Select Board Meeting called to order at 6:00 pm
Roll Call – Andrew Pinard (Chair), Marlene Freyler, Mel Pfeifle and Karen Hambleton, Town Administrator, were in attendance.
Appearances:
Laura Beaton – Little Free Library – Laura mentioned that the Trustees and the Friends of the Brown Memorial Library would like to create a little free library. She created the structure, and they would like to erect the little free library in the front of the Community Center. Marlene asked why they wouldn’t want to put it in front of the public library, and Laura mentioned that they are afraid that people might get confused and return regular library books in it. Laura distributed a diagram of the structure. She mentioned she would like to have it in the front possibly, near the flagpole area. Andrew suggested putting it near the sidewalk, but away from where the plowed snow would go in the winter. Laura said they would be responsible for the maintenance of the structure. She said the dimensions are 30”h x 19”w x 18”d. Road Agent Steve Hall said the Highway Department can help put in a pressure treated post to hang the structure on. Laura and Steve will discuss the best placement for this.
Motion: Andrew Pinard motioned to allow the installation of a structure to be used for a Little Free Library, maintained by the Friends of the Brown Memorial Library. If, and when, the structure is dismantled in the future, it will be the responsibility of the Friends of the Brown Memorial Library to take it down. The location will be determined by the Friends and the Road Agent.
Second: Marlene Freyler
Decision: 3-0
Highway – Roadside Mowing, Oakdale Road, Gravel, HW Well – Road Agent Steve Hall gave an update on Highway happenings. He said he would like to put an RFP out to put in a new well. Karen asked how this would be funded. Steve said they will get quotes and they can review.
Motion: Marlene Freyler motioned to approve putting out an RFP for a new well.
Second: Mel Pfeifle
Decision: 3-0
Steve said they need to crush gravel. He said he would like to put out an RFP to have someone to come in and crush the gravel. Mel asked if Scott Hill might have some crushed gravel they could purchase. Steve said they could but there are some materials that are not to state specs. Steve asked what the Board would like to do.
Motion: Marlene Freyler motioned to send out an RFP for gravel crushing.
Second: Mel Pfeifle
Decision: 3-0
Steve indicated he would like to install LED lights for the Highway Department based on the proposal received from World Energy Efficiency Services.
Motion: Marlene Freyler motioned to get the LED lights from World Energy.
Second: Mel Pfeifle
Decision: 3-0
Steve said he received a quote from the person who did the roadside mowing last year and it is $6,000 more than last year. He said he received a second quote which was less. Steve suggested giving it to the resident in town.
Motion: Marlene Freyler motioned to pay $11,250 to enter a contract to mow the roads. The Highway Department will pay for the fuel.
Second: Mel Pfeifle
Decision: 3-0
Steve mentioned that he will put out an ad to look for some summer help.
Steve said a letter needs to go out to Claire and Michael James regarding the removal of the triangle in front of their home at the intersection of Cressy, Marshall Hill and Hogg Hill Roads.
Steve gave an update on Oakdale Road. Mel thinks this is a Town Meeting issue. Marlene disagreed. They will bring this up at the CIP meeting.
Steve said he needs to do oiling and this is not in his budget. He thinks we need to salvage what roads we can. Steve would like to take money out of the Road and Bridge Funds to do this. Andrew asked him to come forward with a proposal.
Steve said everything is going well with the Bement Bridge project. Karen mentioned that ideas for new signs are still in development. Karen said the Historical Society wanted some of the boards from the bridge for repurposing, however it has been discovered that some of the boards are being considered to sell online. Tracey Quigley from the Bradford Historical Society gave an update. She said they were told that the boards would have been thrown away if no one took them. Tracey said they repurposed as many as they could and still had too many, so they decided to sell them to use the money toward the Historical Society. Tracey said nothing has been sold yet. Steve asked how many are left and Tracey said there were about 80 boards total and doesn’t know how many they will need for their project. Karen said the boards should not be sold because it could jeopardize the Federal and State funding of the bridge. Mel said the extra boards should be picked up by the Highway Department and stored and used by the Town.
Conservation Commission Appointments – The Board reviewed the three Conservation Commission appointments.
Motion: Marlene Freyler motioned to recommend the Conservation Commission appointments.
Second: Mel Pfeifle
Decision: 3-0
ERZ Update to the Board – Matt Monahan gave an update. He explained that this is a tax benefit that we can use locally and is managed by the State. Andrew asked how the Town will be financially impacted. Matt said the Town will not see a change at all and we just need to establish the two districts and publicize it. Discussion ensued.
