Town of Bristol
Board of Selectmen
Minutes of 08-23-07
Members Present: Rick Alpers (RA), Steve Favorite (SF), Paul Fraser (PF), Bruce Van Derven (BVD), Town Manager Elizabeth Corrow
Members Absent: Joe Denning (JD)
Chairman Rick Alpers called the meeting to order at 7:00pm.
Purchase Orders
Paul Mirski - $4,100 - preliminary drawings for the old town hall recommended by the Police Building Committee. Motion by PF to approve the Purchase Order for Paul Mirski to draft preliminary drawings for the Old Town Hall: seconded by SF; vote was 4-0.
USDA Rural Development Grant & Loan Authorization
Town Manager Corrow stated on August 24th, 2006 the Board of Selectmen met with the Water and Sewer Commissioners and Rural Development regarding the loan and grant funding for the upgrade to the Sewer Plant. She explained the Board needs to formalize a vote to accept the loan resolution and vote to authorize the Chairman of the Board to sign future documents to complete the transactions. Motion by PF to approve the resolution and authorize the Chairman of the Board to sign future documents to complete the transactions: seconded by SF; vote was 4-0. (Resolution attached)
Franchise Fee
Ms. Corrow stated she followed up with Metrocast regarding the impact of a Franchise Fee. She explained the revenues that the Town would receive with a 2% increase to a 5% increase and stated we would need to hold a public hearing if the Board is interested. Mr. Fraser questioned what the proper steps would be to implement the Franchise Fee and also questioned if they could work with other communities. Ms. Corrow stated the tapes are currently submitted to LRPA and the Board discussed looking into all the options both with LRPA as well as their own broadcasting options. She explained she had Jamie Cadorrette come in prior to explain how to begin the process of switching to their own broadcasting and control the channel from Town Hall. Ms. Corrow stated there would still be one channel as a bulletin board and the other channel would broadcast the meetings at set and consistent times with the possibility of the other towns joining to have their meetings played. Ms. Corrow stated Mr. Cadorrette is willing to come in again and suggested having LRPA come in as well. Ms. Corrow explained by adopting a franchise fee the money can go to either our own production or it can raise revenues to off set LRPA’s fee. Mr. Fraser questioned the impact on the customer. Ms. Corrow stated each percentage would impact the customer by $0.54. Mr. Fraser stated Mr. Cadorrette suggested hiring someone to run the broadcasting opposed to volunteers. Mr. Fraser also suggested holding a public hearing at this point and thinks it is great if we could have our own production. Ms. Corrow stated this would be the perfect time to discuss what the Board wants regarding timing, quality, equipment and many other things. She suggested the Board figure out their goal and then have LRPA come in to see how they can assist in reaching the goals. Mr. Van Derven suggested having LRPA and Mr. Cadorette come into the Public Hearing which would allow the Board and citizens to get as much information as possible and then make a decision. Mr. Fraser stated the LRPA fee is included in the Budget so everyone is paying towards this channel where the Franchise Fee would only be for the subscribers to Metrocast. Ms. Corrow again wanted to thank Mr. Cadorette for attending the prior meeting as he did get questioned for coming to explain the process. Mr. Van Derven stated LRPA was the first organization to help the Town of Bristol broadcast their meetings and thinks they have had great feedback for having the meetings on the TV.
Employee Recognition by Town Manager
Town Manager Corrow stated she would like to recognize two employees. Ms. Corrow stated the first employee she wanted to recognize was Ms. Alpers who works in the Selectmen’s office as the Administrative Secretary. She explained Ms. Alpers is very efficient, dedicated, can pick things up quickly, and she is very friendly even when it can be difficult. Ms. Alpers exemplifies customer service however; Ms. Corrow stated tonight she is recognizing and rewarding her for the work she did on the town’s website. She explained the Town did not have much of a website before and Ms. Alpers took it upon herself to recreate the website. The only cost was the software which saved the town a significant amount of money. Ms. Corrow explained Ms. Alpers coordinated with the departments to make an efficient Website. Ms. Corrow presented a certificate and check for $300.00 as a thank you for going above and beyond.
