Town of Bristol
Board of Selectmen
Minutes of 2-21-08
Members Present: Rick Alpers (RA), Joe Denning (JD), Steve Favorite (SF), Bruce Van Derven (BVD), Town Manager Elizabeth Corrow
Members Absent: Paul Fraser (PF)
Chairman Rick Alpers called the Public Hearing to order at 6:30pm.
Mr. Alpers opened the public hearing for petitioned warrant articles at 6:35pm. Mr. Alpers read the four petitioned warrant articles and opened the meeting for discussion and questions from the public.
Article 28. (By Petition) To see if the voters wish to discontinue the Sewer to the Lake Project. As there is no clear plan, as to how this will effect the future of our Town, both financially and developmentally.
Article 29. (By Petition) To see if the Voters will direct the Selectmen and the Town Manager to do a simple cost analysis of the increase of services over the last 10 years. This report would be corrected for inflation. This report would include all Town offices and Town Departments. The purpose of this report would be to give the Town’s people a clear picture of why the Town feels we need more Town Facilities and employees when according to the Town’s official website. Bristol has grown in population by 94 people in 6 years, from 3,033 people to 3,131 people from 2000 to 2006.
Article 30. (By Petition) To see if the voters want to schedule Town Meeting on a Saturday during the day. To see if voters think it would make it easier for the elderly and working voters to participate.
Article 31. (Petition) To see if the Town will vote to approve the following resolution to be forwarded to our State Representatives, our State Senator and our Governor:
Resolved: We the citizens of Bristol, NH believe in a New Hampshire that is just and fair. The property tax has become unjust and unfair. State leaders who take a pledge for no new taxes perpetuate higher and higher property taxes. We call on our State Representatives, our State Senator and our Governor to reject the “Pledge”, have an open discussion covering all options, and adopt a revenue system that lowers property taxes.
Mr. Boyd Smith the Director at Newfound Lakes Region Association stated his organizations goal is to protect the quality of the lake and land surrounding Newfound Lake. He stated there has been a fair amount of work done to the Water and Sewer Plant already. He explained there are about 240 lake front properties and CDM estimates 750 units for a service load. Mr. Smith stated this year they will be monitoring the lake to gather a better idea of the impact. NLRA already does a fair amount of water quality impact monitoring. Mr. Smith stated the Shoreland Protection Act has been renewed as of April 1st, 2008 and provided handouts of the Shoreland Protection Act.
Mr. Burt Williams stated there is already a dense population around the lake and Water and Sewer to the Lake is very important to keep it clean. The Planning Board and Zoning Board have been involved throughout the process and would like the citizens to support the project as well. Mr. Alpers stated the board is meeting with the engineers to discuss a timeline. Mr. Williams stated there is a clear plan with five phases and have received extremely good funding thus far. Mr. Williams emphasized the need for water and sewer to the lake and stated the Planning and Zoning Board needs to stay involved.
Mr. Alpers opened the second public hearing at 6:50 on Senate Bill 2 petitioned warrant article.
Mr. Loyd Belbin questioned if Article 27 and 28 could be switched in order on the warrant. Ms. Corrow stated the town’s attorney suggested discussing both articles at the same time but it would be up to the moderator.
Mr. Carr stated most of the renovations are summer cottages being renovated to year round homes. He feels the septic problems will get worse and supports the project.
Mr. Williams commented on Article 32 and recommended citizens should not be taking a pledge without seeing the problem first.
Mr. Alpers closed the public hearing for the petitioned warrant articles.
Ms. Barbara Greenwood stated she is against SB2 and does not want to give up town meeting. She attended the deliberative session at the school and on the way out people were stating “now we can just vote it all down”. She also feels people show up to vote that do not have a clear understanding on what they are voting on.
Paul Coombs stated he supports SB2 because he feels a very small majority of people are controlling the spending in town currently.
Mr. Alpers closed the public hearing on the petitioned warrant article for SB2.
