Select Board Meeting Minutes - March 19, 2007

Lincoln Board of Selectmen Meeting Minutes March 19, 2007 5:05 pm Present: Chair Deanna Huot, Selectman Peter Moore, Selectman Patricia McTeague, Town Manager Ted Sutton, Recording Secretary Susan Chenard Audience members: Wilfred Bishop, Charlie Cook Approval of public meeting minutes of March 12, 2007: A motion was made by Selectman Mcteague, seconded by Selectman Moore, to approve the public meeting minutes of March 12, 2007, as amended. Routine Business ? Town Meeting results - The Board of Selectmen discussed the results of the Carbon Coalition article, which was voted down at Town Meeting. Throughout the state, 8 towns voted against it, while 80 voted for it. ? Ducharme meeting - Town Manager Sutton reported on his meeting with the Department of Environmental Services (DES), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Dennis Ducharme, and his staff at the DES office in Concord .The purpose of the meeting was to develop a timeline for the start of the demolition of the old "Mill" building. InnSeasons Resort intends to start the demolition of the east end of the Mill building, located next to the Movie Theater, which is already falling down. The demolition will begin May 2007, and the larger part of the mill and bleach plant are scheduled to be taken down in 2008. The developers have hired a consultant to monitor the removal of the asbestos, and air quality monitors will be installed to protect against the release of any asbestos particles. This type of asbestos tends to stay together as it is not the fiber type. Town Manager Sutton suggested they come before the planning board on April 11th for review and to give public notice. In mid-April, they will have a signing with all dignitaries, including Brownfield's people, the head of EPA, Region 1 office, and DES. Selectman Moore remarked on the huge transition for this town. ? Deputy health officers' nominations - The Selectmen signed the papers necessary for Town Manager Sutton and Public Works Director Willey to become Deputy Health Officers. Other business SAFER Grant Program - Town Manager Sutton handed out information to the Board of Selectmen regarding a grant application for the hiring of full-time firefighters. If accepted, it would mean $100,000 for 1-2 firefighters to be paid over a 5-year period, at which point the town would take over that cost. He asked the Board to review the information for next week. Parking tickets - These are now being paid more often, as all states, including Massachusetts and New Hampshire, have a reciprocal agreement. If tickets are not paid in other states, people can't re-register their cars in their home State. National Brotherhood of Skiers - Police Chief Smith and Town Manager Sutton will be welcoming the National Brotherhood of skiers to town March 22-25. A welcome letter was sent to the Brotherhood a few months ago. Abatement Decisions - A number of people have called asking as to when their abatement requests will be processed. Currently, we have 80 requests for abatements on the newly assessed property values. Town Manager Sutton stated that we have until July 1st to process these abatement requests; however we plan to process all of the abatement requests during the first two weeks of April. Levee Meeting - At 11am on the 28th of March there will be a meeting with the Army Corps and FEMA regarding the levee. It will take place here at the town hall and several condominium and home owners plan to attend. Town Manager Sutton stated that Senator Sununu's office has offered to help us and will be present at the March 28th meeting. Town Manager Sutton said he is still fighting to receive financial help and to extend the timeline that the Army Corps has dictated to us. Planning Board agendas - Town Manager Sutton met with Planning Board Chairman Pat Romprey last week to develop a better understanding of what each of their roles should be in the planning process. The Town Manager will continue to meet with the Town's engineers to gather comments and sort out the issues as much as possible to reduce the list of concerns to just those few questions left for the board's resolution. The Planning Board will allow the Town Manager to meet with the developers, work out the issues, keep things organized between meetings, and report back to the Planning Board. Letter from Tom Smith - Mr. Smith sent in a letter expressing his interest in serving on the Planning Board. There was mention that Chester Kahn was also interested, but has not submitted a letter yet. There are no open positions on the Planning Board at this time. School meeting - The annual school meeting will take place on Thursday, March 22nd, at 7:00 pm, at the elementary school. Timber tax - Two "Intent to Cut" forms have been received. Secretary Chenard noted that the year runs April 1 to March 31, but an extension could, and had, been filed to give the logger the ability to cut timber until the end of June. Public participation Wilfred Bishop said that Micro-Credit would be holding a meeting at the library this fall. He had also received an email from Plymouth State University regarding a state sponsored water conference in April, and suggested someone from the local boards attend with him. He also handed out an article from Yankee Engineer magazine regarding the levee. Charlie Cook recommended keeping on Senator Gregg's office, regarding the levee situation, even though Senator Sununu's office seems to be working harder at the moment. Senator Gregg is on the appropriations committee. He felt we should keep beating the drum of costs too. Town Manager Sutton invited him to come to the meeting on the 28th. The Town Manager feels that most people attending that meeting will demand that the Town of Lincoln respond more quickly to Corp's demands. Charlie Cook also agreed with Town Manager Sutton and Selectman Moore regarding their comments about the planning board meeting. Finally, Mr. Cook commented regarding the grant for the full-time fire department person. He wondered about the dynamics of a part-time chief with full-time firemen. Could we spread the funds over several part-time firefighters? Town Manager Sutton invited him to help with the grant. At 6:15pm, the Public members left and Chairman Huot entertained a vote to go into non-public session. Selectman Moore motioned to go into non-public session under RSA 91-A: 3 II (a). Selectman McTeague seconded and the vote was unanimous. The Selectmen discussed personnel issues. Selectman Moore motioned to come out of non-public session at 7:55 pm. Selectman McTeague seconded and the vote was unanimous. A decision was made to do further research on payroll and the wording of the PTO policy in the personnel manual. We will research with LGC regarding accrual of vacation time. Mr. Sutton left at 7:56 pm and the meeting was adjourned. The Selectboard then reviewed payroll and accounts payable check registers for the week ending 03/18/07. Date: ______________ Approved by: Chair Deanna L. Huot, Selectman Peter E. Moore, Selectman R. Patricia McTeague