Town of Bristol
Board of Selectmen
Minutes of 09-13-07
Members Present: Rick Alpers (RA), Paul Fraser (PF), Bruce Van Derven (BVD), Joe Denning (JD), Town Manager Elizabeth Corrow
Members Absent: Steve Favorite (SF)
Chairman Rick Alpers called the meeting to order at 6:50pm.
Zoning Board of Adjustment
Chairman Alpers stated the Selectmen have been meeting with the various Boards and Committees in the Town for the public to get a better understanding of what each board does. The Selectboard also questioned if they needed anything and offered support. Zoning Board Chairman, Dan Bouchard, stated that everything was going very well. They have a very active board that works well together. He explained they do need alternates because often a member has to step down as there may be a conflict of interest. Each decision needs to have 3 votes and not majority. Mr. Bouchard stated they really need a full time Land Use Enforcement Officer. He explained Mr. Nebesnik did an excellent job and was very helpful in backing the board’s decisions. He offered to assist Ms. Corrow in the hiring of the new Land Use Enforcement Officer. Ms. Corrow stated she has had about 5 resumes and would like Mr. Bouchard to help with the interview process. Ms. Corrow stated Ms. Sheryl Montague is filling in for the interim and had some training from Mr. Nebesnik before he left to ensure the cases were followed through with. Ms. Montague is currently in the office from 1:00pm - 4:00pm. Mr. Bouchard stated the biggest problem they have is citizens come to the Zoning Board unprepared. He explained there are 5 criteria when applying for a variance and they are outlined in the application. He encourages citizens carefully review the application to ensure they have met all the criteria and work with the Land Use Enforcement Officer or the Zoning Board Secretary to make certain they are prepared for the Zoning Board Meeting. Mr. Lloyd Belbin complemented Mr. Bouchard and stated the he has done a great job getting the Board to function together. Mr. Fraser stated some citizens hold back from joining a board as they may not feel they have the right qualifications. Mr. Bouchard stated a new citizen would come in as an alternate and will allow them to learn and the other members are always helpful in teaching. He also stated there are 2 seminars each year that are very informative and are budgeted for the members to attend. He explained it is easy to learn and most issues are outlined in the Zoning Ordinance. Mr. Denning stated he has been to many meetings and feels the members are good about setting aside their opinions on the project and vote according to the criteria. Mr. Bouchard listed the members of the Zoning Board and Mr. Alpers stated they will try to fill the Land Use Enforcement position as soon as possible.
Employee and Citizen Recognition
Chief John Clark presented a Certificate of Appreciation to 2 students from Newfound Regional High School, Josiah Caputo and Robert Deragon. They attended the police academy for cadets and represented the Bristol Police Department. Mr. Alpers thanked the students and was glad to see young students getting involved in the community.
Chief John Clark also recognized 2 residents, Josh and Scott Libby and 2 Police Officers, Sergeant Dupris and Lieutenant Lewis for their assistance with a motor vehicle accident on 132 in August. He explained a car ran off the road and was hanging off the edge of an embankment. The Lieutenant tied a rope to the car and to his Police Cruiser and then the two officers removed the 2 children and mother from the car and passed them up to the Libby’s as the citizens and officers had made the rescue while waiting for the Fire Department to arrive.
Marking of Police Cruisers
Ms. Corrow stated a couple of citizens had concern with the marking of cruisers. She explained there had been a petitioned Warrant article regarding the marking of the cruisers in the past. She stated in the minutes of that meeting there was concern with the safety of women when being approached by an undercover car. It was stated in the warrant article that the police officer would be in full uniform to identify they are a police officer. She explained it is not an ordinance or a policy, but it is something the Chief and the Board of Selectmen need to decide whether they want to make it a policy. Chief Clark stated they have made changes to the marking and coloring of the cruisers which has made them more visible. He stated if the officers are making stops in an unmarked car, they are in full uniform and have proper identification. He explained Bristol does have a drug issue and he is still working to find the best procedure to address the drug issue. He stated an unmarked car is necessary to assist with addressing the drug issue. He also stated Voices Against Violence came and spoke to the department and often times a victim of domestic or sexual violence would prefer to be transported in an unmarked cruiser as it is not as embarrassing and not high profile. The Board agreed with Chief Clark.
