Town of Bristol
Board of Selectmen
Minutes of 2-14-08
Members Present: Rick Alpers (RA), Paul Fraser (PF), Joe Denning (JD), Steve Favorite (SF), Bruce Van Derven (BVD), Town Manager Elizabeth Corrow
Chairman Rick Alpers called the regular meeting to order at 7:00pm.
Request for Letter of Support by Planning Board
Mr. Dan Paradis, Chairman of the Planning Board came before the Board to request a letter of support for an application to Plan NH for a Charette. Mr. Paradis explained there are two done a year and we hope to be one of them. We would get $20,000 - $30,000 of Planning Services for the cost of the supplies which is about $1500. This will provide professional help with a plan. The Planning Board is looking for support from all the groups in town and would appreciate a letter of support from all. Mr. Van Derven questioned who to contact with questions, and Mr. Paradis suggested himself or refer to the website www.plannh.com.
2008 Warrant Articles
Town Manager Corrow stated there were many comments from the budget in regard to not bundling the capital items together and the board agreed not to. Mr. Van Derven stated there were many complaints that the ballot question regarding the Town Manager form of government was hidden and wants to make sure none of the articles are hidden in any way. Ms. Corrow stated she has seen the ballot and there are three, one with the proposed Zoning changes, one with the two articles and one with the candidates up for office. Mr. Van Derven believes it’s a big step for the Selectboard, CIP and the Budget Committee to be in agreement with the budget this year. Mr. Alpers stated the board would not offer any amendments at Town Meeting and the Board is in consensus with the Budget Committee recommendation. Ms. Corrow stated she and the Department Heads are all behind the budget that is being recommended. Mr. Denning stated Mr. Auger is not running again for the towns Budget Committee and thanked him for his commitment. He suggested a letter of appreciation to the Budget Committee members that are not re-running. Mr. Van Derven thinks the budget should be the last warrant article. Mr. Alpers questioned whether we had a legal opinion on the petitioned warrant articles to see if they are binding. Ms. Corrow stated she did and all four are non binding as they are all management items. Mr. Alpers questioned if the petitions should state non binding at the end of the articles. Mr. Denning felt the petitioned warrant articles would have been better addressed if the person came to a meeting with the request opposed to the warrant. Ms. Corrow stated the 2 petitioned warrant articles on the ballot are binding. Mr. Alpers suggested the petitioned articles come right before the budget items and the bonding items should be first as they have to stay open for an hour. Mr. Van Derven questioned if the budget number recommended by the board could be amended to match the budget committees recommended budget. Mr. Alpers questioned if the attorney would be at town meeting. Ms. Corrow replied that she will request that the town’s attorney be present as requested and she believed the warrant could show the same budget number for the Selectboard. Ms. Corrow stated she will question the hearing requirements to add an exemption for solar heating. Mr. Alpers stated he would like to know how many homes in Bristol have solar heating and how it would impact our taxes before putting forward such an exemption. He explained if an exemption is given to one person then the other residents are still paying to make up that difference. Mr. Fraser discussed pros and cons and questioned the impact on the tax roles and the ratio. Mr. Denning suggested holding off this year so the board can gather a better understanding. Mr. Alpers stated there are already federal tax credits for this. Mr. Van Derven questioned if there was a specific request for this and suggested establishing an “E-team” to look into this more and make recommendations.
BTLA Settlement – Newfound Meadows
The assessor, Mr. Phil Bodwell is recommending a settlement for 2004. He recommends lowering the assessed value by 76,600. Mr. Alpers question if Ms. Corrow supported his recommendation and she confirmed. Ms. Corrow explained Mr. Bodwell had Mr. Lemay, an appraiser that specializes in this type of property, are recommending this value. Motion by SF to settle with Newfound Meadows for 2004: seconded by JD; vote was 5-0.