Mr. Alpers opened the public hearing for the police/town hall project bond article, article 13. Mr. Alpers read the article and Ms. Corrow gave an overview of the project and process thus far. She explained the role of the Architect Paul Mirski and the Construction Manger Keith McBay. Ms. Corrow stated the Budget Committee and the Selectboard are supporting and recommending the project. Mr. McBay explained his role as a construction manager. Mr. Mirski explained his role as architect, how he has used the construction manager approach and explained the positive aspects of a construction manager. Mr. Mirski stated every renovation project he has worked on has been cheaper to renovate then to build new. He explained the layout in both buildings work and this plan will work for a long time. Mr. Mirski stated this project will allow a new town hall, a new police department and restore a historic building that would otherwise continue to deteriorate.
Mr. Alpers opened the meeting for questions or comments.
Mr. Lindholm questioned the air condition system. Mr. McBay stated there will be an air conditioning system with quality air flow and ventilation. Mr. Williams questioned how much per year for the bond. Mr. Williams stated the town just lost a building in town for social gatherings and now we don’t have anything left. He stated something like this is needed. Mr. Alpers stated this will be a 30 year decreasing bond with the first payment currently estimated at $227,845.00 and will decrease each year. Mr. Mirski explained how the historic town hall plan will accommodate social functions. He stated the plan does allow for further expansion should there be more of a social function need. Mr. Belbin questioned who will carry the liability for the moving of historic town hall. Mr. McBay stated the moving of town hall will be put out to a subcontractor and the awarded company will carry the liability. Mr. Belbin questioned if the intention was to rent out the historic town hall. Ms. Corrow stated at this point it will solely be used for town functions but that is something we have discussed for the future. Mr. Belbin felt there are not enough parking spaces. Ms. Corrow stated there are 23 spaces and they have weighed the cost/benefit of purchasing additional land for parking. Mr. Belbin is concerned with the economy and questions whether this is affordable at this time. Ms. Susan Duncan questioned if the property acquisition is included in the final price. Ms. Corrow confirmed it was. Ms. Duncan stated this plan is by far the strongest and best package for the town. She is excited about the possibilities of using old town hall. Ms. Duncan feels there is plenty of parking as Dr. Doane allows us to use his parking lot for evening events. Ms. Duncan would like to see the board do some prioritizing as there are a lot of expenses this year. Mr. Farvorite stated the elementary school is a very short walk and there are about 35 parking spaces there. Mr. Favorite explained our immediate issue is the police department is in violation with the insurance company.
Mr. Alpers questioned if there were any other public comments and closed the public hearing.
Chief Skantze approached the board to continue the discussion from the previous meeting about the ambulance agreements for the upcoming year. Mr. Alpers reiterated what Mr. Denning had stated at the previous meeting about giving Bridgewater the same contract as all the other communities we serve. Chief Skantze stated the only difference with Bridgewater is that they have an ambulance service. Mr. Denning stated that he wanted to make sure that whatever agreement we sign it is clear that Chief Skantze is in charge. Mr. Alpers stated that there needed to be some sort of prorated charge added to the contract for now through April first for Bridgewater. Mr. VanDerven asked if the attorney has reviewed the agreement. Chief Skantze replied that he had written the original agreement many years ago and that it has gone through many versions throughout that time. Mr. VanDerven stated that he has not had good luck in the past with Alternative Dispute resolution and we may want the town’s attorney to review the contract and comment. Mr. VanDerven also stated that the cover letter for the contract should mention that we planning to start a larger conversation regarding emergency services for the region. He stated that we need to discuss what the EMS needs are for the area and what are our comment needs and resources. The board agreed that sections 2.4 through 2.7 should be removed from the draft contract so that it is the same as the current contracts with other communities and that the town’s attorney should review as soon as possible. Contracts should be ready for next Thursday’s meeting.
Motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Steve favorite; seconded by Mr. Denning; vote was unanimous.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:20pm
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