3:30pm Town Hall Visit
Selectmen Jason Allen and John Pfeifle, as well as Town Administrator Karen Hambleton, met with Town Hall Architect Jay Barrett and Trumbull-Nelson representatives at the Bradford Town Hall. The group reviewed a draft Site Plan for the exterior of the site as well as proposed utility service locations and entrances into the building with a focus on phasing additional work toward occupancy of the 1st floor of the building.
The Select Board solicited feedback from Trumbull-Nelson on their thoughts for priorities for the building. They outlined resolving and needed roof repair, backfilling the property once the granite installation is complete and installing drip edge and drainage to manage any erosion as key priorities.
- Additional review is needed to solidify service entrances as well as a review of an abutting property’s right to water from the site which was a concern raised by Sonny Harris.
- Karen will follow up with RCS Design as to whether there are any concerns with installing the septic without water in the building.
- Jay will provide Trumbull-Nelson with the most current set of engineering drawings which outline the septic plan.
- Jay and Trumbull-Nelson will provide feedback on storm panel solutions for the windows which will need LCHIP approval as well.
- Trumbull-Nelson also proposed utilizing a water table board around the base of the siding to finish the exterior. Jay will follow up with LCHIP on this proposed weather proofing solution.
5:00pm Masonic Hall Visit
Selectmen Jason Allen and John Pfeifle, as well as Town Administrator Karen Hambleton, met with Town Hall Architect Jay Barrett at the Masonic Hall building. The Selectmen asked for an assessment on the feasibility to convert the property for proposed future uses which include conversion to a Police Department or utilizing the space as a meeting venue while pending availability of meeting space at the Town Hall building.
Jay felt the structure of the building was solid but did recommend removing the back el of the building regardless of use once a future use is determined. He felt that conversion to a Police Department was a feasible solution but would require significant investment to bring the facility up to code. He recommended the Town examine what they felt the composition of emergency services might look like in thirty years to determine if the investment would suit the demands of the community.
Jay felt that utilizing the building for something that did not constitute a change of use from the building code perspective would be appropriate as well and would not drive significant investment. This could include a modest one- or two-unit residential structure or continued use as a place of assembly, for example.
Sonny Harris commented that the façade of the building contributed to the “Main Street” appeal of the community and would leave a gap in the landscape if torn down. There was agreement with this sentiment and Jay outlined selling the building for residential use, with conditions, as a potential use as well.
Meeting called to order at 7:00pm
Roll Call- John Pfeifle, Michael James, Jason Allen, Karen Hambleton, Town Administrator and Marilyn Gordon, Treasurer were in attendance.
Pledge of Allegiance
Appearances:
- William Lucas and Emily Nichols appeared to discuss work Mr. Lucas had done on Old Mountain Road. Mr. Lucas shared an agreement with the Town that outlines his responsibility to maintain the Road as well as a letter from an abutting owner which requested he cease road improvements involving the ditch line. Mr. Lucas expressed that the work he had done is driven by repeated washout activity. A meeting will be held at the site on Thursday Sept 12th at 2:30pm with Fish and Game.
Public Input:
- There was no public input.
Regular Business:
- Minutes from the August 26th, 2019 meeting were reviewed and accepted.
Motion: Jason Allen motioned to approve the minutes.
Second: Michael James
Decision: 3-0 in favor
- Account Payable and Payroll Manifest were reviewed and signed. Michael asked whether there was an update on the Kearsarge School Budget increase. Karen believes it may be about 50% of the original proposal and felt Andrew Pinard would be a good resource to speak with.
- The Board reviewed a draft Covenant for the 79-E, Economic Development Program, provide by the Town’s legal resources.
Motion: John Pfeifle motioned to accept the changes and approve the Covenant as recommended by legal.
Second: Michael James
Decision: 3-0 in favor
- The Board discussed 2020 Capital Improvement Program initiatives. A program to replace aging computer hardware was proposed. Certified Computer Services, the Town’s computer support vendor, submitted a proposal to replace all hardware over a five-year period as well as provide support for those 5 years. Michael supports the initiative but would like to see the support activity in the general budget and would like to submit a separate Warrant Article for the hardware as part of the CIP. Michael will review the computer hardware information and make a recommendation.
Motion: Michael James motioned to move forward now adding a secure private network for Town use only.
Second: Jason Allen
Decision: 3-0 in favor
Jason felt the previously proposed structural assessment CIP item for the Masonic Hall was not needed. Jason and John recapped the earlier meeting with Jay Barrett.
- The Board recapped the earlier Town Hall meeting. Results of a roof assessment and priority list from Trumbull-Nelson are pending for the Boards review. Steve Hall asked when he could break up the large boulders at the site and was told that activity could move forward. He plans to begin this week.
- The Board reviewed expense through August. No concerns were raised, 39.08% of the budget is left to expend.
- Karen informed the Board of an inquiry from a land owner to donate property to the Town. The Board requested the information be sent to the Conservation Commission for review as the property is primarily wetlands. Karen will provide the Board with the Tax Card at the next meeting.
- The Board discussed a Hometown Hero Banner program. There would be no cost to the Town although the Town would need to get permits from the pole owner(s). Individual community members would pay a fee to purchase the banners and Hometown Hero’s would hang and maintain the banners for a specific period of time. The Board would like to review samples in other communities, find out if there is a fee for pole permitting and understand whether there is a minimum about of banner sales needed to participate in the program.
- The Board signed a Timber Tax Warrant for Map 9 Lot 47-1 which results in a refund for pre-paid taxes.
Motion: Jason Allen motioned to refund a $4,343.27 overpayment for Map 9 Lot 47-1.
Second: John Pfeifle
Decision: 3-0 in favor
- The Board signed a Purchase Order for the Fire Department for brake repair work.
Motion: Michael James motioned to approve a Purchase Order for $1,544.59 to Weed Family Automotive for brake repairs.
Second: Jason Allen
Decision: 3-0 in favor
- Karen presented tax map corrections for Map 9 Lot 13, Map 11 Lot 14-18 and Map 22 Lot 76. Michael questioned the process to make corrections to the tax map. He asked Karen to follow up to determine if some type of certification is needed to verify tax map corrections and asked that she examine the process other towns utilize.
Motion: Jason Allen motioned to adjourn to non-public session at 8:19pm per RSA 91-A:3II(a).
Second: Michael James
Decision: 3-0 in favor
Motion: John Pfeifle motioned to adjourn to public session at 9:31pm.
Second: Michael James
Decision: 3-0 in favor
Motion: Jason Allen motioned to adjourn the meeting at 9:32 pm.
Second: Michael James
Decision: 3-0 in favor
The next Selectmen’s meeting will be held on Monday September 23, 2019 at 7:00pm, at the Bradford Community Center
Minutes submitted by Laurie Colburn, Recording Secretary