Avery Crouse Beach Improvements
Ms. Corrow stated Mr. Mike Vignale from KV Partners has spent a lot of time walking the beach and taking pictures to create a Beach improvements plan. Ms. Corrow stated she met with a small group in May who had been involved with the beach prior to her arrival and they made a list of things they are trying to accomplish. Ms. Corrow explained the items that needed to be addressed such as the drainage, the lack of filtration and the aesthetics. She stated the most expensive item to address is the drainage. The plan suggests adding curbing, catch basins for filtration, retaining walls, removing and replacing trees that are interfering with the utility lines, add controlled access points, handicap parking and handicap access. She stated it will come down to the voters as to how much they want to spend on the improvements. Ms. Corrow stated KV Partners has met with DES to find out what permits will be needed and they were very happy to see the Beach is being addressed. Mr. Vignale also asked about grant money and there is some grant money available that we will be looking into. A citizen questioned if there was money from the state since a lot of the water runs from 3A. Ms. Corrow will look into funding from the state. A citizen questioned bathroom facilities. Ms. Corrow stated they did have them at the Big Catch this year and that worked pretty well. She suggested people place their blanket at that end of the beach if they use the bathroom often. She stated they will never find a perfect place for the Porta Potties but they can try to compromise. Ms. Corrow stated the drainage work would cost about $340,000; the roadway improvements would be about $110,000, there is 3 options for the actual beach improvements, $690,000 for granite, $490,000 for ready rock, $390,000 for stone. She explained first she was looking for comments on the plan and then with a finalized plan she would move forward and apply for grants. She also explained the road way construction might be able to come out of the operating budget line for road construction. There was discussion on where the main drainage problem is. Mr. Van Derven wanted to make sure all the areas were addressed that could cause drainage problems whether it is state, private or town owned property. If all the areas are not addressed then it is pointless to address the drainage along the lake as there is a lot of run off from 3A onto private property and then onto Lakeside Drive. Mr. Van Derven encourages private property owners to contact KV Partners to address the drainage issues in their individual properties as it will be better to address them all at once and may be more cost effective. Mr. Vignale stated the drainage proposed should help the issue greatly and it would also help if property owners hook into the pipe along Lakeside Drive. Ms. Corrow stated many citizens are concerned with the size of the drain pipe from 3A as it is not large enough to hold the capacity of water that runs off. A citizen explained the drain problem that he sees and stated he had a previous conversation with the state and they would be willing to donate some materials. Mr. Lloyd Belbin stated the town has 2 beaches and there will always be maintenance issues. He suggested the town pays Wellington a yearly stipend to allow residents to use Wellington State Park as they already have the facilities and it is a much larger beach. Mr. Denning stated the improvements to Avery Crouse will also address the septic issues at the foot of the lake. Mr. Belbin suggested selling Avery Crouse beach as the town could get a lot of money and it would be additional property to tax. Mr. Dan Paradis stated the Planning Board is trying to follow the Master Plan and they have not received any CIP submissions regarding beach improvements. He stated the Master Plan has a whole chapter on the downtown and only one sentence about beach improvements. Mr. Paradis felt procedurally this improvements plan was not done correctly and was concerned that the Planning Board had not been involved thus far. Mr. Van Derven stated this is the beginning of building a plan in conjunction with the CIP and Master Plan. Mr. Denning stated last year at the Budget Committee meeting, Mr. Dave Carr questioned what the $3,000 was really for in the Beach line. He stated they had not forgotten about the Downtown, as it is another priority. Ms. Corrow stated this plan does tie into the Master Plan and she did what she was requested to do. She had done a lot of research and the group of citizens that previously worked on the beach improvements plan had identified the issues but hadn’t gotten to the point of coming up with a plan. Therefore, she took advantage of the opportunity to create this plan. She also stated procedurally this was done correctly as she hired an engineer to draft a plan with the funding allocated in the beach budget and requested by the budget committee, she invited the Planning Board, Conservation Commission, and Citizens to the Selectboard meeting for input on the draft plan before going to public hearing. She will then have the engineer make any changes and then a Public Hearing will be held. There was no budget for downtown improvements. She stated she did submit a request to the CIP for the beach and she has also requested $7,500 for the Downtown because she intends to do the same thing for the Downtown. It will be up to the voters to prioritize the projects. Mr. Mason Westfall stated Bristol is not the only town with flooding issues and he would like to talk to the engineer to give an overview of the history and an environmentalist’s point of view. Ms. Corrow stated she will hold another meeting with the engineer, Mr. Mark Bucklin and Mr. Westfall to discuss the plan. A citizen questioned if there is any federal funding. Mr. Alpers stated they have had a lot of federal interaction for the Water and Sewer project and they have not had any interaction yet with this project as this is the first time they have reviewed the conceptual plan.
