Town of Bristol
Board of Selectmen
Minutes of 03-30-06
Present: Rick Alpers (RA), Bruce Van Derven (BVD), Joe Denning (JD), Steve Favorite (SF), Paul Fraser (PF), Town Administrator Bob Veloski and the administrative secretary.
Board Chairman Rick Alpers called the meeting to order at 6:30pm.
Scheduled meetings:
(6:30 -7:00 work session)
7:00 Josephine Belville from NH DRA (assessing audit review)
7:20 Jay Meegan – Bristol ZBA Chairperson (request to consider appointment)
7:30 Public Hearing
Request to lower speed limit on No. Main Street
Traffic flow in downtown area (No. Main Street to 104)
8:00 Bristol Police Commissioners/Chief (new police station)
Pre-meeting work session:
The BOS reviewed the weekly manifests and routine paperwork. Letters requiring signatures were read and signed by the Board.
Motion by BVD to appoint as follows: Dan Bouchard as a full member of the ZBA; Lloyd Belbin, Susan Colby and Lorraine Ornatto-Sullivan as ZBA alternates; Robert Duquette, Janice Della Croche and Gerry McGwin as Planning Board alternates. Jan LaFerriere (PB Sec) pointed out that Jay Meegan was on the agenda for 7:20 to speak to the BOS about the alternates, asking if they would hold off until then. Issue was tabled until 7:20 when Jay would be scheduled to address the Board.
Town Administrator Items:
Joint Loss Safety Committee
Dept. Head meeting scheduled for 4/7 – BOS Welcomed to attend
Serious motor vehicle accident intown – Passenger air lifted to Dartmouth Hitchcock.
Increased patrols on No. Main St – Chief has issued numerous tickets for excessive speed on No. Main Street
Complaint of junkyard on Worfield Circle – Code Enforcement Officer is working on this
Metrocast Cable Co – New hookups (expanded area) will begin in April.
Bob has spoken with Barbara Lucas in New Hampton – Still no dates for the Rt 104 study
Bernie Waugh would rather meet on 4/20 instead of 4/27 for annual review
The Code Enforcement Officer will be out on vacation for two weeks
Town Bird Collection housed at the Minot-Sleeper Library – Brief discussion on what to do with birds at this point in time. (Matter was also discussed later in the meeting.)
Josephine Belville (DRA pre-audit meeting/review):
Ms. Belville explained the overall process and a general time line for the DRA assessing audit. She explained that it isn’t a matter of trying to find problems as a "got you" but to be used as a tool to help identify any non-compliance issues and to remedy them, as well as education on the legislative changes and requirements. The BOS asked that she meet with the Town Administrator and the Board secretary/assessing clerk for any information pertaining to this matter. A finalized copy of the DRA report should be available by December of 2007.
Bird collection at Minot-Sleeper Library
Mr. George Corette and Ms. Barbara Greenwood addressed the Board about their concerns with the condition of the displays. Among the concerns discussed were the overall condition of the birds, the age and fragility of them, possible hazardous material, storage while library is renovating/expanding, PSU offer to build a display for them in their ornithology dept, etc. Motion by Joe Denning to have the Minot-Sleeper Board of Trustees as the Selectmen’s agents to relocate the birds now at the library to their (trustees) considered best location, realizing that these are to remain the property of the Town of Bristol; seconded by Steve Favorite; vote was 4-1 with BVD opposing.
Mr. Richard Walenda felt that the birds are worth a lot of money as some of the birds are now extinct. He suggested that the library box them up and store them in the Portland Glass building next door to the library.
Jan LaFerriere (PB/ZBA Secretary): (Jay Meegan was not present at this time)
Ms. LaFerriere asked if the BOS were going to have a ZBA rep, noting that it is not statutorily required, but has been past practice. She also stated that the ZBA chair would like to request that Susan Duncan be appointed to the ZBA as she has had experience on the board and has attended classes hosted by the State. Motion by BVD to reconsider the previously tabled motion; second by JD; DISCUSSION AS FOLLOWS:
BVD stated he have strong consideration to all of the candidates and feels his motion is in the best interest of the Town of Bristol. JD stated he felt it was nice to have so many new people express interest in serving on the PB and Zoning Boards and wants to encourage that by appointing them as alternates. SF felt that the people listed were a good representation of the community of Bristol. Joe Denning made a motion to amend the original to add Bruce Van Derven as the ZBA Selectboard rep: vote was 5-0 to approve appointments as listed, motion carries. Joe Denning thanked Jan for the input from the ZBA.
Public Hearing:
The Board heard input from several No. Main Street residents regarding their concerns with the high volume of traffic and excessive speeds of vehicles. Chief Wingate stated that he had given out 7 tickets this week alone, with the highest speed recorded as 51mph. He felt that the most effective method to address the issue would be a combination of patrols and education. Many suggestions and opinions were offered by those present. The Board agreed to allow the PD to continue the increased patrols and radar to see what effect it has and to revisit the issue in 30 days.