Ms. Corrow stated the second person she would like to recognize along with Ms. Simpson is Ms. Richardson. Ms. Corrow explained Ms. Richardson works tirelessly in the Town Clerk Tax Collectors Office and she too exemplifies what customer service is all about. Town Manager Corrow stated she is always friendly, nice, pleasant and helpful. However, Ms. Simpson and Ms. Corrow are recognizing Ms. Richardson this evening for going above and beyond her job duties by covering the office by herself while Ms. Simpson was out for an extended period of time. Ms. Corrow stated she did it amazingly even with a line out the door. Ms. Simpson also thanked Ms. Richardson and stated she did a great job during the busy time of year. Ms. Simpson also thanked Ms. Alpers for doing the Town Meeting Minutes for her. Ms. Corrow presented a certificate and check for $300 as a thank you for going above and beyond the call of duty.
The Board thanked both the employees for their commitment.
Borough Bridge
Ms. Corrow explained this bridge is shared between Hill and Bristol; it is not in good shape and is on the red list. She stated it is on the list for construction in 2009 and the town will need to fund 10% of the project which will be over $100,000.00. Ms. Corrow explained a car had hit a section of the Bridge and Hill had met with DOT regarding the issue. They put up concrete barriers along the bridge as a result. Ms. Corrow stated when she contacted DOT she was told it should be safe enough and that the inspector was not at the point of shutting it down after his last inspection. Town Manager Corrow questioned what the Board would like to do, whether they would like to look into the possibility of shutting the Bridge down or request something in writing stating it is safe. Mr. Alpers suggested a meeting at the Bridge. He stated he did not want to front the money for the entire project and then be paid back at this point, but suggested shutting it down if it is unsafe. Mr. Fraser agreed. Mr. Alpers stated there are many issues listed on the inspection and does not feel the Bridge is safe. Ms. Corrow stated they would need to include the funding for their share of the Bridge in this years budget in order to get the state funding. Mr. Van Derven would like to have a meeting regarding the Bridge as soon as possible as the inspection results are very poor. The Board decided to hold a meeting as soon as possible with the Hill Selectmen and DOT.
Capital Reserve Withdrawal Request - Accrued Wages
Town Manager Corrow stated the Trustee of the Trust Funds have adopted a policy and has provided a form for an application for reimbursement. Ms. Corrow stated this is a request for accrued wages which is when an employee leaves they can pull from this account to pay for any accumulated time due to them. Motion by PF to request the withdrawal of accrued wages from the Capital Reserve and authorize Ms. Corrow to complete the form necessary: seconded by SF; vote was 4-0.
Selectboard Member of the Historic District Commission
Ms. Corrow stated the Historic District needs a member of the Selectboard as the other Boards have. Mr. Alpers stated he would be the Selectmen’s representative for the Historic District.
Public Comment
Ms. Linda Phelps from Crescent Street has concerns with a couple of items that were brought up in the last selectmen’s meeting. Ms. Phelps stated that the gentlemen that presented his concerns regarding the Tax Assessment did a very good, thought out presentation and had valid points. Ms. Phelps other concerns were the gentleman that voiced his concerns regarding the foot of the Lake. She felt his concerns were opinions of what he thinks are happening at the foot of the Lake. It sounded to Ms. Phelps like he was scolding the Board for their attentiveness to issues at the Lake. Ms. Phelps did not like a few of his comments such as: the Board should not be letting the Lake front people take control of the water front, the residents at the foot of the Lake do not pay lake front taxes, people should not be allowed to pull boats up to the Big Catch, the board should deny residents beach stickers at the foot of the Lake and Ms. Phelps feels the Board is in agreement with these comments. She stated as a summer resident she feels there is a wall and it is the summer residents’ vs. the full time residents and feels it needs to be addressed. She encounters a lot of negativity because she has a Massachusetts license plate. She is also concerned that the summer residents do not get to participate in Town Government and they are not notified when town meeting is. She feels they should have say and the only service they get is the beach. She feels there needs to be more of an effort to try and bring the two groups together. She stated there was only one time that she has used the Beach and had to drive around twice for a parking spot. She was also upset because she had not been notified of the change in the issuance of Beach stickers. Ms. Phelps felt Summer Town Meeting was not held at a good time of year and suggested earlier in the summer. She thinks the gentlemen’s comments were solely based on opinion. Ms. Phelps stated there are large trucks warming up at 5:30am and stone and fill being dumped near her house. She is not sure what the noise ordinance states but thinks 5:30am is very early for these noises. Ms. Phelps thinks the Board does a great job and if there are issues, the summer residents would like them brought to their attention. They would like to feel like they are a part of the town. Mr. Alpers appreciated her comments and would look into doing a quarterly news letter to increase communication but by law they can not send anything out in the tax bills and water bills do not go to everyone. Ms. Corrow suggested using the Town Website for up to date information.
