always seems to be there, but doesn’t get done. The Town employee retirement system needs to be looked at for their employees and for themselves. There was a person who did not take this position because they didn’t have an employee retirement system. He said he was putting the blame on himself for not pushing this along. They have a 457 plan and the Town decided many years ago to participate up to 3.5%. He hoped the Selectmen would share his thoughts that this is important - hopefully they can come up with a plan that is more affordable for the Town and the employees than Group I. He had been working with Jack Herzog last year and this was his main point under General Government.
Mr. MacGuire informed the Board that he had deferred their copier replacement program that Carl Weber set up because he thought it was a little aggressive. He has to get back to the replacement plan throughout the Town otherwise they will get behind – it does not have a major impact on the Town, but something they needed to get back to. They have been putting an effort into an Emergency Plan in Town and they need to continue with this. Another area he was a firm believer in was to spend more attention to their Access TV. He would like to see the line item for them taken out of the Town Building budget and put into General Government. He had been put in charge of Emergency Management and felt they needed to do a better job of communications for the citizens and it seems their TV audience is a lot larger than anyone would assume. He stressed teamwork in getting that job done.
Mr. Infanti’s observation by serving in other towns, was that Amherst runs lean and mean in the number of personnel. The Town Administrator is in Town Hall between 6:00 and 6:30 in the morning until 5:30 or so in the evening. One person can only do so much, there will come a time when he can’t do everything and this is something the Selectmen have to look at and support. Mr. Grella agreed with the team approach and everyone seems well prepared in looking to the future in setting their budget needs for this year. Mr. Galinson enjoys working with Gary tremendously. They have real competent Department Heads that come together and work together – kudos to them, he said. Mr. Panasiti mentioned that if nobody works with nobody it makes their job difficult to do. It makes his job easier because he enjoys working with Gary. Mr. Bowler encouraged Mr. MacGuire to work with Jack. Gary has done a great job as everyone said and he thanked him.
Assessing Department
Mr. MacGuire reported that Executive Assistant Michele Crowley is in charge of this Department. The Town has gone through the revaluation update and was not as bad as some people thought it was going to be. The final product worked out very well. They have one more commercial abatement to bring to the Board and one case that may be settled in Court. DRA has given their seal of approval and the other good news is that they don’t need to be recertified until 2010. For taxing utilities, they basically rely on DRA’s methodology. There are vendors and for a price will come in and assess just the utilities. MRI recommended that they strongly consider bringing in an outside utility assessor. Their methodology is different and in a short period of time the Town will recoup their cost. This will be a budget discussion and will bring in some of the experts from MRI to tell them the pros and cons that will ultimately save them money.
Mr. Panasiti asked about the DD214’s that were no longer being required. Mr. MacGuire said it was his understanding that the originals were returned and copies were shredded. He explained to Mr. Galinson that the methodology they were talking about, no longer stood up, if challenged in Court.
Other Business
Mr. Infanti reported that the Planning Board discussed possible changes in the Zoning Ordinance along with looking at the sign ordinance.
Deirdre Rogusky indicated she was unsure if there was going to be a Master Plan meeting. The document was on the website and she briefly spoke about promoting the elements. She told Mr. Bowler that the timeline goal was that they began the process in December of last year, have a final reach out to the public in September and to finalize everything in December of this year. Mr. Bowler commented that he was disappointed about people wanting to slow the process down. Mrs. Overholt suggested presenting a draft. Ms. Rogusky said there was one on the website. Mr. Galinson suggested they may want to take this large document and highlight certain facts.
Mr. Galinson reported they were very close to a franchise agreement and were working on the final drafts.
Mr. Panasiti commented that he did not want this to go unsaid … the Planning Board got blasted in the Northern Section of the Globe and the article spoke of the negative aspects of the Town such as in Planning and Zoning. Mr. Infanti indicated there were half truths in the article about a Planning Board hearing that went on over six months. The gentleman who wrote the article never attended those meetings. He wondered if anyone did the research or read the minutes – there were two sides to every story and suggested that the minutes be read because they all were published. Mr. Panasiti got the impression that the Town wasn’t doing anything wrong. Mr. Bowler commented on the revenue that was received for open space and believed it was already received. He personally had no problem in what the Planning Board did. Mr. Infanti added that their parking ordinance was more stringent than other ordinances in the State.
Minutes
Mr. Infanti moved to accept the minutes of August 27, 2007, second by Mr. Grella amended as follows: Line 15 – Replace “value” with “valve”; Line 133 – Strike everything after the word “school” and place a period after it; Lines 225-226 – Strike “an employee” and replace with “Gary”. Vote: Unanimous.
Non-Public Session
Upon a roll call vote, the Board entered non-public session at 10:15 p.m. under RSA 91-A:3 II (e). The Board exited non–public session at 10:25 p.m. While in non-public session, the Board was given an update on pending litigation filed against the Town.
Upon a motion made by Mr. Infanti, second by Mr. Grella, the Board adjourned the meeting at 10:25 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Sharon L. Frydlo
Executive Assistant