Public Input:
Tracey Quigley asked about the Masonic Building on the agenda. She wanted to be clear that the Historical Society has not been contacted about what should be done with this building. She said they would like to be in the loop even though they have no interest in using the building.
Regular and Old Business
- The Board reviewed the minutes of the May 10th meeting.
Motion: Marlene Freyler motioned to accept the minutes.
Second: Mel Pfeifle
Decision: 3-0
- The Accounts Payable and Payroll Manifest were reviewed and will be signed.
- Masonic Building Follow-up – Mel gave an update about the topic being brought up at the Planning Board meeting. She said there was a lot of enthusiasm about saving the building. Andrew said he has some concerns with the project that Mel keeps bringing up because no proposal has even been submitted yet. Andrew said there are many other vacant buildings in Town that are compliant that can be used for this project. He believes this should go to Town Meeting and does not feel confident that this project should be moving forward in this time frame since it is a non-compliant building. Discussion ensued.
- COVID Protocol in Town Buildings Update – Karen gave an update on the drivers ed class, the CAP program, etc. Discussion took place. It was decided to keep the current COVID protocols in place until June 30. Masks shall be worn on Town property and in public buildings with public interaction when other safety mitigation cannot be present. When it comes to our workers, if a department is completely vaccinated then they can opt to take off their masks. The Board members all agreed with this recommendation.
- Bement Sign – Already discussed.
New Business:
- Re-Numbering Solitude Ridge – Karen said it is the Town’s responsibility to assign house numbers. Solitude Ridge has numbered in a manner that is inconsistent with E911 standards and is currently unsafe from a First Response standpoint. North Ridge Road is the most challenging because the house numbers are not in numerical order. Karen has talked to the 911 folks and their recommendation is to re-number both North Ridge and South Ridge roads. Karen recommends the Town re-numbers North Ridge. Property owner Bob Thompson gave a suggestion to simply just change the numbers of two houses to keep them in numerical order. Patrick Higgins agreed with Bob. He said he thinks this is a better option. Karen said this does not follow the protocol with ascending house numbers as you leave the center of town. Narine Hazard asked how different the numbers are. Andrew said he realizes it is inconvenient but necessary for the public good and safety. Chief Valiquet suggested they follow the guidelines sent out by 911. He said they rely heavily on mutual aid from surrounding towns, and it is important that they know where are they going.
Motion: Andrew Pinard motioned to support re-numbering the houses in North Ridge and a few houses in South Ridge.
Second: Marlene Freyler
Decision: 3-0
- Review Personnel Policy Updates – Karen asked to extend Chip Meaney’s employment for another month.
Motion: Marlene motioned to extend Chip Meaney’s employment for another month.
Second: Mel Pfeifle
Decision: 3-0
- Letter from 31 Pleasant View Road – Andrew thanked Ms. Herman for the feedback.
- Map 21 Lot 26 – Karen distributed a picture of the property card and photos that the building inspector took regarding this property. The building inspector said there was a building permit, but it was returned because it was incomplete due to no DES approval. The building inspector asked what he should do. Andrew suggests issuing a cease and desist at this point until more research can be done. The Board members agreed with this suggestion.
- Deputy Fire Warden – The Board agreed that the Fire Chief Jeff LeBlanc can serve in the position of Deputy Fire Warden.
- Accept Funds for Scholarship Fund
Motion: Marlene Freyler motioned to accept $170 of funds for the Scholarship Fund.
Second: Mel Pfeifle
Decision: 3-0
Karen wanted to publicly thank Harry Wright for all the work he put in to writing Congressional Discretionary Funding grant requests for the Town Hall and West Main Street projects. Andrew also thanked Karen for all her hard work on this project.
Upcoming Meetings:
- June 14th
Motion: Marlene Freylermotioned to adjourn to non-public session per RSA 91-A:3II(c) at 8:28 p.m.
Second: Mel Pfeifle
Decision: 3-0
Motion: Marlene Freyler motioned to return to public session at 8:53 p.m.
Second: Mel Pfeifle
Decision: 3-0 in favor
Motion: Marlene Freyler motioned to adjourn the meeting at 8:53 p.m.
Second: Mel Pfeifle
Vote: 3-0 in favor
Minutes submitted by Donna Long, Recording Secretary.