A citizen questioned whether the letter was sent out due to the gentlemen’s complaints or for other reasons. The Citizen does not feel they abuse the policy and residents are not parking in the spots along the Beach. Mr. Van Derven felt the letter was written in a respectful way and perception is a reality. He thinks having the residents attend the Board meeting is good so the Board can listen to their concerns. He stated trying to administer things in town is very difficult. He explained as one situation is taken care of another will pop up. He stated the Board does care and is concerned about the issues brought forward and are trying to get people to come in and have discussions with the board. Mr. Van Derven stated he felt the gentlemen came before the board to challenge them to see what their response would be. Mr. Van Derven felt they had an obligation to address the issue whether his concern was a reality or a perceived reality.
Another citizen stated anyone can say anything about anyone and they feel they have been questioned on something that is inaccurate. They suggested next time before the Board says something they should make sure they are accurate.
Mr. Van Derven stated the Towns share of the tax rate is only 4.96 and one of the Boards goals is to keep costs down. Therefore, Ms. Corrow rewarded someone for creating the website because it did not cost any money. They have been trying to communicate electronically with other organizations instead of setting up meetings because that also does not cost money. Mr. Van Derven stated the Beach Attendants and Police Officers have been monitoring the beach concerns and feels the letter was not saying the residents are doing this, it was merely asking people to stop if they are.
A resident of Shore Drive was upset with words used by the gentlemen. This resident also stated they let people store beach items at their house so they do not have to bring it back and forth to the beach and they have also let citizens park at the house if they can not find a parking space. They love having people on the beach and feels no one controls the beach in anyway. Ms. Joanne Levesque thinks things are going well and the best way to deal with people like this gentleman is to ignore them as there will always be someone that is going to complain. She explained everything they have such as the docks and moorings are legal and therefore any citizen can not do anything. She explained she was a little upset at first that she was no longer the beach commissioner, but now she is glad and she stated there has never been a time that she could not find a parking spot. Mr. Alpers stated he may have let Mr. Morrison get out of control with his comments and does take responsibility for letting him continue on as he did. Mr. Alpers apologized for the comments made towards the Shore Drive residents as he did say things that were insulting however; he can not stop people from voicing their opinion but he can control how far they take it. Mr. Alpers explained Ms. Corrow, Chief Clark and Lieutenant Lewis worked hard to control the kids on the beach and enforce rules. He stated Ms. Corrow expended more money for clean up on the beaches this year then in the past. Mr. Alpers stated no matter where we they decide to put the porta potties, it will always be an issue. He understands citizens do not want that as their view; however other citizens do not want to walk to the end of the Beach to use the porta potties. He stated this will be an issue that will never go away and Mr. Fraser had suggested in the past for those that use the bathroom often during the day, they should place their towels and chairs at that end of the beach. Mr. Fraser stated Mr. Morrison does have a right to say what he wants and the board does recognize what an impact the summer residents have on the Town of Bristol. During the past budget season, the Board questioned what percent of the Town is non full time residents and determined Bristol is made up of 54% of non full time residents. Mr. Fraser stated Summer Town Meeting was for summer residents to be heard and he was happy that some came. He explained the Board has received complaints regarding the parking issue before and is glad to hear that it does not seem to be happening by the people currently at this meeting. A Shore Drive resident complemented Beach Supervisor, Nick Phelps. She stated he is the nicest young man, the beach has never looked so good and he always asks if she needs any help. Ms. Levesque suggested rescheduling the Annual Town Meeting to May. Mr. Alpers stated if they moved the meeting they would have to move from calendar year to fiscal year. Mr. Alpers stated a couple other towns have changed their meetings to May and have not seen a large change in the amount of people that have showed up. He felt it may be worth trying to see the outcome but is weary as it has not worked in the other towns. Mr. Van Derven asked Ms. Corrow to check with the State and our Attorney to see if the non full time residents could vote on budgetary items, and unfortunately they said no. He also asked whether or not they could have a warrant article that would allow summer residents to talk at town meeting without permission and again they can not due to State law. Mr. Alpers stated as a voting full time resident they can speak freely and any other resident can ask permission to speak. Mr. Van Derven stated they would continue to try and find ways for everyone to voice their own opinion. Ms. Levesque was concerned with the way an assessor treated her when they came to her property. Mr. Favorite stated he and Selectmen Denning have been monitoring the parking issue. However, Mr. Favorite thinks parking will always be an issue at the Beach and Downtown. People just do not like to walk. Mr. Favorite stated all the Boards and Committees in the town are trying to make Bristol safe and sound. They have begun reviewing the street lighting throughout the Town. Ms. Phelps felt there needs to be more lights on crescent street and suggested one at the end of each driveway. Ms. Levesque is concerned with the geese in the lake and the contamination that could happen. Mr. Alpers suggested contacting Fish and Game.