Highway Superintendent Mark Bucklin, along with the NH DOT district reps Dennis Ford and Mark Avery presented the BOS with a plan to remove the traffic triangle at the stop sign on No. Main Street (onto Rt 104). The plan would remove the triangle but add a "shark fin" which is an area of cobblestone or cement pavement which is 1 inch below-grade of the normal roadway. It would also relocate the catch basin which is currently in the middle of the traveled roadway. It was agreed that this was a good compromise in trying to relieve some of the confusion when turning onto No. Main Street as well as improving the overall traffic flow through the center of town (in Master Plan). Mr. Ford stated that it isn’t going to cure the overall problem, but felt that this was a reasonable solution as well as being a low-cost project instead of sinking millions of tax dollars into redoing the entire downtown. It was the consensus of the Board to support the proposal as presented.
Bristol Police Chief and Commissioners:
Discussion took place over the proposed new police building, where it should be located, the steps needed to move forward, progress made in the past year, etc. No firm plans were made at this point in time; however, all concerned felt it is vital that everyone works together to make this happen. Motion by JD to appoint Steve Favorite as the Police Dept. rep for the Board of Selectmen; seconded by BVD: Vote was unanimous. The Board asked Bob Veloski to see if the PSNH property were still available and to get a copy of the presentation done by Corey Johnston.
Public Input:
Richard Walenda again voiced his displeasure with the way the roads were being maintained in regards to pot holes and ditching.
Fire Commissioner Doug Williams presented the BOS with the PAFs for the fire department employees. He stated that there were two copies of each, one for the permanent employee file at the Town Office and one for their personnel files at the Fire Station.
Chris Dolloff presented a request for an approval for a PO for the purchase of the new ambulance. The three bids were not available as the Fire Chief has them (out on medical leave). He did note, however, that they went with the lowest bid and it is for the vehicle their committee felt would best serve the Town. It was mentioned that it will be a demo vehicle at the New England Fire Chief’s Association convention and then would be picked up after the show. Motion by PF to approve PO # 002592 to Greenwood Emergency Vehicles of No. Attleboro Mass in the amount of $144,24200 for the purchase of the new ambulance as voted at Town Meeting; Second by JD; vote was 5-0.
FF Mark Chevalier asked the Board to reconsider the previous request from the Fire Dept to pay the full time employees for overtime after 48 hours instead of 53 (current practice). He added that it had been included in the yearly budget request. RA added that it had passed at Town Meeting and the personnel policy would need to be updated for this change.
Selectboard Items:
1. JD stated that he was concerned with decision making happening late at night and the length of the meetings. He added that he would like to see a beginning and an end time set to for the meetings and stick with it.
2. BVD stated he would like to make sure we move the meetings along and ask ourselves, "Did we set a goal and get it?" He added that he would like to bring closure to an item, ask that the BOS reflect on the issues and make sure that it is concluded, not to judge just by the time. He would also ask that they end all of the meetings by agreeing they had got the job done.
3. BVD voiced his concern with people who are (or have in the past) with people who characterize his words. He added "delegation of tasks that need to be handled is not ‘dumping’ on someone."
4. The Board discussed the matter of the job description for the Town Manager position. The felt it was appropriate to start with the items listed in the state statute, but felt it needed to be added to a bit to make it more appropriate/personalized for Bristol.
5. Each Board member is to appoint 1 person to the police building committee.
6. PF stated that he had talked with almost all of the commissioners about the email from Bernie and how the BOS would like to set up a ‘transition team" while moving forward with the Town Manager form of government.
7. RA asked Bob Veloski about the status of the dental insurance for employees. Bob reported that only a few had shown any interest, but he will address it again during the next dept head meeting. Also, to add long term/short term disability insurance to employees in exchange for a lower number of sick days given per year.
Motion by PF to enter non-public session according to RSA 91-A:3 II (c); seconded by RA. Roll call vote polled by the secretary resulted in all five members voting "aye" to enter non-public session. The Board entered non-public session at 9:28 pm.
The Board returned to regular session at 9:57pm.
Motion by BVD to enter non-public session according to RSA 91-A:3 II (e); seconded by JD. Roll call vote polled by the secretary resulted in4members voting "aye" to enter non-public session, Board chair Rick Alpers recused himself from the discussion. The Board entered non-public session at 9:58 pm.
The Board returned to regular session at 10:17pm.
Motion to adjourn was made by BVD; seconded by SF; vote was unanimous.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:18 pm
Respectfully submitted,
Angela Mahoney
Administrative Secretary
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Richard Alpers, Chair
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Joe Denning, Vice Chair
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Bruce Van Derven
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Steve Favorite
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Paul Fraser
Selectboard for the Town of Bristol