Franchise Fee – Public Hearing
The Public Hearing began at 8:10pm. Ms. Denise Beauchaine Executive Director of Lakes Region Public Access, Mr. Ken Drowey Board of Director of Lakes Region Public Access, and Mr. Jamie Caddorette Executive Director for Pemi Baker Community Access were in attendance to discuss the Franchise Fee with the Board. Town Manager Corrow gave the Board a breakdown of the revenues each percentage would bring in as well as the various things that can be done with the revenue brought in by the franchise fee. She stated the franchise fee is based only on cable services. Currently the fee from LRPA is paid through general taxation, therefore; citizens are paying for the service whether they have Metrocast or not where as the franchise fee would only be paid by the users. This funding would allow the Town to do their own broadcasting, cover the fee from LRPA and/or purchase more equipment. A citizen questioned how high of a percentage can be imposed; Ms. Corrow stated a cap of 5% is in the contract with Metrocast. A citizen questioned how they can justify increasing the fee and Ms. Corrow stated it is based on what the Board wants to accomplish. The fee can also be used to raise revenues to offset taxes. Mr. Van Derven stated the Board needs to decide whether they want to implement a franchise fee and then the board would make a reasonable decision with the input of the citizens and the professionals. Mr. Carr questioned whether this is a decision by the Board or by the voters in the Town. The Board confirmed it was their decision. A citizen agreed that it was a good idea to put the cost on the subscribers but does not think the revenue should be used to offset taxes. Ms. Beauchaine stated a franchise fee is good and Mr. Drowey has just finished implementing this in his town as he is a Selectmen and described the process. He stated they formed a Cable Advisory Committee and a Trust Fund otherwise the income goes into the general fund. Ms. Corrow explained an alternative way to collect the income. Mr. Drowey stated the main reason they implemented the franchise fee was to get their meetings on TV to get citizens involved. Mr. Lindholm questioned whether they may loose a lot of people to dish. Mr. Drowey stated they have doubled the amount of subscribers now that they can watch the meetings on TV. Mr. Cadorette agreed and stated he has not seen this fee impact the users. He explained many seniors and disabled citizens can watch the meetings from their home and really enjoy it. Mr. Van Derven questioned whether Mr. Cadorette has had good feedback and he confirmed people really enjoy watching the meetings from their home or watching the parades. Ms. Beauchaine stated she has seen citizens come into the middle of a meeting as they were watching it on TV and it was a topic they wanted to discus so they came down to the meeting. Mr. Van Derven questioned whether LRPA can do the live broadcasting. Ms. Beauchaine stated they can. They would have a specific line into LRPA and would have to schedule the time slot that the meeting would air. Mr. Alpers questioned whether Thursday evening is available. Ms. Beauchaine stated it is a first come first serve basis but currently Thursday is available. Mr. Alpers questioned if the meeting could also be played again as they are now. Ms. Beauchaine stated right now the meetings are played 8-10 times, but a live broadcast could be done and then the tapes would be sent to LRPA as they are now for repeat showings. Mr. Denning questioned what the Budget is for Plymouth. Mr. Cadorette stated it is $48,000 and $45,000 comes from the franchise fee. The remaining $3,000 comes from the tax payers which is the stipend for the broadcaster.
Public Comment
Mr. Ron St. Cyr is concerned with the influx of geese at the lake. Mr. Alpers stated they spoke about this at the last meeting and the State is aware of the issue and are trying to address the situation.
Mr. Lindholm questioned whether one has to rebuild in the same foot print. Mr. Alpers stated if one has an existing non conforming lot then they would have to rebuild in the same foot print. Mr. Alpers questioned if Mr. Lindholm was referring to Turner’s Cottages and he confirmed. Mr. Alpers stated they did go to Planning Board and they were approved. Mr. Van Derven suggested Mr. Lindholm discuss this with the Planning Board as they may be able to give a better reasoning. Ms. Corrow stated the Land Use Enforcement Officer questioned this issue as a result of concerns brought to our attention and so he spoke with the Attorney, however, the Planning Board had approved the construction and there was nothing the Land Use Officer could do.
Mr. Lindholm questioned why one is required to take out a building permit if we do not have a Building Inspector. He also questioned what the liability is on the Town if no one is inspecting the buildings. Ms. Corrow stated we do not take on any liability if we do not have a Building Inspector. She also stated the permit is a Land Use permit not a Building Permit. She stated the town has not adopted a building code at this time. Mr. Alpers feels the Board does need to look into the need for a Building Inspector which means the adoption of a building code.
