Select Board Meeting Minutes - August 13, 2007

Lincoln Board of Selectmen Meeting Minutes August 13, 2007 5:13 pm Present: Chair Deanna Huot, Selectman Peter Moore, Town Manager Ted Sutton, Recording Secretary Susan Chenard Audience member: Wilfred Bishop Approval of public meeting minutes of July 30, 2007: A motion was made by Selectman Moore, seconded by Chairman Huot, to approve the public meeting minutes of July 30, 2007, as written. The vote was unanimous. Routine Business ? Village Core Planning Group - The next scheduled meeting is Tuesday, August 14th at 5pm. Large maps will be used to generate preliminary thoughts and ideas. Selectman Moore will be bringing a slideshow of the proposed lot. It's a very exciting project. ? Lincoln Library Update - Town Manager Sutton described that the painter, Errol Towers, had discovered rot on the back of the library, behind the clapboards, while power washing. The repairs were easily funded. Selectman Moore also related that he has spoken with a mason to fix the front steps and a company to put an aluminum railing down the middle of them. ? Connector Road Snowmaking Line - Town Manager Sutton had just had a conversation with Bill Conn and a phone call from Greg Placey from NH DOT regarding potentially closing Connector Road for two weeks while they do the cross cut under the highway bridge. (The State is having Conn Brothers Construction put in a sleeve for future wires next to the snowmaking line they are installing for Loon.) The drilling machinery takes some time to set up and break down so the closure would make it more convenient for construction, but this road is a major artery for connecting both sides of town, as well as a bus route for the school children. The Town Manager will research further on what would be an appropriate length of time. ? Pleasant Street and Liberty Road - Pleasant Street was paved driveways first, causing a grade change, which in turn caused puddles in the middle of the road during a recent rain storm. The pavers will repair this at no further cost to the town. The final cost on Pleasant Street was $275,614, some $13,289 under the budgeted amount of $288,903. Liberty Road paving cost $13,332, so one could say that Liberty Road was done for $34 net. ? George Sansoucy letter re: NHEC - The 2004 tax abatement appeal by the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative had been defaulted on as they did not provide information requested by The Town of Lincoln. The Town has now requested the same information for the 2005 tax year. ? Noise Ordinance Petition - There has been some discussion from a few townspeople regarding making changes to the current noise ordinance. Town Manager Sutton distributed a copy of our current ordinance and a proposed petition that is being circulated to change the hours of quiet time in residential zones only from 7am to 8am. Town Manager Sutton also told the petitioner that once the 25 signatures had been obtained, the question would be put on the ballot for Town Meeting. Susan Chenard had done some research and printed out several towns' ordinances that showed a time zone very similar to our 10pm to 7am, which the Town Manager passed on to the Selectmen. Other Business ? Town Manager Sutton reported he had heard from Police Chief Smith that Lacey Smock has been doing a great job as his administrative assistant, and that she was getting good grades in the pertinent courses she was taking. She has been given an excellent evaluation. The Chief has also gotten a handle on the overtime situation and is overseeing scheduling himself. Finally, the last recruit hired, William Ulwick, has passed his strength testing and is now also a certified police officer. This allows the SRO officer to be fully available for the school. The Town manger will check regarding how the school for that position went and if anyone from Linwood attended. ? The Town Manager then asked the Board about the fire grant, as it needs to be completed by the end of this month. This grant is for the funding of several part-time firemen to the equivalent of one full-time position. CDP will pay for the writing of the grant, to be done by North Country Council, but the questions must be answered by the Board. Chairman Huot felt that Fire Chief Haynes should be involved in the decision. In the meantime, the Board will look over the papers and discuss this at next week's meeting. ? We had some high water usage days recently, but Cold Spring was only used a few days and the tanks were refilled by early morning. ? The town manager attended a Town Bounds class this past weekend, and was surprised to be the only town official, the rest being certified surveyors, including some local ones. Perambulation of the Town Lines is technically required every five years but has not been done in Lincoln. Lincoln's borders are 85 miles around over various mountain ridges, so would take some time. ? Propane prices are locked in at $1.74, at 5 cents more than last year, with Franconia Gas providing the fuel. ? Selectman Moore asked about the Senior Activities ad discussed last week. This was an old ad. Tara Tower will discuss with Teasha Camergo. ? Selectman Moore also mentioned an article in the NHEC's monthly newsletter about Jim Collier and his low-energy bulb replacement project, the largest that the Co-op had been involved in, with projected savings of about $250,000. ? Susan Chenard reported that we were looking into a new website provider, the one that does www.nh.gov , with a concept page due in this week. ? Chairman Huot reported that the Community Center Committee had a good meeting with the daycare center. The daycare made a realistic plan on how to pay past and current rent, on a monthly basis, and is working on new and more fundraisers. They have made some adjustments within their operation and seem very enthusiastic. The daycare center is also excited to be starting the infant program with 14 people on a waiting list for 8 openings when the new room opens. A check-up meeting is scheduled in three months. ? Chairman Huot then presented Town Manager Sutton a gift certificate in honor of his five-year anniversary as Lincoln's Town Manager. He thanked the Board and told them that they have made his job enjoyable - working with Selectman Moore on the Planning Board, Selectman McTeague on Zoning Board and Chairman Huot on budgeting and CIP. It is an exciting job to see good things happen in this town. The Town Manager also thanked various town employees. After further mutual admiration, Chairman Huot proposed scheduling the Town Manager's annual review in non-public session at the end of next week's meeting. Public Participation ? Wilfred Bishop asked about the Perambulation and was informed that the markers described would be plotted by GPS and photographed. He asked again about WaterSense, and mentioned North Country Council activities such as the Wildfire Mitigation meeting and quarterly meeting on North Country Telecommunications. He has spoken with Mr. Meltsin at the school regarding air quality in regards to the school buses, and with the PUC regarding the light poles on during the day. He will get the pole numbers to the Town Manager or NHEC as part of his Energy Committee duties. Finally, he reminded us again of the importance of water, air and energy conservation. At 7:15 pm, Town Manager Sutton left and the meeting was adjourned. The Selectboard then reviewed payroll and accounts payable check registers for the week ending August 12, 2007. Approved by: Chairman Deanna L. Huot and Selectman Peter E. Moore