Town of Bristol
Board of Selectmen
Minutes of 7-24-08
Members Present: Rick Alpers (RA), Paul Fraser (PF), Bruce Van Derven (BVD), Joe Denning (JD), Town Manager Paul Weston
Mr. Denning arrived late.
Chairman Rick Alpers called the Regular Meeting to order at 7:00pm.
Mr. Alpers stated the board has restructured the agenda. He explained the new structure stating when public comment would be allowed.
Honoring of Mason Westfall
The Board recognized Mr. Mason Westfall, the recipient of the Kim Ayers award from Lakes Region Planning Commission. Mr. Alpers explained Mr. Westfall was voted in by his peers. He has had a long career in Conservation and has been serving on the Bristol Conservation Commission for 10 years. Mr. Alpers reviewed Mr. Westfall’s accomplishments for Bristol and the boards and committees he has been involved with. Mr. Alpers stated the board appreciates everything Mr. Westfall has done for Bristol and presented him with a certificate of appreciation.
The board went to Town Manager’s report while waiting for Mr. Greg Gorski and Ms. Lorraine Oranatto-Sullivan.
Town Managers Report
Goals and Objectives
Mr. Weston presented the Board with his goals and objectives. Mr. Weston stated he has combined the previous administrations items to be addressed and added his own. He asked the board to review and would like to know their priorities. Mr. Alpers suggested the board review Mr. Weston’s goals and objectives, expound upon and hold work session to discuss them further.
Honoring of Greg Gorski
Mr. Alpers stated Mr. Greg Gorski, owns and operates Bristol Shop and Save and made a donation of $5,000 to the Summer Concert Series and Bristol Old Home Day. Mr. Alpers stated the board greatly appreciates his generous donation and thanked Mr. Gorski for helping to make these events successful. Mr. Alpers presented him with a certificate of appreciation.
Appointment of Zoning Board Member
Mr. Alpers sated there was a vacancy on the Zoning Board and explained Ms. Lorraine Oranatto-Sullivan is currently an alternate who is willing to become a full member. The Board thanked Ms. Oranatto-Sullivan for stepping forward and appreciated her commitment. Mr. Van Derven stated Ms. Oranatto-Sullivan attends the meetings religiously even as an alternate and Chairman Bouchard had very good words about Ms. Oranatto-Sullivan. Mr. Van Derven stated there are currently openings on the Zoning Board and the Historic District Commission. If one is interested in joining they should contact Town Hall. Motion by Mr. Fraser to appoint Ms. Lorraine Ornato-Sullivan as a full member to the Zoning Board; seconded by Mr. Denning. Vote was 5-0.
Wulamat Road Drainage
Mr. Weston stated Mr. Bednaz would like to end the storm water discharge and drainage across his property. He would like to have the water go to end of road instead. Mr. Weston stated he hired Mr. Mike Vignale, an engineer, to review the drainage options. Mr. Weston stated based on the report he would recommend continuing the drainage as it is at present. Mr. Weston stated there is a significant amount of work to be done if the drainage is revised. Mr. Weston stated we would be willing to compromise and do the labor of a new drainage system on Mr. Bednaz’s property if the owner would supply materials. The board discussed the drainage issue and the easement that the town has. Mr. Van Derven questioned what Mr. Bednaz’s and Ms. Bohlke’s thoughts were. Mr. Weston stated Mr. Bednaz was not happy with the results of the report and Ms. Bolkhe wanted to make sure it was environmentally efficient. Mr. Alpers stated the engineer recommends keeping the drainage where it is and replace the 8 inch pipe with a 15 inch pipe and installing an environmentally sound catch basin. The end of the road would then be paved when GMI comes back to do Hall Road and Danforth Brook Road. Mr. Fraser believes we have looked into Mr. Bednaz’s request and the recommendation is to follow the current drainage and easement that we have. Mr. Van Derven believes the surrounding property owners, engineer, and town manger should meet and come to a mutual agreement.
Trust Funds
Mr. Weston stated he met with Ms. Betty Seeler and she provided a report of all the trust funds. Mr. Weston explained there is about $41,562 in an expendable trust fund that the Board of Selectmen has authority to expend for maintenance and improvements at Kelley Park. Mr. Alpers questioned whether the fund states the Board is authorized to expend the funds. Mr. Weston stated the Board is authorized to expend. Mr. Milbrand questioned if the fund is for maintenance and improvements. Mr. Denning confirmed.
Mileage Reimbursement
Chairman Alpers instructed the Manager to take care of administration of the mileage reimbursement policy for use of private vehicles used for Town business.
Water & Sewer Project
Mr. Weston stated the board needed to hold a work session at the end of August to discuss the Water and Sewer project.
Summit Meeting Volunteer
Mr. Weston stated as an outcome of the Regional Selectmen’s Summit Meeting the Board needed to decide on a volunteer from the board to be on the Area Study Group. Mr. Denning stated he would volunteer.
