Select Board Meeting Minutes - January 22, 2007

Lincoln Board of Selectmen Meeting Minutes January 22, 2007 6:06 pm Present: Chairman Deanna Huot, Selectman Peter Moore, Selectman Patricia McTeague, Town Manager Ted Sutton, Recording Secretary Susan Chenard Audience Members: Wilfred Bishop, Charlie Cook, 2 from InnSeasons, Dennis Ducharme, Bill Hallager, Rick Kelley, David Talbot, Joe Chenard Approval of public meeting minutes of January 8, 2007: A motion was made by Selectman Moore, seconded by Chairman Huot, to approve the public meeting minutes of January 8, 2007. Routine business - It was decided to move the discussion regarding Map 16, Lot 312 to the top of the agenda due to the number of people in the audience present for this topic. ? Map 16, lot 312 warrant article discussion - Town Manager Sutton reviewed the subject of the liability caused by the White Water Treatment Plant on this parcel of Town-owned land. He reminded the board and audience that at the last Town Meeting, the townspeople had approved an article that allowed the selectmen to look for a new spot for the North Country Center for the Arts (NCCA) Papermill Theater. He handed out a sample warrant article. The Board would want to put this subject before the townspeople to get a feeling before the Selectmen continue the process. Then, after the Town Meeting, if the article were approved, the matter would go to the Planning Board. Assuming Planning Board approval, there would be two more public meetings, as required by law. Looking at the map, and how contiguous this lot is to Town property, the Board of Selectmen are concerned that a right of way be preserved to Town property on other side of this parcel. Rick Kelley has a written bid of $179,000 to remove the White Water Treatment Plant, which he will forward a copy of to the Town Manager. Chairman Moore stated he liked this new location versus one on Pollard Road, but was also concerned that the Town keeps access to the roughly 20 acres of Town-owned land where a Riverfront Park may be planned for the future. He asked about a time line, to which Dennis Ducharme responded that the theater would remain in the current building this coming summer. In the next 30-60 days, there would be an announcement regarding the removal of the part of the mill that has fallen down. Then, this fall, he hopes to present a plan for a new building, to be started next year. This plan would put the theater into that new building, with roughly the same number of seats, about 250-300. Chairman Huot asked if the space would be used for anything else besides the theater. Mr. Ducharme responded that there may be some co-use in winter and shoulder seasons. Mr. Kelley added that it could also be used for school functions, or possibly even Town Meeting. Chairman Huot also asked if there would be additional, adjoining space. Mr. Ducharme said that there would probably be some meeting rooms off to the sides, and he was looking into that. Mr. Sutton said that he will form a committee to see how the Town land can be planned for the future to develop a master plan for a Riverfront Park and the surrounding area. Mr. Sutton asked if there were any changes to be made to the wording of the article. Mr. Kelley suggested a change to reflect the current quote to remove the White Waster Treatment Plant, at $179,000. Chairman Huot asked for a motion that an article pertaining to Map 16, Lot 312, to transfer the value of this land in exchange for the demolition of the White Water Treatment Plant be put on ballot for the upcoming Town Meeting. A motion was made by Selectman Moore, seconded by Selectman McTeague, to place this article on the Town Meeting warrant. Selectman McTeague had been concerned about access as well, but as the goal of this article is more to discuss and explore the idea, she was in favor. Bill Hallager also felt that it was an important and great decision. ? Grant application for Community Center - A new grant has been applied for to replace the old heating system at the Father Roger Bilodeau Community Center. Susan put it together in a day and a half, as we received the quote somewhat late and Tara was out of town for her conference that week. Selectman McTeague asked about the timeline, which will take about a year. Mr. Sutton explained how the different parts of the new heating system would work. Chairman Huot pointed out the fuel savings as well. Mr. Sutton mentioned that other bids had come in as well, at lesser cost, but also less efficient. ? Budget meeting update - Mr. Sutton mentioned that he had been disappointed that the budget was up some 7%, when we had been able to keep it at around 3% increases in past years. It seems there had been a $100,000 typographical error in the long-term debt, and that the total was not $530,000, but actually $630,000. The Courier had asked Mr. Sutton for the budget several times. He finally gave it to them after the last budget meeting, the worksheet at first, then all budgets. the Courier reporter found the error. It would have been discovered on the 23rd or 24th of January, when doing the MS7 report, anyhow. Now, there is only a 3.88% increase. ? Arthur Salem Way update - Mr. Sutton spoke with Dee O'Rourke, as she has been in touch with Salem family. The family requested that we hold the dedication on Friday, June 1st, at noontime. This would be the day before the Town reunion. (There is a picture of Arthur Salem in meeting room, should any wish to see it.) ? Sewer Ordinance - A copy of the revised sewer ordinance was distributed. Mr. Sutton suggested the board read over this new ordinance this week. We will discuss it next week. He said he would have Bill Willey come to the meeting to help answer further questions the board might have. Selectman Moore asked who the health officer would be, as he thought we didn't have one currently. Susan Chenard has accepted the job of health officer. Selectman Moore next asked what part of the ordinance was updated. He'd like to see what the changes were. Mr. Sutton said he would get copies of the old ordinance for the board members to make a comparison. He also