Ms. Levesque questioned the Avery Crouse Beach improvements. Ms. Corrow stated she has met with the engineer regarding the preliminary design for the beach and are still making some adjustments. Mr. Van Derven questioned whether the people along Shore Drive were given the contact information about the engineer for drainage if they wanted to work with him as well on their own property. Ms. Corrow stated the drainage plan will be to try and control the drainage of the beach with one outlet. Right now the drain can not handle the capacity of water due to the size. She explained if someone else wanted to do any work on their own property they should contact our engineer because sometimes its better to work with the same company as it may be more cost effective. Ms. Corrow state there will be a public hearing so citizens can ask questions. Mr. Fraser stated they have added funding to the Beach line to have the engineer really look closely at all the issues and they are open to suggestions. Town Manager Corrow stated the beach improvements project will have to be funded over a couple of years. They had $3000.00 in budget this year and the preliminary design will cost $7,500.00. Mr. Van Derven stated the Capital Improvements Plan Committee has a form for citizens to fill out with any suggestions for improvements in the Town of Bristol. Ms. Corrow and Mr. Alpers encouraged citizens to check the website for; plans and information on upcoming projects and events, the calendar that lists all the meeting dates for various boards, committees and events and the meeting minutes from the different boards and committees. Mr. Alpers also suggested checking the Record Enterprise and Citizen as many Bristol stories are covered in them. A resident questioned if we use Capital Reserves and Ms. Corrow confirmed that we do and we are compiling items for the CIP that will have to have Capital Reserves set up. Mr. Alpers stated they try to be aggressive to pay off bonds in 3 -5 years. He stated this board recognizes capital needs as many did not in the past. They are currently working on many projects such as a new Police Building, Library Expansion, and a new Ladder Truck to name a few. Ms. Corrow stated this will be the hardest year to get the CIP going but after this year it should even out. She has had two meetings with the Department Heads and has composed a 10 year plan that will hopefully level the impact on the tax rate after the initial year from capital items if adopted. They will also start using reserves more which will help. If the plan is adopted there would only be an impact in the first year to establish the baseline. Ms. Corrow stated in the past all the commissions were competing for a piece of the Budget where now all the departments are under one cohesive group and are working together. She stated all department heads agreed with the plan they came up with because everyone knew when it was there turn for a capital item or a project. Mr. Alpers stated this year they are focusing on the employees by doing a wage study. He explained there had been no equality and fairness amongst all the Town employees’ so they hired Local Government Center to redo all the job descriptions and recommend a pay scale. Ms. Levesque complemented the board and felt they are doing a great job.
Selectboard Items
Mr. Favorite stated he spoke to Mr. Murray Campbell and he would like the Board to put a list together of their CIP goals. Mr. Alpers thought their goals would be the proposed CIP that the Department Heads and the Town Manger put together. Mr. Favorite also suggested we start looking into the July 4th fireworks again. Mr. Fraser clarified to Mr. Alpers that Mr. Campbell came to the last meeting when Mr. Alpers was away and requested CIP submissions from the Board as well.
Mr. Fraser stated he sent his CIP suggestions to Ms. Corrow. Mr. Fraser confirmed the Public Hearing for the Multi-use Path Snowmobile use on September 27th, 2007. He would like to see volunteers step forward to help maintain the path should there be any damages if the snowmobiles are allowed on the path. He suggested they come to a resolution before the snow comes and budget season.
Mr. Fraser does agree that there is a problem with the geese and they should keep an eye on the situation. Mr. Van Derven suggested they talk to Mr. Boyd Smith about the geese situation.