Drug Testing Policy
Mr. Weston stated the drug testing policy is being distributed to employees tomorrow. Mr. Weston stated the DOT employees (Highway Dept) are currently tested randomly and now we are requiring full and part time to also be tested randomly. Mr. Weston explained Chief Clark will do reasonable suspicion training for staff.
Raffle Permits Sold at the Town Office for Old Home Day
Mr. Weston stated Ms. Moorhead would like to have the staff at town hall sell raffle tickets for Old Home Day. The raffle is for 100 gallons of Home Heating Oil and the proceeds will go to the Old Home Day event and the Concert Series. The board agreed to allow the sale of raffle permits for this event at town hall.
Selectmen Items
Sale of Town Property
Mr. Alpers stated the board needs to review the town owned parcels and determine whether we need them or should they be disposed of through selling in a bid process. Mr. Van Derven stated this is another revenue stream as we keep accumulating property and are not selling unnecessary property. Mr. Van Derven suggested finding a different way then sealed bids to raise the maximum amount of revenue. Mr. Alpers suggested an auction. Mr. Alpers stated Bob Proulx is an auctioneer up north and is very inexpensive. Mr. Alpers suggested he and Mr. Weston review the parcels and make a list for the next board meeting. Mr. Weston stated this is something that should be done on a cyclical review.
Chamber Partnership
Mr. Van Derven suggested discussing a partnership with the Chamber of Commerce and offer Old Town Hall as a meeting space for small meetings from outside organizations that would bring in citizens to our Bed and Breakfasts and local businesses and restaurants. Mr. Alpers suggested the Town Manager contact the Chamber to set up a meeting regarding the partnership.
Recycling
Mr. Alpers stated Bestway who currently hauls our waste is coming to the next Recycling Committee meeting to discuss implementing single stream recycling while we wait for Concord to open their new recycling facility. Mr. Van Derven stated the Recycling Committee found they could be doing single stream recycling now and the board should tell the committee to move forward with single stream recycling. The board agreed. Mr. Van Derven stated $25,000 was approved for transfer station improvements. Mr. Van Derven stated a volunteer who is an engineer has created a model and suggests hiring an engineer to move forward with a plan if this volunteer does not want to commit to pursuing a plan. Mr. Weston stated we need to get a permit for our transfer station and we need a registered engineer to submit our site plan to DES for the permit. Mr. Weston suggested moving forward to hire an engineer to get the project and permitting to move forward. Mr. Van Derven stated he heard someone will take electronics for free and should be looked into so we don’t have to charge people. Mr. Van Derven suggested Mr. Weston have the committee get in contact with this company to move forward.
Mr. Denning suggested looking into a park and ride lot in Bristol. Mr. Alpers suggested having the Highway Safety Committee look into this further.
Mr. Denning suggested additional signage near the boating area to state no swimming outside the swim lines.
Mr. Denning stated the maintenance to the Kelley Park Concession stand is almost complete.
Mr. Weston stated he went to Concord with Mr. Denning for the Safe Routes to School grant and it went well.
Mr. Fraser was pleased the board recognized Mr. Gorski as a platinum sponsor of the concert series and Old Home Day. Mr. Fraser would recommend changing the concert series to a different night then Thursday in the future and suggested Ms. Moorhead do additional publicizing for next year as many do not know about the event.
Mr. Fraser questioned the costs needed for the sewer and wastewater infrastructure improvements. Mr. Alpers suggested Underwood Engineers attend the August work session. Mr. Van Derven stated the estimated total cost of the water and sewer extension to the lake is 35 million dollars in 2008 dollars. This is a very costly project for all the phases. Mr. Alpers stated they were recently informed from CDM that the pipe from downtown down Lake Street will not be able to handle phases 2 and 3 and the existing sewer lines and pump station would need to be replaced or upgraded to move forward.
Public comment
Ms. Bohlke-O’Hara stated she is totally opposed to the drainage into the Lake on Wulamat Road. She is opposed to the piping on her property and the water draining into the Lake. She is concerned with septic flowing in from back properties through the drainage along Wulamat. Mr. Alpers stated the engineer recommended putting in an environmentally safe catch basin. Mr. Weston stated he sent Ms. Bohlke-O’Hara’s e-mail to the engineer to be considered in his report and recommendations. Ms. Bohlke-O’Hara stated she would have liked to known about the meeting tonight, however she was informed by a friend.
A Citizen questioned why the fireworks changed from Cummings Beach where no boats need to be moved. Mr. Denning stated it is due to the power lines in the way and spaces issues.
Ms. Westfall questioned if the new broadcasting studio is at Old Town Hall, where will the meetings be held? Mr. Alpers stated the board is looking into possibly moving the meetings to Old Town Hall. Ms. Westfall stated Old Town Hall would then have to be heated all year long. Mr. Alpers stated Old Town Hall is currently heated all year long for town meeting and voting but the temperature is keep at a very low temp when it is not being used. Ms. Westfall questioned how much it costs to heat Old Town Hall and is it really fiscally responsible to do so. Mr. Van Derven stated Mr. Weston can look into how much is spent on heating the building. Mr. Weston stated they may need to look into insulating and heating only the small room off the side for the broadcasting area.