Ambulance Agreements
Ms. Corrow stated the ambulance contracts are being renewed using the same formula as in the past; however, Bridgewater has not been with us for the last 2 years. Bridgewater is now interested in signing an agreement again however there are some different stipulations in the new contract being proposed by Bridgewater. Ms. Corrow stated they are having trouble responding to calls as they are a part-time department. Ms. Corrow stated they would like to use there ambulance if they can but have both Bristol and Bridgewater toned to a call. We would still collect the contract fee from Bridgewater and whoever transports the patient would get the patient fee. Ms. Corrow stated it would be the decision of the highest trained professional on site to decide who does the transport based on the condition of the patient and the needs. Currently we do not have an agreement with Bridgewater and are not toned to their calls. However, they are not answering the tone and by the time we get toned a lot of time has gone by and citizens are upset wondering why it took us so long to respond. We are not supposed to be responding except for mutual aid. With this agreement in place we would be toned at the same time. Ms. Corrow stated they would like to have the option of getting out in 6 months if they are ready to run their ambulance again. Mr. Fraser stated this will allow us to at least get paid for the service we are providing. Mr. Alpers feels there should be a clause in the agreement if in 6 months they get out of the agreement and have so many calls in a row that they are not responding to then the contract would pick back up. Mr. Alpers does not want to let them out when they say there ready when there not and then end up back in the same predicament as they are in now. Mr. Van Derven stated this is the third town that has had public safety needs and thinks it is time to reconvene the Newfound Summit group and perhaps implement a plan to combine services which will save tax dollars and provide the public services needed. Mr. Van Derven would like to wait and discuss this with Chief Skantze and create a Public Safety team with all the professionals to find the best solution for all the communities. Ms. Corrow agrees but stated we need to enter in an agreement for the meantime before convening a public safety team. She explained we have been reviewing the cost of the services we provide and how to better address the issues. Mr. Denning stated right now Bridgewater’s system is not working, we have a well trained public service department and thinks the contracts should be the same with all the communities. Ms. Corrow stated these communities budget once a year so over the next year we will come up with a new formula to ensure we are paid for our services and all of the communities are aware of this and will be part of the process. Mr. Alpers suggested talking to Chief Skantze next week at the next board meeting to ensure the issue is addressed and finalize the contract as some peoples lives have been put on the line because of this issue.
Selectboard Items
Mr. Favorite attended a Trustee of the Trust Fund meeting and suggested the Board look closer at the placement of funds. He feels we need a different approach. Ms. Corrow stated the Board can set policies and internal controls, but the Trustees of the Trust Fund are its own entity and it is their responsibility to make the decisions regarding where the funds are invested. She agrees it is a good to suggest ideas and ask questions. Mr. Favorite believes they need to be a little more aggressive. Mr. Fraser questioned if they submit any sort of annual report. Ms. Corrow replied in the affirmative.
Mr. Denning questioned if the board was going to have a discussion about the audit report. Mr. Alpers stated they would have to.
Mr. Alpers questioned if we are still working with Hill regarding the contract.
Mr. Alpers requested a copy of the audit and stated the Board needed to aggressively address the comments made by the town auditor as quickly as possible. He suggested bringing the team in that handles the cash. Ms. Corrow stated she received another report from MRI as a follow up and suggests putting more internal controls in place. MRI has done additional reports and recommendations for internal control. Mr. Alpers stated in the past the board received weekly reports from treasurer that has stopped. He suggested the board read the audit and bring the team in to address the issues next meeting.
Mr. Fraser stated he filmed candidates’ night Tuesday and it is a lot of work to record. The board would appreciate volunteers to help record meetings and events.
Mr. Van Derven suggested the board think about 3 Selectmen vs 5 Selectmen as people will be asking what their opinion is. Mr. Van Derven stated there is an article regarding SB2 and feels either form (SB2 or town meeting) would work as long as there is a sufficient amount of people making the decision.
Public Comments
Mr. Walenda stated Mr. Steen Gilpatrick will be getting a scale and will be paying $150 per ton of scrap metal. Mr. Denning stated he is currently paying $100.
Town Manager Items
Ms. Corrow stated she hired an Assessing Assistant, Nancy DeCoteau. She is currently working out her notice as she is the Town Administrator in Warren. She will start the day after town meeting. She is very qualified, has worked with the town’s assessor (CNP) before and has experience. Ms. Corrow will introduce her at a board meeting once she arrives. Ms Corrow stated she had a team to assist in the hiring process, Raymah Simpson, Krystal Alpers, and Jan Laferriere all of which have interaction with the assessing department.
Mr. Denning stated 71% of citizens work out of town and drive 23.7 miles to work.
Ms. Corrow stated interviews were conducted for the Land Use Enforcement Officer and has a candidate selected. She is currently checking references. The interview team for this is Dan Paradis (planning board chair), Dan Bouchard (zoning board chair), Fire chief Norman Skantze, Police Chief John Clark and Ms. Corrow.
Ms. Corrow stated construction cost bid for the Water and Sewer Department came in $200,000 cheaper as construction is slow right not so people are looking for work.
Ms. Corrow questioned when the Board would like to reschedule the meeting with CDM regarding a schedule of the phases. The Board decided March 6th at 5:00pm.
Ms. Corrow stated the Funders Forum has not been confirmed but the goal of the meeting is for the town to explain our needs and see if there is any funding available. Ms. Corrow did invite Mr. Paradis to attend as well.
Motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Paul Fraser; seconded by Mr. Denning; vote was unanimous.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:30pm
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