Mr. Van Derven complemented Mr. Alpers in handling the citizens concerns and felt it was a noble gesture to apologize.
Mr. Alpers explained to the Board that he had asked Ms. Corrow for periodic updates on the Water and Sewer Department and the progress of Sewer to the Lake.
Mr. Alpers questioned how often the street sweeper is used. Ms. Corrow thought the Highway Department swept the streets twice a year but she wasn’t really sure. Mr. Alpers stated they downtown square used to be swept weekly and suggested the square be cleaned more often. Ms. Corrow stated the Highway Department does a very good job and works very hard for the small amount of employees on the department. They work on a lot of projects every year.
Mr. Alpers stated he likes the preliminary designs for the Police Building.
Town Manager Items
Ms. Corrow suggested scheduling the Zoning Board for the next meeting in September. She stated they are looking for alternates and having the other Committees in previously seemed to work well.
Ms. Corrow stated the Recycling Committee had their first organizational meeting. They are beginning to look at a time line to see if they can do some improvements now and plan for the long term. They will hold the second meeting at the transfer station to see the current layout and they will be looking at other recycling stations for ideas. Mr. Alpers suggested looking into the pay as you throw dumping because then every person is paying for their own trash. Ms. Corrow stated she has worked with Mr. Bucklin on possible costs for the CIP. Mr. Alpers stated NH does have some grants.
Ms. Corrow stated the letter regarding Freudenberg did get sent to Mr. Burt Williams, Mr. Raymond Burton and Mr. John Lynch. Ms. Corrow spoke with Mr. Lefebvre today and they are working on the wetlands permit for maintenance to the Lower Damn but are having trouble with DES. The Upper Damn’s preliminary design has not been approved because it has to be approved by DES and Wetlands Bureau but DES will not approve the design until the Wetlands Bureau approves the design. Ms. Corrow stated Mr. Lefebvre is also frustrated and he is no longer handling the Upper Damn. It is now being handled by someone further up in the organization, mainly because they are also frustrated.
Ms. Corrow stated the last meeting she had in Concord did get the permitting moving along for the Central Street Bridge. She stated things are moving forward and they are hoping to go out to bid in September. This leaves them only a month behind. They are however, trying to work around the easement the issue at the Belluci property while other legal avenues are pursued.
Mr. Favorite stated the improvements to the land between the Middle School and Parkhurst was done by all volunteer help. The Morrison’s donated their time for the landscaping. They had it hydro seeded and are looking into having a possible farmers market or a gazebo with musicals. He stated the school owns the land and it was a joint design with Parkhurst. Fran Parkhurst worked hard to put this together as volunteer project.
Ms. Corrow stated Mr. Max Stamp contacted her in an effort to put up a couple signs on the Pemigewasset River. They cost $48.00 each and the Highway Department would help install them. The signs would state that the river is a NH protected river. They would be placed at the Route 104 Bridge.
Mr. Favorite stated Mr. Steve Lamprey offered to volunteer his painting services to repaint the flag pole. Parkhurst will be donating the paint and they will work with the Fire Department to reach the top of the pole.
Ms. Corrow stated Ms. Parkhurst had called regarding the granite curbing that is at the Transfer Station. Ms. Corrow stated she wanted to hold onto it for the beach project. Ms. Parkhurst wanted 2 sign posts for the little park they are working on. Ms. Corrow asked the board if they had any objections in donating 2 pieces of granite for signs. The Board did not object.
Ms. Corrow discussed HB 648 with the Board as a citizen has contacted her with concerns about the dredging of rivers. Ms. Corrow provided her with contact numbers for the state and she has been in contact with them. Mr. Van Derven suggested writing a letter to accent her concerns and volunteered to do so.
Mr. Alpers stated Old Home Day would be on Saturday, August 25th, 2007. He stated there are a lot of events scheduled and it has been the best employee turnout for the Chicken and Lobster Dinner.
Marsha from the Record Enterprise stated the Plymouth Selectmen now have a column in the paper once a month and would also like to offer it to the Bristol Board of Selectmen.
Motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Paul Fraser; seconded by Mr. Steve Favorite; vote was unanimous.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:55 pm
Respectfully submitted,
Krystal Alpers
Administrative Secretary
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Richard Alpers, Chair Steve Favorite
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Joe Denning Paul Fraser
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Bruce Van Derven