Ms. Girona stated it costs a lot of money to heat that building. Ms. Girona stated many citizens are in favor of having town meeting on a Saturday. Ms. Girona stated she noticed Selectmen vacancies is listed under non-public and suggested Mr. Walenda be considered as he only lost by 10 votes this past March.
Mr. Walenda stated the handicap bathroom at Old Town Hall can not be easily drained if they were to shut the building down in the winter.
Old Business
Fireworks Ordinance
Mr. Alpers stated the Fire and Police Chief are still working with Mr. Van Derven on the Ordinance therefore they will discuss this at the next meeting.
Beach Ordinance
Mr. Alpers questioned if the board had any further questions or suggestions regarding the proposed Beach Ordinance. The Board did not. Mr. Weston stated Ms. Alpers italicized the changes as there were more then just grammatical changes as stated at the previous meeting. Mr. Fraser made a motion to accept the Beach Ordinance as proposed; seconded by Mr. Denning, vote was 5-0.
Beach Attendant/Supervisor Job Descriptions
Mr. Alpers questioned if the board had any further questions or suggestions regarding the proposed Beach Attendant/Supervisor Job Descriptions. Mr. Van Derven questioned if there is wording on proper uniforms for the attendants. Mr. Weston stated wording had been added on the proper uniforms. Mr. Denning made a motion to accept the Beach Attendant/Supervisor job descriptions as presented; seconded by Mr. Van Derven, vote was 5-0.
Yard Sale Ordinance
Mr. Alpers questioned how the board would like to proceed with the proposed yard sale ordinance. The Board discussed the proposed ordinance and decided to pass it on to the Planning Board for their recommendation as they placed it in the zoning ordinance.
New business
Planning for Town Meeting
Andrew Hemingway (Chairman of the Budget Committee), Ned Gordon (Town Moderator), and Jamie Caddorette (Manager of Local Access TV studio) joined the Board to discuss preparations for the annual Town Meeting. Moderator Gordon spoke on the problems associated with holding the meeting at Old Town Hall and the gymnasium at the High School. He advocated for having the meeting at the High School auditorium: comfortable seating, portable microphones available, and voting on special ballot articles could be done by the Town Clerk in the lobby. Chairman Alpers asked if Saturday was better for a meeting, and Mr. Gordon responded attendance has been less on Saturdays actually in his opinion. Mr. Hemingway was in favor of the auditorium, and expressed concerns about emergency egress out of the Old Town Hall. Selectman Denning stated Town Clerk Simpson is in favor of the auditorium. Mr. Gordon spoke in favor of making in depth presentations at the budget hearing, not during town meetings. Hour long presentations should not occur. Controlling problem people disrupting proceedings was mentioned by Chairman Alpers. Mr. Gordon responded by saying he actually keeps a tighter control at the Bristol Town Meeting than other meetings he runs and attempts to call each person by name during the meeting. The town meeting is actually the people’s meeting, we have an independent moderator per RSA, and control is under the moderator. Selectman Van Derven asked that if we could meet monthly in an attempt to have excellent planning for this important meeting. The Manager was asked to summarize what was said this evening on this topic.
Summer Town Meeting
Mr. Alpers stated Summer Town Meeting will be August 9th from 10:00am – 12:00pm at Old Town Hall. He asked the other board members to email him agenda items.
Shared Administrative Assistant Job Description
Mr. Alpers explained the proposed job description is for the shared administrative assistant between Town Hall and the Fire Department. Mr. Denning made a motion to accept the job description as recommended by the Town Managers; seconded by Mr. Milbrand, vote was 5-0.
Lakes Region Planning Commission (Transportation Technical Advisory Committee)
Mr. Alpers stated LRPC (TAC) is looking for a representative from the town. Mr. Alpers questioned if Mr. Favorite would like to be the town’s representative. Mr. Favorite agreed. Mr. Fraser made a motion to appoint Mr. Favorite to LRPC (TAC); seconded by Mr. Milbrand, vote was 5-0.
At 9:55 PM the Chairman entertained a motion from Selectman Denning, seconded by Selectman Fraser to go into non-public session per RSA91-AII (a, c and d). A roll call vote was taken with all responding yes.
Motion to return to public session at 10:35 made by Mr. Denning, seconded by Mr. Fraser; vote was unanimous.
Motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Van Derven; seconded by Mr. Fraser; vote was unanimous.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:35pm
Respectfully submitted,
Krystal Alpers
Administrative Assistant
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Richard Alpers, Chairman Paul Fraser, Vice Chairman
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Joe Denning Donald Milbrand
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Bruce Van Derven