Town Manager Items
Town Manager Corrow reviewed the Personnel Manual and made various changes throughout. She mainly changed the references of Selectmen to Town Manger where applicable and made a few changes to certain sections. She requested the Board review the changes and adopt the updated manual after they have reviewed it and made any changes they feel necessary.
Ms. Corrow stated she had received an update from Department of Environmental Services as an outcome of the letter sent to the Governor, Executive Councilor and the State Representative. She stated there are issues with the plan and Freudenberg is still negotiating a copy of the letter was provided.
Concord Regional Solid waste/Recovery Coop
Town Manager Corrow requested the Board appoint Mark Bucklin as Bristol’s representative and Elizabeth Corrow as the alternate to Concord Regional Solid waste/Recovery Coop. Motion by JD to appoint Mark Bucklin as Bristol’s representative and Elizabeth Corrow as the alternate to Concord Regional Solid Waste/Recovery Coop: seconded by PF; vote was 4-0.
Selectboard Items
Paul Fraser – Mr. Fraser complemented Town Manager Corrow, Chief John Clark and Highway Superintendent Mark Bucklin for their efficient efforts in addressing the Borough Road Bridge. Mr. Denning stated the process of closing the bridge with the efforts of both Towns was a good example of the towns working well together to address the situation.
Rick Alpers – Mr. Alpers stated he was personally attacked by Mr. JP Morrison. Mr. Alpers stated Mr. Morrison had attended a Selectmen’s meeting a couple weeks back and had some issues with the beach. Mr. Alpers explained Mr. Morrison was yelling at him while he was out to dinner with his family. Mr. Alpers feels Mr. Morrison does not understand some of the issues at the Beach and would like to find a way to communicate to him so he can better understand. Mr. Alpers stated he does not mind when people come up to him or call him at home regarding town issues but did not feel Mr. Morrison’s approach was reasonable. Mr. Denning stated since Mr. Morrison had come in a couple weeks back the Board has addressed most of his concerns. Mr. Denning stated the Board of Selectmen are Public Servants, not servants to the public. Mr. Alpers stated Mr. Morrison did threaten a lawyer and Mr. Alpers told him he should do what he needed to do and ended the conversation due to his statement of hiring a lawyer. Ms. Corrow stated they had addressed his issues from the last meeting as they sent a letter to the Shore Drive residents regarding the parking issue, they have researched the mooring issue, a sign has been ordered for the beach regarding the swim line and therefore feels they have addressed a good portion of Mr. Morrison’s complaints. Mr. Alpers suggested he and the Town Manager should write Mr. Morrison a letter explaining the ownership of the town beach and respond in writing to his other complaints.
Ms. Corrow stated the wetlands permit did get approved for the Central Street Bridge. Mr. Alpers suggested doing a great deal of advertising stating when the Bridge will close.
Ms. Corrow questioned whether the Board would like to close the Town Office Building on the Monday before Christmas and the employee would use their vacation time or personal time if they wanted to be paid. The Board felt that would be fine and Mr. Alpers questioned what they should do about New Years Eve. He suggested closing at noon and giving the employees the afternoon as a paid Holiday.
Ms. Corrow stated she was asked to join the Grafton County Municipal Association. Ms. Corrow stated she would attend a meeting to gain some information but wanted to know whether the Board wanted her to advocate for Bristol in this organization. Ms. Corrow provided copies of the associations last meeting minutes and agenda. She stated they are trying to organize a louder voice regarding the County budget and she is happy to go and listen but it is a politically charged organization and therefore wants to get the boards support ahead of time. Mr. Denning suggested she bring information back for the Board to decide whether or not they want her to advocate for Bristol as part of this group. There was concern expressed about the number of things we are currently involved with at this time and time constraints.
Ms. Corrow stated Ms. Simpson is getting a new safe and wanted to know what the Board would like to do with the old one. The Board suggested Old Town Hall.
Ms. Corrow stated she is close to finalizing the MS-1. She stated a Utility Appraiser was hired and we have received the values back. She stated one decreased and the others increased significantly. She stated one was undervalued by 6 million dollars. Overall there is a 19 million dollar increase in the town’s total valuation. Mr. Denning questioned why the Hydroelectric Dam is not valued similar to New Hampton in regards to the percentage split between Bristol & New Hampton.
Mr. Alpers made a motion to enter non-public session under RSA 91-A:3 II(c), seconded by Mr. Denning: roll call vote taken all members agreed to enter into non-public session. At 9:35 PM the BOS entered a non-public session.
Motion to return to public session made by Mr. Denning, seconded by Mr. Fraser; vote was unanimous.
Motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Paul Fraser; seconded by Mr. Van Derven; vote was unanimous.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:55 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