mentioned that we had checked with legal counsel at the Local Government Center, and that the ordinance didn't need to be presented at Town Meeting. Joe Chenard mentioned, from the audience, that he was very in favor of change, as he had been a victim of clogged drain problems. Wilfred Bishop asked for a copy of the ordinance to be placed at the library and on the Town's website, after it was ratified. ? Time Warner meeting. Mr. Sutton described how pleased he was with the good attitude of the new cable company, Time Warner. At the meeting last week, they said they would consider bulk cable and internet connections, but no actual conclusions had been made yet. Mr. Sutton did ask about different rates charged to different customers. ? Mapping process. Mr. Sutton said he was getting more excited the further along we go in this process. Scanned maps will be yet another part of this project. All the deeds and old tax cards will be taken out, a few drawers at a time. They will be sorted through and duplicates eliminated. ? Printer/scanner replacement progress. Mr. Sutton described how we had been looking to scan many old documents, and will have cost savings by replacing this copier with a leased one that scans, copies, and faxes. It will actually cost less money than what has been spent in the past for a new copier. This old one will go down to the police department, theirs will go to the community center, and the copier delivery people will do all the moving for us, with hookups at no cost to the Town. Lease savings were also discussed. Mr. Sutton and Chairman Huot felt it was a very important step, so that we can finally scan records. This has been on the CIP for a long time. Other business ? Letter of resignation - Ruth Rasmussen had sent in a letter of resignation as trustee of trust funds due to her move to Washington state. ? Letter from Coalition Communities - The Town had received a letter thanks for the $1000 donation. The Coalition Communities fight to solve the education cost issue. Mr. Sutton will go to a meeting later this month at the Local Government Center. We hope to prevent becoming a donor Town again. ? Budget Hearing - Chairman Huot reminded everyone that there would be a Budget Hearing on Tuesday, the 23rd, at 5pm. ? Joint Board Meeting - Selectman Moore asked if there would be a meeting with the Woodstock board regarding solid waste and other shared services. If there is, it would need to be before Town Meeting day. Chairman Huot and Selectman McTeague were also in favor of this meeting, and felt it really should happen annually to encourage good communication between the towns. The Town manager should arrange the meeting, and the Woodstock Board would be welcomed to come here to the Lincoln Town hall at a Selectmen's board meeting, on a date like the 29th of January or February 5th. The Woodstock meetings are Tuesdays. Then the boards could discuss solid waste, budgeting and any other issues that might arise. ? Veteran's tax credit A motion was made by Selectman Moore, seconded by Selectman McTeague, to approve a veteran's tax credit on the new property, 8 Ridge Road, Unit 1, owned by Mr. Hagan. His credit on his former property would be deleted. ? Gravel tax discussion - There was a short discussion about the gravel tax and notice of intent to excavate that had been turned in from Mike Sabourin for earth that was leaving the Landing and being stored at Conn's gravel pit in North Woodstock. The form can be signed by the Town Manager with the approval of the Board of Selectmen. This approval was granted. Public participation ? Wilfred Bishop asked about the Time Warner meeting. He wondered if there would be any changes to public access channels. (There will not be.) He also asked about the sports channel. Time Warner said that they need to buy the channels, and to keep costs down, they opted out of this one. He also asked how the condo associations made out with bundled savings. Time Warner said they would research the subject. ? Wilfred Bishop next asked about the carbon coalition. It will be discussed at Town Meeting. He asked how climate change would be discussed. He also mentioned that the Society for the Protection of National Forests will have a meeting. The North Country Council will be involved and literature will be handed out. ? Wilfred Bishop also asked about the leasing of Cannon Mountain. Mr. Sutton had received info from Edmond Gionet regarding that NH House bill regarding the lease of Cannon Mountain that day. He wanted to read it over more thoroughly first and was not ready to discuss it yet. ? Charlie Cook next asked a question regarding the land transfer. He wondered who would actually own the land, Dennis Ducharme or NCCA. The board believed it would be the NCCA. Also, Mr. Cook wondered what would happen if NCCA found a larger environmental issue on this site. He hopes that the Town wouldn't need to bail them out. Mr. Sutton replied that that was why he had asked them to do Phase 1 and 2 environmental studies. There was discussion that the deed should be written to absolve the Town of Lincoln from any liability. However, the brown fields law usually goes back to the original owner. Charlie Cook said it would also be nice to release the $10,000 in the White Water Treatment Plant demolition fund from the capital reserve, and allow it to be used for other purposes. ? Joe Chenard also felt that the land should revert back to the Town if NCCA were to leave. He also felt that we should get an aerial map of Town showing all Town properties and how they interconnect. Also, a piece of land from the railroad right of way may be given to us from State. He is hoping to have local land for Town good, and he would rather that developers clean the property and lease it from the Town, rather than take over ownership. The Town should keep control. Mr. Sutton left and the meeting was adjourned at 7:30pm. The Selectboard then reviewed payroll and accounts payable check registers for the week ending January 21, 2007. Date:_________ Approved By: Chairman Deanna Huot, Selectman Peter Moore, Selectman R. Patricia McTeague